New England cruising: May 26 - June 4

Grandeur of the Seas Cruise Review to Canada, New England, New York

midwesterners

Contributor Level: Third Mate

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 55

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

Verified Review

9 Night Canada & New England (Baltimore Roundtrip)

Sail date: May 26, 2016

Ship: Grandeur of the Seas

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 7023

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

We did this cruise in conjunction with a 7-day visit to DC and a 2-day visit to Hershey, PA, driving from the St. Louis area. I had never been to DC or to New England, so it was a treat to see so much on vacation and make the drive really worthwhile. We are active seniors, but this was a little tiring for us. The weather was sometimes cool, often foggy, even rainy, but we were in Boston in record heat. We were not enthused with Boston, but that could be because of our visit to DC just before the cruise. We loved Bay Harbor and Halifax, and enjoyed walking around Portland and St. John. Baltimore was an easy port, and embarking & disembarking were easy.

We had never cruised on RC, being partial to Princess and HAL, but this route was perfect for us. RC is not in the same class as our favs, but it was still a good cruise. The staff was attentive and cheerful, John and Katrina Blair were great, the Great Gatsby (we did MyTime dining but requested a table with servers Melroy and Victor each night) had delicious & well-prepared food, and the ship was well-maintained. We enjoyed the musical entertainment; we did not attend the comedians or game shows. There were some opportunities for us to dance a bit, which is always a plus. The Windjammer food was repetitive and disappointing, the port information was scanty both on line and on ship, and we packed extra clothes for the Smart Casual evenings which never happened. Still, it was a good cruise and a decent value.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Loved the Great Gatsby dining room and the Park Cafe; did not particularly like Windjammer's buffet. We would not buy the Starbucks or the Ben and Jerrys.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

We took the Sushi class, which was not advertised well but was well worth it. The library and game selection is very small, some quiet activities were hard to find, but the rowdy games were well publicized.

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Loved the musical events. We don't do silly, physical group games or comedians, which eliminated a number of activities. There was still enough we did enjoy to keep us as busy as we wanted to be.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

It was fine for an interior cabin except for the king bed (vs twins) arrangement: the end of the bed met the corner of the dresser, so I clambered in and out all the time. Only the smallest suitcases could fit under the bed; we stood two others up in the corner by the closet. The storage space was adequate, and the bathroom quite decent.