2021 Redeploy Grand Princess for Star Princess - differences?

[M&M cruiseaholics]

My Alaska May 2021 cruise has re-deployed the Grand Princess in place of the Star Princess.  I know the ships are the same class and that the Grand is 4 years older than the Star.  Besides the large protrusion on the aft of Star, are there any other differences between the 2 ships?

[Paula_MacFan]

Grand Princess overview https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/ships/ap-grand-princess/

 

Star Princess overview https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/ships/tp-star-princess/

 

We were also told yesterday our June Alaska cruisetour was switched from Star to Grand.  We've sailed on the Grand twice but it was years ago when she was new.  It looks like many upgrades have been made, such as adding the Intl Cafe, Alfredos, etc. 

[Abercrombie2019]

29 minutes ago, M&M cruiseaholics said:

My Alaska May 2021 cruise has re-deployed the Grand Princess in place of the Star Princess.  I know the ships are the same class and that the Grand is 4 years older than the Star.  Besides the large protrusion on the aft of Star, are there any other differences between the 2 ships?

The large protrusion on the aft of the Star is Skywalkers Nightclub.  (Skywalkers was removed from the Grand.)

The Grand has Window Suites on Deck 6 (Fiesta).  The window suites are S7 suites (without balconies).

[gardenbunny]

We had just booked this cruise on Star for Alaska August 2021 on 8/25!!  Got notice this morning.  

We were replacing our Cunard because they had cancelled the Elizabeth.  I was just looking at Grand deck plans .. Princess said it was refurbished March 2019.  

However with all the “musical ships” redeployment currently being shuffled, I would not be surprised to see it change again before they start saling again!!  

Must be a logistic nightmare for determining ships, crew, ports, provisions....

[skynight]

Sister ships, almost the same

Grand has Window suites, Alfredo's, Club One5 instead of Skywalker's, for most cabins Grand has roughly 3 ft. open closets vs. the 6 ft open closets on the Star.

There are also some other differences like the location of the youth center, layout of the gym and a few other minor differences that you can find by comparing the deck plans. 

[jondfk]

I would add that Grand had a fairly thorough dry dock in March of '19 which spiffed things up considerably (we were on the last sailing before and the second sailing after - the differences were striking).

 

S7 Window Suites were always our favorites, but likely no more post Travis.

 

Alfredo's is perhaps the most distinctive difference - and it's a very nice addition that Star simply can't match.

 

Grand remains our 2nd favorite in the entire fleet, trailing only Coral.  We like Star too and make good use of Skywalkers.

[cr8tiv1]

It takes a L O N G while before the switched cruises show up on Princess' site.  First they need to make sure all passengers are transferred before opening up the available cabins.  

 

I just checked to see the Grand's schedule.  Nothing new posted yet.

[caribill]

Another difference is that the open closet in most cases is about a foot less in width on the Grand.

 

Also, Grand center stairway is not available to passengers above deck 7. It is crew only.

[Cruise Wonderland]

44 minutes ago, caribill said:

Also, Grand center stairway is not available to passengers above deck 7. It is crew only.

 

Wow my first time to hear about this.

I only know that this is a trouble on the Royal Class ships, but never know GRAND also has this issue (since I've been on Diamond / Sapphire / Golden but they do not have this problem).

[caribill]

2 minutes ago, Cruise Wonderland said:

 

Wow my first time to hear about this.

I only know that this is a trouble on the Royal Class ships, but never know GRAND also has this issue (since I've been on Diamond / Sapphire / Golden but they do not have this problem).

 

After the Grand, Princess did correct that flaw for all the newer ships until the Royal.

 

They only did it on the Royal to save some $$$ during its construction so they did not have to make that stairway suitable for passengers.

[Cruise Wonderland]

6 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

After the Grand, Princess did correct that flaw for all the newer ships until the Royal.

 

They only did it on the Royal to save some $$$ during its construction so they did not have to make that stairway suitable for passengers.

Thank you so much. I just made some research and found your comment in another thread in 2017.

Can't believe that even the deck plan of GRAND is incorrect for so many years.

 

That means GRAND is the only ship now among Grand Class + Royal Class that do not have a (passenger) midship staircase.

 

 

[skynight]

5 hours ago, caribill said:

 

After the Grand, Princess did correct that flaw for all the newer ships until the Royal.

 

They only did it on the Royal to save some $$$ during its construction so they did not have to make that stairway suitable for passengers.

We were on the Royal prior to the conversion of the center stairs. The ship's architect was on board and gave a talk in Princess Live. Place was packed. Many questions regarding why there was no center staircase. His answers, very few use the center staircase. This answer was challenged. I asked him what is more costly the extra cost to include the stairs in the initial construction, or all the negative comments regarding the ship? His answer, you may have a point. You all know the results, center stairs converted on the Royal and Regal probably at a higher cost than if completed during the build.

[Cruise Raider]

The Grand is definitely showing her age, even after the most refurbishment.  The staff / crew on the Grand are consistently wonderful.  The food has always been better, too, IMO ... although, I understand the staff and food can turn around on a dime.  Although, I have several times on each of these two ships and that's been my observation over the years.  

The major flaw on the Grand is that lack of the center staircase for passenger use past deck 7.  It creates a bottle neck in front of the hallway that goes in front of the photo area and Explorers lounge area when attempting to use the staircase towards the aft.  There is only one passageway open there, too ... so, at times, it is very congested.  Oftentimes, this also creates a wait midship elevators.  My suggestion, the forward stairs are the way to go, even if you want to go aft.  

The Grand has also replaced Skywalkers with the One 5 Club, which isn't a great replacement IMO but, it is what it is.  One nice feature the Grand has is just outside the One 5 Club on either side of the ship and it is a covered outdoor seating area with comfy outdoor furniture.  One side is smoking and one side is not ... but, we've tended to see smokers ignore the signs out there.  But, when they don't, it is a great place to relax, read, meet up with friends, etc.  

Inside the cabins, they are much the same except the closets are quite a bit smaller.  I don't really know what they did with the extra space as I believe the cabin itself is the same size as on the Star.  It's not really a big deal, however, for a longer trip, it might be a bit cramped for some.  We usually pack on the light side, thus, it's never really bothered us much.  

The only other thing I criticism I have about the Grand is that they seem to consistently have more ventilation, AC and plumbing issues.  Yes, it happens on all ships but, I've seen more of these problems hit the Grand in my experience.  

Now, we've had some wonderful cruises on the Grand but, we know what to expect so you aren't disappointed.  

As noted, the staff / crew are consistently amazing.  I call it the ship of 'yes' as you won't often hear the word 'no' for any reasonable request.  

Alfredos is a great feature that is not on every Princess ship.  The Crown Grill has a perfect location on the Grand.  The best thing about the Grand are those Window Suites on deck 6.  Very few Princess ships have them and they are absolutely wonderful if you are lucky enough to snag one of them.  They also have some very unique floor to ceiling OV rooms up on the Lido deck (I think there are only 6 of them) that I haven't seen on any other ship.  

Would I book on her again?  Absolutely!  Would I choose the Star over her?  Probably not.  Would I choose the Royal over her?  Yes, I would!!  

 

 

 

[Paula_MacFan]

1 hour ago, Cruise Raider said:

  Would I choose the Royal over her?  Yes, I would!!  

 

Normally I would too, but this is Alaska so I'd rather be on a Grand class ship vs the Royal due to size and sailing west of the Inside Passage.  

[Cruise Raider]

8 minutes ago, Paula_MacFan said:

Normally I would too, but this is Alaska so I'd rather be on a Grand class ship vs the Royal due to size and sailing west of the Inside Passage.  

 

I can see your point there!  Alaska is my favorite destination on a cruise.