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Grandeur of the Seas from Baltimore, Maryland


JaeBoogie

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Hi everyone,

Im trying to book for a cruise in January. As I'm booking there are 2 fares, one is where i can pick the room the other fare is where they pick the room for us.

HAs anyone picked the option where they pick the room? We are first time cruisers, and just not sure what to do.

Thanks!

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The Guarantee stateroom choice lets you save a little money, and in return, RC assigns a room for you.  The trade off is it might not be the exact location you want.  Then again, you're new cruisers, so you may not have a preference.

It's also worth noting that technically, a guarantee room means they will get you a room of that category or higher.  It rarely happens, but there is a chance you could be upgraded to a higher level.  

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I did a guarantee cabin on Grandeur in August.  Worked out fine.  I have 3 active bookings on other ships that are guarantee, but it doesn't matter to me where on the ship my cabin is.    You can often save money with guarantee fares and who doesn't like to save money but you could end up with a cabin because no one else wanted it or you could luck out and get a great cabin in a perfect location.

Some people are affected by motion more than others.  They prefer low midship cabins.  Some people like cabins close to stairs and elevators for convenience.   Sometimes people travel in groups and they want their cabins to be close to each other.

Grandeur is nice ship, a good size with great crew and food.  It's not the newest ship in the fleet so it doesn't have the latest thing like ice skatings shows, zip lines, bumper cars, etc. but I liked it and would have no issues sailing on her again.  I'm keeping an eye on winter sailings on Grandeur myself.  In my signature below is a link to some Grandeur photos from a Bermuda & Bahamas cruise.  

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16 minutes ago, twangster said:

I did a guarantee cabin on Grandeur in August.  Worked out fine.  I have 3 active bookings on other ships that are guarantee, but it doesn't matter to me where on the ship my cabin is.    You can often save money with guarantee fares and who doesn't like to save money but you could end up with a cabin because no one else wanted it or you could luck out and get a great cabin in a perfect location.

Some people are affected by motion more than others.  They prefer low midship cabins.  Some people like cabins close to stairs and elevators for convenience.   Sometimes people travel in groups and they want their cabins to be close to each other.

Grandeur is nice ship, a good size with great crew and food.  It's not the newest ship in the fleet so it doesn't have the latest thing like ice skatings shows, zip lines, bumper cars, etc. but I liked it and would have no issues sailing on her again.  I'm keeping an eye on winter sailings on Grandeur myself.  In my signature below is a link to some Grandeur photos from a Bermuda & Bahamas cruise.  

Those are awesome pictures! What camera are you using?

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I have done this on quite a few with no issues. Sometimes you end up with the same type room as the category and other times you may get upgraded. There is certainly no risk..worst case you don't get the area/section of the ship that you hoped for..if that's even an issue.

 

Enjoy the savings and see what you end up getting!

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4 minutes ago, twangster said:

Thanks!  Most are with a Nikon D750.  Some are from my iPhone.   The best camera is the one you have with you :1_grinning:

Agree. I've been wanting a d7200 for a while now. Just never seems the right time to buy it.  My dad has a d610 and I love it. I just have a canon g11 but wanting to get a dslr.

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1 hour ago, twangster said:

Grandeur is nice ship, a good size with great crew and food.  It's not the newest ship in the fleet so it doesn't have the latest thing like ice skatings shows, zip lines, bumper cars, etc. but I liked it and would have no issues sailing on her again.  I'm keeping an eye on winter sailings on Grandeur myself.  In my signature below is a link to some Grandeur photos from a Bermuda & Bahamas cruise.  

HI @twangster, I'm glad you said this, I emailed you but maybe you didn't get it. I saw that you were on Grandeur. It sounds like a lovely ship and something my husband and I would enjoy. We are booked in May to Bermuda. I like small! LOL Will check out your photos too!  

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To add on to the OP's question -- If you do book a guarantee room, how quickly does Royal actually let you know what you got? I think I've read some stray posts here and there saying that people booked Guarantee rooms and got their assignment as fast as that week or maybe even the next day, but what's considered "normal"? My impression with this room class was always that it's saved until the ship has had enough regular bookings to fill the balance, and then you get your room assignment; that sounded kind of risky to me (like, you could inside cabin right under the dance hall), but it sounds like they don't really wait all that long and you could still get a room in a fairly good location.

Does it make more of a difference with the room class? More risk with an inside cabin, much lower with a suite guarantee (just because the Jr Suites are [nearly] all midship and at least on a mid-level deck away from noise / obstructions)?

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55 minutes ago, JLMoran said:

To add on to the OP's question -- If you do book a guarantee room, how quickly does Royal actually let you know what you got? I think I've read some stray posts here and there saying that people booked Guarantee rooms and got their assignment as fast as that week or maybe even the next day, but what's considered "normal"? My impression with this room class was always that it's saved until the ship has had enough regular bookings to fill the balance, and then you get your room assignment; that sounded kind of risky to me (like, you could inside cabin right under the dance hall), but it sounds like they don't really wait all that long and you could still get a room in a fairly good location.

Does it make more of a difference with the room class? More risk with an inside cabin, much lower with a suite guarantee (just because the Jr Suites are [nearly] all midship and at least on a mid-level deck away from noise / obstructions)?

There's still some risks with the Suite Guarantee....You could be the deck right under the pool deck (some people don't like that with the sound of deck chairs etc.) or you might end up near Adventure Ocean :2_grimacing: That's more risk than I can handle lol.  In all seriousness though...I think it does make a difference and a suite guarantee does come with a little less risk.

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1 hour ago, Sabrinaklai said:

I think it does make a difference and a suite guarantee does come with a little less risk.

I concur, simply because they tend not to place suites in bad locations.  Some suites just might be less desirable than others.

I did a suite guarantee on a Celebrity ship, was assigned an S1 Skyclass Suite but was able to move to 1 of 2 of the best Skyclass Suites in the Millennium class of ships.   Awesome!

Having said that on Grandeur I booked an inside guarantee at a great rate and was assigned an awesome deck 2 inside cabin.  Perfect cabin.  No complaints, except for the shower curtain but I learned how to deal with that in short order.

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2 hours ago, JLMoran said:

To add on to the OP's question -- If you do book a guarantee room, how quickly does Royal actually let you know what you got?

I have 3 active guarantee bookings.  Two were assigned cabins relatively quickly (days).  One is 25 days away and no assigned cabin.  I am taking that as a good sign that maybe they are selling a lot of this cabin type and maybe I'll score an upgrade.  At least that is what I keep telling myself :1_grinning:

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Congrats!  Enjoy your cruise!!!

Fortunately, @Matt who runs this site has some awesome blogs to address these common questions.

1 hour ago, JaeBoogie said:

...it worth getting a drink package? how much are sodas? we don't drink that much soda that'd be worth it.

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2017/04/13/answers-10-commonly-asked-royal-caribbean-drink-package-questions

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@JaeBoogie, we did guarantee rooms twice on RC.  Our first RC cruise was a guarantee Balcony, and we wound up with a handicap accessible balcony.  Basically, a bigger bathroom.  The cabin may have been bigger than other balconies, but it was out first RC cruise (and only our second cruise ever) so I had nothing to compare it to.

Our second was guarantee was on Enchantment, and we wound up with a room directly above the speakers mounted to the ceiling in the theatre.  On the first and I think second to last nights the room literally vibrated from all the noise until past 11pm.  Most time it wouldn't have been an issue but we had our 5 and 3 year olds with us, and it kept them up too late.

So basically it's the luck of the draw.  Now that the kids are older I may try a guarantee again.  Maybe.

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59 minutes ago, JaeBoogie said:

THANKS EVERYONE!!

Im looking to buy a dining package as well. But when i look for 3 night dining packages, i can't seem to pick which resturtant i want to eat at, how does that work?

Also do you get to pick one item from each course, 1 appetizer, 1 entree, 1 dessert? 

What does everyone use in case of sea sickness?

A lot of dining package questions can be answered in this blog:

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2016/01/28/spotlight-royal-caribbean-dining-packages

or this podcast

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/podcast/episode-196-specialty-dining-packages

In terms of motion sickness there are many different solutions and some work good for one person while a different solution works better for someone else. 

Some people swear by sea bands.  These are worn like a watch or bracelet and are not based on drugs but use acupressure which is appealing to some.  There are several herbal solutions that work for some such as ginger root while green apple works for some.  When it comes to drugs there are some that are fast acting, some that cause drowsiness and some that are less drowsy.  Bonine and Dramamine are two popular choices and are often available in generic versions at popular retail stores.  Bonine is less drowsy while dramamine can cause more drowsiness.  Each of these have considerations you should research such drinking alcohol when taking them which on vacation could be an important factor in deciding which is best for you.  You should talk to your doctor about your situation including interaction with any other medication you might be taking.

I'm not typically sensitive to motion sickness yet I bring medication with me.  The only time it really got to me was on a small cargo ship converted to carry passengers in the early 80's.  It was a small ship, 1/10 the size of Grandeur and in the North Atlantic off the coast of Greenland in very large seas it was quite an experience.  Years later after my experience in the North Atlantic I find knowing I have something with me, ready and available in my cabin helps to reduce worrying about it because I know I am prepared,  just in case.  I haven't used it since and every few years I have to toss out expired medication and purchase fresh ones but that is a small price to pay knowing I am prepared.  I have sea bands somewhere.  I saw them on sale once and brought them for family in case they turned out be sensitive.  Best to be prepared. 

The ship store will likely have something but unlikely to be the cheapest place to acquire it or the store might be closed when you need it.    In cases of very large seas sometimes a ship will make something available at guest services but that doesn't happen too often.

 

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My daughter, who is prone to motion sickness, wore a sea band at the start of last cruise.  

A few days in she turned to us, her parents, and said, "this doesn't really work, it's all in my head, right?"

We looked at each other and then looked back to her and shrugged.  

She took it off and was fine the whole cruise.

So, shrug, if it works for you, GREAT!

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We were on Grandeur through Hurricane Jose going to Bermuda & back ..... I'm not going to sugar coat it, it was rough ..... There were those that got sick.

I, personally, was fine,.  My wife was smart enough to "plan ahead just in case" ---- Knowing the forecast and watching what the hurricane was doing, she ordered almost everything under the sun from Amazon, "just in case" ---- That's what I call proper planning......she had the greatest results with the patch (although they did make her drowsy in the evening) ---- Other than that, she was a Rock Star and we had a fantastic time.

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11 hours ago, JaeBoogie said:

Also do you get to pick one item from each course, 1 appetizer, 1 entree, 1 dessert?  Or is it like AYCE?

In the Main Dining Room all you have to do is ask for more than one of whatever you desire.  I frequently get an app or two, a soup, 1 entree, a curry, and generally I get a dessert forced upon me even though I'm stuffed. :)  

On lobster night some people order multiple tails.  Not that I've done that personally, LOL.

For the specialty dining options like Chops you get a bunch of apps and sides, one steak or main entree, and a dessert (or more than one if you ask for it).  Places like Giovanni's, well, if you leave there hungry you are doing it wrong. :)  They bring out so much food you risk physical harm to your internal organs if you eat it all!

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