This 5 Night Cruise Felt Like So Much More

I recently returned from a 5 night cruise to Bermuda out of Baltimore.  Although the season is over until next May, I wanted to share my experience.

I really had low expectations.  It is a short cruise, and the Grandeur of the Seas is not the newest ship in the Royal Caribbean fleet to say the least.  What I got was blown away!

The experience started from the drive into the port.  I live about 2 hours away and I have not sailed out of Baltimore before.  The drive was fast and straight forward, GPS was dead on.  At the port, it was organized, clean and the staff for baggage check and parking were pleasant, cheerful and helpful.

Then on to the ship.  It only got better.  The ship was refurbished recently, and you would never guess it is 20 years old.  The staff was amazing and the ship was comfortable and never felt crowded. 

I love art, and the Grandeur has some great pieces tucked away in stateroom halls, on stairway landings, really peeking out like little surprises all over the ship.  My friend and I chose an inside cabin and it was very well appointed.  The only suggestion I would have is that when they replace the beds on her, they should be a few inches more off the floor.  A carry on piece of luggage would have fit fine, but my average size suitcase was a couple of inches too deep to slide under the bed.  But there was plenty of closet space. 

We were down the hall from the Centrum, and we were never disturbed by noise from the entertainment there.  Perhaps, because we attended most of the entertainment in the Centrum.  But the night we turned in early, there was no disturbance.

The pools were great and there was plenty of seating by the pool or on the deck above at the main pool.  It didn’t hurt a thing that the weather was perfect for sunbathing and swimming.  Most of the daylight hours on sea days were spent by the pool for us.

I am all about destinations, and I was afraid I would not like sailing and only being in Bermuda for a little over 24 hours.  I was pleased with the balance of sea time and port time.  Bermuda was beautiful, with a clean, uncrowded welcoming port.  I could have stayed on the island a week and not been bored, but the time on shore was wonderful, and I was worn out enough that I was glad to get back “home” to the ship and be spoiled by the crew.

We chose to visit St. George and had a lovely ferry and bus ride over and then a fun bus ride back to port.  There is a ferry that goes directly from the port to St. George, but we dawdled getting off the ship and the ferry was full when we got there.  Another would have been along in an hour or so, but we chose to take one that left almost immediately and stopped in Hamilton, and took the bus the rest of the way.  The bus offered great views of the towns and there were plenty of ocean views.

The next morning, we walked to a snorkel beach down from the dock and had a wonderful time.  Again, the weather was perfect.  The fish were plentiful, and I saw my first octopus while snorkeling.  The beach has food and drink service as well.  A big surprise for me was that the beach wasn’t crowded.  There are so many things to do in Bermuda, that nothing seemed to get overwhelmed.

The crew on board went out of their way to make us feel at home and spoiled at the same time.  The dining room is lovely, and the food was outstanding.  The wait staff in the dining room were amazing, service was top notch.

Entertainment on board was also top notch.  The ventriloquist, Ronn Lucas was my personal favorite.  The piano performer in the Schooner Bar was fantastic.  The music was lively and he did a wonderful job engaging the patrons.

I usually don’t gamble on board, but I did visit the casino.  There are some real characters dealing at the gaming tables, and they made playing fun.

I would recommend this getaway to anyone.  And on top of it all, I had all this fun for under $140 a night!