Grandeur of the Seas Cruise Reviews - Reviews

The ports we went to were good. Staff was excellent. The entertainment after the shows were? To many people wanting to watch the entertainment in the Centrium, not enough room to see it. The dance floor was to small. Cruise Director was not that entertaining and had no originality. For the big entertainment in the Great Gatsby room you needed to be there 1/2 hour before show time to get a decent seat. One night we got there 10 minutes before show time and had to stand on the side because there were no more seats.

The Grandeur is one of my favorite ships, and now I can say that the New England / Canada cruise is one of our favorites.  I had been to Portland and Bar Harbor previously, but this was my first trip to St. John and to Halifax.  Both were a great mix of history, points of interest and nature.  My absolute favorite was the Public Gardens in Halifax.  Absolutely Beautiful.  We would definitely take this trip again in the future.

Barbara and I became interested in visiting New England 4 years ago.  Our vacation plans changed due to employment commitments, however, our focus did not.  We went on-line to Royal Caribbean and discovered the availability of the Grandeur of the Seas cruise to New England and Canada from the Port of Baltimore MD. We booked the cruise and departed on September 4th. The crew on the Grandeur were always courteous and helpful.  We were most fortunate to have the BEST Maitre d' named Salvio from India.  On the first evening, we requested a table with a window view, Table 524.  Shri was our Server and Barrington our Assistant Server. This dynamic trio was always respectful, and served superbly prepared and tasty evening meals.  We had the fortune of eating at the same table each evening at 7 pm with the same group of fellow cruisers.

The four (4) port of calls provided us with an insight of Portland, Bar Harbor (an exquisite quaint town), St. John New Brunswick and Halifax Nova Scotia. Our favorite port of call was Bar Harbor with the Best Lobster, quality shopping and just a picturesque location.  Our favorite excursion was the reversing rapids - in St. John New Brunswick - swirling tides rising 28 feet within 20 minutes, an event we have never before witnessed.  We had most comfortable temperatures from a low of 48 degrees and highs up to 80 degrees; we only experienced a brief shower for 15 minutes while visiting Portland Maine. The variety of available foods, breakfast, lunch and dinner satisfied our appetite and taste. The quality of service provided by cabin staff, entertainers and servers was always exemplary and designed to cater to our needs and desires.

This was our First cruise on a Royal Caribbean ship BUT NOT OUR LAST!

Thank you!

Frank and Barbara Rayne

Few standout experiences, We have cruised with other lines & there were many more 'WOW" things that happened. Your Activities Director, Zumba Leader, & Cruise Director were Great with what they did but it was standard stuff of other cruise lines. We would use your line again but it would be a longer cruise, 1 port-of call & 6 days is kinda limited for all. 

I have been on Costa, Celebrity, Norwegian, & RC cruise lines.  I have enjoyed all my cruises. 

However, while I would rate this most recent cruise "good," I had some significant negative experiences which I will share:

1.  The various staff was ignorant of the locations of specific rooms on the ship; we were given wrong directions on several occasions, e.g., sent the wrong way to the front of the ship; to the wrong floor for a specific room (e.g., Schooner Bar), etc.

2.  The Service in the dining room was very disappointing.  The only Service personnel we were pleased with are:  (a) Robert, (b) Yogi; (c) Larry; (d) David.  while I tried to relax & accept mistakes, when I ask for 1 scoop of chocolate & 1 scoop of coffee ice cream, but get 3 scoops of coffee, that's not right.  I realize it's not a big deal, but still significant.  In general, the staff seemed uninterested.  You should TRAIN THEM to have the attitude:  you're eating in my home; I will do whatever I can to make your experience enjoyable & memorable.  It seemed they were mentally elsewhere; anxious to complete the meal; didn't care about our happiness.

3.  Alycia was EXCELLENT in running the ping pong tournament!

4.  It was very difficult to find a Bar staff personnel while in the dining room.  We paid $49/day for unlimited drinks; & I had to go to the bar & get it myself, during meals.  Bar Service was terrible. 

5.  The food was disappointing.  I thought it'd be better than the buffet.  The prime rib was not fresh; was chewy & overcooked.  I was paying for 6 people.  I do not believe in spending more $$$ to eat in the fancy restaurants for additional money.  But for what we pay, I expect a better quality food in the main dining room.  It was "good."  Not "great." 

I believe if you instilled in the staff to have a better attitude, exert more effort into pleasing the passengers, you would reap the benefits in many different ways. 

We usually choose our cruises based on our desired destination(s), calendar schedules, & price.  If it came down to similar cruises, between Norwegian & RC, it'd be Norwegian.  No question. 

stan kensky

I only wish there was more time to see the whole Island. Time management is key to visiting Bermuda. We arrived on a Sunday and Monday was a holiday(Labor Day in Bermuda as well. Who knew)so a lot of things were closed. The beaches were open and Horseshoe Bay was beautiful. 

We cannot say enough good things about this cruise.  Leaving from the Baltimore port, everything was so well organized & the gangplank (walkway) being air-conditioned was a welcomed addition especially on this hot day. The staff was very helpful & attention to detail could be observed everywhere from the staterooms to the Windjammer to the formal dining rooms to the entertainment. The crew members walked around the ship & readily answered any questions we had. We especially liked this cruise because the full day & 2 1/2 days gave us ample time to get to know the ship & also partake in its many activities. While in Bermuda, we did a wonderful tour of the Island with Cruises Only & had a terrific guide who filled our heads with so much info -- We loved it!

If it wasn't for the facts that all the shops and venues were  closed when we arrived the cruise would have been great.   In the future I will make sure with the cruise line & travel agent that have knowledge of    The destination for which I plan to travel.....it was a total BUST!

I think this was a good cruise, just not great.  The pool available to the kids/families was not very big compared to how many kids were on the ship.  And there was only one.  The food was solidly fine/good, but rarely was it great.  I think the service was really good, although the last day or two I felt like the ship was dirtier and dirtier...they also need better activities and better nighttime shows.  But all in all it was a good cruising experience, especially the stop in Bermuda. 

I chose this cruise for my 60th Birthday present. We traveled with 5 other people and thank goodness we had them along to help lighten the mood of a not so great time! I am shocked at Royal Caribbean that they would run this cruise and ruin their great name. The food on the Grandeur was awful! I cruised with RC before and that was one thing I could be sure of on their ships.....good food! Everything was bland, all tasted the same and the food came to our table either cold or luke warm. The buffet was open all day, which would have been nice if the food was good. We ate at a little cafe behind the pool everyday, we knew we could get a decent sandwich there. My question is this......now that the cruise lines have the specialty restaurants that you pay extra for, are we going to get just OK food in the dining room so we have no choice but to pay extra? Our shrimp was so bad at dinner in the dining room, but when we chose to dine at Chops one night, the shrimp was not only huge, but cooked perfectly.

The shows on the Grandeur were not good at all. The pool was loaded with so many children and the adult pool was so small that we never got to swim. The kids were in the adult hot tub every single day and evening and when we complained, nothing was done! My sister who sailed with us and this was her first cruise had heard me talk about RC for so long, how great their food was, what fun we had at shows and activities. Instead she saw nothing exciting at the shows, rediculous ring toss games on deck along with loud and obnoxious ZUMBA! and she was disappointed every night at dinner in the dining room! I feel sad that a special birthday turned out to be the biggest disappointment. I would never recommend this cruise to anyone!

We are first time cruisers and our expectations about how a cruise operated and how much activities were had far exceeded our thoughts.  There was always something to do.  I also went with a large family group so there was always someone to do things with.  We didnt book via group sales and were a little worried we were going to be separated at dinning but they did everything to make all 50 of us close together.  The fact that the Grandeur is a smaller boat the main areas were always enjoyable.  I never found myself feeling crowded.  While we have nothing to compare this cruise to, we felt it the best!  We are now HOOKED and looking into booking another cruise next year.

Several of the Staff made the cruise very enjoyable: Selbourne/Marlyn who served dinner at table #220 at 8 pm. Women at pool side bar, don't recall her name but was wonderful!

The morning staff in the dining room did not seem as friendlily and Sharon seemed very brusque at times.

Overall we had a wonderful time.

Thank you,

Maureen

Love this cruise, the port is very safe, Bermuda is clean and beautiful. I never feel threatened even if i explore by myself. Royal Carribean staff do everything they can to ensure you have a great time. There is always too much to do, i never seem to to have enough time to see and enjoy all of the festivities on board. Dining staff is terrific and very accomadating. I travel with my son who must be on a gluten free deit. They are very educated and he has many choices for meals. they will make just about anything he asks for. the ship is wonderful to me. I dont beleive i would feel the same on a larger ship, you feel as if you are part of the family. the staterooms are clean and it always amazes me the way the staff interacts with everyone. Love, love this cruise

There was alot of entertainment on the ship. The food in the Great Gatsby Dining Room was delicious and the staff was wonderful. The rooms are clean and the Housekeeping staff is always on top of things. Bermuda was Gorgeous and we had a great taxi driver who took us around for the day. Forget Horseshoe Bay, go to one of the private beach coves left of Horseshoe, they are more private to enjoy inside of stepping on other beach fans.

The cruise was one of the worse I have been on.  The food was cold, tasteless, not much of a choice even in the speciality restaurants.  The service was awful; they were slow, non responsive, would ignore you.  The room was not being cleaned correctly and no turn down service with towel animals (in which if you have child they wait to see the animal) my child was disappointed when she did not have any while some our friend had them. Not may activities on the ship, pool was dirty, sometimes no music by the pool, dj in club horrible.

This cruise was very good.  The location, time spent on and off the ship and Bermuda.  We enjoyed the activities aboard the cruise, however did not like the fact that children were allowed in adult spaces after 10:00pm.

Trip was good had a wonderful time. Can't wait for the next trip. Beaches are beautiful, water is crystal clear. Weather was fantastic would love to go back.

he food was outstanding and so was the staff.  But there was a sewage smell on our floor 4th that was

very disturbing.  It was really strong and they tried to fix it several times, finally they spayed so type of air freshner that helped.

The my time dinning staff was super

lawrence and sidney were professional and kind.  They gave us fast service and we build a great relationship

roshmann coutinho was very nice and accomodating. He was the supervisor that took the table orders. 

The food was great and we never had to wait long. 

We had a great time on the Grandeur of the seas. The food was wonderful!. The cabin was a bit small for a family of 4 but we didn't spend much time in it. There were several times during the week that they only offered one show in the evening which made it difficult to eat and then get to the show.