Brenda & Jerry Moran

Age: 51
Occupation: journalist/database manager
Number of Cruises: 5
Cruise Line: Princess Cruises
Ship: Grand Princess
Sailing Date: November 18th, 2001
Itinerary: Western Caribbean

Finally I get a nice quiet time to write a review of the Grand Princess and her W Caribbean cruise 11/18-11/25.

Saturday, 11/17, we got the fridge emptied, all the clothes laid out to pack & a nap before the Lewis-Rahman fight at 11PM though they took to the ring at Midnight ET. Then up at 3AM, 11/18, to shower, dress, pack & get outside for the meteor shower. WOW! The stars were streaming across the sky with amazing speed. One even exploded leaving a trail very thick & long that lasted a good 4 minutes. Then we are off to drive to the RTA Rapid station to park for free for the week & ride the train one stop to Hopkins Int'l Airport. Up the escalator to the check in & the very long lines at the various air counters. We are on Continental to FLL & with the E-Ticket service we just walked up the E-Service machines spread out with counter space next to them, scanned the AMEX card & it called our names which I verified, then it asked for how many luggage pieces to check, said 2 & the gal took them as it printed the boarding pass. 2 minutes max there!

Hearing to be at the airport 2 hours before check in, as we approach Concourse C we are the only folks walking without carry-ons through the security. I clear as did my purse, but dear Jerry is buzzing. All pockets are emptied, his jacket went thru the scanner OK, so he gets wanded & patted down by a female that brought a smile to his face. We did joke about him getting felt up before the flight.

Then we headed to the President's Club to watch TV, have free breakfast and learned that Cleveland is DRY on Sunday til 1PM. But a creative gal made me a alcohol free memosa with ginger ale & OJ. She also brought us the Sunday paper and took our flight numbers to get us there on time. Recliners in front of big screen CNN was quite relaxing. Then we are first boarded to our exit row seats & on-time flight to FLL. There we are greeted by no one but as we walk out of the concourse there we see Princess Reps. The just point to go up the escalator to the Rep up there. 3 are atop the ride talking away. I cut in to inquire where the bus is & they point to seats to wait for it which is due in 5-10 mins. There we meet 5 folks who have been here 30 mins with no bus. An hour later it arrives.......

Princess was vacant! We walked in, showed passports to the military at the entrance, proceeded to DOLPHIN which had regular & express. We are express so we just walked up she tour out the tix & credit card sigs, gave us our ship cards & up the ramp we went (3 mins max, including ship ID photo). Then into the elevator to Dolphin. D425 was our home this week. Danillo was our Steward but English was too well. Our meeting was a challenge. We asked for robes & he stood there wondering what we wanted until I got the hanging flier & handed it to him. I saw no mini bar as I had seen from other previous cruisers, or in D423 with photos of it. No slippers either. So I ask him about them. He states "That is for Suites only". He also states he has been steward all year & when they did away with the butlers so did the extras. Then one suitcase shows (mine) so we unpack it. Big bathroom with long shelf under vanity which is wall long. 3 shelves to the right, tub & shower to the right with toilet in the middle. VERY NICE! Then you walk into the bedroom with queen bed, 4 pillows, 2 pool towels atop it. When you look up it resembles stage lighting. A square of florescent lighting that make the bed a show place! Then a U-shaped counter with fridge under right half, more storage to the left half. 2 Sony TVs one pointing to the bed the other to the sofa. Next to the bed is the traditional desk & vanity seat. Then you walk into the living room with table & 2 chairs, sofa with pullout bed that was quite hard to sit on but we got used to it. Then we notice the bed is mattress atop steel frame, no box spring which made for a very hard bed which our backs liked. Then the balcony. It had the usual resin table with 2 chairs for every morning continental breakfast by 6AM to watch us arrive at each port. We are starboard which made for great use of the loungers, which are large resin chairs with pullout leg rests & you pull up the arms & the back goes to 4 positions.

Then we walked around the ship to get familiar & had lunch in the Horizon Court. Sandwiched between the 2 pool areas it has a huge sign stating NO POOL CLOTHING OR SWIMSUITS PERMITTED. Great food offered (Goulash, stew, fish, pasta, stir fry chicken & beef, sushi, large salad area along the seating area wall, hot on the back wall & deserts & rolls in the middle. Then off near the entrances is the beverage area though the workers get you what you want to drink with a coffee cart circling the tables. Promenade deck does the entire circumference of the 7th floor with 2 stairways up or down to the front of the ship (which is closed after sunset til dawn). Then we saw the showrooms, the 3 dining rooms & I chose Michelangelo for PC that night after Mr Tractor's recommendation of 2 weeks prior & the art was better on the walls.

So back to our room, still no slippers or mini-bar & we are hearing others in the hallway (one guy looked & sounded like Kenny Rogers) all commenting on the Steward & lack of perks for a mini-suite. We see our 2nd suitcase outside the door & take it in to unpack that. Then we freshen up & go to dinner. We are greeted warmly at the door by Head Waiter Danielle who seats us at table 101 on the right a flight up. Great location to people watch the whole dining room. Then we see another Head Waiter, older with half glasses resembling a DOM seating Marty Allen & wife Kate way in the back in a corner. Jerry sees Stuffed Flounder, salad, shrimp cocktail for his order. Me, I want all 3 appetizers (shrimp cocktail which is a caribbean fruit/white pepper sauce, egg rolls with a fruity soy sauce & grapefruit/kiwi laced in Blue Caracoa (sp) & our waiter Adi from Romania served them one at a time warm to cold. Then cappuccino & tiramisu and sampling it brought back memories of Dawn Princess' chef Josef from Austria. Then as remark how wonderful the presentation of the food was & the great cappuccino, another Head Waiter Carlos asks if we would like a Pina Colada Soup. It isn't soup but the drink served in a soup bowl. We got a kick out of it & it was definitely loaded with rum since we felt it. Then both Head Waiters stop over to hear our compliments on our waiter, who was quite shy & his assistant who talked a bit more. We learn they are new & they were checking if service was good. Then they tell us that that table is ours for the cruise as long as we are at it before 7PM nightly. No problem for us as we dine early & are usually asleep by 10PM to be up at 5AM daily to enjoy eh sunrise & new ports.

So back to the room we go, I take a hot bath, Jerry showers & we are out like a light after getting into bed.

11/19, sea day and after breakfast at the buffet, we head to the pool. All 4 are loaded with screaming kids. Even the hot tubs has 4-7 per tub. So we look for the adult only pool & do to the Holiday Sail, it isn't! So we go back up to 14 Sun Deck, no loungers in the sun & we walk the 2 upper area stairwells & finally locate 2 but we have the big white SATURN in our way. So back to our stateroom to discover a very sunny deck with the loungers side by side with full reclining. Table & chairs by the door & we were all set. Even room service brought chicken Caesar & a pitcher of iced tea & a huge basket of ice put atop our counter. So we enjoyed ourselves til about 3pm when I washed my hair & showered, then Jerry. Get all dressed up, me in my new gown resembling Basinger's LA Confidential gown (backless with draping material surrounding it & a slice up the side) C/Z clip pulling my long hair back, pearls with diamond lavaliere attached, ankle strapped gray shoes. Jerry in his black suit, white tux shirt, and tie & diamond stick pin.

Dinner was to be celebrating our 22nd anniversary as Princess had noted on our Personalizer from last year. Tonight we have 3 Head Waiters with Vincente (the older gent with half glasses who was very Italian). As we walk in I have my arm put inside Carlo's arm as he walks us to the table & seats me. Italian night with the best Veal we have tasted. Carlos brings us a plate with shaved Prosciuto, cubes of parmesan cheese, balsamic vinegar cruet to flavor the cheese & olives (all kinds). We saw no one else with this & it was so good. So we both thought it was for our anniversary & felt very delighted. 7PM & the show featuring a magician-comedian was at 8:15PM. So we hit the casino & lose $200 in an hour. I did my 3 max plays, no pay move one to the right & did the whole area. No VP for Jerry so he did Wheel of Fortune with losing results. We heard no payout during the hour. Nickel slot area also near the restrooms, but we headed for the showroom. We notice a sign outside telling folks no saving of seats. We also do not see any "no kids in the first 5 rows as we did on the Dawn & Ocean". Guess that is a Sun Class fiasco. Well this guy & his wife were SO BAD! Very old jokes & his magic you could see the door on the floor open from our seats for the wife to disappear. If the light wasn't on downstairs it may have worked. The other show offered was "Light, Camera, Action" which was on the Dawn a year ago in the S Carib. We recognized the photo of the folks. So back to the room, out on the balcony to enjoy the half moon high in the sky and the stars, tho not falling as we had seen in Cleveland.

11/20, I am up at 6AM with Jerry not moving. So I shower, dress, go up to the Horizon for coffee & there are our 2 Head Waiters Carlos & Daniele. So they serve me breakfast with everything from corned beef hash to roasted tomatoes & baked apples. They sat with me for a while as the ship docks at Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Jerry shows for breakfast & then we are off to see Jamaica, digital camcorder/digital still on his shoulder in the bag. Very friendly folks, not pushy. Loads of finally dressed officers also greeting us. Did some shopping for souvenirs finding a few inexpensive magnets for Jerry's office staff & our neighbor. Saw no public beaches to snorkel in & didn't want to cab it so back onto the ship & lunch in the DaVinci dining room. We are greeted by Head Waiter Vincente who seats us in the identical table as we have downstairs for dinner. We have another Romanian pair man/woman who were very talkative & great service. We learned that they are hired from a company in Switzerland who runs ads for cruise ship jobs. You must be 21-26 for entry positions and then you are promoted from within. Many of the Princess management team were waiters on Sitmar! They are on for 8 month contacts that can be renewed at anytime after they disembark to enjoy their families. 1200 crew members from painters to wait staff. Dirty work is mostly Mexicans who have a 6 month contract & usually do not return. Wait staff is mostly Philippines, Romania, Italy, and cooks from Italy, Portugal & Austria and as we are talking across the floor from the kitchen walks a very familiar gentleman. Big man, blonde hair, big smile IT IS JOSEF FROM AUSTRIA! Our cook on the Dawn in Austria who waves back at me & comes to the table for a kiss on the cheek & a chat. I hope he was making his prize strudel & he states only the last night as Princess felt it was too hot in the Caribbean for it. Jerry got a shot of both of us joking around. We learn he was married after he left the Dawn & heard about sailing & heading the galleys on the Grand. I told him we celebrated our 22nd last night & he remarked that he never was told for a cake for us. Then he gets Vincente over to ask if our dinner had anything for us. Then a gal comes up as we bid bye to Josef & is introduced to us as an Asst Purser named Ophelia Benjamin. She sits quite shocked to hear that yes, her computer does state 11/19 22nd anniversary for Mr & Mrs G Moran. We have no balloons on the door, no card from the Captain, nothing. Then we ask her about the slippers that other cruiser were quite entertained with receiving. Even the mini-bar. She apologized for the poor treatment of our Cabin Steward as she received many complaints from 400-500 rooms on Dolphin. I even commented on the scratchy robes that looked quite beaten up for a 3 year old ship. She came to the room to see how it was set up, took the robes shaking her head & stated that we were owed some apologies. As she exited, she is met by others in the hall, one yelling at her that the Steward entered the stateroom while she was in the shower.

So we do our walk around the deck & meet UK Kim, the onboard sales rep for future cruises. Very great gal to chat with & she checked her computer for some sales. Mediterranean on Golden is half off, so we put $200 (not $1250) deposit on that getting a $200 shipboard credit, and this was a certificate for future cruise by 11/2004. Then I mentioned the inaugural Panama Canal Coral Princess. Then mail comes over her fax the Princess had merged with RCI. She reads it to us. 51% to their 49%. Then she states that she has to contact Ratcliffe for the current info since she won't be in service 11/14 as their past press release stated. So back to the stateroom to shower & dress in "Island Wear" for dinner. WOW! Happy Anniversary sign & balloons, as well as birthday, even honeymoon on just about every door down our hall. As we walk in there is a mini bar set up, 2 plastic bags of slippers & new robes! So we have 2 Canadian Clubs, 2 Beefeaters & 2 Smirnoffs, with 2 tonics, 2 cokes, 2 sprites & 2 big bottles of water. Fridge is packed now! So as I am applying makeup in the bathroom, a knock on the door has a waiter in a tux bringing us a plate of chocolate covered strawberries and a happy anniversary card from Ophelia & the Pursers' Office. WOW!!! Then down to dinner, more great service with shrimp cocktails arriving upon seating us (yeah Carlos). Beef Tenderloins for us, crab leg cocktail, dinner salads, strawberry soup. Again as the table is cleared the crumbs swept off the table with the Asst Waiter joking it is for the bread pudding, Here combs the cappuccino & a thick hunk of chocolate with Princess logos around it atop a plate in Carlos' hands. Daniele, he & Vincente with waiters approach us singing "Happy Anniversary to You". Then I blow out the candle & he hands us a card from Captain Christie. This is a solid chocolate shell with Neapolitan custard/cake & strawberry glaze atop that. Josef writes "Happy Ann', Josef" on the plate in strawberry glaze. A kiss on the hand by Carlos, made for a great evening & Daniele shakes hands with Jerry making sure everything was perfect. Jerry learns that Adi, our waiter, was promoted from Asst Waiter for 3 years. Daniele worried he wasn't ready. He has 5 tables of a sold out room so he is working his butt off & doing a fine job. We see folks getting numbers as they walk in. We learn 7-8:30 is prime time & all are told reservations only during that time. But they still come! We also learn that next year Personal Choice will be called ANYTIME DINING, which we agreed was dumb name that will cause problems.

11/21 This was Stingray Day & I was quite excited! We had breakfast on the balcony & we very taken by the see-through waters below us. We saw a few Rays swim & a team of 7 groupers (so we learned) tagged behind as we docked. Amazing that any human can navigate this enormous shopping cart into position, especially backing in. We were down of 4 to board the tender which wasn't the orange lifeboats, since they we security, but a large 2 story board that held approx 100 folks. Then we walked to the Aqua Mall to meet Ruth from Capt Marvins. We booked the 10AM 3 hour trip which was 45 mins with Stingrays which was so great with they enormous bacl creatures, who are the females, rubbing up against you as a hello. You feed them squid by the bucketful. Some navy blue fish about 2 feet long also steal food from my hands in record speed. Then we glide over to the coral reef for snorkeling which was being live on a National Geographic Show. After 45 mins you are signaled to return to the ship (we had 40 total on the trip on a 3 story cruiser). The we went to the Coral Gardens which was a feast for the eyes. The crystal clear water, the colors of the coral, fish, and other living manner which included a moray eel. This excursion booked online was well worth $35. Princess' excursion for $50 was a glass boat that you watch the folks play with the Ray & see Hell & some turtle farm. They pointed it out with 150 folks crammed on it. Aqua Mall has sharks in a tank, turtles and other interesting things to see besides shop. Back to the ship by 2PM, shower & relax before dinner. Then another Vista Lounge show with a juggler. We lasted 15 minutes here. Sorry to say the entertainment in the theatres wasn't worth sitting thru. So to the Atrium (which is much smaller than the Sun Class ships) and the best pianist who really works his Mozart & Chopin playbooks. Again we see Kim, who has some prices for Med, Russia, British Isles so we can use the 2nd cruise deposit purchased before we sail on Coral. She told us we were to be receiving paperwork by Saturday in our stateroom (which we never did by disembarkation). She also told us that Coral must like us already since we were upgraded from BF to BD for the 12/14/02 cruise. This ship will have so many balconies that the categories are BA-BM!

11/22 this is the day for the much mocked Costa Maya aka Majahual. The Spa had Costa Maya specials good only on that day. A Mariachi band came aboard to play in the Atrium, and as we went ashore to look around we noticed that the Grand was the only ship there! Very pushy folks to make your visit irritating. A mall with a show that plays twice in the 8 hours there. Prices were too high & they do not bargain. Getting back on the ship was a breeze with no purchases & they knew our camera bag so we were waved past the area onto the ship. Lunch at DaVinci was fun. Chili Con Carne in a bread bowl was excellent! Had the cinnamon ice cream with another scoop of mint chocolate chip with caramel over it. Then as we went through the Atrium a string quartet (3 gals with a guy) entertained. So we sat & enjoyed them. Then decided to do High Tea also in DaVinci. Excellent white gloved service, the pianist entertaining with more Chopin, and some nice folks to chat with all agreeing why Princess stops here. BORING! All loved PC Dining tho none of us had the need for reservations if you dined by 7PM. After 7 it was a zoo! The Head Waiters had told us how pushy folks were to get a table when all they needed was a reservation for late dining. We asked if anyone was eating in Bocelli's for traditional & yet, it was full too! At dinner that night, a honeymooning couple who we had chatted with earlier showed for dinner with about 200 other folks who decided to eat early. We had our table & were seated & as we watched them waiters in line be awarded their guests, who they took to the stated table number, our honeymooners stepped up in line. We told Carlos to bring them over. They were so excited to eat in our area, basically the same folks at the same table with the same waiters. She loved being walked with her hand held high to the table & seated so respectfully. They told us this didn't happen in either DaVinci or Michelangelo on the previous night. Then Daniele shows with a large plate of thin sliced veal with greens surrounding it, again beautiful presentation. Then I freak at big hands on my shoulder & it is Josef, the Executive Chef, stopping by. So I introduce him to our friends & he invites them to his cooking show tomorrow at Noon. He makes sure we are coming & then leaves. Veal was the hit tonight with mashed potatoes high on cream & butter, presented thru a pastry bag. The roasted tomato was carved into a rose. BEAUTIFUL! After dinner we walked around the shops that had what resembled a sidewalk sale along the atrium railings on both floors. Gold-By-The-Inch was the hot place & I got a 18 kt gold plated bracelet for $40.

11/23 as Cozumel Day. We were greeted again by crystal clear waters with many rock formations in it. So the snorkel bag goes with us as we explore the area with at least 5 miles of waterfront shops. Diamond Int'l have 6 shops down the street. 2 in the opposite direct where Carnival, RCI & Celebrity are docked. Grand has it own spot. So we hit the 4 stores getting 8 pairs of diamond stud earring for FREE. A great lead to get folks in and very few knew anything about it. Princess passed out the coupons for them, but if a couple, give 2 different stateroom #'s. St Thomas has them also with the same offer. Right in front of the stores is the beach, rocky but all sorts of folks snorkeling with interesting fish in the beautiful bluish-green waters. Then over to Carlos & Charlies & I just loved the bolts & nuts tables & chairs, then very funny waiters who also perform jokes on folks (such as changing my drink straw 5 times & I didn't notice). NOW THIS IS A PINA COLADA! Jerry has a Mahi Mahi & one was more than enough. Then the bill shows - $132 but that is pesos $13.20 USD a bit steep but it included the entertainment, sing alongs, etc. Then I asked for the restrooms & the waiter points to the bar & the sign BATHROOMS with a down arrow. Under it is an enormous toilet! But the real ones are on the wall across from it. We learn that they are in Cleveland as Senor Frogs.

A very funny man in front of his store sees us walking returning to the ship, filming the sculptures on the waterline. He states that his prices are almost free! So we walk in & I see a bracelet that is very heavy, silver studs adorning with black encrusting it. $150 USD he states as I put it back. He gets it & is now at $110. He starts his sales pitch with the real silver, coded 950 top quality opposed to the 999 or 925. As we start for the door he goes to $100, then $80, then $60. Jerry tells him $30 pulling out the $20 & $10. SOLD! Then we got some T-Shirts that fill in color when out in the sun. They have nail polish that is one color inside & another in the sun. Great day there, so much more personable & clean compared to the Puerto Vallarta side of Mexico. But they then tell us they are a private island, not mainland. That is why they are so great! Then the man has table clothes even long dining room table types. I saw a Mayan Calendar style that was so eye catching & we got it for $20. Then back to the ship & again waved past the long line at check in. A long soak in my personal hot tub in our bathroom & Jerry is out cold across the bed. Dressy night #2 with Captain Circle party before. We are to be at the Captain's table in Bocelli at 8PM dinner. But as we enter dressed in black, me a lace gown & Jerry suit & short, a long line is before us for what we thought was the photo with the Captain, nope! Just handshakes & Jerry hears before the 2 guys in front of us the Captains states "No more handshakes, taking too much time". He just says Hello with no smile & Jerry goes to shake his hand & gets 3 finger across his first 3 fingers which really changed our taste for dinner. We told his assistant that we won't be a dinner to learn that they have a list who want to dine & only 10 are chosen. So we may not have been dining with him after all? Then we finally get to see & experience the Cruise Director Graham Seymour. Very funny gent, was the best entertainment on the ship's 5 days! Then we learn that he has a TV Show on channel 21, tho the only TV was ESPN for scores & a college game ending or CNN where we again heard about the Princess RCI merger days later from Kim's email that we read. Then free booze & canapés & 4 folks awarded champagne from a drawing & a couple with 475 cruise days got a free cruise (didn't say where). So blasted we head to dinner which was lobster tails, crab cocktail & Carlos brought us more 2 shrimp cocktails each (one red & the other Caribbean) as we are seated by Daniele. Pretty empty room at 7:45PM. A bus of tourists is stuck broken down so we are not leaving port til after 10PM so many are still ashore. After dinner back for a soak & cocktails on the balcony, which the others behind us up 3 floors seemed to never be used. In the morning a few outside but at night it is pretty vacant which was nice, relaxing & peaceful. Then we remember that Marty Allen is at the Princess Theatre, so we make the 10PM show! After Westward Ho & Gold Coast in Las Vegas, he has found his niche with Princess. He & Kate do 2 shows a week, they are ashore with the tourists, they ate lunch the same times as us daily, and we are guessing they don't not have bunk beds in their staterooms as we learned from the waiters on how they live (4 to a room). She is typical torch singer but Marty at his age & very balding head with the frizz combed in circles around it, can get a showroom rolling in the aisles. She does a good straight man to him with very nice gown changes. Amazing that they are married 17 years! But he adores her, as we watched many times during the week. They made us feel good when we shared deck space with them. Their show was the only worth while entertainment the whole week other than Seymour's TV Show which he mocks everything from the 75% off at sea day sale of all the junk the Costa Maya shops couldn't sell, to the drink of the day & who would order it. But then he also had to be informative for the disembarkation day which was Sunday & that we would be getting forms, letters, luggage tags & not to lose them.

11/24 At sea day, the forms Seymour promised at here, 6:45AM for INS check for letter M, so we plan what we can wear to dinner that will be go home clothes since we will finish our mini bar & go to sleep extra early with a 5AM wakeup call. Today is the cooking show/galley tour day & we enter the Princess Theatre for the show to Josef banging pots on stage pointing for us to take front row seats. This was great with him cooking fettuccine Alfredo, Shrimp Scampi, then the strudel which he rolls using a tablecloth which had me jump up to catch it at stage bottom but he was able to put the brakes on it with the cloth. Totally amazing! We were served plates of food to sample & ten remark to the room our feelings. Other plates traveled the rows for folks to sample. The galley on the Grand is 3 times the size of any Sun Class ship we sailed. So we walk the ship taking in this 75% sale of junk (T-shirts that say nothing, polo shirts that are all size SMALL, swimsuits that are ugly) so around to the Purser's desk to find the trip envelopes & have extra put on our account for the Steward as well as the 3 Head Waiters who spoiled us all week. Ophelia received hugs again from us for her service, as did Kim, we were given forms to fill out for employees personnel files on all who made our trip special. 15 will do. But we still have to go to a bar to do the tip charges. They were packed with football watchers, but we did find a seat to get this done with a great waitress. Envelopes address & slips inside, so back to the room & start writing for all waiters, Head Waiters, Chef, Ophelia, and then I discover that my silver CZ bracelet is gone replaced by my new wrist clincher. So I dash back to the Pursers & Michael is the only one there & I asked if he has Lost & Found & that I lost a Monet silver C/Z tennis bracelet sometime within the morning (I had it on in the stateroom when I put on my new bracelet & saw it at breakfast with folks remarking about it). So he goes in the back office & comes out with it!!!! Back on my wrist & he gets a $20 tip which he refuses & hands me a card to fill out for him for his file.

We thought for FREE champagne, lets attend an art auction, knowing the joke that they are. The showroom is packed! We find a table in the back & get 2 glasses of champagne delivered. Folks raising hands, purses, napkins, even standing with excitement that they spent $9500 on a Picasso print. Then we hear the Graham-like auctioneer state that she should insure it for $20K. How when her receipt is for $9500. And the place applauds. So for a hour we sat, drank, we were entertained by the applause when a purchase is made, why? This was the 2nd best entertainment of the ship. Then back to the room to pack the 2 cases to put out before dinner. As we open the door to put them out, the porter takes them! Even coming in for the 2nd one. The Stewards stand near the elevators for their tip envelope, as Graham stated on TV that you don't see them all week, just placing the clean stateroom hanger on your door when you leave, but you will have them attached to you for their tip.

Dinner was sad, that this was it for spoiling, even got a hug from Josef with hopes of meeting again in the future. The Head Waiters got their envelopes with notice that it was the extra special treatment all week, so they deserved it atop the norm billed to the stateroom. No Baked Alaska! That is traditional only! But everyone was served a true cappuccino with orange liquor in it with the strudel they ate wrapped in vanilla cream or the Swans on a Chocolate Lake (we had both).

11/25 Disembarkation Day aka D Day! Up at 5AM, shower, dress & be to the Vista Lounge at 6:45AM. Passports & letters in hand then man at the entrance takes the letter & then you walk down to the front & every 5 folks go down an aisle to the man at the end who sees your passport & welcomes you home. That is it! Then after 7AM, for 2.5 hours, you hear announcements for folks to report to the Vista Lounge. After breakfast we went back to the stateroom to await our color to be announced. It is 9AM & still 4 folks are holding up getting off. So we phone the rooms getting busy signals. ALL CARIBE DECK TOO! Then at 10AM we hear disembarkation has started & first with those who booked an excursion. Then he states those with early flights to go to the Vista Lounge. We guess they missed them. We are off by 10:40AM & on a bus to the airport that goes directly to Continental Airlines. There we have to enter an area for cruise passengers. I ask the gal where the E-Service machine are for E-tickets & she passes us right thru her computer & tags the bags & to the gate we go. BUT NOT SO FAST! 2 hour line to wait in for the security check. No express for no carry ons either! Figure 6 cruise ships at FLL X the cruisers & 80% flying home makes for big lines. Add those flying home from Thanksgiving also. YIKES! But we got to the gate (the last one) with 30 minutes til we board. So no President's Club here. Save it for Vegas! 1:15Pm we take off land in Cleveland before 4PM luggage arrives at carrousel quite fast & we are on the train back to the car & 10 min ride home.

This was the best Princess cruise we have taken! Will sail Grand if her itinerary changes in the future. Now that we have done all 3 directions of the Caribbean we need new ideas.

Again special thanks to all who recommended Captain Marvin, 85 & still a rocker with a great workforce. What an unbelievable experience we shared with nature. Rumor has it we get to see Ruth & the Captain and his Rays when we do the Coral & Panama Canal. EXCELLENT! Yes, 11/22 was Thanksgiving, yes they had the huge presentation in the Atrium & the pumpkin fiasco for dinner. But at Breakfast, we let Carlos & Daniele know that We HATE PUMPKIN! So dinner was pumpkin free, Beef Tenderloin, 2 shrimp cocktails (red & caribbean) and swans on chocolate lake & the Princess Dream both wonderful & pumpkin free. Great cappuccino also!

Then I also remarked that the dining room coffee was so good! I am told it is the same coffee at lunch & the buffet. I shook my head in disbelief since the buffet coffee was horrid! I learn that the china cups at dinner are heated, at lunch are not & the buffet is plastic mugs - thus makes for lousy coffee. So at lunch in the dining room we requested heated cups & voila! Good coffee!

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