Grandeur of the Seas Review
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Additional details
My destination was the ship, but the itinerary included Charleston, SC, Port Canaveral, FL, Miami, FL, Nassau, Bahamas, and Coco Cay, Bahamas. Coco Cay got cancelled for safety reasons, as the water was very choppy and they only expected it to get worse. I completely agreed with the decision to cancel this stop.
Charleston, SC is a quaint old city, full of southern charm and southern ideals. Though the ship docked around 730am, nothing opened until 930am. The city was a ghost town. There was a parade at noon, as it was St Patrick's Day.
I did not take any excursions at Port Canaveral. The port itself has nothing nearby, so I would have needed to take a cab anywhere I wanted to go. I considered renting a car for the day to go visit a friend, but all of the reviews for the local rental car agencies indicated that this would be a pain, so I stayed on board all day.
Cabin Review
Large Ocean View Stateroom
The cabin, an ocean view, had two twin beds. We could have requested to have them pushed together to make a King, but then we would have been arguing over who gets to sleep on the "right" side of the bed. We brought our own foam mattress pads to put on the beds, which helped. We sleep on memory foam at home, so regular mattresses are not generally something we consider "comfortable". But that's an "us" problem, so we brought our own mattress pads. With the mattress pads, which cost about $15 each at walmart prior to the cruise, the beds were quite comfortable.
There was plenty of storage space. The closet had about 5 feet width of upper "pole" space, and a 3 foot wide "lower" pole. There were three 18" wide drawers in the closet. The desk had three 12" wide drawers, and 3 24" wide drawers. There are shelves behind the mirrors over the desk, and some small shelves in the bathroom. A drawer and a vertical "cabinet" (6 inch by 6 inch by maybe 18 inches tall) in the bathroom as well. We requested additional hangers, and were provided with plenty of them.
The drawers on the nightstand were very well lubricated, and as the ship bobbed up and down on the waves, the drawer would open and close. It became quite the running joke by the end of the cruise.
Facial tissues are not in the bathroom, but are in the top drawer of the desk, along with the hair dryer. This is apparently due to kleenex clogging the pipes. The bathroom worked quite well, though the sink is very small and it's difficult to get your hands under the running water.
The carpet was pretty dirty, which wouldn't have been obvious except that we walked barefoot in the cabin (always in shoes when out of the cabin) and our feet got disgustingly black. The furniture has a light finish and looks very dated as a result.
The window is recessed, so while it is a large window, your field of view is fairly limited. It also apparently makes it difficult for the crew to clean, so it was very salt encrusted and almost impossible to see out.
The cabin is adequate for two people. I would not put three or four people in this cabin. I also would not recommend anyone take this cabin who has mobility issues or problems with seasickness. I enjoyed the rocking sensation at night, as it lulled me to sleep, and it certainly made getting to the restroom an adventure.
Port Reviews
Nassau
The port itself is very commercialized, and Nassau is nothing but a port town, apparently. The pirate museum was interesting and definitely worth visiting if you have kids.
Miami
Bayside Market has a free trolley from the ship. There is a CVS within walking distance of the Bayside Market, in case you need anything from the store.
Charleston
Charleston is a quaint old city with Southern charm and Southern ideals. Nothing opens before 930 am, so don't bother getting off the ship before then.
Baltimore
This was embarkation. The line for "Gold" cruisers was very long, and we spent over an hour in line. My travel partner had to go sit down due to health issues, and I picked her up at the head of the line when it was our turn to check in.