The best part of the cruise was being all together as a family. We saw beautiful surroundings and the staff worked really hard to keep us all happy.
This ship is too old and should be retired. I would have preferred a newer ship.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
No problems
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Some of the main courses in the nightly dining room were not good. The salmon was too dry and some of the beefs had alot of fat on them.
There were too many fish dishes offered in the nightly dining room, and not enough variation of other types of meats.
We had dinner at the italian specialty restauran one nightt, and it was superb!
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
We did some of the fitness activities and enjoyed some of the pools. - they were all good. But we did not feel they should be charging for the fitness classes. This should be part of the overall fee we paid to be on the ship.
We went to a few movies - 1 outside and 2 others. This was a good idea, but I would like for you to also offer those same movies on the TVs in each stateroom (and to let us know ahead of time if those movies were going to be on the TVs in the staterooms.
I enjoyed the cooking class by the main chef - it was set up just like a TV show.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
I enjoyed the musicians and the comedians. I appreciated the fact that the comedians' comedy was very clean and not sexually suggestive. Thank you.
Children's Programs
I didnt have any young children that took part of these programs.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
We had dinner in the Botticelli Dining Room, at the 7:45pm seating. Our waiters were superb. Bienvenido & Leonardo, #10, were very helpful and gave us excellent service. They were very personable, yet very professional. They worked together very well, making sure we had a very memorable and fantastic dining experience. We also experienced their service several times in the breakfast dining room, and again, they both gave immpecible service.
Our room steward was good, but I don't have his name. We were in room B709. He would see me in the hallway, greeting me, Mrs. Bird. He was very sharp to remember my name throughout the entire cruise.
The photographer that took the pictures at the staircase on the formal nights was very good, but I felt he really needed an assistant. We had to wait a long time both nights to get our pictures taken. I suggest you take reservations for each group so that people don't have to wait in line. Another suggestion, have more photographers available.
Ship Quality
2 out of 5
Common areas were clean, but the ship is too old - there were things that were not clean because of the heavy use of the ship.
We paid for the internet service, and it did not work well.
The over-all technical capabilities onboard were very poor. The TV's were outdated and the TV service was poor. You need to upgrade and offer more TV stations.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
The cabin was very nice. The bed and pillows were very comfortable. The TV was very outdated - need flatscreen.
During one night, our toilet overflowed after flushing it, and it flooded the bathroom and part of the closet area. We called for emergency and they did assist us right away. It took awhile to figure out who to call - the phone system should be very clear who to call for 24/7 emergencies, not just medical, but stateroom emergencies.
Ship tip
Have a back up plans for your weather sensitive excursions, just in case it's raining and you can't go on the planned excursion. Be prepared for rain.
We did the cart ride, which was very nice. We enjoyed the male bus driver who has lived there his whole life. He gave us alot of great information about the city.
We were scheduled to do a helicopter flight and land/walk on a glacier. We disembarked early to meet the representative for this excursion. He never showed up, so we asked the info booth and they said the excursion was cancelled because of the rain. So, because of the cancellation, we had no plans for the day. It was very disappointing that we could not have done a different excursion. The helicopter company should've offered or referred us to a different excursion. It stopped raining in early afternoon - they should have given us some different options.
We did the train ride/pan for gold/lunch excursion
For the amount of money we paid, it was not worth the trip. You could barely understand the guy speaking on the train. The train was very cold, with no heat. I enjoyed our bus driver, she was very informative and stopped to have us take pictures at the Welcome to Alaska sign. The panning for gold was fun to do, but the store there was way to expensive for cookies. The lunch was OK, but nothing to write home about and you could not return for more food. That entire panning for gold outfit was not well run and very disappointing.
I loved Victoria. We went to Bushart Gardens. It was beautiful. However, I felt it was over-priced. I wish we could have stayed at Victoria longer so we could've seen more - at least until 5:00 instead of 2:00.
The different ships offer different experiences...if something is important to you let your TA know before you book...I have cruised on the sister ship to the original "Love Boat" and on the larger modern ships...each has their charm and areas that do not appeal to me...I like the Grand...the size...the amenities and I REALLY love not having to dealing with airports...cramped seats and luggage restrictions...for others having more dining options... is more important....for others a water slide and climbing wall is important...always stress with your TA what you want in a ship...the website ship videos are nice...but talking to folks who have been on the ship...also good to check to see if their interests match yours. Wouldn't do to ask a Zumba person's opinion if you consider weight training pushing yourself out of a chair to get another dessert...🤣
the Grand is a beautiful lady, older, and classy, older passengers, hardly any children, mello lounges, not to crowded, what more could i ask for? I'll take more time on her
I went on the Grand Princess on my last cruise in February. I had a great time and I had no problem getting around the ship. Believe it or not, my family was asking me what floor different places on the ship were located. I can't wait to go back again.
The Grand Princess was the first of the Grand class of ships, but she is still relatively young for a cruise ship. This is my favorite class, but I could understand you wanting newer. Just me, but I prefer the Grand class over the newest Royal class.
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