Day Zero ~ Travel Day

We just got back from our 3rd cruise.  We are addicted!  This time we are embarking on a 10 day Eastern Caribbean cruise on Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas out of Baltimore, Maryland :)

We woke up to a gorgeous, sunny day for our drive to Maryland.  We're excited and ready to go!

Our first stop was at Weight Watchers for our weekly weigh in.  And I wanted to get my employee weigh in for November over before vacation eating and drinking commenced :)

Then off to Starbucks for coffee and breakfast and then we were on our way!

We stopped off at the travel plaza on the PA turnpike, and while we were there we needed a Starbucks refill!

We decided to stay at the Best Western in Hagerstown, Maryland, which is about 75 miles from the cruise port.  I wanted to shop at the outlets.  We got to the hotel mid-afternoon, checked in and then headed out for lunch and the outlets. I found a couple skirts on clearance at Dress Barn...Yes!

We headed back to the hotel for a nap, and then off for Mexican to get this vacation started.  We asked for an authentic, local Mexican restaurant and were pointed toward La Tolteca.  We loved it!  Next time we cruise out of Baltimore, we'll stay in Hagerstown just so we can eat at this restaurant.  The service was really good, and the food was amazing, and the peach margarita was really, really good.

After dinner we headed back to the hotel to sleep.  We had an early start to the day :)

Day One ~ Embarkation Day

We got up about 5 and had breakfast at the hotel.  It was a so-so breakfast.  If we were to stay here again, I'd plan to get breakfast after checking out.  We organized and packed up and put luggage tags on our luggage.  I packed less than the previous times, but I am still a packing overachiever!!

We were on our way by 8, after stopping for gas and at the store for a few things I forgot (if you can believe that!).

It was a gorgeous, sunny, warm day.  We did hit rush hour traffic, but it was moving pretty well.  Thankfully Doug is the driver.  Driving in city traffic stresses me out.  I like way more personal space than those people....so I just close my eyes!

We arrived to the pier about 9:15.  They don't let you in until 10. We weren't the first ones, but we were in the top 10.  They had us wait in our cars until they let us through.  People were still disembarking and gathering luggage and leaving.  Grandeur was just sitting there waiting for us!!

We book JS 8088 right on the aft on deck 8.  It is the far middle on the top deck of cabins.

Right about 10 they waved us through :)  This port is the easiest port to embark/disembark from.  We drove around the fence and dropped our luggage right at the luggage train.  Then over to the gate to pay for parking ($15 a night).  Then to the parking lot, which is right close to the ship. We parked and made the short walk to the terminal.  

We walked in and waited in line for them to check our set sail paperwork and passport.  We then put our carry-ons through the X-ray machine, over to fill out our medical form and then up to the counter to be processed and having our sea pass picture taken.  That all took about 10 minutes.  We were then directed to the seats to wait.  It was about 10:25 or so, and they started boarding at 10:45.

This port has all the waiting in one area divided by suite guests and Crown & Anchor status and others (I suppose.  I didn't see that).  So waited and then finally it was time to board!!

First stop.....welcome aboard photos!

Then up the gangway that twists and turns up to deck 4 and you walk right into the Centrum. It is gorgeous!!

We went up to Deck 9, the pool deck, and found a table and waited for the Park Cafe to open.  Doug went to the pool bar for our first drinks of the cruise (Mudslides!!), we took turns getting lunch so we didn't lose our table, and we spammed Facebook with pictures.  The weather was amazing!  Warm and sunny. Perfect for our fist day on board.

After we finished eating, we moved by the pool in a chair to free up the table for others looking for somewhere to eat.  We sat here until the rooms were ready, which is about 1.  I headed to guest services to find a cruise compass, and when I came back, Doug was talking to some people.  Cindy and Steve from our CC roll call.  Cindy looked at me, asked if I was on Cruise Critic, and then asked if I was Kelly/kleo.  First day, before the rooms were even open, somebody recognized me from CC lol.  It happens every cruise.  Doug and I were joking about how long it would take before somebody recognized me.

Right before 1 we headed down to deck 8 to wait for the doors to be open to let us back to the cabins.  We reserved Jr. Suite 8088 on the very back aft.  We'd been in Grand Suites the two previous cruises, so this is a smaller room.  It was plenty roomy, but when we first walked in, we said, "Wow, this is going to be tight.  Especially the bathroom!"  It only felt tight the first day.  Friends of ours are in this same cabin in a couple months, and they've never had this level cabin.  I told Doug they would walk in and remark how huge it was lol.  It's all in perspective lol.

The room was mostly comfortable. If there were one less chair it would have been perfect.  There was PLENTY of storage.  To the right of where Doug is standing in this picture is a big closet with 3 drawers and two rods.  It has 2 bi-fold doors.  To the left is the bathroom, which is a little tight, but you do have a full size bathtub.  I don't think we have pictures of the bathroom.  The vanity has a LOT of storage.  Two side mirrors that open with 3 shelves inside, and 3 drawers on either side of the chair.  To the left of the vanity area is a floor to ceiling cabinet with 4 shelves.  It is very deep.  We had NO problem unpacking and had room to spare.  The bed, however, isn't high enough to slide the luggage underneath.  So we moved one of the little stools and put our luggage in the corner by the balcony window.

The balcony is ENORMOUS!!  We had 2 chairs and a side table and 2 loungers on the part of the balcony under cover, and then that same amount of space that is open at the rail.  We are right below the relaxation room of the spa, so it is very quiet.  If you are at the rail and turn around and look up, you can see in the spa.  When I was in that room, I looked down.  You can only see what is at the rail, and not at all where the furniture is.

We LOVED this balcony!  The view is amazing.  It's very quiet and peaceful.  The only downside is there are lights on all night long.  We like it better dark, but it was a small sacrifice for the amazing views.

 Nothing compares to this amazing view!

When we got to the cabin, most of our luggage was there, so we unpacked.  I had one bag that was missing.  The one with most of my clothes, jammies, swim suits, hats, sunglasses, you know...the majority of my stuff.  I was slightly anxious about that!  

After settling in all the stuff we had, we went to the R Bar on deck 4 in the centrum for a drink.  I ordered a frozen mojito and Doug a mango lava flow.

It was almost time for muster, so I went to the cabin to get my jacket.  My suitcase was there :)  Parish went down to deck 1 and got it out of security.  I am not sure why they had it.  There wasn't anything in there that was off limits.

So I grabbed my jacket, went back to get Doug, and off to muster we went.  It was a long muster, and it was HOT!  The sun is bright and shining.  I certainly didn't need my jacket.  

After muster we headed to deck 10 for sail away.  We wanted to get pictures going under the Frances Scott Key bridge.  We also got a few pictures of Fort McHenry.  And I was happy to have my jacket after the sun went down.  It was chilly then!

 Doug was taking my picture when a nice gentleman asked if he could take one of the both of us.  Dave and his wife Joan are really, really nice people.  We saw them frequently around the ship and had breakfast together once or twice.

 The Coast Guard escorts us through the bay for quite a while.

 The flag at Fort McHenry

 Happy to have my jacket now!

 Gorgeous sunset on our way to the bridge.  Lots of boats out in the water.

 We approach the bridge.  It looks like there isn't enough room to sail under.

 But there is!

 And now we're on our way :)

We headed back to the cabin to finish unpacking and get ready for dinner.  I had ordered a bottle of champagne and chocolate covered strawberries to be delivered to our room, and we enjoyed that while we were getting ready for dinner.

Before dinner we went to the photo gallery on Deck 6 to purchase the all inclusive photo package.  Grandeur doesn't have a digital package like Explorer did.  But we were able to purchase all the prints for $249.  We ended up with 117 prints, and at $22 each, it was a good deal for us.

Then we headed to dinner.  We had My Time Dining, so we were on deck 5.  We requested a table for two, and we also like to have the same waitstaff the whole trip.  This night...oh my heck.  The waitstaff was so so.  But the people at the table right with us.....not the best company.  They were an older married couple.  The man Never.Quit.Talking!  I don't think he stopped long enough to breath.  And his wife complained the entire time and was generally miserable.  On our way out of the dining room, we requested a different, more private, table for the remainder of the trip.  Roshmann hooked us right up and we had an amazing table and waitstaff the rest of the week.

Dinner was tasty.  Doug had shrimp cocktain, prime rib and bailey's creme brulee.  I had a spinach salad, horseradish salmon and chocolate almond cake and coffee.  The coffee on this ship is SO GOOD!  A very happy surprise because the coffee on Explorer, in my opinion, was awful both times.

After dinner we headed to the Schooner Bar to check out the piano guy.  He talked a lot and played really slow stuff.  It felt like a snooze fest to us, so we headed back to the room for an early night.  We sat on the balcony and talked about our fabulous first day!  It was amazing.  The weather was perfect.  And we were together.  What more could you ask for?

Day Two ~ At Sea

We woke up about 6:30 and were hoping to catch the sunrise.  It was too cloudy to see it, however.  It had rained in the night.  So instead we just opened the drape and laid in bed and watched the sea.  It was so calm and relaxing!

The first thing I did each morning was make a cup of coffee.  I have a pour over mug from Starbucks.  So I packed that, and half and half cups, a pound of coffee, and sandwich baggies to put my filter and grounds in so it wasn't messy for our room steward.  Doug would go to the Park Cafe or Windjammer (depending on what time it was) and get me 2 raspberry pastries.  I called this "Pre -Breakfast".  I needed pre-breakfast so that I could be nice at breakfast in the Windjammer or Park Cafe.  I am NOT a morning person.  I don't even want you to look at me, let alone talk to me, before coffee.  So pre-breakfast was really for the benefit of the other passengers!

We went to the Park Cafe for breakfast this morning.  It is one deck up on the aft.  There is a secret staircase that will take you right up through the spa and out to the Park Cafe.  Very convenient.  Doug really liked it. I thought the steps were a little steep and would often just walk down to the centrum stairs, up, and back down the hallway to the Cafe.  We had a very light breakfast before our workout.

After breakfast we went to work out.  Doug headed to the gym and I went up to deck 10 to walk the track.  I walked 8 laps before I saw Doug, and then stopped.  I had a grand plan to walk 20 laps by the end of the trip.  Sad to say that was the first and last time I walked the track!

After working out we went to the windjammer for a little bit more breakfast.  I needed some protein and fruit.  And a mimosa of course!  We purchased the drink packages.  Doug had the preferred package and I had the ultimate.  They both included bottled water, the soda package cup, and cocktails, wine, beer up to a certain limit in price (which we never exceeded and ordered whatever we wanted).  My package also included sparkling bottled water, Starbucks coffees and fresh squeezed juice.  So I'd have a mimosa every morning on my way out of the Windjammer :)

We headed back to the room and lounged on the balcony after getting ready for the day. We were making plans on what to do.  The seas were CALM and the skies CLEAR and it was about to be 70! What more could we want!!

We went to the photo gallery to collect our boarding pictures.  With the package all you need to do is collect your pictures every day and they will put them in a file behind the desk.  I went to Starbucks and got an Americano and we sat in the centrum on deck 6 and watched a little of the cooking demo before we headed out to the pool.

This day was even better than they said it would be.  Sunny and hot in the80s!  We settled in and had drinks and watched the corn hole competition.  Although they call it bean bag toss!  We took turns going into the WJ to grab lunch and brought it back out poolside to eat and drank some more.  Mudslides for dessert after lunch each day!  Also an assortment of other cocktails.  It is nice to be able to sample things you might not try, and if you didn't like it, could order something different.  It was also nice to not have to pay attention to what we were paying for cocktails.  The drink package, for us, was very worthwhile.  And we more than got our money's worth.  We lounged by the pool until it was time to get ready for dinner.  Tonight is the first formal night.

So mid-afternoon we headed back to the room with a mudslide to lounge on the balcony and nap until dinner.  About 4 we realized our toilet wouldn't flush.  We called guest relations and let them know.  It didn't flush for hours.  We had to use public restrooms on deck 9 while getting ready for dinner.  In fact, in the course of the next 24 hours, our toilet didn't flush 5 times.  Actually, it didn't work a lot of the time throughout the whole cruise.  It was like playing Russian Roulette whether or not it would flush.  Doug talked with Edger, the guest relations manager, about that.  I'll talk more about that later on.

So while getting ready for dinner, we called for room service and had mid-afternoon snacks.  I relaxed in the bath with a glass of wine...one of my favorite parts of having a tub on a cruise!  We also relaxed a while on the balcony after getting ready for dinner.  The sun was setting and the gentle breeze was cooler.  It was just gorgeous!!

So we finally headed out to have our pictures taken.  It was SO HOT in the centrum.  But we did stand in line and have our picture taken at several stations on decks 4 and 5.

I love this picture of Doug!

After pictures we had a bit of time before dinner, so we went and sat on the pool deck where it was much cooler.  We sat for about an hour talking and people watching and then headed to dinner.

Dinner tonight was great!  We had an awesome table for two next to the window with amazing waitstaff.  Robet was our waiter and Vikash was our assistant.  Stipe was the head waiter, and we saw him every night.  I don't remember ever seeing a head waiter before.  He was really good to us.  Robet and Vikash quickly learned our likes and habits and remembered those throughout the trip.  Vikash knew I wanted 2 savory bites every night, and coffee with dessert and Doug wanted sprite and I wanted Moscato and we liked the after dinner shots.

Tonight Doug had shrimp cocktail, beef tenderloin with mashed potatoes and mile high lemon meringue pie.  I had some kind of spinach salad, shrimp ravioli with lobster sauce (which was SO GOOD!) and strawberry cheesecake for dessert.  The dinner shot was an international kiss.  Yummy!

After dinner we went to the Viking Crown Lounge for drinks and dancing.  Our favorite bar server, Stephanie, works up here.  She made us an internationally kiss on the lips, which is peach, mango and passion fruit frozen drink. So yummy!  Doug didn't like it, so he went with mango lava flow next time.

They played some pre-recorded Motown music for awhile before the DJ came in to play.  We were able to dance.  And that night the DJ played a nice selection of music that we liked, so we danced some more until midnight.  Most nights after that, the music was loud and more ethnic than we like.  So we didn't stay after the DJ came in.

We left about midnight and stopped by the Park Cafe for snacks and took them back to the room with our drinks and relaxed on the balcony.  About 1:30 we headed to bed, but since we turned our clocks back this night, it was 12:30, right?  And for the record, time change is much easier to be accustomed to on a ship :)

We had our first towel animal this night.  Louis is our cabin steward.  He is the best cabin steward we have ever had.  He quickly filled whatever request we had of him, and he was so stealth cleaning up and turning down our room.  Only once did I ever go back to the room and he was in it.  He was perfect!

It was an amazing day with perfect weather!  Nov. 12th in the Atlantic ocean and we were sitting in the sun getting a tan and enjoying life with calm seas.  The weather for the majority of this trip was perfect!  The cruise compass says tomorrow will be even better!

Day Three ~ At Sea

When we woke up about 8, the sky was sunny and the sea was calm!!  We had the same morning routine.  Coffee and pastries for pre-breakfast while journaling and making plans for the day.while watching the amazing wake.

We went to the WJ for breakfast and then headed to collect our pictures and browse the shops.  I really like the shops on this ship.  They are all tucked away on deck 6 behind the photo gallery.  It isn't super crowded like the shops on the promenade on Explorer.  The people there were shopping and nothing else.

We were finished with breakfast about 10 and the pool deck was already getting crowded.  So we snagged an awesome spot in the 2nd row of loungers right by the pool.  I sat there and waited while Doug went to change into his suit and grab his hat and sunscreen.  We don't want to be chair hogs!  When he got to the room, the toilets weren't working again.  When he came back, I went to the room to change and collect my book and journal and the toilets were still not working.  So I had to find a restroom on the way to the pool, and I stopped by guest relations to let them know about the toilet problems.

It rained while I was inside changing, but it was sunny when I came back outside. I love how it rains for just a few minutes and then clears up!  Nothing at all like at home where it rains all the dang day!

Doug went to the bar to get our first drinks and we settled in to watch the bean bag toss.  It's progressive.  We missed the end day though.

It was gorgeous and hot and sunny.  We had the same pool day routine of drinks and taking turns getting lunch from the WJ and reading and resting.  The band played while we were lounging at the pool.

When we went back to the room to nap, the toilet was working!  Yay!  Sad that is the big thrill of the day!  We were hopeful they'd keep working, but notsomuch.

I woke up before Doug and sat on the balcony journaling and enjoying the amazing view off the after.  It is shady and cool and the seas are calm.  I'm surprised to not have felt movement on this smaller ship.  Pleasantly surprised :)

Soon it was time to get ready for dinner.  We had dinner at Chops this night, which is a specialty steakhouse restaurant.

So the toilets stopped working again while we were getting ready for dinner....oops.  They were working after we came back, which is nice.

So Chops was amazing!  I had this warm goat cheese salad.  It has wild greens, cranberries and walnuts, sliced green apple and a round of goat cheese that is lightly breaded and fried and it is warm and creamy inside.  Oh My Heck is it amazing! Doug had a Caesar salad and shrimp cocktail.  The shrimp were GINORMOUS!!

We both had the filet for our main course.  I had the 6 oz (a 3 oz. would have been plenty) and Doug the 9 oz.  We shared 3 sides; asparagus, mashed potatoes (oh my heck so good!) and mushrooms.  They served warm pretzel bread with mustard butter along with dinner. SO SO good!

We were both pretty full so I had a coffee cocktail for dessert and Doug had a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

We were going to have pictures taken after dinner, but the stations were closing up. Oops, we missed it.

We changed into comfy clothes and checked out football on the big screen on the pool deck and then headed to the Viking Crown Lounge.  There was something going on in the centrum, so most people were there and the VCL was empty.  We spent quite a while talking with Stephanie about ship life.  We really, really liked her. She made our trip extra special.

We headed back to the cabin early to get some sleep.  It was another awesome day!  Tomorrow....Labadee!!

Day Four ~ Labadee

We LOVE Labadee and were looking forward to this being our first stop.  We woke up to hot and sunny while pulling into the pier!

 I'm ready to go!!

We got ready and headed out.  First we had breakfast in the WJ.  It is a MAD HOUSE in there.  That is one Grand Suite perk I miss...having room service bring me hot breakfast to enjoy on the balcony.

We picked up towels and bottled water on the way off the ship.  We stopped for pictures when we made it off the pier.  It was HOT and a long walk for Doug since his knees were hurting.

We decided to go to Nellie's Beach.  Previously we'd only been on Barefoot Beach with a cabana, which is a grand suite perk...another perk I miss.  Nellie's was much more crowded than Barefoot.  But we had a great time anyway!  We found 2 chairs under a tree and rented 2 mats so we could float in the gorgeous ocean.

Labadee is a simply gorgeous paradise!  We floated in the ocean for a while, and then I got out to browse the straw market.  I wanted some artwork for our bedroom walls.  I found 2 incredible paintings.  I also bought a bottle of Rhum for Jordan, and had a sample of it.  Very good.  So I bought a bottle of spiced for us.  By this time Doug was with me, so we both sampled.  Very good.

It was time for lunch, so we stood in line at the picnic buffet area.  The food was really good.  The only things that we didn't have that we did have on Barefoot Beach was grilled shrimp and steak.  Again, it was crowded.  I much prefer Barefoot beach.

After lunch we went back and floated in the water for quite a while longer.  Before this trip I told Doug he should meet some people that live close to us.  And he did!  Floating on a mat in the ocean talking about the snow back home, he met Sue who lives in Canfield!  Dave and Sue are such a fun couple and we spent quite a bit of time with them over the rest of the cruise.

After we were finished in the ocean, we walked around and took pictures and found Caprice, who Doug met on the first trip.  Labadee is gorgeous!!

 Catching a ride back to the ship!

Then the long, hot walk up the pier to the coolness of the ship.  We went to the room to shower and change, got a snack at the Park Cafe and found a lounger in the shade on the pool deck and ordered mudslides and settled in to wait for the band and sail away!  We are having a marvelous vacation.  I have to say this is the perfect trip.  The weather has been amazing and being along with Doug has been restorative to my tired soul.  

I went up to the room to start getting ready for dinner while Doug sat on the pool deck talking with Dave and Joan.  After Doug came back to the room and was ready for dinner, we headed to the photo gallery to collect photos and find out the schedule for the night.  We had about an hour before they started, so we went to the R Bar for a drink and to listen to the live music.  The band was really good. But it was ballroom music from 5-9 every single night of the week.  We would have liked a little variety.  And the people that were dancing....they were SERIOUS about their dancing!  But the drinks were good and the chairs comfy and the people watching pretty fun.

After a while we headed out to have our pictures taken.  Aveshake is the photographer that we are really liking, along with Willie.  Doug called him "Shake".  He took some great shots, and then we headed off to dinner.

I LOVE this picture!  So sweet.

 The black and white poses were fun.

 Although we thought Willie was posing us in really strange positions.  When we saw the pictures, we realized he was posing us to make it look like we were leaning on the railings of the staircase in the backdrop.  Cool!

 LOVE this picture!!

Then off to dinner.  Roshmann sat us at our usual table for 2 by the window with Robet and Vikash.  And it was Italian night!  I LOVE Italian night.

I had the caprese salad, eggplant parm and tiramisu.  Doug had shrimp cocktail, garlic soup, lasagna and caramel bread pudding.  The dinner shooter was butter nipple!  Our favorite!

Dinner alone is one of the highlights of my day.

After dinner we had about 90 minutes until the Love & Marriage show, so we sat on the pool deck for a while and then to deck 6 centrum to wait and then headed to the theater to wait, and wait, and wait for the show to let out so we could get a seat.

Finally it was time to head in.  We were in the balcony where they have little love seats.  We sat together, which I loved.  We sat next to a couple married 53 years from Canada and on the other side of them was a couple on their honeymoon.  We could have had our own Love & Marriage show right there.

The 3 couples in the show consisted of the newlyweds that were married on the beach that day, so were married 7 hours at that point, a couple married 25 years and Dick and Dorothy who were married 67 years.  Let me tell you, that Dick is amazing!  We'd see him doing the Zumba class on the pool deck and dancing before dinner and dancing after dinner.  His energy put me to shame.  They were the most darling couple.

The cruise director, Mitch, who normally was quite boring did a really good Love & Marriage Show.  He asked every couple a different question until the final bonus question, which they all answered the same one.  The show was hilarious!

After this show we went to the VCL.  It was so very loud and not our type of music, so we took our drinks, said good-night to Stephanie and headed to our balcony to enjoy our drinks.  We had another towel animal tonight :)

I also soaked in the tub while Doug called room service.  We had a snack and then headed to bed.  The day started at 6:30 and we were up until after 1 am and were planning to sleep in in the morning.  San Juan is the next day, but not until 2:30, and we don't have many plans.  Again, another amazing day!!  I'd love if this trip never ended.