Thoughts from Grandeur 1/12/19 sailing

[CFIGuy]

Just got back from the 12 night Caribbean sailing itinerary. Really enjoyed this ship and itinerary, and have the same itinerary booked for next year (and I believe we will be booking for 2021 as well).  I’ll go over some of the positives and negatives, please feel free to ask any questions, and I’ll try to answer

 

Positives: Incredible staff all around.  Honestly didn’t run into one surly staff member.  Seems like everyone remembered your name after one interaction (including stateroom attendants that were not your stateroom attendant (Ivan & Rowena), janitors (Richard), Windjammer greeters, etc). The entertainment staff was also great about doing a ton of activities, including some new activities that we have never seen before.  

 

Negatives: Seas both coming and going from Baltimore (the first two sea days and second to last sea day) were a bit rough, in excess of 10 foot seas.  My son got seasick for the second time ever in over 20 cruises.  Also, the rooms could use a bit of re-staining/tarnishing.  Also, my mother had an aft junior suite balcony, and the ash/soot that others had mentioned was true and prominent on my mom’s balcony.  For the Diamond Plus tours, they limited the galley & bridge tour to the first 30 to sign up.  This is the first time I have seen this.  Given how many D+ are on board, that quota seemed very low.  This is also the first ship I have seen a # limit.  Windjammer needed more variety for lunch/dinner and could have used a chef station (only in use sometimes).

 

Embarkation: We seemed to arrive at peak time (1030-1100) and the queue for dropping off bags was probably about 10 minutes, security checkpoint and check in were each a similar amount of time.  So not, as quick as Fort Lauderdale Oasis class, but pretty close.  

 

Rooms: (Other than the initial comments) The shower curtain issue didn’t seem to be as bad as I remembered it on my past sailing.  We did bring the binder clips to hold the curtain down.  We did request extra cushioning for the bed, which was promptly taken care of.  Also asked for a bed squeak issue to be taken care of and that was also promptly taken care of.  The TVs had been replaced with flat screens, which gave us a nice storage cubby (where the old large TV had been located).  Room temperature and water temperature were both great.  Our room was Deck 7 aft, only occasionally noise was from late night shows in the South Pacific Lounge, and was minimal.  We were able to fall asleep with our sound machine on without issue.  

 

Fellow passengers: Mostly retirees, very few children (30 total on board from age 1-18). Theater shows & trivia were well attended. Poolside even on sea days was never crowded, was always able to grab a group of chairs.  Some of the pool sports activities were skipped for lack of participation. There were many B2B cruisers, with some on since the Fall

 

Shows: Didn’t attend most, but did see that Jamie Allan was on board.  We saw him onboard Rhapsody in the Fall and were amazed.  He also just completed a month of land based shows in Chicago.  If he is ever on your ship, totally worth attending.  The other shows we peeked in on seemed to be the normal smaller ship shows.

 

Ports: Did basically a beach at every port.  In St Croix, went to Rainbow Beach, about a 5 minute ride from the port.  I believe it was $3 each way and that chairs/umbrella at the beach were $10 each.  Food & drink were averagely priced and service was quick.  

 

Antigua, went to Darkwood Beach, about a 25 minute ride, and I believe about $30 each way for 4 people, and I think it was $20 for 3 chairs and umbrella.  Food & drink again average price.  

 

On St Lucia, we did the 2 hr short sightseeing tour for $30 per person, with beach drop off at Reduit Beach (according to my co-worker from St Lucia, this is the best beach) and then ride back to port.  I honestly wouldn’t recommend the 2 hour tour, was basically just up to a couple of viewpoints.  If doing a tour, would recommend the 4 hour one, otherwise just go straight to beach.  At Reduit Beach, chairs and umbrellas were negotiable, and we paid about $15 for pair of chairs & umbrella.  Food and drink vendors were plentiful, and food/drink was cheap.  Getting into/out of water had a drop off and was a bit rocky.  Vendors were slightly aggressive, but a no thank you worked just fine.  Side note, we ended up right next to the entertainment staff.  

 

On St Kitts, went to Carambola, $16 each way for 3 people (believe same fare for 4 people), and $10 each for chair/umbrella, and it was EMPTY.  Was able to get a wave runner for way under advertised price, as we were their first client at 2PM.  St Martin, just went to the downtown beach, which has been discussed at length.  It was a buyers market for chairs/umbrellas as only 2 ships in (3rd ship came in mid-day).  We did walk down the beach to Shipwreck Bar, and the beach at Carambola was much nicer.  

 

Thoughts: On a longer cruise, I do think that it would benefit the cruise line to offer different (lower) fees for the drink packages, internet packages, and specialty dinner cover charges.  I think that they would get more overall business.  The bars seemed quite quiet, as did the specialty restaurants.  I considered getting a drink package prior to the cruise, but couldn’t justify the high price for the cruise.  For our one night of specialty dining, we obtained a significant discount just for inquiring.  Also, it really is time for the casino to go non smoking.  The vast majority of the smokers were campers (not actively playing games). I would have played even more if it wasn’t so smoky in the casino.

 

Ship staff:  I know I briefly mentioned earlier, but wanted to mention again.  During a dinner announcement, it was mentioned that Grandeur won the fleet award for 2018 for friendliest staff, and I have to 100% agree with this.  Every single person I met was nice.  I can’t recall any ship in the past like this.  

 

Francis in the Concierge Lounge is the standard I hold any other DL or CL host to.  He somehow is able to anticipate your needs.  When making a reservation for Chops for our party, he asked if the dinner was for an occasion.  I mentioned it was someone’s b-day, and he did multiple things during the week to celebrate this.  I have no idea if he would ever be interested, but I could see him being an amazing Genie.   

 

Our wait staff (Danny & Rahab) were amazing, we happened to be their only table during late seating.  Out headwaiter was Sudhir.  Upon learning that I liked Indian, he made sure to mention the nightly offerings.  He even brought Lahsis to the table one night for everyone to try (I didn’t ask for the lahsis, he surprised us with them).  Our assistant waiter & headwaiter informed us one night that they would be leaving early (our waiter was still present), as they received Dining Room Team of the cruise for last cruise, and were being treated to a meal at Giovanni’s.  I was glad to see the crew get recognized for their service.  

 

Side note - This is the second cruise where cruisers on multiple B2Bs that knew all of the trivia questions decided to participate and get 20/20 on multiple trivia’s, where the next best score would be 5-10 points lower.  It was fairly obvious to most, and there was a lot of grumbling about it by a lot of parties.  Not sure why some people feel the need to show that they know all of the trivia questions because they heard them last week/month.  There was a new trivia (the repeat offenders did not attend) and the high score was 6/20, with an average score of 4.

 

Let me know if you have questions.  

[DragonOfTheSeas]

I am going to be on this ship/itinerary in April.  I am glad to hear you enjoyed your cruise.  

[Merion_Mom]

1 hour ago, CFIGuy said:

 

Our wait staff (Danny & Rahab) were amazing, we happened to be their only table during late seating.  Out headwaiter was Sudhir.  Upon learning that I liked Indian, he made sure to mention the nightly offerings.  He even brought Lahsis to the table one night for everyone to try (I didn’t ask for the lahsis, he surprised us with them).  Our assistant waiter & headwaiter informed us one night that they would be leaving early (our waiter was still present), as they received Dining Room Team of the cruise for last cruise, and were being treated to a meal at Giovanni’s.  I was glad to see the crew get recognized for their service.  

 

Rahab was our assistant last cruise, and I am glad to see (perhaps) that my glowing compliments on the post-cruise survey helped her receive this well-deserved honor!  She is wonderful.

 

1 hour ago, CFIGuy said:

Side note - This is the second cruise where cruisers on multiple B2Bs that knew all of the trivia questions decided to participate and get 20/20 on multiple trivia’s, where the next best score would be 5-10 points lower.  It was fairly obvious to most, and there was a lot of grumbling about it by a lot of parties.  Not sure why some people feel the need to show that they know all of the trivia questions because they heard them last week/month.  There was a new trivia (the repeat offenders did not attend) and the high score was 6/20, with an average score of 4.

 

 

I agree with you SO strongly on this point.  🤬

[SRF]

9 hours ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

I am going to be on this ship/itinerary in April.  I am glad to hear you enjoyed your cruise.  

 

Which one?

 

We are on the April 6 sailing.

[SRF]

Just a comment, not every team that gets 20/20 on trivia know all the answers ahead of time.

 

We (my SO) with two different couples, did it for two trivias last August.

 

On the one, science, there was actually a tie.  And both teams got the 3 tie break questions right, so they declared it a tie. 😄

 

We LOVE Grandeur.

[ipeeinthepool]

I'm glad you enjoyed your cruise, but I am also confused why so many people cruise from a northern port in the winter.  Perhaps you don't have a choice, but it does seem like you lose 2 days of warm weather going to the Caribbean and 2 days returning and it often can be rough.  We sailed from Baltimore a couple of times in the summer/fall and it was great.  I suggest that you consider cruising next year from Florida or San Juan, early January cruise fares as well as air fares are often discounted early in January.

[CFIGuy]

We chose to sail from Baltimore, as it was about 20 minutes from our house, and only required a $20 Uber ride to get to the port.  It also allows me to work on both the day of sailing and day of return without taking a vacation day.

 

In terms of price, (comparing with Jan 2020 cruises as well), the average price of a 7 night cruise out of FL/PR is about $700 plus tax pp for an inside room.  The 12 night on Grandeur is about $100 more, but for 5 more nights.  Also, you don’t need to pay for airfare (figure minimum $200 per person), hotel (minimum $100 per room), additional ground transport, and meals.  

 

We are sailing out of Florida in April, and the cheapest flights that we can find are over $400 per person, cheapest room is $150 with tax.  

 

The other nice thing was not having to worry about flight delays and/or cancellations due to weather, MX, ATC, or whatever other reason.  

 

With that said, we’ve sailed out of Florida two past two Januarys, and are sailing out of Florida next January as well.  

 

As for trivia, the party in question was confirmed by other B2Bers who were not playing (because they already heard the questions), as well as some of the staff (after they heard the B2Bers mention it).  There were a couple of other trivia’s (mostly music or movies) where 20/20 scores were obtained by people doing the trivia for their first time.  

[dutchclogs]

Thank you for the review. We're sailing on Grandeur for the first time in July on the New England/Canada itinerary so wondering if the demographics will tend to be younger with more families. 

I've also read that there are a lot of repeat cruisers Do I understand that there are B2Bers who spend a coupe of months on board?? They must be keen ! 

[suesnake2002]

I consider getting 50% of trivia right a win. I never expect to win, I've got enough highlighters and key fobs. Lol But I just can't help myself to go. I enjoy it. I love when they have it in the schooner bar, have a drink, make some friends and form a team.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

7 hours ago, SRF said:

 

Which one?

 

We are on the April 6 sailing.

 

We are too.  We are doing a B2B with March 28-April 6. This is only our second B2B. 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

5 hours ago, dutchclogs said:

Thank you for the review. We're sailing on Grandeur for the first time in July on the New England/Canada itinerary so wondering if the demographics will tend to be younger with more families. 

I've also read that there are a lot of repeat cruisers Do I understand that there are B2Bers who spend a coupe of months on board?? They must be keen ! 

 

There will be more families. 

 

We were on a Grandeur cruise and attended the top tier party.  The Grandeur CD  announced the top 2 cruisers. [mid-March cruise] They had been onboard since October. 😮

 

[Merion_Mom]

7 hours ago, SRF said:

Just a comment, not every team that gets 20/20 on trivia know all the answers ahead of time.

 

We (my SO) with two different couples, did it for two trivias last August.

 

On the one, science, there was actually a tie.  And both teams got the 3 tie break questions right, so they declared it a tie. 😄

 

We LOVE Grandeur.

 

Trust me, this was not just "really smart people who actually knew the information in the questions/answers".  It is relatively easy to spot the difference.  😮

[cruisegirl1]

thanks for the review.  We are scheduled to sail the Grandeur to New England  later this summer.  Just some fun Cruisegirl1 trivia, the Grandeur was our first  RCCL cruise  WAY BACK in 1997.  That was her maiden year!.

 

thx

m

[shippmates]

We have cruised on the Grandeur many times and will be doing a B2B in March and April.  The crew is so friendly and helpful.  It is nice when you return to the ship and they remember you and call you by name.

 

[retiredgram]

We do a B2B every year in January or February. Very convenient for us. Love the Grandeur.

Edited January 28, 2019 by retiredgram
Spelling

[SRF]

18 hours ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

 

We are too.  We are doing a B2B with March 28-April 6. This is only our second B2B. 

 

Cool, see you at the Meet & Mingle

[SRF]

11 hours ago, shippmates said:

We have cruised on the Grandeur many times and will be doing a B2B in March and April.  The crew is so friendly and helpful.  It is nice when you return to the ship and they remember you and call you by name.

 

 

Which cruise in March?  Didn't the one before April 6 get canceled for dry dock?

[DragonOfTheSeas]

23 minutes ago, SRF said:

 

Which cruise in March?  Didn't the one before April 6 get canceled for dry dock?

They cancelled the March 6 and March 16 cruises.  They created a special 6 day cruise March 22 to fill in before the March 28 cruise.  It is not the best itinerary. [Port Canaveral and Coco Cay only] JMHO

 

We were on the March 16 cruise.  We moved to April 6.  Of course the ship was mostly full so the "price protection" they give you is almost useless. [I am sure some that had inside/oceanview cabins got to use it]. 

 

We got $200 OBC. However, that did not even make up for the fact we had to take a lesser cabin on deck 2 for the same price.  . . . OK too much information--sorry!

Edited January 28, 2019 by DragonOfTheSeas
corrected a date

[shippmates]

24 minutes ago, SRF said:

 

Which cruise in March?  Didn't the one before April 6 get canceled for dry dock?

We are doing the 9 night on March 28 and then the 12 night on April 6.  The cruises prior to March 22 were cancelled due to dry dock.  Hope you see you on board.

[SRF]

18 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

Trust me, this was not just "really smart people who actually knew the information in the questions/answers".  It is relatively easy to spot the difference.  😮

 

I understand.  Just pointing out, that it is possible without knowing the answers ahead of time.

 

But with the internet, there is NO reason to repeat trivia word for word on cruises.   Heck, 

[SRF]

 

49 minutes ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

We were on the March 16 cruise.  We moved to April 6. 

 

We are doing the 9 night on March 28 and then the 12 night on April 6.  The cruises prior to March 22 were cancelled due to dry dock.  Hope you see you on board.

 

OK, looking forward to meeting you.

[shipgeeks]

On ‎1‎/‎27‎/‎2019 at 6:55 AM, ipeeinthepool said:

I'm glad you enjoyed your cruise, but I am also confused why so many people cruise from a northern port in the winter.  Perhaps you don't have a choice, but it does seem like you lose 2 days of warm weather going to the Caribbean and 2 days returning and it often can be rough.  We sailed from Baltimore a couple of times in the summer/fall and it was great.  I suggest that you consider cruising next year from Florida or San Juan, early January cruise fares as well as air fares are often discounted early in January.

You assume that the point of a cruise is to be in warm weather.  Personally, we love this itinerary and this time of year (we were on this cruise).  I would be happy with all cool-weather sea days, rough seas, and no Caribbean at all.

[birdylady]

Thank you for the excellent review.   We are looking forward to our cruise on her the end of April.  If you don't mind and you do know, can you share the cabin number of your mother's's cabin?

Thanx,

Erika

 

Edited January 28, 2019 by birdylady

[ipeeinthepool]

1 hour ago, shipgeeks said:

You assume that the point of a cruise is to be in warm weather.  Personally, we love this itinerary and this time of year (we were on this cruise).  I would be happy with all cool-weather sea days, rough seas, and no Caribbean at all.

 

You're correct, my mistake.  I assumed that you were like most of us that take a cruise in the Winter to the Caribbean.  I incorrectly assumed the warm weather in the Caribbean was the objective and calm seas were desirable.  I suspect that you can find less expensive fares and there should be plenty of availability.  

 

Enjoy your trip.

[johnlcruise]

This Saturday we will be going on her. Can't wait. Did the 12 niter last year on her and had an excellent time. I to agree they do have a Most Excellent Crew.