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

[DragonOfTheSeas]

1 minute ago, destiny217 said:

Our friends took this photo this morning and they were wondering why the ship was    Not sailing.  Now we know.

Thanks for posting this picture--and thank your friend.  I said earlier I wish I had a pic of us just sitting here in the bay.

 

We are currently moving at a fast pace. [17.7 kts]

[Arzeena]

1 hour ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

 

We had a touchless temperature scan before we went to security. We went through an airport style x-ray machine at security.  All metal had to go through the machine, but belts and shoes were OK.  Laptops/tablets could stay in your bags.  

 

I only took 4 Diet Cokes and 2 waters with me just to get us started.  You can carry on 12 non-alcoholic beverages.  I saw quite a few people carrying on a 12-pack.  

Thanks.

[maggieq]

19 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

I loathe this format. I tell them that on every survey. I told Ken Rush on the President’s cruise and he agreed and promised to change it back. 

 

Hasn’t  happened. 😕

I wish they would go back to the old format of the cruise compass and include bar hours.  Celebrity does this and I love it. 

[sumburn]

RCCL really doesn't want to cruise through 6-12 foot waves along the Atlantic Coast and have people getting sea sick.  Hysteria would ensue.  Best to wait until the ocean calms.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

When we were in the South Pacific Lounge [for Diamond/Diamond Plus Happy Hour] we saw an entire flock of seagulls flying through the ship's wake.  It reminded me of the movie, The Birds. HaHa.   🤣

 

 

 

It is not quite sundown. . . but close. Here is tonight's pic:

 

 

 

[OnTheJourney]

Several questions.....So far all good with the itinerary?  No changes other than St. Lucia?  Any further precautions / notices relative to the virus?  How is the hand sanitizing station situation? Would you say more than usual? 

[AlohaLivin]

On 3/5/2020 at 2:39 PM, susieatsea said:

My only suggestion is to not spray the TV remote.  Use wipes on it and then put in baggie.  My husband sprayed TV remote one time and then it would not work as the liquid from the spray got inside of it.  🤣

He meant to get it clean! Under the hypothesis if a little is good then a WHOLE LOT is really good! 😜

Edited March 9, 2020 by AlohaLivin

[DragonOfTheSeas]

15 hours ago, OnTheJourney said:

Several questions.....So far all good with the itinerary?  No changes other than St. Lucia?  Any further precautions / notices relative to the virus?  How is the hand sanitizing station situation? Would you say more than usual? 

 

There is hand sanitizing everywhere.  I heard a woman decline the sanitizer and the staff told her she had to have some. 

 

 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

 

We exited the Chesapeake Bay around 6pm or so last night.  I did not notice an immediate difference in the movement of the ship.  As the night wore on the motion increased a bit and by midnight it was like sleeping in a swaying hammock.  DH and I do not usually have issues unless the motion is worse.  So we were fine.

 

When we booked this B2B all balconies and suites were sold out.  In fact, there were very few cabins left at all.  We booked an outside [oceanview] cabin on deck 2 near the Centrum elevator for this cruise and we got a balcony on deck 7 for the second cruise.  One positive of our deck 2 midship location is that you feel the least motion on the ship.

 

We have had to move cabins on a B2B before and it is not that much trouble. You pack up the things in your drawers and the safe and roll your suitcases to your new cabin. Your new cabin steward knows you are a consecutive cruiser and will clean your cabin first. The staff will move your clothes on hangers from the closet.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

We had the Top Tier Party for the Crown and Anchor Society today at 10:30am in the Palladium Theatre.  We were greeted by the orchestra . . . 

 

 

. . . and the Cruise Director, David. He is originally from the UK, but lives in Toronto now.  His background is acting.  He still does some acting when he is on vacation.  He says he believes in live acting and music.  You can see that influence with the variety of entertainment around the ship. 

 

 

 

Captain Patrick gave us an update on the weather and the ship.  He said what we are currently experiencing are  low ground swells.  They gently roll the ship 2-3 degrees, with occasionally up to 4 degrees.  He said last night at 2:30 they tried to go faster near Cape Hatteras and the swell [pitch?] got up to 6 degrees.  You can tell this is not my area of expertise. I apologize if I got the terms wrong—but the numbers are correct. 

 

The Captain said the bad news is that we will not be able to stop in San Juan, Puerto Rico. We are going directly to St Martin and we will arrive on time.  I always felt it was unlikely we could make up all the lost time.  The Captain mentioned that Harmony could not call in San Juan today.  The waves are too high, and San Juan closed the port. 

 

There were the usual introductions and presentations of blocks.  There was one couple that made pinnacle on this cruise.  It was amusing to see these presentations with everyone’s efforts to not touch or shake hands. The least awkward was a pat on the back. I think I like that better than the fist bumps I have been seeing. 

 

Here are some of the numbers for this cruise that the various staff mentioned:

 

There are approximately 1,800 guests. 1,290 are Crown and Anchor members.

 

238 Platinum

153 Emerald

358 Diamond

236 Diamond Plus

51 Pinnacle

 

The top cruisers had 2,330 points.

 

These are some impressive numbers. 

 

Edited March 9, 2020 by DragonOfTheSeas

[dixieva]

Are they serving passengers in the buffet or is it still self serve?

 

Hope you are having a great cruise!

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Today is a beautiful day.  There is not a cloud in the sky and the high is supposed to be 61.  I plan on sitting in the sun and reading if I can find some shelter from the wind. DH tried this about an hour ago and said it was still too chilly.

 

There is no sunrise pictures today. We slept too late.  We went to the showing of The Joker last night at 10:15 in the theatre. So, I needed my beauty sleep.

 

On his noon briefing the Captain said we are 150 miles SE of Cape Hatteras.  The swells are about 7 ft and the wind out on the deck is about 26 kts.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

1 minute ago, dixieva said:

Are they serving passengers in the buffet or is it still self serve?

 

Hope you are having a great cruise!

 

Yes, it is a very relaxing cruise.  I love sea days. 😁

 

We are still serving ourselves in the Windjammer.  I have individually wrapped sanitizer wipes.  I use them after serving myself and before I eat. 

 

One curious thing is there are salt shakers on the tables in the Windjammer, but pepper is only available in little packets and they are in the sugar container.  There are both types of shakers in the Main Dining Room. 

[dorifuta]

1 hour ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

Today is a beautiful day.  There is not a cloud in the sky and the high is supposed to be 61.  I plan on sitting in the sun and reading if I can find some shelter from the wind. DH tried this about an hour ago and said it was still too chilly.

 

There is no sunrise pictures today. We slept too late.  We went to the showing of The Joker last night at 10:15 in the theatre. So, I needed my beauty sleep.

 

On his noon briefing the Captain said we are 150 miles SE of Cape Hatteras.  The swells are about 7 ft and the wind out on the deck is about 26 kts.

It is so windy out!! We have tried twice and instead are sitting in the Centrum listening to music. I may grab my winter coat and try again little later.

[dixieva]

I am shocked that they are allowing folks to serve themselves!   

 

Hope you all stay healthy!

[DragonOfTheSeas]

1 minute ago, dixieva said:

I am shocked that they are allowing folks to serve themselves!   

 

Hope you all stay healthy!

I was surprised.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

I just read on CNN that the State Depatment has advised seniors not to go on cruise ships.[I understand the warning] 

"Cruise Lines International Association said in a tweet Friday, before the State Department's advisory, that restricting cruise ship travel is "unwarranted" and contradicts the World Health Organization's stance against travel or trade restrictions to countries experiencing an outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

Meantime, in Puerto Rico, where there has yet to be a confirmed case of coronavirus, a policy now mandates that cruise ships attempting to enter Puerto Rico must first validate that there are not cases of coronavirus on board, Gov. Wanda Vazquez Garced tweeted."

I wonder how ships can meet this requirement for a port stop.  Call me crazy--but, I wonder if this had anything to do with Harmony not stopping in San Juan today.  I think ours is due to weather.  I never thought the Captain could make up the time we lost sitting in the Bay. I am glad we did that.  I would rather miss a port than have rough seas. 

[dreadpirate3]

23 hours ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

 

We had a touchless temperature scan before we went to security. We went through an airport style x-ray machine at security.  All metal had to go through the machine, but belts and shoes were OK.  Laptops/tablets could stay in your bags.  

 

I only took 4 Diet Cokes and 2 waters with me just to get us started.  You can carry on 12 non-alcoholic beverages.  I saw quite a few people carrying on a 12-pack.  

Thanks for this! I'm cruising solo, so considering carrying on my Diet Coke and a Sangria instead of getting a drink package.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

1 hour ago, dreadpirate3 said:

Thanks for this! I'm cruising solo, so considering carrying on my Diet Coke and a Sangria instead of getting a drink package.

I do not usually carry on wine.  However, I think you can bring on 2 bottles of wine per cabin even if you are a solo cruiser.  It is not per person. Maybe someone will chime in.  If not I will ask for you. 

[dreadpirate3]

10 minutes ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

I do not usually carry on wine.  However, I think you can bring on 2 bottles of wine per cabin even if you are a solo cruiser.  It is not per person. Maybe someone will chime in.  If not I will ask for you. 

It is two per cabin, even solo. However, I would be pressed to finish 1. 🙂

[DragonOfTheSeas]

 I wanted to mention a crack down on taking drinks out of the Diamond Lounge during Happy Hour.  There has always been a rule that you are supposed to consume all drinks/food before leaving.  It was seldom enforced.  On this cruise there has been a staff member by the door taking drinks away from passengers as they leave.  

 

I have observe a few very poor encounters. 🙁

 

The internet is not working well tonight.  I had a couple of other things to post.  But, I think I will wait for morning. 

 

[suesnake2002]

I think its silly to take drinks away. Simply because you can get them at any bar outside of diamond lounge. And sometimes, not all the time you can use in mdr. We are diamond, and we get the deluxe bev pkg. Sometimes enforcement of these things are employees with problems. 

[OHCruisin]

On 3/8/2020 at 2:30 PM, karenemily said:

 

I wonder if all ships are moving to this format. We sail on Majesty on March 21. Can not wait to pull anchor on our trip!


Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

I know that Adventure had it this way last month.  Detest this new format.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

2 hours ago, suesnake2002 said:

I think its silly to take drinks away. Simply because you can get them at any bar outside of diamond lounge. And sometimes, not all the time you can use in mdr. We are diamond, and we get the deluxe bev pkg. Sometimes enforcement of these things are employees with problems. 

I do not see how it helps the ship. Passengers can get that same drink at any bar.  It just makes the bar service slower by adding my customers right before dinner.   I think this is more of a problem for passengers with early dinner seating.  They often come into the lounge and have a drink  or wine and carry one out to dinner. 

 

Here is the sign.  

[LBumb]

following  boarding on grandeur next Thursday.

thanks for posting