Good cruise...until it wasn't.

Item: Grand Princess
Rating: 3.8
Author: missttcs99

Grand Princess Cruise Review to Coastal - West Coast

missttcs99

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 35

Overall rating:

3.8 out of 5

7 Night Pacific Northwest Coast (San Francisco Roundtrip)

Sail date: October 20, 2019

Ship: Grand Princess

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: C101

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

What began as a rough sailing turned into beautiful port days in Astoria, Seattle and Vancouver. BEAUTIFUL. Then suddenly the captain says we're not going to Victoria, a storm is coming so we have to get back home. So we spent two boring days at sea, yawning through art auctions and wandering the ship looking for something to do. Arrived back home over 12 hours before our cruise was scheduled to end, then herded through immigration processing while being told "please stay! enjoy your time onboard!" Except that the whole schedule was basically scrapped so it was all confusion and a mess. How much fun is it to stay aboard and listen to a band in the piazza while a huge line of people winds thru to the gangway for immigration processing (many with suitcases in tow?)

Embarkation

5 out of 5

This was smooth and uninterrupted.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

Crown Grill

5 out of 5

Best meal onboard.

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5

Available activities: drinking at bars, playing bingo, playing trivia, art auctions, and going to spa events designed to confuse and upsell you.

Lotus Spa

3 out of 5

Wasn't satisfied with the services received for the price paid.

Entertainment

3 out of 5

The shows were OK, but the schedule did get messed up due to the port cancellation and early return to final port.

Piazza Atrium

3 out of 5

Very small atrium compared to other ships. Often overcrowded because of it.

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

Would give 5 stars as all the staff was FANTASTIC except bar staff. Unfriendly, in a hurry and often messed up our drinks because they wouldn't slow down to listen to our order.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Small, older ship. I hope not to cruise on this ship again.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Comfortable bed, size is about right for balcony stateroom and steward kept it clean. Rough waters made this forward cabin a terrible location.

Ports of call

San Francisco, California

5 out of 5

Astoria, Oregon

3 out of 5

Seattle, Washington

4 out of 5

Vancouver (Canada Place), British Columbia

5 out of 5

Victoria, British Columbia Did not visit port

Princess cancelled this port due to a pending storm. Strange since the weather was beautiful.

Thumbs Up 0

Disembarkation

2 out of 5

Ported a day early and forced to do immigration check during dinner and showtime. We just left.

3 Comments

Gwbigdog 2 years ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise.

Thumbs Up 0

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Chippewa74 5 years ago

It clearly states that the itinerary may change. We've had several times that a ship couldn't SAFELY get in or out of a port and the itinerary changed. It happens. The same people who gripe about missing a port would be griping (or even suing) if the ship tried to visit a port and weather got exceedingly rough. Our most recent cruise missed ports in Portland, England (too rough to negotiate the entry to the port) and the Azores (avoiding Hurricane Lorenzo). Weather in the Azores would have been beautiful the day we were scheduled but it would left us too close to the hurricane coming out. It happens.

Thumbs Up 1

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cruzlover61 5 years ago

Thanks for review. Sounds like most of the trip went well. Sorry about the end.

Thumbs Up 0

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Other reviews of this sailing

Was good until it wasn’t

Ship is old and tired. Crew did a great job.