Question about September cruise Vancouver-LA on the Grand Princess

[thebronzeYVR]

Hey everyone,

I hope this is the right place for this question! My partner, family and I are looking at a cruise in the fall, 4 nights from Vancouver to Los Angeles departing September 25 on the Grand Princess.

 

We are first-timers on a cruise, so thought the relatively short length would give us a good sense of if we are "cruise people". The price is also great, since it looks like the boat is repositioning from the Alaska summer run to more southern routes.. so here is my question:

 

Has anyone on here been on this (or similar) cruises? Will all activities (shows, restaurants, programming) advertised be available since it is on a repositioning run? Or will there be more limited offerings since it is quasi - off season?

 

Thank you so much in advance!

[cr8tiv1]

I have been on a few repositioning cruises from Vancouver to LA.  It is a very short cruise.  All amenities will be available.  You may only have 1 production show.  No formal nights.  Maybe no lobster.  

 

You will get the feel of being on a cruise ship.  First day doesn't count as you will be busy getting to know the ship (no activities until the night) and last day is very short.  

 

Better than no cruise at all !

[sunviking90]

42 minutes ago, thebronzeYVR said:

Hey everyone,

I hope this is the right place for this question! My partner, family and I are looking at a cruise in the fall, 4 nights from Vancouver to Los Angeles departing September 25 on the Grand Princess.

 

We are first-timers on a cruise, so thought the relatively short length would give us a good sense of if we are "cruise people". The price is also great, since it looks like the boat is repositioning from the Alaska summer run to more southern routes.. so here is my question:

 

Has anyone on here been on this (or similar) cruises? Will all activities (shows, restaurants, programming) advertised be available since it is on a repositioning run? Or will there be more limited offerings since it is quasi - off season?

 

Thank you so much in advance!

Welcome to Cruisecritic! We have taken a lot of these coastal cruises back when we were still working and really enjoyed them. As you say they are a good opportunity to try out “cruising” and see if it’s for you. They are different vibe than a 7 day loop or a longer itinerary, but certainly are not “less than”. We’ve had great guest lecturers and generally 1 production show on ours. Get to the production show 30 minutes early if you want to see it. They are popular. Buffet food, Main dining room etc will be as you would have on a longer cruise.
Enjoy your first cruise!

Edited May 12 by sunviking90

[mtnesterz]

54 minutes ago, thebronzeYVR said:

Has anyone on here been on this (or similar) cruises? Will all activities (shows, restaurants, programming) advertised be available since it is on a repositioning run? Or will there be more limited offerings since it is quasi - off season?

My first cruise was also a 4 nighter with no ports. So, any cruise is a good place to start. I do think a week long is better to start though.

There will likely be more in the way of partying than longer cruises. Usually shorter cruises have more kids, but I think school has started by late September.

The Grand is getting older, which is OK if it is maintained, but we felt improvement was needed in that department. We were last onboard in '22.

You may find most passengers onboard will not be there so much for the 4 night as continuing what is called a Back To Back, or B2B. An Alaska cruise followed by those returning to California. Everything will be open. Consider that those who have bought a package have paid for dining and services would be understandably upset if venues closed. And the crew are onboard getting paid anyway. 

Princess has changed over the years, if it is not to your tastes, there are other lines.

My two cents, buy Princess transfers to the airport if not also booking your flight.. LAX is under construction and a real mess right now. Some will tell you there's a better ways to do it and I agree...for experienced cruisers. If you are new to cruising, make life easy.

[thebronzeYVR]

Thanks everyone,

We will go ahead and book, I appreciate the advice and great to know all programming is available! Looking forward to our first cruise :).

 

We're Vancouver locals so getting to the port will be easy, and plan on staying in LA to visit for a few days post-arrival so not too worried about a transfer to the airport. 

[nini]

18 hours ago, thebronzeYVR said:

Thanks everyone,

We will go ahead and book, I appreciate the advice and great to know all programming is available! Looking forward to our first cruise :).

 

We're Vancouver locals so getting to the port will be easy, and plan on staying in LA to visit for a few days post-arrival so not too worried about a transfer to the airport. 

 

We love the Grand- it is one of the older Princess ships. Please also note, that your disembarkation port in California is in San Pedro and is technically Port of LA.