8 Night Bahamas Cruise Grandeur of the Seas January 3 to January 11, 2014

[skyedoggie]

We've been back from our cruise since January 11 and wanted to share our memories with you. Hope you enjoy!:)

 

Here are some of our favorite crew members:

 

Inyoman Sukayanna, Stateroom Attendant

Francis Calimag, Diamond Concierge

Sudeep, Head Waiter

Dave, Waiter

Ajay, Assistant Waiter

Table 318 The Great Gatsby

Cabin JS 8088

Jan 2, 2014

DH and I were picked up at home by a car service to drop us off at the Providence, Rhode Island Airport. The driver opted to pick us up an hour earlier at 7:30 AM because the promised snowfall seemed to be starting earlier. While getting ready, I had trouble with the pendant I was putting on and my DH gave me a hand untangling the chain it hangs on. He took care of the tangle and I put it on. To be more specific, it is a diamond and sapphire pendant. You’ll see the relevance later. We were stuck in traffic, lots of traffic, not moving very well and so glad we had the extra time. At the airport, we checked in and then over to security screening. We were thrilled to find out we were TSA pre-checked. That meant no taking our shoes off, the IPAD could stay in the carryon, etc. I had to take off my coat though and when I did; I looked down and saw a gold chain on the floor. I remember “oh, no someone lost their chain.” I bent down to pick it up to give it to Security and then realized it was mine! I was feeling at my neck and in fact my necklace is gone and no pendant. That chain was empty. TSA agents are down on the floor now and so is a soldier who was going through Security behind us. Everyone is looking for my pendant. I was so embarrassed. Everyone was so concerned, I couldn’t have asked for more compassion. One of the agents gave me her card and told me to call for Lost and Found the next day to see if it were turned in. She recommended that I go to the Ladies Room to check and see if the pendant had gotten stuck in my clothing. I did do that and nope it wasn’t there. So this was the start to the vacation. We boarded the plane to Baltimore with Blizzard Hercules in place on the US coast. We were 30 or 40 mins behind schedule by the time we left. Our plane needed to be deiced. The flight itself was not too rough and we got our beverages and snacks. As we approached Baltimore, our pilot started the approach to Baltimore Airport and quickly aborted the landing because of windshear. That was a scare, but we were grateful for a safe go round and landing on our next approach! We took a shuttle service to the hotel and that was an experience that I could have done without. The driver was a want to be comedian and not very good at it. What he intended for humor sounded more like a threat. Everyone in the van with us was silent. We checked-in at the Renaissance Harbor Place Hotel. The hotel is attached to the Gallery Mall and we were able to get into the Mall from the hotel without going outside. We had lunch at the Krazy Kabob in the Food Court. It was really very good. For dinner we went to the Cheesecake Factory. The snow had already reached Baltimore and was coming down in good shape. The harbor was so pretty in the snow. We had a great view of the harbor from our hotel room.

[skyedoggie]

[skyedoggie]

[skyedoggie]

The above photo is the early morning view. When GOS pulled into Port we could see the top of her. That was awesome!! We woke up too early (perhaps it was the excitement?) than it seemed most folks at the hotel. We decided to just walk over to Starbucks for coffee and a breakfast sandwich. Our group was to meet at 11am in the lobby, for transfer to the pier. There were only 9 of us going to the ship. We thought that a lot of folks didn’t make it because of the weather the day before and our transfer was delayed. The bitter cold weather had to have something to do with it. Those folks getting off the ship that day were in for a shock for sure. It was only 14 degrees early morning with a strong wind and I think it warmed up to about 19 degrees. While waiting for our ride, we met Carl and his wife who were first time cruisers. They were fun to talk to because they said that they just didn’t get the whole cruise thing. They didn’t understand why everyone was telling them that they would enjoy themselves so much and how could they possibly make lasting friendships on a cruise? (We saw them again during the cruise and they were having a blast—we think the question was answered). The ride to the port was only 10 minutes. Once our bus arrived at the Port, then there was confusion about where we should be dropped at and where our luggage would be left off. At first we were supposed to get our luggage and drag it over to a porter because our bus driver didn’t pull up to the proper spot. Then we were told that the bus driver would drive up to another spot and the luggage would be off loaded. The line to get through security screening was long, but once we got through that we were on the ship almost immediately with priority suite boarding. We dropped by the Windjammer and there was absolutely no place to sit. Folks were standing around trying to eat holding onto their plates. This was caused by others who were just camped out at a table waiting out their cabins to be ready. Really very selfish not to move along and let their fellow cruisers sit down! We walked through the Windjammer twice and on both sides looking for a seat. It was announced that Cabins were not available until after 1pm. We ended up waiting for our cabin to be ready sitting by the Centrum. Finally we heard the announcement we had been waiting for and then dropped off our carryons and went out exploring. We were in Cabin 8088 on the aft of the ship. On our way to our cabin we saw that there was one of those dryers out in the hallway. It ended up that the folks inside that cabin were going to be our tablemates Nate and Sarah. Got something to eat back at the Windjammer, (by then we were able to get a seat). The next thing we wanted to check out was that Diamond Lounge! Loved the Diamond Lounge and our concierge, Francis. He made us feel like we knew him forever. He was always ready, willing and able to assist us throughout the cruise. Got a kick out of his “Easy” button. “That was easy”. The other thing that we were hooked on was that coffee machine. Capaccchino, Espresso and Lattes whenever the mood strikes… Yay!! No more bad coffee! The Diamond Lounge is a great place to sit and gaze out the window. Just perfect to enjoy a complimentary cocktail or two. We had to be ready for muster drill at 3:15pm. Luckily our muster station was on the sunny side of the ship because it was held outside. We actually had to scan our sea pass card to confirm our attendance. When we got back to the cabin our suitcases were delivered, so let the unpacking begin. Before we knew it, we were on our way to dinner. We had Table 318 and met our tablemates, Sarah & Nate and Geneva & Freddie. We had a great table! Had a view of the Captain’s Table and if Strings played, we could see them as well. Our waiter was Dave Powell and assistant was Ajay.

[skyedoggie]

Our first formal night. Early in the day it was the Cruise Critic Meet N Greet or as Darryl, the Assistant CD liked to say the “Cruise Crickets.” The Cruise Director was Jeffrey Arpin. At the Meet N Greet, my DH:D won a bottle of Champagne and a T-shirt. We played slots with the Cruise Critic group but we weren’t big winners. We invested $42 and walked away with $26—The machine we played was Wheel of Fortune Progressive Slots everyone got $3 pull X 7 spins…Not a total loss, Oh well…maybe next time we’ll be the big winners!!! Back in the Diamond Lounge we met Cindy and Jim who are actually Pinnacle members, but they enjoy the Diamond Lounge better.

[crookedhalo]

We were aboard too on this trip. Overall we had a great trip (mainly because we were with great friends), but this trip had the worst weather of any cruise we've ever taken:(.

 

Behind and looking on to Quantum next year:D

[skyedoggie]

So true about the weather. Glad this wasn't our first cruise. Love the rocking motion of the ship for sleeping but the ship was rocking so much that we needed to move a chair in front of our drawers and closet to keep then from opening and closing all night. Did you hear the CD's joke that the bags in the elevator lobby were for a jelly bean hunt??? LOL

 

 

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[crookedhalo]

LOL nope missed that one, but he was pretty funny - seemed kinda tired of the whole thing though:confused:. Like 'Stick a fork in me' - now Darryl on the other hand - what a hoot:p.

 

We had MTD and this trip made us realize that we need to do a bit more planning because we missed virtually every show and event because of timing:(, but we were a group of 8 so made timing hard.

[summersigh]

Thanks for the review ... we sail the GOTS in April. :)

[hansolosmom]

Love the start to your review, though sorry to hear about your necklace.

 

We are in the same room on our trip in April - can't wait

[skyedoggie]

Thank you hansolosmom...I'll be back later to fill in more cruise memories. Crookedhalo, got such a kick out if Darryl. "Rainbow, Star...you're welcome!" Summer sigh you won't be disappointed by GOTS.

 

 

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[skyedoggie]

Rick Novell was the entertainer on day 2 and although we enjoy his comedy, we opted to check other venues. We watched the Ballroom dancers and enjoyed the music in the Centrum. Then went to the Schooner Bar to hear Kenne Ledford. We enjoyed him quite a bit.

[skyedoggie]

Had our morning soak in the hot tub in the Solarium and then went to Breakfast in the Dining room. We saw in the Compass that there was a worship service led by Rev. Gerold Goetz in the South Pacific Lounge. He is a retired Lutheran pastor. He told us that he and his wife decided to volunteer to hold the services because they were disappointed by the worship services they had encountered in the past. He certainly held our attention, no microphone needed. He spoke with God’s authority!

 

We had to be at the Palladium Theater for 10:15 am to meet our group going over to the Kennedy Space Center. The ship was delayed in docking for some reason. There were 4 ships in port. The day was long and the tour didn’t get back until 6:30 pm. My favorite thing was seeing the space Shuttle Atlantis and DH's favorite was seeing the Saturn Rocket from his childhood memories. We hurried back to our cabin to get ready for Chops Grille. Dinner was delicious at Chops. There was however trouble with the new system of having perks downloaded to the sea pass card. I asked for specialty coffee (it is listed on the sheet we received for the Diamond perks) and was told that we didn’t have that loaded on our card. We were embarrassed by the way it was handled at Chops, but we think these things will be ironed out in the future. After dinner, with our tummies filled and the exhaustion of the day, we just went back to our cabin for a good night’s rest. The next day we reported the error to the Purser’s Desk. They said we could go and have a specialty coffee and then bring them the receipt and the charge would be wiped off of our tab. We never did do that because that wasn’t something we felt comfortable doing and we could get all the specialty coffee we wanted at the Diamond Lounge.

[skyedoggie]

 

 

[skyedoggie]

We got up early and went for a soak in the hot tub. Had our breakfast in the Dining Room. After breakfast we went for our mile walk on deck. It was a beautiful day and later we were able to sit on our verandah. Since we are on the aft and there had been unusual weather, we found flakes of soot on the floor of the verandah,furniture and floor. Our cabin steward said that he had been having to wash the verandahs and also clean the carpets of the cabins because it ends up being tracked into the cabin no matter how hard we tried not to. We enjoyed lunch in the dining room and met two very nice couples – one from Pennsylvania and another from Baltimore. We saw the aerial team practicing for their show. We enjoyed watching the practice. It was really fun to watch with all the lights up and being able to watch them prepare. When you see them in the evening they are in costume and everyone is jockeying for a good vantage point. The show is great but finding a spot to watch it in comfort means you better get there early. That evening we saw the Aerial Show, it was called “Seasons”. Well worth seeing. Folks were lined up on each deck in the Centrum. We wandered from the Diamond Lounge, Schooner Bar to the Love & Marriage game. That is still the funniest game on a cruise.

[skyedoggie]

We missed this port because we were unable to tender. There were huge waves crashing on shore due to the weather. This port was skipped and we spent a sea day on our way to Key West. We decided to go shopping in the onboard shops. DH bought me a beautiful Citizen’s Eco-drive watch. It has 2 hearts on a white face with diamond facets. I ended up crying happy tears because I just wasn't expecting this beautiful gift. DH said "Happy Anniversary". The salesgirl was so cute, "Don't cry miss." "Why don't you come back after lunch and we'll have it ready for you." We are celebrating our 15 Wedding Anniversary tomorrow. We spent some time on our verandah reading during the afternoon. Crown & anchor top tier event tonight. Headliner was Glenn Smith. He was amazing. His resume was quite long. He has performed with Don Rickles, Bill Cosby, Juliet Prose, Foster Brooks, etc. and we thought this was going to be dried up, but we were so surprised by him and pleasantly. He was great! He played piano, violin, harmonica and sang.

[skyedoggie]

 

Here we are on the cruise that started it all on the GOS where we spent our honeymoon back in 1999.

[skyedoggie]

Grandeur docked at the Naval Yard. This meant we couldn’t just walk on and off the ship. We had to be shuttled because of security. It was overcast and threatening rain. We didn’t do an organized excursion. We opted to go walking and enjoyed it immensely. We went to the Post Office and picked up some postcard stamps. Then found a place for lunch on Duvall Street. We bought a rain poncho that we never used (thankfully)! DH's pedometer reported that we walked 5 miles! Back on board ship we found that Francis (our Concierge) sent us Champagne and chocolate covered strawberries. Our TA sent us Champagne as well. Another surprise was our 15th Wedding Anniversary announcement in the Compass. Entertainment tonight was the Horizons (a salute to Motown). They were great! Also, it was 70’s Night in the Centrum another fun dance party. We had a great day!!!!

[skyedoggie]

This sea day proved to be a bad weather day. DH took video of the doors with police tape in front of them and all you can hear is the 45 mph wind blowing. Thankfully we have a nice roomy cabin with a good view because most everyone is gathered inside. The Solarium is packed. People were setting up their chairs at 7AM. They’ll be camping in them all day.

 

The evening's Entertainment was Tango, Buenos Aires, a favorite of ours. This show is beautiful. It was a little different tonight than we remember. The Grandeur dancers were included as extras but the main couple and some musicians were from Buenos Aires. After the show we saw karaoke. There was a woman by the name of Kelsey competing who was on “the Voice”. She was awesome.

 

We saw the set up for the Quest. Goodness… cruisers love their Quest!! There was furniture being relocated and people packing themselves into the South Pacific Lounge. We didn’t stay as we didn’t want to get dragged into it. Afterwards we went back to the Schooner Bar.

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[skyedoggie]

Hi Riclop,

 

Thanks for stopping by.

Glad you liked it.:D

[skyedoggie]

Had to have our soak in the hot tub so we went up pretty early and were greeted by a beautiful sunrise. After breakfast we got some packing done and then printed our boarding passes and picked up our photos (the final decision made). Ended up visiting the future cruise consultant and have our next cruise certificate ready to go. We left it as an open booking.

 

We enjoyed one last dinner in the main dining room and said goodbye to our tablemates and dining room staff. We enjoyed our tablemates and loved Dave and Ajay. After dinner we went to the show. The show featured a comedian and we thought he was great.

 

After the show it was back to the cabin to wrap up the last of our packing.:D

[skyedoggie]

Here is a portion of a letter we wrote to RCI regarding our experience leaving the ship with transfers to the airport:

 

 

"We are writing to make you aware of a distressing event that occurred yesterday while disembarking Grandeur of the Seas. We purchased Ground Transfers at the Pursers Desk on January 7th to Baltimore Airport. In our cabin we received disembarkation instructions. We were assigned group no 21 and it said we should present the letter to the Royal Caribbean representative at the buses. On disembarkation after our group being called and collecting our luggage, we met up with the Royal Caribbean representative. We gave him our names and we were listed on the sheet that he had on his clipboard. This man insisted that we have a receipt to give him so we gave him the letter that we received. He however insisted that he would not allow us on the bus without our receipt. We were shocked because this was news to us. We didn’t have the receipts. He told us that if we showed him our room charges to prove that we had in fact purchased Ground Transfers then he would allow us onboard. Since we had just received our bill that morning, we showed it to him. Then he requested to keep it as he would need to “turn it in.” We would like to know if this is true. Were we supposed to have received tickets for our Ground Transfers? We never received tickets.

 

We were upset by the way were treated and are less than pleased that we had to turn in our personal Folio bill to a complete stranger so as not to miss boarding our flight home on time. This person was the last RCCL representative we dealt with on our cruise. His behavior left a bad taste in our mouths and reflects poorly on the company. "

 

 

Within a week of sending the letter we had a personal response from the company. A representative from the company called us personally and offered an apology. We were told that we would be reimbursed for our transfers and that we would each receive an OBC for our next cruise. We both felt that this was fabulous customer service and no wonder that we remain loyal customers.

[kleo30]

Thanks for the review. We're sailing 11/11/14 on Grandeur in the same room. Do you happen to have pictures of the room and/or balcony?

[skyedoggie]

Hi, yes we do have photos. I'll post them tomorrow off to bed now. You'll love the aft balcony and cabin.

 

 

 

 

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