Don't Pass on Galveston Grandeur

[1Texansgo]

Just returned and wanted to share some observations on Grandeur 5 day 5/27-6/1/22. We all know Grandeur is one of the oldest ships in the fleet and lacks all the bells and whistles the newer ships have. We are a couple early 60s who still enjoy an active cruise so we were a little hesitant to book Grandeur although prepandemic we had a great cruise on Enchantment when she sailed out of Galveston. All in all we had a very good time on this cruise.As to the specifics:

1. Embarkation was easy and we did self checkout and were off the ship by 7:45.

2. The ship is badly understaffed, especially in the dining and bar service areas but the staff working does a great job.

3. The understaffing manifests itself in several ways: breakfast in MDR took over an hour; we had UDP and there were no restaurants open on embarkation day or non sea days unlike Adventure a couple of months ago. Our last sea day we had lunch at Izumi and there were at least half the tables empty but they were turning away guests telling them they were fully booked. Again service related and hopefully this will be rectified soon.

4. Food in specialty restaurants was good to very good. Chops was excellent as was Izumi (which is located in Viking lounge) which I thought was a little strange but our table had a great view. Giovannis was also very good but was always virtually empty.

5. Entertainment overall was good: Dave in Schooners and the Thrill Seekers band in Centrum were very good. Two production shows were not to our liking and dated but the performers were very talented, especially the singers.

6. Never had a problem getting loungers by the pool or in Solarium. Didn't see too many chair hogs.

7. Very friendly staff consistently throughout the ship.

8. In Costa Maya our beach day at Maya Chan was cancelled due to seaweed so we took a cab to town and had a nice lunch at what was translated "The Big Fish" and we both had $20 massages on the beach. If you want a massage don't fret they are everywhere!

9. In Cozumel we didn't have any plans so we walked out of the port, turned left toward downtown and walked passed El Cid and Grand Park hotels to Paprika restaurant for a nice lunch; Guacamole, fish tacos and a chile relleno. It is across the street from Adventure Dive Shop if that helps.

10. In conclusion very nice cruise and just what we were looking for. The lady G still has "IT". Will try to answer any questions you may have.

[ONECRUISER]

Nice, Thank You! Last Cruises was on Granduer was 20-25yrs ago. Had some best Cruises with my Kids on her, my first 9 and 10 niters! Been only on Vision or Radiance Classes last few yrs, enjoying the Smaller Ships while they are still around. Funny thing is when they came out similar sized Sovereign(to Vision Class) was called the First Mega Cruise Ship

[Biker19]

@firefly333 may disagree on some issues.

[firefly333]

11 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

@firefly333 may disagree on some issues.

I would agree .. the short staffing was mostly dining .. long waits in Mdr. Issues in WJ, who had decreased hours and tried to trade off with cafe. Not enough staff for both to be open. 

 

From above ... same thing  .. dining issues mostly. Plus I dont like cold pizza. No sorrentos. I'm a pizza snob and want mine hot. Didnt hate my cruise .. but for sure tables at the pool were scare last leg, people saving .. but mostly it was dining .. they tried. 

 

____

 

2. The ship is badly understaffed, especially in the dining and bar service areas but the staff working does a great job.

3. The understaffing manifests itself in several ways: breakfast in MDR took over an hour

[lhsail]

Don’t mind that the ship doesn’t have all the bells and whistles. My frustration is the lack of balcony cabins, and therefore the relative cost compared what was available on the Adventure. 

[GJustice]

2 hours ago, lhsail said:

Don’t mind that the ship doesn’t have all the bells and whistles. My frustration is the lack of balcony cabins, and therefore the relative cost compared what was available on the Adventure. 

Hmmm, our balcony was quite nice. Not HUGE, but nice. Cabin 7080

[lhsail]

42 minutes ago, GJustice said:

Hmmm, our balcony was quite nice. Not HUGE, but nice. Cabin 7080

I’m sure the balcony cabins are fine. Just not many of them, they sell out quickly and are priced significantly higher than they were on the Adventure. I totally understand it’s a supply and demand issue. 

[Merion_Mom]

This has always been true of all of the Vision class ships.  And I agree.

[Peachy59]

We booked her for next year out of Tampa because I was able to get a corner aft Jr Suite.  I hope they have staffing issues straightened out by then. We're trying to get at least one sail in on all of the Royal ships.😁

[RoyalC]

6 hours ago, Peachy59 said:

We booked her for next year out of Tampa because I was able to get a corner aft Jr Suite.  I hope they have staffing issues straightened out by then. We're trying to get at least one sail in on all of the Royal ships.😁

On Grandeur now- have not noticed staffing issues. South Pacific Lounge bar is not open but has staff walking around. Food in dining room is really good.

[BecciBoo]

We go on Sept 26, can't wait!

[BecciBoo]

On 6/1/2022 at 12:38 PM, firefly333 said:

Plus I dont like cold pizza

They will be glad to heat it for you.

[Jingerwoppy]

We were on in May this year and had some issues. Very short-staffed as everyone noticed (a few crew told us they were having trouble getting staff rehired) but the Windjammer ran out of items several times (and was very crowded), MDR food has been better, and we only had 2 shows out of the 5 nights. Crew was friendly as stated and I can't ever recall having any issues with a crew member. 

 

Still not a terribly bad cruise, just interesting and odd. I think others have also pointed out the odd feeling.  

[RoyalC]

Went outside- light rain with thunderstorms ahead but at probably a few hundred BATS flying around the ship! Mostly off deck 10, some under the deck 5 promenade. One flew less than 10 feet from me- the squeal in unmistakable as well as the flight. A bunch of white seabirds too (not sure what they are by name). First time seeing that on a cruise- pretty cool. Just north of the Yucatan right now.

[Merion_Mom]

1 hour ago, RoyalC said:

Went outside- light rain with thunderstorms ahead but at probably a few hundred BATS flying around the ship! Mostly off deck 10, some under the deck 5 promenade. One flew less than 10 feet from me- the squeal in unmistakable as well as the flight. A bunch of white seabirds too (not sure what they are by name). First time seeing that on a cruise- pretty cool. Just north of the Yucatan right now.

Good.  They will eat the mosquitos.