Fantastic Cruise by
Cheryl L from Jacksonville FL
Sailing date: May 2010 Pros:
The friendliness and professional staff
Cons:
Shore excursion tours left late both days
The Grandeur of the Seas was beautiful and the staff were welcoming and very accomodating! The dining room waiters remembered our names and also our preferences. Very relaxing!
Ship Quality
Dining/Food
Stateroom Quality
Ship Staff Quality
Entertainment & Activities
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A Good Cruise! by
Jackie J. from Wilmington, DE
Sailing date: Nov 2009 Pros:
The ship itself was beautiful.
Cons:
The ship activities were mediocre and food was average.
The cruise experience was a good one. The shows and entertainment were great. There was plenty for young children to do. However, the activities were not thoughtful or well planned. The food was ok, not spectacular as expected. The staff that I encountered was wonderful and I received quality customer service at every turn. Overall, it was a good experience and I would certainly recommend the cruise line to others.
Dining/Food
Stateroom Quality
Ship Staff Quality The absolute best!
Entertainment & Activities The entertainment was great; however, the activities were mediocre.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Great Cruise Escape! by
A Traveler from Princeton, NJ
Sailing date: Jul 2009 Pros:
The ship is simply beautiful, not too large just the right size.
Cons:
No robes in the cabins, no activities for age group 21-30 only. Not with 18 year olds.
We had a wonderful time on-board the Granduer of the Seas. The crew is very attentive to your needs. The cruise director ensured we were having a great time. This ship is just large enough not to overpower yet intimate. This made getting to know other cruise goers easy to meet. I would recommend this ship if you're looking for fun, but simply want some down time to relax with your loved ones.
Ship Quality
Dining/Food The food is ok, nothing to write home. I've cruised other ships where there were more choices available during the day. Not simply hamburgers, hotdogs and pizza!
Stateroom Quality The staterooms are small, they could add some extras robes, toiletries, etc.
Ship Staff Quality The ship staff is simply AMAZING!!!
Entertainment & Activities Activities are very limited. However, if you want some R & R this is the perfect solution.
Collapse List of Ports
Labadee (Cruiseline Private Island) As a private island you're held to Royal Caribbean pricing. Lot's of choices in activities.
Don't Miss: Zip Gliding.
San Juan, Puerto Rico We did shopping in Old San Juan. This is a good area to walk and sight see as well. You get a good sense of the history.
Don't Miss: Senor Frogs
Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas Don't Miss: Cataraman and Snokeling Excursion- great fish to see as well as a shipwreck.
Samana, Dominican Republic Don't Miss: The "Fall's" via horseback riding.
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Grandeur what a nice ship by
John E from Norfolk, VA
Sailing date: May 2009 Pros:
Being onboard the ship
Cons:
Samana Domician Republic
The ship is not as grand as it once was, this was our 3rd cruise onboard Grandeur of the Seas and she is starting to show her age around the edges. From the rust in the soliarum pool to the roof over the pool not being able to open anymore, it got stuffy back there sometimes in the afternoon. That was one of our favorite places on the ship. The staff and crew were excellent and the food and dining were excellent also. The Windjammer Cafe was awesome place for breakfast and lunch.
Ship Quality Grandeur is not quite as grand as when I cruised on it back in 1998, the ship is starting to show its age on the edges. The Staff and Crew more than made up for these small issues with their outstanding service.
Dining/Food The Dining Staff was excellent and the service was impecable, no matter what we asked for they were able to produce it in a matter of minutes. They knew what we licked to drink and what kind of bread we wanted with each meal. They truely made us feel like we were special.
Stateroom Quality We stayed on the 2nd deck in a oceanview stateroom. The room was nice and clean, the room attendant was johnny on the spot with anything we needed.
Ship Staff Quality As usual the Royal Carribbean Staff makes you special, they take good care of all your needs from towels to drinks to food, etc.
Entertainment & Activities The Cruise Director and Staff worked hard to keep everyone entertained, but with the average age of the cruises +60, they missed the targeted audience. The final show was the best show they had onboard. Enjoyed all the triva challenges and bingo, etc. I really wonder if anyone used the rock climbing wall on this cruise. Seems like a waste of space.
Collapse List of Ports
Labadee (Cruiseline Private Island) It has been 10 years since we have been to Labadee and they have really made it even nicer than it was the last time I visited. They Ship's Staff provided a cookout on the beach and it was great, well organized. The shop keepers were very pushy and we stayed away from them and did not spend any money there, that was there loss.
Don't Miss: Sandy Beaches, Chair in the shade.
San Juan, Puerto Rico Nice visit, enjoyed dinner and white sangaria in an Italian Restaurant. Enjoyed walking around and seeing the sites. Felt very safe there.
Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas Rented an open air taxi to take us around the island and really enjoyed this. We tend to stay away from shore excursions and just roam around St. Thomas with our own guide. We find it cheaper and we get a much better tour. Really enjoyed Mountain Top, the view of Megans Bay and St, John's and Tortola were breathtaking, We got some great pictures. This was our 6th visit to St. Thomas and had never heard of this place or visited here.
Don't Miss: Mountain Top, Saphire Beach
Samana, Dominican Republic This was the worst port I ever visited in the Carribbean. I cannot believe that Royal Carribbean would stop in such a hole. There was nothing to do and the newly build town center all painted and waiting for tourist was one third open with 50 empty shops, Everything was overpriced. I would not get off the ship there in the future. Never felt safe.
Don't Miss: Stay on the ship don't waste your time.
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Stay away from Bermuda in May by
Mario R. from Providence, RI
Sailing date: May 2008 Pros:
The food and wait staff aboard the ship.
Cons:
Guest Relations
The ship overall was just okay. This was my first ever cruise on any cruise line, and I handled it like a pro, however 2/3 of the ship was sick due to high waves and strong winds throwing the ship around.
I was disappointed that I had to wait in any kind of line, but I was most disappointed was with the guest relations staff and the dancing around any question you would ask of them. They never made me feel comfortable to be on aboard, and we had awful weather on the way to Bermuda, lots rain while in Bermuda, and Huricane force seas on the sail from Bermuda, we arrived over 18 hours behind schedule into port.
THEY CANCELLED ALL EXCURSIONS onto Bermuda, and with the closing of the upper decks, never organized any activities on board to help with guests who were bored.
Ship Quality Small ship for a Royal Caribbean boat. There was NO mandatory hand sanitizing stations anywhere on board the ship. The upper deck was closed for wheather for almost half the cruise.
Dining/Food Dinning room and Dinner was very nice. However, I must tell you that due to weather and closing the front buffet restaurant, it created long lines (I waited over 45 minutes to be seated for breakfast).
Stateroom Quality Typical and what I expected, they cleaned the room PROMPTLY and bed was turned down every night.
Ship Staff Quality The Guest Relations Desk was USELESS...they were not helpful at all. They would tell you one thing and then 2 hours later it would be a different story. I understand weather makes it difficult, but be honest to people that are worried about being able to get off the boat and make flights or connections. they never put the guest (including myself) at ease.
Entertainment & Activities The shows I was able to see were good, however they cancelled several shows and re-arranged schedules. So many shows were never seen by anyone on board or most people, such as myself, in the second seating would miss opportunities.
Also one day in port when it was raining like crazy, the ship had no activities planned to help break the unpleasantness of the weather and nothing to do.
Collapse List of Ports
King's Wharf, Bermuda I like the stores at King's Wharf better than Hamilton or St. George.
Don't Miss: Horseshoe Bay Beach
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Don't do it!! by
Marty and Kris M. from Rhode Island
Sailing date: May 2007 Pros:
The deserts were great and the shows were better than usual.
Cons:
The food was mediocre. I ate salad alot because the food was terrible.
The ship was clean and well taken care of but.... the food was terrible! There are only two choices for where to eat, the buffet or the dining room, both had the same food. There is no variety. You can get burgers and pizza from the solarium, but the burgers are extra well done and the pizza is cardboard. If you ask for a freshly cooked burger they tell you they can't do that, so you end up getting a burger that was cooked an hour ago. The food in the buffet was always cold. The dining room was okay but a few times there was only a choice of : for example: lamb, duck, or salmon. There is a top sirloin always on the menu, which I had once, but it isn't seasoned and a little tough. Most of the deserts were excellent. If you go on an excursion in port make sure to eat before getting on the boat because they close the buffet at 3:30 (dining room is closed at 2:30 or 3:00) and then there is nothing to eat except burgers or pizza till 5:00. Each time we got back on board we were starving and there was no food to be had. We were not the only ones to be hungry with nothing to eat.
Anyway, we spent a lot of money for this cruise (more than most other cruises of the same length) and definately did not get our moneys worth.
Ship Quality The ship is clean. It is nice to have just an adult pool in the solarium but, they never opened the solarium roof so it was too stuffy to hang out in the solarium pool.
Dining/Food See above review.
Stateroom Quality No amenities, except soap and shampoo.
Ship Staff Quality The staff were friendly enough unless you asked for something.
Entertainment & Activities Same stuff different ship. Although there was more variety in the evening production shows
Collapse List of Ports
Samana, Dominican Republic The ATV excursion was great. Others complained that there isn't much in port to do if you just go to shore.
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very enjoyable!!! by
trish r from cleveland, oh
Sailing date: Apr 2007 Pros:
the food was excellent in the diningroom
Cons:
there were too many kids running around without supervision..security could have been more helpful in keeping them under control
Prior to taking this cruise, I did some research on the ship and previous comments, so I knew a little bit of what to expect. The ship was drydocked after our cruise for renovation. It was worn, but certainly not in disrepair. The staff on this cruise was so wonderful!! Very entertaining! The entertainment was okay. The comedian was HILARIOUS and the majician was fabulous, but the shows by Royal Caribbean's dancers and singers were redundant nad need better routines. The typical game shows were very funny and the master of ceremonies was terrific at each show.
Ship Quality ready for renovation, but still nice and yes, clean
Dining/Food loved the diningroom food! The portion sizes were perfect and I did not go away feeling uncomfortably stuffed after dinner. The presentation was nice as well.
Stateroom Quality fine. beds were a little worn as well, but I can sleep standing up so it wouldn't matter to me.
Ship Staff Quality The staff was GREAT and worked VERY well as a team. Mary in the Champagne Lounge made sure my mother had her "perfect" each night and remembered exactly who she was, her sister's name and their drinks. (could have used more servers in the lounge and poolside --both at the indoor and outdoor pool.service was SLOW!)
Entertainment & Activities
Children's Programs Appearantly not enough for kids to do because they were definately NOT off doing consstructive things. I had to get security because they were running wild and almost knocked my elderly mother over when flying around corners. I told them they needed to go get their energy out playing ping pong, basketball or on the track . They seemed like good kids but without ANY supervision.
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Costa Maya, Mexico was not happy with the snorkeling trip. was not allowed to go off without the group nor swim ahead of the guide. too many people too close together!
Cozumel, Mexico Reminded me of Kmart with a beach.
George Town, Grand Cayman Nice shopping selection...but be prepared to PAY. It is expensive.
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Great Cruise! by
Tim B from San Simeon, CA
Sailing date: Jan 2007 Pros:
The ship itself
Cons:
Layout and decor throughout
Wonderful departure port of New Orleans added to the whole vacation. The ship was beautiful and spotlessly clean. Attendants were very good.
Ship Quality Absolutely beautiful.
Dining/Food Dinners in the dining room were presented well, but several dinners were lacking some quality. The Windjammer Cafe, casual dining, did an excellent job.
Stateroom Quality Room was excellent and our cabin person was most attentative.
Ship Staff Quality By far, the staff quality was excellent, but there is an undertone of some morale problems.
Entertainment & Activities By far the best entertainment over pther cruise lines I have enjoyed
Collapse List of Ports
Cozumel, Mexico Get out of the city and away from the commercial bars that are right at the pier. See some of the country, the mayan ruins and some casual dining places along the beaches. Water is beautiful.
George Town, Grand Cayman Beautiful 7-mile beach. Interesting downtown area with some nice "local" casual eating places. Going to "Hell" was a waste of time.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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"A big disappointment!" by
Karen B from Phoenix, AZ
Sailing date: Apr 2006 Pros:
Ports visited
Cons:
Length of time spent in ports
Our first time sailing on Royal Caribbean, and also our last. This was our honeymoon, and we were not only not impressed, but thoroughly disappointed. We should have chosen the cruise line we have sailed with previously for such an important trip. We'll know better next time!
Ship Quality Smaller ship, but kept clean & well maintained
Dining/Food Food was a disappointment. Quality was so-so, as was selection. Not enough dining hours or options available.
Stateroom Quality Stateroom was extremely small. The shower was the smallest I've ever seen and the bed was hard as a rock, making for a very uncomfortable night's sleep.
Ship Staff Quality A few of the staff members were exceptional, however, they barely made up for the many times when we were ignored at the bar, and had to constantly ask for the same drinks every night in the dining room. Equally as poor were the casino staff, who were never available, and the customer relations desk, who were not very knowledgeable or helpful.
Entertainment & Activities Shows were average, at best. Activities were pretty good, but there were not enough of them.
Collapse List of Ports
Oranjestad, Aruba We'd go back again & again. The soft white sand beaches and warm turquoise waters are spectacular! One thing they neglect to tell you, the Natural Bridge collapsed months ago, but is still on many tours as a highlight!
Don't Miss: Go to De Palm Island for the best snorkeling. Swim with the amazingly beautiful blue Parrot Fish, and don't forget the waterproof camera!
Cozumel, Mexico Not the cleanest city, but good for souvenier shopping. We have always heard Cozumel has the best snorkeling, but we went to 2 different sites and they were only average.
Don't Miss: Carlos & Charlies has great food, but is quite rowdy, even in the daytime.
George Town, Grand Cayman Beautiful island, wonderful beaches, & clear blue waters.
Don't Miss: You MUST swim with the stingrays for a once in a lifetime experience. Try the coconut rum cake, it's yummy! (Coconut rum's not bad either!)
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