mbk999

worked out fine in April.  If I broke out the spreadsheet and looked at it per drink, might save $50 for the week by not getting it.  But then I'd just be keeping a mental calculation going in my head and I'm trying to purge as much stress as possible while on-board.  

Non-alcoholic drinks.  lots of bottled water, fresh squeezed oj every day.  I pretty much break even (couple pool drinks, pre-dinner cocktail, glass of wine, after dinner drink).  I know RCI makes a little money off of her but i just look at it as a convenience factor of not having an additional bill at the end. 

Thank you for the updates Kansas Cruiser, it seems like you've certainly made the best of a stressful situation.  IMO RCI appears to have handled this as well as can be expected.  I hope things work out/worked out for you departing the ship but I have a feeling the 2000 fellow passengers will take a "me first" attitude.  We were delayed nearly 5 hours getting to Canaveral once due to a medical emergency and I thought RCI handled it well then too.   Ship to shore charges were cancelled and internet was free, allowing people to re-book travel arrangements as necessary.   The next day was a different matter, lots of people jostling to be the first off the ship, frustrations running high, verbal altercations, as if they were the only ones of the 4000 who were inconvenienced.  Actually very sad to watch people act like that but sadly I wasn't surprised.   I hope things aren't/weren't like that for you. 

That's what they said they'd do next time, rent from Enterprise.   The bus sounded nightmarish as people were apparently waiting over an hour to "hop back on"  Then the bus driver threw the current passengers under the bus by blaming them for not hopping off. 

Spoke with my neighbors yesterday and they just got off the 9 Day New England/Canada cruise on the Grandeur and they loved it.  The ship was in good shape and looked nice, the staff was really good.   The MDR food was good not great.  Their comment was that the descriptions don't always match the actual product but it was good none the less.  Said it was a mix of 60+ couples and younger families  (they are in their late 40s with a high school and college junior).  The kids did not participate in any of the clubs or get togethers but they are book worms and are happy relaxing with a book, watching the ocean go by.   Their least favorite port was Boston.  They did the hop on/hop off tour bus but never got off because the "hop back on" lines were too long and they didn't want to get stuck.   Loved Bar Harbor.    One of the Canadian stops (can't remember which) they had rented a car from Hertz and did a self driving tour but said don't do Hertz.  While it's the closest to the port, it's a one man band seasonal office  and the one man was woefully inefficient.   At one of the Canadian ports (sorry can't remember which) there was a popular beach/bay that was mobbed with people and off road parking was over a mile away.    But the scenery at each were great (according to them).  They did say to bring a jacket as they weren't quite prepared for how chilly it could be.
One thing they wouldn't do again is get inside cabins.  Clean and efficient but very small (older ship).  Side note:  I thought the oceanview on the Enchantment (same class) was ample for two people.    
Hope this helps.   As with anything, there was good and bad but their first comment to us was "you have to go on this cruise".   
And they absolutely loved going under the bridges.   They actually didn't do the MDR the first night in order to stay on deck and watch as they sailed under the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.
 
 
 

Spoke with my neighbors yesterday and they just got off the 9 Day New England/Canada cruise on the Grandeur and they loved it.  The ship was in good shape and looked nice, the staff was really good.   The MDR food was good not great.  Their comment was that the descriptions don't always match the actual product but it was good none the less.  Said it was a mix of 60+ couples and younger families  (they are in their late 40s with a high school and college junior).  The kids did not participate in any of the clubs or get togethers but they are book worms and are happy relaxing with a book, watching the ocean go by.   Their least favorite port was Boston.  They did the hop on/hop off tour bus but never got off because the "hop back on" lines were too long and they didn't want to get stuck.   Loved Bar Harbor.    One of the Canadian stops (can't remember which) they had rented a car from Hertz and did a self driving tour but said don't do Hertz.  While it's the closest to the port, it's a one man band seasonal office  and the one man was woefully inefficient.   At one of the Canadian ports (sorry can't remember which) there was a popular beach/bay that was mobbed with people and off road parking was over a mile away.    But the scenery at each were great (according to them).  They did say to bring a jacket as they weren't quite prepared for how chilly it could be.
One thing they wouldn't do again is get inside cabins.  Clean and efficient but very small (older ship).  Side note:  I thought the oceanview on the Enchantment (same class) was ample for two people.    
Hope this helps.   As with anything, there was good and bad but their first comment to us was "you have to go on this cruise".   
And they absolutely loved going under the bridges.   They actually didn't do the MDR the first night in order to stay on deck and watch as they sailed under the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.
 
 
 

Agreed....
I don't have first hand knowledge so this is a bit like an on-line review but my co-worker and his family went on the Grandeur in April (pre-refurb) and had nothing but good things to say.  They have two middle school age girls and all have multiple cruises under their belts.  They did all the family activities: shows, trivia, scavenger hunts, etc and indicated that they were never wanting for things to do.  I know it's second hand but the best I've got.
We are actually pet sitting for some neighbors next week as they depart on the Grandeur for what sounds like the same itinerary you are looking at.  I'll see what they have to say when they return.

At least you weren't eating a Cockroach Cluster or Anthrax Ripple. ;)

I'm suddenly reminded of the "Bruces" sketch from Monty Python (albeit kind of in reverse):
Bruce #1: "Right, let me introduce you to the other faculty. Michael Borwin, Bruce. Michael Borwin, Bruce. Michael Borwin, Bruce."
Bruce #2: "Is your name not Bruce?"
Michael: "No, it's Michael."
Bruce #2: "Well, that's going to cause a little confusion. Mind if we call you Bruce just to keep it clear?"

Sorry, I don't know but I'm guessing it's probably about the same or a  bit longer due to the size.  we tend to do the self-assist.  

Having been on both itineraries, I highly recommend the Eastern Caribbean (Bahamas, St. Thomas & St. Kitts). The port in Jamaica is Falmouth. Great shopping, Margaritaville, couple of nice places for food & drink. But, this is all within the fenced shopping area. Going outside of the fence is risky. The port in Haiti is Labadee, which is owned by Royal Caribbean. Nice beaches, the food and drink actually comes off of the cruise ship and is prepared in a huge barbecue area. Cozumel is great for shopping and Mexican food. We really enjoy the Eastern Caribbean. Cleaner islands & better beaches.

Nassau:  I agree with several others with Nassau not being a great port.  While I've heard that Atlantis can be a lot of fun, for the cost and short duration you're in port it's not worth it.  A snorkeling excursion would be good.  We did a self-guided walking tour the last time we were there.
Balcony:  for me, it's totally worth the upgrade.  My relaxation is watching the water go by so I enjoy a balcony.  You mentioned vaping?  Smoking is not allowed in the cabins or the balconies and is only allowed in designated areas and vaping/e-cigarettes are considered the same.  From the RCI site:  Electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes are only permitted within the designated smoking areas. 
Drink package:  If you're drinking lots of bottled water a day and a few sodas, it's worth the drink package.   We pre-paid the drink package for my wife and I on our last cruise and while we probably would have saved some money had we done a la carte for my wife's drinks, in the end the savings wouldn't have been that great.  I just thought of it as a convenience factor not to have to worry about another bill at the end of the trip.  
Specialty Dining: Haven't not been on an Oasis class ship (yet), so I can't comment on how easy it is to get dining reservations once on-board.  All I can tell you is that when we go on the Allure, we'll do two specialty restaurants and I'll pre-book at least one.  We have a AAA package that includes one specialty dining but that has to be reserved on the ship.  I know there's a lot of good specialty dining but we still like the Main Dining room experience where the waiters get to know you.
 
 
 

To me its not worth it... Once we pass the sea buoy my phone gets turned off and put into the safe.  I'm on the cruise for a reason, to get away.  I won't be able to do much of anything anyway so I don't want to worry about it until we return.  Plus, I don't live and die by my phone.  Sometimes I don't even know where I left it and I can go almost a week without charging.  Now my wife, shes a different story.  

Any drink is a perfect sail away drink....even a glass of water, IMHO.

I think it was $20 for partial (flippers and life vest) and either $27 or $37 for everything.   I just rented the partial set-up (I had a full face snorkel with me) and I did the snorkeling beach  Since I tried out snorkeling for the first time and the wind was blowing pretty good, I'm not a good judge to rate the snorkeling.  There's a sunken boat and plane to explore out there.    Other than that we sat on the beach and enjoyed the near perfect weather.   On a previous trip, my daughter/nephew/I did the aqua park and water slide.  More a kid/teenager thing.  Hope your weather is as good as ours was.  Breezy but very sunny.
There's plenty of other excursions for Nassau (dolphin swim, snorkeling etc), we just choose to do our own thing and hang out on the ship while it was less crowded.  

Just got off the Enchantment.  At Coco Cay, he can rent a jet ski and/or do snorkeling while you sit at the beach.  There's a large snorkel beach area there and one can do that w/o signing up for an excursion.  You'd have to bring your own gear and rent a life vest or rent the gear from RCI (a booth on the island).   At Nassau, we followed a Frommer's walking tour which should take about 2 hours.