Cruise Ships in the Ports We Visited

Grand Princess Cruise of the Western Caribbean, December 2007

Here's a list of the cruise ships in each port on the day we visited.

Port Everglades, Saturday, December 8
Carnival Liberty
Grand Princess
Navigator Of The Seas (Royal Caribbean)
Radiance Of The Seas (Royal Caribbean)
Zuiderdam (Holland America)

Ocho Rios, Monday, December 10
Grand Princess
Navigator Of The Seas (Royal Caribbean)

Grand Cayman, Tuesday, December 11
Carnival Legend
Carnival Valor
Grand Princess
Navigator Of The Seas (Royal Caribbean)
Norwegian Majesty (Norwegian Cruise Line)

Cozumel, Wednesday, December 12
Carnival Legend
Fascination (Carnival Cruise Lines)
Grand Princess
Norwegian Majesty (Norwegian Cruise Line)
Norwegian Sun (Norwegian Cruise Line)

Princess Cays, Friday, December 14
Grand Princess

Port Everglades, Saturday, December 15
Costa Mediterranea
Enchantment Of The Seas (Royal Caribbean)
Grand Princess
Jewel Of The Seas (Royal Caribbean)
Zuiderdam (Holland America)

Grand Princess Cruise, December 2007 -- Photos

Here's a link to the photos we took on our Grand Princess cruise.

Grand Princess Cruise, December 2007 -- Last Day

Saturday, Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Debarkation took a long time because our cabin group was among the last to be called off the ship. However customs and baggage claim were a breeze. We caught the van to the parking lot and a few minutes after 10:00 A.M. we were on our way north on Florida's Turnpike.

SUMMARY OF THE CRUISE
From Fort Lauderdale to Ocho Rios, Jamaica
754 nautical miles, 867 statute miles, 1395 kilometers
average speed 20.4 knots

From Ocho Rios to Grand Cayman
254 nautical miles, 292 statute miles, 470 kilometers
average speed 18.9 knots

From Grand Cayman to Cozumel
334 nautical miles, 384 statute miles, 618 kilometers
average speed 21.7 knots

From Cozumel to Princess Cays
806 nautical miles, 927 statute miles, 1491 kilometers
average speed 21.9 knots

From Princess Cays to Fort Lauderdale
285 nautical miles, 328 statute miles, 527 kilometers
average speed 21.4 knots

TOTAL DISTANCE SAILED
2433 nautical miles, 2798 statute miles, 4501 kilometers

(Getting to and from the cruise by car added another 1367 miles -- 2529 kilometers -- for a grand total of 4165 statute miles or 7705 kilometers.)

Grand Princess Cruise, December 2007 -- Day 6

Friday, Princess Cays, Eleuthera, Bahamas

We didn't visit Princess Cays. But I did take some photos of the Grand Princess.

SUMMARY OF THE CRUISE SO FAR
From Fort Lauderdale to Ocho Rios, Jamaica
754 nautical miles, 867 statute miles, 1395 kilometers
average speed 20.4 knots

From Ocho Rios to Grand Cayman
254 nautical miles, 292 statute miles, 470 kilometers
average speed 18.9 knots

From Grand Cayman to Cozumel
334 nautical miles, 384 statute miles, 618 kilometers
average speed 21.7 knots

From Cozumel to Princess Cays
806 nautical miles, 927 statute miles, 1491 kilometers
average speed 21.9 knots

TOTAL DISTANCE SAILED
2148 nautical miles, 2470 statute miles, 3974 kilometers

Grand Princess Cruise, December 2007 -- Day 5

Thursday, at sea

Windy weather again.

The TV in the cabin says it's a "moderate gale." Tonight is formal night again but the food is the same in the informal buffet restaurant so we will dress for comfort and still get to have all the Beef Wellington we can eat.

Grand Princess Cruise, December 2007 -- Day 4

Wednesday, Cozumel, Mexico

Just as we were about to get off the ship in Cozumel a squall started up and it looked like it might last all day. But half an hour later it stopped and we had a chance to visit the shops along the dock area.
I bought some Christmas gifts and a sun face for the backyard fence at a shop called Los Cinco Soles. Lots of colorful decor items there.

We got back to the ship as the next storm moved in.

SUMMARY OF THE CRUISE SO FAR
From Fort Lauderdale to Ocho Rios, Jamaica
754 nautical miles, 867 statute miles, 1395 kilometers
average speed 20.4 knots

From Ocho Rios to Grand Cayman
254 nautical miles, 292 statute miles, 470 kilometers
average speed 18.9 knots

From Grand Cayman to Cozumel
334 nautical miles, 384 statute miles, 618 kilometers
average speed 21.7 knots

TOTAL DISTANCE SAILED
1342 nautical miles, 1543 statute miles, 2483 kilometers

Grand Princess Cruise, December 2007 -- Day 3

Tuesday, Georgetown, Grand Cayman


There is no dock for cruise ships in the harbor at Georgetown so if you want to go ashore you have to be tendered. They use the life boats for this. The schedule had the Grand Princess arriving at 7:00 A.M.

At 6:45 we were startled to have the cabin filled with the loudest metalic screaming noise you have ever heard. I was sure we had run aground or something. I rushed to the balcony and saw at once that one of the life boat supports was right under our cabin. And it was extended so the tender connected to it could be launched.


All of the photos of the life boats were taken from our balcony.

SUMMARY OF THE CRUISE SO FAR
From Fort Lauderdale to Ocho Rios, Jamaica
754 nautical miles, 867 statute miles, 1395 kilometers
average speed 20.4 knots

From Ocho Rios to Grand Cayman
254 nautical miles, 292 statute miles, 470 kilometers
average speed 18.9 knots

TOTAL DISTANCE SAILED
1008 nautical miles, 1159 statute miles, 1865 kilometers

As always it was nice to have the ship to ourselves while the majority of the passengers were ashore. And of course if you leave the ship there is the danger of the Cayman pirates.

Grand Princess Cruise, December 2007 -- Day 2

Monday, Ocho Rios, Jamaica

Above is a photo looking west past the end of the cruise ship dock in Ocho Rios. This was taken from our balcony on the starboard side of the Grand Princess. Our cabin was on the Dolphin Deck, Deck 9.

We had no serious plans to leave the ship during the stop in Ocho Rios. Possibly we might have taken a taxi to Dunn's River Falls but the weather was rainy and very hot so we stayed on the ship and had a fine time. In the afternoon the sun came out and the temperature got hotter so we were glad to be where we were.

Below is a picture of the harbor (or harbour, as they spell it) with the town of Ocho Rios in the background.



On a Princess Cruise nearly everything you need is included in the price of a cabin -- meals, some of the non-alcoholic beverages, all the shows and the gym. You have to pay extra for beer, cocktails, wine with dinner and soft drinks. There are also two special restaurants -- Sterling's Steakhouse and Sabatini's Italian Restaurant -- that charge an extra "cover charge." For Sabatini's it's $20 per person for their upscale service and food choices.

We had eaten at the steakhouses on other Princess ships, but this was the first time we visited Sabatini's. We had a very good meal there and the service was excellent. (This was not our experience at the steakhouses.)

The meal consists of many small courses of classic Italian dishes followed by your choice of entrée and dessert. A meal at Sabatini's takes quite a while, nearly two hours, and it is great fun watching the wait staff present all that food in the stylish dining room.

SUMMARY OF THE CRUISE SO FAR
From Fort Lauderdale to Ocho Rios, Jamaica
754 nautical miles, 867 statute miles, 1395 kilometers
average speed 20.4 knots

Grand Princess Cruise, December 2007 -- Day 1

Sunday, at sea

The Grand Princess is circling Cuba heading for our first port, Jamaica, tomorrow morning. There is a moderate gale blowing and you can feel the ocean a bit. No problem at all, though.

We had a quiet day relaxing, eating, napping, reading and recovering from our long drive on Thursday and Friday. Tonight was "formal night" but we didn't dress up. So it was dinner in the Horizon Court Buffet for us.

In the evening we went to a show in the Princess Theater -- "Cinematastic." The concept was fine as were the lights, sound, pre-recorded band and the dancers. Sadly three of the four singers were not good singers. And in a show that's about songs from the movies that's not good. After the excellent shows and performances on the Coral Princess last spring this was a disappointment.

Grand Princess Cruise, December 2007 -- Departure

Saturday, Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Mid-morning we checked out of the Hyatt Summerfield Suites at MIA and headed to Fort Lauderdale. We were early so we got off Interstate 95 north of Miami and drove up Route A1A -- the beach road -- through Hallandale, Hollywood and Dania. I had to stop at Ross Dress for Less and buy a belt. I had forgotten to pack one. As usual we left the car at Park and Cruise and took their van to the ship.

We arrived at the Grand Princess at 12:35 P.M. and there were no lines at all. We were in our cabin by 12:50 and had our luggage by 2:30. Great room -- a mini suite with a balcony. Our steward was somewhat impersonal and vague but he got us everything we needed. Best of all he got us the prized "egg crate" foam rubber mattress covers. They help a lot to make the beds more comfortable.

The weather was partly sunny/partly cloudy -- typical winter skies.

The ship departed about 15 minutes early, at 4:45. We were amused to see that in addition to the usual pilot boat we also had an escort from the U.S. Coast Guard and armed with a machine gun.

As we pulled away from the port the sun came out and we had a nice sunset and it lasted a long time. Our course took us down the coast of Florida and we got a nice view of Miami and South Beach in the mist.