We choose this cruise as it's been a "bucket list" cruise for us for a while, but mostly because back in November we were very concerned that our two week Caribbean cruise would be canceled, so we cancelled it proactively and booked the 15 day Hawaii cruise. We had previously sailed on Grand in December for a 10 day Mexico cruise and really enjoyed it.
The trip across the ocean from LA to Hilo ...
There arent too many positive things I can say about this cruise. The ship was kept uncomfortably cold the whole trip, the food was mediocre at best, entertainment was only fair, staff was pleasant but overworked, and the ship had numerous problems, including toilets either not flushing or overflowing. The food at the buffet was not hot at any meal. We ate breakfast and lunch there everyday, ...
I have plenty to say here, mostly negative, but... in all fairness... there were positives to note:
PROS
Embarkation process was very simple
Using the Medallion for room access and purchases was very easy
Outstanding nature presentations
Excellent musical entertainment, comedians
The ship band/orchestra is REALLY good
Alfredo's Pizzeria (complimentary) produces consistently ...
This was my retirement cruise. I alerted Princess and added the milestone in the Medallion app, but nothing was done to acknowledge.
The ship should be in drydock by now, but should have been done much sooner. There were plenty of water leaks, a shattered window in the buffet. It is long overdue for maintenance.
There were a lot of people / staff getting COVID. The Cruse Director, Steve, ...
We chose this itinerary for the seadays involved in getting to and from HI. We'd also had nice experiences with Princess pre-pandemic so we opted for them again.
While we were in lockdown, Princess spent two years developing an onboard network tool called Medallion. It's a device, the medallion they issue you on boarding to wear on your person, and it's a network for interfacing with ...
We chose a Princess Cruise to “Hawaii” to enjoy time away after being “stuck at home” because of the pandemic. We have been aboard the Grand Princess two or three times before so we were very familiar with the ship and the amenities. The only differences we saw from previous voyages were associated with the use of the Medallion App which still has “software bugs” and doesn’t work as fast as one ...
The customer service for this cruise was spot on, all the staff members were great! We stayed in a mini-suite which was very nice and the room service and cleaning staff were great. The food could have been better, I wouldn’t say it was bad, but definitely not amazing either. If you go on this cruise expecting five star dining, lower that expectation. My favorite food ironically was the pizza, ...
Great cruise, familiar ports (Cabo, La Paz, Loredo, Puerto Vallarta), good food onboard, exceptional staff and area has lovely weather. Cabo port requires using a tender to get to the pier. Since 2 other cruise ships were already there, our ship used its tenders which are a bit slower than Cabo's. La Paz is a walk-off port and a 40 minute bus ride to town. Once there, you'll see fun sculptures ...
We liked the ports the ship was going to, Cabo was just okay... to built up. PV is busy but much more to do. The ship is nice but needs a refresh. the food in dining rooms was very good. we were un happy in the steakhouse and the Italian restaurants, they were over booked and the food suffered. Te shows were better than we have had in the past we were very surprised. Buffet breakfast is good but ...
Return to Princess and the Sea
Wow. Just finished our first cruise since February 2020. Had 6 cruise cancellations due to the Covid. Made it back on the Grand Princess for a 10-day cruise to Cabo, then up the Sea of Cortez to La Paz and our favorite Loreto. Finished with a day in Puerto Vallarta. Had good weather and calm seas the whole time. Sometimes a little wobbling to rock you to ...