Princess Cruises, Grand Princess, Norwegian Fjords

Just back from Norway cruise on 'Grand Princess' Overall excellent experience, the positives were that we were extremely fortunate with the weather in Geiranger, Flam and at the North Cape, the vessel is quite a 'presence' and the contact staff (waiters, bar-staff, cabin stewards) are unfailingly friendly. The itinerary was fine - taking in Stavanger, Geiranger, Trondheim, North Cape, Tromso, Flam and Bergen although 4 days at sea was a bit much - on a previous trip to Norway with 'Thomson' we had only 2 days at sea and more ports of call in a slightly shorter time. The food was excellent be it buffet in Horizon or formal in Michael Angelo or Da Vinci. On the downside, there were 2 major points. 1. The Cruise Director was quick to point out (on the 1st night) that of the 2400 passengers, 1700 were British and 'Princess' were obviously proud of this. This point was then basically forgotten for the rest of the cruise. The Horizon Buffet dining area quickly ran out English Tea, Cornflakes and certain beer brands, whilst the entertainment (apart from 2 noteable exceptions) seemed totally geared to the 3/400 Americans onboard. The Producton Shows were superbly performed and staged but there were just 4 in 12 nights and of those 'Rock and Roll' and 'Motown' were totally American. A large range of 'solo acts' performed - the best by far being a Welsh Comedienne and a Beatles tribute band. Some of the others flown in from the States, inc. 'The Texas Tenor' and typical American comedians were dire. 2. Arctic waters. Obviously it was impossible to sit outside to dine so large tracts of outside dining areas were totally unuseable. Breakfast time therefore saw swathes of people wandering around with trays in hand vainly looking for a table. Yet, the waiter service dining room closed at 9am! There are a large number of 'hot-tubs' onboard but apart from the 1st and last day they could not be used as they were either cold or luke warm. All these problems were pointed out but to no avail. This is a superb vessel but it seemed obvious to our small party that 'someone' needed to 'get a grip'. Automatic doors from the rear of the Horizon Dining areas on to the rear decks refused to work correctly for the whole of the cruise leaving diners shivering. One lift in the Atrium never worked from beginning to end of the cruise. Princess claim 4-star status and a 'can do' philosophy and accordingly expectations are higher than with the 3-star lines. This ship takes over from 'Sea Princess' next year in sailing season long from Britain. At the moment it does not match its sister vessel's quality and ambience. Perhaps the answer to all this is the dead hand of 'Carnival', certainly standards have slipped somewhat since we sailed on Sea Princess and Golden Princess in the Caribbean. The accountants are winning!