Shogun Live from Grand Princess 2nd June

[compozer]

There was a thread last year about a cruise which had over a hundred gambling VIPs, probably few if any in suites. They were all given the Sabitini's breakfast perk and those in suites on that cruise were complaining how crowded it was and how the service was not as good as usual as a result.

 

 

I had a friend in a suite on that cruise that was so looking forward to enjoying nice relaxing breakfasts on all of those sea days and she was very very upset. I have a suite booked on the same cruise coming up and am also looking forward to relaxing in Sabatinis over breakfast and wish we would be told ahead of time if this is going to happen again. I will not be a happy camper if it is a repeat.

[san diego sue]

This is Shogun's live thread. All you Suite passengers please cool it.

Start your own thread about what is fair. We want to hear about Shogun's cruise,

not your opinions.

[Times Prince]

Lets give it a rest for a while and just enjoy Shogun 's live report ;).

I hope some day to be on a cruise with you Shogun, you always manage to have interesting things happen on your cruises.:D

Could you imagine cruising with both Shogun and Sailor Jack? That would be a kick ! :D

[Dorset Cruiser]

This is Shogun's live thread. All you Suite passengers please cool it.

Start your own thread about what is fair. We want to hear about Shogun's cruise,

not your opinions.

 

I want to hear about the cruise as well. It's just a shame that he is a bit of a 'name-dropper' :rolleyes:

 

That's it, no more comment on this thread. I shall just read with interest!

[WendyG]

I sailed last year to the Baltics in a min suite and my friends had a PH suite. One morning they invited me to Sabatini's for "real" coffee. I joined them halfway through their breakfast and just had coffee, but I felt like an intruder as I knew I didn't belong there. ( I behaved very well though!) :D

 

If Shogun is comfortable then that's on him, I didn't feel I "paid" for this special service, but it's Princess who should be held responsible for allowing it, not Shogun.

 

I'm also amazed about at the number of people upset by this...LOL

[Shogun]

Hi All

So much interest in a few free cups of coffee and some eggs, many will know Princess has an excellent family and friends programme, there are number of folks taking advantage of it on this cruise, how many are travelling free or have only paid a few pounds for their cruise is between Princess and them, it is up to Princess to give such perks as the company sees fit , those I have met on other cruises have been granted such things for different reasons but I no intention of losing $20,000 a night in the casino just to be given a free cruise. For those who are interested we were the only couple at breakfast , the other morning there was another couple, most I have seen is a third of the set tables in use, may be that was why we were grant such a nice perk on this cruise.

Today we are in Sweden, and its national flag day, yesterday it was a national holiday in Denmark, Princess needs to look at this and swap these ports about if cruising here again on these dates, from my point of few it has been a great cruise first port on a Sunday then two on major holidays spend ashore nil, shops closed etc, however it would be nice if we could have looked through the shops.

Today was a tender day, excellent service could not be any better, 5 tenders in use short run and calm seas result w walked straight down to the tender no waiting or the return leg the same we walked to the tender down the steps and straight onto the tender no waiting to fill up as next tender was already pulling in behind us, on way to ship next tender passed us, first class well organised, the way it should be.

Weather remains dull and overcast but no rain so far today.

Onboard entertainment seems to be well received, not outstanding singers, comedians etc but good enough to keep my fellow passengers packing out the shows, live music is a plenty, with folks wanting to go see a band etc for the second time. One Five club is nice quite enough to chat to folks, music is like food you can not please everyone all the time, but on balance DJ is working hard to try and please all.

Alredos pizza is outstanding and makes a great extra choice for a meal, open to midnight and very well used I look forward to seeing this onboard the Royal as I understand menu will have even more choice.

Princess needs look at where its ships are deployed this cruise has worked well because of the covered pool, kids have been happy splashing about, while an older cruiser can be seen sleeping with a book by their side, if it was not for the conservatory the cruise would have had a very different feel. Please Princess keep ships like the Grand, Golden etc doing cool weather cruises.

Captain has done a good job of keeping us informed of all the twists and turns with the strikes in Oslo, the ship had taken steps to put a back plan into action if required what that was we were not told, will try and find out.

Now for me the whole point of this cruise was to do nothing, I just wanted to chill out and enjoy the Princess product and I for one have no complaints, even the coffee seems back to normal as we found the coffee had gone down hill a little on a last few cruises. We have three more cruises on the Grand this year and already crew have started chatting about seeing us back on board in a few months. While the crew are here to serve us they are not our servants if you are polite respectful and even assist them they are so nice happy to spend time telling you about their families there time ashore. Again to be welcomed by name into a bar a restaurant is such a nice touch.

Well need to go and enjoy more of my cruise, Crown Grill tonight so will report back later.

yours Shogun

[hansi]

Glad to hear you're having a great time Shogun, we'll be going on (not staggering, I hope!;)) as you come off

[hansi]

I sailed last year to the Baltics in a min suite and my friends had a PH suite. One morning they invited me to Sabatini's for "real" coffee. I joined them halfway through their breakfast and just had coffee, but I felt like an intruder as I knew I didn't belong there. ( I behaved very well though!) :D

 

If Shogun is comfortable then that's on him, I didn't feel I "paid" for this special service, but it's Princess who should be held responsible for allowing it, not Shogun.

 

I'm also amazed about at the number of people upset by this...LOL

 

 

Exactly. Chill out!

[fishin' musician]

Enjoy your dinner at the Crown Grill tonight Shogun! Can we assume you got comped? (listening to all the voices rise in pitch as panties are drawn even tighter) :D

[Geminisquirrel]

Shogun

 

Thank you for all the updates and reports. It has been a great help.

 

Enjoy your holiday!!

[caber]

Hi Shogun,

 

Nobody can accuse you of having boring threads.:D

 

Glad the rain hasn`t reached you. It is pouring down here. Even if it does rain you have all the onboard activities and lovely food and drink to enjoy.

[Mrs Monkey]

Hi Shogun,

 

really enjoying your updates and appreciate you taking the time to write them.

[fanoforion]

Hi Shogun, thank you for the daily updates on your cruise....enjoying the read.

 

 

kind regards, Lorraine:):)

[DrJohn]

Hi Shogun,

 

You are not the only one that couldn't wait until November to sail the Grand again, Kathy and I booked for June 23 only 24 hours after getting home from our May cruise in the Med.

 

So if you get a chance say hi to Roger and Andreas and Mario for us and we'll see them soon!

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise -- see you in November.

 

John

[DrJohn]

Glad to hear you're having a great time Shogun, we'll be going on (not staggering, I hope!;)) as you come off

 

Hi hansi,

 

Are you planning on doing a Live From as well?

 

Happy Cruising,

 

John & Kathy

[trikeman]

Could you imagine cruising with both Shogun and Sailor Jack? That would be a kick ! :D

 

OH Boy, I'd love to be on that one! As a friend of mine from across the pond would say, I'm going to spend a lot of time on the naughty step on that cruise.:D

[cool cat cruiser]

Hi Shogun. Am cruising with Princess for the first time this year. How do you feel they compare with P and O ? Would also be grateful for information on the following:

The Sanctuary - Have you used this facility and if so do you feel it is worth getting up early to book. Dont know why it cant be booked the evening before, it would be so much easier. Being on holiday do enjoy a lay in.

Theater - what time are the shows? is it true you need to be there half an hour earlier to be able to get a seat?

ATD- Are you able to pre-book a time from the stateroom/ Was the main dining room open for lunch on embarkation day?

Thanks for the time and effort you have put into your reviews. We have so enjoyed reading them and it has cetainly added to the excitment leading up to our cruise.

[Balernocalling]

:)Hi Shogun,

Glad you and Dawna are having a good cruise....pity the weather is not better. We are on board the Grand in January 2013 South America trip so interested to read your comments on her after the refit.Are you doing the Chef's Table again? That was a fantastic meal!!!! Memories!!Enjoy the rest of your trip.:)

[Shogun]

Hi All

Well Helsingborg is now only a dot on the Horizon, it was nice to be greeted ashore by a local folk group in costume playing mainly fiddles , there were a few shops open but almost all were closed for the holiday, again a nice touch was being given our own little Swedish flags.

Onboard Horizon court appears to work much bette,r the food display is very nice and I would say the selection appears better, presentation was very good especially of the deserts.

The out side decks are very quite, I feel sorry for the barman and waiter standing behind there bar pool side trying to stay warm, wrapped up in big jackets and woolly hats like you would expect on an Alaska cruise, with know one to serve.

The mini golf is better than that on the newer ships, if Princess add this to the Royal please note , the shaping, change of levels makes it more fun, than just a large flat area with a few bumps.

Our room steward is very good knows his job well, first we never see him like magic we go out and on our return our cabin is made up, papers etc on the desk are neatly stacked and items set out in a row, in the bathroom the little bottles of this and that are set out in a nice curve around the wash basin, we have ice, patters and other mail are placed on the end of the bed for us daily. Even shoes are lined up each perfect, not sure if there is anything more he could do for us.

The outside of the ship does need some painting a few rusty stains but these can appear very quickly while at sea, the haul has black rubber marks from fenders rubbing against it from our last few port calls.

Maintenance is on going through out the ship, as like any cruise ship, I understand a big item just now is replacing the glass dividers on the balcony’s. If you look hard enough you can spot signs of age, but everything works, and in time everything requiring a coat of varnish or white paint will get it, the process never ends,

While in the elevator today boy asks his mum why no number 13, the reply, deck 13 is for crew only .

Sanctuary not in use to cold but still has staff, as to booking depending on cruise some think it is a must have, you may need to be up very early to book it, shows you need to be there very early to get a seat, anytime dining working well but you can book a seat if you want,

Hi Barlenocalling, nice to here from you,

Not doing chefs table this cruise not even heard anyone talking about it, as to Crown grill it is not free, however have met some who have eaten there is cruise they did not pay may be there TA gave them it as a gift.

Yours Shogun

[umbertsmum]

Hi Shogun,

thank you for the update.

Did you do anything ashore in Helsingborg amdist all your flag waving?

[WendyG]

enjoy your dinner at the crown grill tonight shogun! Can we assume you got comped? (listening to all the voices rise in pitch as panties are drawn even tighter) :d

 

lmao!!!

[tntfox]

Shogun - so glad you are enjoying your trip; I am enjoying reading your logs.

 

Life is way, way too short for people to get their panties in a bunch over who gets what when, in their eyes, they are not "deserving". I hope you and DW are having a fabulous trip! Perks and all! (I HOPE your Crown Grill dinner was a comp!) :eek:

 

Can't wait to read more ... :cool:

[wobblybob74]

This is Shogun's live thread. All you Suite passengers please cool it.

Start your own thread about what is fair. We want to hear about Shogun's cruise,

not your opinions.

 

^^^^ This - absolutely this.

[crows nest club]

Shogun

 

Can you still book the ~Sanctuary foer the whole cruise? I appreciate the weather on your cruise has not been so good that you would want to consider this, but is the whole cruise booking facility still available for future Grand cruisers.

[bighairtexan]

HELLO SHOGUN!!! Enjoying your Live From. Have a wonderful "rest of cruise" and see you in November!