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Grandeur of the Weed??? A short review


Bazza

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Hi all.

Just back after 2 great weeks on Grandeur of the Seas (5 day and 9 day B2B) pus a couple of days in Miami. First time cruised from there but coming back next year for 2 weeks on Oasis!

We went on Lady G last year and knew what to expect and we were just as happy this time around.

As usual most of the staff were excellent as well as the food and activities (if you wanted them). We really enjoyed Key West, St Thomas & Labadee (twice), but unfortunately St Croix was a very rainy day so not much fun. Excuse to go back I guess?!

St Maarten was nice BUT with 6 ships (including Anthem & Symphony) docked there were over 30,000 people 'visiting' - apparently was a record high so the beach got rather chaotic! Dom Rep we only got off to go to a pharmacy but must say I was impressed with Taino Bay.

It was the first time we have not had a balcony (ocean view on deck 2) and we were very happy with the room considering the difference in cost - and our steward (Wayan if that is spelt correctly) was fantastic. For some reason the Royal Up option didn't work for me as it did not recognise either booking number in the month or so leading up and had no joy getting a reason why. But at the end of the day the room was more than acceptable.

Must say I was surprised with the number of children on board considering schools were back - I was expecting (hoping!) for not many but I guess people are taking kids out of school for either lower rates and/or because covid saw many previous bookings moved/changed/cancelled?  One passenger said there is also 'home-schooling' which could be another reason? Whilst speaking to people from Symphony they said there were 'hundreds' on theirs and I guess much more to do with kids on there than Grandeur?!

My only 'complaint/moan' was the amount of weed that seemed to be smoked on the 5 day cruise! I understand it is legal in some states, but I would have thought it was not really acceptable on a cruise ship?! There were a number of occasions where you could smell it, usually coming from the raised seating/sunbathing area on the front of the ship above Windjammer, and also appeared to be coming up from balconies below. Is this 'normal' on short trips out of Miami  - or was it just bad luck to be in the wrong place at the wrong time more than once?! 

Overall a great trip made all the better (and easier) with the tips/advice/reviews etc from people on here.

Explorer in September will take us to Diamond so looking forward to next January and the 'free' drinks!

Happy cruising in 2023 all. 

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13 minutes ago, Keanoknick said:

I would have to say that is not normal, RC does not allow weed on ships,  it would have to have been snuck on. 

I've heard penalties for being caught can range from confiscation, to being kicked off the ship.

Strange thing is there were sniffer dogs when we were getting off but nothing when we got on - just usual cases taken from us and carry on  put through the x-ray machines. 

Security were informed a few times so maybe people were 'caught'?

It is not an easy smell to hide!!  

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15 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

I'm currently on Grandeur and yes the weed smell is ridiculous. It was the worse during our port stops,  especially Key West.

Yes - Key West was rather pungent - I assume it is legal in Florida??

I feel for you but at least I did not imagine it!

Enjoy the rest of the trip. 

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I'm from a weed legal state, so everywhere I go, there's an excellent chance of catching some weed aroma.  Even driving down the freeway or stopped at an intersection we smell it.  But I have never smelled it on a ship.  This surprises me. 

Just like the folks that say nobody's gonna tell them what to wear in the dining room, nobody's gonna tell them they can't smoke their weed.

It really doesn't matter to me, but it seems to me they're taking a real chance.  Seems not long ago, there was a young lady basketball player incarcerated in Russia, when nobody was gonna tell her what to do either.🤔 

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Also noticed this on our recent 4 night/3 night back to back on Freedom.  Specifically the three night weekend cruise.  Consumption and possession is legal in Canada but my issue is more with people smoking on their balconies and having to smell it.  I wish these activities could be moved to an area that did not impact others.  If you wish to smoke cigarettes, weed, or scream at the top of your lungs a room located at an isolated location at the far end of the ship would suffice.  Those who wish to partake would have a spot and those that do not would not have to be impacted.  

 

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Lots if people smoke on their balcony. This is not in line with the rules of the cruise lines. The half area of the casino and the decks designated for smokong are the only place people should smoke. I know my balcony wasn't located near the smoking side but every day smoke would come through if we had the door open. I watched people light up, weed, while I was on Labadee. I don't know how they got it on.

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Weed isn’t allowed on ships and it’s not because cruise lines are coming up with these rules arbitrarily. 
 

what people don’t understand is the countries you visit don’t allow it and these people can go to jail over it. Doesn’t matter you’re a tourist or it’s legal where you live. 

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2 hours ago, Bazza said:

 One passenger said there is also 'home-schooling' which could be another reason? Whilst speaking to people from Symphony they said there were 'hundreds' on theirs and I guess much more to do with kids on there than Grandeur?!

 

I'm glad you had a good trip despite the smell. I can't speak to that bit, but we have always homeschooled our kids. I schedule our school year around our vacations, and we always sail when public school is in session. There are always enough kids onboard for mine to find new friends, but the kids always say they seem to be the only homeschoolers onboard. 

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Currently on enchantment (8 day) and we JUST sailed away and already the weed is ridiculous. There was a guy walking around on the pool deck openly smoking it without a crewmember in sight to do anything about it. Then, just walking through the halls and using the elevators, the smell is everywhere. I mean everywhere.

 

I ran into this issue quite a bit on Odyssey and also on Allure. I thought at the time it was an annoyance that would clear up eventually. Today I find myself thinking that maybe dealing with the smell of pot everywhere on a cruise ship is just the new normal and it will never go away. There is no drug sniffing dog making sure you don't bring it on the ship and that seems to be the only way to keep it off. I have also seen people smoking pot in the smoking areas and the crew does not address it at all. Balcony weed is rampant, as well.

 

seriously starting to feel like if the smell of pot bothers me I shouldn't be cruising because it's gonna be here.

 

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Whatever happened to all the anti smoking campaigns that have been going on for years????????

It's OK though if it's weed?

People cried and moaned about the guy in the next balcony smoking that FILTHY/STINKY/FIRE HAZZARD cigarette, and calling security.

Funny how it's just part of cruising without the histeria now. Double standard anyone ???????? No, I am not a cigarette smoker.

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14 hours ago, Bazza said:

Strange thing is there were sniffer dogs when we were getting off but nothing when we got on - just usual cases taken from us and carry on  put through the x-ray machines. 

Security were informed a few times so maybe people were 'caught'?

It is not an easy smell to hide!!  

I'm a nurse at an intercity hospital in Cleveland, OH.  Weed is not legal in our state.  We just got 3 new police dogs at our hospital.  The officers told us the dogs sniff all drugs except for marijuana.  They said the reason was,  "it might be legal someday and they don't want to retrain them.  Besides, do you really need a dog to smell it?  We can smell it as humans, a mile away!".

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1 hour ago, L454S said:

Whatever happened to all the anti smoking campaigns that have been going on for years????????

It's OK though if it's weed?

People cried and moaned about the guy in the next balcony smoking that FILTHY/STINKY/FIRE HAZZARD cigarette, and calling security.

Funny how it's just part of cruising without the histeria now. Double standard anyone ???????? No, I am not a cigarette smoker.

This thread is literally about people complaining about weed smoking.  I don't see your double standard.  I've never seen anyone, anywhere, ever say that the exception to anti-smoking campaigns is weed.  I don't see what you're seeing.

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Just to add another thought while this was also prevalent on our Serenade sailing out of Tampa, the odor of it seems to be everywhere not just cruise ships. We smell it in the park, at the beach when we leave our neighborhood on a long walk. Last week it was prevalent at the outdoor mall. I am very sensitive to even perfume/cologne (really bad, especially if someone takes a bath in it)  and boy that is on cruise ships also. I do my best to keep moving but have learned to deal with it. So I guess my input here is the weed smells are really just an extension of what is going on landside, the cruise ships can really only do so much. They can advise/ask passengers to forego it , but let's face it they can't even mitigate the chair hogs....this is why I never even mentioned it, I figured it was just something that is now part of life. 

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3 hours ago, Xaa said:

This thread is literally about people complaining about weed smoking.  I don't see your double standard.  I've never seen anyone, anywhere, ever say that the exception to anti-smoking campaigns is weed.  I don't see what you're seeing.

People on this thread are barely breaking the surface.......Evidently you haven't been around here and other forums long enough to remember and have suffered through the never ending threads about those TERRIBLE/HORRIBLE/UNCARING/SELFISH....................................you get the point. All the way to "They ruined my cruise", "I will never sail again around such people", I will never go into a casino again"

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I'm currently on Harmony.  I haven't smelt it from my balcony but people are smoking in the smoking area.  When the ship sounded the horn when we left FL there was a huge wave of weed smell.  Like when the lights go out at the start of a concert.  I don't have a problem with it and nobody should as long as it's in a designated smoking area.    

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On all my cruises, I have very rarely smelled it anywhere onboard. The vast majority of my trips were out of Bayonne, NJ. I can only recall once smelling it while on my balcony…and it was faint, like not nearby. Nor have I ever entered my room on embarkation day and smelled any cigarette or weed residue.

I would think the main issue is the smoking (anything) on the balcony. The primary safety concern onboard a ship is fire. Smoking anything…or having any open flame in a cabin or on a balcony should be a top enforcement priority for the crew. There should be a rapid and consistent security response to any such incident, and the cruise line should do more to publicize the penalties for violating this rule. They should not wait until a careless user causes a major problem, and then publicize how ‘safety of our guests and crew are our top priority’ and how they will take more substantial actions to ‘prevent this from happening again’.

Just my opinion.

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2 hours ago, L454S said:

People on this thread are barely breaking the surface.......Evidently you haven't been around here and other forums long enough to remember and have suffered through the never ending threads about those TERRIBLE/HORRIBLE/UNCARING/SELFISH....................................you get the point. All the way to "They ruined my cruise", "I will never sail again around such people", I will never go into a casino again"

Gotcha, you don't feel they were harsh enough in the complaints about the weed based on past experience of cigarette smokers being trashed.  Smoking is one of those things that makes people passionate, that's for sure.  I'm guessing if there was a weed smoking section in the casino, the complaints would be more pronounced as the volume of smoke also more pronounced.

I don't smoke either, but live and let live I say.  If an environment is unpleasant for me, I go someplace else.

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13 minutes ago, Xaa said:

Gotcha, you don't feel they were harsh enough in the complaints about the weed based on past experience of cigarette smokers being trashed.  Smoking is one of those things that makes people passionate, that's for sure.  I'm guessing if there was a weed smoking section in the casino, the complaints would be more pronounced as the volume of smoke also more pronounced.

I don't smoke either, but live and let live I say.  If an environment is unpleasant for me, I go someplace else.

Agree completely........perfectly put.

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5 hours ago, Xaa said:

Gotcha, you don't feel they were harsh enough in the complaints about the weed based on past experience of cigarette smokers being trashed.  Smoking is one of those things that makes people passionate, that's for sure.  I'm guessing if there was a weed smoking section in the casino, the complaints would be more pronounced as the volume of smoke also more pronounced.

I don't smoke either, but live and let live I say.  If an environment is unpleasant for me, I go someplace else.

Except you shouldn't have to "go somewhere else". You have the right to not have to smell something, or not put up with something that is encroaching on those rights. Weed is banned, make the ship enforce their rules.

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18 minutes ago, nferr said:

Last month on Anthem people were smoking weed on the balcony next to mine. I was kinda surprised but it wasn't a huge deal to me. I'm sure opinions vary but I don't mind the smell of weed while I find the smell of cigarettes to be kind of vile. It seems the cigarette smell just sticks on your clothes.

I don't mind the smell of scented candles either, but Im still not allowed to light on my balcony ....😏

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33 minutes ago, L454S said:

Isn't smoking still smoking? What about a pipe or a cigar? What about vaping?

Some people just seem to be happy to excuse weed....................

By the way.....weed stinks too!

It's the volume.  People think if cigarette smoke in the ways they've encountered it.  Smoke filled bars and casinos, within enclosed cars, having smoke inadvertently or purposely blown in their face.  The accumulation, over time and the volume of each exposure is what is driving that.

People are smelling weed, but it has traditionally been clandestine in its use.  Just wafting through the air for that "Hey, I smell weed..." feeling.  I think if anyone entered a bingo hall in the 70's that replaced the clouds of cigarette smoke with weed smoke, their feelings would be more passionate about weed smoke.  

Vaping is a different story, those clouds are not smoke but vapor.  Completely different thing.  Emotionally when I see one, I get the feelings I have about cigarette smoke, but it's not close to the same.

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I don't smoke cigarettes but I do miss the Connoisseur  Club on board where you could smoke a cigar in a nice lounge and have a drink. Now you are regulated to a small area on deck or the casino. Old world gentlemanly gatherings just don't exist anymore.

When I was young, I smoked weed, then I grew up.

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