Live! DragonOfTheSeas' B2B on the Grandeur of the Seas 3.28 to 4.18.19

[CruisinCons]

Thanks for the live blog!  We're on Grandeur April 25th, and this is our first Vision class sailing.  We spent 16 nights on Radiance class in the last few months, so not expecting Grandeur to be too much different, just a but smaller.  Will miss dancing in the nightclub every night though.

[GRR Cubfan]

We are also on this sailing of Grandeur and are traveling with 10 and 12 year olds.  They are both having a great time.  The pool has been a huge hit and we're also just enjoying having some time together as a family.  If your kids want a water park and ice skating--Grandeur ain't gonna be your boat, but my kids and I played shuffleboard and have walked on the top deck and we've had a blast doing it.

 

The service on this ship is top notch.  Our cabin steward (Kevin) has been great and the service we've had in the Anytime part of the MDR with Desmond has been amazing.  The only service issue was with lunch in the MDR on the first sea day.  Honestly it was a lack of staff more than bad service--we just helped ourselves to more water and coffee--wasn't a problem.

 

Internet speed has been garbage pretty much everywhere on the boat.  I've not noticed any real difference in speed between my room on deck 2 and the pool.  I'm on surf and stream--I'd hate to see what just surf is like.  

 

Food has been pretty good.  Buffet food is exactly what you'd expect it to be--quantity over quality.  The egg station in the morning has been good though.  The MDR food has been very good.  The only bad thing was a piece of swordfish on the second night--just lacking flavor more than anything.  If there's a gripe, it is that there are not a lot of vegetables with the entrees.  That's a quibble more than a serious problem.  The coffee onboard is terrible, but that was easily remedied with the purchase of a French press and some ground coffee in Charleston.

 

We only did one shore excursion and that was in Port Canaveral.  We did the Kennedy Space Center tour.  The exhibits at the space center are impressive, but guided tours are not my thing.  We did get to see some cool rockets and the shuttle Atlantis.  We also heard more "heroic" music than any of us could really stand.  No idea if there were violin, trumpet, and tympani-heavy tunes playing in the restrooms, but they were playing everywhere else.  

 

If there's a gripe about this cruise, it's that we're in Nassau for two days.  Nassau isn't really worth one day let alone two.  But, it's warm and sunny so we can just enjoy having the pool to ourselves and not have any competition for the premium lounge chair spots.

 

Other reviewers have mentioned that the Grandeur crowd is old.  That's true.  Whether that's good or bad depends on you.  

 

We're having a great vacation and are pleased that we picked the Grandeur.  It was a great choice for us.

 

[HLR]

23 minutes ago, GRR Cubfan said:

 The coffee onboard is terrible, but that was easily remedied with the purchase of a French press and some ground coffee in Charleston.

 

How are you doing this? Hot Water from the coffee machine in the buffet?

 

HLR

[Guest moe46]

21 hours ago, dutchclogs said:

 

Is there any news who will in fill for John Blair during his summer (July) break? Wondering how far in advance a CD plans/books entertainment or if booking is done shoreside at Head Office?

 Bob Leininger June 2-October 6 per the last CD list

[GRR Cubfan]

8 hours ago, HLR said:

 

How are you doing this? Hot Water from the coffee machine in the buffet?

 

HLR

 

Yes.  The water isn't boiling so it's not a perfect solution, but it's working ok.  If we had thought ahead and brought an Aeropress, that probably would have been better.  

 

There is a hot water dispenser by the Park Cafe and one outside on the pool deck just outside of the Windjammer.

 

[sandebeach]

1 hour ago, GRR Cubfan said:

 

Yes.  The water isn't boiling so it's not a perfect solution, but it's working ok.  If we had thought ahead and brought an Aeropress, that probably would have been better.  

 

There is a hot water dispenser by the Park Cafe and one outside on the pool deck just outside of the Windjammer.

 

Very smart idea!

[DragonOfTheSeas]

On 4/1/2019 at 5:52 PM, Rogueperson said:

 

Considering how inconsistent I had it with the surf and stream, I'm curious how surf only is on the 

Yesterday the internet connection particularly bad. And I would have thought that it would have been better since most people were off the ship. I did a couple of tests and I'll post the results later. However on one of my tests I got 0 for the upload speed

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Sorry I was radio silent yesterday. I was a little under the weather. No worries it was not norovirus. I didn't have any of those symptoms. Today I just have a little cough.

 

 I'll try to make up for it by posting a lot of pictures of Nassau today. I agree Nassau is my least favorite port.  The fact that we're here for two days I consider a waste too. it's warm and it's sunny. . . .as someone said in the main dining room yesterday we are living the dream. :)

[DragonOfTheSeas]

I think the dining room got a refresh during the drydock.  These chairs look new.  The last time I was onboard the chairs were a dark blue.

 

Maybe someone who has been on more recently can tell us of the chairs are new.  They look new.

 

The white seats make the room very bright.  

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 3, 2019 by DragonOfTheSeas

[DragonOfTheSeas]

The night before last they had a "Dancing with the Stripes" contest.  There were 8 couples anmd they all danced at the same time.  The dancers were very good.  The dances we not that easy to do. i.e. Cha Cha, Salsa, etc. 

 

 

 

This dance was a belly dance.  One woman used a scarf and gave a very good rendition. 

Edited April 3, 2019 by DragonOfTheSeas

[HLR]

2 hours ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

Sorry I was radio silent yesterday. I was a little under the weather. No worries it was not norovirus. I didn't have any of those symptoms. Today I just have a little cough.

 

 I'll try to make up for it by posting a lot of pictures of Nassau today. I agree Nassau is my least favorite port.  The fact that we're here for two days I consider a waste too. it's warm and it's sunny. . . .as someone said in the main dining room yesterday we are living the dream. :)

 

 Have you been to the Ardrasta Zoo & Gardens? It is a short ride on the Jitney or a cab. Small zoo, but the birds walking around free are quite impressive as is the Flamingo show. They have some big cats too...

[HLR]

12 minutes ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

The night before last they had a "Dancing with the Strip" contest. 

 

I think you meant dancing with the "Stripe"? Those people all have their clothes on....

[DragonOfTheSeas]

There are several other ships in port with us. The Norwegian Escape is just pulling into dock.  That ship is huge--by far the biggest here.  The Bay Street area is very crowded.  I am glad we went out this morning. 

 

I wanted to visit the straw market.  It is an open air building where people see souvenirs, etc.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can see the aisles are just big enough for one person.

Edited April 3, 2019 by DragonOfTheSeas

[Rogueperson]

12 hours ago, GRR Cubfan said:

 

 

Other reviewers have mentioned that the Grandeur crowd is old.  That's true.  Whether that's good or bad depends on you.  

 

 

 

Its a function of when you cruise, more than the ship sometimes.  In 2017, I had the distinct pleasure to sail on the Grandeur twice.  First solo in February, and then with the family in July.   It was night and day.   February was a much older crowd, fairly low energy, probably the worse CD i've ever had, but that's neither here or there.  July, totally different animal.  People were much more energetic.  Average age dropped closer to 30-40 with way more kids onboard.

 

My conclusion is that when kids are in school, unless its a short weekend cruise, you're gonna get an older crowd.  When kids are out, it can get a little more rowdy.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

4 minutes ago, HLR said:

 

 Have you been to the Ardrasta Zoo & Gardens? It is a short ride on the Jitney or a cab. Small zoo, but the birds walking around free are quite impressive as is the Flamingo show. They have some big cats too...

 

 

No we have not visited that.  I will store that away for our next visit.  I am always looking for new things to do to ports we have visited many times. 

[Rogueperson]

Just now, DragonOfTheSeas said:

 

 

No we have not visited that.  I will store that away for our next visit.  I am always looking for new things to do to ports we have visited many times. 

 

Someone posted an activity on my wall on a site I can't mention here.  There is a flight simulator in Nassau, however, it costs like 150/hour.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

5 minutes ago, HLR said:

 

I think you meant dancing with the "Stripe"? Those people all have their clothes on....

 

🤣🤣🤣🤣

 

Thanks, I fixed it. Yep--they all wore clothes. 

[HLR]

Just now, DragonOfTheSeas said:

 

🤣🤣🤣🤣

 

Thanks, I fixed it. Yep--they all wore clothes. 

 

Darn....might have perked some of the older folks up! 

 

Anywho...We go to the Zoo every visit...making lemonade out of The Lemons of Nassau so to speak.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

5 minutes ago, Rogueperson said:

Its a function of when you cruise, more than the ship sometimes.  In 2017, I had the distinct pleasure to sail on the Grandeur twice.  First solo in February, and then with the family in July.   It was night and day.   February was a much older crowd, fairly low energy, probably the worse CD i've ever had, but that's neither here or there.  July, totally different animal.  People were much more energetic.  Average age dropped closer to 30-40 with way more kids onboard.

 

My conclusion is that when kids are in school, unless its a short weekend cruise, you're gonna get an older crowd.  When kids are out, it can get a little more rowdy.

 

 

I agree with you.  We took a July cruise a couple of years ago and it was a very different crowd.  

 

One think that is true of the Grandeur is that many passengers drive into the port.  Many people that we have met on this ship say they only cruise on the Grandeur because they do not fly. [or no longer fly] . . . and they tend to be older.  

[BND]

33 minutes ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

I think the dining room got a refresh during the drydock.  These chairs look new.  The last time I was onboard the chairs were a dark blue.

 

Maybe someone who has been on more recently can tell us of the chairs are new.  They look new.

 

The white seats make the room very bright.  

 

 

 

 

 

The chairs are new but they were added before the drydock.  They were added a few months ago.  I saw a post on another site about them at that time.

Edited April 3, 2019 by BND

[DragonOfTheSeas]

30 minutes ago, BND said:

The chairs are new but they were added before the drydock.  They were added a few months ago.  I saw a post on another site about them at that time.

 

 

Thanks, I knew someone could clear that up.

 

 

[Cru1s1ng2009]

the chairs were set up on June 21 last year. They are beautiful and very comfortable.

[h20skibum]

 
 
Many people that we have met on this ship say they only cruise on the Grandeur because they do not fly. [or no longer fly] . . . and they tend to be older.  

Great, just what we need is a bunch of old folks on the road, driving to the port. Maybe we better start now, for our cruise on the 18th. [emoji16]

But, on another note, has anyone talked about when Grandeur may be included on the app?




Past Reviews post 184

[Rogueperson]

1 hour ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

 

 

I agree with you.  We took a July cruise a couple of years ago and it was a very different crowd.  

 

One think that is true of the Grandeur is that many passengers drive into the port.  Many people that we have met on this ship say they only cruise on the Grandeur because they do not fly. [or no longer fly] . . . and they tend to be older.  

Actually, my experience says that unless its the big 3 ports (Port Canaveral, Port Everglades or Miami), it tends to be people within a sphere of the port.  Bayonne gets a lot of NYC and Baltimore People.  Norfolk gets DC and Richmond.  Boston gets that area.  LA gets those people.  Even Tampa is more local.  From the big 3 ports, I tend to see more people fly in than other ports.

 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

19 minutes ago, h20skibum said:

 

Great, just what we need is a bunch of old folks on the road, driving to the port. Maybe we better start now, for our cruise on the 18th.

But, on another note, has anyone talked about when Grandeur may be included on the app?

Past Reviews post 184

 

 

Ha Ha!  

 

I would not hold my breath until they are on the app.