Grand Princess Review
3.5 / 5.0
Z0nker
6-10 Cruises • Age 60s
Rating by category
Cabin
Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
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Additional details
Sail Date: Sep 2018
Cabin: Mini-Suite with Balcony
We chose this cruise for the itinerary and the departure port. Living near San Francisco allows us to travel on the Grand Princess without flying. We drove to the Embarcadero, allowing extra time to get past AT&T Park where the Giants were playing at noon. When you get to Pier 27, the traffic cops do a skillful job directing motorists between the Embarcadero and the cruise terminal traffic circle. Dropping off my wife and our luggage was a breeze. While she was handing the luggage to the porter I drove the car four blocks to Francisco Street where we had a reservation at the Impark garage for $18/day. Easy walk back to the terminal for check-in.
Princess embarkation is expertly orchestrated. The entire process: security, check-in, getting our cruise cards, checking our wine and waiting to board took 90 minutes max.
Regarding the wine: my wife is in the business and checked everything out ahead of time. Princess permits one bottle of wine per adult to be brought aboard free of charge. Make sure the wine is in your carry-on. Other than Vines Wine Bar, the wine onboard is generally mediocre and most wines on the list were not available on our cruise. So, bring your own if you want something decent at a fair price. A cruise is a great time to open that special bottle. Princess also allows you to bring additional bottles beyond the two free ones. Those extra bottles will cost you $15 each for corkage, but they are also marked so you can then take them into any bar or restaurant and enjoy them at no extra charge. We took one of our bottles into Vines Wine Bar one evening and the sommelier was happy to open it and serve it to us in some very nice Riedel glasses. The two “free” bottles are not tagged for corkage and are best consumed in your stateroom. Your room steward can bring glasses. If he’s good, he’ll keep bringing them.
Cabin Review
Mini-Suite with Balcony
Cabin MB
We had Mini Suite D608, category MB. Great room. It’s port side so we could see every port from our balcony. The balcony was also great for leaving port. We were out there every time. The mini-suite was spacious and conformable with a nice sitting area. The new beds are great, slept well. Loved the walk in closet and spacious bathroom. Many cruise ship showers are tiny, but the mini suites have tub showers, so you have elbow room. And leg shaving room for the ladies. There is also a nice sized vanity around the sink with plenty of room for two people’s stuff. D608 is about as close to midship as you can get without paying $1000 more for a Club Class mini-suite. The location makes for a smooth ride and easy access to the central elevators. We booked 8 months early and got a great price, plus $300 onboard spending credit and a free dinner for two in one of the specialty restaurants.
Port Reviews
Santa Barbara
In Santa Barbara we tendered into the marina. One of the tenders lives just under the balcony of our mini suite D608 so we woke up to it being lowered into the water on winches. We’re pretty good natured about that kind of thing because we’re on a ship. And happy to be going into Santa Barbara. The tenders have an open upper deck, which I like more than being squeezed into the hold. Once ashore we took one of the new electric city busses as far up State Street as they would take us, which cost 50 cents. From there we took a leisurely stroll thru some lovely upscale neighborhoods to the mission. We took an Uber back from the mission to the middle of State for $8 and had tacos and margaritas at Sand Bar. Then on to wine tasting in the Funk Zone, which is the newly revitalized industrial area of lower State nearest the ship.
Los Angeles
In Los Angeles you dock at the old Princess cruise port that appears in nearly every episode of the Love Boat. The USS Iowa is now a floating museum just a short walk from the terminal. Show them your room card to get a discount. Do not miss the color-coded map showing everywhere the Iowa has been. Which is pretty much everywhere. The Port of Los Angeles is also the nation’s busiest container port. The Grand Princess was surrounded by cargo ships and cranes operating 24/7. It is impressive to see.
Ensenada
We’ve been to Ensenada many times, so we didn’t even go into town. We walked over to the Carnival terminal which has better souvenir shops and a better margarita bar and hung out for a little while. Then we got back onboard and had pizza at Alfredo’s. Twice before we have done the wine bus out to LA Cetto and that’s a fun Ensenada shore excursion.
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