Live! Grandeur 4.18- 4.25.19 - Same Old Ship, Different Day

[h20skibum]

I thought about doing a live from the Grandeur, because I had not seen one from one of the small, older ships for quite a while.  Then, @DragonOfTheSeasdid a “Live” for the 21 day B2B just before this one.  

 

So, just consider this as a continuation, of sorts, but this time the ship is headed to Bermuda.  

 

It has been 9 years since we sailed Grandeur, so we will see what shape she is in.  So sit back, and follow along for the next 7 days, as we are Bermuda bound. 

 

A photo from our last sailing on Grandeur.  Any guesses where she was?

[DragonOfTheSeas]

8 minutes ago, h20skibum said:

I thought about doing a live from the Grandeur, because I had not seen one from one of the small, older ships for quite a while.  Then, @DragonOfTheSeasdid a “Live” for the 21 day B2B just before this one.  

 

So, just consider this as a continuation, of sorts, but this time the ship is headed to Bermuda.  

 

It has been 9 years since we sailed Grandeur, so we will see what shape she is in.  So sit back, and follow along for the next 7 days, as we are Bermuda bound. 

 

A photo from our last sailing on Grandeur.  Any guesses where she was?

Thanks for doing this live report.  When I get home and wish I was onboard ---I can live vicariously through your cruise. 😁

[h20skibum]

1 minute ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

Thanks for doing this live report.  When I get home and wish I was onboard ---I can live vicariously through your cruise. 😁

I have been doing that with yours for the last few weeks. 

[shepherdqueen]

Looking forward to your posts.  We sail on her in October and are looking forward to it.

[CruisinMama2003]

Thank you for deciding to do a "live"! 

[h20skibum]

@shepherdqueenand @CruisinMama2003, you are both welcome. I hope I can keep up with it. 

[h20skibum]

So why this cruise?   It was kind of a last minute decision. Susan and I suddenly realized that this was the first year in a long time, that we didn’t have a trip of some sort scheduled for Easter. Last Easter break, we were on the Allure, and the previous Easter, we were sailing to Hawaii on the Grand Princess. So we decided we needed to find something for this Easter. 

 

We found this cruise, but by the time we looked, only Inside and OV cabins remained. We saw an inside with a price that wasn’t too bad, but hesitated a couple days and the price went up about $400. 

 

We were ready to forget it, then our TA had a weekend sale that included gratuities with any OV, and the price was less than what we originally looked at for an inside.  We jumped on it and booked.  

 

We were on Harmony in November in a JS, then Indy in January in a balcony, now Grandeur in an OV. It almost looks like we are starting and older and smaller trend. But, hey, we are one a cruise, and that’s what counts. 

Edited April 17, 2019 by h20skibum

[CruisinCons]

Have a great trip!  We'll be getting on as you are getting off!

 

I had meant to ask @DragonOfTheSeas but I'll post it here and maybe one of you can answer.  I'm starting to pick my dinner outfits, and I'm wondering on how the evening temps are on the ship.  I've often noticed it's very chilly in dining rooms and theater in the evenings on the Caribbean cruises, as the ac is blowing full force in the hotter temp areas.  But this is not that type of destination, as Bermuda will still be "cool" during the daytime, and our temps here in the mid-atlantic states are not that warm consistently yet.  So trying to plan what to wear for dinner.  Normally, I wear sleeveless dresses, and bring a sweater.  But will the ship be too cold for that?  Should I be packing maybe short-sleeved dresses with that sweater? 

[h20skibum]

We had a couple of reasons for booking this one. First, being from western PA, we could drive to the port in about 5 hours.

Second, in all our cruises, we have never been to Bermuda, so this will be a first. We have never sailed from Baltimore either, so that is another first.

We did decide we couldn’t leave this truck parked in Baltimore for the week though.



Past Reviews post 184

[bmays1993]

39 minutes ago, h20skibum said:

We had a couple of reasons for booking this one. First, being from western PA, we could drive to the port in about 5 hours.

Second, in all our cruises, we have never been to Bermuda, so this will be a first. We have never sailed from Baltimore either, so that is another first.

We did decide we couldn’t leave this truck parked in Baltimore for the week though.



Past Reviews post 184

Looking forward to following along as my husband and I board the 25th. LOVE your truck. 

[LuCruise]

Grandeur was my very first cruise.  Looking forward to following along.  Have a great cruise!

PS - It's great that you're trying different ships and classes.  Each brings its own special thing.

[h20skibum]

We set out on our 5 hour drive this morning.  It was gray and gloomy as we drove through Pittsburgh, but maybe part of that was from the thumping our Pens just got from the Isles in the first round.  

 

Our five hour drive ended up being longer, because DW discovered an Outlet Mall in Hagerstown. I think we ended up going to each of these stores. 

 

[breezy_carol]

58 minutes ago, h20skibum said:

We did decide we couldn’t leave this truck parked in Baltimore for the week though.

Past Reviews post 184

Wise decision.  Have a great trip!

[h20skibum]

As luck would have it, the Outlet diversion, plus the stop at Longhorns for some burgers, put us in Baltimore at rush hour.  

 

It it took an hour to cover the last 10 miles to our hotel. 

 

A great Longhorn burger. 

 

[h20skibum]

Our precruise hotel is the Best Western on O’Donnell Street.  The price was $137, and they keep our car for the week and shuttle us to the port and back.  

 

I think I see the port from the hotel, so I will see if I can get a photo of the ship from here in the morning. 

 

I will write more about the hotel after our stay.  Time to sign off for the night. 

[Luv06012012]

You are going to fall in love with Bermuda for sure!!!! Try to hit up Art Mel’s Spicey Dicey in Hamilton for their famous fish sandwich if you can. You won’t regret it!!!


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[birdylady]

Thank you (and DragonoftheSeas) for your live threads.  We're also sailing next week. So any and all information will be greatly appreciated (and get us anxiously drooling in anticipation).

 

Like CruisinCons, I will be intersted in temperatures and weather.  This will be our first cruise to any island (other than Alaska trips) that will not be warm, sunny, Caribbean weather so packing will be interesting.

 

Have a super trip.
Erika

[h20skibum]

Boarding day temperatures?   Our shuttle to the port leaves at 10:15, and it says it will be 61. I guess I will see if it is cooler near the port. It says it will be 75 by 3.

 

That sounds like shorts weather to me.  

 

Edited April 18, 2019 by h20skibum

[h20skibum]

Our ship has come in!!   Well, at least the one we are going on. 

 

Since it is an old ship, how about a black and white photo, zoomed from our hotel room?

 

 

[Cru1s1ng2009]

I didn't know what I was going to do without @Dragonoftheseas doing a live. Glad you are about to do one so I can get my ship on.

I am glad you didn't take the truck, no idea what you would come back to, lol

Thank  you for stopping in Hagerstown (my town) and spending some money. We need it.

Edited April 18, 2019 by Cru1s1ng2009
wtrhg

[Lynne95]

Yippee another Grandeur review!  Thank you!

[Cru1s1ng2009]

You will LOVE Bermuda! It is my favorite place to sail to. It has the tropical vibe without the constant bugging to buy something. It also has WAVES unlike down in the Bahamas. We love playing in the water there. I hope you have a fabulous time!

[luv2cruise4ever]

Did the Canada/NE on Grandeur in Sept '17 and doing it again this summer.  I've been seriously considering it for our first ever trip to Bermuda so I'm excited to enjoy your 'LIVE' this week.  Thanks for taking the time to share. Although 'old' it's a fantastic ship and  reminiscent of some of the smaller ships I enjoyed when I started cruising almost 30 years ago.  

[h20skibum]

Although 'old' it's a fantastic ship and  reminiscent of some of the smaller ships I enjoyed when I started cruising almost 30 years ago.  

We have been on some great “old” ships. We started cruising 39 years ago.

Now, I may be giving away my age. But, I guess if anyone has read my old reports, they probably know our age range.


Past Reviews post 184

[h20skibum]

Now a little about the hotel. The Best Western we are at is just off 95 and 895. You can see traffic is all red this morning at 9:45.



This hotel is a little old and worn.



The view out the back of the hotel is not the greatest.






Past Reviews post 184