We flew to Florida the day before our cruise and stayed at the Hyatt Place which was very nice. We had dinner at the Outback Steakhouse which was 1 block away from the Hyatt Place and it was very good. The Grand Princess is still in darn good shape and everything worked well except on occasion the elevators acted up. There is some wear and tear around the ship, but nothing bad. No engine fires, air conditioning worked fine, and the ship was very clean. We did mostly our own thing on shore except for the Rum and cigar tour on Santo Domingo and renting a clam shell on Princess Cays. The cigar and rum tour was well worth the money as it covered much more, but be aware, it does require a lot of walking. The rental of a clam shell was great as it gave us some privacy, great shade, and is away from much of the crowds. I totally enjoyed snorkeling at Princess Cays as the water was more clear there then many of the other ports(hurricane Tomas stirred up the water a bit before this cruise). We totally enjoyed the Chefs table and as I have told many, if your a foodie, this is so worth the money($75pp). You must sign up first thing in the dinning room after you board the ship as this always fill up. On this cruise they had 3 chefs tables on 3 different days.

Our cabin was on deck 12 in the back, so we did a lot of walking. But this was good because I only gained a few pounds. The best show was by far the new British Invasion and is not to be missed. But it also was too loud, so I do hope they tone it down. The piano player at the promenade bar was excellent and also must not be missed.

We also each had a hot stone massage and while it was excellent, it was way over priced(almost $200 per person), so be aware of this. Read more