Grandeur of the Seas Cruise Review by margie4334

Leaving on Saturday morning was a breeze. Our drive up from Northern Virginia took only 45 minutes and we were soon parked and in line to board the ship. The parking at the port of Baltimore is easier than most trips to the mall where we live so that was fantastic. Inside the terminal it took about 30 minutes to board the ship, with pretty much that entire time in line for a check in agent. They do a great job at this port of moving things along smoothly.

Once on board on deck 2 at about 1:00pm on the button we were greeted and informed that staterooms were ready, so since our room was on that deck we went straight to our room to drop off our carryons. This was our first time on the lower decks and the room was a result of an interior guarantee that we booked only about 3 weeks before sailing. We did not get a great deal and paid about $300 more than the same room was selling for the day before we booked, but we were not sure until the last minute whether or not we wanted to go so we got stuck. My husband called Royal Caribbean to ask if there was anyway to get a better deal but they said there were only 4 rooms left on the ship. They ended up lowering the price a week later by $50 per person and we called again and did get this credited back but still paid more than I would have liked, but I guess that's our fault for not being more flexible on our dates.

Back on board... we headed to the Windjammer for lunch and enjoyed ourselves there. After lunch we went back to our room and found our luggage in the hallway. We grabbed it and unpacked and then changed into our swim suits and went back up to the pool deck. Not having been on many cruise ships I would venture to say that the Grandeur is very well kept but certainly aging. One strange thing about it that I discussed with our tablemates was that the ship's decor actually seems more dated than it should. The ship was built in 1996 but most of it has a sort of odd interior that reminds me of what people thought "the future" would look like in the 1960's. It's sort of a strange retro/futuristic feel. Sounds crazy but that's what it makes me think of. Seafoam green, gold chrome, and mirrors everywhere, it makes me wonder where these decorators come up with this stuff. Our first cruise was on the Celebrity Millennium which I found much classier, but I guess everyone has different tastes. Regardless of decor, it was very clean and seemed to have all the features you need for a nice cruise.

The stateroom was in good shape except for a rattling coming from the ceiling that did keep us up at night until I wedged a folded piece of paper in the space that was shaking. That seemed to take care of it. I am an admittedly light sleeper but my husband is not, nor are we complainers, and he was also kept up by it the first night. It is an older ship so what can you do. We did have a little trouble with our bathroom door coming off the hinges but my husband and the stateroom attendant were able to get it back up and in working order in no time. Speaking of our attendant, he never actually introduced himself and we weren't sure exactly who it was until the last day when my husband went to give him our tip and asked if he was the person taking care of our room but to be honest we were completely fine with this. The room was perfectly taken care of and our needs were met without ever having to ask for anything which is exactly how we like it. I don't feel the need to constantly interact with the staff as it seems some guests and cruise staff like to do. He kept our room neat and replaced our towels when needed which is all we ask.

The food was OK on this cruise. We are not sure if we are getting a little pickier as time goes on and we go on more cruises or if the food was actually not as good but we just found pretty much everything to be adequate but not great. The one exception for me was the fisherman's plate on the 4th night which included a lobster tail and sauteed shrimp in the MDR. The Windjammer was fine but really nothing special. We had just been on this ship in January and found the food to seem not as good but certainly similar. After 3 cruises it seems to me that these cruise lines might be better off preparing less options and instead just make a few things really well. For example instead of trying to offer so many different international fares everyday at lunch and the same weak sandwich bar, maybe focus on a more elaborate custom salad bar or a hot sandwich/panini bar where we can have better toppings like grilled meats, cheeses and vegetables. People wait in line for the omelettes, why not a custom made toasted sandwich. Just go into any lunchtime counter-order restaurant in any major city of this country and you will see a menu that better defines what Americans like to eat. Maybe the newer ships are already on to this.

We ate all but one night in the MDR and it was very nice overall. This was our first time with a 4 top table which is a little strange actually. I hadn't given it much thought before but I probably would ask for a larger table in the future. It's not that we didn't meet a delightful couple but it's just that with only 2 couples you sort of feel like you have to talk the whole time. With 3 couples there's a little more of an option to take turns speaking. We will request a larger table in the future. We had late seating at 8:30pm which was fine for us as we LOVE our afternoon naps on vacation. I think others at late seating found it to be too late but honestly we are flexible on this sort of thing as long as I have an opportunity to still enjoy all of the main entertainment. The food was fine. The choices seemed adequate. In retrospect I really need to stop ordering beef on cruises as I'm a little picky on how it's prepared and in a banquet setting it's just not realistic. My husband had mostly seafood and said it was good. The desserts were good, especially a trio on the 4th night and a banana crunch ice cream cake concoction on the last night that was amazing. Our waiters did an OK job but another downside to a small table was we seemed to be last of the tables they were assigned to receive service. I had to remind them to get my drink order a few times and each night I felt I was actually a bother them asking for coffee after dinner but I did get it eventually. The couple we were sitting with was celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary but it was never acknowledged and although they did not complain I could tell they were disappointed. Also the dining room staff "sang us a song" and paraded twice while we clapped for them on the 4th and 5th night which was a little strange. It seems one time would be plenty on a 5 night cruise. Also the children's adventurer club came in one night dressed as little pirates and sang a song which was cute. Overall the dining room experience was nice and I feel it is probably the most beautiful part of this ship.

The entertainment was excellent and this has been consistent on all of the cruises we have been on. I believe this is one of the major factors that have hooked us on cruising. In our day to day life my husband and I don't go out to see live shows very often so on cruises we really enjoy this. Also because it's all inclusive if we are not particularly enjoying one show we are OK with sneaking out and finding something else to do. The casino was a lot of fun and on formal night the entire casino was non-smoking which was very nice. We played craps and blackjack and walked away up about $100! Nice surprise. I also really enjoy the Captain's Cocktail Party and dancing on formal night. I really enjoying dancing with my husband and would like to do more of it on the cruise. Most nights there was live music in the main lobby centurium (spelling?) but there always seemed to be ship entertainers dancing on a small platform for us to watch rather than in a setting like the South Pacific Lounge where there is a proper dance floor for cruisers to dance? Again I'm not talking about a disco but more of quartet type music and dancing. I am a bit of a throw-back but I saw many people seated watching the dancers who I think would have loved to participate if the setting were different. The production shows were good as usual but we really enjoyed the comedians, the Gauchos, and the game shows (Quest and Love & Marriage). The pool parties were also fun and we spent time in the card room playing board games and cards most days.

Now the best part, Bermuda! This is an amazing port! The weather was perfect. We arrived at port around 10:00am and were off the ship by 11:00am. We decided to buy a 2-day bus and ferry pass for $20 each and headed to Horseshoe Bay Beach on the Special bus which took us directly there. The ride there was about 25 minutes and was very enjoyable. The bus was air conditioned and perfectly clean. We arrived at the beach and rented 2 chairs and an umbrella and then found a spot. The sun was so strong you absolutely needed the umbrella and it was worth the $10 for sure. We spent a great deal of time in the water playing in the waves as did most people. It was funny to see so many adults body surfing like kids but the water temperature was just perfect and there was not even a small seashell under you feet. It was purely soft sand both in and out of the water which made it a ton of fun to play in. We had planned to hike along the Dune trail to Warwick but it was just too hot. The food at the beach snack bar was good and reasonably priced. We both had french fries and fried chicken tenders and bottled soda for about $20 total. They even had shaded seating up off the sand a bit which was ideal for eating. We stayed until about 4pm and then headed back up the hill to the bus stop. Here we boarded another Special bus which took us straight back to Dockyard. We got back on the ship and showered, changed, and ate at the Windjammer, then headed back to Dockyard to explore. It was so nice to feel safe just looking around on our own. We went to the Glassworks, which is open until 10PM, and saw the glassblowers creating custom pieces and also walked around the old fort, Frog & Onion Pub and the Snorkel Park. There is actually plenty to do right in Dockyard if one wanted to stay close to the ship. On the second day we only had until 2:30pm to be all aboard so we decided to take the ferry to Hamilton for some souvenir shopping. The ferry was great. It was even air conditioned! It's almost a mini-excursion just to take the ferry! Definitely ask the ferry staff about which ferry you should take for your return as we found that they were not observing the schedule very closely.

Hamilton is beautiful and very metropolitan. We stopped at a coffee shop and walked around a bit but much of it was high end shopping which isn't really our thing but if you like that, you'll enjoy it. We ended up going back to dockyard for most of our souvenirs and it seemed cheaper. I tend to buy polo style shirts as souvenirs for my Dad, Stepdad and Uncle everywhere we travel to because they actually wear them. I also look for a trinket for my grandma and usually buy my mom something nicer like jewelry or duty free perfume since she wouldn't wear a souvenir shirt anyway. Ironically I found the best deal on polo shirts in the dockyard mall which was right next to the ship and we grabbed two chocolate rum cakes. We boarded around 2:00pm and got ready for the sail away party.

The sea day back to Baltimore was rocky but neither of us felt sick. Some passengers seemed to be struggling. I guess it's just a risk you run going to Bermuda during hurricane season.

Overall we had a great cruise. I continue to like 5 day itineraries and will look for more trips. I also loved cruising out of Baltimore since it was so close to our home and convenient to maneuver. We will probably try another cruise line next just to mix things up but will certainly sail with Royal Caribbean again. They did a great job drumming up interest in their new mega ship, Oasis, via the in-room tvs with a 30 minute documentary style commercial about it that they ran throughout the cruise. Everyone seemed to be buzzing about it including us. It struck me that we maybe on the cusp of a new age of cruising as the demographics of this cruise included mostly babyboomers and late 20s, early 30ish couples like us. They were not nearly as many older folks or families on this cruise. Also as we all discussed that Grandeur was just about finished. I believe it's been sold, and how exciting the mega ships seem, cruisers seem to be ready to demand a new way of vacationing that will be bigger and better. While I am wowed by the megaships I hope cruising doesn't lose it's special intimate feeling and class. I mentioned that as a 28 year old professional woman I am also a bit of a throw-back who loves getting dolled up and dancing to a jazz quartet with my husband after a 3 course meal and broadway style production show. Cruising has also been an incredible opportunity for us to connect as adult children with our parents and grandparents on vacation so I truly hope the unique nature of cruise vacations will be retained. We hope to be life long cruisers and this vacation with it's ups and even a few slight areas for improvement has only further convinced us.

Quick thoughts for the cruise lines: Cruise Photos - Seriously Cruise Lines, rethink the photo situation! What a waste of all that ink to be printing these pictures that people would buy if they were just a little more reasonably priced. Less options better food, think Chipotle or Five Guys - do something well, you don't need to do as much. Keep it up on the entertainment, we love it! 5 or 6 night itineraries are very nice for our busy schedules, more please! Tables of 6 are perfect, try to have more in the MDR. Keep up the great work overall!

Quick thoughts for fellow cruisers: Check repeatedly with the cruise line if they can lower your price before departure, if your flexible about your room there's a good chance to save. If you get sea sick easily stay in the gulf and avoid hurricane season. Take advantage of all the activities, give things a chance, you'll probably enjoy it more than you think. Do roomservice for breakfast at least once, it was very nice to be lazy and eat in bed one day. If you're like me and can't seem to justify a balcony room, try taking advantage of the balcony off of the card room or library. It was almost always empty. Don't be afraid to try a casino game, no one's as serious as they look and it's fun. I like craps. (Just play the pass line, when everyone cheers, you win too!)