Now Onboard Grandeur 7/13 9N Eastern

[Rodoverer]

I am now onboard the GOS about 673 miles from San Juan.

 

Today the seas are real calm. We did some rocking and rolling yesterday.

 

So far the cruise is going great. No complaints.

 

This is are first cruise.

 

The m&m went great, and a lot of people actually showed up.

 

Any questions I will try to answer. My wireless works from my jr. suite just fine.

 

RS

[Radio]

Wow. . .Thanks Rodney ! I am glad to see that WiFi works in (some) cabins. I was on last week, and had to go to the library or Viking Crown for my reports !

 

Thanks for posting ! Have a great cruise !

 

Radio

:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[BM64]

Keep the post coming, we'll be on her in six short weeks. We'll be in a JS on deck 8 so any pictures or info on the js would be appreciated.

 

Have a great trip.

[Janet524]

Looking forward to our upcoming New England/Canada trip on Grandeur next month. Love the ship and love sailing out of Baltimore because we can drive there and spend the day before at the Inner Harbor - lots to do and lots of fun. Have a great cruise!

[barryw1111]

Could someone ask, if on the 5 night cruise to Bermuda golf excursions with transportation are available.

I will be sailing to bermuda on 08-19 and would like to play golf.

 

Thanks

 

Barry

[caitlyn20]

Hi Rodney,

 

I was at the M&M, but didn't get to meet very many people. I was hoping to meet some of the ones that posted on our thread. I did get the meet Jetfan and a few that lurked but did not post.

 

I wanted to post some pictures from this cruise, but forgot my cable at home for transferring pictures from my camera to my computer. Since we are in San Juan today, I'll try to find something here so I can do that.

 

If you remember the person who won the last mouse at the M&M, that was me. Say "hi" if we happen to bump into each other. I was that excited about winning the mouse because I bought one last cruise that never worked, so I figured that was compensation. :D

 

Hope you're having a great time. How 'bout that weather here in San Juan today, huh? I hope it clears up for the Mardi Gras party tonight.

 

Cathy

[isujim]

Keep the posts coming Rodney........we'll be on the ship for Canada/NE in about 9 or 10 weeks......

 

What jr. suite are you in?

[Rodoverer]

Sorry for the delay,

 

The internet was down for a while.

I did no expect the it to be down for so long or I would not had purchased $50 worth of pre-paid time.

 

We just left St. Thomas. Had a great time at Meagan's Bay.

 

The ship is excellent. This is my first cruise and was worried by some of the posts but I have not found anything to complain about.

 

The captain is real funny and love hearing his noon reports. It is one of my highlights of the day.

 

We are on our way to Samana.

 

The food is great. I also like the windjammer but you should try and get in there early to avoid the crowds. The ship does seem to move more there for some reason. The only thing I kind of gets on my nerve there is all the thumping from the early morning joggers on the deck above.

 

The wireless seems to be working good now.

 

I will keep you all posted.

 

Caytlan, we had a great m&m sorry I did not get to meet you. I was the first person that won the T-Shirt. Maybe I will see around.

 

Take care all,

 

RS

[Rodoverer]

ISUJIM,

 

We are in 8566

 

 

starboard side aft

[barryw1111]

Any info on Golf in Bermuda?

 

Barry

[FreewayFortune]

Rodney, I'm glad you are enjoying your first cruise:) :)

[isujim]

Rodney

 

I will really be interested in Samana and what you think of the port. We have that on one of our itineraries on the Grandeur in October of 2008.....reviews to say the least are mixed..........please post back after Samana and let us know what you think of that port.

 

Thanks.

 

Jiim

[Rodoverer]

We just left Samana about 4 hours ago.

 

By far the best stop so far.

 

We spent the day at Cayo Lavantado beach.

The most beautiful beach I have been to in a long time.

Plenty of sun, shade, and clear water.

The included lunch was so so I guess we could have skipped it.

They did bring out a big tray of crabs which made it worth it in the end.

 

Did not want to leave the beach bar, and ended up taking the 2nd to the last tender.

[isujim]

Appreciate your first hand review of Samana..........I've heard that is a great beach and the place to go.

 

Thanks

[Radio]

Thanks Rodney . . .. for posting about Samana, DR.

 

I want to go there. . . I have heard from the crew that it was beautiful !

 

I hope you had your camera with you :D

 

Radio

:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[TPKeller]

We just left Samana about 4 hours ago.

 

By far the best stop so far.

 

We spent the day at Cayo Lavantado beach.

The most beautiful beach I have been to in a long time.

Plenty of sun, shade, and clear water.

The included lunch was so so I guess we could have skipped it.

They did bring out a big tray of crabs which made it worth it in the end.

 

Did not want to leave the beach bar, and ended up taking the 2nd to the last tender.

Hi!

 

Thanks for posting from the ship! If you get a chance, I've set up a cruise map for Samana, but I had very little information about it. Do you have any information from your stop that would be good to add to my map? See anything that needs to be updated?

 

Thanks!

 

Theron

[Rodoverer]

Well folks,

 

We left Labadee yesterday and are well under way for Baltimore.

 

I am typing this from my JS balcony. The wireless works well from here.

 

We are presently N26 57' 45.69" W73 25' 13.28"

This puts us about 266 miles ENE of Nassau.

 

Labadee was really fun, and the weather was perfect.

Same weather while cruising today. The captain said it was rare

for the wind not to be really blowing at this location.

 

I have taken many pics and video and will post them and answer your questions when I get home.

 

I know I am not as good at "Live From" as Radio but I have two little ones to keep occupied.

 

Till the next post,

 

Cheers

 

RS

[caitlyn20]

We just left Samana about 4 hours ago.

 

By far the best stop so far.

 

We spent the day at Cayo Lavantado beach.

The most beautiful beach I have been to in a long time.

Plenty of sun, shade, and clear water.

The included lunch was so so I guess we could have skipped it.

They did bring out a big tray of crabs which made it worth it in the end.

 

Did not want to leave the beach bar, and ended up taking the 2nd to the last tender.

 

 

I agree that Samana is definitely beautiful. Unfortunately, by the time I checked into shore excursions, they were all sold out. Not sure if I had my experience because I was alone, but I stayed on shore for less than an hour. The locals drove me away.

 

I did not have an excursion booked, so figured I'd find something to do on my own. There's no town to speak of, although they do have a merchant market of sorts. From the minute I left the check-in area, the locals harassed me to buy things or get a cab. They have guys on bicycles with a sort of cart attached to transport people around. Some followed me a way trying to get me to accept a ride. When one would give up, another would follow.

 

On top of that, small children (about 9 or 10) were begging for money. The ones I had were not polite at all. One followed me for 15 minutes chantting "give me 5 dolla. I need 5 dolla. I need 5 dolla for I hungry. YOU not hungry. GIVE ME 5 Dolla!!!" Over and over. I finally stopped, looked him in the eye and asked him to leave me alone. He didn't and followed me as far into "town" as I was willing to go. Finally, (with my chanter still in tow), I ran into some people from the ship coming from the opposite direction. I asked if there was anything worth seeing, and they said that there was nothing up ahead and they were scared to proceed further and were going back to the ship.

 

I decided to turn around then too. I still had the kid following me another 5 mintues and I just decided to ignore him. He eventually gave up, only to be replaced by another child. Some kids did try to be friendly before asking for money. I'm not heartless, but I imagine they are like seagulls, and once there's a handout for one, a flock will appear.

 

I didn't even bother trying to shop, because of the harrassment I got before I even entered the market area. I thought about going back out in the afternoon, hoping the locals would have worn out a bit by then, but it rained heavily and I didn't have an umbrella, so I ended up not going again.

 

I imagine this may have gone differently had I not been alone. I definitely recommend the tours. Everyone who was on the tours LOVED the island. Those who were not....didn't.

[Radio]

Sorry about the trouble with the locals, caitlyn20. . . Maybe a tour would be the best choice.

 

I think that as RCI and others continue to go that port... that a more structured passenger experience will be the norm.

 

How close did the ship anchor to the shore ?

 

Was there a beach near the tender station ?

 

Thanks for your report !

 

Radio

:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[wolfcathorse]

Is the captain still Capt Hempstead?

[isujim]

Cathy thanks for the report on Samana...........we stop there in November of 08 on this same ship.........appreciate the heads up.

[Rodoverer]

Caytlan20,

 

Sorry to hear about your experience on Samana.

We also heard about how quickly the excursions booked up.

I booked all my excursions online about 3 weeks before the cruise.

In fact I booked everything online. RCI has a great web site.

I guess if you go through a TA you might get a bettor price.

 

The old/new city tour of San Juan was a big let down.

It was real quick and we did not have a lot of time to see the fort.

We did stumble across a great Mexican Restaurant while strolling

after the tour.

 

Meagan’s Bay Beach was well worth it. I got great pictures of the ship

and everything else from up top of the mountain before going down to the beach.

Do not let the locals talk you into a taxi ($4 one way) the walk into

the shopping area was only 10 to 15 minutes. The beach was great and very clean.

I did not like sitting on a towel in the sand though. Would have been

perfect if they had beach chairs like in Samana and Labadee.

 

Cayo Laventado Beach, Samana was fantastic. We boarded a tender early

which took us straight to the island. Plenty of palm trees and other

types of trees to keep the sun off you. They had a nice beech bar just

a few steps from the beach area. Also a shopping area as well. I did

get one handout along with my rum punch welcome ashore drink. I will scan

it for anyone that is interested. It is small and includes some local

information as well as a map.

 

Labadee blew my mind. I mostly read good reviews but was not prepared

for the great time we had there. The super tanker tenders :) I like to

call them whisked everyone ashore in no time. The weather was the best

of the whole trip. No excursions for us. We just had fun on hideaway

beach all day. Did not want to go. It was a short walk up to the dragons

breath area. Took lots of pictures. Did not see a whole lot of people

using the zip line but it was running.

 

The ship is great, and the crew is awesome. I also very much enjoyed

the food everywhere. The seafood was not that great but I am spoiled

from growing up on Cape Cod. This is the last day at sea and I think

there are a few more spots on the ship I have not discovered yet. I

bettor get to it.

 

I booked this cruise a year ago online thats when I discovered this

board. I enjoyed reading and posting anCaytlan20,

 

Sorry to hear about your experiance on Samana.

We also heard about how quickly the excursions booked up.

I booked all my excursions online about 3 weeks before the cruise.

In fact I booked everything online. RCI has a great web site.

I guess if you go through a TA you might get a bettor price.

 

The old/new city tour of San Juan was a big let down.

It was real quick and we did not have a lot of time to see the fort.

We did stumble across a great Mexican Resteraunt while strolling

after the tour.

 

Meagans Bay Beach was well worth it. I got great pictures of the ship

and everything else from up top of the mountain before going down to the beach.

Do not let the locals talk you into a taxi ($4 one way) the walk into

the shopping area was only 10 to 15 minutes. The beach was great and very clean.

I did not like sitting on a towel in the sand though. Would have been

perfect if they had beach chairs like in Samana and Labadee.

 

Cayo Laventado Beach, Samana was fantastic. We boarded a tender early

which took us straight to the island. Plenty of palm trees and other

types of trees to keep the sun off you. They had a nice beech bar just

a few steps from the beach area. Also a shopping area as well. I did

get one handout along with my rum punch welcome ashore drink. I will scan

it for anyone that is interested. It is small and includes some local

information as well as a map.

 

Labadee blew my mind. I mostly read good reviews but was not prepaired

for the great time we had there. The super tanker tenders :) I like to

call them wisked everyone ashore in no time. The weather was the best

of the whole trip. No excursions for us. We just had fun on hideaway

beach all day. Did not want to go. It was a short walk up to the dragons

breath area. Took lots of pictures. Did not see a whole lot of people

using the zip line but it was running.

 

The ship is great, and the crew is awesome. I also very much enjoyed

the food everywhere. The seafood was not that great but I am spoiled

from growing up on Cape Cod. This is the last day at sea and I think

there are a few more spots on the ship I have not discovered yet. I

bettor get to it.

 

I booked this cruise a year ago online that’s when I discovered this

board. I enjoyed reading and posting and looking forward to this cruise.

Now that it is almost over I am going to miss it. I will probably cruise

again someday but We have so many other interests it might be awhile.

My thanks go out ot Radio and all you other happy posters for preparing

us for this wonderful adventure. I know even though I may not have any

cruises planned that I will be peeking in on this board from time to time

just to see what you guys are up to.

 

Cheers

 

RS

[caitlyn20]

Is the captain still Capt Hempstead?

 

Yes. He spoke to a few of us at the Repeaters Party yesterday and said that after the next 5-day Bermuda Cruise, he will be off for 10 weeks.

[caitlyn20]

Sorry about the trouble with the locals, caitlyn20. . . Maybe a tour would be the best choice.

 

I think that as RCI and others continue to go that port... that a more structured passenger experience will be the norm.

 

How close did the ship anchor to the shore ?

 

Was there a beach near the tender station ?

 

Thanks for your report !

 

Radio

:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

 

I agree that a tour would be a good choice for a first time in Samana. I wish I had done more homework on this port and booked online in advance.

 

It would also have prepared me for what to expect when going ashore. The place is REALLY beautiful. Some of the locals were offering me cabs to the waterfalls and I really would have liked to see them, but was unwilling to risk taking a taxi when I hadn't studied up in advance on what was safe and what wasn't. Of course, I don't know how much of my stress was from being by myself and maybe would have risked going further into town or taking a taxi if I had my husband or a group with me. I realize everyone's experience is different, and just wanted to include mine.

 

Maybe someone else can guess on the distance to the pier from the ship. I estimate the tender ride to be about 10 minutes once we got everyone settled in, but I didn't really pay that much attention. It was a scenic ride past some smaller islands and the SS Minnow. :)

[lmurf]

When we were on the Grandeur in December 05, we had an assistant waiter named Sebastian (from Chile). He was wonderful!

 

I don't know if he's still on the Grandeur, but, if so, it'd be worth your while to try to locate him. He's a really great guy. If you do, tell him the Murphys said Hi!

 

:)