Live - Grandeur of the Seas 10/14-24 Consecutive

[AtSeaAlways]

For no apparent reason it was time to go back to sea.  The key to this is to clear your calendar (or toss it out- easier if you are retired) and find cruise deals online.  In driving distance for us are a few ports.  New Orleans is nice - it was time for new options. 

 

Prices in October were lowest on RCCL short runs out of Galveston  and inspired by @MeganGC1983we found a pair of silly cheap inside back to backs for $170 each.  This will be a trip in steerage.  More on that later - I am a price buyer 🙂

 

This got a late start but we'll eventually catch up.  Plus as they say in the Bahamas- if you are not on Island Time - you need to be.  So get your shots and hang on. 

Edited October 16, 2022 by AtSeaAlways

[AtSeaAlways]

Beware of imposters in Galveston.  The sign at the Tipsy Turtle said to beware of hungry gulls.  The birds I saw were black 🙂

 

The drive to the port via downtown Dallas and Houston was not relaxing.  But the island is fine.  Hotels may have balconies and cruise parking /shuttle packages.  One (to be named later) had a $40 parking pass for as long as your cruise lasted.  Hunt for those rate codes they are not obvious.  October is the shoulder season.   $106 was an amazing hotel rate on the water, usually across the street.

[livingonthebeach]

I'll be on Grandeur for the first time out of Miami next month. Thanks for sharing your experience. 

[AtSeaAlways]

16 minutes ago, livingonthebeach said:

I'll be on Grandeur for the first time out of Miami next month. Thanks for sharing your experience. 

Let's talk about the ship.  So far- I am impressed.  The first surprise - a real teak walk around promenade deck. About .25 miles/lap.  How this translates to slices of cake I have no guess. 

 These decks don't exist on finer ships LOL or are gated off and filled with spare ramps on say the Vision.  Compared to Carnival in the same price class, the MDR is open a lot.  We are avoiding shared tables still - after the first day it was walk in.  MDR / My Time had a "no reservation" aka steerage side door and Christian snuck us is last night.  

 

MDR food and service are amazing.  One good MDR test - how does the "pick up" team of random staff do at breakfast and lunch.  In a slack operation you wait forever for everything.  Not here.  They had an amazing sole and potato lunch mmm.

 

They had an Officers Coffee that was well attended.  The Captain is a Swedish Mopar guy.  I will ask how he gets vintage V8 parts he finds home.  

I told somebody this seemed a happy ship - and it is reported the Grandeur has very high crew satisfaction scores.  Shhh.  

[Another_Critic]

Nice to see the old girl.  I've sailed on her 7 times, last being Feb. 2020.  Was disappointed that they replaced her in Baltimore with her cosmetically enhanced (aka stretched) "twin" sister, Enchantment.

[lenquixote66]

We have been on the Grandeur more than any other ship.We always booked the same OV cabin .

[cruiselvr04]

We’ve been home a couple of weeks and I miss her!  We walked the deck every night before turning in.  The band in motion in the centrum was great, we danced every night.  We will be back on her out of Miami soon.  It’s a happy ship.  Enjoy!

[AtSeaAlways]

29 minutes ago, cruiselvr04 said:

We’ve been home a couple of weeks and I miss her!  We walked the deck every night before turning in.  The band in motion in the centrum was great, we danced every night.  We will be back on her out of Miami soon.  It’s a happy ship.  Enjoy!

The Band in Motion is an epic rock cover group.  Guitar solos for the ages - yep.   We got them playing some Two Step.  Except off of Texas many forgot or ignored the line of dance which makes it hard on a small dance floor.  Actual ballroom tonight with the orchestra.  Carnival gets points for poolside Mexican food - for dancing - RCCL.  

 

Felt a bit geeky - quite a few suits and up for Dress to Impress night.  And door pass lanyards are not a thing.  

[AtSeaAlways]

2 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

We have been on the Grandeur more than any other ship.We always booked the same OV cabin .

We tried an inside for the first time ever.  On this ship they have a couch.  That seems a bare minimum for ten days.   RoyalUp refused to accept the booking number for leg #1- that 30 day error.    Leg #2 it took a smallish bid.

 

 48 hours later we are good. The savings can be staggering.  Our actual cabin had a connecting door - so a chair.

 

Edited October 16, 2022 by AtSeaAlways

[doublej]

So ready to board on Wednesday! We'll be going down the day before... something we've never done before as our drive is not too far.  Please ask Christian if he was there in mid May at the check in podium for MTD.  His name rings a bell.  If so, he did a fabulous job of seating us.  Hoping he can do the same again.  And, where can we do a Texas 2 step? or a nice slow waltz?  Enjoying your review... see you on Wednesday.   

[AtSeaAlways]

11 hours ago, doublej said:

So ready to board on Wednesday! We'll be going down the day before... something we've never done before as our drive is not too far.  Please ask Christian if he was there in mid May at the check in podium for MTD.  His name rings a bell.  If so, he did a fabulous job of seating us.  Hoping he can do the same again.  And, where can we do a Texas 2 step? or a nice slow waltz?  Enjoying your review... see you on Wednesday.   

Yes the crew at the No Reservations side of My Time really are rocking it.  Despite controlling maybe 15-20% of the MDR tables, they get the guests in and fed.  The Head Waiters help clear tables and seat people and grab empty plates. It all reminds me of Texas Roadhouse - where they have made speedy table turnover into a business model. 

 

We have the highly coveted pre 2020 MDR fixed shared table reservation for eight - LOL - but last night Christian snuck us in at 7:30.  They have made a lot of tables for two but they are pretty tighly spaced.  The food was good -on this ship they have figured out fish. 

 

The guys posed for me - Roger L Christian C Deckster R.  They joked promotions were based on who was the most handsome 🙂 I think on a smaller ship the MDR gets more leadership focus - on a huge ship with 15 venues it might turn into just the place where the inside cabin people eat 🙂

 

We had a good time at the Ballroom session - they played a Foxtrot or two.  A fancy dance couple aboard asked them to move the event to South Pacific which has a large wood dance floor.  There are reports of PA system issues there.  

 

In Downtown Galveston there is a two step bar - Buckshot -  go early - the default music is Nashville - which pays homage to tradition but is hard to actually two step to.

[EleventyBangBang]

21 hours ago, AtSeaAlways said:

 

 

 

 

 

We were just there week before last.  At this particular corner, there were a couple of stowaway little birds that somebody was feeding.  I wonder if they are still there.

 

[AtSeaAlways]

21 hours ago, EleventyBangBang said:

 

We were just there week before last.  At this particular corner, there were a couple of stowaway little birds that somebody was feeding.  I wonder if they are still there.

 

No sign of the birds.  I looked it up - actual sea birds can drink salt water and live on seafood.  There is rainwater on the decks but no natural source of seeds.  

[AtSeaAlways]

We found a clue as to why the promenade deck has not been converted to gear storage - the Swedish Captain walks on it for his exercise.  DW here delights in a few miles a day and I feel this is a great feature on a ship.

 

There is an Argentine Tango show aboard.  We missed it - the cover band was on.  They did a mini version later in the week it was stylish. The photo is of our friends.   Actual dancing is best in the lounge as the floor in the Atrium is small.  The band tells me they are working on more country songs.  

 

I tracked down the Hotel Director and Food and Beverage Manager in the big safety drill and told them how happy we were with the operation in My Time - No Reservation.  Christian again found us a table for two.  They zipped out apps and mains for us in 32 minutes as we were racing to the cover band show.  The fish dishes were perfect.  F&B said I made his day.  

 

There are about a dozen of us still taking airborne virus precautions.  But it all feels more normal.  

 

I put in three lowish $30-70-100 pp RoyalUp bids on the second leg of this trip from run of the ship inside.  OV, Larger Ocean View and Balcony. I got an email per bid about four days from departure saying they got it, and "won" the Larger Ocean View one - across the hall yesterday.  The inside is actually fine.  

 

Rumor had it they are repairing the retractable roof over the aft pool.  The piped in music is there and it feels stuffy.  The try yesterday was halted by lightning.

 

If you like a classy traditional experience, this is the ship for you.  The best line yesterday in the MDR "Is there a long wait for a made to order Omelette?"  The reply "Not if you have the right waiter"

 

I feel for the Pool Deck Supervisor- he gets it all perfect and the slippery puddles mopped up - then we get a five minute rain shower.  Lots of deck chairs - on this ship - tidy rows.  The decaf sign is missing at 0500 coffee on the pool deck - but no music- yaa - green tea it is 🙂 It would be good to take this cruise again - wait - we are 🙂

Edited October 18, 2022 by AtSeaAlways

[AtSeaAlways]

On 10/16/2022 at 12:42 PM, Another_Critic said:

Nice to see the old girl.  I've sailed on her 7 times, last being Feb. 2020.  Was disappointed that they replaced her in Baltimore with her cosmetically enhanced (aka stretched) "twin" sister, Enchantment.

Was anything important removed from Enchantment?  A few more balcony cabins and venues would seem sensible on this class.  One thing you get on the new megaships - lines.  

[Another_Critic]

1 minute ago, AtSeaAlways said:

Was anything important removed from Enchantment?  A few more balcony cabins and venues would seem sensible on this class.  One thing you get on the new megaships - lines.  

I don't think there was anything removed during the stretch, but very little public space was added to handle the increase in passenger cabins.

[AtSeaAlways]

[cj11l]

3 hours ago, Another_Critic said:

I don't think there was anything removed during the stretch, but very little public space was added to handle the increase in passenger cabins.

I know the library was removed. We got married in the library in 2001, and when we got back on the ship 10 years later, after the stretch - it was gone. 

[AtSeaAlways]

I am scratching my head here.  Can you add 300 more guests to the basic ship?  Windjammer has two sides so you could fit in few more folks though the MDR seems full now on Grandeur.  There are a few open large tables in the back on four now.   

 

The Library on Grandeur is a little sad.  There is no inside wall and few books.  I never did find the "Card Room" either.  We"ll keep looking. 

[AtSeaAlways]

Having the cheapest inside cabin offers at least two advantages.  One is the cost savings.  The other is you are often low in the ship and on the centerline.  We had a rough sea and full gale yesterday.  You could hardly tell.  

 

On a hunch the last night we stopped by the MDR fixed time desk at 5:15.  We explained we had this shared table for eight at 8PM and what we wanted was a table for two as early as possible.  There was a brief flurry of activity and we were led to a lovely un numbered  table for two way in the back.  I was having guilt bothering the overbooked MTD crew and this way we got to see our assigned waiter who I think is named on the  HQ survey form. It was all good.  The pasta main and shrimp sauce were amazing. 

 

At lunch during the gale earlier the MDR line got to maybe a dozen people and the F&B Director suddenly  appeared out of the kitchen and ordered a new set of tables to be opened.  This is not a thing on a ship with fifteen venues - you would wait.

 

We have to change rooms today, so ended up packing, even across the hall.  Our steward is cool but it is a new section.  It is chilly in Galveston.  They should move the ship to Miami 😉

 

Edited October 19, 2022 by AtSeaAlways

[AtSeaAlways]

Back to Back aka Consecutive is easy.  You go to Centrum at 0850, CBP checks passports.  You leave the ship (zero count) and they check you back in.  So 0900 off the ship back in a lounger by 0920 or so. It is easier if you reserve the same stateroom.  RoyalUP can gum up the works, but not fatally.  

[AtSeaAlways]

The window upgrade was worth it.  A bit more room and light.   The MDR continues to impress.  Christian somehow found us an early table.  The Sequential Lunch was classy. 

 

 There are no good/ recent NA beers aboard.  

 

On leg #2, the Two Step line of dance has been restored.  

[AtSeaAlways]

[AtSeaAlways]

Some notes from today.  The teak deck is original.  The key to reducing surface rust is washing off the salt.  This is no longer allowed in Mexican ports.  They are trying to do this at night underway. 

 

Inside repairs are done by repair folks closer to the Hotel Department.  This ship has the only working aft pool sliding roof in the class.  One officer picks a happy crew vs. a newer ship every time.  

 

Going back and forth on MDR vs. Windjammer for breakfast. I spotted paper coffee cups and actual lids for them.  Shhh.   Windjammer has a large pot of bacon BTW.  And good bakery items.  Mmmm.  Well organized exercise classes.  

 

We did see a pair of sea birds starboard forward.

 

Edited October 20, 2022 by AtSeaAlways

[AtSeaAlways]

19 hours ago, AtSeaAlways said:

Some notes from today.  The teak deck is original.  The key to reducing surface rust is washing off the salt.  This is no longer allowed in Mexican ports.  They are trying to do this at night underway. 

 

Inside repairs are done by repair folks closer to the Hotel Department.  This ship has the only working aft pool sliding roof in the class.  One officer picks a happy crew vs. a newer ship every time.  

 

Going back and forth on MDR vs. Windjammer for breakfast. I spotted paper coffee cups and actual lids for them.  Shhh.   Windjammer has a large pot of bacon BTW.  And good bakery items.  Mmmm.  Well organized exercise classes.  

 

We did see a pair of sea birds starboard forward.

 

According to the Deck Supervisor, few birds stay around.

 

The teak deck is so nice for a morning walk. The ship will deadhead to Miami in November - two days.

 

We had a fun Icon party last night at 11 PM.