Ampurp85

I have done hop on, hop off a lot of places and this was the first time I felt cheated. It was my fault I sat next to a super chatty Cathy. Well she sat next to me. She talked the whole loop and then I got off at CVS for chips and when I got back on, she was there. I ended up going back to the ship around noon since it was mostly shopping and none of the restaurants called to me. I got lunch in the WJ, it wasn't bad I had mac and cheese and some bbq pork chops. The desserts continue to be bad. But back to chatty Cathy, this lady could talk. As she was vintages I didn't want to be rude but she told me all her business. This is part of a month long B2B with her best friend. They are widows living off of stock options. Their children/grandchildren are also on this sailing. One is gay so I can't have that one but the other is recently divorced, 48 with his children all in college. She said he likes colorful girls. I believe she corrected herself because I definitely heard colored. Then she said some questionable things about her gay son I don't want to repeat. I thought she was doing this tour because it was less walking but it sounds like her family made a choice. She also complained about the casino. She said a lot stuff. I will admit I was tuning in and out but Grandeur is small so I already saw her again. I might go nap and then sit on deck and read my books.

I believe once you take more than one cruise on Royal you start cruising for points. Not that its not an enjoyable vacation. You start choosing the rooms, itineraries, ships etc. Based on where you might end up. I have never cared about ports but I do care about what a ship might have as far as shows, entertainment, and restaurants.

It is already on a tv channel.

The pins are the same and you can get them on your next cruise.

I got the new one on Oasis but old one on Grandeur. It might have something to do with supplies. Oasis sold a lot of drink packages, so I can see then transitioning to the new ones before smaller ships.

GTY can be assigned as far as months or as close as days. Luck of the draw as to when they get assigned.

I have taken cruises for loyalty points. I am 4 away from being D+. That's a great level because you start getting specialty dining discounts and free laundry. I mostly sail solo so it took me less time than others to reach the goal. However once I reach D+ I might start to only cruise with my family.

If its a 3N sailing it's possible they aren't putting one on.

Internet seems to be working okay so I will post my rambling thoughts. I decided to get breakfast at 9am in the WJ and it is congested. It's the design more so than the people. I could easily find a seat but getting eggs, like navigating a concert. I caught a bit of the welcome show and these comedians aren't really made for the likes of me. I like a good dad joke but key word is good. Grandeur doesn't have hand wash stations but does have hand dryers in the bathrooms. In the WJ crew member stands at the entrance with sanitizers. Most people walk on by. The Centrum is a pretty cool design. You can sit on multiple floors and listen to live music. The singer last night was really good. The shower is old. If you turn on the water without angling it completely down it shoots straight out, scorching hot. I keep getting extremely hot water showers. I like my water closer to lukewarm because I bruise easily. I am accustomed to venues being in venues but it's weirder on Grandeur. I thought I was in one place but it veered off into another and then another. The solarium on here is sort of connected to Vitality Spa so staff yesterday were trying to sell services while people relaxed. I have two American outlets and two European ones. Since I have European adapters, I have plenty of power, they just are in inconvenient areas. When you sit in the WJ you can hear and feel all the motion from the deck above. It's really bad when people are running.

The linked cruises will be able to see OBC in the CP but only when they click on your reservation. If they see OBC in their cruise planner, it belongs to them.

On Grandeur they automatically gave paper copies. I personally think Royal waste a lot of paper and it would be better served if they asked who wanted paper and who wanted digital info. Every sailing I get two C&A letters, casino letter, Voom, etc. I have stacks of paper and no way to recycle them.

They do make a queen bed and not a king. You will really be able to tell if you stay at a hotel before you cruise.

I have been struggling for over an hour to post this post. You would think the internet wouldn't be too bad early in the morning. I had to take 2 extra allergy pills because of the casino. I didn't sleep well and woke up congested and with a headache. I am also starving. The UDP spoiled me and I use to a bit more food than I actually had. At 9pm the park Cafe opens again and starts serving hotdogs, sandwiches, and pizza. I think the pizza is bad and don't eat any of the other offerings. As far as drama, this is a different crowd. The most spicy thing I saw was some teenagers/youths fighting. One girl won diamond earrings from the shopping raffle and her friend was jealous. So she was flirting with the other friends boyfriend. They were arguing on the deck while an NFL game was playing. I was getting an ice cream....which seems to be self-service. I also forgot to mention the reason MTD line was so long and bad was that a ton, and I mean a ton, of people with traditional dining were waiting for tables. A crew member made the announcement twice while I was in line. People still went up to the host and were told to go down stairs. It is a ton of new cruisers or people from CCL on here and many say they are disappointed. Today is Key West. I'm going to head to breakfast and then get off and do the hop on, hop off tour.

Its a courtesy reservation, you can change it to the last night's if you want. The only must is that it is one reservation at Chops.

I like CLS as a wow factor suite.

I am okay on the wifi calling being hit or miss but rather upset at the constant drops in wifi on Grandeur. I can't even check an email at this point.

This is old cup on left and new one on right

I have never been in a worse casino. I don't think I will go again. The machines are tight and dated. Plus I'm getting super sick from all the smoke. I guess I will just be reading and people watching.

This internet is a drag. So is first night dining. I got in line at 7:45 for my 8pm MTD reservation. At 8:15 I was asked if I wanted to dine with others at a shared table.....literally the only reason I do MTD is to not dine with strangers....or wait 15min for a table. I waited close to ten. I got my order taken at 8:40. I got spinach and artichokes dip, spaghetti bolognese, and Key lime pie. Nothing was bad but nothing was great. I believe I got six chips with the dip. And the pasta had almost no sauce. Pre dinner I went to look at the casino. People don't care and will just smoke anywhere. It's so small that the smell will travel but I rather not sit at a machine with a guy literally blowing smoke at me face. I was hoping to post pictures but with this internet I'm lucky to get this out.

These are the new cups, very well made but holds less liquid. Think the same size cheap cups made in the material of the older cups. I will post a picture.

Currently on Grandeur. I waited in line for 15min even though I have reservations. Then I was told I can either get sat with random people or wait 10 more min for a table. The purpose of MTD for me is to not sit with strangers and be forced on their time.

WhatsApp work when people have it. An 80yo woman who can't work her "VCR" can't work apps. My wifi calling worked until we got a bit from port and now it and the internet in general on Grandeur is horrible.

Might come through later, this was not advertised as being back. We are just reporting what currently has happened.

Yes that chair is in the corner behind the bathroom door and blocking the closet area. I was also intrigued by that Virgin ship. I booked my cruises with the certificate I won on Oasis. Mariner Jan 15th to the 20th and Wonder Jan 21st to the 28th in 2024. My brother and mother are coming on both, so that should be a fun time. I will see who else I can wrangle from the vintages. Also the prices are ridiculous. I got a JS last year on Indy for what a balcony is going now. They gave me a bottle of champagne and I got entries into a raffle. Indira the NextCruise rep has only been on Grandeur two months. She said her original assignment was Oasis and the day she got to Miami her assignment changed. She thinks it's too small of a ship. We started sail away while I was at NextCruise, so I missed a little bit. I have MTD at 8 and it's on the upper deck here which is cool. My brother has tasked me with looking at the WJ offerings so I will head up there and take pictures. This is a welcome aboard show around 9:30, hopefully I'm done with dinner. My luggage came around 3 and I met my steward who provided me with a robe and ice. Internet is a bit of a miss since we started sailing. I also got today's and tomorrow compass in my room. I'm planning a late night in the casino.

The rooms are so tiny. This was an instant comp for me too. I'm a single chubby woman, I can't imagine two regular people in these tiny cabins being comfortable.