5 Day Grandeur ????'s

[Lisaanne]

Has anyone done the 5 day Grandeur out of Tampa lately? Is there one formal night? Is there lobster at all? Does it seem a little more casual overall than 7 nights? Any recent reviews out there? Thanks anyone who can help

[wolfcathorse]

Yeah, inquiring minds want to know. We're on the same sailing as OP. Is there a midnight buffet? When is the captains Welcome Aboard reception (is there one?), how much does RCCL charge per day for parking at Tampa port.

[gfsu]

We recently went and it was great. The embarkation and exit were the smoothest of any port we've used it was great. Two different midnight buffets one is the pool and one is the gala. There was lobster which came paired with Shrimp but it wasn't on formal night. Our cruise seemed more formal then our last few 7 days but that seemed to be because it felt like there were tons of first time cruisers that felt they had to follow the rules or else. We even watched one person approach the Maitre D and say he wanted to reserve his table for his family for the week and he listed out 3 tables he though looked nice... It was a great short cruise and I would highly recomend it for a quick getaway.

[Buccaneergirl]

Yes, there is one formal night which is the 2nd night. I believe the parking is $14.00 per day and you pay when you park. I would not say that the cruise in general is more casual than a 7 day, but we were on Grandeur between Christmas and New Years, so it may have been a little more dressy because of that. The Captain's dinner was the 3rd night (I think) and the C&A platinum and diamond party was on the last day (at sea) and it was a brunch which I didn't care for. I like the parties at night, but I'm sure by having it in the a.m. saved them a lot on alcoholic drinks.

 

It is a great ship and you will have a wonderful time! :)

[mrsrosner]

Has anyone gone on this cruise just recently? How was the tendering into Coz and GC? We are on the 3/11 sailing. Full breakfast, i.e.: omlets, etc., for room service? Was parking $14/day at port? Another thread said $12. Was there separate Platium/Diamond boarding, or are those lines now for all who have completed the "set sail pass"? This will be my second trip on Grandeur and can hardly wait! Wish I could cruise once a month (except for hurricane months!)!

[kenf333]

Has anyone gone on this cruise just recently? How was the tendering into Coz and GC? We are on the 3/11 sailing. Full breakfast, i.e.: omlets, etc., for room service? Was parking $14/day at port? Another thread said $12. Was there separate Platium/Diamond boarding, or are those lines now for all who have completed the "set sail pass"? This will be my second trip on Grandeur and can hardly wait! Wish I could cruise once a month (except for hurricane months!)!

 

Tendering into Cozumel was great, don't know about GC. Yes room service breakfast includes omlets. It cost $12/ day to self park, and $14/ day for valet, (which makes it real nice) There is a priority boarding area, however they are set up well in Tampa and found an open line in the normal area.

[mrsrosner]

kenF333 Thanks for the info!

[kenf333]

kenF333 Thanks for the info!

 

Glad I could help. Enjoy your trip.

[mimikens]

I just got off the Grandeur this past Thursday. There is one formal night, on the second day of the cruise, which is also the Captain's dinner. Unfortunately, the tendering at Cozumel was not smooth at the end of the day. The a.m. was pretty seamless, but the afternoon was a nightmare. The tendering at GC was not bad at all. Our cruise was very casual (pretty much as casual as any 3-day I've been on). There was a priority check-in hidden behind the regular check-in. It worked out well since regular check-in looked to be about an hour's wait.

 

There is no concierge service on-board. If you're a Diamond, don't be expecting any canapes and such. I never recieved anything like that. In fact, I had to ask my room steward for robes, coupons and my Welcome Back gift.

 

Downtown Cozumel is in pretty good shape considering what it went through. AND Carlos & Charlie's is still standing.

[Irishwife2]

Got off the Granduer on the 19th, I felt tendering into Cozumel went smooth(got off early), but Grand Cayman was a nightmare! Had to get tendering tickets, got number 16, didn't get off ship till 12:30! Ship get in at 10:00Am, so get your tickets early. By the time we got to the beach, we only had a few hours. Also, beware of the taxi vans on the docks, they said they would take up to the beach we wanted and then proceeded to drop us off at the Royal Palms, which was nice, but we really wanted to go down further.

 

Food was excellant on this cruise, the last two was a disappointment. No C&A for all members, only diamond and platinum. Had a rescue on Wednesday, a worker had gotten a chemical burn, airlifted off by Coast Guard from Key West. Very rought out on Saturday and also Wednesday, water removed from pools on Wednesday. Missed the bigger ships, but the food made up for it. Enjoy your cruise!

 

Granduer of the Seas- Western Caribbean Jan 2006

Adventurer of the Seas- Southern Caribbean Feb 2005

Mariner of the Seas---Western Caribbean March 2003

Empress of the Seas---Bermuda June 2000

[mrsrosner]

The tendering thing is the only thing I am worried about on this cruise. I know the ship, personnel, entertainment, casino (can't wait!), and food will be excellent. But the tendering - I am hoping for the best. thanks for all the updates!

[mimikens]

Irishwife, we were on the same cruise! I didn't have a problem in Grand Caymen, but that is because I had a shore excursion and got off first. We had the major problem in Cozumel getting back to the ship. Maybe it was the last 4 or 5 tenders coming back from Cozumel that were the problem. It was why we left late.

 

The rescue was pretty interesting. I was glad to hear that the crew member was fine.

 

The C&A amenities were very minimal even for Diamond members.

 

Hopefully, you'll have calm seas.

[vtoria98]

Were you originally scheduled to go to Grand Cayman? The itinerary for the 5 day Granduer we are on in March says Costa Maya and honeslty I would prefer there, was this a change the captain made?

[kruisecat]

Were you originally scheduled to go to Grand Cayman? The itinerary for the 5 day Granduer we are on in March says Costa Maya and honeslty I would prefer there, was this a change the captain made?

 

I think they are running different intins. We're on the 2/25 sailing and our intin is Cozumel & Grand Cayman. I did see that some were going to Costa Maya instead. Maybe a way to break it up fot he b2b's?

 

Happy Cruising!

[vtoria98]

Yeah I just checked the itins for the different weeks and it looks like they are alternating. Glad to hear everyone had a good time though!

[truffles2]

If you self-park (or even use valet for that matter)....do you drop off the luggage first and then park or drag your luggage from the parking place to the ship? We have only driven once--in New Orleans-- and stayed two blocks from the ship at Riverside Hilton.

[jillybabes]

Truffles, You can do either, can drop luggage off and then self park, or take luggage across street from the garage. We did not use valet this time and just rolled our luggage across the street. :cool: Have a great time.

[Irishwife2]

Mimikens, glad to hear that the crew member is ok, we didn't hear anything about it and couldn't find anything on the web,,,do you know exactly what happened to him?

[truffles2]

Thanks, jillybabes!

[mimikens]

The crew member worked in the uniform department. Supposedly, there was some sort of chemical canister that was not connected correctly and was leaking an odorless gas. Anyway, the crew member passed out. A security officer came down to pick up his uniform and found the crew member, who had stopped breathing. They recessitated him, but he stopped breathing several times. He had stopped breathing at the time they heli-lifted him. They revived him immediately. He was in stable condition by the time they reached Tampa General (Thursday afternoon).

[mrsrosner]

For those of you who have been on the 5 night Grandeur, was there a meet and mingle? When I connected to CC, it took me to the M&M registration. I signed up and was told I was the first one for the 3/11/06 cruise! I thought they only had M&Ms on 7 night or longer cruises!

[mimikens]

There was no meet & mingle on ours, but there were only 4 people signed up. M&M parties are only supposed to be for 7 day or more sailings. But, they had a sign up for our 5 day also.

[webteach]

So glad to find this board and read your posts. I had seen several very negative reviews of Grandeur after I bought my tickets and had started to worry.Bad food, huge dent, etc.

My main concern now is that I was in a huge storm last November on the Sovereign and was sicker than I've ever been in my life. Made a total spectacle of myself as they dragged me half-dressed, violently ill down the elevator. Most of the medical crew were also sick so it was a general mess. I figure that if I don't get "back on the horse" I 'll never do it again. My question: is cruising on the gulf generally smoother? I am so afraid that this will happen again. This will only be my third cruise and I loved it up until the waves hit ( 4th story had waves at their windows!!!) Thanks.

[mimikens]

Webteach - the Gulf is usually the roughest (hurricanes excepted) during the winter (especially January and the beginning of February). If you are not cruising for a few weeks, it should not be very bad.

[Dana30]

on the 23rd.

 

We had been on this ship in 9/04 for a 9nt out of Baltimore. We felt the food this time was awful. Our waiter was excellent, but the food was such a let down. Our room steward was the worst one I have had on all 10 cruises. On the flip side, my brother was on the same cruise, and his room steward was awesome.

 

As an fyi, I love to cruise. Bad food is not a deal breaker for us, but we were still disappointed. The dent was shameful.

 

Will I cruise RCCL again, you bet. A cruise is always better than working. And a bad meal on a cruise is better than the best meal at home.

 

Dana