Ron Vecera

Age: 43
Occupation: Customer Service Manager
Number of Cruises: 1
Cruise Line: Princess
Ship: Grand Princess
Sailing Date: September 9th, 2001
Itinerary: Western Caribbean

The cruise Patti, Brody (our two and one-half year old) and I took was to the Western Caribbean on the Grand Princess. We departed from Ft. Lauderdale on September 9, 2001 and returned on September 16th.  We had a mini-suite and a regular outside cabin because my wife’s mother, Alyce, joined us, flying in from Connecticut.  Our rooms were right next to each other, on the Emerald deck, very near the back of the boat.

All in all our week on the Grand Princess was a good vacation.  However, if you read on I think you’ll find that it was not all good.  There were some bad and even some ugly.

Sunday, September 9

We departed from Anchorage at 12:45 a.m.  Traveling via Seattle and Houston, we arrived in Miami at about 5:45 p.m., two hours before the boat’s scheduled sailing.  We were thankful we made it and had not experienced a significant plane delay.  We would have preferred having more time to get there and to get to the boat earlier.  Unfortunately, the trip is paid for in full at least 60 days prior to sailing, yet we didn’t get our itinerary until about one month prior.  If we had known how late we would be getting in, we would have made our own travel reservations.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by a Princess representative and escorted to a bus.  We had to wait for about 30 minutes because it was the last bus of the evening and about 6 other people who arrived earlier and were trying to deal with lost luggage would be joining us.  The bus ride to Ft. Lauderdale took about 30 minutes and we finally arrived about 7:00 p.m.  After getting onto the boat and through the Purser’s desk we made it to our room at about 8:00 p.m.  On the way there we met up with Alyce and it was good to know everyone made it ok.

The late arrival was inconvenient because we didn’t have enough time to settle in and figure out what was going on the first night.  For example, it wasn’t until late in the evening when we went for a hot tub that we noticed other people had robes.  None were in our room.  Also, the next morning we tried to call for some coffee but couldn’t get through to room service.  Once I finally did I was told that I had to put a continental breakfast card on the door the night before to get coffee delivered.  None of these cards were in our room either.  All in all, the plane reservation was not satisfactory as we would have preferred to arrive sooner and into Ft. Lauderdale.  Next time we cruise we will make our own travel arrangements rather than pay in advance and not find out what our travel arrangements are until later.

Monday, September 10

We went to the early morning mandatory life preserver briefing that we missed the prior day.  Once this was done we were able to get about our vacation on our own schedule.  We made contact with Gil, our room steward and got robes, menu cards, extra pillows, a bed spread that fit the bed and a bowl of fruit for the room.

This was the day to stop at Princess Cays, the private island.  It was wonderful, with a great beach, clear water, and a massive barbeque. It was a little overcast outside, but very warm and nice to lay out in. Also, there are all kinds of water activities.  This was a truly great day.

We had our first dinner in one of the formal dining rooms and it was delicious and well presented.  Throughout the trip we never had breakfast or lunch in the dining rooms, but we did have dinner every night except the night Patti and I went to Sabatinis.  We ate breakfast in the room or at the buffet and lunch was mostly from the hamburger or pizza grills.  All in all, the food and service at all of our meals was excellent.  As I’ll discuss later, there is an incredible difference in the service that food servers provide versus that from the ship’s crew or bartenders.  Suffice it to say at this point, I do not believe you will be disappointed in the food (wherever it comes from) or the serving staff.

Tuesday, September 11

This was the day of the tragic terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City.  I was watching CNBC that morning and watched the story unfold before my eyes.  Unbelievable.

Being a sea day, there was plenty of time to sunbathe at the pools.  There are three pools and all are nice.  As you would expect they get more crowded on sea days.  However, with a little looking we were always able to find a couple of chairs together.

This was also the first formal night.  I was a little intimidated about this, thinking that with a dark suit I might be underdressed if everyone else was wearing tuxedos.  It didn’t turn out that way as the vast majority of men were wearing suits.  It was comfortable and very fun.

We took advantage of the day care for the first time this evening.  Dinner was a lot more peaceful without Brody, who is extremely high-spirited.  We were also able to catch our first show, a juggler.  He talked a lot but was very skilled and entertaining.  It is pretty amazing how he was able to balance, throw and catch things when you consider the movement of the boat, however subtle, has to affect his routine. Patti and I also visited the casino for the first of three times.  It was fun, but its not Vegas.  The ship’s slots are “tight”.

Wednesday, September 12

The ship stopped at Grand Cayman.  Patti left early to do a scuba diving excursion, which she enjoyed immensely.  When she returned to the boat we all went into town.  There are several duty free shops and we picked up a liter bottle of cocoanut rum for about $9.

I believe this was the day we each found a complimentary bottle of Merlot and a Princess tote bag in our rooms.  This was a nice touch and the bags proved useful on our excursions.

For dinner Patti and I went to Sabatinis.  A very nice restaurant, it has a $15 cover charge per person.  The waiter said there was no point looking at a menu, they would take care of us.  There were numerous, nicely presented courses, including bread, appetizers, antipasto, salad, pizza, seafood chiopino, pasta and the entrée.  Everything was great until the pasta course came, and then it got a little ugly.

I took a bite of some gnocchi covered with melted cheese and felt a big crunch between my teeth.  It was similar to eating linguini with clams and chomping down on a piece of clamshell.  I worked the hard pieces out of my mouth and got two pieces of glass.  Together, they were about half the size of a dime.  Another very small piece I didn’t get and must have swallowed.

I called the waiter over and he was very apologetic.  He said he would let his superior know.  Within a couple of minutes the head guy (maitre d’ or manager, I’m not sure) came over and also apologized profusely.  He said there was no cover charge and the drinks were on the house.  He also said he would let his superior know.  I was very impressed that they were letting other people in authority know and were not just trying to sweep it under the rug or hope that the problem would go away.

I was not cut by the glass and was not upset.  The matter was handled quietly and privately with no disruption to other diners.  We were given the menu to order our final course and we each had a lobster.

Thursday, September 1 3

The boat stopped at a location in Mexico identified on the itinerary as Majahual.  We had booked the beach break and tendered to shore.  Here it got a little confusing as there weren’t any directions or signs where to go.  We kind of followed the crowd and ended up with a bunch of people waiting to board buses.  The tour operator wasn’t too quick to board the buses so when one would finally pull up there would be a rush for it and some line cutting.

The bus ride took 20 to 30 minutes and delivered us to Costa de Maya.  The beach was beautiful and the water was clear and blue.  There were several non-motorized kayaks, floats, etc. that people were welcome to use.  The tour staff was enthusiastic and fun, delivering drinks to people floating in the water, supervising a tug of war, etc.  There was food available but we didn’t bring any money.  In Mexico, drinks are free but you pay for food.  All in all this was a wonderful beach break.

Friday, September 14

The boat stopped again, this time in Cozumel, Mexico.  We again had arranged for a beach break.  For this one we had to hire a cab to take us there and back, $12 each way.   The cab took us to a hotel that I believe was called the Isla Reef.  This place was nothing like the place the day before.  The beach sand was ok, but the water was murky and when the wind blew in it smelled like sewer.  Not a real strong smell, but enough so you knew what it was.

The people on the boat apparently knew this or had other things to do because very few people went to this beach break.  We stayed a couple hours for the sun, to have a couple of drinks and to let Brody run around and play in the sand.  Then we got the heck out of there.  This beach break is the pretty sad and if anyone reading this scratches it off their itinerary, I’m going to claim credit for improving their vacation.  I can’t believe it meets Princess Cruise’s standards.

Later in the day I was reading some of the literature in our stateroom and I saw that kids three and under are free on tours as long as they are not occupying a seat.  This was news to me because we had received a tour enrollment form for Brody and had paid $24 and  $20 for the beach breaks Thursday and Friday, respectively.  When completing our enrollment forms, it made sense to check off that he would be going to the same things we were, particularly since he had his own enrollment form.

I asked the tour desk about it and the gentlemen said he would check on it for me.  He later called and said we should have read our literature.  I asked why they sent an enrollment form for Brody and why the form didn’t say kids three and under were free for many of the excursions.  He said they sent the form because all passengers had to be accounted for and they didn’t know how old he was.  I said they sure the heck did.  We had to complete all information for him, including birth date, and every item from that cruise that had his name on it referred to him as “Master Brody Vecera”.  The tour desk person said he would check with the manager.  Later he called again and said the manager said it was too late to get a refund because the tour operators had already been paid by Princess.

My final effort this day was to go to the Purser’s desk.  I explained the situation to the lady and she told me I had to work it out with the tour desk.  I told her I was seeing her because the tour desk wasn’t being responsive.  This gal couldn’t have cared less.  She reminded me of the ship’s bartenders who, across the board, seem totally indifferent and unfriendly.  This tweaked me enough that I told her that if I didn’t get satisfaction I would come back to see her and she could start removing the built in bartender tips 30, 40 or 50 cents at a time until we got to the amount of the refund I was expecting.  She basically said “whatever”.

Tonight was the second formal night and I was actually looking forward to it.  We all had lobster for dinner, including two servings for me.  It was absolutely delicious.  Brody was in the daycare so we were able to walk around, get pictures taken, go to a comedy slow (the guy had great credentials, but was pretty mediocre) and hit the casino again.

Saturday, September 15

This was a sea day with perfect weather.  The pools were crowded but we found two chairs together within a few minutes.  Patti had pizza for lunch and I had a bratwurst.  These grills were perfect for us for lunch.  They are quick and you don’t get big servings (unless you want!!).

After a couple hours in the sun, I was ready to take another whack at the tour desk.  The same gentlemen was there as the day before and he literally cringed when he saw us coming.  I asked if he remembered me and he said that he did.   I told him I understood their position as related to me the day before, but that I wasn’t going to accept it.  He said he would have the tour manager call me personally.

The manager, Michael, called as promised.  He reiterated the company line, particularly the part about the tour operator being paid already.  I said “Wait a minute, these tour operators work for you. Are you telling me that some Podunk tour operator with a crappy beach that smells like a sewer isn’t going to accommodate Princess Cruises?”  He wanted to end it by giving me an email address and toll free phone number for Princess Cruise’s customer relations to deal with after we got back to shore.  I told him I wasn’t going to get off the boat until it was taken care of.  He said he would check into it further and get back to me.

He called back an hour or so later and said that he had checked with the First Purser and that my account had been credited for the two beach breaks.  He apologized, said the forms needed to be clearer, the tour operators need to take more responsibility, etc.  At this point I wasn’t really interested in hearing any of this.  Enough time had already been wasted on something that should have been taken care of right up front.  It took seven contacts over two days for a measly $44.  However, it had become a matter of principle and we weren’t just going to blow it off.

One thing really nice about the cruise is that there is so much going on, indoors and out, that crap like this just doesn’t matter after a few minutes.  We had fun day in and day out, its just a shame their processes and staff are unable to handle it very well.

Saturday night was our last chance to take advantage of the on board day care.  We had a quiet, delicious dinner (prime rib) and saw a show that featured the Princess Dancers singing and dancing.  This show was entertaining and fun to watch.

Sunday, September 16

Disembarkation day brought huge lines of people trying to clear customs.  People waited for hours to be let off the boat but nothing was moving.  The shipboard announcements said no one would be let off until everyone had gone through customs.   Finally, we were allowed to leave.  On the bus to the airport the bus driver said it sounded like we had some real excitement on board.  No one knew what he was talking about.  He said there was an abandoned package that had to be checked to make sure it wasn’t a bomb.  Great.

Conclusion

Despite some irritations (arrival time, glass in the food, a smelly beach, the tour desk refund, extremely poor customer service from the desk staff and bartenders) this was a very enjoyable vacation.

We had fun everyday and there was much more good than bad.  Our stateroom was always clean, picked up and refreshed.  “Gil” seemed to know when we were away and there was never any inconvenience or interruption.  The food and food service workers were wonderful, a “10 out of 10”.  They are well worth the $6.50 per person per day charged to your room for their gratuity.  Princess Cays is a blast and a very nice place.   The boat itself is beautiful, spacious, clean and comfortable.  The free, on-board day care was invaluable. 

This was our first cruise and we are sold on cruising.  It’s great to have a home base and non-stop fun and activities.  Our next one will likely be to the Mediterranean and for a longer period of time.  Due to the problems we had, however, and the significant amount of money we spent for this vacation, I would not consider it to have been a good value.  We will likely be looking at other cruise lines and reading the reviews.  They were very valuable to us and I hope someone out there finds this one helpful. 

Bon voyage!!

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