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Questions on the Grand Princess...


The Mikado
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4 hours ago, Dani24 said:

I am currently on the Grand. ....

 

The crew on this ship is phenomenal. Probably the best we've had. And the food on the whole has been excellent. I'm sad to be going home in 3 days!

 

 

 

Hi Dani24 ... just curious, if you've tried the internet, how is it?  If I would wish to stream tv shows, would what they have be capable?  I see they are selling it but couldn't even really get my emails last time onboard.  Wondering if there has been any improvement since then.  

Thanks again ... I say again because you answered my wine bottle package question on another thread.  

 

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6 hours ago, Dani24 said:

. . . 

 

The crew on this ship is phenomenal. Probably the best we've had. And the food on the whole has been excellent. I'm sad to be going home in 3 days!

 

 

 

Dani - glad you're enjoying the Grand.  Hope the WS is all you hoped it would be!

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17 minutes ago, milolii said:

Have a great cruise!  Would be interested in hearing about the Amtrak roomette from SLO!  That is something we have talked about experiencing.  Does the train end at Jack London Square or Emeryville? 

Thank you!

 

We are railfans and love Amtrak. We always look at the train option when we go somewhere where time is not of the essence. We have traveled in bedrooms and roomettes, or business class where there are no sleeping accommodations--like on the Pacific Surfliner that runs twice a day between San Luis Obispo and San Diego. We still have several hundred thousand points on Amtrak from our old Amtrak Mastercard! It's going to take a while to use them up. The ironic thing is that I'm a retired airline Captain with full pass benefits which I never use.

 

The roomette is a great option for one person overnight or 2 people on a long day trip. Not sure I'd want to overnight 2 people in one. The full bedrooms are great and have a private bath but someone's gonna have to sleep upstairs which can take some getting used to. In our case, to get to the cruise, we leave SLO at about 15:30 and arrive OAK (OKJ - Jack London Square) about 21:30 then connect to the Fisherman's Wharf bus to arrive there about 22:30. 

 

One other nice thing: all your meals are included when you're in sleeper accommodations like the roomette, bedroom, or family bedroom.

 

Whether we go out of SF or LA on our cruises, I doubt we'd ever drive to either place when the train works so well for us.

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2 hours ago, Cruise Raider said:

 

Hi Dani24 ... just curious, if you've tried the internet, how is it?  If I would wish to stream tv shows, would what they have be capable?  I see they are selling it but couldn't even really get my emails last time onboard.  Wondering if there has been any improvement since then.  

Thanks again ... I say again because you answered my wine bottle package question on another thread.  

 

 

I'm using it right now. 🙂 We're heading to Victoria. We only got the Surf package - so no streaming. The connection is fine enough for our needs. We have mostly been checking emails (including one with pictures that my husband needs to check periodically), Googling something, managing a couple bills, or (in my case) posting to Cruise Critic. 🙂 I have not bothered trying to post to social media (e.g. Facebook) or uploading pictures anywhere. 

 

There have been a few times where the wifi seemed to be down. But usually if I checked back a little later it was working again. Not sure whether it works in port since we switched to our cell service there. 

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1 hour ago, jondfk said:

 

Dani - glad you're enjoying the Grand.  Hope the WS is all you hoped it would be!

 

It is AMAZING... No. Wait. It's terrible. Horrible. Don't ever book it (unless I'm not going to be using it).

 

Even though we have the smallest Window Suite (F301) it has been really great. We've seen inside the other Window Suites, and they do feel more spacious. But I have zero regrets booking this one (it was the only one left), and would totally do it again. We love the "secret passage" hallway, the smoke hasn't been too bad (and my husband is pretty sensitive to smoke), and there's an amazing amount of storage.

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8 minutes ago, Dani24 said:

 

I'm using it right now. 🙂 We're heading to Victoria. We only got the Surf package - so no streaming. The connection is fine enough for our needs. We have mostly been checking emails (including one with pictures that my husband needs to check periodically), Googling something, managing a couple bills, or (in my case) posting to Cruise Critic. 🙂 I have not bothered trying to post to social media (e.g. Facebook) or uploading pictures anywhere. 

 

There have been a few times where the wifi seemed to be down. But usually if I checked back a little later it was working again. Not sure whether it works in port since we switched to our cell service there. 

 

Good to know ... thank you!!  I think they may have upgraded it a bit (still not with the Medallion Net).  Last year, we couldn't even log on and kept getting booted off when we could.  

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16 hours ago, Dani24 said:

 

It is AMAZING... No. Wait. It's terrible. Horrible. Don't ever book it (unless I'm not going to be using it).

 

Even though we have the smallest Window Suite (F301) it has been really great. We've seen inside the other Window Suites, and they do feel more spacious. But I have zero regrets booking this one (it was the only one left), and would totally do it again. We love the "secret passage" hallway, the smoke hasn't been too bad (and my husband is pretty sensitive to smoke), and there's an amazing amount of storage.

 

Dani24 .... I have one more question for you.  Sorry to keep them coming in bits and pieces.  

Did you happen to try to tub with the jets?  If so, did the water come out rusty?  

 

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3 hours ago, Cruise Raider said:

 

Dani24 .... I have one more question for you.  Sorry to keep them coming in bits and pieces.  

Did you happen to try to tub with the jets?  If so, did the water come out rusty?  

 

 

I'll comment here.  We were in F307 in April (post dry dock) and yes the initial flow of water was brown or rusty.  This stopped (or at least decreased so as to not be obvious) after a few seconds.  This didn't deter us from using the tub jets though I'm aware others have been put off by this.

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5 hours ago, jondfk said:

 

I'll comment here.  We were in F307 in April (post dry dock) and yes the initial flow of water was brown or rusty.  This stopped (or at least decreased so as to not be obvious) after a few seconds.  This didn't deter us from using the tub jets though I'm aware others have been put off by this.

 

On 8/1/2019 at 6:23 PM, Dani24 said:

 

It is AMAZING... No. Wait. It's terrible. Horrible. Don't ever book it (unless I'm not going to be using it).

 

Even though we have the smallest Window Suite (F301) it has been really great. We've seen inside the other Window Suites, and they do feel more spacious. But I have zero regrets booking this one (it was the only one left), and would totally do it again. We love the "secret passage" hallway, the smoke hasn't been too bad (and my husband is pretty sensitive to smoke), and there's an amazing amount of storage.


@Dani24 and @jondfk:  we're booked into WS F305 and F307 for our March 2020 sailing and curious if you noticed any excess noise from the proximity of these staterooms to the casino and main areas?  I am also a bit concerned about the smoke but it seems it may not be as an issue.  Any insight would be helpful.  Thanks!

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6 hours ago, jondfk said:

 

I'll comment here.  We were in F307 in April (post dry dock) and yes the initial flow of water was brown or rusty.  This stopped (or at least decreased so as to not be obvious) after a few seconds.  This didn't deter us from using the tub jets though I'm aware others have been put off by this.

 

Thank you!  I was in one of these previously and even though we are trained to be very conscientious as to wasting water in California, I filled the tub and the water was completely brown.  I drained it and tried again as I really wanted a hot bath but just couldn't get over that brown water.  I was hoping this had been rectified ... 😞 .... but, that may have been an unrealistic expectation?  

 

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25 minutes ago, strobellayjam said:

 


@Dani24 and @jondfk:  we're booked into WS F305 and F307 for our March 2020 sailing and curious if you noticed any excess noise from the proximity of these staterooms to the casino and main areas?  I am also a bit concerned about the smoke but it seems it may not be as an issue.  Any insight would be helpful.  Thanks!

We have been in F307 numerous times and in fact will be there 3/7 Hawaii & 3/22 Coastal.  No smoke and no Casino noise

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We've used the tub twice. Neither time did we experience brown water from the faucet. My husband did note a little bit of "oily" brown film on top of the water the first time. But he thought it may have come from the bath salts. When we used the tub the second time there was nothing (but we didn't use the salts).

 

As for smoke, it has not been much of an issue. There's a bit in the main hall between the casino and Snookers. But the fire door right in front of our stateroom door has been closed the entire time, and there's been little to no smell in the "secret hall" for the Window Suites, or in our room. My husband is super sensitive to smoke, and if anyone would complain it's him, and he hasn't been bothered by it. He did say he smelled it a tiny bit in our room on like the 2nd day, but not since. 

 

There's zero noise from the casino. Even the "secret hall" is totally quiet. The only noise we've experienced is one morning when someone with heels clomped along the Promenade at 7 am. Otherwise, we haven't even really noticed walkers or joggers up there (or at least it hasn't been enough to catch our attention). 

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6 minutes ago, Dani24 said:

We've used the tub twice. Neither time did we experience brown water from the faucet. My husband did note a little bit of "oily" brown film on top of the water the first time. But he thought it may have come from the bath salts. When we used the tub the second time there was nothing (but we didn't use the salts).

 

 

Yay!  I was hoping they addressed this ... and now it sounds like maybe the distal end of the pipes have been flushed.  

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, strobellayjam said:

 


@Dani24 and @jondfk:  we're booked into WS F305 and F307 for our March 2020 sailing and curious if you noticed any excess noise from the proximity of these staterooms to the casino and main areas?  I am also a bit concerned about the smoke but it seems it may not be as an issue.  Any insight would be helpful.  Thanks!

 

Strobellayjam, first some general answers.  We've been in F305/7/9 on Grand.  In terms of noise from the casino or piazza I'd say, none or close to none.  The private companionway that serves only these rooms is quite sound tight, nothing makes it into the rooms in my opinion.  As for smoke, we've never had a problem in the room, but if the forward door to the companionway is propped open (which is has been on some cruises, though neither of ours earlier this year) then smoke can drift up the hall from Snookers.  If you've ever entered the Princess theater from deck 6 you've walked past Snookers and probably have a sense of how much smoke leaks out (and whether that amount bothers you).  That being the case, as Dani said, F301 is most susceptible as it's the closest.  Generally though, no issue, and I'll add we are quite sensitized to smoke as neither of us partake.

 

I do feel obligated to add a bit of specific feedback from our April cruise.  Something (a chain, a float, a wrench, who knows) was left between the outer hull and inner hull when the fender (the tender platform) was opened in Maui.  This caused a knocking noise once the ship got underway.  Unfortunately, Maui was the last stop of that cruise, so the noise persisted for 5 days continuously since the door can not be opened while underway (and, even if we had stopped, the captain would not have allowed it to be opened in the open ocean for obvious reasons).  The knocking was annoying but not beyond our ability to bear.  Folks in the adjacent cabin were more bothered and in fact were offered another cabin to sleep in since the knock kept them awake.  I want to stress that this was an aberration, and it wouldn't (and in fact hasn't) kept us from booking rooms in this location again.  But it did happen, and was annoying.  We were offered some compensation for the trouble, and we thought what was offered was fair, although Princess waited until the last evening before making an offer which struck me as unnecessary procrastination.  

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2 hours ago, LARGIN said:

We have been in F307 numerous times and in fact will be there 3/7 Hawaii & 3/22 Coastal.  No smoke and no Casino noise

@LARGIN:  thanks for the info.  Incidentally, I misspoke earlier - my travel party is in F305 and F309 (not F305 & F307) also on the March 7 Hawaii sailing.  Guess we'll be neighbours!  (We were trying to book 2 WS next to each other but no avail...  our kids will be passing by your room quite a bit but we do promise to keep the noise to a minimum!

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1 hour ago, jondfk said:

 

Strobellayjam, first some general answers.  We've been in F305/7/9 on Grand.  In terms of noise from the casino or piazza I'd say, none or close to none.  The private companionway that serves only these rooms is quite sound tight, nothing makes it into the rooms in my opinion.  As for smoke, we've never had a problem in the room, but if the forward door to the companionway is propped open (which is has been on some cruises, though neither of ours earlier this year) then smoke can drift up the hall from Snookers.  If you've ever entered the Princess theater from deck 6 you've walked past Snookers and probably have a sense of how much smoke leaks out (and whether that amount bothers you).  That being the case, as Dani said, F301 is most susceptible as it's the closest.  Generally though, no issue, and I'll add we are quite sensitized to smoke as neither of us partake.

 

I do feel obligated to add a bit of specific feedback from our April cruise.  Something (a chain, a float, a wrench, who knows) was left between the outer hull and inner hull when the fender (the tender platform) was opened in Maui.  This caused a knocking noise once the ship got underway.  Unfortunately, Maui was the last stop of that cruise, so the noise persisted for 5 days continuously since the door can not be opened while underway (and, even if we had stopped, the captain would not have allowed it to be opened in the open ocean for obvious reasons).  The knocking was annoying but not beyond our ability to bear.  Folks in the adjacent cabin were more bothered and in fact were offered another cabin to sleep in since the knock kept them awake.  I want to stress that this was an aberration, and it wouldn't (and in fact hasn't) kept us from booking rooms in this location again.  But it did happen, and was annoying.  We were offered some compensation for the trouble, and we thought what was offered was fair, although Princess waited until the last evening before making an offer which struck me as unnecessary procrastination.  

@jondfk: Appreciate the information and insight you have to offer.  Do you find it's fellow passengers or crew that prop open the forward door?  I suspect if I do find it propped open, I can always close it but then it may become a daily "tug of war" between those that opt to have it open and those that prefer not to.  My daughter is highly sensitive to smoke due to her allergies so I do worry about this. 

 

It's a shame about the nuisance noise you experienced in April.  It does seem like an unfortunate event that obviously could not be rectified until the ship was back in port however it's disappointing that Princess did not attempt to offer compensation for the inconvenience until the last minute.  Let's hope this problem doesn't pop up again.

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That forward door was never propped open on our recent cruises (just to be clear here, it's a fire door, so it has a magnetic catch that holds it open if it's fully opened, like other doors on the ship).  It is quite heavy and will close unless intentionally swung fully open.  My assumption, when I've found it open, was that someone, crew or passenger simply opened it fully, not that they intended to prop it - I do close it whenever I find it open.

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17 hours ago, strobellayjam said:

@jondfk: Appreciate the information and insight you have to offer.  Do you find it's fellow passengers or crew that prop open the forward door?  I suspect if I do find it propped open, I can always close it but then it may become a daily "tug of war" between those that opt to have it open and those that prefer not to.  My daughter is highly sensitive to smoke due to her allergies so I do worry about this. 

 

It's a shame about the nuisance noise you experienced in April.  It does seem like an unfortunate event that obviously could not be rectified until the ship was back in port however it's disappointing that Princess did not attempt to offer compensation for the inconvenience until the last minute.  Let's hope this problem doesn't pop up again.

 

Very few passengers even know about the hallway to the Window Suites. We never saw anyone in that hall other than crew and other Window Suite guests. The door adjacent to the Guest Services desk is always closed, and is unmarked. It looks like it could be a crew door or something. A few times we popped out, and people looked at us oddly. 

 

We never saw the doors propped open. But I would imagine it would have been done either by a crew member or Window Suite guest. You can easily close it. And I heard of someone on a prior sailing that requested that it be kept closed by staff, because it had been propped open, and it was no longer an issue. 

 

Honestly, given our experience, I wouldn't worry about the smoke at all. You'll get worse if you're passing by or standing at the Guest Services desk.

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3 hours ago, Dani24 said:

 

Very few passengers even know about the hallway to the Window Suites. We never saw anyone in that hall other than crew and other Window Suite guests. The door adjacent to the Guest Services desk is always closed, and is unmarked. It looks like it could be a crew door or something. A few times we popped out, and people looked at us oddly. 

 

We never saw the doors propped open. But I would imagine it would have been done either by a crew member or Window Suite guest. You can easily close it. And I heard of someone on a prior sailing that requested that it be kept closed by staff, because it had been propped open, and it was no longer an issue. 

 

Honestly, given our experience, I wouldn't worry about the smoke at all. You'll get worse if you're passing by or standing at the Guest Services desk.

 

It’s funny you mentioned that nobody knows about that hallway.  The only time we booked one of those cabins, we boarded and the elevator attendant asks you what floor you are on ... we said, deck 6.  She claimed there were no cabins on deck 6 ... she was either doing a very good job of keeping us out of the dining room for the embarkation lunch or she really didn’t know there were cabins on that deck.  

I loved when we disembarked from that deck as we walked out our door and were in line ... hahaha!  

 

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15 hours ago, Cruise Raider said:

 

It’s funny you mentioned that nobody knows about that hallway.  The only time we booked one of those cabins, we boarded and the elevator attendant asks you what floor you are on ... we said, deck 6.  She claimed there were no cabins on deck 6 ... she was either doing a very good job of keeping us out of the dining room for the embarkation lunch or she really didn’t know there were cabins on that deck.  

I loved when we disembarked from that deck as we walked out our door and were in line ... hahaha!  

 

 

We had an escort on embarkation day, and they seemed a bit confused about the location of our cabin too. Even though we boarded on Deck 6, he took us in the elevator to deck 7. Our room wasn't ready yet anyway, but we did have to go back down to 6 for the MDR lunch. 🙂

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On 7/31/2019 at 11:46 AM, The Mikado said:

I'm a long-time cruiser from many years back but haven't been on a ship in 10 years (long, boring story). So, taking my 5-year wife on the Grand to Alaska out of SFO on 08/14. She's never been on a ship before so all of this will be new to her and I've never been on Princess before. Whatever, we plan on taking a cruise a quarter now and we live halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco and we plan to never add an airline flight to either end of a cruise unless there's just no other way.

 

Questions: Is the wedding chapel open for prayer/meditation? If so, are there set hours or is it always open except when a wedding is being conducted? Are there usually clergy who volunteer to conduct services?

 

Next: The Princess phone agents have been almost universally clueless so I've ended my calls more confused than when I started. Regarding bringing personal wine on board, my understanding was that wife and I each get 1 bottle free but all additional bottles are $15 corkage regardless whether we drink them in the room or take them to dinner. Latest Princess agent said "no charge" unless you take them to the dining room. What's the correct answer? Also, when bringing wine onboard in SFO, how do we do it? Declare it and they take it or just declare it and carry it on? How do we arrange for a bottle of our own stuff to be served at our table? Seems a bit tacky to carry it to dinner.

 

Thanks in advance; I just couldn't find this info anywhere else.

 

Yes.  There is a chapel used for weddings and memorial services.

A ship’s officer will preside at your wedding ceremony.   Usually it will be the captain.  Contact Princess of the time and date of your ceremony,  order your flowers, champagne, and wedding cake to serve  to your guests.    Music for your wedding?  Live or recorded?

If requested, a ships photographer will be present at the ceremony. Recommend making an appointment to have some professional quality formal photographs taken at the Platinum Photo Studio.  The photos are professional quality  B&W.  Retouched.   Are you going to wear your tuxedo?  White wedding dress?

Have Stewart arrange to take your wine to the Maitre D’ who will make sure your wine is placed on your assigned table.

Enjoy and congrats.

 

Edited by Kingofcool1947
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4 hours ago, Kingofcool1947 said:

 

Yes.  There is a chapel used for weddings and memorial services.

A ship’s officer will preside at your wedding ceremony.   Usually it will be the captain.  Contact Princess of the time and date of your ceremony,  order your flowers, champagne, and wedding cake to serve  to your guests...

Thank you, but there’s no wedding in the offing for us; already did that! 

 

I was inquiring as to whether or not the chapel was open a good bit of the time for prayer—not necessarily services although I would probably attend them, as well. I’m hoping the crew doesn’t regard the chapel as just another place to gather people for crafts, trivia, etc, at the expense of its original purpose. 

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