Back from the Grandeur

[penny3333]

Horeshoe is the only thing that sticks in my memory. It is such a beautiful beach. The pink sand and the blue water, magnificent. I think people like Cozumel because there is so much to do there. There are so many different activities, great bars, good shopping, good snorkeling, great beaches, good restaurants, and generally a fun atmosphere. We rarely eat when we're in port, just because of the prices. I've seen Bermuda prices elsewhere, sometimes though, they're in local currency, so it's not as bad, but still I'd much rather eat on the ship and save my money for other things besides food.

[Maurine]

Just a word about Captain Rob Hempstead: he has a fantastic sense of humor

I enjoyed Captain Rob very much!

What if you want more than one pool towel? Are you then charged $20 per towel until you return them?

On Serenade, we had the brownish pool towels and they were available in the room and by pools.

Who was the cruise director?

[johnboy]

You can get as many pool towels as you wanted, just had to pay the $20 deposit for each. They were really very nice towels, more like beach towels!

However, if I wanted to keep one, I would probably want to find a new one to "buy", but I don't remember seeing them in the logo store, but I'm sure they're available somewhere. This was the first time I had ever seen them. Was on the Monarch in Aug and they were still using the plain old tan towels, so this must be something new.

The Cruise Director was John Blair - quite a funny guy and very spontanious. Did a good job hosting the "Love & Marriage", "Belly Flop", "Cake Decorating", "Quest", etc. and his quick wit produced a lot of funny lines, even off the cuff.

His wife, Katrina, was his assistant and she was amazing! I don't know where she gets her energy. She was everywhere and involved in everything! When I passed her in the atrium one afternoon, I said that she must be very tired - she just smiled and said, "I had a nap"!

[Maurine]

When I was on Grandeur October 2008 Simeon was the CD. He was quite good.

And I had the same Activities Manager (Belle) on Serenade this past October as I'd had on Grandeur. She was doing vacation relieve. She'd travel to various ships to fill in for people who were on vacation.

Yes, I think I'd get a new towel too. I guess they're easing the new towel program in on a few ships to see how it works out. When I got a pool towel I tried to get a fluffy one.

I don't know how the cruise director staff keeps up their energy.