MattSaw

We went on a Mediterranean cruise two years ago. That whole cruise was on My Time, because it was so port-intensive. That was the only time we've ever done My Time, but we were pleasantly surprised by it.

The second night, we came down for dinner. The maitre d' asked us whether we'd like the same waiters as the evening before. We enthusiastically said yes. This waiter assignment held for all nights of the cruise but one. It was really the best of both worlds -- flexible time plus familiarity with your waiters.

Nadine, I'd say that it was 2 lanes wide -- plenty wide for this use -- and not in heavy use. Our cruise was quite windy, though. Not sure whether those weather conditions will last until September.

I hope that you and your daughter have a great time.

Matt

Sailing at the end of Sept. thanks for your review. I do love to walk around the ship with my daughter in her wheelchair, but need lots of space to get a good workout. On deck 10 the jogging track what is that like? Nadine

I'm glad to hear this different perspective. I'm a loyal and satisfied customer of RCI, so I'm glad to hear that our issues were probably isolated ones.

I was also on this cruise but have a different perspective. We had probably the best and quickest service we've almost ever had in the MDR at the first seating. We were out between 6:30 and 6:45 each evening.

 

There were excursions offered for Americas Cup on the RCI site before the cruise. I don't remember specifically what they were since we weren't interested but they were available. I think they were tickets for accessing the viewing area. However, we were able to see the races for free by walking to the end of the pier. Not sure what else they could have done to advertise it.

 

Service was close to the best we've ever experienced in 20+ cruises. Very, very happy with all of our interactions.

 

I did this same cruise last year and loved it so much that I did it again. Ship is small but beautiful. There are positives and negatives on all class of ships but I always have a good idea on what to expect before boarding.

You should. The port is well run and of manageable size. Also, the long sail down and up the Chesapeake Bay (about 10 hours on each end) is cool.

Last night, we and our friends suddenly realized that we had real cell service at about 9 pm. It was like six junkies finding a stash they didn't know they had.

Living 15 minutes from the Port, I have always been wanted to cruise on Grandeur and to Bermuda, but I have yet to get around to it. Thank you for your review, it has proved (yet again) that I need to support the local port and cruise out of here sometime soon :)

We went to Elbow Beach in a taxi. It was too small and buggy for us to really enjoy it.

When we went to Bermuda three years ago on Royal, we did an island-wide van tour with several stops. That was entirely worthwhile.

Thanks for the review, sailing on Grandeur in 3 weeks. Did you get out and visit any of beaches or any excursions?

Miriam, I actually meant to type "not oppressively small." Sorry about that.

We were on one size bigger ship in Scandinavia last year -- the next size bigger without a Promenade -- so I had already had a chance to adjust.

I like going on the ships with a Promenade, though. I enjoy hanging out there in the early mornings, drinking Diet Coke, answering my accumulated e-mails while DW sleeps in, and watching the ship come to life.

Matt, Did you mean to use the adverb "oppressively" ? That sounds rather terrible. I know opinions are subjective but I've been on RCCL's ships of that class and I don't think that they are "oppressive" and to someone new, reading about the Grandeur, they might get the wrong idea. She is certainly not one of the mega-ships, but then no one books her for that reason!

 

- Miriam

We've just returned from the above sailing. This was our eighth Royal cruise, and our first one on a ship quite as small as Grandeur. We sailed with two other couples. Selected points:

1. The America's Cup and the docking of the tall ships -- both wonderful events to visit -- were both going on in Bermuda while we were there. Despite this fact, the ship made no mention of these events -- presumably because attending them would divert business from the ship's paid excursions. We learned of these events on these boards and bought advance tickets. We had a fantastic time.

I understand that RC is a for-profit company, but this silence violated my sense of good conduct by a business.

2. We drove to Baltimore (from Raleigh) and did the stay-and-park package that a travel agent has arranged and that is mentioned on these boards. We stayed at the Aloft near BWI. This package is new to this hotel. The front-desk staff first stated that the shuttle wouldn't take us to the port, but the travel agent engaged very quickly and straightened it all out in 20 minutes. Great service!

The hotel could use some maintenance in the rooms. The parking was super-convenient. The shuttle drivers were as nice as can be.

If you stay at one of the hotels near BWI, go to G&M Restaurant nearby. Wonderful local old-timey place with a huge menu and killer 8-ounce crabcakes. Read the reviews on TripAdvisor and you'll get the gist. Yum!

3. Almost 100% of the cruisers were Americans.

4. Paul Rutter was the cruise director. Tanya was the activities director. They should make Tanya a cruise director ASAP. She has more entertainment value and verve than Paul and most of the other CDs I've ever seen.

5. Grandeur was just off drydock. Despite its age (1996), the ship did not seem too old or worn. I was glad that they had the Park Cafe in the solarium. That's my favorite for lunch -- by a mile.

Also, Grandeur seemed a bit small for my taste, but oppressively small. The only notable difference (beyond the lack of a Promenade) is that it's harder to walk interior laps inside the ship. To the good, we were on deck 7; we felt remarkably close to everything.

The gym is pretty darned small, and thus crowded. The machines are in good repair, though.

I am a Diet Coke fiend, so I hit the Coke Freestyle machines pretty hard. Usually one or more of them were under maintenance, needing syrup, etc. They should service the machines more often.

6. We found the staff on the ship very friendly -- perhaps unusually so. This makes the trip more enjoyable.

7. The only significant problem we encountered was dinner service at the first seating in the MDR. We had a great table along the window. Unfortunately, even though we arrived right on time, our service was slow and almost always included errors or omissions.

The first night, we arrived at 5:30 sharp, but weren't served dessert until 7:35. About one minute later, a head waiter (not ours) came up and politely asked us to hurry up so they could prepare for the 8 p.m. seating. Luckily, we have a calm and mature group of diners. I had a polite, but firm, conversation with our head waiter on our way out. Things were marginally better on the later nights, but not decisively better.

We had no entreaties for positive survey reviews from our waiters. Probably just as well, but we won't go overboard with the negativity either.

I welcome your questions and comments. Happy sails to all of you.

Matt

Has anyone been on Grandeur since the drydock? If so, what are the improvements?

We're excited to be heading out next Saturday!

Matt

Raleigh, NC

If you don't mind my hijacking the post a little:

What's a good hotel in Baltimore that will let you leave you leave your car during your cruise? Many thanks.

Matt

Raleigh, NC

We're going on the Memorial Day weekend sailing on Grandeur, shortly after the drydock.

What's the Diet Coke situation on this ship? Do they have Coke Freestyle machines? Where are good places to get soda in the morning (I wake up early, and Diet Coke is my coffee substitute).

Any other tips are welcome, too! This is our first time on this ship.

Many thanks.

Matt

We did not eat at Giovanni's. It was our muster station, though.

Do you recall what movies were shown in the theater? We were on Serenade last month and will be sailing again next week and are hoping the movies are different.

We were pretty impressed with the selection of movies, and watched several. By the way, they simulcast them on channel 39 on the TV. We enjoyed watching them like that. Here are the ones I remember:

Spectre

Creed

The 33

Bridge of Spies

Room

Just got off the 7-day sailing of the Baltic capitals. This was our first trip ever on a Radiance-class ship. Key impressions:

Unusually friendly and attentive crew on this ship. We had great experiences with our steward and assistant waiter. Also, the entertainment staff, from CD Topi Ylonen on down, set a nice tone.

The Internet login, at least from out devices, was horribly unstable and unreliable (as others have described).

Did not find smoke in the Centrum to be a problem. There was a little bit on 6, where the casino is, but that was all.

It would be good if all the ships installed Coke Freestyle machines, at least for soda fiends like me. Having to go to a crew member (esp. in the early morning) is inefficient at best.

On a related note, it doesn't make a huge amount of sense to have as many food items doled out manually by the crew as are -- e.g., *almost all drinks, including water* in the Windjammer. Why? This causes terrible backups at times. Ditto for the Park Cafe. Maybe the concern is portion control, but this isn't such a concern in the WJ. I genuinely don't get it.

On the whole, though, we had a great time, and didn't think that the smaller ship and the lack of a Promenade was a significant loss. Maybe a smidge, but not enough to deter us from returning to this ship class, I don't think.

Questions and rejoinders welcome.

Matt

I keep getting e-mail pitches for 30% off Internet packages on our sailing next weekend. This almost sounds like fraud, based on what I'm reading here!

Does anyone have any info on when they are installing a better/functional system on Serenade -- or thoughts on whom at Royal to contact to find out the timetable? We're on the May 22 cruise.

Regrettably, I have got to be able to check the grid, even on the sea days (but not all the time!, or there would a widely reported murder on the ship and I would be its victim). I've already started looking into renting a little briefcase-sized satellite receiver, believe it or not.

Thanks for any scoop or tips that anyone can offer.

Matt

How was the cruise otherwise?

My wife, college daughter, and I are on the May 22 Serenade sailing out of Copenhagen. This will be our first time on a ship without a Royal Promenade.

My habit is to get up early in the morning and drink *some* Diet Coke and catch up on my e-mails.

Where can I get soda in the morning on the Serenade?

Is the Internet service as bad as people say?

Many thanks for your thoughts.

Matt

We just got off in BCN. I can answer only one of these:

"Also, is first dining at 6 or 6:30 p.m.? I have 6 on my reservation but have read 6:30 on some boards."

We did My Time, but out waiters told us that dinner was 6:30 on Deck 4 and 6 on Deck 5.

Incidentally, when we booked in Feb., we were told that the whole ship would by on My Time Dining, but that was not the case. Nevertheless, the largest dining room is devoted to My Time, and a lot of people are doing that format.

Have a great cruise!

Matt

We are on the Allure now (let me know if any Qs).

When we get off in Barcelona, we'd like to get 6-7 bags (some large, some not) delivered directly to the Air Rooms hotel at the airport. What service would you suggest, considering reliability and price? Many thanks.

Now off to Aix-en-Provence!

We are on the Allure now (let me know if any Qs).

When we get off in Barcelona, we'd like to get 6-7 bags (some large, some not) delivered directly to the Air Rooms hotel at the airport. What service would you suggest, considering reliability and price? Many thanks.

Now off to Aix-en-Provence!

Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you all for all this fun info.

By the way, how was the food in the Windjammer -- any better or worse?

We're excited to board the Allure on Sunday 6/21 for a week with our two college-age people. This will be our second time on the Allure, but our first Med cruise ever.

Any impressions from last week's sailing? How was the weather (can't be as broiling as it is in Raleigh this week)? The new crew? The My Time Dining?

Thanks for helping us whet our cruise appetites!

Matt

We're on the Allure sailing out of Barcelona on the 21st. This will be our first Mediterranean cruise. Let me ask a newbie question: When we're out of port, will the ship sometimes be traveling close enough to shore that we might pick up some cell towers from the land?

(I know that the ship has its own satellite-based data service to offer.)

Many thanks.

Matt

We're on the June 21 Allure sailing out of Barcelona.

Is the Las Ramblas area a good choice for a one-night stay before we leave for the cruise?

If so, what's a good hotel? We'll have our two college-age kids with us, so we'll probably need a suite or two rooms.

When we get back, DW and I plan to stay in Barcelona by ourselves for 4 more days of walking around, day trips, and other fun. Where's a good choice for us in the Las Ramblas area? Price is not a huge concern, but under $250 per night would be nice.

Many thanks.

Matt

Raleigh, NC

Our family is sailing on the Allure out of Barcelona in late June. This will be our second sailing on the Allure, but our first on any ship in Europe.

Will they have the same complement of U.S. sodas in the Freestyle machines, despite the fact that they'll be restocking the syrup in Europe? (Diet root beer is a big hit with us.)

Do you think that the food will be about the same? Some new twists (given the presumably more international clientele) would be interesting.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Matt

Raleigh, NC