Grandeur of the Seas Review
A Little Bit of Snow and a Whole Lot of Sunshine
Rating by category
Additional details
We chose this cruise because we didn't want to drive to Florida. Baltimore is an 8 hour drive for us and with the Canadian dollar sinking, it was going to be expensive for us with hotels and food. We arrived at the port which is close to the size of a shopping mall. Very easy to navigate The staff was very friendly and kindly directed us through to drop off our luggage and pay for parking.
We were through security, got our seapass cards and on board within 20min. We went straight up to the Solarium and grabbed a couple of chairs. It was nice and warm. People were swimming. My husband got us some lunch from the cafe. They had nice paninis, salads and soups. We used this for lunch a lot as it was not crowded.
Our rooms were ready at 1pm -right on time.
Cabin Review
Interior Stateroom
Very small. The shower was extremely small. The showerhead had so much power and there was no where to angle it where the water wouldn't escape the shower. The floor and wall were always saturated when we finished. We had black oil coming from the sink tap and had to call to have this fixed. The cabin was always kept clean and well looked after by our steward. There were a number of soft drinks and snacks on the counter we had to ask the steward to remove as we needed the space. He left behind two Coke glasses from the drink program. When I picked them up I noticed they were both dirty and had juice in them. There is no fridge in the room. We brought two bottles of wine and had to keep them in a bucket of ice to keep them chilled.
Port Reviews
St. Maarten
Walked out through the markets to the beach right in the bay where the ships dock. Got 2 chairs with an umbrella and 5 drinks for $25. Free wifi. The peddlars were horrible. They would walk by repetitively and offer the same things over and over. I finally wrote "NO" in the sand and they left us alone. The water was gorgeous. Clean and warm.
San Juan
We walked to the forts. This is a long distance up and down hills. The forts are beautiful. You can tour them for $5 each. We stayed close to some of the tours. It was superbowl day so there were a lot of people around and 4 ships in port. I'm not sure we would have toured by ourselves if we were the only ship in port. There is a lot tagging by gangs around the city.
St. Thomas
We took a $9 each taxi ride to Coki beach. Free to get in. Beautiful shaded beach. $5 chair. $2 beer or $10 rum drink with extra shot of rum. They passed out samples of the smoothies. Taxis were always available. Coral World is here as well. There is good snorkeling off the beach. There is also a dive place here. Many people learning to scubadive. This beach is in a cove and protected from waves and currents.
Baltimore
Easy to get to. Easy to navigate. The staff was very friendly.
Labadee
The beach is beautiful. The is a lot of shade available. The water was warm. There is a lot of coral in the water containing some sea urchins. We were fortunate we brought water shoes.
The barbecue was hot dogs, hamburgers and chicken.
We didn't go to the market, but heard that they were very pushy. Many people we spoke with were pressured into buying things. The vendors would ask your name and then write it on something like a shot glass or a bag and then tell you to buy it. People paid different prices for the same things ie. 3 bracelets for $10, while another lady got the same bracelets for $1 each.