This was our second cruise ever, first was 10 yrs ago- we waited way too long!We went to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary and decided to take our 2 kids, 11 & 14. We booked on the Grandeur of the Seas for 5 nights to Western Caribbean. We stayed pre-cruise at the Hyatt Place North near the cruise port, as recommended by so many reviewers, was well worth it! We took advantage of the complimentary hotel shuttle from the airport- that went well. We were a bit surprised how busy the hotel was by other cruisers there-lots of early partying going on, didn't really bother us though. Staff at the front desk were excellent, super efficient and friendly! Hotel was clean and nice, would stay there again.

When we got dropped off at the port the morning of our cruise, it was already close to 1pm and seemed very busy. Pleasantly surprised, we were boarding the ship in no time. Only took maybe 15mins total process- we must have missed the early crowd! Our stateroom was ready and we went directly there as kids were excited to see it. There were the 4 of us sharing one room. It was not too bad space-wise! We had 2 single beds and 2 beds that pulled down from the ceiling. The kids didn't mind them at all- even our teen daughter. Only complaint was that the bathroom smelled musty like old wet towels, think it was coming from under the plastic shower surround (flooring where water was bubbling around drain). But otherwise room was well kept for it's age, as well as the ship itself. We were also disappointed that our room steward never bothered to stop by and introduce himself, as I had seen others do to nearby rooms. Lucky he got the full tip!

We did have excellent service by our evening dining waiters and they took time to remember out favorite drinks & greeted us by our names and said "Hello" as we seen them around other areas of the ship. That was well appreciated!Food was great in the main dining room. Breakfast & lunch in the Windjammer was not very appetizing after the 2nd time, same old items. Strange selections we thought. Stick to make-your-own salads and fresh deli sandwiches and that was enough for me. Kids enjoyed the "unlimited soda pass" was definitely worth it for soda drinkers. Could get anytime you wanted, was not limited at all!! Read more