Mak7464

So we will be sailing on the harmony February 4th.

This is our first time on an Oasis Class.

Give me your one thing that my wife and I should be sure to do or not miss!!

Looking for advice, info, etc. My family and I are cruising out of Lauderdale on the Harmony on February 4th. We are flying in the day before and staying at the Residence in at the airport. Residence inn provides transportation from airport to hotel but we need to arrange transportation to the cruise port in the morning.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

There will be 6 of us and all the luggage involved so I didnt even think an uber XL would be large enough. Any services that any of you have used in the past and have experience with?

Matt

I feel bad for the OP and the others who had to suffer from these issues. I do not have Celiac disease, but have a few friends who suffer from it.

I am only posting this so everyone here understands.

Celiac is an autoimmune disorder it is like an allergy, it is a very serious condition for those who suffer from it.

Now there are quite a few people who have a gluten intolerance or gluten sensitivity. This is different. these people may have a stomach ache or get a little nausea if they eat gluten but it is not as serious as Celiac. Because of these people, and its not their fault either, wait staffs have not taken "Celiac" as serious. They see every day when people who request Gluten free menus reach over and eat their spouses roll that isn't gluten free and etc. etc. etc. So eventually they start to feel that when someone says the have to have a gluten free meal its not that big of a deal.

Unfortunately, if you truly have Celiac Disease, it is a huge deal. Many do not realize that even cross contamination is a big deal. If you slice gluten bread with a knife and then slice gluten free bread with the same knife, this may be enough to make a person with Celiac Disease violently ill when they eat the Gluten Free bread.

I hope you can find a solution that you can live with so you can keep cruising. Education is the key but is seems not enough is being done with both the wait staff and the chefs.

So my wife and I are tossing around the possibilty of taking my mom and dad on a cruise on the Granduer out of Baltimore toward the fall of 2017. We have cruised out of Baltimore before and on the grandeur. This would be for their 50th wedding anniversary.

Looks like we will just be considering a 5 night to Bermuda. This is for a couple of reasons but mainly because we're not sure if my parents will like it.

Any how. My questions surround my father. I would consider him mobility impaired. He has COPD and can only walk for very short distances without stopping. (Like 25-30 yards). He does not use any time of device right now like a scooter but I would imagine he would have to use one if he wants to enjoy this cruise. The distances are just too great for him to manage. I would probably make him using one a condition of me taking him.

My questions are: does a mobility scooter fit in a standard room OK or should I look art getting them a accessible room? Are their companies that rent scooters and drop them off and pick them up at the terminal? And what else do need to know about them that I'm not thinking about?

Also, he would have to travel with his CPAP and an oxygen concentrator. Both of which he would only need at night, so any kind of input on this would be greatly appreciated.

We use to order cheese from room service but heard its off the menu for rs. So I plan on bringing some foil sheets to bring cheese to our room and enjoy late afternoon on balcony. We bring our own crackers honey likes ritz, lol.;)

Just off the GOS, a cheese plate was on the room service menu. We had it one night when we opened one of the bottles of wine we took aboard.

We went to bed early every night (traveling with a baby will do that!), but the night before Key West, sometime after I was sound asleep, I woke up to the Captain's "alpha alpha alpha Windjammer" announcement, so that seems to corroborate that medical emergency.

 

That being said, Key West was a cluster&@$! simply because they had no organization for lines to get onto the trolleys. We had a shore excursion for the conch train, and instead of allowing us off before people without excursions, they started calling muster stations, and people flooded off and cut into the line we had been waiting in. I'm sure everyone in charge had dealt with arrivals at the navy dock before, so there's no reason they shouldn't have known how to handle the flow of passengers better.

I gotta be honest with you, I walked off the boat and right onto a trolley. I was wondering what all those people on my left were in line for. I figured they were waiting for a special transport for a excursion. Soooo....I was most likely one of the people that flooded off the boat got in front of you. for that I apologize....very unorganized if that was the case. there were no queuing lines set up just a bunch of people standing there.

As far as the solarium, to be clear, I understand that when the weather is bad they set a few hours aside for kids to use the pool and hot tubs in there. I also know that's the Park Café and spa entrance.

I just find it funny when its past the posted hours and someone has their children in a hot tub or pool and they are asked to leave and the adult throws a temper tantrum that would make a 5 year old proud and the staff backs off and wont insist they leave. when at the same time they put signs on 2 out of the 4 hot tubs on the pool deck that said "Kids only" Overall, kids don't bother me, I raised my two. They have both cruised with us from the time they were 12. I would expect them to follow the posted rules, and if they were asked to leave because they were not, I would tell them to leave. I think there might be a life lesson in there somewhere about, "Rules are Rules" and they apply even if your pout and carry on. I know your little boy or little girl is a special prince or princess but your not doing them any favors by showing them how throwing a fit to get your way works for adults too. (that statement above is meant for the very few, overall parents tended to the kids quite well, there was some running in the hall, and some pressing of all the elevators buttons, but that's vacation, their kids)

I also wonder why they would nightly close down one of the hot tubs in the solarium. It wasn't being cleaned, it was just sitting there closed. I understand periodic maintenance but that was not the case. The one hot tub would "fill up" pretty quick.

Reading the comments above, I did forget the Muster drill...it was cold, it was windy. I felt bad for the people that had children with them and they were made to stand outside. But, I know the drill. It is the people that take their time getting to station that make it drag out. if everyone got there it would be over quickly. yes, I have seen it done inside, but I do Safety work for a career and fully understand the importance of an actual drill in the actual location. With that said, I did watch the life boat drills they did while in port in Nassau, I was impressed, they did an awesome job launching and retrieving the life boats and tenders.

Did you have early or my time dining? We were on the same cruise, and I most people that I saw were dressed up every night. I was impressed.

 

I was impressed one afternoon that they let the kids in the solarium pool, that by 4:01 they had all the kids out of the pool.

 

I felt that key west was a big mess. We did an excursion so had to wait in South Pacific lounge from 9 till about 10:30. Would have been quicker to get off with out muster station. All staff had different answered to what would happen with excursions. Really bad way to start the day.

Early dining. 5:30. Majority dressed, got worse as the week went on.

We did key west on our own, no issues. I do know they had an issue. They took two people away by ambulance in key west.

Second hand I was told a guy went down on the pool deck the night before, non responsive. Chest compressions and hit with the AED twice. Guy I spoke with says he was breathing on his own when he left the deck. Not sure if it ended well or not. That slowed things down in key west during the morning.

Before someone complains....these are just my opinions. if you do not agree, write your own review.

Being from north of Pittsburgh, My wife and I drove to Frederick, MD and stayed over night at the Fairfield Inn, the night before, this left us about 55 minutes to get in to the cruise port in the morning. It could not get any easier to drive to the port on a Saturday Morning.

We arrived at about 9:30 am and were about the 8th car in line, they began letting us in to drop our bags off at about 9:55, i was surprised because this was a few minutes earlier than I expected. Baggage drop and parking went smooth and quick. we walked into the terminal went through security with out even a blink toward the two bottles of wine the wife and I had in our carry on bags.

Terminal: went fast, we were there early and there were no lines. I was steered toward the Suite line because we took a late upgrade to a JR. Suite. Check in was fast and the next thing you know I was sitting there and listening to the announcement to start boarding. We were about the 40th people on board.

Right away, we went toward the windjammer but it was still closed and was not going to open till 11:15 (i think that time is right). so we took a quick tour of the ship with the couple we had with us. it was their first cruise.

The Ship: This was my first time on grandeur. I have been on enchantment and I found it very similar. The ship is 20 years old and shows it in some places. Overall, for its age and its size, the Grandeur did not disappoint me. she does creek and move about a little more than others but that does not bother me.

My Stateroom: Two weeks before the cruise I took an upgrade to a Jr. Suite. I am so happy I did. We had room 8535, just off of the centrum. my only regret is that I may have spoiled my wife for going back to a standard room. I found the suite to be roomy, (wider with a larger balcony) with a lot more storage and room to move. Only thing was that there was a support pole at the end of our bed that was not an issue unless the wife was sitting at the vanity doing her makeup. when that was the case it made it hard to get by the pole. Only other issue I found weird was that the suite had a full tub with a shower, the shower curtain was well undersized and a a lot of water hit the floor every time you showered. About the only extra benefit we got for having a Jr suite was boarding first, you do not get many of the "Suite" benefits with the Jr.s.

Stateroom Attendant: She was great, she was like a ninja, hardly seen her but you always knew she was there. she would make sure we seen her daily to be be sure that we had everything we needed other that that she was a ghost.

Dining Room Service: We ate Dinner at the MDR every evening. Stanislav was our Server and Qui Qui (Carrie) was the assistant. I believe that Carrie was in training. Stanislav was great and met all of our expectations that we have for our server. I will be sure to mention him my name in our survey.

Food: MDR, was exceptional as expected. Windjammer: (breakfast/lunch) was great and really seemed better than my previous RCCL cruise on the Explorer. As usual, your drink glasses are only filled half way up and it seemed that they had an issue some mornings keeping a stock of coffee cups. Park Cafe was a nice place for "fourth meal" or that evening snack.

Entertainment: Some good/Some Bad. did not see all the shows. Levant the comic magician was good, comedians were ok. The on board performers were average. The aerial show in the centrum was different and artsy (i liked it) Craig Dahn was on board for two shows (Piano Player)It was ok. A juggler was there toward the end but missed him. Grahame was the schooner piano bar singer and he does a nice job. The other bands on the deck and in the centum were average and kept the crowd interested.

Activities: Quest/Belly Flop/Love and Marriage show.....same old, same old, same one liners, same quests, same jokes, same questions....bla bla...bla...

Ports of call: (once again my takes)

1. Port Canaveral: We rented a car and went to NASA it was OK 7 out of 10. Wife's highlight was she saw an alligator.

2. Coco Cay....I would not know. I was tender #15. we only got to around

12 or 13. Day started off great and they had about 500 people ashore when a storm kicked up and tendering operations were halted. I heard that some people were stuck bobbing up and down on tenders in the swells for two hours. it was quite an issue as they tried to get everyone back off the island in the building seas. Glad I sat in the hot tub!!! there is no place to hide from the wind or rain on the island. many were not happy.

3. Nassau: Not a fan, wife and I like to shop and stop at bars. just getting into town you feel like you were thrown to the wolves. you have to run through the wolves trying to sell you a tour/taxi/etc.

4. Key West: Liked it a lot. it was weird that we had to trolley to town because we docked at the navy base. we did our own impromptu "Pub Crawl/Shopping tour from Mallory Square to the Southern most point marker. Sloppy Joes, margaritaville. just two of the stops along the way. then we had the bicycle guys pedal us back form the point to the square.

Other things:

Tons of Kids (500 kids) Did not have many issues with them. But they were present everywhere. (remember this if your ever booking baltimore on presidents day week, it is winter break for alot of schools)

Got a Premium drink package. I made it a point to get my monies worth and toward the end found myself drinking a little more than I would have otherwise. It was nice to not worry about it most days.

Complaints: (and this is where I play grumpy old man as my wife calls me, i'm 43 by the way)

If you have rules.....Enforce them. Kids in the solarium all hours of the day. I know its a winter cruise from Baltimore but you advertise that you have an adults only area with hot tubs and a pool and you really you do not. many evenings there were still kids in the hot tubs and pool in the solarium at 11 pm. they also labeled to of the 4 hot tubs on the pool deck for "kids only" and the other two "adults only"

Dress in the MDR: I know this is always an issue. But I have to mention it. On formal night I saw....Baseball Hats on adults, Tee shirts on Adults, Shorts and sandals on kids. I know it is grumpy old man of me but c'mon, at least make an effort. Not to mention what I saw on casual nights. I understand that RCCL will not step up an address this because its a major customer service issue and will upset a few but why do they bother with the suggestions then.

Disembarking....we did the self carry. the line started moving at 7:12 and at 7:25 the wife and I were sitting in the car and I started it....enough said!

Overall. It was a great cruise with great friends. We had fun every day. Any of the opinions above that are negative are all really minor in the grand scope of things. I Cruise with RCCL because I expect a certain level of service. Once again, RCCL delivered. My Wife, My Friends, and I all had a great cruise and hated to get off the ship.

If you have any questions, let me know, ill do my best or I am sure someone else can chime in too.....

Matt

PS, I finished up in the CASINO as well....Craps was good to me this week!!

The horse is dead. Stop the beating! :p:D

Alaska 2010 on the Radiance of the seas.

Northbound. Vancouver, Ketchikan,Junou,Skagway, icy straight point (hounah), Hubbard glacier, Seward.

Did they say why?

Here is what I got

Dear Matthew,

Due to changes necessary, we have cancelled some of your selections for your upcoming cruise.

These cancellations are based on one of the following scenarios:

* There has been a change to your cruise itinerary or one of the ports visited required for

certain selections to be cancelled from your reservation;

* There has been a change to the arrival and/or departure time for a specific port that required

for certain selections to be cancelled from your reservation;

* The item you reserved or purchased is no longer available;

* The date of birth of one of the guests has been changed making the purchase no longer valid.

Special Note:

Dear Guest,

Please be advised tour QCD1 Reef Snorkeling and Sandbar Party Boat will not be offered for your sailing date. The tour has been cancelled from your booking and your credit card will be refunded accordingly. Please revisit the website or once on board the vessel to purchase an alternate tour. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and look forward to welcoming you onboard.

So I got an email today that my excursion (snorkeling) at coco cay for next week on Grandeur was cancelled. Really disappointed. This was the only one we booked. :mad::mad::mad::mad:

My son is diabetic. We have kept his insulin in the fridge in the rooms and it has not been an issue. Plenty cold enough.

So. Just figured this out.

The premium package shows up as $57.82 on my cruise planner. It's for an 8 night cruise. When I add it to my cart it shows up as $462.56.

When I click the passenger/charge detail it shows a cost of $392.00 and a service fee of $70.56. This is 18% of 392.00.

So the premium package costs. $49.00 + $8.82 (18%)= $57.82 daily kurtmo, you are correct.

ONLINE PRICES INCLUDE GRATUITY NOW.

now I just gotta figure out if I can drin that much!!!!

Just trying to figure out the breaking point.

I see they raised the prices on the web....does that include the gratuity now or do they add another 18% to that. Lookin at the $57/58 dollar package.

Goin on Grandeur in 2 weeks. Investigating the merits of a drink package. So I need some info on drink prices. I believe when I got individual drinks in the past it already included the gratuity. Trying to figure out if it us worth my while. Does anyone have any current pricing info on the following?

Beer? By the bottle.

A rum and coke?

Drinks of the day?

Whiskey sour?

Glass of house wine?

Want to see if I feel I can get my money's worth.

In Key West I would recomend that you do a "Trolly Tour" to get a good feel for the area.

 

Google Key West Trolly Tour for a bunch of options, prices, coupons, etc. :)

 

Grandeur is the worst ship in the fleet....good luck! :D

Thanks or the input!

As far as Granduer. It's what you make it. Went on Enchantment for a 10 day 2 years ago before they pulled her from Baltimore and we had a blast. The "big" ships are are great but there is something to be said for these smaller older boats. My wife and the couple we cruise with seem to make our own good time wherever we go. So maybe it's just us! The most fun we ever had was on Radiance in Alaska!

Definitely into the space center thing. We have a group of 4. We were thinking of renting a car. From what I see its $50 for a space center ticket at the door. We can rent a car for $40. It's $80 for the excursion price from RC. Way we figured is then we have the car and can go explore. Payless car rental is in walking distance.

Heading on the Granduer to Port Canaveral, Nassau, Coco Cay, and Key West in two weeks. FEB 13!

We usually do the eastern Caribbean.

First time at all these ports. What is your one "Must do" or "Must see" at each of them?