Review Grand Princess 5/19 Baltics - AKA Carnival Deluxe

Before I left on this trip, I had intended to write a really detailed review since all the Crown reviews from 3 years ago were deleted by this board and there weren't many posted from the Regal's season last year. However, I'd rather just hit the high and low points, call out more new changes, and offer some tips re: ports. For reference this was Princess cruise number 14 for us since '96 and we've been tending toward longer cruises. I'm 40 and I travel with my 60-something mom.

Pre-cruise: we flew direct from Chicago on SAS, a member of the Star Alliance with United. Be prepared for the hardest seats you've ever sat on on an airplane. IF you have a Red Carpet Club membership or are flying Business Class (their equivalent of First Class) you may use their lounge, which is quite nice. For smokers you will be interested to know that there is a smoking lounge within the club. A few idiosynchrasies about SAS that I recall from previous flights with them: checked luggage is weighed and there are hefty fees for being overweight. Your bags must be under 70 pounds. You're allowded two checked pieces per person. To be safe we each packed one bag and had a third for overflow. We were ok. These were the only flights I've had in memory where there was open space in the overhead bins. You are allowed one 22" carry-on and one personal item. Most people only had a personal item. The food was not appetizing or good. Tip: liquor is free in coach however the only time you can get a drink is the pre-dinner drink service. Ask for two if you want a wine with dinner, too, for example. After dinner they serve coffee, tea, cogna and Baileys. In flight entertainment was good.

We stayed for two nights at the Phoenix Copenhagen, a member of the ARP-Hansen group of hotels. Picked up a good rate, just about $200 a night for a superior room off their website. Cannot recommend this hotel highly enough. The location was perfection. We were 5 minutes walking for Nyhavn, 5 minutes from Amalienbourg Palace and the waterfront, 10 minutes to the Citadel, 7 minutes to the Stroget, 5 minutes to Rosenbourg. Awesome. We were upgraded to an Executive Room on arrival which was nice. Room was nice European style room with Empire (painted white french style) furniture. Not to my taste but ok.

Cabs were plentiful at the airport. We needed a stationwagon taxi because of luggage. Cab ran 190 Kroner to hotel.

Embarkation: We cabbed to ship (100 kroner) at about 11:30. OUr luggage was whisked away by porters and we entered the pier building. Our picture was taken as we entered. The room was set up with sections of seating and numbers (0-50, 51-100, 101-150, etc.) We were handed tickets that said 259, 260 and told to sit in our section. The check-in lanes were across the room and were the usual Platinum/ELite/Suites, Express, and one lane for folks without Express. There was a "mouse trap" in front of the check-in lanes. They were calling folks to check-in based on their ticket number to control flow. I was told that some people had been transferred from the airport to the pier as early as 5:30 am. There was coffee, tea, water and a restroom. If you have the choice, I would recommend trying to arrange your flights so that you don't arrive in the early morning. It would be no fun, especially if you don't travel well or have jet-lag. Anyway, about 30 minutes later we sped through the Platinum line, had our picture taken again (they decided to change doorways), and were on board. For those who are interested in such things, our sailaway song was "Sailing" by Rod Stewart. An odd choice given it's discussion of stormy seas.

Ship: I hate to say it, but the Grand needs a general dusting and polishing, not to mention some mechanical work. I sailed her first late in her inaugural year and have since sailed on her sister the Golden. She is not as prettily decorated as her sister and the Atrium, in fact, by comparison, is pretty stark and ugly. She has worn carpets throughout and worn upholstery as well. She is clean but a bit tired. It was common knowledge during our trip that all the engines (6) were not available and that we were running on 1. When we embarked the pier was cluttered with many many generator type motors and I heard from a crew member that many similar items were all over downstairs while they were trying to make repairs while underway. During this ship's last two Caribbean cruises she apparently had some serious engine/generator issues which caused delays and a missed port. It's unfortunate the line cancelled her schedule dry dock the last week of April. She needs it. There was evidence of lack of power in dimming lights, strobing lights, and the curtaillment of some of our port visits. Helsinki was changed so that we arrived one hour earlier and were to leave one hour earlier (we left at the scheduled time due to delays in tours returning), Gydnia was shortened so that we arrived one hour later and left on hour earlier, and Warnemunde was minutely changed, like 15 minutes. The ship required tug service in every port, in some cases actually being towed or pulled with lines attached, rather than just being nudged. Every port except Nynshamn (tender port) and Tallinn are a TIGHT squeeze. This ship, with her deep draft, is really just too big for this itinerary. It was interesting to watch. Additionally, because I was traveling with a smoker, I was aware that the smoking policy on Grand Princess varies from the rest of the fleet and is highly restrictive. This was a problem for many of the other smokers we encountered. The only designated smoking areas on board are: Snookers, the Casino, at the bar and back seating area of the Wheelhouse Bar, the Port side of Skywalkers, and the port side of the main outside pool area.

Cruise Director: Worth noting that John Lawrence is the CD and he is excellently versed in these ports of call and provides exceptional port talks for each. He offers valuable information for "on your own" types and as well as providing nice background info which helps to make the visit more rich. he's also a funny guy.

Dining: Pretty much the same old same old. One interesting note, on this itinerary formal nights are the sea night on day 2 prior to Stockholm and the night of Helsinki. The menu on the second formal night is Italian Night. They serve the formal menu the next night (which corresponds to the formal night on the alternating itinerary). This was weird and unprecedented in my book and it's possible it was a mistake, as this was the first cruise of the season. Rather than the dining staff in their tuxes they were wearing striped Gondolier sweater, which I've also never seen before. They said they'd been wearing them since September. All I can say is, they weren't wearing them on the Dawn in December, and certainly not on formal night. They did Baked Alaska parade (Traditional) on the last night. The food in dining room, at dinner, was quite good, and they're mixing the menu up a bit. Horizon Court has gotten boring to me, as it's always the same every cruise, and on this particular cruise it was unbearably crowded as everybody is running on the same schedule. Yuck. Our server, while pleasant and friendly, was not well trained and not as knowledgeable about the menu as I have come to expect.

Room Service: Be aware that they are now charging a service fee or adding a gratuity to all room service orders and that you sign the tab just like in a hotel. This was a new nickel and dime feature. In the past you tipped or they shared in the pooled tips. Interesting.

Ports: Nynashamn: tenders take under 15 minutes to shore. Very easy to take train to town. You must either get a Stockholm card before leaving or purchase your ticket at the station. They do not take credit cards or US currency on the train (as the Purser had advised some fellow travelers). Tallinn: easy walk to town from ship. Lovely port. Did not visit any shop which accepted US Currency. Use credit or exchange money ashore. The purser does not have Estonian Krone. St. Petersburg: we toured with Red October and had an excellent time. We were able to disembark at 7:00 am no problems. Be sure to have your RO tickets, letter and passport with you. You are advised by the ship to carry your passport with you in every port. Make a copy and keep it in the safe in your room in case you lose or have your passport stolen to facilitate replacement. Warnemunde turned out to be a really delightful and pleasant seaside resort town. Later in the summer, if you’re a beach lover, this could be a great beach day. Plus, the town is scattered with cozy cafes, cute store, and the beach promenade is line with wild beach roses. Simply awesome, to my New England beach lover’s heart. Copenhagen: The ship docks further than walking distance to any point of interest. On the itinerary which includes an overnight in Copenhagen, the ship runs a $4 shuttle to Radhuspladsen. The shuttle stops at 6:30pm. Cabs to-from Tivoli would run over 100 Kroner, based on the fare from my hotel to the ship which was 100 for half the distance.

Overall Experience: A very ,very busy, frenetic cruise. More of a trip than a cruise. There were little hiccupy things going on service wise that I haven’t usually encountered on Princess, like bars closing earlier than their published time, while they still had patrons, the Horizon Court buffet never turned over to a snack buffet at 4 pm as published, they continued serving lunch until they changed over to dinner, members of the Purser’s office didn’t know how to change money, the waiter couldn’t tell me what cheeses were on the cheese plate, even after he brought one out from the kitchen, etc. They’re still not carrying Heineken. I guess that’s gone with the wind. Anytime you comment on a change or downgrade the staff says, Well it’s Carnival now. I would describe the overall cruise experience as Carnival Deluxe (make that a long e sound in the word de-luxe). I also was never once greeted as a Platinum repeater when presenting my cruise card, as I have been on other ships. Usually my server will welcome me back. On the Grand they asked ,inanely, if I’ve sailed with Princess before. Duh – that’s what the silver card is for. I just got the feeling that this cruise staff is very used to the 7-day routine of the cheap Western Caribbean and that they’re not used to dealing with the crowd they’re going to encounter on longer European cruises (older, wealthier, more well-traveled, less interested in partying). There were many groaners among the bar staff that this trip was boring, dead, not jumping. Overall, many of them lacked polish in their service. It’s also noteable that most of the staff we encountered have had many repeat contracts on the Grand and many have never served on another ship in the fleet. I think this goes a long way toward explaining the aberrations in service. One high note was that we had an amazingly good room steward, Edwin, serving the minisuites in the vicinity of D620. He was efficient and went above and beyond everyday doing the things we expect done but have often been frustrated that they aren’t being done – like washing the balcony window EVERY day and wiping everything down, hanging new sheers because ours had cigarette burns in them (we didn’t point this out, it was just done). Kudos to Edwin.

Disembarkation: Fastest, easiest we’ve EVER experienced. Those with transfers had their luggage shipped directly to the airport and simply had to walk off and onto buses. This seemed to comprise the majority of passengers, which made things go very quickly and smoothly. Independent travelers, like us, were called over 1 hour earlier than expected, we walked off, no line, collected our luggage from the small organized collection of bags, handed them to a waiting porter, queued up for a taxi, and were on our way back to the Phoenix Copenhagen within 5 minutes.

For those interested, we arrived at the Phoenix around 8 am and I had little hope of being able to get into a room at that hour. To my surprise, we were upgraded again to and Executive Room and allowed to go right to our room. Love that!

There’s obviously tons more that I could say but I’d rather just answer specific questions. Thanks for reading.

Cruisin' Chris

Plus one more later in 04 or Q1 05!!

 5/9/04 Golden Princess Transatlantic

<center>

<a href="http://www.escati.com/counter98/free_time_codes.htm">

</center>

Thanks, Chris. That's an interesting perspective on the differences in passenger mix and service expectations versus the Caribbean cruises. Hopefully the staff will come up to speed (along with the ship) before too long.

Do you think that some of the staff issues might also be a result of dilution caused by having three new ships entering service in a relatively short period of time?

Completed:

Sea Princess, Royal Princess, Grand Princess (3X), Caribbean Princess, Golden Princess

Is the painted desert still serving Mexican food

Originally posted by Cruisin' Chris:

During this ship's last two Caribbean cruises she apparently had some serious engine/generator issues which caused delays and a missed port.

 

 

Chris,

 

Someone gave you incorrect info. I was on the last sailing and we had no problems or delays.

 

Scott

would like some reccomendations on ships tours. Don't want to take Red October or the train on my own to Stockholm.

Oskidunker

Sponge: No, not in this case because what I found was that most of the crew/staff have been on the Grand for multiple contracts running. Someone told me that Princess views the Grand as their chief vehicle to attract new cruisers to the line and they like to run the ship a bit differently from their others. It is a bit different.

The Desert Rose was offering southwest cuisine.

In regard to the engine difficulties, I recall reading a review of the cruise before yours and they did indeed have problems. I was also told this by a crew member who has been on the ship for over 6 months. I think the info is pretty reliable. It was being discussed openly on board.

Cruisin' Chris

Plus one more later in 04 or Q1 05!!

 5/9/04 Golden Princess Transatlantic

<center>

<a href="http://www.escati.com/counter98/free_time_codes.htm">

</center>

I read somewhere on this board that the Grand is scheduled for 'wetdock' end of Oct/beg of Nov. Sounds like she needs it

Grand Princess 11/04

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Cruisin' Chris:

In regard to the engine difficulties, I recall reading a review of the cruise before yours and they did indeed have problems. I was also told this by a crew member who has been on the ship for over 6 months. I think the info is pretty reliable. It was being discussed openly on board.

Cruisin' Chris

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'm not saying there wasn't engine problems but I justed wanted to make it clear that the 4/25 sailing did not suffer from any .

Scott

Hello,

Thanks for all the info on the Baltic cruise. I do have one question... other than the shore excursions offered, do they offer any shuttle transportation from ship to city (Helsinki & Tallinn) for a small fee or complimentary?

Thanks for the review - just one question: do you have a list of the senior officers (captain, staff captain, senior first officer etc. - I think their on the 'log of the cruise').

If you could help, that would be great - thanks!

Andrew.

Oceana - Feb 2004 In command: Captain Alistair Clark

Golden Princess - July 2003 In Command: Captain Bernard Warner

Dawn Princess - Feb 2002 In Command: Captain Attilio Guerrini

Dawn Princess - Jan 2001 In Command: Captain Attilio Guerrini

Grand Princess - Jan 2000 In Command: Commodore Mike Moulin

Majesty of the Seas - Jan 1999 In Command: Captain Ole Johan Gronhaug

Hi

Nothing was free including shuttles. Rockstok was also nice in Germany. $8 for 3 of us round trip. We spent the day between both.

Lynn

 New Year's on the Star Princess "Just book the cruise" 12/26/04........

 Baltic Cruise on the Grand Princess-I can't wait 05/19/04.....

Sapphire Princess 2 night Pre-Inaugural Cruise 6/11/04

Carnival Holiday 92, RCCL Viking Seranade 00, NCL Norway 01, Star Princess 02, Star Princess, 02, Star Princess, 02, Dawn Princess 03, Golden Princess 03, Golden Princess 03, Island Princess 03, Dawn Princess 03, Grand Princess Happy New Year 03, Diamond Princess 04

<center>

<a href="http://www.escati.com/counter98/free_time_codes.htm">

</center>

[This message was edited by Logie on 06-09-04 at 11:45 PM.]

Hi

Chris I don't think I was charged for room service and used many times on the cruise. I always give a cash tip, but sign the slip as I have had to do on other cruises. I don't re-call anything on my account either. Did you get fresh sqeezed OJ or something perhaps? Glad you made it back ok, and I went back more than once and got another bottle of wine for the long ride home. Also ask for the chicken it is better than the other selection.

Master captain Andy Proctor (leaving after our cruise)

Staff Captain Edward Perrin, Sneior First Officer Martin Dacombe, First Officer Kevin Grant, Senior Second Officer Paul Bryson, Second Officer Tom Starr, Third Officer Paolo Arrigo, Third Officer yes 2 of them Nicola Avallone, and Deck Cadet Rebecca Jeffries.

And yes per reliable crew engines were down and I probablt bet that of the six some had already gone down before they did the crossing. Just hard to tell with 1 or 2 but we were down 2 more than that I believe. Also the captian makes a bonus on saved fuel too.

Lynn

 New Year's on the Star Princess "Just book the cruise" 12/26/04........

 Baltic Cruise on the Grand Princess-I can't wait 05/19/04.....

Sapphire Princess 2 night Pre-Inaugural Cruise 6/11/04

Carnival Holiday 92, RCCL Viking Seranade 00, NCL Norway 01, Star Princess 02, Star Princess, 02, Star Princess, 02, Dawn Princess 03, Golden Princess 03, Golden Princess 03, Island Princess 03, Dawn Princess 03, Grand Princess Happy New Year 03, Diamond Princess 04

<center>

<a href="http://www.escati.com/counter98/free_time_codes.htm">

</center>

Chris, I asked this on the Ports of Call board, but don't think you've seen it. When we were on the Golden in 2001 for the Med, they had an ATM type machine that would change currency to the next country visited. It charged $1.25 per transaction, so we always made sure we did the exchange at one time. So I'm curious, did they have this type of machine on the Grand? It was in the atrium area near the pursers desk. Came in so handy.

Thanks for your review.

Hulagirl

Grand Princess Baltic Cruise

Diamond Princess - Northwest Cruise

Star Princess - Eastern Caribbean

Diamond Princess - Alaska

Thanks Cruisin' Chris! Did you try the PC dining rooms at all? Did you notice that anyone made ressies or just walked up? Thanks.

Also, if you have the time, could you tell me when the formal nights were?

Majesty of the Seas (2)

Norwegian Dawn

Monarch of the Seas

Diamond Princess Alaska

Grand Princess 9/04

[This message was edited by cnmiranda on 06-10-04 at 01:53 AM.]

Lynn,

I didn't order anything that required a charge from room service. There was a stamp on the back of the slip that informed me of the service charge that I had to sign. I have never had to sign anything for room service before unless I ordered something like beer, etc. I thought it was weird but I haven't been on the Grand since it's inaugural year and I know you have. Maybe it's another peculiarity of the Grand? Who knows.

There were shuttles in Helsinki and Tallinn. We walked in Tallinn, however and found it easy and enjoyable. It's not a long walk at all into the old town from the ship.

There were currency exchange machines in the Atrium. Funny story about those actually. One of our tablemates went to the machine to exchange a local currency back to US. The machine had been misprogrammed by someone at the Purser's desk who reverse the exchange rate. For less than $100 equivalent local currency the machine gave him like $1800 US back. He was honest enough to go the Purser and explain what had happened. The exchange machines were turned off the rest of the trip. The whole thing is pretty funny. I'll bet their turned on again. There's also a cash machine dispensing US dollars in the casino though the ATM fee is $5.95.

Lynn, it was nice that you got a choice of meals. We got whatever SAS felt liking throwing in front of us. On the way over we had sauceless rigatoni with smoked salmon on top (it was very dry and looked like it had been held too long), 1/4 cup mixed greens and a berry crumble dessert (not a great meal for a low carb devotee). On the way back, we had chicken, I think. Oh, well at least when I fly between Chicago and London I can take United and upgrade.

Cruisin' Chris

Plus one more later in 04 or Q1 05!!

 5/9/04 Golden Princess Transatlantic

<center>

<a href="http://www.escati.com/counter98/free_time_codes.htm">

</center>

Thanks for posting the list - it was a great help.

Someone said a while ago that on the last day of the cruise, Captain Proctor gives a very funny "Yo Ho Ho and Away we go" farewell speech - did you hear this - I'm intrigued as to what he said that was so funny?

Thanks

Andrew.

Oceana - Feb 2004 In command: Captain Alistair Clark

Golden Princess - July 2003 In Command: Captain Bernard Warner

Dawn Princess - Feb 2002 In Command: Captain Attilio Guerrini

Dawn Princess - Jan 2001 In Command: Captain Attilio Guerrini

Grand Princess - Jan 2000 In Command: Commodore Mike Moulin

Majesty of the Seas - Jan 1999 In Command: Captain Ole Johan Gronhaug

I don't recall that speech but when we sailed with him his daily update from the bridge was a riot.

Scott

Captain Proctor has a great sense of humor but I think he was pretty subdued on our cruise as he returned mid-cruise from his father's funeral. Obviously, not a happy time for anyone.

I missed the previous question about PC. We had traditional late and I never ventured toward the Atrium prior to dinner other than for the Captn's welcome so I wasn't able to observe how it was working out. Most of the folks I talked to were also traditional.

Oh, also, I forgot to mention that the weather was much colder and windier than anticipated. The weather channel.com was not particularly accurate. I even checked the weather twice on the web from the ship and compared reporting and they were way off. Temps ran in the low to mid 50's except a couple days in Copenhagen which were low 60's. The wind made it even colder. We had primarily sun. Today, based on the cam, in Stockholm they had lots of fog and rain. Yuck-o. Feel badly for those on board.

Cruisin' Chris

Plus one more later in 04 or Q1 05!!

 5/9/04 Golden Princess Transatlantic

<center>

<a href="http://www.escati.com/counter98/free_time_codes.htm">

</center>

ahracer - what did he say that was so funny?

The reason that I'm being so curious is that I'm hoping to join Princess next year as a deck cadet and so anything useful that I can pick up about any officers or captains would be a great help (stealing their jokes would be a great start ).

Thanks

Andrew

Oceana - Feb 2004 In command: Captain Alistair Clark

Golden Princess - July 2003 In Command: Captain Bernard Warner

Dawn Princess - Feb 2002 In Command: Captain Attilio Guerrini

Dawn Princess - Jan 2001 In Command: Captain Attilio Guerrini

Grand Princess - Jan 2000 In Command: Commodore Mike Moulin

Majesty of the Seas - Jan 1999 In Command: Captain Ole Johan Gronhaug

Chris first let me say thank you for your post. I have read many of you post and I respect your post. I know you are fair.

After reading this post I'm considering canceling my cruise for March 12, 2005. I debated back and forth on which cruise line to book,

I wanted to go on Princess because it's always seemed so special in the advertisements.

I have cruised Carnival and RCCL.

I live near Galveston so I also want to save on airfare for 5.

Please tell me why I should spend more money and go on the Grand Princess?

I'm really freaking here. We don't get to take as many vacations as some of the posters here.

It would break my heart to be disappointed on Princess.

I'm also going to post this question to the list..

Again, Thanks for your honesty

Grand Princess 03-12-2005

click here for our roll

Thanks Cruisin Chris for getting back to me! And thanks again for the ship review.

Majesty of the Seas (2)

Norwegian Dawn

Monarch of the Seas

Diamond Princess Alaska

Grand Princess 9/04

Well I'm not Chris but I'll give you my two cents anyway. We were on the 4/25/04 sailing of the Grand and had a great time. The food was good, the ship was clean, the service was good. Really know compliants at all. The carpets were a little run down in some areas but really nothing you not going to find on any ship that hasn't been to dry dock in a few years. Not trying to disagree with Chris review but I'd go back on the Grand tomorrow.

IMHO the Grand is the best choice sailing out of Galveston. I haven't been on RCI but i've sailed Carnival 4 times and while they were good Princess is better.

Scott

Thanks for your review also Ahracer All I ask for is a clean ship, just being with hubby for a week is heaven alone setting sail on the open ocean...On our Grand voyage we'll be sailing out of NY for a week in New England/Canada. Hopefully I won't forget out passports this time....

Majesty of the Seas (2)

Norwegian Dawn

Monarch of the Seas

Diamond Princess Alaska

Grand Princess 9/04

Thanks for your feedback !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Grand Princess 03-12-2005

click here for our roll

I have to agree with Chris on several points.

We were on the transatlantic crossing - Fll to Copenhagen in May '04. The ship is feeling and looking a bit tired. Nothing major just well used by passengers. We also had port arrival and departure times that were adjusted due to engine problems. We were late arriving at least twice and had 2 early departures so we would make it to our next port in time. Again, nothing major just a observation. The staff was rather lackluster. In the past we've raved about nearly every staff member we came in contact with but this time there seemed to be a general lack of enthusiasm. Maybe that's due to pooled tips, PC dining, or the older crowd and longer duration, but something was different.

Glad to here Captain Andy is back in saddle, "pedal to the metal". He left part way through our cruise due to his father's illness. He was replaced by Capt. Bernie Warner. Im sorry, but Capt. Bernie is just about the driest person I've ever run into. Capt. Andy has much more personality and really make an effort to get out among the passengers. His daliy updates were a hoot and he really made the rounds at both the Platinum Members event and the Captain's welcome party.

Embarkation and debarkation were the smoothest in our 8 cruises with Princess.

Overall, there was nothing major to complain about it's just that things were less polished than we have come to expect. That said, we are eagerly looking forward to our next Princess cruise, wherever that may be.