We selected this cruise because our good friends (frequent Princess cruisers) invited us to join them. It was my first Princess cruise since 2005, and my husband's first cruise ever. We live in the SF Bay Area, so the 10 day round-trip to Alaska from San Francisco was super-convenient for us.
I know the Grand is not a brand-new ship, but she is aging gracefully, and has plenty of amenities. I never felt that I was cruising on a tired or worn-out ship. While the Grand is large, she still looks and feels like a ship,which is more than I can say for some of the newer ships (for example RCL's Harmony of the Seas). That ship just looks like a shopping mall from the pictures I've seen.
Our cabin (A507, large inside) was spacious and had excellent storage. I do wish they would find a way to keep the king-size bed (two twins pushed together) from separating during the night, but that's a very minor quibble and happens on every ship I've ever sailed.
Excellent, spacious inside cabin with tons of storage.
Our guide, Bruce was excellent, and we were the only people on what turned out to be a private tour because some other ships could not dock.