If ONLY we had known!

We selected this cruise because of it's length (12 nights) and ports of call (islands we had not yet seen in our past cruises). This was our 5th cruise on Royal Caribbean, all of which we loved and made us loyal cruisers. We had the worst cruise of our lives on Grandeur of the Seas. We wanted to leave by day 2!

What you need to know. This ship is full of loyal, patron cruisers, many of whom cruise back to back to back on this ship exclusively. They consider this ship their home. Good for Royal Caribbean, not good for us. To be specific, my husband and I are in our mid forties and do not have children. We were bored to tears on this ship. The entertainment was very poor. The musicians were good, but the singers and dancers were awful, and the shows were not broadway fare, but rather piecemeal reviews, like the "Broadway, Rhythm and Rhyme" I endured. On board activities included lots of bingo, trivia, name that tune, a spelling bee, and several days of learning to dance Michael Jackson's "Thriller" dance. I played so much trivia just seeking something to do! The evenings often had no shows at all. The afternoons were showings of movies (fortunately they were more recent releases). We went on a cruise and watched movies!?!

The average age of the cruisers was 75-granted, my guestimation, and all very nice people. We met a newlywed couple who stayed in their room almost all the time. Good for them. We booked 3 excursions to dive, and learned that they were all cancelled on the first night of the cruise due to lack of participation. The few other younger cruisers we met all had the same astonishment. Wish we had known this would be so boring when we booked it!

We could tell from the website that this cruise would be quite different. There was for example, no promenade, no surfing simulator, no fun, modern things to do. However, we thought we would spend more time by the pool relaxing or low key things to do. The pool was over-run by seniors who didn't want any activity in the pool that might splash them or cause a disturbance. We were scolded for swimming in the swimming pool. Finding a poolside deck chair was challenging sometimes, and this ship had unique signage we hadn't seen on any other ship, prohibiting saving deck chairs. The senior cruisers would sleep all day by the pool. The pools close at 7 pm. Almost no one is out after 8 pm.

The bars have limited drink offerings, for example, you could not order a tropical RedBull mixed drink, even though there were advertisements on the ship at the bars for this product. Why? Likely because seniors are not interested in this beverage so they don't stock it, although it has been standard on all of our other cruises.

This ship is old and showing its age. There were smells from our bathroom and frequent clean ups in the hallways using blowers to dry carpeting. There is rust apparent all over this ship and the furniture and decor is showing considerable wear. The cabin furniture in our Junior Suite was hard and the bed was painfully uncomfortable. I will say, however, that the room was the coolest we have ever experienced on RC. Good air conditioning.

Staff are friendly, but I could see the bias for cruisers they saw over and over again.

I sat next to a lady who was sharing all the things the Crown and Anchor Supervisor had given her over the length of the cruise, including the etched crystal block depicting the Grandeur of the Seas she had in her hands at the moment. This was not standard perk. They are gushing over these frequent senior cruisers. Good for them, not good for us.

The initial review of this ship by the Cruise Critic reviewer was very diplomatic and kind. If you are not yet in retirement age, and like a more active cruise experience- beware and steer clear of the Grandeur of the Seas. Besides, they are mostly booked up for the next 3-5 years, health permitting. If only we had known before we took this cruise.

The styling was similar to other ships but was old and worn out. Curtains, drapes, bedspreads, carpet, wood furniture all looking worn out. The bed was terribly hard and uncomfortable. The cabinet and closet doors banged away through the night with the rocking of the ship. Our shower flooded the bathroom if we did not place towels strategically to prevent this. The refrigerator was not cooling sufficiently, but the AC was exceptional.