Back From Grandeur of the Seas 9/2 - 9/11

[Coolcruise02]

ARRIVAL

 

We drove to Baltimore the day before our cruise and spent the night. The following morning we spent several hours walking around the Inner Harbor area enjoying the sites. We arrived at the Dundalk pier area around 10:30am and dropped off our luggage and then parked our car after paying the $10.00 per day parking fee. It was a two minute walk to the terminal.

 

CHECK-IN

 

We walked into the terminal and were checked in immediately using the Set Sail pass. There was a short line for people who had not filled out the Set Sail Pass. We were directed over to a waiting area after having our welcome picture taken. We boarded the ship at 11:30 and headed to the Windjammer for lunch as they announced that the cabins would not be available until 2:00pm. After lunch we explored the ship and were able to get into our cabin at 1:30. Our luggage had arrived so we unpacked and got settled in.

 

Sail away was at 5:00pm shortly after the muster drill. We had early seating dinner at 6:00pm in the Great Gatsby dining room. We were at a table for 8 and thoroughly enjoyed our dinner companions from Virginia and West Virginia. Our wait staff was fantastic always bringing extra appetizers, entrees and dessert for us to try. We thought the food was very good and compared favorably with other cruises we have been on.

 

PORTS

 

Our first stop was Grand Bahama Island. There is a small tourist area as you get off the ship with a few shops. We took a 20 minute taxi van to Port Lucaya and did some shopping and then crossed over to the resort area and strolled the beach before heading back to the ship.

 

Our next stop was Coco Cay under some gray and threatening skies with light showers. We stepped onto a tender at 9:30 for the short ride to the island. The weather cleared and we had some hazy sunshine to explore the island. You have to wear a vest to snorkle so we rented them for $6.00 per person. The water was not real clear due to the rain that had fallen but we saw some fish although there were quite a few jellyfish that we had to dodge. We ate the BBQ lunch provided on the island and did some swimming before the clouds moved in and a light rain started. We headed back to the ship on the last tender at 3:00.

 

Key West was our next stop and it was a beautiful sunny morning. We had to go thru immigration at 7:30 but it was well ran and we were thru in about 10 minutes. We were ready to get off the ship around 8:15 but due to some lazy guests we were delayed until 9:15. We walked to the southernmost point and took a few pictures before continuing our walking tour of Key West. Walked up and down Duval street, thru the harbor walk and toured the cemetery. We sampled some chocolate covered Key Lime pie and enjoyed the quaint houses and shops along the way. We sailed away around 2:00 pm as we watched several people who had missed the ship be ferried out in a small boat to get back on.

 

We were about 1 1/4 hours late arriving at Cozumel our next port stop and we docked at the RCI pier. We took a taxi to Dzul Ha and enjoyed the snorkeling very much. We ordered some chips and salsa and a soft drink for $6.00. The salsa was freshly made and very tasty. We headed back to the ship and ate dinner then got back off to do some shopping. The duty free shopping area is not as nice here as it is at the other pier where Carnival docks. Also the shop keepers were more intense in their efforts to lure you into their shops.

We departed Cozumel at 10:00 pm

 

Our stop at Port Canaveral was cancelled due to bad weather in the area so we had an extra sea day which was fine with us.

 

MEET AND MINGLE

 

We enjoyed our Meet and Mingle party which was held at 1:30pm on the second day in the Viking Crown lounge. It was hosted by Tracy and Rosemarie and they raffled off several prizes. They had hors d'oeuvres and some beverages although I think most people had just been to lunch. It was nice to meet the cruisers we had been chatting with on the roll call and to be able to say hi to them when we saw them around the ship.

 

OBSERVATIONS

 

Food: We thought the food was very good in the dining room and also the Windjammer. We are not picky eaters and always can find something that is appealing and tastes good. The made to order omelettes were delicious. We only ate lunch in the dining room one time, and we ate all dinners in the dining room. The traffic flow in the Windjammer is not very good, particularly when it is very crowded.

 

Crew: We thought the crew was friendly and helpful. Our wait staff and shipshape staff were extremely friendly and fun.

 

Entertainment: We only attended one show in the Palladium Lounge and it was ok. Our tablemates attended most shows and they thought they were pretty good. We enjoyed dancing to the group Metroline which played nightly in the Centrum. Dancing space and traffic flow in the Centrum is not very good on nites when the photographers are set up for formal pictures. This is the first ship we have been on that did not have a basketball court or golf simulator for those who may have an interest in them.

 

Ship Condition: After reading some negative reviews we were pleased to find things in good shape. There is some wear here and there but nothing that would detract from the cruise experience. The ship did experience some minor damage as we sailed around hurricane Ophelia with wind gusts of 50-60 knots and seas 20-30 feet.

 

Other Things: We were stranded on an elevator for a couple minutes one time. Someone came on the speaker in the elevator and asked if there was a problem and we said we were stuck. Shortly afterward we began moving. A few times the elevator would refuse to go or would go to a different floor than the one we called for. We had to go to the purser's desk several times to get our SeaPass card reactivated as it would not open our cabin door.

 

DEBARKATION

 

 

We chose to do the "self assist" as we had a 5 1/2 hour drive to get home. We were cleared to get off at 7:30 and were in the car and heading out of the parking lot at 7:45. It could not have been smoother or easier. All we had to do is hand our customs form to the agent and walk off the ship.

 

CONCLUSION

 

We enjoyed the Grandeur very much and hope that there will be more ships cruising out of Baltimore with varied itineraries in the near future.

[kenandlaura06]

Thanks for the review.

[SantanaTto]

Can you tell me what type of stateroom you were in and also how it was? I understand that the rooms are pretty small.. We are thinking about taking this cruise next fall and bringing our 17 year old son with us.

 

Do you think that 3 adults in a room will be pushing it a little? I am thinking that with the 3 of us, we really could use the balcony rather than an inside or oceanview room.

[HockeyRules]

Key West was our next stop and it was a beautiful sunny morning. We had to go thru immigration at 7:30 but it was well ran and we were thru in about 10 minutes. We were ready to get off the ship around 8:15 but due to some lazy guests we were delayed until 9:15.

 

Thanks for taking the time to post the recap of your trip. We are on the same trip leaving Baltimore on 10/14!

 

One question - when you say you were delayed getting off the ship in Key West because of lazy quests, does that mean everyone has to go through customs before anyone is let off the ship?

 

Robin

[Coolcruise02]

We were in cabin 3142 an oceanview on deck 3. The rooms are on the "cozy" side. There is very little floor space when two adults are getting dressed. Our bed was made up as a full size. There would be more useable space if the beds are made up as twins. Three people in a room could be done and I am sure it is frequently but not real convenient. The balcony would provide some "escape" room but not much help when getting dressed which is when the crowding is the worst.

[Coolcruise02]

Yes everyone has to present themselves to immigration before anyone is allowed to disembark the ship. They called for the same two guests a couple times and then for two more guests quite a bit later. The ship has the ability to block SeaPass cards so it seems that after a reasonable amount of time this should be done so the entire ship is not inconvenienced due to selfishness of a few. It was a short day for us in Key West departing at 2:00pm as it was without the unnecessary delay.

[AdamOfCanaveral]

That's a great review Tom. We thoroughly enjoyed the cruise too, even with a few rough seas. Wish we could get back on board for a reunion this Friday! :)

[Coolcruise02]

Sounds like a good idea although it looks like Ophelia could provide some more rough weather for the Grandeur! :)

[dobelover]

good post, thank you.

 

 

 

Sue

[girlnamedkyle]

We just sailed on the Grandeur- 9/2 and had a wonderful vacation.

Our room was a balcony, on the 7th floor. Lovely.

There is a pull out couch in the sitting area, so it can definitely "sleep" 3 people. There were 2 of us, and we never ever felt crowded at all- plenty of room.

[checkard]

coolcruise02

Just a few questions -

Where did you stay in Baltimore for the night?

Cost of taxi to Port Lucaya?

Cost of taxi to Dzul Ha?

 

 

We're going on Grandeur in Nov. This will be my 3rd time on that ship and the first time for everyone else in our group. Can't wait to get back on board.

[Coolcruise02]

checkard

The taxi to Port Lucaya was $5pp each way.

The taxi to Dzul Ha was $8pp over and $7pp back. ???

 

I'll check at home for the hotel we used in Baltimore. It was located where I70 ends in Baltimore. We were meeting relatives for dinner and they live close to I795. We bid on some downtown hotels, but no luck. Also, we understood they didn't have their own parking and some people had car damage parking on the street at night.

 

Have a great cruise! :)

[Coolcruise02]

We stayed at the Quality Inn West on Security Blvd. Nothing fancy but it was adequate. Shoud have been I-695 instead of I-795. :)