Date: Sun, 19 Sep 2004 09:42:19 -0400
From: sue.patton@verizon.net (Sue Patton)
Review: Grandeur of the Seas - August 29 - September 4, 2004

We had sailed on 'Enchantment' in Aug '03 and loved the ship so we were very excited to sail out of Baltimore, 30 miles from home, on her sister ship. We have also cruised on Carnival and DCL, all out of Fla. The Port of Baltimore boarding process is TERRIBLE. We arrived in our personal car at the time advised in our docs. We waited in a long line to be informed by a Port employee we would drive to the ship, unload the 'to be checked' bags(waited in another long line), drive back to the parking lot, board a bus to take us back to the ship. This process took 1 1/2 hours.

RCCL took over once we entered the terminal and everything went very smoothly. My Mom is in a wheel chair and RCCL escorted us to checkin and we were in our cabin on deck 8 in about 15 minutes. Just made lunch in windjammer! Our cabin, 8540, appeared used. Can't explain it but everything looked worn. Clean and neat, just overused. Found out later Grandeur is going into drydock for new furnishings in Nov '04.

Sailing out of my home town was great! We didn't specify what size table so we were seated at a table for 4 with my sister and her husband. We were disappointed since this was my brother-law's first cruise. Liked the way our table was positioned on the balcony, we all were able to see out the windows. Our assistant server had just reported on board that morning, Sasa from Serbia. He was a delight. Glad RCCL has him. Our server was very pleasant, but we sure liked Sasa. Tony, the head server, was great! The food in Great Gatsby was consistly good and some meals were outstanding. Breakfast in Great Gatsby was always good but Windjammer had runny eggs! Lunch in Great Gatsby and Windjamer was varied and good. My favorite was fruit and coffee in the am from Ivo, room service. I saw on another post the complaint about the fruit tray always being the same. I didn't mind since I liked the selection.

Frances chased us around the Bahamas and our itinery was changed several times. We didn't mind since we had already visited all the ports of call. We got into Nassau too late in the day for a beach excursion and the main street shops closed between 5 and 7pm, so we enjoyed the ship. Freeport was great, got there in time for all the excursions and really enjoyed the beach day. Port Canaveral was changed to Charleston,SC and we got there on a rainy day at 3pm, too late to do anything. Still had a good time enjoying the Grandeur. We sailed past Fort Sumter and a battleship museum, so we at least got to see them. This was our 4th cruise in hurricane season and the 1st time we ran into one. I really like the way RCCL has alot of public areas that are non smoking. We were able to enjoy activities in the lounges. My only complaint to Grandeur was the failure to monitor the adult pool. My Mom has limited mobility and kids jumping in the adult pool is a real problem. I had to call the purser on several occasions to report kids in the pool. And they were slow to respond. The sign is very clearly posted!

When we got back to Baltimore we weren't surprised the bus to our car did not have ac, and we had to sit for 20 minutes before going to the parking area. I had parked in what I was told was handicap, but the bus stopped a good distance from the car. Since we were traveling with family I had help moving the luggage and wheel chair. It would have been difficult if we had been alone. We loved the ship and crew so much we booked the membership cruise out of Baltimore in '05. I hope my letter to the Governor of Maryland and the Port Authority will improve the port process.

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