rccl-grandeur17

Note - this page contains multiple reviews.

Name: Bernie Mayer
Email: berniem22@hotmail.com
Age: 40
Occupation: Mortgage Broker
NumberOfCruises: 3
TravelAgent: No
Ship: RoyalCaribbean-Grandeur
SailingDate: Jan.20/01
Itinerary: Southern Caribbean
Cabin: 3535
FoodDiningRoom: 90
CruiseDirector: 90
CabinComfort: 85
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 90
CabinAmenities: 85
FoodLidoDeck: 90
DiningRoomService: 95
CabinQuietness: 90
FoodMidnightBuffets: 80
CabinSteward: 95
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 90
DeckService: 90
ShoreExcValue: 70
GoodForHoneymoon: 90
CasinoStaff: 85
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 90
LoungeService:
TenderService:
GoodForSeniors: 90
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges:
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 85
EntertShowLounge: 95
OverallPortsofCall: 90
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 90
CruiseActivities:
Casino: 90
AirSeaProgram: 75
MedicalFacilities: 90
ShipCleanliness: 90
EmbarkDisembark: 85
DiscoNightclubs: 90
DeckSpace: 90
Stabilization: 90
ShopsOnBoard: 90
SpaceRatio: 90
OverallCruiseValue: 90
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 20 Feb 2001
Time: 17:55:58
Remote Name: toronto-ppp226903.sympatico.ca
Remote User:

Comments

Hi All,

PRE SHIP I have received lots of letters since my posting so I will try to answer you all in 1 letter. We
booked an air & cruise package from Toronto and we went from Toronto-Newark-San Juan. We didnt
see our luggage until it got to our room. The same thing happened on the return.
San-Juan-Miami-Toronto. There was no waiting checking in for us as we didnt get to the ship until
around 7pm. Boarding started at 2pm. If you can get to San Juan a day earlier you can get to the ship
earlier. You can bring in as much liquor and pop on the ship and you can buy it at the port. Prices
were very reasonable.

SHIP The ship is very nice. 1st time on RCCL & would definitely do it again. We had an inside cabin on
the 3rd floor and the rooms arent all that big but you already know that if you've cruised before.There
was a TV which had CNN World, ESPN World, 2 cartoon stations, TNT, 3 movie stations & a few
stations about the ship.

FOOD Lots & lots & lots. By the way did I say there was a lot of food!!! Most of it was very good as
well. You have to get up early to have breakfast in the dining room so needless to say I never made it
to the dining room for breakfast. We went to the Windjammer buffet which had a huge variety and was
excellent. Tons of hot & cold foods. Lunchtime we always went to the dining room for lunch but the
Windjammer was just as busy. For dinner we requested the late seating (8:30) but they gave us the
early seating (6:00). We were able to switch to late. You have a choice to eat in the dining room or the
Windjammer which is way more casual but we always went to the dining room. The service was
excellent from our waiters. We had a table of ten of really nice people. Lots of choices to eat. You can
have steak every night if you want. If theres anything you dont like the waiters are more than happy to
get you something else or even bring you two of something if you really like it. Our assisstant waiter
always had my regular coke no ice with lemon at my seat within one minute of me sitting down without
even asking for it. By the way, soft drinks and iced tea are complimentary for lunch and dinner ($1.50
at other times even in the casino). In addition to the meals theres a station that serves hot dogs, pizza,
cheeseburgers & french fries throughout the day and theres a snack at 4pm.which includes
sandwiches,cookies, fruit, chile and frozen yogurt. Also there was a midnight buffet for 3 or 4 nights. If
you have the late seating its tough to eat at the midnight buffet. If you were hungry after that, there
was 24 hrs. room service at no extra charge.

SHOWS There are 2 shows that you simply cannot miss if they are there. The entertainment changes
all the time so you never know who you get. DO NOT MISS Wild & Haines who are juggling comedians
who were absolutely hilarious. Also, do not miss Judy Kolba who is a singer/comedienne. I had tears
running down my face. Scott Record is a singer/impressionist who was very good. If you have ever
seen Andre Philip Gagnon or Danny Gans in Las Vegas, you will know what I am talking about. 2
nights they had their own troupe of singers & dancers who were very entertaining and 1 night there
was a comedienne by the name of Janeane something who wasnt very good and she was with this
women who does this puppet thing. The cruise director also ran a Newlywed Game which was very
funny.

PORTS Our ship started in San Juan and went to Aruba, Curacao, St Martin & St Thomas. We got off
at all the ports and always did our own thing. You can take the excursions from the ship at inflated
prices or go on your own. There are cabs & tours when you get off the ship at all of the ports who will
take you around the islands. It was sunny & 85 every day. St Martin had great prices for jewelry. Aruba
was expensive for everything. On our last morning since our flight didnt leave until 4pm we took a 3 hr
tour of San Juan by a local in his small bus when we got off the ship. The ship sells this tour for $20pp
and this guy did it for $10pp and he took us to the airport.

Hope this answers some of your questions. Let me know if there's anything else you'd like to know.

Happy Sailing,

Bernie

Name: David C. Sheaffer
Email: sheaf8173@supernet.com
Age: 45
Occupation: Supervisor, mfg
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: RoyalCaribbean-Grandeur
SailingDate: 17 Feb 01
Itinerary: Southern Carribean
Cabin: 3104
FoodDiningRoom: 100
CruiseDirector: 100
CabinComfort: 100
FoodRoomService: 100
CruiseStaff: 100
CabinAmenities: 95
FoodLidoDeck: 100
DiningRoomService: 100
CabinQuietness: 98
FoodMidnightBuffets: 100
CabinSteward: 100
ShoreExcVariety: 100
FoodVariety: 100
DeckService: 100
ShoreExcValue: 100
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 90
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 100
TenderService:
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 95
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 80
OverallPortsofCall: 100
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 98
CruiseActivities:
Casino: 90
AirSeaProgram: 100
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 100
EmbarkDisembark: 100
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 75
Stabilization: 100
ShopsOnBoard: 85
SpaceRatio: 85
OverallCruiseValue: 97
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 25 Feb 2001
Time: 13:40:31
Remote Name: 27-34.port1.ephrata.supernet.com
Remote User:

Comments

A most pleasureable experince. Service of the highest quality and attentiveness, unobtrusive yet
prompt and curteous at all times, throughout the ship. Highest quality of service experienced in main
dinning room, compared to any of the finest restaurants I've visited throughout Europe and North
America. Food of equal calibre as service, exquisite cusine and wine list. Entertainment in the centrum
area outstanding, as well as in lounges, with only exception being the main show lounge, where
several performances were lacking in ability to grab the audience.Space on deck was very limited as
far as lounge chairs, however overall in ship, including cabin, there was sufficient space and
comfortability. Generally the overall experince was undoubtedly the most pleasureable vacation
experience I've had, and I would repeat book with RCCL any and all future cruise vacations. Thank
you!

Name: Susan Hofer
Email: shofer1019@yahoo.com
Age: 54
Occupation: registered nurse
NumberOfCruises: 4
TravelAgent: No
Ship: RoyalCaribbean-Grandeur
SailingDate: 2/17/01
Itinerary: Southern Caribbean
Cabin: 3572 Cat H
FoodDiningRoom: 85
CruiseDirector: 75
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 90
CabinAmenities: 75
FoodLidoDeck: 65
DiningRoomService: 100
CabinQuietness: 100
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 100
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 80
DeckService: 70
ShoreExcValue: 90
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 100
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 90
LoungeService: 90
TenderService:
GoodForSeniors: 90
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 80
WheelchairAccess: 100
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 80
OverallPortsofCall: 100
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 90
CruiseActivities: 95
Casino: 90
AirSeaProgram: 95
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 60
EmbarkDisembark: 75
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 50
Stabilization: 65
ShopsOnBoard:
SpaceRatio: 80
OverallCruiseValue: 85
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 07 Mar 2001
Time: 13:56:56
Remote Name: uhgatt03.uhc.com
Remote User:

Comments

We were 14 in all on this cruise: my husband & I, my parents and 5 of my cousins and their husbands.
Our ages ranged from 40’s to 70’s. This trip was planned more than a year in advance to
accommodate everyone’s schedule and with an itinerary that pleased everyone. (No small feat!) Royal
Caribbean got the nod due to the Southern Caribbean route that included San Juan, Aruba, Curacao,
St. Maarten, St.Thomas. Nine of the 7 couples had been on a previous cruise.

We took the air/sea program offered by RCI and it worked just fine. We had direct, non-stop flights to
and from Chicago/O’Hare. Landing to a very warm San Juan, (it was 20’s and very windy when we left)
we were met by the RCI rep and escorted to our bus for the 15 min ride to the pier.

Check-in was very easy and this was the first time we have ever had to show our birth certificates &
photo id’s before being issued our ship’s passes. Boarding we also had our pictures taken and you
‘keyed’ in and out every time you left or returned to the ship. They also had x-ray scanners just like the
airport. I was very impressed with the security arrangements. They were not intrusive and the process
was always quick and easy once everyone got the hang of it.

We were directed to our rooms and were pleasantly surprised by the size. They were well laid out and
the bedroom portion was as large as Celebrity’s cabins. I really appreciated the vanity/desk with the
mirrors and lights on both sides and the outlets for your hairdryer and curling iron right in the desktop.
That was very convenient. Lots of storage for all our stuff and we had 2 of those new boxy suitcases
and were able to put them under the bed. My only complaints about the bed were that we never saw a
bedspread (that was the case with all of us on that level) and my mattress was concave. I like to sleep
on my stomach and it was impossible, it was that bad. But again, I never thought to ask them to change
it either

The bathroom however, was a different story. Big enough for 1 (one) person only and the shower was
big enough for a child or a very skinny adult. I’m only 5’ tall and I had trouble finding room to bend
down to wash my feet! Some of our group was quite tall and/or heavy and it was quite a challenge to
reach all parts without flooding the bathroom in the process.

Our cabin steward was Brian from Jamaica and he introduced himself to us right away. He kept the
cabin spiffy the whole time and surprised us w/pillow sculptures every day. Trying not to make too
many comparisons to Celebrity, I was surprised that there was no water pitcher available. There was
bottled water for sale and assorted soft drinks on the counter. I guess we were spoiled by having a
small fridge in our Celebrity cabins. Also the ice bucket wasn’t insulated and ice melted quickly. But we
were hardly in the cabin and so it wasn’t a big deal.

We found my parents cabin easily enough by the big decoration on the door. We had arranged
beforehand to have their room decorated by RCI to celebrate their 56th anniversary. For $28.95, there
was the before mentioned door decoration, streamers & balloons in the room and a small cake with
‘Happy Anniversary’ written on it. Which was quite good, by the way. They were so surprised and very
pleased by it.

We met the rest of our group in the Windjammer Café for lunch. There was another comparison to
Celebrity as the buffet line was very poorly laid out with items all over the place resulting in a lot of
people crossing & re-crossing to find what they wanted. Needless to say, there were several collisions
with spilled drinks. By the end of the cruise, the ramp connecting the 2 buffet areas was sticky enough
that my shoes were making a sucking sound when I walked over it! It made me wonder if they ever
used cleanser when cleaning the floor. We didn’t eat much at that time as we had early seating and it
was going to be @ 5:30 so they could have the lifeboat drill before we sailed.

When we all arrived in the dining room, we were left trying to straighten out our table assignments as
we were scattered at 3 different tables instead of two tables next to each other as requested. This is
where our waiter Jose (Joe-zay) from Portugal stepped in and began a week of exceptional service for
us. He reassured us that when we arrived for dinner the next day, all would be arranged. And it was,
even though it meant changing the table arrangement just for us and re-doing it for the later seating.
We had settled on early seating to accommodate the couple who had made the arrangements, but all
agreed after a few days that later seating would have been better. It was just too rushed to get back
from shore excursions to get ready for dinner without any down time to relax and/or get involved in any
other ship activities.

Jose was a master at making everyone happy. No small task with a group of 14. His helper was Iselein
from Romania who had only been on the ship 3 weeks and needed a little prodding from time to time to
remember items. But she was very sweet and tried very hard. Jose brought out extra appetizers,
(especially the shrimp cocktails) different soups than what was ordered so that everyone could try
them, extra pasta & entrees just to try so that plates were really going up & down the table like a real
family dinner! We all had as many lobsters as we wanted and my cousin’s husband ordered a
hamburger & fries the last night because that’s what he had a taste for.

Mario the headwaiter was more visible and did more for us than any maitre’d I’ve seen on other ships.
On different nights, he made pasta dish which was delicious; he took the shrimp scampi and the
lobsters out of the shells, and made a Bananas Foster for dessert.

The wait staff serenaded us with ‘O Solo Mio’ on Italian night. There was also a Caribbean night and a
French night. My husband tried escargot for the first time and ended up with a double portion. (Again
thanks to Jose.) The bar staff wore pink jackets and made the rounds before dinner for cocktails and
after dinner with ‘shooters’ which were liqueurs in various combinations with a take home glass. I think
2 of my cousins ended up with full sets!

Any ‘complaints’ and I use the term loosely were minimal and were mostly just observations and
comparisons to Celebrity. As a whole, the dining experience was always wonderful, relaxing and a lot of
fun. Only once did one couple opt out for the casual dinner in the Windjammer and that was because
they slept through dinnertime. Or at least, that’s what they tried to tell us.

The ship itself is beautiful, but starting to show some wear and tear. Again, I was surprised at how dirty
some areas became without any visible cleaning for the whole cruise. Many of the pool seat cushions
were soiled from people putting their feet up with shoes on them, (Shame on them.) and the attendants
just turned them over rather than replacing them to be washed. And this was on the first day. The deck
area where people would eat outside the Windjammer Café was often full of debris from sugar packets
and creamers all morning without anyone sweeping it up. One morning, my father sat all morning at a
table that several of us had eaten breakfast on and not one person came to wash it off.

My cousin had a big gripe with the grill arrangement as she walked all the way back to the Solarium
pool to get a hamburger and had to wait 15 min for them to grill it for her. Small potatoes, I agree, but it
was lunchtime and maybe a few should have been ready. The grill served up decent hamburgers, hot
dogs, fries and pizza but it wasn’t convenient and when a whole crowd came back from shore
excursions after 2 PM after the Windjammer had closed, they had a hard time feeding all of them. The
line extended the length of the Solarium. This is also where I noticed a more casual approach to
cleanliness. When picking up some trays off tables, if some food fell to the ground, it was just left there
to be stepped on or kicked aside by assorted passengers and crew. Since I was in that long line, I had
ample time to observe this.

We found the piano bar on Deck 4 in the Centrum to be a perfect gathering spot before dinner to try
the drink of the day. This was a visually appealing and focal point of the ship. Despite a supposedly full
ship (more on that later) we never felt crowded except on pool days. There were many issues, none of
them ours, over the saving of deck chairs. One of my cousins spotted a chair with no one in sight and
sat down and was verbally assaulted by a woman who called her a filthy name. One of the husbands
observed 2 men get into a nasty dispute over the saving of deck chairs and ship’s officers had to
intervene.

I think the large number of families contributed to the crowding. It was February break on the East
Coast and there had to be at least 200 kids. Which brings me to the part about the full ship. My
husband & I had taken a category H guarantee and had hoped for a nice upgrade. On RCI’s web site,
they showed cabins with balconies available up to 1 day before sailing, but alas, it was not to be. But
we were still on the same deck with the rest of the family and it really was quite convenient to
everything by stairs.

What happened was that one of the cousins got moved into a Cat D with balcony after a problem with
some teens. It seems that these children were unsupervised and took to running up and down the
corridors pounding on cabin doors randomly between 2-3 AM. As it happened, we were all up late
every night and my cousin works second shift and doesn’t usually go to bed until 3 AM normally so
they were awake when this was happening. The decoration on my parents’ door was torn off
repeatedly and they seemed to zero in on Marilyn & Bob’s room with packets of mustard, ketchup &
relish dumped outside their door, culminating with obscene phone calls late at night.

Well of course they were calling security constantly so the ship was aware of the problem. The problem
was catching them at it. The last night it happened, Bob was standing next to the door when the kids
went by and he was out of the door in a flash and the kids saw him and took off with one of them losing
his shoe. Bob took the shoe and called security again and they told him to bring it down to them.
Before he could do so, the phone rang and the kid had the temerity to beg for his shoe back and could
they leave it outside their door! Mind you, this was all going on at 2 AM. As Bob waited for the elevator,
it arrived with the guilty party inside! He promptly took shoe and owner down to security where he
ratted out the other two boys. Their parents were called and informed they would have to pay for the
damage to ship’s property, e.g. dented door.

I can’t believe I’ve gone on so much and never mentioned the islands. We started in San Juan, Sea
Day, Aruba, Curacao, St. Martin, Sea Day, St. Thomas, San Juan. They were probably some of the
nicer islands we’ve been on. We felt very safe the entire time we were wandering around. The ship
docked at every port, so no tendering at all. My mother and I walked the ½ mile into Willemstad,
Curacao and walked all over the downtown in search of a special Nao figurine I have been seeking for
2 years. I found it in a little store not far off the main street. Everyone we interacted with on the islands
was pleasant and wished for us to come back and spend more time there.

Alas, it was over too soon and we waited in the piano bar for our flight to be called. The person calling
the flights had quite the accent and it was difficult to understand her. But we were off by 10 AM and
despite much conflicting information given on board over which airlines would be available to check our
luggage, United was there and we put our coats in the suitcases to be unloaded at cold
Chicago/O’Hare. (What we would have done if our luggage had been lost had never entered our
minds.)

With 6 hrs to kill until our flight, one of the husbands found a van driver able to take all of us who
called himself ‘Puerto Rican Louie’. For $15/pp payable when we arrived at the airport, he took us on a
tour of Old San Juan, dropped us off downtown for a little last minute shopping (and potty break at
McDonald’s), lunch at his cousin’s restaurant ‘Lupi’s’, and an hour or so at the Wyndem/El San Juan
Hotel for a little gambling before we had to catch our flight. It was really worth it. He was a riot!

All in all, we had a great time, but if we do it again we will probably use Celebrity if only for the small
comparisons I made. Royal Caribbean did deliver a fine cruise vacation and we never felt
shortchanged in any way. I would probably do this itinerary again.

Name: Matthew Hawley
Email: matt@cloud9.net
Age: 30
Occupation: Police Officer
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: RoyalCaribbean-Grandeur
SailingDate: 3/3/2001
Itinerary: Southern Caribbean
Cabin: 7654/C
FoodDiningRoom: 85
CruiseDirector: 75
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService: 92
CruiseStaff: 80
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck:
DiningRoomService: 98
CabinQuietness: 93
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 95
ShoreExcVariety: 82
FoodVariety: 75
DeckService: 75
ShoreExcValue: 69
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 85
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 87
LoungeService: 85
TenderService:
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff: 85
EntertainmentLounges: 81
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 75
OverallPortsofCall: 85
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 80
CruiseActivities: 80
Casino: 83
AirSeaProgram: 92
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 90
EmbarkDisembark: 90
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 85
Stabilization: 69
ShopsOnBoard: 77
SpaceRatio:
OverallCruiseValue: 78
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 10 Mar 2001
Time: 20:26:54
Remote Name: 204-95.dialup.cloud9.net
Remote User:

Comments

This was my first cruise, but my wifes second. Overall we did have a good time on the trip, but we were
disappointed more often than I thought we should have been. I'll start with the positives of the trip. We
used the air/sea program and had no problems. It was great to leave our luggage at the airport and
not have to worry again, as the bags were all delivered to our room shortly after we boarded. Our room
was a mini suite and was very nice. We faced the rear of the ship on the seventh deck. We had a large
patio that we used often. The room was clean, but the carpet was worn and stained. Our cabin
attendant Carlos was friendly and was always available. The ship was kept clean, but the age of the
ship shows. Our waiter in the dining room was Toumi. He was great, very personable and our table had
a good time. Our assitand waiter david was also very good.

As for the negative, we found that much of the staff, more so the staff taht does not rely on tips, did not
seem to want to do much. Many times while looking for a table on the pool deck or on other parts of
the upper decks, they seemed to be all empty, except for the dirty dishes that we still on the tables,
with no one around to clean them off. The staff at the dining room or in the other cafe were not as
friendly as I would have expected. The food variety was poor. It seemed that we always had the same
things on the menu. The breakfast menu never changed. Lunch in the windjammer cafe seemed to be
the left over dinner entrees. The shows and other entertainment were not very good. I know this is not
Broadway, but based on my wifes past cruise, she felt that the shows were not up to par.

The ports of call, Aruba, Caracao, St Maarten, and St Thomas, were all very nice, but I would not
reccomend the shore excursions. We did enjoy the Snorkeling trips, and felt that they were worth the
money, but we also took two land trips , and felt that they were a complete waste of time and money.
One was a walking tour of St Thomas, where one older woman with a soft voice led 60 of us through
the streets. needless to say we heard nothing and paid our money to spend time following a group of
people down the road like cattle.

The only other complaint was the rocking of the ship. As I sit and write this I still feel like I'm moving.
The ship rocked day and night, except when in port. One night the entier ship was awakened at about
4am when our closet doors came flying open due to the rocking of the ship. And so you don't think that
it was just a new cruiser feeling the swaying for the first time, EVERYONE felt it, and two nights in a row
the waiters in the dining room had several accidents with trays of plates crashing to the ground.

As I said out, overall we did have a nice time, but for the money we paid we felt the trip should have
been better. We did not feel 'pampered' at all. With what I know now, I would have done things
differently and probabaly had less complaints. I will cruise again, but I don't think it will be with RCCL.

Name: Kathryn Dailey
Email: kdailey@mindspring.com
Age: 43
Occupation: Homemaker
NumberOfCruises: 6
TravelAgent: No
Ship: RoyalCaribbean-Grandeur
SailingDate: 03/10/01
Itinerary: Southern Caribbean
Cabin: 8086/C
FoodDiningRoom: 87
CruiseDirector: 89
CabinComfort: 90
FoodRoomService: 87
CruiseStaff: 89
CabinAmenities: 69
FoodLidoDeck: 80
DiningRoomService: 98
CabinQuietness: 98
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 96
ShoreExcVariety: 88
FoodVariety: 85
DeckService: 79
ShoreExcValue: 85
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 80
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 85
TenderService:
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 85
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge:
OverallPortsofCall: 96
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside:
CruiseActivities:
Casino: 90
AirSeaProgram: 89
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 89
EmbarkDisembark: 90
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 85
Stabilization: 85
ShopsOnBoard: 85
SpaceRatio: 85
OverallCruiseValue: 88
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 19 Mar 2001
Time: 12:13:55
Remote Name: user-2injroi.dialup.mindspring.com
Remote User:

Comments

This was my sixth cruise, and my first cruise on Royal Caribbean. I have previously sailed on the Carnival
Destiny (never on Carnival again), the Dawn Princess, the Ocean Princess, the Celebrity Galaxy, and the
Norwegian Sea. Overall, this was a great cruise.

We took an early flight out of Atlanta (7 AM) to get to San Juan early in hopes of an early boarding. We
arrived in San Juan just after 11 AM and quickly found the Royal Caribbean representative. We waited a
short while (20 minutes) and were taken to the bus where we were immediately taken to the pier. We
proceeded immediately to registration and were walking onto the ship in minutes. We dropped our carry-ons
in the cabin and went up to the buffet area to have some lunch. We reached this area just before noon. This
was the quickest and earliest that we have ever been able to board. Our luggage arrived by the early
afternoon.

The cabin was a category C, Superior Ocean View Suite. We were on deck 8 near the center back. The room
was clean, but was showing some wear and tear. The wood work in the room was in need of refinishing and
there were some stains on the upholstery on the sofa and the carpet. Everything appeared to be in working
order in the room and there was so much storage that my husband and I could not fill it all up. There were no
extra amenities being in a cabin categorized as a suite. There was no robe or hair dryer in the room. We did
have a safe and a bathtub.

Our table in the dining room was in the center area just in front of the waterfall and the live music and just two
tables away from the Captain's table. We were seated at a table for 8 and had great table mates. Our service
from Ali was great. He had been a waiter with RCI for 15 years. His assistant waiter, Mario, was very well
trained. Special request were granted immediately and preferences were remembered the entire week. The
food was good and cooked to order.

The decks of the boat were kept clean. On the sea days, there was a big shortage of deck chairs. Some
people gave up looking and just put a towel on the floor. Announcements were made about people saving
chairs, but most of the chairs were actually occupied. The deck servers didn't make many rounds on the
upper side decks. It was only after the main pool area started to clear that they started appearing upstairs
taking drink orders.

Our first port was Aruba. We took a shore excursion on the catamaran Pelican. They had an open bar with
liquor and soft drinks for the entire trip. It took us for a snorkeling trip to a reef and then to the wreck of the
Antilla. The crew was very friendly and helpful. After the snorkeling, we docked near the Holiday Inn for a
lunch buffet and time on the beach. The food was barbecue ribs and chicken with the fixings. The beach here
was beautiful with long stretches of white sand. We boarded the catamaran and headed back to the ship. We
spent the afternoon walking around in town. We were back on the ship for relaxing and dinner. We stayed in
port until 1 AM.

Our next port of Curacao. We spent the morning walking around in town. We had lunch on the ship and then
took a cab over to Princess Beach Hotel for the afternoon. We used the beaches and chairs free of charge.
We didn't see any other people from the ship. The trip to the beach was $12. Our cab driver made
arrangements to come back and pick us up and wouldn't let us pay him for the trip over until our return trip.
We were in port here until 6 PM.

St. Martin was the next port. We spent the morning walking around in town. Be sure to stop by the Belgian
Chocolate store for some great chocolate. We had been St. Martin on a previous cruise and had originally
planned to take a taxi over to Orient Beach for the afternoon as we had on the previous trip, but we had
enjoyed the catamaran excursion on Aruba so much that we decided to take another catamaran trip. After
lunch on the ship, we boarded the Golden Eagle catamaran. We had about an hour sail over to the island of
Tintamarre, which is an undeveloped island. There was a nice beach with an area for snorkeling. The island
is known for a light tan mud which people rub all over to get softer skin. There was an open bar for this whole
trip that included liquor, soft drinks, and beer. They even served you while on the beach. The crew members
were dressed in swimsuits with black bow ties. They were extremely friendly and helpful. It was amazing to
watch them walking all over the upper and lower decks of the catamaran carrying trays of drinks while out on
the open choppy water.

St. Thomas is always an enjoyable port. We spent the morning walking around in town. Royal Caribbean has
a hospitality area in town with plenty of air conditioning, sofas, and clean bathrooms. They also have a cash
bar and food available for purchase. On a previous trip we had enjoyed a shore excursion on the Leylon
Sneed over to Trunk Bay. We had enjoyed the trip before and decided to take the same excursion. It is a
large replica of a Chesapeake Bay oyster boat and offers more stability on the open waters than some of the
smaller choices. They also spend an hour and a half anchored in Trunk Bay giving you plenty of time to
snorkel or spend time on the beach. They have some smaller zodiac boats that they use to ferry the
non-snorkeling passengers to shore and back. After snorkeling, they served complimentary rum punch and
fruit punch. They had a cash bar with soft drinks and alcohol available after snorkeling. They also put a crew
member in the snorkeling area to handle any problems with equipment that might come up.

We never went to any of the entertainment in the Palladium Theater. Our table mates said that they enjoyed
the shows and that they were very good, but we don't often frequent the ship's entertainment. We did sit in
some of the lounges. The entertainment here was usually pretty good with the exception of a piano
player/singer named Ringo and a constantly out of tune alto sax player. The casino was generally pretty busy
and active.

For breakfast every morning, we ordered room service with the pre-printed cards. It always arrived on time
and was as ordered. There was no room service breakfast available on the last morning. We went to the main
dining room that day.

We went to the buffet area every day except for one. The food was generally pretty good. The snacks served
in the buffet area from 4-5 PM were always good. There were desserts, sandwiches, salads, and ice cream
available.

Colored tags for luggage on debarkation were passed out based on location of cabin only. You were called to
disembark by your flight numbers. We had a 1:55 flight from San Juan. Our flight was called at 9 AM. We
loaded up on a bus and went over to the overcrowded San Juan airport to wait for our flight.

We enjoyed this cruise very much. We loved the ports visited on this cruise and liked that we were always in
port until at least 6 PM. On previous cruises, we have sometimes left port at 3 or 4 PM. The RCI ship was
generally the last ship in port at all the stops. The Grandeur is a nice ship with the sea days on deck being
the only time that you felt crowded. We still like our cruise on Celebrity the best and found Princess and RCI
to be pretty close. We would consider cruising with RCI in the future.

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