Grand Princess Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Had a wonderful time.  Weather perfect.  Cruise ship was great,  Personnel on cruise very friendly, professional and efficient.  We had a wonderful relaxing time.

We had a very enjoyable time.

What I liked: Entertainment was nice, they did get the people involved. Everything was on board to keep the momentum going. Service was excellent Edwin Morales and Darren Jugoo treated us like Royalty.

What I didn't like: Karaoke was obviously unfair in picking the best singers, it was based upon who had the largest crowd of friends on the ship. Judges should be your employee's that entertain should pick the best. That would  be more Entertaining and draw more people. Your Bingo: My wife did win in bingo and another person claimed that he had bingo also. When it was brought out I noticed that the person did not bingo on the last number. Meaning that he missed his bingo because he didn't bingo on that number. My wife had to split it with him. When I brought it up to "Jeff" he said "we don't play it that way" ? Those of us who play bingo know that person didn't have a bingo. Your supposed to have bingo on the last number called. You should advise that before people pay to play. Casino was tight and everyone knew it.

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Cruise was relaxing and fun. The pools were super clean and for an old ship it was well maintained and crews were working all the time to keep things up. The treadmills in the gym were poor quality and no private showers in the gym area, only one open shower outside by the sauna and steam room. The food was very good in the dining rooms, buffets and the only major disappointment was paying for the Crown Grill who advertised daily they served "Premium Aged Beef". I ordered the 14oz. ribeye and fought my way through a tough piece of utility grade beef. Our room attendant was bossy and put out when asked to put our beds together to a queen from a twin arrangement. I gave him a $10.00 and he agreed to make the change. We did like most all of the staff and loved some of them and enjoyed great service in general. Many passengers were octogenarian and did not use the pools and open areas which made it nice. You could find chairs and it was easy to move around. My first time on Princess and I would cruise with them again.

Embarkations was out of control - we stood for 3 hours to board the ship.  They could have served coffee and been a little more honest about what was going on.

Too many priority boarders, of which we were none.

Wait staffs were the best part.........well trained, friendly and fun to be around both in DaVinci Dining Room and in Sabatini's.

We loved our suite..................very relaxing.  Too bad the weather was so cold that we could not sit out on our deck and enjoy it, but twice.  Always wet, too.  Our cabin steward was great.

Purser's office was no help anytime we needed them.  No notice ahead of things going on.  We would hear about it the day of or not at all.

Just does not compare to Holland America.

Rough seas on crossing but Hawaii was great.  Loved the food and entertainment. bought beverage package it was well worth it. The excursions were well organized and very informational.  Had acupuncture treatments, they really helped with my pain. 

Do you want a Real Vacation? Well The Grand Princess 15 day Hawaiian Cruise is THE Place!  Balcony, a room with a view! Cabin Sterward,Totally Awesome! Food,Excellent. CREW/STAFF, AMAZING!  In work, kindness and compassion! Talent as well! CLEAN! Entertainment Great! I was Spoiled. Home now, where Are My People? 😉

Warning: it's long.

TL;DR - if you went to Cheesecake Factory to celebrate your last birthday, if you're still raving about your stay at the Cleveland Marriott, if you can't move because you're too old or too fat, then this cruise is for you!

This was my first cruise . While I was prepared to encounter a lot of older passengers, as there were many sea days, I had no idea that there would be so many morbidly obese people on board. Not the agent or the cruise line's fault, just shocking. I think I'd be interested in a more active itinerary and entertainment, but the selection of this cruise wasn't done by me in the first place (I joined friends who had already booked). 

It seems as though the cruise attempts to imply luxury, but can't help being stuck firmly in the grasp of its middle-class clientele. My expectations were (perhaps unreasonably) closer to Michelin Star, yet I felt more Ruth's Chris than French Laundry. Fine if your previous luxury escapades have been limited to Cheesecake Factory and the Cleveland Marriott, but a bit of a letdown for those who more regularly patronize Manresa and the Mandarin Oriental. I felt at times as though I were trapped inside of Disneyland--attention was paid to every detail, but I was sentenced to endlessly endure the mediocrity of the masses.

Facilities were generally very well maintained. I enjoyed the wood paneled Wheelhouse lounge, and spent endless hours inside the Vines wine bar. Service was, across the board, outstanding and delightful. Traditional dining was a lovely opportunity to forge lasting relationships with both tablemates and service staff and by-and-large, the food was done quite well considering the volumes and storage constraints. I’ve rarely observed such detailed attention to traditional French culinary technique, so finding perfectly tournéed potatoes on my plate brought be back to my culinary school days. Outstanding staff included Mark and Jermone, our late-seating servers in the Boticcelli dining room, Jenny and Romil in the Crooner’s lounge, and Bon in the Vines wine bar.

Specialty restaurants were adequate, but not the outstanding experience that I was expecting. Steakhouse steaks were choice, not prime, and somewhat flaccid. The wine tasting event was not hosted by a certified Sommelier, but by someone who had “once worked as a hotel sommelier”. Information imparted during the wine tasting was rudimentary at best, and factually incorrect at times. The special Fondue dinner featured quite watery fondue, which was explained as a reaction to passengers complaining about cheese that was too thick at the previous event. Formal dinners featured special entrées and of course you could always order as many dishes as you liked. They were even accommodating in letting me compose my own combination of proteins and veggies from the menu card (as I’ve mentioned, the service was outstanding). If getting as many lobster tails as you like is your idea of luxury, then you’ll relish the experience.

The biggest disappointment was The Sanctuary, an adult-only retreat at the front of the ship. It’s touted as an opportunity to “escape completely to this plush, outdoor spa-inspired setting with signature beverages, light meals, massages, attentive service and relaxing personal entertainment.” Our experience was quite different. As The Sanctuary is located quite close to the main pool area, it was impossible to escape the afternoon games and activities amplified over speakers so as to generate maximum excitement, or the ongoing “Movies Under the Stars®” (which was not limited to when the stars were out). As a result, we were constantly assaulted with all manner of shouting, cheering, dialogue and explosions. In addition, it took over 90 minutes to receive our first drink order (after waiting nearly an hour for a server to appear), and over 2 hours for food and the promised and very necessary noise-canceling headsets. Apparently, although noise cancellation and relaxing music are both advertised and definitely necessary, the mp3 players are kept several decks below and inconvenient to access. Even once the mp3 player arrived, the headset was shorted and suffered from poor sound quality. As we politely brought these deficiencies to the attention of the staff, they made every attempt to make amends. Our service was escalated three times, to increasingly senior staff, but even they couldn’t compensate for broken electronics and over-amplified activities by the pool. By-and-large, not worth the added cost ($40pp). We spent the following afternoon relaxing by the small adults-only pool at the stern, where we found better service and more peace. Kudos to the service team for trying, except for the initial giggly Japanese woman who would nod and say ‘yes’ even though it became apparent that she didn’t even understand what we were asking, and who didn’t make her first appearance for 45 minutes and then only sparsely and occasionally thereafter. 

The unlimited drinks option was key, as it includes many of the other added-cost items such as barista coffee drinks and soft drinks. We easily consumed more than the $50/day cost, considering that each coffee drink ran ~$4 in the am, a couple of sodas at lunch were ~$3 ea, mai tais at the pool were ~$8, a glass of wine before dinner ran ~$8-$10, and we receive 40% off of full bottles of wine, complimentary sparkling water bottles at dinner, and free bottles of water for excursions. 

All-in-all, I appreciated the opportunity to disconnect and relax in a way that I’ve never been able to before. I suspect, however, if I ever go on another cruise I will choose one that more closely fits my demographic.

Having cruised in the Grand Princess twice before, the ship was showing its age. Other than that the cruise was delightful; service was excellent, food was excellent and the customer service personnel very helpful. The temperature on the ship everywhere was maintained at a very cool level, for which we were not prepared, and found this uncomfortable. The stateroom staff and the wait personnel on the dining rooms were all very polite, courteous and helpful.

Phenomenal experience! Even in an inside cabin with four Adults. Embarkation was a bit chaotic, but managed well. The Grand, even with her age is well maintained and in excellent shape. The entire crew from Captain down were all superior. They all spoke perfect English, were all proficient and excelled at their jobs! I am thrilled with everything and am excited to do the Panama canal cruise! 

I used my mileage points to "pay" for this cruise, so you can't beat the price. The Pacific was a little choppy for 2 days out, and two days back, but the island weather was perfect: blue skies & temps in the 70's.The Grand Princess is showing a little sign of her age, but still a clean comfortable ship. Food, as usual was fantastic.

The cruise to the Hawaiian Islands was a true R & R trip. We did as much or as little as we pleased and enjoyed every minute. Our table mates were wonderful

and will stay friends for a lifetime. The food was delicious and the service was outstanding!

In discussions with some longtime travelers it was brought up that Asian employees had to work 9 months straight before they had a vacation whereas European workers only had to work 6 months.  Another platinum traveler stated that it was the requirement or the home country of the Asian workers that they work those long stretches...all umpteen Asian countries have the same rules?  Not true.  It was a concern of most people that the employees of Princess Lines have more time off to visit the stops where the ship docks or at least know something about the islands where the ship stops.  On questioning one of the female employees for info on one of the stops I was shocked that she had never been off the ship on that island.  What about giving them a tour of the islands and some information about the islands on their day off.  Another concern of the discussion group was the amount of money the employees received from our gratuities added to our bill which the elite and platinum travelers all had an opinion on correctly or incorrectly.  All in all the trip was great and the staff all hardworking and attentive.

great cruise, great ports. the weather was very good

The service was good.

this was an very lovely experience. The service was great, met a lot of very nice people. I was travelling alone since I am a recent widow and found that it was easy to meet people and had fun. The entertainment was excellent

the embarkation and debarkation was the most organized and fastest of any cruise we have been on. The entertainment was varied and good on ship. The food was not as good as past Princess cruises we have been on. The rooms were nice and clean and the staff was good and friendly.

We had a very nice cruise to the Mexican ports.  The ship itself was a little older and it showed in some places but it was well maintained.  The staff on the ship was great, the food was good, and we enjoyed the shows.  Our stateroom attendant, Alan, did a great job keeping up with our room.  In the main dining room, Gerald, our waiter provided great service and was nice to see each night.  Our fellow passengers' ages skewed a little older than us but we had a nice time. 

The guest entertainers: Paul Baker (amazing singer), Jeff Peterson (comedy magician), and Heather Sullivan (great singer) provided good entertainment in between the production shows.  We really enjoyed the entertainment on the ship.

I'm not giving the cruise 5-stars because I felt that there wasn't quite enough to do on board; I guess we just enjoy the bustle of larger ships.

We enjoyed our ten day cruise to four ports in Mexico and loved leaving and returning from San Franciscos new Pier 27, so easy for Bsy Area residents.

The food and service was very good, there are many entertainment options each evening and a first class team of singers and dancers with well staged shows.

The piano player, Funch, was warm and engaging, doing old classics in the Crooners Lounge which features great martinis, shaken table side by cute young servers doing a silly dance.

The lecturers were disappointing, not much content and poor delivery.  With six days st sea, it would have been nice to learn more about Mexico's culture, history, geography and food. 

The ship is older, but very well maintained and constantly cleaned, polished, varnished by a busy staff.  Our cabin was kept tidied up several times a day by Abageil Villaneuva, a charming, hard working young woman from the Phillipines.

The room is well appointed. the bed comfortable. the closet and cubby space adequate. The bathroom is small, but ok with lots of towels, no magnifier mirror.

We had any time dining and was pleased with the ability to get a table for two or join a larger table to meet people with little wait time in Michselangelo d.r, with a first rate maitre'd and team of servers. The fresh fish was excellent, the vegetables crisp and varied, the creme brûlée too good, couldn't stop ordering it!

Princess is well run, great staff, friendly, professional, officers are seen around the ship, cruise director and his team very upbeat, lots of activities, many Christmas themed got this cruise. I loved the gingerbread house competition, 29 teams of five or six entered, the one made into a cruise ship won, of course!

Oversll, a grand voyage on the Grand Princess, and very good value for money.

Overall, the cruise was great. The embarkation and disembarkation process was smooth and easy. I did not mind the several (5) at sea days.  I do wish the crew would enforce the policy of not saving seats in the theater.  There were two shows I missed because people went in very early and held numerous seats for those who showed up later.  I was very happy with the cabin steward, our accommodations, and the overall cleanliness of the ship.  The dining room staff were all great, and the food was okay.  I was not happy with the service desk personnel.  I lost a credit card, turned in the loss when I discovered it, and checked on it at the desk two days in a row.  Each time I was told they did not have it.  The last day of the cruise I had a call from the front desk.  They had my card there the entire time, but did not call until the last day.  I went to all of the trouble of cancelling the card.  

I also think paying for internet, soft drinks, and specialty coffees is ridiculous when the cost of the cruise is already over $2000.00 per person.  

But, I do understand that is the policy now for almost all cruise companies.

We bought an all-inclusive drink card, and I hope I got my money's worth! 

Cruise is perfectly organized. Food is perfect, entertainment for all types of passengers and all day long, room and restaurant service is excellent. Ship is very comfortable, swimming pools, cinema theater under the sky, two theaters on deck 7, a lot of bars, several swimming pools and plenty of space to relax under the sky or in the shadow. Even casino for crazy guys going to cruise to spend time in space filled with smoke emptying their pockets in front of jackpot machine.

The only personal complain: Internet. It is very expensive, but works terrible. I had to go to Internet manager several times to resolve issues with how the system did count my Internet usage minutes. Nowadays such Internet communication looks like Stone age legacy. Probably, many people are only happy to spend several days without Internet narcotics, but for me it was important and created certain discomfort.

Aside of Internet, everythis was simply perfect and above my initial expectations.

This cruise was a disappointment majorly for two reasons : food and entertainment.

Food was tasteless most of the time, breakfast was always the same,

Fruit assortment was poor .Freshness questionable.

 Entertainment was very low level and quality. Most of the evenings were extremely boring. There was nothing to do most of the time unless you are a good dancer.

Service was okay.