I'm takind a cruise on the Grand Princess for my honeymoon?

Question

Can anyone give me info. on what the activities they offer (They don't send the itinerary until a week or two before the cruise)? Was it nice and was the food decent? How strict are they about the formal nights? I'm 20 and my husband will be 26, what is the crowd like?

Answer 1

I went on that ship several years ago when it was first launched and it is very nice.  The food and accommodation on Princess ships are great.  They offer "Personal Choice" cruising which means that you can elect to select a 6:00 PM or 8:00 PM dinner time, or just go whenever you want each day to the main dining room or make a reservation for one of their specialty restaurants (like French, Italian, Steak House).  

The formal nights are REQUESTED not required attire.  But most people do dress up in a tux for men and a long dress (any color) for women.  Some men just wear a suit and tie and some women wear a nice dress but not a gown.  You will not be denied access to the dining room or anything else if you choose not to dress up.  (we usually take off the formal stuff after dinner and pictures anyway).  The dress on ship is casual all day until 6:00 PM when they request that you wear "sports casual" attire.  That's attire that you would expect a person to wear in a business office, shirt with a collar, slacks, skirt, blouse, etc.  You can still wear shorts and swim wear in the pools and spas but not in public areas like dining rooms and restaurants, show rooms, bars, casino, etc.

If you have book a cruise you should know the itinerary already; by itinerary I mean the port stops (cities you will stop at).  That is a part of the basic advertisement for cruises.  If you do not have that information, the contact your travel agent or simply go to the Princess cruise line web site (below), select the ship and the date that you will be cruising and it will show the port stops.  Also if you want to know what tours will be available that is on the web site also.  Princess and most lines will send you a listing of tours with your cruise documents.  But the information is available online and you can book tours right on their web site.

Review the listing of tours offered on your cruise and decide whether you want to pay for a tour or go on your own.  On most Caribbean islands you can get a taxi or tour in port for much less than the cruise ship tours.   HOWEVER, the one big advantage of going on ship sponsored tours is THE SHIP WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU if your ship sponsored tour is late getting back to the ship.  If you will be in a port for 12 to 16 hours you are probably safe to go on your own for most anything.  But if you are only there for six to eight hours you may want to stay close to the ship or go on the ship tours.

Once you are on ship you will receive in your cabin every day a newsletter type listing, called "Princess Patter" which will list hour by hour all of the activities on ship for the following day.  You will also receive one of these when you first board the ship which will cover the current day.

The crowd will depend upon where you are going and when.   Cruises going to the Caribbean tend to have more young folks than those going to Alaska, Panama, the Mediterranean, the Baltic, or South America.  People who go to the Caribbean are looking for fun things like beaches, jet skiing, snorkeling and scuba diving, para-sailing, and a lot of other activities related to water and beaches.  On the other hand, people who go to Alaska, Panama, the Mediterranean, etc., are looking for cultural and historic activities.  These cruisers tend to be the older people (40+).  That does not mean these cruises are dull,  it just means that the passengers are more mature and reserved.  You will find the 40+ crowd in the bars and disco and having as good a time as the youngsters, but you may not hear them across the room or deck.

Answer 2

Personally, I think you are on the wrong cruise ship for your age range.

Carnival is now far superior to Princess.

Service is better..food is better...

Royal Caribbean is far superior to Princess

Shows are the best at sea.

Princess seems to have lost its edge since Carnival purchased them.  

If you booked this through a local travel agent, you should ask them if they agree with my comments.  It is also their job to answer all of your questions.

Answer 3

I was just on the Grand Princess in March i went to the Carribean.  It is an awesome ship. They had the formal night on the second night it was called the captains dinner.  I suggest your hubby where a suit. some where tuxs but if he has a dark suit it works fine. If not he would look out of place. Food was great  Its a fairly new cruise ship so its very well maintained. You will fit right in with the crowd its not really a family with kids type boat.  They have a huge 300 ft tv screen they run a midnight movie everynight and set up these cots and give you a afghan blanket with a pillow... its kinda cool under the stars

You will have a great time. Drinks alittle pricy but we did island excursion bought alchol and brought aboard in large water bottles saved alot of money otherwise they take it and give it back to you the night before you depart the cruise.

Have fun and congrats..!

Answer 4

try cruiseaddicts.com or cruisecritics.com to ask any questions of veteran cruisers who like to share. I was just on the Sun Princess and had a blast. We snorkeled, sea kayaked, and hiked through the Caribbean. I loved it.

Answer 5

Check out this website :)

http://www.princess.com/ships/ap/tour/ap...