Grand Princess Review

3.5 / 5.0
1,601 reviews

Grand Princess - Western Caribbean

Review for the Western Caribbean Cruise on Grand Princess

Rating by category

Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
Service
Cabin

Additional details

Sail Date: Feb 2006
Cabin: Balcony
Traveled with children

This cruise was mine and my husbands fourth cruise but first ever on a Princess ship. We had a large group of extended family and friends sailing with us. The majority in our group were first time cruisers. While this was a vacation and overall it was great to getaway, and I did have a good time, I dont credit Princess with much of that except with being a form of transport.

The embarkation was very smooth. I did have a bit of anxiety because I had read otherwise in reviews posted to this website re: Galveston. We were excited to see our cabin because this was our first balcony cabin. In previous cruises we had just the ocean view window. I must say, my husband and I were disappointed. The cabin was smaller than I had expected and experienced on previous cruises (mainly Royal Caribbean). Having the balcony was really nice though. Our cabin steward Carlo was very pleasant. And let me add that the Grands service staff (waiters, cabin stewards, tour operators, etc.) was the best yet bar none we had experienced. But I would not extend that compliment to the captain and his immediate staff. Okay, as I am sure most everyone who may read this has already heard, the Grand had an incident on the sailing we took. It is the beginning of the cruise and we are getting settled into our cabin. I have my friend (first time cruiser) and my nine month old (yes, I realize a cruise not the best vacation for an infant but we couldnt bear to be away from her for that long  she is our 1st!) in the cabin with me. The boat starts to lean to one side. And my friend asks, Is this normal? I assured her it was, nothing to worry about, that it is part of cruising. However the boat continues to lean farther and farther to one side to the point that you couldnt stand up straight. And in that instant I truly thought the boat was going to turn completely on its side and we were going into the water. I panicked and grabbed the life jacket for my daughter and was headed for the door to get my husband (he was down the hall a couple of cabins visiting) when he came running to me and the boat began to level off. Many of us in the hallway converged on our poor cabin steward with a million different questions. And while he was in the dark as to what had just happened as we were, to his credit he remained calm and asked us to do the same. It seemed like an eternity for the captain to come on over the loudspeaker with what the heck had happened. But twenty minutes later he did and to mine and many others chagrin, he seemed to make light of it initially by saying We had to make a slight turn. I think it was only after he had realized later in the evening the devastation, the slight turn had made, did he change his comments. All the stores on the 5th, 6th and 7th deck were in a shambles, particularly the liquor, jewelry and perfume stores. Everything had crashed and shattered to the ground. All the dining rooms shut down for a brief period. To the staffs credit, they were expeditious in righting the damage. The captain later informed us the ship had to make an emergency turn because there was a very ill passenger and we were headed back to Galveston to get her to a hospital. I wont go on about this but I truly think the sharp turn and the ill passenger were unrelated events and it was simply convenient to use the ill passenger as the cause. I believe there was either something in the water to avoid or the ship had gotten off course the channel from Galveston. But whatever happened, someone messed up big time, that wasnt done on purpose. After that incident many of the passengers wanted to get off at the next port. And the illusion that this would be a safe and relaxing vacation was gone. Now moving on. The food served the Horizon court on Deck 11 (the Buffet) was mediocre and the dining rooms were not much better. Even the two pay restaurants (the Steakhouse  The Painted Desert and the Italian  Sabatinis) were not as good as the main dining rooms on previous cruises we have taken. It was just okay, but not great. It was pretty disappointing as we had heard Princess was known for their great food. I guess we heard wrong. The movies under the stars is great and a must see! Also, I really like the many pools and hot tubs. We spent a lot of time in the baby pool with our daughter which was nice because it was never crowded.

The ports this cruise went to were Costa Maya, Belize, Playa del Carmen and Cozumel. First let me say the tendering was not fun. Yes what you have heard is true, it takes forever!! Also, I am so glad Princess changed their itinerary from visiting Grand Cayman to Playa. Playa del Carmen is beautiful with great shopping and the change extended our island times since Playa is so close to Cozumel. So kudos to Princess for listening to the previous passengers complaints and making the change! Costa Maya was just ok and Belize was horrible! Not a lot in Belize except diving. Cozumel, well we love Cozumel.

Cabin Review

Balcony

Cabin BC
previous reviewnext review

Find a Grand Princess Cruise from $197

Any Month

Get special cruise deals, expert advice, insider tips and more.By proceeding, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

© 1995—2024, The Independent Traveler, Inc.