Plenty of Grandeur after Oasis: Jan 15th-22nd, 22nd-27th, 2023

[Ampurp85]

1 hour ago, PPPJJ-GCVAB said:

Question about meal choice.  Do they still have a separate Vegan menu or would the only choice on French Night be the butternut squash soup and the risotto dish?

I am beginning to be very fearful of dining choices for our July cruise on Oasis.  There are maybe 4 or 5 of my group of 17 with very strict eating restrictions and these new menus are scaring the heck out of me!  I’ve been hyping up our family cruise and now the dining part (which is such a huge part of the cruise experience) is looking very bleak!  UDP is not an option for this group so I am hopeful there will be a few more choices in the MDR?

No separate menus. This is my major source of consternation. That one sheet menu with four to five items in each section, is a real bummer. I am traveling with a group of nine in Oct. It contains a vegetarian, and several picky eaters. You are now sorely limited, and the process hasn't really sped up the experience.

[Ampurp85]

Day three.... sea day.

I don't have much to do today because the activities are scarce. I have a towel animal demonstration at 11, then trivia throughout the day. The C&A event is at 5pm today which is sort of weird to me. I got breakfast in the WJ yesterday and it made me sick, so I will just do lunch in the MDR today. For the next three days the casino will be open from morning to 1am. However, the slots are tight, and I have heard the table games have been worse. I keep meeting a lot of people from other lines and this is their introduction to Royal. Many are disappointed. I'm not a Royal apologist, and I mostly agree with their assessments. 

There are tons of wonderful things about this ship, and I think they mostly outweigh any bad. Had I not got on right after Oasis and not had a travel companion, it would probably have been a different story. I know I am only feeling the boredom because I am solo and sort of forced to seek companionship. It is the little things like having such a small casino and pool deck. I don't think the ship is that full but it's such a small one, it seems that way. I am going to be like @Neesa and focus on the good things......unless line manners come into play.

Very funny thing is that sometime in the night my bed started to separate, and I sank in the middle. I woke up confused and just moved to one of the twins and stayed there. When I woke, I realized the ship must have really been rocking to separate them. I'm fat but not enough to move these beds. The bathroom door was wide open, which sort of proved my theory. 

[asquared17]

3 hours ago, GregD said:

Pure speculation here...

I bet it's a combination of someplace new/exotic, lots of people with decreased inhibitions, and a decreased likelihood of finding a partner that would have a personal connection to back home so being more brazen with approaches is easier since the likelihood you would never see that person again is so small.

i hear this — but then why do i keep running into the same people on any cruise?! always the ones i want to steer clear of!!

(to clarify, i mean this in a strictly NON swinging capacity!!! just as someone who finds themselves HAUNTED by the same folks over and over )

i felt it was necessary to add that postscript  but no shade to anyone who swings. 

(,,,okay i’m just going to stop here before i get myself more in trouble hahahah)

[GregD]

1 hour ago, asquared17 said:

i hear this — but then why do i keep running into the same people on any cruise?! always the ones i want to steer clear of!!

(to clarify, i mean this in a strictly NON swinging capacity!!! just as someone who finds themselves HAUNTED by the same folks over and over )

i felt it was necessary to add that postscript  but no shade to anyone who swings. 

(,,,okay i’m just going to stop here before i get myself more in trouble hahahah)

I was more thinking that you won't ever see them again at home. 

[Ampurp85]

I did "name that tune movie" trivia, I got almost all the movies right but they wanted exact years and I was off. So I had a high score but the winner was 6 points over me. I thought it was towel folding but it was napkins and I wasn't good at it. My candle looked wrong...improperly so according to my table mates.

I then had a pretty good lunch in the MDR. The menu is scaled down. However the staff are still having issues. I asked for smoked potato soup no chorizo, and got a side of chorizo plus soup with it. I ordered spaghetti bolognese and got a pulled pork sandwich. They eventually got things right and it took 68min so I just barely made my 1:30 show. I'm watching the Woman King in the Palladium theater.

[WAAAYTOOO]

The sewage smell has me very concerned for our 2-5 sailing.  I can recall Grandeur being referred to as “Sewage of the Seas” in the past so I guess I’m not surprised, but I had hoped that they had taken care of it.  I guess not.  

In other news, we received a RoyalUp win for our 2-5 Grandeur sailing (that’s 2-in-a-row for those keeping score). $100 for a move from inside to an Ocean View.  Since there was literally NO room available for “regular” upgrading, I suppose I should be grateful.  But we are moving from an interior on deck 8 to an OV on deck 3.  ‍. I’ve never been on a deck that low.  New experiences, I guess…

Thanks for being the Guinea pig for us, @Ampurp85.  

[Neesa]

Okay, I must chime in here @asquared17. In our little gated community a couple moved in and pineapples started showing up all over their home, outside lights as well as home outdoor adornments, lots of gnomes as well.  They have parties.....we went once as we were invited. Um, we knew nothing about this type of gathering,  but apparently we are "vanilla" I digress. We excused ourselves in short order, to each their own.  They are snow birds thank goodness so the neighborhood is rocking as a few more moved in;  from November until about April. We believe they leave their families and come down here to live their best life for a few months. We are now understanding of the parties and as long as they don't take it onto the front lawn I am like " you do you boo!" But I do think it is similar the anonymity of it makes for a "good" environment I  guess. We all just smile and wave at each other, it's all very cordial, but weird at the same time. We don't get invited anymore, and that's wonderful! 

@Ampurp85 I know exactly what you mean about the "candle" made from napkins. Mine looked like a proper p#n!$ my plan was to take a picture but I was to busy laughing as my daughter was dismantling it dying of embarrassment. I have a pretty loud laugh and I had tears, it was a "candle" to behold...  candle my butt they know it's not a candle. Loving your adventures...

[Neesa]

Yay @WAAAYTOOOcongratulations on the Royal Up "wins" I'm sure you will go with an open mind. When I was upgraded from deck 10 to deck 7 I was concerned as I don't prefer being that low of a deck. I loved it. I kept saying I would never have booked it but I loved the deck, allowing me to use the stairs comfortably the entire sailing. I hope you enjoy it! 

[ellcee]

34 minutes ago, Neesa said:

lots of gnomes as well. 

tell me this doesn't mean anything! 

[Neesa]

16 minutes ago, ellcee said:

tell me this doesn't mean anything! 

It does down here in Florida. Flamingos as well,

[DDaley]

15 minutes ago, Neesa said:

It does down here in Florida. Flamingos as well,

There is a house in my uptight, suburban neighborhood with 4 flamingos on the lawn and I asked my husband if they knew they were broadcasting themselves as swingers! haha 

[ellcee]

44 minutes ago, Neesa said:

It does down here in Florida. Flamingos as well

Oh COME ON! I already stopped buying anything pineapple but I love my garden gnomes. Floridians better leave my peacocks alone. 

[FireFishII]

Up here in NE, schools will run fundraisers with flamingos.  One family will pay to have a huge flock of plastic flamingos set up in someone's yard.  That someone has the option of either paying $$ to have them removed or have them in their yard for 1 week.  I am going to be laughing everything I see those flamingos.  I wonder if anyone up here knows that flamingos represents? 

[Yesiamthere]

I’ll never understand the swinger lifestyle. On my nights out, Old White Woman here, certainly wouldn’t want to spend it having sex.  Seriously, give me a good meal and a good machine.  I get enough at home, but maybe it’s being with a new person which is the excitement…too much work. I would scare the man when my bra came off, and my boobs drooped sideways. 
 

just saying. 

[asquared17]

my god this thread has taken a turn 

i vaguely knew of the lure of pineapples @Neesabut the eye witness account brings it to another level. i am with you on all of it hahaha

YES @WAAAYTOOOfor the RU win!! your streak continues!

i hope that coconut cake was good  @Ampurp85- it looked delicious. 

…also you all have ruined gnomes for me.  

is this why they removed them from central park on oasis?! 

[Ampurp85]

The cake was pretty good, it was sugar free.

Congrats @WAAAYTOOO I am 2/2 on Royal ups as well.

Pineapple is my favorite fruit so I'm mad the swingers have taken it. I got asked to join another super vintage couple in the Palladium today. This is mainly why solo cruising might be uncomfortable.

[Ampurp85]

The Woman King was good but sort of depressing as a half black woman to watch. There was a very chatty man in there, searching for booty it seems. A bit of advice, don't sit upstairs in the front row if you are short. The bar blocks your field of vision. I stuck by my decision as I didn't want to move but I had to crouch down. I then met my casino buddy and I was her good luck charm until the top tier event. I'm glad I have control because none of the machines are calling to me. I still got almost 400pt not playing and losing aggressively.

I asked the casino host, just in case, if I could stack money off certificates and she said club Royale over the phone would be able to work something out......but ymmv as it is not always guaranteed.

I then went to the top tier event which was packed. It was held in the Pacifica room, it might be the Pacific but anyway I learned there was 921 C&A members on board. 29 pinnacles and the top cruisers is at 2500 nights. I don't know how full the sailing is but that means most of the cruisers are loyalty members. At least one hundred guest are B2B or longer, some have been on Grandeur since Thanksgiving.

I just want to point out the tomfoolery of Grandeur's casino. You can sit on one side that says no smoking but the machine next to you is smoking. It's not two separate sides but sections next to each other. Then there are giant gaps for the smoke to puff through. Not to mention all the people who come in her just to smoke and will stand by anyone.

Tonight is Mexican night and I'm gonna order half the menu because the portions really threw me off last night and I ended up eating chips for second dinner. I'm normally not a double or heavy eater but no breakfast and small lunches are killing me.

Also Michelle Murlin does the same show, I left after her introduction.

[Ampurp85]

Internet is dragging and won't post pictures.

I forgot. .... they have all the Starlink equipment on board, the new internet should be available by February according to the hotel director.

Also the DL concierge confirmed that diamond members can use the bogo offer. He didn't know when it went into affect but as long as you book day one or two you can basically get one free.

[asquared17]

so glad the BOGO for diamond was confirmed!!

curious to hear how mexican night dinner will be in MDR - i'm still reeling over the six chips you got for the artichoke dip. what the heck was that even about??

[Ampurp85]

Last of day 3...at sea

I had peeked in Michelle Murlin show and then hit deck before dinner. It was a mess in the WJ. I saw line cutter lady and she again just bogarted her way in front of a couple mid-tongs. They were nicer than I. It was Mexican night so a nacho bar was set up. I know this ship is only a third of Oasis class but I don't understand why only half of the WJ is set up.....wait it's cost cutting measures. I just feel the staff is working harder to constantly refill. I didn't eat in the WJ just checked the desserts and got a freestyle refill. The Sprite has constantly been out.

I waited maybe 5min in line for my reservation. The worse part was the couple behind me hacking up a lung and sneezing. She did it for 2 whole minutes before she covered her mouth and got a tissue. Grandeur has a lot of silver and gold metal that acts as mirrors. I was sat at the same table as night one but service was miles better. Only five minutes after I was seated, my order was taken. I ordered: the tortilla soup (it was purely cilantro), the shrimp cocktail( 4 of the tiniest shrimp), the grill corn cakes (think wet tortillas and avo salsa), the pulled pork enchiladas,( spinach wrapped pork barely covered in cheese and sauce (I loved)), the carne asada (2 small pieces of fatty steak in only 2 temps), and the warm chocolate cookie.

Dinner was actually quite tasty I got full and ate no bread. I ate most of the enchilada and half of the carne asada as it was real fatty. I ask just for the cookie and she brought me two. They are my favorite MDR dessert so far. I love me a warm cookie that melts the ice cream. Even my brother said this menu looked good. Lots of people say this is the best menu so far even though most of the offerings aren't Mexican.

After dinner I checked in on the happenings around the ship. Nothing called to me so I decided to get the remainder of my diamond drinks. I will be honest since I drank in the casino, and got a bottle of champagne from NextCruise, I didn't use any vouchers the first two days. I ended up seeing my machine buddy and then went to the casino. She won the hot seat promotion of $150. I thought the value was supposed to increase but she was last winner and guy before her had won $300. She was happy though.

Tomorrow is Labadee.

[ellcee]

13 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

This is mainly why solo cruising might be uncomfortable.

I clearly have resting b face and/or am hideous. No one has ever given me a second glance. Up til writing this I was fine with it. 

[Ampurp85]

1 hour ago, ellcee said:

I clearly have resting b face and/or am hideous. No one has ever given me a second glance. Up til writing this I was fine with it. 

I look younger and super friendly. This is what my casino buddy told me.

[Ampurp85]

Day four....Labadee

The ship was really rocking. I went to bed at 2am and still woke up at 7. Did my usual fight with the internet to answer some work emails. The sewage smells seem to happen at night/wee morning hours.

Given the horrible selection of food at Labadee last time I decided to get a late breakfast around 10 and then get off the ship after. If the ship had a better casino I wouldn't even bother getting off. People leave trash everywhere, I again found food in the bathroom.

The weather seems nice but I'm in shade on deck, walking might be a whole other beast.

 

[Ampurp85]

Day 4 Labadee

So I will admit I was not a fan of Labadee after my first visit last November. I'm even less of a fan now. This is only my experience and it has tainted the whole thing for me, I felt unsafe.

It started with this guy in the elevator,  middle aged basic looking. However he made my hackles stand up in the elevator for some reason. He told me he saw me in Chop's day one and in the casinos, then at the CVS when I got off the hop on and hop off tour. I was uncomfortable but didn't say anything. He said he was also solo and we could go to Labadee together. I always follow my intuition and said no thank you. We got off and he was still walking in step but I went to the woman's bathroom to try to loose him. I waited 10min and when I came out he was getting a drink, so I walked fastly across. I went to the hammocks and he came there. He asked me why I didn't want to hang out, I had easily chatted up that married couple....aka my casino machine buddy. I told him I just wanted to read my book. He sat in the other hammock for almost an hour and when he left I decided to walk around taking photos.

I ended up walking up the rocky path to try to get pictures and he was there. Nobody else was and I started to panic. He just started talking about his cruising and how brave it is for women to cruise alone. He sort of boxed me in and it was too long before someone came up that way and I was able to sort of leave him. It was probably very "innocent " to him but I was super uncomfortable. Thankfully it was time for his excursion and I went back to the ship.

So my issue with Labadee is the trees obscure some of the paths and anyone could do something before you were discovered. I have those issues, which probably why I have an innate need to people watch. Not to be judgemental but the man might have been autistic and not understanding how all of this might make someone uncomfortable. I also know cruises aren't immune to serial killers or sexual predators.

I went back to the ship and did some adult coloring to relax so I could process whether or not I was making a mountain out of a molehill. Even on big ships I run into the same people. On smaller ones it's unavoidable, but now I have to be on alert. A solo, fat woman might be a serial killers dream.

This blog has taken some interesting turns. Let's try to lighten it up. The lady at the table across me got in trouble with her husband for coloring /drawing boobs. She said it was funny, it was.

[Neesa]

I am so sorry you experienced this. I know exactly the location you are speaking of. Kiddo tried to go there to explore, I was like heck no! Not alone as it as as you described. So I got off my butt and went with her. Thankfully we didn't see any creepers but still, I wish for you a relaxing afternoon. I know, at dinner tonight go ahead and recreate the napkin "candle" from the class, see what the waitstaff thinks!!

 

[Ampurp85]

Thanks @Neesa  I felt that area was a bit iffy. I really thought I was overreacting but my brother said no. He probably really was a creeper.

The day is already much better. I watched a lot of people line dance to YMCA, the Electric Slide and some 70s hits. I was chair dancing with the best of them. Then I had some of the delicious chocolate I got in Mexico while I read.

We just started to sail away. The DL is packed.

[Neesa]

To lighten the mood......

 

[Ampurp85]

I have a black fur baby so..... this made me smile.

[She Sails Away]

I am so sorry this happened. You're not making a mountain out of a mole hill. He made a proposition in the elevator and when you said no he needed to drop it and disappear. Spending an hour in a hammock next to you is not letting it go. He was definitely a creeper. It's quite possible he had no intention of doing any physical harm but he most definitely harassed you repeatedly. That's a terrible thing to have to experience. 
 

I'm glad you decided not to let it ruin your vacation but it's completely understandable to be shaken by it. I hope you don't run into him the rest of the cruise.
 

 

 

[She Sails Away]

16 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

I have a black fur baby so..... this made me smile.

Me too! Well...tuxedo.

[AshleyDillo]

11 hours ago, ellcee said:

I clearly have resting b face and/or am hideous. No one has ever given me a second glance. Up til writing this I was fine with it. 

LOL same. When I cruise solo and can go days without talking with other guests.

[Ampurp85]

@AshleyDillo having sailed we me knows strangers just will come up and start talking. It's my resting nice face.

Sadly he came into the Palladium and sat on my row. Waved and smiled like it was normal. I'm thinking of avoiding the casino tonight.

[Ampurp85]

I had a good rest of the day as I was able to read a whole book and start another. I then went to the 7pm Broadway Rhythm and Rhyme show. It was very dated and I didn't stay long because the creeper came. He really has little sense of awareness. Dinner was quick tonight and I was in and out in 45min. That new pineapple cake is delicious.

[She Sails Away]

Is that the sunshine cake?

[Ampurp85]

56 minutes ago, She Sails Away said:

Is that the sunshine cake?

Yes it's small but delicious.

[Xaa]

Sorry for the creeper.  You are right to trust your instincts.  He might just be a harmless guy who has no self awareness, but the reality is they look the same as the truly dangerous.  You can't be the test of which is which.

Always trust your gut.

[FireFishII]

Ditto on what everyone is saying.  Definitely a creeper.  You may want to mention something to a crew member.  Why they may not be able to do anything, they will be watching.  It is a shame that you had to forgo the casino.  Again, mention something to them, they may be able to run interference for you.  

And after all that, you had to go ahead and mention "Pineapple"!!  LOL!!!  

[ellcee]

 

@Ampurp85

You have a smushy faced cat?! I can't love this enough.

[ellcee]

19 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

so I could process whether or not I was making a mountain out of a molehill.

Even if you were your safety is way more important. You're a good person to think maybe it's something else, like not understanding boundaries, but I'm glad you listened to your instincts.

[Ampurp85]

The internet works really well on my phone but horrible on my laptop. I have to fight every morning to get any work done.

I met a nice lady soloing her way to pinnacle with help from the casino and we ended up talking for hours in the DL. It was nine when I went in to make tea and one in the morning when I left. We shared lots of cruising strategies and I told her about this blog.

I did go to the behind the seas entertainment tour but it was monopolized by two pinnacles who really wouldn't let the crew talk. They complained about everything. I'm currently in the Centrum waiting on the towel folding demonstration, then I will have lunch in the MDR.