Grandeur of the Seas Review

4.0 / 5.0
1,826 reviews

January Warm-up

Review for the Western Caribbean Cruise on Grandeur of the Seas
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neilbold
First Time Cruiser • Age 70s

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Sail Date: Jan 2010

This was our 2nd cruise and the first with RCI. We had been to Alaska Inner-Passage a few months ago on Princess, with a group of 12. This time, there was just the 2 of us, and we were looking for relaxation and warmth in Mexico. We had heard many good comments about RCI (especially the food quality & selection) and the cruise price was unbelievably low. We had a balcony (for the 1st time) and loved being able to get fresh air into the room. The stateroom was adequate, with lots of storage space, although the balcony was a bit small. One surprising thing -- there was no clock in the room and the ship TV didn't show the time either. Since they didn't really tell us -- in case you go, departure port time (Tampa) is used throughout the cruise regardless of local time. This made things somewhat confusing since our cell phones reflected the local time.

Overall, this was a very pleasant cruise with attentive and personable staff and service crew. The Grandeur is overall in pretty good condition, but could use some updating. The most positive part of the cruise (which we didn't really expect) was the entertainment. The production shows were very well done and would stand up in Las Vegas. There were 2 notable show performers -- The Happenings (with '60s hits 'Go Away Little Girl' & 'See you in September') who were absolutely terrific, and the Los Pampas Gauchos who were outstanding. And, the comic Al Romas was pretty good, too.

On the negative side -- the food selection and options were well below our expectations. We selected the 'My Time Dining' option to allow flexibility in dinner times. We soon found out that if we didn't make advance reservations, we would receive slower-than-normal service in the only main dining room. The menu choices were somewhat limited and seemed somewhat uninspired. While the meals were certainly adequate, we could only name 1 or 2 items that were superb (escargot, I would definitely recommend). The buffet (the Windjammer) offered very average food selection and closed down about 9 PM. The snack bar (pizza, burgers, hot dogs) near the indoor pool was not very good, and the soft-serve ice cream was usually empty or not working. Based on our experience this time, we would not recommend RCI for food quality, selection, or availability.

Cabin Review

Cabin Bal

Good storage space, but not enough hangers in closet. No electrical outlet in bath. Good shower. Average balcony. No clock in stateroom. Small TV with poor ship information.

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