Grandeur Review of 24 April Sailing (Short Version)

Greeting All!
This is a short version of my DW and son's cruise on the Grandeur last week.

Embarkation: Arrived at 10;15 a.m. and dropped off luggage. Parked in the adjoining lot and walked the few yards to the terminal. Escorted directly to the C&A Platinum check in, there for a very few minutes and on the ship by 10:40. Dropped off carry-ons in the cabin. It was not ready yet, so they did not linger.

On the ship: Went up to the pool deck, had a drink and wandered around awhile. Then off to the mall to buy dress shoes that my son forgot to pack. Back on the ship and departed about 1655 hrs. Because I am over here, I only got to watch on the port cam as they pulled out.

Late Seating Dinner: Great table mates, including a couple of other divers and a couple from the U.K. Food was good; service was great!

Entertainment: Okay, nothing new and extraordinary. The juggler was interesting. The remainder was okay; but if you've seen it before, you've seen it before.

Rock Wall: My son climbed it two or three times and he is 19 and in the military. Says it is challenging and fun.

Cabin: Great service and looked good. Could use a little sprucing up; but still very nice.

Excursion Desk: Staff member from Hell! I had booked tours online with RCI for them weeks prior to the cruise. Tickets had not arrived in the cabin before they left for dinner at 2000 hrs. Shore Desk blew them off when they tried to check on the prior to dinner. When the tickets did arrive, the desk was closed and they were for the wrong excursion. By the time my wife got through the very looooong line of disgruntled passengers complaining of wrong tours and wrong times, they had missed their dive. Seems there was a computer glitch and many of the excursions were screwed up. Passengers were not notified until too late. Impression of the staff member at the shore excursion desk was that she was overwhelmed, understaffed, and really did'nt give a rip!! Their dive in Grand Cayman was cancelled because there were too few divers.

Ports: Cozumel - they had been there several times before, so they just went to town, ate and enjoyed the musicians in the square and enjoyed a day on the beach.
Grand Cayman - Since the dive was cancelled, they opted for Sting Ray City and the Reef Snorkel. Since we have always been diving there, we have never done this tour. They absolutely loved it! Even enjoyed the snorkeling. Said the reef is beautiful and the fish are gorgeous. Only improved when you can dive.
Costa Maya - Took the taxi to Majahual and rented horses. Rode south of town and out on the beach. Enjoyed the riding. Tried to find NitrogenAddict to say hello for me, but he was not there; probabaly out on a dive. They spent the afternoon back at the pool at the port.

At Sea: They went through a front on Friday morning with heavy seas and hight winds. Activities on deck were cancelled and passengers were warned not to go onto the open decks. My son observed a lounge chair jump ship and begin a new life in the sea. The ship was rolling significantly during the day. Apparently a passenger had a cardiac problem and they were trying to get him back to the U.S. quickly. Thus, the stabilizers were not out.They were back in the mouth of the Mississippi Friday night and unloaded the sick passenger as soon as a pilot boat could reach them.

Debarkation: Started calling "colors" at 0755. Their color was second and they were off the ship and in the car by 0830. Spent the remainder of the day in the Quarter and then to the JazzFest for the afternoon.

Just FYI: With the miracle of cell phones and computers, I booked my wife and I on the Brilliance next February for the 10 day Panama Canal Cruise. It will be a combination "I'm Back" and a 25th anniversary celebration. If anyone has advice for what to see in Aruba and Costa Rica, let me know. I have had several tours in the military in Panama, so I plan on taking my wife to Portobello to see the countryside and the Church of the Black Christ there.

Any questions, let me know. I'll find out from my DW and let you know.

Captain Ronn [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

We had the pleasure of meeting your wife during breakfast on the windjammer deck one morning Captain Ronn. She explained the reason for your absence and we fully understand and support what you're doing. She also told us about the problems with the excursions. As far as the weather situation Friday, it certainly was a very windy and stormy afternoon. I was very impressed by how stable and smooth the Grandeur remained while slicing through the rough seas at high speed (due to the medical emergency). I can think of several other cruise ships I've been on that would have fared much worse under those conditions. Tell your wife the gang from New Orleans says hello!

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WOW, yuyi64! Glad to hear that she met someone from these boards. She usually shys away from crowds but loves to meet people when she is having her morning coffee. They had a great time on the cruise despite the few bumps in the road.

Don't know how much she shared about my work with you; but she is supportive; just doesn't like the fact of not knowing where I am sometimes or how long I will be gone.

Hope I get to meet you guys and more of the Cruise Critic members one day.

Captain Ronn

yuyi64,
Forgot to mention that they stayed the evening in N'awlins after returning. Enjoyed a burger at the Port O' Call and then went to the JazzFest to hear Carlos Santana. Great town, that N'awlins, always something to do.

You guys cruising again any time soon?

Captain Ronn

Great choice for a burger; Port O'Call is one of our favorite places to grab a hamburger. They have pretty good salads, pizzas, and soups too (huge portions). We were going to go see Santana as well but simply had too many things to do when we got back home. I forgot to mention in my earlier reply that I heard from a crewmember that there another medical emergency onboard besides the heart attack. She said another crewmember had seriously injured his back and they wanted to get him back to New Orleans as quickly as possible. I hope both individuals made out allright once they got them to a hospital. As far as when we'll cruise next, we'll definitely cruise again next April ( our favorite month of the year to cruise ), but we might cruise again this fall if I can get a really good last minute deal. I hope your wife and son enjoyed the cruise as well as our city; maybe next time you'll be able to join them. I'm off from work today so I'll start working on my review and post it when I'm finished.

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