First time on Grandeur

[fishbonz]

Going on the grandeur for the this march been on the explorer 8 times so far. As this will be a smaller ship than we are use to how will it be? And any hotel to stay overnight near the ship or port with a shuttle to the ship? Any help will be grateful,,,Thank's

[jgnova]

We've stayed at the Sleep Inn Airport & Cruiseport on Belle Grove Road a couple of times. Booked through stay123 - you could also search through parksleepfly. The Sleep Inn was OK (clean, quiet) - had bagels, etc., for breakfast - and free parking while you're gone. We had a good crowd from our roll call both times and the hotel shuttled us to a nearby crabcake place for dinner. Check traffic before you head down - they're doing major work on 95 just south of the tunnel so using a hotel shuttle might be a good move.

 

j

[shippmates]

We have sailed grandeur several times. The ship is nice and crew is great. We stayed at Best Western off route 100. There was a family pub in the same parking lot. The free breakfast, parking and shuttle to the pier was nice. We would stay there again.. You will enjoy the ship.

[fishbonz]

Thank you for that info.

[emeraldcity]

We stayed at the Best Western. Worked out well for us.

 

You'll likely notice more motion on a smaller ship. I've been doing the smaller ships since 2006, and then I went on the Liberty a few months ago ... Honestly I missed the motion. I was looking forward to being rocked to sleep and there was no rocking.

[willing292]

Spent 2 weeks on her in june and didn't feel any motion except in the CL. Great ship, good food, friendly crew.

 

 

Shirley, Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[alligeek]

We have sailed grandeur several times. The ship is nice and crew is great. We stayed at Best Western off route 100. There was a family pub in the same parking lot.

 

That's a good spot. It's about 15-20 minutes from the port and far enough away from the airport and the city that the rates are reasonable.

 

We sailed on the Grandeur last year and really enjoyed it. I think any vacation is what you make of it--while Grandeur doesn't have all of the bells and whistles of some of the other, more exciting ships, you can still have a good time!

[Leslie K]

sailed on Explorer 8 times also before sailing on Grandeur. Loved the ship and would sail her again. In general I liked the size of the ship, it's more manageable for me especially Windjammer. Yes Explorer had more options because it had more stations but we managed to always find something to eat. I didn't miss things like the ice rink or promenade - either I don't use them on Explorer or there were equivalents on Grandeur and I actually prefer Quest out of Studio B where I feel more a participant and less an observer. I didn't feel any motion but we had one of the calmest sailings I've ever experienced. The dining room staff didn't feel as efficient timewise and took a little time to warm up and chat with us compared to Explorer staff. We were impressed with Cruise Maryland port - so organized and easy from baggage drop off to parking to embarkation. Enjoy your cruise, she's a fun ship to sail

 

 

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[stewartgirl721]

When cruising out of Maryland we always stay at the Hampton Inn @ Glen Burnie. Its maybe 10 minutes from the pier. Great breakfast included, free parking & safe, restaurants surrounding the hotel and free shuttle. In Feb. they even cleaned the snow off the car for me.

[Penn Mom]

I agree with the previous posts. I have stayed at this hotel for both cruises and flying. The rooms were nice nd quiet and the restaurant was convenient. I found the best prices with Trinity Reservations. Their price includes the taxes.

[Tony O]

Before booking with stay 123 go to the east coast boards and read the post about stay123 and their credit cards being compromised

 

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[velmasue]

I agree with the previous posts. I have stayed at this hotel for both cruises and flying. The rooms were nice nd quiet and the restaurant was convenient. I found the best prices with Trinity Reservations. Their price includes the taxes.

 

I agree. We have stayed at the Best Western in Elkridge several times (for cruises and flying out of BWI) and booked through Trinity--better pricing than booking directly. We enjoy The Stained Glass Pub next door. We found the shuttles very convenient, the drivers very personable, and responsive in coming to get us once the ship arrived back in Baltimore. We had a bad experience with another hotel a few years ago when we got back to port and had to wait and wait and wait for the shuttle to pick us up. So, we always book Best Western now.

 

We were on the Grandeur for the first time in February and liked it so much we booked an early Bermuda cruise and went again in April! We have also sailed on Explorer several times and liked the Promenade. We didn't really miss any of Explorer amenities---just found favorites on Grandeur to take their place.:)

[parmagal]

Just returned from the 7/18 Grandeur cruise to Bermuda and stayed at the Hampton Inn in Glen Burnie prior to departure. I agree with previous posts that the hotel is great. Have also stayed in hotels in Linthicum - all had extremely reasonable rates and shuttles to the dock. Some will even let you park in their lots for the duration of the cruise. You will pay a bit more for the privilege, but considerably less than paying to park at the dock. Grandeur was wonderful (this was my third cruise on her) and Bermuda was fantastic. There was always something fun to do on the ship - even if you stayed aboard while in port. I especially loved the movies under the stars on the pool deck. You will have a wonderful time!

[fishbonz]

Thanks to all for the info. Now it's time to make some calls and see when we need to book by.

[CecilCtyCruiser]

We stayed at the Hampton Inn BWI in Linthicum, with a sleep park and cruise package. Nice hotel, included breakfast and shuttle to the port, in addition to parking while we were gone. This was several years ago. Loved the Grandeur, sailed on it several times.

 

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Edited July 30, 2014 by CecilCtyCruiser