CruisinMinnie

On the Grand Princess this past July, they told us 1:00 pm, but then opened a little earlier at 12:40 pm. All the carry-on bags had to come to lunch with us. The hallways were closed to all passengers.

On the Grand Princess July 25th, the doors from the elevator/stair lobbies to the hallways were closed. The note we were handed on boarding said cabins would be ready at 1:00. All carry on bags went to lunch with us. An announcement was made when we could go to our cabins. This was the first time in 30 Princess cruises (several on the Grand from San Francisco) we experienced this happening. We have had this experience on other cruise lines in the past.

Yooooohooooo! I got the call and ended up getting a premium balcony cabin on the Caribe deck! I am super jazzed ... it was an upsell, not a free upgrade but still got a great deal on the original price so the overall price was great.

Thanks for all your help!!

Sounds like a great deal! Enjoy!

Between this review of our cruise and the review from jsiegel, just about everything about this Grand Princess Alaska cruise has been covered!

Thank you for taking the time to write a review of our cruise. Thanks to gdisney for writing a review of the cruise also. Between the two reviews just about everything has been covered from this great Grand Princess Alaska cruise!

Haha it took awhile to make it look right...the computer wasn’t cooperating!

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Great review! You included the good and the not so good in a straight forward and concise review.

I don't care much for bugs in the dining room....:o

The mini suites on the port side of Emerald deck could have some noise from the Vista Lounge, but usually not much after 10:00pm. Starboard side does have some type of fan/generator noise in the hall that can sometimes be heard in the room. We have been on both sides of Emerald deck on the Grand Princess. I like those mini suites because they are the only ones on the Grand Princess that have a covered balcony.

It was gone on our Jan. cruise in South America.

It was gone on our May Alaska cruise.

We were just on a sailing on the Grand and the coffee card did have the sailing and date hand written on the back with a permanent marker. Below this is an expiration date for the end of this year. We know we can't get brewed coffee on any other cruise using this card, but we asked what happened to our punches if the card hadn't been completely used. One of the staff members told us it was useless after the end of this year. (n)

This was our experience also when on the Grand May 6th sailing.

We stayed at the Grange Tower Bridge Hotel through Princess and breakfast (very nice buffet) was included each day. When I asked Princess about breakfast prior to the trip they told me it wasn’t included.

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Same thing for us when we stayed at the Grange (through Princess)....Was pleasantly surprised that breakfast was included.

It's especially nice to have your own mug when sailing somewhere such as Glacier Bay, Alaska where paper products (cups, straws, etc) are not available when in the bay.

I'm still not clear...do the new card completely become useless on the "expiration date"? If so, as stated above, that's a rip-off for those who don't use the card a lot or don't cruise frequently.

I'm confused also. I have always used coffee cards for latte's only, so have always had the card punched. If I buy a new card with an expiration date does that mean that even the punches for my latte's expire if I don't use them all before the expire date? :confused:

Pricing was also not available this morning for two cruises I'm looking at - Hawaii November 2018 and April 2019.

I believe the guy you're talking about is gone. At least if you mean the head waiter in the Crown Grill. When we were on the Grand last Thanksgiving he wasn't there.

Franco was on the Grand (in Crown Grill) January 12th-22nd of this year.

Per cabin and ours has never shown up till we were on the ship.

Yes, per cabin, and ours has never shown up till we were on the ship also.

I just had a look and the premium beverage package has disappeared from my cruise personalizer . Has this happened to anyone else.

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Mine still says All Inclusive Beverage Package. (I booked this year under a Sip and Sail promotion.

We had a Penthouse Suite mid ship Caribe deck on the Grand to Hawaii.....Yes, there is a separate entrance to the bathroom from the sitting room. :)

Thanks for following along. Because this trip report is taking me so long to do, there are times I wonder

 

 

It is good to get a little feedback. Enjoy your time in San Francisco.

 

 

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We were on the Hawaii cruise just before you. I really enjoy reading your reports and seeing your photos! :)

Thanks, yes I know the tours aren't necessarily same on every cruise, but usually they are. Anyone know what kind of tours they have offered recently? Anything else than the Silicon Valley tour?

Just got off the Grand Princess on April 23rd. The only Debark Tour offered was the Silicon Valley Tech Tour for $99.95.

No extra credit for upgrades ... the cruise credits are based on what you have paid for at the time of booking.

You will still be able to enjoy all the other suite benefits.

Thank you for your quick response. :)

I understand the 1 cruise credit for a cruise completed, the 2 cruise credits for singles, and the 2 cruise credits for sailing in a suite. But if the suite is an upgrade (not an upsell) do the 2 cruise credits for a suite still apply?

We just got a up grade from a inside to a deluxe balcony we are on the Royal Princess for 17 days. I am happy. It did not cost anything.:D

Rita

Now that is an upgrade. I've never, in over 20 Princess cruises, been given an upgrade. However, I have been offered several upsells, one of which I've taken.

I just got off the Grand Princess. Not as good as previous trips! No blue bags. I asked for early departure in a wheel chair. I was delayed one hour before getting off!

I'm sorry to hear this Sally. I know how convenient San Francisco is for you, and the Grand is the only Princess in town.

I don't remember ever seeing a check box that indicates 'Elite Laundry.' You just check the next day service box.

I've never seen a box to check for Elite either. When we've sent our laundry out, we write Elite on the top and in the comments/instruction box. :)

Thanks to everyone for keeping us updated on the Grand Princess.

If you don't mind going on Holland America they do the 14 day Alaska round trip from Seattle. We did it this May on the Maasdam and it was fantastic. Next year it is on the Amsterdam with 9 sailings from May to September. Ports did include Kodiak and Homer in addition to sailing all the way up Cook Inlet to Anchorage.

Thanks, I'll have to take a look at that.