DandA

Day 2-Sea Day
Sometime in the middle of the night the ship started rocking-n-rolling and continued into day three.  Seas were running around 15’ and the outside areas were pretty much closed off most of the day.  Learned later that lots were having problems with the rolling seas, but thankfully for us the only problems we were having was walking.
After showering and dressing it was off to Café Latitudes for coffee and then to the MDR for breakfast.  They were having the $10 flash sale this morning and it was a mad house, picked up a cheap watch for shore and the wife got two new purses.  After that went to the meet & mingle and veterans get together both were okay.  After lunch we went to the Family Feud Game Show and to the Solarium for a soak in the hot tub and a nap.  The Family Feud Show was funny and I began to see the difference a good cruise director can make.  The one on the Oasis was meh, but Mike is funny and very entertaining.  After getting ready for the first formal night we were off for a drink and pictures.   This was the one disappointment in the whole cruise, we had our pictures taken on the Centrum stairs and we never could find them.  Checked at the photo desk on the last sea day and the lady took the picture taken on the MDR that night as a reference and told us to come back in an hour.  When we came back she wasn’t there and they couldn’t find the MDR photo that she took. 
After dinner we headed back in to the Centrum and had our picture taken with the Captain by the Christmas tree.  Saw the headliner show with Rick Faugno; he is listed as a song and dance man.  His show was pretty good and in the style of performers like Frank Sinatra, Fred Astaire and the like.  After the headliner show we headed to the Schooner bar to finish out the night with a few adult beverages, talking with two of our MDR tablemates and listing to the piano man.
Here's a few pics:

Day 1-Baltimore (cont.)
We had originally booked an inside room located mid-ship port side as we were concerned with how we would handle ship movement, remember this was only our second cruise.  Neither of us had ever suffered from motion sickness but we didn’t want to risk it on a 9 day winter cruise.  I kept checking prices and decided to upgrade to an ocean room, we settled on a port side room 3090 just off the rear elevator lobby on deck 3.  The room was very convenient being next to the elevators and easy access to other parts of the ship. The large window in this room was really nice.  I liked to leave the curtain open so I am awakened by early morning light also it provides some light for those night time bathroom runs.
I had viewed numerous photos of the rooms so I was familiar with the layout of the room.  One thing that I never was able to figure out was the clearance between the bed and the desk and the love seat.  I can report that there was sufficient room to walk around the bed, only stubbing my toe once.  As stated above the location was very convenient to all the areas that I wanted to be.  I will mention that the gangway entrance on deck 4 is directly above the room.  The gangway is loaded with barricades and other equipment, we were late leaving Port Canaveral (11:00 pm) so there was some noise associated with them putting all the equipment away after sail away.  I would also hear a little noise on other nights or early morning if someone was in the gangway room.  I’m a light sleeper so it may not bother others, it wasn’t a big inconvenience. 
After checking out the room, I located suitcase 1 of 3 in the stairwell, then it was off to explore the ship some more before muster drill.   Grabbed another drink and sat in the Schooner bar which would become our go to spot on this ship.  Muster was held inside because of the weather, we had muster station 6 and were on deck 4 port side.  Muster went fairly quickly and then we were off again to the room to check on our other luggage.  Suitcases were located in the stairwell, so we unpacked and got ready for dinner. 
We have early seating traditional dinning which was at 5:30 pm on this sailing.  We were at a 6 top table, met our table mates and our waiter Salmen and asst. waiter Jely.  Table mates were excellent, we had enjoyable conversations each night, we also joined the one couple at shows and the Schooner bar after dinner many nights.  Salmen was great and very entertaining and Jely was also very sweet.  Dinner was over after 7:00, but we were talking so didn’t notice the time.
After dinner it was off to the Schooner bar to listen to the piano player Ross Leadbetter.  I had read the many reports of how great the crew was on the Grandeur and they were right, we had two particularly outstanding waiters in the Schooner bar, Kadek and Leslie.  They always remembered our names and what we drank.  After 11:00 things were winding down including us so it was off to bed.  It was a little after midnight that we left the bay, we watched us cross over the bay bridge tunnel.
 

Day 1-Baltimore
Embarkation day, the morning was a flurry of activities, first order of business was to drop our dogs at the boarders, breakfast with Son #3 and DIL in exchange for the “taxi service” to the port.  
We arrived at the port at 10:30 am, dropped bags at the porters, thru security and check-in.  We were on board at 11:00 am; this was a pretty smooth and seamless embarkation. Had a short wait to unload the bags, and then walked straight into the building.  Had to remove my belt and empty my pockets (always a hassle) before going thru the magnetometer.   Then redress because I wear a belt for functionality not just appearance.  Walked straight thru to check in, picture taken, received our see pass and walked onto the ship.  I will say that everyone was polite and helpful from the porters, security and check in personnel.
Stepping from the gangway onto the ship is a great feeling, love hearing that ding from the sea pass card and the cruise is underway.   We boarded on deck 4 and stepped into the Centrum, the ship was decorated for Christmas.  First order of business was to order our first drink of the cruise a Lava Flow; even though this is only our second cruise I have declared that the Lava Flow is our traditional embarkation day first drink.  Next order of business was to do a little exploring, checked out the Schooner Bar, pool deck, Solarium and stopped at Park Café for a lunch.  We each had a cup of cream of potato soup and we split a carved turkey sandwich.  It was a bit cool that day so that hot soup really hit the spot.  At 1:00 pm the announcement came that the rooms were open, after finishing lunch we went down to our room on deck 3.    
Below are some photos of the Centrum 

Now here is a job I could love.

The construction of the new enhancements at Coco Cay are coming along with some buildings and such visible over the fence or coming in on the tenders.  It does appear that once the amusement park opens there will still be room for a quiet beach day.  Since I didn’t have any beach time on our visit to Labadee it’s kind of hard to compare the two.  When we boarded the ship it sounded like the weather was going to keep us from tendering, thankfully that didn’t happen and we had an enjoyable beach day in the middle of December.

Soon it was time to walk back and get on the tenders to head back to the ship.

A day in Coco Cay

Day 6-Coco Cay
We had rented a “Beach Lounger” for the day and had planned to just have a relaxing beach day.  After the short tender ride to shore we strolled toward the beach loungers, by the time we had gotten there all the sore front property had been claimed so we picked one on the back row where we had a lovely view of the backs of several loungers and glimpses of the sea.  It wasn’t bad quite relaxing to not have anything to do but sip on the CoCo Loco we had picked up on our walk.  It was starting to get warm so off we went to wade into the water to the floating bar.  Initially the water was a bit chilly but it quickly warmed up and was very refreshing,
The floating bar was never very crowded; several people came and went as we sat at the bar.  Heeding the sign that you may have to swim back to shore and not wanting to swim with my camera we left and headed to the BBQ area.  Tide was coming in but had only raised the water level a half foot or so.  The BBQ was typical of what you find at any BBQ, no complaints with the food or the service.
With our bellies full it was time to walk back to the loungers, for some more lounging, reading and napping.  I did notice a few more people in the loungers in front of us and heard a beach attendant ask for their tickets.  They quickly gathered their belongings and left.  I had heard the day before on the ship that they had loungers available so I gathered they didn’t rent them all.  Soon it was time to walk back and get on the tenders to head back to the ship.

Day 5-Freeport, Grand Bahamas
I couldn’t find anything to interest me in Freeport so this was going to be another sea day except maybe get off and walk around the port area.  I was up on deck to watch our sailing into Freeport, so after coffee and breakfast we walked off to peruse the port area.  Not a lot in port but did manage to pick up a few t-shirts for the grandkids and snap a few pictures.  Back on board, went up to enjoy the hot tubs, it seems that a lot of people stayed on the ship.  After dinner in the MDR, we went to the Headliner Show with magician Bill Cook with two of our tablemates from dinner.  Bill Cook was entertaining and amazing; he entertained us with his skills as a magician and his wit.  After the show it was back to the Schooner bar where we drank, chatted and listened to the piano player for the rest of the evening. 
Here are a few pictures of our sailing into Freeport.

Now here is a job I could love.

The construction of the new enhancements at Coco Cay are coming along with some buildings and such visible over the fence or coming in on the tenders.  It does appear that once the amusement park opens there will still be room for a quiet beach day.  Since I didn’t have any beach time on our visit to Labadee it’s kind of hard to compare the two.  When we boarded the ship it sounded like the weather was going to keep us from tendering, thankfully that didn’t happen and we had an enjoyable beach day in the middle of December.

Soon it was time to walk back and get on the tenders to head back to the ship.

A day in Coco Cay

Day 6-Coco Cay
We had rented a “Beach Lounger” for the day and had planned to just have a relaxing beach day.  After the short tender ride to shore we strolled toward the beach loungers, by the time we had gotten there all the sore front property had been claimed so we picked one on the back row where we had a lovely view of the backs of several loungers and glimpses of the sea.  It wasn’t bad quite relaxing to not have anything to do but sip on the CoCo Loco we had picked up on our walk.  It was starting to get warm so off we went to wade into the water to the floating bar.  Initially the water was a bit chilly but it quickly warmed up and was very refreshing,
The floating bar was never very crowded; several people came and went as we sat at the bar.  Heeding the sign that you may have to swim back to shore and not wanting to swim with my camera we left and headed to the BBQ area.  Tide was coming in but had only raised the water level a half foot or so.  The BBQ was typical of what you find at any BBQ, no complaints with the food or the service.
With our bellies full it was time to walk back to the loungers, for some more lounging, reading and napping.  I did notice a few more people in the loungers in front of us and heard a beach attendant ask for their tickets.  They quickly gathered their belongings and left.  I had heard the day before on the ship that they had loungers available so I gathered they didn’t rent them all.  Soon it was time to walk back and get on the tenders to head back to the ship.

The construction of the new enhancements at Coco Cay are coming along with some buildings and such visible over the fence or coming in on the tenders.  It does appear that once the amusement park opens there will still be room for a quiet beach day.  Since I didn’t have any beach time on our visit to Labadee it’s kind of hard to compare the two.  When we boarded the ship it sounded like the weather was going to keep us from tendering, thankfully that didn’t happen and we had an enjoyable beach day in the middle of December.

Soon it was time to walk back and get on the tenders to head back to the ship.

A day in Coco Cay

Day 6-Coco Cay
We had rented a “Beach Lounger” for the day and had planned to just have a relaxing beach day.  After the short tender ride to shore we strolled toward the beach loungers, by the time we had gotten there all the sore front property had been claimed so we picked one on the back row where we had a lovely view of the backs of several loungers and glimpses of the sea.  It wasn’t bad quite relaxing to not have anything to do but sip on the CoCo Loco we had picked up on our walk.  It was starting to get warm so off we went to wade into the water to the floating bar.  Initially the water was a bit chilly but it quickly warmed up and was very refreshing,
The floating bar was never very crowded; several people came and went as we sat at the bar.  Heeding the sign that you may have to swim back to shore and not wanting to swim with my camera we left and headed to the BBQ area.  Tide was coming in but had only raised the water level a half foot or so.  The BBQ was typical of what you find at any BBQ, no complaints with the food or the service.
With our bellies full it was time to walk back to the loungers, for some more lounging, reading and napping.  I did notice a few more people in the loungers in front of us and heard a beach attendant ask for their tickets.  They quickly gathered their belongings and left.  I had heard the day before on the ship that they had loungers available so I gathered they didn’t rent them all.  Soon it was time to walk back and get on the tenders to head back to the ship.

Now here is a job I could love.

The construction of the new enhancements at Coco Cay are coming along with some buildings and such visible over the fence or coming in on the tenders.  It does appear that once the amusement park opens there will still be room for a quiet beach day.  Since I didn’t have any beach time on our visit to Labadee it’s kind of hard to compare the two.  When we boarded the ship it sounded like the weather was going to keep us from tendering, thankfully that didn’t happen and we had an enjoyable beach day in the middle of December.

Sadly it was time to head back to the ship, we caught the next to last bus back to Bayside.  Stopped at a CVS to pick up some forgotten suntan lotion and aspirin and called for an Uber ($7.37 + tip) to get back to the ship. On the ship at 5:45 pm, all aboard was 6:30 pm.  We missed our dining time and we weren’t hungry anyway so it was a quick clean up then to the Schooner bar to exercise our drink package.
A few more pics of Miami

Back at Bayside we hopped on the next City Loop bus, this bus took us thru Coconut Grove, Little Havana and downtown Miami.  We got off in Little Havana to walk around, the bus stop was right in front of Domino Park the park was full of domino players.  We walked to the Bay of Pigs memorial taking pictures along the way, by now we were pretty hungry. 

Day 5-Freeport, Grand Bahamas
I couldn’t find anything to interest me in Freeport so this was going to be another sea day except maybe get off and walk around the port area.  I was up on deck to watch our sailing into Freeport, so after coffee and breakfast we walked off to peruse the port area.  Not a lot in port but did manage to pick up a few t-shirts for the grandkids and snap a few pictures.  Back on board, went up to enjoy the hot tubs, it seems that a lot of people stayed on the ship.  After dinner in the MDR, we went to the Headliner Show with magician Bill Cook with two of our tablemates from dinner.  Bill Cook was entertaining and amazing; he entertained us with his skills as a magician and his wit.  After the show it was back to the Schooner bar where we drank, chatted and listened to the piano player for the rest of the evening. 
Here are a few pictures of our sailing into Freeport.

Day 5-Freeport, Grand Bahamas
I couldn’t find anything to interest me in Freeport so this was going to be another sea day except maybe get off and walk around the port area.  I was up on deck to watch our sailing into Freeport, so after coffee and breakfast we walked off to peruse the port area.  Not a lot in port but did manage to pick up a few t-shirts for the grandkids and snap a few pictures.  Back on board, went up to enjoy the hot tubs, it seems that a lot of people stayed on the ship.  After dinner in the MDR, we went to the Headliner Show with magician Bill Cook with two of our tablemates from dinner.  Bill Cook was entertaining and amazing; he entertained us with his skills as a magician and his wit.  After the show it was back to the Schooner bar where we drank, chatted and listened to the piano player for the rest of the evening. 
Here are a few pictures of our sailing into Freeport.

Day 5-Freeport, Grand Bahamas
I couldn’t find anything to interest me in Freeport so this was going to be another sea day except maybe get off and walk around the port area.  I was up on deck to watch our sailing into Freeport, so after coffee and breakfast we walked off to peruse the port area.  Not a lot in port but did manage to pick up a few t-shirts for the grandkids and snap a few pictures.  Back on board, went up to enjoy the hot tubs, it seems that a lot of people stayed on the ship.  After dinner in the MDR, we went to the Headliner Show with magician Bill Cook with two of our tablemates from dinner.  Bill Cook was entertaining and amazing; he entertained us with his skills as a magician and his wit.  After the show it was back to the Schooner bar where we drank, chatted and listened to the piano player for the rest of the evening. 
Here are a few pictures of our sailing into Freeport.