I sailed on the Grand Princess of the Princess Cruise
Line. I don’t know if it’s officially
classified as a mid-range ship but that’s what I’m calling it. It didn’t have the stuff you’d seen on one of
the mega-huge ships. There was no
climbing wall or wave pool or anything like that. What it did have was multiple pools and hot
tubs, shops, a few restaurants, several clubs, a spa, a wedding chapel, a gym,
a casino, and a huge theater that could seat half the people on the boat. More than enough to keep my interest. And then there are the bars …
Before I started my research on cruises, I really had no
idea how many people hop a ship just to get hammered and not have to drive
home. Everywhere you turned, they were
offering you booze; duty-free bottles for sale in the shops while at sea, drink
menus on the tables on Christmas day, a champagne waterfall in the piazza
(sorry I missed that one). There was a drink
of the day listed in the Princess Patter, the newspaper with the rundown of
ship activities delivered to the room every day. I had my first drink on embarkation day from
a waitress who just happened to have an extra drink of the day on her
tray. One of the many packages offered
for purchase before the cruise was for alcohol.
Most of the research I’d done said it wasn’t worth the price unless you
were a serious boozehound and since I rarely drink, I took a pass. I did have about 5 drinks total while I was
on board, other than that it was water and coffee the whole time.
There was a steakhouse and an Italian restaurant that were
reservation-only and filled up quickly for Christmas day. There were also three formal dining
rooms. I wanted to hit one of those on
the 25th but the line was too long.
So I went to the standard buffet on deck 14 where I ate most of my
meals. They had a huge selection of
pretty good food available most of the day.
There were occasional theme nights based on different nationalities like
Mexican or Asian. Breakfast was always
the highlight for me as they served a variation of French Toast every day
(crispy and delicious). And, of course,
the fries. French fries are my favorite
food. The buffet served them every
day. They were also served at the burger
joint near the back of the ship, so I did my fair share of indulging. So many fries …
I didn’t expect the crew to be so international,
particularly on a ship sailing from America to Mexico. The first woman I spoke to worked in the spa
and was from Poland. The woman doing the
Muster Drill (the mandatory safety demonstration) was South African. The captain and the activities director were
British. There were multiple Asian and
Hispanic folk on board, making the crew a real cross section of
nationalities.
As for the passengers, it was a good mix of people. The ship had about 3,000 people; not all
elders, not all kids, many of them were my age or younger. I heard a lot of Chinese in the lobbies and
elevators but judging by the quilted jackets and vests, I guessed they were
from SF Chinatown. (Seriously, nearly
everyone in the city wore some version of a quilted jacket. They were everywhere.)
Another thing I didn’t expect was how hard this cruise line
still holds onto the whole Love Boat angle.
For any of you who don’t remember the show, this was the exact cruise
route they always took, sailing from SF to ports in Mexico. I think that boat’s name was the Ocean
Princess, but the route is the same. The
original cast from the show were actors in the safety video and there was a
plaque near the piazza that commemorated the cast getting a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame.
I’d been warned about the tiny rooms on cruises, but I was
pleasantly surprised. The room was a
decent size with a view of the water just past the lifeboat. There was a mini fridge under the ‘bar’ area
and a decent sized TV. No live television
at sea, but plenty of movies, some documentaries and, yes, episodes of the Love
Boat. Only the bathroom was the size of
a dime. That took some getting used to;
bathing was always an acrobatic act of trying not to bump my elbows on the tile
or brain myself with the shower head when the boat lurched.
I have to admit, I missed out on a lot of the
activities. I’m not a fan of schedules
when I travel as my daily life is already regimented enough. While there was always something interesting
happening on the ship – bingo, trivia contests, art auctions, live
entertainment, demonstrations, movies – I mostly just wandered from event to
event, catching what I could. I’d drift
through the casino into the piazza to see mariachi players, then slide through
a club where there was a lesson in line-dancing on stage, then head up to my
favorite spot on the Lido deck and watch the kids splash around in the
pool. I willed myself to stay up late
one night to catch a movie by the stars (Spiderman: Far from Home – saw it
already in Hilton Head but wanted to see it again on the big screen) and saw a
portion of a musical in the theater on the last night at sea but that was a
about it for me.
The only problems I had were minor. The toilet was an issue. It’s a vacuum based system making it very
loud and only occasionally reliable. I’d
have to babysit it sometimes before leaving the room which was annoying. The first night was rough because the entire
room creaked with every movement of the ocean.
It didn’t help that I was exhausted, still adjusting to the time change
(Cali is three hours behind Atlanta, and we’d lose another two hours on the way
to Mexico), and the room never did get warm enough no matter how much I played
with the thermostat. I ended up
congested with a runny nose for the last few days of the trip.
Overall, I loved the whole cruise experience. Food was always available with no dishes to
wash, the housekeeping staff were excellent, and the other passengers were very
nice. I’ve always enjoyed being on the
water and appreciated the freedom offered on board. Though events were scheduled every day,
nothing was mandatory. You were free to
pick and chose what you wanted to do even if that was just sitting on the deck
with a book and some tunes (my favorite).
I didn’t get seasick, despite some choppy weather at the end of the trip.
Even though there were a few hiccups, I’d definitely do it again. Except next time I’m getting a balcony.
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