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Wednesday 17th March 2010
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Grand Princess, Grand Cruise, Not Grand Children |
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Reviewed By: Booth, Wigan on 30th Jun 2009
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| Cruise Line: Princess Cruises |
Times cruised before: 10+ |
| Cruise Ship: Grand Princess |
Sailed:
June,
2009 |
| Destination: Mediterranean |
Age: 56-65 |
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Travelled as a party of 4 adults, 2 couples, in adjoining mini-suites on the Med. cruise departing on 13th Jun. Overall, an excellent and enjoyable cruise with generally superb weather ( except for transit from Livorno to Civitavecchia) and the following day in port. Italy generally seems to be having a bad time presently.
Having read all the other reviews I do not need to repeat the details, the majority of which I agree with. The ship is large, spacious and impressive - we could see little of the 'wear and tear' flagged up in previous reviews.
The food generally was excellent, especially all the steaks. Horizon Court buffet can get busy but this is a big ship with a lot of passengers. The 'anytime dining' worked well - especially as we booked a table each morning for evening dinner at a time to suit our day's schedule. This worked very well. We prefered 'Michaelangelos' which always semmed quieter.
One point we noticed was the very different levels of service we received at formal dining depending on which table we had been allocated. All seemed 'sweetness and light' every evening until we declined wine, at which time a number of waiters seemed to lose all interest. Are they on commision?
We all felt that the entertainment was OK but 3 production shows in 14 nights is poor indeed and of these 2 were held in the inadequate 'Vista' lounge. The guest acts were ok-ish. Still think (after cruising with Princess, P&O, Celebrity, Rennaisance, Ocean Village and Airtours) that Thomson wins hands down for quality and quantity of evening production shows.
There was a tremendous age range of passengers. Previous reviews have commented at length on the scooter/wheel-chair brigade and yet we will never forget one young man with a young family who struggled around permanently on crutches and was not an obstace to anyone - in fact he was an example to us all!
What surprises me is the lack of comment on young children of which there were 200 onboard - apparently benefitting from a 'free' offer. There are 4 pool areas on board, children being allowed only in the central 2. These were therefore taken over and resembled a mix of the local baths and 'Butlins at sea.' They basically ran riot and were apparently still around in the late hours, disrupting dancing and causing chaos with the lifts. Obviously this reflects more on their parents but it did come as a shock to our party (grand-parents) who travelled in early June to escape school holidays and whose grand-children would never be allowed to behave in such a disgraceful manner. They would not be taken on a cruise at all at that age. Princess are in danger of losing their main customer base if they go for the unfettered family market.
One final word - the Captain Nick Carlton (I believe) and officers would be better on a container ship as their inter-personal skills and ability to mix are NIL. His speeches at the cocktail parties were meaningless and trite but at least we saw him. The only other contact was a dreary dirge he read (from the bridge) each time we left port. We sailed into very strong winds and a heavy swell upon leaving Alghero but, of this, he gave no warning and the ship became the 'Marie Celeste' on a formal evening as so many passengers were taken ill. Suitable medicine could have been taken immediately - surely this must be part of being a Cruise-Ship Captain?
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| Quality of Food |  |
| Formal 'Da Vinci' for breakfast. Horizon buffet for lunch. 'Michelangelo' formal for dinner | | Entertainment |  |
| Productions shows - only 3 in 2 weeks. Very professionally staged but too 'American' for 2700 Brits.
Diane Cousins was excellent. Duggie Brown ok. | | Shore Excursions | n/a |
| Did our own thing in every port, including train from Livorno to Florence and car-hire from Cadiz to Seville.
On board tour prices are ridiculous (same with all cruise lines - eventually everybody will be doing their own thing) | | Staff | |
| Mirela - Stateroom stewardess. A credit to the company and an example to the captain and officers who were all hopeless.
The same applies to 'Georgetta' a waitress in formal dining.
Some waiters were very surly - see main review. | | Children's Facilities | n/a |
| | Onboard Activities | n/a |
| Did our own thing - mainly sitting on our balcony in glorious sunshine with glass in hand. | | Cabins |  |
| Very good deal on a mini-suite. Spacious and comfortable with TWO TVs! | | Overall Rating | |
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