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I am not a big advocate of Caribbean cruises simply because most of the towns visited cannot handle the incredible influx of people on Cruise ship days. I spent several birthdays lounging around Point Pleasant on St. Thomas and saw first hand how Charlotte Amelie was transferred from a relaxed tropical town into a frenetic mess with hoards of pushing grabbing shoving tourists cramming the shops looking for bargains in the few hours they have ashore. Yuck.
With that said, I found an incredible deal on a Caribbean Cruise that I couldn't resist. First of all there were many sea days so the ship was the real destination. Because the ship was the destination, we upgraded to a suite. The Grandeur of the Seas was brand new and I believe the largest vessel in the Royal Caribbean fleet when we sailed.
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The Grandeur is no longer the largest Cruise ship on the seven seas but it is the largest ship I have sailed to date. It really is a city on the water and takes a bit of planning to avoid unnecessary trips back to your cabin to pick up things you forgot.
The photos above show the outdoor pool,indoor pool with hot tub and the main theater on board.
The central atrium is immense and the staircase is perfect for making a grand entrance. However there are smaller more intimate areas scattered about the ship. Dick took his cue from the sleeping statue in the ship's library and nodded off. We were in the library for at least 10 minutes before we noticed the statue of the man sleeping under his newspaper.
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We were were than pleased with our Grand Suite on the ship. As ship's cabins go, it was immense at 350 sqyare feet. We enjoyed the extra space a couldn't begin to use all the closet space. There is a closet behind each of the mirrors in the bar area plus extra storage beneath the bar, adjacent to the bar and in the end tables not to mention the dresser/desk area in the bedroom.
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The only Port of Call we had not visited before was Puerto Rico. We visited the old fortifications and especially liked walking the streets of Old San Juan.
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There are wonderful details in the tile work, street lamps wrought iron work. I particularly liked the iron work in the photo on the right. It reminds me of owls.
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I was also impressed at the ambitious balcony gardening. There are not only hanging baskets and window boxes but full bouganvilla hedges growing on rooftop terraces.
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