Cruise out of Galveston, 12/30/06 to 1/6/07 - New Year's cruise to Roatan, Costa Maya, Cozumel, and Belize. My third cruise (Norwegian, Carnival). With sibling and her 3 teens. I'm a 44 year old male. Won't do a comprehensive review, just some observations:

* Overall, was pleased and had a fun time - very nice ship, good service, lots to do. I could have easily gone on for a few more days. I can definitely recommend the Grand Princess. * Food was good, but definitely not great. But the good thing is, if the prime rib is blah, which it was, you can simply move on to the sirloin, and if that is blah too, well... The King Crab legs were the meatiest I've ever had, just fabulous. Making my mouth water right now. * Never set foot in the formal dining room, as the 6pm slot we had is way too early for me, and who wants to worry about the time whilst on vacation? I loved the open seating option, available til 10pm - I never had to wait to get in. And since you get a different server every time, you don't have to deal with your waiter angling for a tip by impressing upon you just how poor he is, and what with 9 kids back home, and all that, etc.

* Shows were fun - comedians were funny to very funny, hypnotist was popular (one of his subjects, whom he yanked part way through the show, came up to the bar, where I was seated, and attempted to order a drink from me - apparently some people really can be hypnotized), magician was good if you enjoy dry humor, the talent contest was a big hit. * New Years Eve was lots of fun, with lots of streamers and decoration. I wound up in the 13th floor disco (Skywalkers Lounge) which absolutely rocked, dance floor was jammed, great dance music, what a cool space that is, too bad it is so isolated and hard to find. According to my final tab, I purchased my last drink that evening at 4:36am, and it was still going strong when I staggered out of there. Got absolutely plastered. I think it's good to re-set the old hard-drive periodically, if you know what I mean. Worst hang-over ever the next day though, had to blow off Costa Maya. * Wide distribution of ages and nationalities on board. I'd say that 1/3 of passengers spoke Spanish, many from Mexico, I think. Wherever they were from, they know how to have fun. Lots of Texans. Quite a few Canadians. A smattering of Brits. * Wasn't great for singles. They staged 2 singles get togethers. I only made it to one, and only I and an older lady showed up. Found shipboard romance on 2 prior cruises, but not on this one! * Mattress was firm like I like it. Tiny but nice shower - if you intend to shampoo your hair, be sure to raise your arms over your head *before* you enter the shower. Just kidding. Tiny closets. Good TV offerings. Very quiet rooms. Blue glass on balconies enhances the ocean views. Steward was fine - I only asked for 1 thing - an extra pillow - and I got it! Kept the room very clean, and we barely ever saw him, which is just fine. * The coffee they serve blows, but I found out after cruise that you can get free, real brewed coffee in the casino!? * Speaking of blowing, the wind blew so fiercely one evening during a sudden storm that the ship listed rather severely to the port side, to the point that the alarmed pianist at the piano bar leapt from his seat and announced an impromptu break. I walked to a door to have a look outside, and the ship continued to tilt more and more. Happily, I was on the side of the ship that would have left me on top had the listing continued, and I was prepared to stage my escape through the door if needed - boy, wouldn't that have been fun. I kid you not, several passengers with the same idea stood near me, and they all had fear in their eyes! A few young women nearby were on the verge of tears. Needless to say, the Titanic scenario did not come to pass, but everyone was talking about it the next day... Aside from that, the ship seemed reasonably stable - I saw a lot of dramamine patches behind the ears, but I had no problem myself even though perhaps the worst day of my life was spent puking over the side of a charter boat on the high seas off Daytona Beach years ago. Read more