Grandeur review, Sept 17th - Sept 25th

[hds249]

My first cruise, ahhhhhh!

 

I booked the Grandeur on August 6th, 2004 and spent a year plus chatting and finding out all I could about my ship and ports of call. I must say that I have met the BEST group of folks on these boards and I hope they will remain friends for years to come. I have never met a more positive, helpful and friendly bunch of folks and I thank each one.

 

As everyone pretty much already knows we were delayed in sailing by one day. RCCL offered a credit to each stateroom for the loss and most seemed happy with the offering.

Embarkation from Baltimore was an unbelievably fast process. I was very impressed with how quickly we moved right through to the photographer. Yes we bought the photos, it was our first cruise for our tenth anniversary and we wanted the reminder.

Once I walked onto the ship everything I thought would happen went right out the window. Our group consisted of myself, my DH and our best friends from Arizona. We had adjoining suites for this special virgin cruise for us all. We were on board by 11:30. The rooms were not supposed to be available until 1PM but we tried our luck and they were ready so we dropped off our carry-ons and met our Room Steward, Lincoln. He met us with a huge smile that seemed to never disappear and we were so happy with his care. Lincoln has been with RCCL for six years and looks forward to many more. The happiness of the crew showed in many areas of the ship.

After seeing our room we went to the recommended Windjammer for lunch. I only offered pastries that morning so we could all be hungry when we arrived. After lunch we explored the ship and got to know our home for the next eight days. The Grandeur is a beautiful ship top to bottom. The crew works very hard to keep her in top shape. There were many places to roam and for our cruise it seemed nothing was crowded with the exception of the pool deck, the dreaded saved and empty chairs were obvious so we went to deck ten and found lots of room for the four of us. We were overlooking the pool so we may have had an even better view of the happenings than those on the pool deck itself. ( I believe there were 1756 passengers on board and 752 crew members)

Really soon after boarding we were offered the drink of the day. We did not realize the drinks were all in "souvenier" glasses and that cost us 2.00 more per drink. (we threw away the plastic glasses) I think we did that three times before we saw another waiter carrying regular glasses.

The dining room experience was fabulous. I think we were really lucky in getting the best team in the house, I wonder how many others think that too. Our Head waiter was Mary and she was a little on the quiet side. Friendly but quiet. Our Waiter was Alexandra from Slovakia and her Assistant was Lindon from St. Thomas if I remember correctly. They were actually extensions of each other and they were flawless from minute one. They remembered every single "extra" you asked for and it was presented automatically each evening. I am an iced coffee fan and I was very impressed that I never ran out of coffee and an extra glass of ice was provided each evening. We had tablemates the we had met on the boards and we absolutely loved them. They were a great match for us and the table was always laughing and happy. I thought the food on each meal was terrific. We were always pleased with the selections. We even tried the escargot and LOVED it.

Our Cruise Director, Ashley Kerr, did a great job but I did not think she was as visible as I expected her to be. She seemed to be only at the events and not raoming around the ship at all. At least we never passed her. Skippy, the "Bingo Boy" and Activities Director, was everywhere. I think we had to see him outside the events at least a dozen times a day, always pleasant and always smiling. Sadly, Skippy has left the Grandeur for a short stay on the Explorer. Skippy is very good at what he does, he is smart and funny, very quick on his feet and always a pleasure to watch. He will keep you laughing for sure.

The Captain gave daily noon announcements and kept us well informed of what was to come. We missed three of our ports of call two of which I was really looking forward to more than any others, Key West and Coco Cay, but that is the possibility when you book in hurricane season. We loved the ship so much and there was more to do than one could fit into a schedule which made the days on board awesome. To our group the vacation was all about the ship and we were happy even if all eight days were to be at sea.

Cozumel was our first port and I must say it was nice to sit on land a while. Our group went on the Mayan Ruins tour and then to the beach for an hour and a half. It was a very hot day, 102, so the water was a welcome relief. The water was beautiful and clear. The rest of our time in Cozumel was spent in the area around the port. There were lots of shopping opportunities and of course Senior Frogs. I was afraid of the water and the ice in the drinks but we were assured it was purified. Our group had no problem and we went there a few times. Trust the water there, it really is good. As for the shopping, there are a lot of deals to be had. They expect you to bargain but if you offer too much and they say Ok too quickly you are not saving money. An expample, if they say the price is 25.00 then offer 8.00 or 10.00. You can always come up and meet somewhere in the middle but if you say will you take 20.00 they will in a heart beat and you leave wondering what you could have gotten it for. Not to worry, someone on the ship will tell you of the deal they got on the same item, lol!

Back to the ship and on to Port Canaveral. We chose a trip to the Kennedy Space Center and had an educational afternoon. Our friends brother lives in Fla and met us at the port and took us around in his private vehicle, that was nice.

I took about three hundred photos of our trip but in looking at them I see most of them are of us around the ship and ports. Since I am new to my camera I am not sure how to post the link here so if you want to see the album please email me at pat@cecilchamber.com or hds249@aol.com and I will send you the link!

To anyone booked or thinking of booking the Grandeur you will not be disappointed. This was the best vacation we ever took and I can't wait to book again on RCCL and probably the Grandeur.

Since this is the first cruise and my first review, please overlook the imperfections. I am still under the weather but wanted to get this out while it is fresh.

Happy Sails and Suite Dreams! :)

[Pumbaamd]

Glad to hear you had a great 1st time cruise. I'm sure you enjoyed the Grandeur, but for something different, try a different class ship next time. Maybe a Radiance class ship like the Brilliance. We loved her. Maybe check out the RCL VISA card, and earn points for your next cruise. Or, check out shareholder benefits. Our last cruise, we booked on board. We own the stock and use the VISA card. We'll be saving around $1000 on our Jan. cruise, because of the benefits. Get out there!

[hds249]

Great advice, thank you. I will check that out, I love to save!

[NC Native]

Great review!

 

We were on the cruise that came in on the 17th. We had an absolute fabulous time! The service was excellent and we had nothing to complain about. By the time our extra day at sea came around, we had done everything on the ship we wanted to do, so we hunkered down in the solarium for the day with our books. The wind was so strong that the outside decks were closed off, and

the pools were drained. It was late afternoon before we were able to comfortably sit at the pool deck.

I took a gazillion pictures, but the one that did not come out good was of the ship at night. Do you have one? If so, can you email it to me at theresamomof3@hotmail.com?

 

This trip was our annual sisters trip and my milestone birthday. So,now i'm looking for a cruise that DH & I can go on together.

[hds249]

I am so sorry I did not get a photo of the ship at night! Great news though, you can go to http://www.webshots.com and find one easily!

Glad you had a great time on your cruise, I think I chose the right ship for my fist cruise and am thinking of sailing her again next year to Bermuda. On advise, I am also looking at leaving from New York and Bayonne, I don't fly unless I absolutely have to!

:D