Just back from the revitalised Grandeur

[Bobal]

What a wonderful time we had! We really liked the look of this itinerary, particularly as the Eastern Med can usually be guaranteed to have good weather at this time of year and that’s just how it turned out – sunshine all the way.

 

Having sailed on Grandeur last year when she was looking a little tired we were interested to see how the month-long dry dock would have changed her and were not disappointed. They’ve really made good use of a lot of under-used spaces to create a much more complete cruising experience – a barely used space at the back of the Viking Crown lounge has become Izumi, a part of the South Seas lounge has been turned into the Diamond Lounge and the rear of the MDR on deck 4 turned into a separate room for Chef’s Table (without really eating into those spaces) and the back of the Solarium has been made into the wonderful Park Café.

 

Digital Signage around the ship was great – a really good, well-thought-out addition, as is the pervasive WiFi. We could always receive a good signal in the cabin and on deck and the connection, although sometimes a little slow, is the fastest we’ve ever known on a RC ship.

 

Check-in

Easy and efficient, we arrived at the dock around 11.45 and joined the Diamond line – well no line, straight to the desk. Nice to not have to sign waivers for our 2 over-18s and we purchased the beer package as we embarked which proved to be excellent value!! Cabins were ready at 1pm and cases arrived shortly afterwards, the quickest we’ve received them.

 

Cabin

We were lucky enough to bag a corner aft 7150, perfect for the sailing from Venice. The balcony is HUGE, easily the biggest we’ve had. We had two brand new loungers and a low table and a high table (which seemed a bit excessive without chairs). Since we were sailing with our sons (in an inside cabin) we asked for 2 chairs and our very efficient steward (George) brought them within a few hours. We really loved this balcony and would book it again. The cabin is probably the smallest JS we’ve had. It had been refurbished in parts – brand new bathroom, new carpets/sofa, flat screen TV, but no promised ipads which have been delayed! We were told that they were having problems with them on the Splendour and until this was sorted they wouldn’t be introduced anywhere else. The hard furnishings in the cabins hadn’t been changed (still a bit tired looking) and this JS had probably the least storage in the actual cabin of any other JS we’ve had – however, there was enough for our needs and the walk-in closet was excellent, with a really good amount of storage. The location was so quiet and the walk to the stairs, although long if you need to pop back to the cabin, isn’t really a big deal.

 

The one downside was a problem with soot. I’ve read about soot problems on aft balconies and we’ve had 2 aft cabins before (different ships) without a problem. However this time we did experience soot on the balcony on a few occasions, once to the extent that we asked George to clean it as we were sitting on soot on the loungers and couldn’t go barefoot. I believe it was a real problem for the more central balconies, which had to be cleaned a few times a day.

 

‘Free’ Dining

I can’t really comment on Windjammer as it’s my least favourite place on the ship. I ate there once on embarkation day and picked up a salad there one other lunchtime – a selection of delicious salads which were on the Indian section of the buffet – Indian food is one thing which is always excellent in the Windjammer. The selection of food looked as it usually does and my sons seemed to enjoy what they had from there but I was delighted to experience the new addition to the Grandeur – Park Café.

 

What a great place! – breakfast has enough offerings for those who prefer a lighter breakfast and don’t want cooked food. They had all the lighter, cold breakfast options the Windjammer has to offer plus some nice extras such as a bagel station and croissant/sandwiches which could be heated – for those who sail on Celebrity and RC it’s like Aqua Spa Café combined with Café Promenade. Lunchtimes were even better – hot roast beef sandwiches (Yum!!), various salads and pre-packed sandwiches, Greek/Potato/Coleslaw salads, make your own salad bar, soups and even packs of crisps (chips to those from the US). I loved this place :D

 

We dined in the MDR for 6 nights out of 10 on MTD. Having sailed with RC a number of times we’ve come to know the menu, which has hardly changed over our time sailing with them. We therefore tend to judge the meals not by the menu itself but by how well it’s prepared and how warm the food is and we weren’t disappointed. This sounds like faint praise but, having experienced overcooked food on some ships (and undercooked or unimaginative vegetables) we were more than happy with the standard of food in the MDR on the Grandeur and the serving staff on MTD were, without exception, excellent. Except for the grumpy Head Waiter, who never even had the courtesy to introduce himself :mad:

 

Speciality Dining

We purchased the Chef’s Table dining package for ourselves and the basic package for our sons, so got to try all the new restaurants onboard. What a difference they made! There are lots of discussions on these boards about the rights of wrongs of paying extra for dinner. If you don’t want to do it then fine, but for those who want to try something other than the MDR I would recommend every one of them – and the packages are such great value at around 25% off the normal price.

We’ve dined in Chops before, great steaks but so easy to over-order, the portions are really generous. Giovanni’s Table was new to us – excellent Italian food, served family-style so great for sharing. I must admit, I missed Portofino though, which was always a favourite – more so than Chops.

 

Izumi is really wonderful, the staff on the ship all raved about it so we saved it for our final night and were so pleased we did – wonderful food, prepared right there by the Japanese chefs, so many flavours and different choices.

 

What to say about Chef’s Table – superb!! We were fortunate enough to have such a great group (12 of us), we gelled so well that the meal lasted 4 hours!! The presentation by the Chef and Sommelier of the different foods and wines was so interesting and the food (and wine) was totally delicious. At the end of the night we were all presented with aprons each and a cookery book between each couple. For anyone who likes fine dining and good wine I would highly recommend this experience.

 

Diamond Lounge

As Diamond members this is the first ship where we’ve experienced a Diamond Lounge (rather than a Diamond event). They’ve built a portakabin-type structure into the back of the South Seas Lounge which looks a little strange from the outside but once inside it’s a great little spot with lovely aft views. The concierge (Fernando Cataldo) was exceptional – nothing was too much trouble for him and it was a pleasure to chat with him every day. The facilities in there are exactly the same as the Concierge Lounge – breakfasts (great cappuccino machine!), snacks during the day, hors d’oeuvres and bar service at night. Hopefully the additional of these Diamond lounges as the ships get revitalised with please those D members who lost their Concierge privileges a couple of years ago.

 

Drinks

We purchased the beer package for our sons and we had a wine package – both worked out to be good value – particularly the beer package, which included almost every beer stocked onboard, house wine by the glass and soda. I just wish they would add bottled water into this package. For those who are interested they were offering the cooler bag with beers at special prices during the whole cruise. Unfortunately I can’t remember the prices but do know it worked out at a good saving.

 

Entertainment

The pool deck band were excellent – probably one of the best we’ve had on a RC ship, although inevitably their repertoire could only contain so many songs, so we did hear a lot of the same stuff over again. They still did it well though :)

 

Rico duBreil is a charismatic CD who leads a very enthusiastic team, lending a happy atmosphere to the entertainment. All the usual stuff – Quest, Love & Marriage, Battle of the Sexes, 70’s night - although they couldn’t muster enough people to take part in the Mr Sexy Legs competition. The White Party on deck was great.

 

The production shows (at 7pm and 9pm) didn’t fit in with our schedule as we enjoy the sailaways and usually eat around 8.30 so the only show we saw was the Abba tribute and they were excellent. The acrobatics in the Centrum were amazing – a really unique experience.

 

The new screen on the pool deck really came into its own with the Euro football finals – all the matches were shown on the pool deck at night – what a great place to watch. They also showed a film during the afternoon on a port day.

 

Negatives

I have to mention some negatives (in case people think I work for RC – posting such a glowing report ;))

 

The gym is small and hot and the selection of free exercise classes is woeful – the odd stretch class at 7 am in the morning and an occasional Abs class (just at sailaway time). This is par for the course and we’ve come to expect it but I think they could gain some real kudos just by adding in a free class at a reasonable time or making one of the paid-for exercises free. I won’t hold my breath on that one though :rolleyes:

 

Chair hogs – only a problem on the last sea day as the itinerary was so port-intensive. However a bank of 6 beds, each with a copy of Sports Illustrated and a towel lay empty from before 8 o’clock until after 11.30, despite having been reported to the Pool Deck attendants by 3 separate people and the fact that there were signs all over saying towels would be removed after 30 mins. Come on RC if you’re going to make a rule then have the courage to enforce it.

 

Port Transfers – the usual rip-off. Best example Mykonos – if you tender in Mykonos the tender boats drop you in town. There is one berth and the first ship in gets the berth. We were first in so we docked and RC wanted to charge us the privilege of being bussed in to where the tenders docked for $10 per person return ticket. There is a local bus which stops at the port gate and costs 3.2 Euros return – that’s less than half the Royal Caribbean price!!

 

I don’t wish to end on a negative note as this was such a wonderful cruise with such a happy and friendly crew. There was also a great demographic on this cruise with a real mix of many different nationalities so that no one nationality dominated and I always believe this makes for a lovely atmosphere. We had such a lovely cruise and the final day at sea was wonderful, watching dolphins off the side of the ship and the crew flag parade.

 

Apologies for the length of this but I know many people are interested to hear about the Grandeur since her revitalisation. Since it’s so long I won’t post any pictures on this review will post a link to my pictures of the ship tomorrow.

 

Any questions please ask away

[vivavegas]

Thank you for such an informative review!:)

[maxs mom]

So great to hear from you! We board next Friday......looking forward to it.

How much was the beer package and don't both people in the same cabin have to get it? Do you remember how much the "Bag of Beers" was? Don't you get to keep the bag and you get it refilled for a nominal fee throughout the week?

Great review! Thanks for posting.

[mare73]

Thanks for the review. We'll be in 7150 next year and were hoping we'd have 2 chairs and 2 loungers. A bit worried about the soot issue. Can't wait to see the photos!

[Big Chippy]

Thanks for the review. We'll be in 7150 next year and were hoping we'd have 2 chairs and 2 loungers. A bit worried about the soot issue. Can't wait to see the photos!

 

Great review, thanks, we were on the Grandeur last year, had a great time, interesting to hear of the changes. We are on the Brilliance at the end of next week, seems we pick the ones about to be revamped!

[Bobal]

So great to hear from you! We board next Friday......looking forward to it.

How much was the beer package and don't both people in the same cabin have to get it? Do you remember how much the "Bag of Beers" was? Don't you get to keep the bag and you get it refilled for a nominal fee throughout the week?

Great review! Thanks for posting.

 

The beer package was $45 per guest per day' date=' here's a link http://www.royalcaribbean.co.uk/_images/Royal%20Alcohol%20Beverage%20FAQ%20GR%20LG%20%26%20SP%20Jan%2012_tcm16-11721.pdf, and each person in the cabin has to take it. There were very few beers which were not included - some of those I remember were included were Bud, Miller, Red Stripe, Corona, Dos Equus, Heineken etc.

 

Sorry can't remember the price of the bag but I know it works out at great value. You buy the bag (which includes a bottle opener) along with 5 beers and can then refill at a special price for 5. We bought this package a few years ago as it was such good value - I heard the announcement and I may be wrong but thought I heard them say once you purchased the bag 5 beers would cost $22. You get to keep the bag. If you search on here you'll see some pictures which were posted when the bags were first introduced a few years ago.

 

Thanks for the review. We'll be in 7150 next year and were hoping we'd have 2 chairs and 2 loungers. A bit worried about the soot issue. Can't wait to see the photos!

 

To be honest the soot problem wasn't a big deal for us. We probably noticed it 3 or 4 days into the cruise and then only another couple of days after that. So I wouldn't worry too much if you'll be in 7150. It seemed to be the centre cabins which had more of a problem.

[heatherb1958]

Hi Anne, good to hear you,Mike and the boys had a great time on Grandeur and to hear about the updates. We are still working our way through the fleet and haven't been on Grandeur yet , will be looking for a cruise on her for next year.

By the way I loved Park cafe on Oasis & Allure with the hot beef sandwiches & free crisps :).

[dixieva]

Hoping you have pictures of 7150! We're booked in that cabin on our next cruise on Grandeur!

[amyh22]

Great to hear! Just booked to sail Palma to Venice on 9th September.

[amyh22]

Actually -just a quick question - is there a nightclub on the Grandeur?

[critterchick]

The beer package was $45 per guest per day, here's a link http://www.royalcaribbean.co.uk/_images/Royal%20Alcohol%20Beverage%20FAQ%20GR%20LG%20%26%20SP%20Jan%2012_tcm16-11721.pdf, and each person in the cabin has to take it. There were very few beers which were not included - some of those I remember were included were Bud, Miller, Red Stripe, Corona, Dos Equus, Heineken etc.

 

That looks like a more extensive package than just beer. I do wish they would offer something similar in US departure ports!

 

Also, with the dining package, did you have to book a particular restaurant on the first night of the cruise?

 

Thanks for such a comprehensive review!

[Bobal]

Just worked out how to post my pictures (including some pics of 7150) - the link is here http://s1240.photobucket.com/albums/gg487/MaPlanner/

 

Apologies for the average quality as I don't have a great camera - a new one is on my birthday wish-list ;)

[Bobal]

Hi Heather, hope you and John are well. I can't believe you haven't been on the Grandeur - I thought you'd sailed on all the ships ;) You must give it a try. I'm sure we'll bump into each other again one day :)

 

Actually -just a quick question - is there a nightclub on the Grandeur?

 

There's a nightclub in the Viking Crown Lounge right at the top of the ship. Our sons spent many a happy hour there - even us oldies made it up there a few times :D

 

That looks like a more extensive package than just beer. I do wish they would offer something similar in US departure ports!

 

Also, with the dining package, did you have to book a particular restaurant on the first night of the cruise?

 

Thanks for such a comprehensive review!

 

I agree about the packages. No we didn't have to book one for the first night. The only one you have to pre-book is if you take the Chef's Table package and you book for a night of your choice. I think it's because they have to limit the number to 14. In any case we changed the night we'd pre-booked as it turned out to be formal night and we wanted to eat with our sons that night. I know things are quieter in the speciality restaurants on sailings from Europe but we decided on the day to eat in Giovanni's Table on our first night and only a few other tables were taken.

[Scotland01]

Hi Anne, good to hear you,Mike and the boys had a great time on Grandeur and to hear about the updates. We are still working our way through the fleet and haven't been on Grandeur yet , will be looking for a cruise on her for next year.

By the way I loved Park cafe on Oasis & Allure with the hot beef sandwiches & free crisps :).

Hi Heather Margaret and Neil from Splendour last Oct. We are booked on Grandeur Aug. 26 very cheap. Why not join us! Met Jack from San Francisco on our last Mariner sailing

[Familygoboston]

Thanks for the update! We've been avoiding the Vision class lately because after cruising the old Grandeur for 4 days in the Caribbean ...we got bored! We moved to voyager and radiance class 5 and 7 day cruises and eventually Oasis for 7 days. But I enjoy reading your review because we might like to try it again with the upgrades, especially for a port intensive cruise such as you took.

 

One question...does this ship have the " centrum" entertainment? As I recall Granduer didn't have a large open centrum such as the Radiance class, so I'm wondering if they had room to add that?

 

Oops! Just looking at your photos and I do see the high wire entertainment! Looks like you could not be bored on Granduer now;-)

[Bobal]

 

One question...does this ship have the " centrum" entertainment? As I recall Granduer didn't have a large open centrum such as the Radiance class, so I'm wondering if they had room to add that?

 

Yes it does, I take it you mean the acrobats. They had a number of shows whilst we were onboard.

[LBumb]

great job. good news about DL

[heatherb1958]

Hi Heather Margaret and Neil from Splendour last Oct. We are booked on Grandeur Aug. 26 very cheap. Why not join us! Met Jack from San Francisco on our last Mariner sailing

 

Hi Margaret and Neil , that is very tempting but we are already on the Brilliance 8th September TA and are looking to add the cruise before it if the price comes down as we are on a RCI package so it should be easier to organise.

I will look out for Spring/Autumn Grandeur bargains next year,August is too hot for me !!!!! :D

Jack did mention in an email he had met you on Mariner:cool:

[Big_G]

Hi Bobal,

 

Sorry if I missed it in your review but where did they put the Park Cafe?

[Clarea]

Hi Bobal,

 

Sorry if I missed it in your review but where did they put the Park Cafe?

It's at the aft end of the Solarium.

[Big_G]

It's at the aft end of the Solarium.

 

Thanks.