I don't like the Grand Class Ships --- Am I the only one???

[CaribbeanIsland]

For the past several years I have alternated between the Grand Class of ships and the Sun Class of ships. It seems that whenever I am on the Grand Class-- I keep thinking that the design is one of the worst designs for a cruise ship. You have to go up stair cases to go across the ship and then back down a deck. And the back dining room is in the worst place possible. No one can find it. And there are no bathrooms back there. And only half the elevators in that area go to that dining room. No other elevators go there. On top of that, Princess didn't realize that the design was flawed and built a ton more ships just like it. Revenues must be more important then design.

 

So we have a poorly designed Grand Class Ship and service is only half as good on these ships. Service on Princess's smaller ships seems like a luxury cruise line and on the Grand Class it is like you are purely a number. No one bothers to know your name or goes out of their way to get to know you but on the smaller ships I always end up knowing many top officers by name and they greet me by name and this is on a 7 night cruise. Not after being on the ship for a month. I have stayed in touch with many people I have met on a Sun Class Ship but not one from a Grand Class Ship.

 

I continue to sail the Grand Class Ships because they go to the places I want but when on them--- I feel like I am at Walmart and the staff just go through the motions of service. On the Sun Class, I feel like a treasured guest and service shines.

[JLC@SD]

We like the Sun Class ships as well.......but we do also enjoy the Grand Class.

 

We are usually in the rear dining room because we prefer Traditional Dining and we realize that the dining room is difficult to get to because the Kitchen is between the front and rear dining rooms.

[sanjosebarbie]

I love the Grand class ships, but you are definitely not the only one who doesn't prefer them. There are plenty of people who prefer the Sun Class ships (I have not been lucky enough to try one of those yet).

 

I will say that if you're just talking about ship design, I preferred the Voyager class ships on RCCL to the Grand class on Princess, but the ship design is only part of it for me, and there were other things I liked about the Grand class.

 

From what I hear, the Sun class ships have better service due to the ratio of crew to passengers. I don't complain about the Grand class service...I think it is excellent...but I'm sure you could get better service with a lower ratio of staff to passengers!!

 

Oh, and as to the Palm dining room being located on the back of the ship, I agree that it's a weird location and awkward to get to, but it always worked to my advantage, because nobody could ever seem to find it (which seems kind of strange being that there are maps everywhere), so I never had even a 1 minute wait when I went there!

 

What do you like about the Sun class? Is it purely a design thing or is it other elements as well?

[chasetf]

....... I keep thinking that the design is one of the worst designs for a cruise ship. You have to go up stair cases to go across the ship and then back down a deck. And the back dining room is in the worst place possible. No one can find it. And there are no bathrooms back there. And only half the elevators in that area go to that dining room. No other elevators go there.

We also enjoy the Sun class for some of the same reasons you mention. We also lamented about the bathroom situation (having to go upstairs and down the hall) and the elevators (but we do not normally use those).

 

We did notice on the Sapphire Princess that we sailed in Feb that they have added bathrooms outside the International Dining Room and also now have all four elevators decending to that floor. So I think Princess did hear the complaints about the first of the Grand class and corrected them on the newer ships. I notice on deck plans the Crown and Emerald have also been so equiped. ;)

[edYYZ]

I think you'll find a lot of people who agree with you. I did prefer the atmosphere/environment of the Coral class ships over the grand class, but I like the layout, features, extra public space and better late night buffet selections of the grand class!

[cruiseryyc]

Absolutely agree with you, have only sailed the Grand class once and don't plan on sailing on that class again. Love the Sun class ships but my favorite is the almost no longer available Regal and old Crown Princess.

[BonnieSte]

I love both. We were a bit more spoiled on the Dawn then on the CB but with the difference in the amount of people it is quite understandable. The staff on the larger ships are incredable with how they handle so many people. I haven't had a problem yet. As for the dining room, once I figured out how to get there it was easy! I LOVE THEM BOTH! :D

[Druke I]

I'm another who liks the Sun class better than the Grand and modified Grand class; but none of them can hold a candle to the late great Royal Princess, which I think was the best ship in the fleet, then or now!

[spongerob]

Most of our cruises have been on Grand-class ships, yet to some extent I agree with what you have said.

 

The general design has been updated with each successive ship built on the Grand Princess design. I was pleased to see that with Caribbean Princess, restrooms were added at the aft dining room, and the aft dining entrance lobby re-designed.

 

We've had very good to outstanding service on most of our Grand-class cruises, and there have been a couple where I've voiced some complaints. I do agree that the difference in passenger/crew ratio becomes more evident; certainly the addition of 500 passengers to Caribbean Princess without any increase in total crew was evident to us. I don't know if staffing levels have been increased for the newer Crown and Emerald.

 

I fully agree that the smaller vessels, which are still large, do feel more intimate and friendly. I think part of the difference is the length of cruise, too. We've been on Grand-class ships for voyages of 10 and 11 days and there is a definite change in the crews' demeanor...I think those weekly turnarounds just get tiresome. Passengers, too, tend to be a little more sociable on longer cruises.

 

Fortunately, Princess gives us a lot of choices, and I hope that they will continue to offer a range of vessels to explore.

[bjkTX]

DW and I have only been on 4 cruises, all on Princess and all on Grand class ships - and we loved every one of them! Yes we had to look at the deck plan to see how we could get from point A to point B - but that didn't ruin our trip. It reminds me of a stupid commercial on now for some medication you can take once a month instead of once a week and the gal says "She had to make time every week to take her pill." What a struggle that must be...

 

Anyway our next cruise is on the Coral, and if that class of ship is better - we are going to be thrilled - plus spongerob is going to buy me a drink. Life is good - regardless of the class of ship :-)

[Toto2Kansas]

We sail the Grand Class ships or larger ONLY when we have to. Any choice, we choose the Sun Class, which means our choices soon will be narrowed severely.

 

We don't need entertained constantly thorughout our cruise, and don't really enjoy ships that carry that many passengers. The Sun Class are the perfect size for what we look for in a ship. We find the passenger mix on the smaller ships more to our liking also with limited unsupervised children onboard.

 

The Sun Class ships on princess don't have all the bells and whistles like the larger ships do, but then we cruise because we enjoy the cruising more so then the amusement park atmosphere.

[PescadoAmarillo]

We love the Grand class ships. If you don't have traditional dining, or never go to the traditional dining room, you would not even know that there is a "going up the stairs" issue.

 

We really miss the aft buffet and the covered pool when we sail on the Sun class ships.

[pg.]

We have only cruised on the Grand class ships, Golden, Grand, and CB.,, and we like them. We enjoy a larger ship ,, we think a smaller ship would be too boring for us, I enjoy NOT knowing where everything is, exploring the ship etc.

 

I do hate having to pass through the casino to get to the otherside, too smelly.

[Pam in CA]

It's not just the plan of the Grand class ships that I don't like, it's the fact that there are too many people and less personal service. The service issue is subtle but it's there. As for too many people, the Grand class ships are really designed for a lot of people to be able to take advantage of the outside space, including balconies. If you're on a cruise, as I as in February, where it was too cold, windy and wet to be anywhere outdoors, even in the covered Calypso pool area, you have chaos and crowds with not enough to do inside. I knew it was going to be cold for most of the cruise and planned accordingly, but it was still way too crowded with no where to go or even sit.

 

Give me a Sun-class, Coral/Island or smaller ship any day of the week.

[sanjosebarbie]

We sail the Grand Class ships or larger ONLY when we have to.

 

I LOVE this quote. You are a true cruise addict, Toto. I'm getting a mental picture of a man in a black mask sitting next to you at your computer pointing a gun at your head and forcing you to reserve passage on the Crown Princess. :D

[LARGIN]

I suggest to those that do not like the Grand Class ships to try the Coral/Island Princess.. They are 15 feet longer than the Grand Class, have 630 less passengers, a better passenger/crew ratio and are able to go through the Panama Canal.

[Toto2Kansas]

I LOVE this quote. You are a true cruise addict, Toto. I'm getting a mental picture of a man in a black mask sitting next to you at your computer pointing a gun at your head and forcing you to reserve passage on the Crown Princess. :D

 

LMAO, no man in a black mask sitting next to me here. ;)

 

Although we have sailed twice on the Caribbean princess, and I have to admit we enjoyed most of it, we just prefer those ships that aren't as crowded.

Itineary plays a big part in this and if the larger ships are doing the itineray we like, then we have no choice in the matter. 7 days on a large ship is OK, but for other longer voyages, we really do prefer the smaller sun class.

OK, take that gun away from my head you crazy person sitting next to me. And take off that mask! I admit it, I am a cruise fanatic and I enjoy ships with less passengers. ;) That masked guy FORCED ME to book the Egypt/Aegean Cruise on the Star Princess, I had no other choice! lol

[GloriaF]

We loved the Coral too, Necrosis. ((And a big hello to you - haven't seen your posts around much. We were on the Coral to Alaska together, do you remember?)) We felt the Coral was the best of both worlds, smaller than the Grand class but not as small as the Sun class.

 

But we do enjoy the Sun class ships more than the Grand class. I agree with the statements made by others about the Sun class service.

 

The newer Grand Class ships may have addressed some of the issues with the Grand Princess ~ but we thought the Caribbean Princess was much too crowded with the additional Riviera deck. Our first 2 cruises were on Grand Princess, so we have a special place in our heart for her even though her interior design is bad.

 

Bottom line ~ if I'm cruising, I'm happy!!

[capnjack]

I have sailed on grand class several times, and I can I can see where the OP is coming from. I really wish there was another route from midship to the aft section other than through the photo gallery on deck 7.

 

Another thing, on the Golden Princess the mid ship stairs are open to public from deck 5 to 14. On the Grand Princess, the mid ship stairs are crew only above deck 7. What's up with that? How about the other grand class ships? Is the midship deck open to the public or not?

[kruisey]

I loved The Sun and Dawn....but not Island Princess...I didnot like the Fiesta deck on Island......one has to go by an open Plan corridor along side The Casino to get to Photo Gallery and Universal and Exploror lounges.......one hears all the bells and whistles and is given a dose of FREE Smoke......The Sun and Dawn had a much better design and I loved them.

Grand Class i really lost my heart to The Diamond.....

Plenty areas for those that like the loud bells and whisles and ditto who prefer the opposite.I loved my walks around the outside deck were one has a bit of step work at one end:D Also the long walk back to my lovely quiet cabin aft........so healthy........Ar'nt we all being told to exercise more to keep healthy.?:D

[geoherb]

The Grand Princess was the first Grand-class ship built. We found out about the stairs when sailing on it after having been on the Star Princess and Golden Princess. After a while, we got used to using the aft stairs to get to another deck from our cabin.

 

We finally took a cruise on the Sun Princess in December. It was nice. I prefer smaller ships, but I'd go again on the Star, Golden, or Grand.

[Poulsbo Cruisers]

We love both the Sun and Grand class ships. However, we now like to book mini suites and find that this is much easier to do and at a more reasonable price on the Grand class ships. The Sun class offers larger mini suites with the trade off being fewer such cabins at a much higher price. For those who like the mini suites, the Grand class ships are a much better deal. We also noticed that the Tahitian and Pacific princess offer a higher percentage of mini suites at a more reasonable price than the Sun class.

[barbarah33]

I am really enjoying this thread and reading all the comments. I have sailed all of the Grand Class ships and enjoyed every one of my vacations on them. Yes they are large and I will agree that the service does lack a little something on them as far as being personal. I can get a drink, food, etc. but it just isn't the great service that Princess used to have. I just thought that the times were changing and that is the best I could expect anymore. More passengers and fewer staff due to cutbacks is bound to lead to these things. Like I said, I got service just not as good as I had received from Princess in my first couple of cruises with them.

 

I was with my boyfriend last night to put the finishing touches on our cruise on the Emerald this November - and finally pick one of the two dates we had narrowed it down to, when he got a phone call and now it looks as though we may not be able to go on either of them due to his work. We were both depressed and it ruined our night to be honest because we look forward to our fall cruise every year.

 

When I got home I hopped online and found that the Coral does have a 10-day cruise, which is the length we want, on dates that should fit nicely into both of our schedules. We are only hesitant about it because it is a smaller ship. I guess I just saw it as missing things like the Sanctuary and Crown Grill which we really loved on the Crown, but adding nothing. I had no idea that the service might be better on the Coral because she is smaller. (We really enjoy Celebrity because of the service but they just don't have itineraries that interest us any more so we switched over to Princess.)

 

I have sailed on the Pacific, Regal and the old Star and loved them and the service I got on each one. Can anyone who has been on any of those, and the Coral and a Grand class, tell me what I could expect from the Coral? Suddenly - thanks to you guys, my vacation might look promising again. THANK YOU!

[mariah9999]

I completely agree with you and I enjoy the sun class better than the grand class. I would still sail on the grand class but it isn't the same as the sun class. I thought I was the only one who felt this way...

[Pam in CA]

Can anyone who has been on any of those, and the Coral and a Grand class, tell me what I could expect from the Coral? Suddenly - thanks to you guys, my vacation might look promising again. THANK YOU!

The Coral (and Island) are almost the same size as the Grand-class ships (actually longer - 964 ft vs. 950 ft - and narrower) but have a lot fewer passengers (1,950 vs. 3,120 on the Emerald). They do have different amenities but I'd trade the Sanctuary and Crown Grill in for 1,170 fewer passengers in a heartbeat. The Coral has a small-ship feel in a big-ship size.