Grandeur of the Seas Review
Rating by category
Additional details
We usually travel on Silversea, a small ship cruise line, the largest carrying 540 passengers which has double the number of crew per passenger than on RCL. We have only cruised on one other large ship, that being the Carnival Pride, so our comments and comparisons will be with that background. Three of us traveled in the Royal Family Suite 8518. We were celebrating a 70th birthday, which clearly puts us in the older demographic on this cruise. There were a total of nine in our group, some in suites and some in junior suites all on deck 8. The upgraded amenities of the suites versus the junior suites made a significant difference for us – but more about that later.
The personnel at the port of Baltimore, from the parking attendants to the people checking us in, were friendly and efficient. Being in a suite gave us priority check-in and boarding (around 11 am) that we appreciated due to the crowds. Our initial impression boarding the ship was that the décor was quite attractive, unlike the assault on your senses experienced on the Pride which had plastic mermaids on the ceiling of the buffet area, and a larger than life-size statue of David in the up-charge restaurant (a strange choice).
We ate lunch throughout the five-day cruise in Windjammer because we enjoyed the variety of the offerings at the buffet, especially the Indian and Asian dishes. We felt that the desserts were mediocre and would have liked to have the possibility of eating ice cream without having to go to the Main Dining Room or Ben & Jerry’s.
Cabin Review
Royal Family Suite
Our cabin was adequate with plenty of storage space especially in the walk-in closet. The bathrooms were small, but since there were shelves next to and below the counter, we had no issues. The beds were very comfortable and the linens very nice. Our complaints about the cabin were: the entry hallway was very narrow (and we are not wide-bodied seniors); there was too much furniture in the living room; the curtain to the master bedroom was frayed with the pull cord was lying on the floor; and the carpet needed to be tacked down. Due to the location of the suite on deck 8, we were constantly bothered by the scraping of furniture on the deck above us and the incessant boom of the base drum which accompanied any music on the pool deck. Mercifully, the noise abated by the time we went to bed each night, but it did make sitting in the cabin during the day less than pleasant.
The special suite perks and the superior service by the Suite Concierge made the trip for us.
Port Reviews
Baltimore
We live 30 miles away and never go to Baltimore if we can avoid it.