Just returned from Granduer 5-2-14 Bahamas.. Any Questions??

[Stephluva2711]

Another fun point, if you like sushi, Izumi did a sushi making class! $20 a person and you make 2 rolls and 2 sashimi. Then they seat you, and you eat it along with miso soup and edemame. It was fun, and worth it.

 

 

For any of you that Was on this sailing, and went to quest you may have seen me. My team won finally!! Team 4 :D

[Rysyonok]

Our stateroom was 2098 and it was very quiet. Great location.

 

Any chance you may be able to share some pictures? I've been looking all over for a good snapshot of a G1-category room, but all I'm finding are generic stock photos. I am curious about the location of Pullman beds, too. Did the room feel very cramped with the four of you?

 

Thanks! Sorry to change the topic of the thread :(

[Cmx3d]

Ahh port Canaveral. I was looking forward to this because like i said i'm a big kid. We had purchased the round trip bus ticket online prior to cruising to take us to Universal studios. The bus picked us up at 11a and we were in universal by 12. We had 7 hrs to enjoy HARRY POTTER THEME PARK! located in universal Island of Adventure. We were gone all day and was back on the boat by 8pm It was only $35 round trip, however you had to buy your park ticket once you got there. We bought ours online prior to the trip and saved a few bucks. Best day ever

 

 

Thank you for answering my questions, much appreciated. I was reading about Disney and how people were saying it wasn't worth the time to go to any of the theme parks because of the ride there, then waiting in line at the park. How busy was Universal? I'll have an 8 and 3 year old and had wanted to maybe do Universal or Disney but was worried we would be stuck in lines all day and wouldn't be able to get our money's worth. But it sounds like you had a great time, any thoughts on my situation? :o

[Cmx3d]

I was on this sailing as well, so perhaps I'll add my $.02 to your question.

 

We did check out Adventure Ocean. My 9 and 10 year olds went the first day at sea in the morning and had a great time. They met some buddies and hung with them the rest of the cruise. My kids ASKED if they could go to AO a couple of times, too, and of course we said yes. We gave them sign in/sign out privileges because lines to pick up were LONG!

 

Thank you for your $.02! Do you know how the age groups are separated? I'll have a 8 and a 3 year old going and I know they will be in separate groups but wondered if it is just one big room and they will be able to see eachother? My 3 year old would be more at ease if he could see his sissy in the same room if we dropped them both off. Also, did you have them stay for any of the night time stuff?

[Stephluva2711]

Thank you for answering my questions, much appreciated. I was reading about Disney and how people were saying it wasn't worth the time to go to any of the theme parks because of the ride there, then waiting in line at the park. How busy was Universal? I'll have an 8 and 3 year old and had wanted to maybe do Universal or Disney but was worried we would be stuck in lines all day and wouldn't be able to get our money's worth. But it sounds like you had a great time, any thoughts on my situation? :o

 

Not sure about Disney, but i had found a link somewhere talking about how busy it was at universal on different days and times of year. I know it wasn't exact, but for a Sunday in may (early may) it was deemed to be mild. That proved true when we went. The longest wait was about 30 min for a water ride. All the other rides didn't take much time at all. We were in universal island of adventure. Someone had told me that the regular universal studios didn't have much lines either. The ship cleared customs very early. We met in the theater by 10:15am. There was a huge line to get in but it was moving fast. Our bus wasn't leaving until 11a anyway so i wasn't worried. We got on the bus about 10:50a and pulled off exactly on time. The ride is a little under an hour. We already purchased tickets before we got there so just ha d to print them in the kiosk and was in the park by 12:10pm. we had a good 6 1/2 hrs to ride. Used the last 30 min to walk back to the bus.. trust me you need it!

[Stephluva2711]

Picture of the bed with pullman bed above. 3 of us were in a large interior room.

 

[Harooni]

cool , how was the cruise directer , was it ricky? sorry if you posted it already a skimmed through the posts

[Stephluva2711]

cool , how was the cruise directer , was it ricky? sorry if you posted it already a skimmed through the posts

 

Yes it was ricky... He was cool, he really rocked out hosting quest it was funny. He has a LOT of energy. You always find him around the ship, and anytime he sees you, he says hello and chats

[tidygirl]

We got in trouble one time for trying to take pictures in the "secure" area I didn't know you weren't allowed so never tried it again!

Am I right that there is no mini golf on the Grandeur?

[Patty00]

I was on this sailing as well. Loved the ship, staff.....so friendly. We did have super calm seas....so, I am sure everyone enjoyed that! No mini golf...but lots of other things to do. I was concerned about the NVirus...but was surprised to find the ship so clean. To my knowledge, no one was sick from it and the staff said it was gone!! I loved the food in MTD. Did not eat in the WJ but chose the Park Cafe instead which I thought was great. The only complaint I had was my cabin was close to the centrum and I would not advise that. The music was really loud and didn't stop till after 11p.m. Check out the cabin map and chose wisely. Overall, I thought it was a great cruise and went smoothly....no issues!! I would give the Grandeur high marks!

[sharse]

Any chance you may be able to share some pictures? I've been looking all over for a good snapshot of a G1-category room, but all I'm finding are generic stock photos. I am curious about the location of Pullman beds, too. Did the room feel very cramped with the four of you?

 

Thanks! Sorry to change the topic of the thread :(

 

I didn't take any pictures of the inside of the room. However, this photo I found is the same configuration we had. This is not the Grandeur because we didn't have those curtains and it has a flat screen TV but this will tell you what the beds looked like: http://s211.photobucket.com/user/sclmkl/media/Twobedsetupaspullman.jpg.html

[sharse]

Thank you for your $.02! Do you know how the age groups are separated? I'll have a 8 and a 3 year old going and I know they will be in separate groups but wondered if it is just one big room and they will be able to see eachother? My 3 year old would be more at ease if he could see his sissy in the same room if we dropped them both off. Also, did you have them stay for any of the night time stuff?

 

On this ship (not sure about others) It is the same area, same check in spot (teens are in a different spot) and while it is NOT one big room -- they separate the older kids from the younger kids -- if your kids peek around a corner they'll be able to see each other. I'm sure if you tell the staff that this will be comforting to your younger child, they'll encourage it. It really won't be a problem at all as they're very close! And if your younger one starts feeling the need for his sissy, the staff can grab her and in 15 seconds have them together.

 

My kids didn't go to any of the night time sessions so I can't comment on those.

[sharse]

This is a picture of the outside of our room -- 2098. The tender to Coco Cay was LITERALLY docked right there under our room. You can see both bunks, and underneath them the beds were pushed together for my husband and me. I did have to be a bit careful as I hit my head a time or two, and we were really only in the room to sleep, so it was fine. We did have plenty of storage for the 4 of us, but if I hadn't read the tip here on CC about bringing a hanging shoe holder to put over the bathroom door (to hold all our toiletries, sunscreen, etc.) that would have been a mess. So I highly recommend those that have a family of 3 or 4 in this category room, bring the shoe organizer!!

 

-- edited to note the picture I tried to upload was too big. I resized and posted the picture a post or two below...

Edited May 13, 2014 by sharse

[olya1972]

I was on this sailing as well. Loved the ship, staff.....so friendly. We did have super calm seas....so, I am sure everyone enjoyed that! No mini golf...but lots of other things to do. I was concerned about the NVirus...but was surprised to find the ship so clean. To my knowledge, no one was sick from it and the staff said it was gone!! I loved the food in MTD. Did not eat in the WJ but chose the Park Cafe instead which I thought was great. The only complaint I had was my cabin was close to the centrum and I would not advise that. The music was really loud and didn't stop till after 11p.m. Check out the cabin map and chose wisely. Overall, I thought it was a great cruise and went smoothly....no issues!! I would give the Grandeur high marks!

 

We booked a D1 (balcony cabin) on the 7th floor by mid-ship staircase. I have looked at the map and it is a third or so cabin from the opening of the Centrum. Is it a loud location?

Also, I am a little worried going on Grandeur. We sailed Allure 01/2014, NCL Breakaway 11/2013 and Celebrity Equinox 12/2012. Those ships are all much bigger and newer vessels and we loved each trip. Any thoughts? We are sailing during February school break 2015 with three kids who never been on a cruise (16 y.o., 15 y.o., and 10 y.o.) in two connecting balcony cabins.

[sharse]

Sorry… guess my photo was too big. Here it is resized… the outside of of our cabin as shot from the CocoCay tender:

[Xina143]

Thanks for the review! I'm trying to find a surprise cruise to do with my husband next June. We are close to B'more so the Grandeur would be convenient. Any pics of the public areas!

 

 

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[Xina143]

We booked a D1 (balcony cabin) on the 7th floor by mid-ship staircase. I have looked at the map and it is a third or so cabin from the opening of the Centrum. Is it a loud location?

 

Also, I am a little worried going on Grandeur. We sailed Allure 01/2014, NCL Breakaway 11/2013 and Celebrity Equinox 12/2012. Those ships are all much bigger and newer vessels and we loved each trip. Any thoughts? We are sailing during February school break 2015 with three kids who never been on a cruise (16 y.o., 15 y.o., and 10 y.o.) in two connecting balcony cabins.

 

 

What did you think of the Breakaway?

 

 

 

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[olya1972]

To Xina143: Breakaway is a beautiful, classy ship. Everything is new, modern, but at the same time done in classical style. We enjoyed our trip. We don't sweat small staff, so for us all was well. Service and food were not much different from the Allure. We only ate at MDR once and it was mediocre, but paid venues and buffet were good on both ships. Entertainment was significantly better on Allure. Service was the best on Celebrity Equinox. Overall, I would recommend sailing on Breakaway if price is right. We had balcony cabin mid ship for $509 per person before taxes November 16,2013. If we paid a thousand per person for that cruise we might felt differently (or not). I would definitely sail it again, but for February school break for two cabins it is too expensive for us. Grandeur is about 40% cheaper.

[Xina143]

Thanks so much for replying! The close proximity of the port on Baltimore is such a huge draw for us and I've heard such mixed reviews on NCL that I'm almost afraid to chance it! Since it will be just my husband and I on this cruise I want it to be special. We were supposed to sail on the Allure in Sept. But things happened and we switched it to a January cruise with the three younger boys. So I need to make it up to him!

 

 

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[Stephluva2711]

We booked a D1 (balcony cabin) on the 7th floor by mid-ship staircase. I have looked at the map and it is a third or so cabin from the opening of the Centrum. Is it a loud location?

Also, I am a little worried going on Grandeur. We sailed Allure 01/2014, NCL Breakaway 11/2013 and Celebrity Equinox 12/2012. Those ships are all much bigger and newer vessels and we loved each trip. Any thoughts? We are sailing during February school break 2015 with three kids who never been on a cruise (16 y.o., 15 y.o., and 10 y.o.) in two connecting balcony cabins.

 

We were by the centrum as well, cabin 7065. to be honest, it wasn't loud for me or my fam. I didn't hear much of any activities going on in the centrum. I guess everyone is different though. And to answer your question it is a shock to the system, sailing on a bigger ship, then coming on grandeur. I was on Allure in November that just passed, so it is a huge difference. I picked grandeur because i wanted an itinerary where i got to go to Universal studios and still get to cruise, this was the only one in my budget that allowed me to do that. I prefer bigger ships. That being said, I still had a great time because hey, you control your own fun. They really do have a lot of activities in place I guess to make up for venues that they don't have on this ship.

[Stephluva2711]

Thanks for the review! I'm trying to find a surprise cruise to do with my husband next June. We are close to B'more so the Grandeur would be convenient. Any pics of the public areas!

 

 

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This is a pic of the theater

 

Ben & Jerry's / Lattetudes

 

One of the decks

 

Some shops

 

 

The R bar from a few decks above

[Stephluva2711]

The Centrum

[Xina143]

Thank you so much for the pictures! Did you have a good time on the Allure? The Oasis has a cruise around the same time and I know the Allure is very similar

 

 

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[Stephluva2711]

Thank you so much for the pictures! Did you have a good time on the Allure? The Oasis has a cruise around the same time and I know the Allure is very similar

 

 

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LOVE allure, it's so huge, sometimes you really have to decide what you are going to do through out the day because there is no way you can see everything! The food is great, the activities are awesome. And the shows are not to be missed.

[ksadonnab]

Stephluva2711 thanks for the review.

I'll be on Grandeur in 101 days!! :D