Just off the Grand 12/17-12/24

[kywildcatfanone]

Camofwilliamsburg,

 

I am the OP of this thread and I want you to know that I am not unsympathetic to anyone who had a poor experience on their cruise. If you are like me, you work hard, and when you go on vacation you want to have a good, stress free time (at least that is how I am). I don't have your experience with other cruise lines, we have only done Princess, and generally all of our cruises have been very similar in terms of service and expectations.

You mention that it could be timing issues of when you saw/received poor service, and I would have to agree with you about that based upon my experiences and yours.

I went down to the IC each morning for coffee and a danish, but it was early and I never had any service issues, even gave the lady who served me coffee and the guy who gave me my danish an extra tip at the end of the week because they were friendly and conversational.

I called each morning and made dinner reservations for that night with no issues at all, of course I was calling around 8am each morning. Sorry you had trouble there.

I didn't have issues in the horizon court, but was only in there around 9am each morning for breakfast, so I don't have any experience for lunch or dinner times. When I did need a table cleaned off, I waved someone over and they took care of it quickly in my opinion.

We have quit going to the productions shows, we have seen them and would agree they aren't that good. Since by your signature line I see you have been on a couple of other Princess ships this year, you have likely seen them as well. I would like to see Princess change these more often, but I'm sure it's expensive to do, so we just skip them all together, and will go back when they have new material. We missed the comedian one night because we didn't get to the theatre on time and it was full, that was my fault.

We also walked around looking for popcorn by MUTS one night and didn't find it, so I don't know if they didn't have it, or had stopped serving. Don't remember the night or time on that.

We didn't have any ice issues on Princess Cays, but there was plenty of fruit in the middle of the picnic area if you missed that. We were on the first tender boat, so no wait issues for us.

I didn't spend any time at the aft pool, but babies in diapers should not be allowed there at all. I have come to accept that if I cruise when kids are out of school, they will be all over the pool areas, so I saw what you mention, but took it as being part of cruising this particular week. We did get in the pool early before it got crowded. I had no experience with the spa pool either.

Our cabin was as clean as we would expect, and had a quiet but nice man as our steward. He wasn't real talkative, but was pleasant and spoke to us when he would see us.

I agree about elevators, one near us didn't work the whole week, you would think they could fix that.

We have come to the conclusion that dinner in the MDR is about a 2 hour experience no matter what. I think there are less wait staff than in previous years, and they have more work. The crew we had in Michaelangelo (Noon and Roger) were great. After the first night, they had iced tea waiting for us, joked and cut up with us, and were always there with whatever we needed. Our two nights at the Crown Grill were close to 3 hours each. All of that seems longer than it should be, but we just go with it and relax and enjoy.

I would have liked less rough weather, but you can't predict that when you book either.

All of that to say we probably didn't see all of the things they you did, perhaps because of timing of when/where we did things. Hopefully your next Princess experience will be more to your liking.

 

Mike

[camofwilliamsburg]

Yes our times were different. We did not leave our cabin until after 9 for breakfast and we never were able to get through the reservation line twice that we tried after holding on for over 20 min each time. We were told by dining that we could not make a standing reservation , which we did on STAR and also had the same wait staff for the entire cruise, although it was anytime dining. We were told you could only reserve before 6 pm or after 8 pm. We went to the pool area around 11 ish and it was very hard to get any lounge already.

On Princess Cays, yes we knew where to sit for the fruit, but all they served ( maybe our timing again) were bananas, apples and oranges. We got there before 1 pm. Usually there are pineapple, melons, mango and watermelon.

You did mention about the IC and having to flag her down to clean the table. I found that each time going later in the afternoon but they were always busy serving the coffee and not cleaning up any tables. It was hard catching their attention. And I really felt they should have been watching their station and clearing it and cleaning the tables. I never saw them CLEAN the tables , just clear the cups and plates from another person who left it there. I did not enjoy having to wait for them to clear a table and having me wait to find them. Often I found a dirty table and just sat there with DH and thought this is not what it should be, but I am not going to make an issue. But in reality, it was an issue. Should not have been like this. The staff should be watching and clearing before being asked to.

[brucetrinity]

Camofwilliamsburg,

 

I am the OP of this thread and I want you to know that I am not unsympathetic to anyone who had a poor experience on their cruise. If you are like me, you work hard, and when you go on vacation you want to have a good, stress free time (at least that is how I am). I don't have your experience with other cruise lines, we have only done Princess, and generally all of our cruises have been very similar in terms of service and expectations.

You mention that it could be timing issues of when you saw/received poor service, and I would have to agree with you about that based upon my experiences and yours.

I went down to the IC each morning for coffee and a danish, but it was early and I never had any service issues, even gave the lady who served me coffee and the guy who gave me my danish an extra tip at the end of the week because they were friendly and conversational.

I called each morning and made dinner reservations for that night with no issues at all, of course I was calling around 8am each morning. Sorry you had trouble there.

I didn't have issues in the horizon court, but was only in there around 9am each morning for breakfast, so I don't have any experience for lunch or dinner times. When I did need a table cleaned off, I waved someone over and they took care of it quickly in my opinion.

We have quit going to the productions shows, we have seen them and would agree they aren't that good. Since by your signature line I see you have been on a couple of other Princess ships this year, you have likely seen them as well. I would like to see Princess change these more often, but I'm sure it's expensive to do, so we just skip them all together, and will go back when they have new material. We missed the comedian one night because we didn't get to the theatre on time and it was full, that was my fault.

We also walked around looking for popcorn by MUTS one night and didn't find it, so I don't know if they didn't have it, or had stopped serving. Don't remember the night or time on that.

We didn't have any ice issues on Princess Cays, but there was plenty of fruit in the middle of the picnic area if you missed that. We were on the first tender boat, so no wait issues for us.

I didn't spend any time at the aft pool, but babies in diapers should not be allowed there at all. I have come to accept that if I cruise when kids are out of school, they will be all over the pool areas, so I saw what you mention, but took it as being part of cruising this particular week. We did get in the pool early before it got crowded. I had no experience with the spa pool either.

Our cabin was as clean as we would expect, and had a quiet but nice man as our steward. He wasn't real talkative, but was pleasant and spoke to us when he would see us.

I agree about elevators, one near us didn't work the whole week, you would think they could fix that.

We have come to the conclusion that dinner in the MDR is about a 2 hour experience no matter what. I think there are less wait staff than in previous years, and they have more work. The crew we had in Michaelangelo (Noon and Roger) were great. After the first night, they had iced tea waiting for us, joked and cut up with us, and were always there with whatever we needed. Our two nights at the Crown Grill were close to 3 hours each. All of that seems longer than it should be, but we just go with it and relax and enjoy.

I would have liked less rough weather, but you can't predict that when you book either.

All of that to say we probably didn't see all of the things they you did, perhaps because of timing of when/where we did things. Hopefully your next Princess experience will be more to your liking.

 

Mike

 

 

As for us (Bruce and Diane), we had an awesome time !! We have cruised over 50 times (5 or so with Princess) and we thought the cruise on the Grand was one of the best (not including the weather).

[bjcanady]

hi Cam....how was the dance schedule?

[kkorman]

I was also on this cruise and had a great trip. We had a few issues, but aside from the unfriendly desk staff and a security guard that was on power trip, service was great... Our dining room experience was phenomenal. Food was good to very good and a few excellent.

 

We never had a problem finding seating in horizon and that was often for 7 people.

 

As for the spa pool, the captain made n announcement explaining the process of filling the pools and when the would be filled. After filling, the water needs o be balance chemically before opening... This could take hours. It was not lie te were purposely keeping you out of the pool.

 

Can't moment on entertainment, as we did not o any, we provided our own.

 

I always book a FCC and never heard of one using OBC for this. Because princess allows you to combine several OBC options, they do not refund. I only have seen that with Royal which lets you have one type of credit.

 

Sounds like te stars were alligned for you to have a bad cruise, if so horrific, why did you purchase future cruises?

 

hope your net is better! Happy sailing.

[azseas]

Thank you for the great review. What nites were formal? Both sea days?

[camofwilliamsburg]

Never said Horrific, just lots of issues that were not there on other PCL so I will cruise again. It is not indicative of the line.

 

Yes we heard the announcement for the pools but the only one not filled or not even scheduled to be filled was the adult spa pool until we called.

 

The pool attendant said they were waiting for the capt and all the other pools were done but this was overlooked. He then pointed to the phone on the wall for us to call and get it done. This was the attitude the entire time. Instead of Let us make this happen for you, it was go get it done yourself.

 

BJ: dancing was fine with lots of nice music. Not like MSC POESIA though, did not compare and neither did the food. Food on MSC was fabulous this time, even the lobster they got right finally.

[bjcanady]

thanks....i think u had Phoenix Rising in the Wheelhouse, they are good but not near as many hours as MSC.........can u tell me who was in the Bar del Poeti on the Poesia, last trip there was a "duo american" and we are hoping they have been replaced....we board in 2 weeks........thanks in advance

[kywildcatfanone]

Thank you for the great review. What nites were formal? Both sea days?

 

Formal nights were both sea days, Sunday and Thursday.

 

Mike

[chisoxfan]

Yes our times were different. We did not leave our cabin until after 9 for breakfast and we never were able to get through the reservation line twice that we tried after holding on for over 20 min each time. We were told by dining that we could not make a standing reservation , which we did on STAR and also had the same wait staff for the entire cruise, although it was anytime dining. We were told you could only reserve before 6 pm or after 8 pm. We went to the pool area around 11 ish and it was very hard to get any lounge already.

On Princess Cays, yes we knew where to sit for the fruit, but all they served ( maybe our timing again) were bananas, apples and oranges. We got there before 1 pm. Usually there are pineapple, melons, mango and watermelon.

You did mention about the IC and having to flag her down to clean the table. I found that each time going later in the afternoon but they were always busy serving the coffee and not cleaning up any tables. It was hard catching their attention. And I really felt they should have been watching their station and clearing it and cleaning the tables. I never saw them CLEAN the tables , just clear the cups and plates from another person who left it there. I did not enjoy having to wait for them to clear a table and having me wait to find them. Often I found a dirty table and just sat there with DH and thought this is not what it should be, but I am not going to make an issue. But in reality, it was an issue. Should not have been like this. The staff should be watching and clearing before being asked to.

 

We will be leaving on the Grand in a few weeks so all recent posts are of interest and while we know reviews are highly subjective we were concerned about the negative experience that you had (and wish it might have been better). The stark comparison with the MSC Poesia (not really familiar with this line) caused me to do some research and I frankly was encouraged to find the Grand was much more highly rated than the Poesia both in star ratings on this site and with positive reviews. This is not meant to discount your experiences but just to point out that for the majority of past cruisers the Grand has been much better received. I noted comments about the buffet area and frankly I have never been on a full ship where this is a wonderful experience. Yes the food can be good but table availability, cleaning, etc. can be an issue on the finest cruise ships

just because of the nature of the venue.

Likewise, finding a lounger around the pool late morning whether on a cruise ship or at a resort hotel can be a problem.

I would also expect to find some outstanding friendly crew members and some who maybe had a bad day. Missing out on popcorn at MUTS would not cause me much concern nor would the fruit selection on Princess Cays.

I would share some frustrations with these items but not let them ruin my experience and my personality is hardly an easy going undemanding one.

Anyway I do appreciate your taking time to publish your review and I am sure your views are genuine but I have to say in it does not make me concerned about my upcoming cruise. I will be happy to file my subjective report warts and all when we get back.

[zahav1]

We were also on this sailing, and something really noticeable for our group was how people were responding poorly to our santa hats and reindeer/snowman antennas the first 2 days on the ship. By day 3, people warmed up to our group and were openly smiling with us, talking with us, and happy to see our holiday spirit.

 

I agree 100% that Purser's Desk had a sourpuss attitude, and won't go into details, but the negative attitude there was shocking. Overall though, the cruise staff we were in contact with were mostly friendly. My only complaint was, while in Alfredo's Pizzeria (which none of us liked -- the pizza was tasteless, but we admit that we're pizza snobs and enjoy pizza quite often)...Francisco just couldn't stop sweating. When sweat is not just dripping down the side of a person's face, but is also dripping off the chin to the point of nearly dripping onto the table, I have an issue. Francisco carried around a sweat rag that he kept in his back pocket, and used as often as he could, but it was extremely unappetizing to see the sweat collecting on his chin and dripping down. Thankfully, I didn't see it drip in our food or water...THANKFULLY! I did bring this to Pasquale's (Maitre D) attention, and he assured us he'd have a word with Francisco and provide some coaching for him.

 

We enjoyed Sabatini's one night, and while I prefer the old format, the food choices were still vast and we were able to order most of the appetizers to share. For those of you interested in the "Lobster Three Ways", it's really just "Lobster Two Ways" -- a small lobster tail, lobster risotto (scrumptious!), and a lobster drizzle over everything (but the menu says "lobster bisque" even though it's a little glaze they pour on top). For only $20 per person, a visit to Sabatini's is worth it!

 

Our wait staff at late seating was one of the best teams we've ever experienced, and we nominated them for the "You Made the Difference" award. Other than them, I didn't encounter any outstanding service, and the Purser's Desk was below average.

 

Overall, the cruise was fantastic despite the less than ideal weather (though we got some sun in Aruba, on deck when we left Curacao, all day in Princess Cays and each day at sea). The people in our group really made this one of our most fun cruises ever.

 

 

We were on the Grand Dec 10 -17 and found the Purser's Desk service to be wonderful, had two issues which were resolved, never a problem.

 

We loved the pizza in Alfredo's went twice. There were 4 of us, three of us originally from NYC area and loved this pizza.

 

Never had a problem at Horizon Court, in fact when it was busy a waiter always came to our help, took our plates and helped us find a clean table. We mostly wanted to sit outside at the covered area, great place to eat. We found most of the tables clean and never saw people wondering around looking to sit. We never came early so that wasn't the case.

[TravlGrl]

We were on the Grand Dec 10 -17 and found the Purser's Desk service to be wonderful, had two issues which were resolved, never a problem.

 

We loved the pizza in Alfredo's went twice. There were 4 of us, three of us originally from NYC area and loved this pizza.

 

Never had a problem at Horizon Court, in fact when it was busy a waiter always came to our help, took our plates and helped us find a clean table. We mostly wanted to sit outside at the covered area, great place to eat. We found most of the tables clean and never saw people wondering around looking to sit. We never came early so that wasn't the case.

 

We also never had issues finding a clean place to sit in the Horizon Court, and there were 7 of us. We ate during "busy" times and "off" hours, but never had an issue. In fact, at one point, one of the crew helped us by bringing an extra chair since the table only sat 6. We didn't even need to ask; he was proactive and friendly.

 

We ran into our MDR head waiter a couple of times in the Horizon Court too, and he was so happy to see us, striking up a conversation each time. I want to clone him and take him on all future cruises! :D

[camofwilliamsburg]

Timing and location is everything then. HAppy New Year to all.

[Pia1913]

Thanks for all the info on the Grand. We are on it in a couple of weeks and it is really igniting our excitement. We have not been on it since the dry dock so we are excited to see it. A question for those that were just on it regarding formal night. If you want to go to the steak house or Lido on Formal night do you still have to dress formal or is it more relaxed? When we do our annual cruise in Dec, we do all the formal stuff. When we go in Feb we like to just relax and no participate in the formal nights. Nothing against them, just our choice.

 

You never have to be dressed formally; even on formal night. You can still wear shorts at the HC or whatever you want and as for the steak house; wear what you want, though I wouldn't go there in shorts. ;)

[LBL]

I will be on the ship in a week. TrvlGrl, who was the head waiter. . . .I want to make sure I get him as a head waiter.

 

Thanks

[kywildcatfanone]

We will be leaving on the Grand in a few weeks so all recent posts are of interest and while we know reviews are highly subjective we were concerned about the negative experience that you had (and wish it might have been better). The stark comparison with the MSC Poesia (not really familiar with this line) caused me to do some research and I frankly was encouraged to find the Grand was much more highly rated than the Poesia both in star ratings on this site and with positive reviews. This is not meant to discount your experiences but just to point out that for the majority of past cruisers the Grand has been much better received. I noted comments about the buffet area and frankly I have never been on a full ship where this is a wonderful experience. Yes the food can be good but table availability, cleaning, etc. can be an issue on the finest cruise ships

just because of the nature of the venue.

Likewise, finding a lounger around the pool late morning whether on a cruise ship or at a resort hotel can be a problem.

I would also expect to find some outstanding friendly crew members and some who maybe had a bad day. Missing out on popcorn at MUTS would not cause me much concern nor would the fruit selection on Princess Cays.

I would share some frustrations with these items but not let them ruin my experience and my personality is hardly an easy going undemanding one.

Anyway I do appreciate your taking time to publish your review and I am sure your views are genuine but I have to say in it does not make me concerned about my upcoming cruise. I will be happy to file my subjective report warts and all when we get back.

 

Chisoxfan,

 

We found the ship to be overall beautiful, I really love the look of the new Piazza, just georgeous. Overall we found the crew to be helpful and a joy to be around. You will have a great time.

 

Mike

[TravlGrl]

I will be on the ship in a week. TrvlGrl, who was the head waiter. . . .I want to make sure I get him as a head waiter.

 

Thanks

 

He goes by "Dio", but his full name is Dionatilo (but I may not be spelling it correctly). Ask for his section, and tell him that he was recommended by the group of 7 who wore Christmas hats and snowmen/reindeer antennas EVERY night!

[LBL]

Thanks Tara, I will seek him out and tell him you recommended him.

 

Carole

[TravlGrl]

Thanks Tara, I will seek him out and tell him you recommended him.

 

Carole

 

Great! Pasquale is the maitre d'. You can probably talk to him to ask to be seated in Dio's section. If your roll call has a meet & mingle, hopefully Pasquale will attend so you can meet him as well.

[Pia1913]

No guarantee Pasquale is still MD. I know that Fabio Marcotti will be MD shortly, but don't know what date he joins the ship.

[qld cruiser]

Hi Pia, Fabio is a gentleman. been on many cruises out of Australia with him.

 

 

kind regards, Lorraine:):)

[cruisingcanadian]

Timing and location is everything then. HAppy New Year to all.

 

And it goes for every cruise line-even for MSC.:p