Grandeur of the Seas - Baltimore

[EmJakeBubbie]

The GRANDEUR is coming to Baltimore.

Reading comments has me concerned.

Is the GRANDEUR really as horrible as posters make me convinced? Grandsewer for a nickname, to describe the constant unpleasant odor, prominent in the Centrum (other areas, as well) ?

 

Not everyone reports favor with the large outside screen, pool side - even the music played is receiving negative criticism.

Unsupervised children in the Solarium (because of the new Cafe in that area?).

 

food and service are always what they are, and subjective to personal opinions.

 

Loved the Enchantment - hoping the GRANDEUR meets our expectations.

[first_state101]

Alot of us are concerned. The Grandeur is currently sailing out of Colon Panama. I have not seen any recent reviews. I've checked with Royal Caribbean and they act like nothing was wrong. So current feedback is just not there. If anyone has any new information please post. Thanks!

[first_state101]

I've been checking the Grandeur "Meet and Mingle" links. There were some respondents thus far for the March 3rd cruise out ot Colon. Hopefully we'll get some feedback in a few weeks from some of those individuals.

[buffi001]

I was due to sail on the Grandeur in January of 2014. We paid

what I would call a premium rate compared to a comparable

cruise from Bayonne on the Explorer. I'm sad to say that I let the

negative comments and questions about the Grandeur get to me.

 

I'm sure we would have had a wonderful cruise out of B'more,

but there were just too many question marks for me to pay extra.

I changed my reservation to a cruise on the Explorer in December. We downsized from a JS to a balcony and we're saving $1400 (for 2).

More importantly, we know exactly what we're getting with the

Explorer cruise.

 

RCL really should address some of the negative comments surrounding the move of the Grandeur to Baltimore. The fares from Baltimore are high end, and I think people want to know that the amenities will be first class also. With money tight these days, I'm

sure many other cruisers will opt for the less expensive, safer choice.

It's especially sad because I love sailing from Baltimore.

[WetToes]

We WILL be sailing on the Grandeur in Nov. ... hoping for the best.

I'm a believer in experiencing things for myself. If things are as bad as some are saying I will be letting RCCL know.

I'm going to enjoy the cruise ... even if it stinks. ;)

[buffi001]

We WILL be sailing on the Grandeur in Nov. ... hoping for the best.

I'm a believer in experiencing things for myself. If things are as bad as some are saying I will be letting RCCL know.

I'm going to enjoy the cruise ... even if it stinks. ;)

 

I admire your attitude and I hope your cruise is spectacular!!!!!

I'm just a cautious chicken!!!

[spookwife]

I am a past EN cruiser and will be on GR in September.

 

with EN is stretched, GR is not.. GR has more specialty dining options than EN

 

1: Jumbotron at pool: well, yes, it was rather loud when walking to and from the pool decks. However, the TV is not constantly showing something. I could care less, as I am not a pool or deck chair person anyway.

 

2: Solarium no longer being Kid free: In inclement weather( which will be the norm except the summer season) out of Baltimore yes they will allow the pool to be used from 10-noon and 2-4 on sea days. which, may or may not be enforced during Adult only times. This is actually industry standard on those ships with indoor or covered pools. again, we could care less as we don't do pools. I will say that with the advent of the park cafe, the outside edge of the solarium will no longer be a kid free haven, although I sort of noticed that the other side( along where the Spa is) is less over run. Will GR enforce it, or at least make an attempt to keep the shenanigans down to a minimum> only time will tell. I will state that I while I loved the new PC and it's offerings, I was upset to notice that for certain times of the day( namely 3-6) there were NO other food options which meant kids had no other place to go.

 

3: the smell. well quite frankly, for every thread that starts complaining about it, there are twice as many people who assure that they had NO such issues.

 

I have zero intention of canceling my September cruise based on a few bad reviews from CC.

[ilovenyc72]

I'm sailing on GOTS in Nov. and although I was concerned with some of the reviews, there are more good reviews than bad. When I post reviews on here and someone from the same cruise I was on posts a review, 9 out of 10 times they had a different experience than me. So I'm going to find out for myself what the GOTS has in store for us ... I have a feeling its going to be a great cruise :)

[DragonOfTheSeas]

We are sailing on the GOTS on the April 24 repo cruise that brings the Grandeur to Baltimore. I will post a review and let you all know what I find.

 

It is a shame that we do not have many recent reviews to read. However, with the GOTS out of Colon we will not find many. I do not think it means anyting except that few South Americans belong/follow Cruise Critic.

[tneah]

We have many friends that would love to try cruising. Since we live in the North East, they would prefer to sail from one of the NE ports to save on airfare costs.

 

I talk about how much I love to cruise and etc....but there is no way I would let them cruise on this ship just in case the rumors are true. They would not understand why I found cruisin so much fun. I don't want their first experience to be a bad one, so I'd rather not go than take the chance. I, too have let the rumors get to me.

 

I told them that I'd rather fly and have them experience the ships in the Florida ports. I'm sure they would enjoy the Freedom class.

[Robinhill]

I love the Grandeur and have sailed on her 4 times. I am scheduled to do the repositioning in April from San Juan back to Baltimore and I have no reservations whatsoever.

[Bettytrouble]

Been On GOS 3 times, EVERY time we read negative reviews first. We never had a problem, in fact she is one of my favorite ships.

 

We also read a bunch of 'advice' about aft suites on FOS..we would be mired in muck, hosed down by the windjammer cleaning crew and have cigarettes thrown in our hair. NOPE.

 

 

Looking forward to our summertime GOS out of Baltimore!!! Smell be damned!!!

[vavasmom]

The GR was in Baltimore sailing Spring - Fall before the EN started cruising year round in 2010. She had a very loyal following at that time - most of which moved over to the EN. At one time the EN and GR were essentially identical; the same class of ship. Then the EN was stretched - making a very nice pool deck but some over crowed public areas at times (Theater and Windjammer). The Boleros and Chops are both nice - GR did not have either until the dry dock that added Specialty dining. IMHO they both have their pluses and minuses.

 

In 2009, I finally convince my BFF to give cruising a try. We had a very enjoyable 9 night cruise on the GR from Baltimore. We have also cruised the EN 5 times out of Baltimore. We enjoyed all of them and are looking forward to our trip in June. I have also sailed Freedom twice and Sovereign. We enjoy not needing to fly and being able to work the day before the cruise (if necessary).

 

The much discussed smell issue - some report it happens; others don't.

It was reported before we cruised in 09 but we had no issues - that does not imply it does not exist just we did not experience it. I can report that we had delayed flush or no flush issues on EN once or twice and DD and I experienced a complete backup of the system in our "zone" on Freedom caused by a diaper once. I personally think all ships have some issues due to the nature of the system and the fact people don't follow the instructions about not flushing most items.

 

Most ships in the RCCL fleet now have the video screen. Quite frankly I don't like them and think they are ugly but they are a "feature" that is here to stay. How they are used seems to vary among cruise lines and also cruise directors staff.

 

The Solarium has never been totally kid free on any RCCL ship I have sailed. The closest I have seen is on the Disney Ships. Also anyone over 16 can use the Solarium at anytime. That is the RCCL policy. There was always a small cafe area in the rear of the pool area on EN and GR that drew a crowd of kids and teens at night. As already noted family pool time is a staple in the colder months. Also in bad weather families used the Solarium on the EN (we had perfect weather the one time on GR so can't comment on that one).

 

One observation about reviews - which seems to be true of any review site - the unhappy are very vocal and the very happy may or may not be. Also, everyone experiences the same situation differently. You see this when you read multiple reviews of the same cruise. I also agree that with the GRs current itineraries you see fewer reviews on this site - look at the roll calls most of the active ones are for once the ship repositions.

 

From my perspective, almost any day on a cruise is better than a day at work

[EmJakeBubbie]

I am under final payment and will be among the first pax to sail from Baltimore. very affordable at $1700 with the taxes/fees/tips/insurance, and that's for both of us! Yes, that's not a typo. Don't believe we've ever pd so little, so we are going in a Cat L, because of the affordability. I will definitely be posting and definitely address any odor. Older vessels tend to suffer this affliction. We are right off the Centrum, which it is said the worse of the smell lingers. We prefer the EXPLORER but for us, Baltimore is an easier port to access/park which is more affordable. On a longer sail, we'd probably go Cape Liberty.

Since the Sovereign of the Seas was new, RCI has made many changes. imho, I prefer the old ways, but I accept the changes. RCI tries to accommodate the masses and they do pay attention to the Comment Cards.

Any day at sea beats a day in the office :D

[first_state101]

I'm still going on the Grandeur's May 17th cruise to Bermuda. We did think about switching and going out of Bayonne - but we love Baltimore which is only about 2 hours from our home in Delaware. The complaints about the smell seemed centered on a few criuses. This was not mentioned in the reviews if you go back more than 4 months. While I saw many complaints it seem like most comments wre about the good times that were had. I'm thinking that the problems have been fixed by now.

[schlimazel_traveler]

Where are the other specialty dining venues located, and what is in those locations on Enchantment instead?

 

I didn't see a lot of "vacant" space on Enchantment where another restaurant could fit...I'm having trouble envisioning the deckplan of the Grandeur and how it differs.

[spookwife]

Where are the other specialty dining venues located, and what is in those locations on Enchantment instead?

 

I didn't see a lot of "vacant" space on Enchantment where another restaurant could fit...I'm having trouble envisioning the deckplan of the Grandeur and how it differs.

 

EN only has Chops, while GR also has Chef's table, Izumi and I think Giovannis as well.

 

basically the pool deck section( where the two 'bridges' are) is the stretched section so just pretend that isn't there.

 

I am too lazy to go hunt down deck plans to compare side by side.

[EmJakeBubbie]

where can I find the Fees for these different specialty venues. so many changes since our last cruise.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Where are the other specialty dining venues located, and what is in those locations on Enchantment instead?

 

I didn't see a lot of "vacant" space on Enchantment where another restaurant could fit...I'm having trouble envisioning the deckplan of the Grandeur and how it differs.

 

The Chef's Table is on the far aft area of the MDR on deck 4. They moved the Loyalty Desk and the RCL online to this area, too when they put in the new panoramic window cabins. [near the R-Bar]

 

Chop's and Giovanni's is in the center of the ship off of the Schooner Bar. I think most of this was a crew or behind the scenes area.

[Clarea]

where can I find the Fees for these different specialty venues. so many changes since our last cruise.

Below is a fleet dining guide. May not be up to date as far as which venues are on each ship, but the prices should be accurate.

 

http://www.creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Onboard_Experience/11026679_Dining_Guide.pdf

[avgjoe81960]

I just checked RCI site and it shows that GR has Chops, Izumi, and Giovannis and Chefs Table.

[EmJakeBubbie]

though some postings on other threads are negative, the info shared here is encouraging. It does look as if the GRANDEUR is selling well.

It better live up to expectations - Baltimore likes to cruise!

GO RAVENS!

[MrsP_29]

We are set to sail on Grandeur in October. I've seen the reviews and I'm not terribly concerned. Some people seem to look for the negatives, I don't. My husband and I know that we will have a wonderful vacation, the staff with be most accomodating, and we will regret coming back home.

:)

[DragonOfTheSeas]

I started a thread trying to get more comments.

 

Here is is:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1779692

[funfamilyof6]

We have many friends that would love to try cruising. Since we live in the North East, they would prefer to sail from one of the NE ports to save on airfare costs.

 

I talk about how much I love to cruise and etc....but there is no way I would let them cruise on this ship just in case the rumors are true. They would not understand why I found cruisin so much fun. I don't want their first experience to be a bad one, so I'd rather not go than take the chance. I, too have let the rumors get to me.

 

I told them that I'd rather fly and have them experience the ships in the Florida ports. I'm sure they would enjoy the Freedom class.

 

Very SMART move!!! ;)

 

Our family has been cruising for years and were trying to convince my husband's brother's family to go with us on the Freedom.

 

A couple of years ago another family member made plans to do an extended family cruise on the Carnival Miracle. We decided we couldn't go because we had already made plans on the Freedom of the Seas for my daughters birthday and didn't want to cancel. We had actually asked my brother in law to go with us that summer, but he/they didn't want to fly to Florida. Since the Carnival Miracle was out of NY they chose to go on that one instead. We did warn them that their kids (who are like ours) would be bored because there weren't a lot of sporty activities available on the Miracle like the FOS and they also had a lot of sea days which happens when you cruise out of NY.

 

Well after they came back from their trip, they told us that they really didn't have a good time and gave us a lot of reasons why they didn't want to cruise again. :rolleyes: