Ky Bill

We were on the Grandeur last month in a GS 8505.  It was a normal GS with very little noise and no odors.  We had one of our best cruises.

Bill

Lisa, For what it's worth I don't think your idea is dumb at all!  If it's right for you and your family it's right.  I'm following your post getting ideas as we're not many points from Pinnacle.  We get five free drinks each per day and free drinks at the suites lounge in the evening.  This keeps us from needing a beverage package which really adds up.  I'll be following to see the final outcome.

On our August 19th, 2023 cruise on the Grandeur we received our laundry bag on Wednesday.  We stuffed the bag and sent it the same day.  The clean laundry returned first thing Friday morning.  

Bill

2 hours ago, Biker19 said:

The ship was upgraded to Starlink in the spring and if you have connections to a access point, it should be much better than the previous system. 

Unfortunately when the ship was upgraded to Starlink the router and internals were not upgraded.  The hotel director said the router and internals will be upgraded during next year's dry dock.

Bill

We just returned from the Grandeur of the seas, August 19-26th and found the food in the MDR to be wonderful.  The food was good enough we opted not to visit any of the specialty restaurants.  We did opt for the Chef's Table which was excellent.  As far as the MDR menu I enjoyed the French Onion Soup and Escargots.  There was one night that Tapas were on the menu which we really enjoyed.

Bill

We were on the Allure of the Seas and went to 150 Central Park.  The most rememberable part of dinner there was the expense.  I hope you have a better experience.

Bill

We were on the Adventure last September and stayed in a Grand Suite.  No free Vroom, no Country Kitchen.  Suites lounge with free cocktails, Concierge and snacks most of the day.  Breakfast in Chops with express boarding, disembarkation, reservations at shows.  We had a great time and will be on AOS again in a GS this next April.

Bill

We just came off of the Grandeur, Aug 19-26th out of Tampa on a 7 night.  This was our first opportunity to try the "new menu."  Much to my surprise we liked the new menu.  The food was so good we ended up not going to any of the specialty restaurants with the exception of the Chef's Table.

Bill

2 minutes ago, schlimazel_traveler said:

I miss the Grandeur. Wish Royal would bring Lady G back to Baltimore. You'd think Vision would be the same but it's just not. Especially the food.

I wish they would rotate ships in Baltimore also as it's probably the only cruise port I can drive to and sail.  We sailed from Baltimore several times on board the Enchantment when she was there several years ago.  

Bill

4 hours ago, buffet24 said:

Did you purchase the WiFi package?  If so, how was the WiFi service on GOS?

The WiFi is poor when it works which isn't often.  Sorry I don't have a better report.  I mentioned it on my survey.

3 hours ago, Ky Bill said:

This was our first cruise sailing from the Port of Miami.  We found the cruise terminal to be convenient, clean and plenty of room.  From the time we arrived at the terminal by Uber, checked in and completed our muster drill was exactly 10 minutes!  Wow does that beat the days of old.  We found GOS to be clean, well maintained with a friendly and helpful staff.  We had a Facebook meetup at the Schooner Bar at 3PM on boarding day and meet so many nice people.  The Grandeur isn't for everyone as it is smaller and without water parks, flumes or flow riders.  However many of us appreciate the older smaller ships.  Disembarkation was as quick and well orchestrated as embarkation.  We went through customs, recovered our luggage, caught an Uber and checked our luggage in with Delta at Tampa International and it was 8:20 AM.  I am including a photo of the Grandeur and the Allure while docked together, a noticeable difference.

Bill

 

I meant to say the Port of Tampa, I'm blaming the spell check.

37 minutes ago, wolfcathorse said:

Can you recall who your captain was? I try to keep my chart current,

Sorry we didn't meet the captain or go to any of the top tier events so I can honestly say I don't think I ever heard his/her name. Sorry.

3 hours ago, goldfish65 said:

Did the a/c work well enough that you weren't uncomfortable? Thank you.

Luckily our cabin on the eight deck was plenty cool.  However the WJ was at the point of being uncomfortable especially during the noon day sun.  In conversation with the Hotel Director he shared that when the ship goes to dry dock next year the air conditioning system will get a new controller and compressors.  A couple we were traveling with who stayed on deck 3 complained of being uncomfortable with being warm.  Let's hope they fix it at dry dock.

59 minutes ago, orville99 said:

I presume you meant Tampa. Did you board at Terminal two? That was the old Carnival terminal that was completely re done. We are on Grandeur next Saturday, and would like to know how the food was in the WJ and MDR?

Yes, I did mean Tampa.  Terminal Two was either new or like.  We found the food at WJ to be excellent with a good choice.  They also kept the selections hot and filled.  This was our first cruise for the new menu which I wasn't looking forward to.  However I found the new menu to be fine with enough choice for about everyone.  The food was good enough we opted not to go to any specialty restaurants this cruise except for the Chef's Table.  Enjoy your cruise I wish we were going to be there also.

Bill

This was our first cruise sailing from the Port of Miami.  We found the cruise terminal to be convenient, clean and plenty of room.  From the time we arrived at the terminal by Uber, checked in and completed our muster drill was exactly 10 minutes!  Wow does that beat the days of old.  We found GOS to be clean, well maintained with a friendly and helpful staff.  We had a Facebook meetup at the Schooner Bar at 3PM on boarding day and meet so many nice people.  The Grandeur isn't for everyone as it is smaller and without water parks, flumes or flow riders.  However many of us appreciate the older smaller ships.  Disembarkation was as quick and well orchestrated as embarkation.  We went through customs, recovered our luggage, caught an Uber and checked our luggage in with Delta at Tampa International and it was 8:20 AM.  I am including a photo of the Grandeur and the Allure while docked together, a noticeable difference.

Bill

Prior to 9-11 the cruise lines had a ticket booth at the pier and sold available cabins at a fire sale price.  There we those frequent cruisers who moved to Florida just to take advantage of these opportunities.  They never knew a head of time where they were going and upon which ship.  Sounds kind of fun.  After 9-11 security stopped the practice and required booking ahead of time so some type of vetting could take place.  We've been cruising over 50 years so we've witnessed a lot of changes.

Bill

Sound like you hit the perfect bad storm of a cruise.  While you may have had a bad experience on this one cruise don't let it poison you on cruising. I realize this cruise was on short notice and perhaps that was part of the problem.  We're scheduling cruises for 2024 and 2025 as we find the ships and itineraries we like.  Best of luck on future vacations.

Bill

On 2/23/2023 at 3:11 AM, corgigrl said:

Our first cruise was on the Song of America. Christmas 1987. I remember well tendering in. There was not much there, just beautiful beaches, a small marketplace and a couple lunch spots. Locals hanging out in small boats, selling shells and trinkets. Took our kids back in the early 2000s. Still no dock, but they had wave runners to rent and an aqua park. Returning next week on the Harmony of the Seas. Looking forward to seeing all the changes. When did they build the pier?

I don't know when the dock was built but I guarantee you won't believe what has been built since your last visit.  Enjoy!

WE found the vendors to be almost as aggressive as the Salon people are on the ship!

Bill

1 hour ago, Toddcan said:

Ah, Baby Doc.  Like his father, he was a ruthless dictator.   He became president for life in 1971, and was ousted in 1986 when he left the country and moved to France. It was relatively peaceful when I was there, 1983-1984, but the protests were there, and ramped up leading to his leaving power in 1986

I just checked and Song of America would have lined up time wise with Baby Doc's departure.  I also noticed SOA is still in service being owned by another line.

Labadee is one of my fav ports.  Many years ago we were there when you had to tender ashore.  We were sailing on the Song of America which was a beautiful ship.  About two hours into our visit ashore we were rounded up and hurried back to the ship because of civil unrest.  I think that might have been when "Baby Doc" took power.  Labadee was closed for a number of years.  Labadee has changed greatly from those years long ago.  A new pier, out buildings and more accessible beaches.  

Enjoy your visit.

Bill

We always book ours ahead using the app and usually at a discounted offering.  We book ahead so we get the night and time which best suits us.

I just booked our Chef's table for our August, 2023 cruise and noticed one of the nights is already full.

Bill

On 6/22/2022 at 8:28 AM, brillohead said:

In my defense, I was trying to avoid flying around the US Thanksgiving weekend, so I ended up adding two cruises to the seven-in-a-row that I already had booked.  

I told @Ourusualbeach that we need to make a 12-step program for cruise addicts.  The meetings can be posted on the Cruise Compass as "Friends of Ken"!!!!

Where do you sign up for the Friends of Ken meetings?  Lets make the meetings on a cruise ship!  I am Bill and I'm a Cruiseaholic.  

On 8/2/2022 at 12:35 PM, Dan83 said:

Yeah it’s been sold out for weeks but I was unable to find any active roll call. Thought maybe it was a partial charter or something like that. We’ll be the ones getting kicked out of the lounge due to rowdy kids. (Kidding) 

 

 

well maybe not kidding 

Dan, the last time we were on the ship we were the rowdy kids in the lounge!  I was only 68 years old then......

Bill

On 11/17/2022 at 3:50 PM, Jimbo said:

Just curious,  why that ship when there is so many other newer ships to sail on that Royal Caribbean owns?

I've been on Gots many times.  The ship is more of the classic cruise experience I enjoy.  She is a fine ship which rides well, is easy to get around, has fewer younger cruisers and has teak decks instead of an amusement park which I don't use.  Not to mention the great cruise cost when compared to the new mega ships.  We were able to book a GS for less than a veranda cabin on the Wonder.  The nice thing about cruising with RCCL is they have a ship for everyone.  We will be on the August 19th, 2023 cruise out of Tampa.

Bill