Just off Grandeur to Nowhere.....a review for you

Well, we just returned today from GOS to Nowhere...orignially scheduled to Bermuda.......first of all, I will say this.....Florence threw us around quite a bit.......very, very rough seas once we were out in the Atlantic. I wish the captain would have had the permission to stay in the Chesapeake Bay because while we were in the bay, ride was wonderful. I did get sick and spent about 24 hours in the cabin in bed. My husband was just fine....he never gets sick!!!!:rolleyes: My step-mother also got sick but my father didn't, although he was uncomfortable. My father said that when he looked out on his balcony the worst night, that the swells in the sea were enormous against the moon in the background and it looked as if we would tip over....he said he thought we were in the middle of the Poseidon adventure!!! We laughed a lot about that! :eek: By the 3rd into the 4th day, the seas calmed down somewhat and it seemed that most people had adjusted to be being tossed around.....the last day at sea was lovely and comfortable as we got closer to Baltimore and back into the Chesapeake Bay. I've noticed that the last day of most of my cruises always seem to be the nicest....and the SADDEST!!! :(

The last day at sea always bothers me because there is so much emphasis on the fact that everyone has to prepare to get off the ship. I almost wish that cruises disembarked in the evening so that the day before could be enjoyed completely and then the last day could be spent focusing on departing the ship, packing, tips, settling the bill, etc.

She is a beautiful ship....I did feel that her age is showing, mostly in the cabins.....but the artwork on board the ship is just lovely and I felt that she was fairly easy to navigate. We were in an aft cabin on the back of the ship and I felt that the aft stairs and elevators were not aft enough! There should have been a set of stairs closer to the back of the ship. It was quite a walk from the aft stairs to our cabin. The public rooms were nice. I felt that the shops had a great variety of items available and good prices. My husband purchased several lovely jewelry items for me, I got a GOS ornament for our Christmas tree, we found some nice t-shirts, etc. I was quite happy with all of our purchases!!! I thought the casino was very nice in size, lots of tables and slots and even some nickel slots! The dining rooms were lovely and the Windjammer cafe was a very nice place to eat, especially breakfast!!! I was excited to see the Lattetudes coffee counter, but when I tried to get an iced coffee I had a terrible time with the guy working there.......they obviously didn't have iced coffee on the menu so he acted as if it were a huge deal to make a regular coffee and put ice in it.....although they had iced lattes.......I have no idea what was so complicated but I ended up only purchasing two of them the entire cruise and I generally get 2 iced coffees per day while home!!!! Also, I was charged about $4 for each of them......a bit ridiculous I thought. The spa was lovely and the ladies working there were very friendly and helpful. However, when my step-mother got a massage, they really pushed the expensive products on her and wouldn't give up trying to sell her expensive creams and potions. This really annoyed my mother considering she paid $160 for the massage to begin with!!! The prices were a bit steep with the exception of the pedicures and manicures which I thought were fairly priced. We had an aft cabin on deck 7, a junior suite 7652. I thought the cabin was a nice size with plenty of storage for clothing.....the refrigerator could have been bigger and colder. The balcony was absolutely wonderful in size with 2 lounge chairs, and a table with 2 chairs.........I wish we had been able to enjoy it more. Our bathroom was great, a little small, but very functional with a wonderful large bathtub and great shower, great water pressure....I was quite happy with the tub/shower/water pressure! Never had a problem with the temperature of the water either. Our cabin temperature was easy to regulate as well. The bedding was not the new ones but it was perfectly comfortable and I slept just fine. I needed more pillows and should have asked for them but didn't. I called room service and requested a loofah and they brought it right away which was nice. I knew about the loofahs because my step-mother and father were upgraded to a SUITE.......they were in aft 8084, 2 bedrooms, 2 bath, enormous cabin.....my father cried when he saw it because he was so impressed and stunned. We aren't sure why they were upgraded from a regular balcony to a suite, but they were and were very appreciative. I noticed that they had the loofahs in their bathroom so I called and requested one and it was brought quickly!:p

The food was hit and miss....some of it was excellent and some of it was just not very good. We always found something yummy to eat, though, and I appreciated the fries and burgers that were often available in the Solarium! We did not purchase the Ben & Jerry's ice cream, there were just too many other deserts to eat for free!!!;) We had lovely wait staff in the dining room, very friendly and accommodating and would bring two of anything or more than one desert if you asked!

The karaoke was fun but I was annoyed with the fact that they made it into a contest so I sang one night and then didn't sing the others, I wasn't interested in the contest business. Some of the dance classes were nice, we were going to attend the bingo but the cards were fairly expensive. My parents saw a movie in the theater because they had to cancel the show one day. We saw a show the first day and it was fine but nothing special. The staff overall was very nice and only a few were not friendly or helpful. Our cabin steward was nice but didn't do anything particularly special for us.

In closing, we made the most of the situation that we had and ended up having a half way decent time with the company of one another. We never were able to put on a bathing suit and get any decent amount of sun, though some were out on the balcony at different times. No Bermuda and no turquoise water. I'm glad we made the decision to go at the 50% off rate and feel that it was a decent deal for that price despite the horribly rough seas. We weren't able to wear our nice formal night clothes and that was disappointing....it was just too rough that evening. I could have done without that stupid pirate coming around to have pictures with everyone during dinner and most everyone's pictures looked completely silly, people had food in their mouths trying to eat, and weren't interested in this pirate.......it was clear by the end of the cruise that most people WEREN'T purchasing those pirate photos!

The captain was extremely personable and informative and we thoroughly enjoyed the "Nautical Notes" presentation that he gave. He explained how the ship would be stretched 90 feet in 2009 and he answered many questions from the audience about various things. He was very, very nice.

I will be happy to answer any questions that anyone might have. I certainly hope that GOS will have an easier time of it on her cruise that should have left the dock about 51 minutes ago.

I have to say that I wasn't thoroughly impressed with RCI overall. The level of service, food quality, activities, etc. just wasn't up to my expectations. The last cruise I was on was Cunard's Queen Mary 2 so perhaps I am unfairly judging GOS and RCI against the standards that were set by the previous cruise with Cunard.

I forgot to add, they WERE confiscating people's alcohol from their bags before delivering them to their stateroom!!!!

JUST SO YOU KNOW!!!!

Just one of the reasons we decided to change our Bermuda cruise to something else a year ago. I wonder if the people who complained last year that they ended up with a New England/Canada cruise because RCI canceled Bermuda over hurricane worries would have been happier on your cruise? There was at least one couple who had planned on getting married in Bermuda that seemed really ticked off at RCI for changing the itenerary. Perhaps they'd have been happier missing there wedding date, not being able to contact the people they had made arrangements through AND getting tossed out on the see like a cork in a swimming pool of kids doing the cannon ball?

Glad you made the most of it. On our Vision cruise last week, I didn't hear of one report of anyone getting their alcohol taken from them. But then again I wasn't asking around either so it could have happened. Since we don't pack our own (only drink 4 or 5 drinks per cruise), I'll probably never know if/when it happens.

Thanks for the review, I'm 4 weeks out as of tonight, so I can barely stand the wait. Thanks again.

I forgot to add, they WERE confiscating people's alcohol from their bags before delivering them to their stateroom!!!!

 

JUST SO YOU KNOW!!!!

Thanks for for the review. Seems like you did the "when given lemons to lemonade deal:)

Did they confiscate the "balcony booze" from the carryons, checked luggage or both?

I don't want this to start into a big discussion, but it would be interesting to know.

They DID NOT look in our carry-on bags! So I would think you could get anything on in those! I only know of them confiscating them (wine bottles, etc.) from suitcases so I have to assume they x-rayed the bags.............but no-one looked in anyone's carryons!!!!! JUST SO YOU WILL KNOW!!!!

Thanks

THank you for sharing.

Too bad about a combination of two problems on your trip (The mechanical side and the weather).. I guess no one can control that however!

A couple of questions:

1) A few reviews had mentioned that there is a "sewer" smell throught the ship, did you smell this?

2) How was the food, particularly the buffet?

Thanks for your time!

Scott

The food really did vary in quality....for the most part, the dinner menus were very nice and the choices turned out to be very good, especially the prime rib, which I had twice! The lunch menu was good in the dining room, but the windjammer buffet every day offered a really nice selection....one day it was very good and the next day not so good at all.......the midnight buffet offered lots of cheeses, some meats and amazing desserts...lots of them, including chocolate covered strawberries! The Windjammer breakfast buffet is great and had everything on it you could imagine...that turned out to be the best choice for breakfast. Overall, I would not rate the quality of the food excellent, but I would say that it is quite good and there is always something good at any given time to eat and you won't go hungry!!!!!!!

Sewer smell....yes, I experienced this....but it was infrequent and not really enough of a problem to mention......with the exception of once while taking a bubble bath, when I let the water out of the tub and pulled the plug out, sewer water came up through our bathroom drain and flooded the floor...smelled HORRIBLE! I realized that the way to prevent this was to only pull the plug out partially instead of all the way....this somehow prevented the back up of the water. I only noticed the odor a couple of other times and can't remember when or where I was!:eek: I think the ship has some real problems and negative aspects.....but OVERALL, she is beautiful and there are plenty of positive things to mention and focus on when sailing her.......I thoroughly enjoyed the shops and the spa, if within your budget, is a must-do. I think they should lower their prices somewhat!:rolleyes:

By the way, the captain mentioned that the rudder has only been partially repaired and will be repaired completely when the ship is in dry-dock in April.

Funny that you should make the comparison between RCL and the QM2, although it's apples vs. oranges. After my QM2 cruise (which was fine, but not what I expected for the $$$ spent) I thought back to my RCL cruises and felt the service was better and friendlier on RCL. The food was not any better on Cunard, didn't care for the entertainment, but the beds were to die for! Looking forward to new bedding on RCL.

I can see what you are saying and feel the same as you in a few aspects. I really wasn't trying to compare them and had it in my head beforehand that I wouldn't do that.....I had sailed RCL before QM2........I can say that the staff on RCL IS friendlier.......QM2 has more of a stuffy air feeling to it, but I didn't mind it at all as no one was actually RUDE. The food however, on my QM2 was far superior to the food we received on GOS. We had a suite and our cabin was much lovlier and the beds WERE to die for, just as you said. Also, it was my honeymoon, so I'm sure the cloud I was on made me feel as though I were having a better experience. There really WAS no comparing these cruises and as you said it is apples vs. oranges. I would sail RCL again. I think my next cruise, however, might be on Celebrity or Princess.

So sorry the rudder & weather impacted guests on this sailing. I saw the ship arrive back in Bmore this morning-- and was certainly wondering how it was, once you all got underway. Hope that rudder holds up-- we're scheduled for the 9 night in Oct--- and had lots of trouble last year w/ storms & shortened trip (9 became an 8 w/ 2 ports). Really curious to hear from others about this trip. Was there any other onboard compensation?

They DID NOT look in our carry-on bags! So I would think you could get anything on in those! I only know of them confiscating them (wine bottles, etc.) from suitcases so I have to assume they x-rayed the bags.............but no-one looked in anyone's carryons!!!!! JUST SO YOU WILL KNOW!!!!

That can't be safe!:eek:

I'm so sorry you were sick and had rough weather, but it is good to know that there are still people out there that will try to make the best of a not so good situation. You can cruise with me anyday. The cruise faerie will be with you on your next cruise I'm sure.:)

Concerning the sewer smell (this is the first I've heard of this):

Did you notice the odor more in any particular area of the ship?

Did the crew have any explanation for the odor?

Was the odor bad enough to make you want to switch cabins?

Concerning the sewer backup problems:

What deck were you on? Would this be more likely to happen on the lower decks? (We are scheduled to leave next Sunday, and are booked on Deck 3.)

MrsNoPlea, I think the reason you found the food better on the QM2 was that you had a suite, so you ate in the Princess Grill or the Queen's Grill. We were lowly Britannia diners, and while it was good, it did not surpass the food I've had on RCL and Princess, and it definitely was not superior to what we had on X. Since the food was on a par with RCL, and the service not as friendly, I enjoyed my dining experiences on RCL more. We all know food is a very subjective thing, but the service can make or break the overall dining experience.

I'd give X a try. The food is a bit better, but you get the warm service that you've experienced on RCL.

=I could have done without that stupid pirate coming around to have pictures with everyone during dinner and most everyone's pictures looked completely silly, people had food in their mouths trying to eat, and weren't interested in this pirate.......it was clear by the end of the cruise that most people WEREN'T purchasing those pirate photos!

 

On our last cruise, we didn't buy the cheesy pirate pics either...I hope they stop them soon.

On our last cruise, we didn't buy the cheesy pirate pics either...I hope they stop them soon.

We didn't buy them on our last cruise either...the two people who came around had to wear costumes that didn't even fit right - they were embarrassed, and the pics just too cheesy altogether.

Fran in Toronto

I can see what you are saying and feel the same as you in a few aspects. I really wasn't trying to compare them and had it in my head beforehand that I wouldn't do that.....I had sailed RCL before QM2........I can say that the staff on RCL IS friendlier.......QM2 has more of a stuffy air feeling to it, but I didn't mind it at all as no one was actually RUDE. The food however, on my QM2 was far superior to the food we received on GOS. We had a suite and our cabin was much lovlier and the beds WERE to die for, just as you said. Also, it was my honeymoon, so I'm sure the cloud I was on made me feel as though I were having a better experience. There really WAS no comparing these cruises and as you said it is apples vs. oranges. I would sail RCL again. I think my next cruise, however, might be on Celebrity or Princess.

Then I think you are ready for a step up to Celebrity !!! ;) I love Royal Carib but some times there food reminds me of Applebees!!!:(

kind of "ordinary" sometimes, very mass market and there is little attempt at "presentation." The more they build the bigger ships the less attention they seem to put on the dinning experience. The food quality is down down down from the good old days when I first sailed them (15+ yrs ago) and the dinning room expereince was more "special." Now you hardly see a somelier if you have questions about wine!! :( I also love Cunard and they are better at "presentation" even in Britania Class. I think they are similar to Celerity in that way. I dont have to have a superfriendly waiter some times I just want to have competent service and better food than I can get from my nieghborhood restaurant.;)

On our last cruise, we didn't buy the cheesy pirate pics either...I hope they stop them soon.

Princess had the pirate/parrot thing going, too.

My cabinmate, Nancy, and I just gave as good as we got! We attacked the parrot and strangled it! That picture was THE BEST. :D :D :D

thanks for the info, Mrs. Can you give more detail on the dance lessons you mentioned? what types of dances, afternoon or evening, etc. Thanks in advance.

ncdazz-----I took a line dance class in the middle of the afternoon, I think around 3pm. I expressed regret that they did not offer ballroom style dancing.....I would have LOVED that. I did however see a latin dance class but I did not attend that...should have, but had a conflict in schedule. I really think they would have drawn a great crowd for more dance classes, even ballet, tap, jazz, ESPECIALLY BALLROOM....I realize you can't learn a terrible amount in an hour, but just basic moves would be great and I think there would be lots of interest. I would love to take dancing lessons with my husband so that we could ballroom dance together....we have had no exposure to that whatsoever!!!!:rolleyes: I can certainly look at my Compass daily schedules and see if I missed anything!:p

Merion Mom.....you are very funny, that is exactly what I wanted to do....I should have opted to do something really goofy, crazy face, etc., because then perhaps I WOULD have purchased them! Good for you!!!! You sound like someone I'd like to cruise with!

Merry Sea Witch.....I have cruised Celebrity years ago and found them to be FANTASTIC......superior in every way....lots of class and elegance and fantastic food. I would recommend the line to anyone and plan to most definitely sail them again some day. They reminded me very much of our Cunard experience.....I just can't explain how nice that was. And I am so in agreement with you...when I go to a fine restaurant, I don't want a silly, overly friendly waiter/waitress.....I prefer the subtle and "all business" attitude....they are less obtrusive and offer fantastic service.....I don't need to make friends with my waitperson, I want to be served well and have my needs taken care of in an unobtrusive fashion...that is just me and what I have grown accustomed to in the finer restaurants around our home. As a side note, I absolutely LOVE your nickname.......Merry Sea Witch, that is GREAT!!!! ;) If you happen to be a witch, I think that is absolutely great, but if not, I love your name regardless!:)

wandb.....we were on deck 7 in an aft cabin junior suite........the smell was certainly not enough of an issue to make us want to request a cabin change and it was not a frequent occurance.....I did not ask our steward about the problem because I found it infrequent and fairly insignificant...it certainly isn't something we had to deal with the entire cruise. I wouldn't worry about it if I were you......PLEASE ENJOY YOUR CRUISE!!!! I hope you have a wonderful and smooth journey!!!!

Mrs--thanks again. i was really hoping you would say ballroom dancing was available!! H and i are currently taking beginner lessons and are having a blast. we're really really BAD at it, but having fun :p . i'll ask the cruise director anyway, and if everyone who sails RC also asks, then maybe they will start a program. it can't hurt :)

I will double check my daily Compass for you, OK? Give me a while to dig them out of our luggage!;)

I know you said in the Captain's talk it was going to be stretched in 2009, but was anything said about adding a concierge lounge during the 2007 drydock?