New Here / First Cruise

[JennyJenny]

Hi. I am new here. 

I cruised once over ten years ago and without going into detail, it was a miserable experience due to the individual (my x) I was traveling with at the time. I have always wanted a “do over” and I am finally booked on the Grandeur of the Seas out of Baltimore next April and really looking forward to my first cruise (I am not going to count that long ago miserable experience).

I will be single for this cruise but do have a gal pal roomie and a few other couples on board I know so I won’t be “adrift and alone”. As it’s been so long and so much seems to have changed from when I went last (no more afternoon tea?  ) and I am the one planning things for me this time versus just showing up and smiling, I have a few questions (and will probably have more). Everyone here seems so happy to help answer so I do my best to look for an answer before I ask.

(Have been reading this discussion board for a few weeks now and watching a lot of Youtube videos!)

1.     1. Beverages when sailing with a roommate – I have done my calculations and decided that I am going to purchase the Café Select Card and the flat of 12 one liter bottles of Evian. IF the refreshment package goes on sale for 20% off then it appears that will be a good value for me as I would like the occasional mocktail or extra bottle of water. Not a big soda drinker and while I don’t mind an occasional alcoholic beverage, I plan to bring my own bottle of Champagne and pretty sure my roommate will bring a bottle of wine. I can easily go the whole cruise without alcohol. Question: from my reading it looks like the only package where the entire room is required to purchase the same thing is the deluxe one with the alcohol. If I am considering purchasing the Refreshment Package, does my roommate have to also? Trying to figure out if I can just buy it if I see it go on sale or if I should pre-coordinate with them because they’d have to buy it too?

2.     2. My auntie is a big cruiser (on other lines) and I mentioned the magnetic hook “hack” to her and she said she’d tried it and the hooks just slid down the wall once you put anything on them and were useless. But I am wondering if she just bought the wrong hooks because I still see people raving about them?

3.    3.  Has anyone actually seen or used the showers in the fitness center on the Grandeur? I’ve seen the advice on using those vs the room shower and as I plan to get some kind of workout in each day I’d be happy to use that set of facilities and let roomie commandeer ours. Was wondering if it’s like the typical gym or spa-ish locker room where I can take a shower after a workout session or while roomie uses the room shower. Sounds like they are bigger but I can’t find pictures or anyone who has actually posted about using the Grandeur ones specifically (just generic mentions that they did or might or their spouse did in passing).

4.     4. When do you find out about theme nights (if any) so you can pack/plan/prepare?

5.     5. It looks like things go on sale in the cruise planner. If I log in, do you see the specials right there on the main page or do you have to click on each item you want to watch individually and “hunt through” for them? Just wondering if I could do a quick peek to see if there were sales or do I need to set aside time to click through each thing and check?

 

I’ll stop there. I am sure I will have more questions. I haven’t been on my very own all by myself grown up with no kids to supervise vacation in over ten years. I can’t wait! So excited!

[AshleyDillo]

You can buy the Refreshment Package without your roommate being required to do the same.  It is only the Deluxe Beverage Package (alcohol) that requires the entire room of adults to purchase it.  

As for the magnets, they are rated by strength. The stronger the magnet, the more weight it would be able to support.  Your aunt likely was using some lower strength magnets and they couldn't support the weight of the items she was trying to hang up.  If you search this messageboard for "magnet" you can probably find some Amazon links to ones that have proven to work for folks on this board.  I've never bothered to pack or purchase any, but I travel often with someone who has them.

You can review old Cruise Compasses to get an idea of the theme nights.  If you click on that link it will take you to some that have been uploaded from Grandeur for you to peruse.  You will often see Caribbean night, white night, 70s night, etc. as common themes.  It is entirely optional as to whether you want to participate.

As for the Cruise Planner, you will soon find out that Royal tends to make things difficult.  Their sales aren't always sales and they always seem to have one going on.  When they advertise 20% or 30% off, it is the discount off of the onboard price which is more expensive than a non-sale price online ahead of time.  They don't publish the onboard prices, so you really have no idea what you would be paying if you waited until you get on the ship.  The best thing to do is just purchase what you are interested in when it hits a price point that you are comfortable with.  You can always cancel and repurchase if the price drops.  If you want to monitor prices on various items I would suggest adding what you are interested in to your cart.  It won't lock in those prices, but you can always go to our cart later and see what the going rate is for those items.  Drawback to this is that when you want to purchase something you have to remove everything else from your cart.  A wish list option would be nice, but this is Royal IT so we can't have nice things. 

As for the fitness center, hope someone who has visited Grandeur can chime in there.

Have a great cruise!

[ChessE4]

We lived in Bel Air and took many cruises out of Baltimore on the Grandeur and Enchantment of the Seas.  With regard to theme nights, the basic idea is to plan on 1-2 formal nights and probably a Caribbean night.  They used to do a 70's show in the Centrum with the "Village People".  The Centrum is the main place to hang out (Deck 4).  I have used the fitness center but not the showers, so I won't comment on them.  Dress has "relaxed" a bit, but try to wear your best for formal night.  No one really cares about the other nights....

On the cruise planner you can look at a description, which I recommend, before you purpose.  Now for excursions, you should be able to download a brochure that contains a table of contents page.  It is a bit tedious viewing all of the excursions on line, so I check the brochure to decide what I want and then re-enter Cruise Planner to order.  You generally want to pre-order excursions to get a discounted price.  You can cancel and re-book if the price drops further.

The Grandeur is easy to get around, and the music in the Centrum reaches the higher decks.  If they are putting on an aerial show, folks will start grabbing chairs at least 30 minutes early.

I love the coffee card for getting espresso drinks.

I never buy the drink pages except soda for our son when he was younger.  I agree it's cheaper to buy the occasional soda or glass of wine that buy the packages.  Some folks do swear by the Refreshment Package (non-alcoholic) if they can get it on sale, but you need to check the numbers.  I think you already figured out what you wanted.

We loved the shows on the Grandeur, and there should be two nightly to accommodate your dinner schedule (except maybe first and last night when there may only be one show).

On this site you can look at an old Cruise Compass.

Because it is windy on the pool deck when cruising, you might find Deck 5 better for staring at the sea or sunsets, etc.

 

Have fun!

[Skid]

Welcome @JennyJenny.

Some hooks are better than others. Keep in mind that the weights listed are for putting them on the ceiling. Hanging on the wall holds less. These are the ones we used and they worked great:

 

 

[WAAAYTOOO]

3 minutes ago, Skid said:

putting them on the ceiling. 

^^. This

[JennyJenny]

1 hour ago, AshleyDillo said:

>>You can buy the Refreshment Package without your roommate being required to do the same. <<

Thank you! I don't want her to feel obligated to buy a package so I wanted to double check

>>As for the magnets, they are rated by strength...<< This is what I thought. It JUST occurred to me that I could go ahead and order the magnets and test them at home when I get them. Insert a "doh" here ->

>>You can review old Cruise Compasses to get an idea of the theme nights...<<

I had noticed 70s nights in the few I skimmed through. I'll have to do another pass through them! I thought I saw someone mention they got some sort of communication close to sailing with more info but I can't seem to "refind" that thread.

 

1 hour ago, AshleyDillo said:

>>Their sales aren't always sales and they always seem to have one going on.  When they advertise 20% or 30% off, it is the discount off of the onboard price which is more expensive than a non-sale price online ahead of time. <<

Oh wow! Really? Glad you said that. I thought the 20-30% off was off the package deal!

>>If you want to monitor prices on various items I would suggest adding what you are interested in to your cart.  It won't lock in those prices, but you can always go to our cart later and see what the going rate is for those items. <<

Oh! That's a great idea!

>>...but this is Royal IT so we can't have nice things.  <<

I have to confess I am in IT (CISO) so I do grasp frustration with websites and all the planner stuff not working. On the flip side, because I deal directly with the security and lifecycle development of systems, I also grasp how difficult it is to make them work perfect at all times especially handling such volume as they do. Net net: I get frustrated myself when things don't work but at the same time, my heart does go out to those trying to make it all work in the background and how difficult it can be to coordinate so much data at once and having things change and shift. My hat goes off to them and I'll take a deep breath when I get frustrated.

 

1 hour ago, AshleyDillo said:

>>As for the fitness center, hope someone who has visited Grandeur can chime in there.

Have a great cruise!<<

Thank you so much for your detailed response and good advice!

 

[mom2mybugs]

You can also just buy the refreshment PKG and continue to reprice it.  If the price goes lower, you can cancel and rebook.... There is no penalty.  If you decide you don't need it, you can cancel it up to 3 days before the cruise with no penalty as well.  If you do get the refreshment pkg, and you aren't picky about brand name vs regular water, you do not need to get the 12 pack of water.  You can ask for a bottle every time you get a drink or pass a bar and take them back to your room.  That might factor into your cost 

   There are tons of free options too... Reg. Coffee, hot/iced tea, flavored Crystal lite type water, lemonade and there is also still water that is just fine to drink and tastes good to me.  You can bring your own refillable cup (you just have to use their cups and pour it into yours).  So lots of options for sure!  

   Definitely find an old cruise compass here and look up the events... There is a lot of fun stuff and you will have a great time!!!

   The magnets are a huge help.... They definitely (as someone said above) hold less since hung on the wall but they work well.  I have also brought 3m command strips hooks and those were incredible.... Held a ton and reusable with a new strip next time.  

   People here are wonderful answering questions.  I hope you have an amazing cruise this time!!! Jane

[MotleyCruiser]

answer to #2:  https://www.monstermagnetics.com/

[Crabbycruiser]

As for the afternoon tea, you might be thinking of another cruise line...and yes, they still do it.....but RCI has the belly flop contest...

[JennyJenny]

4 hours ago, ChessE4 said:

>>They used to do a 70's show in the Centrum with the "Village People".  <<

I have a silver wrap dress that would totally work for a 70's theme and I could probably get away with it for a white theme since it's such a light soft silver. That way, I'll be ready for either or both!

>>but try to wear your best for formal night.  No one really cares about the other nights....<<

Oh yes! I have two gowns and I am going to go full on dress up (with pretty flat sandals) for formal nights!

>> Now for excursions, you should be able to download a brochure that contains a table of contents page.<<

I did not know this! Thank you! I will definitely do the brochure approach!

>>The Grandeur is easy to get around, and the music in the Centrum reaches the higher decks.  If they are putting on an aerial show, folks will start grabbing chairs at least 30 minutes early.<<

They have aerial shows now??? Wow!

>>I think you already figured out what you wanted.<<

I did the math and unless the refreshment package goes on sale, the Cafe card and Evian package will be fine for my needs with an occasional glass of wine if I feel like it. I am a little OCD so I spent an hour or so doing math and estimations and percentages

>>Because it is windy on the pool deck when cruising, you might find Deck 5 better for staring at the sea or sunsets, etc.<<

I am actually looking forward to the Solarium since I won't have to be a responsible mom for the whole trip. I can just be an old lady in a hat on a lounge chair where it's kind of quiet maybe

>>Have fun!<<

Thank you!

 

[JennyJenny]

4 hours ago, Skid said:

Welcome @JennyJenny.

>>These are the ones we used and they worked great...<<

Added to my Amazon cart! Thanks!

 

4 hours ago, Skid said:

 

 

 

 

[JennyB]

Welcome @JennyJenny Those magnets that @Skid linked are what we bought.  Our first cruise with them is Monday.  I'm hoping to be able to get more things off the floor and desk area.

[JennyJenny]

1 hour ago, mom2mybugs said:

>>If you do get the refreshment pkg, and you aren't picky about brand name vs regular water, you do not need to get the 12 pack of water.  You can ask for a bottle every time you get a drink or pass a bar and take them back to your room.  That might factor into your cost  <<

I prefer bottled water but not too particular about the brand. The bottled water on the ship stuff I saw was all Evian on the photos of the menus at the snack and bar areas?

>>   There are tons of free options too... Reg. Coffee, hot/iced tea, flavored Crystal lite type water, lemonade and there is also still water that is just fine to drink and tastes good to me.  You can bring your own refillable cup (you just have to use their cups and pour it into yours).  So lots of options for sure!  <<

I am definitely trying to stay away from anything with sugar or sugar substitutes in it. I love and live on iced tea so if the iced tea on board is palatable then I'll drink that most the time. I'm definitely bringing my refillable thermos/waterbottle!

>>I have also brought 3m command strips hooks and those were incredible.... Held a ton and reusable with a new strip next time.  <<

I use those a lot at home and hadn't even thought about them for the ship!

 >>People here are wonderful answering questions.  I hope you have an amazing cruise this time!!! Jane<<

Yes they are! Thank you, Jane!

 

[JennyJenny]

56 minutes ago, MotleyCruiser said:

answer to #2:  https://www.monstermagnetics.com/

That site is amazing! Forget the cruise, I can see several things I could use for home and work there! Thank you!

[JennyJenny]

3 minutes ago, JennyB said:

Welcome @JennyJenny Those magnets that @Skid linked are what we bought.  Our first cruise with them is Monday.  I'm hoping to be able to get more things off the floor and desk area.

Let me know how they work for you! They are in my Amazon cart now for future purchase!

[Skid]

18 minutes ago, JennyJenny said:

Added to my Amazon cart! Thanks!

 

14 minutes ago, JennyB said:

  I'm hoping to be able to get more things off the floor and desk area

We had a hanging shoe rack type organizer with about 6 or so pockets. Kept flip flops, papers, misc items in it. We put a hook in the top left and top right corners and attached to bathroom door. Held all week. Slid down once and that was my fault (reached in too hard).

@JennyJenny remember that every wall, door and even the ceiling is metal, so you can hang anywhere.

[ChessE4]

The Solarium is great and there is a snack bar/drink station handy.

[JennyJenny]

7 hours ago, Crabbycruiser said:

As for the afternoon tea, you might be thinking of another cruise line...and yes, they still do it.....but RCI has the belly flop contest...

It was definitely RC that we were on but this was over ten years ago. I'll have to make a point to watch the belly flop contest! And I've never done trivia so that sounds fun too!

[JennyJenny]

6 hours ago, Skid said:

@JennyJenny remember that every wall, door and even the ceiling is metal, so you can hang anywhere.

I saw in another thread someone hung up one of those fabric shelf things! How clever! Hung it right from the ceiling!

 

[NU2Cruise]

Thank you to all for sharing your knowledge with us newbies 

We just completed our first cruise on Saturday - we were on the Anthem for 9 days - it was amazing! 

I purchased the mentioned magnets - they were strong and worked well on the walls - there was a tag on the ceiling that stated "no magnets to be used on the ceiling" but had plenty of wall space. 

I read this message board almost every night (for the 6 months before our cruise)  I learned so many things that when we boarded the ship I felt comfortable knowing what where and how to have a great experience.

I learned about the 10 drink card, which became available on day 6  of our cruise, we paid  $101. including the 18%,,  we shared the card among 4 adults.

I also learned about what denominations of cash to bring - I brought 5's, 10's and 20's and 100. in ones and could have used another 100,. Had I not read about this on the board we would not have had enough cash to tip all the great wait staff.

Keep asking questions and reading this board!

I know you will have a great trip!

next cruise Oasis June 2020 

[JennyJenny]

4 minutes ago, NU2Cruise said:

>>I also learned about what denominations of cash to bring - I brought 5's, 10's and 20's and 100. in ones and could have used another 100,. Had I not read about this on the board we would not have had enough cash to tip all the great wait staff.<<

So you used a lot of 1s to tip with? (Taking notes!)

 

 

[NU2Cruise]

Yes, ones and fives for on board the ship.

At one point all I had was a 20. and tried to tip the pool bartender (there were 6 of us getting water and mock cocktails) and he told me he would get into trouble if he accepted it, he changed the 20. for me and all was well.

Make sure to take cash with you on port days - we rented lounges and umbrellas for the beach and they only took cash. 

 

 

[JennyJenny]

1 hour ago, NU2Cruise said:

Yes, ones and fives for on board the ship.

Make sure to take cash with you on port days - we rented lounges and umbrellas for the beach and they only took cash. 

 

 

Glad I am asking NOW and have time to get all this together! I can't imagine only having a week or two to prepare (if you are new to things!) Thanks!

[KathyC]

No more aerial shows.  Those were stopped on all ships years ago as they were unsafe for the performers.  

No problem with ceiling hooks on Grandeur.  We did it with no issues - in fact, the stateroom attendant left us a hanging monkey using one of our empty hooks.  LOL

We did not go into the fitness center, so I can't help with the showers.

We sailed her a couple months ago, and my cruise compass is in Matt's database up top.

As for cruise planner sales, there is a "sale tab" (I think it's pink or red?) all the way on the right.  That will reduce the amount of clicking.  

We come on with $20-30 in 1s for random tips.  Also usually bring around ten 5s and about a hundred in 10s.  

[Crabbycruiser]

A couple of years ago on Liberty,  I asked one of the pool servers if you write a tip in on the receipt does it get pooled or does it go directly to him and he told me it goes to him.  So I have been doing that rather than carrying cash around in my swim trunks.  Even with a drink package I always write in another 1 or 2 bucks per drink,  they do remember you.  And as a pool bartender on Rhapsody once told me, "The more you drink, the better you look!"