The Grand..officially my least favorite Princess ship

Well, we are back one day, and the Grand has officially become our least favorite ship. Not because of the entertainment, the food, the service (no complaints there, except we did notice less servers, which just meant those we had had to rush a bit more)..but because of the ship. So glad I had my inhaler with me...the mildew gave me cause for concern. The ship stunk of mildew all over the place! The area outside the Exploreres lounge (to the right of the stage) constantly had a blower going, trying to get rid of the damp (which of course blew the mildew odor farther). Several public bathrooms had towels rolled up behind the toilets, which I assume was where more mildew smell came from. Getting "rained" on while playing trivia is not fun...I don't need to be wet when enjoying a cruise! Getting "rained" on like several complained in the Wheel House during uke lessons is just plain ridiculous. Dodging pails catching water (from the ceiling) while traveling halls should be unnecessary and could be dangerous..felt bad for those with walkers and wheel chairs.

Talk about a worn out ship! Sitting outside of Explores (or even inside in many chairs), be prepared to ask for help getting up as you sink into oblivion. The chairs and couches in many areas are so worn! I have never heard so many people complain about an unkept ship, and I was on her the week after they removed Skywalkers! She's in much worse shape now.

And while they can't control the crowds, it would be so nice to have some of the activitied that draw a lot of people in bigger areas. While the Pub night looked to be a lot of fun, many people couldn't get near it..should have been held in the Vista, not the Explorers..at least there is more room to stand!

I know the casino allows smoking, but I never noticed before that even when it's closed, it's become the smoking area..they really need more fans to draw out the smell..the non smoking area seems to be well ventilated..why not the rest of it. I felt so sorry for the workers at the pursers desk, constantly having that smoke drift out on them. If it's a designated smoking area, why not ventilate it better so others don't have to enjoy it in the center area?

But the main complaint is the mildew smell..I know we are on an ocean, but I've been on plenty of ships and didn't find mildew to be a problem.

And before people say, oh there is always someone who is unhappy...we still had a great time! I'm talking about the ship, not the cruise. And while there will be plenty of people who will say, I was on that cruise and it was wonderful! Glad it was for you. If you didn't notice a worn ship, or it didn't bother you, that's wonderful. We know how to fix the problem for us..we won't sail on her again.

If the ship is having mildew issues I can certainly understand why. Twice we have been on the ship and there have been buckets through out the halls and public areas. You can see water stains in some of the ceilings. With that being said we still liked the ship and would sail on her again. Just hope at some point Princess can get some of the issues taken care of during one of her dry docks.

Several times it was mentioned to us that we shouldn't worry as long as the water is coming down and not up..guess crew thought that was funny. However, as someone with asthma, constant wet and mildew rugs (and who knows what's growing under the wet rugs) is not healthy. I wonder just what's behind the walls. My inhaler was never far!

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DMRick .... Thanks for reporting back on the mildew problem on Grand.

It's been five years since we sailed on her. Even then, there was a mildew problem on the balconies. Also, they were in the process of replacing the tubs in mini-suites.

Sounds like she's way past ready for a BIG time dry dock. :o

LuLu

All your concerns are very legitimate. I would be wary to rebook on her if it happened to me also. Glad the rest of the cruise was up to Princess standards so you still had a good cruise overall!

We were on the Grand just over 2 years ago and we encountered leaking pipes, wet carpets, weird smells etc too. The starboard side hallway on Baja deck had several buckets all along, all catching leaks. There was an awful smell along this hall too - it wasn't mildewy, more of a bad sewer smell. It was pretty gross and we had to hold our breath whenever we were in that area. There was often fans set up in the hall, blowing on the wet carpets. I would also say the Grand is our least favourite Princess ship.

It looks like she's scheduled for a short drydock in the beginning of May...

The Grand is one ship I Have not been on and have avoided at all costs because of the " no central stairways" issue...small and petty perhaps but since i like to stay midships and never use an elevator , the Grand has not been on my to do list.

Now with your report, and others reporting this was not a one off problem and has been going on for at least two years...i have to say I am shocked :eek:

Maybe just maybe Princess will read this and do something to resolve...buckets and smelly towels don't cut it and most certainly don't say " Come back new" or whatever this years slogan is.

Instead it sounds more like the Roach Motel!

We agree, one of our least favorite especially since Skywalkers was removed and one 5 was added. :(

Wow, not a good situation, and looks like OP was on a Hawaii sailing so lots of sea days around the mildew. OP, hope you feel better.

Besides postings these issues on CC I would post the information on the Princess Facebook page and then post your information on CC. From my experience using Facebook I received a reply in 2 days. Princess looks at their Facebook page often.

Tom:)

That does not sound good. It sounds like people could get sick from the issues on the Grand.

I am happy to hear that, overall you enjoyed your cruise. It's great knowing there are so many ships to choose from. I know not all do the same itinerary but choice is good. I have my favorites and one that I wasn't that crazy about. I would cruise the one I wasn't crazy about again if I didn't have other options.

Thanks OP for bringing up this issue & it's something I'll remember when considering the Grand (we last sailed her in January 2000). It's difficult to understand why Princess has not corrected these problems reported by passengers for several years. :(

We were on her in January.

Crew was ok. Nobody bad but no one really rose to the top either. Though Sis did have a continuing issue with our Room Steward and the foldout couch.

Passenger areas are in great need of TLC.

It took several days for a bucket to be put in place for the leak in the buffet. There was another bucket in place in the walkway outside of the library.

The pool bathrooms were in horrible condition. Baseboard tiles falling off the wall.

Mom and I ate at the Crab Shack one night. She was served an unopened clam in her clam chowder. The Head Waiter told her it was ok to eat! She didn't.

Wow, thank you for sharing your experience with the Grand! I sure hope Star is in better shape than Grand, for our upcoming cruise on her...

I was looking a booking a lastminute 3 day on the Grand Princess in March. Reading this, I may reconsider. According to Wikipedia, the Grand Princess underwent the most expensive dry-dock in Princess history in 2011. Surprising to hear it is looking so tired less than 4 years later. Unless most of that cost was trying to fix some serious leaky plumbing issues?

Went to the HC buffet for daily cookies and milk run, sitting by the window, and started seeing a drip at the far end down towards the entrance from the pool side. We watched it for about five minutes, and people started getting out of the way as it proceeded down to our end by the drink server stations. The florescent lights on the ceiling that were directly above the window walls started eerily flickering fast, and reminiscent of the titanic movies as she was going down and then went dark. No other lights were affected. I never felt any danger, it was more fascination. Really, panel, by panel, as the water proceeded towards our area, we moved, and the entire wall, about 50 feet was pouring down like an intermittent waterfall. A server used the phone on the wall, called someone, and instantly, an officer arrived, and was shortly joined by five engineers all wearing stripes. They started pulling panels from the ceiling with flashlights trying to isolate the problem. They then closed down that side of the buffet, and said the other side would open soon. We didn't return until the next day, when we saw all the tables and chairs had been returned and that side of the buffet was operating normally, but, the ceiling lights along that upper wall was now completely dark until we disembarked.

I never heard officially, whether it was water pipes, or a leak from the above spa or pools, but, otherwise, I have sailed on the Grand three times with 39 days, including when she was new, and still think she is a beautiful ship. We did not let this distraction interfere with a wonderful holiday, and would certainly sail on her again.

I was looking a booking a lastminute 3 day on the Grand Princess in March. Reading this, I may reconsider. According to Wikipedia, the Grand Princess underwent the most expensive dry-dock in Princess history in 2011. Surprising to hear it is looking so tired less than 4 years later. Unless most of that cost was trying to fix some serious leaky plumbing issues?

They took off her 'handle' as it was structurally unsound.

We were told two stories on why the lights in DaVinci kept blinking..one was there was a short and the engineers couldn't find it..the other was that is was a signal to the waiters, telling them their food order was ready in the kitchen. Wonder which it was.

We did start out shaky..we were supposed to get free grats. I did, my husband didn't. I had the paperwork from our travel agent which they faxed to the home office. Back and forth for 4 days, showing emails from our travel agent and more paperwork. Head office said, nope, just one of us got them. Finally I asked to use the desk phone (and they were quick to say sure) and within 15 minutes of a call to my TA, they were put on my account. Not the Grands fault, as the desk did the best they could, but we did start off on a rocky trip. Even with that, all of the crew and the cruise were very good. I also wanted to add one day, on the way over, the seas were so rough, the large picture on our wall fell off onto the floor. Luckily it didn't hurt anyone, not even the picture. It's pretty dirty behind that picture lol.

We were on her in sept. There were a few areas with leaks in passenger hall ways. The. Re was right on top of it but it did make a mess. We also noticed a lot of little things around the ship needing repair or even a little paint could go a long way. Staff food ent was all good.

We were on the Grand last March for a 10 day Mexico cruise from San Francisco. We were in a Window Suite and didn't have any issues with the ship. I am aware of complaints of leaks in cabins, especially aft, and some public areas but we did not personally encounter any issues. Hope they can address the issues.

We were told two stories on why the lights in DaVinci kept blinking..one was there was a short and the engineers couldn't find it..the other was that is was a signal to the waiters, telling them their food order was ready in the kitchen. Wonder which it was.

 

I forget which ship, but on one the dining room lights would get dimmer and brighter and repeat. The waitstaff said they had no idea why.

I have no doubt on your cruise it was a problem the engineers could not isolate. Certainly there would be no signal to every waiter at the same time that food was ready.

Did you fill out the survey form that was e-mailed to you appropriately??

 

Did you fill out the survey form that was e-mailed to you appropriately??

I was going to ask this too. If you haven't, please be sure to do so.

We were on her for the first time last September. We don't have allergies as you do, OP, so didn't have the issues you had. We did however have the issues of getting out of some of the furnishings in the lounges. Yes, I think she needs some TLC to get her to shine again.

We too enjoy our cruise to Alaska but see your point.

We were on the Grand for a week about a 1.5 years ago, one of the best cruises we have had, went on to check the ship out since cc comments were not good. I guess we were lucky had a mini suite on Deck 9, no problem with rust which was reported here, if there were any leakaging we never saw it... I just booked the ship again this evening for a 15 day Hawaii. We cruised the ship when it was brand new, we were on the first cruise out of Istanbul, they delivered the ship late, they were still laying carpet when we board.

I am looking forward to another great cruise on the Grand, not going til March 2016... will see what happens.

We had fantastic service in the MDR, late seating... hope problems that exist get resolved... will monitor reviews.