First cruise - Grandeur of the Seas 2/18/08

[tls1012]

Well my family and I just came back from our first Caribbean cruise on Granduer of the Seas and frankly, I would never go on that ship again. We spoke to many long time cruisers on board and they said they thought the trip was rough. The seas were calm but you could feel every roll and rock of the ship. I had the patch on and was STILL queasy because of it. :( The food was mediocre too, no lobster, no better cuts of beef. Turkey and chicken a few nights in a row. The service was much better than the food. We were told it was because it was only a 5 night cruise.

 

If you bring a child aboard, watch which form you sign them in on for the kids club. I accidentally signed my 9 year old in on a "self sign out" sheet and an hour later, she signed herself out because she wasn't feeling well and a wonderful woman found my daughter crying hysterically on the stairwell because she couldn't find us and was lost. Luckily she knew enough to tell the woman we were playing bingo and they ran into my son at Ben & Jerry's ice cream place right outside bingo. After that, she refused to go to the kid's club. Talk about a scare!!!!!

 

I will try another cruise but.......no 9 year old and on a bigger ship.

[mckinna]

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience, especially with your 9 y/o. I've been on Grandeur, and many other RCI ships, and there are trips that I do get queasy and those I never do, and it doesn't seem to always be related to how rough the seas are. That is the chance you take when you cruise.

 

About the food- never had a really bad experience, but I know this is a controversial subject and many feel the same way you do.

 

Regarding Adventure Ocean- I don't think you can blame this one on RCI. When our kids were younger, the older one was allowed at times to sign her little sister out of AO and meet up with us at certain times. I made sure I signed the correct form. If we had no plans to meet, and I was the one coming back to get them, my kids would never take it upon themselves to sign out and then try to find me. Recent cruises, we have gotten the walkie-talkies that they take with them so we can stay in touch. The better thing to do would have been for her to tell the staff members in the AO that she wasn't feeling well and wanted you. They could have come and gotten you in Bingo or had you overhead paged. They do that sort of thing all the time.

 

I hope you reconsider not taking your child on another cruise. My kids love cruising, and with a few guidelines (and 2 way radios), all of you can have a great (and safe) time.

[madforcruising]

Well my family and I just came back from our first Caribbean cruise on Granduer of the Seas and frankly, I would never go on that ship again. We spoke to many long time cruisers on board and they said they thought the trip was rough. The seas were calm but you could feel every roll and rock of the ship. I had the patch on and was STILL queasy because of it. :( The food was mediocre too, no lobster, no better cuts of beef. Turkey and chicken a few nights in a row. The service was much better than the food. We were told it was because it was only a 5 night cruise.

 

If you bring a child aboard, watch which form you sign them in on for the kids club. I accidentally signed my 9 year old in on a "self sign out" sheet and an hour later, she signed herself out because she wasn't feeling well and a wonderful woman found my daughter crying hysterically on the stairwell because she couldn't find us and was lost. Luckily she knew enough to tell the woman we were playing bingo and they ran into my son at Ben & Jerry's ice cream place right outside bingo. After that, she refused to go to the kid's club. Talk about a scare!!!!!

 

I will try another cruise but.......no 9 year old and on a bigger ship.

 

Could it be you fealt queasy because of wearing the patch? I´ve heard from many that they didn´t feel well with the patch and as soon as they got rid of it they felt much better.

 

I´m wishing you more luck with this on a bigger ship, just be aware bigger doesn´t necessarily mean less movement. After all you are on a ship on the ocean.

 

As for the food - if I read your comment correct - you are talking about selection and not preparation and / or taste. So be aware that the menus are the same fleet wide. Regardless of ships size. The preparation and taste can vary from ship to ship but the menue would be the same, so still no lobster, no better cuts of beef, chicken or turkey a few nights in a row.

[wolfcathorse]

RCI doesn't offer lobster on cruises less than 7 days. I've had the same menu on 7 different ships now and they were the best on Majesty of the Seas. Who the Executive Chef is makes a big difference on how the same recipe is prepared. As for motion on the Vision Class ships, you can't blame that on RCI, you are at sea. Make sure you book a cabin amidship and low (deck 4 and below) to minimize motion. But you could do the same itinerary again and have it calm seas, it all depends on what the conditions are.

[DiannaInVA]

I haven't taken a cruise on Grandeur even though it leaves at ports near me. I went on Majesty which is also a smaller ship, but that only had 2 ports and no sea days. There is no way I would want to be on a ship as small as Majesty (and Grandeur) when there are sea days.

 

But that's me...others here will disagree. I was on Liberty of the Seas--the newest and biggest, in Sept. and LOVED it. I don't have kids, but there seemed to be a ton of things for them to do. There was certainly enough to keep me busy all week. :)

 

Also, I barely felt any movement on Liberty, but I did on Majesty...however, having said that, it could just be that the water was calmer in Sept.

[shipknotshore]

I'm sorry that you had the AO experience. Kind of scary for a young one. Food is surely a hot topic on the boards. I've experienced some food that was not as good on one ship or trip as another. When they're feeding that many people we all just hope that the food selection is varied enough that if you dislike chicken there will be something that still would suit you're taste on the menu. I've tried the patch and experienced more sickness than I ever have without. I take (as well as many others on these boards) ginger capsules. They are natural and cause no side effects at all. (while some other motion sickness meds. can make you drowsy, etc.)

 

I sure hope you'll not give up on cruising all together. There are many more RCI ships and many more lines that might just help you to fall in love with cruising!! "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again!":p

[Granny J]

I got off the Grandeur on 2/18 and my experience was entirely different. We had no children with us so I can't comment on the children's programs or the level of supervision provided. But, we had no trouble with the ship rolling. It was calm weather and occasionally we'd feel the thrum of the engines or a gentle roll but no pitching or yawing. I don't normally get seasick but my friend does and she had no trouble, either. Oh, and I thought the food was good, too.

 

I'm sorry your trip wasn't a good one.

[Tanker4]

Sorry to hear that your recent trip on the Grandeur wasn't up to your expectations. We were on her a few weeks ago and had a totally different experiance. Really enjoyed the cruise and the ship and can't wait to sail on her again in Dec. I hope that you will consider RCL again possibly on a different ship.

[bakechef]

Maybe cruising isn't for you.

 

Realize that even the biggest ship afloat is still just a tiny spec in a large ocean, so movement is always going to be a possibility.

 

Actually ocean liners of old that were 1/5 the size of this ship were often more stable, because they were built for trans-Atlantic crossings having much deeper drafts.

 

Actually for me RCI ships have been the most stable ships that I have sailed on (although Carnival Glory was really stable even in a storm).

 

MAC

[teajak]

We were on the 2/18 cruise and didn't experience any rolling or problems and we had the last forward cabin on deck 4. The patch is a definite no no as it makes a lot of people dizzy and nauseous.The food is not gourmet but there are a lot of selections, one night I had 5 appetizers and no entree,great. Can't comment on the childrens part but if you are signing permission slips for your children you really need to read them first. We have been on this ship 5 times and think it is the best. Just the right size and the crew is fantastic.Didn't care much for the shows but the group playing in the atrium were fantastic.We usually get a balcony but don't mind an oceanview on the Grandeur as there are so many places to people watch or sit and read and watch the ocean. JMHO

[Butch Snider]

DW and I were also on that cruise. While it was a bit rockier than our cruises on Monarch and Majesty, it was nowhere near as bad as the ship motion we experienced on our Navigator cruise. The NOS cruise we took left during the start of a tropical storm, so that would explain why the ship was rocky on the first couple of days.

 

There are always at least five different entree selections every night in the main dining room as well as the five standard alternate selections. So if you don't want the poultry dish they're pushing in the Main Dining Room on a given night, you may choose from a red meat, seafood, or pasta dish (or others) instead. Or eat in the Windjammer.

 

We didn't take the kids this time so we don't know how well the AO programs were run. Our youngest was 10 on our previous trip on NOS and she loved it and neither she nor we had a problem. Our then 12-y.o. daugheter didn't really care for her AO program, although that may have been because there were so few 12-17 year olds on that cruise that they combined those two age groups. Hopefully on our Thanksgiving cruise on Grandeur it will be pleasant for all.

[*CENSORED*]

There is no way I would want to be on a ship as small as Majesty (and Grandeur) when there are sea days.

 

It's funny that Grandeur would be considered a small ship.:)

[JudyOh]

Your queasy feeling was most likely from the patch not the ship. The patch can cause far worse affects than motion sickness itself, including blurred vision. I have used many things but have come to relying on ginger capsules, they are a life savior for me because I am very prone to motion sickness. Food is an objective thing. I have been on all the major cruiselines and right now I would say basically they all serve the same food. As far as your daughter, read before you sign, that certainly was not RCI's fault that she signed herself out.

[Tanker4]

It's funny that Grandeur would be considered a small ship.:)

 

You're right. Every time we've been back on the Sovereign I think about the first time we sailed on her (1989) when she was the newest and largest cruise ship in the world. Now she's the smallest in RCL's fleet.:) We were on the Grandeur a few weeks ago and I had the same thought.

[madforcruising]

I haven't taken a cruise on Grandeur even though it leaves at ports near me. I went on Majesty which is also a smaller ship, but that only had 2 ports and no sea days. There is no way I would want to be on a ship as small as Majesty (and Grandeur) when there are sea days.

 

But that's me...others here will disagree. I was on Liberty of the Seas--the newest and biggest, in Sept. and LOVED it. I don't have kids, but there seemed to be a ton of things for them to do. There was certainly enough to keep me busy all week. :)

 

Also, I barely felt any movement on Liberty, but I did on Majesty...however, having said that, it could just be that the water was calmer in Sept.

 

 

I´ve been on a 16 night Rhapsody cruise (same size as Grandeur) last Sept. with "only" 7 port days and I didn´t even get off in one of the ports.

Never felt bored and it was just a perfect cruise.

But then of course we all might have a different entertainment level and I´ve actually been on River cruises with almost none entertainment / activities without being bored a minute.

[annf]

I was on the same 2/18 sailing of the Grandeur. My brother - who gets severely motion sick was never even aware of motion on the cruise. Considering that the one time I took him on a casino boat, he spent the entire 5 hours of the sail in the rest room heaving - that's saying something.

 

You might want to try something other than seasick patches. Have heard that they cause more problems than other solutions. Bonine is a possible solution.