Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas - Cruise Review

Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2003 08:18:08 -0500
From: "Gary" <gary.r.collis@lmco.com>
Subject: Review

My girlfriend and I just returned from a seven day Western Caribbean cruise on Grandeur of the Seas, departing from New Orleans. I had read many cruise reviews before booking, and a surprising number of those reviews made this ship out to be 'dirty' and 'unkempt', had complained about the food's 'lack of taste' and the 'mediocre service'. You can take my cruise review for what it's worth, but in my opinion, this ship was excellent in every way. I would have to think very hard to come up with any complaints at all. In fact I am amazed that the crew can service over 2,000 people with such consistency. It's impressive.

This is our second cruise, both on Royal Caribbean. Previously we took a four day cruise to Nassau and Coco Cay on Sovereign of the Seas, and it was very good. Our cruise on Grandeur was even better.

Spent the evening prior to departure in New Orleans. Stayed at the Quality Inn and Suites on O'Keefe. New hotel, so everything was reasonably clean and neat, but it was overpriced ($139.00 per night booked on Travelocity). Spent a few hours on Bourbon Street - this was the "Pre-Mardi Gras Weekend", and found Bourbon to be pretty much of a dump. It had rained earlier, and the street was not only filthy, but wet. It kind of reminded me of Tijuana when I was a 19 year old sailor. Lots of drunks and flashers, and the gutters were knee deep in plastic cups and other garbage.

Boarding the ship was easy in New Orleans. Fifteen minutes from taxi to stateroom. Our room was ready when we boarded at 12:30 PM (inside cabin 4563, main deck, right behind the Champagne Bar just off the Centrum). The room was exactly what we had expected. We paid a few dollars extra for a slightly larger inside cabin, and there was plenty of room for two. The bathroom layout is great - it's a small space but works perfectly. The shower is narrow - it was impossible to wash my feet, and I'm only 180 pounds - can't imagine how a 250 pounder could take a shower in that little area. But everything worked perfectly - drains, hot water, water pressure, etc. Cabin attendant (Agusto) showed up in the first fifteen minutes, and we only saw him again when we happened to pass him in the hallway. But he did a great job of keeping our room tidy - left us towel animals regularly. Gave him a tip in excess of the guidelines. He earned it.

Dinner was main seating and we were lucky in our table assignment. Our table was out in the front-center of the dining room, right next to the piano/waterfall. It was a table for six, with couples from Iowa and Arkansas (we're from upstate NY). Really nice people who made dinner each night very interesting. Our waiter was Gino ( 'Gino Cappuccino') from Turkey. Can't spell or pronounce his real name, but he goes by Gino. May be the best waiter on the ship - and he told us he is in training to become a head waiter. For the entire cruise the food was top shelf and the service impeccable. Gino catered to our every whim with a smile and a joke. Couldn't ask for anything more. His assistant was Andrea from Rumania. We loved the food - over the week we had lobster, filet mignon, rack of lamb, prime rib, pork wellington and other dishes. All were tasty and well presented. Deserts were to die for - if you have the chance, don't miss the flourless chocolate cake and the fudge cake. WOW. The peach and apple cobblers with ice cream were pretty good too.

We ate breakfast each day in the Windjammer buffet. There was a great selection of breakfast food, and they have eggs cooked to order, including omelets. Several kinds of breakfast meat, several styles of potatoes, pancakes, french toast, waffles, fresh baked muffins, many different kinds of bread, including toast, bagels and English muffins, at least a dozen different fresh fruits, yogurts, cereals, oatmeal, grits, etc. Can't think of any breakfast food that was not available. Even had lox and cream cheese for the bagels.

We were only disappointed in the coffee. It's pretty flavorless. Couldn't figure out why, as it was pretty good in the dining room at dinner.

Never ate much lunch, but we did have a couple of sandwiches from the Windjammer. They were pretty good.

Had a couple cheeseburgers from the Solarium - liked them. They also had fries and pizza. Had one hot dog and it was pretty good.

Missed the chocolate buffet - heard from others it was very good. We tried just a little bit of the midnight buffet and it was OK.

Bar service was great. Made some new friends of the bartenders. If you stick to the standard drinks and domestic beers, the prices aren't too bad. If you buy fancy drinks, expect to pay a lot. If you want fancy drinks or wine, you should buy the 12 drink card for $39.00 plus 15% gratuity. The regular price of a glass of wine is over $5.00 including the 15% gratuity, but with the card, it comes out to about $3.75 including gratuity. It is a good buy, and you will save over $1.00 each glass. And you can do what I did and smuggle a bottle of vodka on the ship in your checked luggage. Don't try this in your carry-on luggage, as they x-ray it at boarding and will hand check any bottle in your bag. There is an alcohol confiscation table right next to the x-ray machine. They must not x-ray the checked luggage, as my vodka made it on board OK. We only drank the vodka in our room and at the pool, where we mixed it with lemonade from the Windjammer. Probably saved $100 or more.

The ship's entertainment was pretty good too. The headliner was 'The Platters'. The audience seemed to really love them. There were also three comedians (two of which were excellent), an illusionist who had great props and reminds me of a young David Copperfield. I can't comment on the production shows, as we didn't attend any. Not our thing.

There is a good rock band for dancing, who also played country music for the line dance party, and soft guitar elevator music for the Captain's Cocktail Party and the Repeater's Party. They were very good musicians (Western Canadians), who seem to be very adaptable. Both the Captain's Party and the Repeater's Party were worth attending. Free cocktails and snacks from the Captain and free champagne and snacks for the Repeaters. Captain Zini is about 35 years old, from Argentina, and he's really a hoot. Can't believe such a young guy can be in charge of such a large ship. Very impressive, and a pretty good speaker too. Always had a joke or two when he made his daily announcements from bridge.

Casino was a mixed bag. The slot machines are TIGHT. I won $200 over the cruise at the blackjack tables. There are two $5.00 tables and two $10.00 tables, along with Caribbean Stud and Let it Ride. There is a roulette and a craps table too. Never really had to wait long for blackjack. It got very busy just before and just after dinner. They had slot and blackjack tournaments that were fun. Cost $20.00 per entry and they returned the money in prizes. The winner of the slot tournament won about $600, but I can't remember what the blackjack winner won.

The ports of call on this Western Caribbean cruise leave something to be desired. Grand Cayman is basically nothing more than a series of duty free shopping malls. We took a snorkeling excursion that never left the bay - we couldn't have been more than a mile from where the ship was anchored. The reef was OK, but nothing great. Then they took us about 300 yards from the reef where we snorkeled over a wreck. Not much there - only the skeleton of a sailing ship that sunk in 1907. Kind of a waste of time. But we had an OK time - it was better than shopping, which is what this port is designed for. We like to eat in local restaurants, but couldn't even find one. Ended up with burgers at the Hard Rock Cafe. Real disappointing. Cozumel was a little better. We took the Fiesta Party Boat excursion, and it was everything we expected - a real booze cruise. The problem is that they served rum punch and margaritas on the way to Play Del Sol Beach, and beer on the return. I r!eally didn't like the drinks on the way over, so I didn't drink much. They set up a bar at the beach and kept the free rum punch and margaritas flowing, but I bought beer from the beach vendors (which, by the way, was very reasonably priced). The beach was really nice, with lots to do and see. On the return trip, the beer was flowing and there was lots of dancing and other entertainment. Really didn't see anyone who got really drunk - but there were lots of people with a buzz on. We had a good time overall, and I would recommend this excursion if you don't have kids with you. The third and final port was Progresso, Mexico, which is a waste of time. It's a poor area of the Yucatan, and we took the shuttle to the beach in town, where the beach vendors just wouldn't leave us alone. They sell souvenirs, coins, cheap jewelry, etc. up and down the beach, and the same guy tried to sell me some worthless coins about 4 times in 30 minutes. Literally every thirty seconds there is someone trying to sell you something. After less than an hour there we couldn't stand it any more (it must have been over 100 degrees in the sun too), so we returned to the ship and spent the rest of the day by the pool. I have a feeling that there must be a financial benefit for Royal Caribbean to use this port - there couldn't be any other reason.

The return trip to New Orleans was uneventful - cold and rainy when we got there. Debarkation was pretty good - It took about ½ hour for our color to be called, and once called, it only took about ½ hour more to exit the ship and get on the bus to the airport. I suggest you use a porter in the arrival hall. I gave the guy $2.00 per bag for three bags, and he knew how to get us out of there in the quickest way. Well worth the $6.00, and we didn't have to carry those heavy bags at all. He unloaded them right at the bus. By the way, we filled out our Customs declaration forms, and we never saw one Customs agent or Immigration Service agent on the way out. We could have had thousands of dollars worth of stuff and there was no inspection whatsoever. I came home with my declaration form in my pocket. That's strange, and I'm a little bit uncomfortable about it. I fly internationally quite a bit, and there is ALWAYS an immigration and customs inspection upon my return to the airport.

I would recommend this cruise to almost anyone. There is something on this cruise for everyone of every age group, and you would have to work at it to be bored. But if you are interested in interesting ports of call, I would suggest either the Eastern or Southern Caribbean. We have no regrets about this cruise, but will not cruise the Western Caribbean again, unless we get the cruise for free. But we will be cruising on Royal Caribbean again, as they have their act together and provide great value.

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