Live From the Grand Princess 2/28/22 Baja-Sea of Cortez Cruise

[TheRabbit]

10 minutes ago, Ronnieslady said:

Were they tested @ the pier in LA???

They got tested a day or two before going to the pier. 

One of my other contacts had a problem in Seattle where her results weren't ready before checking in. Princess had a place in the back where they did another test. It was expensive, But she was able to get on the cruise. I believe she had to show proof of having been tested to use the service.

[Ronnieslady]

5 hours ago, TheRabbit said:

They got tested a day or two before going to the pier. 

One of my other contacts had a problem in Seattle where her results weren't ready before checking in. Princess had a place in the back where they did another test. It was expensive, But she was able to get on the cruise. I believe she had to show proof of having been tested to use the service.

Thanks for letting me know.  Looks like we just do the testing 2 days before & make sure we go to the terminal or pier with proof of a negative test.  With no testing at the terminal it will make for easier & faster embarkation.  I’m imagining the cruise to Hawaii in April is going to have a lot more passengers than the one we took to Mexico last November.  Just like to know what to expect.  Although I do realize things could change.

Thanks for the info,

Grace

 

[AVCruzers]

Would someone that is on the GRAND right now help me?? We were scheduled for this cruise and had to cancel when I tested positive. As of today, I am finally negative!!  But--our friend, Ralph is on the cruise alone after 3 of us couples had to cancel.  His birthday is tomorrow March 8 and I know he dines in Club Class.  So--would someone please notify the CC head waiter to celebrate Ralph's 89th?   It would be such a nice surprise.   Many many thanks.  Doris and Dick

[EDDY0827]

Post this on their roll-call. Someone on that cruise may be monitoring the thread.

[gmcwalker]

6 hours ago, AVCruzers said:

Would someone that is on the GRAND right now help me?? We were scheduled for this cruise and had to cancel when I tested positive. As of today, I am finally negative!!  But--our friend, Ralph is on the cruise alone after 3 of us couples had to cancel.  His birthday is tomorrow March 8 and I know he dines in Club Class.  So--would someone please notify the CC head waiter to celebrate Ralph's 89th?   It would be such a nice surprise.   Many many thanks.  Doris and Dick

Hi I just called Guest Services on board. They will present Ralph with a cake and song tomorrow at dinner with best wishes from Doris and Dick. They said they will try to track him down if he is not eating in club class tomorrow evening. 

Edited March 8, 2022 by gmcwalker

[AVCruzers]

56 minutes ago, gmcwalker said:

Hi I just called Guest Services on board. They will present Ralph with a cake and song tomorrow at dinner with best wishes from Doris and Dick. They said they will try to track him down if he is not eating in club class tomorrow evening. 

Many Many Thanks!  We used to cruise with Ralph and his wife so many memories.  Since his wife died, we always encourage him to book the same cruise.  Someday, someone will do a favor for you.  Doris

[momarb]

Did you get your medallions by mail before the cruise?

[Coral]

22 hours ago, gmcwalker said:

Hi I just called Guest Services on board. They will present Ralph with a cake and song tomorrow at dinner with best wishes from Doris and Dick. They said they will try to track him down if he is not eating in club class tomorrow evening. 

The power and generosity of CruiseCritic members! You rock! And with the medallion - they can track him down!

Edited March 9, 2022 by Coral

[gmcwalker]

1 hour ago, momarb said:

Did you get your medallions by mail before the cruise?

Yes, about ten days before. You can also get it in the terminal.

[momarb]

How are things going?  Would like to hear what you all have been doing.  How is the food and entertainment?  Any shore excursions you can recommend?

[partybarbie]

I'm also interested in how thing are going for you.  Either you are having way to much fun, or the internet is really bad. 😁 Have you been to Crooner's? I would love to know who the piano player is. 

[DavidsNana]

If anybody onboard now has the time, I would appreciate it if you could stop by Guest Services or the Captain's Circle Rep and ask what the passenger count will be for the 3/25 sailing.  I have friends onboard and from the Princess website, it looks like it will be pretty full.  Thank you very much and have a wonderful time.

 

[Catherine Claus]

just got off the Grand Baja cruise.  The Grand was in great shape IMO.  We had a mini suite and the sofa wa new (yeah).  The dining experience was not good.  Wed were unable to get a table in Da Vinci any night, yet the passenger count was around 1300. I did request dining in the Medallion app. They kept sending us to Bottoceli (spelling) . Because I get sea sick, I cannot tolerate the vibration I that dining room.  We tried everything they told us to do to no avail.  So, I had to reluctantly go to the Passenger Services desk.  Guiseppe, the head of dining contacted me and gave us a table every night. Yeah, but, had difficulty getting reservations in the Crown Grill (all full). Then they gave our Da Vinci table away again. We are Elite, so frequent cruisers, and never complain about anything but this dining experience was not up to Princess standards nor what we expected. The food was not good at all. The combinations of items were bizarre to say the least. 

Alfredo's, Crown Grill, and Sabatini's were excellent.  

In Cabo we walked the marina all the way around to Solomon's restaurant.  This was featured on a Guy Fieri's show.  It was great, clean, and fun.  I highly recommend it.  The only issue was that we were not able to pay with the Medallion as stated.   When checking at PS they had no answer as to why it would not work. Oh well, The entertainment was good and we had a wonderful time.

Looking forward to the next cruise in August on the Caribbean Princess.

I do not like to be negative but one more thing, the employee in the Calypso store was so rude I was shocked beyond words. He was grumpy, no smiles and unhelpful.  
Also he was vacuuming and turned it off leaning on the handle saying he had to wait till we left to continue to vacuum. Needless to say, we left immediately. 

Such unexpected reactions on Princess.  

Sorry for the negative responses but this will not stop us from booking another cruise on Princess.  These are difficult times for everyone so I chalk it up to that.

P.S. Many passengers voiced negative opinions on this cruise even though I did not solicit any negative responses. I hope Princess takes notice to correct these minor but important issues soon.  

Boarding and disembarking went smooth and easy as usual. The bar personnel were fun and everyone was very accommodating. 

Bottom line, if you really find it necessary to complain to Passenger Services, please do so with a smile, it is not their fault if you have a problem.  They try very hard to fix everything.  No need to raise your voice or be rude to them, as I witnessed happening while waiting in line. I can't understand why people feel the need to yell at someone who is trying to help them.  After all, it is the LOVE BOAT. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DavidsNana]

@Catherine ClausSo sorry that you had some bad experiences on the Grand during this cruise.  I have a friend and her husband along with a few others traveling on the March 25th sailing.  This will be their first Princess Cruise and I sure hope that things have improved for their sailing.  Those negative things are no way to keep us loyal Princess cruisers coming back and especially no way to convince someone new to Princess that it is the cruise line for them.  My son and I got off the Caribbean Princess March 6th and we had just the opposite experience.  All wonderful.  Hope your next cruise is much better.

[piggybabymcpig]

We were on this cruise and have some different opinions.  We thought the food was excellent.  We enjoyed the food at all the venues.  We ate at the buffet, Crown Grill, Alfredo's, Sabatini's  Davinci's and Salty dog grill.  There were some items we enjoyed more then others but nothing we didn't like.  We had no problem making reservations at the restaurants.  Staff were fantastic, always a smile and hello.  They all seemed very happy to be back.  Our only complaint would be regarding a tour we booked with Princess in Puerto Vallarta.  We thought the tour guide was very good but thought the group size was too big.  A very minor complaint but the only one we had.  Thanks Princess for a wonderful return to cruising!

[Candia]

On 3/13/2022 at 7:01 AM, piggybabymcpig said:

We were on this cruise and have some different opinions.  We thought the food was excellent.  We enjoyed the food at all the venues.  We ate at the buffet, Crown Grill, Alfredo's, Sabatini's  Davinci's and Salty dog grill.  There were some items we enjoyed more then others but nothing we didn't like.  We had no problem making reservations at the restaurants.  Staff were fantastic, always a smile and hello.  They all seemed very happy to be back.  Our only complaint would be regarding a tour we booked with Princess in Puerto Vallarta.  We thought the tour guide was very good but thought the group size was too big.  A very minor complaint but the only one we had.  Thanks Princess for a wonderful return to cruising!

We were also on this cruise. Found the Crown Grill and Sabattini to have the best food on board. We chose to dine in Botticelli because we wanted to have the same team serving us since we had done on 2 separate prior cruises, one in October and one on New Year's Eve. We had a great dining room captain who remembered us and without even asking took us to the SAME table we had with the same team of servers. Both of them were very happy, as we had forewarned them 2 month before we were coming back. Service was inpeccable by all staff, but the food quality was not great. We complained about the lobster so small and tasting salty and fishy...pretty bad. Found the buffet a very good choice for breakfast and lunch. We ate at Alfredo on our NYE cruise and the pizza was very good, be aware 1 pizza is big enough for 2 people to share unless you can eat a lot.

We did see many times during our 10 days onboard, maintenence staff working to fix problems on our corridor on Caribe deck. We had no plumbing issues during any of our voyages. The ship will be in dry dock, confirmed by officers, when she arrives in Canada fefore starting the Alaska sailing in May. You all have a great future cruise on this old but overall nice ship. 

[gmcwalker]

On 3/7/2022 at 7:27 PM, gmcwalker said:

Hi I just called Guest Services on board. They will present Ralph with a cake and song tomorrow at dinner with best wishes from Doris and Dick. They said they will try to track him down if he is not eating in club class tomorrow evening. 

I am curious to know if Princess took care of your friend Ralph!