Grandeur of the Seas Family Review April 5 - 12

[aprylstar]

Hello everyone! As usual, cruise critic helped me plan my family vacation & I would love to share the details with you guys. I had a lot of unanswered questions before boarding the Grandeur, so hopefully my review will help others planning. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

 

We are a family of 3 - DH Milan, DS Ayden (12) & myself April. We booked this trip to celebrate our 10th anniversary.

 

I will admit that I was a bit nervous leading up to this cruise after reading so many negatives about Grandeur. We had previously sailed on the Carnival Freedom & NCL Jewel & loved both of these cruises. I actually enjoyed the fact that the Jewel was on the smaller size, so I didn't think the size of the Grandeur would be an issue. My son is very laid back & easy to please, so I had my fingers crossed there would be other kids on board for him to meet & to my surprise there were tons!

 

Friday morning we drove down from Canada to the Best Western Plus Elkridge at the advice of other cruise critic members. $99 tax (through trinity reservations) in included 1 nights stay, free parking & shuttle to and from the port. In addition they were in a great safe location, had a hot breakfast, clean rooms, pool, hot tub & restaurant on site. We unloaded, went to pick up our wine, had a delicious meal at the Stained Glass Pub on site & then relaxed in the pool and the hot tub. We also met Rob & Pat from our roll call & had a chance to relax and chat with them later in the night. This would be their 119th Royal Cruise. Hats off to them!!!

 

Of course we received the dreaded "noro" email when we arrived in Baltimore. I had already told my husband about the damage to the ship from 2 cruises prior (cracked deck - turned out not to be a big deal at all) & now I had to tell him our boarding would be delayed 4 hours for a deep clean! Thinking positive, we started the next day with some local shopping & with the high hopes the ship would be cleaner than ever upon arrival.

 

We opted to get a shuttle at 1230 & even though boarding was set to begin at 2pm, they started early. Embarking was a breeze & I would say we were on the ship before 130. After checking out the beautiful centrum, we headed immediately to the park café in the solarium. Although it was sunny & bright, it was still a bit breezy & cool. We would have to wait for our rooms until 4pm, so we set up shop indoors in the beautiful solarium. We enjoyed a delicious roast beef sandwich & desserts from the Park Café & took turns touring the ship while someone sat with the carry ons. My son and husband played some ping pong and I relaxed and read.

 

At 4pm they announced that we may drop our carry-ons in the room, but that we could not stay because they were not quite ready. This should have been my first warning about the sanitation process, but we assumed they new what we were doing. When we arrived in our staterooms they were still being cleaned. We left our luggage in the middle of the room hoping they would remain noro free! Our windows & mirrors were not even cleaned until day 2!!! We immediately left for the muster drill. This was quick and painless & they did a great job. After that we toured the ship a bit more. My son wanted to check out the teen club, which was fairly empty day 1, arcade, rock climbing wall etc.

 

We went to Bingo ($16 for a chance to win $300, not too bad I guess). We had a delicious dinner in the main dining room & met our wonderful servers Vincent & Edmon!!! If you are going on the Grandeur anytime soon, request this pair. They are on deck 5 & are awesome!!! Tell them hello from Miss April, Ayden & Milan from Canada! We missed them on the last day b.c my son got sick!!!

 

After dinner we went to the Welcome Aboard Show. We were entertained by both the awesome Ricky Matthews & Andre Miller as well as Darrell Joyce. My son and I were in tears the entire time that Darrell performed! After the show my son headed to the room to relax. Adventure Ocean was shut down & no one was in the kids club (maybe for extra cleaning?) and we hit the Casino. There aren't as many "fun" new machines on the Grandeur as on previous ships, but we did test out many & played the tables. The Casino bar tenders were great & so were the dealers. We always have a lot of fun in the Casino!

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 13, 2014 by aprylstar

[aprylstar]

Here is the compass for Day 1:

 

You will notice most days have some sort of drink special. We were able to purchase a bucket of beer day 1 (buy 5 get 1 free) but that was never offered again. Throughout the week they had BOGO martinis, a martini night & 50% off drinks at the Casino. Usually 1 special per day. You will see them as I continue to post the compasses.

 

 

 

 

[Thetrail]

Here is the compass for Day 1:

 

You will notice most days have some sort of drink special. We were able to purchase a bucket of beer day 1 (buy 5 get 1 free) but that was never offered again. Throughout the week they had BOGO martinis, a martini night & 50% off drinks at the Casino. Usually 1 special per day. You will see them as I continue to post the compasses.

 

 

 

 

Just off a ten day cruise on Grandeur the 18th of March, had a great time. The crew was fantastic, food excellent, and concierge bartenders and Ruth were fantastic!.....K.O.

[Ivana Cruise]

Looking forward to this review! Thanks for doing it! I am sailing on May 30th!

[LBumb]

Ready for more

[AeroBaldness]

HUGE :subscribe: as we leave on her on the 19th. Thank you, thank you, thank you for the Compasses!!!!

[Kroozen]

Thanks for the review. Looking forward to the rest of it as I am sailing Grandeur in 25 days!

[aprylstar]

Day 2 we took the opportunity to sleep in (meaning 8 am in our world! lol). Our bed was not nearly as comfy as the ones we've had on Carnival & NCL and the 2 twins kept separating BUT I still enjoyed my sleep every night in the super comfy bedding! My hubby unfortunately did not. To each their own I guess! I was also surprised at how by how big and comfy the Pullman bed was. This was our first time in an oceanview cabin & after the initial shock over how much less space their was, we came to enjoy our room! My son & I loved propping the pillows up at the head of the bed & leaning out the window to watch the ocean. We also did quite a bit of relaxing and reading there. There was plenty of space for all 3 of us. In fact at the end of the week I discovered even more hidden storage behind the mirrors in the vanity. We were able to unpack everything & fit 2 suitcases & life jackets in the closet & stashed the third under the bed. I see now what they mean by SMALL showers! lol We've had tubs in our last 2 rooms, but we made it work. Shaving was like an Olympic event, but we managed. We never had any flushing issues in our room, nor did we notice the sewer odor many talk about.

 

 

 

We headed to the dining room for breakfast & after our wonderful dinner the night before, we were a little disappointed with the service. We were at a table for 10 & met new friends that we continued to see throughout the cruise. Many of the staff seemed very tired at this point & understandably considering the deep cleaning they were doing. One staff member said he hadn't seen his stateroom in 4 days! That morning the waiter forgot our coffee. He got 7 of 10 of us & was serving so many others that it was quite some time before we were able to flag him down. The food was just as delicious as the previous day, the company was great & although breakfast took a while, we understood the staff were putting in extra hours & decided that in the future we'd just request a smaller table.

 

After breakfast we went to the cruise critic meet and greet. My son won an RCL hat after "volunteering as tribute" in the absence of Eric. We met some very nice people & Andre did a great job of running the show. They also gave out several other prizes & a couple of bottles of wine.

 

At 11:15 Ayden wanted to check out the cooking demonstration in the Centrum. Not only does he LOVE to cook, but he is super outgoing & really liked Andre & Ricky right off the bat. Andre recognized him at the show & let him be one of the taste testers during the presentation. After the presentation they had small sample plates of everything they cooked available for the audience to taste (eg. Shrimp Tempura Sushi, anit pasta, cake & duck).

 

 

 

 

After the cooking demo, we wandered the ship for a while checking everything out & eventually ended up at the Windjammer for lunch. The buffet area was fairly small, but they had quite an assortment & the food as usual was delicious. I had pork schnitzel & a salad from the salad bar.

 

Off to the hot tubs for the afternoon. It was fairly warm, but really windy. Unfortunately the hot tubs weren't working & we had goose bumps. The pool was actually warmer than the tubs, so we hopped in there for a while. They had this issue fixed by day 3. My husband is not big on swimming but loves to shop, so he hit the Centrum Shops for an hour or so (and probably the Casino! lol) while my son and I enjoyed the pool deck. Afterwards we tried our skills at Tribond trivia & FAILED miserably! lol There are some serious trivia players on this boat & the group beside us got 20/20 + the 3 bonus questions. They all won RCL highlighters & one of the gentlemen gave his to my son for doing the scoring.

 

 

Tonight was formal night & I love dressing up!!! We got all done up & dressed to the nines, headed out for dinner & not 30 minutes later my son vomited all over the place!!!!!!!!!! We're pretty sure he just ate to much throughout the day and then drank his chocolate milk at dinner WAY too fast because he was fine after that. You should have seen the swat team after this incident. I am still singing "Men in Black" to my son to this day. We were escorted to the medical facility where the doctor checked him out & determined it was likely a fluke. I banished him to the room for the night on the off chance that he really was sick (turned out he was not). I wouldn't want to get anyone else sick on the ship. We watched a movie in the room & relaxed while my husband went out & played in the Casino. He had a great night, won a bit of money at the tables & had 1 too many drinks! lol

 

 

 

 

I did leave the room at one point to check on my DH and get a bottle of water from the R bar (I had the drink package & took full advantage of it!) and it looked like the welcome reception in the Centrum was a great time. Flutes of champagne were being handed out & everyone looking amazing in their formal gear. In the end I had an early night & a great sleep which is what I needed for our long day in Port Canaveral.

[14Terry]

Enjoying the review. Currently on the 2nd May sailing. We're also staying at the Best Western in Elkridge prior to the cruise.

 

 

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[aprylstar]

Day 2 compasses

 

 

 

 

Edited April 13, 2014 by aprylstar

[Stephluva2711]

Can't wait to sail! you just made me more excited

[GoldenDomer]

Hello – I’d be interested in your son’s thoughts and experiences with the Adventure Ocean programs. I have a son and daughter, 12 and 11 respectively, and will be taking the Grandeur on a very similar itinerary over Thanksgiving this year. We previously cruised on the Disney Wonder in 2012 to Alaska. The Kids Clubs on Disney are renowned on the seas for their activities and my children had a great time and would disappear at lengths enjoying all the offerings available. I can understand that the kids experience will be different on the Grandeur. Is there enough engaging programming going on to keep their attention on this ‘at sea’ heavy cruise? Thanks in advance.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Hello – I’d be interested in your son’s thoughts and experiences with the Adventure Ocean programs. I have a son and daughter, 12 and 11 respectively, and will be taking the Grandeur on a very similar itinerary over Thanksgiving this year. We previously cruised on the Disney Wonder in 2012 to Alaska. The Kids Clubs on Disney are renowned on the seas for their activities and my children had a great time and would disappear at lengths enjoying all the offerings available. I can understand that the kids experience will be different on the Grandeur. Is there enough engaging programming going on to keep their attention on this ‘at sea’ heavy cruise? Thanks in advance.

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic. :)

[RSLeesburg]

Hello – I’d be interested in your son’s thoughts and experiences with the Adventure Ocean programs. I have a son and daughter, 12 and 11 respectively, and will be taking the Grandeur on a very similar itinerary over Thanksgiving this year. We previously cruised on the Disney Wonder in 2012 to Alaska. The Kids Clubs on Disney are renowned on the seas for their activities and my children had a great time and would disappear at lengths enjoying all the offerings available. I can understand that the kids experience will be different on the Grandeur. Is there enough engaging programming going on to keep their attention on this ‘at sea’ heavy cruise? Thanks in advance.

 

 

We are on the same cruise. Please come over and join the roll call. I believe there are a number of people with children in the same age group as yours. Our son is only 5, but he loved his last cruise on Grandeur. Also, I posted the Adventure Ocean dailies from our cruise last year. It will give you an idea about activities in the club.

 

 

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[aprylstar]

Hello – I’d be interested in your son’s thoughts and experiences with the Adventure Ocean programs. I have a son and daughter, 12 and 11 respectively, and will be taking the Grandeur on a very similar itinerary over Thanksgiving this year. We previously cruised on the Disney Wonder in 2012 to Alaska. The Kids Clubs on Disney are renowned on the seas for their activities and my children had a great time and would disappear at lengths enjoying all the offerings available. I can understand that the kids experience will be different on the Grandeur. Is there enough engaging programming going on to keep their attention on this ‘at sea’ heavy cruise? Thanks in advance.

 

Hello there!!!

 

My son didn't make it to the kids club until day 3 due to me banishing him to the state room on night 2 after pigging out & vomiting! lol. I was going to include that in my review, but there is no time like the present! After our day in Port Canaveral, my son headed to the kids club around 9pm & we barely saw him after that! lol There were tons of kids that hung out there every night & rather than stick to the compass as planned, the instructor (John Mendez) tailored the night to whatever the kids wanted to do. My son spent every night of the cruise there after that & by day 4 the kids were looking for each other during the day on the boat & hanging out at the ping pong station etc. My son was the only Canadian & earned the nick name CA-Nayden right off the bat! This was my sons first time in a "teen club" and he said it was the best kids club to date (he has done NCL & Carnival). They did things like Sardines (opposite of hide and seek), Man Hunt, Capture the Flag, Photo Scavenger Hunts, Rock Climbing, Poolside Dance Party (I could not believe my son took part in line dancing but they had a blast! lol), Poolside moview, Apples to Apples, open arcade, Wii etc. John took them out to the windjammer & park cafe where they just sat around and told stories etc. A few of the kids exchanged emails. I can't praise John enough for making sure these kids had a great time.

 

As for Adventure Ocean, the lead instructor was a tall, young,

SUPER fun American gentlemen. The kids all loved him from what I could tell. Even my son met him & really liked him. I always heard kids in the hall talking about going to adventure ocean & everyone seemed to really like the program. The did print compasses for the 3 - 11 year old crowd. I kep the one they handed out on day 1 & will scan later today and add to this post.

 

If you have any other questions, let me know.

[RSLeesburg]

Hello there!!!

 

My son didn't make it to the kids club until day 3 due to me banishing him to the state room on night 2 after pigging out & vomiting! lol. I was going to include that in my review, but there is no time like the present! After our day in Port Canaveral, my son headed to the kids club around 9pm & we barely saw him after that! lol There were tons of kids that hung out there every night & rather than stick to the compass as planned, the instructor (John Mendez) tailored the night to whatever the kids wanted to do. My son spent every night of the cruise there after that & by day 4 the kids were looking for each other during the day on the boat & hanging out at the ping pong station etc. My son was the only Canadian & earned the nick name CA-Nayden right off the bat! This was my sons first time in a "teen club" and he said it was the best kids club to date (he has done NCL & Carnival). They did things like Sardines (opposite of hide and seek), Man Hunt, Capture the Flag, Photo Scavenger Hunts, Rock Climbing, Poolside Dance Party (I could not believe my son took part in line dancing but they had a blast! lol), Poolside moview, Apples to Apples, open arcade, Wii etc. John took them out to the windjammer & park cafe where they just sat around and told stories etc. A few of the kids exchanged emails. I can't praise John enough for making sure these kids had a great time.

 

As for Adventure Ocean, the lead instructor was a tall, young,

SUPER fun American gentlemen. The kids all loved him from what I could tell. Even my son met him & really liked him. I always heard kids in the hall talking about going to adventure ocean & everyone seemed to really like the program. The did print compasses for the 3 - 11 year old crowd. I kep the one they handed out on day 1 & will scan later today and add to this post.

 

If you have any other questions, let me know.

 

Thanks, I would love to see those too. Here is link to the one from our 6 day cruise to Bermuda on Grandeur last year.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2011276&highlight=grandeur+adventure

[jc4me]

Loving the review and especially the photos! Still have a long time before we are on Grandeur, but we are looking forward to it.

[sharse]

Thank you for your detailed reviews! We will be on the May 2nd sailing with our 9 and 10 year old boys. It is not spring break, so I'm wondering how many kids they'll have to play with.

[Mummer18]

Thanks for the compasses. I'm packing now for the SS Noro is there anyway you can tell us all the dress for each night real quick? So far I got casual night 1, formal night 2. Thanks in advance.

 

 

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[aprylstar]

Thank you for your detailed reviews! We will be on the May 2nd sailing with our 9 and 10 year old boys. It is not spring break, so I'm wondering how many kids they'll have to play with.

 

I wondered as well b.c it was not Spring Break in Canada or the US our week (it sounds like most schools had the week before or after Easter), but there were tons of kids. I would say a couple hundred at least. They did offer "kids sail free" for Grandeur on our sailing & I think that may be part of the reason. I am pretty sure it was available on the May sailings as well, so you might be surprised.

[aprylstar]

Love the name! lol

 

Formal night was Day 2 & Day 6. If there was a smart casual night I didn't notice. We dress smart casual pretty well all the non-formal nights, so I only paid attention to formal. I did wear very nice dark jeans w/ a blouse on 2 of the nights & dresses the rest. I was surprised at all the hats, t-shirts, shorts etc in the dining room on non-formal nights! I thought hats and shorts were a no-no. However, there were just as many people dressed for a night out as at a nice restaurant as well. To each their own!

 

Thanks for the compasses. I'm packing now for the SS Noro is there anyway you can tell us all the dress for each night real quick? So far I got casual night 1, formal night 2. Thanks in advance.

 

 

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[schlimazel_traveler]

I'm sure this has been reported elsewhere, but can you confirm that there were Freestyle soda machines on the ship? And did you notice, were they working, were there long lines, or did it seem as if one could actually use them with ease? Trying to decide about the soda package and I'm just not a diet coke fan. (Which is all they have at the bars.)

[aprylstar]

I'm sure this has been reported elsewhere, but can you confirm that there were Freestyle soda machines on the ship? And did you notice, were they working, were there long lines, or did it seem as if one could actually use them with ease? Trying to decide about the soda package and I'm just not a diet coke fan. (Which is all they have at the bars.)

 

There were a couple in the windjammer & 1 on deck 6 beside Star Bucks. There was never a line up. A few times we waited for 1 person. Loved getting Powerade for a pick me up after a few cocktails the night before! lol There was also flavoured water (carbonated & non carbonated) and a million pop choices. You also get a really cool collector cup.

Edited April 14, 2014 by aprylstar

[sharse]

I wondered as well b.c it was not Spring Break in Canada or the US our week (it sounds like most schools had the week before or after Easter), but there were tons of kids. I would say a couple hundred at least. They did offer "kids sail free" for Grandeur on our sailing & I think that may be part of the reason. I am pretty sure it was available on the May sailings as well, so you might be surprised.

 

You're right… that is why we are on this particular sailing May 2… kids sail free!

[schlimazel_traveler]

There were a couple in the windjammer & 1 on deck 6 beside Star Bucks. There was never a line up. A few times we waited for 1 person. Loved getting Powerade for a pick me up after a few cocktails the night before! lol There was also flavoured water (carbonated & non carbonated) and a million pop choices. You also get a really cool collector cup.

 

Great. That makes the soda package worth it for me.