Come cruise with me - Grandeur review 10/23/10 - Lots of Pics

[bionicman97]

The following is my review/journal from the cruise we took on the Grandeur of the Seas, departing on October 23, 2010. We are heading to Key West, Cozumel and Costa Maya on a 5 day cruise. Everything that I have written for each day was written the day it occurred and was what I was thinking or feeling at the time. We chose to cruise on the Grandeur because it was convenient for us and we are trying to cruise on at least one ship in each class before we start repeating any of them again.

 

 

Please bear with me. Normally I have myself prepared with all of my links and everything formatted, so I can post each day quickly in a row with all the pictures. That won’t be happening this time. I will try to post as much as I can at a time, but with my time restraints it will probably take me a few days to get everything up.

 

Background: My wife and I have been married for 8 years. I am 30 and she is 28.

 

 

This was our 11th cruise with Royal Caribbean. We mainly cruise for the food, entertainment dancing and visiting the ports. We live in Florida, so we look for opportunities to cruise during the off season for those wonderful prices.

 

Well, off we go.

[bionicman97]

Day 0 - Headed to Fort Lauderdale

 

We left the house around 11 am and headed down the Florida Turnpike to Fort Lauderdale.

 

 

Once you get passed Orlando, the turnpike has to be one of the most boring roads in all of Florida. We stopped at several of the travel plaza's on the way down.

 

 

Around 4:30 pm, we arrived at the Hampton Inn in Tamarac. The hotel was nice and costs around $100 a night.

 

 

The rest of day 0 coming soon. . .

[Puffinater]

Great start. Thanks for taking the time to do this.

[bionicman97]

Day 0 - Headed to Fort Lauderdale - Continued

 

After checking in, we went into town to find some dinner. We ended up eating at Olive Garden.

 

 

 

I like eating at a place like this before we cruise, because it gives me something to compare the food on the ship to, rather than just saying it was good or bad. I had the chicken Gnocchi soup and the Lasagna.

 

 

 

 

It was good, as was the service. I got a few weird looks for taking pictures of my food at Olive Garden. I guess people have never went on a pre-cruise dinner before. One thing to note also, when they brought the bread basket, the bread only comes in "stick" form, so I had to wait another day for a multitude of bread choices. They also put "prices" next to the food.

 

After dinner, we made a quick stop at Walgreens and headed back to the hotel. The hotel had milk and cookies (I think they were Otis Spunkmeyer), which was nice warm up for cruise ship cookies.

 

 

It's around 10pm and its been a long week, so I think I'll pack it in for the night, with visions of the Grandeur sailing through my head.

[bionicman97]

Great start. Thanks for taking the time to do this.

 

Thanks :) Time to stop for dinner, but I'll get at least one more day up before the night is over (maybe more).

[hfweather]

Great start to your review. I always love reading your reviews and looking at your wonderful pictures. Can't wait for more!

[bionicman97]

Great start to your review. I always love reading your reviews and looking at your wonderful pictures. Can't wait for more!

 

Thanks :)

 

Ok, moving on to day 1 now. . .

[bionicman97]

Day 1 - Embarkation at Port Everglades

 

We left the hotel around 10:45am to head to the port. We hopped on the turnpike, went to 595 and then to Eller drive.

 

I continue to think this port is the biggest pain to get into and out of out of all of the Florida East Coast ports. Not horrible, but definitely not my favorite. I think both Miami and Port Canaveral are easier to navigate by car.

 

 

 

We arrived at the unloading point about 11:15am. It was a busy day at port with 5 ships present. We quickly unloaded the luggage and the ladies and parked in the garage. We proceeded inside, where our passports and Set Sail pass were checked, then a health questionnaire, then on to check in with no line. As we were checking in, an elderly couple next to us was denied boarding due to not having a marriage license (they were married recently I guess) and other appropriate paperwork. It was pretty sad, but I would think people would be more diligent about making sure they have what they need before they head to the port. Once we were checked in, we proceeded to have our pictures taken and boarded.

 

We got on board around 11:40 am.

 

We then proceeded to the windjammer on deck nine. We passed the pool on the way.

 

 

More Day 1 Coming Soon. . .

[bionicman97]

Day 1 - Embarkation at Port Everglades - Continued

 

The first thing we noticed was all of the tables just outside of the windjammer. That’s a nice touch.

 

The layout of the food in the windjammer was also quite different than we had seen on the other RCI ships, with everything set up in circular fashion instead of the long rectangle bars. Overall, I liked the layout.

 

 

 

The windjammer was only about a quarter of the way full when we arrived and they had a nice variety of food. I had a Caesar salad, honey strung chicken, a little pasta, some rice and for dessert, a toffee cookie, apple strudel and a roulade.

 

 

Everything that I had was the appropriate temperature. The food I had was what I would rate an average for RCI food quality, not the best I have had on a ship, but not the worst either. We were on pretty early too, so I can't say how the food would have been a few hours later.

 

By 12:30, the windjammer was getting busy, but there were still several tables around.

 

More Day 1 - Coming Soon . . .

[bionicman97]

Day 1 - Continued (again)

 

At 1pm, we went to the room. For the first time ever, our beds weren't together. No big deal, just surprised.

 

 

 

We also had a safe that used the room key instead of a code. I liked using the room key for the safe better. Just means I can be that much lazier. We unloaded our carry on luggage and headed back out to take pictures around the ship.

 

One thing that is really striking me about the Grandeur is how differently the ship is laid out compared to other classes of RCI ships. I like how it feels like every time I turn a corner, I find a new place. Can't really put it into words I guess. One other thing I notice is how for some reason, this ship seems much more elegant then the Freedom that we sailed on a few months ago. The Freedom is beautiful, but has a very modern family feel to it. I like a little variety and the Grandeur has lots of gold trim and ornate details.

 

 

 

 

The ship really seems to be in good shape inside. (I will amend this opinion later). I am impressed with how well the inside has been kept up. The outside is a work in progress. They currently have half of the upper pool deck closed while they are redoing the floors. Not sure, but I'm guessing it will be the whole length of the cruise by the looks of it. (It will be the whole cruise, but they will rope off various parts and open different parts).

 

 

More Day 1 To Come (Who knew you could drag out one day so much). . .

[bionicman97]

More Day 1 Stuff.

 

Around 3:30, we went back to our room and had our luggage. Our room attendant came by and introduced himself and said he would take care of the bed. We went ahead and unpacked. At 4:30pm, we attended the muster drill. It lasted about 15 minutes. After this, we went to the pool deck for the sail away.

 

 

Here is one of Holland America's ship's behind us and the Oasis getting ready to leave just after us.

 

 

 

Here's the beach as we exit the port.

 

 

Around 5:15, we headed to the Viking Crown for the nightly diamond event. They were offering wine, soda and champagne, if I am remembering correctly. A gentleman by the name of Denry served us and he was very nice.

 

 

Around 6:30, we went to the pool deck to watch the sunset. Out of all the pictures I took, I think this is one of my favorites. (I believe that is the Carnival Glory on the far left)

 

 

As I write this, we are back at the room, getting ready for the 7:45 show, which features a comedian.

 

Still more day 1 to come. . . (It will be a few minutes because I've been doing this in the car and we are just getting home)

[bionicman97]

More Day 1.

 

At 7:20, we went to the theater.

 

 

It was pretty empty. Around 7:30 it started to fill up. By showtime at 7:45, it was full. The show started with an RCI pre recorded video about the make a wish foundation. After this, the singers and dancer came on and did a routine.

 

 

After that, the comedian came on. His name was Dan Wilson. I would rate him as better than average for a cruise comedian. I appreciate the fact that most of his routine had nothing to do with being on a cruise ship (You can only hear the same cruise ship jokes so many times).

 

 

At 8:45, we went to dinner.

 

 

For dinner, I had the vadalia onion tart and the pork medallions. The tart was a little undercooked. The pork was very good. For dessert I got the chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream, except that I never received my ice cream. (The chocolate cake desperately needed the ice cream).

 

 

 

Our assistant waiter was very attentive. Our waiter seemed to be gone a lot. As we were leaving, we saw him and I think he was having to cover for someone else tonight (by what he was saying), so we will see if the service improves tomorrow.

 

I promise I am almost done with day one. More to follow. . .

[ED MARY ANN]

great review keep it coming

[bionicman97]

The end of Day 1 is almost here.

 

I really liked the artwork on the ship, so I am going to slip a few pictures here.

 

 

 

 

Ok, back to Day 1.

 

After dinner, we listened to a band in the Centrum for a while and listened to the band. I thought the band was pretty good. Much better than the Zig Zags we heard on the Freedom (personal opinion).

 

 

After that, we went to the South Pacific lounge to watch a singing competition (I think it was Sing that tune or something similar).

 

 

It was pretty entertaining. Probably the most entertaining part was the people sitting next to us. Apparently they serve alcohol on board and this group found a large quantity of it. Every time they played music for a contestant, this lady gets up and dances in front of this guy setting at the edge of the stairs that went down about four feet. Well, as the show progresses, she works her routine from pop and lock all the way to a lap dance. She really gets moving and before you know it, they head down the stairs, him on the floor, her on top of him and the chair on top of both of them. They both seemed to be alright and about ten minutes later she was dancing again, but they will have to be feeling that in the morning.

 

The show ended at 11:30pm and we decided to pack it in, since the ship gets to Key West early in the morning. It's 11:45pm as I write this and we are off to bed.

 

Well guys and gals, that's the end of day 1. Hope you enjoyed it. Day 2 coming tomorrow . . .

[bionicman97]

great review keep it coming

 

Thanks :)

 

Day 2 Coming Soon. . .

[bionicman97]

Day 2 - Key West

 

My goal was to get up and see the sunrise, but I just couldn't drag myself out of bed. We finally got up around 8:20 am and got ready to go to Key West. The rest of my party decided they wanted to eat breakfast before going to Key West, so they went to the Windjammer for breakfast while I went to the top of the ship to take some pictures.

 

 

 

Around 9:30 am, we got of the ship and headed into town.

 

 

 

 

More Day 2 Coming Soon. . .

[bionicman97]

Day 2 - Key West - Continued

 

We wondered around town for about an hour and a had and then headed to the area where Kermit's is. We wondered around this area for a little while.

 

 

 

 

 

After feeding the fish, we went in to Kermits for some Key lime pie snacks.

 

 

 

It was fantastic. Absolutely the best key lime pie and key lime cinamon bun that I have ever had.

More Day 2 in a few. . .

[jerin]

What a great review. I'm really enjoying it, you have a very entertaining style.

 

I love Grandeur, and I think it has to do with all of the intimate spaces. My goal is to sail her for a transatlantic sometime. All of those sea days to enjoy.

[LBumb]

awesome job. i am really enjoying the photos.

[bionicman97]

Day 2 - Key West - Continued

After finishing up at Kermits, we wondered around town a little more, went to Mallory Square and then rebounded the ship around 12:30.

 

 

 

When we got back to the ship, we had tray of snacks. It really didn't look like stuff I would like, but it ended up tasting quite good.

We changed clothes and headed up to the Solarium. It didn't take us long to find a couple of seats. We rested in the Solarium until about 3:45 and then headed to the Windjammer for afternoon tea. I had some nacho's, pasta and some banana strudel. It all tasted good, but the banana strudel was cold and it's usually warm when we've had it on other ships.

After that, we went back to the Solarium, quickly found some seats and rested until about 5:30.

 

 

More Day 2 Coming Soon. . .

[BillOh]

Great job, I've never seen pictures of Granduer before. Also I've never seen pictures of Honey Stung Chicken, I thought it was like Quest, we aren't allowed to talk about it ;)

[bionicman97]

What a great review. I'm really enjoying it, you have a very entertaining style.

 

I love Grandeur, and I think it has to do with all of the intimate spaces. My goal is to sail her for a transatlantic sometime. All of those sea days to enjoy.

 

Thanks. I like to call my style "not to many words, lots of pictures" :D

 

awesome job. i am really enjoying the photos.

 

Thank you :)

[bionicman97]

Great job, I've never seen pictures of Granduer before. Also I've never seen pictures of Honey Stung Chicken, I thought it was like Quest, we aren't allowed to talk about it ;)

 

Thanks. I think it makes the review stronger to show a mythical food like honey strung chicken :eek:

[bionicman97]

Day 2 - Key West - Continued

 

I forgot to mention this earlier, but their was one other ship at Key West, the Carnival Something. I am glad we didn't dock where they did. They had a long tram ride just to get to town.

 

 

After relaxing in the Solarium for a while, we went to the room, changed and headed up to the Viking Crown Lounge for the nightly Diamond event. There was about 20 people there. The two waiters were very nice and attentive to us.

 

 

They have some interesting Viking statues up there.

 

 

Around 6:30 pm, we went back to the room to get ready for formal night and the Captains Welcome.

 

At 7:30 pm, we went to the South Pacific lounge for the Captains Welcome. They room wasn't open yet, so we waited in Singing in the rain Lounge just outside of the South Pacific.

 

 

Around 7:45 pm, they opened the lounge and we went in and got a seat. They were serving complimentary champagne and punch. It got very crowded by the time it started with many people standing.

 

 

The captain did his usual speech. He said their were just a little more than 2,000 people on board.

 

 

 

Still more Day 2 to come. . .

[bionicman97]

Day 2 - Key West - Continued

 

After the Captain's Welcome, we went to dinner. I had the Caesar salad, fillet of beef and strawberry cheesecake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

 

 

 

The food that I had was good and comparable with what we have had on other ships. The gravy sauce tasted different than what I have had in the past, so I am not sure if they changed it, or if it is just this ship. It was much spicier than I remembered. The service was also better tonight, not outstanding, but better.

 

After dinner, we went to the Broadway show, Rhythm and Rhyme. It was a good show and pretty comparable in quality to the production shows we have seen on the Sovereign class ships. I wouldn't expect a ship like this to have the type of shows the Freedom class ships do, but we still enjoy them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More Day 2 Coming Soon. . .