xSAILEDx Grandeur of the Seas - Feb 5, 2023 - Feb 10, 2023 (5 Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise)

[Evan Chevalier-Jordan]

Anybody else going on this cruise? 

[WAAAYTOOO]

WHEW !  I was able to upgrade my Ocean View to a J4 JS at the very last minute (I think they will close out this cruise tomorrow) !  We won a RU from interior to OV last week but @Ampurp85 had me terrified of being in a cave room down on deck 3....and today a J4 popped up so I snagged it.  This is no longer a cheap 5 night casino comp   but at least I am not AS worried about being in the sewage tank as I was.  I guess deck # has little bearing on your water quality but I am out of the bowels of the ship !!  I will just stick to bottled water.

We are already in a J4 on our next Grandeur cruise (9-2-23) so I won't worry about that one.  

[WAAAYTOOO]

Oh, BTW, it was cheaper to upgrade to the J4 than to a suddenly-available balcony room...so there's that bit of good news, too.

[WAAAYTOOO]

...and double points !

[WAAAYTOOO]

On board !

The drive down was pretty miserable.  It rained HARD most of the way but we still arrived well ahead of our scheduled arrival time.  We were among the first few into the terminal when they opened the terminal/security line promptly at 10:00.  We waited in the suites lounge until they opened the gangway at 10:30 and coasted right in…  I believe we were the first to arrive on board other than the B2B’ers who were already there, of course.

The rain has subsided considerably since this morning (thankfully).  They are calling the miscreants who haven’t yet completed the safety drill (ugh) but looking good for an on-time departure as far as I know.  Rooms were ready promptly at 1:00.  Everything has been perfectly on schedule so far.  It’s like seeing an old friend again after a long separation.  Grandeur looks really good…no sewer smell….so far…

7:15 MTD reservation.  Yes, you read that right. Main Dining Room ! . I cancelled our UDP; we are dining with the GenPop on this one !  It will be our first time dining in the MDR in a number of years.  We’ve been “promised” a private table along the railing on deck 5.  I’ll let you know if that comes to fruition.

OMG what’s that bright light outside ?!  Oh….the sun…I had forgotten what it looked like !

[FloatyBoaty]

Looking forward to hearing everything about your experience on Grandeur. We have a 12 night booked next January in J3 also but am super nervous. Have only sailed Oasis and Quantum class so far and booked Grandeur for the itinerary. Hope you have a wonderful sailing!

[WAAAYTOOO]

Still no sewer or weed smell

First food report.  We had a 7:15 MTD reservation.  We decided to go a bit early so we were “in line” (MTD w/reservations line) at 7:00.  We got to the podium at 7:16 so right on time.  As promised, we were seated at a 2-top along the railing.  There are 2 more 2-tops directly adjacent so it’s not private by any means BUT the 2 couples that we sat with tonite were delightful.  I just hope we will have them as almost-table-mates for the rest of the cruise.

Dinner was painfully S.L.O.W.  The food was fine - not great, but passable.  Just SO slow.  Dan and I both got the prime rib.  It was a bit tough but had a good flavor.  The shrimp cocktail I had for my app was the best-tasting shrimp I’ve had on any of the cruises we’ve taken since we started back cruising.  They were small but VERY tasty.  Just as a test, I requested a second main course (some kind of mushroom thing) to see if they would bring me 2 mains at the same time.  No problem. They brought both and it was actually pretty good (Dan and I shared it).  Had it been my only main, however, I would have left hungry.  It was teeny tiny.  I had Boston cream pie for dessert and it was utterly tasteless.  Dan had some kind of caramel nut thing.  He said it was good.  So, overall, I’m going to give my first Main Dining Room experience in 5+ years, a “C”.

We tried to go to the casino after dinner but it was a madhouse.  Absolutely no room at the Ultimate Texas Hold ‘Em table. We turned around and came “home”.  I feared that the casino would be overwhelmed as this cruise was on the “freebie” list and had been sold out for weeks.  Looks like I will be correct.

Since we are due a crystal block on this cruise, I stopped by the Loyalty Ambassadors desk.  She said they have no crystal blocks on board and verified our mailing address.  It will be mailed to us.  Perfect.  I also begged for my Cokes (loyalty gift) as none were delivered to our room.  Presumably they will come tomorrow.

Tomorrow is Key West.  I thought Key West had given the cruise lines the big middle finger salute ?!  I was shocked to see KW on the itin.  I will abide by the locals’ wishes and keep my fat ass right on the ship.

[Ampurp85]

@WAAAYTOOO The sewage smell on Grandeur came the evening after KW, which was the second day. Also, the tables were a madhouse every night I went to the casino. Which is rare form as they weren't ever full on any of my other sailings. I agree the shrimp cocktail was very fresh, I sent another app back and got another cocktail the last time. Lots of B2B on Grandeur with Casino comps because she is 5/9 nights. 

[Sweety]

Have a great cruise. I will be on Lady G in April. I will be in J3. No worries.

[WAAAYTOOO]

We’re in KW. Docked at the normie downtown pier rather than the Coast Guard pier.  The last time I was here we docked at the Coast Guard pier and had to take a shuttle to town.  This is better.

[WAAAYTOOO]

Dinner report:  night 2.

I guess it never pays to pre-judge.  Good life rule-of-thumb in general, I suppose.  I had already decided that I would hate French night so my expectations were very low.  Of course, I was wrong.  Pleasantly surprised that the seafood linguine was really very good (we both ordered that as our main).  I’m not a mussels-lover so those little babies swam right over to Dan’s bowl but the rest was good.  The calamari (is that an even French dish ??) app was on the cold side and a bit chewy but calamari is usually pretty chewy under the best of circumstances so I didn’t judge that one too harshly. Dan had French onion soup and the wedge.  The soup was good.  The wedge never arrived…but he didn’t miss it.  I had the apple cobbler w/ice cream (yes, a dastardly raisin did have to be removed but it was easily spotted and neutralized) which was really good.  Dan had some kind of chocolate puff pastry and he said it was good.

So for our first French night, I will rate it a B+.  Who could have guessed ?

We went to the casino earlier last night than the first night and I was able to wrangle a seat at the UTH table.  We left for a while to go see the Tango Buenos Aires show which was good, for what it was.  I felt bad for the performers as quite a few people walked out early.  How can you be surprised/disappointed by a show entitled Tango Buenos Aires ?  Isn’t it pretty obvious what it’s going to be ?  Of course there was a rendition of “Don’t cry for me, Argentina” which is a big fave of mine.  The male tango lead was by far a better dancer than his female partner.  The women get all the glamor moves in Tango, but his footwork was incredible.

A quick word about the main theater on Grandeur.  I think it’s the most elegant (not to mention, comfortable) main theater of any ship I have ever sailed. Since Grandeur is the only Vision class ship I’ve been on, I am only assuming that the other V class ships are similarly awesome.  I love going to shows in that beautiful theater.

Then back to the casino where again, I was able to snag a seat.  Should have gone home instead.  Big loser.  

[WAAAYTOOO]

Night 3

Tonite was Caribbean night but you’d never know from the menu.  Very bizarro hodgepodge of dishes.

Dan and I both settled on the crispy shrimp and I thought it was pretty good.  Dan has been suffering with some food allergy issues and has been trying to narrow it down. We thought for awhile it was whole milk so he quit drinking milk….but after last night he is pretty sure it is a shellfish issue which is really bad news for him as he loves all shellfish.  We’re going to isolate and see if he gets some relief.  Most people aren’t aware that you can suddenly become allergic to something that you previously, were not.  Shellfish allergies are one of the most common “pop-up” food allergies.  Anyway….he was pretty miserable last night and we believe the shrimp are the culprits.

We both had the carrot cake which was yummy. 

Not much in the way of activities. We went to see the juggler who was very good. Not our bag but we enjoyed it.  No casino last night. All tables were full to the brim.  Just came back and made an early night of it.  Dan soaked in the tub with some epsom salts that he brought from home.

[Sweety]

Hope Dan feels better. I am allergic to mangoes. How can a Jamaican be allergic to mangoes?

[WAAAYTOOO]

Thanks, @Sweety   He has really been suffering.  I feel so bad for him…

[WAAAYTOOO]

Tonite was Mexican night and I can recommend the pulled pork burrito (which was actually a chimichanga, IMO).  I couldn’t eat it all but it was really good.  We were in and out of there in under 45 minutes.  Since we were done so early, we made it to the casino before the rest of the reprobates.  Played for a couple of hours.  Lost $155 (which for me, is nothing !).

Dan had the flan for dessert and I had the layered coconut pie, which again, was fairly tasteless.

[Ampurp85]

On 2/8/2023 at 8:33 PM, WAAAYTOOO said:

Tonite was Mexican night and I can recommend the pulled pork burrito (which was actually a chimichanga, IMO).  I couldn’t eat it all but it was really good.  We were in and out of there in under 45 minutes.  Since we were done so early, we made it to the casino before the rest of the reprobates.  Played for a couple of hours.  Lost $155 (which for me, is nothing !).

Dan had the flan for dessert and I had the layered coconut pie, which again, was fairly tasteless.

Yes that is not an enchilada lol, I was like it's a burrito but I can see chimichanga as well. It's probably the only thing I actually loved on the new menus beside the warm cookie and yes most desserts are tasteless.

[WAAAYTOOO]

Just to finish this off….the last night (night 5) was the farewell menu.  There was literally nothing on the entire menu that interested me.  I decided (reluctantly), to go with the roasted turkey.  When it arrived I was suddenly reminded of what drove us from the MDR in the first place….the completely inedible turkey dinner on Liberty, years ago.  This was just as bad.

There was a shining victory hiding in our final [crap] meal on GR.  The farewell dinner advertises braised lamb, so Dan decided to try that, believing that he would be getting lamb chops.  To our amazement, it was his beloved lamb shank !  He was so happy and I was thrilled for him, particularly in contrast to my awful choice.  It’s great to know that the lamb shank didn’t disappear - it just transitioned and now identifies as braised lamb !

[FireFishII]

Thank you, @WAAAYTOOO.  I was surprise to find your blog here.  Silly me was looking for a live blog in the live blog section.  LOL!  

One question: Did you ever smelled the sewage?  I am thinking of taking the Grandeur of the Seas next year when it leaves out of Boston. 

[WAAAYTOOO]

Sorry if I confused you with the "live" blog.  I just kinda write wherever I find a spot....

No, I never smelled the sewage smell on this last sailing but I have smelled it before.  I think moving from the bowels of the ship (deck 4) up to deck 8 probably helped.  This was also a shortish cruise (only 5 days) and I think that helps, too.  I have a 10 night cruise coming up on Vision and I'm a bit worried about that one.  I guess we'll find out soon enough....