Grand Princess Mediterranean - just back

[-Lew-]

 

I don't think I will go on a ship more than 5 years old. I think that relates to the shape of the ship and amenities.

Perhaps, but it certainly does not guarantee the quality of service, food, entertainment, etc. you will experience on your cruise.

 

We cruised the Grand Princess in February of this year. The level of service we experienced throughout the ship was far and away above any other Princess cruise we have been on. The food in the main dining room was about the same, but in Horizon Court it was quite a step above other Princess ships. The personnel at the Pursers Desk were quite personable and actually took an interest in a concern we had and followed up until it was resolved to our satisfaction.

 

All of the above is a result of good management that trickles down through all personnel on the ship. As a result we had a fantastic cruise and are looking forward to cruising on the Grand in Europe in September and again in the Caribbean next winter.

 

Lew

[corvettelover]

Photos of the chairs on our balcony and also of the balcony below us. It looks as though ours was not the only one!!

 

The best part of the cruise was the UDB - would recommend this to anyone.

Uhm, and this ruined your vacation?

A little dried paint on the furniture isn't going to cause a problem, and asking to have it removed is a bit unrealistic, as dried paint does not come out of plastic fabric very well.

[hubofhockey]

Uhm, and this ruined your vacation?

A little dried paint on the furniture isn't going to cause a problem, and asking to have it removed is a bit unrealistic, as dried paint does not come out of plastic fabric very well.

 

OP never indicated that any of this ruined their vacation. Simply said was not up to standards considering what Princess charges for a cruise. The review was fair and descriptive.

[melog]

I wrote what I felt to be a very fair review of the Grand.

 

For us, we were disappointed and perhaps you may say our standards and expectatations were too high!

 

Everyone is entitled to express their opinion. The balcony furniture did not ruin our holiday, it does not look pleasant, why when the painting is in progress aren't the chairs covered? I would not accept sitting on a chair with paint on it in a hotel or resataurant - so why should it be ok on a ship?

 

We spoke to many passengers (some very loyal to Princess) who also were very unhappy with balcony furniture, afternoon tea, entertainment, quality and service in the restaurants. They were putting this fall in standards down to Princess saving money.

 

This was our first cruise with Princess, we were disappointed with some aspects. That said I did state the beds were comfortable, the UBD superb, the sailaway at Gibraltar was good (even though we did not wave the british flags!!).

 

We enjoyed our holiday but, we won't be cruising again with Princess.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Is the nationality mix more to your liking in the UK? Last time I was there the whole place seemed to full of English / British people. Perhaps they were on holiday.

 

LOL

 

OP, it does sound like you might like trying another cruise line. I don't blame you for being upset about the poor condition of the things you saw - that is inexcusable. I've been on the Grand 3 times and have never seen what you did, so it must be that the ship is not being kept up as well as it should maybe. I do agree - it shouldn't look the way it did and that is not the norm for Princess.

[-Lew-]

 

The balcony furniture did not ruin our holiday, it does not look pleasant, why when the painting is in progress aren't the chairs covered? I would not accept sitting on a chair with paint on it in a hotel or resataurant - so why should it be ok on a ship?

You certainly are entitled to your opinion.

 

I would have to agree with you about the paint on the balcony furniture. It seems that Princess management just doesn't care as we have seen this on all of our Princess cruises. Paint on the furniture, balcony floor, and railing certainly doesn't project a quality image.

 

I would hope that someday you might consider giving Princess another chance. If we had taken the terrible service our cabin steward had given us on our first Princess cruise as the norm, and decided to never cruise Princess again, we never would have experienced all the fantastic cruises that have followed.

 

Lew