We have cruised 3 times: our honeymoon, on Norwegian Cruise Line's Seaward (now the Norwegian Sea); our fifth anniversary, on Celebrity Cruise Line's Zenith, and this our tenth anniversary, on Princess Cruise Line's Grand Princess. We researched cruise lines and ships carefully for months prior to deciding on the Grand Princess. We are interested in good food and excellent service in an elegant atmosphere. We are NOT party people, so discos, bars, pool games and the like are not important to us. We want to relax and reconnect with one another and be spoiled, spoiled, spoiled. To that end, I looked at the three major premium lines (Princess, Celebrity, and Holland America) and three of the luxury lines (Windstar, Silverseas, and Seaborn).

We found that the luxury lines offered itineraries that would require too much of our time or too much distance from our daughter, since this would be the first time we would be leaving her. I look forward to traveling with them in the future. Also, the selection of ships with balconies was slim in this category, and we were anxious to try out a balcony cabin. We decided that on a premium line we would like to try a mini-suite. We were concerned about all we had read regarding the age range and food quality on Holland America, but they did offer a very attractive price and the mini-suite amenities are top-notch. Celebrity was a close second but the mini-suite price was considerably higher. In the end, the itinerary on the Grand Princess fit our schedule best with 4 sea days and embarkation/debarkation from Fort Lauderdale.

EMBARKATION: I have read many reviews lauding Princess on it's embarkation process and for the most part the praise is well deserved. We did however find that some of the process could use vast improvement. We purchased transfers from the cruise line even though we had purchased our airfare ourselves. We thought (mistakenly) that this would simplify our travel day. We had been running quite late getting to the airport that morning, and so had not had time to fill out and attach the baggage tags to our bags. It was my intention to inform the representative of this and ask for instructions as soon as we got off. After debarking the plane, we quickly found the Princess representative. This man was abrupt and abrasive. When I informed him I needed to tag my bags, he actually scolded me. So much for first impressions. He instructed me to tag my bags and meet with the ladies handling the buses. Again, these ladies were not welcoming. I approached them to check in and before I could utter a word, I was told, "Get in line the buses will be here shortly". I began to walk off, but then I thought they might not realize I was not checked in. So I Approached her again and asked her if I need to check in. "You just did" (I had not given her or anyone our name) "the bus will be here in 15-20 minutes". At this point I was quite put off. This was not the way I wanted to start my vacation. My husband and I decided to forgo the line and went downstairs to catch a taxi. This THE WAY to GO. For the same cost as transfers, we were privately and immediately transported to the ship. We arrived at the terminal well ahead of the crowd (after all they still had 15-20 minutes to wait). As suggested, I had ALL my paperwork filled out (I had also entered it in on the website). It amazed me how many people were standing in line filling out the paperwork. We were the second in line and in less than 10 minutes we were boarding the ship. The representatives at the terminal were efficient AND pleasant. The picture taking process is painless, though you do have to have two pictures taken; one is imbedded on your cruise card! We were directed to our room rather than escorted as we had been on Celebrity. I did not find this troublesome at all, as the ship had staff stationed to assist you all along the way. That was it. We are finally on vacation.

THE CABIN: The mini-suites on the Grand Princess are 323 square feet, including the balcony. I had read that the room was very narrow, but I did not find it too narrow at all. Of course, ship cabins are not as large as most hotel rooms. This room was MORE than adequate for a week's stay. The entry way is a little too narrow, especially when entering with luggage or when opening the door for the butler with room service trays.

Past the entryway, to the right (in cabin D609) is the closet, shelves and bath. You take a right into this little hallway, to your right is the bathroom door, to your left is the closet (it has no doors), and straight ahead is a closet of shelves with mirrored doors, this houses life jackets, a small safe with a programmable lock, and 6 or 7 shelves. This closet of shelves will serve as your dresser drawers, as all other drawers in the room are too small for clothes. We found it quite suitable for 7 days, despite our over packing. The mirrored doors serve as your full length mirror. The closet had PLENTY of hangers, wooden suit hangers, slacks hangers, and skirt hangers. I would say there were 40 or more. I could have used a few less shirt hangers and a few more skirt hangers, but as I said I over packed. There is a shelf above with extra blankets and pillows and more storage space.
The floor below held two of our suitcases (our third and largest suitcase) fit easily under the bed) and ALL of our shoes. The bathroom holds a decent full-sized bathtub. I did in fact take a bath one night and it was quite comfortable. There is also a toilet and a sink, with a good amount of counter space. In addition to the counter, there are two small shelves to the left of the mirror and a large shelf below the sink, all with a small railing to keep things from sliding off. All in all, a lot of bathroom storage for a week. There were two bath towels, two hand towels, two face clothes, a terry cloth bath mat, and a rubber bath mat too. If you require additional towels (as for long hair), merely ask your room steward and one will appear each day. The towels are far from fluffy. They are rather rough and small in size. Princess also participates in a eco-project which encourages passengers to use their towels more than one day. If you wish to participate you hang your towel on the rack. When you wish for clean towels simply throw them on the floor and they will be replaced with clean towels. Two beach towels are also provided, although more are available upon request. These towels are much larger and fluffier than the bath towels.

Just past the closet hallway are a mirror and a small counter for change, room keys and what not. This small counter at first seemed frivolous but it was actually quite useful. We kept our room keys here when we were in the room, and we always knew where they were. Past this is the bedroom area. To the right is the queen-sized bed (actually two single beds fitted together with queen sheets), with a nightstand on each side. The nightstands have a open shelf and two drawers each. They are each topped with a lamp. There is also an overhead light which is quite bright. There are control switches located all about the room for all the lights. This is quite convenient, especially the ones on the head of the bed for the bedside and overhead lights. The bed is made up with 3 pillows, I think. They are extremely comfortable pillows. There are soft sheets and blanket on the bed in addition to the bedspread. The steward removed the spread the first night, but we pulled it out because we were cool and the rest of the week the bed was turned down with the spread remaining. The bed was not too soft or too hard. We slept extremely well, and I frequently don't sleep well in hotels.

Just beyond the bed is the desk to the right (facing the balcony) and the mini-fridge to the left, in between there is the opening to the sitting area. There is no curtain or door separating the areas. This was not a problem for us, but if one of you rises early or stays up late AND the other requires complete darkness to sleep it might prove inconvenient. The desk is attached to the nightstand on the right. There is a mirror with a hairdryer on the wall. I had read much about the hairdryer's lack of power. I have shoulder length curly hair that is quite thick. I found that the hairdryer on the high setting was quite adequate to dry my hair. The writing surface was deep enough to write letters or keep a journal. There are three small drawers to the left of the desk. These were perfect for keeping hair accessories and makeup, as well as a corkscrew, bottle opener and the like. To the left, above the mini-fridge is one of the televisions (one remote control works for both). The TV runs several stations, including CNN, the ship channel (running current weather, port information, etc.), a movie station running somewhat current films, and a few other stations. Considering we sailed during the final days of the election hullabaloo, it was great to have CNN. Below the TV, is a counter with the complimentary bar set up, including 2 "airplane" size bottles each of Canadian Club (I think), Smirnoff Vodka, Gordon's Gin and Couvoisier (sp?). There were also, 2 cokes, 2 diet cokes, 2 tonic waters, a Perrier, and a quart of Evian. We asked to change all the liquor to vodka (we brought our own cognac, beer and wine), and all the soda to Coke. This was not a problem and was accomplished that night. The mini-fridge is located in a cabinet beneath this. It is empty except for an insulated ice bucket that was full of ice. There is a bowl of fruit delivered the first day and with it is a order form so you can customize your refills. We learned a trick from a neighbor.... if there is fruit you don't see on the order form write it in..... our neighbors got strawberries in their fruit bowl!

The sitting area consists of a sofa that is long enough for a 6-foot man to nap on, an armchair and a coffee table. There is another TV on a high shelf (opposite the first) and below it are a marble counter for storage and two shelves below. We used these for reading material and our beach/pool supplies so they were always handy. Beyond this is the balcony. There are two sets of drapes in front of the sliding glass doors, one sheer and one very dark and heavy. The heavy set closed completely and were effective "black-out" curtains. The balcony is not huge. It consisted of two armchairs, two arm chairs that reclined (not loungers), a table for eating or cards, and a foot stool. We felt that the two non-reclining chairs were unnecessary and cluttered the space; it did not occur to us until too late to ask to have them removed. A word of caution, they clean windows at night and so the balcony furniture was ALWAYS wet first thing in the morning. I started to keep one of the hand towels in the sitting area to dry off the chairs so I could go out and see the sunrise. The flooring on the balcony is plastic and rather hard, but contrary to what I had read it did not hurt my bare feet. The railing is wood and beneath it is tinted plexiglass. This is great so you can see the ocean while sitting, some of Princess' other ships are solid metal below the railing and you will only be able to see the water while standing. We were on the Dolphin deck and yes the balconies can be seen from above. I still contend...so what?. This never bothered us. The Caribe deck above had larger balconies that were part private but those rooms did not have sitting areas. The decks above that had completely private but they lacked sun, we were able to lay in the sun on our balcony.... and sun is why we came to the Caribbean. Keep in mind that NONE of the balconies have side partitions that are floor to ceiling. You can and will hear your neighbors’ conversations quite clearly, but as long as no one is too loud it is not a problem. Our neighbors never seemed to be on their balcony at the same time we were so it felt like the whole ship was ours.

In all the room was very comfortable and very attractively decorated. The color scheme is tans and light blue, very elegant and not at all flashy. I felt that Celebrity's rooms were too bright for a bedroom and really much more designed to hide dirt rather than be visually appealing. This room really felt like casually elegant. The sofa did have a spot or two from past suntanned lotioned guests, but that is really hard to avoid. Other than the sofa the room was spotless and remained that way throughout the week. I would HIGHLY recommend a mini-suite, if you can afford it.

SHIP/PUBLIC ROOMS: This ship is gorgeous. The public rooms are well thought out and attractively designed and decorated. I truly did not believe those that said you did not feel like you were on with 2700 other people. But you DON'T. Only at disembarkation did I see ALL those other people at once.

Pools:
The Neptune’s Reef pool, on Deck 14, is the main pool and is the most crowded. This is where the band plays and where most activities take place. There are many tables for dining poolside here. Also in this area are the Poseidon’s Pizzeria, the Ice Scream Bar (there is a charge for ice scream here-though it is Haagen Daz), a bar and Trident’s Grill. It is more difficult to find a lounger here, but I was always able to find ONE. Finding two together took more doing, often is required asking someone if they minded moving down one. It worked every time for me, and I did it for others often. The pool games were fun to watch but I never swam in this pool.

The Calypso Pool, also on Deck 14, is just beyond Neptune's Reef, a retractable roof covers it, and so in inclement weather you could swim here. Whenever I was in this area, mostly people napping in the afternoon, and the water aerobics class were using it. There were ALWAYS chairs available here. I only used this pool for water aerobics (it was held twice).

The adults-only pool is all the way aft on Deck 12. It is very windy back here. We sat by this pool one day and it is nice that it is adults only. There are lots of loungers here and there were always some available.

The Spa Pool, on Deck 15, is THE pool. It is the swim against the current pool. The current was set very high the day I swam against it and it provided a great workout. The pool is small and is flanked with two hot tubs. There are 8 teak loungers around the pool and they fill up fast (probably because they are the most comfortable loungers on the ship and there are only 8 of them), but there are lots of other loungers overlooking the pool and we were always able to find two together. This pool is hard to get to so it was never crowded. It seemed to always have the same people around it. Take the time to find this pool. It is adults only except 12-3 each day and then an adult must accompany children.

Poolside Bar Service:
We found the bar servers great. They did not shout out drink names or the like as they mingled, which we found very annoying on Celebrity. They simply walked by and if you wanted something, you called them over. We found that there were enough of them walking around that you never had to wait long for one to pass you when you were thirsty.... of course you could always go to the bar yourself too.... and there are several in the pool areas.

The Rest of the Public Area by Deck:

Deck 17: Skywalkers:
The view is awesome and you really need to go up there to see it. Other than that we never went up there

Deck 16/15:
Hot Tubs:
There are two hot tubs all the way aft on Deck 16. Never used them neither did anyone else I think.

Children's Zone/teen Zone:
This spans two floors. We did not see any teens using the teen zone. There were a few children in the children's pool area that seemed to be having a ball in the kiddie pool (a whale shaped splash pool with a small slide and a few sprinklers). I did not notice any misbehaving children. There were a lot of toddlers on board and all seemed well behaved and happy.

Basketball/Ping-Pong/Golf:
Basketball court was in use often, one time by a couple of young men playing cricket. I rarely saw anyone playing Ping-Pong. The putting green looked like fun but it is HARD to find. It is above the Ice Scream Bar, but you need to find the door to it and go up a staircase. Ask for directions. The virtual golf also looked like fun, but we never found the time to try it out. It did seem busy so if you are interested make a reservation early.

Video Arcade:
This is all the way aft. We did not use it but it looked well equipped.

The Spa/Beauty Salon:
It is well laid out and attractively presented. That said.... SKIP IT. The service was fair at best (I had a manicure) with big pitches for product. I found it neither relaxing or worth the price (which is much higher than at home). My manicure did not last a full week. I was kept waiting 10-15 minutes past my appointment time because my manicurist was chatting (I watched her) and then was rushed at the end so she would not be late for her next appointment. The polish was old and thick, but she used it anyway. It looked fine when she was done, but as I said it did not last. The service was adequate and the girl was very nice, but in all I would not do it again.

Gym: Very well equipped, with the exception of treadmills. There are 6-8 treadmills in all. There is a sign up sheet for use of the treadmills and it is needed. I was surprised that they were in such demand. The sign up sheet only allows for each person to stay on for 1/2 hour, which is less time than most users are used to and many exceeded their time, throwing off the schedule. There are also stationary bikes, stair machines, free weights and a life cycle weight system. There is also an aerobic room and many classes were offered. Kathy, the cruisercise coordinator, led these classes and the fitness events. She was not easy on you... the classes were tough, but fun. There is a reward coupon for attending classes or group fitness events like walk-a-mile, but not for use of the equipment. You can redeem the coupons for "cruisercise" logo merchandise at the end of the cruise. I attended 6 classes/events and had enough coupons for a water bottle. Not bad, plus I only gained 2 pounds!

Deck 14:
This is pools, bars and restaurants all which are covered above or below.

Deck 12 (there is no 13)-8:
Cabins only

Deck 7:
Vista Lounge:
This is one of the large show lounges. It is located all the way aft. We attended a few shows here but did not use it otherwise, except the morning of disembarkation when it was used for suite and mini-suite passenger to gather. This lounge is set up with couch seating with small cocktail tables. It did offer cocktail service during shows. Site lines were not great, mostly due to pillars and the rake of the floor not being sufficient to see over tall people in front of you.

Photo Shop:
I felt this way well handled for the most part. When in port or at other times when they were closed all the displays were folded in and did not obstruct the pathway. When open they did constrict the walkway somewhat but except for the last evening, when people rushed to buy their photos, it was not an issue.

Sabitini’s:
Very pretty spot. It is reviewed in the food section.

Wheelhouse Bar:
Cool area with a nice trio playing big band style music most evenings. Lovely seating designed to feel like a small intimate bar. Unfortunately, this bar had the worst service. Each time we used it my husband had to go to the bar to get our drinks, since no one came to our table.

Explorer’s Lounge:
This is a big space. It is used as a show lounge after dinner and for art auctions in the afternoon. It is a lovely area, which reminded me of Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile, sort of campy Egyptian with waiters in pith helmets and khaki’s. The woodwork is gorgeous and the décor elegant. It does have a few more private areas and prior to dinner it is almost deserted. One night we had the place all to ourselves for more than 45 minutes, at 6:30pm!

The Atrium (Center Decks 7-5):
I read a lot of complaints that the atrium is not grand enough for the Grand Princess. I found the atrium to be lovely and serviceable. It was convenient to use it to reach the stores, the purser and the dining rooms. It made a lovely gathering place for the Captain's Welcome Reception. It is beautifully appointed with glass elevators and spiral staircases. The string quartet at the base and the pianist in the lounge make it an elegant area for pre dinner drinks. Having purser’s offices on two floors also helped congestion. The purser’s officers however could stand a little more patience and humor.

In this area are the ship's shops. There is a clothier, a perfumery, a jewelry shop and a notions and cruisewear/logo shop. The prices were reasonable and the selection very good. A couple of days they held "sidewalk" sales that made the area a little crowded but tolerable. Bathing suits were very reasonably priced at $30. I almost bought one the selection was great. The perfume was guaranteed to meet or beat the island prices and they did. So I bought my perfume on the ship. Chanel 5 was less than in Denver and St. Thomas; it was the same as St. Maarten.

The Painted Desert:
Reviewed in the Food Section. If you go choose a table to the left of the entrance since a lot of people will wander through to get to the Princess Theatre after the dining room lets out. The walkway for them is to the right.

The Hearts & Minds Wedding Chapel:
This is a cute little chapel. We renewed our vows on the cruise and had a lovely ceremony here. It is conducted by “a” captain on the ship… don’t be fooled it is not THE captain. The vow renewal package is nice though. We received a bottle of Moet & Chandon champagne, a bouquet and boutonniere (which were GORGEOUS… I took them home), the ceremony, a certificate and an 8x10 framed photo. ($149 for the package). It is a brief ceremony and they do many of them, you meet in the Painted Desert prior to wait your turn, but they do give you AND your party a glass of champagne while you wait.

Limelight Studio:
I have NO idea what this is. I assumed it was the photo shops studio, but I have since read a post lamenting it’s closing… so now I am confused as to what it is. Sorry.

Business Center:
Your standard business center, EXCEPT this is where you go to reserve a time for virtual golf. Go figure.

Promenade Bar:
This is where the espresso bar is. It seemed very nice.

The Princess Theatre (Decks 7 & 6):
This is all the way forward. Deck 7 is the upstairs entrance. This lounge is the MAIN show lounge and headliners perform here. The sight lines are much better. There is NO cocktail service but there are small drink trays that pop up from the armrest if you choose to use them. It does get crowded early and if you are in the late seating for dinner it may be hard to find a seat, due to first seating people attending both shows.

Deck 6:

Botticelli Dining Room:
This is a pretty dining room, much like the others. The only catch with this one is that the only way to get there is the stairs and elevators all the way aft. You cannot walk down Deck 6 to get here. Therefore the entryway does get congested prior to dinner.

Da Vinci Dining Room:
This was our dining room and it is the dining room that is open for breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea. As with all the dining rooms, it is well laid out with short walls dividing the room into more intimate seating areas… it works… we never felt like we were eating with 500 other people. The ceilings are too low though and noise does bounce around some. We never had to raise our voices to speak to our table companions but it did have a din to the place.

The linens are lovely Egyptian linen by Frette. They are different almost nightly, I believe, as are the wait staff’s attire. The silver, china and stemware are also very nice. The décor here, as throughout the ship, is top notch and very elegant.

Atrium Deck 6:
Some of the shops are on level 6 they are discussed above. The Casino entrance is on Deck 6 in the atrium. It is a large casino. We did not use it, but we did walk through many times. It always smelled of lingering smoke but it was never overwhelming (and I have a pretty sensitive nose). They did offer gaming lessons and several blackjack, slots and poker tournaments were held.

Snookers Lounge:
We walked through once. This is the sports lounge. They advertised what sports would be on each day in the patter but it was always subject to satellite coverage. I had read it was frequently poor coverage. I wish we had found this spot earlier, but we did fine without it.

Deck 5:
Michelangelo Dining Room:
This dining room is closed except for dinner.

Atrium area:
On Deck 5 of the atrium are the library, listening room, and computer area. The library and writing area are really quite lovely, though the library hours are really too short. The writing area has a large amount of free stationary and postcards (only one picture), with comfortable desks that face the ocean. The library even had needlepoint kits for sale. The game room had tons of games to borrow of many kinds. This room always seemed to have activity. The listening chairs were only sparsely used, as was the computer area. The area right across from the listening chairs (chairs where you could listen to CD's or books on tape) and adjacent to the writing area was consistently being used to sell future cruises. I really felt it spoiled the solitude and the look of this area.

Also in this area is the art gallery. It is set up gallery style and displays many of the works that will be auctioned during the week. Even if you don’t intend to buy, it is a nice area to browse through.

On this level of the atrium is the lobby bar. I believe this is the atrium bar with a pianist. While we walked around in this area prior to dinner most evenings we never sat at one of these lounges. The pianist seemed pretty good. FOOD:
This area was a hit and miss category for us. We were pleasantly surprised by some and disappointed in other areas.

Horizon Court:
The Horizon Court buffet was a disappointment. It is a beautiful room with lots of window seating. In addition the deck areas had a great number of tables and chairs to use as well. The buffet itself is not one long line but five or so food stations. An attendant handed you a large oval plate and silverware (often wrapped in a cloth napkin-but not always), you take this to whatever station you choose to start and begin. We found this system very efficient, but it definitely confused others used to the one line method. I never had to wait in line for anything here. The food, however, lacked imagination, seasoning and often heat. It was standard buffet fare no better or worse than a Country Buffet or the like back home. The salad bar was fresh and well stocked and there was always a large selection of cheese, fruit and breads. The cold cuts looked unappealing and the side dishes were lacking. There was always something carved. We rarely ate here but I would often wander in to see if they had something tempting. We never ate here at night when it was the Bistro, so we cannot comment.

The Outdoor Grill and Pizzeria:
The Outdoor Grill was excellent. The burgers, hot dogs, and bratwurst were cooking on a grill when you stepped up they were not in a warming tray. French fries were taken out of the oil in front of my eyes. Even at busy times the line was never more than a few deep. One word of caution we like our hamburger medium rare and each time we got a burger it was a little pink inside. Great for us, but we know many people like their meat cooked through. Just asked the attendant to make sure yours is well done. A man ahead of me did this and the cook did just that. The pizzeria was also very good and we never waited long for a fresh slice. I also never saw a pizza sit out long. Fresh pizzas were out every few minutes. I REALLY enjoyed the pizza and found it to my New England taste, my husband thought it was good, but not great. It just shows everyone's taste is different. Attendants in both locations (on either side of the pool deck) were helpful and pleasant, esp. when treated the same way.

Sabitini's:
We did not dine there, nor did we talk to anyone who had. The surcharge for this restaurant has gone up to $15.00 per person, and while we were willing to pay the extra we did not feel the menu warranted the additional charge. For what it is worth here is the menu:

Antipasti:
Prosciutto & Melon
Marinated Shrimp and Artichoke Salad
Mushrooms in Olive Oil and Tarragon
Steamed Mussels in Garlic, Fennel and Saffron Sauce
Crab Cakes with Caviar Garnish
Anchovy Crostini
Air Cured Beef Filet with Grilled Vegetables and Sundried Tomatoes
Batter Fried Oysters with Tapenade
Pizza:
Smoked Salmon, Fresh Tomato with Capers and Dill Pineapple, Prosciutto, and Goat Cheese Ham, Mozzarella, basil Mozzarella and Cheddar Cheese, Red & Yellow Pepper, Avacado, Zucchini, and Mushroom

Soup & Salad:
Minestrone or Seafood Cioppino in a Bread bowl Baby Greens tossed tableside with Balsamic Dressing

Pasta:
Noodles in Tomato Sauce with Mussels and Clams
Gnocchi in a Smoked Fontina Cheese Fondue
Cannelloni with Eggplant, Ricotta cheese and Sirloin

Entrees:
Atlantic Salmon or Chilean Sea Bass in a lemon white wine sauce with risotto
Langoustine with lemon and cilantro
Jumbo Sea Scallops seasoned with black pepper and Galliano
Lobster Tail with Champagne Butter
Tiger Prawns with a garlic sauce
Rosemary Chicken with a truffle demiglace
Shallot Crusted Veal Chop with sweetbreads and Marsala

The Brunch had a different and smaller menu (same surcharge) but included some alcoholic beverages.

Painted Desert:
This restaurant also has a surcharge, but it is $3.50 per person. We had read rave reviews about this restaurant, esp. the filet, so we decided to try it out. It does seem to have a separate kitchen, which leads you to believe they would be capable of better standards. Our appetizers were good. I had a melted Brie Quesadilla with Papaya Salsa and my husband had the Empanadas. The quesadilla was excellent but the salsa was only okay. It tasted like it had not had enough time for the flavors to marry. The empanadas were delicious but they were a bit dry and would have benefited from a dipping sauce. For entrees, we had the filet and the chicken fajitas. The fajitas were very dry, it seemed like they forgot to marinate the meat or the veggies at all. The filet had two problems: first, it is not a filet mignon (a problem in the dining room too), it is more like a tenderloin or a beef tip steak; and secondly, it did not taste like it had been grilled. It almost tasted like it had been microwaved. If it had not been rare, I would have sworn they had microwaved it. The sauce did not enhance the meat (a roasted tomato/pine nut sauce) instead it tasted like tomato juice with a pine nut or two thrown on top. Neither dish was bad; they were just not up to the dining room standards, let alone the reviews I had read. The drinks were excellent and the chips and salsa were very good. Our server was cold at first but warmed up later. She was thrown however when we declined dessert.

Room Service:
We had breakfast and afternoon tea in our room twice. Both times the service good and the food was fine. I have yet to have a room service meal as hot as it should be, so it is almost impossible for the food to be it's best. Breakfast was attractively presented with all the selections we order correctly prepared. The coffee was better than anticipated. The sweets and sandwiches served with tea were tasty. I enjoyed the scones with cream and strawberries, but they were somewhat disappointing from an English ship. I expected on a British ship to have fine tea and fresh flaky scones with devonshire cream and fresh strawberries. Instead, the tea was Lipton's (as it was throughout the ship-only at tea time it was brewed not baggies), the scones were on the hard side and only one flavor (currant), the cream was simply whipped (though it tasted fresh), and the strawberries were jam. Call me picky, but I love a proper English tea. I think Celebrity did a much better job of tea, although this is the only thing in which I found Celebrity superior. One other small complaint regarding room service is that with coffee or tea cream was served in the little plastic containers instead of in a pitcher. It is a small thing, but when dining on the balcony those little plastic containers were hard to keep from blowing into the sea.

Dining Room:
Breakfast:
We ate breakfast in the dining room three times. All our meals were good and the service was fine. The final morning service was a bit rushed but that was understandable. The egg dishes that I had were all overcooked for me. I like a runny yolk, neither my sunny side up eggs nor my eggs benedict were runny. The hollandaise on the eggs benedict was placed on the eggs too soon and by the time the reached us the hot eggs had cooked the sauce to a dry sticky mess. Surprisingly, they still tasted good. Go figure. The pastries are really the highlight at breakfast and since they are not hot, I preferred to eat them on my balcony.

Lunch:
Lunch in the dining room was disappointing, but we only tried it once. The sandwich (Rueben) was very different than any Rueben I have ever had and not to my liking. I think my disappointed stemmed as much from our dining companions as the sandwich. We were unfortunately seated with a very sour couple and a couple where one partner was very hard of hearing. This made for a LONG lunch. I really wish that in the open seating meals you could choose to sit alone if you prefer; the same is true for tea. I would have really enjoyed tea by myself one day with my book, but instead I was typically with 8-10 others. Our service at lunch was excellent. Our waiter (not our regular waiter) got me potato chips even though they were not on the menu; he was really very funny about it. The ice cream (banana walnut) was also very good.
Afternoon Tea:
This daily event was beautifully presented and elegantly served. That said, the sandwiches, sweets and scones, while tasty, lacked variety and imagination. The tea was brewed Lipton’s. There were no tea alternatives, like Earl Grey or Darjeeling. The scones were always currant. I also would have preferred more seating options.

Dinner:
Dinners were outstanding. We got off to a rocky start. The first evening we sent our butler down with a bottle of wine for dinner. We arrived at dinner, but our wine did not. The asst. waiter said it was never sent. Our waiter said it was never sent. The headwaiter said it was never sent. So we called our butler, who FLEW down to the dining room to speak with the headwaiter. Just prior to his arrival the wine magically appeared. It had not however been chilled. Oh well, we enjoyed it anyway. The next night and every night after, our wine was ready and waiting. We were never charged a corkage fee, even though all our wine was our own. After that initial incident, our waiter, Eduardo, and headwaiter, Michele, were great (our asst waiter Zoltan was a very sweet young man, but still had some work to do on efficiency). Our tablemates (who were great) at our four top (we requested a table for two) tipped the headwaiter in advance. I do not know how much he tipped but I have never seen a headwaiter so involved in a table before. He brought us the menu for the next night each evening and if we did not find something to our liking he would take special requests. One night three of our table had filets (sort of) that were not on the menu, one night we had a special pasta, one night shrimp cocktails and three nights special dessert cakes. We have celebrated special occasions at sea before and the other lines brought you their standard birthday/anniversary cake. We celebrated three occasions between us. The first was our 10th anniversary and they brought was looked like the "standard" cake. Since we had already had dessert we did not eat it. I bet that was a mistake, because two days later we celebrated our tablemates’ 40th anniversary with a special cake. Michele asked us the day before what kind of cake we wanted. John (our table mate) said strawberry shortcake. The next night a strawberry shortcake cake arrived. It was gorgeous and really good. With it came a huge plate of chocolate covered strawberries. Amazing... so amazing the table next to us asked what we had (she continued to ask this every night as we received special treats). The last night was Betty's birthday and we got a delicious chocolate mousse cake with strawberries in the filling. It was truly amazing. The desserts on other nights were also really excellent, esp. the soufflés and the raspberry crème brulee. Appetizers were mostly standard. The escargot and the shrimp cocktail were very good, the caviar pretty awful. The soups were good not great, except the onion soup, which was outstanding. The salads were very good. The entrees and the pastas were consistently excellent.
I was esp. impressed that the meat was cooked to the temperature ordered. I have never had a ship or banquet in a hotel manage it before. My husband and I like our meat rare, John and Betty liked their's medium-well. They were all right EVERY time. Even prime rib, which is hard to get rare. The duck was also very good, crisp and tender, but not greasy. The lobster was raved about. I am allergic so I can't say. The only dish I had that I was not crazy about was the spicy shrimp on rice dish. It was only so so. The bread was very good too. All in all, we were VERY pleasantly surprised by the food and the service we received.

ENTERTAINMENT:
Extremely unsatisfactory. Luckily we did not expect much. We both have a theatre background and have been disappointed in the entertainment on all our cruises. We skipped many of the shows after the first few. The singing and dancing in the opening show was so bad we did not go to any more of that type of show. In all the talent, for the most part, was of amateur status.

There was also nightly musical entertainment in the lounges and the Painted Desert. These trios, quartets and soloists were usually pretty good, but still not great.

Sunday:
Princess Theatre-Grand Adventure Showtime This had a comedian (Glenn Hirsch) who was moderately funny at best. Somewhat in the Rodney Dangerfield “I get no respect” style, but not as good. Also, Body Balancing with Reynolds and Macaggi. This is a strange act. The body balancing feats were pretty good, but I have seen college cheerleaders do as well, but it was two men wearing what appeared to be biking shorts doing cheerleader lifts to disco music. I sat there feeling like I was interrupting a private moment. Please keep in mind I am NOT a prude, I just thought this act was a strange choice for a ship with a largely older clientele. Also included were the Grand Princess Singers and Dancers. Very amateurish.

Also available that night: A movie in the Vista Lounge and a dance party in the Explorer’s Lounge.

Monday:
Vista Lounge-Comedy Showtime:
Again Glenn Hirsch, we decided to try him again since we were so tired the first night. He was not better, in fact we left early because he was repeating so many jokes from the night before and practically begging the audience to laugh…. It was kind of sad. Also available that night: Rhythms of the City, a song and dance review in the Princess Theatre, dancing and late night Karaoke in the Explorer’s Lounge.

Tuesday:
We attended no entertainment this night. Available were: Jugglers called Freefall and a late night movie in the Princess Theatre; 50’s party in the Explorer’s Lounge (late night was a game show called the Liar’s Club and then dancing); a Cabaret with Combo Fiasco (a Australian Trio doing showtunes and some light opera) and late night cruise staff show in the Vista Lounge.

Wednesday:
Princess Theatre-Celebrity Showtime: Marty Allen and his wife Karon “Kate” Blackwell. Karon Blacwell can sing but her act needs to come out of the 70’s. Her choreography did not help her look good and her song selection is dated. Marty Allen, however, was very funny. He was the entertainment highlight of the week.

Also available that night:
Country night with dancing in the Explorer’s Lounge, late night was Princess Pyramid (a game show) and then dancing; a song and dance review called Gotta Sing/Gotta Dance in the Vista Lounge.

Thursday Night:
Tropical Island Deck Party by the Pools. The Band Status played. They were a reggae style band and in my opinion the best band on the ship.

Also available that night: Gala Showtime featuring Reynolds and Macaggi (this time doing acrobatics and singing and dancing) in the Princess Theatre; Concert Showtime featuring Eric Stone doing an evening of Andrew Lloyd Weber (singing and piano-the rest of the week he played in the atrium lounge) followed by dancing in the Explorer’s Lounge; and a movie in the Vista Lounge

Friday Night:
Comedy Showtime-Vista Lounge Wali Collins-This gentleman was much funnier than the earlier comedian. We enjoyed this show.

Also available that night: “Lights, Camera, Action” and song and dance review in the Princess Theatre; the Newlywed/Not so Newlywed Game, Karoake and dancing in the Vista Lounge.

Saturday Night:
Farewell Showtime-Vista Lounge This featured Wali Collins again (who did not repeat his act from the night before), the jugglers Freefall and the trio Combo Fiasco. Wali Collins was funny again. The jugglers were pretty good, but I swear they were two high school kids. Combo Fiasco was campy doing showtunes and light opera, but they were just not up to my standards.

Also available that night: Movie in the Princess Theatre; Karoake in the Explorer’s Lounge followed by dancing. Also the Passenger Talent show late night in the Vista Lounge.

SERVICE: Room Steward:
Excellent. Our room was spotless and all our requests were filled promptly. Danny was very pleasant and had a good command of the English language.

Butler:
Awesome. I cannot believe they are doing away with this. It was so nice to have a single point of contact for all our needs. We called Darren for room service, laundry needs, reservations, planning our vow renewal, wine coordination with the dining room, breakfast on the balcony, in short, everything. We tipped him in advance and he was right on top of everything. He was charming and efficient. It was well worth the extra to go to the mini-suite both for the room and for Darren. He also brought the dinner menu to us each evening with canapés. He brought us pitcher of fresh orange juice to enjoy with our bar (no charge), which we kept in our fridge. He brought us tender tickets for Princess Cays so we did not have to wait in line. What a great service. I am actually writing to Princess to express my displeasure with the discontinuation of this service.

Wait Staff:
This was covered in the food section regarding our regular wait staff. Other wait staff was efficient and friendly. There are some language challenges.

Other:
As previously mentioned, the meet and greet at the airport is poor. The purser’s staff could use a great deal more patience. They frequently sounded irritated to be bothered, esp. on the final day when billing issues arose. While I understand that they are faced with many rude customers, it is their job to handle these issues. It is only a few hours, it should not be too hard or too much to expect them to remain cheerful and polite. I saw several come very close to yelling at passengers. However, if you remained cheerful and polite you were treated in kind, for the most part.

Billing was an issue however. I was seriously undercharged on my cruise card. A credit had been issued to my account for our vow renewal instead of a charge. Therefore, I was not only NOT charged for the vow renewal I was credited that amount. I went to the purser’s office to bring it to their attention. I waited almost 15 minutes in line. When I reached the desk the gentleman did not seem to understand what I was saying. He did notice the credit and went in the back to discuss it. He came back and said he would have to charge me for the vow renewal. I said no problem, but I think you will also need to charge me for some other items…no, no he said. I tried to explain the situation but he assured me he was correct. So I thanked him and left. A few minutes later, as we are getting our carry on luggage from our room the phone rings. It is the purser. I was correct. Could I come back to the purser’s office to pay for the additional charges. Fine. I went down and waited again. This time I waited close to 30 minutes. As I cleared it up finally and walked away, I am paged to come to the purser’s office. Back I go, I do NOT wait in line. The purser assures me I do not have to stay I am taken care off. In all, if they had got it right the first time none if it would have happened, OR if they had listened to me I would have only waited once to fix and pay for THEIR error. Instead my final morning was completely spent attending to billing instead of enjoying my morning. No good deed goes unpunished.

In all service was good but spotty. Those that were good were very very good and those that weren’t well……

Princess really needs to work on first and last impressions…in between is pretty good.

PORTS:
We had been to St. Thomas and St. Maarten before so we only got off the ship briefly to shop. My husband was under the weather with a cold so we did not go to the beaches as planned.

Princess Cays:
Princess has the private island thing down. There are so many options. There are loungers…lots and lots of loungers….buffets, hammocks, volleyball, a kid’s play area, and lots of gear to rent. You can rent snorkel gear, Hobie Cats, sailboats, Aqua bikes, kayaks, paddle wheels, Waverunners, banana boats, and floats. The buffet/BBQ was from 11:30-1:30 and was pretty good. Lots of bars and waiters. Here’s a tip. EVERYONE GOES TO THE LEFT, GO TO THE RIGHT. The right side is empty. It has bars, a buffet and lots of loungers. It does not have shops, locals selling trinkets and hair braiding, a kid’s area or hammocks. If you want those things go left, if you want to relax on the beach, go right.

DISEMBARKATION:
In a suite or mini-suite it was no problem. You go to the Vista Lounge where they have coffee, sweet rolls, CNN and newspapers and wait. No crowds, no hassle. Unless you have to wait for the purser. This is the ONLY time however I felt the bulk of all the passengers. Not bad, but this is the area that the cruise industry as a whole has to work on. The feeling is always “ we enjoyed having you… now get your butt of our ship…fast.” Not a great final memory of a great trip.

SUMMARY:
This was a great vacation. Would I go Princess again, absolutely. On the Grand Princess… You bet. I feel it was our best cruise yet.