Grand Princess Review

Grand Princess Southern Caribbean - Dec. 10-17,2011

Review for the Southern Caribbean Cruise on Grand Princess
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miamibobk
10+ Cruises • Age 90s

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Sail Date: Dec 2011
Cabin: Balcony

First impression of Grand Princess, our cabin. We are fairly experienced cruisers and were quite surprised to find such a small cabin on a ship built in 1998. The balcony, also fairly small, was serviceable. However, it showed its age and was in need of some clean up. Several days into the cruise the balcony was cleaned.

We have been to Aruba and Curacao several times before so only left the ship for short walks; same at Princess Cays, so no comment regarding ports of call. We also don't use the pools or sit in the pool area. We prefer quiet, out of the way decks for reading and relaxing...not easy to find on the Grand Princess.

The dining experience was poor. The dinner service in the Bertocelli dining room was adequate, everything was served in a timely manner, but the waiter lacked customer relations skill. On several occasions I asked the our waiter for suggestions or recommendations between two entree options, or asked if the earlier diners seemed to like or dislike a particular menu choice. His answer was always the same, "it's your taste." True, but not a satisfactory response. The food was poor to fair with an occasional good mixed in. I particularly enjoyed the pasta selections which I often requested as an appetiser. The Beef Wellington and the lobster served at the second formal night was good. Unfortunately, one of our table mates, not a fussy diner, had to return her entree at three different meals. Another table mate discovered a piece of plastic in his ice cream. He brought it to the attention of the waiter who called the maitre de to the table. He apologized, asked for his room number, said he would discuss the problem with the chef and get back to him. Two days later, when the maitre de visited our table we asked him what was done about the problem He apologized again and promised to follow up with the chef. On the last sea night my table mate found five chocolate covered strawberries in his cabin, compliments of the maitre de. We took all our breakfasts and most lunches in the dining room. These meals were more satisfactory. Coffee served in the dining rooms, for all meals, was atrocious. At one meal, after listening to my complaining about the terrible coffee, the waiter told me he was surprised that more passengers didn't complain. I am a coffee drinker but drank nothing but tea the last three days. The worst dining experience was in the "specialty restaurant" Crown Grill. We were a party of eight, all seated at one table. Three entrees were brought to the table followed by two more about five minutes later. The remaining three entrees were served fifteen minutes later. Completely unacceptable! The manager came to our table after all the entrees were served, and with little comment, told us we would be provided with complimentary Cappuccinos. What should have been a highlight dining experience was spoiled by bad service. If the restaurant was unable to properly serve a party of eight, they should have asked us to change to two parties of four. On the positive side, the late afternoon Teas were delightful, wonderful sandwiches, scones, etc. The pizza restaurant as well as the sandwiches, salads and pastries served on deck five, at the atrium, were quite good. Embarkation and dis-embarkation were excellent, smooth and swift.

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Balcony

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