Grand Princess Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Generally a good trip. a few people in the party including me caught a cold that appeared to be going around the ship. noticed some not paying attention to health warnings.

Stateroom seemed smaller than what was pictured but did like the balcony.

Many good memories made

Transfer from port to Seattle bus was very poorly handled. other party on same cruise require transfer on same bus was handled as direct to bus without an issue our transfer direct to bus only took place after razing issues which should have been taken care off before the cruise began. After 3 days on board we were first told need to change our flight reservations, when advised that was not possible we were told we could have a refund and make a reservation with another transfer agent which was told impractical. When we advised Princes Cruise that was told unacceptable they final arranged for us to be included the direct to bus group which is how it should have been handled in the first place. This debarkation processing allowed us to make our flight without incident and we should been handled that way from the beginning rather taking two addition days to process this action.   

This was the most beautiful vacation that we could expect.  Being our first cruise we did not know what to expect.  The friendly and lovely staff made this experience so much better then we expected. The best part for us was the entertainment and dining experience.  We were also bless to have the sun for most of the cruise.  Thank you Princess 

There was nothing outstanding about the cruise. Maybe our expectations were too high. The food, service and entertainment were okay, but not as good on Royal Carribean.

Cruise was a great time! We were well taken care of... Dinning room personnel was fantastic! Food was excellent. We enjoyed all the ports of call, the scenery was amazing. It was a family vacation with my 80 year old mother who had the time of her life..... 

My daughter and I loved our cruise to Alaska.  We did a lot of things on the ship and went outside for the glaciers.  We enjoyed the history lessons along with the sightseeing.  We thoroughly enjoyed all our meals in the dining room.  We ate in the De Vinci dining room and the service was outstanding.

highlight of cruise was the glacier national park, unfortunately the weather was not the greatest, but cleared and were able to see the glacier. Commentary by park rangers was great but difficult to hear in some of the open decks. Did a whale watching tour in Juneau booked through cruises only excursions, was wonderful, small boat, got close to whales and operators were great. Helicopter tour booked through cruise line was good, landed on glacier, weight overage charge was ridiculous, especially since traveling with 2 children who pay same price, but greatly under limit, would think they would consider that when charging one passenger for 10 lbs over limit.   Disembarkation was the smoothest ever experienced! Was very stress free, got off boat, got luggage, through immigration and into taxi in about 40 minutes!  Recommend taking taxi to Vancouver airport rather that pay for bus. Was $40 including tip.  Service in dining room and even cabin was slow, however very personable and pleasant. 

Ride the Princess Grande to see the glaciers of Alaska.  Memories last a life time....The glaciers are calving, the whales are flipping their tales, and the boat transports the group as one big fan club of the beauty all around.

Overall, our Cruise to Alaska on the Grand Princess was a positive experience. While there were some individuals who provided outstanding service the experience overall lacked the attention and service of a Carnival Cruise ship which was very surprising to us.  Some of the services closed early in the evenings and it seemed there just wasn't always that enthusiasm you expect on a cruise experience.

We chose a partial view stateroom that actually had good view over the lifeboat. Design of boat being symmetrical can be somewhat confusing which end you are at. Food was adequate, service at restaurants was great. Pastries unless the special of the night at the restaurant, not the buffet, were only adequate. The special dessert of the night was always good though and the special entree of the night. More help is needed at the customer service desk as lines tended to be long. Also resolving issues sometimes took talking with 3 employees. 

Great fare deal, great itinerary, great weather. Buffet and pool side food was substandard based on prior Princess sailings. Likewise, shows and activities were not up to par. We discussed our concerns with the purser; seasoned friends who sailed 2 weeks later did not experience the same issues. Sounds like Princess responded well to passenger concerns. Thanks Princess!

The ports could have been chosen better. Rather than Santa Barbara and San Pedro would have liked going to San Diego. There was really nothing to see in Santa Barbara or San Pedro.

Food on this trip was OK. Nothing outstanding.

Too many people. 2,600 passengers is about 2,000 too many.

Dining room service was slow and our waiter was not very friendly. The atrium always smelled of cigarette smoke from the casino. There was water leaking from the ceilings and the lights kept dimming in the dining room.  Floor tiles were loose in the food court. Our mattress needed to be replaced. 

On the positive side, the music and entertainment was the best I have seen on any cruise. The food in the food court was as good as any other cruise ship we have taken. The ship was on time at every port. The passengers were very elderly and so I don't recommend this cruise for younger couples.

We had a wonderful experience, the food was great the staff was pleasant and accommodating. We were upgraded to a balcony room and that was wonderful, we are spoiled now, it's the only way to go. Already looking into taking another cruise.

Ship is too small for passenger amount...hard to find a  few seats together with sailing buddies.

Embarking was a nightmare...sat around for close to 2 hours waiting to get on the ship.

Anytime dining not what it is.....especially the first few days...lines and buzzers to wait....then still need to get on the line at 5:15 to be seated at six and a crap toss after that..

Theatre seats very cramped and tightly put together. Also no coffee or tea available at no charge at the international cafe.

My wife and I are experienced cruisers, having taken over 15 cruises to various locations and I would rate this cruise in my top 4. What I liked about this cruise was the excellent service that we received at the line level (housekeeping, wait staff, bartenders). We have experienced good staff on cruises before, staff that made our beds and waited on our dining tables, but this staff seemed like they actually cared if you were happy on your cruise.  We met 2 Princess employees that previously worked for Carnival, and they both stated that they were happier and more relaxed working for Princess.

The only negative were the shows at night. For some reason Princess has only 3 production shows with the Princess Singers and Dancers on a 14 night cruise, with the rest of the nights having entertainment fillers with a magician, comedians and individual singers with some being picked up in Hawaii. We know now that if you want good entertainment, go with NCL.

My wife and I are both "cruise foodies" and are able to rate the food against 5 other cruise lines. I would say that only Celebrity and Oceania has better food in general. The Princess buffet has stations for better access and during dinner there is always a carving station, and the wait staff are serving drinks to each table day and night.  The MDR was good and had some gourmet dishes like escargot, pheasant, scallops, and baked Alaska with different vegetarian entrees nightly. One of the best lunches that we had was at Alfredo's Pizzeria, which might have the best pizza at sea. From 3:30 to 4:30 they have a afternoon tea with finger sandwiches, scones, cookies and desserts, which is just a strategy to meet people if you are that type. They usually place you in one large group, with the tables close together. 

Grand Princess has something unusual that we have not seen on other cruise lines; 2 for 1 drinks, that can be found at rotating bars on deck 5 and 7 from 3:00 to 5:00 on sea days. Every sea day we would meet with our friends at the Wheelhouse Bar at 3:00 and take advantage of this special with mixed drinks at $8.00 and beers at $6.00, it's a good deal getting 2 for the price of one.

Overall, this was a very relaxing and laid back cruise, getting away from morning meetings, iPads, computers and micro managing, with an excellent Princess crew to support you and supply all of your needs. 

We didn't like the beds in our room. We asked for a upgrade and was told none available. If we book again it will be with better beds!   We like to take trips but the sleeping was very bad!    I took another cruise and was in a good bed. The room is very small and not good for handicapped people. I am handicapped and asked for a handicapped room. I got a standard room.

We enjoyed our trip on the Grand Princess very much and the shortcomings of the Grand Princess were offset by the great service we received and the excellent food on the ship. Although the ship is one of the oldest in the Princess fleet we did not have any serious concerns with our safety and our health on the ship. The fact that some of the elevators did not function properly and the timing of these elevators were not in sync were more of a nuisance than a serious problem. We were also disappointed that the training pool was not functional during the entire trip and we were told that it was not working for a long time and would not be repaired in the short term. Leaving the ship was a total disaster mainly due to immigration and custom problems. Waiting in line for hours to get into the country is not acceptable especially when immigration officials treated non-american passengers differently.

Overall good value, ship in poorer condition, than I expected for Princess! Food and Service, very good! Fourth cruise in ten years, rank this one 3 of 4.

Boarded the ship and was greeted by  a very friendly staff.  Enjoyed our meals, the great entertainment, and thought the Cruise Director was awesome!  He participated in the entertainment and was very visible around the ship during the cruise.