CruiseAddict8354

Would love to hear from passengers currently on the Grandeur of the Seas... Today (Wed. 1/3/18) there was a huge winter storm going up the Eastern coast of the USA, and according to VesselFinder dot com, the ship sailed out of Baltimore right into the storm... and is currently just off Virginia Beach, right where the worst of the weather is. There are blizzard warnings and winter storm warnings about heavy snow and high winds, all the way up the coast from Norfolk, the Northern Neck, etc.

A few days ago, a passenger on the Grandeur posted in an on-line weather forum that GoS was in 20-foot seas and that unfortunately many of the passengers weren't feeling too well. :(

We sailed Nov. 18 on a 12-night sailing, and had three "Alpha" drills, including one before we had even had the muster drill. Over the course of the trip we had to evacuate two passengers (two separate incidents). One time an ambulance was waiting for us when we docked, and the other time we made an unscheduled, 1:00 a.m. arrival in St. Thomas to put ashore an elderly male and his wife + luggage. Prayers! If any of those passengers are on Cruise Critic, we'd love an update...hope everyone's OK now.

This was a super-helpful thread, thank you!! I'm SO excited for this trip!!!!

One more question... an earlier poster mentioned volleyball games with the crew. We have a couple of volleyball players among our party... does anyone happen to know if those games are still a thing? Is there a place to play volleyball in the gym? TIA!

Just checked our itinerary on RCL's Cruise Planner and it shows Martinique instead of St. Maarten. It's rotten to complain when you're about to board a 12-night cruise, and when soooo many people lost their homes & livelihoods on the islands (and even their very lives!!)... but... St. Maarten was the port we were most looking forward to... and from the looks of things in Martinique, there isn't much there to do. Has anyone gone on the jeep 4x4 adventure, by any chance?

We're taking two teens (DD14 & DD16) with us this Saturday on the Grandeur. We, too, chose the Grandeur because of the easy access to Port of Baltimore (just 1 hour from home), and the sailing dates. We're bringing books to read out loud to each other and board games. I wonder if there will be *more* families over the Thanksgiving sail, or *fewer*?

There was a news story on national media because a woman complained that 10 of her family members fell ill on approx. day 2 of their voyage on Anthem. I agree with the member above who said that the virus is very common and probably was brought ONTO the ship from land. FYI the ships are unde the jurisdiction of the CDC, and are inspected and given a score out of 100 possible points, a few times a year. They inspect EVERYTHING -- surfaces all over the ship, kitchen practices, food storage & handling, sanitation, plumbing, you name it. Anthem was inspected in August and got a score of 97. Grandeur was inspected in July and got a score of 100.

If you had one day only, and had to choose between Magen's Bay and Sapphire Beach, which one would you choose? and what kind of shape are these two beaches in today? Thanks in advance :-)

We're booked on a cruise next month that was supposed to visit St. Maarten, St. Thomas, Antigua, and St. Kitts. Is there any update on how things are going at those places, especially St. Maarten which was so badly hit? Wondering if we should cancel / postpone. Paying for a cruise is a huge thing for us.

For the Oct. 28 Grandeur sailing, RCI's website says that they are switching the ports of St. Maarten and St. Thomas to Barbados and Martinique. I'd love to hear from anyone who's been to those islands, or who sails on the Grandeur in the next couple of weeks!

I just checked RCI's website. Under "Itinerary Updates," it says:

Grandeur of the Seas:

10/28 – St. Thomas & St. Maarten [changed] to Barbados & Martinique

This is the only update they mention for the Grandeur.

I followed the hurricanes closely, and find it hard to believe that St. Maarten and St. Thomas are anywhere near ready for visitors. Both of those islands were really hammered by the storm. The pictures from St. Maarten looked like an F5 tornado ripped everything apart. We're supposed to sail soon.... I'm sure the rampant looting and bands of lawless brigands that were attacking hotels have been brought under control, but the shops, roads, infrastructure, buildings, and vegetation looked like they were going to need a year or two before they would be back to normal. I'd be really interested to see some photos from anyone who's been there in the last week...?