Recent Grandeur cruisers? Looking for ship TIPS

[flyboyswife]

All - We're new to Royal and booked for the Grandeur next month. I've been scouring the board and reading lots of cruise reviews (big thank you to the reviewers). Looking particularly for tips that experienced Royal (and Grandeur) cruisers know and that I won't find on the Royal website. Thanks in advance!!

[Clarea]

Here is a great place to start:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/royal-caribbean/grandeur

[flyboyswife]

Here is a great place to start:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/royal-caribbean/grandeur

 

 

Thanks - I previously did a search on Grandeur and read many of the reviews that came up (think this is what you just did; I'll confirm but I have been researching!). Maybe there aren't many tips out there...on prior cruises (other lines) I've been able to learn quite a lot more (e.g. about ship specific or Royal specific "to do's"). Thanks again!

Edited July 13, 2016 by flyboyswife

[Biker19]

Virtually all meaningful issues have been discussed in the many threads here - it's just a matter of reading enough.

 

The rest, enjoy the learning experience.

[flyboyswife]

Virtually all meaningful issues have been discussed in the many threads here - it's just a matter of reading enough.

 

The rest, enjoy the learning experience.

 

Thanks. I'm not really looking for more reviews but tips - for example, secret door off deck 7 leads to great sunbathing area, or restaurant x serves y but doesn't list item on menu.

 

I am reading the reviews though - please don't think I'm just posting to avoid doing my own research! :) Thanks again!

[Biker19]

Thanks. I'm not really looking for more reviews but tips - for example, secret door off deck 7 leads to great sunbathing area, or restaurant x serves y but doesn't list item on menu.

 

If you read enough threads, you'll find those kinds of tips, but, again some of that is up to you to discover. Food tips vary and may or may not happen on your sailing.

 

Here's one tip - you'll get some really weird stares from crew when you take the crew only aft stairs between deck 7 and 8.

[gjc1111]

Thanks. I'm not really looking for more reviews but tips - for example, secret door off deck 7 leads to great sunbathing area, or restaurant x serves y but doesn't list item on menu.

 

I am reading the reviews though - please don't think I'm just posting to avoid doing my own research! :) Thanks again!

 

There is a door just to the right of Park Café (the side where the roast beef is carved) that leads to a very small, secluded balcony area. You can also access this area from above via the staircase near the rock wall. Pretty sure there is one on the starboard side too. Whenever I was out there, I was the only one (except for my family). Saw loungers out there, but always just stood at the railing and watched the world go by! I didn't notice it until a few days into the cruise, but it could be a great place for sail away or just to relax!

Edited July 13, 2016 by gjc1111

[Biker19]

Pretty sure there is one on the starboard side too.

 

Yes, there is.

[flyboyswife]

If you read enough threads, you'll find those kinds of tips, but, again some of that is up to you to discover. Food tips vary and may or may not happen on your sailing.

 

Here's one tip - you'll get some really weird stares from crew when you take the crew only aft stairs between deck 7 and 8.

 

Now that's exactly the type of tip I'm looking for!! :D

[flyboyswife]

There is a door just to the right of Park Café (the side where the roast beef is carved) that leads to a very small, secluded balcony area. You can also access this area from above via the staircase near the rock wall. Pretty sure there is one on the starboard side too. Whenever I was out there, I was the only one (except for my family). Saw loungers out there, but always just stood at the railing and watched the world go by! I didn't notice it until a few days into the cruise, but it could be a great place for sail away or just to relax!

 

I have cut/pasted this into a document I'm taking with me. Thank you!

[MMLEsq]

One tip about the port in Baltimore if you're driving and parking there. Have your luggage ready to go when you get there. We got stuck behind a car that wanted to take things out of suitcases, repack stuff, etc. Unlike other ports, it's not set up so that multiple cars can pull in and out. There were two lines of cars and if you got stuck behind a lot of "slow" cars where people didn't have their luggage ready, oh well.

 

Also, you pay for parking in advance at the port, not at the end of the cruise, which slows down the initial parking, but made leaving the port a breeze after debarkation and getting through Customs.

 

(Oddly, the port in Baltimore is the only US Customs I've ever been through -- either at a port or in an airport -- where you go through Customs before retrieving your luggage.)

[Newtoncruise]

There will be a door at the end of my suite that leads to a lovely balcony with loungers.....we will be the only ones out there so nice and secluded.

 

Seriously though....keep dem tips a cummin!

[gjc1111]

(Oddly, the port in Baltimore is the only US Customs I've ever been through -- either at a port or in an airport -- where you go through Customs before retrieving your luggage.)

 

Same here . . . I thought that was strange and said as much to my DW.

[Merion_Mom]

One tip about the port in Baltimore if you're driving and parking there. Have your luggage ready to go when you get there. We got stuck behind a car that wanted to take things out of suitcases, repack stuff, etc. Unlike other ports, it's not set up so that multiple cars can pull in and out. There were two lines of cars and if you got stuck behind a lot of "slow" cars where people didn't have their luggage ready, oh well.

 

Also, you pay for parking in advance at the port, not at the end of the cruise, which slows down the initial parking, but made leaving the port a breeze after debarkation and getting through Customs.

 

(Oddly, the port in Baltimore is the only US Customs I've ever been through -- either at a port or in an airport -- where you go through Customs before retrieving your luggage.)

 

What port DOESN'T make you pay in advance for parking?

[138east]

What port DOESN'T make you pay in advance for parking?

 

I don't think Boston does because the garage is also open for daily parking.

[moopetguy]

Don't miss the aerial show in the Centrum. Make sure you show up at least a half-hour early if you want to get a seat (getting a seat means pulling up or turning around a chair, or dragging over a couch - please return furniture to where and how you found it :) ). The show is performed top-to-bottom in the Centrum and there are multiple decks from which you could watch the show. Up to you to decide how much you want to be looking up or down during the show (e.g. if you have neck/shoulder troubles).

 

Some people prefer eating lunch at the Park Café (Deck 9 aft port) on boarding day to avoid the big crowds at the Windjammer buffet (Deck 9 forward).

 

The casino might be smoke-free on formal nights (it was in my experience in January).

Edited July 14, 2016 by moopetguy

[karmacats]

What port DOESN'T make you pay in advance for parking?

 

i'm pretty sure that at ft lauderdale you pay on the way out, at least in the outdoor lot where you park for oasis/allure. we paid on exiting in may.

 

i'm on grandeur for the first time next year, and have also been avidly reading all the recent reviews, so i'm happy for a tips thread. the "secret" balcony is news to me, so i'm glad to know about that.

 

is grandeur the ship with the super-slippery solarium floor? i remember reading before about a lot of people falling, and the pix looked like grandeur, but i'm not sure if it was her or one of her sister ships. i'm a klutz as it is, so i need to know to be on high alert. :D

[Yorkvillain]

 

 

 

is grandeur the ship with the super-slippery solarium floor? i remember reading before about a lot of people falling, and the pix looked like grandeur, but i'm not sure if it was her or one of her sister ships. i'm a klutz as it is, so i need to know to be on high alert. :D

 

 

I didn't notice that. And I'm pretty clumsy. If it were slippery I would have wiped out a few times.

[MMLEsq]

What port DOESN'T make you pay in advance for parking?

 

Miami and Fort Lauderdale don't. I don't think Port Canaveral does either.

[karmacats]

I didn't notice that. And I'm pretty clumsy. If it were slippery I would have wiped out a few times.

 

i'm glad it wasn't grandeur, then. :) i will still be careful!

 

Miami and Fort Lauderdale don't. I don't think Port Canaveral does either.

 

the only port canaveral garage i've parked in is the disney one; you used to pay on the way out, but they recently changed it to pay on the way in. i don't know if all the garages are the same, though.

[Merion_Mom]

Mea culpa.

 

Now that I think about it, I would only have parked at ports where I can drive.

 

That would be Baltimore and Bayonne.

 

At both of these, you pay on the way in.

 

Sorry about that.

[karmacats]

Mea culpa.

 

Now that I think about it, I would only have parked at ports where I can drive.

 

That would be Baltimore and Bayonne.

 

At both of these, you pay on the way in.

 

Sorry about that.

 

actually, that's good info to have about baltimore. this upcoming grandeur cruise will be our first time parking there. i usually expect to pay on the way out, so i'm glad to know we'll do it up front - not that it makes much of a difference, as it'll get paid either way, but at least now i'm not *that* car holding up the line while i try to get to my credit card. :D

 

apologies if this posts twice. my last post, which said basically the same thing, never appeared on the thread after i hit "submit reply", but i guess there's a chance it could post later.

[shipgeeks]

Our #1 tip: Be one deck above pool deck, midship, for the first hour or more of sailaway. Great views, especially passing under the Bay Bridge. Be prepared to duck your head!

If you walk the Promenade Deck at night, and circle around the back, you can smell the bread baking. During the day, Promenade is a nice place to sit and watch for sea creatures.

Grandeur has a very high loyalty following. The crew are very friendly.

[Jarmo]

........car holding up the line while i try to get to my credit card. :D

There is a cash only line/booth that moves much faster than the CC ones.

Our #1 tip: Be one deck above pool deck, midship, for the first hour or more of sailaway. Great views, especially passing under the Bay Bridge. Be prepared to duck your head!

......

Completely agree.

[flyboyswife]

i'm on grandeur for the first time next year, and have also been avidly reading all the recent reviews, so i'm happy for a tips thread. the "secret" balcony is news to me, so i'm glad to know about that.

 

It took a while to get this thread going, but there are some great tips in here! Thanks everyone & please, keep them coming!