Grand Princess Review
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Have cruised on HAL, NCL and CAR, so we have cruised before. This was our first time on a Princess ship. The Grand is an older ship that has a nice patina and is well maintained. Service by our steward, Michael P. was excellent. Dining was beyond good, it was GREAT! Although the menu was not expansive and tended toward Italian, you could always find something to like. Our two waiters, Jeffery and Glenn were the best! Always smiling and anticipating your every need. They made our mealtimes special.
Our cabin was E312, on the Emerald deck. It as an obstructed view cabin, which we knew about. Since we had 9 sea days on the 15 day cruise, we didn't feel that a balcony was worth the extra expense. When we were in Hawaii, we went shore and toured, so even an inside cabin would have worked. The cabin layout was efficient, with the dimensions being 9' x 19' or 171 square feet. The cabin had a desk/make up area, 2 chairs, a refrigerator and flat screen TV. There was adequate lighting for reading in bed and enough storage for your clothes. The bed was super comfortable and we kept our cabin on the cool side so you could snuggle down in the bed at night and get a good night's sleep. The only complaints I had about the cabin were minor; The TV, when turned on, would default to the ship channel so that you had to see the 2 Princess Bozos chatting up the events of the day. The TV would not go to whatever you were watching when you last had it on. The other issues we had were some stains on the carpet and an inoperable temperature control on the shower, both were immediately taken care of by notifying Michael P., our cabin steward. Overall, this was a great way to see the Hawaiian Islands. The time zone problem was a non-issue, no packing up and re-packing every night. The only downside was we had just one day on each island but unless you have unlimited funds, every vacation is a compromise. Overall, our experience was a 9.9 out of 10 with Princess. ATTENTION VETERANS: Princess offers a $250 credit on a cruise of this length, but you need to send in your DD-214. Aloha, Drue
Cabin Review
Oceanview (obstructed view)
Our cabin was fine, no real issues. It was an obstructed view which we were aware of, but for the money, it was a great value. 9 sea days out of 15, all you were going to see was ocean anyway. The lifeboat was below the window so the view was fine. Actual cabin size was 171 square feet. I measured it. Nice comfortable bed, adequate lighting, 2 chairs, refrigerator and a desk/make up area. The bathroom was typical cruise ship design, functioned well as designed. A word about climate control and ventilation: We could control the temps as needed and it never felt stuffy or humid, ever after a long shower. They have all that tuned in. Not real large, but perfect for the two of us in our mid 60's. Room for clothes and enough storage. Just a FYI: If you are going on a cruise where you have more days than changes of clothes, there is a laundry on each deck. No need for change, your ship's card will charge the tokens needed for laundry. Nice Maytag commercial machines. You need only one drying cycle per load.
Port Reviews
Kauai
You need to see this island by air. These people are great. Wonderful experience.