Grand princess Inside Tips.

[SiliconCruiser]

2 minutes ago, 2old4this said:

While I have you . . . Formal nights for dinner.  Are most people in their best attire or what?  I like the Cunard approach of black and white, low lighting, and quiet enjoyment for the grand moment that all of we seated have before us.

Nothing formal about formal nights.  While I did wear a tux for the Hawaiian cruise, there is certainly no need for it.  You don't really even need a suit or jacket (with or without a tie) as Princess suggests.  And since it is Hawaii, do be aware that Aloha shirts are considered formal business clothing in Hawaii.  They may object to you wearing shorts into the dining room but then again they might not.  I recall wearing shorts into the dining room several times during the Hawaii cruise, on a recent (last week) Baltic cruise, they would only allow men to wear shorts in the dining room on the first and last nights of the cruise.

[Gimer]

Maite d' Luigi retired a year ago.  The two current Maitre d' are Joachim Rothe (Germany) and very new Carlos S. Da Rosa.  

[2old4this]

3 minutes ago, dara90210 said:

It was pretty busy but we were always able to find a spot.  We didn't usually head to the pool until 2 or 3 in the afternoon.  There is only signage about it being adult only.  On all the ships we've been on that have aft adult only pools, I've never seen children in them or children trying to be in them.

Guests wear their Princess robes to and from the pool?  People drinking out of plastic glasses?  Friends made poolside by you and hubby?  I am really pushy when it comes to asking questions.

[skynight]

38 minutes ago, 2old4this said:

Guests wear their Princess robes to and from the pool?  People drinking out of plastic glasses?  Friends made poolside by you and hubby?  I am really pushy when it comes to asking questions.

Are you asking these questions?

Yes, some passengers do wear robes to and from the pools.

Yes, every Princess ship I have been on only has plastic glasses in the pool areas and at the buffet. They certainly don't want broken glass around the pools with passengers walking around in bare feet. 

Edited August 22, 2019 by skynight

[dara90210]

2 hours ago, SiliconCruiser said:

Nothing formal about formal nights.  While I did wear a tux for the Hawaiian cruise, there is certainly no need for it.  You don't really even need a suit or jacket (with or without a tie) as Princess suggests.  And since it is Hawaii, do be aware that Aloha shirts are considered formal business clothing in Hawaii.  They may object to you wearing shorts into the dining room but then again they might not.  I recall wearing shorts into the dining room several times during the Hawaii cruise, on a recent (last week) Baltic cruise, they would only allow men to wear shorts in the dining room on the first and last nights of the cruise.

Our waitress in Anytime Dining told us that shorts are okay on first and last nights and port nights.  This was on a 10-day Mexican Riviera.

Edited August 22, 2019 by dara90210

[dara90210]

2 hours ago, 2old4this said:

Guests wear their Princess robes to and from the pool?  People drinking out of plastic glasses?  Friends made poolside by you and hubby?  I am really pushy when it comes to asking questions.

We didn't wear the robes, but don't see why you couldn't.  The bar is just up a flight of stairs and there was an occasional server that would wander through and we got plastic glasses, and aluminum cans/bottles of beer.  We also made friends in the pool.  There was kind of a group that was in the pool at the same time each afternoon.

[aimee0715]

On 8/22/2019 at 1:10 PM, Lyndonn said:

What condition is the Grand in now?  We’re booked on her for Oct 2020, LAX to Shanghai (30 nights).

 

 We just disembarked the Golden last month and she still has a lot of leaks...especial in the hallways.  I heard the Golden will be going to PO at the end of next year.  

I thought it was in fine condition. Now, I may not be the one to ask though because I don't go around looking for stains on the carpet or rust spots on the balcony.  We did not have any complaints about the condition of the ship.  This was our 3rd cruise on Grand.  Our very first cruise was on Grand so I am sentimental about it.  😊

[Gimer]

Here is what I wrote back in April about Grand's dry dock.  

[Lyndonn]

On 8/22/2019 at 11:46 AM, 2old4this said:

Hello Lyndonn.  In what ways does the ship Grand compare with your Holland-America cruise ship?  I liked Holland vessels and this future Grand vacation is first time  with Princess for me.

We are Elite (30+ cruises) with Princess and have only been on 1 HAL cruise, so I’m sorry but I couldn’t give you a fair comparison.  We were on the Grand back around 2003 and we just disembarked her sister ship the Golden last month, of which we found the Golden is showing her age.  Hopefully the Grand doesn’t have any many leaks as the Golden currently has... I found the hallway carpeting wet spots left an musty odor.

Edited August 23, 2019 by Lyndonn

[josephml1]

Great advice thanks for sharing 🙂

[2old4this]

6 hours ago, aimee0715 said:

I thought it was in fine condition. Now, I may not be the one to ask though because I don't go around looking for stains on the carpet or rust spots on the balcony.  We did not have any complaints about the condition of the ship.  This was our 3rd cruise on Grand.  Our very first cruise was on Grand so I am sentimental about it.  😊

I'm the type of guest who begins to look for little things here and there as I exercise with walks in the deck hallway and elsewhere.  Surprising what you find if you begin to focus.  I'm happy to read that you don't recall anything worth reporting.

 

Anything remembered regarding health controls? I'm thinking those little hand wash stations in the food areas.  Did you find the service help were good both at your cabin and elsewhere in theater, casino, and restaurants?  Boarding and departure issues?

[brisalta]

4 hours ago, Gimer said:

Here is what I wrote back in April about Grand's dry dock.  

 

There is a thread regarding the Grand Princess Dry dock March 2019 including a video at:

 

[aimee0715]

On 8/23/2019 at 8:43 PM, 2old4this said:

I'm the type of guest who begins to look for little things here and there as I exercise with walks in the deck hallway and elsewhere.  Surprising what you find if you begin to focus.  I'm happy to read that you don't recall anything worth reporting.

 

Anything remembered regarding health controls? I'm thinking those little hand wash stations in the food areas.  Did you find the service help were good both at your cabin and elsewhere in theater, casino, and restaurants?  Boarding and departure issues?

They did have the hand wash stations.  Of course, they had Purell dispensers everywhere also.  i thought our cabin steward was perfect.  He did a great job and we were never in each other's way.  I think our room must have been the first one he did every day and evening because a few times we left for dinner or breakfast and I forgot something and had to go back to the room and he had already finished cleaning it.  We never go to the casino and we don't ever order drinks in the theater so I can't comment on the service in those places.  Service in the dining room was fine.  I really had no complaints on the ship.  I thought the luggage porters at the port in San Francisco left a LOT to be desired.  We finally gave up on getting anyone to take our bags and we just carried them on the ship.  But that is not a Princess issue.  

[marcruiser]

• Do any of the pools have steps into them or is all pool access by ladders?

[2old4this]

2 hours ago, aimee0715 said:

They did have the hand wash stations.  Of course, they had Purell dispensers everywhere also.  i thought our cabin steward was perfect.  He did a great job and we were never in each other's way.  I think our room must have been the first one he did every day and evening because a few times we left for dinner or breakfast and I forgot something and had to go back to the room and he had already finished cleaning it.  We never go to the casino and we don't ever order drinks in the theater so I can't comment on the service in those places.  Service in the dining room was fine.  I really had no complaints on the ship.  I thought the luggage porters at the port in San Francisco left a LOT to be desired.  We finally gave up on getting anyone to take our bags and we just carried them on the ship.  But that is not a Princess issue.  

Great Response, Aimee, and my questions were answered.

 

I've found too many porters are indifferent and are just like too many cab drivers.  I fully expect to drag/carry my luggage on board anyway because of my fear of having my luggage tampered with.  An implanted stache of illegal drugs being carried into the ship is the responsibility of the luggage owner.  The owner has to explain his involvement often to language problemed officers who only see the drugs and the owner.  They have no porter to talk with.  Same thing when we are with a cross-country tourist tour when we abandon our luggage in the hallways to absolute strangers for early morning pick-up.  Moving drugs from hotel into the back of the tourist van is done quietly and without the tourist being aware.  Having devoted my life to law enforcement has made me wary about these luggage possibilities.

[HappyCruiserettu]

On 8/22/2019 at 1:13 PM, dara90210 said:

  I think every staff member we encountered attempted to steer us to the buffet and lied about a dining room being open (we knew better!).  We finally said we were in search of an open bar and were directed to the International Cafe bar and low and behold found the DaVinci dining room that was opening for lunch in about 15 minutes.  We had a lovely lunch and my husband got his coveted shrimp and avocado salad!  Since it was our anniversary, we ate in Crown Grill on the first night.

We go directly to the cabin on boarding. I pick up the Patter and look on the back page for dining hours. That will always show one MD open for lunch, like 12:00-1:30. We go there, share a table with nice strangers, and have a good lunch. They generally offer Beef Tenderloin on the menu.That is my go-to dish. It's sometimes my favorite meal of the cruise, except for Crown Grill.

[brisalta]

On 8/26/2019 at 8:51 AM, marcruiser said:

• Do any of the pools have steps into them or is all pool access by ladders?

The one next to the Sanctuary has steps. I think at least one of the others does.

[brisalta]

On 9/11/2019 at 5:25 PM, brisalta said:

The one next to the Sanctuary has steps. I think at least one of the others does.

The pool at the stern also has steps.

[brisalta]

When I arrived for the Sept. 23rd sailing the boarding process was very efficient. No waiting. Pass through security scan to the desk to register and pick up cruise cards and walk straight on the ship.

(In the past non elite / platinum passengers would be made to wait to board).

 

Once on board and security photo taken we were handed a paper slip listing all the venues that were open for lunch including the MDR! Had a very nice lunch in the main dining room on embarkation day. In other words read the slip of paper that is handed to you as you board on embarkation day.