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SHIP STATISTICSThe Grand Princess is 109,000 tons built in Helsinki, Finland with a Great Britian registry. It holds 2,600 passengers, 1,150 crew, is 935 feet long, and entered service in 1998. The officers are British and the crew is quite a mix of European/International. There are 15 passenger decks. There are 710 cabins with balconies and all rooms are fairly spacious and very attractive with a small sitting area near picture windows or balconies. Standard amenities include color TV, refrigerators, hair dryers, terry cloth robes (upon request), safe, and individual temperature control. Bathrooms have showers and medicine cabinets. Mini-bars, and tubs are found in the highest category staterooms. Grand Suite with Private Balcony (category GS) 782 sq. feet. Private bedroom with queen-size bed. Separate sitting room with sofa bed and fireplace. Hot tub accessed from bedroom and balcony. Three televisions. Refrigerator and wet bar. Walk-in closet. Bath with tub and shower. Suite with Private Balcony (category OS, PH, PS & VS) 678 sq. feet. Private bedroom with queen-size bed. Sitting room area with sofa bed and private balcony for entertaining. Two TV's. Refrigerator. Walk-in closet. Bath with two sinks and tub and shower. Family Suite with Private Balcony (category XS) Each suite is actually two self-contained staterooms interconnecting through a large living room which lead to an oversized private balcony. Each suite sleeps up to eight people. Mini-Suite with Private Balcony (category AA, AB, AC & AD) 374 to 536 sq. feet. Private bedroom with queen-size bed. Sitting room area with sofa bed and private balcony for entertaining. Two TV's. Refrigerator. Walk-in closet. Bath with tub and shower. Outside Double with Private Balcony (category BA, BB, BC, BD, BE & BF) 178 sq. feet. Two lower beds, which make up into a comfortable queen-size bed. Private balcony. TV. Refrigerator. Bath with shower. Spacious close. Outside Double (category C, DD, D, EE, E, FF, F, GG, G & HH) 178 sq. feet. Two lower beds, which make up into a comfortable queen-size bed. TV. Refrigerator. Spacious closet. Picture window. Bath with shower. Views obstructed in category F. Outside Deluxe (category CC) 178 sq. feet. Similar to the outside double, deluxe staterooms are larger with the same features in a different layout. Inside Double (category II, I, JJ, J, K, L, M & N) 151 sq. feet. Two lower beds, which make up into a comfortable queen-size bed. TV. Refrigerator. Bath and shower. Spacious closet. My Review of this CruiseThis cruise was my 7th cruise and my second on
Princess. This cruise consisted of
myself Morrica (34), my husband Dennis (37), my mom Linda (53), my dad Vern
(64), my aunt Glenna (55), her husband Emile (61), my niece Rachelle (12) my
brother Mike (29) and my cousin Dina(27). PRE-CRUISE The flight itself went well and before we knew it, we were in Ft. Lauderdale. We stayed at the Marriott Harbor Beach Hotel. The hotel was absolutely beautiful and I loved it. We had a beautiful view of the ocean from our room on the 8th floor. The rooms were very clean and very nice. The hotel itself was absolutely beautiful, just as everyone had told me. The grounds were very well kept with a large pool, hot tubs and a beautiful beach. Lawn chairs were provided along the beach and an assortment of water sports were available for a fee. We attempted to find something to eat but the restaurants at the hotel were too expensive and too dressy for our taste so we decided to walk to a near by restaurant, the Bahia Cabana Beach Restaurant, for dinner. It was a great restaurant with a fabulous view of the harbor although the service was extremely poor. It was our waitress’s first night and it really showed. We still had a great time and then decided to go back to the hotel. We went back to our rooms to change into our swimsuits so we could down to the hot tub and then walked along the beach for about an hour. It was a little windy but still very warm. It felt so good to walk in the sand and we were the only ones on the beach. We all decided to turn in for the night so we wouldn’t be too tired the next morning. Sunday, April 28, 2001 – Embarkation To our disappointment it was quite windy and overcast so we didn’t bother lying by the pool or enjoying the beautiful beach. We walked around the hotel for a while and then met in the lobby to catch our ride to the pier. The lines for check-in weren’t too long and we were done with the entire process in about 30 minutes. We all boarded the ship together, were rushed through the Atrium area, along the hallway to the elevators and then directed to our cabins. The moment Dennis and I entered our cabin we were in heaven. We had the Grand Suite and it was absolutely beautiful and very large! It had a living room, a separate bedroom, a very large bathroom, a beautifully decorated balcony and best of all a hot tub on the balcony. Dad and mom were in a cabin together, with Mike and Rachelle right next to them and Aunt Glenna and Emile next to them all in outside cabins with a balcony (category BA). Their cabins were a bit smaller than they expected but I believe there were still satisfied. The balconies could have been larger but they were sufficient. Dina was one floor down from the rest of us in an interior cabin (category I) by herself. After the excitement of getting on board and looking at each other’s cabins we all decided to go up to the Horizon Court for lunch. I was impressed with the large assortment of food and overall quality of the food. After lunch we went out by the pool and all had a nice cool drink to sit and enjoy. It wasn’t long before our luggage came so we all left to unpack and then get ready for dinner. We embarked just as the sun was going down so we invited everyone to our cabin in order to watch the ship pull away and make a toast after which everyone left to finish getting ready for dinner. Of course the process of getting ready for dinner was a bit stressful because everyone was unclear as to what they should wear. The planner said it was smart casual which I understood it to be semi-formal but we were told all of the evenings would be smart casual except for the two formal nights. Dad always gets a little stressed when it comes to getting ready for dinner and if it were up to him he would just eat in the Horizon Court every night. Nevertheless he humored us and dressed for dinner. We chose the “traditions” dining option so we had a specific dining time each evening and were assigned to the Bortticelli Dining Room. Dennis and I were having a difficult time finding the dining room and by the time we got there everyone else was there waiting, as would be the case most evenings. We were introduced to our waiter, MeHi from Romania, our assistant waiter, Anthony from South Africa and our headwaiter, Rui from Italy. My Aunt Glenna needed to have things prepared special for her since she was on a low fat diet and Rui took care of that for her each night. He was great the entire trip and really made all of us laugh hysterically every night. We were all pretty tired from the busy day so we decided to go to bed. Monday, April 30, 2001 – At Sea Boy were we all happy for the day at sea! Everyone else but me and Dennis was up early but we eventually made it. Mom, Rachelle and I started the day off with an hour of sunbathing while Mike roamed the ship in search of girls in skimpy bikinis. Dennis went to play a little basketball, dad stayed in the room and rested, Dina spent most of her time in the casino and Aunt Glenna and Emile looked around the ship. We had lunch by the pool (hamburgers & hotdogs) and then we all went our separate ways. I decided to take a nap until it was time to get ready for dinner. The previous night mom and dad followed Emile and Aunt Glenna to the dining room but tonight they were left to find it themselves and they had a bit of a problem. By the time they got there dad was pretty upset but it soon melted away after we all started talking and laughing about the days events. Dinner seemed to be the only time we were all together on this trip. After dinner Dina, Mike, Dennis and I decided to go to the Skywalkers Night Club and see what was going on there. It wasn’t too busy so we all had a couple of drinks and then called it a night. Today was another day at sea which I didn’t mind too much but others in our group (mostly Dennis) were getting a bit bored. Mom, Dina, Dennis and Mike went up top to sunbathe but since I had gotten plenty of sun the previous day I passed (except for a brief 10 minutes). It was so windy up on top you couldn’t keep your hat on, literally. Dennis and I were invited to visit the bridge with some of the other passengers on board so we left. The captain wasn’t present but it was still interesting to see. They definitely have the perfect view. After the tour, Dina and I went to the wine tasting (since no one else wanted to go) but unfortunately Dina got sick right when it started and left. I still stayed and did it by myself. After the tasting I went back to her room to check on her and she wasn’t feeling well at all and thought she might not be able to make it to dinner. Tonight was the first formal night and mom, Rachelle and I all had appointments to get our hair done so we started getting ready for dinner. The girls in the beauty salon did a great job with our hair, moms looked particularly good. Rachelle looked like a little princess ready for her first prom and I think dad was very proud of his little princess. She really liked having her hair all done up pretty. It’s always nice to see everyone all dressed up and I love seeing the men in tuxedos but they sure hate it! The formal nights are my favorites nights. Dina still didn’t feel too good but she dressed anyway and made it to dinner. Once dinner was over Aunt Glenna, Dina, mom and I all went to the Skywalkers nightclub for a few minutes. I don’t think it was really their “cup of tea” but they stayed for a little while. After enduring it for long enough they left while we stayed behind for another hour or so. Today was our first day on an island and I think we were
all ready to get off the ship. Dennis
had chosen to go scuba diving while Mike and Emile went for a helicopter tour of
the island. After Mike and Emile
returned Mike and Dina went on their “Wild Thing Party Boat” tour and the
rest of us caught a taxi to Coral World. It’s
kind of a mini Sea World and I do mean “mini”.
I didn’t mind seeing it once but I don’t believe I would choose to go
again. It was quite small and not
much to see. First we went into the
Caribbean Reef Encounter which was a coral reef recreated in a small tank.
Inside the tank was a huge puffer, angel fish, groupers, lobsters and
even a cute pregnant sting ray. While
we were there a diver got in the tank to feed the fish and they all surrounded
her trying to get the food. Next we
went to the Underwater Observatory where you can see into the ocean, although we
didn’t see much besides a few little fish.
It may have been better if we would have been there during feeding time
but we didn’t want to wait. Rachelle
and I went to a small touch pool where you can touch a starfish or a sea
cucumber. Next we went to the
Marine Gardens were they had seahorses in all stages of their lives, including
just a couple of weeks old. We only
spent about two hours at Coral World and that was more than enough.
Then we were off to the Mountain Top to see the view from above.
Mountain Top is the best place for a beautiful view.
While there, we stopped to have a banana daiquiri.
I had never had one of these and it was very good.
After all of that we went back to the shopping area near the ship to do a
little shopping before we boarded the ship.
Along the way, our driver made a couple of stops to take in some more of
the beautiful view of the harbor. St.
Thomas really is a pretty island. When
we got back to the ship, Mike and Dina were just getting back from their trip on
the party boat and believe it or not they were still standing.
It was time for the boat to leave dock and as we did Dennis fed the
seagulls with some old bread. They
loved it and would almost fly onto the balcony for it.
We all dressed for dinner, which was casual, and made our way to the
dinning room. We were all pretty
tired so we all retired early in order to be up early for our day in St. Maarten Thursday, May 3, 2001 – St. Maarten This morning we were up early and all met in the Horizon
Court for a group breakfast. The
ship docked at the brand new dock so we didn’t have to tender like previously
which saved a lot of time. It’s
much nicer being able to just jump on and off the ship without having to take
the tender boat. All of us (except
for Dennis and he chose to go diving again) were scheduled for the “French
Riviera Beach Rendezvous” at Orient Beach.
We all met our tour and boarded the bus to take us to the beach. Once there we chose our beach chairs, which were provided for
us, and settled in for a fun day at the beach.
It didn’t take us long to decide it was too hot and time for a dip in
the ocean. The beach was absolutely
beautiful and the water felt very good. Of
course this was a “clothes optional” beach so at first it was a little
strange to see topless or completely nude people strolling along the beach but
after a while it didn’t seem like such a big deal.
We took my 12-year-old niece with us and because we didn’t make a big
deal out of the nudity she didn’t seem to really care, in fact she had a great
time. Lunch was included in the
tour so around noon we decided to eat. We
were given a choice of fish, chicken or ribs and one drink.
We finished our meals (everyone seemed to think the food was good) and
then returned to our chairs to take a little afternoon nap.
Of course Rachelle wouldn’t let us sit for long and had us up and in
the water again. I was shocked when
my parents even went in with us but the water felt so nice that they enjoyed it
as much as we did. Before long it
was time to leave so we boarded the bus and headed back. I would have to say that Orient Beach was the most beautiful
beach I have been to and I would recommend it to anyone. Once the bus was downtown those who wanted to do some
shopping were dropped off and those who didn’t want to shop were taken back to
the ship. If you chose to be
dropped off then it was your responsibility to find your way back to the ship.
The ship wasn’t just right down town so you could either walk (which
was at least a mile or two) take a regular taxi (about $5) or take a water taxi
(I don’t know how much that was). Everyone
but my dad wanted to go shopping so he went back to the ship and the rest of us
went shopping. Now shopping isn’t
really my thing but we did want to get a few souvenir items so we looked around
for about an hour. This was one of
the first nights we could actually see the sunset and it was very beautiful.
All week it had been overcast at dusk so we were unable to see the
sunset. Tonight was casual or
island attire and we all dressed appropriately.
After dinner we all went up to the pool deck for the “Island Pool
Party”, listened to the music for a while and then roamed the ship a bit until
midnight when Dennis had scheduled a “snorkel lesson” for those who wanted
to learn. Mike and Rachelle were
the only ones who wanted to go and the lesson didn’t last too long since it
was pretty windy thus making it very chilly in the pool.
It was late so we all went to bed. Friday, May 4, 2001 – At Sea Today was a day at sea and boy was it nice to do nothing.
Everyone pretty much did their own thing.
I had made massage appointments for both dad and Dennis so they were able
to enjoy the day just a little bit more. We
saw one another sporadically throughout the day and ate when we felt like it.
Tonight was another formal night so my mom, Rachelle and I had hair
appointments again to have our hair put up.
We didn’t make an appointment for Rachelle but decided at the last
minute that we better make her an appointment too since she liked it so much the
last time. To my surprise they had
an appointment open. Besides, how
often do you get to be so pampered? Dennis
gave another snorkeling lesson to Rachelle, which made her late for her
appointment, but they still took her. Tonight
for dinner everyone had the lobster and everyone loved it.
Rachelle even tried a little bit and didn’t think it was too bad.
Some of us even had a second serving.
After dinner we went to the “Rhythms of the City” performance in the
theater. This was the first and
only show we went to and it was very good which made we wish I would have made
more of an effort to see the other shows. Dina
didn’t think she would enjoy it but ended up staying because it was so good.
After the show we went to the Centrum to watch the champagne waterfall be
built. After it was finished they
served free champagne and allowed the women to have their picture taken while
pouring champagne onto the waterfall. Dina
and I poured together and my mom and Aunt Glenna poured together.
They were serving free champagne and we took advantage of the offering. We all had a great time and even my Aunt Glenna was doing a
little dancing. We still weren’t
ready to go to bed so Dina, Mike and I went to the Skywalker’s nightclub while
my mom and Aunt Glenna walked around for a bit.
After the nightclub we decided to call it a night and on the way to our
cabins we stopped by the pool to dip our feet in the cool water and saw my mom
and Aunt Glenna. They were just
enjoying the beautiful night and walking around. We played around for a bit and then went to bed. Saturday, May 5, 2001 – Princess Cays Today was to be a relaxing day on Princess Cays.
We were up fairly early and had breakfast.
Dennis left the ship first and spent the day on his own exploring the
island. He always likes to go where no one else goes and get away
from the crowds. We were on the
island and had our chairs picked out by 9:30.
There were still plenty of chairs at this time but they were being
grabbed up fast. We had reserved
the Sun Kat Electric Boat so we checked in and got our life vests.
My mom and Rachelle were on one and Dina and I were on the other one.
I was a little nervous at first but once we were on the water we were all
just fine. Rachelle drove the one
her and mom were on and I drove the other one.
It was very easy to do and a lot of fun.
While we were out there we saw several people on the paddleboats and they
all made the comment about how they wish they had a motor.
It was so nice to be able to just motor to where you wanted to go and
then sit back and enjoy the nice breeze coming off the water.
Each Sun Kat fits two people very comfortably.
I’ve been on paddleboats before and it’s always the same.
It’s a lot of fun getting out there but a lot of work trying to get
back. The paddleboats were just
more effort than we wanted to exert. We
were only scheduled for a half hour and it went by very fast. After our boat ride we did a little shopping and Rachelle
decided she wanted her hair braided so while she was having that done we went to
get some lunch. Lunch was provided
by the cruise line, which consisted of hamburgers, chicken or hotdogs with
various side dishes. The food was
pretty good but not really outstanding. We
picked up something for Rachelle and took it back to her. When we got there she still wasn’t done and Dina decided to
have her hair done too. It wasn’t
too long before Rachelle was finished so we sat on the chairs for a bit to wait
for Dina to have her hair finished and did a little more shopping.
Both Dina and Mike were trying to stay out of the sun since they were a
little sun burned. Mike wasn’t just a little burned; he was fried and wore a
hat and shirt all day. He really
fried his shaved head on Thursday in St. Maarten.
After Dina was finished we went down to the beach and strolled along the
beach so we could get some pictures. In
general I liked Princess Cays but I didn’t particularly care for the sand.
The sand had a lot of shells and things in it, which made it
uncomfortable to walk in. Even my
mother mentioned the poor quality of the sandy beach.
We boarded the ship and each of us went to our cabins to pack our things
and get ready to go home. Everyone
was feeling a little melancholy thinking about the trip ending and having to
return to reality. I think this is
always the hardest part of the entire trip.
Dennis returned to the ship and said he had a great time exploring the
more uninhabited areas of the island. He
really doesn’t like the crowds so he enjoys going off on his own where he can
have the area to himself. He even
found an old graveyard. That night
we did some last minute shopping on the ship and went to dinner for the last
time. We had ordered champagne the
night before but no one really felt like drinking.
I don’t know what was wrong with the ship but it was rocking a lot and
it really made me feel sick. We
heard through the grapevine that the ship was having trouble with one of it’s
engines and that was why the ship was rocking so much but who knows if it was
true. All I know is the seas were
not rough at all and I’ve never had so much movement on a ship before. We all returned to our cabins so we could get our bags set
out before midnight. I really hate
this part of the cruise! Sunday, May 6, 2001 – Disembark We were all feeling pretty sad but met for breakfast for the last time. After breakfast we went back to our cabins and said our last good byes to Aunt Glenna and Emile. Their flight was leaving earlier than ours so they couldn’t go on the “Everglades Airboat and Florida Tropical Gardens” tour with us. We left the ship about 8:00 AM and were on the bus by 8:30 AM. We arrived at the Sawgrass Recreation Park where we all boarded an airboat and headed out to find an alligator. Our driver wasn’t friendly at all and didn’t say a word to us. He started for an area that didn’t look like we should even attempt going and sure enough he got us stuck. I couldn’t believe he would even attempt going in there but he did. We were surrounded by saw grass so no one would be able to see us. He said not to worry because he had a cell phone for just this type of emergency but to top it all off his cell phone couldn’t get a signal to call out. Luckily another passenger on the boat had a cell phone that worked so he was able to call for help. We sat there for probably a half hour before help arrived and in all that time he hardly talked at all. I thought he would at least tell us some information about the everglades while we sat there and waited but that didn’t happen. Finally help arrived and they transferred us to another boat. Rather than take us to look for an alligator he just headed back to shore so needless to say we didn’t see a single alligator. To my disappointment the tour didn’t stay to see the rest of the park so we missed my favorite part. I had been to this park once before and on the tour you get the opportunity to pet and sit with a Florida Panther. This was the reason I chose this tour and I had know we wouldn’t be staying I would have taken a taxi and gone there on my own. Needless to say, we boarded the bus and headed for Flamingo Gardens. It was a pretty area but none of us was too impressed with the tour. Finally it was time to board the bus to be taken to the airport. We arrived at the airport with time to spare so we grabbed a bite to eat and boarded then the plane. I couldn’t believe it was time to go home and wish we had another week! |
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