We wanted to try a big ship cruise. We were very impressed with the smooth embarcation process but things quickly went downhill from there. Long lines greeted us at every meal with or without reservations for our "my time" dining, and table service was mediocre for the most part. We found the serving staff attention to detail lacking even in the specialty restaurants, and the day to day menu was largely repetitive with rather limited choices. Activities for the over 50 crowd were almost non-existent with little continuity through the week. Other disappointing occurrences: waiting (always) for elevators, having to reserve for shows for which the theaters weren't full, reserving My Time Dining and having no other choices but 5 pm or 8:30 pm, using the Royal IQ app was troublesome and some of our reservations actually disappeared, including dining and activities. It is a fun ship for families with children ages 8-18 but we won't be sailing on it again. Read Less

We choose this cruise for the ship, as we had not been on the Anthem of the Seas. The ship was impressive, but it lacked good food, unless you paid extra, and a lot of the crew seemed to be lazy. Not at all what we are used to on other ships. Lots to do. The entertainment on this ship was certainly different. Enjoyed The Gift, Spectra, and We will Rock You, but once was enough for all of them. We much prefer Freedom of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas to Anthem of the Seas. iFly was a great experience along with North Star. Giving 3 stars because of the lack of excellent service and the fact that so many things cost extra. $2.50 for a small bag of popcorn, $3 for a bottle of water, $10 drinks and $11 glass of wine. This along with $29 per day gratuities for 2 people make a cruise not the deal it used to be. Read Less

Best time of year for my time off. Embarking ship in Cape Liberty was very efficient and took very little time. Bermuda is an excellent island and safe to get around. Transportation on the island is very user friendly. Would have preferred Caribbean islands but were not available for the time I needed. Music on the ship was excellent along with the headliner shows. All the main dining room meals were great. Disembarkation in Boston was poor to put it mildly. It appeared that customs had extra officers onboard which caused a delay. Always put safety first but some communication would have helped. Boston is a nice city but the short amount of time allocated doesn't do it justice. I would have preferred more time in Bermuda and not gone to Boston. Disembarkation in Cape Liberty ran pretty smoothly as the lines kept moving. Traffic leaving the port area was a breeze. Read Less

was a great cruise on board was great Dru Pavlo is a great cruise Dir. one of best in fleet food in MDR was good only down part was they stoped serving Osso Busco Great pool area and it looks like they are cracking down on people placeing towels on chairs and leaving which is great. Windjammer food was very good whne we at there. also the pizza at searentos was very tatsy the shows were good and we will rock iIMO is the best show that Royal has ona ship cast i great. Royal just a great job we had a Jr. suite and I think that is the way to go. we had such i good time we are heading out next year going to do Cuba can not wait. got a grat price on board with the next cruise desk. they are a big help in choosing. think we will always be loyal to Royal Read Less

Wanted to try a new cruise line. We were attracted by the departure port and the variety of activities. We were not disappointed! Embarkation was a breeze. We had a Grand Suite (lowest end of Sky Class). Lovely room, although the brown color scheme was dull. Great to have a separate space from our daughters, wonderful bathroom—full size with two sinks and full size tub/shower. Nice big balcony. Concierge got us reservations for every activity and dinner we asked for. Concierge lounge was a great place for a free cocktail before dinner and nice hot d’oeu. Activities were great, from bumper cars to roller skating to escape room to iFly and more. Spectra’s Cabaret was cool, some sections stronger than others. We Will Rock You is very silly but fun, with some seriously talented performers. We skipped TheGift. Food was very good overall, some misses but more hits. Appreciated the international selection at Windjammers and the wide array of free food available at off hours. Service was very friendly and thorough almost without exception. A great experience!! Read Less

Embarkation: was a breeze. due to coast guard conducting a mandatory routine inspection, our arrival time was pushed back to 11:30....i never listen. got there for 10 a.m. and i believe we were on the ship by 11:15. disembarkation was even easier. walked right off at 7:15 a.m., grabbed my luggage from Section 18 and through customs and home by 8:20 ... 8:30 a.m. after embarkation, up to the WJ for a quick lunch, then headed to Seaplex to try again to sign up for Escape Room. didn't work, again. however, got lucky and was on bumper cars without a wait. that's always fun. Cabin was on deck ten with the extended balcony. a bit of a walk from the aft elevators but believe me, i needed it and more. i do not think i would get this cabin again only because it's sort of above the "bus stop" (smoking lounge) which is on deck 5 starboard. first night it sounded like there was an argument. and you could smell the smoke. not that bad tho, but i don't really have a good sense of smell. there was always food available. i ate way too much. every single bite was delicious. loved dressing up for formal night. i don't get to do that too often and i'm not a make up wearer so it was nice. that being said, was out of my heels and makeup right after dinner. lol i was with a group of 6-8, depended who wanted to do dinner that night in the dining room. we all got our main entree and would pick another to share. everything was really really good. i do highly recommend the dining room for lunch. the salad bar is out of this world. there is a dessert bar too but i never got there during the lunch. i was always too full. that didn't stop me from getting cookies later lol was not lucky in the casino but i never am. i keep trying tho. lol didn't win a raffle at the meet n mingle either. never do...i keep trying tho lol went to WWRY again and it was fantastic. we did alot of trivia. fun but we didn't win. also did the mystery in Two70. just the two of us. i think we got one clue lol there were groups of 6 so we didn't stand a chance. Service was fantastic. Inyoman was our cabin attendant. such a nice guy. always smiling, would always stop to say hello. couldn't have asked for better. the attendants on deck 10 starboard/aft were all very nice and worked so hard (i'm sure they all do but i only noticed those in my hallway). Gary and Inyoman (different guy obvi) at Sunshine Bar in the Solarium were very attentive, friendly and smiling. Dadang and Michael in the Casino were great too. always had good service everywhere. lots of roving bartenders in the venues this time. i think last time they had to use more staff to clean as Noro was on two cruise before mine and on mine. On a sad note.... no more elevator art. i was totally looking forward to that. and no binoculars in the Northstar. passengers stole them. unbelievable. oh and the artwork in the elevators was removed because people kept defacing it. unbelievable. Read Less

Third Cruise this year, Princess, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean Not all bad but Royal Caribbean was in 3rd Place Embarking & Disembarkment was extremely smooth & quick Grandeur of the Seas is an older ship but some things could be improved.... options/channels on the TV should be updated with OnDemand Movies & Shows and Interactive options, some things really showed the age like drapes felt dry Rotted..... Cabin #7046 Great location !!! Nice up graded bathroom Lots of storage Mini refrigerator Best Room Attendant Ever !!! Oliver Rellama....made us feel like we were valued & special Always there with Happy greetings Room well attended and Ice And wonderful Towel Animals :-) Food was really NOT that good except specialty dining rooms Room Service Fee is Terrible! Felt disappointed and at $7.95 + 18% gratuity felt Nickeled & Dimed Dining Room & Buffet variety not very good and food was often cool/cold and blahhh Drink package was worth the cost Entertainment was ok Activities in Kids Zone was a winner with my 10 year old grandchild Activities Director was wonderful Glass Bottom Night Tour wasn’t worth the money or time Aquarium/Zoo excursion was very nice and a good morning activity *error below Only traveled with one child Read Less

We selected this cruise because of the date. Wanted a place to celebrate a milestone birthday for hubby that departure was close to home. So we sailed out of Baltimore - destination was not important - but none of our 3 had been to Bermuda so an added bonus. We did connecting rooms - and my 93 yo dad was with us so we selected cabins close to an elevator. We did outside cabins on deck 2. The door between the rooms made it simple to chat - but took away precious floor space. There is one arm chair and moving it from the door made maneuvering around a little interesting. We do open seating for dining and the first night we were near a couple families that do not know what inside voices are - and dress as if they are at a break from yardwork (shorts - hats ...) If I heard the one man say one more time that he was going to find a person that looked at him funny and punch him I was going to scream. The next evening we asked if we could be in a different section - but making sure that the waitstaff was excellent - so happily we moved over. They even came to check a few times to see it was better - nice touch. I am not sure why Royal Carib puts rules in the Cruise Compass that clearly says 'no hats in the dining room and no shorts for dinner' if they are not going to enforce it. I don't know how difficult it is for someone to leave their ballcaps in the cabin. Having been with many people that have lost hair to cancer I understand when some people want to cover their heads - this was not the case with these people. We also could not understand why the music needed to be so loud in the rooms when there was not an event. We did go to the Viking Crown Lounge to read and that music was a lower level - but otherwise it was difficult for my father to hear us. My father is a Navy veteran (WWII & Korea). There was a veterans gathering early in the cruise. They mentioned that later in the cruise there would be a veterans celebration. On the last night of the cruise they did this in the Centrum. They asked all the veterans to come on the staircase and celebrated them all. After a few words they also invited any first responders and a few more joined. Later asked for any Gold Star families. It was a lovely presentation - and my dad loved it - I believe it was his favorite part of the cruise. Read Less

This was our 4th time on the Grandeur and the 3rd time taking her to Bermuda. We sailed with another couple that we met on the 2016 cruise to Bermuda, We chose this date specifically for the 7 nights and cruising for Halloween. This was our 10th overall cruise with RCCL. We booked an OV guarantee and we given cabin 2054, deck 2, port. It was a noisy cabin, sounded like a blender going on and off and a metal door banging throughout the night, Our stateroom attendant, Stephen, was excellent. Cabin was always clean and well stocked, We mainly ate in the main dining room and found the food quality to be on par with previous cruises. The staff were very attentive, keeping our glasses topped off and our bellies full. We did lunch in Chops on embarkation day, meh. I ordered a medium rare filet, and it came out raw. The waiter argued with me that it was medium rare. I ate what I could. We did Giovanni;s for dinner one night, still not impressed by the food. Loved the crew, from Captain Thor to Mike S (the cruise director) everyone was very friendly and professional. Great Halloween party in the Centrum. Would definitely cruise again on the Grandeur, Read Less

So, we've been on The Jewel of the Seas before, and it was fine. Signed up for this one because of easy access to Boston, and we love Bermuda. We've been there several times. Checking in was easy and the ship was nice. A little frayed around the edges here and there but no big detriment. Our biggest complaint was not being able to get potable water easily. We need to drink a lot and brought several water bottles with us. The water in the bathroom sink was heavily chlorinated and tasted bad. The fountains all say not to fill your bottles there; well, we had to, as there was no where else! And every time we wanted water, we had to go up to the Cafe to get it. Why not have bottled water in the room fridge? They do not cost that much! Add $20 to each room fee to pay for it for crying out loud. Soda is another story. What does a can of soda cost when purchased in bulk? A quarter? Then why charge $4 for it? How about have soda/water machines on each floor where you can put in $1 and get what you want? It just leaves a bad taste in your mouth for being ripped off. I know they all do it, but why not have people clamoring to your cruise line to not feel ripped off? Be the first cruise line to provide free soda, it costs less than the fresh squeezed lemonade. Went to main dining room the first night. WHY do we have to sit with strangers, especially ones who ignore you? And the tables are so big, you can't even talk to the people across from you without shouting. Have an option for couples who are anti-social. (I know, why go on a cruise then? We like Bermuda, and it's the easiest cheapest way to get there!) So we opted to go to the buffet instead. A couple times we tried the main dining room again for lunch and breakfast, but were not impressed with what we ordered and then had nothing to eat. (Who's going to order another whole meal from the menu?) My husband ate salads, spaghetti, pizza and burgers every night. He complained the desserts were no good, (I found a couple I liked) and he has a huge sweet tooth. Also, it was very difficult to get a private table to eat at in the Windjammer. A could of times we had to go outside to the Cantina adjacent, which was a bit cool in October in the Northeast. The staff in the Windjammer were very efficient at removing your used plates and asking if you want coffee (I had to dilute the coffee with 1/2 hot water, as it was SUPER strong). The music in Windjammer almost drove us out. It was all modern girl bands shrieking and repeating the same lines (OK, I will admit I am 60, but 85% of the people onboard were ever older) The first day it was music I knew and liked, and then someone changed the channel! There were NO special food events like chocolate night or pool party BBQs; that made for a boring cruise, every day was the same old food, same old place. One night, they had a taco bar and there was a long line for it, it was great! Why not have that every night? People liked it! I can't see paying $50 each to eat in a "Specialty" restaurant, when you already paid to eat somewhere else.... it makes no sense to me! The entertainment was average. We've been on other ships where the comedians made you laugh so much that your face hurt. So I am not hard to please. And the shows, well, the singers and dancers were very talented and worked their tails off, costumes were delightful. But the shows they chose were a scrambled mismatch of snippets of something that I am unfamiliar with. And very loud. The best songs were when one singer did a solo; when they all sang together it sounded more like shouting, and you could not understand the words. The band was very brassy sounding, so maybe they had to sing loud to be heard. Trivia was OK, some really difficult questions and not many people scored higher than 10 out of 20. We won on other ships, this one, nothing. Maybe we got stupid over the years. Haha. The staff was not overly friendly or funny, except for Diego, he was hilarious. As many cruises, we felt that we were being squeezed for extra money everywhere we turned. I did ask to have the gratuities taken off, and paid our room steward in cash instead, as he was the only one we felt actually helped us in any way. We did not eat in the dining room and had to get our own food every day. The few drinks we had to buy had 18% added already (I figured out after adding another 20% the first time!) I will admit to being a cheapskate. $20 for a photo that costs a few cents to produce, and you are going to throw it away anyways if I don't buy it! Some things don't make sense to me. We did no excursions, but rented Oleander scooters in King's Wharf. For $55 each day (plus $30 one time insurance), they are the best and most fun way to see everything on the island and have our freedom to do as we pleased. We bring snorkel gear and go to Jobson's Cove, the best beach as far as we are concerned. In conclusion, I hope other cruise lines will consider departure from Boston to points southern and warm. I am tired of Norwegian and RC, but those are the options if you don't want to fly. Read Less