The Grand Princess just simply missed the mark on so many levels. The Lotus spa’s up-sell tactics are shameful. I wasn’t there to assist my wife in telling the spa, “no she doesn’t want your special $100 facial experience.” Their used car salesmen approach is just wrong.
We had some many issues with this cruise that we have decided not to sail on Princess again. Hawaii drew us in, but do not be fooled… so many passengers complained about the industrial ports, food, service, etc…
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Went well, smooth, and as expected for the cruise industry.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
1 out of 5
What happened to the amazing food on Grand Princess? Rated against other cruise lines, I was rather disappointed with the food. Main dinning rooms are to be avoided as food was always overcooked and service was absolutely below industry standards.
Whosever idea it was to make you change tables every night needs to rethink their approach. We reserved a table for 2, but was always subjected to sharing a different table with new folks at every meal. Recommendation- go back to reserved tables.
Buffet food was better than main dining, but still is way behind that of Royal Caribbean’s.
Onboard Activities
2 out of 5
Grand Princess is designed and caters to 70 years and older. Thus, making most activities dull and lacking that wow factor.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
Basic shows and nothing compared to other cruise lines. Understandable as there were simply too many folks born in the 40s and 50s.
Service and Staff
1 out of 5
Service shocked me as we are typically use to staff going out of there way to make our cruise more enjoyable. Forget about a reply when saying thank you. Just seemed like the staff was at the end of there contracts and just wanted to get off that ship.
I would say our room steward was the only bright spot and she did treat us well.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
Grand Princess I’d old and out dated. It’s our fault for cruising on newer ships as the Grand Princess needs some major work to bring it up to just a basic standard.
For newer cruisers…understand that the longer the cruise…the older the passengers…mainly older passengers can afford the time off for a longer cruise…if age is a major concern I would recommend 7 days or less cruises to Mexico or the Caribbean and then shoot for vacation times…we enjoy cruising with passengers who are enjoying the experience regardless of how many anniversaries of your 21st birthday you have behind you——when you travel to a destination do something research on the ports…some dock in freight yards because that is where the facilities are…so you can figure out what to do when in port…or just enjoy a quieter ship——I dislike the anytime dining…but others love it…on my last cruise I had to insist on the same table every night…and if that is my greatest problem on a ship…then I am blessed——if you are unhappy with a meal…then politely discuss it with the server and they will try to make it right —— a cruise is not the vacation for everyone …as with any experiences there are highs and lows…I have had cruises where I had experiences were less than pleasing…but I have had no cruises where everything was a loss …but then again there are those who take great joy in complaining…as a quote from Dennis the Menace goes…”Who am I to take away your Yo?”
All reviews are just one person's opinion. We have found some people just like to complain. We sailed Royal Caribbean twice about 6 years in between and it was the same both times...Bad! Have sailed on 24 Princess cruises and never experienced anything close to what was described ( the Grand twice) here. We sailed just in January and the only complaint was having to wear a mask.
We sailed the Grand in Jan. to Hawaii had a great time the food was very good and the crew was great. Always sail Princess , the only thing we didn't like was having to wear a mask all the time , we live in Florida and haven't worn masks in a year.
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