Granduer of the Seas, Port of Calls, and Other Newbie Questions...

[maybesomeday]

Thanks for anyone who replies to this posting in advance!

 

We booked a balcony cabin on the 7th deck for our honeymoon, and I have lots of questions.

 

I will be a first time cruiser on 11/16/07 on Grandeur of the Seas sailing out of Baltimore and heading to:

 

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

Samana, Dominican Republic

Labadee, Haiti

 

First: Anyone that has been to any of these ports any reviews/ideas of excursions will be great to know, as we are still deciding what we want to do at each port of call.

 

Second: I was told by RCCL that sometimes the price is adjusted closer to the sailing date, how often does that happen? I just looked and ALL balcony rooms for our sailing are already sold out, so does that mean they won't lower the price since the boat is filling up at the current rates?

Third: Anything you can reccomend for this specific ship such as places to eat and things to do/try while we are onboard will be much appreciated as well.

 

Fourth: I am a little scared of new things, and the trip sounds great to me EXCEPT I am warey of the whole tender thing at Dominican Republic and Haiti... how bad is it, did you feel unsafe going from the ship to the tender?

 

Thanks again for any/all responses... Let me know anything that you wish you would have known when you were a first time cruiser!

 

Thanks,

Liz

[cb at sea]

You are perfectly safe tendering to Labadee! It's only about a 4 minute tender ride--you can see the ship anchored offshore the whole time! Labadee is beautiful! And it's a beach day--no need to spend a penny there if you don't want to! Just like on the ship, food is included, alcohol and sodas are extra. You can't leave the private beach area, so no "excursions" are necessary. They will have "water sport" items wave-runners, etc..) avail for rent, if you're so inclined. We never saw the need! For less crowded conditions, keep walking past the 1st beach and the crowds will thin and you can get some privacy, if you want! Lovely place!

As far as the price dropping, just keep checking the RCI website---if you see a decrease, call them and ask to have the price adjusted! (It's been our experience, tho, that the price tends to RISE as you get closer to sail date--good luck!)

St. Thomas is a really nice island. If you like beaches, book the snorkle excursion to St. Johns--really pristine area--(you don't have to snorkle, if you don't want to---we just layed on the beach, swam and sunned!) The town of Charlotte Amalie is nice to walk through--lots of jewelry shops--and other souvenier type things--very friendly and safe.

Have fun!

[wraithe]

Congrats on picking a cruise for your honeymoon, it don't get better than that. My lovely bride and I did an all inclusive for our honeymoon, it was nice, but I so wish we had spent that money on our first cruise instead of waiting another year. Oh well, live and learn.

 

As to Grandeur, so far, she's my favorite ship, I've been on her and Mariner, and actually like Grandeur better in many ways. I do miss Bolero's Lounge on Mariner, but I still love dancing in the Centrum on Grandeur. This far out, most of the balcony cabins on your cruise are probably blocked out by TA's, and will come on the market later, so keep an eye out and look for price reductions. You might get lucky there. There aren't any specialty restaurants on Grandeur, so your choices are room service, Windjammer, the Solarium Grill and the Great Gatsby (aka, dining room). Food is a real fight starter, so I'll just say that I've enjoyed 17 supper meals in the dining room. We ate one night on our first cruise in the Windjammer and missed the ambience of the DR so much that we haven't done that again.

 

As to ports, I visited Puerto Rico while onboard the USS Nebraska in the Navy, so my perspective would be much different than arriving on a cruise ship. I liked PR, and look forward to visiting there on Radiance in March, and Grandeur in October of 2007. I visited Charlotte Amalie on Mariner, and didn't do any excursions, just went shopping, so can't help you there either. I haven't been to either of the other two ports yet, but will have by the time you go, when I visit them on Grandeur in October (my third Grandeur cruise, you get the impression I like Grandeur?). I've never felt unsafe boarding or debarking a tender, but will have to say that it can be a pain in the butt just because you have to wait sometimes, when there are a lot of people. For instance, I will never sweat leaving the ship to go ashore in Cozumel again, not if I have to tender, it was perfectly safe, but what a pain waiting for two tenders to unload ahead of us, when I could have been lying by the pool. On the other hand, tendering at Coco Cay and Georgetown, Grand Cayman was a breeze.

 

Don't know if you and your fiance are fans of ballroom dancing or maybe already pros. If not, there have been a huge number of people come through the studio that my wife and I go to taking lessons just for their first dance, and then end up coming back for general lessons. Just a thought, it's another thing I wish I had done before my wife and I married. A waltz for a first dance, is so much nicer than a grip and sway.

[TPKeller]

There isn't a lot of excursion info, but each of these stops is covered on my Cruise Maps page. You might find it helpful to at least get the lay of the land, so to speak.

 

I recently added the DR map, specifically because Grandeur is stopping there next year! :)

 

Theron

[maybesomeday]

Thanks for all the help!

 

Raithe- I looked at your cruise review of Grandeur! I am a picky eater as well (no seafood..) so that made me nervous, but sounds like I will be alright. My fiance' will eat like a horse I am sure... LOL We are taking dance lessons next summer to prepare for our first dance, and we aren't telling anyone, they will be surprised for sure! We are a fun loving couple, we don't put out the sophisticated vibe at all... we are best in jeans and tshirts running around together, so a routined dance will surprise everyone!

 

TPkeller- I found your maps to be informative just to see if there are cities built up or just beaches... thanks for the topography so I know what to expect!

 

Thanks for the information about tendering, it seems scary to go from a large ship to a little boat on a little bridge system on the ocean, but I have talked to quite a few people (even wimps) that said it was an ok experience, so I will put that qualm behind me.