Newbie Taking First Criuse, Advise Welcome

[Shanet94]

We are doing our first cruise ever on Grandeur of The Seas out of Galveston this year. Royal is having some good sales right now and we picked up the Refreshment Package and The Key. The Key seems to be a no brainier, it was almost the price of the internet package by itself before the sale and I like to eat so the priority boarding + chops meal sold it for me. The refreshments package I am still not sold on. We do not drink many alcoholic beverages so we went with this one. I do not see us drinking enough to break even on the deluxe package. My main concern is Grandeur is one of the smaller ships and I am not sure where all we could use the refreshments package. Is there a list somewhere that states what all drinks would be available with this package for this specific ship?

Also, are there any review sites for the excursions? The details are extremely limited. Thanks for the help and advise!

[AshleyDillo]

9 hours ago, Shanet94 said:

Is there a list somewhere that states what all drinks would be available with this package for this specific ship?

There isn't a list, but the refreshment package includes all drinks onboard except for alcohol. Grandeur doesn't have as many extras to use the refreshment package at like the large ships, but you'll be able to get espresso based specialty coffee drinks, fresh squeezed orange juice, soda and mocktails wherever they are served. Bottled water is also included.

[wordell1]

9 hours ago, Shanet94 said:

We are doing our first cruise ever on Grandeur of The Seas out of Galveston this year. Royal is having some good sales right now and we picked up the Refreshment Package and The Key. The Key seems to be a no brainier, it was almost the price of the internet package by itself before the sale and I like to eat so the priority boarding + chops meal sold it for me. The refreshments package I am still not sold on. We do not drink many alcoholic beverages so we went with this one. I do not see us drinking enough to break even on the deluxe package. My main concern is Grandeur is one of the smaller ships and I am not sure where all we could use the refreshments package. Is there a list somewhere that states what all drinks would be available with this package for this specific ship?

Also, are there any review sites for the excursions? The details are extremely limited. Thanks for the help and advise!

You can get water, juice, basic coffee, and tea without any drink package.  Tea includes plain iced tea.

Refreshment package adds includes Soda and bottled (available at any bar and dining rooms), Specialty coffees (Caffe Latte Tudes), and any "virgin" drink at bars.

[ChessE4]

15 hours ago, Shanet94 said:

We are doing our first cruise ever on Grandeur of The Seas out of Galveston this year. Royal is having some good sales right now and we picked up the Refreshment Package and The Key. The Key seems to be a no brainier, it was almost the price of the internet package by itself before the sale and I like to eat so the priority boarding + chops meal sold it for me. The refreshments package I am still not sold on. We do not drink many alcoholic beverages so we went with this one. I do not see us drinking enough to break even on the deluxe package. My main concern is Grandeur is one of the smaller ships and I am not sure where all we could use the refreshments package. Is there a list somewhere that states what all drinks would be available with this package for this specific ship?

Also, are there any review sites for the excursions? The details are extremely limited. Thanks for the help and advise!

I think the Key is priced per person, so it probably is more than just a 1 device Voom for one person.  My wife and I can share a 1 device package so we don't want to pay Key x two for Intnernet.

We sailed the Grandeur many times out of Baltimore.  The Centrum is a blast. I don't think you will have problems finding a location for your beverages.  We occasionally purchased a soda package as we are not big on bottled water (ship water is available and fine to drink).  There really are a variety of complimentary drinks such as plain water, flavored water, lemonade, milk, coffee, decaf, tea, and sometimes punch.  The Cruise Planner should describe the available drinks for each package.  Other posts have explained them.

[leesam82]

One suggestion I have is to watch youtube videos, royalcaribbeanblogs.com has a lot of youtube videos found here. You can find answers to many questions as a new cruiser. That is how I found this site. There are also other vloggers that can help you answer questions about your specific ship on YouTube as well. 

[Traveling Mike]

Here is a few items for new cruiser:

1. Make sure you have the app on your phone.
2. On the first day or the second morning walk the ship to figure out where everything is and what the ship has.
3. Do everything or nothing.   This is your vacation so try anything that looks interesting or fun.  If you do not want to do anything, don't.  
4. At meals eat anything you want.  If you see two things you like order both.  You are not limited on how much you can have.
5. My favorite in a group is share.  We have ordered all the deserts and a bunch of forks and tried everything.
6. On Shore Excursions make sure you know what time it is (ship time not shore time)  Watch this video  https://youtu.be/MJjAlUwe3to
7. There are some things that are extra cost.  The ones that get me is some specialty ice cream and specialty coffee.
8. Here is a very good video of the ship  https://youtu.be/ZK8jYuIj1J4