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Princess Cruise Line

MS Grand Princess

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Reviewed by: Dmitriy Voloshin
# previous cruises: 10+
Date of Trip: November 25, 2001
Itinerary: Caribbean - Western

The reason my best friend and I went on this cruise was because of the amazingly discounted pricing. Both of us paid just under US$500.00 for an outside cabin on a 7-day West. Car. cruise. Overall, it was a very good experience with a few drawbacks that I will discuss later in this review. This was my 16th cruise, however, only my 2nd one on a mega-liner, the other one being s.s. Norway in '99. Therefore, I cannot avoid making some comparisons between both ships.

The ship was completely full. At the purser's desk they told me there were 2,720 passengers on board plus about 1,200 crew members. And the amazing thing was that not once did the ship feel crowded! Always, with the exception of two shows where we arrived late, there were available seats, space, etc. Also, we could always find a place to tan as well. However, my perception of a mega-liner included a many-stories high grand atrium and a huge tiered 2/3 level dining room. The grand atrium on Grand Princess is 3 stories high and there are no tiered dining rooms. However, the dining rooms (3) were very nice, not noisy at all, very comfortable. By far, our favorite spot on the ship was the night club located on deck 17. It had excellent design and views. On the other note, there was no great ball room like the magnificent Club Internationale on Norway. Also, until the last day of the cruise, we were getting lost from time to time. There's no good flow of all the public and dining rooms.

On a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the best, I would rate the food on Grand Princess between 2.5 and 3.5. In other words, it was mediocre: beautiful presentation and no taste at all (or some rather bland taste). However, both soups and deserts were delightful. The food on Norway was much better. Also, in my opinion, unless you truly love sea food, there is no point in paying US$15pp for their premium Italian restaurant. We chose the personal dining option and the funny thing was that we had dinner every day at the same time with the same couple we met on the second day of the cruise. Not once, was there a wait of over 10-15 minutes and if you do want the flexibility that comes with it, go for personal dining. The only drawback to it is that your waiters don't get to know you, but most of them were extremely accommodating and very fast (to my big surprise). The wait staff was mostly from Romania and the maitre'd and his stuff seemed to be from Italy. Actually, we had some very nice conversations with out waiter Bogdan and Oskar, maitre'd in Da Vinci's dining room. The buffet was nice and never too crowded. Of all the dining rooms, Da Vinci seemed to be the best. Also, every day there was a 4 o'clock tea served in the dining room with sandwiches and cookies. What a delightful British tradition :-)

This was the first cruise I went in a regular cabin. Usually, I go with my family and we get a mini- or a regular suite. We had category E partially obstructed view room on Emerald deck. And I came to a sudden conclusion: unless you have money to burn or travel with more than one other person in your party, there is no point in getting anything larger than a standard cabin on a new ship. BTW, the view wasn't all that obstructed because there were some rafts, not the life boats in front of it. Actually, it was not obstructed at all, in my opinion. What I loved the most about our room were the wooden crown moldings on the ceilings. There was a small fridge, a safe, TV, telephone, and enough storage room for two people. The bathroom had enough storage as well but the shower was tiny. I missed the bathroom we had on Norway: 3 rooms, marble, etc. Our cabin was immaculate. The only thing I could wish for was the private balcony, but we could always find a spot outside.

Most of cruise director's staff was British. The cruise director himself was British as well. I recall, his name was Gram, he was rather entertaining. The rest of the shows were your typical cruise fare, definitely not up to Norway's near-Broadway quality shows' standards. But please, do not think that I didn't like the shows. Simply speaking, they weren't great, that's all.

They changed itinerary twice in the last two weeks before the sailing and we missed Plaza Maya due to weather conditions, however, we had 2 days in Cozumel, by far my favorite port. I really didn't like their private island, but do recall enjoying NCL's island. Grand Cayman was nice, but there's nothing to do there except for shopping (very expensive)and a rather nice beach. In Cozumel we went to Tulum. I love history and enjoy visiting the site, but this tour was very tiring and not at all informative. My favorite days were the sea days. Also, I would like to commend Princess on how they handle kids. There were plenty of kids aboard, but they always had some organized activities and not once were we disturbed by any kids. Except for a game of bingo and most of the shows, we did not participate in any of the activities on-board. BTW, I was surprised at how small the casino was, but it was adequate.

There were people of all races, income brackets, sexual orientations, and manners, mostly Americans. And it was not a floating nursing home. Actually, we made friends with a very nice couple from Florida and are staying in touch and are planning our next trip together. Overall, everyone was very nice and relaxed. I was very surprised to find a majority of men in tuxedos on both formal nights - I guess, I'll get one before my next cruise. Overall, it was a very nice cruise. Definitely, worth the money we paid for it. Just keep in mind that you won't be cruising on a ship, but on a floating hotel building instead. As long as it's OK with you, by all means, go ahead and book your cabin on Grand Princess.

Here are selected photo's from the trip: