Live from the grand - may 22

[freddie1974]

Question to Freddie and to others who have sailed the Grand AFT lately....Is the vibration that Freddie is speaking of new?

 

quote]

 

 

No, the vibration comes from the stern thrusters which are used anytime the ship is approaching or leaving a dock. This occurs on all ships and is evident at the bow as well as the stern as that is where the thruster tubes are located.

 

These engines are used solely to move the ship sideways in docking maneuvers and are off while the ship is sailing.

 

Mike:)

 

Indeed - it's only enough to wake you up when ship is docking, otherwise vibration levels are fine.

[freddie1974]

Thanks for you live posts Freddie really interesting to read. Could you tell me what the santuary area is like and if it is worth booking, we have a balcony C510 I dont know anything about this room only that its on the Caribe Deck. Glad you are having a great time, we are going in July bit worried about norovirus seems to get it on the Grand alot. Looking forward to our cruise and reading more of your posts

 

Sharron

 

Hi Sharron,

 

The sanctuary is nice, the loungers have lovely thick cushions and are more like beds. However, as we have 2 loungers on a very private balcony we haven't been in there other than a quick look on the way past. If the weather had been better on the first sea day we may have considered it though.

 

On a cruise in slightly warmer climates I would definitely recommend it.

[freddie1974]

Norovirus Update

 

The captain announced that the increased hygiene measures were officially abandoned at 6pm last night (although we didn't notice until this morning). There have been no cases reported since.

 

Personally, I would still enforce everyone sanitising their hands upon boarding the ship and in every dining area; we are continuing this practice.

 

 

Beautiful weather today in Helsingborg - will update on the days events once they have concluded!

[freddie1974]

Helsingborg

 

What a beautiful place! We avoided the rush and had a leisurely breakfast before getting on the tender.

 

The weather was nice and sunny, a little bit windy although still pleasant. Everyone in Helsingborg was so friendly, the streets immaculate and lots of lovely little cafes with blankets on the seats (these would last 5 minutes in London!)

 

The weather improved through the day and after returning to the ship we had a dip in the hot tub and lunch on our balcony.

 

Dinner was entertaining. When we arrived there was a bit of an atmosphere - there were two ladies (and I use the term in the loosest possible sense) complaining about everything. Our waiter came over and winked at us and pretended to take our order - he wrote us a note saying he would tell us what had happened soon.

 

The complaining continued but this time to the head waiter. At one point I got out of my seat to tell one of them to keep her voice down as her complaints did not need to be heard by the entire dining room but my wife persuaded me to sit down - probably a good thing as I'm sure I would have been less than diplomatic and inflamed the situation further.

 

Once they had finally left we found out that this was the 3rd table they had tried; the first they complained about the service, the 2nd about their table mates having no class (no comment from me required - I think you have the picture) and then about the food (for which they demanded items not on the menu cooked in a very specific manner).

 

Our poor waiter was mortified that they would complain about him - but as the Maitre D' was walking around the nearby tables I think he heard from everyone else that he did everything he could and there is no pleasing some people.

 

There was a bit of intra-table banter after this with people calling the waiter and complaining of things such as "my water is too wet" etc...!!!

 

(I have deliberately not used the waiter's name, just in case)

 

The remainder of the meal and evening passed uneventfully; none of the entertainment appealed to us so a quick drink then back to our cabin.

 

Tomorrow we are going to try MUTS as they are showing Sherlock Holmes (my wife loves anything Sherlock Holmes related).

 

Quick question for anyone who may know the answer: is the casino open on the last night (at sea all night)? We need to decide whether to cash in our winnings from the other night or play on the last night if they are open.

 

Can't believe we have only 2 days left - it's gone so fast. We have taken advantage of the deal for reduced deposit and OBC (no such thing as FCC for UK cruisers - at least the document in our stateroom didn't mention it) so just need to decide where to go next.

[bhopal21]

Have no fear Freddie the casino will be open the last evening to take your money.

 

Mike:)

[freddie1974]

Have no fear Freddie the casino will be open the last evening to take your money.

 

Mike:)

 

I thought as much - they don't usually miss an opportunity!

 

Just woken up by an announcement from the captain that a public strike in Norway has been declared - if this proceeds then we can't dock and will head back to Southampton. We should know for sure in the next hour.

[scrozuk]

I thought as much - they don't usually miss an opportunity!

 

Just woken up by an announcement from the captain that a public strike in Norway has been declared - if this proceeds then we can't dock and will head back to Southampton. We should know for sure in the next hour.

 

And there was me under the impression that the Norwegians were the happiest in Europe. Turns out there is a threat to strike among public workers. Reason for the strike, basically to enforce a gender pay equality..

 

Can see the ship just off the Akerhus dock less than about 100m away from dry land. Talk about frustrating if you can't get in, especially after going pretty much all the way in.

 

If you can't dock and have to leave, the only consolation will be to enjoy the Fjords on the way out, but make sure the captain takes it really slow to let you all enjoy it!

 

Hope they get this strike sorted soon, my family and I due to go backup to Norwegian Fjords in June!!

 

Scrozuk

[freddie1974]

It doesn't look as though the strike is ending anytime soon - the captain has decided to abandon the call and set sail again. We both feel tired and have a cold so not really too bothered at this - a lazy day beckons.

 

We have discovered a new dining option: everytime (or all-the-time as my wife calls it) dining...every time we have been to HC whether for a meal or coffee in the afternoon we see the same family!

[scrozuk]

It doesn't look as though the strike is ending anytime soon - the captain has decided to abandon the call and set sail again. We both feel tired and have a cold so not really too bothered at this - a lazy day beckons.

 

We have discovered a new dining option: everytime (or all-the-time as my wife calls it) dining...every time we have been to HC whether for a meal or coffee in the afternoon we see the same family!

 

Sorry to see you guys aren't able to get in, had you on a tracker and could see the ship just going round in circles. So frustrating for you all, only 200m from the berth as well with the city in clear sight. Wife et al were looking forward to going to the Kontiki museum.

 

That's a lot of money that both Princess and also local trade have lost from the ship not visiting.

 

Hopefully you'll take a lazy trip back and enjoy the Fjords that you'll encounter within the next hour or so. Definitely worth a look.

 

From some of the webcams I see, there's some great sights, and weather doesn't look too bad in parts

 

http://www.webcamsinnorway.com/map/

 

Scrozuk

[peg bundy]

hope you enjoyed it

[scrozuk]

Right to those on the ship at the moment, don't swear, but there's a ship berthed at Oslo, it's the MSC Orchestra.

 

Looks like Grand picked the wrong day to visit Oslo!

 

And weather forecast for tomorrow in Southampton, 60% of light rain from 11am, temperature 14 degrees C.

 

 

Scrozuk

[freddie1974]

Not a huge amount to report from the rest of the cruise. We've spent most of the last 2 days reading and playing cards; can't imagine anyone really wants me to write about that!

 

We watched Sherlock Holmes on MUTS last night - our steward gave us some nice thick blankets so we were nice and snug.

 

We said our goodbye's to the staff at Sabatini's this morning; they seemed quite surprised to receive a tip from us (and before this turns into a tipping thread, yes we did leave the autotip on!)

 

All that remains is our final dinner, handing out some more tips to our waiters and the two bar staff at Promenade bar who have looked after us all week.

 

We are self disembarking at 7.45am tomorrow so if all goes well we should be home by 10.30.

 

We have had a fantastic cruise and a good rest. The staff have been superb and the ship is much better than some would have you believe; we prefer the Coral though but would sail on the Grand again - the next cruise will be more dependant on itinerary than ship.

 

Thanks to you all for taking the time to read my posts; and I hope I have been of benefit to some of you.

 

Signing off with a heavy heart (and a heavier suitcase)

 

Freddie

[bhopal21]

Thanks for the great blog Freddie and have a safe trip home.

 

We are looking forward to boarding her sister The Golden in 77 days.

 

Mike:)

[davedex]

Yes thanks Fredddie for the very useful updates - very interesting! have a safe trip home & many more enjoyable cruises in the coming years:)

[Bazil]

Freddie Thanks so much for your commentary on a cruise and ship that we are voyaging early June. Particularly your words on the waning [hopefully!] of NVirus. Shame that you missed Oslo, but the great scenery must have been some small consolation. I have one request. To help us work out our drinks at dindins strategy please let me know the price of a bottle of the house wine[uknow, the bottom price [aka 'toenails'] once again, thanks for your efforts.

[Bazil]

Freddie, thanks so much for your commentary.:) We are cruising same ship and iten. in early July. Your comments on the waning of NVirus were heartening. Sorry about the Oslo let-down but the great in and out scenery must have been some consolation. I hope that you could answer one fact that we need to plan our dinner boozing. What is the price of a bottle of the house wine [aka 'toenails!' on the Wine List. {Bazil?--He's cheap!}.

 

Again, my warm thanks

[oskidunker]

Thanks. Sailing the Grand In October.Had heard mostly shrimp and one small, tasteless lobster tail.

[LazyCruiser1954]

Loved the review. Sailing on the Grand in December!

[KEVSTR]

Cheers Freddie great blog, gald you had a good time, hope you left me some winnings in the casino.

[TracieABD]

Thanks, Great read!:)

[wobblybob74]

Freddie, many thanks for your updates. We're on the Grand on Saturday for a two week Med cruise and your posts have wetted an already fairly soggy appetite!

 

All the best to you.

 

Rob & Sue

[livinforcruisin]

I have also just returned from this cruse and like Freddie, felt sad at the debacle that was the embarkation process at Southampton. I had been told by friends to expect a wonderful embarkation process so was left very confused. However it was clearly a difficult time for the staff. As a healthcare professional I was impressed at their 'red status' for handling the norovirus and thought that staff worked really hard to make things run as smoothly as possible. I was surprised at how off hand some of the cruisers were behaving with staff in Horizon Court as I found them helpful and courteous under very difficult circumstances. I was also confused to hear that so many of the Brits were cancelling their tips from their shipboard accounts. I know that this is a personal thing but had several conversations with people who claimed to not know that tips were added to their on board account and who could not fathom the need to tip for the service. I too felt ashamed to be British. This was mainly due to the behaviour of some fellow British passengers. Overall I enjoyed my 5th cruise with Princess and will be returning again.

[freddie1974]

Freddie Thanks so much for your commentary on a cruise and ship that we are voyaging early June. Particularly your words on the waning [hopefully!] of NVirus. Shame that you missed Oslo, but the great scenery must have been some small consolation. I have one request. To help us work out our drinks at dindins strategy please let me know the price of a bottle of the house wine[uknow, the bottom price [aka 'toenails'] once again, thanks for your efforts.

 

Sorry for the delayed response. Wine starts at $22 and there are lots of nice bottles for under $30.

[freddie1974]

I have also just returned from this cruse and like Freddie, felt sad at the debacle that was the embarkation process at Southampton. I had been told by friends to expect a wonderful embarkation process so was left very confused. However it was clearly a difficult time for the staff. As a healthcare professional I was impressed at their 'red status' for handling the norovirus and thought that staff worked really hard to make things run as smoothly as possible. I was surprised at how off hand some of the cruisers were behaving with staff in Horizon Court as I found them helpful and courteous under very difficult circumstances. I was also confused to hear that so many of the Brits were cancelling their tips from their shipboard accounts. I know that this is a personal thing but had several conversations with people who claimed to not know that tips were added to their on board account and who could not fathom the need to tip for the service. I too felt ashamed to be British. This was mainly due to the behaviour of some fellow British passengers. Overall I enjoyed my 5th cruise with Princess and will be returning again.

 

I had a conversation with a woman at the bar about this - she said she had only just found out you could remove auto-tip and tip directly so I gave her a lecture and put her straight on tip pool etc!

 

The staff at Promenade bar looked amazed when we gave them an envelope on the final night!

[wobblybob74]

Hello Freddie,

 

Thanks again for your live posts - one question though. We're non-smokers and can't abide being around too much smoke, and hate our clothes stinking of stale smoke. Did you find that to be a problem in the areas where smoking is allowed?

 

Thanks :D