Getting to the ship: The day before we were scheduled to leave I called Delta to confirm our flight and was told that our flight times had been changed (e-tickets). We now had 35 minutes between flights in Atlanta which included a two terminal run to make the connection. The best Delta could do was a "Meet and Greet" to point us in the right direction and a notation on our second leg that we would be running late. That night, at 10:30 PM, I received a call from Delta saying that my first flight in the morning had been cancelled and due to overbooking on the later flights the earliest I could get into Miami would be 5:45 PM. The agent then asked if we were going on a cruise. When I said yes she said, "I thought so. And, when does the cruise leave?" When I told her 5:00 PM she said, "I was afraid of than." She then offered to change our routing so that we wouldn't be able to go through Atlanta but rather would take a flight from Lexington to Cincinnati, and from there a direct flight to Miami. She apologetically told me that they would have to change the class of service. So now, instead of flight in the cattle section we were bumped up to first class. She asked if that was okay, To which I replied, "Well, if you really have too ... it's my grand-daughters' first flight and I wouldn't want them to miss the camaraderie of coach-tourist class." Anyway we went the first-class route (all the way) and arrived a half hour earlier than our original flight schedule. Quite a first impression for the girls. Also, kudos for Delta. (I'd much rather go through Cincinnati than Atlanta!!)

Ship: Grandeur was the same as when we last sailed her two years ago. Total beautiful, clean and well kept. The only difference I could tell this time was that the crew and senior staff seemed to be Canadian rather than Norwegian as we had experienced before. Our adjoining cabins were on the Main deck, which is a story in itself. We had originally booked a quad cabin on the A deck. When RCI was having a sale in May the price for our cabin went down and we could not get an upgrade in the quad cabins since they were already all taken. Lori was able to get us two adjoining cabins for the price of our one quad and one deck up. (Good job Lori ... Note the value of a good TA.) The cabins were great although one smelled heavily of cigarette smoke. I called Housekeeping and the head housekeeper came shortly and sprayed the room which took care of the problem. One room was set up as a double and the other as two twins. It was a great mix of togetherness and privacy for all parties. And, I didn't have to share a bathroom with three women.

Staff: As I already noted the Captain and senior staff were all Canadian. The Adventure Ocean staff was also Canadian. The head of Adventure Ocean was a young lady from Quebec with a masters degree in Childhood Development from McGill University. Most of the rest of her staff (also Canadian) were also degreed psychologists or teachers with impressive experience. There were over 300 children on this cruise and with the exception of several drunk teen-agers later in the cruise I did not notice any problem with any of them. They were, for the most part, well behaved and even joined in with many of the more hokey activities associated with deck games, etc. The cabin steward was invisible but kept our cabins in good order. He even managed to coordinate the cleaning to our different schedules so that no one was inconvenienced. The dining room wait staff was the best we have ever experienced, on any cruise-line, on any ship. The Head Waiter fussed over the girls, made napkin puppets, and saw that they got big dishes of fresh fruit with every meal. He more than earned the gratuities we gave him at the end of the cruise. We were at a table for twelve with 6 adults and 6 teen or pre-teen kids. Everyone was impressed with the quality of the service from the wait staff and the Head Waiter, in particular. Our Waiter, Robbie, was personable, accurate in his orders, and always looked for ways to make our eating experience better. Our Assistant Waiter, Jaroslaw, was excellent with drinks and food pickup or delivery. The Wine Steward was not very imaginative nor, do I suspect, happy. The rest of the crew and staff seemed pleasant and happy. This is the first time that I have ever had a crewmember strike up a conversation with me as I was sitting outside of the Windjammer having coffee in the morning. The bus-boy went systematically down through the tables talking to all the tables asking how they were doing and talking about himself as well. It was definitely a positive thing. I told my wife that RCI must be do some relationship training with its crews as they definitely were taking a greater interest in the passengers other than herding them like cattle.

Food: Typical RCI. Good banquet food. Some very good food. Some just okay. The lobster was soggy. The steak too well done. And, the deserts were unimaginative. (RCI now has a policy of no flaming deserts ... You tell me what this does for cherries jubilee.) They have combined their appetizer and soup menu but you can order both with no problem. I guess I am one of the few but I really like their specialty soups. The Osco Brusko (veal shanks) was excellent. The grilled salmon was excellent. The garlic and cheese bread was excellent.

Entertainment: The Platters, Los Gauchos, MaryAnn's Puppet Fantasy (also part of the Los Gauchos Sosa family), a juggler (Sosa family), a Cuban singer, and a singer comedian were the headliners. The two production numbers we had seen before but with new singers and new songs they were as good as any Los Vegas review. I would rate the entertainment very good to excellent. The Sosa family is extremely talented. The Puppet Fantasy is not to be missed by children or adults. It is outstanding.

Itinerary: Miami, Labadee, San Juan, St. Thomas, Coco Cay, Miami. We picked the cruise because of the itinerary and were not disappointed. The grand-daughters had never snorkeled and my wife and my self were extremely experienced as snorklers so we viewed this itinerary as a good teaching experience. On Labadee we took the snorkel tour. It went out to Treasure Island (off the coast of Haiti) where the water was clear and the coral gardens were really great. It was a shore entry snorkel and then swim about a quarter of a mile out to the reef. The girls are excellent swimmers and had no trouble adapting. The one who had trouble with her mask would just come up sputtering and charge onward. By the end of the trip she was a pro. Neither girl was too happy with the venders at the craft market. (The girls are from a small town in northern Ohio and were not prepared for the more aggressive selling behavior and haggling that is a way of life on this island.) No problem for us though. In San Juan we just walked around and enjoyed the shopping. The girls had lots of presents to buy for their three other sisters and numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins of their extended family (all in the same small town ... including my son's previous two wives and their families. Makes for interesting get togethers.) On St. Thomas we took the ferry over to Red Hook and on to Trunk Bay for its usual excellent snorkeling. No problems. On Coco Cay the water was clear and we got to see several large parrot fish and a spotted eagle ray (9 ft. tip to tip). The girls did real well except one brushed up against some fire coral and that was time for a few tears. The vinegar spray from the dive shop helped though. Our two sea days were great. The girls really enjoyed Adventure Ocean and couldn't wait to get there morning, noon and night.

Overall: This is a great cruise for families; for anyone who likes water sports; for anyone who doesn't mind not visiting exotic ports. St. Thomas and San Juan are American-ized and not like many of the other Caribbean towns or islands we have visited. The ship is one of the prettiest afloat. The quality of the cruise is excellent. We would do this cruise again in a minute.

Return air: Uneventful. Although all of the flights were overbooked and the gate agent at Atlanta didn't know which plane she was taking us to we didn't experience any problems on the return flights. And, the girls did get to see how the cattle live (in coach) and what a puddle jumper was (Aero Brasil from ATL to LEX.)

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Dick Dedic
Lexington, KY