Price of cruise and food options (RC Grandeur New England/Canada)

Hi: I am trying to book our first ever cruise on RC Grandeur of the Seas going to New England and Canada for Sept. 2015 (eight days). Leaves from Baltimore.

Has anybody here taken that cruise in a balcony room? If so, what price did you pay? All the quotes I'm getting seem pretty expensive. The lowest so far is $1,800 per person! Does that sound reasonable?

Also, are there lots of healthy options for food in the MDR? We like lots of fresh vegetables and fruit and nothing very heavy.

Thanks so much for any info regarding these questions.

Sincerely, Sharon

Can't help with the price, but here are the MDR menus:

http://www.royalcaribbeanpresscenter.com/press-kit/9/culinary-press-kit/

If you want extra plates of steamed veggies, they will be happy to oblige. You can also ask that sauces be left off of some dishes. Portions tend to be small so no worries there - of course, you can have as much as you want.

Hi: I am trying to book our first ever cruise on RC Grandeur of the Seas going to New England and Canada for Sept. 2015 (eight days). Leaves from Baltimore.

Has anybody here taken that cruise in a balcony room? If so, what price did you pay? All the quotes I'm getting seem pretty expensive. The lowest so far is $1,800 per person! Does that sound reasonable?

 

Also, are there lots of healthy options for food in the MDR? We like lots of fresh vegetables and fruit and nothing very heavy.

 

Thanks so much for any info regarding these questions.

Sincerely, Sharon

forget what anyone else has paid/is paying/will pay.

pick a price you are willing to pay for the product and ignore the rest.

you can eat as healthy, or not, as you like on board.

Totally agree. We went on Jewel 8 years ago. Planning on going again in 2016

We have taken that cruise several times. It's always been fantastic!

Grandeur is an older (but very nice) ship and therefore does not have a great number of balconies. That drives the price up. We have sailed her over 15 times and have always been happy with the ocean view staterooms.

IMO it's not worth the added cost. Save the money for excursions. There are great ports of call on that itinerary.

There are two factors which drive up pricing on Grandeur--fewer balconies AND the NE/Canada itinerary is seasonal. When we cruised on Grandeur last year, it wasn't worth the big jump in cost between the OV and BAL cabins, and we were very happy with our OV cabin. Grandeur is a lovely ship, great crew/staff and I think you will enjoy it a lot.

In the past two years a D2 cabin has been about $2000pp and this year there was a X GTY rate at about $1500pp. As others have said, save the money and get an OV cabin.

Thanks to everyone who has replied so far!

It's interesting to hear that some of you don't think the balcony is worth it on this cruise. Has anyone booked a balcony and felt like it was worthwhile for this destination (New England/Canada)?

Now my question is, is even and OV worth it over the internal cabin, except I guess to see what the weather is before you get dressed.

Does the window open in OV? That would be nice.

Thanks, Sharon

Thanks to everyone who has replied so far!

It's interesting to hear that some of you don't think the balcony is worth it on this cruise. Has anyone booked a balcony and felt like it was worthwhile for this destination (New England/Canada)?

 

Now my question is, is even and OV worth it over the internal cabin, except I guess to see what the weather is before you get dressed.

 

Does the window open in OV? That would be nice.

 

Thanks, Sharon

Windows do not open in an OV. Besides being able to see the weather outside, we also like the natural light you get in an OV stateroom.

You can also look into the Carnival Splendor out of NYC. Large and much newer ship around 113 tons. I went last year and had a great time.

The reviews are very high for this ship.

I also go on RC but the ship your talking about for me it's way too old for my taste.

Just for your info.!

Are you closer to Baltimore? Brilliance goes out of Boston and is a nicer ship. The price is cheaper for the 7 night itinerary but there is a 9 night that isn't much more than the Grandeur 8 night.

We wouldn't sail any itinerary without a balcony so I'm no help there.

There are two factors which drive up pricing on Grandeur--fewer balconies AND the NE/Canada itinerary is seasonal. When we cruised on Grandeur last year, it wasn't worth the big jump in cost between the OV and BAL cabins, and we were very happy with our OV cabin. Grandeur is a lovely ship, great crew/staff and I think you will enjoy it a lot.

I had a balcony cabin on this itinerary but on a different cruise line. The north Atlantic gets a tremendous amount of fog, and I was not able to enjoy the balcony as much as I wanted to. To me, the interior cabins feel a bit closed-in. So, the ocean view room is a perfect choice for me.

Grandeur is a wonderful ship and her crew is the best! I've done this cruise several times and truly loved it each time.

there is always lots of fresh fruit available. Apples/ oranges/bananas in the windjammer as well as all of the cut up fruit in the trays

Grandeur balconies are usually around $1000 more than OV. We prefer the OV on Grandeur anyway. Other ships we go for the balcony depending on where they are going. Don't think I'd book a balcony for any NE/Canada cruise as we wouldn't use it that much to justify the cost. And, as another poster mentioned, there is usually lots of fog on this itinerary. The OV are nice.

Thanks to everyone who has replied so far!

It's interesting to hear that some of you don't think the balcony is worth it on this cruise. Has anyone booked a balcony and felt like it was worthwhile for this destination (New England/Canada)?

 

Now my question is, is even and OV worth it over the internal cabin, except I guess to see what the weather is before you get dressed.

 

Does the window open in OV? That would be nice.

 

Thanks, Sharon

I have no doubt that there are folks who will say they will never have anything less than a balcony, regardless of the itinerary/weather. And that's fine for them. I'm very practical, and give a lot of thought to balcony use versus cost. For a jump of about $1,000 (typical price difference between an OV cabin and a BAL cabin on Grandeur,) I'm not willing to spend that--even with our Diamond discount. I only book balcony cabins on warm weather itineraries--and only if it's at a price that I feel is reasonable over the cost of an OV cabin.

I would ditto the vote for an OV on this particular cruise (It's on my daydream list :)). Besides the fact that the cost you list would be IMO high for a balcony in general, it's a cooler time of year and at sea you may find it chillier than you expect for just sitting out there. Warm weather cruise? Bring on the balcony.

All your replies have helped immensely. You're right, it makes no sense to spend so much extra for a balcony on this New England/Canada cruise. I was able to book an OV with a large window on deck 3 toward mid ship. Just what we needed.

Did it directly through Royal Caribbean, since the deals on all the other cruise travel sites I visited (five), were the same. Bogo 50% off, $100 credit. Including cancellation and medical travel insurance, taxes, and booking fees it came to $2124 for the both of us. If the prices go down before the July 4 deadline for paying in full, they will honor it (he said, anyway).

You're all great to take the time to answer! :D I really appreciate it.

In Jan. my husband is retiring and this will be our first vacation in years.