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Grand Princess - on the ship

Genessa

By Genessa,
in Princess Cruises

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Genessa

Genessa

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We just finished sailing on the Grand Princess, British Isles/Western Europe,

July 25 - August 6th.

 

 

Our room was our first mini-suite. We usually book just balconies. Very nice comfortable size and I really enjoyed the tub and extra room in the bathroom and the non-affectionate shower curtain ;).

 

Ship – The Grand has seen better times, but Princess really tries to keep her up and considering there is such a high occupancy rate all the time, they do a terrific job. We had Anytime Dining, which we weren’t happy about ahead of time, but ended up loving on this very port-intensive itinerary. It was great not having to think about dinner when we weren’t even returning to the ship until 5 and 6 PM. We also enjoyed eating dinner alone, but shared on several occasions and enjoyed that, too. Any future cruises where it is just the 2 of us, we will definitely pick Anytime again.

 

We were so tired most evenings, that we didn’t go to any of the shows. We did go into the casino one night, then realized that the casino would be closed almost the entire cruise. Saved us money that we spent on tours .

 

The Lotus Spa pool was a wonder this trip. On our last cruise, also on the Grand, the pool was a bit chilly. This trip, they kept the temperature luxuriously warm. It was a shock to get OUT of the pool, though! On days when we got back before 6, we would often pop up to the pool for an hour or so to relax after our busy day.

 

I used the Internet Café once, to check on our return flight home. Seemed very busy. I did laundry on the day we were in Greenock, as we had returned from Glasgow a few hours before sailing. Laundry room was very busy this trip.

 

 

The food we were not so thrilled with. Dinners in the dining room we could usually find something, but nothing we couldn't have done without.

The 12 night menu led to some strange combinations.

 

Breakfast, due to the ports, we ended up eating in the Horizon Court all but one day, and the best proteins were the hard-boiled eggs. The rest of the eggs left something to be desired, even the unadvertised made to order omelettes. The bacon on Princess has a funky taste to it - nothing new, every Princess cruise we've been on it's been there.

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Genessa

Genessa

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We're on the Grand, British Isles trip on 18 August.

Do you have any idea why the casino was closed most of the trip?

It's something my husband enjoys, so would be disappointed if it's not open at all.

Thanks

 

Aladdin,

 

we were often close to shore. I'll post the times from the Patter tomorrow or Tuesday if you would like.

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mii

mii

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I would suspect that why the casino was closed so much because it is a port intensive cruise and the only time would be after the ship left each port. I guess it is a good way to save monies.:D

 

Marilyn

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rebeccalouise

rebeccalouise

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I was on the same cruise and thought the bacon was great.

 

Also, I keep hearing that the Grand has seen better days. I thought the ship was beautiful and you really had to look hard to find fault. There were some cracked tiles by the outdoor pool and the cabinet doors in our inside cabin looked dated- but not marred or dinged.

 

I thought the ship was in great shape and was quite stunning. We used the indoor "Calyspso" pool the most because it was the British Isles but there were people swimming in the outdoor pool.

 

I thought the food was great. The only things missing from this cruise were towel animals and poolside buffets.

 

We had an absolutely fantastic time and would not hesitate to sail Grand again. I liked her better than Sapphire (our last Princess cruise in 2005).

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Genessa

Genessa

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I was on the same cruise and thought the bacon was great.

 

Also, I keep hearing that the Grand has seen better days. I thought the ship was beautiful and you really had to look hard to find fault. There were some cracked tiles by the outdoor pool and the cabinet doors in our inside cabin looked dated- but not marred or dinged.

 

I thought the ship was in great shape and was quite stunning. We used the indoor "Calyspso" pool the most because it was the British Isles but there were people swimming in the outdoor pool.

 

I thought the food was great. The only things missing from this cruise were towel animals and poolside buffets.

 

We had an absolutely fantastic time and would not hesitate to sail Grand again. I liked her better than Sapphire (our last Princess cruise in 2005).

 

This was our second cruise on the Grand in less than 6 months, so her not being a brand new ship certainly didn't stop us from sailing on her again.

 

Food is so very subjective. My dh likes the bacon, too. I'm the one who thought it was funky, but I think the beef in Aruba is funky, too ;).

 

We did really, really enjoy the burgers at the outdoor grill :).

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Genessa

Genessa

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Strange...just off the Tahitian and everyone loved the bacon. Go figure....

 

we've never done the Tahitian cruise. I was hoping this one, being the British Isles they'd have a different supplier from the Caribbean, Panama Canal, Mexican Riviera (can't really remember the bacon from Alaska).

 

and don't get me wrong, I still ate it, up until the last 2 days, anyway.

 

I did really like the link sausage, though.

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Genessa

Genessa

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okay -

Casino hours

 

1st night: opened at 9:30 PM. we did go in for about 15 minutes or so, but had an early morning. No closing time listed.

 

2nd night: opened at 6:00 PM, closing time listed as 10 PM.

and the Patter for day 2 listed the following, but I think it ended up changing

 

 

Cobh, opening approx 7 PM

Dublin - closed

Liverpool - opening approx 10 PM

Belfast - closed

Greenock - closed

Sea Day - closed

Invergordon - closed

South Queensferry - closed

Sea day - opening approx 9 Am till late

Le Havre - open approx 7:45PM

DUE TO THE LOCAL REGULATION THESE ARE THE OPERATIONAL HOURS OF THE ATLANTIS CASINO.

 

Then, the Patter from South Queensferry, day 10 if I've counted correctly, reads:

Casino Operational hours:

Sea Day - Opening: 9:00 AM Tables and Slots closed at 2:30 PM.

The Casino will re-open at Midnight

Le Havre - Opening approx 7:45PM.

so there was a change on the Sea Day from what was listed on Day 2.

 

Like I said, the money we would have spent in the casino paid for a couple of our tours ;).

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Genessa

Genessa

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What kind of furniture was on the balcony of your mini suite?? Was it that "icky" white plastic, or something different?? Thanks ...............

 

it wasn't the white plastic. It was the blue, looks a little meshy, but feels more comfortable - can't think what it's called. The frame is, I think, some kind of coated, light weight metal - doesn't feel like metal, but looks like metal.

 

There were 4 chairs - 2 slightly different shapes. And there was one small round (or oval) table. This was the least amount of time we have ever spent on a balcony.

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jstducky

jstducky

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Glad to hear the Grand is still Grand! We'll be sailing her in October for Egypt/Aegean and it will be our first Princess cruise. Any "secrets" we should know about her?

 

I was on the same Grand Princess sailing.

 

I thought that the Grand was just ok. Not the most impressive ship I've been on. I did think that there were spots on the ship that were showing wear, the carpet, baseboards, etc. But that didn't keep me from enjoying my cruise. And I would never expect the ship to be this old without showing some wear and tear.

 

My few comments on the ship itself were as follows:

 

1) It annoyed me to no end that there are no midship stairs. I like using the stairs for exercise and the fact that waiting for elevators sometimes is rather lengthy. But not having stairs at midship got more and more annoying as the cruise went on. Having to walk to the bow or stern, then down or up the stairs just to go a floor or two to get somewhere on midship was frustrating.

 

2) The storage space was very minimal. Of the 11 cruises I've been on, the cabin I had must have had the least amount of drawer storage space. Yes, the closet was a good size with lots of hangers. But finding drawers to use as storage space was frustrating because there was so little of it.

 

Other than those two issues, the ship is a nice one. As I said, not the best, but not the worst.

 

The onboard entertainment was fantastic. The production shows by the singers and dancers was fantastic. The evening entertainment was varied and lively. The cruise staff was energetic and great.

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dot73

dot73

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DatePortArriveDepartMon 18/08/08Southampton / England17:00Tue 19/08/08St. Peter Port (Guernsey) / Channel Islands07:0016:00Wed 20/08/08Cobh (Cork) / Ireland08:0018:00Thu 21/08/08Dublin / Ireland04:0017:45Fri 22/08/08Liverpool / England07:0016:30Sat 23/08/08Greenock / Scotland07:00Sun 24/08/08Greenock / Scotland02:00Sun 24/08/08Belfast / Ireland09:0018:00Mon 25/08/08At SeaTue 26/08/08Invergordon / Scotland07:0018:30Wed 27/08/08Queensferry (Edinburgh) / Scotland07:0019:00Thu 28/08/08At SeaFri 29/08/08Le Havre / France07:0019:00Sat 30/08/08Southampton / England05:00

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