Fun but not nearly as wonderful as expected. Princess has gone downhill

Item: Grand Princess
Rating: 3.8
Author: hmmmiwonder

Grand Princess Cruise Review to Alaska - Gulf of Alaska

hmmmiwonder

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 36

Overall rating:

3.8 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Voyage Of The Glaciers With Glacier Bay Southbound (Anchorage To Vancouver)

Sail date: July 08, 2023

Ship: Grand Princess

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: C214

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

the biggest complaint is we did not feel special at all; e.g., the room steward didn't do any thing special like "towel animals" or treats on the pillow. at the last dinner, every other cruise we've been on the kitchen/chef come out in a fun parade, that didn't happen. never really got to know the staff at all. also the medallion app is horrible, horrible, horrible. totally unreliable. i hate it and that's enough to never go on princess again. even their own staff says it's horrible. so fix it!

Embarkation

4 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

nothing special. the Crown Grill was fabulous

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5

there were none of interest to us. very few that were educational

Entertainment

we didn't attend anything, nothing of interest. boring and too loud

Children's Programs

uh duh, don't have kids? geez

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

some were excellent but several weren't able to answer questions. horrific internet, very unreliable. totally boring tv selections.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

clean yes but lacking in signage, such as where restrooms are, and just didn't feel fancy or elegant at all.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

way too small for a balcony. definitely not worth the money

Ship tip

don't expect to feel like "royalty" - we didn't feel like the staff cared we were there.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Whittier (Anchorage), Alaska Did not visit port

all we did was get off the train and board the ship.

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Cruise Hubbard Glacier

5 out of 5

Cruise Glacier Bay

5 out of 5

Skagway, Alaska

5 out of 5

Juneau, Alaska

5 out of 5

Ketchikan, Alaska

5 out of 5

Disembarkation

4 out of 5

11 Comments

Dumfy75 1 year ago

Amazes me how towel animals seem to be so important to so many people. Each to their own.

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Gwbigdog 1 year ago

Thanks for sharing

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chiselann 1 year ago

Love princess cruises....can't wait to do another....

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javawoody 1 year ago

I have been on the Grand and don’t agree with your comments at all

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cruising2004 1 year ago

Sorry you were disappointed with your cruise.

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MichaelW 1 year ago

I was going to let I go, but I can’t.. Your comment about the kids programs, how would this site know your personal situation? Uh duh, they don’t.. geez 🙄

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MichaelW 1 year ago

On your next cruise be sure to ask about the performance time in the main dining room. On Carnival for example, they moved up the performance to earlier in the night. Many things have changed and will continue to do so. Hope your next is better.

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karlgrgurich 1 year ago

Loved all our Princess cruises! They don’t do towel animals…never have. Unfortunately chocolates on your pillows have been gone since Covid.

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windy2day 1 year ago

The Grand Princess is Princess’ oldest ship. Perhaps try a newer ship? We were on the Enchanted Princess last year and it was wonderful but big with a lot of people. The older ships have their wear and tear but have less people and can dock at smaller ports. We book based on the itinerary and then make the most of it. If you don’t go to a show, how do you know you didn’t like it?

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Itspeace4me 1 year ago

Thank you for sharing.

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SRAlbritton 1 year ago

Thank you for your detailed review. I was thinking about Princess for my Alaska cruise. Maybe I'll reconsider.

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