The Grandeur of the Seas is a nice ship. Not a great ship. Well, it’s 20 years old. And though there have been updates, its showing its age. Although not a major distraction, I did note a large rust stain in my cabin window. It just shows the age of the ship, I guess. The toilets on the Grandeur work on a vacuum system. We noted that our toilet would sometimes not respond when flusher. Notifying our cabin steward, we were told that it would, eventually, flush when the vacuum built up sufficiently. There were times when that did indeed occur---20 minutes after flushing. Just something to be aware of.
I feel I did get a good deal. An outside cabin was about $500/person, and it was a 9 day cruise. No one can dispute that with the included dining and entertainment, that’s a good deal. However, cruising has, in my opinion changed its marketing approach. It’s all about “up selling” the cruiser. Everywhere you turn, there is an opportunity to separate the cruiser from his/her money. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing. You can always decline, but be prepared for it. Alcoholic beverages are not inexpensive, but there are ubiquitous. Some are over $10 each, but a glass of wine is about $7 and a mixed drink about $8. As long as you either limit your consumption or don’t really care, you can survive this.
Something that has started to raise its ugly head on all cruise ships is specialty dining. There are 3 specialty dining rooms on the Grandeur. At $29/person, one has to ask why. If the dining in the main dining room is as good as they claim, why is there a need for specialty dining? Ah, here it is. The options in the main dining room are, in my opinion, not what they used to be. I made my first cruise in 1998 and the dining was superb. Everything from prime rib to lobster was offered. There was no prime rib on this cruise, and the beef that was offered was not much better than the local buffet in your town. Lobster tail was offered one evening. My wife ordered it. It was very small. So, if you choose this item, ask for two. They should agree as the dining room staff is very accommodating. On that evening, the dining room offered a special. Now, note, this is in the usual dining room. If I liked, I could get a filet mignon and a glass of wine for an additional $8. I did order it and was glad I did, but this is just one example of the “up selling” that never existed in the past. In fact, each evening, there were options to upgrade your meal for an additional cost. It’s just my opinion, but I don’t care for this marketing approach. I know, you don’t have to buy it, but I preferred the excellent dining of the past, all included. I guess the tradeoff is that prices are very reasonable to cruise, so the marketing approach to attract more cruisers is just today’s reality of cruising.
Not large as advertised. This ship is showing its age, The two cots pushed together to make a large bed sagged in the middle of each. There is barely room to get into bed from either side with this configuration.
Just shopping. Not too much to do here unless you book a beach visit.
Not a lot to do here unless you shop.
We did not schedule an excursion, choosing instead to walk around the city. It's quaint, but not a whole lot to do in the port.