Grand Princess Overview - Cruise to Alaska May 20, 2013

[Travelrd]

mary...sorry to bother you again but did you think the eggcrates were necessary? did you have a new pillowtop mattress?

 

thanks

[MilliesMom]

mary...sorry to bother you again but did you think the eggcrates were necessary? did you have a new pillowtop mattress?

 

thanks

 

It's not a bother ... I did respond earlier (post #18 - page 1) but I think you missed it or I wasn't clear in my response (which is entirely possible too - so will add more here). Here's what I wrote (part in red):

 

Honestly, I didn't check the bed other than for comfort. We have a super comfortable Intelli Bed (Gel top mattress) at home. We slept with no issues on the bed in our cabin. The egg crate topper was on the bed when we arrived as I had pre-ordered it. You could always order it then if not needed have the room steward remove it.

 

We were very comfortable with the egg crate on the bed. We never tried the bed without it. So for us, I would order again. I never checked to see what type of mattress we had. Again, I just went by the comfort of the bed for us. I don't know if it was a pillowtop or not.

[Travelrd]

mary...my fault. yes i did miss post #18 above. thank you for the faxing information. i'll order the egg crate just to be safe.

 

thanks

[MilliesMom]

mary...my fault. yes i did miss post #18 above. thank you for the faxing information. i'll order the egg crate just to be safe.

 

thanks

 

David, not a problem. I thought that might be just what happened. Sometimes these threads move quickly with lots of posts. Easy to miss some in the process.

 

Yes, I agree, better to request one and not need it ... then to need one and have them all gone.

 

We stayed at the Tuscann Inn (Best Western) at the Wharf. Oh my gosh, talk about a fabulous bed. They definitely were GREAT!!! That bed could of come home with me. The Princess bed with the egg crate was just fine for us ... no back issues etc. HOWEVER, it definitely wasn't the quality of the Tuscann Inn one. LOL.

[Travelrd]

i've stayed at the tuscan inn. definitely very classy with a fabulous location!

 

cheers

[MilliesMom]

i've stayed at the tuscan inn. definitely very classy with a fabulous location!

 

cheers

 

Love the hotel. We stayed there before and after the cruise. Definitely would stay again. Too much light in the room at night tho, but we solved the problem by buying eye masks on the cruise ship for the hotel stay on the way back.

 

We hope to stay there next year too and add in a few days to play in San Francisco.

[MilliesMom]

David, just saw your future cruise on the Golden LA to Vancouver. Looked up the itinerary ... WOW, literally a full day in Victoria. Amazing. That will be fabulous. In fact all of the ports are basically full days. Great cruise.

 

Next year we are doing LA to Vancouver (Norwegian Pearl) then one night in Vancouver then Star Princess Vancouver to San Francisco. Looking forward to the itinerary. We get a longer day in Victoria going up and 6 hours coming back. Victoria is such a beautiful city.

[juls1964]

We cruised on the Grand Princess May 20 through May 30, 2013 from San Francisco. Rough weather/seas during the first 2 days so we missed Juneau. Captain woke us up at 7 am (announcement heard in all areas and cabins of the ship) to let us know the rough seas would continue for a while. Hal and I both use acupressure bands (his were bio-bands and I used queasy bands). They also recommended green apples. You can ask for the apples at the buffet or your cabin, but it was much quicker through the buffet. If they are not out, they will get them for you. This was the first time either of us have been seasick. It wasn't awful for us, just not great.

 

Weather overall was nice, some drizzle in Victoria. Skagway wore no jackets. Ketchikan and Victoria we wore wind breakers. In Glacier Bay we bundled and I mean bundled. It was cold outside to say the least but we ended up being nice and warm.

 

We were in Cabin E725 Mini-Suite - here's my video of the cabin

 

We loved the Grand and our cruise. Would definitely sail on her again without hesitation. Crew & Service were top notch.

 

Minor concerns: Sofa in the mini-suite was extremely low to the ground (we were shocked when we sat on it the first time). I have arthritis in my hips and knees so having it lower than normal (my opinion) cause a minor issue for me. Would I book this cabin again ... absolutely.

 

The other issue was the food. We haven't cruised in 4 years so I am sure things have changed over the years. They had numerous choices at each meal, but overall we felt the food was OK/average not fantastic. We ate in the dining room (anytime dining), the buffet, International Cafe, and room service. We aren't picky eaters, so were a bit disappointed in the food. HOWEVER we never starved and the staff were more than happy to bring other selections if we wanted.

 

Best food on the ship during our cruise: Pasta Fagioli soup (oh my gosh, fantastic) and the tempura veggies served as a main course one night - both of these I could of eaten every night. The tempura veggies were crisp and flavorful. Breads/rolls were wonderful and fresh. Lobster was wonderfully tender and flavorful. Hubby loved the souffles ... my favorite desserts were the chocolate chip cookies and one night the Love Boat Dream. Salmon is offered every night and was great. Room service makes the best roast beef sandwiches -- roast beef is not available every day at the buffet at lunch and it is my favorite cold cut. Sheppard's pie on the buffet was great.

 

Worst foods: Other than the sandwiches, I stopped eating roast beef/beef as a main course. It was tough. Hard to cut. Mahi Mahi (which I normally love) I turned back in as it was so dry. Lamb barley soup was actually just lamb broth with tiny, tiny amount and size of lamb & barley. One night they served a trio of chicken, lamb and veal. The chicken on the stick (grilled) was really good. The lamb and veal I couldn't eat. Lamb was strong in flavor and the veal ... not sure what it was about it but I sure didn't like it.

 

We enjoyed the shows, the venues etc. Was there some worn spots, some rust ... probably but we sure didn't go looking for them and they didn't stand out. We wore tennis shoes (rubber souls) out on the balcony and no issues with being slippery. Lots of mist on the floor tho so we were careful.

 

Never felt overwhelmed with staff trying to sell, sell, sell. Prices on the ship were reasonable. We got great reversible jackets for $45 each that were fleece on one side, rain repellant on the other with a hidden hood that was vinyl lined. We wore them out on deck and in Glacier Bay. Felt pricing was the same as back home and fair.

 

Pub Lunch was offered 3 days (sea days) and was good. Enjoyed the fish & chips. Hubby loved the bread pudding.

 

One day one of the elevators by the spa had problems with staying on deck 10. No other issues with elevators or electrical that we were aware of. Other than the day we boarded and the last day we rarely had to wait for an elevator.

 

No problems with toilets flushing during the cruise in cabin or in public areas.

 

I have food allergies and the head waiter was fantastic with working with me with meals each night for the next night. Up in the buffet if I had a question, they would go get the chef. So issues at all for me on this cruise. I did hear a couple of concerns tho for those who need gluten free. I was told by staff that the gluten free cheesecake they just cut off the crusts ... so I know there can be cross contamination for those who are super sensitive. We also met a person who needed gluten free and said the buffet was hard as the staff handling the breads really did know what was gluten free, what was not. Each day she was given a different answer. She was not super sensitive to the gluten like many, so did OK. She preferred eating at the buffet over the dining room. I think she would of been better in the dining room with personal attention like they did for me with allergies.

 

I have a number of videos posted of our cruise:

http://www.youtube.com/user/KreatesKards?feature=watch

 

Also I will be posting a detail review on my cruising blog ... just haven't had time to start writing it yet.

http://cruising.kreateskards.com/

 

Meet and greet was fun and held in the One5 Lounge area on Deck 15. Warren (Cruise Director) attended and spoke. The Captain was busy with the rough seas, so we certainly understood him not being there.

 

Definitely would choose the Grand again. We didn't feel that it felt old and tired. It was fun to be on and we met many wonderful people too.

 

Boarding: We boarded at 11:30 am as our friends had signed up for the Bon Voyage Experience and our reservations were linked so we could board early. Only ship in port. Lots of people at the pier early, but no one was allowed in the terminal except for the BVE groups as of 11 am. We were amazed at how many people gave the porter their luggage to take on the ship, but never tipped. We gave the porter our 3 bags and gave him a tip. You should of seen the smile on his face and the big thank you.

 

Disembarkation: Easiest we have ever gone through. We had almost the last group off the ship. Waited in one of the dining rooms. Had coffee, tea, water with lots of places to sit while we waited. They called our number/color around 10:30 am and we walked out of the dining room, over to check out (they scan your card, but you can keep it), walked out the ramp on deck 5 and into the terminal. Found out luggage immediately (it paid off to have decorated it before hand):

 

http://cruising.kreateskards.com/2013/05/07/making-your-luggage-unique-in-the-sea-of-luggage-at-airports-and-cruise-ship-terminals/

 

NOTE: There are restrooms by the luggage area in the terminal.

Once we had our luggage, we walked out of the terminal right over to the taxi area. Got a taxi immediately and were at our hotel just a few minutes later.

 

Custom forms were filled out two days in advance for Victoria and for San Francisco. First time ever we have done it so soon and the first time ever that we didn't hand them to the security person as we got off the ship. NOTE: If you are a US citizen and DO NOT have a passport, you have to go to a special immigration screening the last morning on the ship. The person ahead of us as we were leaving was detained as he had not cleared immigration - they knew immediately when his card was scanned at the exit.

 

Hope this helps with any concerns about the ship. This was our 3rd time on Princess and our 11th cruise overall. All of our Princess cruises have been to Alaska.

 

More details will be on my cruising blog very soon with LOTS of photos:

http://cruising.kreateskards.com/ We took about 1200 photos this cruise, so lots to share.

 

Sorry if this rambled ... was trying to think of key points to share.

 

 

 

Hi Mary

 

We have just read your review as we are sailing on the grand on Sunday to Alaska, 1st time with Princess - Was the ship unable to dock at Juneau then? what happens if you have booked trips for this port? Did this mean you had an extra sea day then? Sorry for all the questions,

 

Have you got any tips for a new princessian, Do you know if they have a luggage area to leave your luggage at San Fran when you disembark as our flight back to the UK isnt untill 7.30pm the day we disembark.

 

Thanks for you informative review.

 

Thanks

Juls:)

[Travelrd]

of course, my coastal cruise isn't until 2015, so i have plenty of time to make a decision but here's my dilemma. when the golden docks in vancouver, i thought i would take the princess bus to seatac so i can fly home via southwest. then, i saw that the golden is doing a one day cruise to seattle from vancouver and i was thinking i could just sail down to seattle. but when i saw the pricing for nothing more than an ovenight cruise or dinner cruise, i had second thoughts. your back to back cruises sound wonderful. i know you will enjoy both of them. i've never sailed on ncl but i hear good things about them if you can book a suite and it looks like you have, so should be great.

 

cheers

[MilliesMom]

Hi Mary

 

We have just read your review as we are sailing on the grand on Sunday to Alaska, 1st time with Princess - Was the ship unable to dock at Juneau then? what happens if you have booked trips for this port? Did this mean you had an extra sea day then? Sorry for all the questions,

 

Have you got any tips for a new princessian, Do you know if they have a luggage area to leave your luggage at San Fran when you disembark as our flight back to the UK isnt untill 7.30pm the day we disembark.

 

Thanks for you informative review.

 

Thanks

Juls:)

 

Our first two sea days were really rough seas. As a result we were 8 hours behind schedule. They let us know that we would not be docking in Juneau at all instead would get scenic cruising of Endicott Arm (just below Tracy Arm). It was beautiful. We have been to Juneau before, and felt the Arm was worth missing it for. Anyone who booked through the ship was given a full refund on their excursions. If you booked on your own, it would totally depend on the company you booked with as to whether you can get a refund or not.

 

I don't know about the storage at the terminal. We stayed at a hotel that night and they took our luggage early and locked it up for us.

 

You will find LOTS of tips on my cruising blog: http://cruising.kreateskards.com/ Princess is a great cruise line. I think you will like it.

 

of course, my coastal cruise isn't until 2015, so i have plenty of time to make a decision but here's my dilemma. when the golden docks in vancouver, i thought i would take the princess bus to seatac so i can fly home via southwest. then, i saw that the golden is doing a one day cruise to seattle from vancouver and i was thinking i could just sail down to seattle. but when i saw the pricing for nothing more than an ovenight cruise or dinner cruise, i had second thoughts. your back to back cruises sound wonderful. i know you will enjoy both of them. i've never sailed on ncl but i hear good things about them if you can book a suite and it looks like you have, so should be great.

 

cheers

 

Legally you cannot depart from a west coast city and end in another west coast city on the same ship (start Los Angeles and end in Seattle). It violates the passenger act.

 

Now IF you could find another ship that is leaving that day, the next day etc and ending in another west coast city you would be fine. That is why we can go from LA to Vancouver on the Pearl then the next day go from Vancouver to San Francisco on the Star. Some in our Pearl group are getting off our ship, then boarding another that will cruise Alaska. They could NOT stay on the Pearl to cruise Alaska and end in Seattle.

 

It does get a bit confusing. People that are boarding the Pearl in Miami can stay on the ship all the way to Seattle because of the deep water ports/foreign lands etc.

[Travelrd]

thanks for your perspective on this topic. would it work if i booked this as two separate cruises or not?

 

cheers

[MilliesMom]

thanks for your perspective on this topic. would it work if i booked this as two separate cruises or not?

 

cheers

 

If on the same ship .... NO

If on two different ships ... YES

[2 to cruise]

Thanks so much for the reminder about INDOOR ship temperatures. We find this to be true even on tropical cruises! We cruised to Hawaii/Tahiti this spring, and I bought two of those sweatshirt jackets to wear inside on the ship! My DH also wore a light weight jacket many times onboard.

 

Couple of questions:

 

HOW ROUGH were the seas? Was it difficult to walk without holding on? Did things fall off counters?

 

Were movies shown in the Princess theater or only on MUTS and in the cabins?

 

Hi Bucky 3,

 

We were on a Hawaiian cruise some years ago together so your "name" is familiar. My DH and I, Mary and her DH were on the same cruise to Alaska.

 

You were asking about the rough seas. We were in the aft, where you can see the wake. Things were rocking and rolling a lot back there. I was actually afraid to walk around in our cabin. Glasses fell over at the bar, drawers flew open, lamps shook.....wow! At times it reminded us of a good old California earthquake! Definitely had to hang on to the rails in the halls.

 

After I had finally decided I could make it out of the room without falling, mid-ship wasn't as bad. I heard several mention that the fact that Skywalker's was taken off the Grand could have had something to do with it. Not enough weight back in the aft, but not sure about that.

 

It was the roughest seas we have cruised on for sure! After that all was well, as was the trip home.

 

Mary of "Millie's Mom" has done a terrific job of posting her review along with her pictures. She also has a wonderful blog going of the trip and Alaska also. She was an absolute wealth of information for us on our roll call offering wonderful info.

 

Happy cruising to you on your future cruises, hopefully we will be able to meet sometime!

 

Cheryl

[MilliesMom]

Hi Bucky 3,

 

We were on a Hawaiian cruise some years ago together so your "name" is familiar. My DH and I, Mary and her DH were on the same cruise to Alaska.

 

You were asking about the rough seas. We were in the aft, where you can see the wake. Things were rocking and rolling a lot back there. I was actually afraid to walk around in our cabin. Glasses fell over at the bar, drawers flew open, lamps shook.....wow! At times it reminded us of a good old California earthquake! Definitely had to hang on to the rails in the halls.

 

After I had finally decided I could make it out of the room without falling, mid-ship wasn't as bad. I heard several mention that the fact that Skywalker's was taken off the Grand could have had something to do with it. Not enough weight back in the aft, but not sure about that.

 

It was the roughest seas we have cruised on for sure! After that all was well, as was the trip home.

 

Mary of "Millie's Mom" has done a terrific job of posting her review along with her pictures. She also has a wonderful blog going of the trip and Alaska also. She was an absolute wealth of information for us on our roll call offering wonderful info.

 

Happy cruising to you on your future cruises, hopefully we will be able to meet sometime!

 

Cheryl

 

Cheryl, what deck were you on? We were on Deck 8 (Emerald) 3rd cabin from the end. On our next two cruises we are on higher decks and the AFT ... :eek: (Norwegian Pearl and Star Princess) I had no idea the section you were at was so much rougher. I know placement on the ship can make a huge difference. We were on the AFT corner once before and it was great to Mexico, but smooth seas all the way.

 

I'm glad my research was helpful. I really love doing it and never mind sharing.

[2 to cruise]

Cheryl, what deck were you on? We were on Deck 8 (Emerald) 3rd cabin from the end. On our next two cruises we are on higher decks and the AFT ... :eek: (Norwegian Pearl and Star Princess) I had no idea the section you were at was so much rougher. I know placement on the ship can make a huge difference. We were on the AFT corner once before and it was great to Mexico, but smooth seas all the way.

 

I'm glad my research was helpful. I really love doing it and never mind sharing.

 

 

Hi Mary,

 

We were on Deck 11........B750, the Joshua Slocum Suite, an Owner's Suite. That was the reason we were so late getting to the Meet & Greet - my husband rode his scooter around and said it wasn't as bad toward the middle of the ship. So........with me hanging on to the back of his seat we ventured out!

 

I think it was just the seas....like you, we have always had a mini-suite or a Vista suite in the aft and have never had a problem. Aft corners are great!

 

Believe me, I'm one to get sick, but I just kept taking that Meclazine like it was candy and I was okay.......LOL.

 

Cheryl

[2 to cruise]

Forgot to say again............your research was amazing, can't thank you enough!!!

 

Cheryl

[snoodqueen]

Glad you enjoyed the review.

 

Captain: Anthony Herriott

 

Hotel General Manager: Leonardo Pavan

 

Cruise Director: Warren Smith

 

 

Thanks for the info. Not the crew I had in the fall but they move around quite a bit.

[MilliesMom]

Forgot to say again............your research was amazing, can't thank you enough!!!

 

Cheryl

 

Cheryl, you are very welcome.

 

Thanks for the info. Not the crew I had in the fall but they move around quite a bit.

 

I'm sure they do move around. The crew is who we had last week (5/20 through 5/30). It was an amazing voyage ... one we would love to repeat.

[gcjstri]

Hi Mary,

 

Great Review - i will be on the Sept 7th sailing (first time to Alaska)

 

did you get these jackets / windbreakers on the ship ??

 

. We got great reversible jackets for $45 each that were fleece on one side, rain repellant on the other with a hidden hood that was vinyl lined. We wore them out on deck and in Glacier Bay. Felt pricing was the same as back home and fair.

 

 

thank you very much

cindi

[MilliesMom]

Hi Mary,

 

Great Review - i will be on the Sept 7th sailing (first time to Alaska)

 

did you get these jackets / windbreakers on the ship ??

 

. We got great reversible jackets for $45 each that were fleece on one side, rain repellant on the other with a hidden hood that was vinyl lined. We wore them out on deck and in Glacier Bay. Felt pricing was the same as back home and fair.

 

thank you very much

cindi

 

YES, we purchased them at one of the gift shops on board. They were originally marked around $72 ... 30% off and then a 10% off from the coupon book that was in the cabin when we boarded = $45 each. We wore them in this photo:

 

I also have a black scarf/shawl around my neck that I purchased onboard for $7. Pricing on the ship was extremely fair we felt. The wrist on the jackets were velcro adjustable straps. They had the jackets in sizes small to 3XL. Besides the black/red then had a tan/blue combination too.

 

In my reviews when I talk about windbreakers, they are lightweight jackets/raincoats we brought from home. I had planned to wear my raincoat with a sweatshirt jacket underneath plus all my layering. Altho I used all the items I brought, these black/red jackets were fantastic and well worth the cost. The have Alaska on the left front and then on the back center top a small Princess logo embroidered in. Zippered outside pockets on the black side and open pockets on the red side. They told us if we were cold to wear the fleece side in and if we needed to be a bit cooler then to wear the fleece side out. They have velcro air vents in the upper chest area and a nice hood.

[gcjstri]

Hi Mary,

 

Awesome thanks for the info. Since i will be on the last Alaska sailing sept 7th maybe they will be on the clearence rack for me

 

 

:):)

[infrontofthetaj]

MILLIESMOM,

THANKS FOR REVIEW. I WAS ON GRAND IN MARCH, HAWAII ROUNDTRIP,

AND ECHO YOUR REVIEW IN MOST ALL MATTERS.....WE DID HAVE UNUSUALLY

SMOOTH SEAS, ALL AROUND, WHICH ISNT WHAT WHAT I HAD PREPARED

MY FRIENDS FOR,,,,,BUT ALMOST WISHED FOR A BIT MORE MOVEMENT!

infrontofthetaj

[IdahoCruises]

Was interested in your recent post. Unlike some of the others who found the ship terrible, it has been refreshing to read otherwise. Interestingly enough, will also be staying at the same hotel you chose.

 

Lots of talk on here about terrible embarkation on Grand out of SFO. Sure hop we don't have to stand in line too long as we have priority embarkation.

 

Thanks for your post!

[MilliesMom]

Hi Mary,

 

Awesome thanks for the info. Since i will be on the last Alaska sailing sept 7th maybe they will be on the clearence rack for me

 

:):)

 

You will find sales not only on the ship but in port. Our two previous cruises were in Sept to Alaska and we got some great deals. One of the best places for prices (reg & sale) was the Alaska Shirt Company. This time ... great pricing on their products. They have shirts, jackets, hats, gloves, jewelry, magnets and on & on. Last time we were there in Sept ... everything was 75% off in their store. Oh my gosh, everyone back home got gifts that trip. :D

 

If we were to go again (which we will), we would choose May over September. The only reason is because of the beautiful snow covered mountains we saw throughout this cruise. We live in AZ (Phoenix area) so we can see snow in our mountains but not the same as seeing it up close.

 

MILLIESMOM,

THANKS FOR REVIEW. I WAS ON GRAND IN MARCH, HAWAII ROUNDTRIP,

AND ECHO YOUR REVIEW IN MOST ALL MATTERS.....WE DID HAVE UNUSUALLY

SMOOTH SEAS, ALL AROUND, WHICH ISNT WHAT WHAT I HAD PREPARED

MY FRIENDS FOR,,,,,BUT ALMOST WISHED FOR A BIT MORE MOVEMENT!

infrontofthetaj

 

Your post made me smile. The first two days were bad, but the rest was great. We had amazingly good weather too. No jackets at all in Skagway and light jackets in Ketchikan and Victoria. The only drizzle we got caught in was in Victoria and it didn't last but a few minutes. While cruising, it was more of a mist the first two days not real hard rain.

 

How exciting to cruise to Hawaii.

[MilliesMom]

Was interested in your recent post. Unlike some of the others who found the ship terrible, it has been refreshing to read otherwise. Interestingly enough, will also be staying at the same hotel you chose.

 

Lots of talk on here about terrible embarkation on Grand out of SFO. Sure hop we don't have to stand in line too long as we have priority embarkation.

 

Thanks for your post!

 

you are very welcome.

 

Do you know anyone in San Francisco that would be interested in the Bon Voyage Experience (BVE)? It's $39 a person to go. If yes, they sign up and connect their reservation to yours. You then get all the benefits they do at no extra charge. That includes early boarding (11 am into the terminal), lunch in the main dining room with free wine, a free welcome aboard photo, a tour of the ship (optional). They can stay onboard until 3 pm. BVE people go to the front of the line outside of the terminal to get in. There is a rep at the door who will let BVE people in ... rest wait outside.

 

Priority boarding/check in is great. Please note though from all that I have read, the priority line for suite/higher level Captain's Circle (platinum & above ???) is only after you enter the terminal. The line outside the terminal is first come, first serve. Then once you are inside, you go to the priority section.

 

From what I read also the line later in the day (after 1:30) is short and quick moving.

 

There is just not the space in this terminal to house lots of people unlike many other terminals. So they are really discouraging people from coming early to board.

 

When we got off the ship at 10:30 am, I was shocked at how long the line already was down the building. Made me wonder how long they had already been waiting and I knew at the very earliest anyone other than BVE would be let in was 11:30 am. Most have been saying noon and Princess wants it to be 1 pm.

 

You will LOVE the hotel. Just be prepared tho for bright rooms even with the lights off. I bought sleep masks for both of us for the end of cruise stay and they made a HUGE difference. Safeway, Walgreens and a Chinese Restaurant are literally across the street. The waterfront just 2 blocks away. Cost Plus about 1/2 block away. Walgreens has lots of travel size products too. San Francisco charges 10 cents per bag and only has paper. You are NOT given a bag unless you ask for it.

 

Your trip is going to be fantastic. Enjoy.