Report on Grand cruise

[alolewis]

This is not going to be a full review since the ship has been reviewed many time previously. We enjoyed the 10 night Canada/New England cruise greatly and had a lot of fun. The ship is in great shape with maybe a few, very few, instances of worn carpet, not that a ship that has been in service less than 10 years old is considered old. Crew did an outstanding job even with having to use tenders in 4 ports. Cabin attendant was Sumeth, Waitress was Pra On.

A few issues:

• Changed itinerary but never notified us until we got to the ship, found out about it on Cruise Critic BTW. Change Charlottetown to Saguenay city as a port call. This caused us to transit the Saguenay Fiord at night so missed seeing the scenary.

• I like to use the stairs and had a midship cabin. Deck plans show a set of stairs mid-ship right aft of the elevators but the stairs were "crew only" above deck 7. Misleading deck plans.
  
• A little confusion on a shore excursion, they canceled the one I had booked and left voice mail one cabin phone to pick another, I did but they also automatically rebooked me on the same tour at a differant time so i was double booked, got it straighten out though with one phone call.
  
• Horizon Court has sign up saying No swim suits or beach attire. That only left burgers or pizza for lunch unless one changed.
  
• Signs and Princess Platter just said no shorts or tanks tops in dining rooms, was mute on jeans. Wore jeans on last night as very late returning from shore excursion (ship had to wait for our tour bus to return)
  
• Was suprised that my tablemates (Traditional- early) ate at Anytime dining when they were late from shore (5:30) and wanted time for a drink before dinner. Did not think that was allowed.
  
• Did get towel animals on the bed three nights.
  
• Wish rooms service breakfast menu was more extensive and had more choices.
  
• If you did not arrive at least 30 minutes prior to production shows, the Princess theater or Vista Lounge were full. At least one Production show was in the Vista lounge.
  
• Did not allow us to keep cruise cards at end of cruise.

Again cruise was very enjoyable and none of these comments made the cruise not fun.

[DeepWaterMariner]

Thanks for your comments. We sail on the Grand next week.

[pd52]

1) new or old menu's ?

2) bedding opinion ?

3) did you use a coffee card, opinion if so ?

4) if you had a balcony, how was it furnished ?

 

Glad to here you had an enjoyable cruise. Looking forward to carib in jan.

Nice to here that she is "ship shape" after all we heard about the atlantic crossing.

 

Thanks

[alolewis]

1) new or old menu's ?

2) bedding opinion ?

3) did you use a coffee card, opinion if so ?

4) if you had a balcony, how was it furnished ?

 

Glad to here you had an enjoyable cruise. Looking forward to carib in jan.

Nice to here that she is "ship shape" after all we heard about the atlantic crossing.

 

Thanks

 

New menus according to waiters.

 

Bedding was okay, I suspect they were old mattress, could really feel the bump between the neds but I slept soundly.

 

Did not use coffee card but did buy Latte's a few times $2.00 plus the 15%.. They did charge for regular coffee at the Covey bar ($1).

 

Had a minisuite on Dolphin deck, balconey had 2 chairs and 2 chaise lounges but the chaise lounges were "fixed" and did not recline. Also a small table.

[B40 Tha Cruisa]

Thanks for thee update, ill be on the Grand in a few months.

[cruiserbryce]

bummer...some odd items in the review...overall hopefully the trip was enjoyable. I have heard great things about the Grand and have been considering taking a cruise on her in 2009, we appreciate the post!

[flamomo]

I'll be on the Golden in 23 days. I am disappointed that they did not permit you to keep your cruise card. I have all my old ones and use them as part of my photo album / scrap book that I put together after each cruise.

[happy cruzer]

Thanks for your comments and putting them in perspective that you enjoyed you cruise.

 

HC not allowing swimsuits or beach attire. Well alot of folks like that rule. Seems that some beach attire like no shirts for men is not popular with other diners. Wet swimsuits also make a mess. I guess they just make a rule since alot of folks lack common sense.

 

I totally agree with the breakfast menu. I meant to try writing in some special requests to see what would happen. But on such a port intensive cruise like the 7 day New England/Canada trip, we ended up in the buffet to be sure that we got a hot breakfast and off the ship. Did you write anything in on the order card?

 

Again thanks and congratulations of getting to go on such a nice itinerary.

[GloriaF]

I think the request of no swimsuits or beach attire is to prevent wet bathing suits and scantily-clad bodies.

 

We've always found that a pair of shorts and shirt or dress coverup over our swimsuits worked well for the Horizon Court on sea days, just as it would for any public space on the ship during the day.

[Samcorl]

This is not going to be a full review since the ship has been reviewed many time previously. We enjoyed the 10 night Canada/New England cruise greatly and had a lot of fun. The ship is in great shape with maybe a few, very few, instances of worn carpet, not that a ship that has been in service less than 10 years old is considered old. Crew did an outstanding job even with having to use tenders in 4 ports. Cabin attendant was Sumeth, Waitress was Pra On.

A few issues:

• Changed itinerary but never notified us until we got to the ship, found out about it on Cruise Critic BTW. Change Charlottetown to Saguenay city as a port call. This caused us to transit the Saguenay Fiord at night so missed seeing the scenary.

• I like to use the stairs and had a midship cabin. Deck plans show a set of stairs mid-ship right aft of the elevators but the stairs were "crew only" above deck 7. Misleading deck plans.
  
• A little confusion on a shore excursion, they canceled the one I had booked and left voice mail one cabin phone to pick another, I did but they also automatically rebooked me on the same tour at a differant time so i was double booked, got it straighten out though with one phone call.
  
• Horizon Court has sign up saying No swim suits or beach attire. That only left burgers or pizza for lunch unless one changed.
  
• Signs and Princess Platter just said no shorts or tanks tops in dining rooms, was mute on jeans. Wore jeans on last night as very late returning from shore excursion (ship had to wait for our tour bus to return)
  
• Was suprised that my tablemates (Traditional- early) ate at Anytime dining when they were late from shore (5:30) and wanted time for a drink before dinner. Did not think that was allowed.
  
• Did get towel animals on the bed three nights.
  
• Wish rooms service breakfast menu was more extensive and had more choices.
  
• If you did not arrive at least 30 minutes prior to production shows, the Princess theater or Vista Lounge were full. At least one Production show was in the Vista lounge.
  
• Did not allow us to keep cruise cards at end of cruise.

Again cruise was very enjoyable and none of these comments made the cruise not fun.

 

We were on this cruise, as well, and had a wonderful time. We had early traditional with Valentin and Alexandra as our waitstaff. You couldn't ask for nicer folks. We had an inside cabin on the Dolphin Deck, and our steward, German, was very efficient, and we could always find him working close by. We did request an egg crate, and it was very comfortable. We felt our location near the aft elevators and stairs was absolutely ideal for the Grand. We could do the stairs to the Horizon Court, Botticelli dining room, or the promenade deck with no trouble. Being fairly seasoned cruisers, we were not at all upset with the change to Corner Brook because the pier in Charlottetown was being repaired. Since I would never subject others to seeing me in a swimsuit, I take no issue with the rule in the Horizon Court, and jeans in the dining room for the first night and last would seem to make some sense. I really don't see why traditional diners shouldn't - on occasion - be able to enjoy anytime dining, if circumstances dictate. After all, we are not talking about the QM2. No towel animals at all, although German did make our washclothes and hand towels into shells. Would love to have a more extensive breakfast selection from Room Service, but we took advantage of the coffee on a regular basis since our tours started really early. Didn't see too many shows, except for the Prelude String Quartet. We thought they were fabulous, and would seek them out in the evenings. We did purchase a coffee card, and between the two of us, made very good use of it. I do think it is a worthwhile. Whew, maybe I should have just written my own review. However, just fyi, we loved Bar Harbor, St. John, NB, Halifax, and most of all Quebec City. We extended for three more nights, and had a lovely time. Stayed in a 21 room hotel directly across the Place D'armes from the Chateau Frontenac, and it was perfect, the Auberge du Tresor. I really need another vacation soon. Sam

[burm]

Horizon Court has sign up saying No swim suits or beach attire. That only left burgers or pizza for lunch unless one changed.

There is another option:

 

I already posted this one on another thread but I love it is since we had a similar experience at a hotel where I once worked:

 

 

http://www.dailymotion.com/country:us/tag/silly/video/x53bu6_no-bathing-suits-allowed-in-the-lob_fun

[High C's]

This threw me for a moment :o - until I went back and checked the date of the OP's original post! I knew the Grand is currently in Europe.

[dforeigner]

Thank you for taking time to write a review.

[Toto2Kansas]

I think the request of no swimsuits or beach attire is to prevent wet bathing suits and scantily-clad bodies.

 

We've always found that a pair of shorts and shirt or dress coverup over our swimsuits worked well for the Horizon Court on sea days, just as it would for any public space on the ship during the day.

 

I agree, as long as you put a coverup over the swimsuit, it isn't a problem dining at the HC. A long shirt, dress, or other appropriate garment, such as you would wear to get from your stateroom to the pool area, would have been fine to have lunch at the HC.

[JustinPlusLauren]

Thanks for posting this review! Why didn't they let you keep your cruise cards? I have mine from my past two Princess cruises and I like keeping them as a souvenir!

[burm]

Was suprised that my tablemates (Traditional- early) ate at Anytime dining when they were late from shore (5:30) and wanted time for a drink before dinner. Did not think that was allowed.

We had originally booked Anytime for next year's cruise because we loved to eat whenever we wanted on last year's vacation. This year we did Traditional and enjoyed our tablemates so much that we wondered if we should change our current booking. As we were concerned about schedule conflicts on late port nights I phoned Princess and asked if it would be ok to use the anytime dining on those nights. She assured me that there would be no problem and we changed our booking to early seating. I just hope that we are again fortunate enough to have wonderful dining companions. It sure does enhance the cruising experience.