Grand Princess Cruise Reviews - Reviews

All of the Sailors have done very excellent job. We loved it. I would rather going with Princess Cruise if I have a chance. Thanks so much see you again.

The ports of call were fantastic. I would say the majority of the crew was great. The food in the steak house and especially the staff and food at Sabbatini,s which was great. We were there twice. The food at horizan court and Botticelli dining room was low-grade dog food. I made the mistake wearing shorts and the maitre,d yelled at me, the guy is an ass. If i want to a fine restaurant and was served that food i would refuse to pay. I don't think my wife and I would ever cruise with Princess again.

I would recommend going later than April.  The weather was cooler.  I really enjoyed the tour to the Arizona Memorial even in the cold and wind.  The bus transportation left a lot to be desired.  It was so disorganized.  I also think they need to detail the shopping better.  There was little or no shopping on two of the islands unless you like shopping at Wal-Mart!  I didn't go all the way to Hawaii to shop at Wal-Mart.

This was our 38th wedding anniversary present to ourselves. As a wife of a very busy administrator, we have never taken a vacation where the office has not interrupted or even flown my husband back for a meeting. It was great to be able to unplug and not have outside interruptions. As first time cruisers we probably had more sea days than we would have liked. We loved all of the excursions on the different Hawaiian Islands. The one that stands out for both of us is the visit to the McBryde and Allerton Gardens on Kaua'i and the tour by Sam whose father was the original caretaker of the property.

On the ship the food was great and we enjoyed a traditional dining table #219 in the Botticelli room. At our table for four we met a couple that we looked forward to seeing each evening and sharing our adventures. The wait staff is outstanding. Our dinners were excellent and so were our servers, Alex and David. I have a food allergy and the maître de went out of his way to give me a menu that was safe for me to enjoy.

We also enjoyed some of our breakfasts and lunches in the Da Vinci. We were able to get an individual table most of the time. After our first lunch with Rodell and Peter, we returned multiple times to their service area.

We also took advantage of the spa and discovered that the Hot Stone massages by Makka were the best we had ever experienced.

Overall we had a great time and would like to visit Alaska next.

The other passengers on this cruise were very friendly.  I appreciated the old-school dining, sharing a table with other passengers.  My room steward was also very friendly and helpful.  This ship did not feel crowded at all; it actually felt empty on most occasions.  The less ideal aspects of this trip were the ship itself.  It felt very aged and worn.  The overall décor and shape of the ship seemed very dated (carpet, elevator, paint, room décor, hair dryer, etc).  The food also fell well below the standard/expectations I have heard about the Princess line.  Very sub-par and mediocre. 

I always looked forward to the dinners in club class because the staff really make you feel special.

To improve it would be nice if things didn't overlap so I could get to everything I want to do but it just might not be possible to do so.  Also it would be nice if more things could stay open on the ship when a tour has not been booked; that may not be possible either.

Of course I would recommend Princess Cruises to others!

Great time in Hawaii.  We were a younger couple, other couples on the boat were about the average 60+.  It was neat to be the "honeymooners", however not many activities for our age group.  There was also no music by the pool deck and not very many guys walking around to offer you the "drink of the day" like on other cruise lines.  Food was great,  however after 10p your options are limited for late night munchies if you are leaving the club.  24 hr pizza is definitely a great bonus on other cruise lines too.  All staff was very nice.  Balcony room on the 14/Lido deck had excellent view!!  Also, very nice to be on the same deck as pool and food!

Before even leaving for my cruise gave away my reserved (paid in full) balcony stateroom to another customer!  This makes me furious since I booked my cruise more than 6 months in advance!   and Princess played the blame game when I questioned it, absolutely no compensation was made by either party! Needless to say I will never use or Princess again!  They claim to have sent me an email but who cares! There is absolutely no excuse for this, and I feel I should have received a phone call for such an issue!  The cruise itself was nice, but Sucks!

The 1-night Mexican Riviera cruise on Grand Princess was an enjoyable experience. My husband and I had a cabin with a balcony. During the days the ship was cruising in the sea sitting on the balcony and reading with gentle ocean breeze was beneficial for the body and soul. The evening entertainment was high quality, especially the singers and dancers, as well as the magician and comedian. The last night's "Voice of the Ocean" was a hit too.

The stops in four beach towns in Mexico were provided a glimpse to the local beauty and culture. 

The service was very good on the ship. From cabin steward to dining room waiters, and pretty much everyone in the service team greeted you with smile, and eager to help you with anything you might be in need.

The regular dining room dinner was decent. The menu changed every evening. The buffet was plentiful in verity. 

Princess Cruises got it right in regards to entertaining their guests!  The top rated entertainers and shows included comics, singers, and a magician, plus the ships own song and dance team.  We thoroughly enjoyed every evening of top notch shows.  

The food and choices for dining were excellent and varied, served by a doting staff whose friendly and positive attitude add to the experience.

When our toilet would not flush, it was fixed within the half hour.  

We save money by not booking excursions through the cruise line.  Our recommendation would be that Princess provide guests with information on self walking tours.

The service over the 14 day sailing was impeccable. Every dining experience was memorable. The anytime dining was the best. Each of the restraints accepted reservations and we were escorted in with flair when we learned that it was better than showing up and waiting for a table.

The wait service was exceptional. The detail and service was that of the finest dining service.

The food in all of the various eateries was outstanding, well prepared and delicious.

The entertainment was more than you can see in two weeks.

Did I say if you can do it.

The service was fantastic on this cruise and the food was consistently good. The issues that need work are the entertainment times in the Princess Theater and handicap seating sections in the dining rooms. A number if us on the cruise discussed a need for an afternoon matinee instead of a late night show. Many or most of the guests were in their 70s and 80s. These folks packed the 8:00 shows and many people could not get in to see the performances. We actually thought ourselves lucky to get seats by arriving at 30 minutes before the performance. A 4:00 matinee would help alleviate this crowding problem. If you take this trip and want to see a live show in the Princess Theater , you will have to get your seat early The next issue is the access for people with disabilities or mobility problems. There were hundreds of these folks; some with scooters, wheelchairs, and rolling walkers. These apparatuses were causes problems in the dining rooms because they were hazards that dining guests and wait staff were tripping over. Not sure how this can be fixed, but future guests need to keep an eye out for these when walking through the dining rooms. These are just tips; all in all a fabulous cruise. We would go again.

The cruise was uneventful, but relaxxing .  The Grand Princess is 20 years old and lacks some of the amenities of newer ship.  Cabins are on the smaller side with the bathrooms being cramped.

We've been on many Princess cruises and the food on this ship was particularly good with excellent fish preparation.

There were two lecturers on board.  The gentleman who organized film clips into various categories was excellent.  The other lecturer/naturalist was somewhat obtuse at times.  The other presentations were all sales pitches for art, the spa and jewelry.  We didn't go to any of these presentations as they are usually extremely boring after having been on 15 cruises with Princess.

This was our second cruise to Hawaii with Princess Cruise ,always enjoy  great vacation with Princess Cruise .good food , good entertainments ,good services ,thanks to all friendly staffs, this was our second .

It was just an ok cruise. Best thing was the itinerary. Though 4 ports in a row is exhausting when you do an excursion in each port, we loved 3 (four if you count the day we left) sea days in a row. Great chance to relax. Loved all ports except maybe not Manzanillo . That was a very unpleasant excursion and port in general. All other ports were great and excursions too. The Ship in dire need of some TLC. Very shabby in areas. Angry about enormous fee tacked on for Serenity area. $40 a day just to be in the adults only quiet area!! Never on any ship had there been a charge for that! Not stated on their website description of the ship either. Food was well prepared but not variety. By end of 10 days was tired of the same thing everyday. Buffet food was never hot enough. Cold waffles with cold syrup! Yuk! Many other foods as well were cold. Wonderful desserts on Lido, but not in dining room. Why was that? Coffee very good, which is rare for cruise ships, so that was a plus. Also a plus, ate more salads because had good dressings. First time I found French dressing on a ship. Loved that. First formal night, menu was terrible. We are use to extra good food on formal nights. Second formal was good. Lobster night and Beef Wellington. Not a Lobster person, but husband enjoyed it. I would of preferred a good steak or Filet Mignon as we were use to on other ships. In general, feel they went cheap on food with a lot of chicken dishes. No milk in little cartons for breakfast and milk in pitchers was not cold. Even had meatloaf featured on a formal night! Seriously, not impressed. All the staff was very attentive and on top of things. Loved our dining room waiters. Room steward too did a very good job. But their superiors, specially in the food areas, hawked and scowled over them to the point they appeared nervous and didn't take time to chit chat or have fun with the passengers which happens on Carnival and keeps a fun comfortable air to things. I know Princess wants to come off as a little classier than Carnival, but I felt sorry for the employees that always had a hard watchful eye on them. We were bugged to death in the buffet area with every staff member trying to get us drinks or grab our dishes almost before we were done with them because they needed to appear busy at every moment. Room was smaller than usual, but did the job and bed was amazing comfortable. We were sad that there were no towel animals. Weird that we had no stairs by the set of elevators by our room. That annoyed us, because we often prefer taking stairs. Seemed unsafe as well. Entertainment was so-so. Singers and dancers were good, but not that many shows by them. Magician was amazing. A few shows we had to miss because they only offered one show and it was right during our late dining time. That annoyed us too. Karaoke was only for one hour a night and not every night. That is not near long enough for those who like Karaoke. Most ships dedicate on lounge for that and it lasts a few hours. Other house bands and singers around the ship were good and did a nice variety of music. Loved they had a country western night, but again, lasted a little over an hour! Why so short? I will say that although Princess caters to an older crowd, I was happy to see they had a decent amount of activities to do during the sea days. Most fun to do or watch. Didn't fault them for lack of pool activities because the weather wasn't good enough for that most the time. It was an older ship so the atrium and theater didn't have that wow factor of the newer ships, but had several nice lounges and we loved the back 3 deck area of the ship, which we didn't know till about day 4, was an adult only area, so that was nice. Although didn't have the nice cushioned chairs Serenity would of had. Some cushioned chairs in that area, but it was were the smokers hung out and stu nk in there. And it was dark for reading. Speaking of dark..Library was dumb. On a main hallway near atrium, with 3 walls, so completely open to the noise of the hallway and very dark inside. Much too dark to read or play board games. Useless to be used as a library. Back to dining experience...the dining room during our late dining was almost empty, yet we were put back in a tight corner by a large noisy table of 12 or more people. Because that table was so demanding, our table sometimes got our food slow. Not blaming the waiters. They did amazing considering what pressure they were under. And our fondness for John and Ronald, the waiters, is why we didn't ask to be moved to a different area. But honestly, we shouldn't of been there to start with since most tables were unused. Plus engine vibration was terrible where we were sitting. I think in the middle of the room or front area, that would not of been as bad. Again, we could of asked to move, but liked our waiters and didn't want to hurt their feelings. This was our first time on Princess and we have done pretty much every cruiseline. We were so excited to try Princess. We had always heard it was a step above all the rest. So very disappointed with what we experienced. We are trying to keep in mind it is a very old ship and maybe their newer ships would be better. But honestly, the Serenity policy alone would probably keep us from booking another cruise with them. They really need to eliminate or greatly reduce that fee or they may find others like us will go to other cruise lines. We cruise every year at least once a year, and I was hoping to be a loyal customer. We may give them another try in the future on a newer ship, but as of right now, I don't see it. Sticking to Celebrity or Carnival from now on.

We are very experienced cruisers who have been cruising since the 1970s on a variety of ships and lines. This was our worst experience in almost 50 years. The only saving grace on this cruise were the Hawaiian Ambassadors who taught Ukulele, Hula, and gave the Hawaiian enrichment lectures. If it wasn't for them we would have bailed out at the first stop on Hilo. The other lecturers were very good too. Also the staff was very courteous and friendly. Pretty much everything else about this cruise was horrid:

The bed in our room didn't offer proper support and was too soft - my back hurt the entire cruise. 

The food was ghastly. All the meat and seafood was overcooked and tough. Most of the seafood was flavorless - especially the lobster and shrimp. The buffet featured unidentified stuff floating in glop. The fried items were mostly soggy and flaccid.

The ship was horribly overcrowded with lines everywhere, especially at anytime dining where sometimes the wait exceeded an hour. The cruise staff often scheduled activities in venues that were way too small for the audience. There were also long hold times on the dining reservation line and for onboard customer service.

Large swaths of the public area were effectively unusable due to the reek of cigarette smoke from the Casino and Snookers bar.

The crew insisted on varnishing woodwork in public areas during peak hours sickening many passengers. Princess also nickels and dimes you to death. The amount of in your face selling of junk on board was repulsive. The photographers trying to get you in their pictures with their ridiculous outfits was extremely intrusive.

Overall the ship needs a total makeover and a lot of upgrades - subsystems such as the vacuum toilets failed repeatedly, the air conditioning in our room never got it cold enough. Vast areas of the public spaces were either too cold or too hot. The exterior of the ship has large areas of peeling paint and rust.

In spite of all this we had a fun time - we're not going to let a crummy cruise company destroy our good time.

Good selections of excursions that were worth the money. Would love to have a "learn to play" offering for those of us who don't know how to play bridge or mahjong but would love to learn. Having a separate water bottle "fill up" station would prevent people from using the drinking water stations which is a health hazard. Food was good, nice variety, always fresh fruit and salad greens. 

So Grand Princess is a little dated... But what does that matter... The staff tries hard and the food is pretty good..

Most passengers were seniors from the conservative central valley of California..  

The production shows were great and it's always nice to get out in the January sun in Mexico... No reason to get up early or rush around ....

Our first trip on the Grand Princess.  This was a very senior citizen trip, which for us was delightful.  It was good to see so many with "moving" difficulties getting out and enjoying life. We were very pleased with the balcony room size, very clean and with respectful stewards.  However, with so many elderly, it would be helpful if there were "grab bars" in each suites' bathroom, as the toilets were quite low, and since so many have aged "bad" knees.  I wonder how many towel bars were broken when used for assistance getting up.

We only ate at the buffet and International cafe, as both had everything we desire and then some.  Paying for the extra soda package was well worth it.

The Grand Princess developed a "tender platform" mechanical problem (didn't close properly), and the boat turned around 1.5 days from leaving Lahaina on the way to Ensenada.  It took 2.5 days to return to Oahu.   We were able to stay in Oahu on board the Grand P as our hotel until our flights left.  Princess Cruise Line was most generous and flew everyone back to San Francisco or to near airports and refunded 50% of our cruise fare, with the other 50% as a credit to a future cruise.  I hope to go to Alaska in the summer on Princess.  All in all we had a wonderful cruise and look forward to more. 

I love very much the Hula and Ukulele classes.Very local and I learned a lot.

I just did not  appreciate my DA VINCI   dining experience.Like for example I reserved for a table for two at 8PM, and Michael,the headwaiter could not give me a table for  two. So what is the reservation for?