My wife and I cruised to Bermuda with our two oldest granddaughters (almost 17 and 14) on the Grandeur last week. We normally cruise out of Florida in the winter but planned this cruise for when the girls would be on summer vacation. The Baltimore cruise terminal is incredibly easy to get to, and out of, as the exit (#55) is immediately south of the Baltimore Tunnel on I-95 and the parking entrance is literally just a few feet from the exit. We parked the car and were through embarkation and in the Windjammer within 45 minutes. Rooms were ready exactly at 1PM and the bags were there when were allowed into our rooms. Even though the two reservations had to have one adult and one child in each stateroom (since the girls are under 18), the attendant had one room made up with a king size bed and the other with separate twin beds. The rooms were connecting and adequate for two; some rooms on our deck had fold down beds so a family of four could share one cabin but I looked in one while it was being made up one morning and it was very crowded and looked uncomfortable (tight and one small bathroom for four people. The beds and mattresses were quite comfortable. The cabin started out a little stuffy (there was an “excessive heat warning” in Baltimore that day), but with the A/C cranked to the max, all was fine by dinner.

We ate breakfast and lunch in the Windjammer, the food was good buffet but the venue may be a little small for the capacity. One morning the Captain made an announcement around 8 AM over the loudspeaker explaining why we had stopped to recon a floating barge adrift and notify the USCG. This woke everybody up at pretty much the same time so everybody went to breakfast at once and a mob scene ensued. At a few other times it seemed crowded also but not to that extent. We have previously sailed on Grandeur’s sister ship, Vision, and don’t recall experiencing that feeling. The waitstaff was attentive, checking on refills and clearing as well as helping people find available tables.

Our dinners were MyTime scheduled in the MDR and were a highlight of the trip. The waitstaff couldn’t do enough for us and our granddaughters. The food was very good and extra entrees/appetizers/drinks/desserts were there promptly, often without our asking! In fact the entire crew was the most pleasant and accommodating of all the RCL ships on which we have sailed. Read more