Grande Princess

[JSC1]

Has anyone cruised out of Galveston on the Grande Princess? I've heard some negatives about the itenery and the captian's sailing abilities.

[Kellie in Texas]

JSC - If you go over to the Princess board, you can find a lot of info on the Grand Princess. There was an incident a few months ago where a medical emergency on board required a quick return to port, but I think it has a good reputation and lots of return cruisers. Our only cruise so far was on the Caribbean Princess last October (2005) from Fort Lauderdale. We loved it.

 

I am also in Pflugerville! I just didn't put that in my cruise info because I didn't think people would know where it was. :o Kellie in Texas

[GORDONCHICK]

We were on the Grand in February, which was after the now infamous turn. Everything was fine, though I heard that the CD we had is now on the Tahitian Princess.

[DEL67]

We were on the Grand Princess in April. We enjoyed both the ship and the itinerary greatly. The ship's decor is not as glitzy as many ships today, but it was in good shape and the service was excellent. And having been to the Western Caribbean many times, we enjoyed the 2 ports that were new to us (Playa Del Carmen and Costa Maya.)

[LonghornKJK]

We sailed on the Grand Princess in November. It was our first cruise and we were very impressed. I'm taking my daughters this December -- this time in a mini-suite! :)

[Stevesan]

The Captain has been replaced, and the itinerary improved:

 

Galveston, Texas DEP 4PM

At Sea

Belize City, Belize 1PM - 7PM

Roatan, Honduras 8AM - 5PM

Cozumel, Mexico 8AM - 6PM

Costa Maya (Mahahual), Mexico 7AM - 2PM

At Sea

Galveston, Texas

[chris2597]

We were on The Grand for the Feb 25 cruise....and loved it....I have to admit I was a bit apprehensive after reading about "The infamous Turn" on CC and other cruise websites, but everything was great by the time we got there ....The Capt had been replaced by the time of our sailing, all damage repaired and everything was "shipshape"....so to speak....

 

Embarkation was another problematic area that I had read about prior to cruising...but we found it just the opposite....We arrived at EZpark around noon and were in our cabin before 1....our luggage arrived late afternoon..Everyone at the terminal were efficient, polite, which provided a seamless process.

 

Our CD (Neal Chandler) and his staff were fab....entertaining, attentive and just as nice as they could be.... The shipboard entertainment and activities were non stop. The ship shoppers were the best....It was a husband and wife team. They held a helpful class and were the best at their booth giving information and shopping advise.

 

The Grand is a beautiful ship....yes, some traffic pattern wear on the carpets but other than that was magnificient. The Grand is suppose to go through drydock before returning to Galveston......We are sailing again in Nov, taking our teen dd with us.

 

Some of the waitstaff was superb,( Sterling Steakhouse, waiter at Wheelhouse, and a female waiter (she was from Mexico)in PCdining) but several were lacking....some downright snooty acting, very sullen, almost unhappy looking. The tude was especially noticeable in the Horizon Court. I saw some the the staff working the dining room at night and were in the HC in the morning/afternoon and it was apparent that they did not like their work in HC...you couldnt get them to smile, say hello or even give eye contact most of the time...You know how us Texans are about being friendly. The crew with the most attitude were from Europe, while the Asian crew were attentive and wonderful...couldnt do enough for the pax. The shop clerks were another area that could use some help(again, mostly US and European crew)...I found them not helpful and seemed to care less whether they helped the shopper or not.... I found this very suprising.

 

Overall....our Grand experience was a winner and I would highly recommend the cruise.

[Stevesan]

Some of the waitstaff was superb,( Sterling Steakhouse, waiter at Wheelhouse, and a female waiter (she was from Mexico)in PCdining) but several were lacking....some downright snooty acting, very sullen, almost unhappy looking. The tude was especially noticeable in the Horizon Court. I saw some the the staff working the dining room at night and were in the HC in the morning/afternoon and it was apparent that they did not like their work in HC...you couldnt get them to smile, say hello or even give eye contact most of the time...You know how us Texans are about being friendly. The crew with the most attitude were from Europe, while the Asian crew were attentive and wonderful...couldnt do enough for the pax. The shop clerks were another area that could use some help(again, mostly US and European crew)...I found them not helpful and seemed to care less whether they helped the shopper or not.... I found this very suprising.

 

Overall....our Grand experience was a winner and I would highly recommend the cruise.

 

We had the same experience with some of the Horizon Court staff. I had to confront one of them and dress him down for giving a snotty reply to a simple question.

The cart guy selling bottled water nearly lost it when I told him the ship's tap water was purer than the stuff he was selling.:p

 

There was one clown on the Shorex desk who was a snot, too.

 

The rest of the staff were great. Helpful and always courteous.

 

I second your positive comments about GP. We've had two terrific cruises out of Galveston and look forward to more.

 

The last cruise, I discovered "express disembarkation". What a great invention. I love it to death!:)