Shogun Live from Grand Princess 2nd June

[windsor26]

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

 

 

Shogun this is not good idea for those of us who do not have ipods laptops or other things similar We NEED the internet cafe and have made good use of it on all cruises. Please Princess keep the internet cafe's on all ships

[SwissDave]

Hi Shogun

 

It was a very close tournament, I snagged it on the very last spin to win by 100 points.

 

I got the Sanctuary info from the Sanctuary staff themselves as someone on the med cruise that started yesterday wanted to know, so went up on the first day to ask. It was the case certainly for this cruise, hence my disclaimer :) :)

 

I think the idea to get rid of the internet cafe is good, it is a lot of wasted space, especially now that they do not do the Scholarship courses anymore. ipads, laptops etc could be made available for those who need them (by the hour or half day etc), or they could swap the space with Vines, put Vines where the Internet cafe is and put Internet cafe where Vines is with 6 or 8 PC stations. I looked in there often when passing the area and only ever saw 3 or 4 people using the PCs.

[Shogun]

Hi Windsor26,

 

My point was we do not need a large space with fixed PCs anymore,

 

no reason why Princess can not issue lap tops net books I pads etc

 

yours Shogun

[Thejuggler]

We were back home for lunchtime yesterday. The only downside to the whole trip was the check in and disembarkation, neither are Princess problems, but Southampton port authority should be ashamed of themselves.

 

3 hours from arriving at the gate to getting on board is inexcusable as is only having a very small lift or the escalator to get out of the terminal. Not easy when you self disembark.

 

Ignore the check in time you have been allocated. If you aren't on priority check in get there early, or be prepared to stand in queues for hours.

 

Enjoyed the ship, the ports and the staff were all very friendly and couldn't do enough. The only downside to the Grand is it doesn't have a bar with a view to the front or rear of the ship, having been on Ventura and sat in Metropolis when leaving ports this is something we really missed.

[Shogun]

Hi All

 

Princess Trivia

 

I was not there so all info 2nd hand

 

Princess needs to throw out all questions and start again,

 

reason being folks just not only have notes but indexed books of answers

 

then this is the best bit, when they added in some new questions for he Queens Jubilee folks complained as they did not know the answer and were unable to get 100%

 

Was also told the most travelled passenger was unhappy about NEW questions and complained

 

yours Shogun

[t60]

Hi Windsor26,

 

My point was we do not need a large space with fixed PCs anymore,

 

no reason why Princess can not issue lap tops net books I pads etc

 

yours Shogun

 

Hygeine?

 

Sandy in Spain

[Pink-belle]

Thanks for the live from Shogun, good to catch up with it this morning, almost like being back on board.

 

We had a great cruise, really love the atmosphere on the Grand. Met some lovely people.

 

Re the trivia, hope I was not your primary source, as am slightly misquoted, so just a little update for Trivia fans who may be reading.

 

I love the trivia on board ship, usually try to make the 11.30 and 4.30, ports and tours allowing. I do not really partake in quizzes etc back home, it's a holiday activity I enjoy, and you meet some great people. Questions do get carried over cruise by cruise year to year, as I get the "I've heard that before" deja vu moments, and would only have heard them onboard a cruise ship. I am quite proud to know that the national flower of Japan is a crysthanum and not a lotus flower as I thought it was last year :p

 

However, using knowledge that is gained, seems more fun, to me, than turning up with a wad of dog eared sheets from previous trivia sessions, just so you can achieve a higher score then your fellow passengers.

 

I should add that I did not witness these teams winning, as it seems that throwing in a few British themed questions, which may not have been heard before, threw them off stride. The name of the actor who played the 4th incarnation of Dr Who, and was known for his scarf, threw many :rolleyes:

 

I did not witness any well travelled passengers complain about the new questions, although others may well have done, but I did witness them display not very nice behaviour when the host repeated questions for those that asked at the end of the round.

 

I will continue to play and enjoy the trivia sessions, with a rye smile when I notice those sheets, and maybe one day I will be wearing the prize "lanyard" with pride :D

 

Well, who would have thought I could write such a long post on Trivia! There was far more entertaining things to write about, a 7 day cruise passes far to quickly, but this did prove to be a very relaxing, much needed fun break.

 

Hansi is doing a live from for the current cruise, but it posted under Roll Calls, hopefully it will be moved to the main boards, where more will see it.

[Shogun]

Hi Pink-belle

 

So nice to to meet you, others spoke to me about the Trivia some asked if I could speak to Captain about it, may be the cruise director but not the captain.

 

yours Shogun

[caber]

I board Ruby Princess in 13 days. How about some of those answers?:D:D:D

[SwissDave]

I board Ruby Princess in 13 days. How about some of those answers?:D:D:D

 

ok, just for you....

 

one of the answers is 'Talc'.

 

:D

 

Dave.

[Mateybubbles]

Another great review Shogun - glad you had fun!

[caribill]

Hi Windsor26,

 

My point was we do not need a large space with fixed PCs anymore,

 

no reason why Princess can not issue lap tops net books I pads etc

 

yours Shogun

 

On some of my recent cruises I have often seen lines waiting to get into the Internet Cafe (and not just on the last day to get boarding passes). Obviously, many people still need to use those machines.

 

(Admittedly, at 2 AM the internet Cafe is not heavily used.)

 

Lending (do not rent them) laptops, etc. is not a solution.

 

Most people who can use the PCs (which are always powered up and ready) in the Internet Cafe by just clicking to sign on would need much more expertise to properly start up, properly use, and shut down laptops, Ipads, etc., each type of which will have its own quirks for proper usage.

[CraftyEC]

Thank you, Shogun, for your informative and entertaining commentary on your cruise. I'm glad you (and your fellow cruisers) had a great time, and you succeeded in relaxing.

 

We will be on the Grand out of Southampton for a round trip to the Canary Islands at the end of October, which is, I believe, the trip before your TA. We will try to look after the ship for you! This will be our first trip on the Grand (one previous Princess cruise, our first, on the Emerald) and I had started to worry at some of the reports about the ship, but your account seems very well balanced and realistic. So, now I am again really looking forward to being pampered on board.

[caber]

ok, just for you....

 

one of the answers is 'Talc'.

 

:D

 

Dave.

:confused::confused::confused:

 

If I am stuck I will certainly put down that answer.

 

We used whisper "Doris Day" loudly, for others who were trying to listen in to our answers. :D

[Shogun]

Hi CraftyEC

 

THe Grand has some very good items like the One Five Club, Alfredos Pizza etc,

 

The whole Atrium, Casino, Horizon Court etc is all new , then you get into a lift, its dark, worn and looks 15 years old,

 

So your overall view of the ship is mixed,

 

She has features like the covered pool which can make or break a cruise,

 

just think if the kids playing in the pool last week could not, and those folks relaxing reading books could not do so they would have been driven indoors

 

this would have changed the whole feel of the ship,

 

Princess needs to do a little more work to make her five star

 

but they are working away on things so may be she will get there one day.

 

have a great cruise

 

yours Shogun

[Shogun]

Hi Caribill

 

I assume one day we will all get internet through our stateroom tvs

 

check accounts on line

 

book this and that

 

may be even the casino slots will just be a computer game

 

who knows

 

will just have to wait and see

 

yours Shogun

[CraftyEC]

Hi CraftyEC

 

THe Grand has some very good items like the One Five Club, Alfredos Pizza etc,

 

The whole Atrium, Casino, Horizon Court etc is all new , then you get into a lift, its dark, worn and looks 15 years old,

 

So your overall view of the ship is mixed,

 

She has features like the covered pool which can make or break a cruise,

 

just think if the kids playing in the pool last week could not, and those folks relaxing reading books could not do so they would have been driven indoors

 

this would have changed the whole feel of the ship,

 

Princess needs to do a little more work to make her five star

 

but they are working away on things so may be she will get there one day.

 

have a great cruise

 

yours Shogun

Thank you. I plan on having a great time, although I do sometimes wonder at the amount of effort that some people put into grumbling about the little stuff. As long as I am generally well looked after, well fed (with not too many unappetising dishes, if I find something unappealing there is a good chance that part of that is that I chose unwisely) and have the opportunity to relax then I will be happy. DH as retired, I'm still working (part-time but pretty stressful), so I'm the one who gets desperate for a break. Therefore I'm the one who needs to relax and enjoy myself.

 

Every cruise we take will, I hope be different. We've tried three lines, each has been an individual experience. I'd be lying if I didn't say that I'd loved our luxury cruise, especially as it was all-inclusive, but we live in the real world, and we plan to keep a balance between the occasional high-end cruise and and being able to cruise a little more often on other lines. We loved our first cruise on Princess and intend to enjoy ourselves thoroughly on this one too.

 

I certainly plan to take my kindle to the poolside, even if I don't venture into the water!

[Balernocalling]

Hi Shogun,

Thanks again for all the info on the ship. I am really looking forward to the 49 nighter South American trip but I will be awaiting your next "live from the Grand" with interest!!

Hope you arrived home relaxed!

Cheers!

:)

[Balernocalling]

Hi Shogun,

Was Ed Perrin the Captain on your cruise? If this has been stated before I apologise.He was the captain when we were on board the Sun Princess....very nice guy!:)

[Shogun]

Hello Balernocalling

 

Our Captain Was Roger Bilton, have sailed with him before,

 

when we had a number of major issues,

 

which he handled very well and kept us informed, so was happy to see he was our captain once more

 

likewise on this cruise were he informed us of the Oslo strikes, when ever there was new info,

 

he could be seen out and about the ship, which is something I like to see,

 

he came to our CC meet and chatted away to as many as he could,

 

he even on the first sea day came up to my DW and welcomed her onboard using her first name very nice touch.

 

yours Shogun

[cellyml12]

Hi Shogun! I loved your daily review of The Grand. I'll be doing my first Princess cruise to Alaska next year & VERY excited. I love all the information you gave here & on various threads! Thanks for helping out all us newbies!:D

[greenbar]

Hi Shogun,

 

Thanks so much for the live on board reports - very interesting. We have yet to plan a cruise which includes a port in Scotland. Hope to meet you again sometime aboard a Princess ship.

 

Greenbar (Bill):D

[Azjack]

Hi Shogun,

 

Forgive me if I missed it, but does the Grand have a golf simulator up on the sports deck? If so, did you use it? I just assume all scots are golfers.

 

Jack

[Shogun]

Hi Azjack

 

The Grand does have a golf sim. but never saw it in use, there was a member of staff, but the girl looked very bored as she was in a little hut

with no body to talk to.

 

Hi greenbar

 

Would love to cruise with you again, if you get to Scotland and need a tour guide all you need do is ask.

 

Hi cellyml12

 

If you go with an open mind accept the world is not perfect, and that people do make mistakes, you will have a great cruise, Princess is not perfect and does get things wrong from time to time, however if you explain what went wrong and what you would like them to do to fix the problem you will find that not only will they, but they will go that bit extra to make sure your cruise is a good one.

 

Why folks put up with a cabin with no air con for a week then complain about it here, makes no sense to me, tell the ship and get them to fix it, its that simple, again just telling a room steward or pursar every day is not the answer, tell them first and if not fixed within a day tell the hotel manager.

 

yours shogun

[Thejuggler]

The golf simulator was out of action.