Great Week On Grandeur of the Seas!

We are just back from a 7 night Western Caribbean cruise on Grandeur and wanted to note how pleased we were with the experience. We had sailed on Grandeur twice 20 years ago and were wondering what Grandeur would be like after sailing on larger ships with more amenities. Our concerns were misplaced. Condition - We thought the ship was in really good condition, especially the public areas. There were a couple of things about our cabin that we thought were lacking. The first was that the shower didn't have a door, rather, it had a curtain that blew into the shower and stuck to you when showering...Yech! The second was that there was no refigerator. Both were relatively minor issues. Amenities - Obviously, there are fewer bars and restaurants on Grandeur than larger ships but we always were able to get a seat and the service was very good. The absence of water slides, zip lines, and other such things was a non-factor. Those are of little interest to us. The fact that the Crown Lounge was a perfunctory lounge area that was carved out of a corner of a larger venue was kind of odd. Despite being Diamond status, we never actually used it. What was really nice was that the crew seemed to do a great job about stopping chair hogging. There always were chairs available. The public areas of the ship had plenty of seating and were in very good condition. Activities - We thought the activities were very good, particulary the "ship games" held in the Atrium. The shows in the main theater were also pretty good...talented performers. Food - Totally subjective category, of course. We were pleased with most of the food in the main dining room...there was a variety of options and the service was absolutely excellent. Only had one entree for which I didn't care but everything else was good and that is the case on any cruise. (I was once in the Yacht Club on MSC and didn't care for the food at all!) Because the Windjammer buffet is small it can get crowded at peak times and the choices are a bit limited. However, there always were multiple choices and what we had was good, especially the breakfasts. Loved the coffee bar - if you like coffee, get the card that gives you 15 premium (Starbucks) coffees. Embarkation and Debarkation - Both were well-organized and went very smoothly. Perhaps the fact that Grandeur accommodates only about 2000 passengers was the difference. The staffing was very good. Crew - Our experiences with Guest Services were pleasant and effective. We went to a couple of events with the ship's officers and they all were very cordial and informative as were our informal interactions during the week. Entertainment Staff - We've been on over 40 cruises and probably cannot name a Cruise Director on any one of them...usually, its just not an important factor to us and the CD would never be a factor in choosing a cruise. However, Talita, the CD on Grandeur was - in our opinion - the most entertaining, passionate, and effective CD we've ever had. The difference when she managed an event was clearly noticeable. That is not to say that other entertainment staff weren't good but Talita was exceptional. This is the first time we've ever thought we might book another cruise based on her being the CD. Itinerary - This was a standard Western Caribbean. Cozumel wasn't especially exciting but has plenty of things to do such as heading to a beach or downtown to check out the stores. In Belize, our second stop, we took a tour of the city which was one of the worst excursions we've ever had. As we pulled out of the port, our bus was stopped and our guide had to leave the bus because his license had expired and the authorities would not allow him to continue. He crept back on the bus a mile or so later and assumed his role. Kind of a sketchy thing to do. In Roatan, we took another ship's tour which wasn't as bad as Belize but not a whole lot better. We didn't schedule anything for our final stop, Costa Maya. We walked (yes, walked!) from the port to downtown Majahual where we spent an hour or so being constantly assailed by vendors and massagers and holding our noses to avoid the stench coming from the decaying sargassum along the north area of the village. The south area was okay. Went back to the port area that was overrun by the passengers from the four ships in port that day. Next time, we'll go back to Maya Chan. Complaint - Cell phones. We were surprised by the number of passengers walking around, sitting in supposedly quiet areas, and at meals who were loudly talking into their cell phones with speakers on max volume blaring out their partner's side of the conversation or who were using their cell phones to watch videos, again with speakers blasting. On several occasions, we'd find a quiet place to sit and read only to have someone plop down near us using their cell in this way All things considered, we were very pleased with our experience on Grandeur and are thinking of booking her again. Small ships just seem to be more more personal and comfortable than the floating amusement parks so many lines are now building.

Grandeur of the Seas with Teenagers

After I booked our cruise, I read reviews about how the Grandeur of the Seas is the smallest oldest ship in Royal Carribean’s fleet and that there is not much to do for teenagers or children. I could not find reviews of the ship by parents travelling with teenagers - which is why I want to share this review to help others planning for a cruise. 1. Embarkation was very smooth. The drop off area at the port was not crowded - we were able to pull up right away and unload our luggage. Our arrival time was 12:30. We got there around 12:10 and were able to get on quickly. The security line had about a 10 minute wait overall. Please note - if you want to bring water bottles on board (allowed one 12-pack per room), you have to carry it on. I did not know that before unloading our luggage. Getting on the ship was quick and everyone at the port was friendly. Once onboard, it did not feel crowded. Our stateroom was supposed to be ready by 1, so we headed straight there. They opened the doors to the stateroom hallway around 1:10. 2. Onboard activities. There was a lot of trivia. We did a few different trivia games. There was a lot of music around the ship. There were a few entertaining events at the pool deck (belly flop, worlds sexiest man, dancing), but I agree not a lot of activities for teenagers. However- that was not a problem for our family. During sea days, we hung by the pool, enjoyed the hot tub, and played card games which I brought. We also enjoyed the hot tub most nights, and enjoyed watching the outdoor movies. I wish there was a larger selection of movies - they played the same movies multiple times. We were lucky it rained only one night of our cruise, and it was light, so the kids still went in the hot tub. 3. Entertainment. There was only one night without entertainment in the Palladium. However, there were two nights that had “18+” shows for the 9/9:15 time, which we wanted to go to since we had the late dinner time 7:45). We did take our 12, 14, and 16 year old children to the 18+ stand up show the last night. It was not too bad - but would not recommend for younger children. I would have liked more older children family friendly entertainment options for the evenings. I also took my 14 year old to the battle of the sexes “18+” event on the last night. There was nothing inappropriate during that event, and it was entertaining to watch. I’m glad we went even though it said 18+. 4. Staff. The staff was exceptional. The windjammer staff was very attentive and always cheerful. The bar staff was quick, even though they were the busiest on board. The entertainment staff was very good at getting everyone engaged. The cruise directors were amazing, and the activities from pool side games, trivia, dancing, and karaoke were well run. My favorite staff were our waitstaff at the main dining room, the Great Gatsby. We went to dinner every night and the wait staff learned our preferences. There were two nights the waitstaff and chefs danced / did a small show. I did not meet an unkind staff member onboard the ship. It was a great experience. 5. Food. The food in the windjammer and the main dining room were great. We did not eat breakfast much because we don’t typically. The breakfast menu at the windjammer seemed to be the same every day, but had a lot of selection. They also had a made to order area for breakfast, lunch and dinner (omelettes, pasta station, tacos). Lunch always had hamburgers, hotdogs, chicken nuggets, fries, Mac and cheese, salad, and fruit with other dishes rotating. They had Indian dishes for every meal - which we enjoyed trying and were very delicious. They also had a carving station and grilled chicken every day. I never found the Windjammer to be crowded, and we were always able to find a table. We cruised about 5 years ago on a larger ship, and found the Windjammer to be much more crowded on the larger ship. Dinner service was great, but some picky kids ended up ordering steak every night. The other kids branched out to try new things and enjoyed everything they ordered. Dinner menu included an Indian dish every night - my daughter ended up liking those and ordered most nights. They also offered French onion soup a lot of nights, which we loved. The menu the last night was the most limited, with only 4 main dish option. Other nights had 8 options. The park cafe had sandwiches, soup, pizza, and dessert at periods throughout the day when the other dining venues were closed. Everyone in my family also ate their weight in ice cream. There was only one ice cream station, but the line was never long. 6. Coco Cay. We enjoyed Coco Cay, but we do live in Florida, so it wasn’t that much different than a beach resort. I would recommend saving your money and not booking a private area/ excursion for Coco Cay. There are lots of free chairs. We brought our own snorkeling gear and enjoyed the snorkeling area. We also enjoyed the hammocks. There is a shuttle you can take from area to area, and we used that to see the various areas of the island. There was a free splash area for smaller kids too. The water park looked fun, but we chose not to do it since we live in Florida and have annual passes to local water parks. If we go back, I will probably try the zip lining. Staff on the island was awesome, and there were maps and information stations around the island. The food was included and options were burgers, hot dogs, fries, salad, fruit, taco station, and sandwiches (portobello, Cuban, and beefsteak). Getting off and on the boat was very smooth. 7. Staterooms. We booked adjoining balcony rooms for my family of 5. It felt like having a much larger space because we could go back and forth between the rooms with an interior door. The balconies do not adjoin however. We made use of our room and spent mornings and evenings on the balcony. We had one child sleep on the couch, but only pulled it out once. The mattress on the pullout was pretty worn. Otherwise, the stateroom was clean and did not appear overly worn. The biggest complaint from the group was that the shower had a curtain which frequently wrapped around you during a shower. I think newer ships have doors for the shower, which would be much nicer. The water was hot (sometimes too hot), and had good pressure. 8. Beverage package. We did not purchase a beverage package, and I’m glad we didn’t. With all of the drinks we had (5 of us), it was less than one drink package. The free water stations were good and there was also tea, lemonade, and mango juice available for free. We got coffee from Starbucks one day, but drank the free coffee the rest of the days. No problem staying hydrated. I was worried about this, since I drink a lot of water, but the quality of the water from the machines was good and easy to access across the ship. We brought on the allowed 12 bottles of water per stateroom, and used those for shore excursion days. 9. Port - Bimini. We did the Sapona snorkling trip and it was cool, but you don’t see as much as if you were at a reef. You have to walk quite a bit after getting off the ship to the place the boat went out from. Then you have to sign waivers. About a 20-minute boat ride to the snorkel sight (which I enjoyed), about 30 - 45 minutes at the snorkel sight, then a 20-25 minute boat ride back. Overall, we enjoyed it and would recommend. The mall/shopping area on Bimini was very small. There were lots of people trying to rent you golf carts - almost chasing you. We went back to the ship for lunch, then we went to the free beach. The water was beautiful and we enjoyed swimming. Overall, a nice port. If we go again, I will probably book another excursion and make use of the free beach again. 10. Port - Nassau. We did the sealion encounter at Blue Lagoon. I did not receive much information about the excursion beforehand, so want to share details for those trying to plan their day. Everyone going to Blue Lagoon will leave the ship at the same time. That was a bit hectic because a lot of people went to Blue Lagoon. You will meet in the Palladium Theater, then depart the ship together. You will wait in lines at the dock, and the Blue Lagoon staff will sort you by experience and have you sign waivers. We ended up at the end of the line and got assigned the last time for the sealions which was actually great. You then board boats to get to blue lagoon. The groups were too large so about 20 of us ended up on a smaller boat to get out to the island, which was able to travel at a faster speed so we got to the island first. There are free chairs with umbrellas - and there are plenty of them. You will be given a time to leave the island - and everyone on your ship will have the same time. Do not miss your departure time! We got there around 10, with a departure time of 1-1:15. Our excursion included the water park, which was inflatables on the water. We did that for about an hour. We did not have a food package, but we got a snack from the snack bar. They accept cards and Apple Pay. Our sealion encounter was at 12, were told to be there at 11:45. The encounter was fun - you have time in the water on a platform to shake hands, pet, hug the sealion. Then you do photos out of the water. Whole thing was less than 30 minutes. We were also able to walk to the back and see the sealions in their pens. We then had about 30 minutes prior to departure time, so we swam in the swimming area. It started storming as we were leaving, so I feel bad for the ships that had later arrival times, there were 6 ships in port that day. We were the last to board the boat back to port from Blue Lagoon. We boarded our ship when we got back to port and had lunch on our ship. There were 6 ships leaving port, and we were the 2nd one out. Smooth experience. 11. Port - Key West. Everyone has to go through customs the morning of Key West. That takes awhile and makes the debarkation process long. It was close to 11 by the time we got off the ship. Big positive - you don’t have to go through customs when getting back to Tampa and disembarking at the end of the cruise. We live in Florida, and have been to Key West several times. So we just booked a golf cart and cruised around. We rented the golf cart that morning over the internet (got our cell service back in port). Sounded like the people in front of us booked a 3-hour window and missed most of it due to the line leaving the ship and walk to the rental place (they also said they got lost). You also need a license for anyone driving. There are no refunds - the guy seemed pretty mad. We enjoyed the golf cart though! We also got conch fritters from the conch stand - definitely recommend. In the past we have done the Mel Fisher Museum and it is really cool, so I recommend that. The beaches in Key West are not my favorite. There’s also lots of shops and bars. 12. Disembarkation. We put our larger luggage out the night before. We carried the rest off. We had to be out of the room by 8am, and out disembark group was at 8:15. We did sit in the Schooner Bar for about 10 minutes, and then got in line. There were 2 lines, and wrapped through the Centrum and around the back of the elevators. It was the most crowded I experienced the ship. The lines moved quickly and we got off in about 10 minutes. We were able to quickly find our luggage. Note - you will have to carry your luggage from there to your car….we made it, but it was a little rough because we had a lot of bags. We also did forget where we parked - I always take pictures of where we park our vehicle, but must have forgotten in the excitement of getting on the cruise. One last thing - I was really worried about getting seasick as I am prone to it. I did take Dramamine while at sea, but my other family members did not. We felt the boat rocking, but it wasn’t bad. I do think we had relatively calm seas during our trip. I only really felt it overnight one night. We were in a room midway in the ship, towards the back, which i recommend if you are prone to seasickness. I felt movement more in the extreme front and back of the ship, more in the front. But overall, a good experience.

My Favorite Royal Caribbean Boat! Grandeur

This was my 15th Royal Caribbean Cruise and I just found my favorite ship! Disclaimer: I am a middle-aged woman traveling with my husband and we do not have kids. If you have kids, I do not recommend this boat. But for us, it was fantastic! The boat is the smallest and oldest in Royal's fleet and it suited us perfectly. We loved the fact that while it still had a Windjammer, Solarium, gym, Schooner Bar, spa, etc. they were all in "new" places yet everything was incredibly easy to find and get to, due to the ship's size. Discovering the uniqueness of the boat was another fun thing to do. The staff was incredible and you could tell they wanted to be on that ship specifically. Everyone was so kind, happy and helpful if you needed it. Not that the staff isn't kind, happy and helpful on other RCI ships, but the Grandeur's crew had a special pride that they were working on the Grandeur of the Seas. While this boat doesn't have all the bells and whistles like flowriders, kiddie water parks, and so on, there were trivia and other games running all day, every day which suited my needs perfectly. I also absolutely loved the Centrum design and the house band was phenomenal. Before boarding the ship, I was concerned about my room's proximity to the Centrum and worried about noise since I don't stay up late but all the hallways have large doors that they close every night to block off the noise and it worked like a charm. There were activities including the live music in the Centrum every night and so it was always fun to pass through there to see what was going on at any given point in time. If you are prone to sea sickness I will warn you that this boat doesn't have the stabilizers the largest boats have so when we were faced with extremely windy conditions and rough seas, you could feel it. Fortunately for me, I loved it and I slept like a baby each of those nights. But I'm sure not everyone loved it like my husband and I did. The ports we visited were also fantastic: Bonaire, Curacao, Aruba and Dominican Republic so we both agreed that this was our favorite cruise and favorite itinerary out of them all.

Wonderful experience!!!

This was our first cruise. My husband booked this as a surprise for me. When I saw some very mixed reviews about this ship, and that it was the oldest and the smallest, had caught fire before, etc, I really did not know what to expect. I was really excited, though. This turned out to be a wonderful experience for us. The ship is just beautiful!!! We had a cabin with a window , and it was comforable with a wonderful mattress and pillows. We slept so well! Our cabin steward, Anil (I hope I have that name right) greeted us each morning with a huge and cheerful hello and was just ever-present providing superior service. Our massages were amazing. The food and entertainment were exceptional. We did the beverage package, and that was really a good plan. There was always something to do. Every staff member worked tirelessly to make it the best experience - we don't know how they keep up that energy - and do it all over again when we get off the ship! We really enjoyed just being on the beach at our ports. We are overworked and tired, but those who did ship excursions seemed to love them. The only bad part of our trip was having to leave the ship. I can't wait until we can afford to come back. Thank you so much!