Grandeur live 12/14 - 12/21

[bitob]

There has been one other issue but it is being resolved. In a handful of suites there was a loud banging noise when ship was sailing. I did not experience it on the crossing. Others did and some people changed cabins. After the 5 day break for the christening, for the next 2 legs we moved to a different suite. Noise was horrible. They finally figured it out. They had to remove bedroom ceiling panel to find the problem 
 

For my “inconvenience” they are moving me from a grandeur suite to a grand suite for the Panama Canal leg. I said I would only move if I could keep my wonderful butler !!  They agreed 

Edited December 17, 2023 by bitob

[cruise_loverinlaval]

On 12/15/2023 at 2:44 PM, tnm6217 said:

I absolutely LOVE seeing all the former Celebrity loyalists on this thread! So many of us said we were done, and clearly we've voted with our feet. I have my last Celebrity cruise on Summit in January, which will be fine, but I'm so excited for new adventures ahead on Windstar, Silversea, and Regent!

Hello, I am impressed by your 2023 cruise schedule and your future cruises schedule for 2024, 2025 and 2026!  You probably retired at the end of 2022.  Enjoy all these wonderful voyages!

[tnm6217]

4 minutes ago, cruise_loverinlaval said:

Hello, I am impressed by your 2023 cruise schedule and your future cruises schedule for 2024, 2025 and 2026!  You probably retired at the end of 2022.  Enjoy all these wonderful voyages!

 

@cruise_loverinlaval This made me smile big! I’m still 20+ years away from retirement. I started cruising about a year ago after too many years of “I’ll travel when…” Cruising has become such a nice rhythm in my life and I’m so grateful to get to go as often as I do. I’m especially grateful for lines like Crystal, Regent, and Silversea who offer great rates for “independent travelers” like myself. What a treat it is to get a little taste of retirement while I’m still working ☺️

[cruise_loverinlaval]

22 minutes ago, tnm6217 said:

 

@cruise_loverinlaval This made me smile big! I’m still 20+ years away from retirement. I started cruising about a year ago after too many years of “I’ll travel when…” Cruising has become such a nice rhythm in my life and I’m so grateful to get to go as often as I do. I’m especially grateful for lines like Crystal, Regent, and Silversea who offer great rates for “independent travelers” like myself. What a treat it is to get a little taste of retirement while I’m still working ☺️

Hello, ships are your new home! During the Covid period, people started to work from home.  You certainly have an interesting way of working.  Unfortunately, my work prior to retirement did not allow me to be on a ship. TA are able to cruise and work!  Enjoy!

[Gpilon]

1 hour ago, bitob said:

There has been one other issue but it is being resolved. In a handful of suites there was a loud banging noise when ship was sailing. I did not experience it on the crossing. Others did and some people changed cabins. After the 5 day break for the christening, for the next 2 legs we moved to a different suite. Noise was horrible. They finally figured it out. They had to remove bedroom ceiling panel to find the problem 
 

For my “inconvenience” they are moving me from a grandeur suite to a grand suite for the Panama Canal leg. I said I would only move if I could keep my wonderful butler !!  They agreed 

Nice inconvenience move. We will be in 1012 on Grandeur in July.

 

[bitob]

18 hours ago, Gpilon said:

Nice inconvenience move. We will be in 1012 on Grandeur in July.

 

We will be in 1015

we were in a grand suite on splendor a few years back because splendor suite was not available. Grand suite too big but we’ll suffer lol

[Gpilon]

3 minutes ago, bitob said:

We will be in 1015

we were in a grand suite on splendor a few years back because splendor suite was not available. Grand suite too big but we’ll suffer lol

We were in GS 1201 and then 1012 on last 2 Splendor cruises. I came down with a nasty respiratory  virus on our TA this past April. Bride kicked me out to living room area so she could sleep!

 

[Whinenowine]

On 12/15/2023 at 7:05 PM, bitob said:

this cruise has a younger crowd with many first time regent cruisers. The feel is very different. Not better or worse — just different 

Hi, @bitob--can you elaborate a bit on 'younger crowd'?  I'm on a 7day cruise on the Grandeur  next year and was just wondering if you meant 50s, 40s....younger?  Just curious, thanks!

 

[bitob]

18 hours ago, Whinenowine said:

Hi, @bitob--can you elaborate a bit on 'younger crowd'?  I'm on a 7day cruise on the Grandeur  next year and was just wondering if you meant 50s, 40s....younger?  Just curious, thanks!

 

Many more 30s and 40s than I would have imagined. Some 50s. And the rest of us. It is always different in a 7 day Caribbean. Attracts people who work and those who want to try a luxury line at a more affordable price point. Many first time regent cruisers on board 

 

I’m guessing the zip line tours are filled up. lol

[Whinenowine]

2 minutes ago, bitob said:

Many more 30s and 40s than I would have imagined. Some 50s. And the rest of us. It is always different in a 7 day Caribbean. Attracts people who work and those who want to try a luxury line at a more affordable price point. Many first time regent cruisers on board 

 

I’m guessing the zip line tours are filled up. lol

Haha...reminds me of our first Silversea cruise.  I was in my late 30s (and DW was even younger) and clearly 20-25yrs younger than the average SS passenger.  And we still had a blast.  

[rcandkc]

I imagine the average age will increase greatly on the next 2 cruises. 

[bitob]

18 hours ago, rcandkc said:

I imagine the average age will increase greatly on the next 2 cruises. 

Next is Panama Canal. My 6th time. Much much older demographic. Similar to transatlantic. More sea days 

[the_dylaness]

I'll be on the Jan 8th PC cruise... was born in the 80s 🙂 Great to have a mix!

[Just2guys]

I have been following this thread in anticipation of our upcoming Grandeur sailing next year and appreciate everyone's input regarding the ship.  It sounds really nice and quite spectacular in many respects.

 

One concern, however, are the comments about the thin walls between the cabins and people being able to hear the conversations on either side of them.  While not a deal breaker, per se, we had this issue on a Navigator sailing we were on several years ago and it was (at least for me) somewhat annoying.

 

Is it really as noticeable as many are saying?  Not discounting what others have said, but if it is a problem throughout the ship between the cabins I just want my expectations to be adjusted accordingly.

 

I have not heard of this being mentioned on the Splendor or Explorer so was surprised to hear of it on this new ship.

 

Thanks for any additional feedback anyone would like to offer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[lorimay]

For us, hearing our neighbors is just surprising but not a huge annoyance. One of our trivia partners said that on the last leg, the couple in the next cabin was not getting along and the could hear them fighting. I’m just wondering why it’s such a problem on this ship compared to the others. 

 

Our same trivia partners have had a huge issue with noise in their suite. They plated us a recording of a loud clicking and popping sound. They had crew work three hours on it yesterday. 

[lorimay]

A comment on what Regent does very well - the feeling of luxury. In the staterooms, all of the furniture and cabinetry is very good quality. The sofa is remarkably comfortable compared to those hard benches in the Edge class cabins. The soft goods are incredible. The mattress is so comfortable, the sheets feel so luxurious, and those soft, fluffy towels are to die for. All around the ship the fabrics are high end. There is beautiful art work but it’s not “in your face” like on Celebrity (don’t get me wrong, we love the Beyond). Overall, it gives the impression of luxury- like a high-end hotel. 

[lorimay]

A follow up on our bad service on day 1. Today we got a phone call from George, the maitre d’ at CR, apologizing for our bad experience. He was very genuine and sincere. We explained service was great the next night. He said we know there were mistakes and we know how to do it right. 
 

We also had the housekeeping officer deliver a bottle of nonalcoholic wine to the room and apologize in person for the promise that an alternative to champagne would be in our cabin and it didn’t happen.  He said he and the head sommelier scoured the ship to find something. We were very grateful. Clearly the comments I left were taken seriously and we appreciate that. 
 

Also, I don’t know if it’s a coincidence or not, but yesterday I commented on the lack of cold towels on the dock when you come back from excursions. Today a crew member was handing them out. The people around us were also delighted because it is so refreshing. 
 

I feel that some of the negative things we have experienced are just because it is a new ship and they haven’t gotten their normal procedures in place yet. 

[ToxM]

No experience to speak of, but over on the Oceania board there are comments about the walls between cabins on Vista (their newest ship) being thinner than on other ships. As both lines are owned by NCL and both ships are very new, this issue should be noted. 

[rcandkc]

I have to wonder why they would mess with the cabin walls after Explorer and Splendor…besides the obvious answer.  I hate hearing my neighbors in hotels/ motels and it makes a big impression on me when it happens.  I guess I’ll find out soon if bothersome to us. 

[bitob]

20 hours ago, Just2guys said:

I have been following this thread in anticipation of our upcoming Grandeur sailing next year and appreciate everyone's input regarding the ship.  It sounds really nice and quite spectacular in many respects.

 

One concern, however, are the comments about the thin walls between the cabins and people being able to hear the conversations on either side of them.  While not a deal breaker, per se, we had this issue on a Navigator sailing we were on several years ago and it was (at least for me) somewhat annoying.

 

Is it really as noticeable as many are saying?  Not discounting what others have said, but if it is a problem throughout the ship between the cabins I just want my expectations to be adjusted accordingly.

 

I have not heard of this being mentioned on the Splendor or Explorer so was surprised to hear of it on this new ship.

 

Thanks for any additional feedback anyone would like to offer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have been in two different suites. I have not heard any noise from neighboring suites. Not sure you can know in advance unless someone on cc has been in same suite. Not likely since we are such a small percentage of cruisers 

[NYC-London]

10 hours ago, briar14 said:

On Grandeur, sitting on sofa, I clearly heard my suite neighbor giving CC information, including home address, while on a phone call. We’ve been on all Regent ships and never have heard voices so clearly.

Same here - have been on all the  Regent ships and this is the first time we can clearly hear conversations from the adjoining suites - at first I just thought our neighbors talk loudly but we can hear EVERYTHING, including once the lights go out - if you get my drift.

[lorimay]

Today we were at Harvest Caye in Belize. This private island was beautifully built and maintained. It reminds me of Holland America’s Half Moon Cay or Coco Cay (before it became “A Perfect Day”. Because we were the only ship it was very empty. Almost like a private experience. It’s a long walk from the ship but they had plenty of shuttles to take you back and forth. We live near the beach so it’s not an attraction for us, the sand was raked smooth and the loungers and umbrellas were clean and plentiful. If you don’t like the beach, there’s a huge and beautiful pool. The only downside is that food and drink are not free here. But most of the excursions are. Really a nice “beach” day. 
 

Got back to the ship about 2:30 and went to the pool grill. They still have not gotten their act together. Had to order our drinks twice. We wanted to order something off the menu. Had to wave a waiter down after another waiter walked by us several times. Food from the buffet was good, but not outstanding. La Veranda has been great - I’m not sure what’s happening outside on the pool deck. 
 

We went to tea in the Meridian Lounge this afternoon. It was great. 
 

I tried to get into any specialty restaurant tonight. Our specialty restaurant reservations don’t start until tomorrow night. Nothing was available anywhere. We have sharing in Pacific Rim one night and she couldn’t even give us a solo table. This is the downside of a full ship. 
 

David Nevin is doing the show tonight and I’m looking forward to it. Last night was Ignite the Night. The dancers were great. I’m still not in love with the singers. However, the two production shows have got those old, tired productions on Celebrity (I’m looking at you, Topper) beat hands down in every way. 

[NYC-London]

4 hours ago, bitob said:

Many more 30s and 40s than I would have imagined. Some 50s. And the rest of us. It is always different in a 7 day Caribbean. Attracts people who work and those who want to try a luxury line at a more affordable price point. Many first time regent cruisers on board 

 

I’m guessing the zip line tours are filled up. lol

Seem to be lots of younger people (in their 30's) some traveling with their parents - also some younger children aboard. There are many first time Regent cruisers which gives the whole cruise a different vibe. I think one of the main problems is that there are so many new passengers who do not know "the ropes" and unless someone is available to help them, it leads to some confusion. As an example, some passengers were confused about ordering breakfast in LV and ended up with three breakfasts! Also there are some who seem to be going overboard with the ability to order without flashing your room key each time - seems to be much more waste than I remember. And what is really irking me - people leaving their garbage wherever they happen to be instead of picking it up and disposing of it themselves. Today we were at Harvest Caye, NCL private island and upon returning to the ship, we witnessed two different individuals just throw their garbage on the ground near the entrance to the ship. There is no doubt, a seven day cruise has a different vibe and tone than all the other Regent cruises I have taken but it hasn't affected my enjoyment.

[irishwitchy]

4 hours ago, bitob said:

Many more 30s and 40s than I would have imagined. Some 50s. And the rest of us. It is always different in a 7 day Caribbean. Attracts people who work and those who want to try a luxury line at a more affordable price point. Many first time regent cruisers on board 

 

I’m guessing the zip line tours are filled up. lol

I’m just went zip lining with my kids and granddaughter.  I love zip lining and I’m Not in my 30s, 40s or 50s!  

[Kwaj girl]

1 hour ago, lorimay said:

A comment on what Regent does very well - the feeling of luxury. In the staterooms, all of the furniture and cabinetry is very good quality. The sofa is remarkably comfortable compared to those hard benches in the Edge class cabins. The soft goods are incredible. The mattress is so comfortable, the sheets feel so luxurious, and those soft, fluffy towels are to die for. All around the ship the fabrics are high end. There is beautiful art work but it’s not “in your face” like on Celebrity (don’t get me wrong, we love the Beyond). Overall, it gives the impression of luxury- like a high-end hotel. 

 

We are the exact opposite with regard to the fluffy towels.  I have long hair and those towels just don't absorb water very well after my shower, and leaves my skin more damp than I'd like.  I know...first world problems.   🤣