Condition of the Grand Princess.

[Cbtours]

16 minutes ago, valantine80 said:

When we were in Vancouver we enjoyed a trip on cute ferries to Granville Island and markets where they have marvellous displays of fruit.

Also enjoyed Capilano Suspension Bridge Park and Grouse Mountain. Both are easily reached by free shutlles from the city or public transport. At Grouse Mountain you can see grizzly bears, interesting to watch and I think we also saw a lumberjack show there. You will thoroughly enjoy it.

We were there in May and were wearing summer clothing in Ketchikan and they will have sales of their winter clothing.

We also did a Princess land tour from Anchorage to McKinlay and Denali also very worthwhile.

Thanks for the info. I know about wearing layers but I must admit I wasn’t thinking summer. 

[MicCanberra]

48 minutes ago, Fletch1 said:

 

This was posted on another social media forum about 50 minutes ago by a passenger currently on The Grand.........

 

On the GRAND.

At midnight on the anniversary of the Titanic sinking, we woke at midnight to a dark ship.

All cabins on ALL DECKS 700-750 have no electricity, no lights, no air conditioning. It is 1 day later, we are ALL moving to new cabins - every cabin 700-750 on ALL DECKS. We got moved from a lovely balcony on B to a horrid inside E cabin. We are told there will be "compensation".

The Vista and 1 diningroom is also without power.

There was smoke but no fire. I tried to post the Captains announcements but they are too long. Here's today's letter.

And yes, this is real and no joke.

Ty to the Captain for keeping us safe - but, after leaks and buckets and this, I'd never sail the Grand again. We will spend 14 of our 33 days, the part that goes to Hawaii in an inside cabin after paying $20,000 for air, hotels, cruise and tours.

 

 

 

Wow

[Fletch1]

Recent update tonight……

 

 

GRAND PRINCESS : No electricity starting at midnight  April 15 and still no electricity at 6pm April 16 in section 7 of the ship.  So all cabins 700-750 on every deck and the Vista Lounge has no electricity, lights, or air conditioning. We are docked in Tahiti.  We were in a 700 balcony - and just moved to a noisy inside E cabin.  Apparently the problem cannot be fixed soon so all passengers in 700-750 on all decks are currently being moved.  Below are recordings of the Captain that came into all cabins at midnight April 15, the middle of the night April 16, and later on the 16th.  There was smoke somewhere, no fire.
I tried talking to a Manager stating we are Elite, on board for 33 days, in a corner balcony, and couldn't they find us a better cabin than this inside E cabin.  He stated no, but there would be "compensation", they'll tell us tomorrow.  We have 14 days left which includes Hawaii and many sea days. At this point, I have no words - we are in a terrible inside cabin for the best 2 weeks of this cruise.  And we were up all night with no air conditioning or lights.  We're exhausted from packing & unpacking.  We cannot imagine every deck of cabins 700-750 currently being moved .... They say we could use both cabins but running from B to E to shower, watch TV, IN THE DARK, or whatever would be, well, ridiculous.   I'm trying to stay positive but "compensation" better be at least a refund of 14 of our 33 days - at a minimum.   I hate to be negative, but after all the buckets of water leaks the last 2 weeks, the smell in the Princess Theatre of mildew, and now ALL OF THE AFT from cabins 700 to 750 and the Vista without electricity for who knows how long - maybe till Hawaii next week or maybe not till the end of the cruise - I'd really have to say avoid going on the Grand.  And for those who love to comment to everyone all the time, "Oh you're on a cruise, quit complaining and enjoy your cruise", if you comment that to me today,  FYI   THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE SINKING OF THE TITANIC was yesterday when our electricity went out.  Up until then, the people on the Titanic were having a pretty good cruise too (humor ... too soon?!)  I will add a thank you to the Captain - he kept us informed throughout the night, he was calm, professional, and he somehow is moving some 250 cabin full of passengers into empty cabins. — with Cj Moffitt.

[Yaya_in_Oz]

Oh dear! I'm surprised they have enough empty cabins to move all those people. I hope lower loyalty travellers don't have to bunk in with strangers in a quad berth. If they can't fix the problem they should offer to just fly some people home with the 14 day refund. Hang in there!

 

I'm booked on the Grand for Jan 2024 in a 700 cabin so I hope they can fix her up by then.

[Astro Flyer]

2 hours ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

Per a posting on Facebook. Cabins in zone 7 (700s) on all decks and Botticelli Dining Room affected. 

 

5 hours ago, Fletch1 said:

 

This was posted on another social media forum about 50 minutes ago by a passenger currently on The Grand.........

 

On the GRAND.

At midnight on the anniversary of the Titanic sinking, we woke at midnight to a dark ship.

All cabins on ALL DECKS 700-750 have no electricity, no lights, no air conditioning. It is 1 day later, we are ALL moving to new cabins - every cabin 700-750 on ALL DECKS. We got moved from a lovely balcony on B to a horrid inside E cabin. We are told there will be "compensation".

The Vista and 1 diningroom is also without power.

There was smoke but no fire. I tried to post the Captains announcements but they are too long. Here's today's letter.

And yes, this is real and no joke.

Ty to the Captain for keeping us safe - but, after leaks and buckets and this, I'd never sail the Grand again. We will spend 14 of our 33 days, the part that goes to Hawaii in an inside cabin after paying $20,000 for air, hotels, cruise and tours.

 

 

 

It’s also being discussed on the CC Princess board including this letter from the captain.

 

 

 

Edited April 17, 2023 by Astro Flyer

[MicCanberra]

Bugger, hope they can fix it soon. I am sure they will be working overtime once in Hawaii if it isn't fixed before then.

[Cbtours]

10 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Wow

wow definitely. We are on the Grand May 6-20 Alaska!

[NSWP]

Standby for ye olde Grand Princess to be transferred to P&O Australia to join the other relics, lol.

 

We will probably inherit QM2 in about 10 years, lol.

Edited April 17, 2023 by NSWP

[MicCanberra]

2 hours ago, Cbtours said:

wow definitely. We are on the Grand May 6-20 Alaska!

I am sure it will be fixed well before then.

[MicCanberra]

4 minutes ago, NSWP said:

Standby for ye olde Grand Princess to be transferred to P&O Australia to join the other relics, lol.

 

We will probably inherit QM2 in about 10 years, lol.

Both will be welcomed, more ships here for the winter season

[OzKiwiJJ]

Wow, that must have been some short circuit! I guess the age of the ship does play a part in that sort of incidence although a faulty component could affect a ship of any age so the fact that Grand is a old ship may not be relevant.

 

We were in that zone on our recent cruise, but just forward of the lifts in B704. I must say we had the best air-con we've ever had on a Princess ship on that cruise. 

[Cbtours]

34 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Wow, that must have been some short circuit! I guess the age of the ship does play a part in that sort of incidence although a faulty component could affect a ship of any age so the fact that Grand is a old ship may not be relevant.

 

We were in that zone on our recent cruise, but just forward of the lifts in B704. I must say we had the best air-con we've ever had on a Princess ship on that cruise. 

I agree, it can happen to any ship. The fact that some older princess ships have gone to P & O which are still happily sailing proves older still have some life left (like all us oldies 🥰)

[CTGirl]

On 4/15/2023 at 10:10 PM, Fletch1 said:

Greetings,

 

I read recently on another forum that the condition of the Grand Princess has deteriorated, to the point where ceilings in public areas are leaking and there are buckets underneath to catch the leaks. Also, the standard of entertainment has dropped as well. Can anybody who has sailed on her recently provide their opinions?

 

Reason I ask is we are booked on the Grand next year sailing out of Melbourne and I am now considering switching to the Majestic Princess sailing out of Sydney. 

 

Thanks in advance.

Hi Fletch. We are on the Grand right now and we are in one of the affected cabins. My advice is to stay away from the Grand. She is definitely showing her age. We spend a lot of time in Explorers. The chais are horrible, they are so bad you can’t really sit gracefully, you sort of fall into them. I am short and I am can just barely see the table in front of me. That is just a small example. The power outage of course is the big issue. We are making do in our smaller cabin but I will not cruise on this ship again. 

[Ondine]

Uh Oh I have E728 booked for October and E724 for January.  These cabins toward the back are the only covered minis.  Guess this could happen even to a new ship.  I am sure it will get fixed.

As for going to P&O.  A P&O consultant I was talking to in 2019 - pre covid was talking about the Grand moving over to them to replace Eden/Aria/Pearl.  3 ships don't give them much flexibility for itineraries so maybe it may still happen.

[MMDown Under]

7 hours ago, NSWP said:

Standby for ye olde Grand Princess to be transferred to P&O Australia to join the other relics, lol.

 

We will probably inherit QM2 in about 10 years, lol.

At least you could say this ship is a liner, which used to be QM2, with some pride.  Better being used than turned into a hotel!

[OzKiwiJJ]

19 minutes ago, CTGirl said:

Hi Fletch. We are on the Grand right now and we are in one of the affected cabins. My advice is to stay away from the Grand. She is definitely showing her age. We spend a lot of time in Explorers. The chais are horrible, they are so bad you can’t really sit gracefully, you sort of fall into them. I am short and I am can just barely see the table in front of me. That is just a small example. The power outage of course is the big issue. We are making do in our smaller cabin but I will not cruise on this ship again. 

We found the chairs in Crooners were very comfortable, as were the chairs in the Wheelhouse Bar and One5 but not the sofas. I've learnt to avoid Princess sofas and any of the squishier chairs after several years of cruising where possible. I had to get Rolf to haul me off a sofa in the Wheelhouse Bar on Grand - my knees didn't want to work at the angle I was sitting on it and it was to squishy to get any leverage.

 

Such a shame you have been affected by the power outage. I hope Princess compensates you for the inconvenience and annoyance of not having the cabin you booked.

[MMDown Under]

8 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

We found the chairs in Crooners were very comfortable, as were the chairs in the Wheelhouse Bar and One5 but not the sofas. I've learnt to avoid Princess sofas and any of the squishier chairs after several years of cruising where possible. I had to get Rolf to haul me off a sofa in the Wheelhouse Bar on Grand - my knees didn't want to work at the angle I was sitting on it and it was to squishy to get any leverage.

 

Such a shame you have been affected by the power outage. I hope Princess compensates you for the inconvenience and annoyance of not having the cabin you booked.

Thanks for the mental picture and chuckle.

[icat2000]

I didn't find any of these issues with the Grand Princess and we were on there for 20 days back in March 2023. Only thing was our pictures keep falling off the wall. But I put that down to the rough seas at times.

 

One thing I did notice about the Grand was the wardrobe space seemed cramped. 

[OzKiwiJJ]

10 minutes ago, icat2000 said:

I didn't find any of these issues with the Grand Princess and we were on there for 20 days back in March 2023. Only thing was our pictures keep falling off the wall. But I put that down to the rough seas at times.

 

One thing I did notice about the Grand was the wardrobe space seemed cramped. 

The wardrobe was smaller even in the balcony cabins. The bathroom came off the end of the wardrobe area rather than the side like on other Grand Class ships. But the shower cubicle was a decent size and shape, bigger than on Diamond, Golden and Ruby, and much bigger than Coral. 

[2022cruisey]

We were on the Grand in January and will be again next January.  Didn’t have any problems in our mini suite, which is one of those affected now.  Really like the Grand and Coral.

[Fletch1]

3 hours ago, CTGirl said:

Hi Fletch. We are on the Grand right now and we are in one of the affected cabins. My advice is to stay away from the Grand. She is definitely showing her age. We spend a lot of time in Explorers. The chais are horrible, they are so bad you can’t really sit gracefully, you sort of fall into them. I am short and I am can just barely see the table in front of me. That is just a small example. The power outage of course is the big issue. We are making do in our smaller cabin but I will not cruise on this ship again. 

 

Hi Shelly. Lovely to hear from you. It's been such a looooong time! Hope you and Lance are doing well.

I put great weight on your comments. Perhaps let's converse via email. You should still have my email address?

 

 

 

 

[Aussieflyer]

On 4/17/2023 at 1:20 PM, Cbtours said:

Will do. It has been a pretty big time with family health issues since we returned from South Africa in December, resulting in Franks son in South Africa ending up with a leg amputation (from a sore knee 12 dec to amputation Dec 22) which was a huge shock for us all. Hence we cancelled out Sydney Hawaii cruise in September deciding instead to return to South Africa to see Sammy.

 

On my side, my eldest daughter had a recurrence of colon cancer in a few other areas and is currently undergoing aggressive chemo in the hope of a cure, and then they will do major surgery (even if they have cured it) to make sure it's all gone.

 

So actually, it feels like bad timing to go away but she is insistent that we are definitely going!!! She's a star. And we all have faith that she's in God's hands regardless of any situtation.

 

So sorry to hear of the challenges you have been facing, Fingers crossed for a good outcome for your daughter - I know how worrying it will be regardless of her insisting you go, and that Frank's son is coping with his new challenges as well. It is a rude shock that things can change so quickly. 

[CTGirl]

48 minutes ago, Fletch1 said:

 

Hi Shelly. Lovely to hear from you. It's been such a looooong time! Hope you and Lance are doing well.

I put great weight on your comments. Perhaps let's converse via email. You should still have my email address?

 

 

 

 

I believe I do.  I will have to search for it.  You can email me at rhyman1951 at gmail dot com.

[Cbtours]

14 minutes ago, Aussieflyer said:

So sorry to hear of the challenges you have been facing, Fingers crossed for a good outcome for your daughter - I know how worrying it will be regardless of her insisting you go, and that Frank's son is coping with his new challenges as well. It is a rude shock that things can change so quickly. 

Definitely. We are believing for the best.🙏🏻🙏🏻

[Fletch1]

37 minutes ago, CTGirl said:

I believe I do.  I will have to search for it.  You can email me at rhyman1951 at gmail dot com.

 

That's the one I have. Just emailed you.