Grandeur OTS: First Time Grand Suite Impressions

Hello all!

We sailed on the Grandeur starting on November 11, 2014. It was our 25th Wedding Anniversary so I wanted this trip to be special for my DW (and it was!). I chose the GS over our usual balcony cabin since we drove and did not fly and could put the $$ towards the cabin. Prior to the trip I spent a lot of time researching the benefits and perks of the GS. This is not so much of a review of the trip (others have done that) but more about the "suite life" in case you might be wondering if its worth it or not. So here are a few impressions and observations. Enjoy!

Embarkation

We entered the Terminal in Baltimore (first time at that port) and I was expecting to see signs for Suite Guests (as I have seen in other ports) and did not. There was a priority sign for upper tier C&A once you entered the building but not the Suites. The RC shore attendant looked at my documents and sent us to the "regular" security line Que. A bit disappointed :( (as I was kind of expecting a separate line. I expect that the small size of the ports just did not allow for it.) but it still only took a few minutes and then we had priority suite line to check in at :). It really did not matter as there was little to no wait at any of the lines to board the ship.

The Cabin :) (pictures attached).

We had Cabin 8508 which is on the starboard side. The size is about twice the that of a regular balcony and quite roomy. The balcony itself was extremely nice. We renewed our vows on it (that's another story). The cabin has lots of lighting options and ample storage space was available for 10 days worth of luggage! It was nicely decorated and not over the top or garish in any way. The only thing lacking was power outlets. Only one was available for use, the others had a clock radio and the TV and a PS3 (which did not work but no big deal). When we entered we had a nice bowl of fruit waiting on the bar along with our bottled water which I ordered ahead of time.

The only real negative comment on this cabin is the location due to noise. It and the other GS and above suites are right below the Windjammer. I knew this as I had read other comments about the suite locations having "occasional noise" but we found the noise of stomping feet and carts being rolled about early in the mornings for breakfast prep to be enough to wake us up (at 4 am daily). If I designed the ship I would have put the suites on Deck 7 instead! Other than the "wake up calls" the cabin was extremely nice. The view through the large windows was breathtaking each and every day.

The bathroom had two sinks and a full bath tub. It never ran out of hot water (which the DW liked!). It was also nice and roomy with two medicine cabinets and drawers for storage of toiletries. There were some upscale soaps and lotions provided.

Our cabin attendant Yudi, was fantastic and took care of anything we asked for. The mattress pad one on side was worn and when I asked about it he replaced it immediately with a new one. Yudi even sent us a bottle of Champaign on our aniversery along with a nice "Happy Anniversary" banner on our door.

Concierge Service :)

This was an incredibly nice perk to have. We had two different Concierges during the trip, Francis and Jorge. Francis was heading home at our second stop. We did get an email about 8 days prior to sailing and I did reserve an over the water cabana at Barefoot Beach on Labedee ahead of time. When we got back to the cabin that day a bottle of wine was waiting with a card from Francis saying he hoped we enjoyed out cabana (and we did!). Barefoot Beach was almost deserted as we were the only ship in port that day. The Captain had an over the water cabana as well and was swimming with (ok, near) us. He was getting off and had family with him.

Both Francis and Jorge treated us extremely well and as expected went out of their way to provide us with whatever we needed. :)

The lounge on Deck 11 was a very nice perk and complementary adult beverages were served each evening by the Viking Crown Lounge staff. You could get almost any kind of sprits you wanted from them (short of complex drinks). There was a continental breakfast in the morning and snacks at dinner. If you went there on port days they would take you to the debarkation deck in an elevator reserved for their use which was nice.

On our anniversary day Jorge also sent us a bottle of champagne to our cabin. He must have told the staff at Chops (where we had dinner) who sang to us and brought us cake because I never mentioned it to them.

Some other perks we got...

Twice we got plates with chocolate covered strawberries and other goodies delivered to the cabin (with no notes). On day 2 we were invited to a suites only party at the Viking Crown Lounge. Some of the ships officers were present (we were told the Captain was to be there but he was not). The officers stopped by each table and spoke to the guests for a few minutes which was nice.

Breakfast was available daily for suite guests only at Giovanni's table. It was never crowded. They had a nice menu but you could order whatever you wanted. The service was excellent!

There was reserved seating in the back of the Palladium for shows, no real big deal for us. There was none poolside or anywhere else (as expected).

Room service was anything on the main dining room menu which was placed in a book each day for us in the cabin. We only did breakfast from it a couple of times but that on the huge balcony at sunrise pulling into port was incredible! :D

Oh, and double cruise points!

and some things we didn't see....

Others had posted about being invited to dine with the Captain or having a bridge tour for the suite guests. Neither of those things happened an no big deal to me.

Debarkation

Out waiting area was in the Concierge Lounge. It was open at 6 am but the breakfast items were not available until 7. It was cold in the lounge when returning to Port but the sunrise view was incredible! As expected we debarked on-time (Group 2!) right at 8 am. We were taken off the ship in groups of 6 by Jorge himself in our "reserved" elevator which was very nice. We were in the car and on our way home by 9 am.

Overall it was a wonderful trip. As others have posted about the Grandeur the staff everywhere we went was very nice and very helpful. It felt more personable to me than the Allure did when we were on her last year.

So is a Grant Suite worth it? For this special trip for us it was. Next year we have a JS on a 7 day trip on the Allure. For that trip I could not see spending an extra $2K. Maybe again someday!

We had Yudi for our steward. He was great. Well be sorry to miss Francis as we are sailing in 2 weeks. Thank you for your review

Thank you for sharing. Look forward to our first suite experience in January. :)

Great review.

Yudi was my stateroom attendant, too. What a gem!

About the security line: I have never had "priority" for that; you get in line with everyone else. "Priority" does not begin until check-in.

:)

Well be sorry to miss Francis as we are sailing in 2 weeks.

Francis is wonderful. I just loved his response whenever a request was made of him: "Consider it done, madam." And it always was.

We were on that cruise also in a Royal Family Suite and even with my comments below we did enjoy the overall cruise.

We definitely had priority going through security. Initially we were directed into the general line with a hundred others but asked the person directing everyone if Suite guests had a different line and he asked to see our documents and were directed to a different area with few people waiting to go through security screening.

The Playstation in our suite worked. To play DVD's we had to request a controller from Francis who we could not locate on the 1st day of the cruise. The correct "source" on the Large Screen TV had to be also selected to receive the PS signal. Worked great.

We never saw nor heard from Jorge when he took over duties. Can't say we were impressed as compared to other suite perks on other cruise lines.

We don't drink alcohol other than an occasional beer so that benefit wasn't of much value. Plenty of food everywhere on the ship so did not take advantage of the limited offerings in the lounge. Loved the Park Cafe and availability throughout the day and evening.

I was looking forward to the lounge coffee machine but disappointed that it was not functioning throughout the cruise (as I heard was the case on some other ships also). If they break down so often they should have spares available. Glad I brought my own coffee to enjoy every morning.

Had the soda package and was disappointed that we had to walk from the rear of the ship to either Ben & Jerry's or Windjammer to fill our cups. Thankfully the ship was small.

Disappointed with Labadee food service. Actually hundreds of flies all over the food with attendants sometimes trying to fan them away. Checked out other areas where they had food service and it was the same food (minus the low quality steaks) and a lot fewer flies.

We tried Giovanni's breakfast perk and was not impressed. Took way too long to have selections from the very limited menu cooked and brought to the tables. Heard that same observation from others also. That perk on NCL included a quickly made to order breakfast right in the dining area and also included lunch in the steakhouse.

Found the seating in the theater a good benefit but was disappointed in the entertainment selections. Have seen much better performances and entertainers even on Carnival.

We ate in the Main Dining Room for dinner except on formal nights. Did not care for most of the selections but always found something we could choose. By the way, the Cruise Compass often showed the recommend dress for Dinner as "Casual" in several sections (front and top of dining schedule) but under the Main Dining Room section showed Tuxedo or Suite & Tie recommended. When I inquired at Customer service the person looked at it and said "that is how it always shows". I had a copy from everyday and know that wasn't true. The room steward also said there would be 3 formals days with one upon departure from St Thomas (that is why I was curious to clarify the discrepancies that were published several times). As with some other issues the staff was quick with excuses but would not take ownership or responsibility for them. Other than a few instances, everyone was very friendly and helpful.

Toilets failed to work for several hours on several occasions. Toilet smell in the hallway was blamed on "seaweed" odors coming in a hatch at the end of the hall. Funny that our deck was 10 feet away from that doorway and we couldn't smell anything outside with the wind blowing towards us from that hatch.

Was also surprised with the limited power outlets. One bedroom had only one 220V outlet. One of the two 120V outlets in the main bedroom could not be easily used since it was under a wooden protrusion from the light fixture. The hair dryer only worked in one outlet. Fortunately there were 2 120V outlets in the hallway for the coffee and tea pots that we could use.

Even with the above we enjoyed the cruise but don't think we would splurge for the few extra Suite perks available on the Grandeur.

Just a few comments about Grandeur from our experiences having been on Grandeur three times this year and a few times before that:

If you are Diamond plus, you normally will automatically will get an invitation for a bridge, galley, or theater tour - you can pick one or all three. If you are suite, you may not get an automatic invitation - usually you do but I know from experience that sometimes they do not get a personal invite out to all suite guests. But, if you are a suite guest, just ask for the tour you want. If it is Francis in the CL, and you ask early enough in cruise, he will get you the tour you want, unless there is some special problem on that particular cruise. Concierges like Francis will try to get their guests anything that it is possible to get - but you need to ask and let them know what you want - as early in cruise as possible. Jorge is good, but I do not have the same experience with him and do not know if he can "work the system" as well as Francis. Francis is one of the best in our opinion.

In our experience, the Grandeur crew is one of the best in the RCI fleet - every time we have been on board we have felt a pretty good vibe. Everybody has an off day, not feeling well, whatever, but in general, they are a great group.

One of the things we have liked best about being in a suite on Grandeur - and some friends feel the same - is the breakfast in Giovanni's table - we have had a great time with a great breakfast. We usually are visiting and talking so maybe we did not notice the time so much, but we do not remember any appreciable delay in getting our orders.

One thing to consider doing is to get and bring along a few convertors for the 220 outlets - if you do have a number of things to plug in for recharging or for other reasons, it is nice to be able to use the 220 outlets at the desk, whatever kind of cabin you are in. The simple convertors from 220 to 110 are very cheap and most modern electronics do not need any kind of transformer - they can handle either the 220 or the 110 without any problem (Make sure you check of course.)

We are still on the Grandeur. Jorge has been amazing. A couple of little glitches, but all resolved timely. Would definitely suggest bringing converters

Thank you for the review. We will be staying in that suite for our 30th anniversary. I appreciate that you posted a few pictures. We leave in 5 months...our first time cruising. We can't wait.

Looking forward to an April 18 cruise on Grandeur in 8502. Has anyone been in that OS recently? Some recent reviews have remarked on consistent toilet issues. I think everyone is aware of the noise issues on Vision ships above the suites but I'm hoping the toilets are working for the most part. Also, it looks like Francis will be rotating back on in early Spring?

simdog77, Thanks for your suite review. I enjoyed it. It sounded like you and your wife had a wonderful time and your trip was special. Congratulations on your 25 years of marriage!