mdgary

And some random pictures from around the ship:

Day 3 and we are en-route to Aruba. No rain since we left Ft Lauderdale but it has been a little windy. For those wondering if the extra cabins makes it feel too crowded it really doesn't (with the exception of The Princess theater). If you want to see one of the shows it's best to arrive about 30 minutes early (at least for the late show). The ship is well maintained and all the crew members we have met are very friendly and helpful. We have a table for 2 in the Provence dinging room and our servers are Soto (from Mexico) and Presdeah (from India) and both are doing an excellent job. The food choices in the main dining room seem to be more limited than on previous Princess cruises but the quality and taste are still very good. This is our first trip on the Island and much prefer the layout of the Horizon court over previous trips on the Caribbean and Sapphire. The buffet has a good selection and we have always been able to find a table with no problem. For the smokers (of which I'm one) the only smoking areas are Churchill lounge or deck 15 starboard by The Grill and it's uncovered. Aruba tomorrow with more to follow.

Couple more pictures:

Quick update. Very easy and quick boarding. Got to terminal around 12:15 and the line was wrapped around the outside but moved very quick. We got checked. in and were walking onboard around 1:00 and dropping our carry-ons in our cabin. Our cabin steward is Nilo and he is very friendly and helpful. First day was very rainy but no problem. There is some vibrations in our cabin (B741) and some squeaking noises but nothing too annoying. For js4rq I forgot what the category is but it's a aft facing balcony. Sun is coming out as I type so more later.

https://www.facebook.com/tracey.hensel.7/posts/1076905425662286

Hopefully this worked.

Boarding the Island Princess tomorrow for Panama Canal transit from Ft Lauderdale to Los Angeles. We have one of the new aft facing cabins (B741) and will post pictures and updates as we go. If therevare any questions I will try and answer if possible.

We have your cabin in December for a Panama Canal cruise. Had thought about changing cabins when I saw pictures of the aft but decided to keep that cabin. Sounds like we made the right decision going by your review. Will you be posting any cabin pictures?

It took until our upcoming 5th Princess cruise to find out about the Military OBC program. The program is available to active duty, retirees and honorable discharged members.

http://www.princess.com/downloads/pdf/faq_answer_legal/Military_Personnel_Benefit_US.pdf

Credit appeared within 1 day of submission.

The post May 2015 Island Princess deck plans show four aft balconies on the Baja deck. How odd, but yes, there they are--squeezed into the middle of the aft Baja deck. Maybe Princess doesn't want to hear anymore about soot on the aft balconies (just kidding!)

 

Thank you for the pictures.

We havw one of the new aft blconies (B741) for a December Panama canal cruise. Looking forward to seeing sme pictures soon

Sorry but the one I feel most sorry for is the poor person working the Customer Service Desk on embarkation day.

Personally I would love to live close to a port where 3 day cruises are an option but living on the Northern East Coast that just isn't an option. As it's been well stated, "Any day cruising is better than any day working!"

The poster stated in a previous post that the rate was such a great deal at $134pp after $25 OBC. This would equate to cost of $1.94 per hour if Princess would have stuck to the schedule. So in all fairness, Princess should give an additional $16 OBC (I rounded up) for the inconvenience of missing those 4 hours.

Just booked the 5 December 2015 Panama Canal cruise in one of the new aft facing balcony cabins. Will look forward to what what the reviews say after the ship comes out of dry-dock.

That brings up another question. I have read that the post-cruise surveys have been switched from written forms handed out before you disembark, to email surveys sent after the cruise.

 

We never got either after our cruise last month. I was really looking forward to filling it out too, since our cabin steward was one of the best we've ever experienced.

 

How does one get these surveys? Another example of RCI IT subpar performance?

We got ours the same day we got back. In fact I have received several enails to complete the survey (which I all ready did)

Thanks for posting the Compasses. Could you tell me if you know, how much is the internet packages for the 10 night cruise? Is there any unlimited options?

 

Thanks in advance.

They have 4 options available:

$29.95 hourly plan - 60 minutes access throughout cruise

$59.95 daily plan - 24 hours continuous access

$225.95 unlimited access - ublimited for entire cruise

$269.95 cruise special plan - unlimited access for 2 devices

Thank you for your review, Can you tell me if there are cookies available? Our first cruise last December was on the Explorer, and we really enjoyed the cookies...

We go on the Grandeur... for New Years, and we cannot wait!

I seem to remember them being available in the Windjammer and Park Cafe.

Do you know what internet plans were offered?

 

Thanks

Roy

They offer the following packages:

Hourly plan - $29.95 - 60 minutes access throughout cruise (can purchase multiple hours)

Daily plan - $59.95 - 24 hours continual access

Unlimited plan - $225.95 - unlimited access throughout cruise

Cruise special plan $269.95 - unlimited access for 2 devices

Grandeur of the Seas Review 29 Nov – 9 Dec Western Caribbean Cruise

Living only 25 minutes from the pier we were dropped off around 11:00 A.M and breezed though the check-in process. No lines or waiting and within 15 minutes we had our Sea Pass card (with drink package sticker already attached) and were boarding the ship.

Cabins were not available until 1:30 P.M. so we headed to the Windjammer for lunch. As usual there was a big crowd and no seats available inside so we took of food to the chilly deck for lunch. The Windjammer has a good selection but there is not nearly enough seating inside during the peak lunch hours.

After lunch and wandering around the ship with drink in hand we waiting until they opened the doors to the cabins precisely at 1:30.

Since this was a late November/early December cruise and figured that 4 of the 10 days might not have the best of weather we had decided on a ocean view cabin on deck 3 aft instead of a balcony cabin. We had cabin 3138, which is located aft under the Great Gatsby dining room. The cabin was very convenient and mostly quiet although you do hear the occasional cart from above or engine noise. The cabin was small and there wasn’t a lot of storage space but overall we were happy with it. The only negative about the cabin was the ridiculously small shower and very annoying shower curtain that made it nearly impossible to shower comfortably. Also be advised there is not a mini fridge in the cabin which would have been nice to have.

Around the ship:

Although one of the older (maybe the oldest?) and smallest ships you never feel crowded with the exception of the Windjammer. Overall the ship was in very good condition although you didn’t see the normal daily upkeep that we have noticed on other cruise lines (painting, varnishing, etc.)

Palladium Theater and shows:

The theater isn’t that large but we never had a problem finding a seat. We went to nearly all of the shows with the entertainers brought onboard and just one of the production shows.

Entertainers:

Day 1 – Welcome aboard and comedian Rick Novell

Day 2 – The Edge Effect (semi-finalist on America’s Got Talent). Excellent show!

Day 3 – Puck (Magician) Very good as well

Day 4 – Production Showtime All Access – OK show but nothing special

Day 6 – James Stephens III (Comedian/Impressionist) Very good show

Day 8 – Tony Tillman (Singer) Also very good

Day 10 – Farwell Show with Billy D.Williams (Comedian) Not good at all, sorry.

Schooner Lounge

Spent most of our evenings in the Schooner listening to a great piano player/singer from Australia names Anthony Michael. Very personable and talented.

Onboard activities:

One of the area’s that we thought was a little lacking onboard. Besides the usual cruise activities (belly flop, pool games, etc) there wasn’t much going on daily. We did attend the trivia contest’s that are held throughout the cruise but not much else.

Dining:

Great Gatsby Dining Room:

We had the 8:00 seating at a table for 2 in Great Gatsby Dining room and service was very good. Our server and his assistant were very friendly and efficient. The dinner selection as good and did not have a bad meal but for the most part nothing spectacular. The best meal was on the last formal night with my wife having the lobster and myself the prime rib with both being excellent.

Chops:

We did try Chops steakhouse one evening and it was well worth the $35 charge per person. Our server was again very pleasant and helpful but it wasn’t the quickest dinner. My wife had the 9oz filet mignon and I had the 12oz NY strip and both were prepared perfectly and delicious. Both steaks were very large and neither of us could finish the meal. The only negative on Chops was option to get the “premium” meals for an additional charge. You are already paying for the specialty restaurant so why should there be yet another charge for your meal?

Windjammer:

Overall a very good selection at all meals. Breakfast had the usual fare every day and little change in selection. Lunch and dinner had a good variety throughout the cruise and we could always find something we liked. Again the only downside with the Windjammer was the size of the seating area and occasional trouble finding a seat.

Park Café:

Not the best of selection and very limited choices available when the Gatsby or Windjammer were closed.

Room Service:

Only ordered once but decent selection of items and fairly quick service. Had to ask at customer service for a room service menu.

Ports:

We had only 1 tour scheduled and that was in Cozumel unfortunately our tour got canceled due to lack of participants. We did get off briefly and wandered around town for a few but that was the extent of our Cozumel visit as we had been there several times previously.

We stayed onboard in both the Cayman Islands and Jamaica. We had also been to the Caymans several times and had already did the usual tours. Been to Jamaica twice before and have no desire to go back.

We also stayed onboard when in Labadee as our stop there was cut short by about 4 hours due to expected poor weather conditions heading back to Baltimore. Looked like a nice place to visit so maybe next time.

Overall we thoroughly enjoyed our cruise on the Grandeur. The only other negatives on this cruise was the occasional toilet issues that happened on a few days and the poor food selection or options during “off-periods”. But besides the few negatives, we really enjoyed the cruise and the crew and staff were always very pleasant and helpful and we would definitely return in the future.

Link to Cruise Compass Day1-Day10 and assorted hand outs:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ssax0yehv25ullp/AADrDIiAmFxaoxs3SXWkeaBya?dl=0

If there are any questions please let me know.

Here is the link to all the days Cruise Compass. (Hope this works).:rolleyes:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ssax0yehv25ullp/AADrDIiAmFxaoxs3SXWkeaBya?dl=0

Hi mdgary,

I noticed In some recent reviews of the Grandeur that people had problems with the plumbing on the ship -- toilets not working and pipes breaking. Did you have any such problems? I know it is one of RCI's oldest ships.

Sheila

We did have some isues with the toilet. About midway through the cruise the toilet stopped working. Called maintenence and they were there within 10 minutes working on the problem. We had a couple other issues where the toilet had "delays" but no major problem.

I am glad you enjoyed the Grandeur. Here are some questions:

What did you like best?

What did you like least?

Did you purchase the drink package? And if NOT, what were drink prices like?

Did you stop at Labadee? What did you do there?

Do you have any of the daily Cruise Compass that you could post? I have not been on a Royal Caribbean Cruise in decades and would like to see what activities are available on sea days for our 10 day cruise in January.

Thank you for you help!

JimandToni

Best - very friendly crew. Always helpful

Least - very small shower and annoying shower curtain

Drink package - yes we did get the ultimate drink package and gratuity was already included. Here is a great link with drnk prices http://www.cruisewithgambee.com/royal-caribbean-drink-package/

We did stop in Labadee but didn't go ashore as the stop was cut short about 4 hours due to weather heading back to Baltimore.

I do have all the Compasses and will try and post them over the weekend.

Gary

We just live 25 minutes from the dock and had our son drop us off. On a previous Carnival cruise we did drive and park at the pier and it's very convenient and only $15 a day.

As for the entertainment we enjoyed most of the entertainers brought onboard. We only saw one of the prduction shows and wasn't that impressed with it.

We really enjoyed the piano player in ths Schooner lounge. He is a Aussie named Anthony Michael and does a great job every night.

As for this ship for teenagers it might not be the best fit. My wife and I are 53/54 and we felt like the young kids on the ship. Maybe it was just this cruise but there were a lot of older cruisers onboard. There were very few teens onboard and the ship was fully booked.

Food in the main dining room was good but nothing spectacular. The best meal was on the last formal night which has lobster or prime rib. We would recommend trying Chops if you get a chance.

Hope this helps.

Mango lava flow or Grand margarita!

Just returned from 10 night Westen Carib on Grandeur and if any questions please ask. Great cruise with the exception on one bad weather day.

We were just onboard the Sapphire Princess in C753 for a inside passage cruise to Alaska. A week before sailing we were offered a "upgrade" to a mini-suite on Dolphin deck and I'm glad we turned it down. This is really a great cabin and would recommend it if it's available.

St Marteen sunrise