Grand Princess

[D Ball]

On Jun 30, 4:19*pm, Kurt Ullman <kurtull...**********m> wrote:
> * *We are looking at the possibility of the Grand Princess for our Feb
> cruise. We are concerned because it is "old" coming out 1998. Anybody
> been on it recently and can discuss if this is a concern. We are
> probably looking at a 14-day itinerary.
>
> --
> Searching is half the fun: life is much more manageable when thought
> of as a scavenger hunt as opposed to a surprise party.
> Jimmy Buffett

Isn't it odd when we start calling those 1990's builds "old?!" Crazy.
I was on the Grand in Nov. 2006--it was just fine as I recall, but I'm
sure you'll get more recent reports. I do like that Princess class,
and I think they have one of the best balcony configurations at sea on
the Caribe deck...they are 2x as large as normal balconies and are
half open, half shaded by the roof of the deck above.

It must be a great itinerary, Kurt! Is it very port-intensive? I have
compromised on ships when I felt I'd be aboard for little more than a
bed, hot shower and food. Do you tend to like the overall Princess
cruise concept?

Good luck with your research. Do you have a specific destination that
is driving your search?

Diana Ball
Austin, TX

[Charles]

In article
<6db74395-3b5b-4675-8f55-8027b53466c1@f30g2000vbf.************.com>, D
Ball <dianakball@**********> wrote:

> Isn't it odd when we start calling those 1990's builds "old?!" Crazy.
> I was on the Grand in Nov. 2006--it was just fine as I recall, but I'm
> sure you'll get more recent reports. I do like that Princess class,
> and I think they have one of the best balcony configurations at sea on
> the Caribe deck...they are 2x as large as normal balconies and are
> half open, half shaded by the roof of the deck above.

I was on it when it was new in 1998! And since then most of their ships
have been based on the same design. You have to be very careful picking
balconies on that class. Many of them have little privacy.

--
Charles

[Susette]

On Jun 30, 7:45�pm, Charles <f...@his.com.remove.invalid> wrote:
> In article
> <6db74395-3b5b-4675-8f55-8027b5346...@f30g2000vbf.************.com>, D
>
> Ball <dianakb...@**********> wrote:
> > Isn't it odd when we start calling those 1990's builds "old?!" Crazy.
> > I was on the Grand in Nov. 2006--it was just fine as I recall, but I'm
> > sure you'll get more recent reports. I do like that Princess class,
> > and I think they have one of the best balcony configurations at sea on
> > the Caribe deck...they are 2x as large as normal balconies and are
> > half open, half shaded by the roof of the deck above.
>
> I was on it when it was new in 1998! And since then most of their ships
> have been based on the same design. You have to be very careful picking
> balconies on that class. Many of them have little privacy.
>
> --
> Charles

I also was on it when it was new. I loved that ship many did nto
like the lay out at all, I will say it was the worse sailing vessel I
have been on. I think its how it was Built like a cork in water, It
felt very bouncey to me, Our room did alot of swaying we were aft and
it was the Stabilizers making the ship try to be stable that we kept
feeling and it got annoying. Other then that it was nice, Just not the
most wonderful crew...But in the end they warmed up! that was the
Start of the VIKING group because of the treatment on Grand princess!
there was some winners on that cruise. we only had like 8 people in
the group and I met kerry on there and they were the next table. her
hubby kept playing antics on us,innocent things like taking our Dishes
and piling them in the center of the table sending a empty bottle of
wine with a note saying he had to taste it first. Well someone a few
tables over complained.... BELIEVE me it was innocent. Well "I" was
the one stopped by MAtre Di and he said I hate to tell you this But I
must someone complained about your table having fun. I said WHAT? I
said FIRST off our table was INNOCENT, and you know we spent $12,000
for that table to have FUN for 7 NIGHTS and WE WILL have FUN , we are
not loud, We are not cursing we are having FUN. He said I AGREE Doa s
you please But I have to tell you. I said I THINK you should MOVE
those miserable people! Well then My Italian was up I said NOW I WILL
have fun I asked him for Aluminum foil ALOT of it.... the waiter said
he have to get the MaTRE DI to sign off on it He came over robustly
laughin he said BELLA what you doing with that? I said its a secret.
HE sent a INDUSTRIAL roll of it to us. I had no idea what I was doing
with it, So I experimentd and made little hats it was suppose to be a
Bunny rabbit. WEll it looked I guess like a Viking made them for our
group we met prior to dinner and the People at the bar and the workers
wanted one they were all laughing... We all marched into the dining
room like we were from OZ goign OH wee Oh wooooah wooah and people all
clapped and laughed, then next night Formal Night- they Kept saying
how they lend out bathrobes ( back in those days it was not many that
gave them) Well we thought they must think these robes are a selling
point or something So we wore them for formal night and our hats-
people gave us a standing ovation and even the miserable people
started laughing! and Hence the Viking group! each night we did
something for fun and the 25 younger folks on board ( lots of
oldsters) all hung out with us at the Club and all and we had a blast!

[Sue Mullen]

Susette wrote:

> I also was on it when it was new.

We were also on the Grand Princess in its first sailing and loved it. It
is a shame all of us didn't know each other back then.

> I will say it was the worse sailing vessel I
> have been on. I think its how it was Built like a cork in water, It
> felt very bouncey to me, Our room did alot of swaying we were aft and

Yes, it did rock and roll more then any other ship I remember. We were
told it was because of the way the bottom ot the ship was built. I think
a flat bottom, but it has been way too long and the flat part might be
wrong.

What I loved most was the 2 aft hot tubs, they were the best.

sue

[Jean O'Boyle]

"Susette" <cruiseoutlets@********> wrote in message
news:b0d778d2-be27-4031-83b0-5a56617ebc04@z34g2000vbl.************.com...
On Jun 30, 7:45?pm, Charles <f...@his.com.remove.invalid> wrote:
> In article
> <6db74395-3b5b-4675-8f55-8027b5346...@f30g2000vbf.************.com>, D
>
> Ball <dianakb...@**********> wrote:
> > Isn't it odd when we start calling those 1990's builds "old?!" Crazy.
> > I was on the Grand in Nov. 2006--it was just fine as I recall, but I'm
> > sure you'll get more recent reports. I do like that Princess class,
> > and I think they have one of the best balcony configurations at sea on
> > the Caribe deck...they are 2x as large as normal balconies and are
> > half open, half shaded by the roof of the deck above.
>
> I was on it when it was new in 1998! And since then most of their ships
> have been based on the same design. You have to be very careful picking
> balconies on that class. Many of them have little privacy.
>
> --
> Charles

I also was on it when it was new. I loved that ship many did nto
like the lay out at all, I will say it was the worse sailing vessel I
have been on. I think its how it was Built like a cork in water, It
felt very bouncey to me, Our room did alot of swaying we were aft and
it was the Stabilizers making the ship try to be stable that we kept
feeling and it got annoying. Other then that it was nice, Just not the
most wonderful crew...But in the end they warmed up! that was the
Start of the VIKING group because of the treatment on Grand princess!
there was some winners on that cruise. we only had like 8 people in
the group and I met kerry on there and they were the next table. her
hubby kept playing antics on us,innocent things like taking our Dishes
and piling them in the center of the table sending a empty bottle of
wine with a note saying he had to taste it first. Well someone a few
tables over complained.... BELIEVE me it was innocent. Well "I" was
the one stopped by MAtre Di and he said I hate to tell you this But I
must someone complained about your table having fun. I said WHAT? I
said FIRST off our table was INNOCENT, and you know we spent $12,000
for that table to have FUN for 7 NIGHTS and WE WILL have FUN , we are
not loud, We are not cursing we are having FUN. He said I AGREE Doa s
you please But I have to tell you. I said I THINK you should MOVE
those miserable people! Well then My Italian was up I said NOW I WILL
have fun I asked him for Aluminum foil ALOT of it.... the waiter said
he have to get the MaTRE DI to sign off on it He came over robustly
laughin he said BELLA what you doing with that? I said its a secret.
HE sent a INDUSTRIAL roll of it to us. I had no idea what I was doing
with it, So I experimentd and made little hats it was suppose to be a
Bunny rabbit. WEll it looked I guess like a Viking made them for our
group we met prior to dinner and the People at the bar and the workers
wanted one they were all laughing... We all marched into the dining
room like we were from OZ goign OH wee Oh wooooah wooah and people all
clapped and laughed, then next night Formal Night- they Kept saying
how they lend out bathrobes ( back in those days it was not many that
gave them) Well we thought they must think these robes are a selling
point or something So we wore them for formal night and our hats-
people gave us a standing ovation and even the miserable people
started laughing! and Hence the Viking group! each night we did
something for fun and the 25 younger folks on board ( lots of
oldsters) all hung out with us at the Club and all and we had a blast!

LOL! How interesting, Susie...thanks for letting us know about the "birth"
of the Vikings!
You are a "gutsy" bunch! But a very, very nice gutsy bunch! ;-)

--Jean