Grandeur of the Seas Musings

[jcl410]

I just (7/31/15) got off of the Grandeur of the Seas from a 7 days Bahamas Cruise. Here are some random observations. (Note, nothing listed below "ruined" my vacation, or will keep me from cruising RCI again - well ... maybe the Bingo Changes. :-) )

 

1) This was our 6th anniversary cruise. We were married on the Grandeur in 2009, but now the location of our vows is the Izumi restaurant.

 

2) The food in the Izumi was quite good; I normally won't pay extra for food, but it WAS our anniversary, and eating there was kind of cool.

 

3) While eating, I could see the Wartsila(sp?) exhaust scrubber that is being installed on deck 10. That thing looks huge. I wonder if they will have to widen the "funnel" to completely cover it.

 

4) The cracks in the welds on the deck 10 walkway are still there. I shot some video here:

 

It was calm when I shot this, but when the seas were 4-6 feet you could see the 2 halves sliding in an out about .5 inch.

 

5) I had my first malfunctioning toilet; which of course occurred around 2300. The plumber came out right away, but wasn't able to unclog the main drain that contained the blockage; the day shift took care of that prior to us waking up (0830).

 

6) They have upgraded the Bingo equipment; it's all digital now. Plus, they have gone from 4 to 3 games per session while leaving the cost about the same - They also use daubers now, instead of punching out the numbers.

 

7) This was my first time in Nassau. I enjoyed walking around the shopping district. I like the look of the buildings.

 

8) They started check in at 1000. We got there about 1005, and had virtually no wait at all. We walked onto the ship at 1020; departure was at 1500.

 

Happy to answer any questions!

 

Aloha,

 

John

[maureencruiser]

Thanks for the info, the cracks in the welding sound a little scary. :(

[Coralc]

Thanks for the info, the cracks in the welding sound a little scary. :(

 

Don't you remember when the jogging deck and under supports cracked and buckled during inclement weather? We weren't onboard, but a CC member posted photos of the damage. :)

[jcl410]

Thanks for the info, the cracks in the welding sound a little scary. :(

 

It's 100% safe; If I hadn't seen the pictures here on Cruise Critic, I wouldn't have even noticed it.

 

A few other thoughts;

 

The Hotel Director was from the US. He has only been with RCI for five years; having worked in the hotel industry previously.

 

One of the Cruise Director's staff ,also from the US, is the first physically challenged/disabled/"what ever the current acceptable phrase is" person I've seen working on a cruise ship. She was a double amputee; one arm cut off below the elbow, and one leg below the knee.

 

I asked her if she had any problems getting the job. She said no; the only requirement was the ability to lift 50 pounds. She did say, however, that there were many meetings about her. :-)

 

Aloha,

 

John

[Elkay]

What deck were you on, Joe? Like you, we were married on the Grandeur of the Seas, eight years ago on the Bermuda cruise. and like you, we were married where the Izumu is, so we booked a reservation. We leave on Friday. How was Coco Cay?

[Paulette3028]

We are considering a cruise on Grandeur for Sept 2017, which hopefully will be a New England up to Canada cruise RT from Baltimore, with a stop in Boston for 9 days. Has anyone done this cruise and can share their experience of it?

[shipgeeks]

We are considering a cruise on Grandeur for Sept 2017, which hopefully will be a New England up to Canada cruise RT from Baltimore, with a stop in Boston for 9 days. Has anyone done this cruise and can share their experience of it?

 

Wonderful cruise. Do it.

[jcl410]

What deck were you on, Joe? Like you, we were married on the Grandeur of the Seas, eight years ago on the Bermuda cruise. and like you, we were married where the Izumu is, so we booked a reservation. We leave on Friday. How was Coco Cay?

 

We had a JS on deck 8.

 

Cococay was great. We walked all the way over to Barefoot Beach (past the inflatable slide) It was not crowded; there were lots of loungers available in the shade; there was a great breeze; and the water was very shallow for several hundred yards out.

[Paulette3028]

Wonderful cruise. Do it.

 

Share a little bit more of your experience, if you have done the RT from Baltimore to Canada.

[Elkay]

We had a JS on deck 8.

 

Cococay was great. We walked all the way over to Barefoot Beach (past the inflatable slide) It was not crowded; there were lots of loungers available in the shade; there was a great breeze; and the water was very shallow for several hundred yards out.

 

That's what we're doing too! Thanks very much!

[VTSKIandCRUISEGUY]

We also just got off of the Grandeur. Just booked it again for the Canada/New England trip next May.

 

Had a great time. I think my only real issue was fewer choices in the Windjammer than we've gotten used to on Explorer and Liberty. Very little in the way of Asian and Indian during lunch, and pretty basic stuff for dinner. On the Explorer and Liberty, they always had a number of MDR items on the dinner buffet, but not so on Grandeur. We ate in the MDR every night anyway. On the others, they had afternoon snacks (second lunch) which always included make your own tacos. On Grandeur, they don't have the Windjammer open in the afternoon, and the only time I saw tacos was the last day at lunch, and the line was 20 people long.

 

-------------------

[RIDGELYCRUZER]

We are considering a cruise on Grandeur for Sept 2017, which hopefully will be a New England up to Canada cruise RT from Baltimore, with a stop in Boston for 9 days. Has anyone done this cruise and can share their experience of it?

 

Hi,

We did a New England/Canada cruise last October (14)..the last one for the season. Our cruise did not include a stop in Boston though I see that all of the cruises now include that stop.

Our first port was Portland and we did an six hour bus tour of Portland, Portland Head Lighthouse and a two hour stop in Kennebunkport.

Second port was Bar Harbor...we were tendered in and out...luckily the water was calm so it was not too bad. We did a nature/site-seeing cruise that was pretty interesting. It was pretty cool in Bar Harbor.

Next day we were in Saint John, New Brunswick. This day was very windy and cold (for October being from Baltimore). I did a small side trip to by some stuff at the shops close to the dock.

Fourth and last port was Halifax, Nova Scotia. The weather was cool (not as cold as the previous day) and not as windy. We did a tour called "Halifax-the Titanic Connection which I enjoyed very much (I am a Titanic geek...read my first Titanic book at age 12). The first stop was a cemetery where over one hundred Titanic victims are buried...just reading the headstones is interesting. Our second stop was the Maritime Museum where many artifacts of Halifax's maritime history are displayed.

This is the first time that I have done this cruise and I am looking forward to doing it again.

Remember you are heading north and bring clothes that will keep you warm and protect you from the wind.

The Canadian people are very hospitable ...have a great cruise!

[Paulette3028]

 

Hi,

We did a New England/Canada cruise last October (14)..the last one for the season. Our cruise did not include a stop in Boston though I see that all of the cruises now include that stop.

Our first port was Portland and we did an six hour bus tour of Portland, Portland Head Lighthouse and a two hour stop in Kennebunkport.

Second port was Bar Harbor...we were tendered in and out...luckily the water was calm so it was not too bad. We did a nature/site-seeing cruise that was pretty interesting. It was pretty cool in Bar Harbor.

Next day we were in Saint John, New Brunswick. This day was very windy and cold (for October being from Baltimore). I did a small side trip to by some stuff at the shops close to the dock.

Fourth and last port was Halifax, Nova Scotia. The weather was cool (not as cold as the previous day) and not as windy. We did a tour called "Halifax-the Titanic Connection which I enjoyed very much (I am a Titanic geek...read my first Titanic book at age 12). The first stop was a cemetery where over one hundred Titanic victims are buried...just reading the headstones is interesting. Our second stop was the Maritime Museum where many artifacts of Halifax's maritime history are displayed.

This is the first time that I have done this cruise and I am looking forward to doing it again.

Remember you are heading north and bring clothes that will keep you warm and protect you from the wind.

The Canadian people are very hospitable ...have a great cruise!

 

Thank you so much....just what I was looking for.

 

We have Canadian friends, so we know that Canadians are super hospitable. We are seriously considering early Sept of 2017, so we will have less 'cool weather' than you did, hopefully.....but it definitely won't be the Caribbean.

 

Thanks so much!

[John&LaLa]

We are considering a cruise on Grandeur for Sept 2017, which hopefully will be a New England up to Canada cruise RT from Baltimore, with a stop in Boston for 9 days. Has anyone done this cruise and can share their experience of it?

 

You stop for 9 days :what::eek:

[BND]

Thanks for the info, the cracks in the welding sound a little scary. :(

 

We were on GR in Mar 2014 when it split. Bumpy ride, but not scary. We were back onboard in Nov 2014 and there were some temporary repairs, but I think it's going to take til it goes to drydock to permanently fix. It's a aluminum deck that is not part of the structure of the ship, but it attached to the ship.

[Boilermaker77]

So excited for my cruise to the Bahamas on Aug 7.

Did you encounter any rough seas? I am not sure if I should do a pre-emptive strike and take a dramamine before we leave Baltimore. Advice?

 

Thanks for the information - can't wait!!!:D

[dixieva]

I always take a Bonine (my preference for sea sickness) just in case. I take one the morning we board the ship. I take it when we are at sea and skip it on port days.

 

Better safe than sorry!

[emeraldcity]

So excited for my cruise to the Bahamas on Aug 7.

Did you encounter any rough seas? I am not sure if I should do a pre-emptive strike and take a dramamine before we leave Baltimore. Advice?

 

Thanks for the information - can't wait!!!:D

 

We took a 10-day on the Grandeur out of Baltimore to the Caribbean in December 2013. They advised that first evening that the seas would get rough once we cleared the Chesapeake Bay about midnight ... Guest Services passed out meds to anyone who wanted them. I took one that first evening (Hey, if it makes you sleepy at midnight, that's a good thing). I never took anything else all cruise, but I was fine. We had three days of fairly rough seas ... it was awesome. I loved the motion.

 

If you are concerned, just take something before you go to bed. You'll get rocked to sleep and have a great time the next day.

[BND]

I always, always premedicate. Waiting til you think you need it is too late. We've had rough and smooth seas all up and down the east coast. You can never be sure, so why not get ahead of it? Bonine works great and doesn't give me any side effects so I start the night before and take it twice a day til we reach the Caribbean and then once a day unless it's rough and then back to twice a day as we head back north.

[rcrdale]

My wife take non drowsy Dramamine and it works great for her. Remember to start taking it the day before you leave. A lot of the motion sickness meds need 24 hrs to start working.

[jcl410]

So excited for my cruise to the Bahamas on Aug 7.

Did you encounter any rough seas? I am not sure if I should do a pre-emptive strike and take a dramamine before we leave Baltimore. Advice!

 

It was pretty calm last week; 4-5 ft swell at most. Didn't even feel any movement.

 

That being said, it CAN be rough. The ship heads farther offshore on the way down trying to stay out of the Gulf Stream. The ship, won't reach open water until some time late the first night, so you could delay taking any meds till the first night. (If you are prone to motion sickness.)

 

I recommend generic meclizine. It's what's used in Bonine, and non-drowsy Dramamine, but at a fraction of the price.

 

Aloha,

 

John

[Philly Steve]

My wife take non drowsy Dramamine and it works great for her. Remember to start taking it the day before you leave. A lot of the motion sickness meds need 24 hrs to start working.

 

Good advice. Even if you've never been seasick. :)

[BND]

My wife take non drowsy Dramamine and it works great for her. Remember to start taking it the day before you leave. A lot of the motion sickness meds need 24 hrs to start working.

 

It's actually "Less" drowsy Dramamine and Bonine is the exact same thing. Unfortunately nothing is non-drowsy and alcohol makes drowsiness more likely, but that doesn't stop me from drinking. Heck, I'm not driving or using heavy machinery lol. They're both Meclizine. Starting the evening before guarantees it's in your system. It stays about 24 hours so taking every 12 or 24 hours keeps the levels where you need it.

Edited August 5, 2015 by BND

[lberney]

 

Hi,

We did a New England/Canada cruise last October (14)..the last one for the season. Our cruise did not include a stop in Boston though I see that all of the cruises now include that stop.

Our first port was Portland and we did an six hour bus tour of Portland, Portland Head Lighthouse and a two hour stop in Kennebunkport.

Second port was Bar Harbor...we were tendered in and out...luckily the water was calm so it was not too bad. We did a nature/site-seeing cruise that was pretty interesting. It was pretty cool in Bar Harbor.

Next day we were in Saint John, New Brunswick. This day was very windy and cold (for October being from Baltimore). I did a small side trip to by some stuff at the shops close to the dock.

Fourth and last port was Halifax, Nova Scotia. The weather was cool (not as cold as the previous day) and not as windy. We did a tour called "Halifax-the Titanic Connection which I enjoyed very much (I am a Titanic geek...read my first Titanic book at age 12). The first stop was a cemetery where over one hundred Titanic victims are buried...just reading the headstones is interesting. Our second stop was the Maritime Museum where many artifacts of Halifax's maritime history are displayed.

This is the first time that I have done this cruise and I am looking forward to doing it again.

Remember you are heading north and bring clothes that will keep you warm and protect you from the wind.

The Canadian people are very hospitable ...have a great cruise!

 

I know I am waaayyy late joining this thread, but I hope you can help me! We are booked on the New England/Canada cruise in May, 2016, and I am trying to figure out what excursions to do. Yours sound awesome! Did you book the excursions through the ship or on your own?

[Paulette3028]

For those that have taken this cruise when it has had a stop in Boston I have a question specifically for you. If the ship is in Boston on a day when the Red Sox have been home playing baseball, has anyone tried to take in a game?