Differences between the Grandeur and the Florida cruises

[browneyedwoman]

I am looking at different options other than Carnival for cruising. The Royal Caribbean cruises out of Florida look like they encourage kids to be on them. Are they the ones that have characters from kids movies on them?

 

When I was reading the reviews of the Grandeur sailing out of Baltimore, it didn't seem like people were talking about parades of children's characters or crazy activities like rock climbing, a rope course or a water park that kids would like. Does the Grandeur not have these activities on it? It would actually be a plus for me.

[Clarea]

I am looking at different options other than Carnival for cruising. The Royal Caribbean cruises out of Florida look like they encourage kids to be on them. Are they the ones that have characters from kids movies on them?

 

When I was reading the reviews of the Grandeur sailing out of Baltimore, it didn't seem like people were talking about parades of children's characters or crazy activities like rock climbing, a rope course or a water park that kids would like. Does the Grandeur not have these activities on it? It would actually be a plus for me.

The Grandeur has rock climbing, but no rope course, children's characters, or water park.

 

Freedom out of Port Canaveral, and Oasis and Allure out of Ft. Lauderdale have the rock climbing, children's characters and kids water park.

[FTLcruisers]

The 2 Florida ships with the most things on them to attract families are the Allure and the Oasis - they both have an aqua theater, the characters, rock climbing, zipline, flowrider, carousel, etc. Grandeur is an older ship but does have rock climbing, an outdoor movie screen.

 

Marianne

[RSLeesburg]

The Grandeur has rock climbing, but no rope course, children's characters, or water park.

 

Freedom out of Port Canaveral, and Oasis and Allure out of Ft. Lauderdale have the rock climbing, children's characters and kids water park.

 

What about Explorer? She has a bit more than Grandeur, and is not too far up the road from Baltimore. I know there are no characters on EX, but not sure what other things she has...

[maureencruiser]

I think a large portion of deciding how many kids will be there is timing. Don't book your cruise for July and then be "surprised" by how many kids there are. The good thing about kids is you can get up and leave when they achieve critical mass. :)

[Clarea]

What about Explorer? She has a bit more than Grandeur, and is not too far up the road from Baltimore. I know there are no characters on EX, but not sure what other things she has...

Explorer does have a small kids pool area.

[RSLeesburg]

I am looking at different options other than Carnival for cruising. The Royal Caribbean cruises out of Florida look like they encourage kids to be on them. Are they the ones that have characters from kids movies on them?

 

When I was reading the reviews of the Grandeur sailing out of Baltimore, it didn't seem like people were talking about parades of children's characters or crazy activities like rock climbing, a rope course or a water park that kids would like. Does the Grandeur not have these activities on it? It would actually be a plus for me.

 

I think I misunderstood your post - are you asking if Grandeur does not attract many kids? If so, during summer or school breaks, you may find quite a few on board. We sailed in Sep with our young son, and I would guess that there were less than 50-60 kids on board. Also, the recent Thanksgiving cruise had approx. 150 kids, which is very low for holiday cruise - but it was a 10 day cruise, so not convenient for many parents with kids in school.

 

Hope this helps.

[DonnaK]

Just a note: If you sail on a ship that has characters and "crazy activities" on it, you can totally avoid these areas and not encounter any of these on your cruise. Royal Caribbean does a really good job of keeping the children busy and positively occupied.

 

If you travel on any ship during school holidays, you will surely find lots of families/children. The best way to avoid this is to cruise while they are in school, not to avoid the ships that have a lot a amenities. These ships are amongst the most interesting for adults too! You'd be surprised how much fun it is to watch people on the Flowrider, Ice Rink, etc. Also, if people are busy with these activities, then they are not bored and taking over the rest of the ship.

 

I couldn't imagine choosing Grandeur over Explorer or any of the ships that leave from Florida such as Freedom, Liberty, Indy, Oasis/Allure.

[RSLeesburg]

Just a note: If you sail on a ship that has characters and "crazy activities" on it, you can totally avoid these areas and not encounter any of these on your cruise. Royal Caribbean does a really good job of keeping the children busy and positively occupied.

 

If you travel on any ship during school holidays, you will surely find lots of families/children. The best way to avoid this is to cruise while they are in school, not to avoid the ships that have a lot a amenities. These ships are amongst the most interesting for adults too! You'd be surprised how much fun it is to watch people on the Flowrider, Ice Rink, etc. Also, if people are busy with these activities, then they are not bored and taking over the rest of the ship.

 

I couldn't imagine choosing Grandeur over Explorer or any of the ships that leave from Florida such as Freedom, Liberty, Indy, Oasis/Allure.

 

The convenience of driving to the port makes the Grandeur an attractive option for many :). I can drive to the port, check in, board the ship, and start my vacation faster than I can go to airport and fly to Florida... lol

[DonnaK]

The convenience of driving to the port makes the Grandeur an attractive option for many :). I can drive to the port, check in, board the ship, and start my vacation faster than I can go to airport and fly to Florida... lol

 

 

True - it's one of the reasons I've taken several recent cruises on Explorer and Celebrity Summit. Ease of departure port trumps fancier/newer ships.

[RSLeesburg]

True - it's one of the reasons I've taken several recent cruises on Explorer and Celebrity Summit. Ease of departure port trumps fancier/newer ships.

 

I don't know if it completely trumps it. ;). My son would love some of the amenities on the bigger ships. Thankfully Quantum is coming soon, so we can experience one of the bigger fancier ships, and still have the local home port convenience...

[TheCalicoCat]

I am looking at different options other than Carnival for cruising. The Royal Caribbean cruises out of Florida look like they encourage kids to be on them. Are they the ones that have characters from kids movies on them?

 

When I was reading the reviews of the Grandeur sailing out of Baltimore, it didn't seem like people were talking about parades of children's characters or crazy activities like rock climbing, a rope course or a water park that kids would like. Does the Grandeur not have these activities on it? It would actually be a plus for me.

 

Grandeur will welcome my 5 year old in 14 days. With that said we do not cruise for the character's etc. & I have not been on this ship, so I don't know if there are any on board or not.

 

FWIW most if not all cruise lines "encourage" revenue generating passengers of all ages.

[TheCalicoCat]

The convenience of driving to the port makes the Grandeur an attractive option for many :). I can drive to the port, check in, board the ship, and start my vacation faster than I can go to airport and fly to Florida... lol

 

ditto. & over pack to my hearts desire without worrying about airline limits.

[spookwife]

I am looking at different options other than Carnival for cruising. The Royal Caribbean cruises out of Florida look like they encourage kids to be on them. Are they the ones that have characters from kids movies on them?

 

When I was reading the reviews of the Grandeur sailing out of Baltimore, it didn't seem like people were talking about parades of children's characters or crazy activities like rock climbing, a rope course or a water park that kids would like. Does the Grandeur not have these activities on it? It would actually be a plus for me.

 

GR is MUCH smaller than most of the ships that sail out of FL( EN excluded) she does NOT have the big fancy Kid's theming. there is a Rock climbing wall and that's about it. they do have a nursery and kids clubs.

 

there WILL be a butt ton of kids on board regardless if you are sailing during school breaks or over the summer. the Christmas cruise was inundated with multigenerational families . conversely my September cruise was blessedly kid free with the exception of 2-3 toddlers and one set of younger teens that we only saw at dinner.

 

Royal overall encourages families/kids on all ships about the same way as Carnival does. to avoid them you need to sail off season( September/Oct and after Spring Break in May) no matter which mainstream line you use.

[RSLeesburg]

Grandeur will welcome my 5 year old in 14 days. With that said we do not cruise for the character's etc. & I have not been on this ship, so I don't know if there are any on board or not.

 

FWIW most if not all cruise lines "encourage" revenue generating passengers of all ages.

 

We just cruised this past Sep with our son, who was one month shy of 4. Here is my review of the Grandeur...

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1924684&highlight=grandeur

 

Unless your 5 year old has been spoiled on one of the bigger, newer ships, he/she should enjoy the Grandeur.

[hansolosmom]

We just cruised this past Sep with our son, who was one month shy of 4. Here is my review of the Grandeur...

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1924684&highlight=grandeur

 

Unless your 5 year old has been spoiled on one of the bigger, newer ships, he/she should enjoy the Grandeur.

 

Totally agree with this, our boys were 5 & 7 (or 4 & 6) when we sailed Grandeur and they had fun. They didn't really participate in the kid's clubs, they mostly stayed with us & we all had a great time.

[bradpole]

The convenience of driving to the port makes the Grandeur an attractive option for many :). I can drive to the port, check in, board the ship, and start my vacation faster than I can go to airport and fly to Florida... lol

 

I second this statement!

 

And Grandeur is a great ship with all the new dining options that were added.

[browneyedwoman]

Thanks for all of the replies. I like the idea that it's a smaller ship and doesn't have some of the bells and whistles of the larger ships. Being able to drive to the port is a plus too.

[maureencruiser]

If you travel on any ship during school holidays, you will surely find lots of families/children. The best way to avoid this is to cruise while they are in school, not to avoid the ships that have a lot a amenities.

 

I couldn't imagine choosing Grandeur over Explorer or any of the ships that leave from Florida such as Freedom, Liberty, Indy, Oasis/Allure.

 

100% agree with first 2 sentences, As was later mentioned, convenience of port is a big deciding factor for a lot of people. I took Amtrak to the Grandeur and it was great.

 

Thanks for all of the replies. I like the idea that it's a smaller ship and doesn't have some of the bells and whistles of the larger ships. Being able to drive to the port is a plus too.

 

Your profile doesn't show where you are from, but, yes, if you can drive to Baltimore, try the Grandeur. My review has a lot of pics if you want to see some of the activities, :)

[tabbi_cakes]

I am 30 years old and looking forward to seeing the characters onboard! LOL

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[maureencruiser]

Tabbi, I took a pic with every single character I saw. (I'm 50 :o).

[TheCalicoCat]

We just cruised this past Sep with our son, who was one month shy of 4. Here is my review of the Grandeur...

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1924684&highlight=grandeur

 

Unless your 5 year old has been spoiled on one of the bigger, newer ships, he/she should enjoy the Grandeur.

 

No, my son has only been on Carnival Pride & HAL's Volendam. (& we don't have TV, so I'm not sure that he would be that intrigued by the characters.) Thanks for the link to your review.

[TheCalicoCat]

Tabbi, I took a pic with every single character I saw. (I'm 50 :o).

 

Thanks for pointing out your Grandeur review. I just took two of those binder clips out of my drawer & threw them in my bag. Hopefully that will help with the shower curtain.