KarlS

1 hour ago, Biker19 said:

Like Grandeur, she might leave the fleet soon after her last stint in Baltimore - I would not expect much for the next dry dock.

Hope Enchantment's life can be extended, because once Grandeur is gone, I don't know what's left in the RCI fleet other than Vision and Rhapsody that can still fit under the bridges to call in Baltimore. What a disappointment if we no longer have an RCI ship home ported in Baltimore.

I see the gap in her published schedule from her last Galveston return on October 20th, 2020, until her first sailing out of San Juan on November 14th. I guess I just don't know enough whether that's just a "normal" pause for a home port repositioning or whether that time might include a refurb/dry dock. ❓

(I apologize in advance if my question has already been answered, but... this thread does have 96 pages 😎)

Has it been publicized whether Enchantment will get a major refurb between her last San Juan home port sailing April 10, 2021, before she returns to Baltimore as her home port again? I'm guessing since she was a 3-day/4-day cruise bus out of FL when she left Baltimore that she's had some hard use. Just curious. Thanks.

Cheers!

We are so disappointed Grandeur's 2017 Bermuda itineraries continue the horrible 2016 early-afternoon-arrival with next-day-early-afternoon-departure. That just perpetuates the cruise-to-nowhere mentality for the Bermuda runs out of Baltimore. We were hoping Grandeur would return to her former, longer stays in Bermuda, which already seemed too brief for us on our two cruises there. I guess we didn't know how good we had it back then. ;)

 

So sad. :(

UPDATE: We really do miss Bermuda. Since Grandeur is only doing the single overnight at King's Wharf again in 2017 (on both of her Bermuda itineraries),... For our 40th wedding anniversary celebration in June 2017 we've decided to give up the drive-to-the-port in Baltimore bonus, and we've booked our anniversary cruise on HAL's Veendam out of Boston. She ties up in Hamilton for three overnights, which was the deal-maker for us, even though we have to get on a plane to meet the ship. :D We'll come back to Grandeur for a different sailing.

We just received some great deals for 2016 on Uniworld. If the price is right we might book. We are past Uniworld cruisers and have sailed on this particular ship the Royale. Very nice! Not familiar with this itinerary .. need some information and reviews on this region.. Thanks..:)

Hi,

We just returned from this itinerary on River Royale this past Sunday. My review is posted at http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=533165&et_cid=2633025&et_rid=176922765&et_referrer=Boards_WAR_CC

If you have specific questions you can send an email (link in my signature, below), and maybe I can help. I've also scanned in our daily programs, and I can share those offline if you like, too. Cheers!

...Karl

Was anyone else disappointed to see the 9-night Bermuda / Bahamas itinerary? Arrive Bermuda Saturday afternoon, and leave Sunday afternoon. One day at Nassau, and one at Cocoa Cay.

:(

We are so disappointed Grandeur's 2017 Bermuda itineraries continue the horrible 2016 early-afternoon-arrival with next-day-early-afternoon-departure. That just perpetuates the cruise-to-nowhere mentality for the Bermuda runs out of Baltimore. We were hoping Grandeur would return to her former, longer stays in Bermuda, which already seemed too brief for us on our two cruises there. I guess we didn't know how good we had it back then. ;)

So sad. :(

My experience recently with any department has been 2-3 weeks (or sometimes more) before receiving anything other than the automated email receipt.

Everyone's posted great, helpful advice, very similar to what we've enjoyed on our six prior Uniworld Europe cruises (beginning in 2006). We're looking forward to our next one on River Royale in Bordeaux in a few months' time.

We've made longtime friends of fellow passengers we met on some of our first Uniworld cruises. With approximately 125 passengers on the ship, you get to know folks quickly, as does on-board staff. It's truly a "boutique" hotel experience, without the stuffiness or fancy dress-up requirements that term sometimes implies.

Don't worry about how your mom will get around on the excursions. Although we haven't been on your itinerary, we've always seen the on-board Uniworld staff accommodate various ages and physical abilities so every passenger can see/experience the most based upon abilities. For example, they can arrange for an "easy walking" excursion with a local guide for those who may need a slower pace.

I've posted some of our Uniworld experiences at links on our home web site (at the bottom of the page) at http://hillrisefarm.us/Cruising.html .

Enjoy! Please post a review of your experience when you get home. :)

The day in Speyer.

hiccups,

Thanks so much for continuing to post about your daily adventures. Brings back memories from when we were there cruising with Uniworld. Cheers!

...Karl

... we've got a few constant complainers!

Yup. We're not sure why some folk forget they should be enjoying the cultural/practical differences of the people and places they're visiting,... instead of insisting their surroundings adjust to meet their idea of what's "acceptable" to them back home. Sheesh!

Keep on enjoying your cruise, and we'll keep enjoying your postings. Cheers!

...Karl :D

Just happened to run across hiccups' postings. :) This is one of our favorite itineraries, and River Queen is unique in Uniworld's Europe fleet. Cheers!

KarlS I think you forgot the state of Delaware! There are a lot of us who cruise out of Baltimore.

Oops! Yes! I stand/sit corrected. :D (Geography was never my good subject). ;)

I liked Grandeur and liked sailing out of Baltimore. Really wish RCI offered a similar true full 3 days in Bermuda on a 7 day cruise.

Our sentiments exactly. :confused:

I like the 5 day to Bermuda. For us it's a nice quick getaway. Of course I'd love more port time, but not having tons of vacation time the 5 days are great for us. Also the Anthem is soooooo expensive that I can do Grandeur instead and still be able to cruise.

Both valid pluses for you, and we understand. Anytime someone can get away on any cruise, regardless of the number of days, it's terrific. Plus, if it's a bargain, then it's definitely a win-win. :)

I meant people wonder if there's enough to do in Bermuda.

Oops. Sorry I misunderstood.

I can only speak for us, but on our two cruises to Bermuda we've only had a total of 4 1/2 days ashore, and there are still many places we'd like to explore/enjoy. But then, we're "O-L-D". :rolleyes:

For everyone sailing post small ships, there was nothing like docking right in the center of Hamilton, then moving over to St. George and docking the equivalent of a block from the town square. Sometimes it could be too windy to make it thru the town cut into St. George so the ship would stay in Hamilton for the whole time. Good location since Hamilton is about in the center of the island so no more then halfway to anywhere.:)

Agreed. Our first sailing to Bermuda (way back in 1987 on RCCL'S Nordic Prince, (which was RCCL's first-time experiment retrofitting/extending a hull like they eventually did with Enchantment, too)) tied up front-and-center in Hamilton for several days. We had such a terrific time in Bermuda then, we knew we wanted to sail there again. For us, back in 2012 the best of everything was being able to sail out of Baltimore to Bermuda. Maybe again in 2017 if the itineraries change back to spending more time in Bermuda? :confused:

Funny, everyone here is saying that 5 days is not long enough and then there are those who wonder if there's enough to do on longer cruises.:D

I can't speak for others, but for us the frustration is because the length of time actually tied-up at King's Wharf in Bermuda in 2016 has shortened to two half-days.

As for whether there's enough to do on these Bermuda itineraries,... I could be wrong, (and my wife reminds me I usually am...),... but I'm pretty sure the at-sea number of sailing days are identical outbound and return no matter the total published number of days for a Grandeur Bermuda cruise out of Baltimore.

It will be interesting to see if they continue to sail full.

At this point we are looking at a land stay in Bermuda though we would prefer a ship.

Methinks RCCL's marketing folk believe Grandeur's 5-day "Bermuda" cruise will still sail full because Baltimore is such a desirable drive-to departure port for folks (like us) from MD/VA/DC/PA. The 5-day will just turn into a "cruise to nowhere" with an overnight in Bermuda. :cool:

My wife has also put me in charge of putting together a 2016 Bermuda land stay trip, although we, too, would rather sail there than fly.

I can not imagine why RC made the change.:(

I think Grandeur's shorter time at King's Wharf in 2016 permits RCCL to put Anthem out of Port Liberty, NJ, at King's Wharf for a day, too. :cool:

Just catching up on Grandeur's most-recent reviews here. Most are from the Bermuda itinerary, and all really seem so positive about Bermuda, (which is our favorite RCCL destination).

With all of the glowing Bermuda reviews, we can't seem to understand why RCCL has chosen to shorten Grandeur's 2016 "Bermuda" itinerary to a total of five days, with only a half-afternoon upon arrival followed by an early-afternoon departure the very next day? Their existing one-and-a-half days or two-and-a-half days ashore itineraries were, in our opinion, already too short for such a wonderful destination. We're trying to figure out RCCL's logic to shorten the "Bermuda " itinerary to just five days? In 2016 it's really not much more than a five-day "cruise to nowhere" with a brief overnight in Bermuda.

I know in 2016 we could travel to King's Wharf, Bermuda, on another ship to get a bit more time ashore, but we're so spoiled being able to drive to Grandeur's home port of Baltimore, it's not worth it to us to have to fly to get to another ship's departure port.

Is anyone else frustrated by this change in Grandeur's Bermuda itinerary for 2016? :confused:

When I first heard that they were going to change Grandeur to 5 night Bermuda cruises, I assumed they were going to swap so that Anthem could do 7 day cruises to Bermuda, but it looks like it will also continue to do 5 day, so maybe they are trying to free up days for more one day Bermuda stops from FL?

Looking more closely at the 2016/2017 schedules as posted, I don't see but two RCI ships calling on Bermuda. Looks like Anthem gets two full days at King's Wharf (arrival at 9 AM on the first day, then departing at 5 PM the next day) on both its 5-day "Bermuda" and 7-day "Bermuda & Boston" itineraries, which only leaves Grandeur with two half-days (the early-afternoon arrival on day-1, and then departure early-afternoon the next day). So if Grandeur is docked on a Sunday/Monday, the only alternatives would be the shops next to the dock or expensive ship-provided excursions. Everything else would be closed.

Boo!! Guess we won't be sailing Grandeur to Bermuda again. VERY disappointing. :confused:

Not a fan of the switch from 7 nights to 5 nights for Grandeur to Bermuda.

Agreed. :confused:

Bermuda out of Baltimore is one of our favorite RCI itineraries. Last time we sailed to Bermuda on Enchantment in September 2012 we thought the time in Bermuda was short: only had one afternoon half-day (Sunday) upon arrival at Kings Wharf followed by one full day (Monday) followed by a (Tuesday) morning half-day on departure day.

In 2016 any Grandeur itinerary that calls in Bermuda shows arrival after lunch and departure the next day at the same time.

Has RCI been out-bid for 2016 Kings Wharf docking rights by NCL and Celebrity? YIKES! :eek:

Just returned this evening from our wonderful Uniworld Danube river cruise. Danube water levels from Budapest to Passau were perfect (from a passenger's perspective, at least). :D

Notamermaid recommended this good site in German: http://www.wetteronline.de/pegelstaende?gid=SAC

Thanks!! :D

But two weeks is a life time when it comes to water levels.

Thanks, G.M.T.

Understood. :D