Grandeur July 31-Aug 7, 2015 The good, the bad, and the ugly!!!

[princessa]

Hello all,

 

Just thought I would give a very quick review and answer any questions you may have.

 

The good: Ship is beautiful, well maintained. Staff is very friendly. The parties in the centrum are awesome! 70's party not to be missed. Ship is easy to navigate. We always found a table at the buffet and no long line ups for food. The shows were very good. Comedian was funny. Loved the cruise director. He was a lot of fun. We had late seating and our servers were great. Bermuda is an awesome place. Horseshoe Bay Beach was amazing. We saw fish swimming (without any snorkel gear, they were just swimming around).

 

The bad: Our air conditioning in our room did not work properly and we were sweating big time. They gave us a fan as there was nothing they could do. They said it was within their allowable range of 18 -22 degrees celcius and we were at 22. (I am pretty sure it was warmer than 22 because I am a person that is always cold so for me to be sweating it must have been higher) The fan helped a bit. We also had the room accross the hall and it was nice and cool in that one.

 

The ugly: My hair. I just don't understand what cruising does to my hair. I spent way too much time trying to fix the crazy frizz. (it didn't work). Any tips on this subject is appreciated.

 

I hoped you enjoyed my mini review. (first one)

 

Feel free to ask any questions.

[cb at sea]

My biggest fear is not having AC...I get hot flashes, and being in a hot room simply exacerbates that! Unlike a hotel, there is seldom somewhere else to move you!

 

As far as hair...if you're hair tends to frizz...pull it back in a pony tail or bun! That's about all you can do!

Edited August 11, 2015 by cb at sea

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Hair... Well, when you're in the middle of water, the humidity level goes way up. That is why the frizz.

 

Lush makes shampoo bars and conditioner bars. I used the Brazilliant shampoo bar and Jungle conditioner bar and they worked great...minimal frizzing.

[cincicruisers]

I have the same issue with my hair. I even do my straighter but it still gets frizzy. Not great for vacation pictures.

[Merion_Mom]

Adorable review!

 

I love the fact that the focus is on hair! ;) :D

[T.O.cruisers]

Thanks for sharing. I can totally relate to your hair issue. We will be on the GOS over Christmas and I can't wait for the frizzy hair. Who cares anyway?

[shoshona2]

Hi,

 

We took the same cruise and loved it, also. We were portside and kept the drapes drawn during the three days in Bermuda! It really helped to keep the cabin cooler. Remember, the ship is one of the oldest in the fleet, but the only one that can go under the bridges in Baltimore without a problem. The staff was wonderful. We had some minor problems and I called the number shown on the telephone and within four minutes I had the problem fixed. As to hair, I wish mine could have gone frizzy, but I have this very straight hair and it was tough during the humid hot weather in Bermuda. Loved the two aerial programs in the Centrum. Saw it last year on the Rhapsody in Alaska and loved it there also. We were the few people who flew to Baltimore and it was well worth the two days of traveling. No one mentions the "Swimming With the Dolphins", but wanted to tell everyone it was worth every dollar it cost for our granddaughter to do it. She will always remember the fun she had.

 

Sheila

[princessa]

cb at sea -I did wear pony tails but my hair still looked terrible:confused: Yes a warm room is not fun. I especially hate sweating at night.

 

WrittenOnYourHeart - I will definitely try those products. The ones I used did not help at all.

 

cincicruisers- I did use the straightener too. It lasted all of 3 minutes so I eventually gave up.

 

Merion_Mom- Thanks:) If it wasn't for the hair issue my cruises would truly be stress free. Even my husband feels bad for me.

 

T.O.cruisers- Have fun on your cruise. Hopefully your hair looks nice!:D

 

shoshona2- I remember you. We met at the meet and mingle. Yes the Dolphin swim is amazing. We did it in Grand Cayman and it really was worth it. Glad you had a nice time:)

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

WrittenOnYourHeart - I will definitely try those products. The ones I used did not help at all.

 

They have the added advantage of being solid, not liquid, and you can get little carrying tins for them, so they are super easy to pack in your carry-on and not have to yank them out if flying! :)

 

I will give the caveat that I am VERY low maintenance and don't really give a rip about how my hair looks anyway. BUT it didn't seem to be as frizzy as humidity usually makes it.

[Flyers2893]

We are leaving on Friday for our Bermuda trip and I have crazy, naturally curly hair so the frizz is definitely a concern of mine :) I'm just bringing my normal products with me but I do have some wide headbands for lounging around the pool and on excursions. I'm hoping the salt air will help a little....

 

When we traveled to Mexico for our honeymoon, I went to dinner with damp hair and my new husband didn't think to tell me that I needed to pull it back because it was getting out of control! Well, this is our 10 year anniversary trip--and if he's learned ANYTHING it's to let me know when I"ve started to look like Monica from Friends!

 

Anybody who knows and loves me will understand the curls, fritz and puffy hair... BUt, if you happen to be on the 8/14 cruise and you see a poor woman with red, curly hair that is a little (or a lot) out of control, please let her know she needs to pull it up--chances are her husband hasn't told her!! :P

[NEPhillyRN]

I went with a ponytail fake hair wrap to control my hair. I was able to tie it back in a tight ponytail, hairsprayed to keep the frizz down... wrap it in a ponytail wrap and it looks like I spent an hour styling it.

[RadioRob]

That's too much work! :D

 

Have fun! Forget about everything else. If someone else does not like your hair, they can jump overboard if it bothers them that much.

 

If worse comes to worse... a nice lace front wig works wonders. lol

 

If you have long hair, bring it up into a bun and have fun with some big hair!

[princessa]

NEPhillyRN- That sounds like a great idea but I am not crazy about having my hair pulled away from my face. I don't want to show my face that much;):o

 

 

RadioRob- I would love love love to find a wig that looked natural and not bother with my hair every evening on a cruise. I wish I knew more about it. Whenever I mention it to anyone they think I am crazy.:mad:

[Thetrail]

Hi,

 

We took the same cruise and loved it, also. We were portside and kept the drapes drawn during the three days in Bermuda! It really helped to keep the cabin cooler. Remember, the ship is one of the oldest in the fleet, but the only one that can go under the bridges in Baltimore without a problem. The staff was wonderful. We had some minor problems and I called the number shown on the telephone and within four minutes I had the problem fixed. As to hair, I wish mine could have gone frizzy, but I have this very straight hair and it was tough during the humid hot weather in Bermuda. Loved the two aerial programs in the Centrum. Saw it last year on the Rhapsody in Alaska and loved it there also. We were the few people who flew to Baltimore and it was well worth the two days of traveling. No one mentions the "Swimming With the Dolphins", but wanted to tell everyone it was worth every dollar it cost for our granddaughter to do it. She will always remember the fun she had.

 

Sheila

I was under the impression that the Radiance class ships can fit under the bridge out of Baltimore?

[Florida Fan]

If I'm on the same cruise as someone with wild, curly hair, I'll be the one looking jealously at you. My hair is thin & straight. I would kill for curls. When I was a teen, my best friend had naturally curly hair. When we had sleepovers, I'd use curlers made for dolls (teeny, tiny), and my friend would use juice cans. I guess we always want what we don't have.

[jules71]

Love this thread! I stress over my hair way too much--it's usually straight as a poker, but in humidity gets frizzy. Agree with Florida Fan, would love to have the curly hair -- guess the grass is always greener! Haha

[willing292]

Do you have a flat iron? It takes the humidity out of hair, thus reducing frizz.

[princessa]

Do you have a flat iron? It takes the humidity out of hair, thus reducing frizz.

 

 

I definitely brought a flat iron. I did use it and it was my only saviour. The only problem was it only lasted for a little while and I didn't want to keep using it because it destroys my hair.

[ltjn]

What stateroom did you have?

[evelyn51]

What stateroom did you have?

 

;) I know your inquiry was serious but, it put a smile on my face.

[love2cruiseforfree]

What stateroom did you have?

 

 

i'd like to know too.!!

hope its not ours!

[Laney219]

Re: frizzy hair... I have thick coarse hair all the time. I use Moroccan oil and the in-styler rolling brush flat iron combo to get it straight.

 

Did you attend any of the shows in the theater?

If so, what kind of entertainment, would you recommend, etc.

 

TIA

[BobbyD]

Just got off the Grandeur (8/14-8/21). Great cruise to Bermuda! Each cruise, as soon as I get in the room, I turn the AC all the way down. My cabin was like a meat locker all week! Loved it! I thought the AC was fine throughout the ship as well. I had heard conflicting reports but even though I tend to run hot, I was fine!

[maryjaden]

Did you go to Hamilton or St. George? If so what did you like or dislike about them?

[clo6216]

Princessa - HATS whenever possible

WrittenOnYourHeart - Thanks for the shampoo bar info. I've shopped in the Lush store and never noticed them. I am irrationally excited about having a good, solid shampoo in my carry-on.