Booked in the infamous E732 on the Grand

[Britinsac]

My wife and two adult kids are cruising with Princess for the first time and we wanted a suite so that we have a big enough balcony for us all to spend time together while at sea.

I have read a lot of reviews about E732 being over the Fusion night club, it seems some people were bothered by noise and others were not. I think our solution will be to spend time in Fusion until 1am and enjoy ourselves instead of worrying about sleeping early!

We have cruised Celebrity on Silhouette which was beautiful and the food was fabulous, especially the breakfast buffet. We had the drinks package each but felt we did not really use it. If we drink two or so cocktails each a day and a couple of coffees and waters would it be worth getting on the Grand? We have no idea of pricing of cocktails, water or coffees. We don't want to scrimp but for four adults its another 2,000 for the beverage package.

I have read a lot of the Grand Princess reviews that mention the ship is getting old and there are leaks and problems with the A/C. Curious to know what the seasoned Elite Princess members think of this ship. One thing is for sure we will have a good time and nothing will get in the way of that! Thanks so much for any advice or info!

Edited October 14, 2015 by Britinsac

[ar1950]

My wife and two adult kids are cruising with Princess for the first time and we wanted a suite so that we have a big enough balcony for us all to spend time together while at sea.

I have read a lot of reviews about E732 being over the Fusion night club, it seems some people were bothered by noise and others were not. I think our solution will be to spend time in Fusion until 1am and enjoy ourselves instead of worrying about sleeping early!............................

 

I have read a lot of the Grand Princess reviews that mention the ship is getting old and there are leaks and problems with the A/C. Curious to know what the seasoned Elite Princess members think of this ship. One thing is for sure we will have a good time and nothing will get in the way of that! Thanks so much for any advice or info!

 

You will want to be in the Vista Lounge if you are on the Grand.

Nice cabin location, btw. Have a Great cruise.

[Britinsac]

You will want to be in the Vista Lounge if you are on the Grand.

Nice cabin location, btw. Have a Great cruise.

 

Thanks so much I will check out the Vista Lounge for sure.

[AZbeachboy]

I have been on the Grand twice, but not recently. It is my favorite, but I know it is getting old. However, Princess takes care of maintenance pretty well. Have a great cruise.

 

We are taking one of my adult children and his wife on the Crown in February. I can't wait. We are all spread around the country and are only able to see each other when large scale events are planned. This will be more intimate.

[Britinsac]

I have been on the Grand twice, but not recently. It is my favorite, but I know it is getting old. However, Princess takes care of maintenance pretty well. Have a great cruise.

 

We are taking one of my adult children and his wife on the Crown in February. I can't wait. We are all spread around the country and are only able to see each other when large scale events are planned. This will be more intimate.

Thanks so much for your reply. The main reason we chose this cruise was that it leaves from San Francisco (we live in Sacramento area) and so we don't have to fly to join it. It will be really nice to just drive to the port and not have to worry about delays and cancelled flights! First family holiday for many years.. My daughter is in New York and coming in for Christmas before we head out on the cruise in early January. Great opportunity for some family time!

[cincy_jt]

Glad to see your post. We just booked the same cabin on the Grand for a 2016 Alaska cruise. I'll be interested hear what you think. We had also seen some reviews about noise from the lounge but thought the positives outweighed the negatives. Enjoy your trip!

[Griller]

My wife and two adult kids are cruising with Princess for the first time and we wanted a suite so that we have a big enough balcony for us all to spend time together while at sea.

I have read a lot of reviews about E732 being over the Fusion night club, it seems some people were bothered by noise and others were not. I think our solution will be to spend time in Fusion until 1am and enjoy ourselves instead of worrying about sleeping early!

We have cruised Celebrity on Silhouette which was beautiful and the food was fabulous, especially the breakfast buffet. We had the drinks package each but felt we did not really use it. If we drink two or so cocktails each a day and a couple of coffees and waters would it be worth getting on the Grand? We have no idea of pricing of cocktails, water or coffees. We don't want to scrimp but for four adults its another 2,000 for the beverage package.

I have read a lot of the Grand Princess reviews that mention the ship is getting old and there are leaks and problems with the A/C. Curious to know what the seasoned Elite Princess members think of this ship. One thing is for sure we will have a good time and nothing will get in the way of that! Thanks so much for any advice or info!

 

I haven't been on Grand since just after they took Skywalkers off but as you say you are in a suite the you may have the opportunity to breakfast in Sabatinis rather the regular buffet. If you thought the breakfast buffet on your previous Celebrity cruise was fabulous then you don't expect too much from Grand and you won't be disappointed.

From what you say I can't see it would absolutely not be worth you all getting the drinks package.

From what I remember the Vista Lounge is not busy late. It was rows of theater style seating last time I was in there, not nightclub which was elsewhere. May have changed, no doubt a recent Grand cruiser will know.

You have to remember Grand was the first built of that class of ship and is quite old now, but Princess do maintain quite well generally.

I love the Grand class ships, specially the ones which, unlike Grand, still have Skywalkers, they have more public space than the newer ships.

Edited October 15, 2015 by Griller

[Chuckwick3]

I will be in E732 on the Star in just 28 days. We are going on a girls cruise or a Mom's weekend away as the Husbands like to call it. I don't think we get perks for being in a mini-suite, but if any happen to come our way, we will take them! I will update you all on the noise as I have read the same comments. I believe the Grand is the sister ship to the Star. If not, I will update anyways :-)

[Britinsac]

Glad to see your post. We just booked the same cabin on the Grand for a 2016 Alaska cruise. I'll be interested hear what you think. We had also seen some reviews about noise from the lounge but thought the positives outweighed the negatives. Enjoy your trip!

 

Sorry for tardy reply, time got away with me and have not had a moment to get online and think about vacation. But now it's only 29 days to go! I will be sure to report back on our experience.

Cheers for now!

[Britinsac]

Thank you for your reply! I just got round to thinking about our vacation again...all good information

 

Cheers

[Colo Cruiser]

Coming fast! :)

[Britinsac]

I will be in E732 on the Star in just 28 days. We are going on a girls cruise or a Mom's weekend away as the Husbands like to call it. I don't think we get perks for being in a mini-suite, but if any happen to come our way, we will take them! I will update you all on the noise as I have read the same comments. I believe the Grand is the sister ship to the Star. If not, I will update anyways :-)

 

How was your cruise? I saw you said that you were in a mini suite... on Grand it is a Vista Suite so I am hoping that you go that too!

Thanks so much

[Britinsac]

Yes it is.. I see the Grand had a fire... my heart sank when I saw that but it seems all is well.

Getting excited now!

[partybarbie]

I've been on the Grand three times, twice when she was new and, once just last month. I went with no expectations and was pleasantly surprised. I really liked the One Five night club (and I'm a huge fan of Skywalker's, so I didn't think that I would). I liked the ship enough that I'm going back in 29 days too, for my birthday.:D

 

As far as the drink package, it depends upon how much one drinks as to whether or not to buy it. DH buys it for himself, then uses the sticker to buy the wine for dinner. I buy my drinks as I go. My tab runs about $30.00 a day, but I go to the Elite happy or the BOGO to save money. We also have the free one-time mini-bar and bring on our two bottles of wine, so that helps.

[Chuckwick3]

How was your cruise? I saw you said that you were in a mini suite... on Grand it is a Vista Suite so I am hoping that you go that too!

Thanks so much

 

We were on the Star Princess in E732 and really loved our room. Being that it was a cruise to Catalina & Ensenada, it was quite mellow. We had wonderful weather and spent every morning on that huge balcony with our room service breakfast. We usually ended up out their again with our wine before dinner.

 

We encountered two problems with the room. First we asked for extra chairs as there were four of us and only two chairs. We were told that wasn't allowed, so we brought out the desk chair and used the footstool for the other chair. Also, one night the bass coming from the Vista lounge was very loud and our room was vibrating a bit. We put our earplugs in and went to sleep without much problem. Other then that, our room was nice and we would book it again just for the oversized balcony.

[CruisingJs]

She glad you will be sailing with us! In your suite you will have a complimentary mini bar. You can either keep it or trade it for two coffee cards. The coffee cards are used for specialty coffees at the International Cafe and for unlimited brewed coffee. You will also be getting complimentary specialty coffees when you breakfast at Sabatini's. Plus each adult can bring on one bottle of wine without paying corkage fees. With all that, you wouldn't get your money's worth buying the drink package. See you on board!

[Britinsac]

She glad you will be sailing with us! In your suite you will have a complimentary mini bar. You can either keep it or trade it for two coffee cards. The coffee cards are used for specialty coffees at the International Cafe and for unlimited brewed coffee. You will also be getting complimentary specialty coffees when you breakfast at Sabatini's. Plus each adult can bring on one bottle of wine without paying corkage fees. With all that, you wouldn't get your money's worth buying the drink package. See you on board!

That's great to know.. I would rather have the coffee cards for sure! We are not big drinkers but we are partial to a good cappaccino :)

My son is concerned about formal night..will he be ok in a formal shirt and tie or will he need a jacket?

[Britinsac]

I've been on the Grand three times, twice when she was new and, once just last month. I went with no expectations and was pleasantly surprised. I really liked the One Five night club (and I'm a huge fan of Skywalker's, so I didn't think that I would). I liked the ship enough that I'm going back in 29 days too, for my birthday.:D

 

As far as the drink package, it depends upon how much one drinks as to whether or not to buy it. DH buys it for himself, then uses the sticker to buy the wine for dinner. I buy my drinks as I go. My tab runs about $30.00 a day, but I go to the Elite happy or the BOGO to save money. We also have the free one-time mini-bar and bring on our two bottles of wine, so that helps.

 

I think we will not bother with the drinks package, my son doesn't and my wife and I are real lightweights so don't think it will be worth it. Hopefully there will be some 20 somethings on the ship too for the kids.

[Britinsac]

We were on the Star Princess in E732 and really loved our room. Being that it was a cruise to Catalina & Ensenada, it was quite mellow. We had wonderful weather and spent every morning on that huge balcony with our room service breakfast. We usually ended up out their again with our wine before dinner.

 

We encountered two problems with the room. First we asked for extra chairs as there were four of us and only two chairs. We were told that wasn't allowed, so we brought out the desk chair and used the footstool for the other chair. Also, one night the bass coming from the Vista lounge was very loud and our room was vibrating a bit. We put our earplugs in and went to sleep without much problem. Other then that, our room was nice and we would book it again just for the oversized balcony.

 

Glad you had a great time! Thank you for getting back with me on the room.

I will be happy to sit in a chair.. also I think some days will be cold going down to Mexico and then back again so we probably would not need four. I think if we get some noise from the Vista room we will just tune it out too. I am too long in the tooth to let that spoil my vacation!

[Britinsac]

Glad to see your post. We just booked the same cabin on the Grand for a 2016 Alaska cruise. I'll be interested hear what you think. We had also seen some reviews about noise from the lounge but thought the positives outweighed the negatives. Enjoy your trip!

 

I will keep you posted!

[CruisingJs]

That's great to know.. I would rather have the coffee cards for sure! We are not big drinkers but we are partial to a good cappaccino :)

My son is concerned about formal night..will he be ok in a formal shirt and tie or will he need a jacket?

 

He will be fine with a long sleeved shirt and tie.

[pris993]

We are elite on Princess and elite on Celebrity, we have cruised the Grand twice, once in l998 when it was new, did a cruise from Istanbul to Barcelona, the second time we did a 7 day California coastal a year or so ago, to check out the ship. We always book mini suite. We did not see any of the complaints others posted when we did a Grand Princess recently. We are booked to go on a New Years cruise and will leave on 12/30 for 10 days to Mexico.

 

Can't address the noise issue, since we have not stayed in the cabin in question.

 

We have cruised Celebrity many times, most recently on the Silhouette in the Mediterranean. The buffet on Celebrity is very good, in terms of food service it is the best. We don't care for the service in the MDR on X, too noisey - crowded and service and quality of food is hit and miss for us on X. Since the buffet is so good we stick with the buffet when on X. By contrast, Princess does a nice 24 hr food service with lots of variety... actually menu changes on Princess - Celebrity the buffet items are the same every day. We also find food and service in the MDR on Princess is more responsive to request to off menu orders, X does not do this well all. We typically have breakfast in our cabin on both Princess and Celebrity. Room service on both is very good.

 

Celebrity is very modern, Princess is a more traditional cruise experience, we prefer Princess to Celebrity but do cruise on both.

 

Hope you enjoy the Grand. If you have more questions would be happy to response if I can.

[Britinsac]

:-) Thanks Janice.

[Britinsac]

We are elite on Princess and elite on Celebrity, we have cruised the Grand twice, once in l998 when it was new, did a cruise from Istanbul to Barcelona, the second time we did a 7 day California coastal a year or so ago, to check out the ship. We always book mini suite. We did not see any of the complaints others posted when we did a Grand Princess recently. We are booked to go on a New Years cruise and will leave on 12/30 for 10 days to Mexico.

 

Can't address the noise issue, since we have not stayed in the cabin in question.

 

We have cruised Celebrity many times, most recently on the Silhouette in the Mediterranean. The buffet on Celebrity is very good, in terms of food service it is the best. We don't care for the service in the MDR on X, too noisey - crowded and service and quality of food is hit and miss for us on X. Since the buffet is so good we stick with the buffet when on X. By contrast, Princess does a nice 24 hr food service with lots of variety... actually menu changes on Princess - Celebrity the buffet items are the same every day. We also find food and service in the MDR on Princess is more responsive to request to off menu orders, X does not do this well all. We typically have breakfast in our cabin on both Princess and Celebrity. Room service on both is very good.

 

Celebrity is very modern, Princess is a more traditional cruise experience, we prefer Princess to Celebrity but do cruise on both.

 

Hope you enjoy the Grand. If you have more questions would be happy to response if I can.

 

Thank you so much for all this information, and it helps to know we made a good choice. My wife is a long formal gown kinda girl.. which was perfect on Celebrity, I wore a tux...will we be overdressed and perhaps maybe should go for lounge suit and cocktail dress (her not me)...?

[partybarbie]

Thank you so much for all this information, and it helps to know we made a good choice. My wife is a long formal gown kinda girl.. which was perfect on Celebrity, I wore a tux...will we be overdressed and perhaps maybe should go for lounge suit and cocktail dress (her not me)...?

 

Most Princess passengers take formal to mean a dark suit for a man, and a cocktail dress or black pants and a sparkly top for a woman. You will be more formally dressed than most in a tux and a long gown, but there will be other men in tuxes and some women in long gowns. You should wear whatever you are the most comfortable in. Some passengers won't dress formally at all.