Grandeur of the Seas Refurbishment

[nellydean]

Yesterday we booked the Grandeur for January 2014. We had the same question regarding floor to ceiling windows. Our TA called Royal Caribbean and asked the question. The reply was "No, there are no floor to ceiling windows in the new category F oceanview cabins on decks 7 and 8. There are conventional windows, but they are larger (47" X 35") than other oceanview windows (39" X 35")."

 

Since they are "new" cabins, everything should be brand new - hopefully "real" shower doors rather than curtains......

 

OK, thanks for that info - best to know beforehand and not be disappointed! Although, if the windows are a bit bigger than normal that will be good - I wonder how they match up to Princess ship oceanviews though, as the one we had last year (Grand Princess) was at least the width of the double bed and quite deep, so gave fantastic views - and if you sat on the bed and looked into the facing mirror of the desk/fridge/cupboards area, you could see it reflected in front of you too!

 

Sounds like these new ones won't be as big as those, but so long as we can see the sea and land, that will be better than just four walls :)

Edited June 24, 2012 by nellydean

[CruisefreakOH]

Also, it seems logical that these "new" cabins will be larger than the same category (F) cabins on lower decks. Since the cabins on either sides of the new ones have balconies, the Oceanview cabins should be deeper. Make sense?

[art4u]

We just got off the GOS in Venice June 22. We were previously on her 4 years ago so have a before and after point of reference. Overall things look lovely - service and staff were great!

 

cabin: we had balcony cabin on Dec 7 - bathrooms are larger and fabulous, but still have shower curtains for the person that was asking...flat screen TV, old fashioned phones not updated, cubboards the same, artwork is new but not at all part of decor theme (doesn't matter to us, but it was really out of place if you care about that)... new carpet, bedding and new bathroom...curtains are new we think, but very thin and let alot of light during those lovely sunrises at sea...no ipads...

 

the new restaurants are beautiful - really very nice - we had dinner in Izumi and Chops Grille...enjoyed them thoroughly - interesting enough they both cost us the same in the long run - Izumi had a $10 cover charge each and then individual pricing on everything, so with a bottle of wine, appetizers, sushi, dessert coffee it cost $100 - Chops Grille is $30 per person and all else is included (appeys, main, dessert, coffee) except for drinks - so with our bottle of wine it too came to $100.

 

some color changes in some areas, not all, and new furniture in some of public areas, have elimated library room and have it as an open area with some shelves beside the internet/cruise booking area...

 

but alot of the same things in schooner bar, south pacific lounge etc...

 

still, a lovely ship though...

 

Movie screen on pool deck was a nice touch - had movies - but they were repeating movies throughout our 11 days and the same ones that you got on the TV in your room.

 

it wasn't really a complete refurbishment because alot of the areas have a 10 foot finish as we called it - good from 10ft away. For example in Windjammer, alot of the trim was not anchored and pulling away from above windows, decorative slats in buffet area on roof, missing and twisted, saw dust and bits hanging down in lighting pot holes in photo areas all open not closed off, display cabinets in shop area had broken pieces around edges. . .

 

But honestly, this was a great vacation, and we really just noticed these things as we were sitting about - nothing glaring, just a fresh set of eyes is required from their staff to notice the things that are easily overlooked if you are in the middle of it from day to day.

 

apparently alot of the crew helped for the one month during the refurbishment to put alot of things back together, so no break for them at all.

 

We had such a great time 4 years ago and loved this ship that refurbished or not, it was still great.

[Arzeena]

Yesterday we booked the Grandeur for January 2014. We had the same question regarding floor to ceiling windows. Our TA called Royal Caribbean and asked the question. The reply was "No, there are no floor to ceiling windows in the new category F oceanview cabins on decks 7 and 8. There are conventional windows, but they are larger (47" X 35") than other oceanview windows (39" X 35")."

 

Since they are "new" cabins, everything should be brand new - hopefully "real" shower doors rather than curtains......

 

Hi!

We are also on the 1/11/14 Grandeur Cruise. Come over on the roll call and say hi.:)

[Arzeena]

Thanks for everyone's five cents!:D I am SO looking forward to cruising on the Grandeur! I wish someone would post pictures.

[Billy@37]

Hallo - thank you so much for your detailed description of dear old Grandeur! We are so looking forward to our holiday aboard her in September and even more so now - we are also on deck 7 - balcony cabin 7060 - not the same one you stayed in per chance? Now that would be spooky! Thanks once again.

[wingnutta]

I just wanted to add my 2 cents as it were. I also came off the cruise that finished on the 22nd June. My wife and i have only done P & O before so RCCL was a first. Absolutely loved the old lady Grandeur! I heard about the refurb about 2 weeks before we set sail so that was a nice surprise.

Art4u kinda got it spot on really - was the ship perfect - probably not - but you would have to be one of those people that LOOKS for them things that are wrong!

My wife and i found it clean, tidy and a whole lot of fun!

Movie screen worked well when in use - the Euro 2012 footy games were ace on it! :D (wife just about put up with it!), loved the schooner bar, whole pool area was refloored from previous pics that i saw. The main atriuim has also been redone and i must say a massive improvement from old (thats my personal opinion though)

As for room - we had a OS (last one at aft 3658), and it was fine! Everything worked and even the shower curtain didnt annoy me! As confirmed - no ipads - had to take my own! lol. Although i did notice that all the lighting/ music effects for the atrium shows are controlled by a member of staff with an ipad - so the infrastructure is in place - maybe just teething problems. Some photos that i took below.. hope they help!

 

Cheers!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Didnt take any of room etc.. sorry!

Edited July 1, 2012 by wingnutta

[TravelMadBrits]

wingnutta - thank you so much for the info and photos. Did you try any speciality restaurants? Or the adult only pool or gym?

 

We are off in 56 days - our first without children so want to do all the things we never get chance to normally. It will be our 5th Royal cruise and our first on Grandeur. We have been on the bigger ships so can't wait to see the difference.

[wingnutta]

No we didnt get to do any of the other restaurants, as we both enjoyed the food in the main dining room so much! (yes really!!) Chops grille was recommended to us, so its our own fault really! :(

As for the gym or adults only pool (guessing you mean the solarium one?) - never tried the gym as it was 30 degrees + every day so the pool and beer was calling :D - and the indoor pool did get quite full early on. Only problem with the adult pool is that the park cafe is on the back end of it - therefore children have to go through the indoor pool area (albiet to the side - not directly) which to me kinda defeats the purpose of adults only???

This is however a very small issue and should not take anything away from what i think is a lovely ship! (And i love my big ships!!!)

I took some pics on my phone which i forgot about - will see if any are worthwhile putting on here!

Either way - hope you have a fab time - i am sure you will on this ship! :)

 

Adam

 

edit:

 

 

 

Edited July 1, 2012 by wingnutta

[TravelMadBrits]

No we didnt get to do any of the other restaurants, as we both enjoyed the food in the main dining room so much! (yes really!!) Chops grille was recommended to us, so its our own fault really! :(

As for the gym or adults only pool (guessing you mean the solarium one?) - never tried the gym as it was 30 degrees + every day so the pool and beer was calling :D - and the indoor pool did get quite full early on. Only problem with the adult pool is that the park cafe is on the back end of it - therefore children have to go through the indoor pool area (albiet to the side - not directly) which to me kinda defeats the purpose of adults only???

This is however a very small issue and should not take anything away from what i think is a lovely ship! (And i love my big ships!!!)

I took some pics on my phone which i forgot about - will see if any are worthwhile putting on here!

Either way - hope you have a fab time - i am sure you will on this ship! :)!

 

]

 

That's great - thanks again. I can't seem to get enough of the photos! :p

We have never tried the other restaurants as we love the MDR but as we are child free we thought we would look at. Think we will wait and see and book on board. Thanks again

[maxs mom]

Hi.....We are on board in 12 days!!! Haven't been on her since 2004, so can you tell me the location of the pool bar? From your pictures it looks like it is under the movie screen. Is that correct? We are meeting our roll call group there and I want to be sure that's where it is.

Lots of pictures to come when I get back!!!

 

And do not hesitate to book the specialty restaurants. You will not be disappointed!

Edited July 1, 2012 by max'smom

[wingnutta]

...so can you tell me the location of the pool bar? From your pictures it looks like it is under the movie screen. Is that correct?

 

It most certainly is! I was standing right infront of it to take the flags picture!

 

Have a great trip! :)

[cruiseclues]

A lot of good info...thanks :)

[brentp]

Yesterday we booked the Grandeur for January 2014. We had the same question regarding floor to ceiling windows. Our TA called Royal Caribbean and asked the question. The reply was "No, there are no floor to ceiling windows in the new category F oceanview cabins on decks 7 and 8. There are conventional windows, but they are larger (47" X 35") than other oceanview windows (39" X 35")."

 

Since they are "new" cabins, everything should be brand new - hopefully "real" shower doors rather than curtains......

 

RCCL reps have no clue in this regard. :-)

 

I got off the GOS on July 2, had cabin 8539 - and am happy to report the window is huge - these cabins share the same windows that were there pre-refurb. During construction, they simply brought each side in by ~1 foot, and built a 'seat' about 18" off the floor. It is a full sized picture window! I have a picture that I will try to post later - but trust me, these cabins have an excellent view of the ocean. :-)

 

And, . . . sorry to report, shower curtains vs doors.

[brentp]

I also should point our a few things here on the refurbishment, . . .

 

Interior of the ship looks real nice right now - everything looks new. Exterior, you can tell the ship has some age to it, . . . but is still in good shape.

 

The current diagrams on the RCCL website for the location of the specialty restaurants is off. Both Chops and Giovanni's are located on Deck 6 with window views. Chops is on the port side with it own entrance with windows the full length of the seating area, . . . for Giovanni's, you enter through the Schooner bar on the starboard side, and it has a few port side windows behind Chops (basically on its shorter width). This is nice - we enjoy window seats and this fit the bill, . . . and thought the diagrams were a bit odd to show them in the center of the ship. Izumi is located up in the Viking Crown lounge deck 12 (or 11), with a rear facing view out the windows. We did not try the Chef's Table, so can not comment there.

 

Park Cafe - very busy after the port days and somewhat disorganized. Drink stations always had a long line - they should have had more dispensers. That said, we like this addition very much.

 

The aerial acts addition in the Centrum is a huge positive and the acts should not be missed. They are short, but very nice. The dancers that were part of the production shows do the aerials - and the last show was outstanding and longer than the other 2. Only issue here is that they do not publish the show times in the cruise compass - it is suppose to be a 'surprise'. That is a bit odd I think, . . . but they are always between the first and second theater shows and after the second. It was pretty easy to figure out once you got familiar with how they were going to do this.

 

The big screen by the pool is effective, although only used occasionally. They had many of the soccer/football games on for Euro 2012. I also recall there being a movie (Indiana Jones) playing once.

 

No iPads yet, . . . which means you have no access to any on-board services (account info, booking shore excursions, etc.).

 

Will try to post a few more pictures here where I can. If you have any questions - I'd be happy to try to answer.

[nellydean]

RCCL reps have no clue in this regard. :-)

 

I got off the GOS on July 2, had cabin 8539 - and am happy to report the window is huge - these cabins share the same windows that were there pre-refurb. During construction, they simply brought each side in by ~1 foot, and built a 'seat' about 18" off the floor. It is a full sized picture window! I have a picture that I will try to post later - but trust me, these cabins have an excellent view of the ocean. :-)

 

And, . . . sorry to report, shower curtains vs doors.

 

That IS good news - we have 8541 for our cruise later this year! And, it makes sense, in a way, because, if you look at the exterior, the glass facade that covered the former Crown & Anchor and other rooms in that part of the ship, are still the same after the refurb. Looking forward to seeing the pic! :)

 

Also, did you use the sofa bed? And, if so, was it a decent size?

[cheffip]

RCCL reps have no clue in this regard. :-)

 

I got off the GOS on July 2, had cabin 8539 - and am happy to report the window is huge - these cabins share the same windows that were there pre-refurb. During construction, they simply brought each side in by ~1 foot, and built a 'seat' about 18" off the floor. It is a full sized picture window! I have a picture that I will try to post later - but trust me, these cabins have an excellent view of the ocean. :-)

 

And, . . . sorry to report, shower curtains vs doors.

 

Thanks for the report. Just curious...did you find the cabin and location quiet at night?

[Bobal]

We were on the 22 June sailing and I have some pictures here if anyone is interested http://s1240.photobucket.com/albums/gg487/MaPlanner/

[Room Service!]

Bobal - Just looked at your pics again. What's up with the empty pool area? Not a chairhog in sight.

[brentp]

Thanks for the report. Just curious...did you find the cabin and location quiet at night?

 

Good question and was a concern for us pre-cruise. They constructed a 'hallway' between the cabin doors and the Centrum and that provided some sound proofing. You can see this in Bobal's pictures (Centrum - first page) for both deck 7 & 8. That said, you can hear some of the music from the Centrum at night (very muted however - chairs above on pool deck were louder, but not an issue for us). Mostly, it was soft piano music which was not issue for either of us, . . . however, one night, my wife had a difficult time getting to sleep because of the music in the Centrum. It was different than the other nights - not sure what type, I had no issues with sleeping that night. :)

 

All said - it is an excellent cabin choice. The view was superb, . . . and the location perfect in our opinion.

Edited July 9, 2012 by brentp

[brentp]

Bobal - Just looked at your pics again. What's up with the empty pool area? Not a chairhog in sight.

 

Very port intensive cruise, . . . I am sure that was a port day.

 

Trust me, the chair hogs were in full force on the sea days. We went up around 8am one morning for a quick dip in the Solarium tubs, . . . there was not a recliner available anywhere - yet we were one of only a handful of people in the Solarium at the time. We ended up having to sit at one of the Park Cafe tables while we were there.

 

I believe RCCL has to step in - with the Sea-pass card being required now for getting a towel (and threat of a $25 charge if you do not return), . . . the pool staff is reluctant to remove the towels saving seats, . . . and it is not a good thing in my personal opinion. :(

[Room Service!]

I should have realized it was a port day.

I agree ... that is not a good thing.

Some people are unbelieveable. I have other words in mind, but don't think they'd be allowed. Sounds like you had a good time despite the ... . That is a good thing. ;)

[Bobal]

Bobal - Just looked at your pics again. What's up with the empty pool area? Not a chairhog in sight.

 

Hahaha, not as good as it looks - that was the day in Athens when we didn't get off the ship (having been there several times before).

 

I concur with comments about chair hogs. As I mentioned in my review on here on the last sea day there was a row of 6 loungers, all with towels and each with a copy of Sports Illustrated tucked into them. They were like that from 8am until 11.30 am with no-one even coming close to them. Several people reported them to the pool butlers and they did nothing. Next to us were three sets of two loungers, each with no-one using them until at least 11 am :mad:

[cheffip]

I asked this question in another thread but since there are "experts" here I'll ask again.

Are there any quiet outdoor areas on Grandeur where you can get away from the crowds and announcements around the pool to read a book, watch the wake etc?

[Arzeena]

I just wanted to add my 2 cents as it were. I also came off the cruise that finished on the 22nd June. My wife and i have only done P & O before so RCCL was a first. Absolutely loved the old lady Grandeur! I heard about the refurb about 2 weeks before we set sail so that was a nice surprise.

Art4u kinda got it spot on really - was the ship perfect - probably not - but you would have to be one of those people that LOOKS for them things that are wrong!

My wife and i found it clean, tidy and a whole lot of fun!

Movie screen worked well when in use - the Euro 2012 footy games were ace on it! :D (wife just about put up with it!), loved the schooner bar, whole pool area was refloored from previous pics that i saw. The main atriuim has also been redone and i must say a massive improvement from old (thats my personal opinion though)

As for room - we had a OS (last one at aft 3658), and it was fine! Everything worked and even the shower curtain didnt annoy me! As confirmed - no ipads - had to take my own! lol. Although i did notice that all the lighting/ music effects for the atrium shows are controlled by a member of staff with an ipad - so the infrastructure is in place - maybe just teething problems. Some photos that i took below.. hope they help!

 

Cheers!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Didnt take any of room etc.. sorry!

 

Thanks for the pictures and the information!