croissantpig Cruise Review on Grand Princess on Jun 25, 2018

Grand Princess Cruise Review

croissantpig

Contributor Level: Second Mate

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 61

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

10 Night Alaska Inside Passage With Glacier Bay (San Francisco Roundtrip)

Sail date: June 25, 2018

Ship: Grand Princess

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

This is a very much-bleated review from my wife and I’s Alaska cruise out of San Francisco in June 2018. This was our first cruise so we had nothing to compare it to other than preconceived ideas from reading many other reviews on similar cruises and the ship it’s self. I wouldn’t say we had low expectations but couldn’t help picking up on trends of many reviews commenting on how old and tired the ship is. Anyway we did not find this was the case at all. Embarkation out of San Francisco was as easy as it could have been. We got to the port at roughly the time it said embarkation would commence and although there were a few people about the wait to get on the ship was minimal. The stateroom: We were staying in a mid-ship balcony room. We absolutely loved our stateroom and being our first cruise, I was quite surprised with how much space and storage room we had for our suitcases, personal belongings and just ‘stuff’ in general. The room was serviced perfectly every day, bedding was super comfortable, climate control worked a treat and just no complaint at all really. At first I though the balcony was a tad small as with both of us sitting on the deck chairs and a small table, there wasn’t room for much else… turns out we didn’t need anymore room anyway and it was just right. The entertainment: We went to a few of the shows and while we really liked a couple of them there were a few that didn’t really hit the mark for us. That being said I think this was largely down to personal taste and not the quality of the performance. We thoroughly enjoyed the live music at various bars and areas of the ship and thought some of the other on-board activities were quite interesting (log carving etc). We particularly liked how they had a park ranger on board while cruising the glacier bay who was explain the park over the ships PA system. We thought we would try bingo early on for a bit of a laugh and came back many times to do it again. We enjoyed it far more than we thought we would and this is largely down to the entertaining staff. We were laughing the whole time. Although we aren’t big gamblers we don’t mind a bit of punt every now and again. We went to the casino and handful of times and although we had a good time, we found the casino to be quite smokey at times. The food: We loved the food! Breakfasts we ate at the buffet every day. We found lots of different options, all tasty and fresh. No complaints there. Lunch we mostly had at various other café’s/restaurants on board. We particularly liked the international café (although we thought the coffee was just okay) and the pizza place (Alfredo’s). Every night we ate in the dining room and did not have a bad meal at all. Our wait staff were brilliant and had us in stitches. At one point we mentioned we loved indian food so the next night they had organised for the chef to make us a curry that was not on the menu. It was awesome. Oh and the deluxe balcony breakfast for 2 was BRILLIANT! Will be doing this on every cruise from now on. The staff: Not one complaint. Everyone and I mean everyone on board was super friendly and helpful and I cant compliment them enough. The great staff really mad the cruise. Anyway this review has gone on much longer than I anticipated and could still cover a few more things (good gym, lotus spa etc etc)… anyway giving 4 stars largely because we have nothing to compare it to but we loved every second of our time on board!

5 Comments

Samela 5 years ago

Cannot wait to do this cruise for our 50th wedding anniversary this June, in the penthouse suite. This will only be our 2nd cruise in our 50 years of marriage, first one was for our 25th anniversary. So...we are very excited to be going on this cruise. I loved your review!!! Bon Voyage!!!

Thumbs Up 1

Flag

booger1xx 5 years ago

Glade to see you enjoyed your first Princess cruise! We have 20 under our belt and have enjoyed everyone. One thing to remember when reading a review, it's one person's opinion. Our idea is you have to have an open mind and judge for yourself!! Hope you continue to cruise with Princess!!!

Thumbs Up 4

Flag

haughink 5 years ago

I didn't write a review from our 2017 cruise down the coast of California; however if I had, except for the difference in location, it would have been the same as yours. In addition to enjoying the food, for medical reasons, I must eat gluten-free. The staff was extremely helpful and accommodating with my needs. Everything must have been very carefully prepared because I didn't have one gluten reaction.

Thumbs Up 4

Flag

cslewis13 5 years ago

Love to hear positive reviews.

Thumbs Up 4

Flag

olddbob 5 years ago

This a great and very positive attitude. Moaners make the most noise and with 4000 ppl on a ship not everyone will have the right attitude. If a couple of picky ppl moan remember the other 3998 probably mostly enjoyed it

Thumbs Up 4

Flag

Other reviews of this sailing

Grand Princess Alaska Cruise

Great Ports, Not So Great of a Ship