The Grandeur Repositions to Baltimore

[spookwife]

We were in GS 8512 and it was really great but towards the end of the cruise we had a lot of problems with the toilet and they had to come and fix it 3 times. I had 2 run-ins with the odor once in the casino on deck 5 and once at starbucks on deck 6.

 

Oh my! we are in 8512 in September!!!! did you take any pics?! if so I'd LOVE to see them!

 

was the PC open for the breakfast hours? even though we do like the MDR and the CL for brekkies, the breakfast sandwiches at Park Cafe were really nice the couple times we tried them..

 

 

I do remember PC being the ONLY option in the mid afternoon on a few days while on EN. Windjammer closed at like 2.. so from 2- to like 5 all there was was PC.. sort of defeated the purpose of the solarium being adult only....

 

I am hesitant to try Giovanni's.. I grew up with a Sicilian grandmother so Pasta is not my biggest favorite. I can't wait for Izumi, though. I *heart* me some sushi and other Japanese cooking....

[RSLeesburg]

We are in 8514 on the 9/27 cruise to Bermuda. Would love to see pics too.

[DEIx15x8]

Does anyone know if the promised iPads will ever make it to the Grandeur? Originally they were meant for all the ships that would not receive the interactive TV systems as a substitute for them.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

 

was the PC open for the breakfast hours? even though we do like the MDR and the CL for brekkies, the breakfast sandwiches at Park Cafe were really nice the couple times we tried them..

 

 

 

Yes the Park Cafe was open for breakfast. [that is why they had to restock it each night! :p]

 

We tried the breakfast sandwiches a couple of times. They were good--just like an egg McMuffin. [also beakfast burritos, etc]

[xmaslady]

Oh my! we are in 8512 in September!!!! did you take any pics?! if so I'd LOVE to see them!

 

was the PC open for the breakfast hours? even though we do like the MDR and the CL for brekkies, the breakfast sandwiches at Park Cafe were really nice the couple times we tried them..

 

 

I do remember PC being the ONLY option in the mid afternoon on a few days while on EN. Windjammer closed at like 2.. so from 2- to like 5 all there was was PC.. sort of defeated the purpose of the solarium being adult only....

 

I am hesitant to try Giovanni's.. I grew up with a Sicilian grandmother so Pasta is not my biggest favorite. I can't wait for Izumi, though. I *heart* me some sushi and other Japanese cooking....

 

 

Sorry no I didn't take any pictures but you will love the room

[skiiergirl]

I thought I would put in my 2 cents from the cruise. First I want to say hi to all that I met on this cruise form CC. Also Skiergirl sorry I never ending up meeting you I don't think the M&M lasted long enough to really meet that many people. Ok now for some thoughts. I thought the food in the dining room was very good. We had dinner at chops one night and the meal was very good but our favorite place was Giovanni's. We ended up eating their twice because it was so good. Try the crab raviolis they are to die for. The Park Cafe didn't open until 2 o'clock each day so I ate lunch at the buffet each day and it really wasn't that good.

We were in GS 8512 and it was really great but towards the end of the cruise we had a lot of problems with the toilet and they had to come and fix it 3 times. I had 2 run-ins with the odor once in the casino on deck 5 and once at starbucks on deck 6.

I am one of them people who loves the smaller ships so I loved it and I never felt like it was crowded when I was out and around. So any that was my 2 cents.

 

I agree, the M&M was too rushed. Didn't get to meet many folks at all. Was looking forward to meeting you also. Sorry we didn't get to meet.

[alligeek]

Thank you everyone! We're sailing on the Grandeur next week (!) and this information is all very helpful.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Thank you everyone! We're sailing on the Grandeur next week (!) and this information is all very helpful.

 

I am glad you found some of the info useful. As you can see several from our roll call are following the thread. If you have any other questions, I am sure one of them has the answer.:)

 

Have a great cruise.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Does anyone know if the promised iPads will ever make it to the Grandeur? Originally they were meant for all the ships that would not receive the interactive TV systems as a substitute for them.

 

We did not hear anything about these. We asked about anything else that still was going to be added to the ship.

 

We were interested in the freestyle Coke machines. We were told there were no plans to add anything else at this time. [except the new menu in May]

[DragonOfTheSeas]

We visited Labadee, Haiti from 7:00am-4:00pm. We had decided we wanted a quiet beach day and that we would rent a mat. [$12 each] We rode the tram to the Town Square and then walked to Columbus Cove.

 

 

 

It has very soft sand and gentle waves.

 

 

The reason to go to Columbus Cove is this sand. It is very smooth. Some passemgers cut their feet trying to enter the water on the other side of the penninsula. That is the first beach you get to, but, it is for sunbathing and has coral as you enter the water.

 

We arrived before 9am and were able to get a blue clamshell. [no charge—just a tip for the set-up] This allowed us to spend the whole day on the beach. DH did not want me to post this one. LOL But, this is the only pic I took of the clamshell. If you get out on the beach early make sure you ask for one of these.

 

 

 

 

Another view of Columbus Cove:

 

 

 

The Freedom of the Seas pulled in just after the Grandeur. The last time we visited Labadee with another ship it was too crowded. [long lines for lunch and security to reboard the ship] This time, the beach was very crowded, but, there were no lines.

 

The informal artisan market along the path to Columbus Cove was larger than last time and I did not feel the vendors were as aggressive. I purchased several items for VERY good prices.

 

 

Around 3pm we left to board the ship and head back to Baltimore. We had a very good cruise and we are so glad we booked this itinerary.

 

 

[superduper123]

Hi there, I'm leaving Friday on the Grandeur... Woohoo! :)

Can anyone tell me what classes are offered in the fitness center?

Just in case I actually follow through with my good intentions to exercise.

Thanks!

[Ocean Air]

Thank you everyone! We're sailing on the Grandeur next week (!) and this information is all very helpful.

 

Alligeek - We are on the Grandeur in December. Hoping you fill us in with a review on the ship. Love reading them (thank you Dragon). Interested to see what they add and how the staff is adjusting. If you could find out who the CD is in December, would appreciate it. We are going to miss the Blairs.

 

Question: Does anyone have a picture of an OV?

[psimpson3-5]

Is there anyone who can comment about the new nursery?

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Hi there, I'm leaving Friday on the Grandeur... Woohoo! :)

Can anyone tell me what classes are offered in the fitness center?

Just in case I actually follow through with my good intentions to exercise.

Thanks!

 

Have fun on the cruise. I did not use the gym myself, so I looked back in the Cruise Compass.

 

Free classes:

Vitality Stretch each day 7am and Evening Stretch each day at 5pm

 

Pay classes:

On the two sea days at the end of the cruise they had Pilates, cycling and either body sculpt boot camp or Yoga. They had one of these classes on every other port day.

 

I can not tell you what the fee was.

[superduper123]

Have fun on the cruise. I did not use the gym myself, so I looked back in the Cruise Compass.

 

Free classes:

Vitality Stretch each day 7am and Evening Stretch each day at 5pm

 

Pay classes:

On the two sea days at the end of the cruise they had Pilates, cycling and either body sculpt boot camp or Yoga. They had one of these classes on every other port day.

 

I can not tell you what the fee was.

Thank you for the info, and thanks for posting your review.

It's great, and I love your photos!

[CRUSINGFAMILY]

Is there anyone who can comment about the new nursery?

 

Hi there

 

I did take a look at the nursery. It is small but was well staffed, there were two youth staff for the one child there.

 

I did not use their services, simply took a look while walking around.

[Mar56]

Columbus cove looks beautiful. I may have missed it but are there drinks and food available there?

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Columbus cove looks beautiful. I may have missed it but are there drinks and food available there?

 

Yes, there are two bars, a floating mat station, clean restrooms [there was an attendent keeping them clean] and lunch area. I heard the main food area was crowded. But, we had no line.:)

[Mar56]

Fantastic, thank you.

[Welovetokruze]

:) My wife would like to know -- is there a piano bar on the "new" Grandeur? Thanks in advance.

Glenn :)

[DragonOfTheSeas]

:) My wife would like to know -- is there a piano bar on the "new" Grandeur? Thanks in advance.

Glenn :)

 

The Schooner Bar is a piano bar. They had music each night. Katie Guglielmo played from generally 9-pm-1am. She is an excellent pianist. She has a Barbara Streisand type voice. One night she did a tribute to Barbara. One of our travel mates was a big Barbara fan. But, after a few numbers we left. Her singing was OK--but, not great.

 

The pool band was excellent [from Jamaica] and the Grandeur singers and dancers were very talented. They did production numbers, participated in a spirited Tango show and did the aerial acts. I was imoressed.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Someone emailed me and asked me to post the slot pull pictures. Here they are. Traveler/ organized a very good slot pull. We had 28 participants. The buy in was $10 and we each put in our own money. That way you could show up at the last minute if it worked in your cruise schedule. [it is good to not be too scheduled on a cruise]:)

 

Traveler/ worked with the casino host and had prizes for the top 5 finishers. [i was 4th and traded my tropy and key ring for a t-shirt]

 

The host is in the blue shirt.

 

 

 

 

Traveler/ introduced each person and we cheered on their efforts. It was lots of noise and cheering--but, not too much winning.

 

 

 

It was lots of fun. We got $4 back at the end. Thanks, Traveler/.

[TigerLady]

Dragon, did you happen to snap any pictures of the bathroom. We have the room two doors down from you and I am curious on bathroom size. Thanks again for the great review!!

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Dragon, did you happen to snap any pictures of the bathroom. We have the room two doors down from you and I am curious on bathroom size. Thanks again for the great review!!

 

Sorry--I did not do that. But, it is a nice size bathroom. It is about 3" longer than a standard tub. [there is a small lip at the end we used to put the shampoo /conditioner bottles. ] We got shampoo, conditioner and shower gel bottles. there was the typical shower gel mounted on the wall in the shower. There was also a metal basket to hold your bath items.

 

The vessel sinks are new and I do not like them as much as the old sinks--but, they look nice. :confused:

 

There is quite a bit of storage space. We had plenty of room for all of our items.

[TigerLady]

Sorry--I did not do that. But, it is a nice size bathroom. It is about 3" longer than a standard tub. [there is a small lip at the end we used to put the shampoo /conditioner bottles. ] We got shampoo, conditioner and shower gel bottles. there was the typical shower gel mounted on the wall in the shower. There was also a metal basket to hold your bath items.

 

The vessel sinks are new and I do not like them as much as the old sinks--but, they look nice. :confused:

 

There is quite a bit of storage space. We had plenty of room for all of our items.

 

sounds good!! looking forward to our cruise