Grandeur of the Seas - Question

[Howie from MD]

Hi,

 

We are thinking of taking a cruise on the Grandeur of the Seas. Would love to hear the positives and negatives.

 

Thanks,

 

Howie

[pmvogelalex]

I dont know how many and which ships yove been on, so Ill assume your a newbi.

 

Positives.... Leaves from Baltimore, cheap way to travel and vacation,

ship is very large {My opinion}, yet not a "megaship"

was not crowded. Food was very good{Not the best, but good value}

entertainment was vearied and good.

Athletic facilities were nice, inc. rockclimbing

 

Negatives... IMHO too many kids,{Last night of cruise is when they run amok}, Ship is large enough to be a "Mass " of folks.

Nice spa,good securitym, stingy casino,nice itenerary this year, , but next years 5 day bermuda too little time to have fun there.

[dixiediva761]

LOVED LOVED LOVED The Grandeur!

[tlbesser]

I have not been on Grandeur yet...but have heard rave reviews about her. We are sailing on Grandeur for our honeymoon next May. Can't wait!

I was on Soverein a few times, Nordic Empress and Radiance. Of those Radiance was the most beautiful but they were all nice. I'm sure Grandeur will be just as nice if not better.

 

Hi,

 

We are thinking of taking a cruise on the Grandeur of the Seas. Would love to hear the positives and negatives.

 

Thanks,

 

Howie

[weezi]

Negatives... IMHO too many kids,{Last night of cruise is when they run amok}, Ship is large enough to be a "Mass " of folks.

Nice spa,good securitym, stingy casino,nice itenerary this year, , but next years 5 day bermuda too little time to have fun there.

 

 

may i ask what month did you go for it to have "too many" kids?

[mskaufman]

Howie,

 

We will be on Granduer in two weeks. This will be our 4th cruise on various lines. Last year we went on Paradise because of no smoking. However, do not underestimate the value of leaving from Baltimore if you live in the area. We did it two years ago and that is what led us to GOTS. It was really simple and I go on over 100 flights a year for business so flying is not a problem. We left our house at 11:30 and were on the boat by 1:00.

 

Good luck

[pmvogelalex]

It was the July 11th cruise, naturally. The kids will melt away by labor day.

[Honey's Gal]

Have been on the Granduer 3X's already, and we love the ship. Not too big, not too small. It is in excellent condition and has a great crew. As far as children, it all depends on what time of the year you are going. All cruises have children. It the 10 cruises we have been on, that was never a problem, they are kept pretty busy.

 

Go and have a great time.

[VaCruzers]

Howie, you didn't mention, but I presume you are looking at departing from Baltimore. I don't think you will regret choosing Grandeur from Baltimore.

 

The pros:1. For us, departing Baltimore for the ease of getting to the port without the added cost/aggrevation of flying. 2. The staff delivers excellent service 3. The price is affordable.

 

 

The cons: 1. If you are accustomed to Voyager class, you will find it lacking. However, in comparison the Nordic Empress, it was an improvement. 2. I prefer a more Caribbean itinerary vs. Bahamas, but leaving from Baltimore requires a compromise. That being said, I'd prefer a ship in any warm environment to being on land where I have to cook & clean.

 

You will note that the cons did not outweigh the pros for us as we booked a 2nd trip on her this summer only days after departing in June. If you choose to sail her, I hope you have a wonderful time!

[SeaUThere]

If you are interested in leaving from Baltimore, you may also wish to check into the Celebrity Galaxy. She is a beautiful ship with a lot of class. Food and service are definitely 5 star on the Galaxy.

 

I can't compare her with the Grandeur yet, as I won't sail on GOS until this September.

 

I love sailing out of Baltimore! 50 minute ride to the ship!

[cindybythebeach]

Grandeur is a beautiful ship, lots of glass and plenty of beautiful views. I had sailed Voyager and Adventure, so I was concerned about the size. Grandeur is plenty big enough. Lots of activities and an absolutely wonderful crew. I sailed in June (Hi VA Cruzers) and have already booked again for September 4. Both VA Cruzers and me booking again so soon should give you an idea of how much fun we had on Grandeur. Leaving from Baltimore and being able to drive to the port was just an added bonus.

 

Cindy

[OCruisers]

Grandeur is plenty big enough. Lots of activities and an absolutely wonderful crew. Cindy

 

Cindy .... We, like you, were impressed by the extremely HAPPY and friendly crew. This was the thing we liked best about GOS!

 

Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

[P&DinDE2]

we sailed Grandeur 7/18/04-7/25/04 had a BLAST!! would go again in a heart beat! kids were not a bother! the staff was excellent& you get attatched to them quickly! hated to leave our dining room waiter!

[elliecall]

We just got off. We thought the food was excellent. My only complaints were the airconditioning,some places were warm and some cold. Also sometimes the toilets took a few minutes to flush. Everything else was great. Oh, dont expect to get off the ship asap. We didnt start getting off until 11:10am.

[teach01]

Is there any way to get off earlier, we are driving from Philly to Baltimore and hubby has to go to work on Sunday at 3pm--that is a little rushed!

[montekat]

We did the GOS on the repositioning cruise from New Orleans to Baltimore on May 1st of this year. Our first RCI cruise, and we were happy to be able to go to NO a few days early and then sail home. The ship was nice, our main complaint was the lay-out of the Windjammer. It was a little difficult to maneuver between the stations to get food and then find a seat.

 

P&DinDE2, Hi! We are from Seaford also and love sailing out of Baltimore. It is so easy to get to the port and saves on airfare. We also like to sail out of Norfolk. But then again, anytime sailing is better than working!!!

[P&DinDE2]

montekat,

Hello there Neighbor! Nice to see another "seaford" person! I was begining to think I was the only one! Grandeur 7/18/04 was our first ever cruise! It was great to sail from Baltimore. Havent looked into any cruised out of Norfolk, we are thinking about Grandeur again next july 5 night to bermuda. Have you ever been there?

hopefully we can chat on here who knows we might even know one another!

[montekat]

Pam, Bermuda is very clean and pretty, you will enjoy it. Plus, if you are doing a cruise just to Bermuda, you will have a lot longer time there to enjoy the island. We will be going on our 9th cruise in Sept., the Carnival Miracle out of Baltimore for 7 nights. It is possible we have passed by each other in Seaford (it is a very small town for those who don't know). I work in the ICU at the hospital and my husband does drywall finishing. Feel free to e-mail me; I always love to talk cruisiing!!!

[P&DinDE2]

montekat,

hope you dont get tired of me because all i do anymore is check these message boards 7 talk cruising I am HookED!!! i work in salisbury at Giant Food & David has a logging business! we are out by the woodland ferry.

do you prefer a balcolny room when cruising? we are looking into that this time, last time we had the large ocean view & i was always looking out the window!

same goes for emailing me! you can chat on here or my email address is Pam6641@aol.com

[montekat]

Pam, hey wow, small world! We live near Woodland Ferry also. I will send you an e-mail.

[Bonnie Voyager]

Okay you "Seafordites", I want to chat too :D Pam and I have already "met" on the boards, but I had not seen Montekat before! I am also from Seaford. I graduated from SHS in 1975. My Husband graduated from Laurel in 1974 with Pam's Husband! Very small world, isn't it? We are also on the Grandeur cruise to Bermuda next July (7/17/05 to be exact). We live in Newark now, but my Parents still live in Seaford. In fact, I'll be down there later this week! Pam, you will love the balcony if you select one for your Bermuda cruise! We've done every type of cabin and have found that when we don't have a balcony, we spend much less time in the cabin (which is fine), but when we do have a balcony, we relax more and spend lots of time just sitting on the balcony and watching the sea (which we really love). It doesn't make the cruise any better or worse.....just different. Some people say you can never go back once you've had a balcony, but I have not found that to be true. I would cruise in a broom closet if necessary! As long as I can cruise! We usually book balcony cabins on longer cruises and window cabins on short cruises. When I cruise on "nowhere cruises" with my girlfriends I select an inside cabin. I have no problem going back and forth from balcony to inside! Every cruise has been great! I hope we see you on the Bermuda cruise! Maybe I'll run into all you Seaford cruisers down in Seaford someday!

[montekat]

Hi Bonnie Voyager!! Glad to hear from you. I have been on the boards for several years, but post more to the "other board". We love cruising and have been on 8 regular cruises so far and I have been on 2 CTN's with a friend from work as her husband has no interest in sailing (I just can't imagine!!!).

Our son went to school at Sterck School in Newark, so we have ties with you guys also. In fact, he and his wife love cruising so much, they were married in Nov. on the Carnival Legend. Who knows, maybe we will see you on a cruise sometime!!

[goucher]

I was on the Grandeur out of Baltimore in June. The convenience of departing from Baltimore could not be beat. The entire cruise was enjoyable and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. However, in comparison to our last cruise on Princess, I couldn't help but notice the (IMHO) major differences. We booked mini-suites on both ships and Princess BY FAR has much nicer staterooms and amenities.

 

The food and presentation in the dining room on Princess was also much higher quality. I found the dining room on the Grandeur to be noisy, our servers seemed overwhelmed and frantic, and our table frequently received incorrect orders. Overall, the dining room experience was distracting. This was also the first cruise I have been on where I noticed numerous people in cut-off shorts and tee-shirts in the dining room for dinner -- even on the formal nights.

 

Also, be prepared to wait for several hours after returning to the port in Baltimore before being allowed off the ship. But once off, it's just a quick bus shuttle to the parking lot and we were home within an hour.

 

That said, I'd do it again any time.

[GranysT]

Hi everyone,am I glad I found this thread. We are also looking into the Grandeur for the July 17th 2005 sailing,out of Baltimore. We live in VA,about an hour away from Baltimore. I have been on 10 cruise's,so far. 3 with RCL and 7 with Carnival. We were on the Mariner for 7 days in April,and on a 2 night CTN,on Carnival's Victory, out of Norfolk in June. I have also been on the Majesty and the Sovereign. I was wondering how the Grandeur would compare to MOS and SOS? I know she won't come near the Mariner,nothing could,so I don't expect that. I have also been to Bermuda,but not from a cruise.I loved Bermuda,and would love to get back again. If anyone has questions about Bermuda,I would be happy to try and answer. I also love to talk cruising.

[Bonnie Voyager]

Well, GranysT, sounds like we may have a fun group headed to Bermuda on 7/17/05!!! I "peeped" in the windows of Grandeur while I was docked nextdoor onboard Explorer last April. She looked like a beautiful ship! Voyager-class ships are hard to beat for family fun, but I think Grandeur looks like a very "romantic" ship and that's what I am hoping for next July! A quick but romantic get-away with the Hubby! Grandeur seems like the perfect size ship and Bermuda is the perfect destination for a more intimate experience! I hope to see you onboard!