If you've spent any time on board with us, you'll learn that we love participating in trivia and other games on board. We returned to our old familiar spot of the Schooner Bar for our first session of afternoon trivia. Came in 3rd place. Minor rant - there's always going to be back to back cruisers on board and yes, cruise staff will often re-use trivia questions but please, if you start hearing the same questions as used on your last cruise, play along but don't keep score. Yes, the prizes are Royal Caribbean themed trinkets (we could repaint the ship yellow with all the highlighters we've won) and not worth much but it ruins the fun for everyone else when your team always comes in first because you had already heard the questions. At one trivia a few days in, the group stopped bothering to hide it and told one of the cruise staff that the answer being debated was right "because that's what you said the answer was last week!" I think the cruise staff caught on as time went by because they started offering prizes to the winning team and 2nd place. To their credit, the group in question did start refusing the prizes after the first few days either telling the host to give them to 2nd place or offering the prizes to other cruisers themselves. I did find it rude though one day when their group member tried to give us the keychain prize and they copped an attitude when we said no thanks and to pass it on to someone else. It wasn't a sore loser issue, we simply already had more keychains than keys from previous cruises at this point. I kept trying to pass along what we did win later to the few kids on board but even they started saying no more!
One of the perks for suites (and pinnacles unfortunately) is use of the Concierge Lounge on deck 11. It's funny how many cruises we discover passengers who don't even realize this ship has a deck 11 because they don't have use of the lounge. The deck also houses the Viking Crown Lounge which is a great indoor space for quiet time during the day and the dance club space in the evenings. This is also where you find Izumi, the Asian themed specialty restaurant. A little tip is that if you want to take an elevator all the way up to deck 11, you have to use the midship glass elevators. The others only go up to deck 9 or deck 10. There's talk of making all Concierge Lounges fleet wide be made into solely suite lounges but the Grandeur has yet to make that change despite being one of the smallest lounges in the fleet. This lounge is a nice perk because from 4PM to 8PM each evening, they put out a small spread of snacks and you can drink for free (as long as your drink is something on their approved list so no blended drinks for me). I was told on this trip that the rule bar waiters follow is that it can only be a drink they stock at the adjacent Viking Crown Lounge bar. They're supposedly not allowed to go find your preferred drink elsewhere. On Celebrity, the bar tender ran all the way up to the pool bar which supposedly was the only place on the ship to make Dad's requested Brandy Alexander. There is also a spread put out in the mornings if you're in the mood for a light continental style breakfast but no free drinks then. The door to the lounge itself is controlled by inserting your cruise card and then you have to give it a few moments to start swinging the door open for you.
One delight that awaited us in the Concierge Lounge tonight was the new to us concierge, Carlington. We had previously sailed with Francis whom is beloved by many Grandeur fans but he'd left when the ship went into a quick drydock shortly before our sailing. We'd learned since sailing with Francis that while he did a fair job as far as the limited use of perks we chose to take advantage of, he told us certain things like ship tours were only for the higher loyalty levels when we knew that suite guests also got this privilege as long as the crew elected to allow it at all. So before this trip, I emailed with Carlington to make sure we were included in any opportunities and were assured that yes it was allowed. When we first arrived today I didn't get the chance to introduce myself but Carlington made a point of walking the lounge chatting with everyone and greeted me by name before I even could say it. He remembered my emails and we had many great chats this trip. When you're a suite guest, definitely make use of the concierge for everything from making reservations to reporting problems encountered onboard that otherwise fall on deaf ears. We took this time to have him make our first three dinner reservations starting the pattern of Chops, followed by Izumi, and then Giovanni's. We only made 3 days worth of reservations at a time electing to see how the cruise went as far as whether we wanted to visit one restaurant more or one less often. We also made reservations with the manager Deckster at Giovanni's as needed since we were already there to eat. Any of the specialty restaurants on board have access to the same reservation system so you can visit any one of them to make reservations for them or any other restaurant.
Any veteran cruiser will tell you, the longer the cruise the less kids and the more higher level loyalty cruisers you'll encounter. I'm not here to shout that all Pinnacles are rude and snotty by any means but it does leave a sour taste in one's mouth when you arrive to enjoy the only lounge you've paid for the right to be in (there is also a diamond lounge which overflows into the South Pacific Lounge during their evening free drink hours. We popped into the South Pacific Lounge one evening just to sit and wait for the Schooner Bar to clear and got the same unwelcome reaction) and you can't get a seat or partake in simple conversation because the Pinnacles have taken over the space and are treating it like they are holding a rally in their personal clubhouse. We did get to meet and chat with a few very nice Pinnacle cruisers during some less chaotic moments but what bothered me the most was the reactions we got when arriving at the lounge. The crowd of Pinnacles would not only stop talking to look at us in disgust but I even noticed a few that would lean in to their nearest cruiser and whisper about us. As if us low brow common folk had snuck into their clubhouse. At first we thought it was due to our not changing for dinner before coming to the lounge when most of them were dressed up but even when we made a point of changing out of shorts, we still had the same reaction. When there is overflow, they open the connecting door and block off the lower Viking Crown Lounge seating for the cocktail hour crowd. More often than not unfortunately, even when we weren't pushed out to sitting in the overflow area, we'd get ignored by the bar staff. A couple times we noticed them walking past us to take a Pinnacle cruiser's order who'd come in after us or leaving us waiting while they brought just the Pinnacle's orders regardless of when they took ours. Carlington was great about looking out for his suite guests and often commiserated with us about being pushed out by the Pinnacle crowd.
Headed back up to deck 8 and spotted my suitcase on a rack currently being wheeled through the elevator bank as we passed by. Figured it must soon arrive at our cabin and headed there to wait for it so I could change for dinner. And wait for it, and wait for it. Finally my suitcase was delivered at 5PM. All was fine with its contents, our luggage tag that said suite priority was still attached, and no note from the naughty room explaining the delay. If only suitcases could talk I bet it would have quite the story of where it's been all this time. We spent sail away unpacking which went a little smoother once Dad realized that the first door on the right you encounter when walking into our cabin was a walk in closet and not the door to a connecting cabin. That second bedroom is so minimal that the only storage in there is a nightstand and a small ledge under the mirror. Dad elected to keep the beds separate so it would be easier to use his CPAP on the same side as he uses it at home but it did look like there was some cubby shelving along the walls if the beds were pushed together in the center of the room.
Baltimore is a great port to sail out of not only for the smaller quicker terminal but for the two grand bridges you sail under within the first couple hours of sailing. Being on your balcony or the open decks watching your ship look like it's going to be too tall to fit under only to clear at the last minute gives you a perspective one doesn't get to see when driving across. I highly recommend taking the time to watch these moments if it's your first, second, or tenth time sailing out of Baltimore. If I wasn't needing to get unpacked so I could change for dinner, I would have been up there taking in the moment as well.
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