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Sailed on Grandeur May 3 out of Baltimore

gafchic

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gafchic

gafchic

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My SO and another couple sailed last week on the first cruise out of Baltimore on the Grandeur of the Seas. Since this was our first time on the ship, I don't really know what it looked like before the refurbishment, but I can tell you the ship is beautiful. The colors are very soft throughout the ship and the Centrum in the middle of the ship is just beautiful. And in case anyone is concerned, there were no odors anywhere on the ship.

 

The first night out of Baltimore was really rocky. We ran into a storm during the night and the ship rocked and rolled all night. Our cupboard doors banged open and closed all night. A lot of people suffered from seasickness including crew and unfortunately me. I was sick for about 20 hours. Once the ocean calmed down, so did I and the rest of the trip was great. During this time our room steward Alvaro was terrific. He brought me ginger ale, crackers, and offered to get me some Bonine (I was already wearing a patch).

 

We had a balcony cabin - 7034 which had ample storage space for two people. The bathroom was a nice size; however, my only complaint would be the size of the shower. It was the smallest shower I have ever seen.

 

The Windjammer buffet had basic breakfast items - nothing out of the ordinary. We ate dinner at the MDR every night and from what I heard the new menu had not started. We did have a good selection of dinner choices each night though.

The Park Cafe is a nice option for lunch if you don't want to eat a lot.

 

The Solarium Pool is a nice area for adults. It is enclosed but the roof can be opened on nice days. The two complaints I have there is the "early risers" who put towels on the lounge chairs to save them but you never see anyone sitting in them. Also they have this annoying chirping bird sounds that go on all day.

 

The shows in the Palladium were entertaining. On the last night of the cruise there is an aerial show in the Centrum which was really enjoyable.

 

All things considered, if you have a cruise booked on the Grandeur, I don't think she will disappoint you. If you have any questions I would be happy to try to answer them.

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danyelle

danyelle

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Thanks for posting your experience. We leave on the 17th. How were the activities? How was service in the MDR (i know this varies depending on your waitstaff, but still.)

What excursions (if any) did you do in Bermuda?

 

Sorry you got sick :(

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Clarea

Clarea

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Thank you gafchic - how many pools and are either heated?

Two pools, main pool for everyone and solarium pool for adults. Both are salt water and unheated.

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gafchic

gafchic

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The service in the MDR was great. Our waiter was Peter. All of our drinks were remembered each night. Meals were served very quickly.

 

There seemed to be a lot of activities during the day. We hung out at the pools most of the day and went to the shows at night.

 

We bought a transportation pass which covered the bus and ferries. St George is a quaint little town to visit. Lots of little shops tucked away on side streets. Hamilton is the main business district. We had lunch at the Pickled Onion. It was recommended to us by a woman who worked in the city. It was really good.

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KeywestK

KeywestK

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Thank you Gafchic for your review. Sorry you got sick though. Were the transportation tickets easy to purchase at the pier? We want to buy them the first day we arrive in Bermuda, so we can be on our way early the following morning to start exploring.

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spookwife

spookwife

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PICTURES??!! purty please?!

 

WRT Bermuda:

 

the tickets can be purchased literally just off the gangway. each pier had their own IIRC. if you plan on doing a lot of running around the passes are great. we were only there overnight instead of 2 nights so we just bought bus tickets for the one thing we wanted to do , the Aquarium( very nice btw) we pulled in late enough that the area just off the pier was shutting down but we still managed to get rum cake... hmmm rum cake.. ( my fav was the ginger)

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KeywestK

KeywestK

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PICTURES??!! purty please?!

 

WRT Bermuda:

 

the tickets can be purchased literally just off the gangway. each pier had their own IIRC. if you plan on doing a lot of running around the passes are great. we were only there overnight instead of 2 nights so we just bought bus tickets for the one thing we wanted to do , the Aquarium( very nice btw) we pulled in late enough that the area just off the pier was shutting down but we still managed to get rum cake... hmmm rum cake.. ( my fav was the ginger)

 

Thank you!

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flatcircle

flatcircle

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Do any recent passengers remember which day the laundry special (bag for a certain amount rather than pricre per piece) was offered? We're B2B leaving May 24 & I'm trying to figure out how many days of clothes we need to pack.

 

Thanks!

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Clarea

Clarea

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Do any recent passengers remember which day the laundry special (bag for a certain amount rather than pricre per piece) was offered? We're B2B leaving May 24 & I'm trying to figure out how many days of clothes we need to pack.

 

Thanks!

I've not been on Grandeur, so it may be different, but on other ships we have been able to ask the stateroom attendant for the special laundry bag on any day.

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flatcircle

flatcircle

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I've not been on Grandeur, so it may be different, but on other ships we have been able to ask the stateroom attendant for the special laundry bag on any day.

 

Thanks for that info...I'd really like the flexability to send out a bag earlier in the second week. Like the OP, I am used to HALs unlimited laundry option.

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Janet524

Janet524

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I know RCCL recently revised its policy to permit you to bring 2 bottles of wine per stateroom onboard. However, when I looked over the cruise documents I just received for our upcoming Grandeur cruise, it states, "Guests are not allowed to bring alcoholic beverages onboard for consumption." Is this a separate policy for Grandeur, or simply a case where their new policy hasn't caught up with the boiler plate info on the cruise documents? Did anybody on Grandeur on the last sailings have any experience?

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Clarea

Clarea

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I know RCCL recently revised its policy to permit you to bring 2 bottles of wine per stateroom onboard. However, when I looked over the cruise documents I just received for our upcoming Grandeur cruise, it states, "Guests are not allowed to bring alcoholic beverages onboard for consumption." Is this a separate policy for Grandeur, or simply a case where their new policy hasn't caught up with the boiler plate info on the cruise documents? Did anybody on Grandeur on the last sailings have any experience?

Exactly, Royal has not updated all the references to the old alcoholic beverage policy.

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snowmaiden

snowmaiden

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Do any recent passengers remember which day the laundry special (bag for a certain amount rather than pricre per piece) was offered? We're B2B leaving May 24 & I'm trying to figure out how many days of clothes we need to pack.

 

Thanks!

 

I was on this cruise and saved all the daily Cruise Compasses. The laundry special was offered on day 5, and we got the clothes back by noon the next day. It would have been more helpful a day or two earlier, but at least my DH had clean clothes to wear on the way home!

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flatcircle

flatcircle

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I was on this cruise and saved all the daily Cruise Compasses. The laundry special was offered on day 5, and we got the clothes back by noon the next day. It would have been more helpful a day or two earlier, but at least my DH had clean clothes to wear on the way home!

 

Thanks for responding with that info....guess I should plan on a few more days of clothes.

 

Are you able to scan and post the daily Cruise Compasses? I'm sure there are many of us who would love to see them!

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snowmaiden

snowmaiden

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Are you able to scan and post the daily Cruise Compasses? I'm sure there are many of us who would love to see them!

We have a scanner that's currently stored under our guest room bed, so I could do it, but it wouldn't be the easiest. I'll try to do it next week if nobody beats me to it!

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beachnative

beachnative

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I know RCCL recently revised its policy to permit you to bring 2 bottles of wine per stateroom onboard. However, when I looked over the cruise documents I just received for our upcoming Grandeur cruise, it states, "Guests are not allowed to bring alcoholic beverages onboard for consumption." Is this a separate policy for Grandeur, or simply a case where their new policy hasn't caught up with the boiler plate info on the cruise documents? Did anybody on Grandeur on the last sailings have any experience?

 

We were on the May 3rd Grandeur sailing to Bermuda and carried two bottles of wine and a six pack of soda onto the ship without a problem.

 

There were several areas where editing of materials had not been completed. The one we laughed hardest about was the insert in the Day 1 compass that stated that we should come to the Explorations Desk to book our excursions to Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao. :eek::eek: There were numerous mistakes in the schedules in the Compasses, probably holdovers from previous cruise.

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RSLeesburg

RSLeesburg

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We have a scanner that's currently stored under our guest room bed, so I could do it, but it wouldn't be the easiest. I'll try to do it next week if nobody beats me to it!

 

If you have a smart phone, just take a photo of it and post that :D

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