Grand Princess Final Drydock Update and return to SFO - 3/18/2019

The Grand has completed her drydock and is on her way back to San Francisco.  At about 9pm tonight she cleared the Columbia Bar in Astoria and will turn south.  This post will include the last few photos and a tracker on her location.  Hope you have all enjoyed following along.  In about 3 weeks we will be trying to follow the Caribbean Princess along on her MONTH LONG drydock to replace an engine and make other improvements.

Some pictures are from the Facebook member "Martin Cruise" - others have been scoured from other internet sources.

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Booking.com

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And now, the photos.

A final, beautiful day in the Pacific Northwest

New carpeting in the dining rooms

Crooners' sporting new seat decor

Updated drink station in the Horizon Court

Refreshed elevator interiors

New couch upholstery around Explorers lounge - it doesn't really go well with the carpet, in my opinion.

New paint, new props.

New hottub tiling around both Calypso and Neptune pools

Ocean Medallion ready? (but not enabled yet)

New information screens - these are even nicer than what the Star got in her drydock in 2017.

Work continues through the evening.

Following the Grand on her Drydock Journey

3/4/19 - 8:25pm PT update - The Grand cleared the Astoria Megler Bridge - unfortunately since it is night time, it was hard to see from the camera on the Astoria Column.

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3/4/19 - 7:30 am PT update - The Grand is approximately 260 nautical miles from Astoria and 340 from Portland.  At the current speed of 20.3 knots, she should enter the Columbia River around 7 to 8pm this evening, local time (Pacific time zone).  Once in the Columbia River, she will likely have to reduce her speed to an average of 12 knots which would put her close to the Vigor drydock in NW Portland around 2 or 3am, local time.

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3/3/19 - 2:40 pm PT update - The Grand should be departing soon.

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I anticipate the Grand departing SF on March 3rd in the early afternoon and sailing to her drydock at Vigor Shipyards in Portland, OR shortly thereafter.  It's about 31 hours at 18 knots from SF to Astoria, at the mouth of the Columbia River which would put the Grand sailing by Astoria in the evening of the 4th.  She should then arrive at the shipyard just NW of Portland by midnight.  The weather on the Pacific Coast looks reasonably peaceful for her transit.  For those that are curious about Astoria and the Columbia river, the interface with the river and the Pacific is very treacherous due to geography, river current, and ocean tides.  I go over my recent experience on the Eurodam on this page.  I also highly recommend this book which talks in detail about Astoria and the challenges facing sailors, even to this day.






We'll be following along as she sails, and you can too by watching on this Marinetraffic link as well as the various webcams along the way:

• Astoria LIVE camera

• Astoria Megler bridge from ODOT Office
• Astoria Megler bridge cam 1 - The Grand will sail under this span.
• Astoria Megler bridge cam 2 - The Grand will be visible from this north vantage point
• St Johns Bridge - The Grand may be visible sailing under this bridge very close to the shipyard.

As always, the Grand should have her webcam on

Grand Princess Upcoming Drydock Info and Medallion Update

First thing - Booking.Com has some great deals on hotels no matter where you are and also lists AirBNB and VBRO listings! Check it out!

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Booking.com

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Courtesy of our friends at PrincessCruisesFAQ, the Grand is scheduled for drydock in Portland from March 3rd to March 19th.
Unconfirmed information reported from CruiseCritic: 

GUEST AREAS:

• Reupholster lounge chairs in Explorer's, Crooner's, Wheelehouse, Crown Grill, Library, and Snookers. 
• New sofas for Explorer's and Crooner's 
• Replace Mini-suite sleeper sofas 
• Replace astro turf deck covering on upper decks 
• Replace Horizon Court carpeting and tiles 
• Replace Wheelhouse Dance floor 
• Repair/Refinish beverage station cabinets in Horizon Court 
• New carpets in dining room and Crooner's. 
• Ocean Medallion wiring install (not active until subsequent drydock in 2021/2022)

 SHIP SYSTEMS: Inspection and repair of propellers, exchangers, propulsion as well as hot and cold water lines.

As shown above, this will be at the Vigor drydock yard in north Portland, OR, the same place where she had her last drydock.  Here is a great drone flyover video of the Grand during that drydock.

REALLY COOL DRONE video of the last drydock of the Grand in Portland's Vigor shipyard.

A few other notes, Princess has announced the follow schedule for the deployment of MedallionNet (note this is NOT Ocean Medallion, but it is the foundation for it, and does include very fast wifi)

• Currently available on Caribbean, Regal, and Ruby
• Royal - April 13
• Crown - July 24th
• Sky - October 12th - the Sky will also be the first newbuild with the Ocean Medallion activated.