Our family of four was supposed to sail the Grandeur last July, but our reservation was cancelled by Royal Caribbean last minute due to the fire. The ship sailed but they didn't have time to rehab all the cabins prior to our sailing, including our two cabins. Luckily, I had used a travel agent and she handled the mess and compensation from RCI. We wound up flying to Florida and going on the Oasis for a bargain. It was a great vacation, but I was concerned that the Oasis might ruin the "kids" (now 19 and 13) for smaller ships.

That turned out not to be the case. All four of us had a great time on the Grandeur. We're about a 90 minute drive from the Baltimore Port which was the main reason we choose the cruise last year (and again this year). Just tired of the hassles of flying. We arrived around 11am and parked easily. The port was clean and organized just as other reviewers had promised. Friendly workers as well. Check-in was fine, but slower by my own doing. I had forgotten to print the set sail pass even though I had checked us in weeks before. I will never understand why I can't print the set sail pass the night before just like a plane boarding pass. I'm fine with checking in early, but I think it's stupid that I can't print the pass whenever. So I had to fill everything out again, which still didn't take all that long, but we were in a hurry to get our vacation started.

We boarded the ship and immediately headed to the Park Cafe (a family favorite on the Oasis). Great roast beef sandwiches and salads for lunch. We had our bathing suits on under our clothes so we got down to business at the pool. From the pool deck we had a cool view of both the Key Bridge and the Bay Bridge as we sailed under them. Read more