honestokie

When we sailed on the Grand Princess we had anytime dining. We did not experience any waits or problems. Of course we went around 6:30 and got right in!

Not as of yet, unless you count the sail away drink cup!!!

I love em both! Actually I enjoyed the port days to see new things... however, the sea days were great to just relax and soak up the sun and also participate in the activities on board and I met some great people!!!

We arrived at the port at 11 and was onboard by 11:30---went very smoothly for us. We experienced the new disembarkation process and again I had no complaints at all!!!! We met in the casino for a 9 am disembaration. Were off the ship by 9:35! It went fast, although we sat on the transport back to the airport for a while HA!!! Word to those first timers.... beware if you are leaving from FTL airport, you get there early, but can't check luggage until 4 hours before flight and there are tons of people sitting around all morning. Can't go through security until 2 hours before flight. But still, overall it was a great experience!!!!

Thanks everyone!!! Yes, I am definitely CRUISE CRAZY!!!!

[font=Tahoma Well, I am now an experienced cruiser!!! (I went with my father, whom many thought was my hubby--- ) We flew to FTL and upon arrival at the air port we saw the group of Princess employees. We collected our luggage and went over to wait for the transport to the ship. There was one lady who was just RUDE. I still get hot when I think of her and her attitude. I tried to let it go to enjoy the vacation.... Upon arriving at the port, we had a short 15 minute wait before they called our group to get on ship. Being my first cruise I had no idea what to expect. Granted, this is an older ship, but I found it to be clean and HUGE. We had no problem finding our cabin, which was neat and tidy. Our cabin steward, Armando, was awesome! He greeted me any time he saw me by name and was very helpful. (Little did I know that they only work for room and board and tips????!!!) We went up to the Lido deck for the sail away party. The party started and ended and we were still in port. They came on the speaker and we sailed an hour and a half late due to someone's flight and bad weather. I thought that was nice for them to wait that long, but it was dark by the time we left port and didn't get to see anything. I enjoyed the MUTS and we watched Brett and the Packers get beat with probably half of the ship. That was a great experience, we found that the ship's pool divided the Packers Fans from the Giant's fans. They brought sandwiches, snacks, etc (pass on the popcorn, it was always burnt tasting) to everyone while the game was underway. They also handed out the tube things for everyone to beat and make noise when their team scored, etc. It was also nice to lay out and have a movie going.... My dad was totally against eating in the dining room, however, I got him to go one night. It was nice, and we met a really nice couple while dining. The rest of the time I was forced to eat at the Horizon Court buffet. I was disappointed that there were not many veggies though. The night we went to Grand Cayman, I went to the dessert station (which always had great looking desserts) and tried a piece of what I thought was chocolate cake. When I took a bite, I tasted nothing but rum. I pressed on the cake with my fork and it literally was soaked in rum. I laughed and my dad ate the rest. (I'm not a big drinker) There was a lot to do on the ship, however, I was not impressed with the cruise director and staff. The comics on board were fairly good and the hypotist was great. I went to his seminar on relaxation and was totally relaxed the whole day!!! We went to the casino and didn't win anything. We did not see anyone win anything on the slot machines, so don't waste too much money on them!!! The game shows on board were fun for those who participated, although not many cruisers attended them. My dad spent a lot of time in the cabin, so I roamed around the ship a lot. I met a lot of people and they were very friendly. I was up early every morning and took tons of pictures of the sun rise and again at sunset. We had a full moon during our cruise and pictures were gorgeous!!! Speaking of pictures, I tried to get my dad to take pictures with me at night, he refused. The pictures at each port he wouldn't smile or had some weird expression on his face. But that's my dad and I love him. So I didn't spend any money on the photos. Ocho Rios was different! As soon as we got off the ship we were bombarded with taxi drivers, a man trying to sell us wacky weed, etc. We just said no and kept walking. Grand Cayman was beautiful!!!! I took the highlight tour there and was not disappointed. Cozumel was ok, a lot of shop owners outside begging you to enter their store and giving away soda or drinks for you to come in and just look. While at Princess Cays (which I stayed on the ship and baked in the 87 degree weather , a couple came back on board around one and said that they made everyone get out of the water because some woman hit some rocks and they had to perform CPR for a while. When we got back to FTL there were 3 ambulances there taking people off and after we got our luggage, there was a man laying on a table and they were screaming for someone to call 911. That sorta spooked me! Staff were constantly cleaning the ship. The wait staff on the lido deck were not very friendly and people often had to flag them down to order drinks. Overall I enjoyed the experience, it was well worth the wait. Now that I know what to expect I am ready to book another one. My boyfriend and I are booking a cruise with Carnival on the Conquest for November. I am sure that I will have more fun the next time going with someone my age and of similar interests!!! I am addicted!!!!

Thanks everyone!!!! I leave in the morning to start the journey to the port. I will be sure to post a review of the cruise for everyone when I return!!!!

Congrats on the new booking!!!!

Welcome home. Looking forward to reading the review!!

Sorry to hear your experience wasn't what you had hoped for. Now I'm a bit concerned with my sail on the Grand in January!!!

Thank you so much for the review!!!

I saw it!! AWESOME

Welcome aboard...This is a great site to find answers to all of your cruise questions!!!

Welcome onboard pepe!!! Hope to see you posting often

Welcome to CruiseCrazies....Make yourself at home and post often!!!!

Welcome aboard gkhoffhous Hope to see you posting often!!!

Wecome aboard!!!! Hope to see you posting often!!!

Welcome aboard!!!!

Thank you so much for the information!!! I talked with my friends, and once I return from my cruise in January we are going to pick a date and book for the next cruise for 2009. That way we have plenty of time to pay it off and save extra for excursions!!!

Thank you Rogue for the info!!! I will definitely make sure to book another cruise on the ship then.

First and foremost, I want to say Thank you to everyone here.... I haven't posted a lot as of yet, but I do enjoy reading the forums and have learned a lot. Everyone is very helpful and friendly here, unlike another site I joined (and I haven't returned since finding cruise crazies!) I noticed a lot of you have the future cruises on your posts. I also know that you can book future cruises while on the cruise and perhaps getting a discount? I don't know if I read it or saw it on the travel channel, but do they also let you book with a lower deposit? Can I book a cruise for myself and others? Also, a couple of girls I work with want the three of us to go on a cruise. One is married, the other two of us are single. We don't want to go on a young singles cruise or anything, just a nice cruise that leaves out of Galveston (a 9 hr drive for us). Also, how far in advance can you book a cruise? We'd like to go on a nice one, but need to pay a little at a time. Any suggestions on a ship that leaves Galveston and that 3 girls can go on, feel safe, and have a lot of fun?

Welcome aboard HavinsNest!! Looking forward to getting to know you!

Welcome Aboard lyn2005!!!!

Thank you again to everyone!!! Gregswife, I already feel so welcomed here!!!! I am just jealous of everyone as I have yet to set sail I booked a cruise on Carnival for myself and my girls, then Katrina hit NO the week before. Carnival moved our port to Galveston, so we drove to Galveston the day before we were to leave and at 1 AM, Carnival called my cell and stated they were cancelling the cruise. They wanted me to book over Christmas, but that was impossible. They refunded the money, but offered nothing else in return. The girls and I were disappointed, and hopefully sometime in the near future we will rebook....

Thank you to everyone for the warm welcome and the suggestions. I will have to talk to my dad and hopefully he will agree to switch the dining preference.