Grandeur of the Seas

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 3

Helpful Votes: 13

Review summary

I thoroughly enjoyed my cruise onboard the wonderful Grandeur of the Seas. First impressions of the ship were very surprising. The ship looked much bigger than I was expecting. After being on Independence and Oasis of the Seas, I thought Grandeur would be dwarfed by the bigger ships. It was noticeably smaller, but standing next to her at Palma Port made the ship look huge! As we boarded the ship, it was clear straight away that Grandeur was in need of a major refurbishment. Luckily though, Grandeur of the Seas is expected to have a full refit in the New Year. There were no speciality restaurants onboard such as Chops Grille and Portofinorsquo;s. The only restaurants onboard were the two deck Great Gatsby Dining Room and the Windjammer Marketplace. We explored the ship while waiting for our suitcases to arrive. The Centrum is a wonderful area. It is a place where all the decks are connected together and alcoves of little seating areas and bars, such as the Champagne Bar, are located. I would say I prefer the Centrum than the Royal Promenade on other Royal Caribbean ships because of the spirit the place holds. It makes it a lovely spot for catching up with friends and family. The pool deck is also a lovely place on the ship. You can relax in Solarium or sunbathe near the main pool. The Palladium Theatre is one of the grandest theatres in the fleet. I love the sofa seating arrangement where you can have a private sofa for 1, 2 or 3 people. In my opinion it is better than the seating on the Freedom and Oasis class ships. On the more newer ships they seem to cram as many people in as possible, whereas this theatre was muchnicer to sit in. We spent the next day in Barcelona. We visited the Segrada Familia, walked along Las Ramblas and had a trip on the Metro. We boarded the ship just in time as when we got through security, the heavens opened and there was a thunder storm which lasted the remainder of the day! he next day we docked in Ibiza, where we would be docked until 11.00pm so some guests could have a taste of the Ibiza nightlife. There isn't much to say about it really. We had a relaxing day on the beach in the nearby town of Playa de Bossa. The next stop for the cruise was Malaga. Jason and Joan boarded their cruise here on Adventure of the Seas in November last year, so they knew what to do. The next day we arrived in the British town of Gibraltar! This port of call was by far the best place out of the cruise itinerary. Royal Caribbean do not run a transfer into the town, as it is within walking distance of the town centre. I was also shocked when I heard there were no taxis in Gibraltar apart from the Rock Tourrs minibuses which do drop you off in the town for 2 euros each. As I am from England, I loved walking down the Main Street and seeing English shops such as BHS and Marks and Spencers. Alcohol and Tobacco are also very cheap here, but you are only allowed to bring 1 bottleacket back onboard. We walked to the Cable Car station to go up the Rock of Gibraltar. We waited for around 10 minutes. You will see companies outside the Cable Car entrance trying to get you to go on a tour with them. I would advise you not to go with these people. Although they are legitimate tours, it is easier and cheaper to do it yourself on the cable car. Plus it is a great experience! The monkeys were adorable, yet dangerous. If you follow the rules posted around the site, they shouldnrsquo;t bother you. When you go up you should try and keep all bags closed and do not carry and plastic bags as the monkeys love them! (Watch our video on YouTube!) We spent about an hour up there laughing at the monkeys play around and taking in the views of the coastline of Africa, before heading back down the rock. We decided to have a meal in a restaurant called Mamma Mia it is situated next to the cable car station and they serve delicious Italian pizzarsquo;s cooked over a stone baked oven. I would highly recommend you visiting. Day 6 was spent at sea. The most interesting thing happened that day, as a medical emergency happened. The captain informed us that we would have to make an abrupt detour to the nearest port, so that a passenger could get air lifted to hospital. The ship went full throttle to get just off the coast of Cartagena, where we saw a glimpse of Mariner of the Seas! We were eating at the dining room when all this happened, so we took no photos, which was a disappointment.) The ship stopped and dropped its anchor all outside decks were closed off and sunbeds were stacked away. We then waited for the helicopter to arrive. A man was airlifted onto the ship to attach the ill passenger. We were never told what was wrong with the passenger, but it must have been serious for this to happen. The food onboard was fabulous each night. There was a good selection of food on the menu. We had a fantastic waiter called Idege who served us every day. I would definatly like to go back on this vessel sometime in the future. It would be intersting to see what it would be like after the lsquo;revitalizationrsquo; has been done. I highly recommend you cruise on this ship!

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Recommends Grandeur of the Seas? Yes!