Grandeur 5 Night to Bermuda (5/25/2019)

[alane10]

We got back yesterday from our 5 night cruise to Bermuda. We didn’t really have much planned, but had a really fun trip.

 

https://familytimeadventure.com/grandeur-5-night-bermuda-5-25-2019/

 

Let me know if you have any questions from our trip!

[Cru1s1ng2009]

Is Fun Golf within walking distance of the ship? I have never seen it the times we were there. 

thanks for the review. Getting on her in a couple weeks. 

[alane10]

19 hours ago, Cru1s1ng2009 said:

Is Fun Golf within walking distance of the ship? I have never seen it the times we were there. 

thanks for the review. Getting on her in a couple weeks. 

Yep. If you head right off the ship and follow the green footsteps, it takes you right there. It’s about a 5-8 minute walk with a 4 year old.

[Cru1s1ng2009]

42 minutes ago, alane10 said:

Yep. If you head right off the ship and follow the green footsteps, it takes you right there. It’s about a 5-8 minute walk with a 4 year old.

thank you. I guess I am always in a hurry to get to horseshoe. 

 

Cute 4 yo BTW

[mets123]

How many c&a points did you have that qualified you for third highest on the ship ?

[alane10]

19 hours ago, mets123 said:

How many c&a points did you have that qualified you for third highest on the ship ?

 

After this cruise, we have 549 points. The second highest was in the mid-600s.

[SRF]

WOW, low numbers.

 

So only 2 Pinnacles?

 

Most of the cruises I have been on, the top has been well over 1000.  Last cruise had over 30 Pinnacles.

[CruisinCrow]

Thanks for the review.  We were on that same cruise!  You wrote your review so fast.  I'm still working on mine but hope to have it done in a few days.  

 

I hid 6 ducks on that cruise but haven't seen anyone post any pictures of them.  I don't think the one you found was one of mine.

[zooma]

Thanks so much for your review! Have enjoyed your Anthem ones as well. Can you do a quick compare between the Anthem and the Grandeur in terms of quality/condition of accommodations, ships venues/features, and just generally things to do on board? We'll be on an Anthem 5-day soon but are also thinking of sneaking in a Grandeur sailing at some point.

 

Also, about how long did it take you to drive from the BWI area to Bayonne?

 

Thanks!

[Pumbaamd]

Did you three top cruisers  couples have dinner with John Denton?

[LuCruise]

Great review.  Your son is so cute!  Looks like you had a nice cruise.

[biomedbob]

If you remember the D+ perks on the paperwork in your cabin,  was a discount for the Delux Bev package?

 

[alane10]

On 6/3/2019 at 10:18 AM, SRF said:

WOW, low numbers.

 

So only 2 Pinnacles?

Actually, only 1 pinnacle. It was a holiday weekend, so higher rates than normal.

 

3 hours ago, biomedbob said:

If you remember the D+ perks on the paperwork in your cabin,  was a discount for the Delux Bev package?

 

I am pretty sure there was not a discount for the deluxe beverage package. You could get (I believe) 20% off a beverage, but I doubt RCI would let you apply to the package.

 

4 hours ago, Pumbaamd said:

Did you three top cruisers  couples have dinner with John Denton?

No, but maybe the Pinnacle did. The meal with a Officer was lunch and the Loyalty Ambassador, Diane, joined us as well as someone from Guest Services (but I don't remember his name =/)

 

5 hours ago, CruisinCrow said:

Thanks for the review.  We were on that same cruise!  You wrote your review so fast.  I'm still working on mine but hope to have it done in a few days.  

 

I hid 6 ducks on that cruise but haven't seen anyone post any pictures of them.  I don't think the one you found was one of mine.

We had a whirlwind weekend to St. Louis to watch the Blues play, so wanted to get it in before the crazy weekend! That's awesome that you hid some ducks. This one was on floor 8 way on the aft wall.

 

4 hours ago, zooma said:

Thanks so much for your review! Have enjoyed your Anthem ones as well. Can you do a quick compare between the Anthem and the Grandeur in terms of quality/condition of accommodations, ships venues/features, and just generally things to do on board? We'll be on an Anthem 5-day soon but are also thinking of sneaking in a Grandeur sailing at some point. 

 

Also, about how long did it take you to drive from the BWI area to Bayonne?

 

Thanks!

Anthem is clearly a newer, cleaner ship, and has the bells and whistles (and more to do) of a newer ship. However, Grandeur is known to be one of the nicest ships, which I totally believe. The crew is just super friendly and accommodating.

 

From my son, I am sure he would give Anthem the nod as it has the Seaplex and he LOVES basketball, it also has an arcade (which is super cheesy but amazing to a 4 year old), and more pools (although, no splashaway bay).

 

We like both a lot for different reasons. Grandeur is just a super chill vacation. We really don't plan to do anything, and just appreciate not having much of a schedule. Anthem is a bit busier...since there is more to do, but still a lot of passengers, you have to plan your time more (i.e. iFly, Seaplex open basketball hours, Northstar).

 

Anthem wins food for sure. More options including some of our favs like Wonderland, Jamie's, and Coast Kitchen (for suites and pinnacles).

 

We are about 50 minutes south of Baltimore, and it takes us about 4 hours to get to Bayonne. However, we tend to leave super early before the traffic gets too bad. I think we leave around 5am, have breakfast about 1-1.5 hours into the trip, couple random potty stops for the 4 year old, gas up right before getting off the highway, and we typically are there around 10am.

 

 

[dkitty]

When docking in Bermuda - is it better to book a room port side or starboard side ?  I’m looking at an ocean view room and wondering how the ship docks - thanks!

[alane10]

1 hour ago, dkitty said:

When docking in Bermuda - is it better to book a room port side or starboard side ?  I’m looking at an ocean view room and wondering how the ship docks - thanks!

Unfortunately, they book in different directions, so hard to tell. On our last cruise, port side faced the dock. 

[zooma]

@alane10 -- really appreciate the details. Thank you!

[LewLewBelle]

We did not care for Grandeur. The lack of activities was awful! Even the port shopping guy was leaving due to lack of things to do.  It is a beautiful ship! We also didn’t like the island time of arrival and departure.  We sailed on Carnival Pride the following month and loved their itinerary.  

[Dina7]

Enjoyed all your photos! Sorry you didn’t feel well for part of your cruise.

[CruisinCrow]

15 hours ago, dkitty said:

When docking in Bermuda - is it better to book a room port side or starboard side ?  I’m looking at an ocean view room and wondering how the ship docks - thanks!

 

When we were there last week, we docked with the bow facing the Commissioner's House.  But when I looked at the following cruise on the webcam, the ship was docked with the bow facing the other direction.  There's not way to tell which way the captain will choose.

[SRF]

14 hours ago, alane10 said:

Unfortunately, they book in different directions, so hard to tell. On our last cruise, port side faced the dock. 

 

Both times we have been to Bermuda on Grandeur, it was starboard side to the pier.

[CruisinCrow]

55 minutes ago, SRF said:

 

Both times we have been to Bermuda on Grandeur, it was starboard side to the pier.

 

Our cabin was starboard side and we were opposite the pier.  There's no way to know.

[Carol28]

Thank you for the review and terrific pictures. Your review about flies and bugs concerns me greatly. Why do you think that happened? Did other cruisers have this experience? And, did you hear noise from Deck 9 while you were in your cabin?

[alane10]

10 hours ago, Carol28 said:

Thank you for the review and terrific pictures. Your review about flies and bugs concerns me greatly. Why do you think that happened? Did other cruisers have this experience? And, did you hear noise from Deck 9 while you were in your cabin?

 

 Not sure on the bugs. It was especially bad on the last night when we were on the Chesapeake once it was dark with our cabin lights on and curtains open. Maybe the Chesapeake is just buggy this year...not sure.

 

Our room was right below the spa, so we didn’t hear anything from up there.

[CruisinCrow]

1 hour ago, alane10 said:

 

 Not sure on the bugs. It was especially bad on the last night when we were on the Chesapeake once it was dark with our cabin lights on and curtains open. Maybe the Chesapeake is just buggy this year...not sure.

 

Our room was right below the spa, so we didn’t hear anything from up there.

 

I wonder if we were neighbors.  We were in 8576, also under the spa on the starboard side.  Which cabin were you in?

 

I didn't notice any bugs personally.

[SRF]

22 hours ago, CruisinCrow said:

 

Our cabin was starboard side and we were opposite the pier.  There's no way to know.

 

My point was, the other poster stated they were docked port side to the pier.

 

Our cruises, it has been starboard side to the pier.

 

Ergo, you have no way of knowing which way it will be on your cruise.

 

Unfortunately, they book in different directions, so hard to tell. On our last cruise, port side faced the dock. 

 

Both times we have been to Bermuda on Grandeur, it was starboard side to the pier.

Edited June 6, 2019 by SRF