Grandeur of The Seas 9 night Mediterranean Picture Review!

[gillyd42]

Hi Everyone! I am Stewart; I am 14 years of age and live in Scotland. I was aboard the Grandeur of the seas recently on a 9 night Mediterranean cruise departing from Venice and travelling to Palma with my family, consisting of my Mum, Dad and my brother. This is my attempt at hopefully a good and helpful review! Stay tuned!

We flew from Newcastle airport on the 12th of July to Venice Marco Polo with Jet 2.

The flight was an ordinary, normal one with no disruptions. Newcastle was a good, intact, modern airport. It didn’t feel too big or too small. We arrived in Venice half an hour earlier than scheduled. We pre-booked a taxi to take us to the hotel but it took a while to arrive. Turned out he forgot to hold up his sign! We had to wait in the arrivals lounge for not too long. The queue for the water taxis was quite long so people were waiting a short while to receive their tickets. It took us 20 minutes to reach Piazzale Roma where our hotel was located. We stayed in the Ca Doge. The hotel was very clean and was in a good place for our short stay. The receptionist was lovely and very helpful (according to my mum!). The room was of reasonable size and of good quality.

The hotel supplied the usual towels, shower gel and water.

After we unpacked and were settled we took a short walk down the side of a little canal. Restaurants were also alongside the canal. We branched off onto a quiet street where there was another restaurant! We stopped and had our dinner there. We had pizzas! They were mouth-watering homemade pizzas. We then ordered a beer which the adults had to share as it was the biggest beer we’ve ever seen!

 

Following dinner we went back to the hotel and got showered and ready for bed. We couldn’t sleep as we were so excited.

[littlesteelo]

Looking forward to the rest of your review :)

[GinaGG279]

Great Start!

Looking forward to more!:D

[gillyd42]

In the morning the light shone through the curtains and it was very very bright. After a quick and nice continental breakfast we took a water taxi to San Marco's Square.

We passed under the Rialto Bridge which was unfortunately covered in graffiti. It was a really nice trip down the canal and buying the tickets was easy. When you got on the boat you had to scan your ticket.

 

 

The queue was extremely long to get into the Basilica di San Marco. The square was packed with old Venetian buildings which were very tall.

 

 

We had a quick walk around the square as we didn’t have much time. It was really nice and we got loads of photos.

 

 

 

[gillyd42]

We bought some souvenirs and then got the water taxi back to the hotel. We picked up our cases from the Ca Doge and walked over the road to the people mover. We bought our 1 euro tickets and headed to the ship. The train had no driver but it was fast and it took only 2 minutes to get to the cruise terminal. When we arrived there were 4 ships in port.

I found this next photo quite funny!

A UPS water taxi!

[maxs mom]

Yay!! Another review of our cruise! Didn't I meet you guys on board?

[gillyd42]

I don't believe we did Max's mom, my mum was posting on the roll call and we were stood together at sail away! I recognised your picture but forgot to tell my mum!

[maxs mom]

Yes.....I remember chatting with your mom a bit on the roll call. We had a great group! Be sure and say hello next time!

[cruznqueen]

Keep it coming Stewart. You write beautifully. We are sailing on the grandeur in 3 weeks.

 

Can't wait to see the rest of your photos.

Mary

[paget]

Can't wait for you....your doing a great job!

[paget]

Can't wait for you....your doing a great job!

 

 

Sorry....meant can't wait for you to write more.

[sharonlacey]

Love your review doing a great job;)

[KansCocoa]

You're only 14! Wow! What a great writer! Keep it coming, as I can't wait to see more photos and read more! Good job. :)

[gillyd42]

Yes.....I remember chatting with your mom a bit on the roll call. We had a great group! Be sure and say hello next time!

 

We definitely will! If I remember!

[gillyd42]

You're only 14! Wow! What a great writer! Keep it coming, as I can't wait to see more photos and read more! Good job. :)

 

Thank you! I love your reviews! I really enjoyed your serenade review!

[gillyd42]

There were four ships in port today:

Norwegian Jade

MSC Armonia

Splendour of the Seas

And Us!

Royal Caribbean were supplying shuttle buses to the terminal as the walk was quite long. They had a queue for the Grandeur and Splendour. We waited around 15 minutes and thought let’s just walk as others were thinking the same. The walk in the heat was tiring and strenuous. We arrived to a big queue to check in the luggage. We then realised we were standing in the wrong one. We had printed off our luggage tags before we arrived so were straight through. After luggage drop off we then went to the check in. We were staying in a junior suite so we went in the suite and gold passengers’ queue which was quite short.

Other queues were very long again as we arrived at 12:30pm (prime time check in). We received all the documents and sea pass cards and headed for security. We breezed through that aswell! We boarded the Grandeur and took a seat in the Centrum. After travelling on the Grandeur last year there was a huge difference after her refurbishment

The new R Bar was very modern and clean and so was the rest of the centrum. We were just in time for the cabins being available to go to so we went to see ours. Our junior suite was very spacious and clean. The balcony was very big and the beds were comfy. There was a lot of cupboard space and additional armchairs. The bathroom had a lovely big bath tub and a lot of storage space! My mum had arranged some strawberries dipped in chocolate and a fruit basket for our room – these were very tasty! We then went up to the Windjammer Marketplace for lunch. On the first day the WJ can usually be quite crowded but as the new Park Cafe was open it wasn’t too bad. There was a wide selection of food available. We then took a walk around the ship to view all of the amenities on-board this wonderful ship. The bars and lounges were looking very nice, they were clean and spacious and well set out. The new speciality restaurants, Izumi, Giovanni’s Table and Chops Grille were also new and had some nice menus.

We didn’t get round to trying any of these though! During the evenings you could smell Izumi from the rear stairs on decks 8, 9 and 10. The new teen club was looking good! Myself and my brother were always there and made so many friends. We then proceeded to get coffee and ice cream from Ben and Jerry’s (which was too good!) then went back to the cabin to watch the comings and goings of the port. We started to unpack as the cases arrived. Then our room steward Victor came to meet us. He was a very nice guy from Costa-Rica. He was (like all of the Royal Caribbean staff) very polite, friendly and most of all done his job fantastically! Muster Drill was at 4:15 it went well and was very quick with the new touch screen gadgets they used rather than doing it with lots of paperwork.

[gillyd42]

We then went to deck 9 for sail away which was mesmerising. We waved to people as we went passed which was quite funny! It was very hot on deck and there was a slight delay in leaving but it was worth it. It was just like the pictures and I will never forget it!

[gillyd42]

We then went back to our room to get showered and to do some unpacking. We used the My Time Dining option for evening meal times. We had lovely waiters who were very attentive and done everything at the correct time! The meal was A M A Z I N G! Me and my brother went to enrol in the teen club. It was great fun! The teen staff are always really nice! On our last cruise mum and dad made us go up and make friends. At first we were reluctant but when we got there we didn’t want to leave! Everyone was really friendly so we quickly made friends. We took part in a scavenger hunt with our new friends. Last cruise we were on the Grandeur so it was easy! Some of the questions were hard because the ship had changed and we didn’t know the answers!. The staff around the ship were very helpful and funny! We came back with late night snacks from Park Cafe which we enjoyed. We then went to a comfortable bed for the night.

[gillyd42]

 

The next day we woke up still at sea as we were scheduled to arrive in Dubrovnik at 12:00pm.

 

 

We went to MDR for breakfast which was lovely (as usual) and then took a walk to the shops. We arrived on time and went to the Palladium Theatre to meet our excursion. We had to take our passports as Croatia isn't part of the EU. The tour took us up to the top of Dubrovnik in a cable car it did not take too long. The views were spectacular but the heat was too much.

 

[gillyd42]

We then had a short walk down to the old town of Dubrovnik for a tour around the city walls. The trip was advertised 'Dubrovnik by Cable Car for Families' but I personally don’t think the trip was suitable for a lot of families with small children. The walks were strenuous, due to the heat and the information was quite hard to take in even for me! A lot of people started to give in and take the shuttle bus back to the ship and in the end we did the same. The shuttle bus was free for everyone. When we returned to the ship we went to Park Cafe for the first time for a late lunch. It was actually very nice. The famous roast beef sandwiches were incredible. There was a wide variety of sandwiches, Panini’s and cakes for eating which was very good. After lunch we got off the boat and went to the souvenir shops that were just beside the boat. You only need your passport when leaving the port so we were ok. The shops were nice and we bought a couple of things. Following our shopping we went back up to the cabin to get changed for dinner at 7:00pm. We decided just to go to the windjammer for dinner as it had been a long day. The food was really nice and again a good selection. It was very quiet for the windjammer but we had a lovely conversation with the greeter at the door about Santorini and how she went in the cable car to the top of the island because she 'ain't goin on no donkey’! I went to meet some friends around the ship and had a really good night! Mum and Dad went to a quiet spot at the rear of the ship as usual on deck 5 to watch sunset and sail-away. Me and Callum went to the teen club and then went our separate ways with our separate friends and I participated in the Casino Night. We played some American card games which the Texans taught us. Before I knew it I had to say goodbye as It was time for bed.

[Bobal]

This review is great - we were on the Grandeur earlier in the year and also last year so, like you, we were able to compare how different it was after refurbishment.

 

I'm glad to hear your mum 'made' you go to the teen club. I did the same with my sons when they were teens and they made some great friends, some of whom they're still in touch with.

 

Looking forward to the rest of the review and more lovely pics.

[gillyd42]

This review is great - we were on the Grandeur earlier in the year and also last year so, like you, we were able to compare how different it was after refurbishment.

 

I'm glad to hear your mum 'made' you go to the teen club. I did the same with my sons when they were teens and they made some great friends, some of whom they're still in touch with.

 

Looking forward to the rest of the review and more lovely pics.

 

Thank You!

Haha! I'm glad my mum made me!

I am still intouch with friends from last year and this year!

[gillyd42]

Morning came and we woke up to the sights of Kotor. What an unbelievable view we had from the balcony. It was sensational. Kotor is actually a fjord and was amazing.

My photos didn't come out very well because of the light!

[gillyd42]

I went for a morning swim before we got to do our own thing. The pool deck was quiet but the cruise director’s staff were still blaring out calls on their microphone. After a room service breakfast which was delicious! We got the tender of the boat out to Kotor and went for a walk. Kotor is built inside the city walls which kind of made the place cooler and more shaded when in the streets as the buildings were very high. I was a little uneasy about Kotor as we were supposed to be on Corfu. My mum hadn’t done much research but I couldn’t have been more wrong. We took a tour of the small town and seen this:

The giant washing line of Kotor!

[gillyd42]

There were a couple of beggars but the place overall was really nice. We had a coffee etc. After some shopping for souvenirs we wandered back to the ship. As we got to the port we stopped for an ice cream. My Mum had 20 euros at the ready (after being ripped off in Florence last year) but the woman said 2 ice creams will be 2 euros! I was very surprised to hear that. The ice cream was proper homemade stuff so we had another!

That afternoon we had lunch and just walked around and admired the views before another fantastic dinner. We watched sail away from the balcony which was beautiful.

I forgot to say:

There was a giant movie screen on the pool deck which played movies in the evening and some afternoons. Golf was usually shown on some day’s aswell. There were table tennis tables and they done tournaments most days of the cruise.

It took us over two hours to reach open waters!