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!
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.
Our excursion was canceled due to lack of participation. But the island was beautiful and very American friendly, not full of pushy taxi drivers and sales people. Lots of Americans now living on the island.
The port was full of pushy people trying to sell me on their products and services. This is a turn off for me. Bought a t shirt and a towel from one nice quiet shop I found.
Lovely port. Beautiful island. Would love to go back there again! Friendly sales people.