Grandeur Review 4-24-04

Just returned today from a wonderful cruise on the Grandeur of the Seas. Will post a review later this evening.

Monarch of the Seas 09/95

Enchanted Isle 07/99

Grandeur of the Seas 10/02

Carnival Conquest 10/03

Grandeur of the Seas 04/04

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[This message was edited by crazeekat on 05-01-04 at 12:49 PM.]

Can't wait to read your review! We're taking our first cruise in January 2005 on the Grandeur.

Sailing on the Grandeur of the Seas 1/15/05

Hi Crazeekat, it was great meeting all of you. We had a fantastic time. Can't wait to read your review.

We returned from out Grandeur of the Seas cruise today with great new friends and wonderful memories. First off I want to tell Foxtrot (Bill) it was our pleasure to meet you and Becky in the Schooner Bar this past Sunday. We hope you had a safe trip home.

EMBARKATION/DAY 1

We arrived at the pier by 10:50am and walked straight to the ticket agents. There were no lines and we were on the ship by 11:20am. Myself and husband Bill along with gimper (Ken and Carlyn) had adjoining JS staterooms on deck 8 (8060 & 8058). The rooms had already been cleaned so we dropped off the carry ons and headed for the pool bar. We had time for a "fru fru" drink before lunch in the Windjammer. Lunch was served at 12 noon; food was good with plenty of choices. The rest of the afternoon was spent exploring the ship and taking pictures.

Muster began at 4:30pm and lasted approximately 15 minutes it was painless. The Grandeur left NOLA on time at 5pm. We stayed out on the deck as we cruised down the river(my favorite part). We had main seating in the dining room so it was time to get ready for dinner. Our bags had arrived in our cabin before the muster so we had time to change before dinner.

Dinner in the dining room was very good. We had a table for the four of us. Gino was our head waiter and his assistant was Marianne. The service we had was the best!

The Welcome Aboard show was entertaining; then to bed early after a tiring day.

DAY 2

This was a day at sea. It started with a trip to the Windjammer for breakfast. The usual breakfast fare was offered which we all enjoyed. A relaxing day in the sun followed.

We then went to the Schooner Bar to meet fellow CC's @ 3pm. Again it was a pleasure to meet with Foxtrot and his lovely wife. We expected Yuyi however he was either climbing the "wall" or taking a nap. We missed you Yuyi.

Tonight was formal night and the Captain's cocktail party. Dinner again was very good and the service the best.

DAY 3 COZUMEL

Arrived in Cozumel on time. Had room service for breakfast which was great. Today was a shopping day as this was our fourth time here and no tours appealed to us. There were plenty of tours offered however. Lunched at Carlos and Charlies and took in the fun. We had an enjoyable day and back on the ship by 3:30pm. Just enough time for a short nap and then to get ready for dinner. Dinner again was good and I believe we had the best wait staff in the whole dining room.

DAY 4 GRAND CAYMAN

Woke early and had breakfast room service. It was great again, delivered on time, plenty of food and hot. We booked an excursion through the Grandeur for the Cockatoo Catamaran to Stingray City. It was wonderful. We had 32 people on the tour and the most personalized service from the 3 sailing staff. I would highly recommend this tour for those not wanting to book off ship. They video the whole trip and of course it is for sale but, well worth the price. This was the best stingray experience we have had.

We had about 2 hours to shop after the tour so over to Tortuga to get rum cakes and alcohol to bring home. Another fun day was had by all!!

DAY 5 COSTA MAYA

Room service breakfast again with no complaints. Relaxed until time to get off the ship at 12noon. Costa Maya was another day to browse the shops. The small village with mexican artisans and of course Diamonds International was very nice. It was a short walk(5 min.) to the end of the pier however, there was a tram available to take you if you chose. We relaxed on the beach for a short bit after browsing the shops. After buying a few souveniers, drinking beer and eating Nachos we were back on ship by 5pm. We left Costa Maya by 8pm. Another fun day!

DAY 6

At sea today for our trip back to NOLA. Spoiled by the great breakfast room service and relaxing on the balcony. Then off to the pool for the tanning and more relaxing!!

Lunch in the Windjammer was good after which came a productive visit to the casino. DH won $250.00 on slots. WooHoo.

Second formal night for dinner with our usual great service.

DAY 7

Returning home...sea day. We did breakfast in the Winjammer this morning then sat by the pool until noon. Had our first Hamburger of the week in the Solarium. Shortly after noon the Captain made an announcement that there was a medical emergency on board and he needed to pick up speed to get back to NOLA earlier than expected. We had heard a man became ill in Costa Maya and was brought back to the ship by ambulance.

The weather got bad this afternoon with rain and 60knot winds across the deck. The captain advised passengers to remain inside until the weather calmed. The seas were somewhat rough but not bad. We arrived in the river at around 5pm and back to the pier by 1am...3 hours ahead of schedule.

We handed out our gratuities this evening and said our goodbyes to all the great service staff.

DEBARKATION

Breakfast in the Winjammer at 6:30am then gathered our bags to wait for the ship to clear customs. We were cleared at 8am and the white tags called first....red tags next and by 8:25 we were off the ship. Our limo was waiting to take us home and we were back in Ocean Springs, MS by 10:15am.

OVERALL

This was a great cruise vacation. I have no negatives to add as I was there to rest and relax with family. I was not monitoring chair hogs, kids in the hot tub or looking for places to be painted!! I have no complaints. Our room steward was great and filled our needs when asked. He cleaned our room each morning and evening and left mints and the usual towel animals at night. Our dining staff was the greatest and I could not have asked for better service. I even gained three pound from eating 3 meals daily.

Anyone taking the Grandeur.....enjoy her she is a beautiful ship with excellent service staff. One thing I did note....when telling some one "thank you" their reply was always "my pleasure".

I will be glad to answer any questions you may have and sorry for the typos.

Monarch of the Seas 09/95

Enchanted Isle 07/99

Grandeur of the Seas 10/02

Carnival Conquest 10/03

Grandeur of the Seas 04/04

Mariner of the Seas 11/04

Kathie it was truly our pleasure to have met you & your fine family. This is what we enjoy about cruising, meeting all the nice people on board.

We had booked our Stingray City tour with Native Way. They were fantastic!!!! We were sitting waiting for other people to show up. Finally he said " I am sorry, you have the whole boat to yourselves." Yes just Wife' & myself. Our guide Alan gave us such a wonderful time. Not only swimming with the sting rays. We went diving for conch. Ok, we helped find his dinner. He showed us how to clean the conch out. He gave us the the pick of the shells. Then over to were the eels live. He got 2 to come out of their caves. They were about 6 feet long but amazing. He then took us around & showed us "Rocky's home." Then we went by other homes.

The Mariner is a great ship you will enjoy her. When we were on her it was spring break. All the kids on board did put a damper on some things. Being so big you don't run into the same people as much. There is so much to do on her. Don't miss the ice show it is truly amazing. The food on board was just as good. The service was also just as good.

We got home about 6:30, went to the dinning room, no food. Back to reality

Great review Crazeekat! Your experiences pretty much paralleled ours and I would highly recommend this ship as well. Sorry I missed you and Bill at the Schooner Bar ( see my post "Just off the Grandeur"); I would have enjoyed having you guys there when I climbed the wall. I will post my review in the next couple of says. Happy cruising on the Mariner!

Thanks for the great review. We also had a wonderful experience on the Grandeur and are looking forward to a return visit in Feb 05. However, I see that you had a Conquest cruise in between your two Grandeur cruises and I was wondering how the two compared? We considered trying the Conquest next year but didn't want to take the chance that it is not as nice as the Grandeur. Your thoughts??

Thanks

Crazeekat-

We were on the Grandeur 10/02 and had a waiter named Gino who was from Turkey. He was really cute and was so funny. Just wondering if that was the same one you had! If it was, I agree, he was the best waiter on the ship and most entertaining also!

jtryan, we were on the Conquest last year(April) and on the Grandeur last week, so I can give you my comparison. The Conquest is a much newer, larger ship that caters to a younger demographic. The Conquest is very glitzy and colorful (lots of neon and very bold decor). The Grandeur has a more understated elegant look, with lots of brass and light-colored wood trim throughout the ship. The primary colors are pastels and earthtones. The age of the average passenger was definitely higher on the Grandeur and there were fewer children. We found the Conquest to have a more active nightlife but preferred the more relaxed atmosphere of the Grandeur ( I guess that means we're getting older ). I found the service and quality of food to be about equal but the portions were larger on the Grandeur. The cabins on the Conquest are larger and all have a mini-fridge. Overall, we loved both ships and will cruise either one again in a heartbeat, but we prefer the "quiet" elegance of the Grandeur.

Hi all.

We were on the 4/10 sailing and also had a great cruise. It was our 3rd time on the Grandeur and it is our favorite ship so far.

Love it so much that we booked the 7 day Bahamas trip out of Baltimore on 7/11.

"LET THE WINDS OF TIME BLOW OVER MY HEAD, I'D RATHER DIE WHILE I'M LIVING THAN LIVE WHILE I'M DEAD" - J. BUFFETT

The Grandeur is our favorite ship....we loved the relaxed atmosphere and the great service. Not to mention, it is close to home.

Yes, Gino our dining room waiter was from Turkey and he was the best we ever had.

I agree with yuyi on his comments of the Conquest but given the choice we would stay with RCI.

Our JS was great with plenty of room for storage and a nice balcony. A good size bathroom with a full tub. You have a sofa and 2 chairs in the room also. Its the only way to go!

It's back to work on Wednesday........and counting down for the Mariner in November.

Monarch of the Seas 09/95

Enchanted Isle 07/99

Grandeur of the Seas 10/02

Carnival Conquest 10/03

Grandeur of the Seas 04/04

Mariner of the Seas 11/04