Just back from the Grand 11/26-12/03 -- TIPS

[astrofan]

We were on the Grand Princess and heard reports from people who did book tours through the ship and missed them because they too were made to wait and extended time. The whole issue with the swells is that the swells were bigger coming back onto the Grand then when we left the Grand. Yet they did not hold us on shore because of those swells. Go figure.

[LorieB]

Just off the Grand last Saturday, Dec. 10th.

 

Although I have tasted some nasty black stuff that some ships consider "coffee," we had no problems with our coffee last week on the Grand.

 

 

The three areas where I ordered good-tasting coffee:

(1) Promenade Bar (the bar on Deck 7 that jjnewboots spoke of. The one with the piano)

(2) Dining Room

(3) Room Service

 

 

 

 

** I'm not sure if it's true or not, but I've been told that cruise ships make their coffee from a concentrated liquid/syrup by diluting it with water and then heating it up (?? Don't know ??)

 

But, for certain, they actually brew the coffee at the Promenade Bar. You can walk up and see the actual coffee maker right there in front of you.

 

You can get also order espresso from the Promenade Bar. (but charge$ apply for the espresso)

[jjnewboots]

That's right Lorie I forgot about the dinning room, he did like the dinning room coffee as well. He didn't like it at the Horizon coffee for some reason or some of the other bars though. I don't drink coffee so I can't tell you if there was a difference or what the difference was:confused:

 

jjnewboots.

[LabloverinCa]

Wow, I'm surprised by all the negativity regarding the Grand and her recent cruise to Western Carribean. We were on the cruise and had no problems with anything, except the air/bus transfers we were given. We found the crew friendly, helpful and the food great ! Tendering wasn't even a problem. We got in line about 20 minutes before they started handing out tickets and within 10 minutes had our tickets in hand. Then, off to the tenders where we were quickly boarded. We had no long waits in lines getting back on either. I thought it went fairly smoothly. I'll never again let Princess book our plane tickets though and the bus transfers to and from the airport were handled poorly, but our experience on the ship was great :)

[billeelou]

about my Jan. 21st trip....all the gal "knew" :confused: about was the checkin being at the Hotel in Galveston, not on the pier...not giving me a warm fuzzy at this point:( , but they have 33 days to fix it.....:eek:

[LabloverinCa]

Here is my one complaint about our trip ... TRANSFERS TO AND FROM. After a very long flight that took us WAY out of our way with long layovers, we arrived at Houston's Bush airport. We had a hard time locating someone with Princess to guide us from there and once we did, she did not know the procedure. Long story short, she found us another rep. who escorted us to the Marriott Hotel and got us checked in for the next mornings shuttle bus. The bus was late and there was a lot of standing around and waiting, but we were eventually on our way. It's about an hour and half drive from the airport to the pier, so take a good book ! Then, you sit on the bus once at the pier and wait for clearance to proceed to the cruise check-in. So, you actually do get checked in while at the hotel, but then have to check in again at the cruise terminal for the actual cruise.

[Hlitner]

These reviews are indeed, very troubling. We just returned (this Saturday) from 14 days on the Sea Princess (I have posted a short review on this board) and did note that Princess seems to have "cut back" on some staffing, food, and entertainment. So, although our cruise was still pretty darn good, I am not surprised about what happened on the Grand. We are on the Diamond in Jan (Auckland to Sydney) and are also booked fro the 19 day Grand transatlantic in April. I hope that the Princess folks read these threads and make the appropriate improvements. As to the folks that want to simply dismiss the negative reviews, you should understand that cruise lines are constantly undergoing changes as the lines try to reduce costs, improve profits, and keep their ships full. We have seen other lines (we have cruised on more than 40 different ships of 11 cruise lines) change with the wind, and Princess seems to be no exception. After all, this is still the first cruise line to actually have the nerve to charge for ice cream (smile).

 

Hank