Grand Princess Western Mediterranean - 19 June - 3 July 2010.
We booked this holiday because it included ports we wanted to visit at a great price. We were unsure that we would like a ship of this size but were attracted by the promise of a big ship with small ship feel.
We took advantage of the CPS free car park offer worth £120 and drove down to Southampton with an overnight stay at a Premiere Inn in Abingdon. Princess advice was to arrive after 2pm to avoid the rush, so we visited a National Trust property nearby and had a snack lunch before arriving at the QE2 terminal for boarding. There was organised chaos here with the terminal unable to handle the number of people arriving at 2pm. It took 45 minutes to drop of our luggage and a further 45 minutes to check in from a queue longer than any airport. We found out later that those 'in the know' arrived before noon and checked in really easily. Because of the chaotic check-in the ship left port late.
Quiet. Comfortable bed. Adequate to sleep in and hang clothes. Plenty of drawers. Grubby carpet and some areas un-dusted. Compact shower-room toilet with limited storage and no cupboard space. Good for the price.