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Ship Details
Began service: May, 1998
Guest capacity: 2,600
Total staff: 1,100
Length: 951 feet
Passenger decks: 18
CDC
inspection score: 94
Grand Princess Overview
The Grand Princess cruise ship departs from Galveston,
TX, Venice, Italy, and Barcelona,
Spain. Throughout the year, she offers ocean cruises to Europe and the Caribbean.
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Check Dates & Prices for cruises to Europe and Caribbean.
Grand Princess, one of the world's largest passenger
ships, is very distinctive-looking, with its 159-foot bridge across
the bow and a unique nightclub suspended across the stern 150 feet
above the water. Inside, the ship's decor is casual yet sophisticated,
with an upscale ambience.
Her charm and abundant activities appeal to first-time cruisers and
seasoned veterans as a seagoing resort -- a cut above her mass market
competitors.
Cabins - more than half with balconies - are fairly spacious and
very attractive with a small sitting area near picture windows or
balconies.
With three dining rooms and three alternative restaurants, plus
room service, a pizzeria and a fast food grill, eating is a constant
pleasure, filled with variety and options (the dining rooms alone
have 450 different items on their menus during the week). With the
launch of Personal Choice Dining, passengers can
pretty much eat what they want, when they want.
Entertainment is equally varied, with three different shows running
simultaneously most nights.
Cabins
Standard outside staterooms with balconies (the most numerous
of all the ship's cabin categories) are 215 - 255 sq. ft., including
balconies. Twin beds can be pushed together into a queen and closet
and drawer space is adequate.
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Balconies on the Caribe Deck
are almost as large as the stateroom but unfortunately are tiered
- passengers can look into them from above, eliminating any privacy.
Biggest pluses: a vanity with excellent light and built-in hair
dryers and a corner console with refrigerator and television. Biggest
disappointment: small dimly-lit bathrooms with only room for a stall
shower, sink and toilet.
Mini-suites and deluxe suites are decorated
similarly but have significantly more space, including larger sitting
areas and much bigger bathrooms, plus butler service. Inside cabins
are small but adequate at 160 sq. ft. Grand Princess is
ADA-friendly, with 28 staterooms - 240 - 385 sq. ft. - located primarily
near elevators and available in several cabin categories. Gangways
have wheelchair transport mechanisms and ADA kits with aids for
hearing-challenged guests are available by request. Coin laundries
with ironing boards and irons are located on every passenger deck.
Dining
The Grand Princess' three main dining rooms - Botticelli,
DaVinci and Michelangelo - have
ocean views, murals, and tables for two to ten diners. Each evening
the Continental cuisine menu changes, including healthy choice and
vegetarian selections. Other dining options include The Painted
Desert (southwestern cuisine) and Sabatini's Trattoria
(Italian). Both are open for lunch and dinner and require reservations.
Sabatini's includes a service charge of $3.50 per
person. With Tuscany-inspired decor, it is constantly busy and very
good. The Painted Desert is rarely filled. Service
at both can be spotty - Princess seems to put its less-experienced
staff in the alternative dining rooms and it shows. The Horizon
Court, with the best sea views on the ship, is a 24-hour-a-day
buffet and turns into a sit-down bistro with waiter service after
7:30pm. Other daytime dining options include the Trident
Grill for burgers, hotdogs and chicken, and Poseidon's
Pizzeria. Room service menus for non-suite guests are limited
to sandwiches and salads. An ice cream bar sells Haagen-Dazs by
the scoop and British-style tea is served every afternoon with finger
sandwiches, scones and white-glove service in DaVinci Dining
Room.
Entertainment
With three show lounges presenting different shows each night, plus
casino action, Karaoke, cabaret acts, in-cabin movies, dancing to
live music (or a talented DJ in the Skywalkers
disco), passengers have a varied choice of evening activities. Comedy
is a staple (some cruises have as many as five comics, including
a big-name "headliner"), along with some of the best-produced
Broadway/Vegas shows at sea. Grand Princess has a huge
cadre of entertainers, musicians, dancers, singers and cruise staff
providing one of the industry's most extensive entertainment programs.
Daytime activities onboard range from movies to bingo, from art
auctions to cooking demonstrations, with table games, sports tournaments,
lectures and video games and virtual rides for the youngsters and
the young-at-heart. The casino, open when the ship's at sea, offers
blackjack, roulette, craps and slots.
Fitness & Recreation
The Plantation Spa offers the usual spa
services, facials and massages by reservation (book early for sea
days appointments or try a treatment on a port day). The fitness
center has 12 bikes, 6 treadmills 4 stair climbers, 8 weight-resistance
stations and a large aerobic room - all facing the ocean and in
constant use. Best times to work out are before 10am and after 5pm.
In between, plan to wait - there just isn't enough equipment for
a ship this big. Between the spa and fitness center is a small pool
with a strong current generator that simulates swimming laps against
a current - without forward movement. There are four other pools
- the largest Neptune, the quieter Calypso
with a retractable roof, the Terrace Pool in the
back of the ship and the Splash Pool for kids.
On sea days it's difficult to get a lounge chair on deck. Other
outdoor sports include jogging (four laps on Promenade Deck
or 10 laps on the Sports Deck jogging track equals
a mile), basketball, ping pong, shuffleboard and golf putting. Passengers
can also learn to scuba dive and snorkel on board.
The Grand Princess has a large variety of shore excursions
which can be booked in advance of sailing (about 50% of the passengers
do). Targeted to passengers interested in history/culture or adventure
or partying, some of the most popular Caribbean tours are in helicopters
or on mountain bikes in St. Thomas. In St. Maarten, quick sell-outs
are the "America's Cup" Regatta
(racing real 12-meter yachts) and sports fishing.
Public Areas
The three-deck Grand Atrium
is the heart of the ship. From here, it is easy to reach most of
the public rooms. Princess did an impressive job of breaking
up big public rooms into small intimate areas so passengers seldom
feel that there are almost 2,800 others on board.
The Wheelhouse Bar, a Princess
signature room, has the feel of an English gentleman's club, with
wood-paneling, deep leather sofas and chairs and nautical memorabilia.
The Explorers Lounge is delightfully whimsical
in design, with a Moroccan atmosphere, Egyptian artifacts and safari-uniformed
bar staff. In the Atlantis Casino, the underwater
mystique is enhanced by fish swimming in holographic walls and underfoot
in specially-woven carpeting.
The majestic Princess Theatre is a 748-seat amphitheater
with no obstructed sightlines. Just outside the theatre is the sports
bar, Snookers.
The most-used room on the Grand Princess is the 457-seat
Vista Showlounge. In the day, it's a bingo parlor,
movie theater, game show venue, demonstration/lecture hall and mini-horse-racing
track; at night, it features cocktail dancing, cabaret and production
shows.
There is no cyber cafe on board, although the Business
Center offers five PCs for Internet browsing or email access
(AOL, Hotmail, Yahoo) at $7.50 for 15 minutes and laptop hookups
for data line access at $9.50 a minute.
The hallmark of Grand Princess' unique exterior is Skywalkers
Night Club, a disco suspended 150 feet above the sea. Accessible
via a neon-lighted tramway, the club's a kaleidoscope of lighting
technology, pulsating music and a spectacular view of the ship's
wake.
Kids
While there may not be as many
kids on board the Grand Princess as other cruise ships,
the line does provide a substantial youth program called Love
Boat Kids. Children 3 - 12 enjoy the Fun Zone,
a play area with games, arts & crafts and splash pool. A bit
small compared to other mega ships, but counselors are energetic
and seem to relate well with the children. Parents are given pagers
for instant contact if necessary. Teens (ages 13 - 17) have an "Off
Limits" disco and a private area for sun bathing.
They seem to gravitate to the Voyage of Discovery
virtual reality center with loads of video games and simulated rides.
There's a pizza party one night when children can dine without their
parents. Princess' regular "Adventures Ashore"
tour program offers a wide range of excursions appealing to families,
with special rates for children 12 and under (safety seats are not
provided). At Princess Cays, the line's private
beach in the Bahamas, a supervised play area features a sandlot
and pirate ship playground. The ship also offers evening programs
from 7:00pm to 1:00am. After 10pm there's a charge of $4 per hour
per child. Minimum age aboard Princess is six months in
the Caribbean and 12-18 months on other itineraries, depending on
locale.
Expert Grand Princess reviews are edited by Michelle, and
provided by Ian and Cruise Critic.com, an award-winning cruise community.
This objective information can help you choose just the right ship
for your next cruise vacation.
Check Dates & Prices
for cruises to Europe and Caribbean.
Grand Princess cruise reviews
Cruise
Ship Inspection Report
All passenger cruise ships arriving at US ports are subject to unannounced
CDC inspection. Grand Princess
Score: 94
Cruise
Critic: Grand Princess
The Cruise Critic gives Princess' Grand Princess a 4-ribbon rating.
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Web links
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