Thanksgiving on Grandeur – Children and Turkey and Booze – OH MY!

[VASOXFANN]

My husband and I spent Thanksgiving week aboard Royal Caribbean’s Grandeur of the Seas out of Baltimore. This was my fourth cruise on RC and eleventh overall, and it was DH’s first on RC and fifth overall. We’ve cruised on Carnival and MSC cruise lines together. I haven’t cruised on RC since 2009, so I was curious to see what changes had been made over the years, and we were both excited to spend our first Thanksgiving at sea…

 

EMBARKATION:

 

Embarkation was easy-peasy as it always is in Baltimore. We LOVE this port! We drove up and arrived at about 11:30 a.m. It only took about ½ hour to enter the parking lot, drop off luggage, pay, park, check in, and board the ship, although DH is walking-impaired, which allowed us to bypass the worst of the lines.

 

About the time we were checking in, I began to notice there were children everywhere….large swarms of them. As this was Thanksgiving week, we expected there would be many families with young children. Knowing children run around and make noise, I prepared for this by ordering the adult beverage package and planning to spend lots of time in adult-type areas where one wouldn’t expect them to be (ie bars and the Solarium).

 

 

SHIP & CABIN:

 

We liked this ship. It is small but adequate, and the crew works hard to keep her very clean despite her age. She is also very easy to maneuver, despite DH’s mobility issues.

 

We booked this cruise at a bargain rate for an inside guarantee cabin, and we were assigned an inside cabin on the 3rd deck, forward. The size and location were fine, and our cabin steward, Paul was wonderful. He did the best he could to please us with what he had available to him. The mattress was rock hard. I pre-requested a topper due to DH’s back issues, and it helped a little, I guess. The pillows were thin and hard. It was hard to sleep the first night due to the mattress and pillows, but we got used to them – now our bed at home feels like heaven!

 

BEVERAGE PACKAGE/SERVICE:

 

We boarded and started “using” our packages. I was able to get the packages at 30% off prior to the cruise, and I HIGHLY recommend them, especially at the discount. Bar service was excellent, and the bar staff was very friendly, knowledgeable and hard-working. We especially enjoyed the atmosphere at the Schooner Bar and the staff (David!) at the Pool Bar. I highly recommend the Chocolatinis; those things were to die for!

 

SPA:

 

We also had a couples’ massage the first day, which was very enjoyable and relaxing. I was also able to get this at a discount from an E-mail sent pre-cruise. TIP: If you write “no sales pitch” on the form, they won’t bother you.

 

DISRUPTIVE PASSENGERS:

 

I’m so glad we had such a relaxing embarkation day, because the thundering herds of unsupervised children were in full force on Day 2, our first sea day, and they never quit! There were 565 children on board this cruise. Don’t get me wrong; I have no problem with kids who are polite and know that the world doesn’t revolve around them. We met some very fine young people on the ship who actually give me some hope for the future, but if I had to guess, I’d say maybe ¼ of the children on this cruise had any worthwhile parental supervision. The rest ran down the halls screaming and yelling at all hours, jumped up and down on the chairs in the Centrum, screaming, while other people were trying to enjoy musicians performing, ran and crawled on dance floors tripping adult dancers, jumped and dove into hot tubs, vomited and defecated into swimming pools, ran into elevators and pushed all of the buttons, and were pretty much nasty, unruly little beasts. Remember our plan to ignore them? Well, a family with 3 in tow invaded the Solarium, and when my husband mentioned that it was for adults, they (children and mother!) began yelling at him and calling him names. This was the standard reaction of “parents” if anyone dared say something to their kid. We even heard a pre-teen girl bragging that she had flipped off a lady who told her to leave the Solarium, and her adult family members sat there telling her she should have slapped the lady! The behavior of the majority of the children on the ship was horrifying and, for the most part, went uncorrected by the parents and crew.

 

We were also very troubled by an adult who frequently paced the pool deck yelling and raging at other people. He clearly had a mental health issue. He never appeared to be supervised. The first night of the cruise, my husband witnessed him smashing a cell phone on the pool deck very close to other passengers. Another day, I saw him scream and lunge at a group of small children (that was actually behaving!) and he then started hitting his head on a chair. The children were obviously frightened, and other adults expressed that they were uncomfortable. The crew did nothing.

 

I understand everyone wants to have their vacation, but unruly kids and other disruptive people present threats to the safety themselves and other passengers. If the crew can’t deal with such situations, they need to be trained. Doing nothing and hoping the problem will go away to placate those doing the disrupting isn’t the answer.

 

DINING:

 

Off the soapbox and into the dining room, where we ate all of our dinners. Our servers, Rolando and Edith, were wonderful, and they went above and beyond to make us happy, but the food was just OK. We both preferred the MDR food on Carnival, especially for desserts. There were lobster tails the second formal night, which were good DH ordered the steak that is always on the menu a couple times, and he thought it was OK. The steak and beef cuts were cooked pretty rare. The choices were medium rare or medium well. DH ordered his medium well, which were cooked a perfect medium. Those at our table who ordered medium rare received red, bloody steaks. I had the seafood spaghetti, which was fine after adding some butter and pepper, the shrimp ravioli (meh) and some fish dishes. DH liked the salmon. The Thanksgiving turkey was good, but they only gave us a tiny spoonful of stuffing. The desserts weren't very good. Cheesecakes were very jello-like, and cakes were either spongy or dry. I did enjoy the pecan pie we had on Thanksgiving. Wines by the glass were included with our drink package, and we enjoyed the Reisling and the Berringer blush. After dinner shots were also included as long as we gave back the souvenir glasses.

 

ROLANDO HAD A PEPPER GRINDER :eek: HE PEPPERED MY SALADS AND PASTA!!! :D He received a very large tip for such extraordinary service! ;)

 

We only ate one breakfast and one lunch in the Windjammer. The Windjammer food didn't impress me at all, and I've honestly had better at Golden Corral. Breakfast in the WJ was better in terms of variety, taste and quality, but it’s hard to mess up breakfast.

 

We didn't eat in the specialty restaurants, but we had some of the food. I went to the cooking demonstration and had some samples. The sushi samples were fabulous, and I would have gone to the sushi place had DH been more of a sushi fan. The spicy coconut shrimp was my favorite of the samples. I wasn't all that impressed with the Giovanni's Table samples. We ordered the Chops filets in the MDR. They were wonderful. DH thought his was the best steak he ever ate, and mine was up there.

 

We ordered room service a couple of times. The breakfast wasn’t very good, but the lunches were! I loved the honey-stung chicken, which came with sweet potato fries. The chocolate chip cookies were wonderful. We recommend the room service over the Windjammer for lunch.

 

ACTIVITIES & ENTERTAINMENT:

 

We took this cruise to relax, so we mainly slept in, had leisurely meals, relaxed in the Solarium, played trivia, and did things like that. We did what we could to avoid crowds and unruly kids. We went to the Liverpool Legends (Beatles tribute band) show, which was excellent. We went to another show featuring just the ship orchestra, and it was so bad we couldn’t sit through more than 10 minutes. We tried to go to the farewell show, but there was only one showing, and the theater was stuffed with people, and (of course) we kept getting run into and jostled to by groups of unsupervised kids, so we gave up and went to the Schooner Bar for a nightcap.

 

PORT & SHORE EXCURSIONS:

 

The ship went to 3 ports: Port Canaveral, CocoCay, and Nassau. We’ve been to all but CocoCay, so that is the only place we got off. We had a beach lounger there, which was nice. It was a shade over 2 beach chairs on a private beach. We recommend it, if for nothing else, for the peace and quiet and security of having your things watched over. The swim-up bar is back at CocoCay, so we enjoyed that as well as Coconut Willies. The Coco Locos were great.

 

It was great staying on board in Port Canaveral and Nassau while the crowds and noise-makers were off. Several people did this, but we were all like-minded. It was very relaxing – like a regular cruise.

 

DISEMBARKATION:

 

Another breeze. We self-debarked, as I had to go back to work that morning L We were off the ship, through customs, and on the road in maybe 15 minutes. Have I mentioned that we LOVE the Port of Baltimore?!

 

IN CLOSING:

 

While we enjoyed our cruise, and the ship has a wonderful, hard-working crew who do everything they can with the tools available to them, there were enough “mehs” and concerns to drag the whole experience down. Overall, we give the cruise a 3, but that’s mostly because we had the drink package to dull the horror of hundreds of unruly brats onboard with no supervision or consequences.

Edited November 30, 2016 by VASOXFANN
Forgot the all-important pepper grinder!

[Nayola]

Very nice review. Thank you for taking the time to post your experience :-)

[plan09]

Thanks for the review. Glad you didn't let the negatives ruin the experience.

 

 

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[sea shepherd]

Your review was on the mark. It is so good I copy and pasted it to my after cruise survey . Now Miami can read your grate review too.

 

 

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[easyboy]

Nice to know for you to stay positive despite certain issues. Thank you for your feedback.

 

 

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[VASOXFANN]

Your review was on the mark. It is so good I copy and pasted it to my after cruise survey . Now Miami can read your grate review too.

 

 

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Wow! Thanks.

 

I hope you enjoyed the rest of your cruises :)

[Merion_Mom]

Jessica, is parking still $15? I keep waiting to hear bad news.

[JamesEM]

Our last and only cruise that we have taken when the munchkins are out of school we had a table for 8 in the MDR and the other 6 passengers were traveling together. Just after ordering the group of 6 got up and went away, about 15 minutes later when the food arrived their 6 unruly children came over and took their places and promptly started a food fight, at that point we got up and departed.

[chemmo]

So sad that a much awaited for vacation can be spoilt by others....

 

We unfortunately had a similar experience on Allure a few years ago. We tried to make the most of our cruise but it was hard. From the lifts with every button pressed (every time you used them) to the screaming in the Solarium, to bread throwing in the MDR, to screaming and chasing down the corridors at night it certainly was not restful.

 

Perhaps the saddest thing was when speaking to a couple of parents travelling with their children. Their children did not want to go to the clubs because they felt intimidated by some of the unruly children who would go in, disrupt an activity and then leave. Similar in the pool area...certain children jumped in the pool and others exited....Even in the suite concierge lounge we saw poor, uncorrected behaviour. I felt nothing but pity for the staff who were trying to walk that tightrope of intervening without offending.

 

We had cruised RC many times before this cruise, often during the holiday season, and we had never experienced anything other than 'holiday spirits', no issues with children being children! It has taken until this year to try a big ship again. Hopefully out of holiday season....

Edited December 1, 2016 by chemmo

[Candleonwater]

Wow, now I'm "concerned" about our Christmas cruise on Lady G. Since we've always sailed at holiday time, and many times on larger ships, this is what we've come to expect, however my patience isn't what it used to be. I can't even imagine what my reaction would have been if a child had flipped me off? My 20yo DD, thankfully, was never like that, her "fear" of getting in trouble weighed too heavy on her. Instead of this cruise we discussed doing a destination trip, and she said she would like that if we could go to an adults only resort. She's not a fan of children.

 

Maybe it's time for me to buy a drink package.

[VASOXFANN]

Jessica, is parking still $15? I keep waiting to hear bad news.

 

Yes. $105 for the week :eek: It was very convenient, tho.

 

Someone on our roll call found a deal for parking and a shuttle for $7/day, but I had to go to work on disembarkation day :( so we didn't want to mess with shuttles and riding to Lord-knows-where to pick up our car.

[VASOXFANN]

Our last and only cruise that we have taken when the munchkins are out of school we had a table for 8 in the MDR and the other 6 passengers were traveling together. Just after ordering the group of 6 got up and went away, about 15 minutes later when the food arrived their 6 unruly children came over and took their places and promptly started a food fight, at that point we got up and departed.

 

Our sympathies :(

 

Fortunately, we had a wonderful family as tablemates, including a very polite, respectful teenage girl. There was a family nearby with some screechy young-uns, but they quieted them down the best they could.

 

We love kids who are well-behaved. It's the unruly ones with do-nothing parents who made things miserable :mad:

[VASOXFANN]

So sad that a much awaited for vacation can be spoilt by others....

 

We unfortunately had a similar experience on Allure a few years ago. We tried to make the most of our cruise but it was hard. From the lifts with every button pressed (every time you used them) to the screaming in the Solarium, to bread throwing in the MDR, to screaming and chasing down the corridors at night it certainly was not restful.

 

Perhaps the saddest thing was when speaking to a couple of parents travelling with their children. Their children did not want to go to the clubs because they felt intimidated by some of the unruly children who would go in, disrupt an activity and then leave. Similar in the pool area...certain children jumped in the pool and others exited....Even in the suite concierge lounge we saw poor, uncorrected behaviour. I felt nothing but pity for the staff who were trying to walk that tightrope of intervening without offending.

 

We had cruised RC many times before this cruise, often during the holiday season, and we had never experienced anything other than 'holiday spirits', no issues with children being children! It has taken until this year to try a big ship again. Hopefully out of holiday season....

 

It is sad when even the well-behaved kids are bothered by the brats. Everyone deserves to have fun on their vacation without being bothered by others. I hope RC will address there types of issues for the benefit of all of their passengers, but I doubt it :(

[VASOXFANN]

Wow, now I'm "concerned" about our Christmas cruise on Lady G. Since we've always sailed at holiday time, and many times on larger ships, this is what we've come to expect, however my patience isn't what it used to be. I can't even imagine what my reaction would have been if a child had flipped me off? My 20yo DD, thankfully, was never like that, her "fear" of getting in trouble weighed too heavy on her. Instead of this cruise we discussed doing a destination trip, and she said she would like that if we could go to an adults only resort. She's not a fan of children.

 

Maybe it's time for me to buy a drink package.

 

I would definitely recommend getting the drink package and making the best of it. I don't know how we would have remained sane without it...we broke even on day 4! Hopefully your DD will turn 21 in time to get her one as well! Avoid the R-Bar (Centrum = screaming brats) and stick to the Schooner bar for fewer kids. They will swarm during trivia, but they should quickly dissipate.

 

One thing I forgot to add in my review was that the ship was beautifully decorated with Christmas decorations, so that should help your mood.

[ScottC4746]

There were 565 children on board this cruise.

 

I had to ponder this one, were there really 565 children on board? Did you hand count all the children? I understand 12 noise unruly children can seem like thousands.

[VASOXFANN]

I had to ponder this one, were there really 565 children on board? Did you hand count all the children? I understand 12 noise unruly children can seem like thousands.

 

No, I did not hand count all of the children on board. :rolleyes:

 

There was this magical box called a television in our stateroom, and we turned it when turned on, we watched something called the Cruise Directors show. On this show, the Cruise Director, Bobby, announced that there were 565 children on board.

 

I'm sure Royal Caribbean has a system of counting its passengers and keeping track of which ones are minors, thereby alleviating the need for me to count each one. :p

 

Any other questions?

[Langley Cruisers]

I had to ponder this one, were there really 565 children on board? Did you hand count all the children? I understand 12 noise unruly children can seem like thousands.

 

A little harsh, don't you think? Many times the CD or another staff member will announce how many children are on board.

[MikeNJ1109]

My wife and I have cruised eleven times, mostly RCL but also a couple on Norwegian. We have found that on ships with several thousand passengers, there will always be issues with some of them.

 

Unruly kids? Seen plenty, and we do our best to avoid them. And I'll blame the parents (or lack of parenting) when the kids go off the proverbial reservation.

 

What we have found MORE often, however, are the adults behaving badly. Drunk and disorderly. Copping an attitude with a ships employee, "DYKWIA" sort of a thing. Having Royalty Dreams on a Budweiser budget. It's been THESE kind of folks that have been more problematic then the children we've encountered -- the kids, more times than not, have been polite to a fault and just merely want to have fun on their vacation.

 

Just my 2 cents, for whatever it's worth.

 

Michael

[VASOXFANN]

A little harsh, don't you think? Many times the CD or another staff member will announce how many children are on board.

 

Exactly what happened! :)

[VASOXFANN]

My wife and I have cruised eleven times, mostly RCL but also a couple on Norwegian. We have found that on ships with several thousand passengers, there will always be issues with some of them.

 

Unruly kids? Seen plenty, and we do our best to avoid them. And I'll blame the parents (or lack of parenting) when the kids go off the proverbial reservation.

 

What we have found MORE often, however, are the adults behaving badly. Drunk and disorderly. Copping an attitude with a ships employee, "DYKWIA" sort of a thing. Having Royalty Dreams on a Budweiser budget. It's been THESE kind of folks that have been more problematic then the children we've encountered -- the kids, more times than not, have been polite to a fault and just merely want to have fun on their vacation.

 

Just my 2 cents, for whatever it's worth.

 

Michael

 

Thanks for your input. I have also seen this on other cruises. Not this one.

[Dall]

I'm interested in the swim up bar, was it overly crowded? I picture it hard to get up to the bar.

 

 

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[VASOXFANN]

I'm interested in the swim up bar, was it overly crowded? I picture it hard to get up to the bar.

 

 

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No. It was pretty close to shore, so it was more like a wade-up bar, probably because the water was pretty cold that day. Even so, there was only a handful of people at any given time.

 

The bar has a pool-type ladder for people to climb up and down. It was chilly, and the drink selections were limited (no Coco Locos :( ) so we only spent about 1/2 hour out there.

[cementhands]

I've found that after many of us outgrow Disney World and we still want to travel with the kids that cruises are a natural progression. However I still don't want 1,500 kids on a ship with me. That's why I used to contact the cruise lines to see how many kids will be on board. Based on that we did Celebrity which had like 150 kids, while in St Thomas we ran into friends on a Royal Megaship that had 1,500 kids onboard. They were very frustrated as they had their own 2 kids but were appalled by the behavior of unruly kids, running around.

On a positive note taking our kids on many a cruise taught them how to act with strangers at the dinner table. With celebrity a feel for fine dining and the use of all that silverware.

Of course we schooled our kids on proper behavior prior to going.

Now many kids attending business schools have classes on etiquette, done properly your kids can learn from the cruise experience

[princesszjackie]

Hi! I'm sailing out of Baltimore for the first time this December on a Christmas/ NYE cruise. This will be my 11th cruise but anytime I have sailed in the winter, it has been from Florida where the weather is superb. I was wondering if you can tell me how many of the sea days will be cold? My cruise is 12 nights and the first 4 days are sea days. I'm really hoping by the 2nd/3rd day that I will be able to sit in the sun. Thanks so much

[allie3490]

I love these threads about "unruly kids". Especially the part where it's always the OTHER kids that are bad. YOURS are angels who were raised perfectly.

 

I swear every cruise critic member has raised the perfect child.