Grandeur of the Seas Photo Review 6/9-18

[RRFPresident]

One of the things we found helpful on this ship once we realized it about mid week was that the up/down button panels on the elevator banks all had inscriptions that told what decks these elevators reached.

 

We had to report to our steward at one point that the elevator bank just outside our cabin had a stuck "up" button. Worked great coming back to our cabin but always seemed to skip our deck when we tried to leave. We also found that by walking to the midship elevators on deck 8, that only the two facing the Centrum worked going up to deck 11 for the concierge lounge.

 

Our view of the elevator bank from our cabin doorway:

 

Our view of our cabin door from standing in front of the elevator bank:

 

I've heard duct (or duck) tape fixes all things but umm..perhaps the elevator floor display plaque shouldn't have been held on by scotch tape:

 

For the CC member who plans to sail in the neighboring cabin, here's a tip I used to remember which side of the ship to turn after we got off the midship elevators - walk on the side with the statue of the guy stretched out in a chair asleep with the paper over his face.

 

 

This is where one's warped mind goes when you've been staring at this unique statue for several days straight:

[RRFPresident]

Forgot to include this morning's "view from the balcony"

 

Off to breakfast at Giovanni's once again. This time there was a female manning the front podium so she had to verify our cabin number as a suite again before letting us in. The rest of the meal just seemed off service wise as our requested orange juice might as well have been flown in from Florida given how long it took and they never took away the coffee cups after we turned it down the first time so we got asked about coffee over and over. As Dad was perusing the buffet, he spotted a waiter wheeling a cart past him and into the back that had bagels. He spoke up to ask about getting a bagel but the waiter just kept walking away without a word. Moving through the menu for the sake of you food porn lovers, I had the pancakes from the griddle with a side of bacon. You know..those griddle items that are supposed to come with strawberry compote and whipped cream...

 

 

Being right next to the Schooner Bar (we walked past Giovanni's the first time we went there because it is tucked into this little hallway. For future cruisers, walk to the end of the Schooner bar as facing the South Pacific Lounge until you reach the end of the booths and chairs. Turn to your right where there are bathrooms on the left and Giovanni's on the right down that hallway), we popped on over when were done eating to participate in License Plate & Rebus Word Challenge. We once had a Princess cruise staff member start his trivias by saying “My answer on this sheet is the final answer, I don't care if the captain or your mama walks in, and besides once you see the prizes, you won't feel like a winner anyway.” But honestly, some people are cutthroat, you'd have thought that tucked inside these prizes was a very tiny rolled up million dollar check.

 

Schooner Bar where we spent most of our time (hmm, that sounds like we're drunkards). At one point, our current trivia host Amy commented on how it was tough to hear over the blender machine at the bar while we were playing. As soon as she started reading off the next question, the bartender purposefully ran the machine which made everyone laugh.

 

Where that propped up sign is, that's where you turn right to go into Giovannis:

 

I'm here to tell you fellow cruisers the secret for being guaranteed to win your very own Royal Caribbean pen! If you call now and contribute to my new go-fund-me account for future food porn laden cruise reviews, I do it for the people you know, I will let you in on this secret. What, no takers? Oh alright then, I'll tell you. Gather round ye fellow cruisers for the grand secret to guarantee a win is.......................

 

 

...............be the only ones who showed up to play! This is where we finally won our first prize – a lovely pen. One of the questions during the first Majority Rules game was to ask what celebrity McKiva looks like and she revealed that most people say Oprah. I think that by the end of the cruise, all of the cruise staff was channeling the low budget version of Oprah: You get a pen! And you get a pen! And you get a pen! Honestly, after a while you start to not feel so bad about those second or third place scores. I seriously considered carrying this newly won pen with me throughout the cruise so that we didn't have to write our next trivia with those little tiny pencils.

[RRFPresident]

At 10:00AM, we returned to the Schooner Bar for the 2nd round of Progressive Trivia with Team DADE. Unfortunately, the DE half of our team elected to become MIA and we never saw them at trivia again. Thankfully, our roll call leader Bob came by and agreed to join our team. We had to keep the same team name for the progression of point tallies but secretly, I renamed us the B-DADE's this day. After Progressive trivia, Dad, Bob, and I teamed up with new friends and frequent regular trivia partners Barbara and Rick to participate in World History Trivia. The latter two were both traveling alone so had struck up a friendship often planning their daily schedules to do things together.

 

By now, we were close enough to see the first signs of land come into view. I ventured up to the 10th deck to get some photos and it worked out perfectly timing wise because I was able to already be up at the front railing before the masses showed up and crowded the space. The wind was picking up and it's a good thing no one nearby was wearing a toupee. I hung out at the rail literally sandwiched between people elbowing for their own pics long enough to watch the pilot boat arrive and depart and then see Captain Ante turn the Grandeur around the side of the island to the Kings Wharf dock.

 

Wow, Grandeur, what big emblem you have:

 

Nothing says yummy poolside lunch like adding the meat to your next steaming pot with a pet food scooper:

 

You could also get into the island spirit by purchasing a cocktail that not only involved hollowing out a pineapple and drinking straight out of it but it was also served with a glass of the carved out pineapple chunks. You know, in case you were in the mood to enjoy the before portion of your poolside imbibing.

 

Here comes the pilot boat:

 

With a 200x zoom lens from the front railing on deck 10, this is the closest we got to this side of the island before turning right to approach King's Wharf:

 

A little closer view as we made our turn:

[RRFPresident]

Great view as we rounded our final corner:

 

Popped back down to the cabin for a little bit and discovered our next snack plate delivery, a sampling of cheese slices. Nothing like lifting that lid to reveal what we'd been left and getting smacked in the face by the smell of stinky ass cheese. I'm pretty sure that must be the brand name on the packaging of this one cheese piece in the middle: “Slap Your Momma Stinky Ass Cheese.” I can picture whoever does the food buying for these cruises walking around going “hmm..not stinky enough, I still have my sense of smell intact.”

 

Ventured out onto the balcony and spotted an interesting pattern in the water just off the side of the ship. We were on the port side so we were on the side facing out to sea essentially all of the time. Pretty much as soon as we were cleared, we corralled our things and made our way to the gangway. Captain Ante was fond of joking “Enjoy your time on shore and remember to bring your cameras because if you are late getting back, you'll be able to get some nice pictures of the ship as we leave you behind.”

 

Choosing to stay in the Royal Naval Dockyard area for today as we had been cleared off the ship around 2:30PM and made reservations for dinner at 5:30PM in order to fit in all of the evening activities we wanted to do. We had heard of how accessible (as in they let you go everywhere, see, and sometimes touch everything) the Commissioner's House Museum was so we walked over. Francis had a little packet delivered to our cabin in anticipation of each port and today's included a small foldable map of Bermuda. We of course, left it in our cabin so this photo I took of the sign right outside where you exit the ship came in handy when we were ready to find our way back.

[RRFPresident]

The Commissioner's House as viewed from on board:

 

We first thought this was the free trolley that takes you around the dockyard but I guess it's the one that is for the excursion tour because we were directed across the street:

 

It's the Miami Vice of boats:

 

If you fancy your own version of a drunk walking of the plank, you can imbibe at Calico Jack's pirate ship themed bar which offers swimming off the back, apparently with a small assortment of floaties.

[RRFPresident]

There were several green feet painted along the sidewalk as well as names of the nearby places. After a while, the green feet got bigger. Guess the Incredible Hulk and the Jolly Green Giant convention had been in town recently.

 

Despite a nice warning for legal reasons printed in the Compass strongly advising against renting mopeds or scooters, we soon came across Bermuda's version of a biker bar.

[RRFPresident]

Watched several couples pass under the Moongate and pose for pictures.

 

At the Commissioner's house, we bought a senior ticket ($12) and an adult ticket ($15) and Dad was surprised that we got change back in US dollars. This admission fee included all of the house, the grounds, the smaller buildings that housed many exhibits, and the chance to watch the dolphin quest sessions. It would have been extra to actually get in the water to interact with the dolphins. We were given a map explaining all of the buildings so you could pick and choose where to go in accordance to what you'd prefer to see. You could easily kill a couple hours covering this one site.

 

Perhaps the very first hand model? Must have been a real knocker-out! Okay, I've reached my limit of one corny joke per post.

 

We headed up the steep driveway and put our logic skills to use figuring out how to open the gate that kept the sheep inside the grounds.

 

We thought that was just for show until we really saw sheep up on top of the hill.

[RRFPresident]

This is where the Royal Naval Dockyard port cam is situated facing the dock so it's a great view of the Grandeur in person once you get up high enough.

 

Who doesn't love palm trees and bright blue waters:

 

We moved through the property systematically starting with the Bermuda Defence Heritage section featuring cannons, weapons, and uniforms.

[RRFPresident]

There is an elevator once inside the house itself so at least you can avoid the steps if you have mobility issues or strollers to maneuver. It is a lot of walking though so be mindful of that.

 

Next stop was the currency room showing both Bermudan and British currency.

 

A display dedicated to the Bermuda boat race:

[RRFPresident]

More boat race:

 

Intricate dollhouse rendering of Bermuda furniture:

 

From the front porch of the house - umm Grandeur, you might want to duck:

 

Some treasure chest looking thing:

 

I think I took this picture as an early rendering of cruise ship life?

[RRFPresident]

 

 

Hey dude, you might want to look behind you:

 

We came across this display on the U-505 boat being captured. Reminded us of our favorite dining room table 505 with Toni and Jay. Who wants in on using 505 as our next Pick 3 lotto numbers?

[Royal Jeff]

Danielle,

 

Thank you very much for your review of Stateroom 8010 on the Grandeur of the Seas. We are booked into 8010 (but not until 2018!!! Sigh!) Your review and photos were very helpful in knowing what to expect of the suite.

 

BTW, we sailed on the Grandeur to the Western Caribbean a few weeks prior to your cruise. We booked a Junior Suite for that cruise but found the ship to be otherwise much like you described.

 

Jeff

[RRFPresident]

Several exhibits featured various aspects of Bermuda's naval history. One of the smaller outer buildings was full of early ships. Our last indoor space covered the Bermuda Triangle and its history with shipwrecks.

 

Peek a boo, I see you Grandeur!

 

Anchors Aweigh!

[RRFPresident]

The remains of the family Darrell, and their brother Daryl and their other brother Daryl:

 

Awe shiiiip:

 

 

Bermuda wins the lawn gnome competition:

 

[RRFPresident]

There was a small playground with a tunnel slide structure shaped like a giant fish for the kids:

 

Right next to that is the open lagoon where the Dolphin Quest program takes place. As we walked up, one side had a more advanced class doing more physical moves while the other side had more of a beginner stand there and have the dolphins interact with you style class. Both sides had their own 1-2 instructors. There were large umbrellas and benches all around the lagoons welcoming passers by to relax and sit in the shade as they watch the classes.

 

I know where the food is!

 

This lucky family was enjoying their time with the less active dolphin encounter:

 

Always polite, the dolphins wave goodbye to the family as their session ends:

[RRFPresident]

What? You're out of food?

 

Look now, I had my buddy here fetch those rings you threw. You don't mind if I just help myself to a snack, do you?

 

Ooo ooo, my turn to get the rings now!

 

Dad: Take a picture! How often do you see buoys out of the water?

[sellwingri]

Outstanding review! I love your sense of humor as well as your narration. I'm the one who will be in the next cabin, 1012, in August so your tip on which way to turn is great!

 

Looking forward to more of your reviews. Thanks!

[RRFPresident]

With a mission in mind of Dad wanting a Bermuda T-shirt, we left the museum having skipped walking along the ramparts. We checked out a couple shops along the street. When we weren't having much success in our mission, I suggested we trek over to the Clocktower Mall.

 

Dad eventually settled on a shirt that said Bermuda and had a pretty artistic looking beach scene on the front. We stopped at the Haagen Daas shop and cooled off with two little cups of ice cream and split a water bottle for the crazy price of $13.

 

Perhaps you have heard of my father - the stunt double for Short Circuit 2?

 

With our much needed refreshment finished and our mission accomplished, we made our way out of the mall and proceeded to get completely turned around trying to return to the ship. Along our walk back:

 

Thanks to my original sign picture (there is a methodology to those people who take a picture of where they parked at large events) , and the concept of simply turning back the way you came, we walked back along the street of stores we initially visited before the mall and eventually returned to the ship ready for a chance to rest and relax.

[RRFPresident]

Walking back to the ship:

 

The free trolley that returns to the dock just as we finally do after walking for ages:

 

Better keep your curtains closed. The peeping toms have ladders now!

 

A visit to a crowded Concierge Lounge for happy hour was in order where I tried a rose (rose-ay) wine. This was also the day of Dad's favorite hot snack in the lounge – pigs in a blanket.

[RRFPresident]

Before we left the ship, we had called late morning to make main dining room reservations for 5:30PM. We tried to get assigned to the same table 505 as before but the man who answered the phone said “No, you would have had to call earlier if you wanted a specific table” and came off really rude it seemed to me. We showed up for our reservation perfectly willing to sit anywhere then and ended up at 505 anyway as it was empty. The man who greeted us when we first entered proudly shared that he was the one we talked to earlier in the day. Not sure I would have proudly identified myself as the snotty guy we'd talked to. Very nice dinner where Jay kept me swimming in diet coke.

 

Dad started off with the Onion Focaccia and I warmed the soul with some cream of cauliflower soup.

 

My entree was the Pappardelle and Fresh Peas while Dad had Beef Bourguignon which he deemed as having a nice sauce. He's not very much of a foodie so as long as there is steak and cookies, he's set. Apparently, Giovanni's steak must have gone above and beyond the call of duty to get such rave reviews.

 

Dad finished with the Coconut Parfait which he loved so much, he tried to convince me to get a second dessert so I could experience it as well. I tried a bite of his and it tasted like a pina colada without the icy texture.

 

Dad, having taken a bite before I could snap the picture, joked that he'd glue the piece back on for me.

 

I had the Warm Chocolate Bread Pudding for my dessert. Not quite like Carnival's bitter and blanc but pretty close.

[RRFPresident]

After dinner we went off to play the first primetime session of general knowledge trivia. On a past Princess cruise, they hosted a version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and they drew names of those who wanted to participate. Dad got picked and advanced through the first several questions earning everything from a passport holder to a water bottle. So when we saw the same game on this cruise we were excited to play. This game unfortunately did not go as well. I've been asked not to say who this staff member was. I would rather just chalk it up to a lack of training as they'd only been on for a month or two or an effort on their part to be funny. I will offer this disclaimer – we did go to other games and trivias hosted by the same cruise staff member as hosted this game and all went fine.

 

He handed out raffle tickets to anyone who said they wanted to play and Dad, Barbara, Rick, and I each took one. The first number called turned out to be Dad's number. He went up and was really happy to get to play and be silly. He who shall not be named announced that in order to play despite having his ticket number called, Dad would have to answer a trivia question. He who shall not be named asked my 69 year old father how knowledgeable he was about Disney movies and Dad told him he wasn't very good in that subject. Not sure I'd naturally ever expect a 69 year old man to know Disney movies. Despite that, He who shall not be named asked Dad what the name of Nemo's father is in Finding Nemo? I've seen the movie (work long enough with kids and you've seen them all) but even I couldn't remember that answer. When Dad didn't know the answer, He who shall not be named made him sit down back at his seat, negating the chance to play at all. Dad felt pissed and embarrassed especially as he watched how the rest of the game went.

 

The second number called was for a woman who got asked a science based question about the acidity of fruit and she completely lost the chance to play when she got it wrong. As if sensing that the game was going downhill, the next number He who shall not be named called, he changed his “earn your seat” trivia question to asking “What is 2x2?” Of course the man got it right and earned a couple different prizes while playing the game despite having to use most all of his lifelines. The first prize was a balloon animal tied to look like a flower so the man gave it to the random woman in the audience who served as his “phone a friend” lifeline. The next contestant called was a teenage girl who He who shall not be named simply asked “What is your name?” as her question. Unfortunately, He who shall not be named also couldn't work the computer program right and instead of starting back at the easy questions for less “money,” the new contestants were walking up and getting asked the really esoteric $250,000 level questions making for short rounds. He who shall not be named also had to keep turning the program off so he could either fix it or check the answer for himself.

 

While not getting the chance at prizes was never the issue, Dad was really upset at how the game progressed and felt it was unfair. He went straight to guest services to file a complaint about how the game was run. Guest services manager Devika was either called or simply recognized us from the suite reception because she suddenly appeared at the desk and started chatting with us about how our evening was going. Dad started to complain to her and I guess it was enough to be overheard by CD John who came out to see what was going on. John brought us back to talk privately and called Devika and Katrina in to join us. Dad told them about how the game went and John confirmed that He who shall not be named should have let it be at the drawing of the ticket numbers, also finding the change in seriousness of the questions absurd. John told Katrina that they need to give He who shall not be named some more training as he was slated to run some more popular activities later in the cruise and she agreed. John shared a story with us about their own poor experiences with customer service on land in an effort to assure us that his priority is to provide good customer service on this ship. John wanted to send us some wine to make up for it but we don't normally drink wine. John still wanted to send something and promised to send some prizes.

 

A couple days later I saw Katrina in passing as we sat waiting for the next trivia to start. She stopped to assure us that He who shall not be named was talked to and had no idea anything was wrong. I really appreciated that she not only took the time to let us know but also stuck around asking to see my pictures of Bermuda.

 

In case anyone was wondering - these were her top favorite photos (she must have a thing for boats):

 

And a special interest in this pic for some unknown reason:

[philsr1939]

WOW I guess you really like Giovanni's you guys eat there quite a lot.My wife and i just came off a 7 day Adventure of the seas cruise and had Dinner at Giovanni's and after the appetizers which were tasteless scallops we new we were in for a bad dinner experience. My wife who is an Italian and a great cook turned back here first entree a chicken dish because it was too tough and also tasteless. She opted for soup and salad and a very sweet connoli that didn't even resemble a cannoli. I ordered the steak and it was a little tough. $60.00 bucks down the drain.

[JamesEM]

Following along, looking forward to more reports and photos.

[RRFPresident]

WOW I guess you really like Giovanni's you guys eat there quite a lot.My wife and i just came off a 7 day Adventure of the seas cruise and had Dinner at Giovanni's and after the appetizers which were tasteless scallops we new we were in for a bad dinner experience. My wife who is an Italian and a great cook turned back here first entree a chicken dish because it was too tough and also tasteless. She opted for soup and salad and a very sweet connoli that didn't even resemble a cannoli. I ordered the steak and it was a little tough. $60.00 bucks down the drain.

 

So far in my review, we'd only eaten at Giovanni's for dinner the first night when they offered a 20% off discount. The rest of my mentions were because the suite breakfasts were being held there. Essentially the same food and sit down service as the main dining room would have offered, just in a setting where you don't have to share a table and the waiters only have a couple tables at a time. Because of the dining package we booked that first night, we also had Giovanni's the last night for dinner. I have a feeling that I had the same chicken dish as your wife that last night.

[RRFPresident]

The next day, we discovered 2 gift wrapped packages of prizes with a nice signed note from John and Katrina left on our beds.

 

Later in the cruise, we were the first people to take our seats in the suite seats theater section for a show when He who shall not be named was the sole staff member in charge of manning the ropes. We chatted with him about a recent trivia game that had stumped us on a few questions. He who shall not be named then confided in us about “a lady who had complained about getting out on the first question” and how silly he found such a complaint. He then walked away without another word to open the ropes for some other guests. Never found out if this “lady” was the one who had her ticket number drawn 2nd or what.

 

We closed out this Saturday night by attending Joe Yanetty's late night adult comedy show. It was a pretty good show. Comedians are our favorite entertainers on cruises and I appreciate a good comic who can build a current laugh by referencing a previous joke in the show. This night, Joe played off really well with two passengers in the audience who were prison guards from Sussex Community Corrections who admitted that they've had prisoners escape before. Joe made several jokes about how posh Sussex Community Corrections sounds for the name of a jail like it's a place to go and relax until heading home on the weekends. Then he noticed two parents in the 3rd row that had brought their 10 year old kids to the adults only show. Joe made several jokes at their expense but both the parents and the kids were laughing their heads off. When asked by Joe how old he was, one of the kids replied “Old enough.” At one point, Joe brought one of the boys up to sit on the edge of the stage and prompted him to make jokes on the spot about a young lady nearby in the audience. The boy was speechless but literally fell back on the stage laughing like crazy as Joe used adult language to mock the boy for not being able to do his job so easily. On Carnival, granted it was in their specific comedy venue whereas this was the single theater, I've watched staff card teenagers to make sure they were at least 18 before the adults only show started. Dad feels that because of the kids being there, Joe wasn't able to really get into adult material. I just hope after laughing hysterically despite the jokes being at their expense, the parents didn't turn around and complain about harassment.