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Live from the grand - may 22


freddie1974

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Embarkation

 

Let me start by saying I am ashamed to be British today! Compared to embarkation on our previous cruise (from Vancouver) the embarkation process was a shambles; but that won't spoil our cruise in any way.

 

We received both an email and phone call from Princess informing us that embarkation was delayed until 2pm for disinfection due to Norovirus on the previous sailing. We had valet car parking booked so we decided to arrive just after 1pm. We were directed to a holding area and told that even though embarkation would commence from 2pm, we would not be going anywhere until 2.45 at the earliest. Fortuntely, I drove away from the cruise terminal and was told that if we returned at 2.30 we could proceed directly to the ship.

 

Upon returning I was directed back to the holding car park - I flatly refused and drove in the opposite direction to join the queue for the ship. Fortunately we were out of the car within 15 minutes. There must have been 1,000 people in the queue to embark - fortunately having access to the priority line meant we had just 6 people in front of us.

 

After clearing security, we were given a number and told to wait as priority boarding was only for platinum/elite and we had a gold card. I pointed out we were in a full suite and could we board - the lady on the door said she had no idea and to ask her colleague; fortunately we were waived through on proceeded directly to the pursers desk to sign up for the Ultimate Ship Tour (we are first on the list - hope they get another 10 people!).

 

We stopped to get an Ultimate Soda Card for my wife who will drink mocktails this week, and a soda card for me as I will be on Whiskey & Brandy mostly! We finally arrived in our suite (D737) where our bags were already waiting for us. We were met by our steward, Noel, who has so far been superb.

 

 

Our Cabin - D737

 

I have promised a couple of people on here photos of the suite. They can be viewed here:

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/freddie1974/

 

The cabin is in excellent condition - the balcony perhaps a little worn (the rails could do with a lick of varnish) but really nothing to complain about.

 

 

The Ship

 

There have been lots of posts recently about the condition of the Grand. We have had a good look around so far and found perhaps a few areas where carpet is a little worn etc. but really, you would have to be looking for things to complain about... get a life and enjoy your cruise!!

 

In a word, the Grand is still, Grand.

 

Off to join my wife sunbathing on our balcony now as we are basked in glorious sunshine as we sail along the Solent. (wireless connection excellent in the cabin but patchy on the balcony - speed is excellent although may be due to location at the moment).

 

I shall try to update this thread a few times over the course of the week.

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I know I am obsessing over this but it has been bad the last 2 Princess Cruises to the point where I probably will not order it on the Grand for My October Cruise. Is it stillt wo tiny, mushy tails with a plate of Shrimp?

 

Thanks!

 

Mike in San Bruno hoping for USC Sanctions so Cal can go to the Rosebowl! :>)

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Freddie - glad to hear you are having a lovely time.....

 

we are on the grand next week with my husbands elderly parents. just a little concerned about the recent outbreaks of the Norovirus....

 

what's the word on the decks?

 

:confused::confused::confused:

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I know I am obsessing over this but it has been bad the last 2 Princess Cruises to the point where I probably will not order it on the Grand for My October Cruise. Is it stillt wo tiny, mushy tails with a plate of Shrimp?

 

Thanks!

 

Mike in San Bruno hoping for USC Sanctions so Cal can go to the Rosebowl! :>)

 

Sorry no, I don't eat lobster and my wife is allergic. I'm sure they would give you more if you asked for it though.

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Freddie - glad to hear you are having a lovely time.....

 

we are on the grand next week with my husbands elderly parents. just a little concerned about the recent outbreaks of the Norovirus....

 

what's the word on the decks?

 

:confused::confused::confused:

 

A little early to tell - they are still code red so no salt & pepper pots, enforced hand washing in every dining room (I think this should be a permanent policy) and no self service in HC. I will post updates as we receive them.

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The Maitre D' was great tonight - we requested a table for 2 which we didn't get in 2nd seating in Trad so he had a waitress personally escort us to Michaelangelo dining room where they were expecting us; we had a lovely secluded table for 2 so we are keeping it for the duration although he did offer to set us up a table in the Botticelli dining room from tomorrow.

 

Dinner was excellent - skipped dessert or they'll have to roll us off the ship next weekend!

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Embarkation

 

Let me start by saying I am ashamed to be British today! Compared to embarkation on our previous cruise (from Vancouver) the embarkation process was a shambles; but that won't spoil our cruise in any way.

 

We received both an email and phone call from Princess informing us that embarkation was delayed until 2pm for disinfection due to Norovirus on the previous sailing. We had valet car parking booked so we decided to arrive just after 1pm. We were directed to a holding area and told that even though embarkation would commence from 2pm, we would not be going anywhere until 2.45 at the earliest. Fortuntely, I drove away from the cruise terminal and was told that if we returned at 2.30 we could proceed directly to the ship.

 

Upon returning I was directed back to the holding car park - I flatly refused and drove in the opposite direction to join the queue for the ship. Fortunately we were out of the car within 15 minutes. There must have been 1,000 people in the queue to embark - fortunately having access to the priority line meant we had just 6 people in front of us.

 

After clearing security, we were given a number and told to wait as priority boarding was only for platinum/elite and we had a gold card. I pointed out we were in a full suite and could we board - the lady on the door said she had no idea and to ask her colleague; fortunately we were waived through on proceeded directly to the pursers desk to sign up for the Ultimate Ship Tour (we are first on the list - hope they get another 10 people!).

 

We stopped to get an Ultimate Soda Card for my wife who will drink mocktails this week, and a soda card for me as I will be on Whiskey & Brandy mostly! We finally arrived in our suite (D737) where our bags were already waiting for us. We were met by our steward, Noel, who has so far been superb.

 

 

Our Cabin - D737

 

I have promised a couple of people on here photos of the suite. They can be viewed here:

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/freddie1974/

 

The cabin is in excellent condition - the balcony perhaps a little worn (the rails could do with a lick of varnish) but really nothing to complain about.

 

 

The Ship

 

There have been lots of posts recently about the condition of the Grand. We have had a good look around so far and found perhaps a few areas where carpet is a little worn etc. but really, you would have to be looking for things to complain about... get a life and enjoy your cruise!!

 

In a word, the Grand is still, Grand.

 

Off to join my wife sunbathing on our balcony now as we are basked in glorious sunshine as we sail along the Solent. (wireless connection excellent in the cabin but patchy on the balcony - speed is excellent although may be due to location at the moment).

 

I shall try to update this thread a few times over the course of the week.

 

never be ashamed to be British

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Embarkation

 

I shall try to update this thread a few times over the course of the week.

 

Freddie, are you going to the meet & greet in the skywalkers on the 24th May from 11 to 12? if so say hi to Stu for me!!!

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We are just back from this cruise. We have embarked many times from Southampton and have never experienced the problems we had with embarkation for this cruise. It was an very unusual experience. So do not judge either Princess or the British embarkation process by this example.

 

The cruise itself suffered from the problems with the Norovirus and the service was not up to the standard we would normally expect on a healthy ship. We tried to explain to new cruisers who shared our table in Da Vinci that they were not seeing Princess at its best.

 

I also have to say that Princess does appear to be reducing what it offers and cutting out many small things that made Princess different from other cruise lines.

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I also have to say that Princess does appear to be reducing what it offers and cutting out many small things that made Princess different from other cruise lines.

 

This is not limited to Princess. For example, Royal Caribbean has eliminated chocolates on the pillow at night.

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This is not limited to Princess. For example, Royal Caribbean has eliminated chocolates on the pillow at night.

That's unconscionable. (I'm actually sorta serious. How the heck much could those little choccies cost? It's not like they're giving you Valhrona or Neuhaus.) Please, Princess, do NOT follow RC's lead in this. Pillow chocolates are a sacred thing to me.

 

Oh, and thanks for the Live, Freddie. That suite looks amazing -- enjoy it. Looking forward to more updates from you, in between having fun, of course!

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This is not limited to Princess. For example, Royal Caribbean has eliminated chocolates on the pillow at night.

 

When? We were just on the Mariner of the Seas in late March and we had chocolates on our pillow every night! :)

 

Katherine

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When? We were just on the Mariner of the Seas in late March and we had chocolates on our pillow every night! :)

 

 

None on my pillow on the Navigator of the Seas in February.

 

From posts by others on the RCCL board:

 

Serenade of the Seas posted May 6,2010: We always told people there was something about an RCCL cruise that made you feel special, but not so this time. No pillow chocolates.......

 

April 25th, 2010: First no more chocolate....

 

April 25th, 2010: I would like to have the candy back. It was such a nice treat everynight.

 

April 26th, 2010: We would like RCCL to bring back the pillow chocolate for those of us that like them.

 

April 26th, 2010: The cabin stewards do the usual evening cabin cleaning, towel animals, etc., but no more chocolates. We brought our own on our last cruise.

 

April 26th, 2010: I brought my own bag of Dove chocolates and put one on each pillow after dinner. OK, so it's not quite the same as coming back and seeing it already there, waiting for you, but it was better chocolare and only cost me about $2.50 to cover three of us for a week.

 

March 30th, 2010: what I don't understand is the angst about not receiving a small bit of low quality chocolate on one's pillow. I never even missed it.

March 30, 2010 Brilliance of the Seas: No longer chocolate on your pillow

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We are just back from this cruise. We have embarked many times from Southampton and have never experienced the problems we had with embarkation for this cruise. It was an very unusual experience. So do not judge either Princess or the British embarkation process by this example.

 

Thanks, that's good to know. It was bedlam yesterday!

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Day 2 - Zeebrugge

 

We started the day with breakfast at Sabatinis and then decided to take advantage of an almost empty ship before heading out.

 

The weather was fantastic - not a cloud in the sky and approx 22-24ºC - perfect for enjoying the hot tub. We chose one of the tubs at the front of the ship near the sauna and steam room, which we also used for a while.

 

We were booked on a "Brugge on your own" tour for the afternoon so after a short coach ride (where they handed out belgian chocolates, yum!) we spent the afternoon strolling around the town and took a short canal trip.

 

When we returned to the ship we had a card confirming our new dining arrangements waiting for us, although neither of us fancied anything on the menu so we went to find out waiter to let him know we would be seeing him tomorrow night - first format night - instead.

 

The CD (Billy London) is very funny - he introduced a comic vocalist (who, in his words, won Opportunity Knocks "for 12 weeks, almost 3 months") who was also hilarious.

 

We have seen everything on the ship now and concluded that:

 

(a) Anyone who complains about the Grand being old and run down must be a sandwich short of a picnic. A few rust patches & signs of wear on balconies really don't lessen the enjoyment of a cruise. The public areas are in great shape.

 

(b) We prefer sailing on the Coral as it just seemed less crowded - although I really can't say it's a big issue.

 

No news yet about the Ultimate Ship Tour - really hoping it goes ahead.

 

Being in an aft suite we were expecting some noise, but there are a number of rattles from fixtures in the cabin - fortunately my wife is a heavy sleeper and I popped in some ear plugs and didn't hear a thing (although the double whiskey's probably helped a little...!)

 

We're looking forward to our first sea day today. More to follow...

 

Norovirus Update

 

The Captain announced that there had been no cases reported since leaving Southampton - although as the incubation period is 48 hours all precautionary measures are staying in place for now. Good news, so far.

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Hi Freddie

 

We are reading your posts with great interest as we are on the Grand in July & have read some pretty horrific reviews lately to the extent we were ready to cancel!! Hopefully, your posts will renew our enthusiasm.:)

 

Just a couple of questions.... how much is it to use the wi-fi in the cabins?

 

& were you able to take wine onboard at Southampton, it seems there is a lot of contraversy over this!

 

Have a fantasic cruise. Look forward to reading your posts.

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Hi Freddie

 

We are reading your posts with great interest as we are on the Grand in July & have read some pretty horrific reviews lately to the extent we were ready to cancel!! Hopefully, your posts will renew our enthusiasm.:)

 

Just a couple of questions.... how much is it to use the wi-fi in the cabins?

 

& were you able to take wine onboard at Southampton, it seems there is a lot of contraversy over this!

 

Have a fantasic cruise. Look forward to reading your posts.

 

Don't cancel - there is absolutely nothing wrong with the ship (except some of our fellow passengers ;) ). Honestly we are quite fussy if something is wrong and so far all we could complain about (if we were so inclined) is that our travel agent did not request a table for 2 - not the fault of Princess and rectified within 2 minutes.

 

We signed up to 500 minutes on Wi-Fi for $175 - but we get this credited back as a suite perk so wasn't too bothered. There are four packages available:

 

 

500 Minutes for $175

$0.35/Minute

 

250 Minutes for $100

$0.40/Minute

 

150 Minutes for $75

$0.50/Minute

 

100 Minutes for $55

$0.55/Minute

 

We carried on 3 bottles of wine in Southampton in an open wine carrier. Security joked it was going to be a heavy night and didn't bat an eyelid.

 

Norovirus Update

 

The captain announced that as of noon today there had been 3 cases reported which was broadly in line with average for a cruise with this many people on board; enhanced hygiene measures are to stay in place for now.

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I wasn't sure why you were ashamed to be British...initially thought maybe it was due to Sarah Ferguson or British Airways strikes!!

 

Initially it was because of the chaos in Southampton, but now you mention it:

 

Prince Philip, Victoria Beckham, Tony Blair and political correctness (not necessarily in that order).

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