Manbo

Thanks for the review. We sail next week.. Did you do your own excursions?

We booked the Rome / Vacitcan excursion and Pisa / Florence through NCL. In Naples and ferried to Capri and explored Naples on our own. Super easy. We also did Cannes and Marseille on our own as well. No trouble at all.

In Naples you can walk to Via Toledo where we had a blast.

At Marseille, take the over priced shuttle and walk around to the water front and get a ticket on Le Petit Train to Notre Dame De Le Garde....awesome!!!

Cash only for the train 8 euro per person.

A full review will follow, but here is a Report Card from our trip:

The ship: A+

We loved it! Never seemed too crowded. Plenty of bars. Spice H2O was awesome. Public rooms were well decorated. We really enjoyed this ship! We will be sailing on the Epic again!

The food: C

Typical NCL faire. No improvement.

The Staff: B-

We witnessed a little too much bickering between the staff on a few occasions. Wait staff was hard to track down, especially the bar staff. Wait staff rarely checked to see if your dinner was to your liking. A few times our waitress would pass and give a "thumbs-up". They were friendly, Jogie, our cabin steward was super. But overall the staff seemed a little down.

Entertainment: A+

Fantastic! Booking the "big" shows was easier and less cumbersome then I assumed. The interactive TV in our cabin came in handy for booking shows and restaurants. We appreciated the many options all top notch talent! Shout out to Axel Giudice, Juan Carmelo, Duo Mar, Manhattan Room Band and the Piano Guys in Howl at the Moon were fantastic!!!

Cabin: B

We liked it, however the AC was not great (slept with the balcony door open 2 nights as the room was warm and the AC didn't seem to cool it down). The carpet could use a scrub. But all and all, it was a good, comfortable room. Our bed was closer to the balcony then the bathroom, but the bathroom arrangement didn't bother us at all.

Itinerary: A

Plenty of time at each port. Enjoyed every port!

NCL: C+

Ultimately, we are loyal customers. But had a few concerns:

The water policy didn't impact us, but it was difficult watching literally hundreds of folks throw away water when they boarded at every port, very wasteful. and the cost of water on board is ridiculous! NCL should revisit this one.

The excursion desk wasn't helpful unless you were booking one with them. Plus, the Free Style had very little port information.

Next Cruise staff was ill informed (in fact we booked on board but will be calling to cancel and rebook today).

$15 shuttle bus into Marseille, was a rip off.

Beverage package doesn't cover chocolate martinis (and a few other typical drinks) any longer. The bar menus aren't current, probably half of the drinks on the menu (beers, wines as well) weren't available.

The ship seems a bit understaffed.

In spite of all of that, there were many more bright spots than I can report. We would highly recommend this cruise to anyone!

Final Grade: A!!!

My wife renewed her passport in June and it took about 2 1/2 weeks as well.

Generally 2 shows each night. But, our two trips on the Gem, we never needed to make reservations more than 1 day in advance.

I agree, do not empty the fridge yourself. That is too risky.

In January, we cruised Royal Car. and they would NOT empty the mini fridge.

They said it was operated by a contractor and they were not allowed to touch it (not sure I believe it).

It used to be that if you opened an NCL credit card while on board they gave out lanyards. I also think they sell them at the shops.

If you haven't been to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, located in the Punch Bowl crater, I highly recommend it.

We did this cruise in May and I wore shorts and a sweat shirt half of the time.

It should be warmer in August but rainier. So grab a rain jack and pack jeans!

As for tips, I can offer two:

We saw more whales at Icy Strait Point then the whale watching excursions did! I would recommend saving your money.

We also did an awesome kayak excursion in Sitka, saw more bald eagles and other wildlife than I could ever imagine! Highly recommended!

It was a great trip!:)

Loved your easy to read "thoughts".

We cruise a good bit and found Bonine to be the best. we buy a couple boxes before we leave and take our first one as soon as we board. I generally stop after a day or two, unless the ship is rocking a lot.

The patches will dehydrate you pretty bad. They are not your best option.

Additionally, on my first cruise in the 80's, the ships doctor told me to keep my belly full! He claimed that empty stomachs are more prone to sea sickness.

Lastly, unless you are in a storm, the worst you will have is like one night of being sick (and sleepy). Don't fret, just enjoy it!

:)

There is no advantage to booking through the cruise line. Go to any of the hotel search site and book your own. Just grab a taxi to your hotel.

FYI...we did that and stayed a the Hyatt one block off the beach! It was great!

It's very easy.

 

Assuming that you are docked at the cruise port in Naples, the pier for the fast boats to Capri, Molo Beverello, is adjacent, a less than five minute walk.

 

There is a sign board above one of the buildings as you approach Molo Beverello from the cruise port that lists the next departing boats along with their operators, so you know which line to stand in to purchase tickets. Each operator has their own sales office.

 

I recommend that you purchase only your outbound ticket in the morning so you can choose from all of the return options once on Capri. Do go right to the ticket office on Capri when you arrive to purchase your return tickets so you don't get shut out of the sailing you want. On Capri all operators use one sales office.

 

You can check here to see the sailing times and fees: http://www.capri.net/en/ferry-schedule

thanks for the information!

:)

We are looking to visit the Isle of Capri when we dock in Naples. Can anyone offer recommendations?

I assume this is a pretty easy do-it -yourself excursion.

thanks for your input!:)

We will be on this cruise in Sept. Thanks for sharing!

We were on the POA about 2 1/2 years ago and loved it!

Yes, there are safes in the rooms.

When we cruised, you could only check your account at the customer service desk.

You could reserve dining ahead of time, and we used the phone, but I would wait. I don't think there was ever a time we couldn't just walk up and be seated.

Yes, the buffet was open in the morning.

A lot of cell phone carriers cover Hawaii. We used our sprint I phones the entire cruise. We might have went to airplane mode at night to be safe.

hope this helps. have fun!

We embarked on this cruise one day late due to snow storm Jonas that dumped 30 inches of snow and delayed the return of the Grandeur to Baltimore by one day. The check-in process was very slow since so many of the staff could not get into work. From parking to getting on board took over 2 ½ hours.

Overall, we really enjoyed this cruise. The ship is smaller and older, but the renovations are great. Except for the bathroom modules in the cabins, very little reminded us of the our past cruise on the Grandeur in 2007. Here is our quick review:

Ship

Clean, bright, nice common areas and pools. On the nice days we really enjoyed being poolside. On the first and last sea days, we hung out in the Solarium. Be warned! The chair hogs were out in full force, so get there early for a seat.

The casino was pretty decent for a smaller ship, and after a $50 investment, we won enough to play the rest of the week for free.

The Centrum was the hub of the ship and most activities, and was a very beautiful space.

Food

We thought the food at the main dining room was the best we ever had on a cruise. Our server Kumar was exceptional! He made every dinner a special occasion. We tried all three specialty restaurants and would not recommend any of them. At Izumi and Giovanni’s Table we felt pressured by the staff to purchase bottled water, wine, lobsters with an additional charge atop the cover and to sign up for special buffets, etc.

Izumi was good, but we were disappointed in the sushi choices, most was cooked. While we enjoyed it, we felt it was overpriced and the pressure from the staff was annoying.

At Chops, our steaks were great, but the main dining room offered the same filets for $10. The desserts at Chops were very disappointing.

Giovanni’s Table was the worst of the three. Our dinners were good, but not great, the dessert choices were weak and the constant pressure to purchase lobster or a bottle of wine spoiled our last dinner at sea.

Cabin

We had an outside cabin on deck three. It was fine. Horace, our cabin steward did a good job. Our room was always clean. I did ask Horace to remove the mini bar, which he said he could not do. With the limited space on the dressing table, the room taken up by the mini bar was a nuisance. The bathroom is fine for us, but pretty small. The shower curtain was a little bothersome.

Our big complaint with the room was the bed. The mattress reminded us of a cheap futon mattress. After a few days, we both had sore backs. You could see how they were broken down in the middle.

Staff

No complaints here, a pretty friendly bunch.

Ports of Call

Our itinerary was changed from four ports to three as a result of the snow storm. So we ended up going to Labadee Haiti, San Juan and St. Thomas.

This was our first visit to Labadee and we loved it! A beautiful place! We found a nice spot on Nellies Beach which was awesome. I will say this; many people were upset when the blue shade clams were set up in front of folks that didn't invest the $100 or so for a shade. It really blocked the view of the bay for many folks that had clams set up in front of their spots. I would say that the beach at Adventure Beach would probably be a better bet with fewer clams.

The lunch was nice and we had a great day!

Next was San Juan. We got off the ship and spent over 4 hours exploring Old San Juan. We stopped in a few bars (including the home of the Pina Colada) and grabbed a bite at The Bodega. Their tapas and 2 for $10 mojitos were awesome!

Finally, St. Thomas. We took an excursion to Magen’s Bay Beach. It was our second visit and we really enjoyed it. We were visited by a few iguanas and ferrets! But it was a beautiful day. As we were the only ship in port, it was not crowded at all!

Entertainment

This was our biggest disappointment. Granted, this was an older demographic, but regardless, the entertainment was really bad. Rather than going into details, I will say, we found ourselves watching Karaoke as opposed to the on board entertainment. It was basically the usual stuff (Sweet Caroline, My Heart Will Go On, New York, New York, My Way) but poorly done. The production shows were not much better.

The Centrum entertainment was mostly waltz style music, or a poor knock off of Cirque Du Soleil. It wasn't hard to find a lot of people falling asleep during these shows.

Conclusion

A very nice cruse, but if we ever do this one again, it would only be in the summer when we could spend all of the sea days outside so that we wouldn’t need the entertainment.

HI: Thanks for the message. Take it this was a phone call? Hope to get one myself this afternoon then. Will be driving up from DC and hoping that the roads will be better than we can expect in this area. :( JPK

No, It was an email, and I had to acknowledge receipt.

I also looked under "my cruises" messages, and nothing there yet, but I did see under itineraries, they list the one day delay.

I am assuming that we will skip our stop in Haiti to make up the extra day. Given the protests there earlier in the week, that would seem reasonable.

am thinking that an announcement will be made soon about our delay. I think we will arrive Monday morning. . . We have slowed down from kts this morning to 11kts now. . . .

I will advise when it is announced. . .

Radio

.

I just got this message regarding the Jan. 24 sailing.

This is an important message regarding your upcoming cruise.

Hello, this is Royal Caribbean International. We would like to provide you with important information regarding your upcoming sailing onboard Grandeur of the Seas. Due to Snowstorm Jonas, boarding for your cruise will be delayed by a day. Your cruise on Grandeur will now depart Baltimore on Monday, January 25. We ask that guests arrive to the terminal on Monday for check in and boarding. A letter with additional details on your itinerary will be provided to you at check in. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation, and looking forward to welcoming you aboard.

Just got this message from RC:

This is an important message regarding your upcoming cruise.

Hello, this is Royal Caribbean International. We would like to provide you with important information regarding your upcoming sailing onboard Grandeur of the Seas. Due to Snowstorm Jonas, boarding for your cruise will be delayed by a day. Your cruise on Grandeur will now depart Baltimore on Monday, January 25. We ask that guests arrive to the terminal on Monday for check in and boarding. A letter with additional details on your itinerary will be provided to you at check in. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation, and looking forward to welcoming you aboard.

Great to follow you posts. I can't imagine that you will not be delayed coming in to Baltimore.

So, take your time and get ready to dig!:)

It accomplishes nothing. However from what I have read there are protests all over the country not just Labadee. So sad because it just hurts people that have a job at Labadee.

That is not true. First rule of protesting it to get media attention. If there were protesting in their villages, we wouldn't even know about it. By protesting the cruise terminal, they got coverage in USA Today.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/cruiselog/2016/01/20/royal-caribbean-ship-drops-haiti-amid-protests/79056806/

With the forecast for significant snow this weekend, I was wondering if there will likely be a delay in departure/arrivals of any of the cruise ships.

Does anyone have any past experience with snow in Baltimore?

Planning on driving down morning of the cruise on grandeur of the seas. I'm trying to find out if it is an open air parking lot since we have a roof box.

Thanks

Yes, it is open air.

Is Uber a good option when we get off the Gem on Feb. 11? Should we wait until we clear customs to contact them. Will they pull up to the terminal?

We haven't used Uber, but it is a very easy, nice walk if the weather is nice.

I am so excited. I will be leaving on the Norwegian escape in 10 days and will be staying in a balcony cabin for the very first time. Is there anything special that you bring for your balcony? Any tips for a balcony? Thank you so much I am so excited!

Binoculars!