Grandeur of the Seas to Mexico

I sailed the Grandeur of the Seas over New Years' Eve, and one thing I can tell you is that Royal Caribbean certainly knows how to throw a party! The multi storey atrium featured a live band, followed by a disco, and then free champagne after the captain did the midnight count down. Fun times.

I could- and did- counter that hangover with a day snuggled up in the adults-only Solarium, with its padded loungers, swimming pool, and comfort food on tap. In fact, the ambiance was so soothing that I spent half the day in there.

Though she is a big ship carrying around 2,000 passengers, Grandeur never felt overly crowded. Either inside or out. And she was sailing at full capacity, too.

I had booked an inside cabin which was fine for purpose, though next time I would definitely go for something at least a bit larger. That said, there was more than enough storage space and the bathroom, though a little tight, was perfectly fine.

Entertainment on board was lavish, lacking for nothing. From Vegas style floor shows in the main show lounge, to piano players and intimate jazz, no one could possibly have complained about boredom on this ship.

I especially loved the vast, under used Viking Crown lounge, though it never seemed to attract a lot of patronage- a problem I suspect all such similar venues share in common.

What I was not so keen on was the constant hard sell for almost everything, whether in announcements over the speakers, or by flyers put through the cabin doors. In the end, I just trashed those automatically, without reading them any more.

High winds prevented us going to one of our ports of call-Costa Maya. Almost within sight of the entrance, we turned round and headed straight to Cozumel instead, where we were gifted an overnight stay by way of compensation.

Although there was a lot of regimentation in terms of entertainment and menus, I enjoyed my week on board the Grandeur of the Seas. For a big ship experience over the festive period, this ship had it all.