How is Grandeur?

[mad-dog74]

My wife and I are looking for a little getaway for a few days..... do not have a lot of time and looking not to fly. So... that leaves us with a 5 night Sailing in July on Grandeur.

 

We will be OK with the ships size and things to do... not concerned about that at all... we are looking for a quiet getaway just to relax at the solarium.... not all the hoop-la with the kids and Freedom or Oasis. We have found that the food and service tend to be a little better on the smaller ships.

 

My question primarily is what about the waters? Is it notability rougher in the Atlantic than in the Caribbean? We have never gotten seasick, but have really never had a bad weather experience either. Being a smaller ship in the Atlantic is my primary concern.

 

Also, if anyone has any insight as to the refurb. and upgraded rooms, I'd be interested in hearing about that too.

[Clarea]

Our experience is that the Atlantic tends to have more motion than the Caribbean.

[mad-dog74]

Our experience is that the Atlantic tends to have more motion than the Caribbean.

 

Thanks... thats what I had always heard. We should be OK with "somewhat more motion"... just want to stay away from closet door swinging open motion.

[roseshayit]

I definitely felt it the first night going to Bermuda, but my worst was on the Mediterranean on the Navigator. Honestly, in my experience as long as I stay hydrated, the rocking doesn't really phase me, and I'm pretty sensitive to it. It didn't make me or my mother sick at all, and if your plan is to stay in the Solarium area, I don't think it will bother you much.

 

I loved the size of Grandeur and hope to do Enchantment sometime in the near future.

[sargeantcurley]

barring any hurricane activity, you will feel the motion of the ocean as you leave the bay into the atlantic...usually lasts only for the first full day at sea, however...always expect the unexpected...start some type of sea sickness med before you board (24-48 hrs prior to cruise)...always better to have in system then to play catch up...hope you try the Grandeur....she is a nice ship with a great crew..happy sailings!

[mad-dog74]

Actually, while we absolutely love the Allure and Freedom, we are anxious to have a quiet getaway without the kids and to have a time to just relax.... not to stress about shows, tickets, etc.... not sure we will even plan much to do in Bermuda... maybe some shopping/sightseeing.

[sargeantcurley]

Actually, while we absolutely love the Allure and Freedom, we are anxious to have a quiet getaway without the kids and to have a time to just relax.... not to stress about shows, tickets, etc.... not sure we will even plan much to do in Bermuda... maybe some shopping/sightseeing.

 

then the Grandeur is for you...will always be able to find a quiet spot somewhere

[RIDGELYCRUZER]

:)I have never cruised out of Baltimore (or any cruise) in the summer or school holiday time. The ships are all loaded with kids! A cruise out of Baltimore a few weeks ago had over 500 children on board. It was a week that schools were closed in New York for the week for a mid-winter holiday. My brother has done cruises out of Baltimore during the summer and the story is the same...lots of kids.

Now back to the Grandeur. I now have 13 cruises under my belt...7 on the Enchantment and 6 on the Grandeur. These "small" ships are still over 900 feet long and handle the sea pretty well...but the ocean is still the ocean and anything can happen. The trips to and from Bermuda were for the most part smooth. Some of the Caribbean cruise out of Baltimore are a little on the bouncy side , but not unbearable....but everyone is different. So far I have not been effected by sea-sickness but I am probably lucky...I do not take any precautions and so far so good.

The MDR crew on Grandeur has been very good for all 6 cruises except one...the first of a B2B and we hade the same table for the second cruise and the waiter staff had been moved. (maybe the problem on the first cruise was not their entire fault as the people sharing the table with us ordered special items every course of every meal)

The waiters in all of the dining venues, MDR or specialty were very good. Some people complain about the waiters trying to have them purchase extra items (bottled water/ wine ) just politely tell them that you are not interested and they will not bother you .

As of right now we have 3 cruises with a total of 33 nights booked through February of 2017. We can not wait until the 2017-2018 schedule is released!

[RadioRob]

You'll love the ship!

 

Very relaxing... it was great to only know dates by day number. We had such a great time hanging out on deck 9. One of the nice things about the ship is that you get a LOT more people from around the area.

 

We actually met someone who lives 3 blocks away from us that we never met before! Also met a couple of people a few hours away that we became friends with outside of the cruise. We're trying to figure out our next cruise together now!

 

Regarding sea sickness... I can be sensitive at times, and while I felt the movement at times, it was not enough to keep me down/out.

[oldguysandgalls]

Here's our review of the Grandeur of the Seas (November 2009)

"A Grand Cruise on the Grandeur of the Seas"

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Well....(with 7 cruises already under our belt ), we just came back from a 9 day cruise on The Grandeur of the Seas, sailing out of Baltimore Nov.5th-Nov. returning on Nov.14th.

 

What a wonderful, elegant and well appointed ship, truly, truly GRAND.

 

We had a large interior stateroom on deck 8, while Trevor our stateroom attendant tended to every detail.

 

We had all our meals in the Windjammer Cafe, because we like the freedom of eating whenever we like. The food in the Windjammer was outstanding in variety, taste, and presentation. Imagine sitting at a table by the giant windows surrounding the entire Windjammer Cafe, overlooking the ocean before your very eyes. It was magical.

 

The shows in the Palladium Theater were outstanding, SRO on all nights.

 

The lounges were a joy to spend time in, like the Schooner Bar, the Viking Lounge, the tinkling of the piano keys, the ambiance...aaaaaaaaaaah how we long to get back.

 

The ports of call, San Juan, St Thomas, Samana, and Labadee, were breathtakingly beautiful.

 

The crew of the Grandeur of the Seas are all smiles, and very professional, respectful and helpful in every way.

 

Embarkation and disembarkation was a breeze.

 

Hope to sail you again soon Grandeur of the Seas.

Edited February 24, 2016 by oldguysandgalls

[kellyx3]

Grandeur was ok for us last week. Our room was an ocean view and seemed very outdated. My friend next to us even had the phone fall off the wall several times. This was the first time ever cruising that I took a motion sickness pill twice and I was on the Pride in Oct 2011 when we hit a storm with 30 ft waves. I have never been bothered by motion and have been on 12 or 13 cruises several from Ny and Baltimore. I am not sure why it seemed so rocky it didn't look rough outside at all and there were no white caps. I even left the theater one night bc the movement felt so bad in there. Finally, be warned the solarium is not a kid free area. It is a kid free pool and hot tub but the park cafe and gym/spa are in there so there is more traffic in the solarium on the vision class ships than maybe some of the bigger ships. There were many grumbling older cruisers last week complaining when kids would walk through to get pizza and nachos.

[P&C4/16/67]

Since they took EX/LIB away from us and brought in the Anthem, we tried a couple on the Grandeur. Have 5 more booked over the next 13 months. That's our new ship.:)