Grand princess condition?

[cruise1814]

Hi I am considering a cruise on the Grand later this year I see she is going into drydock in April. Her last refurb was in 2004. How is she holding up? I know Princess takes good care of there ships and is always cleaning repainting etc but 6 years is a long time without a drydock.

[cruise1814]

Really not one person knows?

[AJs Grandpa]

A search on this board will find several threads about this.

 

We've sailed her three times--first was her second season; last was a few months ago. While she isn't as shiny as the first time, I noticed nothing significantly different from any other ship. She was the first (or among the first) with MUTS. I've read the International Cafe will be added in drydock.

 

In short, don't let her age be a factor in your decision.

[1 HappyCruiser]

Other than the deteriorated condition of the balcony partitions the rest of the ship is in OK condition. If you're they type of being very critical you'll find things here & there that need replacement but generally it's not a major item.

We were on it in Jan & are going back in Dec.

[bugsy1968]

We were on it in early August and the ship is in fine condition. Yes, the balconies have some corroded spots, and if I looked carefully enough I could see some paint peeling on the ceiling of the dining room and on our last night in the theater, I noticed a piece of carpet was loose. If this is all I could find in 2 weeks, I can assure you I wasn't bothered in the least and we had a fantastic time.

 

Enjoy!

[Colo Cruiser]

The Grands last dry dock was not 2004.

Princess ships are scheduled around every 3 years.

[cruise1814]

The Grands last dry dock was not 2004.

Princess ships are scheduled around every 3 years.

 

More then one website has stated that it last drydock was 2004 just going by what I read:)

 

If it was not 2004 then when was it?

 

I dont know where you get your info care to share?

[poodlewamp]

We were wondering the same question, as we are going on the

 

grand princess next month for a 14 day caribbean cruise... I am

 

happy to hear they will be adding the international coffee bar

 

next time in dry dock, as we will miss having that..( had it on

 

the star & the golden).

 

 

I will post when i get back from our cruise and let all know !!!

 

 

 

Happy cruising

 

 

b.j.

 

 

( 19 cruises)...20 soon !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:)

[shoreham01]

We came off the Grand 25th of September so can give you up to date report. I have put a review on the members reviews page but just quickly, she is fine. Spotlessly clean in all areas. Superb food in MDR and Horizon Court. Lovely friendly staff. Yes if you look hard enough you will find bits and pieces that look tired. We saw a couple of chairs that were quite serviceable but were in need of repair. The carpet looked fine, there were a couple of taped areas but you could get that with a brand new carpet that has not been laid well so no big deal there. There are rust spots on the balcony, but as we live by the sea we know what sea air does to metal, and it was not enough to spoil our enjoyment of the balcony. The bathroom was extremely clean although the tiles do need re-grouting or replacing. The shower head was also ready for replacement although it worked well. All in all the ship felt really comfortable and at no stage did we think yuk wish we were on another one. Infact we have booked another cruise on the Grand for June and although we hope she will have had a re-fit in April, if she has not we will not mind too much. If you have any specific questions please ask me.

[BarbaraP]

We were on the Grand last February and would prefer not to cruise on her again until after the next dry dock. Nothing terribly wrong, just missed the usual Princess sparkle you find on all their ships. Our bathroom needed repair and the pool area was getting rather shabby looking. We also missed the International Cafe. For some reason there were fewer movies on the MUTS during the day and no poolside bands. We actually watched movies from the Emerald Princess that was parked next to us in Grand Turks.

IMHO, if the price is the same, I'd rather cruise a newer or refurbed ship!!! Barb

[johnmik1]

More then one website has stated that it last drydock was 2004 just going by what I read:)

 

If it was not 2004 then when was it?

 

I dont know where you get your info care to share?

 

Expedia shows it as 2006.

[David&Heather]

e also cruised on her in August and found nothing that would put us off cruising on her again. Yes if you looked hard enough there were a few area's which will need attention at it's dry dock but nothing that would spoil a cruise.

[Putterdude]

It's been 9 full months since we were on her but she was very well maintained and in good order...sure if you go looking you will find a few warts but nothing that will spoil one's cruise vacation.

[Ricky Chan]

We were on the Grand last February and would prefer not to cruise on her again until after the next dry dock. Nothing terribly wrong, just missed the usual Princess sparkle you find on all their ships. Our bathroom needed repair and the pool area was getting rather shabby looking. We also missed the International Cafe. For some reason there were fewer movies on the MUTS during the day and no poolside bands. We actually watched movies from the Emerald Princess that was parked next to us in Grand Turks.

IMHO, if the price is the same, I'd rather cruise a newer or refurbed ship!!! Barb

 

What does "MUTS" stands for??????????

 

Ricky

[cruisingallover]

What does "MUTS" stands for??????????

 

Ricky

 

 

Movie Under The Stars

[ONT-CA]

We came across this posting while we are still aboard the Grand and thought that our comments, while not complimentary should be added to the discussion. Yes, the maintenance required in rust removal and painting is most evident but that is not the essence of the story

 

While en route the trans Atlantic via Iceland the ship experienced more than a few complaints about heating. Some cabins were so cold that passengers refused to remain in them. Maintenance was able to rectify the problem somewhat but not to everyone’s satisfaction.

 

Now that we are in the Caribbean the opposite situation exists in that they cannot cool down the public areas and the Captain’s Waterfall Party in the Atrium was so hot and stuffy that many could not endure and retreated to other areas. Very few elevators were functioning this evening and if one waned to enjoy Skywalkers one had to mount at least five flights of stairs.

There is some attempt to commence repairs for we can hear the jackhammers operating during the day. Many people are seen walking about with blueprints and the like. If the Grand is to remain in service until April 2011 she will need some very major attention and the sooner the better.

[weberman]

This ship was in horrible condition on the Oct Trans-Atlantic. The shipshould have been taken out of service long ago. I could put my finger through rust and corrosion on our balcony. :confused:

 

More later when I have time to write a full review of this terrible cruise. :( This ship could not handle the cold weather.

 

I know the Princess lovers will jump on this but so be it. :eek:

[Times Prince]

We were on it in early August and the ship is in fine condition. Yes, the balconies have some corroded spots, and if I looked carefully enough I could see some paint peeling on the ceiling of the dining room and on our last night in the theater, I noticed a piece of carpet was loose. If this is all I could find in 2 weeks, I can assure you I wasn't bothered in the least and we had a fantastic time.

 

Enjoy!

We were on Grand Princess in June - our 6th cruise on her. Although I didn't notice paint on the ceiling peeling, I found nothing major. The balcony had as much rust as a first year ship. They keep this ship in Grand condition.

 

We were on the Grand last February and would prefer not to cruise on her again until after the next dry dock. Nothing terribly wrong, just missed the usual Princess sparkle you find on all their ships. Our bathroom needed repair and the pool area was getting rather shabby looking. We also missed the International Cafe. For some reason there were fewer movies on the MUTS during the day and no poolside bands. We actually watched movies from the Emerald Princess that was parked next to us in Grand Turks.

 

IMHO, if the price is the same, I'd rather cruise a newer or refurbed ship!!! Barb

Interestingly enough we were on the Star Princess, which has been refurbed with the International Cafe and Vines, and a waste of space cocktail paraphenalia shop, and found the bathroom tile in our cabin to be in worse than any cabin we've had on Grand Princess, so the refurb process is unlikely to dwell on the details being cited here. We would sail on her again.

[SwissDave]

This ship was in horrible condition on the Oct Trans-Atlantic. The shipshould have been taken out of service long ago. I could put my finger through rust and corrosion on our balcony. :confused:

 

 

 

You would have known about some corrosion on the balconies, its been talked about enough on here. It sounds as though that point means the whole ship is in horrible condition, which I would like to assure other more realistic readers of the board that this is certainly not the case.

 

Why should it be taken out of service? is it not safe?

[1 HappyCruiser]

We came across this posting while we are still aboard the Grand and thought that our comments, while not complimentary should be added to the discussion. Yes, the maintenance required in rust removal and painting is most evident but that is not the essence of the story

 

While en route the trans Atlantic via Iceland the ship experienced more than a few complaints about heating. Some cabins were so cold that passengers refused to remain in them. Maintenance was able to rectify the problem somewhat but not to everyone’s satisfaction.

 

Now that we are in the Caribbean the opposite situation exists in that they cannot cool down the public areas and the Captain’s Waterfall Party in the Atrium was so hot and stuffy that many could not endure and retreated to other areas. Very few elevators were functioning this evening and if one waned to enjoy Skywalkers one had to mount at least five flights of stairs.

 

There is some attempt to commence repairs for we can hear the jackhammers operating during the day. Many people are seen walking about with blueprints and the like. If the Grand is to remain in service until April 2011 she will need some very major attention and the sooner the better.

 

Now that you mention the AC temperature problem it reminds me that in Jan when we were on the ship the dining room was so cold people were actually leaving to get warm during their meals courses. There was 1 setting on the AC- ON. Nothing in between. It was the only place where I noticed this problem. If you get cold easily, bring a coat to the dining room - my wife had her hooded sweat shirt every night- even formal. One description I read a while back was "it was like a meat locker" which seemed to describe it best. I haven't heard any comments about it since & thought the problem was solved but apparently not.

This ship was in horrible condition on the Oct Trans-Atlantic. The shipshould have been taken out of service long ago. I could put my finger through rust and corrosion on our balcony. :confused:

 

More later when I have time to write a full review of this terrible cruise. :( This ship could not handle the cold weather.

 

I know the Princess lovers will jump on this but so be it. :eek:

 

That was the one place where it was most noticeable.

We were on Grand Princess in June - our 6th cruise on her. Although I didn't notice paint on the ceiling peeling, I found nothing major. The balcony had as much rust as a first year ship. They keep this ship in Grand condition.

 

Interestingly enough we were on the Star Princess, which has been refurbed with the International Cafe and Vines, and a waste of space cocktail paraphenalia shop, and found the bathroom tile in our cabin to be in worse than any cabin we've had on Grand Princess, so the refurb process is unlikely to dwell on the details being cited here. We would sail on her again.

 

If you didn't see the rust & corrosion on you balcony you definitely lucked out & had a one of the better ones. From our balcony as far as I could see fore & aft & below us, the corrosion was evident. During the day the paint chipping was a constant affair as well as arriving back to our cabin in the evening from ports the place was covered with paint chips. It didn't make for a pleasant view but was something I could live with but if our cabin AC wasn't working I would have had a different opinion.

 

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[Colo Cruiser]

Hi I am considering a cruise on the Grand later this year I see she is going into drydock in April. Her last refurb was in 2004. How is she holding up? I know Princess takes good care of there ships and is always cleaning repainting etc but 6 years is a long time without a drydock.

 

 

See these comments from today...

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1291192

[TomCruises]

My goodness!So there is a little rust on your balcony handrail.It sounds like it was cooler where you were that time of year and I bet you didn't spend that much time out there anyway,I was on the Grand this past March...thouroughly enjoyed it.Sanctuary provided impeccable service.The Maitre'd/Assistant Maitre'd were awesome providing special dishes each evening.Overall,food was great!Staff was willing and very accomodating with any concerns/issues I had.

 

I'm sure they would have been happy to send down somebody with paint/paintbrush to take care of your asthetic concern.I'll bet you let this bother you to the point of interfering with your cruise.What a shame!:rolleyes:

[Woobstr112G]

One thing that I always find kind of humerous is the number of posts I read about rust found on a balcony rail. A ship spends 24/7 365 days a year in a very unforgiving environment. This combined with constant passenger traffic is bound to cause some wear & tear. I for one believe that Princess does a great job taking care of their ships.....:):):)

[David&Heather]

It would appear that there are 2 ships called Grand Princess, fortunately we sailed on the well maintained one not the rust bucket on the point of sinking that it would appear some sailed on:D

[jonikal]

Having just completed the 16-day Nordic TA on the Grand on Sept 25 in FLL, I'd also like to add my 2-cents. The staff were awesome, the food was great and we enjoyed a great cruise. We loved the atmosphere of the ship and felt blessed that we were able to make each and every port on the itinerary - not something to take for granted for some of the North Atlantic ports.

 

Rather than focusing on rust spots on balconies, my only comment would be for any of you who have sailed on some of the newer ships having the International Plaza concept, that the Grand's atrium in its current state, leaves much to be desired. The current design is not user-friendly, with the entertainment area tucked away underneath the one staircase with most of the seated area unable to see the performances. Compared to the Crown, Ruby or Emerald where the atria were always busy gathering places, the Grand's atrium simply doesn't make the cut. However, I believe that with the major refurb that is planned, the sprucing and glitzing of public spaces and oh yes, fixing those inefficient elevators with the soft and creaky floors, the Grand will re-emerge as a fabulous ship. So much so, that we are booked on her eastbound TA in May 2011.