Grandeur to Bermuda Review 7/17/05-7/22/05

We were in Cabin 8588 which is an aft junior suite right in the middle of the back of the ship facing the wake. It was a nice size cabin with plenty of storage space and a comfortable bathroom (for a ship, that is) with a bath tub and with nice toiletries provided (shampoo, shower gel, lotion, lip balm) and two luscious robes. The balcony was very large. It had two upright chairs, one lounge-type chair, and a coffee table. Anyway, we dropped off our carry-on stuff and headed to the Windjammer for Lunch. The buffet was the usual stuff. Not great, but not bad either. We toured the ship. It was in very nice shape. We felt it was clean and we really liked the layout. This was my 16th cruise, but first one on a Vision-class ship. Most of my cruises have been on larger, newer ships. Grandeur is a very elegant ship and was aptly named. We met up with some friends from Cruise Critic in the afternoon which was the beginning of a fun week!

We had early seating in the Great Gatsby Dining Room and had a lovely table right beside the Captain’s Table (which he never appeared at). We were seated with our Cruise Critic friends which made for a very pleasant Dining experience! (Thanks Pam and David! We loved getting to know you both!) Our Dining Room crew was pretty good. Tomas the waiter was a bit of a clown. He was efficient though. Silvia the Asst. Waiter (waitress I should say) was delightful but not terribly skilled in her craft quite yet! She was fun to be around, but she was forever spilling water and iced tea when she tried to fill our glasses and made for some good laughs! She’s a sweet girl though and will get better at her job in time! She tried very hard to please us! We just smiled and said, “thanks” and wiped up the puddles of water or tea from our laps when she walked away! The Dining Room food was very good (excellent at times). A few times I did have to order from the alternative menu, but only because I just wasn’t in the “mood” for the selections they had to offer on those nights.

The entertainment during our week was pretty good. There were two production shows which were terrific and a couple of other variety type shows with comedians, magicians, etc… All were good. We saw some game shows and attended one of the art auctions. We had a good time but these events tend to be the same from ship to ship. We skipped bingo, pool games, theme parties, etc… Others certainly seemed to enjoy them though. We lounged around the ship a lot. There are plenty of spots to do this both indoors and out. We never had a problem getting a lounge chair either although there were quite a few “saved” chairs despite the signs explaining how this practice is not allowed. One HUGE complaint I had was that they NEVER opened the retractable roof from over the solarium and it was SWELTERING HOT in there! I couldn’t be in there for more than 5 minutes without starting to have difficulty breathing from the oppressive heat and humidity! I agree that those roofs are great on a rainy day or in colder climates, but geez, it was 90 degrees outside and about 290 degrees inside that oven of a solarium! We asked them why they didn’t open it, but didn’t ever get an actual answer. Oh well, we just didn’t spend any time in there (which was a disappointment because the solarium is usually our favorite spot).

After one full day at sea, we arrived on the morning of day 3 in Beautiful Bermuda and docked at King’s Wharf. I had read so many reviews where people suggested that a cruise that only docked at the Wharf would be a waste of time. We were very pleasantly surprised to find that King’s Wharf was a delightful port and you could easily access any part of the island you wanted. It was very picturesque at the wharf (in my opinion the prettiest of the three possible docking areas in Bermuda…St. George’s, Hamilton, and King’s Wharf). It was a lovely area which incorporated both history (the old Naval Fort) and local culture plus all the fun of the snorkel park, water excursions, easy access to the bus/ferry system and much more! The evening we were there they also held a Festival right at the Dockyard which was very enjoyable with live music, Gombey dancers, local vendors, etc… We really loved King’s Wharf and would definitely consider it as a great destination in the future.

On our first day in Bermuda, we did the Wildcat Adventure Tour. This is a speedboat which sails around the entire island in 2 hours, stopping along the way for sights of interest. Unfortunately, after about 15 minutes, the Wildcat blew it’s bearings and slipped a belt (or something like that…I’m not a mechanic!) anyway we then floated in to St. George’s to pick up replacement parts, but got the added bonus of a closer look at St. George’s along the way. We continued on with our tour only to find that we had lost our navigational capability and could not sailing into the more treacherous waters on the southshore side of the island (boo hoo, no Horseshoe bay!!!) So, we turned around and sped back toward Hamilton and toured around that bay for a while. We were disappointed that we didn’t get to sail along the Southshore beaches, but it was still a nice tour all in all.

After lunch on the ship, we grabbed the public bus to Horseshoe Bay (we were going to see it one way or another!) It was an easy ride to the beach (about 20 minutes). It cost $4 per person each way. We walked down the steep hill at Horseshoe and were awed by the stunning beauty ahead! I’ve been to many beautiful places, but this is right up there near the top for out and out beauty! The water was very rough though and made for difficulty trying to swim! The undertow was quite dangerous! We managed to survive it though! We spent the afternoon splashing in the waves and wandering from one beautiful cove to the next! The walk back up the hill at the end of the day should be reserved only for the athletes though! Hubby and I made it, but in retrospect, we should have paid the $1 and taken the little van that was available to drive us up the hill. Sometimes it’s better to just admit it when you are licked! We were stubborn though, and once we got to the top of the hill….we were drenched in sweat and miserable. The bus ride back to the dockyard was much more crowded and felt like it took a lot longer. I don’t think it actually did though.

After Dinner on the ship, we headed out to the Dockyard Festival for the remainder of the night and visited all the cute shops right there at the Clocktower Mall at the Dockyard and enjoyed the music and dancers. It was a beautiful night. The ship was all lit up and the moon was full overhead. The Dockyard was abuzz with excitement and the ship was alive with activity. It was really and awesome evening.

On the 2nd day at Bermuda we did the Restless Native Catamaran Tour. This was a leisurely and educational tour around the harbor near Hamilton. We learned a lot of Bermuda history as well as a bit of marine biology of the undersea life in that region. We eventually anchored in shallow water in a private cove and spent an hour or so snorkeling in underwater caves and over various reefs. It was very nice. The tour staff was very knowledgeable and entertaining at the same time. They also served hot, homemade chocolate-chip cookies that were cooked right onboard the catamaran and rum swizzles, lemonade, and/or water. It was really a nice tour and I highly recommend it. It lasted about 3 ½ hours.

After a quick lunch on the ship, we headed back out to explore the Maritime Museum right there at the Dockyard. It was very interesting and we could have spent more time there but did have to get back to the ship to prepare for our departure from lovely Bermuda.

The following day was another leisurely sea day. We went to a towel-folding class, a swing-dance class, learned a few “tricks” at the magician’s class, and relaxed with a good book in the Library. We had no trouble filling our time throughout the week. Whether we were active or inactive….we were enjoying ourselves on the beautiful Grandeur of the Seas! There were a few “snafu’s” throughout the week, but nothing that tainted my cruise experience.

Disembarkation was as easy as embarkation. We waited for our tags to be called in the Viking Crown Lounge (for Platinum and Diamond Members) where they had coffee, juice, and pastries. They started disembarking the self-assist passengers at about 9:00a.m. (those were the folks who carried their own luggage off the ship). We had white tags and were the first called for the “regular” disembarkation to pick up our luggage from the warehouse. We were in our car heading home by 9:45a.m.

Here's a link to some of my Grandeur to Bermuda Photos...

http://community.webshots.com/album/401789380eABQen

Bonnie - Thank you for the trip report. You covered everything very well. I will be sailing on Grandeur 8/14.

Sue

Thanks for the review. Brings back memories of when I was there last month. We are going again in Nov. I remember that steep hill very well. We walked it also.:eek:

thanks for sharing your review. Glad you had a good trip.

Nice review. Thanks. Sailing on 8/14, 5 nights, Baltimore to Bermuda.

Great pics!! Thanks

Great review!....we are going next year....the ship looks wonderful....very different from the Voyager....which was a great cruise...but... I just prefer a smaller ship like the Grandeur. I really like the clear balcony guard rail. Thank you for sharing so well!

Betho

Thanks Bonnie, great review! We are going to be on the Grandeur in April 2006 and you were in one of our rooms, we have 8088 and 8588 booked. I'm pleased to hear it's a great cabin!

Great review and photos, thanks for sharing! :)

Thanks for posting and for the pics. But where is the food?? No pictures???

Seriously though, which food would you rate as "excellent"? We'll be on Grandeur 2 weeks from today, would be nice to know what not to miss.

Also, while it sounds like you had a good time, there did seem to be a number of annoyances. Since you are obviously a cruise veteran, is this par for the course, or were there more than you usually have?

Great review- is that the way our cruise was supposed to have been? We were on the July 4th cruise to Bermuda only there a few hours. That sailing is the one with the engine problems. We love having the port so close- we knew there was a problem when we arrived at noontime and no ship.

Thanks for sharing what we should have experieced. I agree with the indoor pool- I gather that the roof doesn't open anymore. Thus it is an oven in there. We were in a junior suite also.

Thanks Bonnie! We sailed the Grandeur 6 years ago and are booked for a B2B on her next spring. It's nice to hear things are running smoothly.

I am cruising on the Grandeur to Bermuda on 8/14 with my husband and 16 year old daughter. Anyone going with teenagers? We did this cruise on the Voyager a few weeks ago and love the island of Bermuda so much

Oh pooh! I just had a big long post for you MisterBill and right as I was "submitting" it my darned computer froze up and my post was lost! :rolleyes: Anyway, in a nutshell, the foods I thought were excellent were mostly seafood dishes and desserts. I'm not a big beef eater so I didn't try any of those dishes. My husband liked his prime rib or whatever it was! I had a banana dessert with ice cream and caramel for lunch in the dining room one day that had me moaning out loud it was soooooo good! :D The key lime pie is awesome too! I did have more annoyances on this cruise than usual, but I am not a complainer and they weren't annoying enough to seriously effect my overall cruise experience! Out of all the ships I have sailed on, I rank this as my 2nd favorite ship! (Explorer is #1). I've never had a bad cruise though, so even my least favorite ship was a great cruise experience! (My least favorite ship, by the way, was Regal Empress! But I met some of the nicest folks on that ship and had some of my best meals there too!) I think every cruise experience is an isolated event and can't be duplicated. I have sailed multiple times on a ship and even stayed in the exact same cabin, but had a totally different cruise experience each time. Things happen and no cruise is perfect, but if you just go with the flow, each overall experience will come out positive! I suppose that is a good way to look at life in general! I just don't sweat the small stuff. ;)

Bonnie -

I was on the cruise with you. (As it turns out, right down the hall in 8584.)

I'm sorry we never met. My son, SIL and I were even on the Wildcat with you.

Any way, I thought I would amplify the problem on the Wildcat cruise; About 15 minutes after we left the Dockyard the PA system cut out. They had lost DC power. It was assumed that the altenator had thrown a belt. (Only one of the two engines had one.)

Our narrator then put on his mechanic's hat and discovered it wasn't the belt, but the bearings had gone bad!. So we were able to go, but we had no PA, and no navigation instruments or VHF radio.

The first plan was to take a short cut along the airport to their base, where they would swap out the altenator (spelling!) When we got to a swing bridge we had to go under, we found out that the bridge's power was out too! So we turned around and put-putted back to open ocean and around to Town Cut.

The Capatin saw the size ofthe waves on the south shore and determined that it was too rough to go on that side of the island, so we stopped into St. Georges, and then headed back west at high speed. We did go on the other side of Ireland Island and saw the snorkle park next to the dockyard.

I found it amazing how many coral heads there are all over Bermuda. They said the reef extends 10 miles to the north! A prime example of this could be seen on Wed. afternoon. An expensive sport fishing boat from North Carolina was towed into the harbor and hauled out of the water. It must have hit a rock outcropping; both of her proplellers were badly bent/torn, and the support struts that attach the shafts to the hull had been toen off of the hull, and were hanging upside down. They wre lucky; The reef only got the props, not the hull!

Aloha,

John

I was recently on Grandeur for a nine night sailing. I'm not sure if the menus differ much between the two sailings, but I can tell you the things I found to be excellent.

Roasted Duck with Currant sauce, braised red cabbage and croquettes

Mahi Mahi

Osso Bucco with polenta

Garlic Shrimp

Lobster Bisque

Escargot

Filet Mignon with Bernaise sauce

Thank you for writing the review. I shared it with my family as we will all be on the November repositioning trip. Enjoyed your photos also. It looked like you and your husband had a great time.

:)

I have never been to Bermuda but your pictures really make me want to go there!

Thanks.:)

Oh pooh! I just had a big long post for you MisterBill and right as I was "submitting" it my darned computer froze up and my post was lost! :rolleyes: Anyway, in a nutshell, the foods I thought were excellent were mostly seafood dishes and desserts. I'm not a big beef eater so I didn't try any of those dishes. My husband liked his prime rib or whatever it was! I had a banana dessert with ice cream and caramel for lunch in the dining room one day that had me moaning out loud it was soooooo good! :D The key lime pie is awesome too! I did have more annoyances on this cruise than usual, but I am not a complainer and they weren't annoying enough to seriously effect my overall cruise experience! Out of all the ships I have sailed on, I rank this as my 2nd favorite ship! (Explorer is #1). I've never had a bad cruise though, so even my least favorite ship was a great cruise experience! (My least favorite ship, by the way, was Regal Empress! But I met some of the nicest folks on that ship and had some of my best meals there too!) I think every cruise experience is an isolated event and can't be duplicated. I have sailed multiple times on a ship and even stayed in the exact same cabin, but had a totally different cruise experience each time. Things happen and no cruise is perfect, but if you just go with the flow, each overall experience will come out positive! I suppose that is a good way to look at life in general! I just don't sweat the small stuff. ;)

Hey Bonnie, Explorer of the seas continues to be my favorite ship as well. I just loved Portofino's, Johnny Rockets, the theater, the adult pool, the entertainment, the quality of the service was impeccable. I'm glad to hear that Grandeur ranks #2 on your list. Here's my ranking of my short cruise list:

In terms of condition of ship/quality of food/quality of staff & service:

#1 A++ Explorer of the Seas (Carribbean) 2001

#2 A Dawn Princess (AK Inside Passage) 2003

#3 A Enchantment of the Seas - Lengthened (North East) 2005

#4 C Empress of the Seas (Carribean) 2002

Thank you for the great review - we sailed the GOS doing the Eastern Caribbean back in I believe 1996 (it's first year of service anyway) - glad to see that she has been maintained well. We are thinking of going to Bermuda but heard that the open Atlantic was pretty rough - how were the seas?

Thanks

I didn't find the seas to be any rougher than any other trip I've taken. For the most part it was smooth sailing. On occasion you were aware of the movement, but nothing unexpected. I am not prone to seasickness though, so perhaps I just don't notice the movement so much? I did feel a little "seasick" on the public bus that took us to Horseshoe Bay in Bermuda :eek: . Now THAT was a wild ride! ;) They've got some winding roads on that island for sure! It was fun though and I never actually felt scared, but I did notice a twinge of nausea by the time I got off the bus.

Bonnie:

Thanks for the review and pictures! We were worried about all the things we were hearing as well, I feel better now.

How was the food at dinner? Which night was formal night? What did they serve?:)

Bonnie,

Was the casino closed while in port? Also, did you notice any prices for chairs and umbrellas at the beaches? Thanks

Formal Night for the 5-night Bermuda cruise was on Monday. All the Dinners were good, I don't remember what specifically was offered on each night though. I never went to the casino, but I believe it was closed while we were in port. I also didn't notice any chair or umbrella rentals at the beach. I wasn't looking for it though, so it may have been available. I don't know the prices though. Sorry.

Thanks for the great review!