We chose this cruise as it was the spring break of our soon to be graduating daughter (HS), and it is an easy three hour drive to Baltimore. We have always loved the Port of Baltimore for efficiency and ease! We have been on three Enchantment cruises in the past that we absolutely loved! I did read the reviews of the Grandeur (after booking, unfortunately , and had some concerns that the Grandeur would be different based on hearing it was for "the older" passenger demographic). Hey, I am no spring chicken, so due to proximity, and praying that this is spring break time, there would be something for my daughter to enjoy while making friends. Well, alas, it was not the case. I am not going to "bash" this cruise. We were in room 7078, a balcony with an awesome location! There were many "highs", and we did have fun. John Blair, the Cruise Director and his wife, worked very hard to make everyone's trip a fabulous event. He is an INCREDIBLY talented singer, and his Neil Diamond show was incredible! What a voice! Enjoyed the dancers and singers .... will not lie, I have heard better but also far worse. Good comedians, and overall great entertainment. Our room steward, Cornelius and waiters, AJ and Andy were fabulous! Dinners very good; not the best, but considering the number of guests they are feeding? We did not buy tickets for the upscale restaurants, but I heard a variety of reviews. I guess I just feel that you are already paying a significant cost, so the "push" for upscale meals is trying. There is seemingly never ending marketing for additional revenue; that is for sure! You can get some good buys, but many are overpriced or simply "junk". We did buy a Citizen watch. 35% off, but the retail price stated was less than looking the same one up on line. We usually play bingo .... did not even go as we heard it was $40 to play! The casino??? Horrible!!!! Never ending losses, machines a joke, and how the dealers keep pulling 21's is remarkable, to say the least. On previous cruises, they at least give you a free drink when losing your shirt; no longer happening! All in all, I would rate this cruise a 3.5. We did have a great time, met great people, and had lovely men and women working hard in their jobs to serve us. We were blessed with beautiful weather, and relatively calm seas. The Grandeur apparently has a huge following, and we now know it is geared for an "older" geographic population that enjoys smaller ships and is not focused on her "older" appearance with fewer activities. Not sure how long she will continue to be in service ...... but perhaps they need to take that into account when establishing pricing. Again, we did enjoy the trip ...... just trying to give an accurate evaluation of what to expect so there is no disappointment or regrets for your choice. Read Less

Our room accommodations were not as promised. The day at COCO Cay was a total disappointment. Nothing was operational, all still under construction. The beach was the only thing we were able to use. None of the staff knew where anything was as this was their 1st time at CoCo Cay themselves. The Cruise director told us all we needed was our key card when in fact if you wanted to buy something from the vendors you needed cash or a credit card. They were very uninformed as to what was happening there. We went into a storm with 25 ft. waves and were never advised until the following day when the captain announced that we were all safe. The ship was very old and definitely showed it's age. There was not much for the kids to do except for the rock climbing wall which was never operational for one reason or another. The food was good and service in the restaurants as well as the room stewards. This ship is not one that I would ever go on again or recommend to anyone especially with kids.. Read Less

A little history first my wife and I have been on at least 15 previous cruises with Disney, Celebrity, Princess,NCL and bulk with RC. We live outside of Philly so it is almost the same drive time to NY, Bayonne, and Baltimore. We prefer to sail out of any of the FL ports, quicker in the warm weather. Love to cruise in the winter months to escape the cold for a while. We already knew a little about the Grandeur being a older smaller ship but we like the smaller ships we love the Enchantment and seriously wish for its return to Baltimore those 72 extra feet are well worth it. Boarding was very easy as was disembarkation not a whole lot of the ship to see so we did lunch and went up to the Solarium which also was serving lunch a great place to have a light lunch we learned on the next 4 sea days would highly recommend. Down to our cabin 4026 which was "seriously" decorated for our 45th wedding anniversary which was done with out my knowledge but greatly appreciated wine, door decorations, wall hangings, pillow case's, beach towel,amazing. Met our room steward Abu.the best we have ever had and very happy to have had him. Room was plenty big when the bed was separated but the beds were extremely tough not very comfortable my Navy rack was better Abu managed to make the wife's a little better because we heard that they have some extra padding, this is one issue, but decor is nice. We had a ocean view large window but it was almost not worth it dirt/salt/age made it not so great to see out of. Dinning was the average with RC very good to just OK Chops GREAT Giovanni's Table wont do again and not worth it in our minds almost rushed there and food was less Italian than expected but staff in both were excellent and friendly. Don't like My Time Dinning at all because we like to build up a relationship with our servers and we had the same two for almost 7 nights but the guys who seats you captain/maitre d found it hard to seat us in their section if you came after 5:15 but left a table by the window empty on 3 separate nights for our whole meal while we were sitting next to a pole. But he did accommodate people that kissed his but and pressed some green in his hand, and I don't play that game till the end and he got nothing extra at all. Our servers were excellent as was almost all the staff we encountered, especially the morning staff in the Windjammer superb. Hardly anything to do during sea days that attracted us much. Pool deck was ok but the "large" screen showings were run and rerun to death and the middle of the screenwent black and not repaired for the last sea days like they didn't care. Cruise director and his staff we very nice and great energy and very good shows but almost the same on all RC ships. The theater shows were pretty good overall with the juggler being our favorite. The itinerary was what interested us the most. Have never been to Saint Lucia and the rest were islands we have been to before and loved so it was an easy choice and the price. Train Ride in St Kitts have to do it once we did it twice now and love it, Beach Excursions in Antigua and St Martin both worth it did our own thing in Saint Lucia 6 1/2 hour tour to see the Pitons with Gousel Tours would highly recommend. Saint Croix did the red fort tour on our own and walked around town not much to see in Frederiksted. Now why I wouldn't sail on her again till they get her fixed besides the rust and gunk on the windows and general rust on the hull the smell of the ship is rather disturbing in the bathroom was horrific till the wife out in one of the two Yankee Candle air freshers she was warned to bring even the outside of the ship while waiting for excursion smelled like a toilet bowl started calling it the Depends Of The Saes and other noted it also but has not been addressed. It was to go into drydock for two weeks but it should stay there much longer to take care of major issues the old girl need a major overhaul not carpets and refresh of the paint. The Centrum deck 4 port side had a fan blowing the carpet dry the entire cruise what is that about. The shope onboard were small and had very little to offer even RC merchandise lost money from us the wife can spend for sure. Last thing negative I have and it is a minor issue we bought post cards in every port to send home to our granddaughters because all kids like getting mail spent $1.05 per stamp to have them sent out and you know where they were sent out from Baltimore when we got home little bit of fraud there RC wwas told the mail was picked up every day in port. Overall buyer be ware! Just to be sure we have booked and other RC out of NY for 2020 even though the perks are getting worse and worse and they are nickle and dimming us to death. Read Less

We don't fly so it is convenient to drive to Baltimore from Ohio. Embarkation was quick and efficient. Food in Windjammer and MDR was excellent. Band played great dance music and we enjoyed the recorded ballroom music in the South Pacific Lounge. Should have dance teachers hired on every cruise because there were a lot of people that like the lessons. It was lucky that Dave and Betty Begin just happened to be traveling on the ship and John Blair hired them. Debarking was also quick and efficient, customs was quick, and we were able to find all our luggage quickly. My only criticism would be about the catamaran excursion on St. Croix. The weather was very threatening and they never should have taken us out on that boat. Some people cancelled at the last minute and got their money back. I wish we would have known that because it was a miserable trip. No more ships excursions for us on future cruises. Read Less

The Grandeur has the best crew on any seas, always smiling and friendly looking to make your day the best. This ship is smaller and older by today’s standards,if your looking for all the bells and whistles this ship is not for you,if you want a nice relaxing cruise with good service this is the one for you, if you have children I suggest another ship they may get board if they are a little older not much for them to do.The food and service in the dining room was good, the windjammer also good just hard to find seating sometimes. The production shows are the same ones that have been on this ship for sometime now, the headliners were very good don’t wait until the last minute to try to get a seat. Embarkation and disembarking the ship could not go any easier.The port of Baltimore is easy to navigate no matter how you choose to get here. Read Less

We chose this ship primarily because of the cheaper cost, itinerary. (St Croix) and port of departure. We own property on St Croix and wanted to visit to take care of a little business as well as see friends and have a vacation in the mean time. Price: This cruise was cheaper than getting to JFK, flying to STX, renting a car for a week, renting a cottage for a week and handling all our food expenses. I think the location as well as price attracts many repeat cruisers. We found people who had been on the ship 33 times! 3-6 times was fairly common. Also, as others have said, it is an old crowd with many diamond members. Crew: They are excellent. Every one of them. Can't say enough nice things about the wait staff, room attendants, customer service etc. They get to know you quickly, like to kid around and talk and always took good care of us. Passengers: Much older crowd with very few kids. That's ok because they tend to be a laid back, smart, experienced crowd that are fun to meet. Maybe it's the mid-west and mid-atlantic vibe due to the departure location but almost everybody is very friendly. Some folks practically live on this ship. Activities: It's an older ship and doesn't have a lot of activities, especially in the evenings. That's ok with us. We are 60 & 64. We don't need DJ blasting pool parties. If we really want to see a Broadway show we'll take a train to Broadway. A little more entertainment and more outdoor dance options like an afternoon pool party would be nice. They did have a fun 70's night but most dances seemed to cater to an older crowd of very well practiced dancers doing waltzes, cha-cha's and even tangos. That left us feeling a bit left out but the showy dancers are still friendly. Most dancing takes place in the Centrum which is ringed with seats for 3 levels and open all the way from decks 4 through 8. It was nice to be able to walk down the hall from our deck 8 room and look down & check out what is going on. We enjoyed "enrichment" watercolor painting with Rosemary and her hubby. They are a lot of fun. Also the after 9 PM piano singalongs in the schooner bar with Russ were fun. What shows they did have were fun with comedians, singers and a jazz sax player. My wife saw the cruise director put a great Neil Diamond tribute. I was at a wine tasting at the time. Ports: We did a 12 night Eastern Caribbean run and the ports are were very good. St Croix, Antigua, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and St. Martin. We mostly did 3rd party tours. We had one RCL excursion on St Lucia; a catamaran ride for sightseeing, swimming at a bay and then viewing the Pitons. The crew on the cat was a blast and very knowledgeable. On/off was super easy as the cat was docked right in front of our ship at the port. Cabins: I said that we went cheap. We were in an interior room. It was 136 sq feet. It was tight getting in & out of bed but otherwise very serviceable with plenty of cubbies to put stuff. Others have said that suitcases don't fit under the bed. We solved that by leaving then open so they slid under, but that limits how many you can fit. I suggest bring bags that nest inside each other when empty like Russian Dolls. Bottom line: if you like an older crowd and are looking for a laid back relaxing ship this fits the bill. We would defiantly go again if we were still going be nearby the departure point. Read Less

I love the longer cruises. When I leave the ship I always feel that I’m leaving family behind! It’s always like a big reunion each time I return to the ship. Lots of repeat cruisers because of the friendliness of the ships crew! My cabin was an interior 3079, close to the elevator which I wanted! A little noise from the Centrum, however not enough to bother me, plus nothing goes on the Centrum after 11 pm I’m a solo traveler and never feel alone on this cruise! Highly recommend! Not to be missed is the Neil Diamond show, it’s great. On day 11 of the 12 night cruise the Veterans and First Responders were recognized as they are on this ship every cruise, plus earlier in the cruise they had a Veterans get together. Last night of the cruise there’s a Flag parade, Flags from each country represented by crew are proudly displayed! When they get to the USA there’s an uproar! Great ship, great crew and fantastic passengers! Read Less

We picked the Grandeur because it sails out of Baltimore, about an hour drive for us, and we liked the itinerary. Having most recently been on Harmony of the Seas which is massive, I appreciated the walk-ability of Grandeur; I felt I could walk the ship end to end easily and quickly. We often used the stairs. At the same time the ship felt spacious and uncrowded. The only place I had trouble getting a spot was the adults-only indoor solarium, and right before show time in the Palladium theater on one-show nights. Otherwise there were always spots to sit and lounge, especially outdoors there were always seats, from the sunny observatory on deck 10 to deck 5 shade under the life boats. -Solarium pool is open 4-6pm for kids, sometimes extra hours if weather is bad. This is great on a February cruise out of Baltimore, first and last days were too cold to swim outside. -The main pool feels a bit small, more room for wading than swimming. With beach days and a winter cruise it wasn't much of a problem, but I'd plan my pool time accordingly. -We were glad we brought water wings, my son didn't like the full body life vests provided -Solarium Park Cafe had nice snack options, especially nachos bar after 8pm -The cruise director was wonderful, we enjoyed the game shows like Love & Marriage and Weakest Link -bingo was disappointing, the smallest option was maybe $30, I couldn't just play one round. -Lots of trivia offerings, get the the Schooner Bar early as the place filled up most times -Food at Windjammer was better than I expected, especially their "ethnic corner" which changed each day. Service there was a nice surprise also, staff will bring you drinks so you have less to carry. They can also get you straws for the kids. -Main Dinning room food was average. Not bad, but nothing to write home about. On par with the quality in the buffet. Service there was very good. We aren't big on group dinning, and after the first night I asked if we could have a table to ourselves. They couldn't accommodate us that night, but the next night the Matride called us the next day saying he'd made an arrangement. I really appreciated that he took that extra step, and we enjoyed dinning room meals most evenings after that. -Blue Lagoon was excellent. Even the ride on the tender was fun, though the wait to departe was disorganized and long. We paid for a buffet lunch (one trip to the buffet only!) which was worth it. Water was calm and beautiful, it was easy to get a spot in the shade. We were able to walk around and see dolphins even though we didn’t sign up for an animal excursion. -I had a great massage at the spa -We had a lovely lunch at Izumi, at a discount because we signed up when someone was soliciting in the main dinning room. Great view up there, also uncrowded saw people eating alone which I would consider next time. My son and husband got skewers cooked on a “hot rock” table side (a lava stone according to a server, acted like a grill), steak and salmon, because they don’t like sushi, everyone was happy. -We brought a 12 pack of water bottles on board, and lots of ziplock bags. Both came in handy. -Staff overall were wonderful in engaging with my 4yo. -ADVENTURE OCEAN: The best part was that he LOVED Adventure Ocean, the kids programming. We went to the open house and registered him the day we came aboard. They have an indoor play structure with a slide and enclosed tunnel. They have books and TV. There were themes for each morning and afternoon session. Memorable themes were Wild West, Superheros, Sea Creatures. My son isn’t shy, but isn’t outgoing either, he usually takes a little time to warm up in a new place or even at a friends house. Not so with Adventure Ocean! We checked him in and he was excited to be there, barley said goodbye. We hoped to get him there once or twice during the vacation, but he ended up going almost every day, sometimes twice, he loved it so much. It ended up giving me and my husband the most relaxing vacation since he was born! We got in line about 15 minutes before each session to make sure he’d get in, as it is first come, first served. There is a cap of about 15 kids for his 3-5 Aquanats age group. Keep in mind kids have to take off their shoes when they enter the area. Most days there is a break from 12-2 between the morning and afternoon session, and from maybe 5-7 before evening session. Some days they have Adventure Dinning for lunch or dinner. The day my son was signed up, per his request…turns out he was the only kid doing it that night, so it wasn’t as fun as he hoped. We found him in a corner of the Windjammer with two staff and a whole pizza to himself! We were so happy that our son had a great time at Adventure Ocean, we left tips for the staff for his age group. I don’t know what magic they’ve got going on in there, but I hope they have it going every cruise! Read Less

We were on the 2/14 sailing. We were honestly a bit unhappy with all the itinerary changes from our original booking, and especially losing our Coco Cay day, but we were pleasantly surprised. We are not used to so many children being on Lady G, and in all honesty, I will compare my travel dates with school holidays for future trips (too many people not realizing they weren't sailing on a large ship with not much for kids). The check in process at Baltimore is always seamless. We were out of the shuttle and on the ship within 30 minutes. We had in inside stateroom, 2609, and it was just as expected. Our stateroom attendant was wonderful. This is the first time I have had an uncomfortable mattress on the ship. It was quite hard, but it wasn't unbearable. We picked deck 2 because on most of our cruises we had exited on deck 1 for all our excursions and the cabin location was very convenient to that. This cruise, we exited mostly on deck 4, so it wasn't as convenient as we had hoped. We enjoyed the food in the Windjammer and were pleasantly surprised that the ice cream machines were always working. We weren't so lucky with the Freestyle Coke machines. They were out of many flavors of soda for most of the cruise and unfortunately, the machine would pour a cup full of carbonated water and then you'd have to wait the allotted time to get a beverage. We had My Time dining. Our head server was Rajesh. That team was WONDERFUL!! They always had our drinks ready for us and a wine list available. They were very pleasant and efficient and made it a wonderful dining experience. The food in the dining room was very good. We didn't have anything we didn't enjoy. The entertainment was somewhat enjoyable. We loved the Real Time band. The singer had a TON of personality and made it a lot of fun to be in the Centrum when they were playing. Both comedians were very good. We LOVE the Royal Caribbean orchestra. What we find most lacking are the Royal Caribbean singers. Unfortunately, they were having a very difficult time staying on pitch. It was so bad we couldn't even stay. They really need to get singers who can actually sing. Singing louder when you don't know the words and can't find the pitch doesn't help. We enjoyed all the ports. We did the USS Yorktown tour in Charleston - only $12 to Uber over. We took the bus to a very crowded WDW in Port Canaveral. We absolutely LOVED Pirate's Cove in Freeport. They certainly have improved the beach every year. With the taxi, beach admission, chairs and umbrella, food and lots of beverages the excursion was $77 for both of us. We had a great time. The staff there is always very helpful and a lot of fun. So, if you're looking for an inexpensive beach day on a clean beach with clean restrooms, give Pirate's Cove a try. In Nassau we taxied over to Breezes Bahamas for an all inclusive day pass. We really like it. It's not fancy like Atlantis or Baha Mar, but we've met the nicest people and enjoyed a beautiful day at a lovely resort with beach chairs and umbrellas, full all you can drink bar, beachside grill, lunch buffet inside the hotel, pool, hot tub, non motorized water sports and much more. In Miami we took the Big Bus who's kiosk was just outside the ship. What a fun (and hot) day that was. We took both the city and beach tours, which took about 3 hours for both. We had some excitement with our bus breaking down, but they sent another one out for us. This is a hop on, hop off tour. We didn't get off until we went back to the Bayside hub where we grabbed lunch. If you're ever there - the seafood place in there is delicious. $13 for a fish and shrimp platter that was more than two of us could eat (and we didn't have breakfast as we had to get off for customs). Honestly the best fried fish I have ever eaten. We hopped back on the beach tour again and got off at SoBe. The art deco architecture is really something to see. We absolutely loved it and I think it wound up being my favorite port. This sailing was the BEST cruise director and cruise director staff we have ever encountered. Mike S outdid himself. I'm so sad this was our first experience with him and he is now headed to Symphony, but that gives us reason to sail Symphony - he was extraordinary. And the "Fountain" act the CD staff did was just hilarious. People often ask why it matters who the CD is - people like Mike are why. You can tell he takes pride in his work. Loved his magic acts, too. It's always nice to see a CD who does more than just talk! He and Captain Thor did Bad Dad Jokes which was also quite amusing. It's really nice to be on a ship where you see the captain out and about talking to the guests and participating in the activities. All in all, it was a great cruise and we'll be sailing on her again in the not too distant future. While I love the larger ships, Grandeur just feels like home. Read Less

This was our 7th cruise (Previously - 5X on Carnival Pride, 1X on Royal's Anthem). Were concerned after reading reviews and comments about this "small ship" that caters to "old people". At 51 & 56, my husband and I loved our time on the Lady G. The entire staff was outgoing and friendly and truly made us feel welcome. We even ran into Captain Thor at Starbucks one morning. He made it a point to speak to us and seemed sincere in wanting to know how we were enjoying our vacation. Although Mike, the Cruise Director, and Nick, his assistant, were heading to new ships after this sailing, they are leaving behind BIG shoes to fill. They were outstanding! The ship is small but is absolutely perfect for a relaxing vacation. It has everything you need! Ocean View Cabin 3638 was small, but we don't spend much time in our room anyway. The biggest challenge was showering. My husband is 6'7" and the bathroom does not accommodate large people well! We ate the majority of our evening meals in the main dining room. Some meals were excellent, some were just okay. The coffee was terrible! Unless you enjoy yours with a very bitter taste and many grounds floating in it, I think you would agree. Wait staff was super and made sure we were taken care of. Bartenders at the R Bar were simply the best! We purchased the beverage package this time and ordered drinks throughout the ship. A Cruise Critic member had recommended trying a BBC - which we did - and we loved it! The unfortunate thing was that they were not consistent throughout the ship. Not sure if it was a language issue, but we received drinks that were not what we asked for many times. If we had been paying as we went (rather than the package), I would have been a little upset. We spent a lot of time in the Solarium. Enjoyed the pool! They did allow children in on the colder days, but only for certain blocks of time so it was tolerable. There always seemed to be kids under 16 in the area (not in the pool), but staff members did not ask them to leave. Most were well behaved so it wasn't an issue. I'm a parent and I love kids, but it seemed as though not many moms and dads watch their kids too closely. I observed kids barreling into/out of elevators without any respect to the elderly getting on/off; kids were picking food up from the buffet without using the prongs (mom's watched but didn't say a word), etc. Kids will be kids - but simple manners would be nice. Service was incredible. We were surprised how many staff called us by name. Definitely the friendliest ship we have ever been on. We had so many awesome conversations with other guests. Everyone was so nice. It made it one of the best vacations we have ever had. We packed gym clothes, but am ashamed to admit I only went once. There was a nice assortment of cardio machines and a great view of the ocean! The entertainment was pretty good. We loved laughing at the comics. They were fabulous. I loved 70s night and the Veterans' Tribute. What an awesome way to pay homage to our military men and women. Kudos to RC for hosting this event and for providing the flag cake. The crew talent show was excellent. Brilliant idea! Nice variety for a small ship!! Everyone has different likes and dislikes, but I cannot imagine anyone that goes on this ship would not have a good time. Loved the east coast/Bahamas itinerary. We are booked on the Anthem in November 2019, but am now wishing we would have booked Grandeur instead. That said, we will go back! Read Less