Grand Princess Review
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I had just had knee surgery, was unable to work for the next 6 - 8 weeks, and my husband and I were getting tired of looking at our 4 walls inside and the cold dreary skies outside. Suddenly the idea of a 10-day cruise to the Mexican Riviera on the Grand Princess looked very appealing.
We live in the Pacific Northwest so a short flight to the departure port of San Francisco was quite easy for us (not many cruises out of Seattle in December), and we were pleasantly surprised by how smooth the embarkation process went, despite boarding a ship much larger, with twice as many passengers, compared to those we usually sail on. Disembarkation went equally smoothly.
Debbie from our roll call group had set up a very nice Meet & Greet, with a "white elephant" Christmas gift exchange, which we really enjoyed - as first-time Princess cruisers, it helped us get oriented.
Cabin Review
Oceanview
Since our decision to take a cruise was last minute, the ship was almost sold out so we just booked the best cabin that our travel agent found to be available. We typically book a balcony cabin on a cruise line that has larger staterooms, so we were uncertain about having an ocean view cabin. Though a bit small, it turned out fine. Our cabin steward Martin was very attentive and always responded promptly to any request. As a bonus, we were on the same deck as the Piazza (atrium) and just down the hall from the International Cafe, which was perfect for an any time snack, and the pastries were to die for!