THE GRAND PRINCESS — BIG SHIP CHOICE, SMALL SHIP FEEL

Story and photos by Barb & Ron Kroll

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When we told our friends that we were going on a mega ship, they bombarded us with questions. "Will it take forever to get on and off? How will you find your way around? Won't there be long queues for meals, shows and activities?"

Admittedly, our Caribbean cruise on the Grand Princess was an eye-opener. Our first surprise was at the Embarkation Terminal. Twenty desks awaited the 2,600 embarking passengers. It took exactly five minutes from the time we presented our tickets to the time we arrived in our stateroom.

The Grand Princess docks in St. Thomas.

Photo © Barb & Ron Kroll

Wider than the Panama Canal

Here we found our second surprise. Our roomy cabin had a private balcony — an amazingly intimate spot on a ship that's longer than four New York City blocks. The balcony (one of 710) was a great place for enjoying room-service breakfasts, balmy breezes, tangerine sunsets and spectacular send-offs.

As we gently moved away from the dock, a crowd of onlookers cheered, sounded car and boat horns, and flashed lights on and off in their apartments.

Taller than Niagara Falls, the 109,000 ton Grand Princess is an expensive ship. At $450 million U.S., its cost was nearly twice that of the Pathfinder mission to Mars. The quality shows.

Star Trek-style bridge

Marble, brass, wood, fresh flowers and a $2 million art collection decorate the ship. Silverware, English china and Frette linens enhance dining tables. The captain and his crew use high-tech controls to manoeuvre the behemoth within an arm's length of designated docking spaces.

Handy pocket maps and colour-coded carpets and signs helped us find our way around. Because passengers spread out in so many public areas, queues and crowds are rare. Each of the lounge and eating areas has plants or curving dividers breaking up the rooms into small spaces.

A multitude of activities

Each night, we received a newsletter, which outlined the following day's events. A typical day at sea offered a New Waves Scuba program in one of the ship's five pools, a talk about Caribbean marine animals, country line dance lessons, bridge, bingo and pool games, ping pong and golf putting tournaments.

In the Fun Zone, on deck 15, children two to twelve enjoy arts and crafts, games, a whale-shaped pool and ice cream sundae parties. A "No Adults Allowed" sign marked the entrance to the Teen Center complete with non-stop music, a fog machine, sound and light special effects.

Except during dinner and evening shows, we saw few teenagers — probably because they were hanging out here, enjoying the giant video wall, karaoke and computer games, or soaking in their private hot tub on deck 16.

We spent a full day, map in hand, making our own discoveries. The library houses not only 2,000 books, but also computer stations with CD ROMs ranging from astronomy to travel. More choices!

Time for a drink

In Snookers, the pool tables and balls, hanging upside down from the ceiling, first caught our attention. Then we spotted the autographed red boxing gloves of Muhammad Ali and other sports memorabilia, displayed along the dark wooden walls.

Passenger rides virtual water skis in Virtual Realty Center. Grand Princess.

Photo © Barb & Ron Kroll

We ordered a couple Strike Outs (butterscotch schnapps, Baileys Irish Cream and cream), and sat down to watch live satellite sports broadcasts on nine TVs.

High-tech entertainment

Later, we visited Voyage of Discovery, the first virtual reality centre at sea. Our favourite ride was a 12-person simulator which brought us on virtual roller coaster and undersea rides. We also tried virtual hang-gliding, car racing, dinosaur hunting and flying an F-16.

Gripping fishing rods, we snagged virtual large mouth bass and reeled them in through a virtual lake filled with rocks and seaweed.

As on all cruises, photographers take pictures of passengers for purchase as souvenirs. What makes the Grand Princess unique is its F/X Digital Photo Center, where passengers can buy large-format canvas portraits.

Decisions, decisions…

Chef displays hors d'oeuvres in the galley. Grand Princess.

Photo © Barb & Ron Kroll

Should we have dinner in the Da Vinci dining room, the 24-hour buffet at Horizon Court, Sabatini's, the Italian trattoria, or Sterling Steakhouse? Whatever we tried, we weren't disappointed.

But our decisions didn't end with the choice of restaurant. The dining room menu offers three appetizers, three soups, salad, pasta, four entrees, as well as healthy choice and vegetarian menus.

Items ranged from traditional prime rib and broiled lobster tail to imaginative creations like Long Island duckling in cabernet cassis sauce.

Then there's the dessert menu. (A 24-hour bakery and 180 cooks prepare the 14 tons of food served on the ship each day. A peek into the galley revealed a steamer, as big as one of the ship's nine whirlpools, and four ovens just for baking soufflés.)

Calypso to cabaret music

One day, when we were relaxing by Neptune's Reef and Pool, we decided to stay in our swimsuits and have pizza and burgers for lunch at the poolside Poseidon's Pizzeria and Trident Grill. A calypso band played Yellow Bird and other island melodies as we ate.

Passengers enjoy Neptune's Reef & Pool. Grand Princess.

Photo © Barb & Ron Kroll

It's only one of several musical groups on board. On one walk about the ship, we heard the Grand Princess musicians playing the Blue Danube in the Atrium Lobby, a cabaret singer crooning in the Promenade Lounge piano bar, a trio creating romantic dance music in the Wheelhouse Bar, a 50s sock hop in the Explorers Lounge and a rock n' roll party in Skywalkers Nightclub.

To reach this glass-walled "disco in the sky," we rode a moving sidewalk lined with glittering coloured lights to deck 18. Metallic stars and lava lamps surrounded the futuristic Plexiglas dance floor. Each night featured different entertainment, from a streamer-throwing "wild bunch" party to Latin music played by the DJ.

Diversions compete for our attention

The casino lured us in with holographic images of fish, seashells and coral and a fibre-optic ceiling that changed from dawn to dusk every twenty minutes.

Entertainment included Las Vegas-style show, with energetic performers in feathered costumes, laser light displays and a hypnotist. We saw two or three performances each night, in a futile attempt to see them all. (Shows change nightly.) Invariably, we slept in the following morning, missing our power walk around the ship.

No problem. The ship's fitness program offered step aerobics, thigh-toning, body-sculpting and supervised gym activities throughout the day. (The equipment is top notch.) At the Lotus Spa, we burned up calories in the swim-against-the current lap pool, then relaxed with top-to-toe massages.

No stowaways on this ship

An excellent selection of shore excursions tempted us off the ship. When we returned from our ports-of-call, we wondered how the crew know all passengers were back on board.

On embarkation, they gave us cruise cards to use as room keys and charge cards for onboard purchases. A camera captured our photos on a computer database, which the cards access when swiped through the machine when we reboard.

We returned, each day, in time for the afternoon movie matinee. There was time for afternoon tea, playing on the golf simulator and cocktails by the Oasis Pool before dinner.

Back on board our floating resort, we watched the Caribbean sun paint the sky with broad brushstrokes of apricot and raspberry. We didn't stay on our balcony too long however. There was only one more evening left at sea and so many things left to see and do...

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TRAVEL INFORMATION

Grand Princess: www.princess.com