Grandeur of the seas Reviews
46 User Reviews of Grandeur of the seas Cruise Ship
by david jackson
1 Review
Publication Date: April 18, 2012
Transatlantic Miami to malaga. Honeymoon. Owners Cabin Dirty. 5 days no sleep due to food cart noise from kitchens above, a problem theyre aware of. Management admitted they have complaints every cruise -FOR 17 YEARS, and do nothing to resolve it. Many toilet sewage overflows taking hours to clean. Daily toilet would not flush. BED BUG infestation requiring medical treatment took 3 fumigations and dry cleaning of all clothing and suitcases to control it. Refusal to provide a sleeping cabin obliged us to breathe insecticide fumes all night. Inebriated stateroom attendant. Cleaning carts left in passageways are a safety hazard. The US Coastgurad should be informed. UK customer services offered a 25% discount off future cruise. An absolute insult for for a ruined holiday. Look elsewhere if you want a good cruise experience, or be very careful when choosing a cabin.
by louise bowser
1 Review
Publication Date: April 18, 2012
Grandeur of the Seas Royal Caribbean. Transatlantic Miami to Malaga.May 18 2012. Honeymoon. OWNERS CABIN Dirty. 5 days no sleep due to food cart noise from kitchens above, a problem theyre aware of. Inconsequential ships management under Hotel Manager Mr Tony Curtis , admitted they have complaints every cruise -FOR 17 YEARS, and do nothing to resolve it. Simply replacing worn out rubber tyred wheels would fix it.
Daily toilet would not flush. Many toilet sewage overflows taking hours to clean.
BED BUG infestation causing insect bites necessitating medical treatment, requiring 3 fumigations and dry cleaning of all clothing and suitcases to control it. Refusal to provide a sleeping cabin obliged us to breathe insecticide fumes all night. Inebriated stateroom attendant. Cleaning carts left in passageways are a safety hazard. The US Coastgurad should be informed.
Ineffectual and disinterested UK customer services Team Leader Mr Sam Murdoch offered a 25% discount off future cruise. An absolute insult for for a ruined holiday.
Look elsewhere if you want a good cruise experience, or be very careful when choosing a cabin.
by Mark Harrison
1 Review
Publication Date: October 4, 2010
I had read previous reviews so had a good idea what to expect on board Grandeur of the Seas. Embarkation was smooth and swift, the only down side being the rude and unpleasant port police officers shouting at us as we went through the check-point at the entrance to Port Everglades. First our cabin, we had an inside cabin (the cheapest) I really liked the cabin and thought it was cosy. It does look older but in our cabin everything worked and it was clean. I don’t really understand other reviewers’ complaints about the TV being small; do cruisers really spend 5 days cruising the seas expecting to watch films on big widescreen TVs? ? Regarding the shower which some reviewers commented on, I found that it was possible to get good water pressure and nice and hot if you played around a bit with the water control knob. Our cabin was quiet, we heard no noise. Our cabin steward wasn’t very friendly or chatty but kept the cabin clean. The bedding was good quality but the mattress hard and uncomfortable.
Next, the dining. As my wife pointed out, the menu
in the main dining room was re-hashed every night so there didn’t seem to be much real variety. The service to our table of 8 was poor to average. The waiters seemed confused and people’s meals arrived with large time gaps. The quality of the food was fine but as already mentioned the menu lacked imagination. Dining in the Windjammer buffet was good in my opinion although my wife mentioned that she felt the variety and quality could have been betterNext, the entertainment. Both my wife and I enjoyed all of the entertainment on board. We both agreed that everything on offer was really professional and very impressive.
Next, the staff. None of the staff was very bad, but none was very good either. The word mediocre sums it up for me. The one exception to this was a barman whose name I no longer recall who had a really cheeky sense of humour and was very good at his job.
Next, the fellow cruisers. There were no real complaints in this regard from my wife or me; the other guests were pretty sedate. We didn’t see any unsavoury children running about screaming although there were a small number of loud drunks in some of the bars.
Next, the ship in general. We were quite disappointed with the décor, which we felt didn’t offer much attractive to look at. Some parts of the ship were very much showing signs of wear and overall the ship does feel as though she really could do with a major refit. It was true, I’m afraid to say, that sewage could be smelled in the atrium at certain times of day! The air conditioning on this ship did not appear as efficient as it could be, it felt a bit hot and stuffy at certain times. Having said all this, we paid a very inexpensive price for our cruise and felt that the cruise was priced in accordance with the condition of the ship. The indoor pool was really nice, as were the whirlpools and the sauna. The Seattle’s Best Coffee Bar was fabulous, wonderful iced coffees and cookies. We really enjoyed the table tennis tables on deck.
To sum up, a good cruise for the price paid but if you want posh then pay a bit more for something more up market. My wife and I did enjoy the cruise despite the negative points but next time we will probably try to save up a bit more money to go on a posher ship.
by Sarasota
1 Review
Publication Date: February 11, 2010
This was my first and last cruise on Royal Caribbean. I've cruised over 30 times on various lines & this was the worst ever. Dinner was always bland & poor quality, constant music blasting all over the ship, complete disregard for dress codes, & poor quality entertainment. Celebrity is a far better choice in this price category.
by foredeck
2 Reviews
Publication Date: December 3, 2009
Sailing out of Tampa fl. 4 nighter,got a very good price,cabin deck 4 Ship in good shape,food very good Windjammer,MDR and hot. Crew friendly,helpful. Didn't have a camera in your face every time you turned around.Capt.Ron a American gave updates with added humor. Didn't do shows,or get off ship. As other reviews had small problem with drains,sink water would back up in shower,didn't bother using it used the spa showers after a relaxing steam.sauna Very good product hope to sail her again.
by Gary
4 Reviews
Publication Date: February 7, 2009
What a great cruise we had.
The food was great. I had lobster, filet minion, ribs, halibut, salmon, and shrimp until it was coming out my ears. I even tried escargot. I ate all of the evening meals in dining room, breakfasts and lunches in both the dining room and the buffet. All of it was great. The waiter and waiter assistant were right there whenever you need something. And if you didn't get enough just ask and they will bring you more.
The cabin we had was the size of most motel rooms, but we had a handicap cabin that was two times bigger that most cabins. There was never an unmade bed, and the cabin attendant always made little animals out of the towels.
My wife brought a book along, but didn't get a chance to read a page. There are so many things to do on the ship that you have a hard time fitting everything in.
We took the tequila town and country excursion in Puerto Vallarta. And it was ok. But I think hiring a taxi driver to show you the sites is better. It is cheaper
and you can have him stop whenever you want him to.The only problem we had was getting to the viking lounge on the 11th floor. I'm in a wheelchair and after 10:00 PM the won't let the elevator go to the 11th floor.
by Bassnote
1 Review
Publication Date: February 28, 2008
I love the Vision Class Ships! Not too small nor are they so huge you feel lost. This was our second cruise and the first for three of our four kids; two adult age, one in Jr high. Our youngest daughter couldn't join us as her military training was extended.
We stayed at the Holiday Inn, Stadium on N. Dale Mabry. It is very clean, friendly, inexpensive and RIGHT behind Sam Seltzers -- best steak house in Tampa. The cab fare (which included the driver getting a ticket) was the same as from the airport. $25 including tip.
The Grandeur was a couple hours late returning to Tampa due to weather, so we had a bit of a wait even after arriving at the port at 10:30. Once we were ready to board, the processing was fast and efficient. And they had cookies, water, and tea to keep us amused while we waited.
We didn't have to go to a bar for our soda cards as they had a table set up in the atrium. We also bought a couple of drinks of the day and the poor bartender kept having to
run up one deck to get some supplies.The food was good all around, but no lobster on the shorty cruises. They did have seafood available most evenings. I had a pumpkin soup that was outstanding. The Wind Jammer? It's a buffet, good for a quick bite if you are short on time or just looking for a snack. Don't expect five star food if you eat here, but it is good enough. We preferred breakfast in the dining room. Better food and it's hot. As we never docked before 10 AM it was always a relaxed morning. If you choose this option, be sure and carry cash to tip your wait staff. Many didn't seem to leave a tip.
The Grandeur has a Seattle's Best Coffee shop. Good coffee and pastries!
The jazz bands in the atrium seemed to draw a pretty heavy crowd. Standing room only on formal night.
The teen activities were not well attended. My son tried a couple of times, but what young people there were tended to be pretty stand-off-ish and clique-y. They had to scrap the movie/swim night because the screen and projector were in the conference room with the Frigidaire people. My son gave up after a couple of tries and just spent money in the arcade or hung out with us.
The arcade has a machine that you put cash into and it loads up your Seapass card to use in the machines. Great way to keep an eye on what the kids are spending.
Adventure Ocean, on the other hand, seemed to be rocking most of the time. There are windows that you can see in and the smaller kids were having a blast!
The time in Key West was too short. A fellow pax said it best, "We are stopping in Key West for lunch." But enough time for a private excursion on the Liberty Schooner -- under full sail and we were the only five onboard. Dolphins were seen off to starboard a couple of times. Off to Ripley's and then it was time to get back on board. Extra security measures (DL, passport AND Seapass) slowed things down a bit.
We were a bit late getting into Cozumel. Then we had to wait while they docked Celebrity Century next to us, so in all we were an hour and a half late getting off the ship. Spent the day at a private beach through a private excursion where there were only two dozen of us on a huge beach. They never take more than one hundred at any rate. The service was stellar and the food even better. Then off to San Miguel to barter with the shop keepers. A good time for sure.
The only downside to this whole trip was the conflict of events with second seating supper. We missed a LOT of stuff that we wanted to do because we were eating dinner; i.e., wine tasting, C&A welcome back party, karaoke to name a few.
Disembarkation was much smoother than our first cruise. We were some of the last people off the ship and were at the airport by 10:00. Another bonus to being last off the ship is it is REALLY easy to find your luggage.
by bearaminals
1 Review
Publication Date: February 9, 2008
My wife and I and our two children sailed on 2/9/08 to the Western Caribbean. We felt good about the price we paid for the cruise and were excited to embark on our eleventh cruise (2nd with RCL). The embarkation process was smooth and not rushed.
Our initial impressions of the room were that it was small and cramped, but not vastly different from any other cruise lines we had sailed with. I noticed that our room had a problem with a mirror that was hanging and that needed stabilizing. I contacted the cabin steward and he said that it would be taken care of.
Our two young children and I explored the ship. It is a beautiful ship with all the amenities we are accustomed to on a large ship. The staff made the mandatory muster station/lifeboat drill a decent experience, and our leader even made us laugh.
There is plenty to do on the ship from the shopping to the bars and casino. The bars served some great pina coladas. The ship has lots of open areas to talk or drink or socialize with friends.
We took our children
to the kid's area and signed them up for the program. On the second day we were notified that our child had started an altercation with another kid. After discussing the situation with the kid's club representative I was told that our son's behavior would not be tolerated and that he would not be permitted to come back to the program.My wife and I took this information pretty hard as we wished to have some alone time, as do most couples on their cruise. I asked my son for the details and he did say that another kid had made him upset and when the staff intervened the other kid teased him and called him a baby. My son responded inappropriately. I called the kid's place and attempted to explain what had happened. I was told again that my son would not be allowed to attend the kid's program.
The ports at Belize and Cozumel were lots of fun in the sun and we participated in the numerous beach activities that were offered. We enjoyed the beach and the relaxing scenery.
On the fourth night the ocean got a little choppy and while showering I heard a crash and the unstable mirror in our bathroom had crashed into a thousand pieces. I cautioned my wife not to enter and thought that I had missed the shattered mirror completely, but ended up with a small sliver in my foot. I notified the cabin steward about the mirror and the mirror was cleaned up within the hour. However, I was frustrated that this had happened at all because I notified the cabin steward at the beginning of our cruise.
The debarkation process was smooth and filled with the normal waiting periods, but RCL has a good process and we were off the ship by 10 a.m. on 2/14/08.
A short time later I notified RCL about the problems we encountered and the lack of timeliness in fixing our bathroom mirror, and the ensuing problem that resulted, as well as the problem we experienced with the kid's room staff. I was told that there was nothing that RCL could do as far as renumeration or future discount. I was frustrated again at the lack of responsiveness to a customer's concerns. We had a good time on our cruise, however, with RCL's unwillingness to address our concerns we will not be cruising with them any longer. There are too many competitors out there who do listen and address customer concerns, so we will sail with one of them.
by Linda Taylor
1 Review
Publication Date: January 3, 2008
Our cruise started on Jan. 3rd, 2008 in Tampa, Fl. The day we left was very cold and windy in Tampa. We were hoping for much better weather ahead. We headed to the Windjammer for a little bit of lunch and then went to see our seating for dinner. We were happy with our table which we planned on sharing with friends we were meeting later. Then we started off to find our cabin. We picked an interior cabin for our cruise because we do not spend much time there and for reasons I will get to later we were so glad that we did not spend the extra money for a balcony cabin!
I had planned ahead and packed our clothes for dinner in our carry-on, but our luggage arrived just about 5:00. Dinner in the Great Gatsby Dining room was wonderful. Our waiters were Osbin and Rodney and they were very attentive and remembered our drink orders and our likes and dislikes. Osbin even got my husband to try a few new things, something I can very seldom do. I won't go into the food too much, except
to say that it was all very good. I loved the cold fruity soups and the different fish dishes. All the food that we tried each night was delicious and we ate everything.Key West: This was our first stop. The day was cold and very windy, but the sun was warm. We needed a sweatshirt and wore the tour T-shirt that they gave us also, because as it turned out, this was the coldest day that Key West had seen in almost 5 years. I was so hoping for warm weather. We took the "Taste of Key West" tour. Our guide was very interesting and kept us going for the whole 2-1/2 hour tour. Among other things, we tasted Mahi Mahi, hot pepper sauce at Peppers, Key Lime pie and shrimp. It was a very interesting tour and well recommended.
We returned to the ship just in time to get cleaned up and ready for another fabulous dinner in the dining room. This was formal night. I sent my dress and my husband's suit to be pressed as soon as we got into our cabin the first day, so they were ready and waiting for us when we returned from our tour. We did the formal pictures in the Centrum and then headed for the dining room. Dinner was great, the garlic soup was delicious and my husband loved his steak!
Cozumel, Mexico: This was our second and final stop on our 4 night cruise. We had a Passion Island beach day planned and the sun was shining and very welcoming when we got up. We did breakfast in the Windjammer and dressed in our bathing suits and cover-ups, we headed for the excursion. We had a 30 minute bus ride and about a 15 minute boat ride to get to this private island. Things started out wonderful, but by the time we got on the boat the skies turned cloudy and the wind picked up. The wind got so bad that you couldn't even get near the beach. It got cold and then -- rain! But, our guide "Alex," made the day worthwhile, he was very entertaining and fun for everyone. He learned all 45 names on the bus just by asking one time. He was great! We did some souvenir shopping and then helped ourselves to the buffet. It was authentic and very tasty. The boat ride back was so cold that I sat huddled next to my husband wrapped in our beach towels! When we got back to Cozumel, we did a little shopping and then returned to the ship. We had dinner, then again went to the show, a very entertaining juggler. We made the rounds of orchestra music, casino and shops. All in all it was a good day!
Our last day was a sea day and it finally was sunny and warm, although still very windy. This is why I said earlier that I was so glad that we did not pay for a balcony room. I don't believe that anyone could have made good use of it. It was just too cold and windy. We did spend several hours on deck this last day and sat by the pool where the sun was great!
This was our third cruise with Royal Caribbean and our first on the Grandeur. This ship was very clean and pleasant. Our cabin was small, but had more than enough storage room. We sailed twice before on the Enchantment. All in all, we were very pleased with our vacation and will choose Royal Caribbean again for our next cruise. I think that maybe I will try to stay away from the December-January dates, at least for the Western Caribbean, but highly recommend Royal Caribbean. All the staff were friendly and helpful and the service is great!
by ed jones
1 Review
Publication Date: June 10, 2007
Ship was a nice size – not too large and not too small.
Staff were good, especially the bar staff.
Waiters good fun.
Food was adequate only, very American with limited number of courses – eg pudding or cheese.
Coffee was terrible although standard for US cruse ships.
Cruise routing was interesting although the weather was not in our favour.
Entertainment – absolutely Ghastly – only time I have ever seen the audience actually walk out. The cruise director could not care less that it was so poor.
But, absolutely great fellow cruisers at the dinner table.
Getting off the ship fair only – why can Royal Caribbean not get themselves organised here – all it needs is the spending of a bit of money at the problem is solved.