Name: Jamie Houlihan
Email: jhouliha@tacobell.com
Age: 42
Occupation: Director, Information Technology
NumberOfCruises: 5
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Princess-Grand
SailingDate: 8/30/98
Itinerary: Grand Mediterrean
FoodDiningRoom: 98
CruiseDirector: 75
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService: 85
CruiseStaff: 70
CabinAmenities: 95
FoodLidoDeck: 90
DiningRoomService: 100
CabinQuietness: 80
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 100
ShoreExcVariety: 95
FoodVariety: 95
DeckService: 80
ShoreExcValue: 100
GoodForHoneymoon: 100
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 100
LoungeService: 100
TenderService: 95
GoodForSeniors: 100
BeautySalonStaff: 100
EntertainmentLounges: 95
WheelchairAccess: 100
ExerciseFacilities: 90
EntertShowLounge: 85
OverallPortsofCall: 100
BeautySalon: 100
EntertainmentPoolside: 80
CruiseActivities: 90
Casino: 100
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 100
EmbarkDisembark: 100
DiscoNightclubs: 95
DeckSpace: 95
Stabilization: 95
ShopsOnBoard: 90
SpaceRatio: 95
OverallCruiseValue: 95
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 17 Sep 1998
Time: 12:15:22
Remote Name: 205.227.214.66
Remote User:

Comments

I truly loved my cruise!! The ports were wonderful, the ship incredible…..this was definitely the trip of a lifetime. I will breakdown my review into
different areas for your reading pleasure!

Ship: The Grand Princess is AWESOME!! Many people think she is ugly from the outside but I disagree. She has her own special charm. I think the
disco and the bridge make her look very unique and her exterior appearance grows on you as you enjoy the interior of the ship! The inside of the
ship is beautiful. She reminds me a lot of the Sun and Dawn. The showrooms, cabins, dining rooms and pools are all elegant. The ship has many
smaller public areas so you never feel like you are crowded. In fact I never felt like there were 2600+ people on board. One things that was
strange to me was that there were no chairs on the Promenade deck. On other ships I always enjoyed sitting on Promenade watching the ocean
go by. No such thing on the Grand because the promenade deck is too narrow. On a positive note the Promenade deck does goes completely
around the ship so you can stand at the bow just like in the movie Titanic! If you go on the cruise you do not want to be in the Botticelli Dining
Room. It is hard to get to and is at the back of the ship right above the propellers. I was in the DaVinci Dining Room and it was great. There are
three showrooms on the ship. The Princess Theater is wonderful. You can enter it from two decks and visibility is great. The Vista Lounge is OK. The
ceiling is low giving it a closed feeling and there are columns that can obscure your vision. So if there a show you really want to see in this
showroom….go early!! The Grand has a third showroom called the Explorers Lounge and it is very nice. It provides you with a third choice in
shows every evening. Plus there is a live band that performs here nightly. Bars are plentiful. The Wheelhouse Bar is very nice. Snookers is the
sports bar and it was always empty when we passed it. This is because it is at the front of the ship by the Princess Theater and not in the normal
flow of foot traffic on the ship. The disco Is INCREDIBLE!!! We were there every night but unfortunately it was normally dead!! Because of the
number of ports people went to bed early. But I am sure the disco will be alive for the Caribbean cruises. When you are in the disco you sit 17
decks above the ocean and it is decorated with tons of neon lights. And during the day it is a nice quiet place to escape and watch the ocean pass
you by. What a view it has!! The pools are wonderful. It was always easy to find a deck chair…even on sea days. And one of the pools can be
covered in the event of bad weather. Additionally the Captains welcome aboard and Captains Circle cocktail parties are held here at the covered
pool and there is plenty of room and a nice atmosphere. Casino is huge and very nice. And they have a large selection of games available for the
real gamblers. I never gambled but some of the folks at my dinner table did and they liked it. Cabins are good and are decorated very nicely. The
only concerns are space and noise! With two people in a cabin you don’t have a lot of storage for clothes. But the rest of the cabin is great! We
had a balcony on Aloha Deck (A223). Great balcony but be aware that you can see down into the balconies on Caribe and Dolphin Decks. Very
odd! Especially in the morning when you just got out of bed and are out there in your PJ’s! And every morning we heard the people next door
slamming drawers and the people above us walking in their cabin so noise was an issue in this cabin. The ship is very stable. There was only one
night where we felt any movement.

Embarkation and Disembarkation: The best I have ever experienced! We walked directly on to the ship. NO LINES!!! And disembarkation took place
in smaller groups so you did not have to wade through tons of luggage to find yours. I had only one small issue. Princess was very unorganized at
the airport. And I can not provide any insight into the air arrangements because I made my own air reservations. But I heard lots of people
complain about the charter flights. They said they the planes were very cramped and crowded. Made me glad I did my own thing!

Tours and Ports: Princess did an incredible job organizing the excursions. You met in the Princess Theater and they assigned you a tour number
as you entered. When they called your number you left to board your bus. No lines or long waits!! Very well done! Overall the tours and guides
were good. You had a nice choice that included active and leisurely tours. My favorite tours were Capri, Sorrento and Pompeii, Athens Sampler
and Ephesus tour. There were a few I did not like. Skip ‘Barcelona Highlights’……what a waste of time and money!! And you can do Monte Carlo
and Venice on your own. Especially Monte Carlo since it is so small. Keep in mind that the ports are WONDERFUL but there a lot of them so this is
not a cruise for the faint of heart. We were exhausted by the time the cruise ended because of all we had seen and done!

Food: The dining room food was excellent. In fact I thought it was the best I had ever had on a Princess ship(this was my 5th cruise). Sabatini’s
was just OK. I would have preferred to stay in the dining room that night. Painted Desert was actually very good. We had heard it was bad but I
think they did a lot of work to improve the menu. Room service was OK. There was a limited selection at breakfast and you had to make a special
request to get your food delivered prior to 7:30. This is important on mornings when you have early tours. And with room service they only serve
cold food at breakfast. No eggs, bacon, etc. This ship had no midnight buffets but that is OK because you get food 24 hours a day in Horizon
Court. Meals in Horizon Court were good. And Horizon Court is located right by the pools. Very convenient! And another big win is the pizzeria by
the pools where you can get pizza by the slice! YUM!

Service: We had the best service from our dinner dining room staff and our room steward. Carlos (head waiter), Fabio (waiter) and Leonardo
(assistant waiter) made sure that every night in the dining room we had a wonderful meal and a fun time! My friend and I always had iced tea with
each meal and by the second night our iced tea was waiting for us as we sat down! Lunch was a different story. One day we ate in the Botticelli
Dining Room and our waiter, Arthur acted like we were bothering him! Our service in Sabatinis was marginal because our waiter was new. But we
had great service in Painted Desert. Our room steward was Jose and he spoiled us! Anything we needed he got for us! And he was always smiling
and telling us to have a nice day or evening. And we had great service from Tess in the disco. She was always there when we needed her and she
was very friendly! Now the Pursers desk is a WHOLE DIFFERENT STORY. ….especially Darren who needs an big attitude adjustment. Every cruise I
have taken with Princess I have met rude uncaring Pursers Desk people. And I don’t understand it! Princess needs to teach these people some
serious customer service skills. They act annoyed when you talk to them and are not forthcoming with information. Princess……get a clue!

Cruise Directors: This cruise had the most boring cruise director staff. You hardly saw them and they had no energy. Especially Ketih Cox. I love
John Laurence (from the Sun and the Dawn) and you would think that Princess would put their best cruise director on the premier ship!

Activities and Gym: There are not as many activities on the ship because of all the port days. On sea days there was plenty to do! And the ship has
a nice game room, writing room and library. But the library is not nearly as nice as the one on the Sun and Dawn. It is right by the Pursers deck
and is noisy with a lot of traffic going through it. It is not a nice quiet place to read. The gym is pretty good. The aerobics is the best. I loved Janee
and Letitia. They taught great classes and were always friendly! The equipment was OK. The 6 treadmills were always busy and they are CROWDED
into a small room with the bikes. At prime times you can only use them for 30 minutes. And they do not have a lot of weight equipment or a nice
area to lift free weights. The only machines they have are Life Fitness machines which I personally do not care for.

Shows: I was disappointed in the head liners. Red Buttons was our entertainment and I saw him last year on the Dawn so we skipped this show.
But the other shows were very good. Especially ‘Gotta Sing, Gotta Dance’ and ‘Glamour’. We met one of the singers (Kelly Thacker) and she was
very friendly and what a voice she had! And on this ship they do not assign you to a specific show like they do on the Sun and Dawn. You are free
to choose and we were always able to get a seat in the showrooms.

Shops on board: They were very nice and had a great selection. Plus there were plenty of great sales! But the shops were crowded on sea days.

Salon: I had a massage and loved it! Ask for Wendy! And I had my hair done by Tracy for one of the formal nights and she did a great job. Both
Wendy and Tracy were very pleasant and helpful.

I hope thise review helps. I highly recommend sailing on the Grand. Please feel free to email me if you have any specific questions.

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