Grandeur of the Seas Review
Never Again on the Grandeur of the Seas
Rating by category
Additional details
We booked this cruise for the itinerary and sailing date as it was the only option that worked for our entire sailing party.
The Port: (We heard eventually that the ship was late returning to port that morning, so our prolonged check in experience was likely not the norm for the port.) We pulled into the lot at 11 am and were directed into a long car line to drop off our bags, then were directed to another set of lines to pay for parking. Once parked we went and found the line to check in and waited to go through the metal detectors. After that, we were sat down with hundreds of other people as the rest of the check in line was too full to put anyone else in line. There we sat for well over an hour while they slowly called people by rows to go join the check in line. Once it was our turn we went and got in another line to wait to actually check in and get our ship cards, etc. We'd pulled into the port right at 11 am and we weren't on the ship until after 2pm. It was a long process with little communication on the circumstances.
The Ship: The ship overall was nice enough. It seems they try to upkeep the common areas. You saw a lot of repairs and maintenance being done during the sailing. We enjoyed the food in the Windjammer, they usually had lots to choose from and had the basics always on the buffet like steak, mashed potatoes, steamed veggies, hamburgers, etc. We loved the Freestyle machines and the coffee shop offerings. We never had to wait long for coffee. The dining room was unimpressive at best, service with the anytime dining was slow, food was just ok. The steakhouse was disappointing. The food wasn't as good as what we were eating in the Windjammer. The Solarium area was nice, but always too warm for us to want to sit back there and hang out. The top was always closed this sailing and it was so hot and humid.
Cabin Review
Large Ocean View Stateroom
This was our main issue with this ship. We booked a large oceanview on deck 3. The room was tiny, we were expecting that from the online description and comparing the size to other lines we typically cruise on. The beds are so low to the ground that the suitcases will not go under them, which makes for a rough week with no where to store your suitcases, other than taking up the little bit of room you have in the closet. We utilized every drawer, the remaining closet space, and still had stacks of clothing on the counter with no where to put them and had to keep one suitcase still packed and out on the tiny two seater couch. We can deal with the size, the lack of storage, but the big issue was the noise in the room. We were on deck three, room 3156, which had rooms below it, and rooms on either side of it and was under the dining room. Whenever the ship was moving it was so ridiculously loud in there with engine noise it sounded like we were located in the engine room. Everything in the room vibrated- the ceiling panels, the beds in the ceiling, the wall panels, everything on every surface, the doors, the actual bed, the air vent, etc. Everything. The first night was the absolute worst noise wise. We couldn't believe how loud it was. This was our 26th cruise and we've booked all over different ships, in different locations, front, back, high decks, low decks, interior, oceanview, balconies, suites, etc and have NEVER heard such noises or experienced such vibrations on a cruise. Around 1 am when our 4 year old daughter was still awake because she couldn't sleep with the noise we dressed and went up to guest services and the guy on duty said that the noise was a very common complaint in the area we were located in and that he had no other rooms to move us to and could do nothing but offer us ear plugs. He said we could check back after our first port and see if anyone had left the ship, but otherwise we were stuck unless a room became available. Over the cruise multiple guest service workers and our room steward all said that guests constantly complain about the ridiculous noise in our room and the general area, so it's a known issue that Royal chooses to ignore and continue to book staterooms that are ridiculously loud to the point it is difficult to even sleep in them. A room never did become available the entire cruise. We received a couple in room voicemail messages from the Guest Services Manager inviting us to come down to speak with her about our issue, but she was only on duty at weird random times like when we were off the ship on an excursion, and they wouldn't page her otherwise, so we gave up on her doing anything for us. Near the end of the cruise she sent a letter to the room offering us 10% off a future cruise if we book within the next 12 months, which is useless as we won't be cruising Royal within the next 12 months, if ever again. Thankfully the noise wasn't at a deafening noise the entire cruise when we were moving, but we were woken up on several occasions throughout the cruise when the noise and vibrations crept back up to a ridiculous level.