First RCCL cruise,,,AND THE LAST! At least on the Grandeur

[MGoBlue2]

If I remember correctly the fried chicken was served on the 2nd formal night dinner and they had lobster, steak, fish and roast turkey on the menu that evening.

IMO, if the choices included lobster, steak, etc. someone complaining about the fact that fried chicken was an option, is just looking for things to complain about.

[isujim]

I thought the same thing Blue...........but I guess some people don't like the idea of Fried Chicken on formal night.

 

By the way..........we were on the Mariner over Easter.......there was never fried chicken on any menu regardless of the night..........either this is a new introduction.......or ship specific.

[Cruising89143]

If I remember correctly the fried chicken was served on the 2nd formal night dinner and they had lobster, steak, fish and roast turkey on the menu that evening.

 

If that's the case then no one had reason to complain about this being on the menu. There were plenty of good choices.

[Ericknow32]

Now I want fried chicken. :D

[MrPete]

So do I, but never in a formal dining room.

[MGoBlue2]

So do I, but never in a formal dining room.

In that case, you could have had steak or lobster or fish or turkey ...

[sun & fun]

I was also on the Grandeur on the May 26th sailing. I have to admit I was a little disappointed. The food was OK but nothing to brag about. Our waiter did his job but he did not have an outgoing personality. Our assistant waiter must have been new and we were never offered the extras (sour cream, horseradish sauce on our prime rib, etc). Asked for Splenda in the dinning room and was told they didn't have it (had to get a supply from the Windjammer and bring it to the dinning room). Our head waiter was very good and was there with the pepper mill and to de-shell lobster and shrimp. We had many conversations with her during the cruise. We had an oceanview cabin which was very small (we had 4 people) and it needed to be updated. I noticed a sewer smell sometimes in the bathroom (glad I read the CC and brought a Yankee Candle car freshner) I also noticed the smell in the atrium area of the 4th deck. I guess I'm spoiled after sailing on CCL Miracle. We had a nice size cabin, great food and the singers and dancers were great. The singers and dancers were probably good on the Grandeur but the show themes and choregraphy was not. The headliners, a comedian and Mosaic were very good. Our cruise director Clo was very funny. We meet a few people that were on the Grandeur last year and they were shocked at how the food deteriorated since their last cruise. My children (11 & 13) really enjoyed the cruise and met many new friends, which they are IM'ing already! I read so much on CC about how awful CCL was compared to RCl and I was expecting a better experience. I guess your experience depends on the ship, head chef and which waiter and cabin steward you happen to get. Boarding the ship was a breeze after getting to the ship, we were aboard in 30 minutes. I hope more cruise lines consider Baltimore as a departing port, it's a pleasent drive and I love to avoid the time and price of flying. I'm not saying we had a horrible time, it was a nice cruise but it certainly could have been better.

[novicecruiser1]

sun and fun - you said your cabin was "very small", but then you called it a "nice size cabin". I'm sailing Grandeur in September...........just wondering what to expect. Was it "very small" because there were 4 people in it? Thanks!

[MisterBill99]

We sailed on Grandeur last year and were also unhappy with quality of the food. In fact, I swore I would not sail RCI again, until I got a great deal on Explorer this year. I am hoping that the food will be better. We didn't have problems with the food on Voyager 4 years ago.

 

My other complaints about Grandeur was that they charge for pastries/cookies at the lobby stand where they have Seattle's Best coffee and Ben & Jerry's. That stuff is free at the Promenade Cafe on Voyager class ships. And we were in an interior on deck 10 and could hear people walking above us.

 

On the other hand, we were also thrilled with the boarding process.

[iluvcruzin]

I see more complaints on this ship than any other and it seems to be the same complaints over and over. I hope that all of you put this down on your comment cards.

 

I tend to agree with you on this one PADutchman. Unfortunately it's been 2 years since I was on the Granduer and I still see similar complaints that I had. I was like MisterBill in that I was ready to write off RCCL after many years of patronage. I decided to just write it off and not go on it again or recommend it to anyone. I am glad I went back to RCCL though as my last 2 were exceptional.

 

The fried chicken conversation cracked me up. You all crack me up! :D

[MisterBill99]

I don't recall the fried chicken, or maybe I do and found it to be unexceptional (like just a fried chicken cutlet). I don't eat beef or lobster, and I do like fried chicken, so I would have been interested in it.

 

The thing I remember most about the food was the chocolate creme brulee. It had the consistency of chocolate pudding and the top was not properly melted, you could still easily make out the granules of sugar. I am shocked when I read people's reviews saying how great it is. I will have to try it on Explorer and see if it's any better. It may just be that most people don't really know what good creme brulee tastes like (we do, we are CB snobs in my family, having eaten 4* preparations of it).

 

I'd actually be interested in hearing from anyone who knows CB and thought the RCI chocolate version was properly prepared.

[sun & fun]

NoviceCruiser1

Sorry if I wasn't clear. The nice size cabin was on CCL Miracle. We had 4 people (2 adults & 2 children) in our cabin and it was very cramped. The full size bed was in the middle (two twin beds pushed together) and there were bunks on the right and left side of the wall. They put away (folded against the wall) the bunks during the day so it was not as bad. But at night you could not get around the bed you had to crawl out the bottom. The stair to the bunks were also at the bottom of the bunks. All the empty luggage would not fit under the bed so we had luggage around the room also. If you only had 2 people in the cabin it would be comfortable. If you had a balcony, I believe that they do not have bunks. The love seat coverts into a bed to sleep 2 people.

 

MisterBill99

I agree the cream brulee was not finished off properly. In general the deserts, cheesecake, carrot cake, etc. were not very good. The seventh night into our nine day cruise they did not have some items on the menu.

I guess they did not stock properly. Once we resupplied the ship in Port Canaveral we didn't have a problem.

 

I would not cancel a cruise that is close, but I would look at other ships and other cruise lines if I didn't make final payment or were about to book.

[Z-VILLE CRUISERS]

Did you report any of this to RCCL? If you have not done so I would call RCCL and let them know. They would be very unhappy to hear that this is going on. You comments do help. You pay alot for these cruises and you want your money's worth. RCCL may give some compensation back if they knew that you are thinking of never cruising on GOTS or RCCl. I hope your next cruise better.

[madelinerose]

Well, my brother is sailing on the Grandeur in August and I have booked next September for Bermuda, so I am very concerned with the opinions expressed in this thread.

 

Therefore, I just emailed RCI the link to this thread and asked that someone take the time to read it. I stated that hopefully, these issues will become non-issues asap, or, at the very minimum, after the drydock in April, 2007.

 

I've only cruised on new ships, so the Grandeur is a concern. But, on the other hand, leaving from a port that's a 10 minute drive away is a major plus in my book. ;)

 

Hey, my email may be deleted on the spot, but, it's worth a shot, right?

 

 

 

Did you report any of this to RCCL? If you have not done so I would call RCCL and let them know. They would be very unhappy to hear that this is going on. You comments do help.

[germ6664]

OK, I admit it. I was on this cruise too. I agree with many of the comments made previously such as wear and tear issues. There were dings in some of the cabin doors but overall, this ship is in great shape. I thought the food was average-- and that could be because I've been on 10 cruises and it will take a lot to WOW me. I know that we did run out of bagels and ice cream, for example and we had to re-supply at Port Canaveral.( maybe they always resupply there?) :confused:

BUT my wife and I had a good time! We met a bunch of nice people ( many of which were from Baltimore or close by), loved the way ship looked and thought the Captain was outstanding. ( not that he impacted our experience all that much) I mean, how many captains can handle speaking in public and actually saying more than one or two memorized lines? This guy spoke at length every time we encountered him and in one of his appearances even quoted poetry. He was good. :)

We seldom went to the Windjammer but when we did, it was adequate. It's an ongoing buffet, for goodness sakes, how wonderful can your experience be in a place where you carry your own dishes and there is no waiter at your elbow? I realize everyone is entitled to their opinion because everyone has a different experience but we weren't really wowed on any one thing but we had a great cruise nonetheless.

In fact, we have booked another cruise on this ship next June, on the New England itinerary.

So, we had a good time. The many plusses and the great people more than outweighed the few things that were negative. Hey, life is like a cruise- you eat some good food, some bad food, meet some good people, some bad people, see some good scenery, some dull scenery but in the end, you always end up wishing the cruise were longer.:D

Climbing down from my soapbox down. Take my opinions for what you paid for them.:)

Jim

[VABeach]

Wow. All this to do over fried chicken being on the menu, as if it was the ONLY choice people had to choose from. I agree, it did seem as if they served their traditional formal night dinner menu (with the lobster) on the wrong night. It was on the night after formal night. So I ate lobster on Saturday instead of Friday, big deal. It probably was poor planing. I would never imagine that my whole cruise was ruined over it. Maybe I'm just a little too easy to please.

 

By the way, I also ate the fried chicken. It was good. And yes, they did serve Maryland Crab Cakes, which were so good I had three servings of them. ;)

[madelinerose]

Well, my email to RCI came back twice as "undeliverable". So, that's the end of that.

[wrp96]

I know that we did run out of bagels and ice cream, for example and we had to re-supply at Port Canaveral.( maybe they always resupply there?) :confused:

 

Port Canaveral is Grandeur's supply port.

[shellie100]

For what its worth, I was on the Grandeur last month as well (not on the same cruise as the OP), and I can vouch that the food was NOT GOOD. It was mediocre. Yes, there were some decent meals, but let me just say that this was the first cruise that hubby and I have LOST weight on, and I'm pregnant, so that's hard to do! :eek:

 

When I was on Princess I was eating probably two desserts every night, but on this cruise the desserts were barely edible, with the exception of the chocolate cake, which was OK. The appetizers were also better on Princess, and the entrees were way better on Celebrity and slightly better on my Princess cruise.

 

The buffet ran out of lemonade halfway through the cruise, and that was OK, but if the ship had run out of eggs I would not have been happy. Most the of the breakfast items were horrible (or at least lacking), and the omelets were the only reliably good breakfast food, and we ordered them from room service every single morning.

 

Besides that, I had a wonderful cruise. I loved the ship, my room, my balcony, and the pool area, and we had mostly great service. I would definitely give RCI a second chance, but probably on a larger ship, and probably not on the Grandeur again. But like I said I had a wonderful cruise and if the Grandeur had the right price at the right time I would probably go again, just knowing ahead of time that the food situation was funky. But I'd rather try another ship instead.

[sun & fun]

Wow. All this to do over fried chicken being on the menu, as if it was the ONLY choice people had to choose from. I agree, it did seem as if they served their traditional formal night dinner menu (with the lobster) on the wrong night. It was on the night after formal night. So I ate lobster on Saturday instead of Friday, big deal. It probably was poor planing. I would never imagine that my whole cruise was ruined over it. Maybe I'm just a little too easy to please.

 

By the way, I also ate the fried chicken. It was good. And yes, they did serve Maryland Crab Cakes, which were so good I had three servings of them. ;)

 

Jenny,

 

When did they serve the crab cakes? I missed them!

 

Janet

[VABeach]

They were on the menu as an appetizer one night. They were just as good as Phillips, and that's hard to do. :D

[bplazo]

Or the chocolate buffet! :D

 

 

 

Perhaps, it's coincidence, but the worst Celebrity cruise we've ever been on was Mercury out of San Diego. However, our Alaska cruise out of San Francisco was fabulous.

 

 

 

Why? Long John Silvers would be so much easier for them. :p

 

 

 

I know you were only relaying a positive attitude, which I read on these boards often. I've read it so many times in fact that I'm starting to wonder why anyone would want to pay for anything they had to work to enjoy. :confused: We've enjoyed all our cruises. Some were better than others, but I don't feel that it was our responsibilty to work harder at it, if the cruise had problems. We own our own business. If it had problems, we would be responsible to work harder to improve things not our customers.

 

 

 

This isn't always the case. We've been on cruises, when our ship was the only one in port. If you choose a cruise longer than 7 days, your chances of fewer ships increases. All it takes is a little advance planning prior to booking.

 

 

 

The food is a huge part of our cruise experience. We cruise for the ship, & the ports are secondary. I can easily see how a negative dining room experience could make a significant impact on one's impression of the overall cruise.

 

 

 

You guys are starting to scare me. :eek:

 

One last thought..... I've been reading lots of RCCL reviews in preparation for our 1st cruise with them. I'm starting to think too many. ;) Anyway, this isn't the 1st time I've read about the poor cleaning habits at the buffet. I read another review where someone mentioned the server pouring out a glass someone had left to wet the table with, then using a used napkin to wipe it off. Does anyone else remember reading that? It wasn't from this cruise.

 

I also read that about them cleaning the table with a dirty napkin, I was thinking the review was from the Mariner.

[madelinerose]

Ooohhh, sorry, Jenny, but for many Marylanders, especially Baltimoreans like myself, Phillips is like the Micky D's of seafood. There was a huge uproar several years ago about the quality of the "krab" they use. I would never ever recommend Phillips to anyone. Sorry. ;)

 

They were on the menu as an appetizer one night. They were just as good as Phillips, and that's hard to do. :D

[cruisecrazy205]

you didnt like it? i absolutely LOVED IT!!!!!!! i think the food was really good! except for the mozzarella sticks which tasted like oil

[VABeach]

Ooohhh, sorry, Jenny, but for many Marylanders, especially Baltimoreans like myself, Phillips is like the Micky D's of seafood. There was a huge uproar several years ago about the quality of the "krab" they use. I would never ever recommend Phillips to anyone. Sorry. ;)

 

I try to be easy to please. It makes it that much easier for me to go through life with a big smile on my face. There is the distinct possibility that you will not be as impressed with your vacation as I was with mine. I had a great time, but six star luxury, it wasn't.