Suggestions for a Sold-Out Cruise?

[Somesail_wecruise]

The family is sailing on the October 3rd Grandeur of the Seas New England and Canada route (departing Baltimore).  Currently, the cruise is "Sold Out" of every room category except interior cabins.

 

So my question is what should I expect/be aware of when sailing on a Sold Out cruise?

 

Here's what I know (or think I know):

• The Grandeur attracts an older crowd and there aren't as many amenities on it as Anthem or Adventure.
• This itinerary attracts a nature-loving/leaf-peeping crowd so the excursions are mostly history and nature-related.
• The "Sold Out" status is bound to change as we get closer to (and past) the final payment due date.

 

Here are my guesses/assumptions:

• There will be many Diamond and Diamond Plus members aboard.
• There will also be quite a few veteran cruisers who can be particular or are "in the know" about certain aspects (like boarding times or how to get around certain RC rules or processes).

 

I guess I just want to do my best to ensure that the family doesn't miss out on too much because we just didn't know about it or didn't know it would be so popular that we needed to have booked it in February.  Any advice or information would be great.  Thanks in advance.

 

[Ourusualbeach]

Pretty much every cruise sails sold out, yours won’t be any different.  

 

If you see an excursion you like then book it and don’t wait.  They’re are also many sites that provide private excursions.

[taglovestocruise]

Yes Grandeur attracts a much older crowd, very few children. I would guess RCL rarely sails with less then all cabins occupied. A Full RCL ship is usually at 105%.

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, Somesail_wecruise said:

  Any advice or information would be great. 

Forget about the sailing being sold out or the demographics.  Concentrate on reading Grandeur threads and join your roll call for activity ideas.

[Ourusualbeach]

3 minutes ago, taglovestocruise said:

Yes Grandeur attracts a much older crowd, very few children. I would guess RCL rarely sails with less then all cabins occupied. A Full RCL ship is usually at 105%.

They’ve brought that up to over 108%.

[Cru1s1ng2009]

1 hour ago, taglovestocruise said:

Yes Grandeur attracts a much older crowd, very few children. I would guess RCL rarely sails with less then all cabins occupied. A Full RCL ship is usually at 105%.

absolutely not true unless its a long cruise during the winter. Kids club is full all the time. 

See my signature vs. others. 

[BND]

An October cruise won't have as many children so it won't be at capacity.  While the ship is sold out, all that means is that every cabin is sold.  What it doesn't mean is that every cabin is at capacity.  We've been on Grandeur during Spring Break with over 600 kids onboard and another time on a longer fall cruise with 10 kids.  This past April 12 night had less than 50 if I remember correctly.  So, sold out doesn't mean what some people think it does.  But, yes a lot of cruises do have a lot of upper tier and older cruisers but that's more common on the longer cruises.  5 night Bermuda tend not to have as many.

Edited June 11, 2019 by BND

[Tree_skier]

2 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

Yes Grandeur attracts a much older crowd, very few children. I would guess RCL rarely sails with less then all cabins occupied. A Full RCL ship is usually at 105%.

How do they exceed 100%? Is someone sleeping on a deck chair by the pool?

[PlanetX]

4 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

How do they exceed 100%? Is someone sleeping on a deck chair by the pool?

 

100% would be all cabins booked at double occupancy. However, many cabins are booked with 3 or 4 people in them.

[Tree_skier]

Ah I see... Thanks

 

[Milwaukee Eight]

6 hours ago, Somesail_wecruise said:

how to get around certain RC rules or processes

 

 

 

Really?  Why?

[spookwife]

13 hours ago, Cru1s1ng2009 said:

absolutely not true unless its a long cruise during the winter. Kids club is full all the time. 

See my signature vs. others. 

actually,  I  have been on the GR  Ca/NE cruises.   the 8 day ones absolutely have almost no kids on board.  once there was a grand total of 5, 3 of whom were still in diapers.   2 from the same family.  

 

we don't even bother doing ship excursions on this itinerary.  far easier and cheaper to do what YOU want to do on your own.  don't make  can't miss plans for Bar Harbor though.   we have yet to  be able to tender there.  someday  though....

 

it may not be all D and D+ types but there will be a lot of 'locals'.. people who drive to the port.  

 

what do you mean 'in the know' about getting around policies and procedures?  the port will not even let you  enter to park your car before a certain time.   its been as late as 915 for us.  the earliest we have  begin boarding was at 1030.  the ship is so small that it really doesn't matter which line or boarding pass you have.  once boarding starts the initial crush is over on under ten minutes.  

[PelicanBill]

Assuming RCCL ships have similar characteristics to NCL ships... my last 4 years cruises were on the same NCL ship at different times of the year.  What made the difference was children.  The spring break cruise felt far more crowded with a few hundred kids than the Early November 15 day repositioning which had perhaps 50 children.

 

The main effects of a crowded ship:

Buffet gets full (go early or late)

Pool area is often standing room only

Longer waits for dining rooms (go early or reserve)

Family entertainment gets crowded in low capacity venues

[Paulette3028]

17 hours ago, Somesail_wecruise said:

The family is sailing on the October 3rd Grandeur of the Seas New England and Canada route (departing Baltimore).  Currently, the cruise is "Sold Out" of every room category except interior cabins.

 

So my question is what should I expect/be aware of when sailing on a Sold Out cruise?

 

Here's what I know (or think I know):

• The Grandeur attracts an older crowd and there aren't as many amenities on it as Anthem or Adventure.
• This itinerary attracts a nature-loving/leaf-peeping crowd so the excursions are mostly history and nature-related.
• The "Sold Out" status is bound to change as we get closer to (and past) the final payment due date.

 

Here are my guesses/assumptions:

• There will be many Diamond and Diamond Plus members aboard.
• There will also be quite a few veteran cruisers who can be particular or are "in the know" about certain aspects (like boarding times or how to get around certain RC rules or processes).

 

I guess I just want to do my best to ensure that the family doesn't miss out on too much because we just didn't know about it or didn't know it would be so popular that we needed to have booked it in February.  Any advice or information would be great.  Thanks in advance.

 

Veteran cruisers have insight for sure on things like 'boarding time'....as they know that they will get an email with a time for boarding for their deck or cabin type, but it is merely a suggestion, and if you arrive earlier and boarding has begun you will be allowed to board.

 

What other "RULES" are you implying that veteran cruises can 'get around'?  I consider myself a veteran having done 27 cruises and don't consider myself a 'rule breaker' in any way. 

[Cru1s1ng2009]

1 hour ago, spookwife said:

actually,  I  have been on the GR  Ca/NE cruises.   the 8 day ones absolutely have almost no kids on board.  once there was a grand total of 5, 3 of whom were still in diapers.   2 from the same family.  

 

we don't even bother doing ship excursions on this itinerary.  far easier and cheaper to do what YOU want to do on your own.  don't make  can't miss plans for Bar Harbor though.   we have yet to  be able to tender there.  someday  though....

 

it may not be all D and D+ types but there will be a lot of 'locals'.. people who drive to the port.  

 

what do you mean 'in the know' about getting around policies and procedures?  the port will not even let you  enter to park your car before a certain time.   its been as late as 915 for us.  the earliest we have  begin boarding was at 1030.  the ship is so small that it really doesn't matter which line or boarding pass you have.  once boarding starts the initial crush is over on under ten minutes.  

You're right spookwife, I haven't done the Ca/NE cruise. But they said there are never kids. Every time I have gone there have been plenty or too many. But I never go in the fall. I will book a 12 nt for November 2020 when I board in a few weeks. No kids will be a treat. I like the hot tubs aka fecal tea bags, to myself. LOL

[Somesail_wecruise]

13 minutes ago, PelicanBill said:

The main effects of a crowded ship:

Buffet gets full (go early or late)

Pool area is often standing room only

Longer waits for dining rooms (go early or reserve)

Family entertainment gets crowded in low capacity venues

 

Yes!  Thank you!  This is the type of advise I was looking for!  Any advice or info about room service times (like maybe a bit longer than normal)?  (My mother loves to get the morning room service.)

[Somesail_wecruise]

13 minutes ago, Paulette3028 said:

Veteran cruisers have insight for sure on things like 'boarding time'....as they know that they will get an email with a time for boarding for their deck or cabin type, but it is merely a suggestion, and if you arrive earlier and boarding has begun you will be allowed to board.

 

What other "RULES" are you implying that veteran cruises can 'get around'?  I consider myself a veteran having done 27 cruises and don't consider myself a 'rule breaker' in any way. 

Yes!   The boarding time email conversations were confusing me as well.  The last time I cruised on RCL was in 2014 and I don't recall having a set boarding time, but I saw recent cruisers talking about it and how they (basically) ignored the stated time and got to the pier/dock whenever they wanted.

 

And I didn't mean to imply that veteran cruisers are rule-breakers.  I meant it more along the lines of "veteran cruisers will know (or have a better idea) about which statements/answers from cruise staff are set in stone and which can be malleable if you ask the right person"  AND "veteran cruisers will/might know which games/activities/on-board events give the best entertainment/prizes/enjoyment and that I might need to prepare the family that those are not to be missed and book/schedule early".  

[Paulette3028]

What disappointed me recently on Symphony was how they handled cancelled shows and how when people showed up for the 'standby' line it was poorly organized.  So even veteran cruisers learn a lesson when onboard, is all I can say.

 

The AquaShow we had booked was cancelled due to turbulance....and I fully understand that.  So we went to another showtime to stand on the standby line.  They KNEW lots of people would be 'standby's' for this show and it was ridiculous.   We were probably in the first 20 people on the line and they waited to tell all of us, just a minute or two before seating us...that probably the only seats that would be available when they finally seated us, were going to be in the 'soak zone'....because of the splashing from the show.  It did not bother us, but others were annoyed because they did not want to sit there and felt they stood on line and WASTED their time.  They should have told people as soon as they showed up to get on line, what the likehood  was going to be.    People were breaking into the 'reservation line' and not being told NOT to do that....it was a nasty situation -- is all I can say.  

 

 

[alfaeric]

17 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Forget about the sailing being sold out or the demographics.  Concentrate on reading Grandeur threads and join your roll call for activity ideas.

+1000

 

Forget assumptions and just work on having fun.  The one thing that is consistent about cruises is that they are never the same and rarely what the population expects.  So just plan on having fun.  

 

On ships like the Grandeur, there are a LOT fewer things to worry about relative to the big ships.

 

About the only thing I would prepare to deal with is IF (not that there will be, but that big giant IF) there are a lot of D and D+ on the ship that forces people out of the lounges.  But that's the case for every cruise we go on- sometimes there are a lot, sometimes there are almost none.

 

We had a great time on the Grandeur a few months ago.  And your itinerary is far better than the one we were on.

[PelicanBill]

48 minutes ago, Somesail_wecruise said:

 

Yes!  Thank you!  This is the type of advise I was looking for!  Any advice or info about room service times (like maybe a bit longer than normal)?  (My mother loves to get the morning room service.)

We don't use it much... one or two continentals.  My recent experience is NCL so not sure if RCCL is much different but did timeliness did not see to correlate... sometimes on time, sometimes late, sometimes early (!)

[Itchy&Scratchy]

All of the cruises we've ever sailed on were sold out. So..... I don't know any different.

Edited June 12, 2019 by Itchy&Scratchy

[Milwaukee Eight]

3 hours ago, Paulette3028 said:

Veteran cruisers have insight for sure on things like 'boarding time'....as they know that they will get an email with a time for boarding for their deck or cabin type, but it is merely a suggestion, and if you arrive earlier and boarding has begun you will be allowed to board.

 

What other "RULES" are you implying that veteran cruises can 'get around'?  I consider myself a veteran having done 27 cruises and don't consider myself a 'rule breaker' in any way. 

Pick and choose “RULES”....  

 

Royal asks one to checkin at a certain time, ignored. 

 

Royal suggests a dress code....  so many here try to get it enforced. 

 

Is this being a bit hypocritical??? Asking for a friend. 

[taglovestocruise]

21 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

How do they exceed 100%? Is someone sleeping on a deck chair by the pool?

 

21 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

How do they exceed 100%? Is someone sleeping on a deck chair by the pool?

As a example Oasis of the seas is 5400 with all double occupancy and solo cabins filled and the ship is considered full.  Then add in all triple and quads filled and the passenger count goes to 6296.  The ship is then sailing at 120.3% . happy  cruising 

[dutchclogs]

17 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

 

As a example Oasis of the seas is 5400 with all double occupancy and solo cabins filled and the ship is considered full.  Then add in all triple and quads filled and the passenger count goes to 6296.  The ship is then sailing at 120.3% . happy  cruising 

 

But there is a limit for lifeboat capacity... there maybe a 'spare' berth here and there (e g sofa bed) but if that particular station is at full capacity you will not be able to book it.

[dutchclogs]

On 6/12/2019 at 2:13 PM, spookwife said:

 

 

we don't even bother doing ship excursions on this itinerary.  far easier and cheaper to do what YOU want to do on your own.  don't make  can't miss plans for Bar Harbor though.   we have yet to  be able to tender there.  someday  though....

 

Yikes. @ spookwife  How many times --and at what time of year-- have you been unable to tender at  Bar Harbor?  

 

We also generally prefer to be independent but found that in Saint John it is not possible to book the trolley tour nor were we able to book a hire car as the sole provider was already fully booked over a month out. 

Edited June 13, 2019 by dutchclogs