Carnival guy thinking of sailing a Grandeur of the Seas itinerary

[FSRoberts]

I've in the past sailed carnival, but an itinerary next year for a 9 day Canada and New England cruise in peak leaf season was me intrigued. Especially since Baltimore is one of the few ports that I can not only drive to, but not pay a small fortune to park at.

 

However, I know some of my favorite things about Carnival will be missing (namly the piano bar and plentiful comedy shows), so I'm wondering what else I can expect. I know the Grandeur of the Seas has some sort of aerial show, but what are the other typical alternative activity options, especially at night and while at sea? I don't care much for production shows (aside from full Broadway productions not available on the Grandeur). I'm also not crazy about RCI's "adventure activities" like rock walls and so on.

 

I've tried some research on my own, but most seems to be talking about the range of activities of Freedom, Oasis, and Quantum ships, but does not offer many specifics about what is actually offered on older ships, save for counts of how many lounges and restaurants there are. I want to know what kind of things they offer in those lounges by way of entertainment.

 

Also, I usually go for an inside cabin, but I know RCI insides run quite a bit smaller than Carnival's insides. I also have read much of the reduction is in a smaller bathroom. How much is the lack of space an issue in comparison to Carnival? My wife and I are not small people, but we get by in a Carnival cabin OK.

 

(And, if you please, no Carnival bashing; it's not helpful, but it seems to dominate similar discussions. I'm just asking about the entertainment specifics and a cabin comparison.)

[Clarea]

Royal will usually have a show every evening. They will have 2 or 3 production shows, headliners, and Love & Marriage. The headliners will be things like comedians, jugglers, singers, tribute acts, magicians, etc., and will be in the main theater. There is no dedicated comedy venue on the ship.

 

There is a piano bar (Schooner Bar) which will typically have live music every night. There will also be different types of live music around the ship.

[spookwife]

GR is the smallest of the ships, but still has a piano bar and the Centrum Ariel show is pretty good. Trivia is always available and usually has a big turnout no matter when it is. the staff is pretty good about creating stuff on the fly.. our Bar Harbor stop was canex'd due to fog/choppy seas( tender port) and within an hour of that announcement they had distributed a new daily schedule with additional activities.

 

if you want to be entertained 24/7, you will be disappointed. the offereings are typical.. love and marriage game, trivia, maybe some pool side water volleyball between the crew and the pax.

 

no belly flop contests or other similarly cheesy Carnival esque activities.

[FSRoberts]

Royal will usually have a show every evening. They will have 2 or 3 production shows, headliners, and Love & Marriage. The headliners will be things like comedians, jugglers, singers, tribute acts, magicians, etc., and will be in the main theater. There is no dedicated comedy venue on the ship.

 

There is a piano bar (Schooner Bar) which will typically have live music every night. There will also be different types of live music around the ship.

 

By my understanding, the comedy is only select nights in the main theater, right?

 

Also, I thought the piano bar on RCI is just a guy playing, not the sing-along experience on CCL. Am I mistaken?

 

Are there other offerings in the secondary lounges?

[FSRoberts]

no belly flop contests or other similarly cheesy Carnival esque activities.

 

I don't care for those, either. But I think I will miss the nightly comedy. Honestly, I skip the shows on Carnival for comedy in the back.

 

You do mention the schooner bar is a piano bar. Can you describe that experience, because I'm not sure it is very similar to the Carnival-style piano bar.

[Clarea]

By my understanding, the comedy is only select nights in the main theater, right?

 

Also, I thought the piano bar on RCI is just a guy playing, not the sing-along experience on CCL. Am I mistaken?

 

Are there other offerings in the secondary lounges?

Yes, the comedy is only on selected nights, usually at least once, maybe twice in a 7 day cruise. They usually have the comedian do a late night, adult show in the main theater too.

 

The piano bar experience depends on what entertainer is playing. If you have someone like Matt Yee, there will be much audience participation.

 

Other lounges will have different types of music, trivia, games, karaoke, etc.

[ehfl]

Also, I thought the piano bar on RCI is just a guy playing, not the sing-along experience on CCL. Am I mistaken?

 

 

There is almost always sing-along in the Schooner bar every night. There are usually other bands playing at various venues in the evenings. There is usually karaoke every night too.

[PuterMonkey]

no belly flop contests or other similarly cheesy Carnival esque activities.

Our cruise this spring had a poolside 'sexiest man' competition. As I'm sure you can imagine the available contestants this isn't a big step above belly flops :p

[spookwife]

I don't care for those, either. But I think I will miss the nightly comedy. Honestly, I skip the shows on Carnival for comedy in the back.

 

You do mention the schooner bar is a piano bar. Can you describe that experience, because I'm not sure it is very similar to the Carnival-style piano bar.

 

no it is not like Carnival's.. no sing alongs, no requests. I liked it better than C's as the music was foremost, not having to listen to your semi drunk neighbor singing badly off key.

 

I have never found a comedian on board any ship who was any good.. Disney, Carnival, Celebrity or Royal.

[John Reid]

By my understanding, the comedy is only select nights in the main theater, right?

 

Also, I thought the piano bar on RCI is just a guy playing, not the sing-along experience on CCL. Am I mistaken?

 

Are there other offerings in the secondary lounges?

 

Yes, comedy is select nights in the theater. I have probably seen 10 comedians on five RCI cruises. I'd put five at very good, three at good, and two - well... The other theater shows were varied and better than my Carnival cruises. Schooner piano bar is not a guaranteed sing along like Carnival. My experience has been rarely. I have definitely seen requests taken, but it is not a Sweet Caroline, Bohemian Rhapsody, Margaritaville playlist each night environment. Works better that way for me.

 

There is sometimes a band in the aft larger lounge (South Pacific).

 

There is music in the Atrium at times. Occasionally it was the band; sometimes sedate lounge music. It isn't a dance venue unless it is part of a show like the 70's party.

 

In the last seven years, I've sailed RCI five times; Carnival Pride twice; Princess three times; and HAL once. I have Carnival Freedom in 13 days.

 

Though I have enjoyed them all, I found my Grandeur cruise the most sedate.

 

Are you able to drive to Bayonne? Liberty of the Seas is going to Canada late summer-fall in 2015. It will have many more entertainment choices and venues. When I cruised Explorer from there, parking was $19.00 per day, close to half of the Manhattan piers.

Edited November 24, 2014 by natty bumppo

[FSRoberts]

no it is not like Carnival's.. no sing alongs, no requests. I liked it better than C's as the music was foremost, not having to listen to your semi drunk neighbor singing badly off key.

 

I have never found a comedian on board any ship who was any good.. Disney, Carnival, Celebrity or Royal.

 

I find the singing fun, myself. I love it when the Carnival player talks to people from Boston and plays Sweet Caroline, then finds out I'm from Ohio and starts a round of Hang On Sloopy.

 

And while hit-and-miss, I generally enjoy Carnival's comics, and most of the time they play to packed houses in the secondary lounge every night.

 

The thing is, it sounds like unless you like what's on the main stage, you're a bit SOL on this ship.

 

I don't mean to incite a negative debate, but I had long heard about RCI's more varied entertainment options, and while I hear about lots of them on the mega ships, it seems very little has filtered to the small ships.

[FSRoberts]

Are you able to drive to Bayonne? Liberty of the Seas is going to Canada late summer-fall in 2015. It will have many more entertainment choices and venues. When I cruised Explorer from there, parking was $19.00 per day, close to half of the Manhattan piers.

 

I suppose it might be an option, but my wife hates New York.

[Big_G]

I'm thinking no matter what line you cruise, the New England-Canada run will be more sedate. Nine days, during school, older ships, itinerary, and cool to cold weather.

[SnorkelAway]

no it is not like Carnival's.. no sing alongs, no requests.

 

It is different than Carnival's typical piano bar, which generally is a dedicated venue with a clear intent to try to get pax involvement. Just physically, things are more open and spread out in the Schooner Bar on Grandeur and other ships - on Grandeur, people constantly are walking through the area and people sitting in the Bar, even some close to the piano, are not necessarily that interested in the piano playing. But, there are the chairs right around the piano. It really depends on the personality of the piano player (and how the piano player is feeling) and what type of pax are there - particularly what type of pax are sitting in the chairs right at the piano. Some pianists on RCI ships, including Grandeur, would very much like to get pax involvement with requests and singing.

[American Bear]

I've in the past sailed carnival, but an itinerary next year for a 9 day Canada and New England cruise in peak leaf season was me intrigued. Especially since Baltimore is one of the few ports that I can not only drive to, but not pay a small fortune to park at.

 

However, I know some of my favorite things about Carnival will be missing (namly the piano bar and plentiful comedy shows), so I'm wondering what else I can expect. I know the Grandeur of the Seas has some sort of aerial show, but what are the other typical alternative activity options, especially at night and while at sea? I don't care much for production shows (aside from full Broadway productions not available on the Grandeur). I'm also not crazy about RCI's "adventure activities" like rock walls and so on.

 

I've tried some research on my own, but most seems to be talking about the range of activities of Freedom, Oasis, and Quantum ships, but does not offer many specifics about what is actually offered on older ships, save for counts of how many lounges and restaurants there are. I want to know what kind of things they offer in those lounges by way of entertainment.

 

Also, I usually go for an inside cabin, but I know RCI insides run quite a bit smaller than Carnival's insides. I also have read much of the reduction is in a smaller bathroom. How much is the lack of space an issue in comparison to Carnival? My wife and I are not small people, but we get by in a Carnival cabin OK.

 

(And, if you please, no Carnival bashing; it's not helpful, but it seems to dominate similar discussions. I'm just asking about the entertainment specifics and a cabin comparison.)

 

Our opinion!

free food breakfast RCL

free food lunch Carnival

free food dinner Carnival

late night free food Carnival

extra fee food tie

entertainment theater RCL

entertainment around ship in bars RCL, elsewhere Carnival

cabin size Carnival

The smaller older ships in RCL's fleet are good cruises and very comparable to Carnival's smaller ships except for cabin size!

We've been on the Granduer 2x and enjoyed the cruise!

[CarpeCerevisi]

Since the ship was refurbished, the Centrum area which includes the R Bar has become an entertainment spot. Besides the arial shows there is almost always a band playing there every night.

 

As others have stated, the passenger involvement with the piano player in the Schooner bar will vary depending on the player. I've seen it range from major involvement to none at all.

[spookwife]

I'm thinking no matter what line you cruise, the New England-Canada run will be more sedate. Nine days, during school, older ships, itinerary, and cool to cold weather.

 

yup. it was actually a tie as my favorite(* next to the celebrity century Wine country cruise last spring) precisely BECAUSE it was an older, smaller ship without all th extra crap/bells and whistles. I don't need nor want to be surrounded by entertainment, I'd far rather spend my days reaidng quietly in the Concierge Lounge and my evenings on my balcony sipping wine

 

but I am old, and sedate and long past my party days

[FSRoberts]

yup. it was actually a tie as my favorite(* next to the celebrity century Wine country cruise last spring) precisely BECAUSE it was an older, smaller ship without all th extra crap/bells and whistles. I don't need nor want to be surrounded by entertainment, I'd far rather spend my days reaidng quietly in the Concierge Lounge and my evenings on my balcony sipping wine

 

but I am old, and sedate and long past my party days

 

 

I like sedate. I'm not a partier, for sure. I'm not looking for a dance venue or a hairy chest competition. I just like to have something to do after dinner besides go back to the cabin.

 

Here is typically what I do on a CCL cruise:

 

Port days:

Breakfast

Head into port

Get back a bit early

Nap in my cabin

Head to dinner

Catch 1 or 2 comedy shows

Chill in the piano bar for an hour or 2

Head out to one of Carnivals hidden decks on the bow for 30 minutes of stargazing before bed

 

Sea days:

Sleep in

Head to brunch in the MDR

Hit up an activity or 2 (wine tasting, trivia, or something sedate)

Grab a snack at for lunch

Nap in the cabin

Pre-dinner drink at the bar

Head to dinner

Catch 1 or 2 comedy shows

Chill in the piano bar for an hour or 2

Head out to one of Carnivals hidden decks on the bow for 30 minutes of stargazing before bed

 

I'm sure I would have a great time on RCI, but I'm just scratching my head as to what I would do after dinner, as RCI does not really have much of the 3 things I typically do on CCL.

 

Oh well, thanks for your help all.

[vlynn]

I like sedate. I'm not a partier, for sure. I'm not looking for a dance venue or a hairy chest competition. I just like to have something to do after dinner besides go back to the cabin.

 

Here is typically what I do on a CCL cruise:

 

Port days:

Breakfast

Head into port

Get back a bit early

Nap in my cabin

Head to dinner

Catch 1 or 2 comedy shows

Chill in the piano bar for an hour or 2

Head out to one of Carnivals hidden decks on the bow for 30 minutes of stargazing before bed

 

Sea days:

Sleep in

Head to brunch in the MDR

Hit up an activity or 2 (wine tasting, trivia, or something sedate)

Grab a snack at for lunch

Nap in the cabin

Pre-dinner drink at the bar

Head to dinner

Catch 1 or 2 comedy shows

Chill in the piano bar for an hour or 2

Head out to one of Carnivals hidden decks on the bow for 30 minutes of stargazing before bed

 

I'm sure I would have a great time on RCI, but I'm just scratching my head as to what I would do after dinner, as RCI does not really have much of the 3 things I typically do on CCL.

 

Oh well, thanks for your help all.

 

Having been on Grandeur I can say that although we think RCI is more similar to Carnival than different, we were disappointed with the lack of evening activities that we enjoyed. No comedy was a big minus. The piano bar is not like we are use to on Carnival, very little crowd interaction and the bar is a walk-through so people are walking through the middle of it and that felt strange.

 

We enjoyed our cruise on Grandeur and for the right itinerary wouldn't hesitate to cruise her again.

 

We did find certain venues to be crowded again because of the lack of alternative entertainment, plus a lot of very good entertainment takes place in the Centrium but unfortunately this space is not big enough and it is impossible to really get a good seat or see a lot of times.

 

I am not trying to discourage you just answer your question honestly, but none of this should ruin your cruise.

 

The adult area is very nice and it is enclosed, we spent a great deal of time here. The rest is very comparable to Carnival.

 

Yes the rooms are smaller but we had insides and it was fine, we don't spend a great deal of time in our rooms anyway, but they were nice and the beds were comfortable.

 

Take a chance, you will not regret it, just know the entertainment is different, you might find you enjoy it better. :D

[LisaMM]

Just sailed Grandeur nov 1 on 11 day cruise with a group of 15. Not one of us would ever go back on that ship and it wasn't just our group. We heard plenty of people saying it was the worst cruise ship they were ever on. Cons- small ship, smaller lounge areas, upper deck blocked off for first half of cruise when ship was packed, smell of sewer in certain areas, one day toilets wouldn't flush, although they quickly fixed this, 2 days unable to eat in windjammer due to air conditioning broken, too hot for people to sit in there and eat, bar service was worst ever! Servers on deck areas were not happy or friendly, we would say 10 percent of staff was friendly and upbeat, half the time coffee containers empty, ice cream machines empty. Let's just say not too many happy people were on that cruise

[OCruisers]

You will not find Grandeur OTS all that very different from your Carnival cruises. Go and Enjoy! :D

LuLu

[tidygirl]

This is a picture of an inside on the Liberty we have been on Liberty and several smaller ships, also been on Carnival and NCL and I'd have to say they are all pretty similar in size. (SMALL but doable!) We had 3 in this room in Sept) sorry no picture of the bathrooms and I feel the same about them they all are small but not something we can't deal with!

Edited November 26, 2014 by tidygirl