Tell me about the Grand

[cpcanuck]

Another difference with Grand Princess is that she does not have the Thermal Suite that was incorporated first with Star Princess' design.

 

Just to clarify - does this mean that the Grand does not have a Thermal Suite at all? Is there a Lotus Spa and what would be the comparable perk for suite guests on this ship if any? I understand one of the suite perks to be access to Thermal Suite. Perhaps not on this ship? Thanks!

[runnerodb83]

Just to clarify - does this mean that the Grand does not have a Thermal Suite at all? Is there a Lotus Spa and what would be the comparable perk for suite guests on this ship if any? I understand one of the suite perks to be access to Thermal Suite. Perhaps not on this ship? Thanks!

 

I do not believe it has the thermal suite. I dont think it makes as much money as it costs to put in for princess, so they abandoned retrofitting the older ships with it that don't already have it. There are the standard hot and dry saunas adjacent to the Lotus Pool, in the same configuration as the Golden. Cant speak to the suite benefits.

 

For what its worth, i was hesitant to sail on the Grand, so i booked a 1 night re positioning cruise because it was $29 per person plus taxes. I was not expecting much and actually initially regretted not booking non the Amsterdam which was doing the same route on the same day for only slightly more. Having been on the Star and Golden, I went in to the cruise thinking this would be a let down compared to those two, both of which I enjoyed. The embarkation was the worst I have ever seen at Vancouver (Ballantyne)...over 3 hours...but when we got on, it was a totally different story, everything was excellent. Disembarkation was awful to, and that was due to customs officers, not PCL. The memories on the Grand while sailing pretty much wipe away the negative ones however. As for the ship and my preconceived notions...

I was wrong...way wrong. Yes, as folks have mentioned, the central staircase is not available, and the closets are half the size or less of its sisters. I feel like you do get a slightly larger bathroom however and it seemed like the corridors were wider in the passenger areas - no longer shimmying around housekeeping carts - 2 could pass each other at once it seemed.

 

The ship has a few niceties that the later grand class ships dont have...its not huge, but get this, the promenade deck is actually TEAK. Seems silly, but this ship was conceived when people still cared about that, and its a nice touch. As for the ship since the refit, I was quite impressed. I've always found the princess decor to be a bit of a contrived mess of faux woods and bland italian style. This ship has much of that, but the atrium is much more cosmopolitan than its sisters and it just feels a bit more with the times and less princess cookied cutter. I really enjoyed it. The upgraded Horizon Court is nice and without skywalkers, the back is nice and wide open.

 

And the One5, as far as ship nightclubs go, is as close to a Vegas style venue as you can find on the sea in my opinion. They really knocked it out of the park with this one, there's dance area, there's big cocoon like booths with light accents, a nice bar, great views, and an exclusive outdoor area with nice loungers and heaters. This area very much impressed me.

 

There's something special about the Grand...As a frequent re positioning cruise passenger, I look for the more unique ones, and since the ship is older, PCL seems to deploy her to test the waters of some of the more unusual itineraries, and for that, I'm pleased.

Edited August 8, 2014 by runnerodb83

[cpcanuck]

I do not believe it has the thermal suite. I dont think it makes as much money as it costs to put in for princess, so they abandoned retrofitting the older ships with it that don't already have it. There are the standard hot and dry saunas adjacent to the Lotus Pool, in the same configuration as the Golden. Cant speak to the suite benefits.

 

For what its worth, i was hesitant to sail on the Grand, so i booked a 1 night re positioning cruise because it was $29 per person plus taxes. I was not expecting much and actually initially regretted not booking non the Amsterdam which was doing the same route on the same day for only slightly more. Having been on the Star and Golden, I went in to the cruise thinking this would be a let down compared to those two, both of which I enjoyed. The embarkation was the worst I have ever seen at Vancouver (Ballantyne)...over 3 hours...but when we got on, it was a totally different story, everything was excellent. Disembarkation was awful to, and that was due to customs officers, not PCL. The memories on the Grand while sailing pretty much wipe away the negative ones however. As for the ship and my preconceived notions...

I was wrong...way wrong. Yes, as folks have mentioned, the central staircase is not available, and the closets are half the size or less of its sisters. I feel like you do get a slightly larger bathroom however and it seemed like the corridors were wider in the passenger areas - no longer shimmying around housekeeping carts - 2 could pass each other at once it seemed.

 

The ship has a few niceties that the later grand class ships dont have...its not huge, but get this, the promenade deck is actually TEAK. Seems silly, but this ship was conceived when people still cared about that, and its a nice touch. As for the ship since the refit, I was quite impressed. I've always found the princess decor to be a bit of a contrived mess of faux woods and bland italian style. This ship has much of that, but the atrium is much more cosmopolitan than its sisters and it just feels a bit more with the times and less princess cookied cutter. I really enjoyed it. The upgraded Horizon Court is nice and without skywalkers, the back is nice and wide open.

 

And the One5, as far as ship nightclubs go, is as close to a Vegas style venue as you can find on the sea in my opinion. They really knocked it out of the park with this one, there's dance area, there's big cocoon like booths with light accents, a nice bar, great views, and an exclusive outdoor area with nice loungers and heaters. This area very much impressed me.

 

There's something special about the Grand...As a frequent re positioning cruise passenger, I look for the more unique ones, and since the ship is older, PCL seems to deploy her to test the waters of some of the more unusual itineraries, and for that, I'm pleased.

 

Wow! Thank you for such a detailed response and personal reflection of your experience of the Grand. You must have been reading my thoughts. I was feeling concerned about the age of the ship and some of the issues that you address. Thanks for taking the time to offer such helpful insights!

[shredie]

 

And the One5, as far as ship nightclubs go, is as close to a Vegas style venue as you can find on the sea in my opinion. They really knocked it out of the park with this one, there's dance area, there's big cocoon like booths with light accents, a nice bar, great views, and an exclusive outdoor area with nice loungers and heaters. This area very much impressed me.

 

 

Now I'm really looking forward to my cruise. The outdoor seating area sounds wonderful. Thanks for the input!

[kcruzgrl]

We were on the Grand in June. This was our first princess cruise out of 15 cruises. We had the floor to ceiling window wall ocean view right next to the Princess suite on deck 14, compared to other lines, I loved the layout of the closet and we had no issues with space. We loved the room and he private hallway we were in with the suites.

 

I do know that Leaves did have hours but we never went there. I did see people drinking tea and it was a neat concept but we are not tea drinkers.

 

The layout was different with no center staircase as others have mentioned, but no big deal.

 

I do have to be honest when I say that this was probably the least favorite ship we have ever sailed. I think it had more to do with overall experience. I found the food (on this ship) not great. It was truly the worst buffet and buffet layout on any ship we have been on. That being said, if you avoid the buffet at all times, the food was fine, but not even as good as the one Carnival cruise we had been on, and we were surprised by that.

 

The casino is not the largest at sea, but I love that it does have windows so you can see the water and have daylight!

 

We still had a wonderful time, we won't let anything ruin a cruise for us and we always go with an open mind. I just don't think we would ever try Princess again. We are just hooked on the Celebrity S Class ships and have been spoiled.

[DCT61]

We are the opposite of the previous poster and enjoy PRINCESS over CELEBRITY. While we sailed with Celebrity several times, the service and product just didn't meet the hype anymore. The new "S" class ships seemed to have lost the connection with the sea, by doing away with a promenade deck (they have one, but its located behind lifeboats and has a limited view) and not having an ocean view pool...things that we really like on the GRAND PRINCESS. The service seems more personal and less pretentious on Princess. "Different strokes" I guess.

[san diego sue]

The Grand does have problems still. We were on the first cruise after to refit. Won't go into the problems passengers experienced as that was a while ago. However, elevators being out of order and having problems

still exist. When we were on that cruise, swore off the Grand totally.

However, I have since changed my mind and we sail on her again this

November. All ships have problems (toilet issues once in a while). Food is subjective. As a frequent Princess cruiser, sometimes same ship, 6 months later will have totally different food tastes. Menus are the same on Princess ships but Chefs change.

I know to book either forward or aft if I want to have a staircase close by so no midship staircase not an issue for me.

The Grand public areas are beautiful.

[BabsinTX]

The Grand is my least-favorite Princess ship but it's been years since I've cruised on her and we're booked for a HI cruise in February on her. Like the Royal/Regal, there are no center stairs so if this is an issue for you, book your cabin accordingly.

 

Pam, I'm on the Grand the week before you for our first Princess cruise to Hawaii. On the deck plans I see what appear to be central stairs (by the panoramic elevators). These appear in the 2014-15 Cruise Atlas and online. What am I missing?:confused:

[nukesubsailor]

Pam, I'm on the Grand the week before you for our first Princess cruise to Hawaii. On the deck plans I see what appear to be central stairs (by the panoramic elevators). These appear in the 2014-15 Cruise Atlas and online. What am I missing?:confused:

 

The central stairs on the Grand are for crew use only unless there is an emergency. We have used them as directed by a crew member during the required muster drill on embarkation day. These stairs are not decorated or carpeted like the passenger stairs.

[BabsinTX]

The central stairs on the Grand are for crew use only unless there is an emergency. We have used them as directed by a crew member during the required muster drill on embarkation day. These stairs are not decorated or carpeted like the passenger stairs.

 

Why show crew stairs on deck plans meant to be viewed by passengers? At least, show them in red as emergency access only.