Grandeur 5/21 - 31 Review

The ship looked great. Not much wear and tear which I was expecting.

Embarking was quick and easy. We were onboard by 2 pm. Our room steward was Nilo, no matter what we asked for his reply was "No problem". Dumped our things in the room and headed to the windjammer for lunch. Muster drill at 4:30 was completed more quickly than on any previous cruises.

One of our thread group volunteered her balcony cabin for a Sail Away Party (thanks Linda and Ed). Got to meet a lot of the people I've been talking to. Was sitting on the balcony as the ship left the pier.

Meet and Mingle was at 11:45 in the Viking Crown lounge the next day, which was a sea day. We had good attendance; got some kind of an ID holder, a Cruise Critic pin and I won a bottle of wine and someone else won a RC computer mouse. There were snacks served, the Cruise Director (Warren) was there. He had been cruise director on our Serenade trip so it we talked about that. A nice time but we wished later that we would have taken some group pictures.

The food was good, our waiter was Sonay from Turkey; asst waiter as Mario from India. Sonay has a great personality and lots of energy, Mario is quieter but still did a great job. We even made it to the dining room several times for breakfast and lunch.

First 2 days were wonderful relaxing sea days.

Key West - we went to Ernest Hemmingway's home since I love cats. We walked around Duval Street and visited the shops.

Cozumel - there is a small straw market right off the pier. Picked up some pure vanilla at a good price. Senor Frogs is there with a little beach, we did wade around in there a bit.

Belize - did the Barrier Reef Snorkeling tour. Captain Charles was great. We went to a tiny island about 12 miles out. There are floating beach mats, kayaks and a nice beach to enjoy. They also provided unlimited sodas, water and run punch. The snorkeling was the best I've done, you could follow the edge of the reef and see lots of different coral and swim through schools of fish. At the edge of the reef it dropped off and I couldn't see the bottom. We were on the 1:30 trip so we were taken right back to the ship instead of having to tender back.

There is also a shopping area right at the port with a good selection at decent prices. We tendered in early and shopped.

CoCo Cay - I heard that RC had just spent about 2 million dollars to upgrade this island and it shows. There were plenty of beach chairs with 2 beaches. We have our own snorkel gear so all I had to rent was a vest ($6). There is a sunken airplane and something else to snorkel around, several lifeguards that have fish food to get the fish around you. The island bar-b-q was good with plenty of variety.

Freeport - We heard a lot of negative things about this port but got off the ship and there was another small straw market. There are a lot of empty buildings but they are supposed to be completely full within a few months. We found a little shop in the back section with hand carved wooden items and a drugstore with a little bit of everything.

Disembarkation wasn't too bad. We went to one of the lounges early and found seats. We were the 3rd group called and found our luggage with no problem. We were even home earlier than had been expected.

The only complaint I have (along with a lot of of other passengers) was one group of 8 - 12 year olds who were cannonballing in the pool, snorkeling in the hot tubs, playing elevator tag and being annoying. At the pool party, they were standing on the edge of the hot tubs jumping down into the pool. Now don't start flaming me about this. I love children and don't have a problem with them. It's just this one group that was causing the problems. And the parents sat right there and left them do it. We (and many other cruisers) complained to guest relations about this problem and they did start making rounds of the pool during sea days. The kids started arguing with the pool attendent, again with their parents sitting right on the edge of the pool. When they got on my nerves, I just went to the solarium pool.

All in all, it was a great cruise. The ten nights are enough to relax and still get to do a lot of things.

----------------------------

Explorer 11/2001

Explorer 12/14/02

Serenade 10/13/03

Grandeur 5/21/04

----------------------------

Until Voyager 10/8/04

<MARQUEE>Won't Be Long Now till we'll be cruisin'</MARQUEE>

<center>

<a href="http://www.escati.com/counter98/free_time_codes.htm">

</center>

Thanks for your review! I can't wait until my cruise.

Hopefully, most kids will be back to school. As a parent, I am always amazed at how some parents let their kids run wild. On our last cruise we had a lot of 'tweeners' who would run the halls and push all the buttons on all the elevators. (No parents in site) Nothing serious, just annoying!

Grandeur of the Seas-September 4, 2004

Galaxy-June 7, 2002

Fascination-March 17, 2001

Hi everyone,

I agree with everything that checkard said. The cruise was absolutely wonderful. The only thing I can add is that when we went to Cozumel we took a taxi to Paradise Beach. The taxi was about $13.00 for the two of us (if your group is larger it is still 13) each way. It was well worth every penny. Everything there (beach mats, snorkel equipment, chairs, umbrellas, kayacks) was free. No charge to get in. The only thing you paid for was any food or drink you had. The whole area was beautiful, clean and very relaxing. Out is the water there was an "iceberg" for people to climb on and a trampoline for them to jump on. The whole time was just great. It really is a must go to if you are in Cozumel. LINDA

thanks for the review... Last year on the Carnival Legend, the pools were always full so it even though we didnt have any cannonballers, it would've been nice to get in the pool without having to squeeze in.

Agree somewhat. Our gang was a little disspointed with the food in the Windjammer. Evertime we ate there it seemed like the same food over and over again. They ran out of some basic items towards the end of the cruise also. At one point I had to show one of the Windjammer workers that they were out of sausage.

On the other cruiselines we were on there were different food items introdused on a daily basis and their crew was always on top of the food. Never ran out of anything.

yes, the kids also drove us crazy for the first few days. However, we shouldn't need to complain. On Holland America & Norwegian the pool patrol is there right from the beginning stopping the nonsense from the get-go that we had to put up with for the first few days.

The Mayan River Boat Excursion in Belize was fantastic. Best excursion I've been on. Cococay - can't say enough! Had fun in the Keys and had a blast at Carlos & Chalies.

We had a problem with our Freeport excursion. The catamaran was 30 minutes late and there was absolutely no music, dancers/dancing or any of the fun advertised. We just sat there and drank.

They told us that they were late because there was a more important client that needed the boat. Warren got an earfull from about a dozen of us when we got back. Still waiting for an explaination from RCI. Will we ever get one ????

Really enjoyed the entertainment and our waiters were great. Our room was always clean. I'd classify the food as average overall, nothing really special. Probably just me.

Got off the ship around noon. Home by 3:00. A little longer than we expected.

Overall I'd rate the cruise a B-.

Thanks for the review- I have 2 questions. Linda- paradise beach is an excursion you can book through the ship. So, you can also go there on your own and use the facilities for a few hours without going with the ship tour? Also, does Grandeur have Sushi in the evenings? Any info is appreciated! MO

The excursion to Paradise beach includes more I believe but yes we went on our own and had a wonderful time. We did the semi submersible first so couldn't get back in time for the Paradise excursion.

We only went to the windjammer for breakfast and lunch one day and then the other days for snacks. Otherwise we used the dining room for all our meals. I thought food was better in the dining room plus you got served and I'm not really into buffets.

Hi!

To get to Paradise Beach, we paid $12 each way. But that is not counting the tip. We had a lot of fun there. We were using the kayaks for free, and there was plenty of chairs and umbrellas. We had the nacho supreme which was pretty good.

In Belize, my entire family booked excursions through Coral Breeze. My parents did the cave tubing, which they can't stop raving about. And the rest of us did the shark ray snorkeling. We all had a great time and a great lunch.

At Key West and Freeport, we did some shopping. There was a casino at Freeport, but it was kinda smoky and musty smelling, so we left.

At Coco Cay, the bbq was ok. Lots of lining up for food and everything. Although there was plenty of chairs around. We had our own equipment that we were snorkeling with, and we did have to rent the vests. We would have preferred however, if the vest requirement was like the way NCL did it a few years back. NCL told us that since they required a vest on their private island, they only required a deposit, and we were refunded it back. No such thing with RCL. My brother hated it because he likes to snorkel without a vest.

Thx,

Debbie

Big Red Boat-6/00

Paradise - 8/00

Norway - 6/01

Maasdam - 8/01

Holiday - 4/02

Grandeur of the Seas - 05/04

Was there anything really good on the room service menu that we should try?

Almost forgot, Paradise Beach is not something you can book through the ship. I think that's called Passion Island? Anyway, in case you have any questions, in the Ports of Call board, Paradise Beach Tom can answer any questions. I think he is a manager there.

Thx,

Debbie

Big Red Boat-6/00

Paradise - 8/00

Norway - 6/01

Maasdam - 8/01

Holiday - 4/02

Grandeur of the Seas - 05/04

What can I say that hasn't been said already. Well Key West was nice, did the Butterfly thingy was nice, walked the streets. Cozumel went to Paradise beach, had a great time, fun in the sun. Belize did Shark ray Alley, great time never knew sharks felt like Sandpaper. Stingrays felt like a portabella mushroom. Cozumel also went to Pancho's back yard for Lunch and the famous Marquiritas. (sp) Had a great time at the Meet and mingle, Room stewart Martin was excellent. Waiter Jorge and assistant waiter Jose were great. Head waiter Geraldine what a sweetheart. Freeport back to the beach avoid Tranquility shores. Not well kept, dirty beach w/broken glass.(I did voice my opinion with RCCL) All in all I had a wonderful time. Will post pics soon.

January 09, 2005 Adventurer of the Seas

Thanks for your review, we loved the Grandeur, she has a special place in my heart. Sorry to hear about those kids, but even sorrier to hear about the parents. I hate that, I bet they are the kind that if YOUR kid did something you'd sure hear about it!!!

Glad you had a good time, thanks for posting.

***

Soveriegn 92 E. Caribbean

Majesty 95 W. Caribbean

Granduer 97 E. Caribbean

Rhapsody 00 Mexico

Vision 02 Alaska

Radiance 03 Panama Canal

Brilliance 3/29/04

Radiance of the Seas/Panama Canal 10/18/2003

Are we there yet?

My bags are always packed!

Brilliance 3/29/2004