GOS 9/4 Review

Well, we made it back yesterday. Now there have been many reviews of various ships and RCCL on this thread so I am going to limit my comments to things that surprised me- both good and bad.

Arrive early! We arrived at 11:25 and were walking aboard at 12:05 PM. Excellent service and prompt attention.

The coffee is terrible (not much better than Army coffee!)

Windjammer was excellent, but never ate dinner there always the dining room. food there was comparable to Carnival (some good some fair) Best dessert was the sugar-free chocolate mousse cake. Still wish I had ordered a second piece.

Service is superb everywhere.

Overall layout of the ship was fun.

Francis did bounce us around the first two days. Third to half passengers stayed in their rooms and a number bolted off the ship when we arrived in Key West. Watched a Blackjack dealer run from the table with a greenish cast! Pit Boss hurried to the table to protect the chips!

The Solarium Pool (adults only) is a brilliant idea.

Shows were good to great. magican was so-so and jugglers were great.

I've read comments about drinks from the bars of cruise ships. Let me assure everywhere that aboard the GOS you get your money's worth!

Cozumel was nice- Paradise Beach was as advertised.

Belize was boiling hot but I snorkeled in turbid water. Loved the little island they took to swim.

Missed Freeport because of hurricane. Oddly enough we stopped in Miami for a 'medical emergencey' that did not appear real to me. If it was such an emergency why did they not use a helicopter? If it was so urgent why did we dock after turning around in the basin? If it was so important why did the ambulances drive away w/o lights or sirens?

If someone can invent a decent way to offload passengers at the end of a cruise they would be rich.

Weather in Baltimore was nice- We sat on a weather deck until our color was called, then disembarked quickly, through customs and driving away in 20 minutes!

I had my wife talked into a another cruise while aboard and when I went to book it they had already sold out! Now I am going to have to wait 6 months before angling for another cruise.

Till Next time,

Soulpony

Sounds like you had a great time! We'll be doing the Repo on the Grandeur next November, is that the one you tried to book? That sailing sold super fast! Thanks for the review!

Good to know about early boarding. Could you have gotten on before noon?

No, you probably could not board before Noon. They issue numbers in bunches of 50. We were in the second group of 50 so we were probably the 54th couple to board. Even the Windjammer wasn't ready yet.

One thing I forgot to mention that is REALLY important. Sign-up for the Meet & Mingle, then attend. We met a nice group of people on the first sea day. Put faces to the ID's and constantly bumped into our new friends throughout the voyage. Minimal effort, maximum return.

By the bye, yes, you can get eggs to order for Breakfast in the Windjammer. All you want.

Wife won $150 from a slot one night after spending only $6. Blackjack was VERY good to me. I left the ship with more money than I carried aboard.

I did look at the repositioning cruise and would have signed-up if they had not been SOLD out.

I go again in a heartbeat. GOS can only improve with the planned refurbishing. No more than an occasional stained carpet marred the ship.

Soulpony

Soulpony - Note that new rooms have opened up for that repo cruise, I booked last week and was able to upgrade to an outside when the new rooms showed up. RCI website is showing some on deck 2, but my favorite online TA (which I assume I can't name) is showing many available on deck 3 (and at lower prices).

Hi Emerald

My husband, son and I managed to book the Grandeur Repo for next November. We were scheduled on her repo for this October but it was cancelled so they could dry dock the ship. Hopefully nothing happens to next year's. Great itinerary and price!:cool:

soulpony - did you do the Barrier Reef Snorkle through the ship? We did that in May with Capt Charles and his crew. They took us to a little island with about 5 palm trees on it. I'd do that again in a minute.

We booked Grandeur Nov 05 for the week before the repositioning cruise. DH doesn't have enough vacation time for the longer trip.