Grandeur Pictures for your enjoyment

[atthebuzzer]

VERY important difference:

 

In my opinion, The Quest is ALWAYS better on the smaller ships, where it is held in the lounge instead of in Studio B.

 

:D

 

:)Wow you are quick !!!!!!

 

Thank you for all of the info.It really helps and puts my mind at ease.

 

Looking forward to a great cruise on the Grandeur next April.

 

Again ,thank you

 

:)Tom

[NewYawkYankees]

Hi Merion_Mom - we're looking to book the 10-day March 31, 2015 and will be bringing our 7-year old daughter. Can you take a few pics of Adventure Ocean? I haven't really come across a lot of pics of Grandeur's AO...

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Tim

[ihopfar]

 

Viking Crown Lounge is smaller on Grandeur, because it has been carved up to include a Concierge Lounge and Izumi. But it has a Late Night Small Bites menu. :)

 

Do you recall what is on the Late Night Small Bites menu or can you post a picture after your next trip, please? :) Are these included or extra charge items?

 

Also, I am a little confused about the dining times. Recent reports have mentioned the Traditional dining on the Grandeur is 5:30 and 8:00, which I believe matches the dummy bookings I did for cruises this summer. However, the options on our cruise next March were 6:00 and 8:30. Will those be the times, or is possible between now and then they could decide to use the earlier times? (We are on an 8-night to Florida/Bahamas if it matters.)

 

We are doing MTD, but I am curious because it seems the traditional dining times drive other things, like the show times.

 

Thanks,

Brad

Edited June 21, 2014 by ihopfar

[Merion_Mom]

Hi Merion_Mom - we're looking to book the 10-day March 31, 2015 and will be bringing our 7-year old daughter. Can you take a few pics of Adventure Ocean? I haven't really come across a lot of pics of Grandeur's AO...

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Tim

 

I will try to sneak in there, and hope that they don't throw me out! :eek: ;) :p

 

Do you recall what is on the Late Night Small Bites menu or can you post a picture after your next trip, please? :) Are these included or extra charge items?

 

Also, I am a little confused about the dining times. Recent reports have mentioned the Traditional dining on the Grandeur is 5:30 and 8:00, which I believe matches the dummy bookings I did for cruises this summer. However, the options on our cruise next March were 6:00 and 8:30. Will those be the times, or is possible between now and then they could decide to use the earlier times? (We are on an 8-night to Florida/Bahamas if it matters.)

 

We are doing MTD, but I am curious because it seems the traditional dining times drive other things, like the show times.

 

Thanks,

Brad

 

Brad, I know that the dining times NOW are 5:30 & 8. It is certainly possible that they intend to change them in 2015. The Bahamas itinerary is the one that the Grandeur does every other week right now, so that is pretty standard.

 

Yes, the show times are definitely linked to the fixed dining times.

 

The Late Night Bites menu is a fee-based offering.

 

Here is someone else's photo. I will find one next week and see if it is still the same:

 

[jgnova]

Adventure Ocean was open for visitors on embarkation day - you can walk through it to the Teen Center. I wish I had time to take pictures but was focused on the students I was escorting. I can't wait to be on her as a passenger for ten nights instead of three hours as a visitor.

 

j

[susanrobert]

I will be back on "Lady G" in 9 days.

 

Does anyone want pictures of specific things that I haven't posted here?

 

I'd love to know if they have the Drink vouchers yet and what comes with the Diamond breakfast..Is it just continental or full breakfast.

 

Many thanks!

[Merion_Mom]

I'd love to know if they have the Drink vouchers yet and what comes with the Diamond breakfast..Is it just continental or full breakfast.

 

Many thanks!

 

Susan, they weren't using vouchers 3 weeks ago, and most of the reports talk about "the fall" for a start time. But I will let you know.

 

The Diamond breakfast is an area in the main dining room, so it is the same food as everyone else - everything is available.

 

You can get continental breakfast in the Concierge Lounge (in the Viking Crown Lounge on Deck 11). (and, I assume, the Diamond Lounge in the South Pacific Lounge on Deck 6).

[susanrobert]

Susan, they weren't using vouchers 3 weeks ago, and most of the reports talk about "the fall" for a start time. But I will let you know.

 

The Diamond breakfast is an area in the main dining room, so it is the same food as everyone else - everything is available.

 

You can get continental breakfast in the Concierge Lounge (in the Viking Crown Lounge on Deck 11). (and, I assume, the Diamond Lounge in the South Pacific Lounge on Deck 6).

 

 

Thanks so much for the quick reply. I appreciate it. Have a wonderful time on the Lady G. Can't wait to see her!

[cloudydrms]

 

No pub, but the R Bar in the Centrum is as good as hanging out in the pub.

 

:)

 

I know you said you've curbed your alcohol intake as of late, but do you know if the R Bar serves numerous beers like the Pub on the Explorer. I sure will miss it if they don't!

 

Thanks!

 

Cindy

[Merion_Mom]

 

I know you said you've curbed your alcohol intake as of late, but do you know if the R Bar serves numerous beers like the Pub on the Explorer. I sure will miss it if they don't!

 

Thanks!

 

Cindy

 

I will look into that, Cindy, but my understanding is that the R Bar is "the" place, so it's probably a "yes"! ;)

 

If not the R Bar, then the Schooner Bar. :)

Edited June 22, 2014 by Merion_Mom

[cloudydrms]

 

I will look into that, Cindy, but my understanding is that the R Bar is "the" place, so it's probably a "yes"! ;)

 

If not the R Bar, then the Schooner Bar. :)

 

Thanks, Merion_Mom!

 

Cindy

[Merion_Mom]

I apologize. I promised to come back and fulfill your requests and answer your questions. I will now do that - except for Cindy. I forgot about checking out the beers. :(

 

So, after sailing on the Grandeur May 30 - June 6, and being upgraded from my reserved balcony cabin to a JS, I booked her for June 27 - July 4.

 

First I booked an interior guarantee. I tried to do it while on board, for the OBC, but Danney, the world-famous Loyalty Ambassador ;), could not get his system to show the price that I could pull up myself from Royal Caribbean's regular website.

 

He told me to just go ahead and book it myself online. So I did. Then I had to spend time with Resolutions on the phone "fixing" the fare. But that all worked out without too much trouble.

 

I was immediately assigned 3053, a midship interior.

 

Then the price dropped for oceanview to below what I had paid for my interior guarantee, and I switched into 3008. Despite reassurances from this board, that turned out to be a mistake. :D

 

On the way home from my last Grandeur cruise on June 6, I discovered that I-495, the bypass around Wilmington, was closed because they had spotted a bridge falling down/away from the roadway. It was now closed for an indefinite period of time.

 

When I was puttering around very early the morning of this cruise, I had the radio on (KYW All News All The Time) and heard that there was a freakishly horrible accident on I-96 near Wilmington.

 

Well, there went both of my routes.

 

I had to figure out what to do. Leave earlier, to allow for extra time? Leave later, in hopes that the accident would have been cleared? Choose Route 1 instead, which is "regular road" virtually all of the way between Philadelphia and Baltimore?

 

I chose Option B, which turned out to be the correct choice. I left around 11:30. The road was clear and easy with only an occasional slowdown along the way. BUT IT LOOKED HORRIBLE HEADING NORTH. So, there I was, doing fine heading TO my cruise, but already worrying about how I would get home the following Friday. SO MUCH CONSTRUCTION making SUCH a mess of traffic. Fortunately THAT turned out to be a needless worry, as someone pointed out to me midway through the cruise: our return was on July 4. No work. No construction. And indeed, I got home in 90 minutes!

 

There you have the preamble. Now, on to the pictures and small amounts of exposition.

 

:)

[Merion_Mom]

One of your requests was for photos of Adventure Ocean. I did my best, but the pictures are just mediocre.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Merion_Mom]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Merion_Mom]

 

 

 

 

So much for Deck 10's Adventure Ocean.

 

I know little about the programs or facilities, beyond the photographs that I took. I believe that the pictures above are of the talent show, since this was the last day of the cruise.

 

As I mentioned in the other current Grandeur thread, I encountered a family whose kids were turned away on the first sea day, told that AO was "full". I had never heard of this before, but apparently other people have experienced this, too.

[Merion_Mom]

I posted the Izumi menu here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2066741

 

Izumi no longer has a cover charge. It is straight a la carte pricing.

 

I posted the Chops menu, which turned out to be the OLD menu, but that's what Grandeur had on that sailing. I don't know if she still does. But I also have the children's menu for Chops, which IS new.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2066739

 

I suppose that my odd dining arrangement was a result of my relatively last-minute booking. (three weeks out).

 

I always ask for a large table.

 

I prefer main seating. Even on Grandeur, where main seating is at FIVE THIRTY! :eek:

 

I was seated at a table for FOUR, where the three others were a family of three.

 

Now, they turned out to be a VERY NICE family of three. Parents and a 14 year old son. From Pottstown, another Philadelphia suburb.

 

But it was still a tad awkward.

 

I ended up only eating at that table twice. But it was fine. Service was adequate. The waiter did not insult me this time. Neither waiter nor headwaiter came over to help my tablemate with his lobster & shrimp (shells) on Formal Night #2.

 

On Formal Night #1 I was invited to the "Captain's" Table, which was hosted by the inimitable François Wache, hotel director extraordinaire. He was a truly amazing host, and I had a marvelous time. I sat on his left. The table was composed of Jack, turning Pinnacle on this cruise whom I had met on the Independence in April, me, the famous Jane & Doug ;), a gentleman and his 15 year old daughter, another couple who were in the JS next to J & D and Human Resources Manager Valerie. It was a very convivial group.

 

(Before dinner we gathered at the R Bar in the Centrum and had a glass of champagne.)

 

The food was marvelous. The steak was a Chops non-petite filet mignon, done to perfection. I could not finish it. The dessert was an amazing berry and ice cream confection in a nut-brittle shell. YUM. Lots of bottled water and free-flowing wine. (the usual St. Martin however ;) )

 

This was a truly delightful experience.

 

As usual, I received the group photo later in the cruise:

 

 

I ate breakfast one day - Port Canaveral day - so that I could "stock up" before a long day at Universal Studios, where the food is expensive and not healthy. The WJ was ok. It was crowded, although I was able to find a large table occupied by just two people, whom I asked to join.

 

I had trouble finding a bagel. Finally found them. I had trouble finding the cream cheese. I finally found them, nowhere near the bagels. I had trouble finding lox. It turned out that I had to ASK for lox (smoked salmon) and be served it from a secret place under the counter. I am NOT exaggerating. They were HIDING it. :eek:

 

I ate lunch in the MDR every sea day, and we had four sea days. We were scheduled for three, but Arthur hit us the morning of CocoCay day, so that turned into another sea day. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Tutti Salad Bar.

 

I am "that" person. I take a small plastic bottle and mix my own personal salad dressing. So I have them gather and chop my salad ingredients, and then I take my bowl back to my table and add my own dressing.

 

YUM.

 

One quibble, which I mentioned to them on board. There are no dark grain or non-white grain bread options in the MDR. But on an "up" note - that kept me from eating bread!

 

Thus concludes the food portion of my report. :D

Edited July 18, 2014 by Merion_Mom

[Merion_Mom]

Darryl!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Danney and Iryna working in the Future Cruises office:

 

 

 

 

so-called "library":

 

 

 

Freestyle Machine Buttons:

 

 

 

 

 

A "new" towel animal. (new to me!)

 

 

 

 

 

and another:

 

[Merion_Mom]

Top tier event wherein I received my latest Crystal Block. I was also the most cruised after Jack, who turned Pinnacle. I missed HIS "ceremony" because they do that at the Welcome Back party on Port Canaveral day, and I was still off the ship at Universal. I didn't get back on that day until almost 8:30. So I ended up getting my own special ceremony. :D

 

François, me, Captain Espen. Doug took these for me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Danney talking.

 

 

 

This is the official ship's photographer's shot:

 

[Merion_Mom]

Ports of Call: The same. Port Canaveral, Nassau, CocoCay.

 

The stop in Port Canaveral is my reason for taking these cruises. I get to see my sons.

 

This time my son was scheduled to perform at Universal Studios. I took the excursion bus: $35 round trip. Our guide was very sweet - too chirpy and happy for some, but a kind soul.

 

She repeated again and again and again how important it was for us to return to the bus on time, by 7 P.M., or they would leave without us.

 

She told us to take a picture of the front of the bus so that we could identify it.

 

She told us to take a picture of where we were parked so that we could recognize it.

 

She told us to take a picture of the exit area of City Walk so that we could see where our return route was.

 

She reminded us to NOT BE LATE or the BUS WOULD LEAVE US.

 

Being a good girl, I was back on the bus by 6:45 P.M. The bus sat and waited for stragglers, who came sauntering up around 7:20, and we left at 7:25.

 

:rolleyes:

 

Anyway, Universal was great. My son met me at the entrance ticket booths (I have been there before and knew just how to go through City Walk and get to the right place). We had a lovely chat with the ticket lady. So many of these workers are "little old retired ladies" who moved to Florida and decided that they need to get out of the house. ;) My son and she chatted about the NEW NEW NEW Harry Potter section: Diagon Alley. They have employee times to ride the rides and help them iron out the kinks. My son-in-law, who is a TV reporter, got to "cover" the grand opening of Diagon Alley a few days later, and got to ride everything.

 

They all love love love the new area, but the lines are ferociously and insanely long, they tell me.

 

We spent time walking around and going on rides. By using the single rider line, the waits weren't bad at all. And we ended up finishing within seconds of each other. After all, you are waiting in line 10 times longer than the ride itself, so we spent quality Mom-Son time together.

 

We went to the Irish Pub for lunch, and the Mexico-Argentina soccer game was on. Lots of loud screaming. Good food.

 

ANYWAY............Arthur was hot on our tails. The clouds gathered, and the heavens opened up. I have rarely experienced such CLOSE and LOUD and BRIGHT a thunder and lightning storm. Fortunately, I was undercover when it started.

 

By the time I finished THAT ride, the rain had stopped. All of the people had disappeared, and there were no lines anywhere!

 

Fun.

 

For people who have an American Express credit card: There is a secret AmEx lounge there. Nice airconditioning, nice lounge, free bottled water and granola bars.

 

My son had to go get into makeup/costume for his show.

 

He is in the Beetlejuice Graveyard Mashup. I filmed the whole thing, and did a pretty good job, if I do say so myself.

 

 

 

In Nassau, my buddies took me to Sandals, where we spent the day. FABULOUS.

 

Well, except for the part where I broke my toe. I didn't KNOW that it was broken; I just knew that it hurt. I waited 12 days to go to the doctor, who x-rayed it and confirmed that it was broken. But as you may know, all they do is "buddy-tape" it. So, I am healing, I hope.

 

At this point, Arthur caught us overnight. I woke in the morning to a definite case of mal de mer. Actually, it was LATE morning, and my phone was ringing. I didn't feel like getting out of bed to answer it, so I ignored it. Turned out that we had skipped CocoCay and Darryl added a session of Progressive Trivia and was calling me to ask where the heck I was!

 

Fortunately, my team soldiered on without me. (of course, when we met up later, I could answer three of the four that they had missed....;) :D)

 

So, there I was, ALL THE WAY FORWARD in a hurricane-ish situation.

 

I did NOT feel well.

 

I went to the Centrum. That helped. Then the Diamond Lounge opened at 4:30, and I joined my friends and sipped on MUCH ginger ale.

 

Finally I felt better.

[Merion_Mom]

Here are some nice Aerial Show pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Merion_Mom]

On the final evening, the phone signal returns early. Since Captain Espen rushed us back to port to avoid Arthur, we were there even earlier, and phone service returned even earlier.

 

While out on deck, I took some beautiful pictures of the sunset and clouds:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Merion_Mom]

Remember the pictures on Page 1, of the pool deck, all but empty? That was boarding day, May 30, which was NOT a warm day.

 

Not on the last sea day! Not on July 3!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

People did NOT want to pause for a SECOND to let me take a picture of the soft-serve machine!! :eek:

 

[Merion_Mom]

And OF COURSE, last but not least, the CABIN COMPARISON.

 

The first time, I had a Junior Suite, and you can see those pictures on Page 1 and Page 2.

 

Here we have Cabin 3008, an Oceanview Cabin all the way forward, with a porthole instead of a window. You REALLY can't look out the window.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Merion_Mom]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Merion_Mom]

Current pricing on the "extras" in the MDR:

 

 

 

Some of the Grandeur of the Seas orchestra playing as a Jazz Ensemble in the Schooner Bar on the last night: