Grand Princess Anyone??

[emsapb]

I'm considering taking the Grand transatlantic cruise in 11/05.

I could use some advice. Does anyone recommend this trip? Also, can anyone comment on the Grand in general regarding cabins, balconies..covered or not, etc.

Many thanks.

Ei

[Druke I]

I for one enjoy trans-Atlantics, and like trans-Pacifics even better.

 

One word of caution re the Grand class of ships - should you hit rough water, they are not good sea-boats.

 

On Golden Princess' trans-Atlantic, 8-02, we hit two major Atlantic storms out of the Azores. We had bow-slap spray raining down on our balcony on Caribe deck (deck 10), and several windows along Prom deck "blew out" due to ship's flexing and bucking, fighting for headway. There were several (many) sick passengers on that crossing, which was 6 hrs late arriving into NYC, arriving third behind two other ships, on a Sunday, with only enough Customs/Immigration/teamsters to handle one ship at a time. Most of us missed our flights - but Princess stepped up to the bat, and arranged hotels, meals, and new flights for us.

 

I've been in similar storms and sea-states on the late, lamented Royal Princess, which handles rough water extremely well. Royal Princess has a liner-like hull, with good length/beam ratio. I'm going to miss that classy ship.

[jnc411]

I was looking at the same ship and crossing in 2006. Interesting to hear about how she takes rough seas, I have not been on a grand class ship, have been on Sea Princess, Sapphire and Regal, have not had a problem, but this might affect my decision about a transatlantic trip. Isn't it more likely that you could encounter rough seas on a transatlantic ?? I really don't know just wondering and trying to decide what to do. Appreciate the input and informtion from Druke. I will keep watching this thread with interest.

Cori

[Babr]

Not good sea boats in rough water? Does that mean dangerous or uncomfortable -- or both?

Would the route from Rome to FLL in November be any less likely to encounter bad weather than the route from more northern regions to New York?

[Druke I]

babr

 

Dangerous - no more so than any ship on the open ocean. Uncomfortable - depends on your stomach. I was not distressed on our rough crossing, but many people were.

 

Ocean state is always a crapshoot - sometimes smooth as glass, and sometimes very rough. Pure luck of the draw, I think.

 

Reference a more southerly route - we took Maasdam Lisbon to Fort Lauderdale, 11-95, and it was very rough west of the Azores. Ship took on water through the hawsepipe (anchor chainway), and some dozen forward cabins on Main deck (including ours) were flooded to a depth of about 6 inches. Luckily, they had other cabins to which we could be moved.

 

The smoothest trans-Atlantic I have been on was 3-98 Buenos Aires to Barcelona, Royal Princess, crossing the South Atlantic between Recife Brazil and Dakar Senegal.

 

Same year (Aug) crossed North Atlantic, again on Royal Princess, Southampton to NYC, via Iceland, Greenland, and Newfoundland. It was a little bumpy, but the Royal Princess has a liner-like hull, with good length/beam ratio, and rides much better in rough seas than the Grand class.

[emsapb]

Michael,

 

Thanks very much for the reply and the information. I was thinking maybe November would be less rough as the storm season is just about over then. But I guess it would be a lot cooler weather too.

 

Ei

 

I for one enjoy trans-Atlantics, and like trans-Pacifics even better.

 

One word of caution re the Grand class of ships - should you hit rough water, they are not good sea-boats.

 

On Golden Princess' trans-Atlantic, 8-02, we hit two major Atlantic storms out of the Azores. We had bow-slap spray raining down on our balcony on Caribe deck (deck 10), and several windows along Prom deck "blew out" due to ship's flexing and bucking, fighting for headway. There were several (many) sick passengers on that crossing, which was 6 hrs late arriving into NYC, arriving third behind two other ships, on a Sunday, with only enough Customs/Immigration/teamsters to handle one ship at a time. Most of us missed our flights - but Princess stepped up to the bat, and arranged hotels, meals, and new flights for us.

 

I've been in similar storms and sea-states on the late, lamented Royal Princess, which handles rough water extremely well. Royal Princess has a liner-like hull, with good length/beam ratio. I'm going to miss that classy ship.

[ssbeagle]

There is a thread on the Princess Roll Call board for the 11/10/05 cruise. Several of us are going on that cruise. I have been on the Grand in the Caribbean twice and found it fairly smooth. We were on the sister ship, Star, a couple of months ago. If you want to go, I recommend a cabin mid ship. The motion if any won't be as bad. I would not recommend a cabin in the front because you get a lot of vibration or something. The first time on the Grand we were in the first cabin on B deck and I didn't feel too good and had to use Dramamine. The next time we were mid ship and I was fine on Caribe deck. We are really looking forward to our transatlantic cruise.

[emsapb]

Thanks SSBeagle. Do you have any idea on what to expect weather wise in ports and sea days in November?

How do I find the thread you mentioned in your posting?

I appreciate any information.

 

There is a thread on the Princess Roll Call board for the 11/10/05 cruise. Several of us are going on that cruise. I have been on the Grand in the Caribbean twice and found it fairly smooth. We were on the sister ship, Star, a couple of months ago. If you want to go, I recommend a cabin mid ship. The motion if any won't be as bad. I would not recommend a cabin in the front because you get a lot of vibration or something. The first time on the Grand we were in the first cabin on B deck and I didn't feel too good and had to use Dramamine. The next time we were mid ship and I was fine on Caribe deck. We are really looking forward to our transatlantic cruise.

[dsawyer]

I have been on The Grand during two different thunderstorms on different voyages. One of them was in the Med. If I hadn't seen the lightening flashing, I wouldn't have even known we were in the storms.

[SWEETSEA]

I LOVE The Grand. We were on her last December, when the weather was bad. No problems at all. I'm already planning my next "Grand" cruise!

[ssbeagle]

Thanks SSBeagle. Do you have any idea on what to expect weather wise in ports and sea days in November?

How do I find the thread you mentioned in your posting?

I appreciate any information.

 

 

Just go to Princess Roll call and look for the thread that says Grand Princess 11/10/05. It already has about 3 pages worth of info on the cruise. And new people keep joining it now that it's getting a bit closer.

 

We were in the Med once in October and for the most part the weather was really nice. It can get a bit cool and once we had rough seas when we landed in Cannes and the tenders were having a hard time getting back to the ship. They even postponed one of the shows that night and did another one instead as the dancers couldn't safely dance. It didn't last long though and it was a much smaller ship than the Grand. Once we were on the Costa del Sol of Spain and it rained most of the week. It's hard to say what it will do. I plan on bringing a light jacket and sweater just in case and an umbrella.

[kadenajack]

I suppose we were fortunate, but we just got off the Grand's transatlantic crossing from Galveston to Rome and we had glassy, calm seas the whole way. I think it's really luck of the draw on the weather.

[Druke I]

Kadeanjack

 

Agree completely on weather and sea state - pure luck of the draw, or as I like to say to confuse our British compatriots, a crapshoot.

[griswalds]

We were on the Grand in Mrch 2005, our 9th cruise. It is a very nice ship and we loved the amount of deck space which surprised us....especially at the back of the ship. It is a very smooth ship. You have to sift through all the comments on the boards and realize thay many people will complain about the most petty issue. If are concerned about a smooth ride, book a cabin that is around the middle of the ship. You do run the risk of rough water on any ship, you can't help that. Our cabin was 3 from the front and it was fine.

 

All of our cruises have been great.

 

A true Griswald experience

[CruisinChris]

I was on the same transatlantic as Druke and this was hands down our favorite cruise of all time. I would describe the motion as ranging from sounding like you're running through pot holes (or repeatedly banging your hand on a table very fast) to very deep pitching. We had our table in the Horizon Court cleared as we ran through a trough. We were lucky enough to have a very stable stateroom (remember Skywalker's moves the center of gravity backward on this ship - I would guess Wheelhouse Bar ended up being more center and we were just above there on Dolphin.). Friends forward on Dolphin near the forward stairs had a rough time of it. I would imagine the weather could be significantly different in November than early September.

 

All that said, this is a great trip and if you love cruising and sea days, it's the thing for you!

[AliceS]

Kadenajack,

 

We are on the Grand on 6/7, please tell me about the shows that you enjoyed and any other Grand information. Did you do PC or Traditional dining?

[Druke I]

Cruisin'Chris

 

I didn't say I didn't enjoy the crossing - I love trans-Atlantics, enjoyed that crossing, and watching people who had never experienced rough water turning green etc. I was merely pointing out that the Grand class are not very good "sea boats" in very rough water, and the Atlantic can be rough at times.