The Princess Grand was indeed Grand. We absolutely loved this ship. The service by far was the most superior point on the cruise. The steward for our room Norman was just as sweet and helpful as can be. He kept our room in perfect shape and we always had clean towels and beach towels. He had a pager so we could reach him any time morning to late evening. The crew throughout the ship were so friendly, always greeting with a smile. Always a drink to be offered.
The ports were for the most part good. Princess Cays was boring. Do not snorkel. Very little to see. Small area to swim. Food was fair and lines were long. If you want to lay out on lounge chairs that's just about how exciting it got. On Grand Cayman we used Captain Marvins through the Internet. The only down side was finding Captain Marvin's location on the Island. The island was very very very crowded with at least 4 cruise ships in port. There's very little space to walk and it's British so the cars are on the other side of the street. Be careful I almost got hit. Traffic is as bad and the crowds on the street. After we found Capt Marvin's at approximately 6 -7 hot blocks it was smooth sailing. We took a quick mini van ride to the lagoon to catch the boat. We sailed to 3 snorkeling sites. All were beautiful with bright colored fish. Stingray city was crowed but it didn't matter. There we plenty of stingrays. The stingrays were gorgeous, soft and smooth. They are not afraid of us, many teenage girls were screaming like they were being eaten by Jaws! It was a lot of fun. Our ship captain had a favorite sting ray that knew him. Her name was Emily. He would pick her up and kiss her on the lips. Sounds gross but it was actually very fun to see and the kids enjoyed it.
Next was Costa Maya. Very small island but they are building up the area so it will become a better port later on. We took the Jungle Beach break excursion. We rode in very old, non air conditioned buses. But the breezes coming through the windows made it bearable. We saw a lot of poor areas with people living in huts. My sons found it fascinating to see how other people live. When we arrived there was plenty to do. We rode seadoos (not incl. in price) but reasonable $40.00 for thirty minutes with three people who can ride at a time. Very fun. There were other non motorized boats you could use for free. We had a great game of volleyball with guides as the officials. The drinks were included in the price and if you tipped them well you got a stronger drink, obviously. Be sure to keep hydrated, one girl had too much alcohol and nothing else and had to be carried back to the ship for an IV. Not much food options and not included in the price. It didn't matter, we met a lot of nice people from the ship. Next was Cozumel. It was our favorite. No tender, no crowds and plenty to see and do. We could have used more time. We used a local to take us snorkeling on our own private boat. He took us to great sites. We did get stung by jellyfish. They are hard to see. He told us of a great (off the main road) place to eat. Costa Bravo I think it was called. Our husbands got great Cuban cigars.