good news and bad news live from grand princess

[5:00_Somewhere]

The weather was actually a bit hot in Puerto Vallarta and a very hot in Manzanillo ... but couldn't have been more pleasant in Mazatlán (a rare occurrence) and even a bit cool in Cabo....but also pleasant. The funny thing is, that was in our favor, the rain didn't hit in San Francisco until we were in our muster stations ... it was just coming down like we rarely see here. Then, we disembarked with no rain until well after we got back home.....so we lucked out in SF both days. Now, for the best part -- it has just been pouring all day and we are all so happy that our rain dance has finally worked and it didn't complicate the boarding or disembarkation. YAY!!

 

The staff / crew on the ship were amongst the best -- but the ship itself is in some dire need of a complete refurbishment. I was just trying to look up when the next major dry dock for her is scheduled.

 

The staff / crew on the ship were amongst the best -- but the ship itself is in some dire need of a complete refurbishment. I was just trying to look up when the next major dry dock for her is scheduled.

 

 

after just spending 25 days on board the Grand i agree the crew was among the best-

i do however think the word "dire need of complete refurbishment" is a little too strong a phrase…certainly could use some new furniture in horizon court, usual carpeting wear and tear around the ship and the occasional leaky pipe somewhere….but given her age, the overall shape of the ship exceeded my expectations based on what some folks described when i did our research.

 

Thank you both for this information. The weather sounds great for this trip. Can't wait to get the debrief from my folks. :)

[tml1230]

Thank you, I am on the Grand next week and was wondering how bad it really is.

 

Margaret…..you will really enjoy the ship…one suggestion i have…. when you have a chance stop in Crooners in the early evening and meet the bar servers….they are really fine young men and women. Sachin, Dominique and Alan each have a wonderful personality and a kind heart. i just finished our on line survey and spoke at length how these 3 young folks symbolize the best princess has to offer. Having said that everyone on the ship's staff wise was awesome.

have a safe and memorable voyage….what a great way to start off the new yearW we sure did. terry

[Kentchikan]

Margaret…..you will really enjoy the ship…one suggestion i have…. when you have a chance stop in Crooners in the early evening and meet the bar servers….they are really fine young men and women. Sachin, Dominique and Alan each have a wonderful personality and a kind heart. i just finished our on line survey and spoke at length how these 3 young folks symbolize the best princess has to offer. Having said that everyone on the ship's staff wise was awesome.

have a safe and memorable voyage….what a great way to start off the new yearW we sure did. terry

 

You're so right Terry and may I add to that the bartenders Ramila and Jenny are two of our favorites we've sailed with them before and they are exceptional.

[judyjudy56]

I am so happy to hear about the excellent crew. We will be sailing next week with Margaret to ring in the New Year. We are so excited to get on the ship and just relax. We received an upsell to a full suite and are really looking forward to experiencing a full suite for the first time.

[margob111]

terry, we will definitely do that. Thank you for the information..next Wednesday departure😄

[panda64]

Margaret…..you will really enjoy the ship…one suggestion i have…. when you have a chance stop in Crooners in the early evening and meet the bar servers….they are really fine young men and women. Sachin, Dominique and Alan each have a wonderful personality and a kind heart. i just finished our on line survey and spoke at length how these 3 young folks symbolize the best princess has to offer. Having said that everyone on the ship's staff wise was awesome.

have a safe and memorable voyage….what a great way to start off the new yearW we sure did. terry

 

Terry - glad you got your IAO fix while in SF!! And yes, loved loved hanging with the Crooners crowd. Dominique is moving to the Wheelhouse Bar and will be there during happy hour, so the team is getting split up a bit. But they were definitely one of my many highlights of the trip!

 

Lani

[pris993]

For on the Grand recently has the MDR menu changed? Reading about changes on other ships.

[Kentchikan]

For on the Grand recently has the MDR menu changed? Reading about changes on other ships.

 

Other than the 50th anniversary dinner it seemed pretty much the same tasted good though.

[Cruise Raider]

I too was aboard for the 12/10 sailing. While I agree "dire" is too strong "tired" IMHO is a better word to describe the condition in a few areas. The upholstered furniture near the Explorer's Lounge and Sabatini's on Deck 7 were as bad as I have ever seen. The sofa in my mini was clearly well beaten from long use.

 

Nevertheless, the service, food, and entertainment were excellent. Best embarkation ever - arrived aty 1130 AM, lunch in the MDR by 1215 PM and luggage delivered before 2 PM!

 

I'll be back aboard in October 2016 for the Hawaii cruise and hope to see new furniture.

 

Cheers

 

Yes, maybe tired is a better description for most of the public areas....with some exceptions with the furniture, seats in the theater, hot tubs, stateroom balconies, carpet and rust that were bad enough to warrant replacement and/or refurbishment.

The lack of a central staircase might also be addressed ... could only be done during a major refurbishment if at all. This may not be an issue for some but can imagine it might be in the event of a fire. (Maybe this is already in place but blocked off from use by passengers??) Another issue was the smoke from the casino affecting the surrounding public areas (purser's desk and entrance to the theater). The current ventilation system doesn't draw it up and out well at all. Huge fluctuations in temperature in the public areas was evident making formal night freezing in the MDR. I might also mention that we've cruised a lot in the past, so I don't say this off the cuff but this was one of the roughest cruises on which I have ever sailed -- and not since the 90's when the ships were much smaller, have I felt this much movement and heard this much creaking and knocking throughout a ship. We've sailed on other vessels during very stormy weather ... and just felt as though the stability of this ship ranked at the bottom.

While many might feel these issues are important to them, I do feel as though some issues were a minor annoyance -- but the latter few warranted a need for a major refurbishment -- which I understand may be happening in December.

I might also add that we did have a good time on our cruise, but largely due to the fabulous service from the staff and crew. I just didn't get the feeling that my surroundings were sparkly clean as some areas just simply looked neglected. She is an old girl, though ... so am trying to cut her some slack. But, she has been my least favorite ship on which I have sailed but is most definitely one of the best staffed ships ... so will definitely give her that.

 

One thing I would note, stained sheets and robes (from other passengers) should NEVER be used. Noticing this definitely added to my opinion of the overall maintenance (or lack of it) on this ship....and maybe unfairly. I have another 2 sailings booked on her for the future, as we love that Princess puts a ship in our home port, but one (the one without our group) will be canceled in lieu of booking on a newer and more stable ship.

 

PS -- there are things I loved about this ship, the library area (not added to the Internet Café) is fabulous!