Craig Tomlin

Age: 42
Occupation: Manager, Internet & New Media
Number of Cruises: 2
Cruise Line: Princess
Name of Ship: Grand
Sailing Date: December 29th, 2002
Itinerary: Western Caribbean

INTRODUCTION -
My mother and father treated my sister and my family (my wife, myself and our little 8 year old girl) to the best gift ever, a New Year’s cruise on the Grand Princess. Having cruised with Princess before (the Crown Princess about 10 years ago, Eastern Caribbean) I had some expectations for what I might experience on this cruise. But as it turns out, in many ways my experiences on the Grand (both positive and negative) were a far cry from those expectations. The Grand is, well, grand, and by and large we had a wonderful time, but with a few disappointments along the way. One thing is for sure however, ringing in the new year on a cruise is something everybody should try at least once! Intrigued? Then by all means please read on…

PRIOR TO THE CRUISE / THE CRUISE PERSONALIZER –
The use of the Princess web site prior to embarkation helps speed things up a bit. A few months prior to embarkation at Fort Lauderdale, I had gone on the Princess web site to use the Cruise Personalizer to update information for my cruise. All you need in order to register on the site is your Last name, First name and Booking ID. Once registered, you can enter your address and related information, such as emergency contact information, passport numbers, etc. on the site. You can also enter the credit card you wish to use while on board and for expenses such as shore excursions or gifts you wish to order.

About a month or two prior to your cruise you can also pick and choose your Shore Excursions. I used the web site to pick the “Swim with the Dolphins” excursion in Cozumel for my 8 year girl.

Here’s where I had a problem with Princess’ Shore Excursions. My wife and I wanted to travel along with our little one so we could ensure she was safe, but we didn’t want to actually swim with the Dolphins. When we inquired with Princess, they said we could book our little one on the excursion, but we would have to travel separately. She could go on the excursion bus (more about this Excursion later), but we would have to obtain a taxi on our own, and somehow follow behind the bus to the water park where we would have to pay separately to enter. Needless to say I was NOT going to let a little 8 year old girl travel in a foreign country with a bunch of strangers, hoping I could catch up to her somewhere!

I would think Princess could easily come up with a way to identify those who are traveling along just as companions to those who are actually going to do the Dolphin Swim. I would have no problem paying for the expense of the bus ride and the entry to the park, but felt I shouldn’t also have to pay for a Dolphin Swim. However, this was a month before the cruise, and I wasn’t going to let my little one down, so my wife and I also registered to do the Dolphin Swim. At $150 a person, this was no little decision! I had heard from our travel agent that the Excursions for the Holiday cruises book up fast, and that we better book early to ensure we had a place. She was right! There was only 1 space left in the morning swim (which is what I wanted to do) and only 4 spaces left in the afternoon swim, and this was over a month prior to the cruise! I booked our 3 spaces in the afternoon swim online and was pleased with how easy and efficient it was.

So, after using the web site to enter my family’s information and excursion (the Dolphin Swim was the only excursion I booked online) I thought we were ready to go. Not quite.

When we received our ticket packet a few weeks later I noticed that much of the information I had entered online was not on the ticket. Important things like Passport Country and Number were not on the tickets. I felt I didn’t need to enter this information on the ticket, since I had already entered it online and thus felt it should be in a Princess computer somewhere, but thankfully my mother insisted and so I entered the information before we went to the port. That was a good thing as the embarkation process used those hard-copy tickets ONLY! What’s interesting is some of my information was correct. They had my correct credit card, and shore excursions, but for some reason the passport information was missing. Go figure. Make sure you CAREFULLY inspect your tickets prior to going to the port!

A Few Tips Prior To Embarkation:
1. For cash purchases on shore – go to the bank and get at least $50 in singles and $50 in fives, this way you’ll have just the right amount of money for small purchases and won’t have to worry about receiving lots of change in a foreign currency.

2. Mark your luggage with large, colorful tags or tape on the top and sides. You won’t need it for embarkation, but at disembarkation this will help you find your luggage in the large warehouse space where your luggage is piled with hundreds of other similar looking luggage!

3. Make sure you check your tickets carefully, and enter any missing information prior to going to the Terminal.

4. Take travelers Cheques and cash them at the pursers desk at times when the ship is at sea, or everyone has left to go to their excursions (because there will be no lines then).

5. If you’re a water drinker like me, buy a pack of 12 or so waters in Fort Lauderdale prior to embarkation, if you have the time, and pack them in a spare suitcase or bag. When the waters are gone you can use the suitcase for all the gifts and other items you’ve purchased while on your cruise.

6. Make sure you write your deck and room number on each luggage tag you receive and have each piece of luggage you are going to give to the porters tagged before arriving at the Terminal. Use a large black marker to make the deck and room numbers easy to read.

7. Print out and study the maps of the ship available on the Princess web site in advance of boarding, this will make your first few days much easier when trying to navigate around the Grand.

8. You didn’t hear this from me, but my “friend” said, remember those water bottles you’ve packed in your suitcase? Funny thing how one of those bottles with Vodka in it instead of water, (and marked in some fashion), looks just like all the other water bottles (wink wink).

DAY 1 - EMBARKATION
As I recall, embarkation on the Crown Princess 10 years ago took quite a bit of time, and required us to stand in some long lines. Not now! Embarkation was a breeze, and Princess should be congratulated for the efficiency they’ve created for this process. We arrived at the terminal at about 12:30pm. The porter took our bags, we proceeded into the large warehouse space where signs clearly marked each deck (Aloha, Baja, etc.). Each deck has it’s own area and staff for check in, thus making the lines very short. Since my mother and father are Platinum cruisers on Princess our whole family went to Platinum check-in, where there was no line at all. We handed our tickets to the very helpful staff at the desk, and within 10 minutes all 6 of us were processed. We proceeded up to the gangway, had our picture taken, then crossed into the Grand at 12:45pm. Total elapsed time from cub to deck, 15 minutes! Well done Princess!

As we entered the ship, a security officer took our picture. This is for ship security purposes, and each time your card is entered into their card reader your picture comes up on their monitor to ensure the person who’s entering the ship with your card is you, and not a stranger. This security measure made me feel more comfortable, given the times we live in.

Once on board, there were many helpful Princess personnel to provide directions and guide us to our rooms. Having studied the maps of the ship on the Princess web site in great detail prior to embarkation it was relatively easy for us to find our way around.

On the Grand, there are primarily two decks you’ll spend most of your time on. Deck 7 is a very important deck. Deck 7 is where some of the larger lounges and theaters are, along with the photo hallway and access to the 3 story lobby. Deck 7 goes all the way from the front of the ship (Princess Theater) to the very back of the ship (Vista Lounge) so you’ll be spending a fair amount of time on this deck. The other deck you’ll spend some time on is deck 14. Deck 14 is where the Horizon Court buffet is located (the 24 hour buffet) and where the main pools are. Deck 14 also goes from the very front to the very back of the ship. Here’s a tip for you. If you have to go from the front of the ship to the back, or vice versa, and the Deck 7 hallway is full (say after the Princess Theater has let out), simply go outside to the deck and walk down to the other end. If you choose the leeward side of the ship the wind won’t be too bad at all, and you can quickly bypass the crowd inside.

After embarkation we went to our room (Aloha 722), and were surprised at how large the balcony was. The three of us easily fit on it, even with the table and chairs. And the view from 12 stories up is fantastic! We ended up spending lots of time on our balcony, but more on that later.

Now here’s where I had a bit of a disappointment, even though we were one of the first to get on board, our luggage didn’t show up until about 5pm. However, the couple next to us arrived at the terminal at 4:30pm and had their luggage before 5pm. Be sure to carry with you a change of clothes if you feel it necessary to change for dinner. We didn’t, and found ourselves scrambling to try to get our clothes unpacked and our dinner clothes out in time for our 6:30 dinner.

At 5:30pm, the Grand pulled away from the dock. It’s amazing how the ship can maneuver in such small space, and you have to look carefully to realize the ship is actually moving when pulling away from the dock! We went to the top starboard-side of the ship to get a view of the tall condo buildings guarding the entrance to the port, as we headed out to sea. The sunset, the music, and the horns from shore all added to the fun, and when the ship’s horn sounded many of the people at their balconies in the condos waved, or tooted their own little air horns back at us. It was quite a fun scene to watch!

Once underway, and after watching the Fort Lauderdale coastline dwindle behind us, we went back below to quickly change in order to meet my parents for dinner at 6:30. We had Personal Choice dining, but even though we were told you couldn’t make reservations for the Da Vinci or Michelangelo dinning rooms the first question we were asked by the Maitre D was do you have reservations! Go figure.

For our cruise, which was packed full with 2,700+ passengers, obtaining reservations became rather important. You have to call quite a bit during the later afternoon to reach someone in the dining room, but once you do you can make reservations. We made them for 6:30, but frankly 7 or 7:30 would have been much better, as 6:30 does not allow you a lot of time to get showered and changed after a day on shore, or at sea for that matter. We tried both dining rooms, but ended up staying with Da Vinci and 6:30 reservations for the rest of the cruise.

Here’s a good thing about Personal Choice dining, even though your reservation is always the same time, you’ll have different tables, and thus different waiters, each time you enter. Although the wait-staff was professional and efficient, we found some better than others. Although we never asked, I’m guessing you could request a particular table if you found a waiter you particularly liked.

After dinner we watched the show in the Princess Theater, which if memory serves was the “Lights Camera Action.” This show is quite a bit different than a normal production show in that there’s no real plot, instead it represents the fantastic imagination of a movie theater usher, who takes you on a wild ride through the movies via various vignettes. Get there 10 minutes early to see the “prior show.”

Unpacking that night and hanging clothes in the closet was no big deal. There were quite a few hangers (we brought our own after reading some of the review here) but when we asked our very capable cabin steward, Ricky, for more he brought them promptly, along with his always present smile. A slight misunderstanding on my part was that you had to put out your “Please Make Up My Stateroom” card each night, if you wished for fresh towels and the turn down service at night. Also, you need the turn down service to deliver new Room Service order cards, but more about that below.

A Few Tips For Embarkation:
1. Bring a change of clothes (dinner wear and bathing suits for the kids) with you on board, in case your luggage is delayed in getting to your room. ALWAYS carry your medicines on board with you.

2. If you don’t want your picture taken when boarding the ship (or any other time for that matter) a polite but firm “no thank you” is all that’s necessary.

3. Although it’s not really necessary (the ship is very well marked) you can bring the maps you printed of the ship with you on board, so you can find your way around easily.

4. If the forward elevators are very busy and crowded, walk to the back of the ship and try them, you should find them less crowded. Likewise, if the back elevators are crowded simply walk to the forward elevators.

5. Better yet, start using the stairs to go up and down, the exercise will do you good as you eat the copious amounts of food on board!

6. If you enjoy your drinks, go right away to the Promenade Bar (Deck 7, forward, port side) and get a “Bar Hop” card. The card has the 14 bars of the ship labeled, and as you have a drink at each bar ask the bartender to stamp your card. After you’ve marked up all 14 spaces from the 14 bars you can bring it back to the Promenade Bar to receive a free gift. We received a Carona plastic bag and a mini stereo radio with headphones. Warning! Some of the bars are a bit tough to find, so you may actually feel something like a detective as you go about the ship trying to find them all.

7. If you have kids and want to enter them in the kids program be sure to attend one of the mandatory introductory meetings scheduled to sign them up.

8. If you like your soda, purchase a sticker which will be attached to your card, we paid $22.50 for each sticker and they are good for the entire cruise. You simply show the sticker to the staff each time you order a soda. We bought two, one for me and one for our little one. When asking for a soda, ask for a large, otherwise they bring you a small plastic cup with ice and with about half a can of soda in it, 3 or 4 sips and it’s just about gone. By the way, if you don’t buy the soda card each soda costs a dollar.

9. When the Calypso Cove gift store (Deck 6, forward) is open after the ship is underway, purchase a lanyard (or better yet bring your own). A lanyard is a longish but thin cloth loop you wear around your neck, with a clip at the end. Lanyards are often worn at conventions or conferences to hold a badge. Ask the gift store employee to punch a hole in your card and then attach your card to the clip on the lanyard. You’ll find it a simple matter to walk around the ship with your card, without leaving it somewhere (since it’s around your neck and not in your pocket where it’s easier to get lost).

10. The toilets make one heck of a sucking noise when flushing. If you have little kids perhaps show them this so they don’t get scared the first time they use the toilet.

11. Read the “Princess Patter” each night before going to bed, so you know what to do the next day. There’s so much to do on board you won’t be able to do it all, so pick and choose by reviewing the “Patter” the night before.

12. Your suitcases should fit underneath your bed once you’ve unpacked them. However, if you have a VERY large suitcase (like a hard Samsonite like ours) you can ask your Room Steward to store it for you.

DAY 2 – AT SEA
After getting our things unpacked and retiring for the night, we awoke and immediately began using our wonderful balcony. Now I know the middle of the ship is supposed to be the ideal place for a cabin, but on the Grand the REAL ideal place is the aft end, high up (like the Aloha deck, deck 12, cabin 722 where we were). The reason why is many of your entertainment events are held in the Vista Lounge (below on the 7th floor). Also, you can just walk up one flight of stairs and your at the Horizon court, where you can get a plate of food to take down to your cabin anytime you want, day or night. We did that every morning, although we also used the Room Service cards to order hot water for my wife’s tea.

Although it wasn’t written on the Room Service card, we wrote down that we wanted toasted bagels and cream cheese each morning. No problem, they were delivered hot and fresh. Also, although the card indicates that the first delivery time is 7:30 to 8:00am, you could write down an earlier time if you had to, for example to leave the ship first thing for a shore excursion. The room service staff were very nice and always on time, and the tea and bagels always arrived hot and fresh. There’s a few four star hotels that could learn a thing or two from Princess’ room service staff. Well done Princess!

Most of the at-sea day we spent either up at one of the pools, or down in the Vista Lounge playing bingo and “Real Live Dicey Wooden Horse Racing.” Tim Donovan, the cruise director, and the rest of the entertainment staff did a great job of keeping the activities lively and fun. It’s obvious they enjoy what they do, and that enjoyment rubbed-off on us as well. We had a great time at all the events they put on for us.

We checked our little one into the kids program that morning, and I must say she was a bit trepidatious at first. But upon her return she was beaming, and for the rest of the trip she couldn’t wait to go the to the kids program, which was 9am to 12 noon, 2pm to 5pm and 7pm to 10pm. They played games, made art, did science with a representative from the Los Angeles Science Center (a first time test of this by the way) and had all kinds of fun. Princess’ kids program received a 10 out of a possible 10 from our 8 year old, and she made many new friends on board the ship. Well done indeed Princess!

Now you’re not supposed to save pool side chairs, but we noticed quite a few towels with nobody on them for a long time. One couple sat down and moved some towels off chairs, to have someone else come up and say they were saving them for friends. “No saving, you read the signs” was the rebuke back, and the couple stayed in the formerly “saved” seats. We applauded. Frankly, there are so many chairs on the decks of the Grand that you can easily find a chair just about anywhere, and remember that our ship was completely full for the Holiday sailing, so this business of “saving chairs” seems quite foolish and unnecessary to me. We never had a problem finding a place to sit and relax. Do yourself and the rest of your fellow passengers a favor, don’t “save” chairs.

A bit more about the Bands and entertainment. All the bands were absolutely excellent. We were amazed at the quantity and quality of them. From the 50s and 60s all the way to today’s pop tunes, you can find just the music and entertainment you’re looking for somewhere on the ship. We especially enjoyed the Steel Drum calypso beat of “Pan Aces” every day up poolside, and we also enjoyed the quartet playing Bach and Mozart down in the lobby. Quality entertainment is what you expect, and receive, on Princess.

Finally, we noticed that several families had hand-held walkie-talkies, the kind you can buy at Costco, in order to communicate with their other family members. We noticed that some of the walkie-talkies didn’t seem to be working to well, especially deep inside the ship, where a loud squawking noise seemed to be the best they could do. However, a few other walkie-talkies seemed to be a bit more powerful, and the families could understand each other. We thought this would be a good idea for larger families that need to chase each other down on the large Grand Princess. You can also use them when on shore to communicate with family members who are nearby (say when shopping in the different shops at a port for example).

A Few Tips For Day 1:
1. Don’t save chairs with your towels, with so many deck chairs on the Grand it’s really not necessary.

2. Do remember to bring your towels back to your room. The deal is you’ll receive new ones to replace the used ones, but only if you bring your old ones back.

3. If you want clean towels, leave dirty towels, pool or otherwise, on the floor in your bathroom. If you hang them up that tells your room steward you want to re-use your towels the next day, and they won’t replace your dirty towels.

4. If you want the evening turn down service (and fresh towels) make sure you hang your “Please Make Up My Stateroom” card outside your door before you head out to dinner.

5. If you need to communicate with older kids or a large family, try bringing those little portable walkie-talkies, the kind you can buy at Costco and other places. However, it’s probably a good idea to test them out first, in a building with lots of steel if possible. If they work in the building they’ll probably work on the Grand Princess.

6. Try to get into the habit of visiting the Purser’s Desk each evening and asking for a print-out of your expenses. There are two reasons for this; a) it’s amazing how fast you forget what you’ve been spending money on in the ship, and checking it at the end of each day allows you to find any discrepancies much easier (my bill was fine but my sister had a charge on hers she did not make), and b) it’s a reality-check on how fast you’re burning through your money (and it goes darn fast!) and so is useful for budgeting purposes.

DAY 3 – COZUMEL, MEXICO

We awoke in the morning and looked out our balcony to see the sunrise over the town of Cozumel. A pod of 4 Dolphins greeted us as they swam in the bay directly across from where the Grand was docked, and we marveled at how easily these magnificent creatures moved in the water. We watched them as we ate our breakfast on our balcony, what a great way to start the day!

Later, we dressed and headed out to the shops. Now I’ve read that some people were put off by the shop keepers of Cozumel, who would try to influence them to come into their shops. We found no pushy shop keepers, and if some did try to lure us into their shop a polite but firm “no thank you, not interested” was all that was necessary. Having visited Rosarito, Ensenada and Tiajuana Mexico several times, we were pleasantly surprised at how nice and modern the shops were in Cozumel. As we had discovered in Baja, California, bartering is a way of life in Mexico, so don’t EVER pay full price for any item in the shops in Mexico. Even the locals were willing to admit that if you did your shopping late in the day, say after 3pm, you could wrangle the best deals.

Senior Frogs was a jumping and happening spot, but we just window shopped around town as we had to be at the dock for our 11:30 meeting to go swim with the Dolphins.

Our family split up in Cozumel, with my wife and little one and I heading to the Dolphin Swim, while my Dad and sister went to the tour of Tolum. My mother stayed on board to have her hair done for the formal dinner which would happen later in the evening.

Regarding the Dolphin Swim, we had another disappointment. The information in the Princess brochure led us to believe there would be a bus to take us on the 15 minute ride to the water park, where the Dolphin adventure awaited us. Unfortunately, we were told we’d be taking Taxi’s instead (no mention of the bus). The representative gave us each a sticker that would pay for the taxi ride, and then proceeded to split up a family of five (because the taxis only would hold 4 people). Luckily, we knew one of the family’s little girls (a friend of our little one whom she had met during the kid’s program) so we took her along with us.

Our Taxi driver gave us a white knuckle drive all the way to the water park. Several times we seriously thought we were going to crash, or would be T-boned by trucks as he sped insanely across intersections where he should have stopped, but merely slowed down instead. Seat belts? Good luck finding some in that broken-down taxi! We felt VERY unsafe and were shocked that Princess would resort to this kind of transportation, which clearly was NOT what was advertised. Tsk tsk Princess!

Once at the park we were able to relax a bit from our harrowing taxi-ride, and the representative again greeted us and explained that the entrance fee to the water park was paid for (a fact that we already knew), and that if we wanted to see any shows or rent snorkels and masks after the Dolphin Swim those would cost extra (we knew that too). We were free to explore the water park on our own after the Swim, and could come back to the ship using the free Taxi voucher he gave each group of four. One taxi voucher was good for a whole taxi. Now I understood the method to their madness, not having a bus with a pre-determined time to come back meant we could stay for as long or as short a time as we wished. Nice idea, but some of those taxi drivers needed serious amounts of Valium!

The Dolphin Swim started with classroom instruction and a training video by the instructors. Next, we donned our life vests and headed out to the very large enclosure, which is a football field sized fenced off area of ocean along the beach. We were split into three teams, and introduced to the videographer and photographer who would be taking our pictures while we did our various procedures with the dolphins. We had a blast! Among other things we did a trick where the Dolphins placed their necks on our out-stretched hands so we could give them a kiss, the Dolphins swam by us as we gently caressed their bodies. We caught a ride by holding onto the dorsal fins of both dolphins and we were pushed through the water by our feet, one Dolphin on each foot. Finally, we gathered in a spread-out circle and the Dolphins swam around each of us. It was an incredible time, and I’m glad we were “forced” to do the Dolphin Swim, and not just observe our little one doing it. All that aside, I still believe Princess can find a way for “observers” to go along to watch their little ones, as I indicated earlier.

After the swim we went back to the training room where we showered with fresh water and watched the video they had prepared of us. It was professionally edited with titles, music, slow-motion sequences and still frames. The video showed each of us doing the various tricks we performed with the Dolphins. It was excellent and I purchased the video and four pictures immediately. By the way, I bartered for the photos (video price however was solid at $45) and got each picture for $0.50 less than the asking price. A small savings, but I felt like a bartering king and if you’re into bartering you know what I mean.

We spent quite a bit of time afterward at the water park, which is quite large and very beautiful. Our little one got bitten by a spider or red ant or something and instantly got a big rash. We took her to the Dolphin training area we had just come from, and a very nice man (one of the Dolphin trainer staff) helped us by smoothing ointment on the bite. Her rash started disappearing soon after, and we were most grateful for that very kind young man who took the time and energy to ensure that our little one was OK.

Hunger drove us to a restaurant that had open sides and a thatched roof, right on the beach, but we couldn’t eat there as they didn’t take American Express cards, bummer!

Instead, we hopped into a taxi, this one with a driver who was very safe and drove very well indeed, and headed back to the village of Cozumel. We ended up eating an afternoon snack at of all places TGI Fridays! Fridays overlooks the dock, so we had a wonderful view of the ship and the harbor, and enjoyed watching all the passengers and some of the crew heading back to the ship. Cozumel was a VERY fun place, and we each vowed to ourselves that we’d come back and spend more time with those friendly people in their little town.

Once back aboard the ship we had to shower and change in a hurry, to try to meet the rest of the family for the 6:30 pm dinner. Again, it would have been MUCH better if dinner was at 7 or 7:30, but that’s the way the it was. This was our first of two Formal nights. Formal night was made easier for me by renting a Tux through Princess. There’s a web site you can go to for ordering the Tux (cruiselineformal.com). The tux arrives via your room steward your first day on board, and everything was in order for me. What I should have done, but did not however, was try on the tux immediately after the steward brought it, in case something didn’t fit. After all, it’s a bit hard to change a shirt or pair of shoes once you’re out at sea! Luckily for me, everything was fine, and we headed down to dinner looking and feeling like a million bucks. After dinner, we danced in the Wheelhouse Lounge, and had just an incredible evening.

For us, this day was New Year’s Eve, and the staff and crew of the Grand Princess did an outstanding job of providing fabulous entertainment and activities to ring in the new year! There were parties all over the ship. We chose to bring in the New Year down in the lobby, where there was a band playing and a HUGE balloon drop, there must have been a thousand balloons up near the ceiling. Princess had provided party hats and noisemakers at dinner, so it was quite fun to see everyone dressed up in their formal dresses and tuxes, with silly party hats on their heads, and a million balloons everywhere! Everyone, at least once in their life, should try to take a cruise during New Year’s eve, it’s an absolute blast (and you don’t have to worry about drinking and driving afterward!).

A Few Tips For Day 3:

1. Take your camera and get a snapshot of your family with the ship in the background. It’s usually your first opportunity to see how massive the ship is, as you entered the ship via the tunnel when embarking at Fort Lauderdale and thus didn’t have the opportunity to get a picture of the massive ship.

DAY 4 – AT SEA
Can you say “recuperation?” Believe it or not my wife and I actually used the track in the morning, up on the very top of the ship forward, to walk/run off a few (we hoped) pounds. Later my little one and I went to the paddle tennis court (same place) and had fun doing some volleys. The basketball court was in hot demand, and even though I didn’t do it there is a series of putting greens up on the top middle of the ship that sounded like fun. I meant to get there, but somehow never quite made it. There’s just so much to do on a ship that you run out of time trying to get it all in!

DAY 5 - MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA

As I understand it, only the Princess December Holiday cruises dock at Montego Bay, Jamaica. Now that’s a shame, as we had a fabulous time there. Our little one got her hair braided in a shop just outside the docks. Most of the little girls, and even some of the bigger girls, came back to the ship later that afternoon with braids in their hair. We didn’t book and excursions through Princess, wanting to just spend the time ourselves exploring. We met a nice guide, Michael, who offered to give us a tour of the town and take us to a swimming beach (Doctors Cave). After carefully checking his references (he was known by everyone we talked to in the various shops, and even by a security officer) we took him up on his offer and got an insiders tour of the town.

The roads in Montego Bay are in horrendous shape, mostly pot-holes with a few stretches of asphalt thrown in for good measure, but we never the less very much enjoyed our trip around town with Michael. It’s a bustling place, with pedestrians taking their lives seeming in their hands by walking through and around traffic! We made a stop at a hotel on a hill, where we got some nice pictures of the town below us and of the ship in the harbor. After a refreshing soda there we headed to the Pork Pit, where we had excellent Jerk Chicken and Pork. Finally, he dropped us off at Doctors Cave, a swimming club where you pay $3 to enter. The beach was fabulous, and the rental umbrellas and chairs were plentiful. We enjoyed a relaxing 2 hours in the warm water and beach, then went back out to the street to meet Michael, who was waiting for us to take us back to the ship. We bought lots of gifts at the stores, including several wild tropical shirts and outfits for “Tropical Island Night” on the ship later that evening. We had a great time in Montego Bay.

DAY 5 – GEORGE TOWN, GRAND CAYMAN

Princess had nothing to do with this disappointment, Mother Nature did. We awoke as the Grand pulled into anchor off George Town, but as I looked out our balcony to the west I saw a large line of VERY black clouds headed straight for us. The captain reported that there was a squall line headed our way, and that the weather behind the line was supposed to be even worse. When the wind and rain whipped up into a frenzy, and the ship parked next to us (Enchantment of the Seas) disappeared in the rain storm, we knew this was not going to be our time to visit the island of Grand Cayman. Sure enough, after a wait to see what would develop the Captain reported that he was canceling our shore trip to Grand Cayman, and that instead we would cruise slowly back to Fort Lauderdale, spending two days at sea instead of one. George Town has an exposed anchorage to the West, so any storms coming from the West spell big trouble for any ships on that side of the island. Considering that the “Enchantment of the Seas” and the “Costa Victoria” ships also did the same thing, this seemed a prudent thing for us to do, and so we up-anchored and set a slow course back to Florida.

Now 10 years ago, on the Crown Princess, we had the same problem when trying to spend the day at Princess Cays. But at that time when the shore trip was cancelled the Captain ordered free Rum drinks for the passengers. Needless to say I was hoping for the same thing from our good Captain this time, but sadly Captain Romano did not order the free Grog for us passengers. Oh well.

Your second formal night is usually on this night. Dress yourself up to the nines and take pictures. You’re going to be looking stunning and should have a picture to remember this event by. We took advantage of the professional portraits in the lobby and got an excellent picture of our family all dressed up. It’s a much cheaper way to have a professional portrait done than by going to a photography studio on land (no sitting fee) and the pictures were not that expensive.

DAY 6 – AT SEA

The usual, Bingo, Dicey Horse racing including the “Kentucky Derby,” drinking, eating and swimming in the pools. Now this is the way a vacation should be!

A Few Tips For The Last Day At Sea:

1. You’ll have to have all your luggage packed and outside your stateroom door when you go to dinner. You can actually wait a while after dinner to bring them out, but don’t wait TOO long or you might be carrying your suitcases yourself!

2. If you’ve stored oversize luggage with your Room Steward remember to ask for it in the morning.

3. It’s a good idea to pack your suitcases in the morning, and leave out a change of clothes (and a bag to carry them in) for the evening, that way you’ve got the whole day to enjoy.

4. If you’ve purchased any liquor which Princess has been “holding” for you, they’ll be bringing it by in the morning.

5. You’ll receive some surveys and some other forms (such as for customs), I’d suggest completing them the night before to get that out of the way. Don’t forget to complete the surveys as I happen to know Princess takes them VERY seriously and uses them to try to improve the quality of their cruises. Your opinions DO matter and WILL be read! Don’t’ forget to mention positive experiences as well as negative experiences, it’s a great way to reward staff who’ve gone out of their way for you.

6. Complete the information on your Disembarkation luggage tags and put a tag on each suitcase.

DAY 7 – DISEMBARKATION

Sadly, our cruise had come to an end. The Horizon Court was filled to capacity in the morning with everyone trying to get breakfast before exiting the ship. Do yourself and your family a favor and go to breakfast in one of the dining rooms (if you have Personal Choice dining). They are open, and were not that crowded, and had delicious breakfasts (the pancakes were outstanding).

Your luggage tag color and number determines when you’ll be off the ship. Passengers with flights to catch have priority, and have “Green” and “Red” luggage tags. Here’s another good thing about being high up on the Aloha Deck, after the “Red” and “Green” tags were called, our “Cream 1 and Cream 2” tags were called. You’ll be practically one of the first off the ship (assuming you didn’t have a flight to catch that is).

Now there’s no easy way to do this I realize, but trying to find our luggage proved to be quite a trick. Remember that giant warehouse-sized room you entered 7 days ago? It’s now a massive storage area for rows and rows of similar-looking luggage. Each color tag has it’s own row, but believe me when I say it took us a solid 15 minutes of searching to find our one final bag. Porters are zooming around everywhere, and the amount of lost looking people, searching for their bag, is amazing. Remember that tip I gave you about marking your luggage with bright tape or stickers or luggage tags! Here’s where that idea will save you LOTS of headache.

CONCLUSION –

So that’s it. I see I forgot to write about a lot of things that happened, or other important pieces of information you should know, such as the hair salon was extremely popular and there was a long line of ladies waiting to make appointments just before our Muster Station drill (they all ended up loosing their place in line because of the mandatory drill). I also seem to have forgot to mention the excellent food, I saved menus from each dinner as a reminder). I didn’t mention how helpful the staff and crew were in making our trip enjoyable. I didn’t mention the workout facilities, which were state of the art. I didn’t talk about the laundry, where we did our washing and drying and for one of the first times ever came home with almost all clean clothes. I didn’t mention the kids zone with the fabulous video and simulation games, including my favorite “Wave Runner.” I also forgot to mention the Painted Desert and Italian themed restaurants where you have to pay a cover charge (we didn’t go into those actually). I also forgot to mention how beautiful the ship is itself, all gleaming and polished and clean 24/7. Seems I forgot to mention quite a bit!

Anyway, the voyage we had looked forward to for so long was over in what seemed like the blink of an eye. We’ve got pictures and video to remember it by luckily, but we, and I’m sure the rest of the passengers, were wishing we could stow-away to keep going, it was that much fun.

I wish you a happy voyage as well. If you plan on taking the Grand Princess I’m sure you’ll have a great time, the staff and crew will make sure of that. After all, this ship is beautiful and quite majestic, but she’s still just a ship made of steel and wood. It’s the people, the crew and the staff in her that make her the fabulous ship that she is.

Enjoy, and Bon Voyage!

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