Grand princess - how is she today

[Pilot70D]

Hello and thanks in advance for all of the information you dedicated Princess cruisers are fixing to provide.

 

We sailed on the Grand when she was less than a year old. We haven't sailed with Princess for over ten years now and we were wondering about the condition of the Grand. Has she been well maintained? How does she compare to some of the newer ships?

 

That voyage on the Grand was our very first cruise ever. We did go on to become platinum level cruisers with Princess but have primarily sailed with Celebrity over the last ten years. We are seriously thinking of booking a ten day Alaska cruise out of San Francisco for this June. We are looking forward to this cruise and will probably book either an S6 or an S7.

 

Any information/advice will be greatly appreciated. Everyone out there have a great day.

:):D:)

[mreasier]

We cruised on the Grand last November and spent 49 days on her in 2013. We love the ship. The Piazza was totally renovated at the end of 2012 and it is gleaming. They added both an International Café and Alfredo's. They removed Skywalkers but added a new club - the One5. Some areas showed a little age but nothing extreme.

[weedpindle]

Just got off the Grand, she is fine. My favorite ship.

[tml1230]

As the folks above have said…the Grand in very good shape. Prior to our B2B 30 day trip on her to Hawaii a few months ago, i was a little concerned after reading some negative reviews here abut the Grand. It had been 10 years since we had sailed on her.

 

As Wayne said ,and i totally agree, in some spots she is showing her age a little, but heck…so am I. i saw nothing significantly negative or dramatic enough to impact my perception of this fine ship…

 

i recognize that crew turnover is always occurring but…..

if 50% of the current crew is there from last november, you are in for an outstanding cruise…they were the best ever!

have a safe cruise.

terry

[CruisingCoral]

If you don't mind, I'd love to follow this thread. I'm sailing on a 10 day Alaska cruise aboard the Grand as well in June and have been very curious about finding out more the ship. Thanks!

[jennybenny]

We were on the Grand in December and loved it! Yes, some wear and tear, but nothing that would make you not like it!

 

The staff was outstanding. Some of the best service we've received on a cruise. We absolutely loved the head chef, Joel Directo.

 

We love cruises out of San Francisco, going under the Golden Gate is amazing!!

 

For Alaska, I personally prefer cruises that do Glacier Bay, but the ability to do a round trip out of SF is great and if I had the opportunity to do it, I would.

 

Enjoy!

[onefine89]

As with Pilot70D and CruisingCoral......we too will be taking the 10-day Alaska cruise on the Grand Princess out of San Francisco.........look forward to any comments about the ship and any special things to look for onboard!

[CruisingCoral]

We were on the Grand in December and loved it! Yes, some wear and tear, but nothing that would make you not like it!

 

 

 

The staff was outstanding. Some of the best service we've received on a cruise. We absolutely loved the head chef, Joel Directo.

 

 

 

We love cruises out of San Francisco, going under the Golden Gate is amazing!!

 

 

 

For Alaska, I personally prefer cruises that do Glacier Bay, but the ability to do a round trip out of SF is great and if I had the opportunity to do it, I would.

 

 

 

Enjoy!

 

 

The cruise that I'm sailing on this summer from SF stops at Glacier Bay which is pretty cool!

[Sacto Rick]

We just got off the Grand this week and had a great time! Yes, it will be nicer once it gets refurbished in dry dock but there wasn't one thing wrong with it that even came close to dampening our cruise experience.

Go and enjoy.

 

That said, I did run into a few complainers onboard. We stay away from them as much as possible.;)

[Colo Cruiser]

Hello and thanks in advance for all of the information you dedicated Princess cruisers are fixing to provide.

 

We sailed on the Grand when she was less than a year old. We haven't sailed with Princess for over ten years now and we were wondering about the condition of the Grand. Has she been well maintained? How does she compare to some of the newer ships?

 

That voyage on the Grand was our very first cruise ever. We did go on to become platinum level cruisers with Princess but have primarily sailed with Celebrity over the last ten years. We are seriously thinking of booking a ten day Alaska cruise out of San Francisco for this June. We are looking forward to this cruise and will probably book either an S6 or an S7.

 

Any information/advice will be greatly appreciated. Everyone out there have a great day.

:):D:)

 

 

If you search Grand princess on the Princess main page, there are lots of threads reviews etc.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2306693&highlight=grand+princess

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2292561&highlight=grand+princess

[SheriffJoe]

When is Grand scheduled for drydock?

[Cruise Raider]

When is Grand scheduled for drydock?

 

I heard from one of the officers that she is scheduled for dry dock at the end of 2016 -- probably December.

 

From another perspective, this is my least favorite Princess ships. I may have stumbled upon things that others did not. We didn't have a horrible time by any means and the crew / staff were outstanding. The ship itself received a 3 out of 5, though. I did a very comprehensive review for my cruise back in December on her that you can find using the link below.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2292561

 

Some disagreed with me ... these are just my honest opinions, though.

[SheriffJoe]

I heard from one of the officers that she is scheduled for dry dock at the end of 2016 -- probably December.

 

From another perspective, this is my least favorite Princess ships. I may have stumbled upon things that others did not. We didn't have a horrible time by any means and the crew / staff were outstanding. The ship itself received a 3 out of 5, though. I did a very comprehensive review for my cruise back in December on her that you can find using the link below.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2292561

 

Some disagreed with me ... these are just my honest opinions, though.

 

Perfect as we were thinking of booking a Hawaii cruise in Jan or Feb...and there is a gap in Grand's schedule from Dec 8th to Dec 20th but at her age I think a 2 to 3 week upkeep might be better

[KruzPrincess]

I hate to be a downer, but the Grand is not in great shape. I sailed on her when she was fairly new and again in December 2014. I sailed on the Royal Princess in October and there is no comparison. I do agree that the staff was great then and probably still is. I did have a fun cruise because of the people I was with. I always enjoy the Hawaii cruise. That said, my cabin was in terrible condition. I had a mini-suite on the Emerald deck. The couch was dirty, stained and the upholstery was torn. The cushions were misshapen. The carpet was pulled up around the edges in front of the balcony door. The door handle on the balcony door was broken. The cabinet door to my fridge was hanging from one hinge. I walked in the bathroom and tiles came up and stuck to the bottom of my foot. Tiles around the pool were falling off the walls. This doesn't even begin to address the leaky pipe issues which didn't bother me, but have bothered others a lot. I generally am not a complainer, but if this had been my first Princess cruise I would never have gone back. I love Princess and am more than loyal, but I probably will never sail on the Grand again. I'm sure you can have a good time, but don't expect this ship to be in pristine condition.

[need2cruisesoon]

Nice, let me cross off the Grand as my next ship to sail.

 

Edited February 26, 2016 by need2cruisesoon

[west coast cruiser]

I was on the Grand New Year's Cruise and we were in a mini suite that was just fine.

I was on her when she was fairly new and there have been upgrades on the newer ships that I couldn't help comparing. The only thing I really missed was sky walkers and that had to be removed for structural reasons. Yes, she may be a bit tired but I sure would not cancel a cruise on her.

WCC

[Go-Bucks!]

I hate to be a downer, but the Grand is not in great shape. I sailed on her when she was fairly new and again in December 2014. I sailed on the Royal Princess in October and there is no comparison. I do agree that the staff was great then and probably still is. I did have a fun cruise because of the people I was with. I always enjoy the Hawaii cruise. That said, my cabin was in terrible condition. I had a mini-suite on the Emerald deck. The couch was dirty, stained and the upholstery was torn. The cushions were misshapen. The carpet was pulled up around the edges in front of the balcony door. The door handle on the balcony door was broken. The cabinet door to my fridge was hanging from one hinge. I walked in the bathroom and tiles came up and stuck to the bottom of my foot. Tiles around the pool were falling off the walls. This doesn't even begin to address the leaky pipe issues which didn't bother me, but have bothered others a lot. I generally am not a complainer, but if this had been my first Princess cruise I would never have gone back. I love Princess and am more than loyal, but I probably will never sail on the Grand again. I'm sure you can have a good time, but don't expect this ship to be in pristine condition.

 

 

I was on the Grand from Nov 25-Dec 10, 2015. Saw no leaking pipes or buckets anywhere and the public areas looked fine.

 

I was in an aft Vista suite (D736) and the first issue we had was that when we arrived at 12:30pm it hadn't been cleaned at all. Beds still had old sheets on them, filthy carpets, and dirty bathroom. When the steward arrived, he acted surprised and said he thought someone else cleaned it. We left and returned in a couple hours and he had done everything except the vacuuming, which he did while we were at the muster drill. After getting settled in we saw that one of the set-in overhead lights in the bathroom was falling out of the ceiling; I told him and it was fixed 2 days later (but not completely - it still hung out a bit). The sofa was stained and falling apart with the cushions sunken in. I had to put 4 pillows under the cushions just so we could sit on it, but it was very uncomfortable. The varnish on the wooden balcony furniture was badly peeling off and would scratch us. I know the rooms get alot of use, but when I pay nearly $5K for a cabin, I do expect it to be in good shape.

 

None of this had any affect on how much I enjoyed the cruise, though. It was fun and relaxing, despite the fire (!). We met so many nice people and enjoyed the hula lessons too. The staff was excellent.

 

So, the answer to the question of whether the Grand is getting worn out---> I'd say that it is in some places but overall it still looks OK. It wouldn't be my first choice to sail on again, but I wouldn't avoid it if I wanted the itinerary.

[floridalover5623]

I hate to be a downer, but the Grand is not in great shape. I sailed on her when she was fairly new and again in December 2014. I sailed on the Royal Princess in October and there is no comparison. I do agree that the staff was great then and probably still is. I did have a fun cruise because of the people I was with. I always enjoy the Hawaii cruise. That said, my cabin was in terrible condition. I had a mini-suite on the Emerald deck. The couch was dirty, stained and the upholstery was torn. The cushions were misshapen. The carpet was pulled up around the edges in front of the balcony door. The door handle on the balcony door was broken. The cabinet door to my fridge was hanging from one hinge. I walked in the bathroom and tiles came up and stuck to the bottom of my foot. Tiles around the pool were falling off the walls. This doesn't even begin to address the leaky pipe issues which didn't bother me, but have bothered others a lot. I generally am not a complainer, but if this had been my first Princess cruise I would never have gone back. I love Princess and am more than loyal, but I probably will never sail on the Grand again. I'm sure you can have a good time, but don't expect this ship to be in pristine condition.

 

We haven't been on it since 2010 and it needed some TLC back then. Although the food was good as I remember the balconies needed painting badly & the furniture needed replacement. It seems that the older ships aren't getting much as attention as they should.

[Marmaduke]

We were on the Grand shortly after the last re fit (when they removed the SkyWalkers Lounge) and were horrified to find that the plastic matting on the balconies had been removed. The balcony floor was therefore just painted metal which got exceeding hot in the sun, was very difficult for the stewards to keep clean and trapped puddles of water when it rained. Has the plastic matting been replaced yet or any other improved floor covering been provided ?

[KruzPrincess]

We were on the Grand shortly after the last re fit (when they removed the SkyWalkers Lounge) and were horrified to find that the plastic matting on the balconies had been removed. The balcony floor was therefore just painted metal which got exceeding hot in the sun, was very difficult for the stewards to keep clean and trapped puddles of water when it rained. Has the plastic matting been replaced yet or any other improved floor covering been provided ?

 

Yes, the balconies have the blue plastic mats.