Grandeur of the Seas 1/11/14 Photo and Video Blowout Review!

For the first post of this review I wanna give everyone some background and a preview of what’s to come. I have been on 9 cruises; the Disney Magic in 2000, the Carnival Victory in 2001, and 7 Royal Caribbean cruises since then. For the past several sailings I have been creating extensive video and photo series to go along, you can see them all in my signature.

This is my second time onboard the Grandeur of the Seas and the first time I’ve returned to a ship. I have previously sailed the Independence of the Seas 5+ years after the Liberty of the Seas which was the same class but while that felt familiar it was still not the same ship. Our first sailing was in May, the final sailing prior to the fire. Going into that sailing the big focus was on the experience of an older and smaller ship after only sailing Voyager/Freedom/Oasis class ships for a decade. There was a lot of unknowns involved but also some excitement around the promises of the Oasisizing she had received. She certainly did not disappoint that sailing as it was a great experience across the board. You can read the entire review here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1853036

Along with that review since this sailing will be covered as an extension be sure to check out the previous photos:

Day 1: Departure

Day 2: At Sea

Day 3: Bermuda

Day 4: Bermuda

Day 5: Bermuda

Day 6: At Sea

Day 7: At Sea

Day 8: Debarkation

And videos:

• GoPro Arrival/Departure Timelapse -

• Arrivals/Departures Videos -

• Grandeur of the Seas Tour -

• Captain's Corner -

• Captain's Welcome Aboard Reception -

• Summer Breeze Song Set & Aerial Show -

• Aerial Performances

• 70's Dancin' in the Street Party - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUxYphAb9es

• Crew International Flag Parade - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2UFg_EsTOU

• Norwegian Dawn Departure - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kosxB-axYpM

• Prinsendam Departure - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WEq-w6wzD0

Following that sailing it was sad to hear of the fire 2 days later but it didn’t do anything to sway our opinions of the ship or Royal Caribbean as a whole. I had purchased 3 next cruise certificates during that sailing and that week I used 2 on Quantum of the Seas the day she opened for bookings (11/23 and 12/1) and then a few days later booked this 10 night sailing back on the Grandeur.

This sailing was a bit different from the last, there was no uncertainty about the ship or how things would be. It was essentially expected as an extension of the previous sailing and for the most part felt like one. While I expected things to be as nice if not better since she received some care after the fire and was not fully integrated into the US culture yet when we sailed in May, unfortunately things were not. It was a bit of a mixed sailing with some aspects far exceeding that of other sailings while others fell far short. I’ll get into that more in the review though. Since this sailing was viewed as an extension of the previous sailing I needed to find something new and different to fill my time. I did follow my usual routine and have tons of photos to view by day:

Day 1: Departure

Day 2: At Sea

Day 3: At Sea

Day 4: At Sea

Day 5: Cozumel, Mexico

Day 6: George Town, Grand Cayman (Rescheduled to Spotts Bay)

Day 7: Falmouth, Jamaica

Day 8: Labadee, Haiti

Day 9: At Sea

Day 10: At Sea

Day 11: Debarkation

I also will be posting a complete video series with extensive Falmouth and Labadee tours done in the same style as the previous Grandeur tour. These will take me a few days to get edited and uploaded before I can post the links here:

• Falmouth Tour: Complete tour of Falmouth Jamaica in the same style as the Grandeur tour

• Labadee Tour: Complete tour of Labadee Haiti in the same style as the Grandeur tour

• Welcome Reception: Captain’s welcome reception from day 2

• Captain’s Corner: Complete captain’s corner video from day 10 including a question about the fire

• Bake A Cake Challenge: Jefferey Arpin and a guest compete to make the best cake with the help of the chef

• 50’s & 60’s Sock Hop: First themed centrum party

• 70’s Disco Inferno: Second and more common themed centrum party

• Seasons of the Centrum: Complete video with a focus on the transitions and setup

• The Sun: Stand alone aerial special

• Timelapses: Arrivals and departures from each port

• Baltimore: Footage of the departure from Baltimore

• Cozumel: Footage of the arrival and departure from Cozumel as well as other ships in port

• Grand Cayman: Footage of the arrival and departure from Grand Cayman as well as other ships in port

• Falmouth: Footage of the arrival and departure from Falmouth

• Labadee: Footage of the arrival and departure from Labadee as well as other ships in port

To go along with the video and photo series’ I decided to try something completely different though. In the past I’ve had a few different styles; the Oasis was lengthy venue walk throughs, the Independence was daily weather and sea footage, and the Grandeur was an extensive and condensed tour. I’ve also had a ton of footage and other material that never got utilized in any way. To take care of this I decided to create TheCruiseView, a new review/info video series filmed daily while onboard. This is something I planned to do for Quantum of the Seas where I have 19 nights to fill but wanted to give it a beta run on Grandeur. I am certainly not the most social person and not a fan of being in front of the camera so a lot of this beta was to try and learn what it would take to do and get more comfortable. As you can see in my videos I am much better at the digital side of things. Unfortunately where I expected be on day 1 was about where I ended on day 10. During the sailing I didn’t have access to any way of viewing the footage beyond looking on the camera so I was really going blind from one day to another. I’m still going to edit them though to build out my graphic package and depending on what people say here and how they turn out I’ll decide if I should post just day 10 or all 10 episodes. The general format is a review of the day’s weather, ship location, sunset/sunrise, and sea conditions. Along with a daily look at the menu, cruise compass, and a daily featured in depth venue tour. Everything is supported by photos, graphics, and videos to give a full experience of the day. For this sailing I didn’t invest heavily in the project. Since it’s only in the beta stage I only bought the required tripod to hold the camera while filming. For Quantum I’ll be investing in actual mics and maybe some other items so I don’t have to hold iPhones anymore.

This 10 night sailing of the Grandeur of the Seas departed from Baltimore on January 11th, 2014 and she once against did incredible in some areas but unfortunately this time other areas fell far short of not only expectations, but standards.

Baltimore and Departure

This is the second time we’re sailing out of Baltimore. Last time we made it there prior to the port opening and had to wait in our car before entering. This time we hit torrential down pours all the way to the port and arrived about 30 minutes later. When we got there the fog was so thick you could barely spot the ship from the street. Things seemed to be moving better this time though. Last time the previous sailing was delayed in getting off, this time just 30 minutes later we got right in to park with no traffic. At the terminal there was a short line out the door due to the security check point but they had heaters outside to keep warm and the line continuously moved. Once past there it was empty with no lines for the counter and we were able to walk right onto the ship. It has continued to amaze me with just how smooth the port is able to operate and it’s always incredibly peaceful too, a feeling never seen at ports.

Onboard it seemed like either we still managed to be earlier than usual or the poor weather limited us enough that we didn’t have much to do. We checked our MDR table and then took a slow walk up to the Windjammer for lunch when it opened. It was packed as usual, we then had more time to kill before the rooms were ready. Last time we were at the aft end of deck 2, this time we booked the same cabin but on deck 3. Everything looked identical to the one we were in last time except for the outside of the window which was filthy, a point I’ll be coming back to later. Afterwards I of course went up to deck 9 to get an ice cream and watch the ice float by, lol. You can never go a day on a cruise without ice cream regardless of the weather around you.

When it was time for the Muster Drill it was still held outside, luckily we had a window in the rain at that time so it was safe to go out. They did allow people with special circumstances to remain in the centrum and had someone scan their sea pass cards there. Afterwards it started to mist and rain again but I went up to deck 10 anyway to watch the departure. They had a football game on the big screen which brought more people out to the pool deck than those out watching the departure. We ended up being delayed by about 30 minutes due to a medical emergency but once we did get going it was smooth sailing through the fog. I quickly learned that the glass skylights on deck 10 with covers over them make great protection from the weather and remained their the whole time. As we approached the Francis Scott Key Bridge it appeared to be flaring in the fog which was a neat sight to see. I’ve always been in front for the departures so it was an interesting sight to see us pass under the bridge from a more mid ship location. After we passed under the bridge the fog thickened in on us and you could hear crackling from the side of the ship. Looking over the railing you could see that the bay had been frozen solid in that area. It wasn’t too thick but it was still solid pieces in some areas that needed to be broken apart and ice flows in others.

Weather

One the subject of ice, it seems like a perfect time to move on to the weather. Overall the weather can be summed up by two things; windy and rough seas. Last year on the Independence of the Seas we had terrible weather the entire sailing. It was always windy and horrible seas. The one night we had sustained 60 foot waves with 80 foot peaks. This sailing I think the worse seas were still better than the best seas on the Independence yet the Grandeur rocked more than the Independence ever did. After awhile though you just get used to it and forget the seas. That’s a good thing since the seas often looked calm yet the ship would be all over the place.

The thing you couldn’t forget though was the wind that was almost always gusting and at night often made it impossible to go out on deck 10. For much of the time you could not go out on the promenade deck because the sea breeze was so bad. Many times you would look at the door and think it was raining out it was blowing up so much. Even on deck 10 you could feel the sea breeze coming up many days. It did create some beautiful rainbows though during the 10th day when the skies were blue.

The temperatures were slightly lower than I expected but I think a lot of that had to do with the winds. The first sea day was chilly as expected since we were still up north, the second while we were down near Florida was warmer but still kept most inside. If you found a place with no wind though it was beautiful and warm out. Day 3 was finally warm regardless of where you were and brought everyone outside. On the return trip the first sea day was then warm just like the third sea day but the wind made it unbearably cold for most and then our final sea day was surprisingly nice for our location. Not many people chose to go outside but it was a lot warmer than you would expect when not in the wind even though we were off the coast of Maryland. In fact I found it to be nice enough for shorts that day until we neared the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, then it was like hitting a wall of freezing temperatures.

The nights were often beautiful despite the winds though as we had a full moon during our sailing. This created possibly the nicest moment I’ve experienced at sea. At about 2 am the night before arriving in Cozumel we were sailing with the wind creating an wary calm and quiet and the moon was full so it was illuminating the entire horizon. I’ve experienced these conditions on the bow of the Independence but it was full of noisy people. This time since it was 2am it was completely empty. I was alone on deck 10 watching a Costa ship in the distance and suddenly heard a splash in the water followed by a few more. It didn’t sound like waves on the bow, but more like something falling in the water. My first reaction was to question if someone had fallen overboard or was throwing stuff overboard. When I looked down thanks to the moon light you could clearly see three dolphin playing in the waves along the ship. Two were jumping in unison and the third on its own. They stayed for about 10 minutes before falling back as the ship sailed ahead. It was the most peaceful thing I’ve experienced on a ship and a bit weird.

The best part of being at sea though is usually the sunset over the ocean. Going down the clouds were often so thick that there was no sunset but going back we had some spectacular ones. Day 9 we had an incredible sunset that I’ve been referring to as the devil sunset. I’ve looked at my pictures to figure out if I did something off, but for a period of time they all started transitioning to this and then looked like it:

This was of course following an already incredible sunset that looked like it was from the heavens, lol:

Ports of Call

This sailing featured four port of calls; Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Falmouth, and Labadee. Since our last two sailings were more focused on the sea and ship time (and even the Oasis before it could be considered more ship focused) this one was more port focussed. Unfortunately the poor weather didn’t just vanish when we got near land.

Cozumel, Mexico

I have never been to Cozumel, or any of Mexico before. This was the only new country for me this sailing. As we sailed into port that morning in darkness and rain we were right no the back of the AIDAbella who docked ahead of us.

That pretty much set the mood for the day. The forecast called for it to clear up but it never really did. We had clouds and scattered rain showers the entire day. Some of the excursions were outright canceled due to the poor sea conditions while others like the beach one we had purchased required us to sign the back of the ticket to certify that we were notified of the poor conditions and given the option to cancel. We opted to cancel and were glad we did since the conditions didn’t improved and we had a better day as a result of canceling. My parents went into Cozumel and shopped while I remained at the ship. Walking around I happened to stumble upon some lifeboat training in the pool.

As the day went on more ships arrived including the MSC Divina docked near the AIDABella.

And the Carnival Conquest and Ecstasy docked right next to us.

I have to say the high point of the day for me though had to be when I eventually noticed this little box prominently placed on top of the Carnival Conquest and then noticed on on the Ecstasy as well. Apparently this is now a standard backup plan on all Carnival ships now.

When we eventually got ready to leave the seas picked up some more and we had a rather rocky sailing back out to sea and on to Grand Cayman. Overall though, while I really did not get to see much of Cozumel and certainly didn't get the beach day I had planned for. I still had a nice relaxing day enjoying the arrivals of all the other ships and just relaxing with the nice scenery out the window.

Grand Cayman

I have been to Georgetown once before on the Voyager of the Seas in 2004. Sailing towards Georgetown the winds seemed calmer that morning but the seas were still pretty rough. Sitting in the Windjammer for breakfast you could feel a good amount of rocking in the ship. At about 8:44am I mentioned that we should be safe making it to Grand Cayman since the Norwegian Pearl was to arrive at 8:00am and we should have known by that time if it was possible to tender. At 8:45am the chime rand and I knew exactly what was going to be following. The captain came on to announce that due to the rough sea conditions the port of Georgetown has closed. He then went on to say that we would be sailing to the south side of the island to anchor at Spotts Beach and be tendering in there, but would still arrive on time. As we neared Grand Cayman we could see the Allure of the Seas in the distance sailing onto Cozumel from jamaica.

The Carnival Liberty arrived just ahead of us to complete the lineup of 3 ships in the bay. As we prepared to start tendering the Cruise Director came on to announce that due to the poor conditions a whole series of excursions were canceled. He then came back on about 3 minutes later to make a blanket statement that ALL water related excursions were canceled.

When we eventually started to tender the seas were still incredibly rough so it was a bit tricky to board. The tenders were rising and falling by about a full deck at times but once the tenders got away from the ship and neared the beach it became calmer and it was much easier to get to the pier. The beach area was clearly not ready for ships to arrive. Each ship had it’s tent setup and they were managing the excursions from there, but the area was just a stone lot in a fenced in area. At this point there weren’t any merchant’s or other non ship related individuals in the area. We had booked a stingray and turtle farm excursion. They still ran the land portion but the stingrays were canceled. On land things were much nicer. The sun came out, the winds were calm, and it was very hot. It made everyone start to question what was so bad with the weather until we reached Georgetown. The seas were horrible. The waves were flowing over the tender pier and slamming into the sea wall sending them 15-20 feet in the air. The entire port area was a bit eery like visiting a ghost town. All the tents were setup and waiting for us but no one arrived so they all just closed and left leaving everything behind.

When we arrived back at the ship area things had developed. There were now tents setup with locals selling all sorts of items. It was still just a stone parking lot in the middle of nowhere but it at least felt a little like a cruise port. By this time each line now had it’s own drink station and seating area setup at the tender lines just in case people got thirsty. The lines moved surprisingly quickly though and we got on in a matter of minutes. The ride back was just like the first one. It was smooth near land but a rough ride to get back on the Grandeur.

The Norwegian Sky then left shortly after I returned to the ship and we left at about 6:00.

So once again the weather did not cooperate, but it was still an enjoyable day and it was exciting to see just how bad it was in Georgetown. If we had not gone over there I certainly would not have thought it was that bad. We were still lucky to make it at all though as Grand Cayman is fairly common to be missed. I have never heard of ships relocating to the Spotts area so I’m thinking it’s rather rare.

It's getting late now so I'm going to end for the night. Tomorrow I'll pick up with the other 2 ports and go into the ship which will certainly be interesting to discuss this time.

Falmouth, Jamaica

Out of all the ports on the itinerary I think this was probably the most intriguing for me. I visited Ocho Rios, Jamaica in 2004 so this was not my first visit to Jamaica. That certainly set the proper mood for things as my previous visit made me decide to never visit the country again. A feeling that seems rather common on these boards. Going to Falmouth and knowing that Royal Caribbean had built he port themselves gave me hope though so I was looking foreword to seeing what they had done and not visiting the actual country.

We arrived just as the sun was rising which was a beautiful sight that day. The air had a slight chill in it but not too bad, the worst part was the humidity that seemed to make everything wet within seconds. Luckily that only lasted until around the time that we were fully docked and didn’t effect the day. For once we had nice weather all around; partly cloudy skies that cleared to blue skies for the entire morning, a light breeze, calm seas, and high temperatures.

Leaving the ship it was a bit confusing finding the way into the actual port but once inside it was beautiful. Everything felt new and modern. All of the people working there were very respectful and helpful, never pushy. You would never know you were in Jamaica, it was actually nice. They even had bands playing in 2 locations to help with the atmosphere and with only 1,996 passengers the port was empty! I really could not believe just how big the place was. I think even if two Oasis class ships docked it would still not be crowded.

I am not one to shop, but I enjoyed just walking around and taking in all the atmosphere of the place. I’ll be posting a full walk through tour later so everyone can see. The only thing that I didn’t like was the use of some America restaurants such as Dairy Queen and Quiznos Subs, but the port is laid out in distinct sections with different theming and all of those were grouped together in a back corner so they weren’t as noticeable. They probably get more demand from the crew and international guests who don’t have as much access to those places than the US passengers. The port also has a Margaritaville and they are installing a new pool. It was operational while we were there but still clearly under construction.

The port while fully functional and ready to operate did have some areas where they could be expanding in the future. Most of the shop buildings are two floors with windows overlooking the courtyard on the second. They even have fancy stairs and elevators up to the second floor but nothing up there at the moment.

When heading towards the port exit you’ll also find a brick walkway that is gated off.

From the ship you can see that it continues around a corner in a grass lot and ends at a boating pier.

As far as I’m aware there were no excursions or other activities that occurred from this area (that I saw) so I’m not sure what it’s used for. The main thing the port could use would be a private beach that was accessible without leaving the port area. Maybe in the future Royal Caribbean will develop a beach area that you reach by boats at these piers. That would be great because I would never venture into Falmouth itself. I went to the gate and from both there and the ship it was pretty clear that it was not an area I would want to be in at any time.

Later in the day things got dark and a heavy downpour moved through. It was late enough that it didn’t effect most people who were just doing the port but may have impacted some on excursions. It cleared up before departure though so we were able to watch that.

This was my first experience with Falmouth and I would certainly return again, especially if Royal Caribbean were to develop some kind of beach excursion that didn’t require you to travel outside the gates of the port. The Falmouth port is really like it’s own world with an idealized view of what people expect from Jamaica versus the reality of what’s outside the gates.

awesome review and pics so far.. We are going out on the Grandeur Feb 18th. I am so worried about the seas and getting sick.. We usually go out of Fl but thought we would try Baltimore as it is so close to home..

Wow, will have to bookmark this one.

Thank you so much for this review. Timing could not have been better. We are choosing our second cruise and are planning on going with another couple and this is the itinerary we will most likely have.

Craig

Brilliant review so far, cannot wait to read the rest.

I have only recently discovered and finished reading your Indy review which I thought was fantastic and gave me lots of useful information about my upcoming Indy TA in November this year!

Thank you for the reviews you do!

Jo :)

For the first post of this review I wanna give everyone some background and a preview of what’s to come. I have been on 9 cruises; the Disney Magic in 2000, the Carnival Victory in 2001, and 7 Royal Caribbean cruises since then. For the past several sailings I have been creating extensive video and photo series to go along, you can see them all in my signature.

 

This is my second time onboard the Grandeur of the Seas and the first time I’ve returned to a ship. I have previously sailed the Independence of the Seas 5+ years after the Liberty of the Seas which was the same class but while that felt familiar it was still not the same ship. Our first sailing was in May, the final sailing prior to the fire. Going into that sailing the big focus was on the experience of an older and smaller ship after only sailing Voyager/Freedom/Oasis class ships for a decade. There was a lot of unknowns involved but also some excitement around the promises of the Oasisizing she had received. She certainly did not disappoint that sailing as it was a great experience across the board. You can read the entire review here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1853036

 

Along with that review since this sailing will be covered as an extension be sure to check out the previous photos:

Day 1: Departure

Day 2: At Sea

Day 3: Bermuda

Day 4: Bermuda

Day 5: Bermuda

Day 6: At Sea

Day 7: At Sea

Day 8: Debarkation

 

And videos:

• GoPro Arrival/Departure Timelapse -

• Arrivals/Departures Videos -

• Grandeur of the Seas Tour -

• Captain's Corner -

• Captain's Welcome Aboard Reception -

• Summer Breeze Song Set & Aerial Show -

• Aerial Performances

 

◦ Practice -

◦ 8:15PM Show -

◦ 10:15PM Show -

◦ Bonus: Multi-Cam Edit -

• 70's Dancin' in the Street Party - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUxYphAb9es

• Crew International Flag Parade - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2UFg_EsTOU

• Norwegian Dawn Departure - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kosxB-axYpM

• Prinsendam Departure - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WEq-w6wzD0

 

Following that sailing it was sad to hear of the fire 2 days later but it didn’t do anything to sway our opinions of the ship or Royal Caribbean as a whole. I had purchased 3 next cruise certificates during that sailing and that week I used 2 on Quantum of the Seas the day she opened for bookings (11/23 and 12/1) and then a few days later booked this 10 night sailing back on the Grandeur.

 

This sailing was a bit different from the last, there was no uncertainty about the ship or how things would be. It was essentially expected as an extension of the previous sailing and for the most part felt like one. While I expected things to be as nice if not better since she received some care after the fire and was not fully integrated into the US culture yet when we sailed in May, unfortunately things were not. It was a bit of a mixed sailing with some aspects far exceeding that of other sailings while others fell far short. I’ll get into that more in the review though. Since this sailing was viewed as an extension of the previous sailing I needed to find something new and different to fill my time. I did follow my usual routine and have tons of photos to view by day:

Day 1: Departure

Day 2: At Sea

Day 3: At Sea

Day 4: At Sea

Day 5: Cozumel, Mexico

Day 6: George Town, Grand Cayman (Rescheduled to Spotts Bay)

Day 7: Falmouth, Jamaica

Day 8: Labadee, Haiti

Day 9: At Sea

Day 10: At Sea

Day 11: Debarkation

 

I also will be posting a complete video series with extensive Falmouth and Labadee tours done in the same style as the previous Grandeur tour. These will take me a few days to get edited and uploaded before I can post the links here:

• Falmouth Tour: Complete tour of Falmouth Jamaica in the same style as the Grandeur tour

• Labadee Tour: Complete tour of Labadee Haiti in the same style as the Grandeur tour

• Welcome Reception: Captain’s welcome reception from day 2

• Captain’s Corner: Complete captain’s corner video from day 10 including a question about the fire

• Bake A Cake Challenge: Jefferey Arpin and a guest compete to make the best cake with the help of the chef

• 50’s & 60’s Sock Hop: First themed centrum party

• 70’s Disco Inferno: Second and more common themed centrum party

• Seasons of the Centrum: Complete video with a focus on the transitions and setup

• The Sun: Stand alone aerial special

• Timelapses: Arrivals and departures from each port

• Baltimore: Footage of the departure from Baltimore

• Cozumel: Footage of the arrival and departure from Cozumel as well as other ships in port

• Grand Cayman: Footage of the arrival and departure from Grand Cayman as well as other ships in port

• Falmouth: Footage of the arrival and departure from Falmouth

• Labadee: Footage of the arrival and departure from Labadee as well as other ships in port

 

To go along with the video and photo series’ I decided to try something completely different though. In the past I’ve had a few different styles; the Oasis was lengthy venue walk throughs, the Independence was daily weather and sea footage, and the Grandeur was an extensive and condensed tour. I’ve also had a ton of footage and other material that never got utilized in any way. To take care of this I decided to create TheCruiseView, a new review/info video series filmed daily while onboard. This is something I planned to do for Quantum of the Seas where I have 19 nights to fill but wanted to give it a beta run on Grandeur. I am certainly not the most social person and not a fan of being in front of the camera so a lot of this beta was to try and learn what it would take to do and get more comfortable. As you can see in my videos I am much better at the digital side of things. Unfortunately where I expected be on day 1 was about where I ended on day 10. During the sailing I didn’t have access to any way of viewing the footage beyond looking on the camera so I was really going blind from one day to another. I’m still going to edit them though to build out my graphic package and depending on what people say here and how they turn out I’ll decide if I should post just day 10 or all 10 episodes. The general format is a review of the day’s weather, ship location, sunset/sunrise, and sea conditions. Along with a daily look at the menu, cruise compass, and a daily featured in depth venue tour. Everything is supported by photos, graphics, and videos to give a full experience of the day. For this sailing I didn’t invest heavily in the project. Since it’s only in the beta stage I only bought the required tripod to hold the camera while filming. For Quantum I’ll be investing in actual mics and maybe some other items so I don’t have to hold iPhones anymore.

awesome review and pics so far.. We are going out on the Grandeur Feb 18th. I am so worried about the seas and getting sick.. We usually go out of Fl but thought we would try Baltimore as it is so close to home..

Stop worrying. Bring some medicine along just in case but don't think about it or you'll make yourself sick.The seas and weather are so unpredictable that you'll likely end up worrying far more than nescesary. I used to do that all the time, now I try to ignore it and don't even take the medicine. We're currently in the Polar Vortex which is causing all of these cold temperatures and helping contribute to the winds and seas. It's supposed to be out of here by February and looking at the 10 day forecast it does in deed appear that way so you should have much better weather. Freezing temperatures off the coast of Florida is never normal. The most important thing though is to just embrace what ever you get. I learned that on the Independence last year when we visited Ponta Delgado in horrible conditions but it turned out to be the most beautiful place I've ever seen and far better than it would have been under perfect conditions. There is beauty in everything, like those rainbows in the sea mist, you just might have to look a little harder to find it.

Thank you so much for this review. Timing could not have been better. We are choosing our second cruise and are planning on going with another couple and this is the itinerary we will most likely have.

 

Craig

We didn't have perfect weather but I certainly enjoyed the itinerary. The three sea days to start really help you relax before the stretch of islands and the 2 at the end are great to recover from them, lol. The islands are a nice mix as well compared to some of the other itineraries and while we didn't have great weather in Grand Cayman this time it is still my favorite island in the Caribbean. Everyone is so nice there and it feels safe when your walking around.

Labadee, Haiti

With the exception of Nassau that I’ve been to 3 times (with a 4th in November), Labadee has been my most traveled island with stop being my 3rd visit. The first time I went to Labadee was on the Voyager of the Seas in 2004. At that time it was still a desolate peninsula that mainly offered water excursions and a beach. When I returned in 2007 on the Liberty of the Seas they had opened the zip line and you could see some minor development taking place. Since then though Labadee has been completely redeveloped. Everyone on the ships who I would mention to that I was last there in 2007 said the same thing, “You won’t even recognize the place”. That was certainly true.

I knew when we booked this sailing that we would be in port with Labadee and even considered that in our decision on which sailing date we should book. With an Oasis class ship pulling in you get 5,400-6,000+ people with a single ship. The Grandeur and Explorer combined only give about 5,000+ people total. Even there total gross tonnage is less than a single Oasis class so I really wasn’t scared of crowding. Explorer and Independence sometimes dock together which may be a different story though. For us the Explorer arrived at 8:00 AM and was already docked as we neared the area for our 9:30 AM arrival.

Everyone onboard knew this fact and what it meant, all the good spots would be taken. Even the cruise director the night before made a comment about the fact that we would have to hunt a little harder for the good spots but that they would be there, just maybe a little farther away. When we got closer you could see all the people going ashore from the Explorer and the huge operation they had going on to unload cargo to the peninsula. As we got ready to dock though to my surprise it all stopped. For about an hour the Explorer of the Seas shut it’s gangway and no passengers were allowed on the pier for safety reasons. I saw the same thing in Cozumel when the Ecstasy was docking next to the Conquest so I’m not sure if this is a new law or just a safety precaution some ports do. I know in Nassau last year it certainly wasn’t a rule as I was right under the Carnival Miracle during her docking. It did catch some guests off guard as well as I really didn’t become aware of just how long it lasted until we were ashore and heard guests from the Explorer complaining about losing so much time while stuck on her. As we pulled along side the pier the crew of the Explorer were still hanging off the bridge to clean windows and using a small boat to clean her hull while we pulled up. Eventually we stopped and it seemed as if in seconds they were already unloading the cargo from our ship. While the setup though we did have a short wait before we could disembark which was a great opportunity to admire these two ships. I have never actually seen a vision class ship util on the Grandeur so I certainly never saw one next to a Voyager class. Today people look at the Oasis class and say wow that is huge. When placed next to a Freedom class ship you really get an idea of the size jump. I never thought of the Voyager class as a big size jump, but when you place one next to a vision class and realize that this jump is the exact same thing you realize just how big of a jump those ships were.

Sorry about this Explorer/Grandeur picture break but I’m a true Royal Caribbean fanboy, lol. Plus Explorer is capable of magic, she made the Grandeur disappear entirely!

Enough with the ships now, we’re in Labadee! I’ve got to say everyone was right. I walked the entire island (about 1.5-2 hours) and struggled to find anything I recognized from before. You could still see that it was the same island and some things were in the same place but it certainly did not look anything like things used to. It actually feels like a real port now rather than a beach. As soon as you get off the pier your in an area dedicated to managing the excursions and where most leave out of. This is kind of separated from the actual island area.

When you enter the island though there are now signs everywhere and official roads. They have a tram that runs through the island to help you get around and it’s also a nice ride. I like to walk but took it twice when I needed to get from one end to the other quickly (about 20 minute walk otherwise) and it was a great way to view the island, especially mid day when no one else is riding. They also have vehicles running back and forth on these main roads to move supplies around. These for the most part weren’t an issue as they were slow tractors. The ones that caused issues seemed to be the zip line trucks that would go flying by without any concern for other vehicles, people, or there dust.

Beaches

The island side of things still felt very similar at it’s core. It was still open beaches to sit and relax on, you just had more options of things to do as well. The real development seemed to be at the core of the island rather than the beach areas. As expected the beaches were packed. Barefoot Beach was closed off to the public and created some controversy while I was walking by but not how you would expect. There were people angry because they had access and wanted to merely walk back to there lounger and the workers insisted that they must walk them over and freshen there towels. I guess some people just want to be treated like people, I wouldn’t want that level of treatment either. In the same string of things though they were using golf carts to take people from the ship to the beach and a group walking by with some elderly individuals asked if they could get a ride. They were waiting for the tram but it was of course full when it would go by since it was coming from the pier. They were told no because it was only for suite guests to get to and from the ship. This of course seems really stupid to me. We’ve got perfectly healthy people using golf carts while elderly and disabled can’t get a ride. Especially after seeing a suite guest get annoyed over the level of hand holding they were experiencing. You really have to wonder if Royal Caribbean has taken the royalty thing a bit too far here.

We continued on though to Nellie’s Beach, the first beach listed as swimmable and the one everyone appeared to be at. The chair guys kept insisting we stop and I have no idea how anyone that did stop got to the water, you couldn’t even move it was so packed in this tiny area. I honestly have no idea why anyone would continue to stop there. We took the rocky path along the water over to Colombus Cove where it was fairly crowded but everyone had room and there were plenty of free spots left. We got a spot in the sun right by the water rather than under the palm trees. Walking around the whole island I have to say this was my favorite area, the palm trees just looked so peaceful and if you go down farther from the entrance it was empty and quiet.

The only downside to Colombus Cove was the water park and water slide. These were near where we were at the entrance but it was an older crowd on both ships so there were no screaming kids or anything. The slide rarely ever got used the whole day so it wasn’t a problem and if you went down farther you would not know either existed.

Taking the main path from Colombus Beach back to the center of the island goes through the new marketplace area. It’s certainly nicer than the old with stalls built into the trees and it appeared as though there was a policy in place preventing any of the sellers from leaving there decks. They would often call to people and try to get them on to the decks to look at there stuff but never stepped off. It was a bit of an annoyance like in the past though because you really had to just ignore them and keep walking which always feels rude but is the only option to avoid getting sucked in.

Once through the market place road you end up at a main square and an amphitheater where different groups were performing dances and music throughout the day. Continuing along the property border though you can take a rather hidden walkway past the food pavilions to Adrenaline Beach. If your looking for some sun this was the place. Not a tree in sight and barely a person either. The place was completely deserted with only a single line of chairs set out, most of which were unoccupied.

The back of the beach is where the roller coaster departs from but it was rare that even a single person was on there and it was so quiet it never distracted. The only downside (besides lack of trees) seemed to be the zip line which would wiz overhead with a roar and screams about every 15 minutes. That was the only activity that did seem popular with the crowd that day.

On that side of the peninsula Adrenaline Beach (though unnamed) then continued all the way up past the food pavilions to the end of the peninsula where the zip line stops. This area was fairly nice but the water did not look as good. With the old Labadee we used to always go on this side but they seem to have put a path and other items along the area which breaks it up and makes it feel very shallow but long now.

Nature Paths

While Labadee is now developed it does still have nature trails (though they are paved with rocks which is nice) that wind through different areas. In fact, unless I missed some last time I think they may actually have more than they did before. They are mainly centered around the pier area on either side of Dragons plaza. The ones on the bay side lead to some great overlooks of the ship area and are really quiet and secluded. When I walked them there was absolutely nobody up there.

This area also leads to the oddly placed ocean view spa. When I went up there nobody could be found and it was wide open and setup for business. Kind of odd, but it’s location while providing a great view seems like a horrible place for a spa. If you really need a massage do you actually feel like hiking up a hill? Not sure who there target audience is, especially when you have your head down for the massage and can’t see any of the view.

On the other ocean side of the main entrance is a hidden path that leads to a great lookout of the ships. This was where I went to watch the Explorer set sail (picture posted above with that section). It then leads around the edge of the peninsula and connects to the Dragons Breadth Pub with a large fort like patio area.

This area used to connect over to the Dragon’s Lookout Point but the walkway appears to have collapsed. The support pillars were still there though.

The actual path to the lookout was also closed even though it was still present on the map. It was a bit disappointing since this was at one point the nicest spot on the island. The path to the lookout was closed by a physical gate though so that may have been due to sea conditions rather than disrepair.

Food

So now that we’ve got all of our exercise in it’s time to eat up! During out previous two stops the picnic was highlight of the day with good food and a fun atmosphere. It was always hampered by lines though. This time as I was walking around though, I could already see the lines at the different areas and could not believe the length. Every single one of them was out the gate and down the path.

Having walked around the peninsula and seen all the crowds I was happy to see that while there was still a huge line at the Columbus Cove Cafe it was the least crowded of all the food venues. We waited in line there for our food and as we were waiting in line the line started to grow much longer as people were being sent over from other food areas due to there overcrowding. After about an hour in line we finally reached the food only to find it empty. There were some workers who kept saying more would be out. They did come out occasionally but kept refilling the other side of the venue and only with veggie burgers. When questioned they insisted that more ribs, burgers, and hot dogs were on the way. Slowly the workers seemed to disappear. Eventually it was just a mob of guests waiting around and a cook or 2 standing around. Eventually someone that looked higher up in rank passed through the back of the cooking area and we shouted for them to come over. We asked him about the food and after 30 minutes waiting for food to be restocked he said there was no food coming claiming an issue getting food from the ships to the land and walked away. So after 60 minutes waiting in line they had us waiting 30 minutes for food that didn’t exist and had absolutely no plan to bother telling anyone about it. The excuse didn’t make sense either as they have a pier now, it would have been more believable under the old tender process. As soon as this news was known everyone left, more disappointed in the time wasted than not getting to eat. Amazingly though as soon as the passengers started walking away an army of crew suddenly appeared again to start cleaning up. This was clearly a major failure on the management side of things and once back on the ship we asked about it. We were then told that it was a combination of issues. Apparently Columbus Cove is usually empty and this time because everyone knew the Explorer was already there it became a popular spot so they did not properly stock it. We were also told that the ships did not coordinate properly to handle that many people. Part of the explanation was that the ships were to split the food for the island but one ship only planned to feed it’s own guests. That seemed to mean that the Explorer planed to feed half the 5,000 guests, meaning enough food for 2,500 people. The Grandeur may have planned to feed it’s own guests which would only have been 2,000 rather than half the total guests. This leaves around 500 people without any food. Our head waiter tried to make up for it by getting us some ribs but he checked with the butcher and found out that the ship was completely out so it truly was a mess up in the food supply, but no one wanted to take responsibility on land and tell the guests. It still didn’t explain lack of hamburgers though.

Fantastic review and pics!!!

Departing the Peninsula

The Explorer of the Seas was scheduled to depart at 4:00 pm and the Grandeur of 5:00 pm, with both ships having all aboard 30 minutes earlier than there departures. At 3:00 though the island essentially shut down. Everyone from the Explorer was heading back to the ship and the crew on the island were cleaning up. They were going around cleaning up chairs and most annoyingly collecting all of the beach mats even though the Grandeur’s passengers still had 90 more minutes of beach time and had paid for those! It was amazing though because the combination of the Explorer getting ready to leave and crews basically pushing everyone else off the peninsula left it almost deserted by the 3:30 when only the Explorer’s guests had to be gone.

The peninsula’s infrastructure to handle the load worked beautifully though. I ran back to the ship to shower and dress for dinner while the Explorer’s guests were returning so that I could go back out to watch the Explorer leave form the island. It was incredibly fast getting through the security. Since the upgrades were for Oasis they of course built two security buildings on the land to handle all of the metal detectors and x-ray machines. At 3:00 they had 2 sets of security lines in each of the 2 buildings. They did cause some confusion though as they had people with bins collecting towels at each entrance. The one I was at had a guy yelling for “Grandeur towels only” resulting in many Explorer guests getting out of line to go to the other building, something I was certainly not complaining about, lol. An hour later when all of the Grandeur’s guests had to be back onboard they had it down to just a single security line in one building without any issues. Considering that it took less than 30 minutes for me to get from the peninsula through security, onto the ship, showered, dressed, and back out on the island it was much quicker than the old tendering system.

I went up to the lookout I mentioned earlier and had a great view of the Explorer’s departure. She started dropping her lines at about 3:35 and departed by 3:50, ahead of schedule. During the process though the Grandeur’s passengers were never stopped. I’m guessing this was due to the docking process including loading the lines which resulted in a fatality last year when a line snapped, but departing doesn’t stress them as much. As she started to sail away she blew her horn and was clearly ribbing the Grandeur on, but she never responded. Eventually the Explorer was fully away from the pier started heading out to sea. As she was starting to leave Labadee behind she blew her horn once more and this time the Grandeur responding initiating a short horn battle to end the day.

As the Explorer set out to sea the Grandeur was left alone at the pier, finally viewable from land for the first time. The last of the Grandeur guests made there way to the ship, though many seemed to have already headed back aboard when everything shut down with the Explorer. Everyone was onboard on time and just like the Explorer we were able to set sail 10 minutes early leaving the beautiful peninsula of Labadee behind.

So this day at Labadee turned out to be the best weather of the sailing for the day that needed it more than any other. Royal Caribbean has really invested heavily in Labadee but on our day it seemed as though the beach and ride side of things remained separate without any major impact on one another. This may be different if more children are on a sailing or you spend more time on the Zip Line side of things, but IMO the overall infrastructure of the peninsula seemed pretty nice and up to Royal Caribbean standards. Unfortunately the management side of things seemed to be a disaster from start to finish and really ruined the day. I never hold a cruise line accountable for the weather and often think bad weather can be nice, but this was the only nice beach day of the entire cruise and between the mismanagement of the food and the island shutting down early our 6 hour beach day was cut down to 3 and that is something that I think Royal Caribbean was 100% at fault for and could have avoided. The weather situation just makes that sting a bit more than normal and when everyone working the ship knows that this was the day people were waiting for the fact that they handled it so poorly just really seemed to match the ship experience, a series of great highs and avoidable lows that I’ll be going into tomorrow when I start reviewing the ship and it’s experience.

I was on this same trip as you. You have taken no time to get the pictures and videos turned around.

Your thoughts on Labadee or very interesting when it came to the dining issues for lunch. We knew that Explorer was going to be in so we decided to get a cabana on Barefoot Beach to alleviate having to search for loungers and shade after explorer was already there. Now this is not to sound elitist but we had none of the dining issues there, but it was because of the separate dining area in that section. So in the future if you are in a suite or can gain access to this area do so if there are multiple ships in Labadee.

I have the full video for Love and Marriage up on my youtube channel. My grandparents were the oldest couple in the theater that night and went up on stage.

For the first post of this review I wanna give everyone some background and a preview of what’s to come. I have been on 9 cruises; the Disney Magic in 2000, the Carnival Victory in 2001, and 7 Royal Caribbean cruises since then. For the past several sailings I have been creating extensive video and photo series to go along, you can see them all in my signature.

 

This is my second time onboard the Grandeur of the Seas and the first time I’ve returned to a ship. I have previously sailed the Independence of the Seas 5+ years after the Liberty of the Seas which was the same class but while that felt familiar it was still not the same ship. Our first sailing was in May, the final sailing prior to the fire. Going into that sailing the big focus was on the experience of an older and smaller ship after only sailing Voyager/Freedom/Oasis class ships for a decade. There was a lot of unknowns involved but also some excitement around the promises of the Oasisizing she had received. She certainly did not disappoint that sailing as it was a great experience across the board. You can read the entire review here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1853036

 

Along with that review since this sailing will be covered as an extension be sure to check out the previous photos:

Day 1: Departure

Day 2: At Sea

Day 3: Bermuda

Day 4: Bermuda

Day 5: Bermuda

Day 6: At Sea

Day 7: At Sea

Day 8: Debarkation

 

And videos:

• GoPro Arrival/Departure Timelapse -

• Arrivals/Departures Videos -

• Grandeur of the Seas Tour -

• Captain's Corner -

• Captain's Welcome Aboard Reception -

• Summer Breeze Song Set & Aerial Show -

• Aerial Performances

 

◦ Practice -

◦ 8:15PM Show -

◦ 10:15PM Show -

◦ Bonus: Multi-Cam Edit -

• 70's Dancin' in the Street Party - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUxYphAb9es

• Crew International Flag Parade - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2UFg_EsTOU

• Norwegian Dawn Departure - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kosxB-axYpM

• Prinsendam Departure - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WEq-w6wzD0

 

Following that sailing it was sad to hear of the fire 2 days later but it didn’t do anything to sway our opinions of the ship or Royal Caribbean as a whole. I had purchased 3 next cruise certificates during that sailing and that week I used 2 on Quantum of the Seas the day she opened for bookings (11/23 and 12/1) and then a few days later booked this 10 night sailing back on the Grandeur.

 

This sailing was a bit different from the last, there was no uncertainty about the ship or how things would be. It was essentially expected as an extension of the previous sailing and for the most part felt like one. While I expected things to be as nice if not better since she received some care after the fire and was not fully integrated into the US culture yet when we sailed in May, unfortunately things were not. It was a bit of a mixed sailing with some aspects far exceeding that of other sailings while others fell far short. I’ll get into that more in the review though. Since this sailing was viewed as an extension of the previous sailing I needed to find something new and different to fill my time. I did follow my usual routine and have tons of photos to view by day:

Day 1: Departure

Day 2: At Sea

Day 3: At Sea

Day 4: At Sea

Day 5: Cozumel, Mexico

Day 6: George Town, Grand Cayman (Rescheduled to Spotts Bay)

Day 7: Falmouth, Jamaica

Day 8: Labadee, Haiti

Day 9: At Sea

Day 10: At Sea

Day 11: Debarkation

 

I also will be posting a complete video series with extensive Falmouth and Labadee tours done in the same style as the previous Grandeur tour. These will take me a few days to get edited and uploaded before I can post the links here:

• Falmouth Tour: Complete tour of Falmouth Jamaica in the same style as the Grandeur tour

• Labadee Tour: Complete tour of Labadee Haiti in the same style as the Grandeur tour

• Welcome Reception: Captain’s welcome reception from day 2

• Captain’s Corner: Complete captain’s corner video from day 10 including a question about the fire

• Bake A Cake Challenge: Jefferey Arpin and a guest compete to make the best cake with the help of the chef

• 50’s & 60’s Sock Hop: First themed centrum party

• 70’s Disco Inferno: Second and more common themed centrum party

• Seasons of the Centrum: Complete video with a focus on the transitions and setup

• The Sun: Stand alone aerial special

• Timelapses: Arrivals and departures from each port

• Baltimore: Footage of the departure from Baltimore

• Cozumel: Footage of the arrival and departure from Cozumel as well as other ships in port

• Grand Cayman: Footage of the arrival and departure from Grand Cayman as well as other ships in port

• Falmouth: Footage of the arrival and departure from Falmouth

• Labadee: Footage of the arrival and departure from Labadee as well as other ships in port

 

To go along with the video and photo series’ I decided to try something completely different though. In the past I’ve had a few different styles; the Oasis was lengthy venue walk throughs, the Independence was daily weather and sea footage, and the Grandeur was an extensive and condensed tour. I’ve also had a ton of footage and other material that never got utilized in any way. To take care of this I decided to create TheCruiseView, a new review/info video series filmed daily while onboard. This is something I planned to do for Quantum of the Seas where I have 19 nights to fill but wanted to give it a beta run on Grandeur. I am certainly not the most social person and not a fan of being in front of the camera so a lot of this beta was to try and learn what it would take to do and get more comfortable. As you can see in my videos I am much better at the digital side of things. Unfortunately where I expected be on day 1 was about where I ended on day 10. During the sailing I didn’t have access to any way of viewing the footage beyond looking on the camera so I was really going blind from one day to another. I’m still going to edit them though to build out my graphic package and depending on what people say here and how they turn out I’ll decide if I should post just day 10 or all 10 episodes. The general format is a review of the day’s weather, ship location, sunset/sunrise, and sea conditions. Along with a daily look at the menu, cruise compass, and a daily featured in depth venue tour. Everything is supported by photos, graphics, and videos to give a full experience of the day. For this sailing I didn’t invest heavily in the project. Since it’s only in the beta stage I only bought the required tripod to hold the camera while filming. For Quantum I’ll be investing in actual mics and maybe some other items so I don’t have to hold iPhones anymore.

Thanks for the detailed review.

...I have the full video for Love and Marriage up on my youtube channel. My grandparents were the oldest couple in the theater that night and went up on stage.

That was a great show. Jefferey did it a bit different then usual, but it still worked out. I hope your grandparents enjoyed it.

Grandeur of the Seas

Now onto the big piece of the review, the Grandeur of the Seas experience. I have to say that my feelings about the experience she offered this time are vastly different than last time, but I can still stand by what I said before. Quite often we sail and there are elements that we never even think about, that we just kind of expect as standard procedure and that’s where this sailing was interesting. It seemed as though all the positives from last sailing carried over and were great again but many of the elements that you don’t think about were no where near up to par.

Food

The thing that can really make or break a vacation. No one wants to sail for 10 days with lousy food and after having the executive chefs onboard from Miami during our May sailing I knew I would never get to see food so good again on a ship. To make things worse the fire happened the very next week so all that training went unused for 2 months after they learned everything. Amazingly though they kept it up. You could see that with out the Executives looking over every plate before sending it out things were a bit sloppier. I never had a meal that looked bad but some plates had drips on them, something the executives would never have allowed. They were also carrying hot items with cold items including serving hot items with the ice cream already on it instead of in a small bowl next to it, another new element of the menu implementation in May that seems to have been forgotten. But while the appearance may have gone down just a little things still look great and more importantly the taste was on par with what we experienced in May. It was even announced during our sailing that the Grandeur had received the 2013 award for best food in the fleet which was most certainly deserving based on the absolutely no change in taste between May with the executives and January without. They did change some serving sizes too, all for the better. Some of the meat items I had gotten in May were massive and impossible to finish, this time the were sized just right. At the same time almost all of the pastas seemed to small in May, this time some were clearly increased in quantity. Whether this was sloppiness or intentional I don’t know, but the only portion changes I saw were done in the right direction. Here’s three different comparisons of the same meal from May (top) with the introduction of the new menus and an executive chef from Miami overseeing things and January (bottom) after being on there own for 6+ months with a 2 month break.

Filetto di Mailae Arrosto con Salvia (The potatoes gratin with this meal taste like Mac and Cheese and are incredible! First had them on the Independence last year and can never get enough of them. My personal favorite food item on the ships.)

Cranberry-Apple Turkey Roulade

Frozen Strawberry Soufflé (The best desert they offer, unfortunately this time it was cold instead of frozen which took a away from some of what makes it great. It was more soufflé like, rather than the magical ice cream feeling.)

The MDR wasn’t the only place with good food though, throughout the ship I never found something that tasted bad. Even in May I don’t think this was the case, so the ship as a whole actually managed to improve it’s food to the standards that had been set by the MDR.

On the second day the seas became a bit rough at 4:30 while getting ready for dinner and the captain’s reception. I never got sick, but I certainly didn’t feel like sitting in a suit to eat so I stayed in the cabin and dressed more “smart casual” than formal to go to the captain’s reception. Everyone else went ahead to the MDR so afterwards I went up to the Windjammer for dinner. I’ve always been a part of the group that says the MDR experience makes cruising cruising so to skip it was a big deal and something that never happens. In the past we did it once on the Nordic Empress in 2002 to watch sail away and the experience was sit down service back then with table cloths and waiters. I knew that wasn’t the case anymore and on other cruises people have said it’s the exact same food just without all the formal fuss involved and quicker. When I went up though nothing matched, a great thing since that night was the only menu i did not see anything on. I later noticed that the compass had a daily theme printed for both the Main Dinning Room and the Windjammer and they never matched. The MDR was always an ingredient while the Windjammer seemed to be a nation or region each day. The night I went was Indian food and the variety was huge. I was expecting something similar to lunch but with the lights dimmer, instead I found that they had unique items in each spot instead of things repeating and everything once again tasted delicious. Thanks to the variety it certainly was the ugliest looking dinner plate I had all cruise but it was probably my favorite. I also saw the dress attire split about 50/50 between casual people and formal people which surprised me. The service during dinner was what you would expect during lunch but much quieter and they were less pushy, they seemed to keep there distance so you never felt rushed like you often do at other meals. I’m still a MDR fan but I have to see my opinion of the Windjammer has certainly changed and I could see opting for it on nights the menu isn’t good or the departure schedule conflicts with dinner.

For breakfast it was the usual, not much to say about that beyond if you sailed you know it. They had the omelet station setup and have adopted the Park Cafe strategy of handing out numbers and delivering them to the table now which was much more efficient than everyone crowding around waiting. Since there wasn’t much variety I tried to change things up day to day and opted for a snack at Cafe-Latetudes some days and Park Cafe others. Park Cafe was pretty standardized a well with oat meal and a selection of breakfast sandwiches, a burrito, and bagel bar. Beyond the main area though they had additional breakfast sandwiches in the showcase that most people missed. That seemed to be where the high end ones were versus the mass produced cheap ones they had out waiting to serve. These would often change each day but everyone was delicious. If you (more like when) you get tired of the Windjammer do try Park Cafe’s sandwiches instead, you won’t regret it. I usually went for the Foccacia ones and got them to heat it in the panini press. The one day it included tomato and I asked if they could remove it before heating, instead they went down below the counter and made a brand new one without it.

The lunch variety in the Windjammer was about what you would expect. It was similar stations each day, some items changed while others remained the same and most repeated throughout the sailing. The one unique thing I discovered was that on port days they would setup a made to order section. The one day it was mongolian stir fry and another day it was a pasta station. They would have a whole set of ingredient out, you put what you want on your plate (such as bacon, sausage, broccoli, carrots, etc.) and then give it to the chef who may have additional options such as pasta and sauce. He then stirs everything up and makes you a custom dish. I’ve been in the Windjammer for lunch on port days before, but this is the first time I can remember seeing them have something like this setup.

Park Cafe’s lunch variety was nice. Each day a portion of the sandwich selection changed so you could get something different each time. They also had the salad bar available very day.

They made two improvements since May though. The roast beef sandwich was available for lunch every day rather than only in the late afternoon on select days. They also had a huge picnic station setup with hot dogs, hamburgers, fries, and other picnic like items. They had a nicer condiment selection than any other location as well.

For late night snacks your only option was once again the Park Cafe. They improved that as well. In May she was fresh from South America which may have effected the selection, but they only offered nachos or fries with chili and cheese as well as a selection of cookies and cakes. It was typically empty up there. This time it was packed every night mainly because in addition to what they had in May they added hot dogs and most importantly they finally got pizza! It was nothing spectacular, but it was certainly a very welcomed change to the selection.

With all of this great food though it’s important to then have great service. In May we had MTD for the first time and everyone was spectacular. This time we were back to first seating and once again we had a great wait staff. Most importantly though our head waiter Stipe was incredible. He was hilarious and always running around the dinning room with a smile on his face checking on everything. He came to our table several times every single night to make sure everything was ok and see if he could help at all. He was without a doubt the best head waiter we have ever had, something that is sadly easy which is why he did it by a mile. Overall though throughout the ship the food staff seemed good. The windjammer seemed to be quick at clearing tables for people and they were coming around to get drinks more often than in the past. The team in the Park Cafe were always friendly and quick, even when some of the guests were less than competent at placing orders. The dishes and cups throughout the ships seemed to get cleaned up quickly and overall they just seemed to have a high standard for there jobs.

The only issue that seemed to crop up was towards the end of the sailing when things started running out. I know I love pickles with lunch each day and they ran out on day 8. Other people have said they ran out of bananas with 3 days left as well (may be freshness related though). They also were out of some condiment packets with 2 days left. We know they had a food supply issue with Labadee which may have contributed to it if they brought more ashore than originally allotted for. Overall it wasn't too bad of an issue though as nothing major ran out, things just started a bit earlier than normal which would be a management issue, not an issue with any of the actual crew in the food and beverage areas.

Most importantly though our head waiter Stipe was incredible. He was hilarious and always running around the dinning room with a smile on his face checking on everything. He came to our table several times every single night to make sure everything was ok and see if he could help at all. He was without a doubt the best head waiter we have ever had,

]

We were on the same sailing and I have to agree that Stipe was the absolute best! :D