Boat For All Ages

Grandeur of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Bahamas

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 2
Helpful Votes: 56

Overall rating:

4.5 out of 5
Verified Review
Grandeur of the Seas

9 Night Southeast Coast & Bahamas (Baltimore Roundtrip)

Sail date: February 14, 2019

Ship: Grandeur of the Seas

Cabin number: 2070

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

This ship caters more to older guests and that is their ship and they will let you know it. We had 2 families on this ship that included an 11yo and 9yo, even without all the extras the big ships provide the kids had a wonderful time. The kids never complained that they were bored and loved what the ship had to offer. The port was very easy and if I hadn't had the issue with guest services I would cruise this line/ship/itinerary again.

Embarkation

5 out of 5
I have never gotten on a ship so quickly and easily!

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
Specialty and main dining rooms had excellent food and service, shout out to Joe and Virgilio in MDR they were so wonderful and accommodating! Windjamer buffet was good however sometimes the food was not as hot as I would like.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5
Grandeur had many activities daily and I had a fabulous time playing pool volleyball against the crew.

Entertainment

3 out of 5
We missed a ton of shows and not really sure how. I think we may have just been too confused on location and times were not always great either.

Children's Programs

5 out of 5
My child loved going to the kids club.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
With the exception of Guest Services all staff were excellent!

Ship Quality

3 out of 5
Ship seemed fairly clean, but every time I got in an elevator the walls were consistently streaked with what looked like grease. All other areas seemed fine.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
Cabin was perfect and like most reviews bathroom was a bit small. This cabin had 3 outlets, lots of storage, and a thermostat that I could control. Room steward Denys was very nice and went above.

Ports of call

Baltimore, Maryland

3 out of 5
I did not really do anything in Maryland. Our hotel was The Best Western Plus on O'Donnell St where we stayed the night and could leave our car for free for the 9 days we were away this also included transfer which was all included in the price. We went to Broadway Diner, which was featured on Diner's Drive In's and Dives, and with the exception of the amazing deserts the food was horrible. I had Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo and it would have been better without the cut up chunks of chicken they put in it-so gross!

Charleston, South Carolina

5 out of 5
I love this port, such an amazing city. We ate lunch at Sticky Fingers, took a carriage ride with Charleston Carriage Works, and visited the Straw Market. Would love to return soon!

Port Canaveral, Florida

4 out of 5
We went to NASA and the kids/adults learned so much about the space program. Nasa is only about 25-30 mins from the port and we took an Uber which was much cheaper than a taxi. We did not book this excursion through the cruise line, it was cheaper to do it ourselves. We booked ahead of time online and saved $5 per person.

Freeport, Grand Bahama Island

5 out of 5
Many people do not like this port because it is an industrial area, we loved it! You can easily hop in a taxi and it will take you to the main city of Lucayan for only about $5. We booked a snorkel and catamaran excursion and had a wonderful time. They picked us up in an open bus and brought us to Lucayan for our adventure. We even had time after to visit the shops in the straw market. Great day! I will add that our friends went to the beach and it was full of coral, so bring water shoes if you choose to do that.

Nassau, Bahamas

5 out of 5
I love this port. This is our second time here and our second time visiting Blue Lagoon. Both times we did the dolphin encounter and spent the day on the beach. This place is not cheap so bring extra money if you plan on renting cabanas, paddle boards, or life vest to go in the inflatable water park.

Miami, Florida

3 out of 5
Miami was a killer. RCCL did not properly communicate that since we were reentering the US we would had to go through Customs and could take up to 4 hours depending on your loyalty to RCCL. We had to get off the ship based on deck level and we were allowed to get back on the boat based on top loyalty. So as this was my very first cruise with RCCL and was in a window room on deck 2 I was first off and last on. This I found unacceptable and when I asked the person in charge at the pier he stated that it was "Very Chaotic" nad that RCCL should know how to do this by now. I complained to Guest Services when I was back on the ship, they didn't care.

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
Super easy and quick. I was in my car at the hotel by 9:15am.
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5 Comments

bench123    2 years ago

It was the lack of communication.

wgammon1    4 years ago

Glad you had a good cruise. Thanks for the great review.

rickfab1    5 years ago

Embarkation and Disembarkation is always so quick and easy with Royal Caribbean. I think it's because Grandeur arrives 7 a.m., not like the Carnival Pride which doesn't arrive until 9 a.m. or later. Love the Grandeur.

agfstamps    5 years ago

We didn’t have to go through customs in Miami for Our January cruise. Left Baltimore and cruised down US coast. Getting on and off at US ports was a breeze. In fact getting off the ship back in Baltimore literally took minutes at customs. not sure why you had this problem in Miami.

Shh813    5 years ago

I’m sure they said they were sorry but if that is what they always do with the getting off and on then what should they have done for you? Of course, on any ship the repeat customers get certain privileges. We’ve been on 8 cruises, different cruise lines, and loved them all. Cruising is the best vacation ever.

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