princess-grand19

Note - this page contains multiple reviews.

Name: Frank J. Konopka
Email: fjkmmkm@sunlink.net
Age: 54
Occupation: Attorney
NumberOfCruises: 2
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Princess-Grand
SailingDate: January 21, 2000
Itinerary: Eastern Caribbean
Cabin: Emerald Deck
FoodDiningRoom: 100
CruiseDirector: 90
CabinComfort: 98
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 98
CabinAmenities: 99
FoodLidoDeck: 95
DiningRoomService: 95
CabinQuietness: 100
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 97
ShoreExcVariety:
FoodVariety: 99
DeckService: 94
ShoreExcValue:
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 92
PrivateIsland: 100
GoodForFamilies: 97
LoungeService: 98
TenderService: 92
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 97
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 99
OverallPortsofCall: 98
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 95
CruiseActivities: 97
Casino: 95
AirSeaProgram: 95
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 99
EmbarkDisembark: 99
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 98
Stabilization: 99
ShopsOnBoard: 92
SpaceRatio: 98
OverallCruiseValue: 98
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 05 Feb 2001
Time: 10:28:41
Remote Name: pawilk-apx2-36-108.sunlink.net
Remote User:

Comments

My wife and I don't go on many cruises (she hates to fly), so when I get her to agree to go with me it must be
on a cruise ship that she will enjoy very much. It doesn't matter where we go, it's just being away that matters.
Our travel agent recommended the Grand Princess to us, because there are not many ports of call, and that's
what I like. My ideal cruise would be to leave port, sail around the ocean for a few days, and return to port!
Grand Priness is an excellent place to do nothing, or just about anything you like to do. One of the things I
really enjoyed was the opportunity to eat in restaurants other than the traditional dining rooms. Once on
board, we immediately made lunch reservations at the Italian and the Mexican restaurants, and they were
worth the small additional charge. As a matter or fact, the food was uniformly excellent in all the eating
facilities, including the on-deck pizzeria. We didn't take advantage of any of the shore excursions offered (and
there are many), opting instead to do a little browsing at island shops, and then coming back to the ship to
relax and unwind, which to me is the sole purpose of a vacation. Even though the ship holds 2600
passengers, and our particular cruise was sold out, this ship is so huge that it never seemed to be crowded;
there was always room to feel as if the wife and I were in an intimate setting. This is a new ship, so everything
was gleaming, and the crew kept it immaculate. It was a thoroughly enjoyable cruising experience, and I hope
to sail on future Princess Line ships.

Name: Roger Gossett
Email: rlgossett@worldnet.att.net
Age: 56
Occupation: retired
NumberOfCruises: 8
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Princess-Grand
SailingDate: 2-4-2001
Itinerary: Eastern Carribean
Cabin: c-714
FoodDiningRoom: 85
CruiseDirector: 95
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService: 85
CruiseStaff: 95
CabinAmenities: 95
FoodLidoDeck: 95
DiningRoomService: 90
CabinQuietness: 100
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 100
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 90
DeckService: 95
ShoreExcValue: 90
GoodForHoneymoon: 90
CasinoStaff: 90
PrivateIsland: 100
GoodForFamilies: 90
LoungeService: 95
TenderService: 95
GoodForSeniors: 95
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 95
WheelchairAccess: 95
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 100
OverallPortsofCall: 95
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 85
CruiseActivities: 95
Casino: 90
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities: 95
ShipCleanliness: 95
EmbarkDisembark: 100
DiscoNightclubs: 95
DeckSpace: 100
Stabilization: 95
ShopsOnBoard: 100
SpaceRatio: 100
OverallCruiseValue: 95
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 13 Feb 2001
Time: 17:03:17
Remote Name: 59.baltimore-08-09rs.md.dial-access.att.net
Remote User:

Comments

This was our eighth cruise and our first on Princess. Let me say that we have been on several nice cruises
and so we were not expecting anything much different from the usual, but we were really suprised and
pleased. The embarkation went very smoothly and we were on board within ten minutes. We were greeted
and shown to our cabin c-714. We were on the tenth deck with a nice balcony. The room was not quite as big
as we have had on previous curises, but was more than the two of us would need, considering the fact that we
also had a balcony. Our room steward Hechtor did an excellent job of keeping our room clean. Everything was
kept in excellent order.

The entertainment was excellent. We have not been on any cruise that had entertainment to equal this. All of
the shows were wonderful. There were four comics, three production shows and several wonderful bands.
There was enough entertainment for all ages and more than you could possibly see in a week.

This was a seven day eastern carribean cruise and since three of them were at see we had a chance to really
enjoy the ship and look at everything on board. There is so much to do on this ship that every one should
have more that enough to do, wheather it is going to the pool or just going to a quite corner to read a book.

The food in the dining room was very good, but I have had better on other curises. We do not have any real
complaints other that they food was not five star quality. On the first day we decided to switch from reqular
dining to the personal choice dining. It was not a problem and the change was made right away. The buffet on
the lido deck was excellent. We really enjoyed lunch and snacks in the buffet. It was also open twenty four
hours a day, and that was wonderful for those that wanted to eat later in the evening.

The disembarkation went very smoothly and with in two hours everyone was off of the ship and on their way.

We were truly impress with the ship,crew,staff and everything else associated with this ship. It was a wonderful
cruise and we are looking forward to our next cruise on Princess.

Name: Barbara T. Hutchinson
Email: barbarah33@yahoo.com
Age: 31
Occupation: teacher
NumberOfCruises: 16
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Princess-Grand
SailingDate: 1/28/01
Itinerary: Eastern Caribbean
Cabin: C206
FoodDiningRoom: 88
CruiseDirector: 80
CabinComfort: 82
FoodRoomService: 86
CruiseStaff: 90
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck: 78
DiningRoomService: 92
CabinQuietness: 93
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 92
ShoreExcVariety: 80
FoodVariety: 89
DeckService: 96
ShoreExcValue:
GoodForHoneymoon: 90
CasinoStaff: 97
PrivateIsland: 96
GoodForFamilies: 90
LoungeService: 94
TenderService: 93
GoodForSeniors: 80
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 88
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 90
EntertShowLounge: 86
OverallPortsofCall: 90
BeautySalon: 87
EntertainmentPoolside: 90
CruiseActivities: 90
Casino: 90
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 91
EmbarkDisembark: 100
DiscoNightclubs: 97
DeckSpace: 99
Stabilization: 95
ShopsOnBoard: 79
SpaceRatio: 90
OverallCruiseValue: 90
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 22 Feb 2001
Time: 09:32:53
Remote Name: ac9c786c.ipt.aol.com
Remote User:

Comments

A group of 8 of us went on the Grand Princess on January 28th of this year and we all had a great
time!! (The age range was 25-60 so we are a varied group with differing tastes etc.) With the exception
of one person we are all seasoned cruisers—this was my 16th cruise. (Previously I have sailed on
Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Celebrity and Princess Cruise Lines.) One couple had a mini-suite, which
they had booked from the very beginning and the other 6 of us simply booked a guaranteed verandah
cabin. About 2 weeks before our cruise our travel agent called to see if they had assigned us cabins
yet and they had. We had all not only been given category BA cabins which are on the Caribe
deck—which has the bigger verandahs, but Princess had kept us all together and given us cabins all
in a row. (Thank you Princess for bothering to notice that we were all cross-referenced and thanks to
our travel agent for taking the time to let them know that we were all together.)

We all went down to Ft. Lauderdale a day early and made our own plane reservations and hotel
arrangements: all but one of us live in the cold north so when you are traveling in January you need to
allow an extra day in case Mother Nature doesn’t cooperate with your plans. Luckily we all made it
without incident. One quick note to anyone who has sailed on other lines: I am a member of the
Captain’s Club on Celebrity Cruise Lines and when you join they give you luggage tags. I had my
luggage tag from them on my hanging bag, there was also one on my suitcase but the hanging bag is
the one that gave me trouble. Apparently Celebrity saw the Captain’s Club tag and, not paying
attention, pulled my luggage off in back—before it made it to the carousel in the airport, and loaded it
onto a truck going to the ship. And a HUGE thanks to the man in Delta who took the time to search
through both of the trucks that Celebrity had filled with suitcases and found my little hanging bag. So, if
you have one of these tags on your suitcase take it off if you aren’t going on Celebrity Cruise Lines!!
(The Delta guy told me that this happens a lot with Celebrity and they don’t always pay attention to the
fact that there isn’t an actual cruise bag-tag on the suitcase.) Okay, that said, back to this cruise. We
all enjoyed our night in Fort Lauderdale and got up the next morning ready to go on our cruise.

Our cruise documents said that we could embark anytime after 2pm. We are an impatient group and
have learned through various cruises that that isn’t always the case: often you can get on a ship
earlier. So we headed down and were at the cruise terminal at about 11:45am. We pulled up in our
rental car and immediately the porters came to help us with our luggage: because it was so early there
were no crowds there at all and it took us less than 1 minute to get all of our luggage unloaded and
checked in. I think that was a speed record and we were very soon to learn it was only the first of many
in the embarkation process.

Before Princess even sent out our tickets to us we were all mailed a packet of information and forms to
fill out and mail or fax back to them. Here is a piece of advice: unless you know what tours you want, in
which case you should fill those out and send them back because it will save lots of time later, don’t
even bother to fill out any of the other forms. You are going to HAVE to fill them all out again when you
get your tickets and check in. I asked the lady in the cruise terminal why I had to do them again if I had
done them and faxed them back and she said she didn’t know but she gets that question hundreds of
times a week. So, save yourself some time and hassle and don’t even bother with those that they mail
to you.

Because we had all sailed before we knew in advance to read the whole ticket and fill everything out
the night before. We walked into the cruise terminal, proceeded through the x-ray machine and a lady
came up to us to see if we had filled out all the necessary paperwork on our tickets. Seeing that we
had she sent us across the room to check in. There were no lines at all as Princess has more available
agents to help you with this than I have ever seen before. In less than 5 minutes from the time we
entered the building we were checked in, had our cruise cards in our hand and were headed for the
ship. The photographers were very understanding when we told them we were not interested in having
our pictures taken and simply stepped aside for us to pass by. Right before you head up the gangway
they stop you once more and ask you to insert your cruise card into this ‘slot’ where they take your
picture. This is so you no longer have to bring any other form of ID with you when you get off the ship
on the islands. You simply bring your cruise card and insert it into the same ‘slot’ and your picture
instantly pops up so security can see that it is you. (This saves a lot of time at each port.)
Congratulations to Princess on making the embarkation process a simple and pleasant one—I wish
you would give some of the other lines a few pointers.

We walked on the ship and there were people everywhere to help direct you to your cabin. I missed
the service you get on Celebrity where they actually walk you to your cabin but this was very well
handled and there really is no chance for you to get lost—which is shocking because she is a big
ship!! We got to our cabins and were pleasantly surprised at the size of the verandahs; we hadn’t
realized how big they would be before that moment. Yes, they are visible from the lido deck of the ship
if the other passengers look down but only about ½ of them is visible—the rest is private. I have sailed
in a Sky Suite on Celebrity and with the exception of that, I have never had such a huge balcony.
(There were 4 chairs, a big table and a little table on the verandah.) The cabin itself was on the small
side but well appointed. I should tell you that there isn’t as much storage space as you get on other
ships—even other Princess ships, but what they do give you is more than enough if you just kind of
use the space wisely. The bathroom is a standard cruise ship bathroom; no bigger or smaller, but they
do have good water pressure in the shower.

Our group had decided the day before while we were in Ft. Lauderdale that we did want to try the
Painted Desert one day for lunch—we didn’t want to do a dinner there because we tend to enjoy the
dining room on a cruise ship. The couple with the mini-suite had a butler—which Princess is doing
away with so if you are reading this and planning on being in a suite on the Grand don’t expect a
butler, but for now they had one so they asked him to make a reservation for 8 people to eat lunch in
the Painted Desert on Tuesday. He took care of it for us no problem. If you are on this ship and plan
on eating in either of their ‘alternative’ restaurants you need to go make a reservation as soon as you
get on the ship. Just go to the restaurant you want to eat in and they have someone there to make
your reservation for you. (Oh, yet another note: the week we were on the Grand they had decided to
do away with the additional charge to eat in the Painted Desert so it is now free, the Italian restaurant
still carries a $12.50/person charge with it to eat there.)

The lunch we ate at the Painted Desert was great for all of us and the people were so friendly and
willing to do what they could to please us all. As an appetizer we wanted a couple of plates of nachos
for our table of 8. They don’t have nachos on the menu so we just asked if it would be at all possible to
get them; it took about 15 minutes but low and behold two giant plates of nachos were delivered to our
table.) I enjoyed the meal so much that I decided I would like to go back again for lunch on our last day
at sea—the restaurant is only open for lunch on days at sea, another person agreed with me and we
went to make a reservation only to find out they were booked solid for the rest of the cruise. (That’s
why I would advise anyone who is interested to make your reservations as soon as you get on the
ship.) As it happens we did get to eat there on the day we wanted but we just happened to be walking
by the place and noticed that they had an empty table so we asked if we could have it—there were
only 2 of us, so I think they took pity on us. The second meal we had there was as just as good as the
first one; and when they say they make a great margarita believe them but be warned that they are
strong!!

They day that we boarded the ship also happened to be Superbowl Sunday and we are all huge NFL
fans so we had decided to have our own little Superbowl party in the mini-suite. Our friends told their
butler what they were planning and he immediately brought extra glasses, ice and bowls of chips,
peanuts, and snack mix. My cabin mate and I—who had both left our men at home for the week and
were ready to enjoy our week of ‘no worries’ got ready early so we went down to Snookers—the sports
bar on the ship, for a drink before our party. They had it all decorated for the Superbowl with NFL
banners and blow-up Budweiser football players etc. We got to talking with the bartender there as we
were the only ones in the bar at that time, and we told him how we were having our own party in a
mini-suite. He talked to us for a while longer then disappeared into the back. When he returned he was
carrying an extra blow-up Budweiser person and an NFL banner which he gave to us so we could bring
it up to the suite and decorate for the Superbowl. (A nice touch and great way to spend the first
evening of our cruise.)

Luckily for us halftime came just in time for all 8 of us to go to dinner in the dining room. We had
chosen the late seating, as that’s what we are used to. They do offer ‘Personal Choice Seating’ now
but it was only their second week of doing it and Princess clearly had some ‘kinks’ to work out of the
system. I heard several people complaining about it and having to wait to be seated, etc. Our group
was happy we had elected to stick with what we knew. We got to the Michelangelo Dining Room and
were seated at a table for 8—exactly what we had requested. Our waiter came by and introduced
himself as Raul and we told him that we were watching the football game and in a big hurry that night.
(What a nightmare that must be for a waiter on the first night of a cruise to get a large table of 8
people who want to be in and out in 30 minutes.) Raul immediately impressed us by taking our orders
and starting to bring our food—people were still coming into the dining room and we were eating our
appetizers. (Another advantage of the mini-suite is that you get a copy of the evenings menu ahead of
time so we had all read it and knew what we were going to eat before we walked into the dining room.)

Raul kept the food coming and even came to our table to give us score updates after the game started
up again. We were all impressed with him and the effort he had made for us on our first night. When
we showed up for dinner on the second night he was visibly relieved to hear all of us tell him there was
no need to rush anymore—we wouldn’t be in a hurry again for the rest of the cruise. One night none of
us were in the mood for the dining room for dinner so we just went to the buffet upstairs, the following
night when we returned to the dining room Raul, our assistant waiter, Michael, the head waiter,
Vincenzo, and the Maitre’D of the dining room all came up to us individually to make sure that nothing
was wrong with the food or the service. We assured all of them that everything was fine and we simply
chose to eat elsewhere the previous night. I gathered it was rare for an entire table of 8 people to miss
dinner on the same night. The food was all pretty good and served hot—I have noticed in the past on
cruise ships that often your food arrives at your table only luke-warm. I enjoy my food hot and Princess
delivered!! I wouldn’t call it 5-star restaurant cuisine but it pleased all of us and I am a very picky eater.
If you don’t like any of the entrees they are offering they always have salmon, steak, chicken or
fettuccine alfredo available.

The friendliness of the staff continued throughout the week with everyone that we met on this ship. I
couldn’t believe how friendly everyone was. It wasn’t just ‘hello’ when you walked by but ‘how are you’
or ‘how was your day today?’ It was such a pleasure to walk around and run into people and I think it
helps to keep the passengers just as happy. (Smiles really do rub off on others.)

The ship is clean and well maintained although I did note some wear and tear in a couple of the
carpets. The elevators are very slow and throughout the week one or two would be broken or
something causing even more delay in the others. If you are young enough and in shape I would highly
recommend the stairs. We didn’t see any of the shows so I can’t really comment on those—we did go
to the “R-rated” comedian and were terribly disappointed in him. The casino is a great size and there
was never a problem finding a machine or table to play on but we did find the slots to be very tight.
You don’t need to worry about getting up early to get deck chairs as they have plenty of them to go
around, and with 4 pools to swim in even those aren’t over crowded. (If you get a nice hot week like we
had please note that while the other pools are kind of on the warm side the pool under the disco in the
very stern of the ship is ice-cold!! Very refreshing when you are sweating away after working out or
lying in the sun for a while.) Princess also fills their pools with fresh-water as opposed to the salt water
other lines use: big bonus points there. And the ‘indoor’ pool is open 24-hours a day so you can swim
at 3:30 in the morning if that’s what appeals to you. I don’t think any of the other ships I have sailed on
previously have a pool open 24-hours a day.

The buffet is open 24-hours a day which is a great thing because their pizza is only open for very
limited hours unlike on other ships. None of us were very impressed with the buffets however and if
you are hungry at an odd time of day I would recommend the room-service: they have a pretty good
menu that even includes simple things like a burger and fries, and they are pretty prompt in their
delivery. (I don’t think we ever waited more than 15 minutes for our food.)

Disembarkation is just as easy and smoothly run as the embarkation. If you are planning on catching a
taxi be prepared to wait a LONG time in line. Sunday is a busy day in Fort Lauderdale—there were 7
ships in that morning and there just aren’t enough cabs to go around. It isn’t Princess’s fault at all but it
is annoying and the line for taxis is out in the sun so you get all hot and you are toting your luggage
along with you to boot—it’s a tough ending for what should otherwise be a wonderful week of vacation.

I could go on forever but this is already beyond long enough. Like I said we all had a wonderful cruise
and I know we will cruise Princess again happily!! If anyone has any other questions feel free to email
me at barbarah33@yahoo.com and I will do my best to answer all of them.

Name: Charlotte Baxter
Email: ckb@dartmouth.edu
Age: 21
Occupation: student
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Princess-Grand
SailingDate: 3/04/01
Itinerary: Eastern Caribbean
Cabin: Emerald 110
FoodDiningRoom: 96
CruiseDirector: 90
CabinComfort: 88
FoodRoomService: 92
CruiseStaff: 90
CabinAmenities: 85
FoodLidoDeck: 95
DiningRoomService: 100
CabinQuietness: 80
FoodMidnightBuffets: 88
CabinSteward: 66
ShoreExcVariety: 92
FoodVariety: 96
DeckService: 95
ShoreExcValue: 94
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland: 95
GoodForFamilies: 93
LoungeService: 88
TenderService: 91
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges:
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 89
EntertShowLounge:
OverallPortsofCall: 89
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 88
CruiseActivities: 90
Casino:
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 91
EmbarkDisembark: 91
DiscoNightclubs: 85
DeckSpace: 88
Stabilization:
ShopsOnBoard: 91
SpaceRatio: 90
OverallCruiseValue: 94
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 12 Mar 2001
Time: 14:26:17
Remote Name: atl-s03.gw.epoch.net
Remote User:

Comments

I just returned from my first ever cruise yesterday, and the dreary weather back home has me thinking
wistfully of how I was relaxing poolside in 85-degree sunshine a week ago today! Thus, I decided to write a
review of my experience, to extend the happy memories a bit longer, and encourage others to try the
Grand Princess so that they might share my positive experience.

I am a 21-year-old college student who was invited by my family to join them on their annual spring break
cruise. Thus, I am qualified to bring both a young adult/teen and also family-oriented perspective to the
voyage.

First off, embarkation was a snap and it seems like moments after driving up to the port in Ft. Lauderdale I
was walking the airport-like gangway onto the enormous ship. My father warned me to watch out as I
stepped on board, after all, it was a boat on water and bound to be a bit rocky. However, as I walked into
the huge (and very stable!) atrium, I realized the veteran cruiser had been joking, ironically commenting
on the fact that the 2600-passenger (although I think our trip actually had about 3100) behemoth was a lot
closer to being a mobile island than an actual sea-faring vessel.

When we finally arrived at our cabin, I had no idea how I was ever going to find my way anywhere on the
enormous ship, but the layout actually makes a lot of sense, and this, combined with many map plaques
about the ship and convenient pocket diagrams provided, had me navigating the 17 decks like an expert
in no time. I was sharing the state-room with my two younger sisters, ages 17 and 11, and anticipated a
pretty tight squeeze. However, although the room was not large, it was carefully laid out, and we always
found ourselves with plenty of room, whether lounging or all actively dressing up for dinner. Two twin beds
and a pull-down bunk were very comfortable, as were the pillows and linens, which seemed high-quality
and were always fresh. A refrigerator, mini-bar and safe held essentials while a closet and several chests
of drawers contained all of our clothes and shoes for the week-long trip. The bathroom was big enough
and always very clean, making it perfectly serviceable. The only problem was our stateroom steward, who
never left us any basic Princess treats including beach towels, bathrobes, or chocolates, and was always
very late in both her daily cleaning and performing turn-down service in our room. Often we would return
from dinner at 11 P.M. to find it still a cluttered mess.

A side note: our parents had booked themselves in a larger room with a balcony on Caribe, and we would
all gather on this balcony for cocktails in the evening. Its large size and amazing views made this a
highlight for us, and I suspect for many passengers on Grand Princess, as so many of the rooms feature
balconies. Also, their room steward seemed very friendly and kept their room in tip-top shape, so I assume
ours was simply an aberration.

The top decks on Grand Princess really made it easy to enjoy the fabulous weather of the Caribbean.
First of all, there are four separate pool and sunning ares to keep the large number of passengers from
feeling too claustrophobic. This also succeeded in creating a lot more variety for everyone. The largest
and most popular area was the central Neptune's Reef compound, where the majority of loungechairs
were to be found surrounding a beautiful pool, two hot tubs, a large bar and the constantly-playing
Calypso Band. Next door was the Conservatory, a quieter, more shady pool area with hot tubs, large pool,
lounge chairs, and a retractable glass roof for bad weather. The other two areas, smaller and less
poulated, are the aft Alfresco pool overlooking the ocean and our rather expansive wake, and the adult
pool, featuring a current for lap swimming and a steam room and sauna. Another great use of the
outdoors is the location of the workout room and aerobics room on the 15th floor, where a whole wall
comprised of windows allowed exercisers to overlook the shimmery blue seas. It made it a lot easier to
bear those necessary workouts on the treadmill when I could simultaneously whale watch than if I were
stuck in some basement!

And why were the workouts necessary? Because the food is just wonderful, and there is an enormous
selection available 24 hours every day! My favorite food experiences occurred in the dining room, where
our wonderful waiter, Vergil, assistant waiter, Alex, and head waiter, Carlos, kept things fun, service
smooth, and wine glasses full at all times. Each was unfailingly courteous, friendly, careful, and efficient.
Being both a picky eater and a vegetarian, I was amazed that it only took them one nite to recognize
exactly how I did and did not want my food prepared, and to figure out what exactly I was talking about
when I described my favorite hand-concocted salad dressing, and to thereafter bring it to me without my
even asking. The vegetarian choices were abundant and tasty, and if I ever felt they weren't and was not
full by dinner's conclusion, the miraculous desserts immediately took care of any persisting hunger pangs.
The souffles are unreal, and yet offered so frequently, the ice cream is clearly hand-made, and there are
always many choices including a sugar-free option. You are free to order as many as you like, I
(unfortunately) discovered!

I celebrated my 21st birthday on the ship and was treated to a delicious cake with a candle in it, balloons
on my stateroom door, a round of Happy Birthday sung by the wait staff, funny stories of Carlos's own 21st
celebration, and a free glass of delicious champagne. On Princess, it is like they really care about YOU as
a person.

From a young adult's perspective, the night-time activites could use some improvement. I went to one
show but found that they were simply not to my taste, a little too formal and un-fun. However, the token
night-club, Skywalker's Disco, was populated by much older couples and the DJ only played very dated
songs. It was not until much later at nite that he broke out anything somewhat contemporary and what is
one supposed to do between a big dinner and then? At least we could hang out in the pools and hot tubs
after hours, but a slightly spicier nightlife venue is defintely in order.

Overall, the Grand Princess provided a wonderful, most relaxing vacation for me and my family, and I
would enthusiastically recommend it to anyone looking to take a cruise. The size is definitely not
overwhelming, it just means there are more places to spend your time on the floating island.

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