Grand in Europe in 05

[willy paul]

Has anyone been on the Grand princess in Europe this season and what were your impressions. Also, who was the Captain and the Cruise Director?

[ijkh]

Anyone out there been on a Grand Med voyage lately?

[willy paul]

There Must Be Someone Out There Who Has Been On The Grand In Europe This Spring

[drandyl]

We just got back from the 16 night Grand Princess Galveston-Rome repositioning cruise. The captain changed while we were on board... started with Andy Proctor, ended with Alan Wilson. CD was Tim Donovan.

[willy paul]

I can't believe that only one person who has responded to my question

[ldnrdh]

Do they have any theme nights that would be better if we knew of up front? Interested to hear from anyone who has sailed the Grand in Europe this season.

[Druke I]

willypaul

 

I don't find the lack of responses surprising. Grand Princess arrived in Europe May 2, and has only been there 3+ weeks. Some passengers may still be touring Europe, and those who returned may be still unpacking and doing laundry.

[travelnnana]

We did the Mediterranean on the Golden in 2002. It was wonderful. That year (after 2001) they did not go to Istanbul; we went to some desert island whose name I forgot.

We ended in Venice - spent extra nights there on our own in a wonderful small reasonable hotel.

I think it is still the same trip, so I will be happy to answer questins.

[willy paul]

Now that another cruise in Europe is complete I am pushing this back to the top in the hopes of more anwers.

[EDRI]

Willy Paul-This will be a short response to your question.

We were on the May 14 to 26 cruise Venice to Barcelona. I have not had time to develop a review, but will provide a brief initial summary.

1. Embarkation - Venice

We had "EXpress Check-in, a disaster, standing in line 2 1/2 hrs

2. Dining

Food excellant. PC -I liked it. Horizon Court ?

3. Entertainment

Poor

4. Tours

Good except for ROME Vatican tour. 1 1/2 hrs travel each way, 2 hrs in line outside wait to enter museum. Thats 5 hrs of a 10 hr tour. Very poor planning. Told 70,000 visiting vatican each day.

 

We are in our late 60"s, 17 cruises, first on Princess. Not overly empressed.

After weekend I'll be glad to offer my response to any questions.

On this site a lot of people have expressed interest on favorite cabin's, one of the most popular is Grand class C 752. I had that cabin, and have good-bad-ugly and somewhat funny balcony story to tell regarding this cabin.

 

Ed

[ourlol]

Ed,

Embarkation - Venice. We had "EXpress Check-in, a disaster, standing in line 2 1/2 hrs

May I ask what time you got to the port?

 

I am on the 25th July sailing and am going direct to the ship from the airport arriving circa 11 a.m. Am I likely to be at the front of the queues at that time? My inlaws will arrive later (mid afternoon) so it would be good if I could forewarn them of a likely delay.

 

Many thanks and I look forward to reading your review.

 

Laura

[cruisebore]

Laura

Two years ago we did this trip

a 747 and 767 arrived from UK at 12 and 12.30 pm. respectively.

Being on the 12.30 flight were kept for an hour at the airport as the 'lines' were stretching outside the port buildings.

However, as we at that time was Plat. members of the CC we were through in 15 minutes, but most were waiting up to two hours (express check in or not) right up until late afternoon.

One of the problems appears to be that many are staying in Venice preceding the cruise and are at the port awaiting embarkation. from mid morning.

 

Regards

 

Ray

 

Ed,

 

May I ask what time you got to the port?

 

I am on the 25th July sailing and am going direct to the ship from the airport arriving circa 11 a.m. Am I likely to be at the front of the queues at that time? My inlaws will arrive later (mid afternoon) so it would be good if I could forewarn them of a likely delay.

 

Many thanks and I look forward to reading your review.

 

Laura

[travelnnana]

I agree that going to the Vatican Museums from the cruise ship is not a wise use of time. When we went to the Med, our cruise ended in Venice. We spent a few extra nights there. then got on a train and spent 3 nights in Rome and it still was not enough time.

[London, Canada]

Has anyone been on the Grand princess in Europe this season and what were your impressions. Also, who was the Captain and the Cruise Director?

 

Why is so important to know the Captain, not like he is ever seen, except on Captain's night, and the Cruise Director, stuck with however is on the ship...will that make or break a cruise. I don't think so...have always wondered why people are so interested in who the Captain and Cruise Directors are...I could care less, as long has the Captain has sailed a ship before.

[crusdiva]

Why is so important to know the Captain, not like he is ever seen, except on Captain's night, and the Cruise Director, stuck with however is on the ship...will that make or break a cruise. I don't think so...have always wondered why people are so interested in who the Captain and Cruise Directors are...I could care less, as long has the Captain has sailed a ship before.

 

I, for one could not care less who the CD is but I do believe that the Captain is crucial to one's cruise. On many of our cruises we have "run into" the Captain in public areas and lounges. The Captain sets the tone for the ship's crew. In speaking with crewmembers over the years we have found that the more visible the Captain is the happier the crew is. We have heard both positives and negatives from the crew about their Captain and those that speak highly of their Captain speak with pride and that translates into excellent service and attitude.

[willy paul]

I think the Captain and the CD are important. Depending on your priority you can pick the most important. For me it is the Captain. We have been on ships were the Captain was virtually invisible and the ship and crew ran well. We have been on ships where the Captain(Marco Polo) was extemely visible I do think the the crew enjoyed his presence, I know the passengers making the transatlantic crossing did.

 

As for the CD I think he or she can make or break a cruise where you spend much time on board. I would think they are less important on port intensive cruises such as Europe.

 

Hope we have good Captain and Cd on the Grand this august.

[meemeec]

We were also on the Grand Transatlantic 16 April-2May and found the Captain (Alan Wilson) very visible and extremely approachable. There was a health crisis with a crew member who had to be helicoptered off the ship near the Azores and the Capt handled that very calmly and kept the passengers well informed. The CD Tim Donovan was just so-so and had one of the weaker staffs we have experienced in 6 Princess cruises. The Europe itin will have a much more port intensive schedule than we had on the crossing so you might not notice the weak CD and staff.

[dlhamlten]

I feel that I owe some time to write answers to some questions that others have since we gained so much valuable info from these forums ( Cruise Addicts, too ). We just returned from the Venice to Barcelona trip and it would take forever to give impressions, but ...... Overall, a wonderful trip with a varied and impressive itinerary.

 

Some misc comments :

 

The Caribe Deck Balconies ARE the BEST as we learned on this Forum. Large and half of it covered and half of it unprotected which is nice for sunning. We spent a lot ot time on the balcony with 2 chairs, 2 chaise lounges ( ask Steward on first day to get limited cushions ) and a small table. Very good for sailaways and arrivals and the Dock in Venice ( the second one since they moved after the first night ) was breathtaking. We were Portside Forward C-210 and had very little noticable movement on only 2 days since seas were generally calm.

 

Weather was very hot in Athens so be prepared for even hotter days ahead which can make climbing the Parthenon steps arduous. Long lines everywhere for main attractions which are bothersome but probably unavoidable. Just be prepared to wait and our Guide in Istanbul said the traffic congestion and crowds were the Worst she had encountered in 20 yrs due to nice weather, a National Holiday and Free Admission for their citizens to the Mosques and museums.

 

The Capt was Alan Wilson as answered earlier. If that is important to you, then you should know he is a younger looking and very warm Scotsman with that great accent ( like my Grandfather's ) The Cruise Director was leaving after our cruise to go home so there will be a new one.

 

The Princess Check-in in Venice was a shambles perhaps because it was their first there this Season. Just be aggressive like all the other rude people and get to the front of the inside waiting area and stand in line if you get there before Noon when they start the process. Huge throngs of passengers with only 2 X-Ray stations and then more lines to surrender your Passports which are returned onboard on the second last day after Turkey.

 

We were able to avoid the 2 to 2 1/2 hour waits at the Vatican Museum you have read about because we were part of a Private Tour arranged by other Cruise Critic readers. It was much better than being herded on the Ship's buses with 50+ other passengers and less expensive.

 

Food is highly subjective. We were overall disappointed since we are Platinum Circle and feel the quality and taste has slipped. You will not go hungry and the unlimited lobster tails toward the end of the cruise tend to erase other weak items. While we have always selected Early Fixed saeting, my wife and I will opt for Personal Choice next cruise. There are many long days of tours on this port intensive Itinerary and lots of cahnces to get back to the Ship later than scheduled with too little time to relax befor Dinner. Also, around the 6Pm start time is when many sailaways begin which you will miss.

 

Obviously I could go on and on, but I need to end on a happy note. The absolute highlight of our voyage was a Private Tour I organized with 2 other Forum reader couples for Naples. Nine hours including a personal guided tour of fascinating Pompeii, thrilling rides along the breathtaking Amalfi Coast with many picture taking stops and a fantastic saeside lunch near Positano at a charming family-owned restaurant. No forced stops at Cameo Factories for shopping. ( But if that is your passion, there was a Cameo artisan right on the Ship for several days and you could watch him in person. )

Should a Naples Tour interest you, I highly recommend getting directly in touch with the affable, prompt, safe, courteous Giovanni of

 

http://www.info@Benvenutolimos.com

 

who operates this service with his Father and will pick you up right at the Ship. He was great !

 

Bon Voyage

[EDRI]

Laura,

 

Response to your question.

We arrived in Venice one day before cruise. We used water taxi from hotel to cruise terminal. We arrived at the terminal at approx. 11:45.

 

We waited outside the terminal for about 15-20 min. Once inside, the Express check-in line moved along at a good rate. I would estimate from the time of arrival to completing the initial check-in about 45 min. The main problem as mentioned by Dihamlten was the lack of X-ray machines.

 

Our last cruise June 2003 Celibrity Constellation " Scandinavia/Russia" embarkation at Dover. We arrived at 12 noon, in cabin 35 min later. That's good planning.

[ourlol]

Cruisebore and EDRI,

 

Forewarned is forearmed. Thank you both for your responses. :)

[dutchess43]

I want to thank all of you for posting your reviews on your return trips. My DH & another couple will be cruising on 7/25 so I am very interested in any & all information. Unfortunately due to an air arrangement change by the airlines we will not be landing into venice until 3 P.M.. I have several questions & if at all possible if you could furnish any of the answers it would be greatly appreciated. How long did it take to get through customs in venice? We have made arrangements through Princess for our transfers how long is the trip to the dock & is it by boat or bus to the terminal? As we are arriving late afternoon do you think that check in will have less of a crowd or just as busy? If any one has booked private tours I would also like to hear your recommendations. I noted the one private tour Benvenuto Limos, we have all done the amalfi coast etc. so we may be looking just to tour Naples. Thanks for posting that information.

Dutchess

[charleskatz@comcast.net]

gothic l never get to meet the captain,but a certain criteria should be met.#l the captain should not have a parrot on the

shoulder,nor be continuously be clicking steel balls in his hands,that would

give me pause.getting ready for the grand on june 19th.

[maulie]

Dutchess43

 

Venice does not have customs. My DH and I were so surprised, we stopped someone and asked. They told us the Italians don't care who comes into the country (and what a wonderful country).

We arrived in Venice 2 days prior to boarding the Grand. We loved every minute in Venice. My husband and I were in an aft cabin, and were fortunate enough to awaken when the ship repositioned in Venice @ 5:00 a.m. I highly recommend experiencing the ship manuver through the canal. It was wonderful! The sun was rising and the city just waking up. We took some terrific photos.

I agree the food was disappointing on the Grand - even in the steakhouse. We expected more, and do not consider ourselves picky eaters. Fortunately, we had some wonderful meals in port on tours or stopped for a meal in port.

 

The itinerary was fabulous. As with the others who have commented on this trip, we hit horrible crowds in Istanbul, Naples and Rome. On our comment card to Princess, we suggested they notify the passengers of events or holidays in port cities - in case they would like to change their excusions (the ship had a historian on board, certainly he would know the national holidays of the port cities).

 

If we do not sail with Princess again, it will be due to the food. We simply expected more.

 

Maulie

[willy paul]

I was interested in reading that the Grand changed piers while in port in Venice. Anyone know the reason why? Just curious.

[maulie]

I was interested in reading that the Grand changed piers while in port in Venice. Anyone know the reason why? Just curious.

 

We were very surprised when we figured out the ship was moving so early and before the muster drill. However, later that morning there was a "gondola race" and lots of boats filled the canal to participate. Our sail away was after the races, but assumed the captain moved the ship due to the morning activities. It's a shame nobody (we spoke to ) was aware of the repositioning.

 

Maulie