Grandeur of the Seas Review june 12th -19th

[lorrdean]

After having received help and advice from everyone on here I thought I would share with you our experience of our cruise. This was our first cruise, and to say we were excited is probably putting it mildly.

Flight and Embarkation;

Our flight was meant to be at 6am but a slight delay meant we didn’t take off til 6.30am-no big deal.

On arrival at Palma at 10am (two & half hr flight plus 1hr time difference). We quickly collected our luggage and headed out of the airport to be met with RCC reps who directed us to our bus to take us to the pier. Once on the bus we were informed that due to flight delays all morning there were queues forming at the pier, so rather have us standing around there waiting, RCC had arranged for a trip to the castle, where they had laid on refreshments. On arrival at the castle the refreshments turned out to be cups of water or lemonade. Not a lot but it was free. The guide took us to the entrance of the castle and told us we had half an hour to have a look round, and then we could make our way to the pier and ship. The views from the top were amazing and you could see the ship.

When we arrived at the pier, the queues were small and moving pretty fast. We had completed online check in so we were directed to the appropriate line, after a short wait(less than 5 mins) we received our sea pass cards, and made our way to the security check area. Your photograph was taken. It was then time to board the ship.

 

view of the ship from the castle

 

 

check in area

[lorrdean]

On Board

 

Once on board, we found that we couldn’t go to our room til 1pm, but as we only had half an hour to wait, we made our way to the windjammer for something to eat. It was busy, as was the pool deck, but we managed to find a sun lounger to sit on and eat. The food in the WJ was good and plentiful, constantly being topped up. There were soups, salads, meat, honey stung chicken, desserts and breads of all kinds. As well as iced tea, tea, water or lemonade to drink.

 

We made our way to our room, inside stateroom no.3581 on deck 3. Lots of drawers and hanging space. Twin beds joined to make a queen size one. Bathroom shower was small, but adequate, although the shower curtain did stick to you when wet :D . Lots of mirrors, which do make the room look bigger than it actually was, but as we didn’t plan on spending a lot of time in the room, it was a good enough size for us.

 

 

[lorrdean]

finding your way around the ship would be easy as they have these next to the lifts.

 

 

centrum

 

entrance to the casino

 

the floor on the way into the casino

 

 

pool area

[OurFamilyCruise]

Hi we are sailing on the 3rd of July great to see pictures of the ship, anything you didnt like or to look out for?

[lorrdean]

Hi we are sailing on the 3rd of July great to see pictures of the ship, anything you didnt like or to look out for?

 

although we didn't go to the casino much, the one thing we din't like there was the smoking :( they did have non smoking days, but guests were allowed to smoke in there. watch where you sit in the theatre, there are pillars that obstruct your view of the stage, we did like that on deck 5 of the theatre they had two seater sofa like seats :D

 

more pictures to come :D

[OurFamilyCruise]

Looking forward to seeing your other photos:) Did you enjoy the cruise? would you do another one ?:)

[lorrdean]

Dining

We had breakfast everyday bar one (when we had room service) in the WJ, there was always lots to choose from. There was an egg station, cereals, bacon, sausages, scrambled eggs, fruit, yoghurts, breads and rolls. The WJ was also the place we had lunch, when we were on board. My advice to eating in the WJ is to look for a table first, then one of you go and get your food while the other stays at the table. We did get to meet some nice people by sharing tables in the WJ.

 

Our evening meal we had every night in the MDR. On booking our cruise we had requested a table for two. On our first night we were placed at a table with seating for 10. Now we could have requested a move, but we decided to sit it out and see what happened. We are glad we did, :Dwe had the best of table companions, well six of them anyway, there is always one you cant get on with.:D

 

Our waiters Roshan and Kelroy (gorgeous smile)were attentive and really friendly. Roshan would entertain us during dessert with tricks, simple and silly things like you get out of Christmas crackers. Guys if your reading this you rock, keep up the good work.:D

The food in the MDR we thought was great,something for everyone, they do have a vitality menu as well, calorie controlled :D.

 

our waiters

 

our lovely table companions

[lorrdean]

Looking forward to seeing your other photos:) Did you enjoy the cruise? would you do another one ?:)

 

oh yes we enjoyed it :D and are already looking at what other cruise we can go on:D

[lorrdean]

Entertainment.

We didn’t manage to see much of this but what we did see was good. Rico the cruise director was a really funny guy....I think he will be poached soon to on the bigger class of ships :( ... the love and marriage show was a hoot,and well worth seeing, get there early if you can for a good seat...condiments and durex will never seem the same again!!!:D:D

 

Stateroom

As previously mentioned the room was more than adequate for our needs, our room attendant DD was great at his jobevery other night leaving towel gifts on the bed.

 

 

[lorrdean]

Excursions

Our first port of call was Cannes. We decided that we would just wander around here, and see how the rich live. You can go to Nice or Monaco, but we thought we would leave that for the next cruise.

There are lots of back streets in Cannes, full of shops and fruit and veg markets, well worth a look.

There is a tourist train 10 euro’s each for about an hour’s ride through the town, it stops high up in the town, for a photo opportunity of the town below.

 

Florence.

We took the Florence on your own trip, this was using RCC transport to get us there and back, much easier than figuring out the local train times etc IMHO. After a two and half hr journey, we arrived, I must say I was so looking forward to seeing Florence , but I don’t think it lived up to my expectations, :( maybe I need to go back and see it over a few days instead of trying to cram everything into 3hrs

 

Rome

We also did Rome on your own, but using RCC transport. This time though it was private shuttle and train ride, which in all took about an hr(this trip is priced the same as the bus one, but much comfier IMHO). The train takes you to ST Peter’s Basilica station, a 5min walk from the Vatican. From there we shared a taxi with two of our table companions to the Colosseum, and then again to the Spanish steps. 10 euro’s each trip, easier on the feet. We then split up and did our own thing meeting back up at the Vatican later on. I would definitely go back to Rome, but stay for a few days to see it properly.

 

Palermo

We decided to walk off the ship and wander round here...we did not like Palermo. It is noisy, dirty and dangerous to cross the roads, even with green man, cars just kept coming,:mad: it seems the red light is only a guideline and cars don’t have to stop. Others we spoke to also did not enjoy Palermo, those who had taken excursions liked it better, as they had been taken away from the city into the hills. Maybe we should have that...lesson learned!!

The above is my thoughts on the trips that we took, I am aware that others will view them differently.

 

cannes

 

florence

 

rome

 

vatican

[lorrdean]

Debarkation & Flight Home.

RCC had given instructions about this process. We were given a time and venue and boy was it early...7.20am in the Palladium. The WJ was serving breakfast from 6am, we were there for about 6.30am and once again it was busy, but we coped lol.:D Once we had our breakfast we made our way to the theatre only to hear an announcement that all passengers could make their way to deck one to disembark. Our luggage was in the terminal waiting on us to reclaim it and the buses ready to take us to the airport. Our cruise was over. :(

On arrival at the airport, we were told that RCC had us there too early, and the check in desks wouldn’t be opening for another half hour. We queued anyway, everyone else was doing the same.:D

Our flight home was delayed by half an hour (think I’m beginning to see a pattern here lol),a passenger had, had an accident on the escalator, she had hurt her feet and her friends were carrying her to the plane, after she had been seen by the paramedics. Once she was on board, we were off and on our way home.:(

 

[lorrdean]

although this review seems long I hope you enjoy reading it and looking at the photographs. any questions please feel free to ask, and i will try and answer them :D

[jilljoy]

although this review seems long I hope you enjoy reading it and looking at the photographs. any questions please feel free to ask, and i will try and answer them :D

thankyou for the post .it was very good

[Albert Ross]

Fabulous review. The ship looks in very good condition.

[lorrdean]

Fabulous review. The ship looks in very good condition.

 

thank you, the ship was looking good,the stateroom bathrooms could do with a makeover however. I believe it is going into dry-dock for a refurb, but I don't know what areas of the ship are getting done :D

[Choochala]

Thanks for the post and the wonderful memories!!! I'm feeling a bit jealous.

[henriklarson]

hi there great post sailing on same criuse on sunday can you tell me if you took the drinks package and was it worth it or do you think its too expensive thankd darren,

[Newbcruiser1]

Great review and beautiful pictures! :)

[lorrdean]

hi there great post sailing on same criuse on sunday can you tell me if you took the drinks package and was it worth it or do you think its too expensive thankd darren,

 

sorry Darren, we didn't take the drinks package, other half doesn't drink, and I only enjoy 1 -2 glasses of wine with dinner. What I do know is that they add the 15% gratuity and and 8% spanish tax to the price of the packages, so if you drink a lot it would be worth your while, IMHO. the bottles of wine (2)that I had cost me $33 each, but as I don't drink a lot they lasted me the week :D

[galleymags]

Glad you had a great holiday and thanks for taking the time to give such a comprehensive review it was very informative.

[filangood]

Thanks for the info Very helpful :) We are on this cruise in 10 days.We too are doing the Rome by private train too.We used it last year and loved the train ride.We have been to most of the places on Brilliance but we just love cruising.Love the pics!

[cpercy1]

Thanks for taking the time to write and share yours pics on the Grandeur you did a terrific job! She is a grand lady and even though not the newest, biggest or have all the new features, it looks like you had a fun and were well taken care of.

 

We are going to be cruising on her in October with a 14 day repositioning out of Palma to Colon, Panama and are looking forward to a great time! This will be our 29th cruise and we wish you many more........you cannot beat them for value, fun and a good time!

 

Happy cruising

[earn]

Thanks for the post. I am booked on the Western med cruise with my mum in September flying from Glasgow. Were you on the Thomas Cook flight? I have not been on one of the smaller ships as I am usually cruising with my husband and kids and the larger ships have more to offer, but I felt smaller would be better for my mum.

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

Great review! Thanks!

[southend1112]

Great post! we are on this ship this Sunday, can't wait after reading that review of the ship :)