Grand Princess -really that bad?

[GolfMom321]

If the steps are there, they're "trapped" within a crew area. On Deck 7, it's quite odd: the stairs go up half a flight, then make a u-turn and come back down on the other side of a wall. It's almost entertaining to watch the endless stream of passengers go up one side and back down the other, NEVER able to convince others to avoid the steps. :) The stairwell does exist 5-7, but that's about it.

 

Thanks. The deck plans are very misleading!

[caribill]

I'm confused. Y'all are talking about the lack of center stairs. I'm looking at the deck plans from the cruise atlas, and it definitely shows center stairs! From Deck 5 to Deck 14.

 

 

Correct. The plans are misleading. The stairs are there, but not for public use.

Edited April 3, 2015 by caribill

[GolfMom321]

Correct. The plans are misleading. The stairs are there, but not for public use.

 

OK what about the Crown? Golden? Sapphire? Ruby? They all look the same on the deck plans...

[caribill]

OK what about the Crown? Golden? Sapphire? Ruby? They all look the same on the deck plans...

 

The staircases are there for the public on those ships.

Edited April 3, 2015 by caribill

[GolfMom321]

The staircases are there for the public on those ships.

 

OK thanks. Guess that means we'll go with the Crown.

[VibeGuy]

It's more an minor inconvenience than a dealbreaker to me - unless you have a cabin of like Emerald 400-something. In which case it's a non-minor inconvenience.

[namowal]

If the steps are there, they're "trapped" within a crew area. On Deck 7, it's quite odd: the stairs go up half a flight, then make a u-turn and come back down on the other side of a wall. It's almost entertaining to watch the endless stream of passengers go up one side and back down the other, NEVER able to convince others to avoid the steps. :) The stairwell does exist 5-7, but that's about it.

 

Sarah "Mystery house" Winchester would have approved! :D

[spaler]

Just have to chime in re/Grand. I, too, was full of apprehension about the

Grand because of what I'd read on the internet. We'd favored Oceania for our yearly cruises but they all involve a plane trip from the west coast. DH rather insisted we take the only cruise RT San Francisco at the time we wanted. Thinking "how bad can it be?" I booked a suite for us at half the cost of a balcony cabin on Oceanisa Boy, was I surprised!! We found the Princess to be excellent in all the ways important to us: good food, endlessly helpful staff, comfortable bed, beautiful public rooms (as well as our suite), good entertainment, but - most of all - a fun bunch of people, multi-ethnetic and ages, happy atmosphere. We have booked two more cruises on the Grand and expect to continue that practice as long as they have RT SFO.

 

Let's hear it for the Grand Princess! Yea!

 

Sue

[Bonnie1750]

We were on the Grand Dec 30, 2015. We never saw a bucket.

[sk8terchick]

Sue I agree[emoji2]. We just got off the Grand on May 11th she is a great ship. Wonderful staff. Had a great time most relaxing cruise. Go have fun!

 

 

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[pris993]

This is an old message that resurfaced again. I actually answered it way back when, thought I do so again. We were last on the Grand for New Years 2015... we had a great time, going again for New Years 2016.

 

We always book a mini suite forward... didn't really seen any real problems with this ship.

 

Had a friend who was on in February of this year, had a great time talking about booking for Alaska.

 

Maybe those of us in the Bay Area ought to keep it a secret that the Grand is just fine.

 

I did the first cruise on this ship from Istanbul to Barcelona... in l998, then it was the largest ship afloat... not any more but still in great shape.

[mariakitty]

We sailed the Grand two years ago on the California Coastal itinerary and had a wonderful time. Yes she is missing the central staircase, Skywalkers has been removed and she isn't brand new, she is still a beautiful ship and we felt the staff were friendly and constantly striving to please. The food was ok and the kids center was small, but it was the first cruise for our boys so they the thought it was great!

 

If I had the choice to sail Ruby and Grand on the same itinerary I would choose Ruby. However I wouldn't hesitate to sail the Grand again. And the California Coastal is a fantastic itinerary, with something for everyone. We look forward to that itinerary again in the future.

[riclop]

I have been reading many reviews about the Grand Princess and they are quite negative. I know you can't just rely on a few opinions, however, the reviews are overwhelmingly bad. I usually choose a cruise based on an itinerary and we are interested in a Pacific coastal cruise this Oct. The Grand has a great itinerary and we are not looking for luxury -just clean ,in relatively good shape and decent food.If these items are not there on the Grand, it would be like staying in a bad hotel for a holiday. The leaks all over the ship with buckets to catch the water are very concerning to me. Has anyone had sailed her recently with some further insight?

Thanks!

 

As compared to the Regal/ Royal ,yes.

[cflutist]

We were on the Grand in C415 in October 2015 and in C422 in April 2016.

 

Ship is showing her age in some aspects (some rust on the hull, or corrosion on one of the balcony doors) but nothing that impacted our enjoyment of the cruises.

 

If anything, we came back from a shorex one day and found all of the teak furniture on the balcony sanded and resealed with oil.

 

On another day, we saw that maintenance had re-chalked the shower.

 

We didn't ask for either of those things.

 

Service was excellent and we didn't see any buckets on either cruise, but then we didn't go to the Horizon Court either,

 

I would sail on her again.