Grand Princess Review
Rating by category
Additional details
We chose this cruise because of the experience and just the need to see some warm weather.
This ship was fresh out of dry dock, which was used as an excuse for everything that was WRONG with the ship. Usually when something is in for refresh, repair, or general maintenance, it should come out fully functional and complete. Not so with this ship. Several cabins didn’t even have hot water for most of the cruise. There were issues just about every where on the ship. From bathroom plumbing, lights flickering, ceiling tiles sagging, and much more. Was it a total mess? Not really. The ship overall was pretty decent, but it really should have been so much more.
Food - generally, the food was average. It is surprising they don’t have more Mexican food on a Mexican cruise. Easiest way to get people in the mood of where they are going is through their stomach. Service varied depending on whether or not a supervisor was nearby. Amazing service usually meant there was at least one supervisor within eyeshot.
Cabin Review
Interior
while others were having a lot of issues with their "fresh out of dry dock" staterooms, ours seemed to be mostly okay. I had to fix a couple things, which were basically just putting them back together. For example, the bathroom door friction stopper was not screwed together. Just reached up and put it back together. Another thing was the knobs on one of the night stands fell off. Fortunately, I had brought a swiss-army knife and was able to put them back on easily enough. Basically, we left the stateroom in better condition than when we got there. ps: The new TVs are nice. They do have HDMI port on the back. Kind of hard to get to, but it is there. I plugged my iPod into it and watched movies at night.
Port Reviews
San Francisco
We didn't do anything in SF except embark and disembark.
Puerto Vallarta
We just walked around to the various shops. I like PVR as it seems to be one of the few ports that hasn't turned 100% American tourist.