Good trip, older boat

Item: Grandeur of the Seas
Rating: 4.3
Author: hmsmc

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

hmsmc

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 48

Overall rating:

4.3 out of 5

Verified Review

9 Night Canada & New England (Baltimore Roundtrip)

Sail date: August 02, 2018

Ship: Grandeur of the Seas

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 850

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

This was a fun cruise, very good time. The boat is old- built in 1996. It seems that Royal Caribbean is not putting as much into it as their newer more expensive boats. The fitness facility is very poor, most machines are broken and old. The instructor only showed up for half of the paid classes with no notice. A refund was given, but it was disappointing. The classes that she did do were all very formula and the same each time. No variety. Pretty disappointing. I am a frequent cruiser and had not experienced this in the past. The television channels were very limited, more than half are advertising by the cruise. Not much in the way of movies or shows.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

Good food, the servers were excellent!

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Fitness center is small and poorly managed. Old broken equipment and fitness instructor does not show up for classes. Television is very limited, more than half the channels are advertising for the cruise, not many movies or shows.

Entertainment

4 out of 5

The entertainers were good with the exception of the cruise line dancers and band. They were not good.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Excellent service! The waiters and the ship personnel were really kind and helpful.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

Well maintained, although fairly old.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Nice size room, I was sharing the room with my mom. We had plenty of space and the room was comfortable.

Ship tip

Nice but older. You will have a good experience, but don't expect the frills of the newer bigger ships.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Baltimore, Maryland

4 out of 5

Lots to do. Ft. McHenry is interesting. Walking tours are good also. Be mindful of your surroundings, not the safest city.

Thumbs Up 1

Boston, Massachusetts

5 out of 5

Great city, lots to do. I would advise against the shore excursions offered from the cruise though. Plenty to do on your own and the excursions are not as good.

Thumbs Up 4

Portland, Maine

5 out of 5

The walking tour was great. Very informative and a good value.

Thumbs Up 3

Bar Harbor, Maine

5 out of 5

Bar Harbor is lovely. The island shuttle is free and easy to use so it is unnecessary to get an excursion.

Thumbs Up 10

Saint John, New Brunswick

3 out of 5

Not a great place to visit, not much to see and kind of seemed like it has seen better days. Pretty dismal.

Thumbs Up 5

Halifax, Nova Scotia

5 out of 5

Lots to see. Best excursion is the Hop on Hop off bus

Thumbs Up 9

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

2 Comments

rickfab1 6 years ago

I've been on the Grandeur many times since I live just outside of Baltimore. The Grandeur is the only Royal Caribbean ship that can fit under the Key Bridge. The only other ship that comes to Baltimore is the Carnival Pride. I enjoy cruising on both ships. There are pros and cons on both ships but since I retired, I usually sail on each one once per year. Love cruising, love the Grandeur and the Pride.

Thumbs Up 0

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PanamaDee 6 years ago

I agree about the terrible selection of channels on the TV. 📺 I guess they do not want you in the room watching TV. 😜 We like to watch TV before we go to sleep. And we all know two people cannot be in the bathroom at one time, so we watch TV while waiting (mostly my husband is waiting! 😉) for the bathroom! 🤣 Thanks for the honest reviews. Happy future cruising! 🛳😎

Thumbs Up 0

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