Just Off the Grandeur of the Seas Aug 5-10 2017 Bermuda - Any Questions?

DW and I just returned from the 5 night (Aug 5-10) cruise aboard the Grandeur of the Seas to Bermuda. This was our first time cruising on the Grandeur. We were both a little worried about sailing on the smaller Vision-class ship but those worries were quickly replaced by excitement and pure respect for this vessel.

Here is what brought us to cruising on the Grandeur. During our September 2016 back to back Anthem of the Seas cruise, we booked a December 2017 - 12 night Southern Caribbean cruise and we quickly realized that we did not want to wait that long before our next sailing. So I had the bright idea (which happens only on very rare occasions) to say, “We have a 40th anniversary coming up in August, how about taking a short cruise out of Baltimore to celebrate?” This was met with instant agreement. The stars must have been aligned that day as I had a second bright idea. “Since we are celebrating our anniversary then how about upgrading from our usual balcony to an Aft Jr. Suite?” Be still my heart! Again, instant agreement. So there you have it. This Grandeur cruise was to tied us over until our December cruise, celebrate our 40th anniversary, and introduce us to AFT and Jr Suite living. Life is Good!

We live in Pittsburgh, the home of the Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins. Sorry, I just had to get that in here somewhere. So it’s an easy 3.5 hour drive to the Inner Harbor were we spent the night (Aug 4) at the Days Inn. It was a very short drive the next morning from the Inner Harbor to the Port of Baltimore.

We got to the port around 10:30. I really liked how they took our tagged luggage as we were proceeding to the parking lot. So once parked, all we had to carry to the terminal was our carryon bags. It took us all of 12 minutes to be processed and we were immediately instructed to board. WOW!

This is not a trip review but I will share my impressions of the ship and our experiences.

The ship is awesome! From most every venue you can see the ocean!

We loved the AFT Jr Suite stateroom 8588.

The crew is very friendly and engaging.

This was our first cruise as Diamond and we enjoyed the Diamond lounge which offered a great view and great service.

We ate in the main dining room 4 nights and the Windjammer 1 night. We enjoyed every meal. My wife has special dietary needs and they worked with her to prepare great dishes for her

For late night snackers like me, the Park Café is open until 2 am serving nachos, Panini’s, pizza, hot dogs, hamburgers, mac and cheese (a couple nights), meat balls (a couple nights), sweets, and more. Loved it!

My only suggestion to RCI is to place a Coke free style machine near the Park Café. There are 5 free style machines on the Grandeur. Four are located in the Windjammer and one on desk 6 near the Centrum. The Windjammer closes at 9:00pm so there is only the deck 6 machine for the remainder of the evening. That ain’t right! - LOL

We had a very positive experience aboard the Grandeur and we will definitely sail on her in the future.

If you have any questions, I will do my best to answer them.

My daughter and I will be making the journey at the end of Sept. What did you do while you were in port? It will be our first time in Bermuda and my daughter is in a wheelchair. I have a couple ideals but haven't made a decision. If anything in particular made an impression on you please let me know. Thank you Nadine

Thanks so much for posting, we leave on the Grandeur two weeks from today! Can I ask what your wife's dietary needs are? My daughter has celiac disease and I'm a little antsy about them preparing her meals safely and that there will be enough she'd like to eat. Glad to hear this all worked out for your wife!

Also, how crowded did the pools get on days at sea? :)

Glad you had a good cruise on the Grandeur. We have sailed on all size ships but prefer the smaller ships because of the sea views. We have sailed Grandeur before but with the rule change to begin charging a corkage fee in the dining room, I was wondering if you were charged this fee. There seems to be a mix of people being charged the fee and some do not. Do you have personal experience?

Thanks

My daughter and I will be making the journey at the end of Sept. What did you do while you were in port? It will be our first time in Bermuda and my daughter is in a wheelchair. I have a couple ideals but haven't made a decision. If anything in particular made an impression on you please let me know. Thank you Nadine

My husband, son and I will be going on the Grandeur in November for the Thanksgiving cruise.

It's nice to see another person with the same name, not many of us that I've come across.

Enjoy your cruise!

Nadine from PA

My daughter and I will be making the journey at the end of Sept. What did you do while you were in port? It will be our first time in Bermuda and my daughter is in a wheelchair. I have a couple ideals but haven't made a decision. If anything in particular made an impression on you please let me know. Thank you Nadine

Nadine,

We spent the first day at Horseshoe Bay. Though this was our third trip to Bermuda, it was our first time that we spent the day at the beach. I did see one person enjoying the day at the beach in a beach wheelchair. I am not sure if they called ahead to reserve the wheelchair or just showed up an requested one. The beach is beautiful.

The second day has a 2:00pm all aboard so we being late sleepers left the ship about 11:30 and just visited several stores there in the dockyard.

Thanks so much for posting, we leave on the Grandeur two weeks from today! Can I ask what your wife's dietary needs are? My daughter has celiac disease and I'm a little antsy about them preparing her meals safely and that there will be enough she'd like to eat. Glad to hear this all worked out for your wife!

 

Also, how crowded did the pools get on days at sea? :)

My wife can only consume very small amounts of salt and food only prepared with certain oils. When we first boarded the ship, we visited the dining room and explained the restrictions to the head waiter. He brought out the first night's menu and asked what she would like and they would prepare based on her restrictions. Each dinner thereafter they would give us the next day's menu.

I have read on other threads where folks having celiac disease were pleased with how Royal accommodated them. I hope that someone will chime in with their experience. I wish your daughter and you the best.

Glad you had a good cruise on the Grandeur. We have sailed on all size ships but prefer the smaller ships because of the sea views. We have sailed Grandeur before but with the rule change to begin charging a corkage fee in the dining room, I was wondering if you were charged this fee. There seems to be a mix of people being charged the fee and some do not. Do you have personal experience?

Thanks

Neither my wife or I drink wine so we did not bring any aboard with us. We did however bring water as she drinks 6 to 8 bottles a day. I thought that I could just tape a luggage tag on the case and drop it off with our suitcases but they said that I had to carry it on board. That was a pain. :)

I purchased the soda and surf 1 device package and just had a coke with meals in the main dining room.

We were on the Grandeur from July 27-August 5 and did not get charged a cork fee. The staff on the Grandeur is second to none. They bend over backwards to make sure you have a great cruise.

Where is the Diamond lounge on Grandeur?

Where is the Diamond lounge on Grandeur?

Aft on deck 6, part of the South Pacific lounge.

Thank you so much for your helpful tips! We'll be sailing the Grandeur (and Royal!) for the first time in November. My DH is an avid soda drinker and a night owl, so I see him complaining about the only Coke Freestyle being on Deck 6. Can you get a can soda at a bar as an alternative?

Do you know where the concierge lounge is located on Grandeur, please?

Do you know where the concierge lounge is located on Grandeur, please?

Deck 11 next to the Viking Crown Lounge :)

Thank you so much for your helpful tips! We'll be sailing the Grandeur (and Royal!) for the first time in November. My DH is an avid soda drinker and a night owl, so I see him complaining about the only Coke Freestyle being on Deck 6. Can you get a can soda at a bar as an alternative?

The soft drink package gets you pop (soda) from the Coke Free Style machines and pop from the fountain at the bars. Cans of pop typically are not included with the package. However, I did ask for a can of ginger ale at Late'tudes and the barista looked at my sea pass and gave it to me for free.

Thanks for the feedback.

Any chance you (or other members) know the MDR menu order for the five-days? We're attempting to figure out which night to schedule Chops.

Thanks so much for posting, we leave on the Grandeur two weeks from today! Can I ask what your wife's dietary needs are? My daughter has celiac disease and I'm a little antsy about them preparing her meals safely and that there will be enough she'd like to eat. Glad to hear this all worked out for your wife!

 

 

 

Also, how crowded did the pools get on days at sea? :)

I don't have a personal experience with having very strict dietary needs but I met a lovely couple on board this past July...the wife has Celiac disease. The waiter brought her the dinner menu every night for the following evening. She ordered her food in advance and they prepared the food according to her dietary needs. I'm not sure how they handled the first dinner or other meals.

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This Grandeur cruise was to tied us over until our December cruise, celebrate our 40th anniversary, and introduce us to AFT and Jr Suite living. Life is Good!

 

We loved the AFT Jr Suite stateroom 8588.

We are doing the same for our 30th in September. I booked cabin 8088! Would you happen to have any pictures of your cabin?

Thanks for sharing

Laurie

I would like to know how the food was in the MDR this trip. We leave August 24th. This will be our 6th Grandeur cruise, but last October the beef was always tough and chewy (no matter what recipe or form it was in) and the selections were really poor, considering past cruises. The lobster was mushy also on last formal night. I am not a finicky eater or complainer about food,, but I don't want to send food back and try something else as they alway suggest. I am usually full by then. Part of a fun cruise is eating entrees that we don't usually have the rest of the year, so I am looking forward to decent food without having to pay extra in a specialty restaurant.

I would like to know how the food was in the MDR this trip. We leave August 24th. This will be our 6th Grandeur cruise, but last October the beef was always tough and chewy (no matter what recipe or form it was in) and the selections were really poor, considering past cruises. The lobster was mushy also on last formal night. I am not a finicky eater or complainer about food,, but I don't want to send food back and try something else as they alway suggest. I am usually full by then. Part of a fun cruise is eating entrees that we don't usually have the rest of the year, so I am looking forward to decent food without having to pay extra in a specialty restaurant.

As you know...food preference is quite subjective. We ate at Chops, Giovanni's, & in the main dining room on our Grandeur cruise. I felt the food was pretty good overall. My lobster was prepared perfectly. As far as Chops, I had my least favorite Chops meal of all of my cruises. I usually prefer the specialty restaurants but my Grandeur cruise was the first in which I felt I could have skipped the specialty dining. I'm sure quality & service also varies cruise to cruise. I hope your next dining experience is a better one!

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Nadine,

 

We spent the first day at Horseshoe Bay. Though this was our third trip to Bermuda, it was our first time that we spent the day at the beach. I did see one person enjoying the day at the beach in a beach wheelchair. I am not sure if they called ahead to reserve the wheelchair or just showed up an requested one. The beach is beautiful.

 

 

The second day has a 2:00pm all aboard so we being late sleepers left the ship about 11:30 and just visited several stores there in the dockyard.

Thank you for your helpful response, we probably will look for that sandchair at Horseshoe Bay. One other question, what was the onboard entertainment? Nadine

As you know...food preference is quite subjective. We ate at Chops, Giovanni's, & in the main dining room on our Grandeur cruise. I felt the food was pretty good overall. My lobster was prepared perfectly. As far as Chops, I had my least favorite Chops meal of all of my cruises. I usually prefer the specialty restaurants but my Grandeur cruise was the first in which I felt I could have skipped the specialty dining. I'm sure quality & service also varies cruise to cruise. I hope your next dining experience is a better one!

 

 

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Understood, but chewy beef and mushy lobster is not subjective. They were using a poor quality beef. We do about 3 to 4 cruises a year. None were close to last year's food in the MDR ON grandeur. We go in 2 weeks, I 'll let you know if it improves. We like the Grandeur, especially local port of Baltimore, so the food won't stop us rom returning. I could always be satisfied in the Windjammer, but my wife likes the MDR dining experience.

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Bananawindnj,

I only had beef one night. At one time the cut use to be prime rib but the last few cruises it has a different cut of beef and it was somewhat chewy. The beef was my least favorite meal but I had also ordered the lobster tail which I did enjoy. My two favorite meals in the MDR were the lightly battered fish, shrimp, and scallop and the roasted duck. I did not take any pictures of the menus. I hope that you can find something to your liking.

Reid

Understood, but chewy beef and mushy lobster is not subjective. They were using a poor quality beef. We do about 3 to 4 cruises a year. None were close to last year's food in the MDR ON grandeur. We go in 2 weeks, I 'll let you know if it improves. We like the Grandeur, especially local port of Baltimore, so the food won't stop us rom returning. I could always be satisfied in the Windjammer, but my wife likes the MDR dining experience.

 

 

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Very true (mushy lobster or chewy beef is never good). Lobster was great. I only had beef in Chops. Unfortunately I wasn't happy with the quality.

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