Three Cheers for the Grandeur!!! My wife and I love cruising (this was our third in 2006 already)... but as we are typically fans of newer and larger ships, I went into this 5 Day cruise on a ten year old ship with some hesitation. My mistake. This ended up being one of our best cruises ever. What made that way? A couple things. First, embarkation. Kudos to the city of Baltimore for the new cruise terminal. We sailed from charm city two years ago from the old terminal. We had heard such horror stories regarding the port of Baltimore, well two years ago it was a breeze and this time even better. We came through the Harbor Tunnel and upon resurfacing we were so excited to see the ship BIG as life right when you come up. Parking was a breeze ($10/day) and new facility was very nicely laid out. We arrived at the terminal at 10:30 a.m. to no lines and we were aboard the ship by and looking around by 11:15!!!! As our stateroom was not available we immediately headed to the lido deck for some panoramic views of the city and a cocktail. There's no better way to start your cruise off, then one of those frozen tropical drinks and we choose the Love Connection.. equal parts strawberry daiquiri, pina colada and mango daiquiri topped off with dark rum. We immediately befriended BJ at the pool bar and were always greeted with a smile and the friendliest of service all week.

We toured the ship, and as this would qualify to me as a "smaller" ship, it was easy to learn the lay out. At ten years old, it is showing some wear, but overall very well maintained. We lunched in the Windjammers at the buffet. This would be one of my criticisms. Compared to the Voyager class ships, the Windjammer on the Grandeur is too small. While the lines, were never long, it always felt congested at the buffet lines due to buffet tables being crammed together. It was sometimes difficult to find a seat inside, but luckily we prefer dining outside. My only other pick on the Windjammer would be that food always seemed picked over all week. Many of the steam trays would be nearly empty or completely empty. Rolls for burgers and hotdogs also seemed stale all week. But hey, we were on vacation, so this was easily overlooked. The main dining room, the Great Gatsby more than made up for it. We were second seating table 99 on the second floor. Waiter Hakan & Asst Waiter Sebastian. What two wonderful gentleman. Both highly deserving of immediate promotions. Hard workers who did everything to improve our dining experience. Names, likes & dislikes were memorized after the first night and we never had to ask for things again. They anticipated and delivered. These two would make excellent trainers for new staff in the areas of customer service, without seeming obtrusive. As multiple time Royal Caribbean cruisers, the menus were familiar. Everything was tasty and presented well. My one lingering comment for RCCL is that the desserts at dinner are less inspired then they could be. Somewhat boring, but just one person's opinion.

We were in an oceanview cabin on deck 3, cabin #3152. Room steward Darna. She did a nice job, nothing noteworthy to mention. My only issues with the cabin was that ours regrettably wreaked of cigarette smoke. As non-smokers, this was somewhat of an annoyance. I also have to say this was the worse mattress I've ever slept on (not just on 14 cruises, but the worst mattress EVER). I've heard people and read on these boards, about people complaining of the beds, but chalked it up to the fact that they were glass half empty folks.. but I have to say by day 3, my back was in knots. Read more