We picked the Grandeur because it sails out of Baltimore, about an hour drive for us, and we liked the itinerary. Having most recently been on Harmony of the Seas which is massive, I appreciated the walk-ability of Grandeur; I felt I could walk the ship end to end easily and quickly. We often used the stairs. At the same time the ship felt spacious and uncrowded. The only place I had trouble getting a spot was the adults-only indoor solarium, and right before show time in the Palladium theater on one-show nights. Otherwise there were always spots to sit and lounge, especially outdoors there were always seats, from the sunny observatory on deck 10 to deck 5 shade under the life boats.
-Solarium pool is open 4-6pm for kids, sometimes extra hours if weather is bad. This is great on a February cruise out of Baltimore, first and last days were too cold to swim outside.
-The main pool feels a bit small, more room for wading than swimming. With beach days and a winter cruise it wasn't much of a problem, but I'd plan my pool time accordingly.
I want to stay in this room again! Excellent location on desk 7, convenient to elevators, but far enough that noise didn’t reach us (and music from Centrum was quite loud at night) Loved being able to go quickly up to Park Café for a snack, and bounce down to Schooner Bar for trivia. Size and storage worked very well for two adults and a child, with room to spare, on 9 day sail. Felt more spacious than other cruises (Harmony and Carnival Pride). The couch is near the window and I I liked the view out the balcony from the couch. Lots of storage in the desk across from the couch, and in nightstands either side of the bed. Closet has drawers and shelves. The couch pulled out into a full bed, but with the cushions off it's about the size of a twin bed. Steward put sheets on and my 4yo slept there without pulling it out, saved us some space. The bed is low, couldn’t store anything under it but that wasn’t a problem. We were able to fit a folded stroller between the desk and the balcony, for example. The minifridge in the room was empty so plenty of room for snacks. The temperature in the room adjusted quickly and worked well, great as we like it colder to sleep. Only complaint is that the only power outlets are on the desk…plan ahead if you usually keep a phone charging by your bed at night!
We walked to the aquarium, it's about a mile. We took the shortest route there, along the port, which was not scenic. On the return we meandered through old town which was prettier. The aquarium was a nice manageable size, we spent about 2 hours there with our 4 year old. There are a lot of activities for kids, not just looking at the sea life though that in itself was fun. Look for lego creations of the sea creatures too. They have a big sting ray pool, for a fee you can touch and feed them (we did not). There were divers in an enormous fish tank...there are sea turtles. There is a soft play area for babies and toddlers, and what I can only describe as a wall of machines for older kids that simulates aspects of how animals move; my son was fascinated with this. Very happy we did this on our own instead of buying an excursion.
None of the excursions seemed right for us. Wish they had a simple beach transfer. We strolled around the tiny market, then just hung out on the ship and were happy.