Zamgwar

Cruise Line: Princess Cruises
Ship: Grand Princess
Sailing Date: February 17th, 2002
Itinerary: Western Caribbean

My impression of the ship:

To set a base line, we were a party ( and I do mean party) of 13 forty-something friends (and four kids) all from the metro area of NY and a trio from NH. Our income brackets ran from our Bazillonaire friend, to those of us who went via big jars of money saved daily toward this jaunt.

Your Mileage may vary.

I must begin by saying somewhere in a past life, I must have been an “old salt”. Perhaps all those that love cruising are. I love the smell of the sea, and the sound of the waves. The creaks and groans of a vessel prodding it’s way through the ocean. The feeling of being on a ship.

On SS Norway, my last time out, I saw The Grand Princess in St. Thomas. It had none of the exterior charm or lines of a ship. It was huge. It was ugly.

I clearly remember mocking it as being a member of the “ship” family.

It was therefore with some trepidation that I boarded the gangway of The Grand Princess. In the “Grand Princess” in my head, I was prepared to be surrounded with all the brass and glass trappings of a cheap Vegas Hotel.

How wrong I was.

Grand Princess, in spite of her size, is surprisingly intimate, and alive with rich shades of wood. It’s in the corridors. It’s in your room. It’s in the clubs. It’s in the elevators. It’s in the stairwells. It’s everywhere.

The main outside promenade is a fairly wide teak deck which circles the entire ship, getting very broad at the bow, and very narrow at the stern. I made it a habit of taking a two mile walk (six times around) with “she who must be obeyed” every morning before breakfast, and strolling once around again before bed.

While the walks did little to ebb the tide of food, that entered our bodies, it did make me feel better about having the “bonus martini” each day.

It is lined with wooden life vest storage lockers, and magnificent wooden doors. There were also wooden, cushioned benches perfect for an after dinner cigar while sipping…okay gulping, the mandatory evening cognac. It was the perfect place to feel at sea.

The public areas on the ship were wonderful and each had their own charm.

The Wheelhouse Lounge , with it’s dark woods, subdued lighting, ships models and maritime paintings had the feel of a place where old yachtsmen might meet to brag about their boats and summer cottages in Newport. The Martini’s there were served perfectly shaken and garnished with the songs like “Embrace me” or “Night and day” coming from a wonderfully throaty female vocalist at the keyboard. The sofas and leather chairs were arranged in small intimate groupings extremely conducive to conversation. I loved this room.

The Explorer’s Lounge was a larger than I expected, with a decidedly Egyptian motif, and pith helmeted wait staff. When not harboring the “never ending” art auction, or passenger game shows, was usually alive with good dance music from it’s band. When the band was playing this was always a fun place.

Snookers bar is was a very small and cozy lounge in tucked toward the bow. Once again the wood decor gave it more of a “pub” feeling, than that of your typical glitzy sports bar. Our group only made it here once, on the last night, and enjoyed it. I must admit, we completely forgot it was there. Two in our group didn’t even know it existed. Until the last night, they never made it past the casino on the deck it was located on.

That gives you an idea of the size of the ship.

The atrium at midship not only served as a fine entrance for the ship, but a great place to play cards or to sit and people watch with a cocktail. It was thankfully not some towering mass of mile high glitter, but rather a charming three deck high, central area full of places to sit, cascading water art, a grand staircase, plants and always full of the soothing live sounds of a piano or string quartet. The Promenade Bar there served up freshly brewed espresso and cappuccino, small plates of pastries and cookies, and a variety of delicious spiked coffee and potent hot chocolate drinks. There was a small Lobby bar there as well. Alas, I never once drank there.

All along the interior Promenade deck, there were plenty of comfy seats by the large windows, and always occupied by folks happily reading away.

Skywalker’s Disco, located 150 feet above the sea, on the stern, was great by both day and night. We had a private group cocktail party there one afternoon and found it a wonderfully relaxing place to throw back a few while watching the wake trail off for miles. At night this place absolutely rocked with all the colors and beats that make you want to shake your “booty”.

The Casino, was, well, a casino. Nicely laid out and not congested. Perhaps I would have written more about it if luck had been better there. I can take solace in the fact that so much of my money is still on vacation aboard the ship. If your planning an upcoming cruise on her, I hope you’ll meet my money in the casino, take it with you, and give it a good home.

The Princess Theater and Vista Show lounge both were extremely large state of the art theaters (being in the theater biz myself I can say that) in which I never had a problem getting a seat as long as I got there 15 minutes early.

Now the Pool decks were indeed something special. The two main pools are very large, overflowing with water, beautifully tiled, multi decked, with nice teak appointments, two hot tubs each and great poolside bars. Neptune’s reef was the one we called home. It was jumped every day with a great reggae band and the smell of cocoa butter.

WARNING!!!!!!

Do NOT tip its bartenders extra, unless you want to find yourself belting out Bob Marley songs at the top of your lungs, having “body shots” and doing the “dolla” dance on stage as a result of some VERY potent absolute screwdrivers. I needed to go back to my stateroom and “sleep” a little, after my sea day there. When I woke up at six pm, and started getting dressed for Grand Cayman Sting Ray swimming instead of dinner. I had no idea what day it was. Countless people, waiters and bartenders, I didn’t know, greeted me by name all over the ship that evening, with comments about the afternoon.

We were all veeeeeeery baaaaaaaad children that day. But as a result, we more than doubled the size of friends we were on board with.

Pool deck chairs do get reserved early. I really wasn’t bothered by this because it is clearly evident that some poor sops got up 7am to get poolside to do so. I usually arrived about 9:00am and had no problem getting chairs in the same spot on the 2nd level. It was the folks who came looking poolside around 11:30am that seemed the most steamed about it. We went to grab a lunch once, were gone about 20 minutes (30 max) and came back to a lecture on reserving chairs from “quite” miffed woman looking for chairs. We cheerfully offered to buy her drinks and share our chairs while we swam and went to the bar.

She wasn’t amused.

Ironically, on the 2nd sea day, we left our chairs for 20 minutes, to take a group photo (we watched the clock) to come back and find the same pool chair nazi standing by our chairs. Looking stern faced.

Perhaps we just looked too goofy faced for her.

On my walk-abouts, I did however always find plenty of empty chairs in other less traveled parts of the ship. Even on peak times.

There was also a great aft quite pool (which I’m sure some of my sea-day neighbors moved to)over hanging the stern and the wake, which was never crowded and always had an empty hot tub, and was perfectly situated next to the bar. It was our hot tub area by choice. I saw the lap pool, but never made it there.

I only went once to the ships shops, in search of an appropriate GP TR-shirt. The selection of logo wear was disappointingly limited. The selection of everything else was plentiful, and had my luggage not arrived I would have been thankful for them. They were laid out nicely however, and had a real store feel to them.

“She who must be obeyed” really enjoyed the workout room and the Plantation Spa. I enjoyed working out my cocktail elbow and planting myself by the pool.

I never once had the feeling that there was 3500 other people aboard the ship. Perhaps it was because there were some many places for people to go, that they gathered in small groups, rather than large clumps.

Last year, when I first started researching ships for this cruise, I remember posting the comment of how ugly this ship appeared from the shore, and absolutely wouldn’t consider her. Someone on this cruise news group posted “you don’t sail on a ship from the shore, you sail on board her, and that I should consider her.”

How right they were. I must admit, her exterior look even grew on me in port. This was a really wonderful ship!

Staterooms:

If I had never had a mini-suite with a balcony, I never would have wished I did.

When I’m on vacation, I’m really not the kind of person who cares how big my room is, or if I have a shower as opposed to a tub. Or examines the rug quality or cares if my room has a view. My paramount thoughts are usually that I’m wearing a bathing suit, and not working as a life guard, ergo, I must not be working.

When I originally booked the Grand Princess, I was excited about having a cabin with big windows. On my previous cruises, I had moved up from a porthole to big windows, and couldn’t imagine life getting better.

I could NEVER go back to a porthole after having had big windows.

The big windows were to be short lived however. Communications from my glorious TA involved a number of price drops and a ultimately an upgrade which resulted in my whole party having Emerald deck Mini-suites.

This turned out to be a double-edged sword.

The good edge was the fantastic space of the room, highlighted once again, as the entire Grand Princess is, with wood trim around everything. With the beds in a queen configuration, in the “sleeping portion”, and a sofa and 2nd TV in the “sitting portion”, the space definitely seemed more of a “stateroom” and less of “cabin”. The full bath was nicely tiled and there was ample room for a wide variety of hangover potions.

The room had an almost “theatrical” lighting design, with back-lighting over the bed, standard overhead lighting, and I believe three separate table lamps. When just the lamps were lit, the room at night was very warm & inviting. (Hey, I’m a lighting designer by trade, I notice that stuff!)

There was a well lit desk/make-up table space for “she who must be obeyed”. There was plenty of room for all the clothes. The “big as a friggin’ house” suitcase and all the carryon bags, fit nicely in the closet. There was no need to put anything under the bed.

The fridge, while being very small, held our three bottles of Champagne, three bottles of wine, three bottles of water, and two orders of chocolate covered strawberries, albeit creatively placed.

We requested and promptly got, slippers (I’m wearing mine now) big fluffy bathrobes, wine glasses, extra pillows, and fresh fruit.

Our names were on the “mailbox” on the door.

I was impressed.

Now add to that, being able to step out through sliding glass doors onto my own private platform on the ocean to watch the sunrise, or the moon on the waves before turning in. To enjoy a cup of coffee. To watch the islands arrive by day. To see the ships pass in the night. Or just to stand naked and wave my Flotsam and Jetsam at the sea.

I was in heaven.

My party occupied E-721 thru 729 on the Starboard side and the last two mini suites on the port side, on the far Aft section of the ship. Due to the overhang, these were completely private balconies. (Hence the ability to wave my flotsam and jetsam)

Our friends in E-729 and 728 (The last two cabins on deck 8) had the added bonus of an extra long balcony which curved at the stern, allowing a lounge chair as well as the table and four chair set up.

If the blue non-skid stuff on the balcony hurt my feet, I wasn’t aware of it. If the balcony was small, I wasn’t aware of it. In fact of the whole rest of the ship blew up, while I was on my balcony, I wouldn’t have been aware of it.

I was in heaven. This was the nicest stateroom I’d ever had.

I was never aware of any discomfort from being low, over the Vista Lounge and to the stern. Sure I heard the low rumble of the engines churning us through the ocean, and every now and then felt a slight shudder as we broke a good size wave, but I live for that stuff. I mean, I want to be reminded I’m on a ship. Being on a ship, is being somewhere special.

I should point out however, that my friends in the portside staterooms, said they could clearly hear the show in the Vista Lounge at night.

Perhaps you could hear the lounge on our side too, but I can’t say. I never went to bed while there was still stuff going on. I was on Vacation.

I did say at the outset, that having this Stateroom was a double edge sword. You see, you can’t miss what you don’t know. Alas, I need a bigger coin jar to start saving for my next cruise.

I can never NOT have a private balcony again.

The Ports:

My Sister’s husband, picks a cruise, by where it goes. He’s a bundle of energy, who needs to wake up somewhere different every day and sea days would make him crazy. Once I cross a gangplank, and sign my first bar receipt, I’m already somewhere new and exciting, and should and island show up next to the ship, it’s merely a perk, not a necessity.

This was a Western Caribbean itinerary. Two sea days, Grand Caymans, Princess Cays, Cozumel and Costa Maya.

Usually, my wife and I prefer to take off on our own, rather than take an excursion. Hey, it’s the Adventurer in us (Kongaloosh!-to those who understand). However, given the current world climate, for the most part, we went with the throngs.

In the Caymans we chose to swim with Stingrays and Reef snorkeling. The Stingrays were tres cool, and very neat to swim with. Reef snorkeling was very rough with high seas, and I could have lived without it. On returning, the ladies shopped, I had a cocktail and returned to the ship. Sorry, I’m a drinker, not a shopper. The beer was cold, the day was nice, the view was swell.

In Cozumel ( Not tendering from the ship was great), we Biked to Chakkanab National Park (or however the hell it’s spelled). Now the PARK was a treat. Beautifully laid out, with a wonderful beach, nice jungle paths, and super snorkeling. Much like Trunks Bay in St. John. While the bike trail was nice, the bike seat reminded me I have to make a proctologist appointment. Biking with a mob was not fun. The bikes were in poor repair. The park was Great! Next time here, I’d just take a cab to the park.

Back in town, the ladies shopped at the typical miles of jewelry stores and of course I visited legendary Bar, Carlos and Charlies. And visited, and visited, and visited. After having had a variety of things, poured directly into my mouth, having my head shook, and my bottom thwacked, I was grateful to be in stumbling distance to the ship.

What a place, what a party.

Oddly enough, the port “She who must be obeyed”" and myself enjoyed most, is the one people seem to enjoy the least. Costa Maya.

From my constant reading of Cruise reviews across the web, we had determined, like Princess Cays, Costa Maya would be a lazy late, wake up day and just a brief incursion to the shore to say we’ve been there.

Walking down the pier from the ship, we arrived at the “Disney-esque” created shopping area, exclusively built as a stop for cruise ships. It was “nice” in a Epcot way, but not nice enough for me to even consider a drink here. I had planned a quick return to the ship, but “She who must be obeyed” indicated she wished me to take a cab (5 bucks round trip) with her to the little town of Majahual, or something like that.

She is, “She who must be obeyed”, I had to go.

Now *THIS* turned out to be a wonderful idea. In fact, it was my favorite “out of ship experience”. The town is on one of the most gorgeous beaches (and I have been on some wonderful beaches) I have ever seen. It’s a lazy, tiny little burg with a main street of fine beach sand.

Let me say that again, the Main street is sand.

Colorful rowboats dot the beach. Dogs siesta under the trees. Every now and then a local on a horse ambles by. There are no crowds. There are no tourists. The water is a breathtaking aquamarine, and the swimming was the best of this trip.

There are a few little whole in the wall shacks serving up cold beach side cervas and here and there a blanket canopied table selling trinkets. Even I took a look at them. Back pack wearing School children walked hand in hand along the shore. The beach palms were glorious.

There are no hotels yet. There are no stores yet. In fact, they are just beginning to add a sewage system to the area. There is no anything yet. But once you’ve seen this place, you’ll know development is imminent.

And that’s too bad. The town is a wonderful Diamond in the rough.

“She who must be obeyed” even proclaimed when she got out of the cab “OH my God, I’m in a Corona commercial”.

We spent our whole day sitting in a chair, with our feet in the water, drinking two dollar Coronas, staring at the ship in the far distance blowing into the bottles and laughing that we were indeed, in that commercial. It was a hard place to leave.

For those who need to shop, or feel uncomfortable not seeing throngs of camera toting tourists around, I’d say skip this place.

For those who really want to feel they’ve gone somewhere different, don’t miss it.

Food and Service:

Food, it was as abundant as air, only with much more taste. You couldn’t escape it. It must have been laced with crack or some other addictive substance, because the more you ate, the more you wanted.

It was at the Horizon Court, a lovely window lined buffet restaurant 24 hours a day. Speaking of which, I’ve read lots of reviews which complained Horizon Court had a confusing buffet set-up. I was at a loss for why people thought this. There was lots of food, you went up and got some, then either sat at an inside restaurant table, dined al fresco on the back of the ship, or brought it to your pool or stateroom.

What’s confusing?

I never found a line, or a crowd, just lots and lots of food. Goulash, Sushi (ummmm good sushi), pastas, bacon, sausages, home fries, eggs and omelets (which were happily prepared your way if you asked the chef), late night Bananas flambé, crepes, salads, cold cuts, hot cuts, scallops, seafood, wonderful soups and even a tuna melt!. If you wanted a steak at midnight ( I didn’t) you could have one. Great desserts, rolls, buns, cookies. It was impossible to pass without getting a little something.

It was by the Neptune pool in the form of a Poolside barbecue serving Burgers, (beef, Veggie, chicken, and turkey cooked your way if you asked) fries, onion rings, Hot Dogs and Wursts.

I found myself needing things I never need. Each day around two I craved a bratwurst with kraut on a roll. They were so good.

Also by the pool was a pizza parlor. One the first day, I wasn’t impressed with the pizza. However, upon request they would burn one up for you making it extra crispy and delicious. By Wednesday, the pizza makers knew me by name. Perhaps this was a cocktail related thing.

It was in Sabatini’s Trattoria , where you don’t chose from the menu, they bring you the menu.

On days before port I ate all I could, because I knew I might have to go as long as four hours without eating.

For Dining we wound up with personal choice and would not go another way. We had NO problem getting two tables for 17 each night, the same two tables, with the same waiters, by making reservations with the Maitre D’. There was never a wait, we just strolled on in to our tables. In fact, for the last three days, we had the same table neighbors.

Our entire group found the food as a whole miles above NCL which we all had previously enjoyed. It was always done just right, beautifully presented, and of course, if we couldn’t make up our minds about an entree, they brought both. Others I met on the cruise didn’t feel the same way. Even about the NCL comparison, but more on that under the topic of “other stuff”.

Service, at the bars, in the staterooms, and in the restaurants, was outstanding. Best we’ve ever had. Now Keep in mind my group are know as legendary tippers. We tip beyond what’s expected. We tip well beyond the daily tipping charge. We’re the type of tippers that service folk tearfully wave goodbye to. Our waiters, and a bartender from our pool bar actually came to see us off.

They work hard. Very hard, very long hours, and are frequently under appreciated.

We tip well if things were extraordinary.

Things were extraordinary.

The staff ensured medium rare was medium rare, substitutions were happily made, drinks were poured heavy, buy-backs were frequent, bottled water was in the cabin (at no charge regardless of the sign that said it was 2.50 a bottle) carry on wine was uncorked free. My assistant waiter even went to the sports bar for me to get me a beer in a 24 ounce glass, which is only served there.

*OUR* food and service gets a 10 all around from the entire group.

Surprisingly, I only put on five pounds. I attribute this to the size of the ship, and the amount of walking distance involved from Martini, to martini.

Our on-line TA:

This is NOT an advertisement for a particular agent. It is merely meant to help those with my same fears and assure them that there are many great on-line TA’s, if they're willing to look.

It is not unusual for us to frequently go away with a large group of friends. It’s a blessing to be able to share your mid-forties with people who hit you with spitballs in elementary school, roomed with you in college, drank beers with to celebrate your first real job, and have never lost touch.

Moving a group that can approach 30 people at times, around the globe, in a variety of venues, while meeting our varied requirements, and flip-flopping numbers, is a challenge to the best agent. It’s a nightmare for those who don’t approach that level.

For years, my travel agent was my mother-in-law. She was the best there was. All of our friends and their friends used her. She monitored prices, and made good suggestions. She wrote letter to hotels ensuring great rooms. She knew Cabin accommodations. She knew airport layouts and told us where to go when we got off the plane. She said “you don’t want this. You want this”. I always agreed. After all, she spawned “She who must be Obeyed”.

Again, she was the best, a true professional. She passed away 8 years ago and my wife and I had never found the likes of her again.

Being in charge of our cruise vacations, and being unhappy with our last cruise agent, I decided to chance an on-line agent. Following extensive research and bidding, I chose Lori Cunningham of Skyscraper Tours.

To begin with, I never like to deal with a faceless person. I don’t even shop from catalogs. There’s something scary about a group sending what can be upwards of $20,000 to someone you can’t choke if they don’t deliver.

While Lori sounded great on the phone, and looked great in her pictures, I still wasn’t certain that she wasn’t a front for some guy named Moe, in some boiler room in Arkansas.

Lori turned out in fact to be tremendous!!! Like my mother-in-law, only without having to marry “She who must be obeyed” to get great service.

She monitored price, getting us a number of reductions along the way. She made Stateroom recommendations. She tried hard for days, to meet my wife’s stringent flight requirements. (My wife hates to fly and has strict limitations on what and how she’ll fly).

Ultimately, my whole group wound up in side by side Mini-suites at less than her original quote for an ocean view stateroom..

She got us our docs quickly. She even made a last minute check on our dining request (which we had changed) while on her own cruise. She arranged for a private cocktail party for us with the cruise line.

Prior to departure, our entire group had already been singing her praises to other people. After returning from the ship, we could only sing them louder.

From this point on, at least for all my friends, if it’s by sea, it’s by Lori. We are all ready to call her again for our 2004 cruise, or sooner, should the sea call loudly.

Should anyone need Lori’s E-mail or Phone number, they can zip me an e-mail and I’ll send it on. She has my trust and my deepest recommendation.

I’m sure there are many more super agents out there on the web. If you’re considering one, I only hope you do as well as we did, in our first on-line experience.

In this day of computer access, consumer information and bargain travel sites, there will ultimately be only two types of travel agents in the future. Great ones, and out of business ones.

Lori is a great one.

My only regret, is that she only does cruises.

“Other stuff”:

There were a lot of small intangibles which I didn’t read about in reviews, or when I did read them, turned out to be much better than even my pre-cruise imagination could conjure up. They were small priceless pieces of memories. Bonus bits of fun. Final brush strokes to the whole picture which made it perfect.

Sail-a-way, out of Fort Lauderdale, past the condo’s, is an absolute hoot. I imagine if huge cruise ships passed my window each Saturday and Sunday night, I might find it hard to resist to join in with the goings on of my neighbors.

As Grand Princess sailed by the homes and condo, residents came out in absolute hordes to wave the ship off. Interior lights flashed on an off. People blew air horns. Two people played the trumpet. One guy even had a bull horn, or a speaker system (it must be a joy to live next to him), lead cheers from the ship, and then warned us not to eat too much and to bring some lobster home for him. Stereo’s blasted from windows. People rang hand held bells. Flash cameras went off by the hundreds AT the ship.

Now I have read this goes on, but I was not by any means prepared for the scale of the goings on. Perhaps it was because it was the start of a vacation week and there were more people there than usual. Perhaps many of their neighbors were aboard and wanted to make it extra special.

More than likely, perhaps it’s just a great excuse to have a few martini’s once or twice a week and dream of the day they would be aboard. Whatever the reason, it set the tone for a great week.

The Midnight Caribbean night aft deck party was also something extra special. A stage was built over the quiet pool. It was one of the only occasions we encountered the house band out of the theater. Backing up the cruise director, who sang his heart out, they got the whole three back decks of the ship jumping, literally. The party culminated with the passing out of streamers to every passenger, which were all thrown at once. A canopy of string over the pool deck caught the streamers as the cascaded down making for one of the cruise’s most colorful moments, as well as some unbelievable photos.

The way the light plays around the ship during the day is a feast for the eyes if you pay attention. The shadows in the conservatory pool when the dome is closed. The contrast of light and shadow through the many windows during the day. Very pretty.

“She who must be obeyed” is as Italian as a piece of Provolone. She loves the smell of garlic being cooked and really enjoyed it as it wafted out of Sabatini’s daily.

Surprisingly, the service crew (deck hands, wait staff, bartenders) were much more international than I’ve ever encountered on a ship, making for some great conversation. They sat with you. They greeted you by name, (of course in my party’s case, they had seen the names hundreds of times on bar bills). They went seemingly out of their way to say hello in the morning. Our Neptune pool drink pusher from one of the former Russian Republics even showed up in Carlo’s and Charlies and bought ME a drink when she saw me.

Of course at that time I was already dancing on the stage to hot-hot-hot and had a pile of plastic shooter glasses on my table. I was hard to miss.

One of my fears on a ship this size was that we wouldn’t meet anyone new. That certainly wasn’t the case. In fact, we’ve all already gotten e-mails from folk we met on the cruise. Perhaps it’s because the intimate spaces on the ship, and everybody’s vacation head, made conversation so easy.

There was a ton of things we did on the ship, as well as a ton of things we never got to, which I’m sure was the case with all the pax aboard. Even within our own group, it was great fun to share the days stories at dinner. The size of the ship, and amount of small activities (like playing chess over drinks on the giant chess board) made for enjoyable days and I’m sure were the key to keeping the ship feeling un-crowded.

The maintenance on the ship was on going and in epic proportions. Rails being sanded, metal being brought down to base, coated and painted. Windows being washed. Buffet tables bussed instantly..

Slight problems (a burnt out light in our cabin, a broken blender at the bar, a hot tub that stopped bubbling)) were taken care of swiftly. Great efforts seemed to be taken to keep everything “ship-shape”. Everyone of the maintenance staff we encountered were very friendly and always greeted you warmly.

Once again, the private balcony was a great escape from everything. While I STILL HATE the way they make new ships look, I LOVED looking out from mine.

The 17 dollar coke card is a great idea. It gave the kids great freedom, and our group bought a couple for ourselves and always brought back a few cokes from the bar to quench the thirst, when we needed to gulp something non-alcoholic. They didn’t seem to care who had the card, or if we were sharing a card, just that a card was had.

There were a lot of little pieces, that made the big picture so wonderful.

Summary:

I really think it doesn’t matter where you go on vacation, how you go, what you do, or how much you spend. It’s Vacation!!! ENJOY!!!!

I don’t vacation as a critic, and don’t let little things bother me. If it rains, I’m happy it’s not snowing. If my food arrives cold, I’m happy they’ll bring me new food. I don’t expect anyone to give me my money’s worth on Vacation, that’s up to me. If I didn’t enjoy it to the fullest, and find the silver lining, in momentary downturns, it’s my own damned fault.

Life is too short to sweat the small stuff. I’m sure Shakespeare said that, albeit much more poetically.

This was my first experience with Princess Cruise line, and there just was no small stuff to sweat.

The weather was a little chilly in Port Everglades at sail-a-way, but the company was warm. Due to a storm, the ship rolled like the blazes coming home (causing my bathroom door to slam and wake me up), but it was a marvel to see the ocean churn.

I make it a habit of talking to lots of people on vacation and always open up with (in this case) “so are you enjoying your cruise?” It’s the “only thing” on vacation I keep track of. It helps keep things in perspective. Reminds me we’re all different, and I should always take what people say, with a grain of salt when planning a vacation. I keep track of it in fact. I always have.

Maybe I was a pollster in a different life, along with being an “Old salt”.

I spoke to 38 people while sitting at bars, passing floors in elevators, sipping coffee at tables or bubbling away in the hot tub.

9 were first time cruisers who unanimously agreed it was the best vacation of their life.

6 had cruised NCL exclusively. Of them-4 felt this was the best ship & line they were ever on.

1 felt the food was terrible on this cruise (they had a main seating), was always cold and would not cruise the ship again.

1 felt the service was unfriendly and doubted they would sail Princess again.

5 had only been on Carnival. 4 felt this ship was twenty steps up from what they had been on, and now doubted they would go back to Carnival.

1 Felt the ship was entirely too dressed up in the evenings and that wasn’t what they had in mind for vacation.

9 had previously only been on Holland America & Celebrity. 3 felt it was about the same product and thoroughly enjoyed it and would sail Princess again.

2 felt it lacked that indefinable “something special”

1 felt it was a classless, tasteless atrocity.

2 felt it was the best ship they had been on.

1 hated the food, but loved the liveliness.

The remaining 9 were cruise pros having been on a batch of em.

3 favored the Princess product overall, Multi-cruised the Grand and were looking forward to the Golden.

2 had stayed aboard since the last sailing they enjoyed the ship so much

3 said the ship was "nice" but preferred the smaller Princess ships more.

Of the other adults in our group (11 of them-one of which had 7 cruises under her belt and has yet to repeat a cruise line) all unanimously agreed this was the best ship overall they had been on, and would sail her or one of her Sister Ships, without hesitation.

Actually I believe the exact quote of one of my group was “there was not even the smallest thing that sucked about this vacation”.

As for “she who must be obeyed”, she gave me a big hug and said this was the best one ever (and one of her top three vacations over all), and would sail Princess and The Grand again in a heart beat.

She *is* she who must be obeyed, and I must happily concur with her.

This was an especially wonderful treat for seven days, and I’ve already got 2 dollars and 18 cents and my cruise jar for our next cruise. At this rate, I’m going to need a 4th job.

Many thanks to all those along the way who helped me in the selection of the ship, and convinced me to keep it one the list regardless of it’s outward appearance. When this board isn’t bickering, it’s is truly a wealth of information, full of great people, from Sunni’s sig lines, to Rays info updates, and a wonderful way to vicariously vacation.

A special thanks again, to Lori Cunningham, for doing such a great job. A big E-hug and Kiss to you.

I wish all of you, warm winds, smooth seas, great prices, safe trips, wonderful food and Ice cold drinks (regardless of WHAT kind of martini you drink) and many happy. healthy days.

May your next cruise, be your best

John
Office of Back to work
The Zamgwar Institute

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