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Just off the Grandeur Feb 22-March 3

Giantfan13
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Giantfan13

Giantfan13

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We just got off our sailing on the Grandeur. Being on this site for a while, the Grandeur doesn't get as much love over here as she should. She is about the oldest ship in the fleet, but she is continually sold out and sailing her is like being with an old friend. This is our second time on her and it was a wonderful experience.

 

I won't go into each day and detail. just a few comments and if anyone has any questions, I'll be glad to try and answer. Ourselves, we didn't spend very much time by the pool or in the hot tubs. We preferred to just lounge around on Deck 5, taking in the great weather we had and just chilling out (if they still do that today).

 

First thing, we sailed on the Grandeur before she went in for rehab, but except for some new carpeting and new theater stuff, she still needs some good work on the outside. Rails were missing, and others needed to be replaced. Deck chairs showing their age and chairs in the MDR were older than they should be. But, we don't cruise for minor details.

Our itinerary wasn't the best, Charleston, Port Canaveral, Bahamas and CoCo Cay, but we had great weather and we enjoyed all the ports, though we stayed on the ship in Port Canaveral.

 

We ate as many meals in the MDR as possible. We do anytime dining and never had to wait one time for a table and we shared when it was possible. Food was a bit lacking. We do not eat meat, only fish and vegetarian dishes. The fish was hit and miss. We ordered Salmon several times and it always came over cooked. I asked the waiter if they could undercook it as it will cook when it stands, but I was told it is cooked one way. Again, we are salmon freaks and for the most part it was always overcooked. The rest of the meals were fine, with a good variety and still have those delicious cold soups.

 

What we found the best on the Grandeur was the entertainment. This was our 20th cruise and this cruise had, without a doubt, the best entertainment we have ever had on a cruise. Not even close to anything else. It started on day 2 with a Lionel Ritchie tribute by Derek Floyd, to the production shows that were OK, to a great orchestra show. Then they had an illusionist, Jason Bishop, whose personality was so so, but his talent was absolutely great. His ending to his show, well, I'm still scratching my head as to how he did that. But the best was a band called Rookie, a sort of 50s/60s tribute, high energy band, and high energy is putting is too mildly. They were the best band act we have ever seen on a cruise ship show. In all our years of cruising, we never had an act do an encore, but the audience wouldn't let them off the stage, they had to do one. If you ever have the chance to see this band, do so, no matter what music you like, these guys were absolutely great.

 

And last, a word about the Captain. I think his name is Anton, from Sweden. Without a doubt, he needs his own show. He is hilarious in his daily announcements. He comes on, says it's going to be partly sunny with some clouds, then, well, maybe cloudy with some sun, no maybe a lot of sun with some clouds, and this goes on and on. At the 'meet the officers thing' in the theater one day, he could do his own stand up act. We sort of bumped into him one evening while looking at the shops, and he graciously stopped and chatted with us for a good 6-7 minutes. Just a very personable and funny man.

 

Anyway, that's was our cruise. Was it the best, not really, but it was good enough to want to go back.

 

Cheers

Len

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Merion_Mom

Merion_Mom

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And last, a word about the Captain. I think his name is Anton, from Sweden. Without a doubt, he needs his own show. He is hilarious in his daily announcements. He comes on, says it's going to be partly sunny with some clouds, then, well, maybe cloudy with some sun, no maybe a lot of sun with some clouds, and this goes on and on. At the 'meet the officers thing' in the theater one day, he could do his own stand up act. We sort of bumped into him one evening while looking at the shops, and he graciously stopped and chatted with us for a good 6-7 minutes. Just a very personable and funny man.

 

Captain Ante Cavala

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plane2port

plane2port

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I love the Grandeur.. I've sailed her twice, but it was some time ago. Does she still have all the great artwork on the walls (bulkheads!!!;p) Seems like most ships now have modern stuff that I really don't appreciate. I loved Grandeur's traditional art. I used to just walk up and down the decks to admire it.

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alex_drew

alex_drew

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Captain Ante Cavala

 

Oh excellent news! I adore Captain Ante! And yes, he is hilarious. Also, I loved when were on Grandeur and were going to be experiencing extremely rough seas the next day, he came on the PA at noon and advised passengers that, if they are prone to motion sickness, they should start taking their medications immediately because once the serious wave motion starts, it is too late. So happy that it appears he will be the Captain on our April sailing. YAY!!!

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Giantfan13

Giantfan13

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Oh excellent news! I adore Captain Ante! And yes, he is hilarious. Also, I loved when were on Grandeur and were going to be experiencing extremely rough seas the next day, he came on the PA at noon and advised passengers that, if they are prone to motion sickness, they should start taking their medications immediately because once the serious wave motion starts, it is too late. So happy that it appears he will be the Captain on our April sailing. YAY!!!

 

 

We also had a very rough last day at sea. That was the day they had the 'meet the officers question and answer forum in the theater. While the Captain was doing his introduction, the ship seemed to just jerk a bit, He turned around and yelled, 'What was that' and it broke everyone up. When he was asked about Latitudes and Longitude lines, he commented, that when we go over those lines, that is the reason why the ship seems to be bumping around. Just a very pleasant and amusing man.

Cheers

Len

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Giantfan13

Giantfan13

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I love the Grandeur.. I've sailed her twice, but it was some time ago. Does she still have all the great artwork on the walls (bulkheads!!!;p) Seems like most ships now have modern stuff that I really don't appreciate. I loved Grandeur's traditional art. I used to just walk up and down the decks to admire it.

 

The artwork on the staircases, well, that is definitely something new, and maybe not to everyone's taste, but we enjoyed it. I found the ship to be very nicely decorated. Seemed like new furniture in the atrium and theater.

Cheers

Len

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Giantfan13

Giantfan13

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Capt. Thor used to host a Captain's Table, and he really enjoyed it. Did your Captain have any guests for dinner?

R&D

 

 

I wasn't invited, so I really can't say. We usually dined about 6ish and were done about 7:30 or so and we were upstairs in the Anytime dining sections. We never saw the Captain in the dining room. On the last formal night they had his table all set up, polishing all the glasses and silverware, but we left before he arrived.

Cheers

Len

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Giantfan13

Giantfan13

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Thanks for the post, we loved Grandeur last August and we're VERY excited to go back this August! Did they have the new menus in the MDR yet?

 

 

This I cannot answer. They looked like the regular menus to me. What might constitute the 'new' menus?

Cheers

Len

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Merion_Mom

Merion_Mom

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This I cannot answer. They looked like the regular menus to me. What might constitute the 'new' menus?

Cheers

Len

 

Were the desserts on the dinner menu, on the right in their own column, or did your waiter bring a separate dessert menu after dinner?

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SRF

SRF

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Thanks for the post, we loved Grandeur last August and we're VERY excited to go back this August! Did they have the new menus in the MDR yet?

 

Which cruise in Aug?

 

We were on the Aug 24 departure last year, and will be on the Aug 16 departure this year (same cruise).

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