Shogun Live from Grand Princess 2nd June

[hansi]

Hi hansi,

 

Are you planning on doing a Live From as well?

 

Happy Cruising,

 

John & Kathy

 

 

Hi Doctor and Mrs Doctor:p Sure, I'll attempt to do a "Live From" if I'm not under the influence too much! Are you still planning to do the 6 April b2b on the Emerald next year, we received our flight details for it yesterday! Talk about being early:D

[DrJohn]

Hi Doctor and Mrs Doctor:p Sure, I'll attempt to do a "Live From" if I'm not under the influence too much! Are you still planning to do the 6 April b2b on the Emerald next year, we received our flight details for it yesterday! Talk about being early:D

 

The Emerald is still in our plans for April, really looking forward to it!

 

John

[Shogun]

Hi All

The Crown Grill, this was a CC diner that I put together there were ten of us and two officers one from Hotel and one from Engineering, for most of them it was there first Crown Grill but it will not be there last, steaks were excellent, service etc normal standards the meal took three and a half hours as we chatted away, and got a little insight into life below decks. For those that want to know I paid for the drinks for the officers. The lobster was a low point just to small, if is the normal standard then its time to remove it from the menu we were looking at a bit of meat two inches long it looked completed lost of the plate. Princess does bigger shrimp in the MDR, we final called it a night or a morning at 2.00am so I guess you can stay it went well.

The other day a lady tripped and fell on the atrium stair case, so you heard the scruff of her shoe and the small scream, folks look up but no passenger reacts until she has hit the floor, but two Princess crew close by not only looked up but moved so fast they almost caught her, pause for a moment and think about this, to respond in the manner they did, they needed them to act on instinct as there was no time to think about what was happening, this could come from constant training but also from a genuine sense of care for a fellow person who just happened to be a passenger. The lady was unhurt and more embarrassed than anything,

Captains Circle was in the Vista lounge such a better venue than Club Fusion, there are only 148 Elite onboard with most travelled being 800 odd days, Captain Bilton was on good form and talked about the old Love Boat having served on her, he did not say much but the Royal only to say Maiden and its TA are fully booked . As to how the crew could be I posted on my Captains list a few months ago who I thought it would be I that is still where my money is, as to Hotel Manager etc I would stick with the team that brought out the Ruby, the rest I think Princess will cherry pick the best from the fleet to man her, but only time will tell.

Oslo today, and we have sun, pools are busy folks are stripping of and lying on deck, and there is a queue for burgers at the grill bar, Oslo its self was quite but nice to see the city again, cruise terminal shops taking dollars and euros and even UK pounds. Sizes of clothes, you need to add double xx to your normal size, to get anything to get them to fit. I know the Nordic diet is healthy , but DW refused to by anything with so many XXXs on the label.

However many of the women were please or surprised or may be shocked, you see jogging is still popular but the wearing of black very tight and thin lycra leggings appears to be the norm, and the wearing of anything under them would appear not to be done, I will let you work out the rest.

I did hear complaints about a tour that was billed as a fjord cruise, what they got was a quite tour of the harbour and a brief stop at Fram, you can spend hours there, it was not helped by the tour guide not knowing his north from his south poles or the dates when these events took place, part of the problem is that the harbour is in a fjord and this was not what folks wanted.

Last formal night tonight wonder if they might do baked Alaska tonight,

I think when see the Royal we might recognise some of the décor from the Grand like the One Five club, seating from the atrium .

One thing that does not work well here on the Grand is Vines , it is not like any other ship, no bar, no food etc, you are getting served out of cupboard, now I fully understand that there was no space for a Vines so a half Vines is better than none, but those that love Vines will find the Grand Version a little disappointing.

The casino took pity on us and gave us back a few hundred dollars, so will give it a try again after diner, as it would be nice to go home with only a little loss.

yours Shogun

[sunsetbeachgal]

Thanks for taking the time to do this...what a good idea to have a cc gathering over dinner in the Crown Grill!!

[crows nest club]

Hi All

The Crown Grill, this was a CC diner that I put together there were ten of us and two officers one from Hotel and one from Engineering, for most of them it was there first Crown Grill but it will not be there last, steaks were excellent, service etc normal standards the meal took three and a half hours as we chatted away, and got a little insight into life below decks. For those that want to know I paid for the drinks for the officers. The lobster was a low point just to small, if is the normal standard then its time to remove it from the menu we were looking at a bit of meat two inches long it looked completed lost of the plate. Princess does bigger shrimp in the MDR, we final called it a night or a morning at 2.00am so I guess you can stay it went well.

The other day a lady tripped and fell on the atrium stair case, so you heard the scruff of her shoe and the small scream, folks look up but no passenger reacts until she has hit the floor, but two Princess crew close by not only looked up but moved so fast they almost caught her, pause for a moment and think about this, to respond in the manner they did, they needed them to act on instinct as there was no time to think about what was happening, this could come from constant training but also from a genuine sense of care for a fellow person who just happened to be a passenger. The lady was unhurt and more embarrassed than anything,

Captains Circle was in the Vista lounge such a better venue than Club Fusion, there are only 148 Elite onboard with most travelled being 800 odd days, Captain Bilton was on good form and talked about the old Love Boat having served on her, he did not say much but the Royal only to say Maiden and its TA are fully booked . As to how the crew could be I posted on my Captains list a few months ago who I thought it would be I that is still where my money is, as to Hotel Manager etc I would stick with the team that brought out the Ruby, the rest I think Princess will cherry pick the best from the fleet to man her, but only time will tell.

Oslo today, and we have sun, pools are busy folks are stripping of and lying on deck, and there is a queue for burgers at the grill bar, Oslo its self was quite but nice to see the city again, cruise terminal shops taking dollars and euros and even UK pounds. Sizes of clothes, you need to add double xx to your normal size, to get anything to get them to fit. I know the Nordic diet is healthy , but DW refused to by anything with so many XXXs on the label.

However many of the women were please or surprised or may be shocked, you see jogging is still popular but the wearing of black very tight and thin lycra leggings appears to be the norm, and the wearing of anything under them would appear not to be done, I will let you work out the rest.

I did hear complaints about a tour that was billed as a fjord cruise, what they got was a quite tour of the harbour and a brief stop at Fram, you can spend hours there, it was not helped by the tour guide not knowing his north from his south poles or the dates when these events took place, part of the problem is that the harbour is in a fjord and this was not what folks wanted.

Last formal night tonight wonder if they might do baked Alaska tonight,

I think when see the Royal we might recognise some of the décor from the Grand like the One Five club, seating from the atrium .

One thing that does not work well here on the Grand is Vines , it is not like any other ship, no bar, no food etc, you are getting served out of cupboard, now I fully understand that there was no space for a Vines so a half Vines is better than none, but those that love Vines will find the Grand Version a little disappointing.

The casino took pity on us and gave us back a few hundred dollars, so will give it a try again after diner, as it would be nice to go home with only a little loss.

yours Shogun

 

Shogun

 

Many thanks for your live from updates. As usual, they are most informative and it is good to hear that the Grand is still functioning well. We are on her for the 17 day cruise in September, having done this itinerary on her last year. We just love the ports visited on this cruise.

 

I wonder if you have had a chance to answer my query regardong the Sanctuary, as per post above. Just wanted to know that you can still book it for the whole cruise on embarkation day, as previously.

 

Enjoy your last couple of days. Weather here, down south, is dire today with constant rain, but better forecast for Sat. when you return.

[cruiserdru]

Disappointed to hear that Vines on the Grand is not what I had come to love on the Star. :(

 

Did you try the Leaves Tea Lounge? As a tea drinker, I am hoping this will be a good venue. I have heard that the coffee card can not be used in the Tea Lounge, which is too bad, especially if the tea is fresh brewed.

[hansi]

Great reports, Shogun! Hope I can be as informative on my "Live from the Grand" next week. Just leave some food for us please ;)

[Pia1913]

Disappointed to hear that Vines on the Grand is not what I had come to love on the Star. :(

 

Did you try the Leaves Tea Lounge? As a tea drinker, I am hoping this will be a good venue. I have heard that the coffee card can not be used in the Tea Lounge, which is too bad, especially if the tea is fresh brewed.

 

No, you cannot use the coffee card at Leaves. Perhaps on this cruise Leaves is getting some action from the Brits aboard. It certainly sits empty, except for readers, when the ship is elsewhere.

[umbertsmum]

"However many of the women were please or surprised or may be shocked, you see jogging is still popular but the wearing of black very tight and thin lycra leggings appears to be the norm, and the wearing of anything under them would appear not to be done, I will let you work out the rest."

 

This may add an interesting dimension to our stop in Oslo...I shall paractice the traditional " we are not amused stare" although will probably just collapse in a heap of giggles if contfomted by the sight of meat and two veg in lycra!

[Britiscruizin]

Enjoying your review Shogun!

 

Leaves was always packed on sea days when we were on in May for the Adriatic cruise. Not sure how many ocupants were drinking tea though! Most people were reading or playing board games :)

[Balernocalling]

Hi Shogun,

Sorry to hear that Vines is a little disappointing. Did they serve any sushi/tapas there at all? We really enjoyed Vines both on the Crown and the Star and were looking forward to spending time there on our seven week South American trip.Enjoy the last couple of days of your trip!

Cheers:)

[Pia1913]

Hi Shogun,

Sorry to hear that Vines is a little disappointing. Did they serve any sushi/tapas there at all? We really enjoyed Vines both on the Crown and the Star and were looking forward to spending time there on our seven week South American trip.Enjoy the last couple of days of your trip!

Cheers:)

 

Vines on the Grand is totally different than the other ships. No food; just wine.

[Hulagirl]

Vines on the Grand is totally different than the other ships. No food; just wine.

 

Vines on the Sapphire is the same way, no food, just wine. It is very small also. I have to say I was disappointed with it. We love Vines on the other ships and do like to spend time there.

[Shogun]

Hi All

Today is a sea day we are going along at a good rate of knots as we head for Southampton, weather still not that good, seas getting rougher as we head south, sail out of Oslo was good and lasted for hours as we sailed down the fjord Captain gave us some info about the sunk German Battle ship that we cruised over. Day light hours are great and reminded me of home were we have light up to 11.00pm at night just now.

Last night was Captains diner and Lobster was on the menu so in the interests of comparing the dining room to the Crown Grill I had to order it, well it was the normal Lobster, plate came with two good sized tails and two large shrimp tails which were the same size, the result was you had plenty of meat to eat, compared to the Crown Grill about double the amount, I would not condemn the Crown Grill just because the Lobster I got was small I could have asked for more and would have got it but I just wanted to compare the two.

Now we had a new waiter last night, he was very good what he did to impress me was he introduced himself which we would expect, but he then asked if we had any food issues or allergies that he should know about, he spotted that I ate my lobster and offered me another tail and two shrimps without me having to request them.

I checked my account last night ahead of the stampede of folks today and found I had bought a bottle of wine in a dining room that I have not eaten in, this was corrected, a small win in the casino was also put towards the account. 20,000 credits is nice to see flashing away on a slot machine pity it was not dollars.

Have started to say good bye to crew etc what was nice and I will not name the person or area where he works was he thanked me for being the perfect passenger, let me explain, he said that the crew notice which passengers when sitting at a table are happy to take a used plate or cup to the service station and those who just sit down then complain that the table was not clean when they sat down, likewise passengers on seeing them busy that are happy to wait a minute for service and those who are not, he explained the crew had their own way of rewarding nice passengers and lets say not rewarding others.

The laundry service has been good and got a mark out of a light pair of trousers for me, not sure what it was that picked up will ashore, however one t shirt is now 6inches to short.

The sanctuary as I understand it can still be booked for a week once you board.

Leaves does not appear to work, only ever seen a couple of people having tea appears more to be the home of the jig saw club, I do not think we will see Leaves on other ships.

I have an idea for Princess see what you guys think, the internet café has been empty most of the cruise as folks use smart phones, lap tops tablets etc to surf and check e mails.

So lets get rid of the internet café, instead, a staffed internet help desk, with printers for us to use, may be even one or two of the airline machines that would allow us to book in print tags etc no reason why an airline could not give machine to Princess, then may be a few net books for hire by the hour for folks with out a computer. The space on the Grand could be used to provide a full sized Vines helping increase the seating in the atrium which during the day is 100% used. Just now I am in Vines and it is full of folks drinking coffee and having snacks.

As tec has moved followed may be the day of the PC is over.

Yours Shogun

[t60]

snip..

So lets get rid of the internet café, instead, a staffed internet help desk, with printers for us to use, may be even one or two of the airline machines that would allow us to book in print tags etc no reason why an airline could not give machine to Princess, then may be a few net books for hire by the hour for folks with out a computer. The space on the Grand could be used to provide a full sized Vines helping increase the seating in the atrium which during the day is 100% used. Just now I am in Vines and it is full of folks drinking coffee and having snacks.

As tec has moved followed may be the day of the PC is over.

 

Yours Shogun

 

Last week when we were on the Grand the internet cafe was always well used at all times. Every time we passed through Leaves again people were there with pots of tea, as well as doing the jigsaws , playing board games or reading. Vines was just used as additional space for people who couldn´t get a seat in the Piazza or nearer the International Cafe. with regard to Airline machines, It´s bad enough now towards the end of a cruise, when people are trying to get on the computers in the IC to change their seats and check in, in our experience there are never enough computers to go round and there are always people waiting.

 

Sandy in Spain

[phabric]

Not everyone has a smart phone, I-Pod or other items so a computer is needed.

[Donder1]

I hope the Maitre Di refuses Shogun breakfast at Sabatinis .To call someone a right nutter does not mean eccentric.Where I come from in Scotland this term is very insulting. Shame on you Shogun

 

Oh, for Pete's sake! Lighten up!

[Shogun]

Hi All

 

My point about the internt cafe was regarding space, if the ship has 30 PCs why not replace them with 50 net books,

 

again with airline ticket machines, with only one printer for passenger use adding these machines would assist with printing,

 

As to a right nutter this was a quote from the Captain, and just to explain the Maitre D, is a very friendly happy cheerful guy willing to play jokes on his staff, who hold him in high regard.

 

yours Shogun

[cool cat cruiser]

Hi Sandy. Was it the Med Adventure cruise on the Grand you went on? If so could you review it please. - We are doing same cruise in August and have been disappointed to see no one has reviewed this one. Would be most interested to see what you did in the various ports and how the ship compares with other lines.

[Shogun]

Hi All

Quick 10 point summary of my memories of this cruise.

1. The queues at check in.

2. The on off strikes for Oslo

3. The way the Captain kept us so well informed

4. The warm welcome from crew members we knew from past cruises

5. The assistance the hotel manager gave me,

6. The excellent service from all crew members

7. The amazement that DW went to 4 ports and did not spend a penny.

8. Alfredos the best pizza at sea

9. The CC diner at the Crown Grill

10. The new friends I have made be they crew or fellow passengers.

For those who have an up and coming cruise on the Grand Princess, relax safe in the knowledge you will be boarding a well maintained ship, equal to any in the fleet with a crew to match.

Just remember there is no central stair case, which is so frustrating if you are used to ships with one.

I will be back on board in November and look forward to meeting some familiar faces.

Any questions please ask and I will try and help. For those folks with different views please remember this has been my cruise, and these are my thoughts, my views are not Princess policy, others might post a review talking about the cruise from hell, my only real negative is 7 days is just to short and time goes so quickly.

yours Shogun

[sunsetbeachgal]

Thx again for such an informative thread...safe travels home!

[Floflegs]

Thanks for your input. Joining the Grand tomorrow! Hope you have a good journey home

[OnVacation11]

Hi All

Quick 10 point summary of my memories of this cruise.

1. The queues at check in.

2. The on off strikes for Oslo

3. The way the Captain kept us so well informed

4. The warm welcome from crew members we knew from past cruises

5. The assistance the hotel manager gave me,

6. The excellent service from all crew members

7. The amazement that DW went to 4 ports and did not spend a penny.

8. Alfredos the best pizza at sea

9. The CC diner at the Crown Grill

10. The new friends I have made be they crew or fellow passengers.

 

For those who have an up and coming cruise on the Grand Princess, relax safe in the knowledge you will be boarding a well maintained ship, equal to any in the fleet with a crew to match.

Just remember there is no central stair case, which is so frustrating if you are used to ships with one.

I will be back on board in November and look forward to meeting some familiar faces.

Any questions please ask and I will try and help. For those folks with different views please remember this has been my cruise, and these are my thoughts, my views are not Princess policy, others might post a review talking about the cruise from hell, my only real negative is 7 days is just to short and time goes so quickly.

yours Shogun

 

Thanks for the updates. We will be boarding her in 2 weeks for a Norway cruise.

[trikeman]

Sorry your cruise is over but where one stops another starts. Thanks for taking the time to do the live from.

[Grammyluvs]

Thoroughly enjoyed your review and humor. I can see why the crew likes you. When will people learn you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar.