Grand Post-Drydock

[cruisequeen4ever]

If you're boarding the Grand today, could you please report what repairs/updates/changes were made to the Grand while in drydock?

[CruiserBruce]

Wow- two questions in 14 minutes on the same topic!! Must be expecting critical changes!

[cruisequeen4ever]

I don't see any other threads on the Grand. There's one on the Golden already. Both just came out of drydock.

[cpcanuck]

I don't see any other threads on the Grand. There's one on the Golden already. Both just came out of drydock.

 

Actually it was only a wetdock for the Grand - they only had a bit more than a week to do repairs. When I was on the ship just before the wetdock, staff were saying that it was nothing major - repairs, carpets, refurbishment type things. Someone else mentioned some exterior painting of the ship.

Edited May 9, 2015 by cpcanuck

[senior lady]

I was also told that they were doing some work to the ""crew"' area

[Colo Cruiser]

Well apparently it was something that involved a sea trail.

[CruisinChris]

Mechanical maintenance that requires the ship out of service is usually the priority. If they worked on propulsion, nav, power, steering etc they'd want to test (sea trial) before taking passengers.

[cruzisme]

Hope they found the source of the various leaks ( buckets were around to catch the drips)

[cruisequeen4ever]

The leaks were my concern, and surely those were fixed!?!?

[sunshine nana]

We were in Vancouver where we were supposed to be on the Grand's May 1-5 cruise which was chartered, then canceled (long thread a while ago). We walked around both sides. Mostly they were painting. One side was done when we left on the train back to Toronto on Tues. night. They were working on the other side. Maybe there were mechanical problems, but my personal opinion is the cruise was not selling well...We did benefit in one way; because of the lack of cruise passengers, Pan Pacific upgraded us to a very nice harbor room. Princess gave us each $15 toward another cruise for our loss.

[gizmodog]

Love any news on this ship too, leaks fixed? Any old furniture replaced?

[ricknroll]

We just returned from the May 9 Northbound. I was concerned because of the posts, but the Grand was in great shape IMO. It was our first sailing on Princess, so I can't really compare furnishings.

 

There was a bit of a musty smell in the starboard Caribe hallway when we boarded, and they had a fan going. The next day both the fan and smell were gone. I also spotted 1 tiny drip in the midship elevator lobby. No bucket, and I never saw it again. The furniture in Explorers wasn't too comfortable - it was definitely worn, but the issue seemed to be with design rather than wear. We also had an "electrical fault" that caused a "spurious" alarm around 4:30am on Glacier Bay day, but that just helped everyone get up and see the glaciers.

 

Generally though, the ship seemed fresh and I have no complaints. We had a great cruise with fabulous weather and Alaska is breathtaking. I wish I could've stayed and sailed back ;)

 

I hope to start a full trip report soon.

[Colo Cruiser]

We just returned from the May 9 Northbound. I was concerned because of the posts, but the Grand was in great shape IMO. It was our first sailing on Princess, so I can't really compare furnishings.

 

There was a bit of a musty smell in the starboard Caribe hallway when we boarded, and they had a fan going. The next day both the fan and smell were gone. I also spotted 1 tiny drip in the midship elevator lobby. No bucket, and I never saw it again. The furniture in Explorers wasn't too comfortable - it was definitely worn, but the issue seemed to be with design rather than wear. We also had an "electrical fault" that caused a "spurious" alarm around 4:30am on Glacier Bay day, but that just helped everyone get up and see the glaciers.

 

Generally though, the ship seemed fresh and I have no complaints. We had a great cruise with fabulous weather and Alaska is breathtaking. I wish I could've stayed and sailed back ;)

 

I hope to start a full trip report soon.

 

Thanks for the comments. :)

[jasbo49]

Thanks for reporting, ricknroll. We'll look forward to your review. I'm particularly interested in the entertainment and enrichment-type activities.

 

Jim

[Boston Accent]

We heard from an engineer's wife ( who had tea with us on Hawaii sailing) they were mainly bringing the propulsion propeller system up to date with the latest system. She didn't seem to think too many other repairs would take place. From analog to digital after 33 years

Edited May 17, 2015 by Boston Accent

[Colo Cruiser]

From analog to digital after 33 years

 

Which Grand are we talking about? :eek:

[cruisequeen4ever]

Thank you, ricknroll! Glad you had a wonderful cruise!

[Boston Accent]

Which Grand are we talking about? :eek:

 

 

The Grand Princess that was in wet-dock. See my error in that the system being replaced is that old not the ship[emoji53]

Edited May 17, 2015 by Boston Accent

[shorefolks]

We were also on the Grand for the May 9 NB Alaska cruise. When we first went to our cabin (Caribe, port side forward), there was a distinct musty smell and the hot-air blowers were in the corridor. To make matters worse, the toilet in the first cabin (we were in the third) began gushing water heavily when it was first flushed. This caused a flood into the hall and also into the second cabin. The carpet by our bathroom also got wet. The blowers were in the hall and cabins for two days. It took several more for the mustiness to dissipate. Other than that, offensive smells were not noticeable for the rest of the cruise, although there were leaks here and there.

 

Is the Grand showing its age? Yes, but these flaws are hardly deal-killers. Even if the weather had not been great and the scenery magnificent, we would have still had a great cruise because the crew did a fantastic job. My wife remarked several times that they all seemed happy with their jobs. Our cabin steward was a seasoned professional: friendly, efficient, and intuitive without the least hint of intrusiveness. While this is generally true of Princess, I also wonder if staff don't "pick up their game" on the older ships that need the extra bit of TLC. That was certainly the case on the Pacific Princess and the Celebrity Century when we sailed on them.

[cruisequeen4ever]

Thank you for sharing your experience!

[mya603]

Just got back from the 16th sailing on the Grand. It looked great. No smells. No drips. No plumbing problems onmy part. Food was great. Crew was fantastic. Entertainment was wonderful. Scenery was fantastic! I highly recommend the Grand.

[cruisequeen4ever]

Fabulous!!

[librarymom]

Just back from the May 16 sailing. The Grand was grand and I loved it, but there were drips and pails and I met a family that needed their room changed because of a drip. There were also some plumbing problems in the dolphin 500s, odd numbered side that were cleared up pretty quickly. And oh yes, we were awakened at 4:30 one morning for an emergency in the engine control room. However do not fret, I would sail her again next week if I could.