Princess highly values its "elite" members. If you are not "elite" (151+ days of cruising on Princess), you are treated fine, but not like the "elite" people. This was even more overt on the Star Princess. I definitely enjoyed this Grand Princess cruise better than the last Princess cruise on the Star. The staff was friendly. The bar staff was wonderful. Food could be tastier, but wasn't bad. We all enjoyed the stromboli. The ship rocked quite a bit a few days, but that does not bother us. The weather was chilly many of the days. People wore coats every day except a couple that we were actually in Hawaii. Teen club was too full of drama for my kids who tended to say away. More free activities where you do/make things would have been welcome. Ukulele and hula were fun sea day activities. However, when I took hula on the last cruse with a different teacher, she instructed in different moves. Having to relearn new moves for the same songs was annoying.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
5-10 minutes to get to an agent. Received our cards and walked right on.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Took ukulele and hula lessons and had fun with Rowena and Brian (instructors).
Made a ribbon lei and a orchid lei. Other than those activities, nothing on board was interesting.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
Born to Dance was really good. The comedians were good. The magician "Handsome Jack" was absolutely horrible...the worst act we have seen on our many, many cruises.
Children's Programs
3 out of 5
Older teen club (I have a 15, 16, and 17 year old) - one child loved the drama and social aspect. Lots of drama. My other other kids do not like drama and stayed away from the teen club because of it.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
We do not like that there isn't a deck that you can walk completely around the ship (without stairs) at any time day or night. The Sanctuary seemed like a waste of space. Having the upper bunk bed affixed to the wall was a horrible idea. Many times people in my cabin sat on the bed (like to watch a movie) and hit their heads on the lower edge of the bunk that was tucked into the wall. Additionally, no one could sit back against the wall because of the bunk placement. Disney ships have them on the ceiling, so hitting your head is never an issue.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
The cabins were smaller than we are used to on other ships. My daughters and I started in room D231. The cabin steward was attentive and took care of issues immediately. He faithfully put the bunk back up each morning and down each evening. We switched cabins with my husband and son 1/2 way through the cruise. Then we were in P317. That cabin steward was less attentive. He did not put the upper bunk up everyday. It is uncomfortable to sit on the bed under the bunk during the day. Watching the television was very uncomfortable with the top bunk down. The cabin steward for P317 did not vacuum every day for sure. I dropped something small, and when I picked it up, several hairs (not ours) came with the object. Yuck!
This port requires a tender, which is horrible. You bob around in a small boat for sometimes an hour waiting your turn to get to the dock/pier. Too congested with boat traffic.
We were supposed to be in Ensenada from 4-8 pm. We got into port at 7 pm and almost nothing was open. It was chilly and dark outside. We had to be back on the ship at 9:30 pm. All excursions were cancelled. Nothing to do or see.
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