Comprehensive review of 2 week Grand Princess Alaska Cruise May 25th to June 8th 2022

[nunuc2000]

Well here I sit at my computer, looking out at the kids riding bikes on the street in front of our home, wishing we were on a cruise... le sighhhhhh....

 

But hey, our next one is only 3 months away, and in the meantime, I can relive moments of our most recent cruise via this review!  I've written out some fairly detailed and wordy info here, filled with personal opinions and observations, but if you're just interested in a condensed summary, scroll on down to the final paragraph. 😉 

 

I posted a "live from" for this cruise as well if you're interested in reading it - I included a lot of pictures along with menus and patters. There were elements of this cruise that we really enjoyed, and others that were disappointing, but overall, so glad we were able to finally cruise again after almost 2 1/2 years of nowhere'sville! 

 

We sailed in room C742 on the Grand Princess from May 25th to June 8th out of Vancouver, a northbound and southbound Alaska itinerary lumped together as a single cruise rather than a B2B. 

 

We flew from Calgary Alberta (province next door to BC) on the morning of the 25th on Westjet, and despite reports of delays at airports including Calgary's YYC, we had a very easy check-in and security clearing on the Calgary side (Coming home through the Vancouver airports was a whole nutha story though!!) After grabbing our luggage we ordered an UBER to take us to Canada Place Cruise Terminal. Uber was $32CAD not including tip, and dropped us right at the luggage collection point underground at Canada Place at 10:20 am. We had previously selected boarding group A, so didn't think this would be an issue arriving early... but that comes into play in a bit... you'll see.  After handing over our 2 suitcases and a $5 bill to the lovely luggage collection staff, we were directed to the doors further down to enter the building.  Signage was decent enough to guide us to the Princess area as opposed to Oceana and HAL, who were also embarking that day.  

 

Reps at the door made sure we had "green lane" status and pointed the way. It was once we got the actual check in counters that we encountered our first little bump.  The rep was friendly, checked our covid vax and test status info, then went to retrieve our medallions (as Canadians, we don't have the option of having them sent to us in advance, but must instead pick them up at the terminal, which is fine and quick). But as she was behind the counter, we overheard the rep assisting the people next to us say to her guests "And just be mindful that there is an advisory regarding the medallions for those with pacemakers or other cardiac devices". Ummmm... what?? First we'd heard of this! When our gal returned with our pretty Ruby medallions, I asked her about what I'd heard the other rep say, and she looked confused and just said we could follow the signs to security now.. and I asked again, and again she tried to hustle us along to security. I then loudly had to interrupt the rep next to her to say "I heard you tell the previous guests there's an advisory with the medallions for those with pacemakers??" Finally, she confirmed that is so... and that anyone with a cardiac device should NOT get "wearable devices" for their medallion that is one of the necklaces, nor should they use the provided lanyards. Maybe I missed it somewhere, but this was the VERY first time I've heard of any issues at all for this! I have a pacemaker, as do MANY other cruisers out there.. this should be something we're made aware of in very BIG letters!  Needless to say, unlike my husband, I did NOT place my lanyard over my head, but instead put my medallion in my pocket.  There were a couple more steps along the way before actually getting on the ship where we needed to show the medallion, and each time I was basically told "We need to SEE your medallion, please wear the lanyard until you have boarded the ship"... to which I responded with "And as a cruiser with a pacemaker, I need to NOT wear it so I can live, so I'll just hold it my hand for now, and maybe you can SEE your way to making sure that your guests are aware of that little detail about cardiac devices potentially encountering interference from the medallion".  Good grief!!!  

 

So I'll say it in bold big letters here since Princess doesn't seem to make it well known:  

 

PLEASE BE AWARE THERE IS AN ADVISORY FOR GUESTS WITH A PACEMAKER OR OTHER CARDIAC DEVICE TO NOT WEAR THE MEDALLION ANYWHERE NEAR THEIR CARDIAC DEVICE!!!  

 

Okay... so then we got to security, which was a bit busy thanks to the inflow of guests from all three cruise lines going through the same security checkpoint. And THEN, it got even more interesting! All those guests from all three cruiselines were clearing through security and being directed into a holding area that was very small... I mean we were early, and yet there was already easily over 300 people all squished into a VERY small area that had maybe 60 chairs (all occupied of course), and the people just coming  and coming... security wasn't holding them back, and though we were all wearing the required masks, we were literally shoulder to shoulder, and there were a lot of older folks who looked like they were ready to fall over. And yet MORE people kept crowding into the tiny area, including porters with guests in wheelchairs, and one of them asked guests already sitting to give up their chairs so that the wheelchair person could transfer, as the porter needed to go back and get more wheelchair people to bring in there! Voices were starting to get angry, and many people were asking a couple of staff what was going on, and one port rep said they were waiting for one of the cruises to zero out so they could allow guests to go to the cruise line specific waiting areas... well what a gongshow! After about 15 minutes of this, they finally held people up at the customs desks to suspend guests from entering our area... there was literally no more room for ANYONE anyway. We started chatting with a few other Princess guests around us, and I said "It seems like everyone of us with boarding group A is already in here... and only 1 of the 7 people who spoke was actually in group A like us... the rest all said their check-in times weren't until later, even hours later for 2 of them, but since they arrived early and no one asked, they just came right on in.  Sheesh, no wonder it seemed so crowded!!  

 

Finally, at 11:30 am they opened the dividers and guests shuffled off to one of three different areas according to their cruise line.  We were asked to sit according to loyalty levels, but some people just walked right up to the front of that waiting area to sit, which was for elite and platinum, even though we could see their blue medallions. Eventually staff started checking, and redirected people to their appropriate colour waiting areas.  At 12 noon, they started boarding, with elites first, then Platinum, and then us (Ruby) and so on.  At 12:15, we set foot on a cruise ship for the first time since Feb of 2020!! YAY!!!! 

 

We headed right to our room to drop off our carry-on, and right away met our steward, Jesmon, who was terrific throughout the cruise - he asked if we wanted our room serviced in the mornings or evenings, and if we required anything.  We asked for morning servicing only, and requested extra hangers, and mentioned that our balcony door handle was broken... wouldn't lock at all. We then head out to find our first beverage and re-aquaint ourselves with the ship - we were previously on board the Grand way back in 2011, but she really hasn't changed that much at all.  

 

We wandered up to the lido deck for a snack in the buffet, and it was at this point that we started trying to navigate around the Medallion app, and discovered our original reservation for two at 5:20pm each day in Michelangelo's was mysteriously gone, replaced by a 5:20pm reservation in Botticelli's instead. Turns out that Michelangelo's remained closed for the entire two weeks we were on board, presumably because of lower guest numbers.  We were happy that we still had a private table for 2 at the same time, so we left it at that.  Speaking of number of guests, we had just over 1100 the first week, and just over 1500 the second week, so way below capacity of 2600.  We had approx 400 that were doing the same B2B as us. 

 

About 2pm we made our way to our muster point to check in, Vista on deck 7, and tapped our medallions to confirm it. We then head back to our room to turn the TV onto the muster drill channel while we unpacked our suitcases - they had arrived while we were exploring and Jesmon had brought them into our room for us, along with the extra hangers, and note saying the balcony door handle repairs would be done before dinner time... and they were.

 

We headed back out again and took a seat in the Piazza on 5, and ordered a drink on the app. And waited... and waited... and waited... and then saw a woman a few tables away receive a glass of prosecco like I had ordered brought to her table, and watched the exchange with hand gestures and facial expressions between her and the server, surmising she was saying she didn't request that, and then eventually giving up and taking it anyway. I then noticed the status for my prosecco order in my app go to "delivered". Ugh. I waved over the server and explained I'd ordered a prosecco quite some time earlier and it never got to me but showed delivered... he shrugged and said they have issues sometimes, and then immediately went to the Good Spirits bar and brought me a fresh glass of prosecco.  After that, we learned NOT to rely on the app for most things, as the majority of the time it would boot us out or spin endlessly trying to load, or it would say we couldn't log into dining options because we hadn't paid for the cruise yet, or it would just freeze in the middle of trying to check out the journey view stuff. The panels near the elevators seemed to work okay, and the TV app in our room worked quite well though. 

 

The remainder of our day, including sailaway, was wonderful, as were all of our days on board this wonderful Grand Alaskan Cruise!!  I won't bore you all with the details of each day, believing that embarkation day is the most important and sets the tone for the rest of the cruise (at least it generally does for me). Overall we really enjoyed a relaxing 2 weeks filled with almost perfectly glorious sunshine filled days (NOT the norm for Alaska... we were soooo lucky!!), some good food, some spectacular scenery, some fun times with activities and events, and last but not least, the most amazing crew and staff - the gracious people who work so tirelessly on board are really the stars of the entire cruise for us!!!!

 

A summary of our experiences:

 

The room - C742 - adequate room that could use some updating, for other than the large flat screen on the wall and the new lamps with USB slots, I don't think it has changed at all since we were last on board in 2011. Definitely some wear and tear showing, but aside from the balcony door issue, everything worked as required - no issues with plumbing, and both temperature and pressure of the water was excellent in our room - AC worked very well - no odors in our room - bed was comfortable enough

 

The ship in general - much like the room, needs some updating, but the hardworking staff do their best to keep it very clean and functional - we took stairs often, but when we did need an elevator, they were quick to arrive (might have to do with low guest count)

 

Food - Definitely hits and misses:

 

- Main dining rooms - Da Vinci's for breakfast and lunch - adequate menu choices, food was fairly good most of the time, staff were great! Botticelli's for dinner - the menu selections were generally quite good, but the food itself was a little disappointing at times, particularly the salmon 😞 - the cod was good, the halibut quite good, and the prawn/seafood stew options were tasty - the beef dishes were nicely done, but some sides were not good, like soggy asparagus and carrots- desserts were generally good - personal pet peeve is that the butter was ALWAYS hard for the bread... and the bread was almost always the same choices each night, with only one night having those yummy spiral rolls full of flavor! Otherwise the same basic white or wheat dinner rolls - but the staff... oh the staff!!! They were the BEST!!!!!! Table 291, marino and his assistant Nendy were terrific!!! 

 

- Crown Grill was excellent, but I was very disappointed the Chilean Sea Bass was absent on both legs, replaced with halibut - otherwise superb food, excellent service, great ambiance

 

- Buffet was the biggest disappointment... not a lot of variety, a poorly designed set up with guests going in at both ends and hackles rising when folks perceived others were butting in, silly little "self serve" options (I know, I know, covid friendly) on individual plates/cups that didn't fit well on the plates or toppled over, dried out sliced meats and cheeses, gelatinous seafood mini options, dried out sandwiches, over done pastas, dried out sausages, ham and eggs, and bacon that was weirdly dripping in grease and tough as jerky all while shattering on your plate if your fork got near it.  The buffet in general was in my opinion, just awful!!

 

- Alfredos Pizzeria on deck 5 - only tomato sauce based options, no bechamel or Alfredo sauce based options... ironic, ain't it? The one pizza we had was just ok, but it would have been nice to have a couple of other Italian foods offered there, like antipasto or garlic bread or caesar salad

 

International Cafe - the coffees were superb, and I especially like the iced coffee options (Iced vanilla bean latte was divine, especially on all those really warm days we had!!), and the food choices were quite varied for breakfast and lunch - the only gripe I have is the setup... with guests often lining up at the food side even if they only wanted coffee, and then others going straight to coffee and incurring the stink-eye from those who waited through the food side lineups... I think that needs to be reworked somehow

 

Pizza on Lido deck - tasty and easy for a quick slice of pizza on the go, but nothing to write home about

 

Salty Dog on Lido - I actually enjoyed this spot a fair bit! Several options from burgers and hotdogs to street tacos and pulled pork and fries done a couple different ways - the food was always hot and fresh, tasty and quick, and perfect for a quick bite in the afternoons after getting back on board from ports and on the gloriously sunny days we had glacier watching - a big hit for us for sure!!

 

Bar offerings and service - always excellent!! Really enjoyed the Good Spirits Experience with Julian and his crew, demonstrating and serving some really wonderful mixology creations! All the bars were very well stocked, and I'm not sure I ever heard any bartenders say "we don't have that here" or "we've run out"... we had the drink package and made good use of it, trying several different kinds of beverages each day, and we were happy to see that Meiomi, one of our favorite reds, was available at almost every bar - and the bar staff? Once again, the absolute stars of the show!!  Always attentive and friendly, made us feel like we were their favorite guests!!

 

Entertainment - hits and misses again - 

 

Music - I get that this is a cruise line geared towards a more mature demographic, and we fall into that category (hubby is early 70's, and I'm not revealing my delicate age haha!) but for the most part, the majority of the music was more in-line with the music played in my mother's nursing home.  We personally prefer more upbeat danceable music offerings, and with the exception of the final night when the house "pop/rock" band Static finally played 3 disco songs (and that packed the dance floor!!), the only place we could really hear anything more recent than Etta James and Doris Day was in the ONE-5 club, where DJ Lovely was more than happy to play anything upon request - literally the most uptempo regular songs from Static were 80's songs from Lionel Ritchie and Stevie Wonder, with all the energy of a Genny G hit... snoozeville!  The other live music options onboard were even sleepier, believe it or not! A singing duo from Argentina that was less than impressive, a low key pianist, a violin duo, and a jazz band... I know some people like jazz, but to me it sounds like students in a 5th grade music class all trying to play a slightly different version of some obscure song that I can't quite identify... I'm just not a fan of that style of music at all. 

 

CD staff, games, shows, etc. - Corinne was our CD, and she led an all female team of entertainment staff who did a fairly good job of trying to keep guests happy, with a variety of guest participation games, being out and about, and generally always very friendly and uplifting. One particularly big hit for us was Yuma, one of those young women who was a real standout!! She was absolutely hilarious and we made it a point to try and attend any events she was hosting... she made those events so funny with her sweetly innocent Japanese accent, and the slightly edgy approach that was just risqué enough to be hilarious without being crass. There was one young man on board who also made it a point to attend all of her events, but his motivation was to try and get her phone number - she very deftly sidestepped his advances without embarrassing him.  We saw two comics on board, neither of which were very good, and the two shows we saw were pretty good. It was a little too cool at night to enjoy MUTS, and the one day we did try to catch a movie in the Vista lounge (Free Guy), the volume was too quiet to hear anything over the ducting... which would explain why no one else was in there, so we left too. 

 

Ports - We have previously cruised Alaska and all the ports on this itinerary, so we opted to skip excursions and simply enjoy walks in the port areas, open decks with no people, and our balcony for the best views and weather.  We were on schedule for all of our ports, and there didn't appear to be any issues with timing or anything else.

 

Medallion app - in theory this seems like a really good idea, but aside from the auto-door unlock for our room and touchless ordering at bars, etc. a lot of the features just aren't up to par yet - Princess needs to make some big improvements to this system before they can brag about it the way they are. And in case you missed it earlier on in this review - IF YOU HAVE A PACEMAKER OR OTHER CARDIAC DEVICE, EXERCISE CAUTION WITH YOUR MEDALLION - DO NOT KEEP IT CLOSE TO YOUR CARDIAC DEVICE!!

 

Disembarkation - We rec'd a form in our room midway through the second week asking us to indicate our preferred process for leaving the ship on the last day, and hand in that form by noon on June 5th (last day of cruise was June 8th) - Since we had a 12 noon flight out of Vancouver, we thought it might be a good idea to use the Princess transfers for $29 each instead of the estimated $45 UBER, trusting that since they also request our flight time and airline on that form, they would get us to YVR prior to the 9:30am time to arrive at the airport that is recommended. We would put our luggage out the night before and collect it from the terminal in the morning then make our way to transfer coach for a quick trip to the airport. HA! Nope... that was a bad idea for several reasons. Firstly, on June 6th we rec'd in our room little sheets of paper that we were to carry with us for our walk off with our own luggage.  Ummm... what? So off we go to guest services to let them know they've made a mistake. After waiting in line for almost half an hour, we finally reached the desk and let them know that is not what we requested.... the rep eventually handed over "PINK4" luggage tags, which correspond with the 8:25 am meeting time in the Wheelhouse. We asked him to confirm that means we'll be at the airport before 9:30 am, and he said "Oh yes, guaranteed they'll have you there by 9:15am". Okay, sounds great, right? HA! Nope again!!  We were in the Wheelhouse by 8:15am, but by the time they started walking us out of there and off the ship, it was already 8:40am...and by the time we retrieved our luggage and got in the line up for the busses, it was 9:00am... and by the time we were loaded onto a bus, it was already 9:15am... and by the time we FINALLY were dropped off at domestic departures after dropping off the bulk of guests at international/US departures (Many of whom were complaining that they had a covid test appt for 9:30am that they had clearly missed) it was already 10:10 am. YIKES!  Got checked in and luggage dropped off quickly enough, and then came the dreaded security line - and let me tell you, news reports of delays at YVR are not kidding... we barely reached our gate as boarding had begun already for our flight! Wayyyyy too close for comfort for me!!  Word of advice... if you're flying out of YVR, do your best to get there earlier if you can.  Next time we'll definitely do the earlier walkoff and take our own uber... way less cost and stress!!  Oh... and here's the final kicker on that... on Friday we rec'd our final cruise statement via email - they double charged us for our transfers to the airport HAHA!! So I spent the better of an hour yesterday trying to get through to Princess to have that corrected, only to be told the department that handles that isn't open until Monday.  Can you just picture me shaking my head and muttering obscenities under my breath?  I'm sure I'll get it fixed eventually, and I suspect they double charged us because of the original error in not getting our transfer request properly handled on the ship in the first place. 

 

And there you have it... my wayyyyyy too long review of what was overall a great first cruise back after 2 and a half years. No cruise is perfect, and all things considered, we certainly didn't starve, and we found great ways to to entertain ourselves, so even the "misses" on this cruise weren't that big of a deal. We will be cruising again in September to Hawaii, but with Celebrity. If you have any specific questions, I'll do my best to answer.  Stay safe everyone.. and happy cruising!!

 

Celine 

 

P.S. I'll leave you with this one picture... a shirt I made my husband buy... it cracks me up every time I look at it!! LOL!!!  

 

Edited June 12, 2022 by nunuc2000

[PacnGoNow]

I have seen the pacemaker warning many times since we first used it in

2018.  It’s also on their website, under 

Q&A for the medallion.

 

Is a Medallion wearable safe to use if I have a pacemaker, or other medical device?
The Medallion wearable includes magnets and RF technology that have been designed and manufactured to meet the radio frequency (RF) requirements set by the Federal Communications Commission of the United States. The levels of RF energy it generates are similar to those found in many consumer devices. Manufacturers of Implantable Pacemaker and Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillators (ICDs) typically recommend that you keep your medical device 9 inches (23 cm) away from RF transmitters comparable to the one found inside the Medallion wearable. However, as every device differs, so you should check directly with the manufacturer of your medical device and physician for guidance.

You can always ask for the key card instead.

 

Warnings in anything magnetic.  Also the airport 

security scanners, etc.

 

Thank you for the review.

 

 

 

[nunuc2000]

8 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

I have seen the pacemaker warning many times since we first used it in

2018.  It’s also on their website, under 

Q&A for the medallion.

 

Is a Medallion wearable safe to use if I have a pacemaker, or other medical device?
The Medallion wearable includes magnets and RF technology that have been designed and manufactured to meet the radio frequency (RF) requirements set by the Federal Communications Commission of the United States. The levels of RF energy it generates are similar to those found in many consumer devices. Manufacturers of Implantable Pacemaker and Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillators (ICDs) typically recommend that you keep your medical device 9 inches (23 cm) away from RF transmitters comparable to the one found inside the Medallion wearable. However, as every device differs, so you should check directly with the manufacturer of your medical device and physician for guidance.

You can always ask for the key card instead.

 

Warnings in anything magnetic.  Also the airport 

security scanners, etc.

 

Thank you for the review.

 

 

 

I completely missed that on the website!  It was our first cruise on Princess in many years, definitely first since Medallion was introduced, and I had no idea.  I know that a few people we spoke with on board were also very surprised, having not been told anything.  I'm glad we know now, and I think it's important that the reps at the embarkation terminals expressly state it or have signage in place.  We didn't see any signage for that anywhere in the terminal. I wonder if that disclaimer is included for US guests who receive their medallions via post in advance of cruising?  Regarding the security scanners in airports, getting on the ship, etc, yes, those are obvious ones in addition to having very prominent signage to warn people... but the medallions... I'm wracking my brain here trying to recall is I ever saw any signs or notices posted anywhere at all on board or in the terminals... I don't think there was anything. 

 

 

Edited June 12, 2022 by nunuc2000

[PacnGoNow]

1 minute ago, nunuc2000 said:

I completely missed that on the website!  It was our first cruise on Princess in many years, definitely first since Medallion was introduced, and I had no idea.  I know that a few people we spoke with on board were also very surprised, having not been told anything.  I'm glad we know now, and I think it's important that the reps at the embarkation terminals expressly state it or have signage in place.  We didn't see any signage for that anywhere in the terminal. I wonder if that disclaimer is included for US guests who receive their medallions via post in advance of cruising? 

 

 

Don’t know, but I have seen it over the years.  I don’t have one, but I do read the signs and scan the Q&A’s. 
Take care

[montgomeryfamily]

Great review!  I enjoyed your "live" thread also, especially the photos.  Thank you so much for including the Patters and menus.

 

Do you remember about what time you got to the Lionsgate Bridge on after sailaway?

[nunuc2000]

11 minutes ago, montgomeryfamily said:

Great review!  I enjoyed your "live" thread also, especially the photos.  Thank you so much for including the Patters and menus.

 

Do you remember about what time you got to the Lionsgate Bridge on after sailaway?

No sorry... I'm thinking it was about 15 minutes or so, but I can't totally recall.

[Senga]

On 6/12/2022 at 6:52 PM, montgomeryfamily said:

Do you remember about what time you got to the Lionsgate Bridge on after sailaway?

6 pm.  We didn’t find it impressive.

[alibabacruisers]

Thank you for your LIVE trip report and your follow-up thorough review with pictures!  It was wonderful following you on your journey.  I am sorry to hear about the Medallion and Pacemaker mess!  Princess needs to have that as a BIG, BOLD statement anywhere the Medallion Info is, IMO, not just under FAQ.

Edited June 16, 2022 by alibabacruisers

[Waynetor]

Thanks for the detailed review - we will be doing the same in 3 weeks.

 

With all the recent changes, I just wanted to be clear - looks like you had no Covid test during the cruise or before flying home - Correct?

[montgomeryfamily]

Thanks Senga, for the info and photos.

[dog]

Thanks so much for sharing.

[nunuc2000]

14 hours ago, Waynetor said:

Thanks for the detailed review - we will be doing the same in 3 weeks.

 

With all the recent changes, I just wanted to be clear - looks like you had no Covid test during the cruise or before flying home - Correct?

Before the cruise, we were required to have a covid test done, and then we had to show proof of the negative test upon check-in in Vancouver. During the cruise, nope... not even on turnaround day in Whittier, and as Canadians, we were not required to take a covid test before flying home, but Americans were required to take a covid test if they were flying into the US from Vancouver - some guests had opted to take the Princess shuttle to Seattle and continue their air journey home from there, as domestic flights within the US at that time were not reliant on covid tests being procured prior to a flight. I believe it has now changed for US bound flights departing from Canada, in that there is no longer a covid test requirement. However, the situation seems to be changing almost daily, so definitely be sure to read up on any requirements right up until your cruise date 🙂  

[nunuc2000]

15 hours ago, alibabacruisers said:

Thank you for your LIVE trip report and your follow-up thorough review with pictures!  It was wonderful following you on your journey.  I am sorry to hear about the Medallion and Pacemaker mess!  Princess needs to have that as a BIG, BOLD statement anywhere the Medallion Info is, IMO, not just under FAQ.

Agreed... There may have been a sign somewhere in the terminal at check in, but if there was, it wasn't obvious - and yep, it's in the FAQ's on the website, but you have to go digging for it.  It should be very prominently displayed, much like in the airports.  Being new to the Medallion, I had no idea, but I'll certainly know going forward! 🙂 

[nunuc2000]

11 hours ago, montgomeryfamily said:

Thanks Senga, for the info and photos.

Her photos and valuable input, especially during my "live from" were awesome!! 

[nini]

@nunuc2000 Thank you for your review. We will be on the Grand in September for the 12 night itinerary from Vancouver. We have cruised Alaska 4 times, but this itinerary has some new ports and a new glacier/ fjord for us.

We are so hoping that the Grand will renew our enthusiasm for Princess as we were on the Emerald in May and there were issues as well as not feeling or experiencing that Princess feeling of the past. Like you, the buffet had serious issues.

 

Due to the location of your cabin, did you experience any cigarette smoke coming up from the Promenade deck (crew smoking area)? TIA

[nunuc2000]

1 hour ago, nini said:

@nunuc2000 Thank you for your review. We will be on the Grand in September for the 12 night itinerary from Vancouver. We have cruised Alaska 4 times, but this itinerary has some new ports and a new glacier/ fjord for us.

We are so hoping that the Grand will renew our enthusiasm for Princess as we were on the Emerald in May and there were issues as well as not feeling or experiencing that Princess feeling of the past. Like you, the buffet had serious issues.

 

Due to the location of your cabin, did you experience any cigarette smoke coming up from the Promenade deck (crew smoking area)? TIA

A couple of times we thought we could smell cigarette smoke, but couldn't tell where it was coming from, aside from one time we actually saw one guest smoking two decks above us... turns out it was coming from Aloha deck where covid positive guests were being jailed - they had been given permission to smoke on their balcony.  It was really fleeting the couple times we noticed it though... so not really an issue, even though we spent quite a bit of time on our balcony.  

 

I hope you have a wonderful cruise and the weather is as lovely for you as it was for us 🙂

 

 

 

 

[rrremr]

Is there a link to the "live" post?

 

[donaldsc]

I may be a little fussy but based on your report - the cruise sounds like a disaster to me.  Also since you did not do any excursions we have no idea how badly the excursions went.  Yes - I know that cruise lines are having issues but that is their problem and not mine.  If you can't deliver a good product stop lying to the customer and just stop offering the product.

 

DON

[nini]

19 hours ago, nunuc2000 said:

A couple of times we thought we could smell cigarette smoke, but couldn't tell where it was coming from, aside from one time we actually saw one guest smoking two decks above us... turns out it was coming from Aloha deck where covid positive guests were being jailed - they had been given permission to smoke on their balcony.  It was really fleeting the couple times we noticed it though... so not really an issue, even though we spent quite a bit of time on our balcony.  

 

I hope you have a wonderful cruise and the weather is as lovely for you as it was for us 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for taking the time to answer. I find it so very hilariously sad that smoking is permitted from those in quarantine who obviously are already having respiratory issues. Next March and April, we will have the corner aft cabin that would have been just around the corner from you. Sadly, I do not think Princess is listening to their customers right now.

[nunuc2000]

7 hours ago, donaldsc said:

I may be a little fussy but based on your report - the cruise sounds like a disaster to me.  Also since you did not do any excursions we have no idea how badly the excursions went.  Yes - I know that cruise lines are having issues but that is their problem and not mine.  If you can't deliver a good product stop lying to the customer and just stop offering the product.

 

DON

Hey Don,

 

no... definitely not a disaster... that would have been the Costa Concordia or the Diamond Princess at the beginning of covid 😉

 

Definitely some less than stellar experiences though... but overall, still a great cruise for us - we knew going in that we were going to use it as a way to just kick back and really relax, enjoy the scenery, food that I didn't have to cook, and just the feeling of being back on a cruiseship (I always say my favorite place on the planet is in my husbands arms at the railing of a ship 🙂)

 

We certainly had better buffet food, and though covid is to blame for some of the shortcomings on this one, that's not the whole reason. But main dining room food wasn't too bad in general, and I still managed to gain a couple of pounds haha!  The music was snoozeville, but I guess that's the vibe Princess was going for with this being an Alaskan cruise rather than a more vibrant Caribbean kind of feel, so we just sought out different forms of entertainment and still had fun and danced.  And the staff... well they are still a HUGE part of what we love about cruising - they genuinely seem to want to make guests happy, and by and large, we were happy almost all of the time! 🙂