madeline236 Posted February 3, 2020 Report Share Posted February 3, 2020 FOOD AND DRINK bar tenders didn't know many virgin cocktails / mocktails. My kids had a printed list that included not just the name but the ingredients/flavours and that was very useful for them to try new drinks service in the main dining room (MDR) was lacking but I think that was just our waiter and assistant. Food in the MDR was also subpar. On lobster night for example, DH got 2 tails and one was over cooked but edible. I got 2 tails and one was so overcooked it was inedible. DD had 1 tail and it was inedible. It was replaced and the second was only marginally better. I saw other tables with the same problems. IMO RCCL also needs to mix it up in the MDR more. Why not include salad entrés with great, fresh ingredients like roasted beets and cheese (like goat) and nuts/seeds etc? Why not include some ethnic dishes that have some spice in them or at least flavour? Why does the cheese plate for dessert include the same cheeses every night and very boring ones like cheddar? service was excellent and many bar tenders/servers knew our names and what our 'usual' order was by day 3. ACTIVITIES the band that played off and on all day and the piano bar were great fun and took requests. cruise director staff were high energy and great Games were hit and miss. The 'majority rules' had mostly the same questions the second time it was played. The Quest and 70s night were great fun for those who participated. Belly flop was also great. EMBARKATION/DISEMBARKATION embarkation was slow and lines were long. This was a surprise for Baltimore as reviews always said people were on the ship 20 minutes after arriving. We spent closer to 2 hours getting through the lines to disembark we self-carried and it was easy although we were told we couldn't use the elevators so had to take our suitcases down the stairs. No big deal for us but for others, it could be difficult/impossible to do. EXCURSIONS the transport to/from WDW at Port Canaveral was excellent. We were in port from 6 - 6 and this excursion was first off the ship, border control was fast and efficient and we were on our way. Drop off/pick up was easy too. we purchased a day bed at south beach at Coco Cay and as south beach had a delayed opening, it was moved to a temporary spot on chill island. Turned out ok but would've liked RCCL to communicate this (they never did). Also meant location wasn't at all exclusive/private/quiet but right in the middle of the regular crowds. KIDS kids were allowed in the solarium pool at pre-scheduled hours when it was cold outside and the main pool was too cold to use they easily let kids change age groups in kids club (adventure ocean). They combined the two older age groups to be 6 - 11 together and I know of 2 12-year-olds who went in and a 5-year old too. That said, my kids enjoyed it and I had trouble keeping them out of it. They got lots of prizes too. most family-friendly games/activities were during the early seating for dinner bar tenders didn't know many virgin cocktails / mocktails. My kids had a printed list that included not just the name but the ingredients/flavours and that was very useful for them to try new drinks with their drink package SERVICE / OTHER We didn't get towel animals but others did. it seemed to depend who your cabin steward was. [that "8)" turns into an emoji no matter what I do lol[ photographers were great. They learned quickly that we had pre-bought the package and went out of their way to offer us pictures I found it odd that we never had to sign receipts when getting drinks. We had the drink packages but on other RCCL ships we always had to sign still even if hte bill was $0. This allowed us to add tips but now we had to have cash for tipping. That also lets us see that the drink is 'free'. In this case, we were billed for 2 drinks and have no idea how that happened. One we noticed that night before when I went to guest services for something else and noticed it on her screen and she took it off. The other we didn't notice until we got home so now we're stuck paying for it. we had been on larger ships before but the small ship ended up fine. I was worried about many sea days (3) and lack of stuff to do but we were never bored and the small ship was more intimate in a good way. It was actually nice to see the same people over and over and get to know them. KristiZ, Matt and TinyDancer 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted February 3, 2020 Report Share Posted February 3, 2020 4 minutes ago, madeline236 said: we were told we couldn't use the elevators Wow. This is a surprise. I have sailed on Grandeur more than any other ship and I have never, ever heard this. Were you physically restricted from using the elevator or did they just announce this ? We always do self assist disembarkation b/c I have to take Dan straight to work when we get off the ship. I have never heard of self assist people being prohibited from using the elevator(s). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FManke Posted February 3, 2020 Report Share Posted February 3, 2020 16 minutes ago, madeline236 said: FOOD AND DRINK IMO RCCL also needs to mix it up in the MDR more. Why not include salad entrés with great, fresh ingredients like roasted beets and cheese (like goat) and nuts/seeds etc? Why not include some ethnic dishes that have some spice in them or at least flavour? As stated here by many people, RC is very accommodating with special meal requests. As long as they have the ingredients, they are usually very happy to make whatever you want. It's not an inconvenience for them to accommodate you, so no one should be afraid to ask. I'm sorry the food did not meet your expectations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew72681 Posted February 3, 2020 Report Share Posted February 3, 2020 25 minutes ago, madeline236 said: I found it odd that we never had to sign receipts when getting drinks. We had the drink packages but on other RCCL ships we always had to sign still even if hte bill was $0. This allowed us to add tips but now we had to have cash for tipping. That also lets us see that the drink is 'free'. In this case, we were billed for 2 drinks and have no idea how that happened. One we noticed that night before when I went to guest services for something else and noticed it on her screen and she took it off. The other we didn't notice until we got home so now we're stuck paying for it. The zero bills being removed join straws and other measure in cutting down on waste. Those receipts were just getting thrown away as base gratuity is built into the drink package. If there were some that got charged you should have been presented with a receipt. A quick call will get those taken off as you can view them in your folio each day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgestang Posted February 3, 2020 Report Share Posted February 3, 2020 If I remember my reading on the internet the last few weeks correctly 1. Didn't Grandeur embark later than usual because of a deep cleaning in some of the bathrooms or something with a note being sent out about it a couple days before? 2. Disembarking and no elevators...didn't I also read that the ramp was down at Baltimore meaning you had to get on/off deck 2 instead of on the centrum level? That would easily explain the elevator rules since it would make for a giant mess on deck 2 where people line up through the stairwells to get off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted February 3, 2020 Report Share Posted February 3, 2020 Could be... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.