LIVE! B2B on the Grandeur March 7-27, 2020 with Dragon of the Seas

[DragonOfTheSeas]

The end of a cruise is always bittersweet.  This is especially true for us since we are missing our second cruise.  But, we are ready to be home.

 

When we spotted the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay this evening I felt like we were home.  I was glad to see it.  

 

 

There was a fair amount of other marine traffic.  Check out the submarine and the tug boat. 

 

 

The next thing we passed was the Carnival Pride coming out of the Chesapeake Bay.  She had to leave the pier in Baltimore so we could disembark. It was beginning to get dark outside--but, none of the cabin lights were on.  A very strange sight. 

 

 

 

[DELTABLUE]

The last  report from the bridge was quite impressive.  Capt. Patrick said that he had never done a cruise like this before that had 12 days with only 2 ports and 2 stops at St. Thomas, where no one got off!  He ended his comments in an emotional voice saying "To the crew, I love you!  You are awesome!"  The Centrum erupted in well deserved applause.  And so our adventure on the Grandeur Princess ends.😉  Happy trails and safe travels home to all.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

6 hours ago, DELTABLUE said:

The last  report from the bridge was quite impressive.  Capt. Patrick said that he had never done a cruise like this before that had 12 days with only 2 ports and 2 stops at St. Thomas, where no one got off!  He ended his comments in an emotional voice saying "To the crew, I love you!  You are awesome!"  The Centrum erupted in well deserved applause.  And so our adventure on the Grandeur Princess ends.😉  Happy trails and safe travels home to all.

Thank you for posting this.  I did not hear the announcement. 

 

One of my very few criticisms on this cruise is that the Captain's announcements were not broadcast in the cabins.  You must be in a public area to hear them. [A few times they were] However, with the type of information he had to share with us I don't care if someone is taking a nap at noon.  We all need to hear him. JMHO

 

Captain Patrick is a rock star in my opinion.  I hope I sail with him again.  

[DragonOfTheSeas]

It was time for one last chocolate martini from the Schooner Bar.  . . .

 

 

 . . .  time for the main dining room wait staff to tell us goodbye . . . 

 

 

. . . and a group picture at our dinner table.  

 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

If you are wondering what the crew will do when we leave we could see some of the sanitation protocols this morning.  

 

These sheets are taped beside each cabin door. . . . 

 

. . . they had already started on the cabin beside ours. 

 

 

PS--they did allow self-disembark.  That was a rumor that began because they distributed a separate sheet after the instructions that said it would be discontinued if there was a crowd.  I am sorry to spread a rumor.  There did not seem to be that many that took the option to self-disembark.

 

Also, the disembark is going quickly.  My number is 5 and I am scheduled for 8:30-8:50.  It is 8:15 and they have already called the numbers through 4.   

Edited March 19, 2020 by DragonOfTheSeas

[retiredgram]

 

Welcome back home.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

1 hour ago, retiredgram said:

 

Welcome back home.

 

Thanks, it is great to be back in the USA. Getting through customs was not difficult.  The majority of the agents had on masks--but, I can understand that.  Many of the entertainers went through customs beside us.  

[Arzeena]

1 minute ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

 

Thanks, it is great to be back in the USA. Getting through customs was not difficult.  The majority of the agents had on masks--but, I can understand that.  Many of the entertainers went through customs beside us.  

Kiss the homeland soil !!!!!!

Welcome home. And thanks for taking us on a virtual voyage. Stay well.

[OnTheJourney]

Indeed...welcome back and wishing you safe, healthy travels going forward. Today would have been our embarkation for the southeast cruise.

 

I can say this to all who were on the Grandeur - you will never forget this experience. I say this with some measure of certainty, having also lived through a rather unique and strange event on the Viking Sky last March - having been among the 400+ passengers who had to be helicopter-evacuated off the coast of Norway when the ship narrowly and miraculously avoided grounding against the rocky lee shore. It is permanently seared into my memory as this will be in yours. The big difference, of course, is that we returned to a perfectly normal world. Such is not the case here. 

 

Take care all and maybe hope to see some of you on the Grandeur next year!!  

Edited March 19, 2020 by OnTheJourney

[OnTheJourney]

10 hours ago, DELTABLUE said:

The last  report from the bridge was quite impressive.  Capt. Patrick said that he had never done a cruise like this before that had 12 days with only 2 ports and 2 stops at St. Thomas, where no one got off!  He ended his comments in an emotional voice saying "To the crew, I love you!  You are awesome!"  The Centrum erupted in well deserved applause.  And so our adventure on the Grandeur Princess ends.😉  Happy trails and safe travels home to all.

 

Almost bought tears just reading this. All of you who were on this journey - officers and crew included - now have a somewhat unique bond in that you shared an experience way out of the norm.

 

Whether or not some of you ever see each other again remains in the hands of fate, but, as per my other recent post, I can relate to this from my experience of last March on the way back from our Northern Lights cruise that almost turned disastrous. Many of us who were on that sailing, God willing, will meet again on a cruise next January - courtesy of Viking. So I can only hope that in some way at least a few of you may keep in contact to share and somewhat preserve the memories of this rather surreal time.

 

I was with you in spirit all the way during this, and maybe will get to chat about all this next March on the 3/18 southeast coast cruise that we SHOULD have been on starting today !!!   Take care all...

Edited March 19, 2020 by OnTheJourney

[lelmorrow]

Just wanted to thank everyone on this forum for all the help and information you provided during your cruise. This forum was a lifesaver for me during these uncertain times knowing my parents were okay. Safe journeys home to all of you! 

[Arzeena]

Two of our cruises were also shelved.

I am getting bye working at home in my island t shirts. Each day a t shirt for the island I was supposed to be visiting that day. Its almost time to break out the shorts!!!!! Perhaps On the weekend I will lay by the virtual pool and give the chair hogs a dirty look?

But most of all I am counting my blessings while keeping things in perspective.

Edited March 19, 2020 by Arzeena

[DELTABLUE]

Home again, home again!  Made it!  Phew.  What a cruise, what cruise, what a cruise!  I was a little behind Dragon getting off the ship, though I had the same #5 tags.  By then, things were backed up a good bit.  Took an elevator down to deck one and there was no room to get off.  After a few more rides up and down, just for fun, was able to get off and join the line moving to the ding machine, off the ship and then on through the terminal and customs.  Easy finding my bags and leaving the port.  Lots of crew members leaving the ship along side of us.  Pulled into the driveway in Bowie at 9:50 AM, so can't complain. 

 

All in all, unique ups and downs aside, it was one hell of a cruise!  Hope to see many of you again soon on another cruise in our brave new world.  In the mean time, as Sgt. Esterhouse used to say, "Be careful out there!" and as David said so often over the past 12 days, "Wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands and wash your hands!"😉

[Arzeena]

1 hour ago, DELTABLUE said:

Home again, home again!  Made it!  Phew.  What a cruise, what cruise, what a cruise!  I was a little behind Dragon getting off the ship, though I had the same #5 tags.  By then, things were backed up a good bit.  Took an elevator down to deck one and there was no room to get off.  After a few more rides up and down, just for fun, was able to get off and join the line moving to the ding machine, off the ship and then on through the terminal and customs.  Easy finding my bags and leaving the port.  Lots of crew members leaving the ship along side of us.  Pulled into the driveway in Bowie at 9:50 AM, so can't complain. 

 

All in all, unique ups and downs aside, it was one hell of a cruise!  Hope to see many of you again soon on another cruise in our brave new world.  In the mean time, as Sgt. Esterhouse used to say, "Be careful out there!" and as David said so often over the past 12 days, "Wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands and wash your hands!"😉

Welcome home.

 

[DandBcruzin]

We just got home to Southern Maryland. Could get bread in the store but not much else!

 

Welcome home everyone!

 

Thanks so much to everyone for sharing your cruise with us! And for sharing some cruise tricks. We had a great trip despite the unique circumstances!

 

And a shout-out to the crew. They worked tirelessly to keep us fed and keep things clean.....all with a great attitude.

 

Until next time.......

 

 

[patross]

Thank you for sharing your cruise.  Happy everyone is home and well!  My husband and I were scheduled to be on today's sailing.  This too shall pass.

 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

2 minutes ago, patross said:

Thank you for sharing your cruise.  Happy everyone is home and well!  My husband and I were scheduled to be on today's sailing.  This too shall pass.

 

We were scheduled for the cruise today, too.  We are sorry we missed it--but, it is good to be home under the circumstances.  

 

 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

3 hours ago, DandBcruzin said:

We just got home to Southern Maryland. Could get bread in the store but not much else!

 

 

DD warned me how hard it would be to find things so we went to the store as soon as we got to her house in Odenton.  I got a few non-perishables there.  We had a 3 hr trip to our house so I couldn't get cold things. ] DD had already purchased for us a pack of the illusive toilet paper and paper towels.  . . . and even got us 2 jars of pasta sauce.  [who knew that would be such a hot item]  😏

 

We stopped at a store closer to home for a couple cold items.  I found milk, but no eggs;  chicken [thighs only] but no hamburger. My favorite shelf was a frozen food case that stretched from the front of the store to the back.  It was totally empty except for a few bags of okra.  I am sorry I did not take a picture.  A few years from now that will be a classic. 🤣 I passed on the okra. 

 

I am glad DH and I took the cruise rather than cancelling.  I think it will be a long time before we can all cruise again.  

[dixieva]

Happy you're home safe.

 

Around here if you get to the store very early, like at opening time, you are much more likely to find what you need.  Just an idea.

 

I'm sheltering in place since Monday because of my age and asthma.  No telling when I'll get out again.  Luckliy I have my daughter who can get things if I need it.  I stocked up and should be ok for about 3 weeks.

Edited March 19, 2020 by dixieva

[OnTheJourney]

4 hours ago, patross said:

Thank you for sharing your cruise.  Happy everyone is home and well!  My husband and I were scheduled to be on today's sailing.  This too shall pass.

 

Yeah....it would have been our first night on the Grandeur too!!  Oh well....next year this time 🙂  

[OnTheJourney]

4 hours ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

We were scheduled for the cruise today, too.  We are sorry we missed it--but, it is good to be home under the circumstances.  

 

 

 

Thanks for 'taking us along' during the cruise....it helped to break some of the stress here watching the news, etc. every day.  Take good care, be safe and stay healthy. 

Edited March 19, 2020 by OnTheJourney

[Coralc]

Yes! Thanks Dragon , for another great live review! We really enjoyed cruising virtually with you. It does help take our mind off the news and truly gave us something to enjoy and look forward to, during our sort of SF Bay Area lockdown. 

[DELTABLUE]

FWIW...just took a look to see where our Lady G is on Marine Traffic.  At the moment, it is showing her heading down the bay,  just off Deltaville, and listing her destination as Miami.  Interesting.

[ttort]

15 hours ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

DD warned me how hard it would be to find things so we went to the store as soon as we got to her house in Odenton.  I got a few non-perishables there.  We had a 3 hr trip to our house so I couldn't get cold things. ] DD had already purchased for us a pack of the illusive toilet paper and paper towels.  . . . and even got us 2 jars of pasta sauce.  [who knew that would be such a hot item]  😏

 

We stopped at a store closer to home for a couple cold items.  I found milk, but no eggs;  chicken [thighs only] but no hamburger. My favorite shelf was a frozen food case that stretched from the front of the store to the back.  It was totally empty except for a few bags of okra.  I am sorry I did not take a picture.  A few years from now that will be a classic. 🤣 I passed on the okra. 

 

I am glad DH and I took the cruise rather than cancelling.  I think it will be a long time before we can all cruise again.  

I also want to thank Dragon for bringing us along.  My wife and I were all packed and ready to drive down to Baltimore on Friday  when she told me she did not sleep at all and was not feeling well.  She now seems to be much better so I'll spare all with the details.  We are D+ but were really looking forward to this cruise, but the good news is that we got to live through your postings.  Thanks again!!

 

ps. hope someone got to enjoy our suite, as I would hate for it to have gone empty.

[OnTheJourney]

And to think I could have been enjoying possibly the first of several suite private breakfasts at Chops this morning!!