PRGarrett Posted June 19, 2018 Report Share Posted June 19, 2018 My wife and I just returned from a kid free cruise on Grandeur for our 10th anniversary and I wanted to share some thoughts. This was a New England/Canada itinerary. I had previously been on Adventure way back in 2004, this was my wife's first cruise. I'm not much of a poster on these boards, but I have been reading/lurking for a while now to get all of the current info (thanks!). My first impression of the ship was how small it was. I know Adventure isn't huge, but the Grandeur was surprisingly small. We didn't feel cramped or crowded though - except maybe in the Windjammer at lunch. You can see that the ship is on the older side, but mostly just from the exterior. The public spaces inside looked well-kept and clean. Our balcony cabin felt dated - some vent covers were broken, the sliding door was barely hanging on. We did MDR every night for dinner with no issues. Our head waiter was amazing. My wife is vegan, so we were a little worried about finding food she could eat and actually enjoy, but the head waiter took care of everything. There was a small vegan menu, but by about the third dinner she just told him to pick everything since he was doing such a good job. We spent a lot of time with our drink packages in the Schooner Bar - or should I say the highway between the centrum and the south pacific lounge. Every night there was a steady stream of people coming and going from karaoke or art auctions etc. It seemed to bother the performers at times. The crew was great - as many have mentioned previously on the boards. There were hugs and handshakes all around on the last night. The ports were great. We had never been up to New England before. It was a little chilly in a couple spots - St John especially, and there was one night of pretty rough seas going into Halifax. They brought out the bags after dinner. I felt there was a lot more movement on this ship compared to the Adventure, but the north Atlantic is not the same as the southern Caribbean so probably not a fair comparison. Overall, we had a great trip. I think I've convinced my wife to cruise again, hopefully it won't take 10 more years. Our biggest drawback was the smoking in the casino. It was terrible. There was no where to go where you didn't smell the smoke. Other than that, I don't think this ship would be the best for kids. There weren't many on board, and besides the Adventure Ocean, there wasn't much for them to do. I don't think the pool was even open on a couple days when it was in the upper 50's. Anyway, thanks for all the tips and advice - this website was a huge help with planning. Happy cruising! Matt, twangster, hayley_bopp and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted June 19, 2018 Report Share Posted June 19, 2018 Great review, thanks for posting. I agree that researching any potential cruise booking is the key to having expectations met. Adventure is nearly twice the size of Grandeur and that extra space does allow more kid friendly activities. Agree about smoking in the casino. Celebrity has done away with it and I really wish Royal would as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLMoran Posted June 19, 2018 Report Share Posted June 19, 2018 Thanks for the review! Your comments about kid-friendliness (or lack thereof) were especially helpful since it cemented for me that any cruise in 2020 that involves my kids will have to exclude Grandeur and focus more on either Anthem or Adventure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted June 19, 2018 Report Share Posted June 19, 2018 16 minutes ago, JLMoran said: Thanks for the review! Your comments about kid-friendliness (or lack thereof) were especially helpful since it cemented for me that any cruise in 2020 that involves my kids will have to exclude Grandeur and focus more on either Anthem or Adventure. Ummm.....isn't that what I've been trying to tell you Mr. Oasis Denier! mom2mybugs, coneyraven and JLMoran 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted June 19, 2018 Report Share Posted June 19, 2018 50 minutes ago, JLMoran said: Thanks for the review! Your comments about kid-friendliness (or lack thereof) were especially helpful since it cemented for me that any cruise in 2020 that involves my kids will have to exclude Grandeur and focus more on either Anthem or Adventure. Having just experienced Adventure Ocean on Rhapsody, I think the Adventure ocean experience is relative. At its core, it's the same programming across the fleet and my kids had fun. The difference is if you've been on a larger/newer ship, you see how much more space and activities there are for kids and it stands out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLMoran Posted June 19, 2018 Report Share Posted June 19, 2018 4 minutes ago, Matt said: Having just experienced Adventure Ocean on Rhapsody, I think the Adventure ocean experience is relative. At its core, it's the same programming across the fleet and my kids had fun. The difference is if you've been on a larger/newer ship, you see how much more space and activities there are for kids and it stands out. My one daughter will be too old for AO by the time they take another cruise, and the other will be at least 16 and close to the end of any teen activity participation, so AO really won't be a factor. It's more the selection of other on-board activities, whether they do them on their own or with a group of peers, and which the OP indicated there just wasn't much of. Before you can chime in about all the Oasis offerings, @Lovetocruise2002 () -- I'm figuring our next couple of cruises will have to sail out of Cape Liberty (or Baltimore if just the wife and I go) so that there's no airfare or hotel expenses and it's more budget-friendly overall. Limits the itinerary options, I know, but there are some nice 9-12 night options if we're willing to take the younger one out of high school for a week and the older one's college schedule isn't an issue. Lovetocruise2002 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted June 19, 2018 Report Share Posted June 19, 2018 5 minutes ago, JLMoran said: I'm figuring our next couple of cruises will have to sail out of Cape Liberty (or Baltimore if just the wife and I go) so that there's no airfare or hotel expenses and it's more budget-friendly overall. I hear you big time. Airfare for 4 is a killer! That is why Europe itineraries are out for us. I'm just thankful that I live close enough to DTW that I can fly domestic instead of international out of Canada. We collect points on our credit card and those points can be used for hotel stays. Most times when we cruise, our hotel stay is covered. Not sure if that helps you.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRGarrett Posted June 19, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2018 We didn't really pay attention to the content of the Adventure Ocean since the kids weren't there, but from what we saw on the TV I think they would have enjoyed it. They are 4, 6, and 8 though. I don't know what there would be for older kids or teens besides the rock wall and the small arcade. There just isn't much space for anything else. There were only a couple dozen kids on board at most. One other thing -not Grandeur specific- that I thought would be helpful was to have an app with all the cruise compass info available on it. There were several times we were trying to figure out what to do and didn't have the paper copy with us. There are touch screens by the elevators but out by the pool or sitting at a bar it would have been a nice feature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLMoran Posted June 19, 2018 Report Share Posted June 19, 2018 Just now, Lovetocruise2002 said: We collect points on our credit card and those points can be used for hotel stays. Most times when we cruise, our hotel stay is covered. Not sure if that helps you.... Not really, our two main cards are a UPromise card that we've been using for years to save up money for college books and other small edu expenses, and then my Amazon Rewards card that was really useful before this last cruise for getting the various things we needed in preparation, and generally helps with keeping the . Probably once the kids are both out of college, we'll switch over to a Chase Sapphire card or a no-fee hotel / airline card so we can start offsetting those expenses a little bit. Apologies to the OP for (as usual when @Lovetocruise2002 and I get going) taking this thread completely off-topic! Lovetocruise2002 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted June 19, 2018 Report Share Posted June 19, 2018 Just now, JLMoran said: Apologies to the OP for (as usual when @Lovetocruise2002 and I get going) taking this thread completely off-topic! Yes, sincere apologies @PRGarrett. Back to Lady G.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRGarrett Posted June 19, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2018 2 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: Yes, sincere apologies @PRGarrett. Back to Lady G.... LOL, no worries guys Lovetocruise2002 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted June 19, 2018 Report Share Posted June 19, 2018 7 minutes ago, JLMoran said: Apologies to the OP for (as usual when @Lovetocruise2002 and I get going) taking this thread completely off-topic! Just so we're clear, we're blaming @Lovetocruise2002 for this tangent? Got it. JLMoran, Lovetocruise2002 and coneyraven 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted June 19, 2018 Report Share Posted June 19, 2018 8 minutes ago, Matt said: Just so we're clear, we're blaming @Lovetocruise2002 for this tangent? Got it. It's always the stubborn Canadian's fault. JLMoran, coneyraven, Matt and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted June 19, 2018 Report Share Posted June 19, 2018 4 minutes ago, twangster said: It's always the stubborn Canadian's fault. WAAAYTOOO, JLMoran, craig403 and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweety Posted June 19, 2018 Report Share Posted June 19, 2018 Lady G is one of my favorite ships. I will be on her June 21. I have sailed many times in her. Since I will be on vacation for the next 2 months, I need the R&R Lady G gives me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2mybugs Posted June 20, 2018 Report Share Posted June 20, 2018 20 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: Ummm.....isn't that what I've been trying to tell you Mr. Oasis Denier! Sabrina...you will get us all on an oasis class yet! Jane Lovetocruise2002 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweety Posted June 20, 2018 Report Share Posted June 20, 2018 2 minutes ago, mom2mybugs said: Sabrina...you will get us all on an oasis class yet! Jane I love Allure and Anthem. Lady G is one of my favorite. mom2mybugs 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fonemanbob Posted June 20, 2018 Report Share Posted June 20, 2018 Going on Anthem in 2019 to Canada and New England. 3rd time on her. Wife likes the smaller class ships while I prefer the bigger class of ships as you have so much more to do on them. Next cruise agents and our travel agent are starting to succeed in convincing the Mrs. that going bigger is sometimes better. Itinerary is what it is all about. The ship size is merely secondary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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