Making Direct Contact - Prior to our Grand Cruise

[berlingo]

Hi Everyone

 

My family and I are booked to cruise on the Grand in July. We are very much looking forward to our holiday but have been very worried about a spate of very negative reviews.

 

Many of the negative comments have been about the quality of the cabin such as torn bed linen, rusty and dirty balcony furniture and stained soft furnishings.

 

We have booked a mini suite (D731) so we were hoping for a nice room.

 

It has been suggested that I contact Princess directly in writing before my cruise saying how much we are looking forward to our holiday ( it is my Birthday whilst we are away) and given the poor reviews are confident that they will ensure that the cabin is up to an acceptable standard.

 

This is a strategy which I have used for hotel holidays with some success but I have never tried it with a cruise holiday.

 

What do you experienced cruisers think? Is it worth a try?

 

Many thanks and kind regards Julia

[HomelessBear]

Hi Julia

 

I'm not quite sure what you would be expecting Princess to do if you write to them?, but IMHO I doubt that it would do any good! If you find that your cabin is not up to scratch when you arrive (I have never arrived in a cabin yet that wasn't lovely and clean and welcoming and we are due to go on our 12th cruise next month), then just let your cabin steward know what the problem is and they will be able to fix or change anything like the sheets or bedspread that you are not happy with.

 

There is not really anything that they can do about the rust on the balcony or stained balcony furniture (except change it I guess but not sure where they would get "new" furniture from) - just put a towel over the chairs on the balcony (as I tend to do anyway) and you won't notice any minor faults with it.

 

I have been on the Grand a couple of times and although she is showing signs of her age in places like the balconies, I have found the inside of the rooms and the public spaces very nice. I also love the atmosphere of this ship, and some of the best staff that we have met were on the Grand.

 

My advice would be don't focus on the negative reviews, as everyone sees things differently and if you look for negatives then you will find them. Don't expect perfection on any cruise (as you wouldn't expect it in life), but enjoy the really great parts of the cruise, like sitting on your balcony overlooking the wide open sea, or a glorious port like Venice, scoffing your way through the lovely food and drink available whenever you desire it, no washing up, and a cake to celebrate your birthday!

 

Hope you have a lovely cruise and focus on the positives. Best wishes.

[Toto2Kansas]

Hi Everyone

 

My family and I are booked to cruise on the Grand in July. We are very much looking forward to our holiday but have been very worried about a spate of very negative reviews.

 

Many of the negative comments have been about the quality of the cabin such as torn bed linen, rusty and dirty balcony furniture and stained soft furnishings.

 

We have booked a mini suite (D731) so we were hoping for a nice room.

 

It has been suggested that I contact Princess directly in writing before my cruise saying how much we are looking forward to our holiday ( it is my Birthday whilst we are away) and given the poor reviews are confident that they will ensure that the cabin is up to an acceptable standard.

 

This is a strategy which I have used for hotel holidays with some success but I have never tried it with a cruise holiday.

 

What do you experienced cruisers think? Is it worth a try?

 

Many thanks and kind regards Julia

 

As the previous poster says, if there are things not up to standards when you board, mention them to your room steward. I honestly doubt that writing to Princess will have them pay special attention to just the cabin you will occupy when you sail. Keep in mind, this ship is at sea, and balcony furniture and other things do get a lot of wear and tear from the salt spray, rain and wind. It would be difficult to look at this as a regular land based hotel stay IMHO.

Keep in mind, that 10 people writing a review of the same ship on the same exact cruise will have 10 different opions. I am sure your stateroom and your cruise will be wonderful.

[TracieABD]

As the previous poster says, if there are things not up to standards when you board, mention them to your room steward. I honestly doubt that writing to Princess will have them pay special attention to just the cabin you will occupy when you sail. Keep in mind, this ship is at sea, and balcony furniture and other things do get a lot of wear and tear from the salt spray, rain and wind. It would be difficult to look at this as a regular land based hotel stay IMHO.

Keep in mind, that 10 people writing a review of the same ship on the same exact cruise will have 10 different opions. I am sure your stateroom and your cruise will be wonderful.

We were on a cruise last year that we just loved! So much so, we bought FCCs prior to the end of our vacation. There were a couple of negative posts about that same cruise. Different strokes...

 

I have found that any vacation is what you make it! I always try to go into it with a positive attitude and I normally really enjoy it!:)

[Melxx]

Hi Julia,

 

We are sailing on the Grand in July too, I have read some of the bad reviews on here and other cruise forums, IMOHO all reviews are subjective, I just keep a very open mind, one man's meat is another man's poison. I have never had a bad Princess cruise yet, in fact I became a Princess convert and I'm now a Elite member :D As others have said if you find things not up to standard in your cabin, have a word with your room steward. I can't see writing to princess will help with any special attention to your cabin before you board. What I would say if you have any little niggles while you are board sort them out whist you are on broad, I'm sure you won't need too and it will be a wonderful cruise.

[cdngrl]

Hi Julia

 

I'm not quite sure what you would be expecting Princess to do if you write to them?, but IMHO I doubt that it would do any good! If you find that your cabin is not up to scratch when you arrive (I have never arrived in a cabin yet that wasn't lovely and clean and welcoming and we are due to go on our 12th cruise next month), then just let your cabin steward know what the problem is and they will be able to fix or change anything like the sheets or bedspread that you are not happy with.

 

There is not really anything that they can do about the rust on the balcony or stained balcony furniture (except change it I guess but not sure where they would get "new" furniture from) - just put a towel over the chairs on the balcony (as I tend to do anyway) and you won't notice any minor faults with it.

 

I have been on the Grand a couple of times and although she is showing signs of her age in places like the balconies, I have found the inside of the rooms and the public spaces very nice. I also love the atmosphere of this ship, and some of the best staff that we have met were on the Grand.

 

My advice would be don't focus on the negative reviews, as everyone sees things differently and if you look for negatives then you will find them. Don't expect perfection on any cruise (as you wouldn't expect it in life), but enjoy the really great parts of the cruise, like sitting on your balcony overlooking the wide open sea, or a glorious port like Venice, scoffing your way through the lovely food and drink available whenever you desire it, no washing up, and a cake to celebrate your birthday!

 

Hope you have a lovely cruise and focus on the positives. Best wishes.

 

perfect advice. even though the grand is older, she is one of my favourites and i have never been disappointed in the surroundings, i also have better things to do than look for stains, rust or torn bedlinens. you will have a great time with a wonderful ship.

[berlingo]

Thank you all for your kind comments.

 

It is very reassuring to hear some positive feedback for a change!

 

I totally agree that a holiday is what you make it. It will be our first time with Princess having cruised with P&O previously and having had a great time with them I was having a bit of a wobble about whether I had made a bad choice. I have done quite a bit of research,( perhaps too much!) and apart from the poor reviews Princess does seem to fit us very well.

 

Once more thank you.

[KayJay4]

Thank you all for your kind comments.

 

It is very reassuring to hear some positive feedback for a change!

 

I totally agree that a holiday is what you make it. It will be our first time with Princess having cruised with P&O previously and having had a great time with them I was having a bit of a wobble about whether I had made a bad choice. I have done quite a bit of research,( perhaps too much!) and apart from the poor reviews Princess does seem to fit us very well.

 

Once more thank you.

 

Berlingo, I understand how you feel. We will be on our first Princess cruise in August (Grand to the Med) after only experiencing P & O. It took me months to decide to book Princess but now I am really excited! Everyone on here has been really helpful and has helped me with numerous enquiries. We booked D730 mini.

 

Let us know how your cruise goes!!

[1 HappyCruiser]

We were on the Grand in Feb & are going back in Dec. Yes there is some wear evident through out the ship but nothing major that would upset most people. Some carpets have to be replaced as some of the lounge seats, probably some AC work through out the ship (the dining room was freezing cold & could not be adjusted down) but the most notable thing that I saw were the balcony partition which need total replacement. They're beyond help at this point. They were also scraping & chiseling above the balconies almost every day so we would get chips of paint daily on our balcony deck. This must be on ongoing process on a ship so you'll never know what to expect.

 

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[SailNC]

People, just about all Cruise Ships sail in salt water. Every ship will eventually experience rust, corrosion, and cracks in the wood varnish! We have sailed on the Grand for the past two years and are scheduled again in 2011. We have also sailed on the Ruby and Emerald. If you have nothing else to do on the cruise, you will find evidence of salt water corrosion on every ship. The Grand has a much better deck plan than the two newer ships. We have not been disappointed on any Princess sail, but we definitely prefer the Grand to any other Princess ship. So, when you are out there on a sea day, look past the ship and enjoy being where you are. Most folks never get that chance.

 

Sue and Sandy

[cdngrl]

People, just about all Cruise Ships sail in salt water. Every ship will eventually experience rust, corrosion, and cracks in the wood varnish! We have sailed on the Grand for the past two years and are scheduled again in 2011. We have also sailed on the Ruby and Emerald. If you have nothing else to do on the cruise, you will find evidence of salt water corrosion on every ship. The Grand has a much better deck plan than the two newer ships. We have not been disappointed on any Princess sail, but we definitely prefer the Grand to any other Princess ship. So, when you are out there on a sea day, look past the ship and enjoy being where you are. Most folks never get that chance.

 

Sue and Sandy

agreed. to the op, please go with an open mind and princess could meet or exceed your expectations.

[berlingo]

Thanks again.

 

You are all completely correct, I should count my blessings that I am able to make such a trip with my family rather than worrying about perfection.

 

I have also been reminded by my Beloved that I had read very similar negative reviews about P&Os Ventura., even with the same complaints about too many children and it being a Butlins Holiday Camp. Then when we sailed we had a wonderful time!

 

Kind regards Julia

 

PS Kay we are booked in D731 just across the hall from you. I shall let you all know how we get on. Happy sailing.:)

[SwissDave]

Just came off the Grand last weekend. There is nothing at all wrong with the ship, it is in great shape. Some carpets seem to have been replaced recently, but honestly, who goes around looking at the floor all day?. Yes there is a bit of rust on some balconies, but hey they are in the open exposed to salt spray so it is to be expected. Did not experience any stained sheets, balcony furniture was in good condition and everything worked.

[Casey12]

This is one of the silliest posts I have seen. Sorry.

 

Wait until you get on the ship. If you have problems-- deal with it. You are only going to cause problems and come across as a problem passenger by calling ahead of time. Whoever gave you that advice gave you bad advice.

[Latteluver]

Recently, on some of the British forums, there have been some very negative reviews of the Grand and we have also booked a mini suite for July so I have some sympathy with Berlingo's concerns. But my response has been to stop reading the reviews!

 

Two years ago, we did a NCL cruise that was also being heavily criticised by reviewers on British forums and I went on the cruise feeling very apprehensive. However it turned out to be the best family holiday we have had so this time I am ignoring the reviews and planning for another great family holiday!:p

[cdngrl]

berlingo, have you joined your roll call with others on the same sailing as you?

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=303

 

this is where the grand princess roll calls are, just find your sailing and have fun getting to know your cruise critic friends.

[HomelessBear]

Recently, on some of the British forums, there have been some very negative reviews of the Grand and we have also booked a mini suite for July so I have some sympathy with Berlingo's concerns. But my response has been to stop reading the reviews!

 

Two years ago, we did a NCL cruise that was also being heavily criticised by reviewers on British forums and I went on the cruise feeling very apprehensive. However it turned out to be the best family holiday we have had so this time I am ignoring the reviews and planning for another great family holiday!:p

 

I am sorry to say that on some of the cruises that I've been on, I have come across so many british passengers complaining about so many things! Some people seem to complain and moan about anything and everything. I have heard it all - "too hot", "too sunny"??, "poor choice of food"?? "nothing to do"??; and it goes on. I wonder if I am on the same cruise as they are!! I was on an excursion in Bonaire when our small bus had a puncture, so we got out while the driver changed the wheel (with the "courier" giving him advice!!), and a british woman started talking to me. She asked "do you think he knows what he's doing?". I didn't even respond! Then she started moaning about the flight, the seats, the ship, the weather, the food and even the bus and it went on and on!!

 

There is just no pleasing some people. Maybe its a british thing that some of us (british) have been innoculated against. LOL:D

[Melxx]

I am sorry to say that on some of the cruises that I've been on, I have come across so many british passengers complaining about so many things! Some people seem to complain and moan about anything and everything. I have heard it all - "too hot", "too sunny"??, "poor choice of food"?? "nothing to do"??; and it goes on. I wonder if I am on the same cruise as they are!! I was on an excursion in Bonaire when our small bus had a puncture, so we got out while the driver changed the wheel (with the "courier" giving him advice!!), and a british woman started talking to me. She asked "do you think he knows what he's doing?". I didn't even respond! Then she started moaning about the flight, the seats, the ship, the weather, the food and even the bus and it went on and on!!

 

There is just no pleasing some people. Maybe its a british thing that some of us (british) have been innoculated against. LOL:D

 

HomelessBear you have hit the nail on the head with your post, I think it is a British thing sometimes to have a good whine, I always say to any moaners "So this will be your last cruise with Princess then" they always look at me with horror when I say that :D OK things can go wrong and people should air their views, its the folks with a great big list of things going wrong I usually get sitting next to me, My DH says its because I have a friendly face and look easy to talk to :D Julia I've also sailed on the Ventura that infamous Christmas cruise that hit all the headlines in the papers we too had a wonderful cruise, so please don't worry.

[MandD]

Berlingo,

1) when reading a review, consider the number of posts the writer has made. I would give more weight to somebody like Toto2Kansas, for example, with over 34,000 posts than somebody with only a few dozen posts.

2) I was on a tour in Curacao once and I overheard the person getting off the bus in front of me complaining that they had only shown the poorer sections of Willemsted, while the person behind me was saying they had only shown the better parts and had avoided any poor areas. Different people see the same thing differently.

Have a wonderful cruise and write a review for us.

[hansi]

Berlingo, I understand how you feel. We will be on our first Princess cruise in August (Grand to the Med) after only experiencing P & O. It took me months to decide to book Princess but now I am really excited! Everyone on here has been really helpful and has helped me with numerous enquiries. We booked D730 mini.

 

Let us know how your cruise goes!!

 

We're on the Grand in August too. What date have you booked? We have over 30 Princess cruises under our belts and the Grand is one of our favourites. You will love it.

[Cruisin' Chick]

I wouldn't bother with writing to Princess ahead of time. If there's anything wrong with your cabin, just let the steward know. But odds are, you won't have anything to mention when you met, but introducing yourself.

 

Just remember that more people will complain than compliment. Most people will have a pleasant or better cruise and not think to write up a review. But people who get peeved over something (anything) often will be fired up to write something. I remember with my last cruise, someone came back and had a laundry list of complaints, including that the buffet staff had cut the rinds off of the pineapple slices. I had a laugh over this as I enjoyed being able to hold the pineapple by the rind while eating it -- certainly not from the Dole can. She was on my roll call, but never showed up to any of the meet and greets, which, after reading her comments, was fine by me.

[Putterdude]

The Grand is scheduled for drydock in the spring of next year (as we understand right now). So yes she has a few warts and blemishes but we were on her in January for 14 days andfrom what I observed there is certainly nothing so serious that it should impact anyone's enjoyment of the cruise holiday.