January 2023 – Grandeur Review

Written by Kim

We took a 9 day cruise to the Caribbean on Grandeur. Originally it was planned to have 6 ports but a few weeks prior they pulled the San Juan port which we later learned was due to required engine maintenance. No big deal we don’t really like San Juan anyhow. The casino comped our cruise so we couldn’t resist a 9 night cruise for the cost of port fees & taxes of $300 for the 2 of us. Here’s some highlights:

Embarkation – we had a few days prior to the cruise in FL so just drove to the port and parked in the garage. Not cheap ($22 a day to park) but convenient. We heard rumors of lots of traffic due to bridge repairs at the port but the port was fine. We hit some traffic on 95 but our 1 1/2 hour drive was easy. Alex dropped me with the bags at the porter and went to park. We walked straight on and we’re up at the pool having our first drink in less than an hour. Easy peasey!

The ship – Grandeur was put in service in 1996 and hasn’t been refurbished since 2012. She holds about 2,400 passengers and there were about 2,000 on board. You can certainly see her age and she needs some refurbishment but it wasn’t horrible. It was a bit of an adjustment since we’ve recently sailed the bigger ships but the smaller size has its charm. Our balcony cabin was on deck 7. We did lots of stairs because normally you were only going a few floors to pool on Deck 9 or casino / theater on deck 5. A lot less walking and a lot less crowded then the big ships. Royal has definitely made some adjustments to cabins on newer ships. Showers were tiny – you couldn’t really raise your arms but they removed the shower doors and replaced with a shower curtain because anyone bigger than me would never fit. It’s clear Americans are too large! There were other very subtle changes on the newer ships in the cabins with shelving instead of drawers, and higher beds so you can fit luggage under them but not many changes.

Staff / service – I thought the staff were friendlier and service a bit better on Grandeur then other large ships. This is not surprising because there are fewer passengers so once you met a bartender, waiter or other staff they called you by name. Our room steward, Carol, from Peru was excellent. We’ve noticed that more staff is from South America lately. We also noticed that several staff members talk about their spouse being on board – our waiter in Giovanni’s Table & restaurant manager were married and the CD is married to another officer. Our cruise director, Talita, was from Brazil. She was the prettiest and most energetic CD we ever had. She was very inclusive and continually talked about harmony across all the different cultures on the staff and how she dreamed we could have more peace and harmony in the world. She was inspiring and watching her to Zumba was a treat for Alex (and me too!). Man can she move!

Food – We purchased the ultimate dining package which offered us unlimited specialty dining so we rotated through Giovanni (Italian), Chops (steak) and Izumi (Asian). We did one night in the main dining room to have lobster on formal night. The MDR was ok but we are spoiled with specialty dining and were annoyed with the chaos of the MDR. Overall the food was very good. Usually very hot (a complaint we normally have on the big ships is food comes cold) and well prepared. We did see some inconsistencies night to night but overall it was very good. Our only complaint would be the options. For breakfast you only had Windjammer (buffet) and Main Dining Room (sit down) before 9. Park cafe (more grab & go) didn’t open till 9. We don’t really like the buffet but often went there for breakfast.

Casino – well obviously we played in the casino because they comped our cruise but only brought a budget to spend the cost of the cruise in the casino. Alex plays heavier than me. He was doing pretty good in the beginning (even on Day 4) but then the slide was on and his donations rose. In the end we spent about 1/2 of our budget in the casino. I did really well though. I started with a $20 bill on Day 2 after losing $40 on Day 1 and I cashed out on Day 9 with $75 from my original $20. I played 8 days on their money. My ticket got as high as $220 one day but I didn’t lose. Yeah! The casino is very smoky so I didn’t spend too much time there

Entertainment – this is the biggest difference on a small ship. There is lower quality and less entertainment than you get on a big ship. There is no ice show, Aqua theater, 270, Broadway show – you only have the production shows, whatever headliners & comedians they bring on board. Also, live music is limited to just piano guy in Schooner and house band in Centrum. I survived and went to the shows but they just weren’t very good. The singer headliner they had was someone who was on Broadway 20 years ago. She was ok but the lead in Cats on Oasis was 10 times better. I missed the good entertainment

Ports – I won’t put a lot of details here you can read our daily blogs for more. We visited Puerta Plata, St Maarten, St Croix, St Thomas, and Labadee. I could do without Puerta Plata – there wasn’t much to see and the all inclusive we went to was ok but we prefer a pretty beach. We love St Maarten – got to meet friends there that made it special and Alex scored some great bourbons so a great port. St Lucia and St Thomas have awesome beaches so we love them both. Labadee is catching up to Coco Cay on my list. This was a nice port intensive trip which made up for more limited bells and whistles in the ship.

Centrum vs Promenade – I actually liked the Centrum, which is a 5 story open venue in the center of the ship better than the Promenade which is a long 2 level mall like venue. When they did events in the Centrum you could sit or stand at the rail on any level and feel like you were part of the party. Not sure if you could make the concept work with the number of passengers in a larger ship but maybe Royal needs to think about some combo that gives the best of both.

Internet – internet was the worst we ever had at sea. We bought surf and stream but you could barely surf. Royal should be ashamed to charge so much (we paid a little more than $10 a day) but struggled all cruise with it.

Disembarkation – was a shit show. The ship was cleared a little late. We were waiting in the Schooner with luggage tag 2 for Diamond Plus. Once the ship was cleared they called tags 2-16 and it was bedlam trying to get off the ship. We waiting in line to head to get our bags. Normally we carry our bags off as self check but decided since it was a small ship to send our bags the night before and just carry off our carryons. This was a mistake. In the 15+ years we’ve cruises we never saw such confusion. They had all the bags on baggage carousels like the airport but they were all mixed up. Tag #2, 8, 12, 16, 28 on one carousel and others on the other carousels. Very confusing. Luckily all our bags came out together on the last carousel then we had to trek back pulling our bags through the throngs of people to go through customs which had face recognition so was a breeze. In the past priority disembarking was a benefit you got from Diamond plus but that is now gone too.

Here’s a few pictures from Alex watching the Giants last night & sunrise during his walk this morning.

Overall – we had a great time and as you can see there are pros & cons of each cruise. We will do the smaller ships again for the right itinerary (or with friends). We enjoy cruising and can have a great time in whatever circumstance. Making memories is what it’s all about!