Grandeur Just Came Back

[cheezwhiz]

Just came back from the 9 day Grandeur Sailing July 8 Sailing. This is my 11th cruise and my 7th cruise with RCCL. This ship had the very best food and service I've had on all my cruises. The food was excellent.....RCCL has changed their menu for the better. Not only was the selection great but the food was prepared just right. The vegtables were never soggy but had a little crunch. The seafood including lobster was never overcooked. The beef filet was one of the best I've had. RCCL has really taken some extra steps to improve their menu!!!!!

 

The service was outstanding Charlie our head waiter talked to us each night and made sure we had what we needed. I am not easy to please and was on a low carb diet he made sure I had what I needed with any special request. Our Waiter Luis (sp?) was outstanding along with our asst waiter. Our room steward was also great Mario.

 

The ship in the common areas was in very good condition. The ship was clean and I was very pleased. The stateroom needed a little help....stain on the bedspreads and the bathroom tiles needed replaced. Other than that I was very very very pleased and when sail this ship again.

 

We missed Key West because of the hurricane but the captain kept us out of rain and rough waters.

[Lakesidedreamer]

Cheezwhiz,

 

Thanks for the feedback on the Grandeur. I just booked a 7 day in December for my family. I was a little concerned about this ship becaus I read somewhere else that it was showing signs of wear. It is a little older than the last cruise line we were on.

 

If you don't mind me asking, what kind of stateroom did you have? I've booked a JS for a family of 4. I hope it's not too small for us.

 

Thanks!

[mrsb]

Lakesidedreamer, I was just in a JS on the Grandeur with my family of 4. (8064) The sizes of the cabin and balcony were definitely bigger than a regular balcony cabin (which other family members had, so we were able to compare). However, we have had balcony cabins on other ships that were better than this JS for 2 reasons:

1. There was no privacy curtain that could separate the cabin, which made it difficult for any of us to change unless we went into the bathroom--significantly increasing the amount of time it took us to get ready to go anywhere. (Regular cabins that we have had on newer ships had a curtain you could pull all the way across the room.)

2. The sleeping arrangements were difficult when your kids don't want to sleep in the same bed. On all other ships that we have sailed on there was always at least one bunk that dropped from the ceiling, in addition to a couch or chair that opened into a bed. In our Grandeur JS the only additional sleeping space was the pull out couch, requiring my two teens to sleep in the same bed (not a happy situation). When I booked the JS I never thought to ask about sleeping arrangements, because smaller cabins we had been in always had at least two additional beds.

We have decided that for future cruises we will probably book two rooms--a balcony for us, and an inside cabin across the hall for the kids. But my kids are in their late teens, so by the time we cruise again I would feel comfortable doing that. I don't know how old your kids are.

One other drawback to our JS was its location. We were right under the tables near the Solarium snack bar, which was open most nights until 3:30. Every time someone moved a chair we heard a loud scraping noise in our room.

MrsB

[DELTABLUE]

cheezwhiz, I'm very heartened by your positive comments about Grandeur. :D I'm encouraged by your posting on the improved menu and dining room service, since you have the background to make the comparison. I hope that we will be as pleased with it as you were. ;)

We'll be doing your recent cruise in mid September and can't wait. Have heard some bad things about odor problems. :eek: Did you experience this at all? If so, where was it noticeable? Who was your cruise director and what was your opinion of him/her? What movies are being shown on the ship?

One last item, are you aware if seasick meds are still readily available w/o charge on Grandeur? I know that they used to be on all RCCL ships.:rolleyes:

Thanx in advance for your feedback.

[Host Kewlguy]

Have heard some bad things about odor problems.

 

Looks like besides ear plugs, I will have to add clothes pins to my packing list.

[aftmdne]

Thank you for your post Cheezwhiz,

 

DW and I are getting ready to sail on Grandeur on Aug 19 and we really appreciate your review. We sailed on her last September and I had hard time to even imagine that something could be improved but apparently I was wrong.

 

However I also have a question. I read somewhere that many passengers and crew were getting colds because of infection going around. Is it true? Could you shed some lights on the cituation?

 

Were there dispensers of hand sanitazer (like Purrell) in public areas?

Thanx in advance

[Lakesidedreamer]

Mrsb,

 

Thanks for your comments. My sons will be 10 & 14 and I expect a squabble or two between them since they'll be sharing a sofabed.

 

The last cruise we took it was on Holland-America and we had a large suite that had a small dressing room that was a life saver. But it only had a sofabed as well.

 

At this age I wasn't real comfortable getting them a room of their own but maybe in a couple of years that will be a option. Besides the price of two cabins would probably be quite a bit more than this JS.

 

I was hoping for a Grand Suite but guess there was nothing available. I booked this on RCCL's own website and JS was the largest that was listed. I wonder if other are available but not listed. Do you know? Should I have called RCCL? Do their reservations department have access to other cabins not available on their website?

 

Thanks!

[LDR]

Thanks for the info on the Grandeur, I'm sailing her on 12/10. We have an

aft JS and can't wait! Glad to hear the food has improved too.

How was the coffee on board? I keep hearing that it can be nasty.

[LDR]

Lakesidedreamer what sailing are you on? I too have a 14 year old and a

12 year old that will have to contend with sofabed city :)

[Lakesidedreamer]

LDR,

 

We are booked on 12/17/05 sailing out of New Orleans. Is that the sailing you are on?

 

Thanks!

[Cruise321]

This was our 10th cruise (6th with Royal Caribbean) & other than an Alaska cruise we hadn't taken a summer trip in 10 years. Since we don't travel with kids it will probably be our last cruise in the summer. :(

 

While the individuals writing in may supervise their children, many of the individuals on-board left kids unsupervised. Also, some of the teens did not seem to understand they were not the only ones on board --- chairs placed across the jogging/walking track made it difficult for joggers/walkers to navigate. Groups of teens (up to 8 or 10) using stairs to sit on --- had to ask them to move in order to go down stairs.

 

In addition with 3/4 of the individuals on board being first time cruisers, seems that no one gave many of them (I'm referring here also to adults) any kind of crash course in cruise etiquette. For example, signs said "do not save seats" or "do not save lounge chairs" -- apparently some could not read!! Worst case I encountered was at a pre-dinner show where one woman was standing in the middle of two rows & when people went to sit down she said she was saving 16 seats --- yes, we mentioned the signs & sat down & soon noticed other couples doing the same. (The show was popular & ended up with standing room only.)

 

On a positive side, we overall enjoyed the cruise. Our waiter, assistant waiter and room steward were all great.:D

[stillfrantic]

I think I'm already frantic about the chair hogs. I'll move things if they are unattended, but how long should I watch for signs of life before I commander the lounger?

[mrsb]

Cruise321, I will agree with you that the ship had many unattended children, of all ages. My brother-in-law always went in the pool with his 4 year old, but he saw many younger kids all alone in the pool. There were many groups of teens hanging out, including one group we came across in one of the lounges one night--one of the girls, who certainly did not look 18, was laying on the floor repeatedly yelling that she was not drunk (she sure appeared to be) and that she couldn't go back to her room "because there's more alcohol in there". But there were also a lot of kids (my teens included) who were appropriate and polite throughout the cruise. It was nice to see so many families vacationing together. I actually felt the impact of having so many children on the ship much less than I expected to.

[DBSailor]

Yes the pool hogs were out, just got back Sunday from the 9 day cruise.

Many times I went down to the pool deck on sea days and could not find louge chairs on the pool deck. On the upper deck you can find them but you'll have to walk down one if you want to use the pool.

 

Tip on the show seating. Enter the Palladium Theatre on deck 6 to the right hand side 15 minutes before the show and you'll find lots of seats available. Better view from up there than down on deck 5.

 

DBSailor

[cruiserbds73]

Heyas all,

 

First I just wanted to say greets and salutations to all you fellow cruisers out there... I have been checking out the RCI boards for a couple months now and decided to go ahead and chime in.

 

My fiancee and I are getting married on the Grandeur on August 19th in Baltimore. This will be my fiancee's first cruise. I, on the other hand, was able to go on a SeaEscape 1 day cruise from Miami to Nassau many years ago so Im somewhat familar of being on a ship. We have been registered for the cruise and wedding on the ship since January and have been steadily preparing all the details and coordinating with the cruise/wedding coordinators for the ship. Everyone we have spoke to and dealt with have been great and we're hoping for a great experience.

 

So far we are expecting around 50 guests. The one thing that has been different from typical RSVP's etc is that we had to ask everyone for their drivers license info and date of birth. Also kids without ID's will have to bring original birth certificates (all as part and parcel of security). Other than that hassle, we haven't had much to worry about.. Well ok we had to pick out our songs etc and arrange for limo stuff but otherwise we get one wedding coordinator for every 25 guests to ensure everything goes smoothly.

 

We opted for a private wedding hall on the boat as opposed to sharing with the Great Gatsby room. So if all you Aug 19th sailors happen to see a bunch of wedding stuff going on, its more than likely me and my fiancee. We're doing the whole separate limo's for the bride and groom side directly to the ship from Chesapeake Beach, MD and will have the full wedding along with a catered reception, DJ, etc. My fiancee have been doing ballroom dancing classes for 8 weeks now and will be doing a number for our first dance.

 

The nice thing is that our guests get to see our wedding and reception and enjoy (even for a few hours) being on a cruiseship, afterward then they debark while we go back to our cabin and prepare for launch from pier.

 

My fiancee and I have a JS w/ balcony on Granduer toward the middle part of the ship. Im just hoping for clear weather without hinderance from any hurricanes or anything.

 

I have registered for the M&M so look forward to seeing you all then for those that will be on this cruise...

 

Gotta run...

 

CruiserBDS73

[mrsb]

cruiserBDS73, congratulations on your upcoming nuptials! Getting married on the ship sounds like a neat idea. We think there was a wedding on board on the 8th, because there were lots of people dressed up in the Great Gatsby when we boarded, and then we saw them leaving before the ship left port.

There were many honeymooners on our sailing. Enjoy the cruise!

[cheezwhiz]

Hopefully I can answer some questions that have been asked:

 

No I did not notice any colds going around the ship.

 

Did not notice hand sanitizer around the ship.

 

Our cabin was very quiet did not hear a thing.

 

I did get sick for about 4 hours but I think that might have been a little sick sickness.

 

Also, we saw a wedding on July 8th it looked like they had a lot of fun.

 

Everyone will have a great time on the cruise, oh I did not smell any ordors on the boat.

[cheezwhiz]

Someone asked about the coffee and I can tell you I am very picky about my coffee. It is OK not great but OK. I brought my own coffee syrup to help it out.

I normally grind my own beans and again I was happy for the 9 days with their coffee.

[MisterBill99]

Was there any sushi on the Windjammer buffet? I wasn't expecting it but read a review of another RCCL ship (Radiance class, I believe) and they said it was there. Also, any wings on the buffet or at the snack bar? Also read that in the review.

 

Finally, is there a place to go for a cookie or piece of cake other than Windjammer (and in the dining room, of course)? When we were on Voyager three years ago, they had that place on the promenade that my kids used to go to all the time for snacks. Their big cookies were great, and some of the cakes were pretty good (even if they were probably leftover from the previous meal). I know on Grandeur, there is a snack bar at the pool, and Windjammer. Is there anything else?

[MikeKool]

We also just came off the Grandeur 7/8 and our opinion differs somewhat than Cheezwiz. Overall we found the food just "average". Some meals were better than others......but nothing stood out as special. We thought the dessert menus were limited. No afternoon tea. Our cabin (7134) was the usual balcony cabin. We had no cold....or even cool water....just warm or hot. 4 times complaining did nothing. ATM was down more than up. The shops and photo gallery closed prompty at 11pm....if not earlier. Our head waiter "Tony" was the best.....as was "Maxford and Alison" in the Crown Viking Lounge. 18 is the drinking age onboard and I saw way too many drunk teens in the Crown Viking and in the Casino. I hate to say it....but alot of these teens acted like slobs leaving their trash on stairs and in elevators. Royal Caribbean was not too swift about cleaning the messes either. I would say having sailed well over 20 cruises......this was the most unkept ship I've ever sailed. I got burned twice while sitting at the bar in the Crown Viking by drunk teens smoking. The dance club music should be called the "grind club" because thats all the kids did. Some of the girls looked and acted like they were exotic dancers. I saw 2 girls get booted out of the club because their style of dancing was more obscene than anything else. I'm a nightowl who's never had breakfast on a cruise ship so my opinions may be somewhat "different". At age 48...I'm not used to 17-18 year old girls rubbing up against me trying to get me to buy them drinks. It was hard to find somewhere that played my kind of music so I found myself in the "grind club" because I liked the bartenders and it was much nicer in the early evening. The piano bar was just too "dead" for me. Let me know if I can answer any questions. It was nice sailing out of Baltimore. The embarkation went very quick and smooth.

[Bonster1]

Just back from Grandeur's 07/08 sailing also. I am split between Cheezwiz and MikeKool's opinions: I thought the food was average at best, I really didn't like it at all and I am certainly not picky, seemed like the same stuff every day, weird combinations and seasonings, not impressed. I agree with MikeKool on the cleanliness issue, lots of dishes & half eaten food etc...left on tables and in the elevators of all places and not cleaned up quickly by the staff!! This was never the case on other RCCL ships I have been on. I did not enjoy the cruise director, Duane Davis, at all. The only time I ever really saw him was in the Palladium Theatre each night to introduce the act/show. As far as chair hogs, could not get one near the pool on deck 9 but many were available on deck 10. Didn't seem to be a problem for me. Never had a problem finding a seat for a show either. We were on deck 3 forward, there was a slight sewer odor, one night the cabin filled with a horrible odor then shortly thereafter a smell of a cleaning agent, so I am not sure if they flush the system or what?? We heard a slight rumbling noise in our cabin, but nothing to keep us from sleeping. MikeKool is right, NO cold water for teethbrushing, warm to hot all the time. Our cabin stayed nice and cool but others in our group complained they could not get the air in the cabins to work real well, my friend on deck 8 said her room was very warm, she fortunately had packed a small fan! The ship is in nice shape, I can't complain about that, needs a little refurbishment thats all. The teens didn't bother me too much, I have two myself and they seemed to have a good time. Parents need to keep track of them and make sure they behave and follow the curfew on board, that's all. This was my parents first cruise and they had a blast but they did not like the food. I had a great time, but since I have a few cruises under my belt and something to compare it to, it was not my best but we did still had a great time overall!! Try it for yourself and you decide....everyone has their own opinions and I don't want mine to mislead anyone! Get out there and enjoy yourselves!!

[DBSailor]

I'm fresh off the 7/8 sailing as well, cabin 7130. I guess I'm the lucky one because everything was just excellent! I agree with others that the CD, Duane Davis wasn't one of the best I've seen. Shows, food, cabin were are as I expected.

[stillfrantic]

DBSailor: You were in a D1, right? Please confirm there is a refrigerator in the cabin. What about shampoo in the bathroom?

[DBSailor]

Yes D1 with a mini fridge. Took the water and soda out and replaced with my Beer. Yes, shampoo in the shower.

[MisterBill99]

Isn't that just the mini-bar? Don't all cabins have them? I read elsewhere that you can tell the cabin steward to empty out the mini-bar, and they took the stuff out and put it on a shelf. I know that we were mistakenly charged for something from the mini-bar on our last cruise. They took it off when I complained but I hope it does not happen again (and I would much prefer to have free space for my own stuff).