A U.S. Family "Immersion" Cruise - Grandeur of the Seas in Suites

[SpittingLama]

The reason I learned about Cruise Critic was to do research into our then upcoming "Spanish Immersion" Cruise on Grandeur of the Seas. Our cruise is now done and I will share my thoughts for the benefit of other Americans that choose to take this cruise so that they know what they are getting in to.

 

We have a family biennial cruise in which 5 sisters and one brother, along with spouses (the "out-laws"), hop on a ship for a week of enjoying each others company while enjoying the amenities that a cruse ship offers. This was our 3rd such event. Our 1st was with RC and our 2nd with Princess. We felt RC had a more relaxed atmosphere and decided to return to it for our 3rd biennial cruise.

 

After a lengthy voting process many months ago, we decided to cruise on Grandeur of the Seas, disembarking from Colon Panama in mid-winter 2013. I also chose to make this a special cruise for several reasons - we would be on it for my spouse's birthday, we just celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary, my spouse's sister was celebrating a 23rd wedding anniversary on the same day as her birthday, etc... Also, with all of us getting older, one never knows if it will be our last cruise all together. An amazing thing already considering the range of ages, that we all get along pretty well, etc..

 

So I horned my way into the prep work for this cruise with the travel agent. Long story short - I wanted to treat my wife and myself to the Royal Suite. And so we could all still be together, we reserved the forward 3 staterooms on port and starboard on Deck 8. All Owner's, Grand's, and the Royal Suite. (Someone may have had a hand in getting us one of the top staterooms because I had originally purchased one Junior Suite because no Owners or Grands were left. But we somehow ended up with the best 6 Staterooms on the ship.)

 

My spouse and I decided that, for a once in a lifetime situation, we would cover the cruise cost for all in our party. So let me be clear - we purchased the best 6 staterooms on the ship including the Royal Suite. And we stayed in the Royal Suite. We also reserved two dinners for 12 at Chops - one on Bonaire night and one on the final night - which coincided with my Wife's Birthday and my in-laws wedding anniversary. For these facts alone, I had the expectation that RC would treat my wife like royalty without much prompting from me. We also prepaid gratuities - which we fully intended to add to significantly commensurate with service we anticipated.

 

Here's the kicker - with the down payment in already and following the arduous event selection process - we found out that this was a cruise marketed to Central/South Americans, Spanish would be the predominant language for everything, and that English speakers and North Americans would be a small minority. With so much momentum behind us we chose to continue and take the cruise. And so begins my tale.

 

What you will get are MY OWN IMPRESSIONS AND OPINIONS. And mine alone. I cannot speak for the rest of my family. And I cannot complete this in one post. I will do this for the benefit of other North Americans that are anxious about this cruise. So let me know if I should bother.

 

My final impressions were this - I would never do this cruise again. That said, thanks to some wonderful staff on Grandeur, I would consider another RC cruise in the future. That was in doubt at a few points throughout the cruise. The main thing is that RC MUST BE ABSOLUTELY CLEAR ABOUT THIS CRUISE BEFORE allowing English-only North Americans to spend a dime on it. Fool me once - shame on me. In the end, I believe some of us enjoyed the cruise more than others. I have mixed feelings and may be somewhere in the middle.

 

Cultural differences manifest in numerous ways that are not explicit in literature and do make this cruise, I believe, quite different from being on an RC cruise marketed to North Americans. Enough for today...but I hope to continue while this is fresh in my head.

Edited February 20, 2013 by SpittingLama
Emphasis

[PattyG12]

Please continue. I had the same type of experience on the AOS out of San Juan. I'd like to compare. Of course, I didn't splurge on expensive cabins (we were in an E balcony)

[luckyprincess]

I think this is a fabulous idea! Real and honest reviews about this particular cruise (good and bad) will only help people decide if this is a good idea for them or not. Information is always a good thing. I just hope the cheerleaders can sit on their hands long enough to not interrupt the review. :p

[spookwife]

 

For these facts alone, I had the expectation that RC would treat my wife like royalty without much prompting from me. We also prepaid gratuities - which we fully intended to add to significantly commensurate with service we anticipated.

 

 

I have to ask.. but WHY?! where you plop your head at night has no bearing on the level of treatment you deserve. the ship has thousands of other passengers to keep entertained. if you want something done you need to be proactive. you had a Concierge, you should have used them. I am sure they could have/would have would have whipped something together for you, even if it was just a private little party in the CL for a couple of hours.

 

you can't expect them to keep track of every little birthday/anniversary/*insert special event to you here* of every person on board.

[Starry Eyes]

As a North American who has looked at immersion cruises (but have not booked one), I look forward to reading your review. Please continue.

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

Just in case this turns into a bashing of the South American, including Brazilian culture, I will be here to defend that culture. I don't mind being called a cheerleader.

[crookedhalo]

Please continue. I had the same type of experience on the AOS out of San Juan. I'd like to compare. Of course, I didn't splurge on expensive cabins (we were in an E balcony)

 

I think we were on the trip after you (or soon after) and I didn't feel that way at all. Yes, there were a lot of spanish speakers aboard, and yes, the CD did use two languages during intro's etc. but I did not find it to be overwhelming. Every trip I've been on announcements have been made in at least two (if not more languages) so I didn't care. I noticed no difference in the entertainment, food or energy on the ship. Also, since PR is a US Territory, I wouldn't consider this to be an 'immersion' cruise like one leaving out of Colon. JMT

[RicardoC]

Looking forward to your review...I've been curious about that itinerary, boarding in Panama, etc. :cool:

 

Gangway Style - every single time I see your name around here I start laughing...love it :D

[luckyprincess]

Just in case this turns into a bashing of the South American, including Brazilian culture, I will be here to defend that culture. I don't mind being called a cheerleader.

 

Lol, I'm sure the South American culture appreciates your tireless defense! :p Of course saying they are exuberant, celebratory and enthusiastic won't make anyone find rude behavior acceptable to them. As long as you understand that then defend away! :D

[MisterOJ2]

<snip>

So I horned my way into the prep work for this cruise with the travel agent.

<snip>

Here's the kicker - with the down payment in already and following the arduous event selection process - we found out that this was a cruise marketed to Central/South Americans, Spanish would be the predominant language for everything, and that English speakers and North Americans would be a small minority. With so much momentum behind us we chose to continue and take the cruise. And so begins my tale.

<snip>

The main thing is that RC MUST BE ABSOLUTELY CLEAR ABOUT THIS CRUISE BEFORE allowing English-only North Americans to spend a dime on it. Fool me once - shame on me. In the end, I believe some of us enjoyed the cruise more than others. I have mixed feelings and may be somewhere in the middle.

 

So you were working with a travel agent? It seems like they were the one that dropped the ball for you, not RCI.

[luckyprincess]

So you were working with a travel agent? It seems like they were the one that dropped the ball for you, not RCI.

 

Totally agree! Even if RCI doesn't make a very large, very noticeable 'disclaimer' of sorts the travel agent should 100% know what they are selling.

[dwjoe]

Interested in hearing this story, please continue OP.

[DiDi Kavanaugh]

We cruised on board Freedom of the Seas this past June for my Husbands Birthday. It was a grand gesture and we booked the Royal Family Suite for our selves and our 6 children. We did not really receive any special considerations other than a wonderful dinner with the Director of the Hotel in MDR. Our fare was over l7 thousand dollars for this one week excursion and it was fine but we were in no way special. We actually had to request that the cabin attendant be reassigned and this has never happened to us in over l00 Cruises. It was not pleasant to do, for we know how hard working they the staff are and how hard a complaint goes against them. It was however necessary for he was actually rude to us. Many apologies and chocolate strawberries and a nice bottle of wine accompanied this. It still left us feeling very bad to have this happen. In all I can only say that to expect much more because of price you pay does not seem to happen. We have sailed on inside cabins and had delightful experiences and wonderful treatment. To have such a huge language barrier would be hard but I would think you were really only mostly interested in your immediate family so not so hard for staff would be able to converse in English. Hope the rest you post is that you did enjoy for it is so hard to spend so much money and be disapointed in any way.

[jessicalorene]

Lol, I'm sure the South American culture appreciates your tireless defense! :p Of course saying they are exuberant, celebratory and enthusiastic won't make anyone find rude behavior acceptable to them. As long as you understand that then defend away! :D

 

There tends to be a bashing of south american culture as inferior to our own in a LOT of the threads about these cruises. Just keeping an eye out to make sure it doesn't turn into that not trying to make excuses for what is perceived as rude from one culture to another.

[PattyG12]

I think we were on the trip after you (or soon after) and I didn't feel that way at all. Yes, there were a lot of spanish speakers aboard, and yes, the CD did use two languages during intro's etc. but I did not find it to be overwhelming.

 

I had absolutely no problem with the two languages or Spanish speaking passengers. My problem was one particular group that though the rules didn't apply. They wrote terrible things on my board, they took over the bandstand while the regular musicians were on break, they formed a conga line in the MDR while we were trying to enjoy our dinner.

[crookedhalo]

I had absolutely no problem with the two languages or Spanish speaking passengers. My problem was one particular group that though the rules didn't apply. They wrote terrible things on my board, they took over the bandstand while the regular musicians were on break, they formed a conga line in the MDR while we were trying to enjoy our dinner.

 

Yeah, but these are very isolated to one group of passengers. I think the OP is referring more to the fact that the entire trip was geared to them with little or no consideration given to other passengers on the ship as they were in a very small minority. Not meaning to say that your issues were minor, I'm sure that the one group you talked of did take over your experience and it sucked that they were allowed to do so:(, but I don't think it's the same thing the OP alluded to. Hopefully the OP will be back to provide further information soon:). Also, looking back, our trip had several larger groups on it, so that may have limited our experience with the same issues.

[hazeleyez3]

The reason I learned about Cruise Critic was to do research into our then upcoming "Spanish Immersion" Cruise on Grandeur of the Seas. Our cruise is now done and I will share my thoughts for the benefit of other Americans that choose to take this cruise so that they know what they are getting in to.

 

We have a family biennial cruise in which 5 sisters and one brother, along with spouses (the "out-laws"), hop on a ship for a week of enjoying each others company while enjoying the amenities that a cruse ship offers. This was our 3rd such event. Our 1st was with RC and our 2nd with Princess. We felt RC had a more relaxed atmosphere and decided to return to it for our 3rd biennial cruise.

 

After a lengthy voting process many months ago, we decided to cruise on Grandeur of the Seas, disembarking from Colon Panama in mid-winter 2013. I also chose to make this a special cruise for several reasons - we would be on it for my spouse's birthday, we just celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary, my spouse's sister was celebrating a 23rd wedding anniversary on the same day as her birthday, etc... Also, with all of us getting older, one never knows if it will be our last cruise all together. An amazing thing already considering the range of ages, that we all get along pretty well, etc..

 

So I horned my way into the prep work for this cruise with the travel agent. Long story short - I wanted to treat my wife and myself to the Royal Suite. And so we could all still be together, we reserved the forward 3 staterooms on port and starboard on Deck 8. All Owner's, Grand's, and the Royal Suite. (Someone may have had a hand in getting us one of the top staterooms because I had originally purchased one Junior Suite because no Owners or Grands were left. But we somehow ended up with the best 6 Staterooms on the ship.)

 

My spouse and I decided that, for a once in a lifetime situation, we would cover the cruise cost for all in our party. So let me be clear - we purchased the best 6 staterooms on the ship including the Royal Suite. And we stayed in the Royal Suite. We also reserved two dinners for 12 at Chops - one on Bonaire night and one on the final night - which coincided with my Wife's Birthday and my in-laws wedding anniversary. For these facts alone, I had the expectation that RC would treat my wife like royalty without much prompting from me. We also prepaid gratuities - which we fully intended to add to significantly commensurate with service we anticipated.

 

Here's the kicker - with the down payment in already and following the arduous event selection process - we found out that this was a cruise marketed to Central/South Americans, Spanish would be the predominant language for everything, and that English speakers and North Americans would be a small minority. With so much momentum behind us we chose to continue and take the cruise. And so begins my tale.

 

What you will get are MY OWN IMPRESSIONS AND OPINIONS. And mine alone. I cannot speak for the rest of my family. And I cannot complete this in one post. I will do this for the benefit of other North Americans that are anxious about this cruise. So let me know if I should bother.

 

My final impressions were this - I would never do this cruise again. That said, thanks to some wonderful staff on Grandeur, I would consider another RC cruise in the future. That was in doubt at a few points throughout the cruise. The main thing is that RC MUST BE ABSOLUTELY CLEAR ABOUT THIS CRUISE BEFORE allowing English-only North Americans to spend a dime on it. Fool me once - shame on me. In the end, I believe some of us enjoyed the cruise more than others. I have mixed feelings and may be somewhere in the middle.

 

Cultural differences manifest in numerous ways that are not explicit in literature and do make this cruise, I believe, quite different from being on an RC cruise marketed to North Americans. Enough for today...but I hope to continue while this is fresh in my head.

 

I have been looking at an immersion cruise, so I am interested in hearing about your experience.

 

There tends to be a bashing of south american culture as inferior to our own in a LOT of the threads about these cruises. Just keeping an eye out to make sure it doesn't turn into that not trying to make excuses for what is perceived as rude from one culture to another.

 

I have been one who is trying to learn about the S. American cruises before I book one. Definately don't see them as being inferior. :)

[RicardoC]

Our fare was over l7 thousand dollars for this one week excursion and it was fine but we were in no way special.

 

Wow! Sorry for asking but is the 17 thousand "just" for the cruise itself or with extras(onboard, excursions, etc.) ? How did you like the RFS? We are staying on our first ever in a couple months...

[celle]

I'm sorry that the OP apparently did not enjoy his cruise.

 

However, taking a cruise that originates from and travels to places that are predominantly Spanish-speaking, why be surprised that the ship is booked by and caters for Spanish-speaking people?

 

Of course the cruise line markets to people in the area the ship will be cruising. It happens all the time:

 

• Cruise in Asia and you will find people from Asian countries on board.
  
• Cruise in the Mediterranean and you will find people from European countries on board
  
• etc.
  

That's just common sense.

 

Booking a suite entitles you to suite amenities, including the butler, who will make some arrangements for you. It doesn't mean you will be treated like royalty elsewhere. The passenger in the cheapest inside cabin gets service just as good as the passenger in the suite.

[FLAHAM]

...taking a cruise that originates from and travels to places that are predominantly Spanish-speaking, why be surprised that the ship is booked by and caters for Spanish-speaking people?

 

RCI not only fooled OP into a cruise with mostly spanish-speaking passengers, it fooled OP into a cruise with passengers with "[c]ultural differences manifest in numerous ways that are not explicit in [RCI's] literature."

[jp30338]

The reason I learned about Cruise Critic was to do research into our then upcoming "Spanish Immersion" Cruise on Grandeur of the Seas. Our cruise is now done and I will share my thoughts for the benefit of other Americans that choose to take this cruise so that they know what they are getting in to.

 

We have a family biennial cruise in which 5 sisters and one brother, along with spouses (the "out-laws"), hop on a ship for a week of enjoying each others company while enjoying the amenities that a cruse ship offers. This was our 3rd such event. Our 1st was with RC and our 2nd with Princess. We felt RC had a more relaxed atmosphere and decided to return to it for our 3rd biennial cruise.

 

After a lengthy voting process many months ago, we decided to cruise on Grandeur of the Seas, disembarking from Colon Panama in mid-winter 2013. I also chose to make this a special cruise for several reasons - we would be on it for my spouse's birthday, we just celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary, my spouse's sister was celebrating a 23rd wedding anniversary on the same day as her birthday, etc... Also, with all of us getting older, one never knows if it will be our last cruise all together. An amazing thing already considering the range of ages, that we all get along pretty well, etc..

 

So I horned my way into the prep work for this cruise with the travel agent. Long story short - I wanted to treat my wife and myself to the Royal Suite. And so we could all still be together, we reserved the forward 3 staterooms on port and starboard on Deck 8. All Owner's, Grand's, and the Royal Suite. (Someone may have had a hand in getting us one of the top staterooms because I had originally purchased one Junior Suite because no Owners or Grands were left. But we somehow ended up with the best 6 Staterooms on the ship.)

 

My spouse and I decided that, for a once in a lifetime situation, we would cover the cruise cost for all in our party. So let me be clear - we purchased the best 6 staterooms on the ship including the Royal Suite. And we stayed in the Royal Suite. We also reserved two dinners for 12 at Chops - one on Bonaire night and one on the final night - which coincided with my Wife's Birthday and my in-laws wedding anniversary. For these facts alone, I had the expectation that RC would treat my wife like royalty without much prompting from me. We also prepaid gratuities - which we fully intended to add to significantly commensurate with service we anticipated.

 

Here's the kicker - with the down payment in already and following the arduous event selection process - we found out that this was a cruise marketed to Central/South Americans, Spanish would be the predominant language for everything, and that English speakers and North Americans would be a small minority. With so much momentum behind us we chose to continue and take the cruise. And so begins my tale.

 

What you will get are MY OWN IMPRESSIONS AND OPINIONS. And mine alone. I cannot speak for the rest of my family. And I cannot complete this in one post. I will do this for the benefit of other North Americans that are anxious about this cruise. So let me know if I should bother.

 

My final impressions were this - I would never do this cruise again. That said, thanks to some wonderful staff on Grandeur, I would consider another RC cruise in the future. That was in doubt at a few points throughout the cruise. The main thing is that RC MUST BE ABSOLUTELY CLEAR ABOUT THIS CRUISE BEFORE allowing English-only North Americans to spend a dime on it. Fool me once - shame on me. In the end, I believe some of us enjoyed the cruise more than others. I have mixed feelings and may be somewhere in the middle.

 

Cultural differences manifest in numerous ways that are not explicit in literature and do make this cruise, I believe, quite different from being on an RC cruise marketed to North Americans. Enough for today...but I hope to continue while this is fresh in my head.

 

 

Gotta love the one hit posters-IM MAD I WASNT TREATED LIKE ROYALTY COS IM AN AMERICAN AND SPENT MONEY :rolleyes:

[MS52]

Can we let the OP give his/her review without attacking? Please.

Edited February 20, 2013 by MS52

[CatgirlNC]

Gotta love the one hit posters

Oh no…I subscribed to this thread because I was truly interested in the rest of the review and finding out more about this type of cruise experience. I didn’t notice until I saw the comment above that this was the OP’s first and, as of right now, only post on CC. I hope all that he does come back and finish his story….I really want to read more.

[murfturf]

To the OP - please give your full review. This topic has been discussed and people have been scared away from giving their opinion. NOW - at least you did acknowledge that you saw the disclaimer before going on the cruise. You also didn't say it was terrible - you said you were in the the middle. I for one would like to hear more about it.

[beachnative]

The reason I learned about Cruise Critic was to do research into our then upcoming "Spanish Immersion" Cruise on Grandeur of the Seas. Our cruise is now done and I will share my thoughts for the benefit of other Americans that choose to take this cruise so that they know what they are getting in to.

 

We have a family biennial cruise in which 5 sisters and one brother, along with spouses (the "out-laws"), hop on a ship for a week of enjoying each others company while enjoying the amenities that a cruse ship offers. This was our 3rd such event. Our 1st was with RC and our 2nd with Princess. We felt RC had a more relaxed atmosphere and decided to return to it for our 3rd biennial cruise.

 

After a lengthy voting process many months ago, we decided to cruise on Grandeur of the Seas, disembarking from Colon Panama in mid-winter 2013. I also chose to make this a special cruise for several reasons - we would be on it for my spouse's birthday, we just celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary, my spouse's sister was celebrating a 23rd wedding anniversary on the same day as her birthday, etc... Also, with all of us getting older, one never knows if it will be our last cruise all together. An amazing thing already considering the range of ages, that we all get along pretty well, etc..

 

So I horned my way into the prep work for this cruise with the travel agent. Long story short - I wanted to treat my wife and myself to the Royal Suite. And so we could all still be together, we reserved the forward 3 staterooms on port and starboard on Deck 8. All Owner's, Grand's, and the Royal Suite. (Someone may have had a hand in getting us one of the top staterooms because I had originally purchased one Junior Suite because no Owners or Grands were left. But we somehow ended up with the best 6 Staterooms on the ship.)

 

My spouse and I decided that, for a once in a lifetime situation, we would cover the cruise cost for all in our party. So let me be clear - we purchased the best 6 staterooms on the ship including the Royal Suite. And we stayed in the Royal Suite. We also reserved two dinners for 12 at Chops - one on Bonaire night and one on the final night - which coincided with my Wife's Birthday and my in-laws wedding anniversary. For these facts alone, I had the expectation that RC would treat my wife like royalty without much prompting from me. We also prepaid gratuities - which we fully intended to add to significantly commensurate with service we anticipated.

 

Here's the kicker - with the down payment in already and following the arduous event selection process - we found out that this was a cruise marketed to Central/South Americans, Spanish would be the predominant language for everything, and that English speakers and North Americans would be a small minority. With so much momentum behind us we chose to continue and take the cruise. And so begins my tale.

 

What you will get are MY OWN IMPRESSIONS AND OPINIONS. And mine alone. I cannot speak for the rest of my family. And I cannot complete this in one post. I will do this for the benefit of other North Americans that are anxious about this cruise. So let me know if I should bother.

 

My final impressions were this - I would never do this cruise again. That said, thanks to some wonderful staff on Grandeur, I would consider another RC cruise in the future. That was in doubt at a few points throughout the cruise. The main thing is that RC MUST BE ABSOLUTELY CLEAR ABOUT THIS CRUISE BEFORE allowing English-only North Americans to spend a dime on it. Fool me once - shame on me. In the end, I believe some of us enjoyed the cruise more than others. I have mixed feelings and may be somewhere in the middle.

 

Cultural differences manifest in numerous ways that are not explicit in literature and do make this cruise, I believe, quite different from being on an RC cruise marketed to North Americans. Enough for today...but I hope to continue while this is fresh in my head.

 

OP, after reading the first part of your review I told my spouse that this one would be interesting to read because the OP sounded reasonable and balanced. You can imagine my surprise as I read some to the reactions to your post.

 

I am looking forward to reading the rest of your review.

 

The fact that it is your first post on Cruise Critic doesn't discount its credibility if you give a balanced, well written review (which you have already begun to do.)