We joined the Grandeur of the Seas in Baltimore following a 4 day stay in New York and, after the hustle and bustle of the Big Apple, it is the best decision we made. New York was great, it was our first visit, but the pace a bit too fast for us and we knew on viewing the ship for the first time that our holiday had really began. Embarkation went smoothly and quickly and we were made to feel welcome from the minute we handed our luggage over at the port. We were on the ship within 20 minutes of arriving. Staterooms were ready at 1.00pm and luggage had already been delivered. The cabin steward introduced himself and did a great job throughout the trip. Food in the Windjammer and main diningroom was varied and tasty, yes there were some dishes which were not to our liking, but that is not a negative comment as there was a mix of nationalities being catered for. We did not use the speciality restraunts so cannot comment. Entertainment staff were very interactive with passengers throughout the trip and could usually be seen at one or other venue on the ship day and night. This said there was always plenty of quiet spots to sit and read. The ship docked close to all ports visited all of which we enjoyed except the weather which was not good to us!!!! The service throughout the ship was excellent and all staff had a ready smile and happy to talk to cruisers. We had flown from Scotland to be on this cruise and were the only Scottish couple on board. We met with so many lovely American people who took the time to chat with us and if you were one of them we thank you for adding to the joy of this cruise, you are a lovely nation of people. All in all a great trip, we will be back. Read Less

We chose this cruise as a relaxing winter get away, and that's exactly what it was. The size of the ship was perfect. It wasn't too big, but big enough to offer enough to do. I thought the entertainment was very good. There was a problem with the stage, and shows had to be switched around, but they made sure there was a show every night. The food in the main dining room was excellent. We also ate in two of the specialty dining rooms and they were wonderful. The employees were very nice and always willing to help. I felt that several people on the ship had sailed on the Grandeur before and kept coming back. That says a lot for the ship and the people. I don't really have anything else to say. I like the cruise and the ports. I would consider cruising on the Grandeur again. Thank you. Read Less

We wanted to escape the colder period for winter for a few days, were looking for an economical trip, and needed a few more nights to reach RCL's Diamond status. We also love cruising from Baltimore and have been on Grandeur many times. My wife's long-range forecast was excellent and we managed to miss the late Jan cold snap and a light snowstorm. We've been to most of the ports before, so this was also intended to be a more relaxing cruise. Traveled with friends, although we all made our own dinner plans. Our cabin was interior, Deck 3 midships. Location is very convenient to forward and aft stairs and elevators, easy to get to MDR and Centrum, and quiet. Never heard our neighbors. MDR: We were 1st seating at a 6-seat with a couple from SoCAL and 2 older women from PA. We got along fabulously. Fnu and Naomi were the wait staff, they were excellent! Restored our faith in the MDR service [which had suffered a serious jolt from our expectations during our 12-night cruise early December]. So we never bothered to try the specialty restaurants. One of our travel companions has serious dietary restrictions and was happy with the MyTime service - they were able to meet all the necessary accommodations. We usually had breakfast and lunch in the MDR, Windjammer for lunch on port days. We had breakfast in WJ once or twice, very pleased with selections and would have been fine with WJ as the only breakfast option. On port days, MDR breakfast did not have the ceral, fruit, and waffle bar, which was disappointing. They resumed having it for Nassau and the 2 at sea days. We also visited WJ after dinner a few times to check the desserts and selections - several times, we thought the WJ had better desserts. CD was Mike M, with Nick as his AD. They had a great back and forth, and we enjoyed Mike's magic tricks at the start of the evening shows. Mike had to leave the ship at Nassau for an RCCL conference; Nick and the rest of the team ably picked up and kept things going quite well. Nick may have as much energy and enthusiasm as "Torando" Tanya when she was AD on Grandeur (anyone who's met Tanya knows this is high praise). Hope he has a long successful future at Royal and I expect Mike will be a CD someday. We heard that Mike is going to be going to Symphony of the Seas later this year. The ship had problems with the stage equipment, so several shows were rescheduled or modified and we had additional performances by the ship's band (excellent as always) and the singers. Most of the headliner acts (singer, juggler, magician) were good to great. The last headliner act was "Tribute Shmibute" which took a bit getting used to. We saw the current Broadway tribute and All Access before in December, so they were well done though nothing new for us. The crew talent show as a pleasant surprise - quite good, especially the singers and the comedy sketches. On-board services were great, the ship justly deserves it's reputation as friendliest ship in the fleet. Grandeur is also well-maintained; we saw it's sister Enchantment alongside in Nassau and Grandeur's exterior appearance was far better. Onboard entertainment is great, and as dancers, particularly the ship's band, Real Time Band, and the singer/piano player in the Schooner Bar. RT is going to be on GoS a bit longer before going to one of the bigger ships. They've expanded their play list (as we also noticed in December) which we appreciate - after a while, just doing rumbas and chachas gets old. We especially liked the night the ships band did a big band (and more) dance concert in South Pacific - it is a much better and larger dance floor, appreciated by the serious dancers. (If you were on the trip with us, we were one of the couples up dancing a lot, and the young lady is one of the friends travelling with us (and an accomplished dancer herself), not our daughter :) ! We pretty much did things on our own on-board and in port. There were no enrichment lectures (miss them) and one dance lesson taught by the show team dancers. There were also some line dance classes which were well taught and a friend really liked the Thriller class and performance. Ports: Charleston, we walked around with another couple, shopped the market area (if you go, look for the woman selling "hurricane art" - painted slates and bricks, about 2/3 back on the north side, and a glass shop that makes clever serving trays and wedding gifts from liquor and wine bottles!) Interesting museums include an Arsenal from the colonial period and the Slavery museum. Several architecturally interesting churches on Church street. Port Canaveral: Friends who've retired to the area met us and we went to KSC for the space center tour. You can literally spend all day there. In spite of the day-long downpour, we took the bus back to the Apollo museum. You'll see the re-assembled Saturn V firing room, a complete Saturn V (FLIGHT-qualified hardware that could have launched another moon mission), the Apollo 11 landing exhibit (which was having problems with the main projection screen during our show) and the Apollo 1 fire memorial. [We were there on the anniversary of the Apollo 1 fire and day before anniversary of the Challenger disaster, but other than seeing flags at half staff, there was no mention which was VERY disappointing to me.] We also visited the Atlantis Space Shuttle exhibit. You could spend many hours there and it is very well done. If you have ANY interest in the US history of space exploration, remember the "space race", GO. I'm hoping in a few years they have some exhibits on what we are doing in space TODAY, vs. long ago. Miami: FINALLY a (sort of) NICE DAY. We took the on/off shuttle from the pier to Biscayne Blvd, walked over to the Bayside mall and took an 90 minute harbor tour. This may be the best deal in Miami to see the area on a nice day. Very nice and there are some incredible yachts and mansions in Miami harbor. Shopped a bit in the mall and easy walk via the causeway bridge back to the ship for a very late lunch. Freeport. Meh. Almost a beach day - took taxi to Port Lacaya market area and walked over to the beach, walked it a bit until it started raining. Back to the market and my wife did some shopping, then we grabbed a snack and drinks at one of the bars. I think I'd have just as happy with going to CocoCay instead. There is a cluster of shops and markets at the port, selection felt same stuff as in every other straw market. A former Carnival ship was also in port, and we could see several ships in dry dock or maintenance pier across the harbor (at least 2 RCL, 1 NCL, and 1 Princess). While at Port L, we were told the casino is going to reopen "soon" and the hotel may reopen later. Nice location and a decent beach. Nassau: Walked over to the water taxi and took it ($8 r/t per person) to Paradise Island. Then wandered about following a group from the water taxi into the shops near the marina and into the Atlantis complex. A helpful staff member walked us through to the correct exit to the to the public beach. YES, FINALLY A BEACH DAY! Bargained for 2 chairs and an umbrella ($25, many vendors asking more) and then got some drinks from another vendor. They're definitely hustling. Water was very rough, so almost no one was going into or past the surf line. Afterwards, we walked down the beach to the Atlantis property and in where we could see the lagoon, "Water Adventure", walked through the casino (big and except for windows looks like every other casino I've walked through), got redirected by Atlantis security back through the casino, and finally found our way out via the marina area and the shops. Glad we saw a bit of Atlantis and that we didn't pay what they want for a day pass (overpriced in my opinion). Took the water taxi back and did some shopping in town. We've been to Nassau before, saw NO indications of any security issues but we also stuck to the main shopping area. There were several ships in port, including Enchantment (the previous Baltimore ship) and the Anthem. Also an NCL ship. Noted that the Grandeur is in much better exterior shape vs. the Enchantment. We did not take any of the ship excursions, but the shore excursion, activities, and guest services staffs were quite helpful with suggestions. Sea Days: Generally cold for outside activities except the day after Nassau. Had 2 semi-rough days around Port Canaveral and Miami, return trip was exceptionally smooth for those waters this time of year. Ship ran a bunch of activities on the last 2 sea days, including the egg drop competition, Thriller performance, Grandeur Carnival, paper airplane contest (mine flew well but decided to make a right turn into the crowd). Disappointed they didn't have a lecturer on board this trip, but the few sea days vs the 12 night cruises may be a factor. One thing we like about Baltimore is the easy on and off. Check in was straight forward, a few minutes delay while some higher priority guests got checked in. Getting off was ridiculously easy, and I was pleased there was just a little dry snow on my car and I didn't need the boots or shovel! We achieved diamond status (in terms of nights needed) during the trip, but can't take advantage of it until the NEXT trip. We think RCL could do something (not the full diamond benefits) to encourage folks and welcome us to the next level without waiting for the next trip. Overall a great trip and we're looking forward to our next GoS and RCL vacations. Read Less

Bottom line up front: This ship is falling apart at the seams, everything stinks (staterooms, bathrooms, common areas, decks and interior spaces). Everything is designed to frustrate you to the point of spending more in convenience upgrades. The food is marginal (hit and miss), entertainment was pathetically bad. Pier check-in at Baltimore was bizarre; like it was the first time a cruise ship had ever docked to pickup passengers(!?). Staff were confused, lines were created and collapsed at random, people were visibly upset throughout the process. Unbelievable waste of money. Upselling everything, everywhere, all the time. Bait and switch tactics; everything is made to be inconvenient to pressure you into spending more money (don’t like the crappy food, pay for better; don’t like the lack of seating in the buffet, pay for better; don’t like having to go to the 9th deck for crappy ice-cream, here’s Ben & Jerrys in the best location for $3 a scoop!) Room service costs extra for hot breakfast but not continental. Understand what I am saying, they would bring you a cold breakfast for free but charge a $8.95 ‘delivery fee’ for your similarly free hot breakfast. Ship is designed to be inconvenient and pressure more sales. It’s like living in a 3D infomercial. The only way to get from one end of the ship to the other was either through the topside deck (with the smokers; more on that later), through the shops/photo sellers or through the casino. We found ourselves holding our breath and making the run across the cold and wet deck to get from the buffet to the auditorium. There are only 40 interior padded lounge chairs in the adults only section of the deck (for the 1850 passengers!), so you can forget lounging or lying down anywhere outside of your room. The outside pool was only open for 3 days of our 9 day cruise, so the 18+ ‘quiet’ rooms was opened up for kids as well. There are 6 hot tubs (4 outside in the cold/rain); so you can hold about 36 people at a time total (again, for the 1850 passengers!) So you can forget about that as well. The ship is falling apart everywhere. They had to continuously reschedule the shows due to mechanical issues with the stage / rigging / electronics. One night they gave up and just have the house band play some terrible jazz for 40 minutes. The comics were terrible and the two ‘shows’ were sub-high school drama class level. The whole ship stinks badly; the main areas, the bathrooms and the staterooms. Everywhere the ship was falling apart. The interior of the central areas were covered in leaks when it rained. Cigarette and Cigar smoke is everywhere. You smell it as soon as you enter the ship and it wafts throughout the halls and main spaces of the ship. They allow smoking in the casino (which is of course located in the most central and open part of the ship. All outside areas are also smoking areas (although it seemed like people would smoke everywhere). The stink is in the carpet and the furniture. Ports of call were OK, but transportation to and from the port was too expensive and difficult. In Charleston there was a simple bus but $20 per person for a shuttle from the pier to Ron Jons is entirely too expensive. I’m sure the Ron Jon’s kickbacks pay for the bus; this was just petty. The pier in Freeport is in an industrial wasteland with oil refinery sink and black smog. Freeport bus tour included stops at a free nature reserve and tourist trap where they make the junk they are selling. This should have cost half of what it did ($59 each) and been a whole day tour with a much longer stay at the beach. They first shuttle from the beach left 15 mins after we arrived. In Nassau, Pearl Island was beautiful for the 3 hours we were there. They didn’t have a full day option and the cost too much for what it was (chicken and rice buffet and a boat ride for $109 each; $4 for a bottle of water or a can of coke). The food was really hit and miss. The main dining hall was virtually empty for the 8pm dining experience; do you know why… because most people don’t eat supper at 8pm (which is really 8:45 before your main course arrives). Also, you will miss half of the evening activities because it will take them about 90 mins to feed you. Most will just opt for the buffet. Good luck getting a seat at the buffet; they seat about 200 and there are 1850 passengers. If you don’t lineup of arrive within the first 10 minutes you will be standing to eat or eating outside with the smokers. Also, the show times were at 7pm and 9pm with the earlier show designated for the later dining crowd. This was not enforced in any way so the early shows where standing room only with the late diners not being able to catch the second show. They would doo just about anything to ensure that you didn't;’t actually get any of the service or food that you paid for. I was extremely disappointed in this trip and I would not recommend it to anyone. Read Less

This was our third time on th Grandeur the first time being in January 1999. Three years ago we also were on in January. We had breakfast every morning in the windjammer and Salmen our waiter was usually there taking my omelet order. We had lunch in the dining room a few days for the wonderful salad that was prepared. We only dined in the main dining room every night. We had Salmen, Johannes and Ehron who all excelled. We clebrated our anniversary and my birthday onboard. Everyone was very friendly and outgoing. Never had a problem with anyone. I spent almost every evening in the Schooner Lounge when the piano play Ross Leadbeater entertained the young and old alike. He was very well received by all and did an amazing performance every night. We did not attend a lot of the shows as we like to do our own thing. On the islands we would get off and usually just walk around ourselves without taking any excursions. We enjoyed sitting in the Centrum and listening or watching the shows. We met a lot of nice people on this trip. We stayed at Fairfield Inn in White Marsh that provided shuttle service. We were onboard by 10 AM easiest embarktion ever. We walked off at 740 AM and was met by the shuttle. This also was the easiest disembarktion out of 12 cruises. Only negative was we had to return to our cold weather again. Read Less

We booked this cruise (OK - I booked this cruise) after watching too much beachfront bargain hunt and seeing a piece on St. Croix. Our daughter lives 15 min from the port, so we thought it would be an easy to/from. Then she threw a curveball into the mix and told us she was pregnant and due 12 days before out sail! But she delivered early (our grandson was born on Christmas morning) and we went on the cruise and spent a few days after with them to give them a bit of a break. We have cruised a total of 5 times prior to this, including RCI, Celebrity, and Princess. And that was spread over 20 years. So we are not big cruisers. If you are reading this to get info on pools, bingo, or trivia you can get out now because we did none of that. Our cabin was 2618 - the lowest deck we have been on. It was perfect. It was quiet, easy on/off when in port, and we had an awesome cabin steward - Dean. Very little movement even when the cruise was hitting rougher seas. We did my time dining and loved it. We made reservations only the first night. Typically we would go to the early show (7) and go to dinner after that and we were always seated without a wait and with the exception of the last night - when we went to dinner early - were seated with the same wait staff. Always at a table for 2. Food was good to great, and we enjoyed the dining room for dinner. We did the Windjammer one night when hubby was feeling a bit punk, but other than that all dinners were in the dining room. We did 2 breakfasts in the dining room and enjoyed the company and the service, but typically did the Windjammer. Other than lunch on embarkation day and one day with a later excursion we did the Windjammer. Those 2 days we did lunch from the Park Cafe. We enjoyed most of the shows, opted out of a couple. We arrived at the theater about a half hour before the show and few were there. About 15 min before it started to fill up. All shows we attended we enjoyed. Our fave quite space to read was deck 5 on a lounger. Our favorite place for a drink was the Centrum where Deborah from the R Bar took great care of us. We attended a couple of daytime activities, my primary one being learning the Thriller Dance which we performed the last night. Very fun! The crew - amazing!!! I get why people go time and time again on this ship. Yes, she is old, and she shows her age in places but so do we! We loved not only the crew but the passengers whom we found to be so very friendly. Read Less

We choose this cruise because it was 9 hour drive from Hamilton Ontario Canada instead of flying to Florida Leaving Baltimore first time leaving from a cold water port first 2 days and last 2 days were cold the 5 islands we did nothing but sunshine . This was our seventh cruise . The entertainment and Windjammers Cafe were ok. The main dining room the great Gatsby was good the service was good and we went twice for breakfast but the other days was ordered Continental breakfast cereal and fruit plates and coffee and juice they only messed it twice. The Lady G ( Grandeur Of the Seas) is small and easy to get around good for adults no watersides so not many kids which was good .The Centrum is very bright and cheery but always smelled like cigarette smoke . NFL playoffs were jan 12-13 there is no sports bar so we went to the casino it was smoky and no sound it was a big disappointment the games on Jan 20th were shown on the big screen by pool which was good .The Lady G cast of singers and dancers were below average but its what we expected on a cheap cruise headlines Jamie Allen and Scott Record were good.We had a inside cabin 3911 and the smallest cabin we ever had you can't walk around the bed you needed to enter from the end of the bed and crawl forward and we could not put suitcases under bed . The two top dresser drawers were broke our room attendant pointed to out and ask if we wanted it fixed after my wife living 3 days out of her suitcase they fixed it but the bed was the worst they really are cots with spring and a mattress on my wife side was broken and after one night she hurt her back and had a hard time walking and she only 130lbs our last cruise on HAL had pillow top mattresses .They upgraded us to Oceanview cabin 4000 next to the engine and it had mechanical problems clinging and clanging our neighbours also complained about the noise . Would we go Lady G again NO beds are terrible Read Less

This is our 3rd cruise out of Baltimore, 2nd on Grandeur and once on her sister ship. We were on deck 7 in a spacious ocean view cabin and had Cornelius as an excellent and skilled cabin attendant. Most of the reviews have already described the friendliness of the crew (which I thought had actually declined since our last cruise), great job by Mike the cruise director and the good food in the MDR and buffet so I will leave it there by agreeing wholeheartedly. Entertainment: We had a great magician (Jamie Allan) and comedian (Naster) on our cruise who were both very high quality and very talented. However, the cast shows were really low quality and particularly the singers. Male vocalists on the ship sang dated songs and were not special in any way. Finally, if you like team trivia and various game shows, THIS is the cruise for you. Daily entertainment is abundant and fun. RCI is starting to economize and various changes are evident. On our last cruises on Oasis and Grandeur, Diamond members got a few hours of complimentary internet time. Now that is gone along with per minute plans to use the internet with the substitution of an exorbitant daily rate or whole cruise package as the only choices. I saw few people using the internet terminals unlike our previous cruise and myself and others getting free internet in our port stops. I love to have smoked salmon as part of breakfast on cruises but that was present in the Windjammer only once or twice that I noticed during a 12 day cruise vs. every morning previously; the quality was pretty bad in comparison to other ships we have been on. Beef used to prepare some of the various stew-type dishes in the Windjammer was frequently so tough as to be inedible. Hamburgers and meatballs were made with ground beef that often had inedible chunks of gristle. Other than those items most food was quite good in all of the restaurants including the MDR, Chops and Giovanni's. Major Negatives: The Centrum on the Grandeur is used for musical entertainment and dancing and for other things like dance and exercise classes. In the evening particularly, the sound level of the band and screaming singers and DJs was often well above 125dB (decibels) on the OSHA sound meter app. on our smart phone. At 100dB that can cause permanent hearing damage, OSHA recommend less than 15 minutes of exposure MAXIMUM to level of 100dB.............so you get the picture of how loud that Centrum "entertainment" is on the Grandeur and similar ships when the "entertainment" starts cranking (earplugs anyone???). Smoking is allowed in the Casino that is connected with the Centrum by a short hallway. The smell of smoke drifts into the Centrum and was often detectable at various times. Obviously the air circulation in the Casino is not adequately exhausting the air from there and it is thus forced into the adjoining hallways and entertainment spaces.......GROSS for non-smokers like us. The mattresses on the Grandeur as showing their advanced age as is the ship. Mine had a distict "valley" in it that I just lived with for 12 nights. Finally, we were on Deck 7 and endured constant sewer gas smells in the bathroom presumably coming from the floor drain in the backside of the toilet. Complaints to our room attendant mollified the smells for a few days but they returned so I had to routinely run the shower hand nozzle into that drain and cover it with a towel. I see another review on CC where the same problem was reported for a cabin on Deck 7on the same side as our cabin so this may be a system problem on this ship on this deck on the port side. Read Less

We chose this cruise because of the destinations. We book travel every year during the winter months. This was a very good cruise. There were only two things that would have made this cruise better. A hard closing shower door vs the old and not secure curtain. Every day we would have to fight with it and I'm a small woman. There's no reason to know a shower curtain that intimately. Secound was the hamburger quality. My several attempts to eat it were disgusting. There was gristle & fat all through out it. I've gone on other cruises that have (Guy Fierri) burger places on them and they're STELLAR! With hamburgers, then lasagna, meatballs, and the many other dishes that had hamburger in them, they SERIOUSLY need better quality beef. The shows were Amazing. Our cabin steward was AWESOME!! The one day I was sea sick and he told me that he's around all day long in the hallway if I needed anything. Would I go on Royal Caribbean again, Yes but probably closer to my destination (like out of Florida). Read Less

the ship is a smaller, older ship but still has all the basics, our inside cabin was somewhat smaller than others we have been on but for the time spent in the cabin it was ok. It has been a while since we have sailed with RCCL but it seemed that dining was not quite what I remembered it to be but I definatly did not go hungery There was no access to the ice cream machine during bad weather or after 8:30 pm. The cabin did not have a refer which was a first for us. Entertainment was hit or miss, with all of these sea days there was only one guest lecturer, would have like more and even he was cut short on time. Crew was very friendly and helpfull with exception of the staff person in the internet area who was doing his own thing and did not want to be bothered with questions. activities in these ports were somewhat limited but still things to do if you took excursions. having to travel from Montana to Baltimore I probably would not do it again in the winter. overall a good trip. Read Less