Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean
Ship: Grandeur of the Seas
Departing: Barbados (Round Trip)
Sail Date: April 10, 2022
Ports of Call: Grenada, Antigua, St. Kitts, St. Vincent, Dominica, St. Lucia
Introduction
This review is going to have a little distance since the actual cruise than those that will be coming in the future. Future reviews will be done live during travel and broken up by day. This was actually the cruise that we began conceptualizing our future travel website and travel agency. Only now are we just getting things going, so it's only fitting that this would be our first official CruiseNReview!
(Disclaimer This is a longer review. There's a gallery at the bottom of the page. We'll let you cheat this one time.)
This cruise was special. It was our first cruise post-COVID after more than a two-year dry dock from our favorite activity. If you would have told us at the end of our cruise in February 2020 that it would be two years before we set foot on a ship again, we'd have called you liar.
We originally booked this cruise because Grandeur of the Seas out of Barbados was one of Royal Caribbean's restart ships from foreign ports during the CDC's no-sail order in the United States. We had several cruises cancelled during the pandemic so we felt this might be a safe option to return to cruising. As it turned out, the no sail order was lifted ahead of time and cruising resumed. We decided to hang onto this cruise because of the itinerary and the unique destination of the home port.
In these reviews, I'll try to break down some of the great, good, and okay about the ship, ports, and excursions. This cruise was port intensive. There were no sea days and a new port everyday. I'm a huge port lover so this cruise was a great fit.
Traveling to Barbados
As I've said before, the journey is part of the adventure. Traveling to Barbados was anything but an easy journey but it was to be expected.
Keep mind that we were still dealing with COVID-19 protocols and Barbados was among the strictest of Caribbean islands at the time. You had to have a PCR Test no more than three days prior to arrival. In addition, Royal Caribbean would conduct a COVID-19 test at the pier prior to embarkation. Prior to departing for Barbados, you were required to upload your visa and COVID-19 tests to the Barbados Ministry of Health app called BIM safe. We uploaded and received an approval message with a few hours (more on this in a second).
We flew from Nashville (BNA) with a connector in Miami. The flight from Miami to Barbados was a little under four hours.
About midway through our flight from Miami to Barbados, I decided to check a few e-mails from work. I had received an e-mail from the Barbados Ministry of Health stating that our COVID-19 test had been invalidated and they "hoped we could visit their island one day soon." My first thought was, "You'll be seeing me soon alright! I'm on a plane over the Caribbean and halfway to your place." This naturally ruined the rest of my flight but fortunately upon arrival, the customs agents were very friendly and instructed us to take a rapid COVID-19 Test in a quarantine area in the airport. It only took us around 20 minutes to take the test, get the result, and get released from quarantine. We actually beat our bags to the luggage carousel. All that worrying for nothing.
Fortunately, if you're looking to head to Barbados anytime soon, most of the strict COVID-19 regulations have been lifted.
Pre-Cruise
We actually traveled to Barbados three days prior to the cruise. Given that the cruise was home ported from one of our favorite Caribbean ports of call, we wanted some time to explore the island prior to boarding as well as give ourselves plenty of time in case there were any travel issues.
When we first booked the trip, our plan was to stay at Hilton Barbados Resort. We chose this hotel for its location since it sat right on Carlisle Bay, one our favorite beaches in the Caribbean. However, a few weeks prior to the cruise, out of shear boredom I was searching through Airbnb and found an awesome deal on a rental unit.
The unit was across the road from a private beach but included views of the Caribbean from both bedrooms and part of the private balcony. It was also right along the main road where the public busses (vans) ran all day. This was an especially convenient and affordable option for getting around the island. You just stood on the side of the road and the drivers would pull over and pick you up.
The apartment itself didn't have air conditioning in common areas but the bedrooms had their own A/C units and with the door shut, it got as cold as you could want it. During the day, we left doors and windows open and there was always a nice breeze from the ocean to keep things manageable. If you're looking for a great, local experience with accommodating and friendly owners, I'd highly recommend this place. It's not for everyone but if you want to immerse yourself in Barbados, give it a shot. It was safe, affordable, clean, and handy. You can see the Airbnb listing here.
During our time in Barbados pre-cruise, we spent a ton of time on the beach. We traveled via public bus to Carlisle Bay where we spent several hours, had lunch, and cleared out a few bottles of Banks (local lager beer).
On our first day in Barbados, we found a great lunch spot at the recommendation of the Airbnb. It was coincidentally called, "Blakey's." I'm not joking when I say this restaurant may have had the best cheeseburger I've ever had. It also had a large menu and great views of the Caribbean. We would eat lunch and dinner here a couple of times.
We spent the days leading up the cruise exploring Barbados, beaching it, and trying various local restaurants and looking forward to boarding a ship for the first time in a couple of years.
Barbados was a wonderful place to spend a few days. The locals were extremely friendly and helpful, the food was great, and beaches and sites were completely unmatched.
Day 1 - Barbados (Boarding Day)
The day was finally here. Boarding day for the first time in two years! Since everyone boarding the ship had to receive COVID-19 testing at the port, you were assigned a strict arrival time. As Royal Caribbean Diamond Club members, we received some priority on check-in time but still did not have an arrival until 2:00 pm.
Since check-out of the Airbnb was at 10:00 am, we called a local driver recommended by our Airbnb owner to give us a full tour of the island before dropping us off at the ship at our assigned time.
I have a policy against killing time, especially on vacation, but I have to admit that the purpose of the tour was really to help us pass time until we could board. Fortunately, it ended up being an awesome trip with some amazing sites. I had always thought of Barbados as a flat island similar to Cozumel or Grand Cayman, but the east side of the island has some interesting terrain. We snapped some great photos as you can see here. The driver was friendly, informative, and helpful. He had us at the cruise terminal at precisely 2:00 pm.
We had heard horror stories about boarding day from Barbados. Several Facebook groups we followed reported long wait times, disorganized flow to the port, and it taking up three hours to get onboard. Either we were lucky or the reports were exaggerated (probably somewhere in between), but our experience wasn't bad at all.
It took longer than normal to board but that was only due to the testing requirements. You went through security at a front terminal building, then boarded a bus that transported you to the testing/check-in facility. The testing process was very organized. After testing, you sat in a waiting area until you received an e-mail with your results. That part was a little tense but once you got the green light, the feeling was unmatched. Start to finish we were onboard in less than two hours. I understand that is long comparatively speaking, but given the logistics at play, I thought it was executed and the process kept moving.
It's really hard to describe how I felt walking back on the gangway after so long. Cruising for us has always been like going to visit a dear friend. Separating from that was difficult, so coming back was emotional. If I'm being fully transparent, there may have been some happy tears shed as we jumped onboard Grandeur of the Seas.
After boarding, we settled into our staterooms and began exploring the ship. This was our second time on Grandeur but my Mother and her husband (aka Phil) were traveling with us and had never sailed on her.
Grandeur is small but mighty. If you love constant activity with waterslides, mini-golf, rollercoasters, etc. Grandeur of the Seas isn't the ship for you. That being said, if you like a ship that has intimate views of the ocean from almost every venue combined with a low guest-to-crew ration and great destinations, this old girl brings a lot to the table. Completed in 1996, Grandeur of the Seas is currently Royal Caribbean's oldest, smallest ship.
That evening, we had dinner in the main dining room. This is a rarity for us, especially on night one but sail away wasn't until 10:00 pm so we had time. The service was impeccable, the escargot nice and buttery, and the mood celebratory. Cruising was back.
We popped a bottle of champagne during a late night sail away. It's a corny tradition but a champagne toast to start the voyage during sail away has become a main stay on our cruises. After 790 days without sailing, the toast was simple, "Welcome home."
Day 2 - St. George's, Grenada
Day two of our 7-Night Southern Caribbean Island Hop on board Grandeur of the Seas saw us stop in St. George's, Grenada. This was one of three stops on our trip that we had never been before so we were excited.
Our excursion for the day was a Catamaran Sail and Snorkel booked through Royal Caribbean Shore Excursions. The snorkel was at the world famous Grenada Underwater Statue Park. I should preface my next comment by saying we've been on some amazing snorkeling trips. I was a little disappointed. The water was murky (could have been the weather) and everything about it was man made. There were a few cool moments where the movement of the water made the statues seem alive, but I prefer more natural elements and wildlife on my snorkeling trips. Nonetheless, it's always great to go for a nice swim in Caribbean waters.
The second part of our catamaran trip was to a semi-secluded beach. The boat pulled up near the shore, we bailed off, and enjoyed some beach time with lunch included. The highlight of any catamaran trip is always.....the catamaran. Sailing past wonderful scenery with a drink in your hand while hanging out on the net on the front of the catamaran, does it get any better? I LOVE A CATAMARAN.
After boarding Grandeur for the evening, we wrapped things up with dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Giovanni's table. Strangely, there wasn't anyone there, so the service was terrific and the food was on point. If you ever sail on a ship with a Giovanni's Table specialty restaurant, don't miss it. It's around $30 per person, all-inclusive (w/drink package). Trust me, you'll eat much more than that amount. Go hungry.
On the whole, we had a positive first visit to Grenada. We didn't get to explore much of the land itself but the people were friendly, the island was beautiful, and we were back on board to head to our next destination safe and sound.
Day 3 - St. John's, Antigua
Let me tell you about day three at St. John's, Antigua. We met some awesome folks while at Carlisle Bay Beach and they recommended a trip to Ffryes Beach. Strangely, there was an awesome beach we had visited once before that I couldn't remember the name. Coincidentally, this was it.
On islands we are more familiar with, we like to take a taxi or private transportation so we can have a more authentic experience and have more time than allotted on most cruise line excursions. Most taxis are obligated to pick you back up from where they dropped you off and return you to the ship. REMEMBER: It's their livelihood too so it's in their best interest to make sure you are taken care of. Yes, cruise line excursions guarantee on-time arrival back to the ship, but if you are familiar with the destination, going out on your own is safe in most places.
We were fortunate to get a great taxi driver. His name was Motion and I'd highly recommend him to anyone who wants to see Antigua on their own. He took us on around a 20 minute drive to Ffryes Beach and even introduced us to someone who would provide deck chairs, drinks, and food for us.
Ffryes Beach...wow. There are no houses on Ffryes Beach. There's one restaurant on the north end of the beach. It's a low tourist traffic area and has the prettiest sand and water I've seen anywhere in the Caribbean. Best of all, there were probably only 20 people on the beach all day. We had access to bathrooms, food, and drinks through the restaurant, on top of that, we had this gorgeous beach to ourselves.
Throw some Robert Earl Keen on the speaker, grab a cold beer, and it's one of those moments when there's nowhere else you'd rather be. Priceless and easily one of my favorite parts of our trip.
Motion picked us up promptly at 3:00 pm to return to the ship in time for a 4:30 pm all aboard call. It's always good to allow extra time if you are out on your own. What was a 25 minute drive on the way to the beach took about an hour to get back due to construction. I'm glad we allowed plenty of time so it was a stress free trip back.
If you are ever in Antigua and would like to contact Motion, I've got his information. Just e-mail me for details.
Day 4 - Basseterre, St. Kitts
An interesting story about St. Kitts. I hated it the first-time I went there. Maybe we didn't do the right tour, maybe we ran into the wrong people, but we nearly decided to stay on the ship this time. Luckily, my mother and Phil were on the trip with us and wanted to see it since they had never been. We decided you couldn't go wrong with a scenic tour to the top of Timothy Hill where you can see Caribbean and Atlantic as well as the connection point between St. Kitts and Nevis. It really is a breathtaking view. The tour also took us on a beach break to South Friars Beach.
Timothy Hill was great as always. It's a must if you head to St. Kitts. We didn't expect much from the beach as St. Kitts really isn't know for nice beaches due to its rocky terrain. Boy, was I wrong. The beach was small but uncrowded and had access to food, drinks, and bathrooms. It had a beautiful view of the coastline with minimum waves that were perfect for wading with a beer (or soda) in your hand.
This stop changed my entire view of St. Kitts. If we ever returned there, we'd take a taxi straight to South Friars Beach and spend the entire day. We got to spend around four hours there before the excursion bus picked us up and returned us to the ship.
This would be a good time to add that none of the photos posted on this blog are edited. In fact, most are taken with iPhone. If you've made it this far or are just looking at the photos. There is a photo gallery at the end of this rambling blog.
Day 5 - Kingstown, St. Vincent
St. Vincent was the second island that none of us had ever visited before. It was perhaps the one I was most excited about. A lot of the crew on ships are from St. Vincent and the Grenadines and I've always heard about its beauty. It's rarely a stop for most cruises because it can only be accessed by smaller cruise ships. Take a look at the dock and port area and you'll understand why. Another shameless plug for keeping small ships around.
We booked an excursion through Royal Caribbean. It was a catamaran tour (my favorite) to the Grenadines with snorkeling, beach break, and lunch. Overall, this excursion began upon ship arrival and would take us almost until all aboard time. Around 8 hours. That's a long ship excursion by most standards.
The tour started by sailing across a large and wavy channel to the Grenadine Islands. It was an amazing trip. Luckily we don't battle seasickness so we enjoyed the bouncing of the boat. Some others on the tour, weren't so lucky. If you are prone to motion sickness I wouldn't recommend this tour. It crosses an open water area with a ton of wind gusting between islands.
The Grenadines were beautiful. There are 32 islands in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, 9 of which are uninhabited. We saw around 12 of them total. The snorkeling took place on one of the uninhabited Grenadine islands. Unfortunately, I had a snafu with my snorkel gear and missed most of the underwater sights. I did enjoy a nice swim and then jumped back on the boat for a rum punch. When life gives you bad snorkel gear, you drink rum punch.
Following the snorkel we headed back across the channel towards St. Vincent. This was where the fun began. The waves that were coming from behind the boat on the way, were now straight into the bow. The result was massive waves crashing through the netting and onto the boat. Most guests sought shelter in the back of the boat, did we? Absolutely not. The journey is part of the adventure, remember? I wish I had some video or photos to show you but I was afraid we'd lose a phone or camera via a rogue wave. It was a blast and a highlight of the trip. I think the rest of the catamaran thought we were insane. They were probably right.
The final stop of our excursion was at a beautiful secluded beach for lunch and beach time. It was very private and a traditional Caribbean lunch and bar were provided. It was nice to unwind and cool off with a swim after our adventure back across the channel. We spent about an hour on this beach before returning to the ship via the catamaran. It was nearly all aboard when we were dropped off at the pier.
We were all exhausted after an 8 hour trip and riding the waves. So it was the Windjammer (buffet) for dinner and an early turn in time to get ready for a day in Dominica.
Day 6 - Roseau, Dominica
Not to be confused with the Dominican, Dominica is a beautiful Caribbean destination that's part of the Windward Islands. This was the final of the three ports of call that none of us have ever visited. I'll be honest, I knew nothing about this place before we got there but ended up falling in love with it.
Dominica, like many of the Windward and Leeward Islands, is Volcanic. This creates beautiful mountain peaks and valleys. We got to see a ton of this country as we were required by Dominica COVID-19 regulations to take a ship-sponsored tour. This was the only island that required this for all guests, vaccinated or not. I'm glad we did.
We took a scenic bus ride and hike with the champagne snorkel thrown in. Dominica is known for its waterfalls. The most famous is Trafalgar Falls. It's twin waterfalls are located in an incredibly scenic valley. The drive in was worth the price of the ticket and the short hike (1 mile) to see the falls was worth it. We stopped for photos, took in the awesome sights, and stopped by a volcanic pool on the way out. Some folks were bathing in them, which is supposed to be medicinal. I really just couldn't get over the strong smell of sulfur. If you don't know what sulfur smells like, congrats (it smells like poo).
The second part of our excursion was the champagne snorkel. At first, I was a little confused. We arrived at the snorkel site and shack and there was no champagne. What I didn't realize, is that the champagne we were going to have was much different and much more beautiful.
Turns out, the champagne snorkel name is from the gaseous bubbles that come up from the reefs you swim over that give you the sensation of being in a glass of champagne. We I told you earlier that I preferred natural snorkeling views, this was what I was talking about.
It was an unbelievable experience to swim through the bubbles. The reef itself was beautiful as well. 10 out 10 would definitely recommend this excursion for snorkel lovers. I consider myself to be a little bit of reef snob but this one was impressive. The photo you see here is one the only photo on this review that we did not take personally. However, we didn't have the underwater camera with us so we were unable to grab photos. I don't feel like this picture does it justice but I wanted to give you an example of what was going on. Photo is courtesy of diveoclock.com.
Back onboard Grandeur, it was one of my favorite activities on Royal Caribbean cruises, the 70's Disco Inferno Party. Held in the Centrum on Deck 4, the crew and guests deck out in their best 70's attire and dance the night away. We didn't attend a ton of events as we normally would due the port intensive itinerary, we really weren't on the ship that much. We made sure not to miss this one. We dined in the Windjammer where it was Mexican night. In my humble opinion, Mexican night is a can't miss at the ships buffet. Following some disco, we turned in to get ready for our last day onboard Grandeur of the Seas.
Day 7 - Castries, St. Lucia
Our morning started early. Royal Caribbean offered free COVID-19 testing required to get back to the US from 6:00 am-9:00 am. Since we had to have the test, and we had an excursion booked for 8:00 am with a meeting time of 7:45, it was an early start. Royal Caribbean had the process very organized and lines weren't too long.
You can't talk about St. Lucia without talking about the Pitons. That's what the day was all about. Of course I found away to get a catamaran involved.
We had actually taken this tour once before on a visit to the island but one member of our traveling party hadn't done it (Phil aka Philbin). Our group loved the crew previously so we felt it was time to run this Royal Caribbean Shore Excursion back.
We hopped on our catamaran and took an hour long ride down the coast to the scenic Piton mountains. That may seem like a long time, but as you know by now, catamarans are awesome and when the crew is lively, it goes by in a blink. Rum punch was flowing and the music was on point. The guests had a great time on the voyage to the peaks. If you've never scene the Pitons, it's truly one of the jewels of the Caribbean.
You can visit the Pitons by bus or boat. I've been advised by many that the boat is the better option because it's about an hour and half bus ride through some pretty dicey roadways. Caribbean drivers have the tendency to be pretty aggressive. I'll stick to the boat. The peaks were formed by volcanic activity. The pair are affectionately named Gros Piton and Petit Piton. If you speak French then you can probably guess why. I always find myself staring at the mountains and having trouble comprehending something so majestic and natural. If you find yourself in St. Lucia, don't miss it.
The boat ride back was possibly more fun that the journey over. Rum punch (and more) was flowing and the ride back, which is about 30 minutes longer because of the current and wind, was broken up by a beach break on a secluded beach and a pass through Marigot Bay. You can pass through the photo gallery at the end for more photos of each destination.
As we headed back to the ship, the reality set in that this was our final day (assuming our COVID-19 tests were negative). The cruise was not over yet but we knew once we got back on board, packing and planning for tomorrow's departure would commence.
The Pitons, the catamaran, the friendly crew, and this beautiful Caribbean nation were a perfect farewell. I think this is the appropriate time to note that when we boarded the ship, I participated and was victorious in the Men's International Belly Flop Competition. It was with great pride that I took the trophy. Americans were the minority on this cruise that was composed of a ton of Barbados citizens and folks from the UK (who didn't need COVID tests to travel to Barbados). Video and photos does exist of this event, but this blog and it's social media pages will need significantly more followers before that goes public. It's also possible that Audrey would just freely share it with you if you e-mailed her. Oh, our COVID-19 tests were negative for all four members of our traveling party.
We have another cruising tradition when sailing on Royal Caribbean, to close the trip out on the last night with dinner at Izumi. It's the cruise lines specialty Asian restaurant offering sushi, appetizers, soups, and desserts. Izumi is one of our favorites and is available on almost all Royal Caribbean ships. Some larger vessels have an Izumi Hibachi option. Pricing is a la carte.
Departure Day
As we did with embarkation, we had heard that disembarking from the ship was a nightmare. Fortunately, this was not the case. It seemed very organized, customs had a plan, and when followed, moved quickly. We were off the ship and in a taxi to the airport in about 45 minutes.
We had also heard horror stories about check-in at the Barbados airport. Half of our traveling party was flying American since they were headed to Memphis. Audrey and I flew United and were headed to Nashville. The other half of the group left ahead of us since their flight left earlier and we had been instructed to arrive at the airport at least three hours early. This is an important tip when flying internationally. Check and follow recommended arrival times. We once had a four hour trip to our gate leaving Aruba, but that's another story. Back on track, we arrived to see they were still in a sea of lines. Thankfully for us, there were zero lines at the United counter. We were checked in and through security in 30 minutes. It may have been our lucky trip.
The Barbados airport terminals were equipped with tons of local bars and restaurants for those that arrived WAY too early. We had a couple of Bloody Mary's and recapped our trip and the memories we had made.
After that, it was wheels up and we headed back to the US. Our first cruise in over two years was complete, and it was everything we had waited for.
Recap
Whether it was being back at sea after two years or the amazing destinations, this was a cruise for our favorites list. We loved having a new port everyday with three previously unvisited ports to see new sites. Audrey and I have done so much of the Caribbean that those were getting hard to come by. Especially as the large ships take over and can't fit into some ports. (Small Ships are Ships Too!)
The ship and the staff were in great shape and great spirits. We had read about staffing issues on all cruise lines as they worked to restart. I never had that experience. You got the feeling with every crew member you came into contact with, they were genuinely glad to be working and glad you were there. We handed out much deserved extra tips to our dining room waiters, Windjammer waiter, and stateroom attendant, Ricardo. He truly almost brought me to tears when he introduced himself on day one with a loud, "Welcome Home!"
This was not an easy trip. In total, Audrey and I took four COVID-19 tests each, everyone of those had the threat to derail our trip. We were protected with travel insurance to cover anything that might pop-up. I highly recommend doing this for long trips like this. Really any trip out of the country. That being said, it was one of the best trips we've ever taken. We took each step in stride and then moved on with our vacation.
This is one we will definitely have to run back in the future.
Great, Good, Okay
To wrap up each review, we will provide one element of the trip that was Great, one that was Good, and one that was Okay. We don't believe there are many bad parts when you're traveling. It's all an adventure.
Great: The itinerary. I'd never been on a cruise that had a stop everyday. To top it off, we threw in some uncharted territory for us. Don't be afraid to sail on a small ship, it can take you places the large ones couldn't. This was my favorite itinerary of all of my 18 cruises so far.
Good: Our stay in Barbados. It was such an authentic experience. The Airbnb was in the heart of the Hastings community. We visited local stores, ate with locals, and lived with locals. The downside was the constant noise from the road. It was loud. All. Night. Outside of that, a great Airbnb, a great Barbados experience.
Okay: COVID-19 protocols. Most cruises and places had relaxed most protocols. Barbados was very strict and the amount of COVID-19 tests required was cumbersome. That aside, it was mostly organized and never put a damper on our trip. It was important that we made a plan B should someone in our party test positive.
If you've made it this far, wow, you are a trooper. I want you to know that future reviews will be done daily and live while on the actual trip. This will break things up by day where it's bite size for you to review. We'll also be reviewing some of the destinations and ships in more detail on their own review blog posts. CruiseNReview is also interested in having you guest blog one your upcoming vacations on land or sea. Compensation could be available for qualified writers. E-mail us to learn more about contributing.
As a final wrap, take a look at our photo gallery with some of our best photos from this trip. All were taken by us via iPhone and are unedited. They are ordered from first day of the trip to last day. You can view captions by double clicking the pictures.
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