Writer Rob Lovitt based this independent review on his 7-night Western Caribbean cruise departing from New Orleans, Louisiana.

With her clean, contemporary décor and dazzling ocean vistas, Grandeur of the Seas is a grand ship, but she’s never grandiose. Sure, Cole Porter tunes may drift through the marble atrium, but for the most part, the onboard ambience is strictly casual. From daily demos and dance classes to nightly shows and themed events, guests are always invited to participate, but never pressured. The result is a classic cruise experience where good food, first-rate facilities facilities (including a rock-climbing wall), and a friendly crew generate loyal fans and lifelong cruisers. Grandeur is not a new, flashy ship, but rather an older one -- she launched in 1996 -- that’s aging gracefully, a classic in the making.

Why Grandeur of the Seas?

• See the sights: Sailings from New Orleans begin with a leisurely tour through the levee country of the Lower Mississippi. Sailings from Baltimore take in the vast expanse of Chesapeake Bay.
• Savor the sunlight: Towering glass walls and wraparound windows provide expansive ocean views, infusing public areas with warm, inviting light.
• Enjoy the bright lights: Come nightfall, top-notch production shows and clever cabaret acts earn standing ovations, as do karaoke-crooning passengers with professional-quality pipes.

Heard on the deck: “Our first cruise was supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime vacation. Now, we go every year.”

Who should go
Grandeur attracts an all ages, all classes kind of crowd. Midwest newlyweds mingle with retirees from New York and California, while veteran cruisers share tips and insights with the many first-timers onboard. Couples clearly predominate -- look for more over 40 than under -- and most go along with the dancing waiters and silly pool games, even if they’re disinclined to volunteer. That said, the energy level rises considerably during school holidays, when the 17-and-under set can swell to 700 or more.

Who shouldn’t go
Experienced cruisers in search of posh accommodations and private-butler service won’t find it here; cabins are more functional than fancy. Also, singles and younger couples may find the nightlife a bit lacking. (The casino rocks, but bar-hopping can be a lonely affair.)

Hits and misses

• Don’t miss: It’s borrowed bras and bobby socks in the South Pacific Lounge as The Quest, the ship’s vaguely risqué scavenger hunt, segues straight into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Dance Party.
• Best part of the ship: Live plants, bubbling waters, and soft spa-like music turn the Moorish-themed Solarium Pool into a relaxing retreat where stress simply disappears.
• Best experience: Each of the ship’s three production shows is unique, entertaining, and more professional than most at-sea theatricals.
• Best shipboard activities: Rapid-fire art auctions and big-bucks bingo may draw bigger crowds, but the backstage tour and captain’s talk are entertaining and educational.
• Needs improvement: The shopping consultant’s tips about port stores and products would be a lot more believable if he wasn’t so obviously reading from a script.
• Activities to skip: Improvisational comedy is hard enough for professionals. When amateur passengers try it (during the Improv Workshop), it’s just painful.

How to meet the captain
Grandeur’s captain is actually more accessible than most. After posing for handshakes and photo ops during his welcome aboard reception, he typically heads for his large, central table in the main dining room (second seating). Later in the cruise, he hosts smaller receptions for returning RCI cruisers and an informative video presentation (in lieu of a bridge tour) in which he takes questions from the audience. In between, he’s out and about quite a bit -- and often happy to chat.

Tip: Waiters serve free champagne and rum punch at the captain’s welcome reception, but if you ask, they will happily bring you a glass of wine or specialty cocktail.

Grandeur’s chefs are not afraid of the spice rack. Whether you eat in the elegant Great Gatsby Dining Room or at the casual Windjammer buffet, there’s always something tangy, smoky, or savory to tempt adventurous diners. You can stick with scrambled eggs and New York steaks, of course, but you should at least try the pumpkin soup, Phad Thai, and smoked-salmon pasta. Afterwards, a sweet, gooey dessert is a given -- and there are plenty to choose from.

Great Gatsby Dining Room
With its white, fluted columns and Roaring ’20s images, the ship’s main dining room is an F. Scott Fitzgerald scene come to life. At dinner, passengers can go for the basics -- prime rib, daily pastas, simple fish dishes -- or savor well-spiced dishes like roasted pumpkin soup, jerk chicken, and Moroccan-spiced rack of lamb. Waiters are as friendly as they are proficient and seem genuinely eager to please: If you so much as admire a tablemate’s dish, you may find one brought out to you. Desserts are equally enticing (apple pie or chocolate mousse? Crème brûlée or mango strudel?), and nobody minds if you order a second slice of key lime pie or a piece of cheesecake for the table. The dining room also draws a hungry crowd for breakfast and lunch (open-seating, hours vary) with menus that highlight omelets, eggs Benedict, and heaping plates of barbecued ribs. Lunchtime desserts are less decadent than those at dinner -- but just barely.

Windjammer Café
It’s a good thing they provide oversized plates at the ship’s buffet restaurant. Breakfast? We’re talking everything from biscuits and gravy to blintzes and made-to-order omelets. Lunch? Multiple hot entrées, carved meats, and make-your-own tacos. Dinner menus mirror the main dining room’s, and there are usually plenty of pastries, cakes, and chocolate treats if you’ve got room. There are hits and misses, of course -- real bacon on the salad bar, yet imitation “krab” in the gumbo -- but the offerings are ample, varied, and more flavorful than most buffet fare.

Other dining options

• Solarium Grill: Located near the Solarium Pool, this takeout window offers hamburgers (not bad), pizza (not good), and French fries that are hot, crispy, and borderline addictive.
• Latte-tudes: The aroma of fresh-baked waffle cones lures unsuspecting passengers to this coffee bar for Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, Seattle’s Best Coffee drinks, and yet more desserts, most for a small fee.
• Poolside barbecue: Once each cruise, the crew sets up massive grills by the main pool and flame broils a smoky selection of ribs, chicken, and hot dogs.
• Room service: Passengers can order hot and cold breakfast items the night before, lunch and dinner dishes when the main dining room is open, and light bites around the clock, all for free.

Best dining

• Dish: The Fisherman’s Plate on the first formal night may sound like a fried-seafood basket, but it’s actually a good-sized lobster tail and several garlicky shrimp.
• Dessert: Great Gatsby’s dessert sampler offers a bite-sized trio of the kitchen’s sweetest treats: Cake-like savarin, passion fruit cheesecake, and flourless chocolate cake.
• Restaurant: There is no specialty restaurant onboard, but Great Gatsby welcomes guests with flavorful food, friendly waiters, and a stylish Jazz Age ambience.
• Food seminar: The scent of sautéed garlic fills the atrium when the executive chef demonstrates how to make spicy shrimp scampi. (The strawberries with champagne sabayon aren’t bad, either.)

How to…

• Get a table for two: There are only six in Great Gatsby, so the odds aren’t good (request when booking). However, if the ship isn’t full, the maître d’ may set a four-seat table for two.
• Celebrate a birthday/anniversary: Give your head waiter a little notice and he’ll come up with a small cake ($7.95) and chorus of singing waiters. Room decorations are also available (fees apply).
• Change seating: The early seating typically fills first, so it’s usually easier to go from early to late than the other way around. The maître d’ takes change requests after 1 PM on embarkation day. Head there early.
• Dress for formal night: Passengers do like to dress up. Expect lots of long black gowns, little black dresses, and a fairly equal split between tuxes and dark suits.
• Dress for casual night: Many women pair a blouse or sleeveless top with a skirt or capris. Most men go for golf shirts and slacks, but jeans and even shorts are not uncommon.

Tips:

• If you want to eat lunch in the Great Gatsby, plan on doing so on a sea day. It’s generally closed for lunch when the ship is in port.
• You can always order a New York strip steak or salmon fillet during the evening buffet in the Windjammer Café.
• There are no self-service ice cream machines onboard, but a half-hidden window in the Windjammer Café offers cones and bowls during lunch and dinner hours.

Heard on the deck (from two men standing in line for dessert in the Windjammer Café):
First man: “I feel bad; I didn’t work out today.”
Second man: “Yeah, and it’s not looking too good for tomorrow, either.”

Thanks to a major refurbishment in spring 2005, once-tired accommodations now sport a new décor of deep gold and forest green. Standard inside and oceanview cabins are smallish (140 and 154 square feet, respectively), but functional with couches, safes, and hair dryers. Balcony cabins and suites have refrigerators, teak or marble entries, and light-filled balconies with smoked-glass partitions. (Suites also have bathtubs.) Then there’s the Royal Suite, which features a grand piano and marble bathroom bigger than many cabins.

Cabins for guests with disabilities
The ship’s 14 wheelchair-accessible cabins feature wide doors, roll-in bathrooms with grab bars, and convenient locations near the midship elevators. Inside cabins actually offer better maneuverability than oceanview ones, while those with balconies are equipped with steep, but serviceable, ramps. Wheelchair-accessible public bathrooms can be found near most major facilities, and a hydraulic pool lift assists wheelchair-bound passengers into the main pool and adjacent hot tub.

Tips:

• Located right above the Schooner Bar and South Pacific Lounge, some aft cabins on Deck 7 can be noisy when there’s a late-night party or piano sing-along going on.
• There are no guest laundry facilities onboard, but washing, pressing, and dry-cleaning are available (fees apply).
• Some of the wheelchair-accessible cabins on Deck 7 also have fold-out couches, making them a good choice for physically challenged guests traveling with more than one companion.

Given Grandeur’s expanses of glass, you could easily spend hours simply staring out to sea. Most guests, however, soak up those expansive ocean views in passing as they make their way to bingo games, art auctions, and wine tastings. Come nightfall, when the windows go dark, passengers opt for theme parties, karaoke, casino gambling, and stage shows in the 800-plus seat theatre. With so much going on, few make it to the late-night disco, but there’s usually a couple or two slow-dancing around the atrium.

Click to view a virtual tour

Bars, lounges, and casino
By day, passengers sip cold beers and frosty concoctions at two pool bars. At night, they enjoy pre-dinner drinks in the Champagne Bar, piano music in the Schooner Bar, and nightcaps overlooking the pool in the Viking Crown Lounge. Organized dance parties aside, the onboard bar scene is fairly quiet. Turns out a lot of folks are in the Luxor-like casino, where a faux-gold King Tut watches over 11 gaming tables, 180-plus slot machines, and deep-pocketed passengers who don’t quit until the wee hours.

Swimming pools
Set beneath a retractable glass roof, the adult-only Solarium Pool is a serene oasis with two hot tubs, arcing fountains, and a soothing décor of tilework, live plants, and abstract statuary. For more action, head to the main pool, and you’ll find a small pool (with large wading area), four hot tubs, and several hundred sun-worshippers. There are the usual pool games, but honestly, most guests are happy with a book, a drink, and a deck chair. Best of all, you don’t have get there at dawn to find an empty seat.

Heard on the deck:
Waiter: “Would you like a Corona, sir?”
Passenger: “No, actually, I’d like six.”

Shows
Some ships go for quantity, others for quality. Grandeur offers both with three (not just two) top-notch production shows on her seven-night sailings. One night, it’s a tribute to Broadway -- some “de-lovely” Cole Porter, a torchy Cell Block Tango from Chicago. The next, it’s a celebration of swing disguised as a dance competition. And don’t miss My Romance, an original production that chronicles love from first date to domestic bliss: The sets are clever and the singers superlative, but that bathrobe duet is just plain hilarious. On nights when stage shows aren’t scheduled, the theatre hosts guest performances by musicians, comedians, magicians, and more.

Shore excursions
Tropical itineraries mean there’s always a good reason to go ashore, whether that’s for snorkeling with stingrays, party boat rides, or leisurely beach breaks. Extended desk hours at the shore excursions center keep lines to a minimum, and the staff is friendly, knowledgeable, and happy to offer suggestions. Waitlists are available; complete refunds are provided with 24 hours’ notice, and you can almost always book something at the last minute on port days. (Excursions can also be booked online up to 10 days before sailing.)

Weddings and vow renewals
All weddings are conducted in port (onboard or ashore, where allowed) by local officiants, whereas vow renewals are performed onboard only by a staff coordinator. Small ceremonies are performed in front of the windows in the Viking Crown Lounge; larger ceremonies, in the South Pacific Lounge. Flowers, photography, and full receptions for up to 75 guests can all be arranged, as can a variety of in-room amenities. All arrangements should be made prior to sailing.

Looking for…

• Quietest spot: The library -- the shelves are always unlocked and there’s also a paperback exchange, but based on its general emptiness, most guests would rather read on deck or in the atrium.
• Liveliest spot: Flashing lights and clattering coins provide a busy, glitzy backdrop in a high-energy, pirate-inspired casino that seldom closes before 3 AM.
• Most popular activity: Karaoke draws overflow crowds with performers who mimic Neil Diamond and out-Whitney Whitney. (These folks don’t need to read the lyrics.)
• Best view: On embarkation day, the observatory deck above the bridge offers a bird’s-eye view of the Mississippi River (or Chesapeake Bay).
• Best show: A tie -- My Romance for its original songs and clever sets; Jump, Jive, and Swing for its Tommy Dorsey tunes and jitterbuggin’ couples.
• Best drink: Many guests go for the drink of the day -- Bahama Mamas one day, Singapore Slings the next -- for $3.95 apiece ($5.95 with a souvenir glass).

Heard on the deck: “I hope they put plenty of money in the slot machines last night because I’m planning on taking a lot home with me.”

Tips:

• Several shows for diners with late seating are presented before dinner. If you prefer your “dinner and a show” evenings in that order, request first seating for dinner.
• Book certain shore excursions and you can receive a $20 discount on select spa treatments (limitations apply).
• For sunbathing without a crowd, a small observation deck located far forward offers a dozen or so deck chairs and good wind protection. (It’s also where the Royal Caribbean dancers hang out.)
• Extra pool towels can be requested from your cabin attendant, but they do keep track. Fail to return one and it will cost you $20. (There’s also a towel exchange by the main pool.)
• If you need a news fix, you’ll find news digests (in five languages) in a rack near the purser’s desk.
• Fast-paced art auctions focus primarily on works that have been specifically requested by individual passengers. If you buy, expect to pay a 15 percent commission, plus $35 shipping.
• The library also serves as the ship’s cigar bar on several evenings. Check the daily planner for hours.

Spa and salon
The Grandeur Day Spa isn’t big -- nine treatment rooms and a small salon -- but it offers a full range of services from manicures to seaweed masks to hot-stone massages. You’ll also find treatments for couples, an extensive spa menu for teens, and a relaxation room that does double duty as a classroom for a variety of seminars. Get a free hair or skin consultation, learn about teeth whitening and reflexology, and sample a slew of lotions and potions. You can always say “no” to the inevitable product pitch.

Fitness areas
In the morning, Walk-A-Milers share the running track with iPod-equipped joggers (five laps equal one mile). In the afternoon, they take it easy with shuffleboard and ping-pong by the pool. More adventurous guests don helmets and rock shoes to tackle the 28-foot climbing wall, and there’s seldom a wait to “belay on.” Likewise, the well-equipped fitness center -- 26 machines and a small aerobics studio -- sees steady traffic, but you can always find an empty machine or a spot in an exercise class. Fitness classes rarely fill up, but if they do, there are waitlists (and somebody almost always backs out). Classes like aerobics and stretching are free, while yoga, Pilates, and spinning charge a $10 fee.

Tips:

• Bathrobes aren’t automatically provided in the spa, but they are available if you ask.
• Even with the shades drawn, oceanview treatment rooms in the spa can be quite bright. For a more soothing experience, request an inside treatment room.
• The gym offers free 10-minute consultations with a personal trainer, or full sessions for $75 each (three sessions for $195).
• Passengers can earn “ShipShape Dollars” (redeemable for tote bags and T-shirts) by taking exercise classes, tackling the climbing wall, and even competing in a ring toss or shuffleboard tournament.
• There are seven marked routes up the climbing wall. For the easiest one, look for the smiley-face handhold.

Set up like a mini-galleria, onboard shops pack a lot of merchandise into a small space. Tax- and duty-free goods line the shelves in a handful of stores -- clothing and logowear in Regalia, watches and jewelry in Facets -- while daily sale tables tout fashion watches, formal bags, and Pashmina-style scarves for $10 apiece. Look, too, for the occasional raffle (free amber jewelry), liquor tasting, and poolside sale of gold by the inch, clearance clothing, and half-priced logo wear.

Tip: At the port shopping talk, fill out a form listing your interests and staff will deliver to your cabin a VIP card for a matching store.

Heard on the deck: “We bought the shopping passport book and spent the day getting free gifts. It was like a big scavenger hunt.”

The Adventure Ocean children’s program offers age-appropriate activities for kids ages 3-5, 6-8, 9-11, 12-14, and 15-17. The youngest spend most of their time in a crayon-colored playroom, while the oldest roam the ship or hang out in the large, techno-style teen center. There’s also group babysitting from 10 PM to 1 AM ($5 per child, per hour), in-room babysitting ($8 per child, per hour), and two new programs -- Aqua Babies and Aqua Tots -- that offer supervised parent-child playtime for passengers with kids ages 6-36 months (free).

Through November 2005, Grandeur of the Seas offers 5-night Bermuda and 9-night Caribbean cruises departing from Baltimore. She then moves to New Orleans, sailing 7-night itineraries to Cozumel, Costa Maya, and Grand Cayman through the winter.

• Cruise line - Royal Caribbean
• Ship name - Grandeur of the Seas
• Type of cruise - Casual
• Total cabins - 975
• Private balcony cabins - 763
• Decks - 11
• Total crew - 760
• Passenger capacity - 2446
• Ship size - Large
• Officers nationality - Norwegian
• Year entered service - 1996
• Registry - Bahamas
• Ship length - 916
• Tonnage - 74,140