long4acruise

Following and enjoying your review of your "Bonus" cruise! Glad your family had the opportunity to sail this beautiful ship. We cruised on Mariner from Singapore last year and looking forward to the "new" Mariner on our B2B on Nov 9-16.

Great review, we are 81 days out for the transatlantic back to Miami.

Ditto. Looking forward to exploring the ship on all the sea days to Miami!

Full Cahrters usually suspend all perks during the cruise. Everything is run by the charter company.

Interesting. We've been on at least 12 full charters in the last eight years on Royal Caribbean ships and have received nearly all the Diamond/Diamond Plus perks: Lounge (Diamond/Concierge/Suite) access, free drinks (both in the lounges and on our SeaPass cards), free photos, internet and laundry specials upon request. Although the Next Cruise wasn't officially "on duty "since the space was being used by the charter staff, we could request an appointment with them via Guest Services if we wanted to book another cruise. Ditto for Loyalty Ambassador - available upon specific request, although understandably there was no Top Tier party or meal with an officer.

Our most recent charter was the Dave Koz jazz cruise (Baltics) in May 2018.

Hope you enjoyed your cruise on Serenade. Is there a Suites or Concierge Lounge on Serenade? Sometimes the deck plans are outdated. Thanks much!

Atlantis charted Mariner for the 9th of Nov. Sorry i was a week off..

Is the Mariner OTS a full 3N chartered sailing on Nov 9-12 or just a large group booking? It's still listed on the cruise websites which may not mean anything, as those booked may be notified after the fact or once the charter starts to fill up!

I was an action packed day. Marie was in bed by 9.

Sincere appreciation for all of your awesome photos and taking the time to provide a little narration! We have friends on this cruise and feel as though we are right there with you, also. Hope to book this or a similar itinerary in 2019.

Continue to enjoy your outstanding cruise! Learning so much from Cruise Critic.

Donna Long (Maryland)

Danish Viking,

I've been trying to catch up and read all of your valuable information. Many THANKS for all you do in providing great assistance to everyone! I need a little planning help for my cruise:

- Arr on SAS flight Fri May 11 @ 7:30 am

- Staying @Scandic Palace

- Cruise on Serenade OTS (fully-chartered) from Oceankaj on Sun May 13

- (I know the World Ice Hockey will be ongoing!)

We love to do the HOHO bus in cities we've not visited yet, but trying to decide if I should buy the 48-hour Copenhagen Card online and try to see the popular sites offered or buy a 24-hour card and plan to purchase tickets for the HOHO.

Airport to Hotel: 2 adults with 3 rolling luggage - Is the bus or train easy & convenient to our hotel since transportation is included with the Card?

Hotel to Oceankaj: Best option on a busy sports weekend? (We paid for the Royal Caribbean transfers to the airport at the end of cruise.)

Again, sincere appreciation in all you do. :'):'):'):')

Thanks much for taking precious time to post all the detailed info! Much appreciated. Looking forward to your review. We're considering taking the 13-N New Zealand sailing from Sydney in March 2019, prior to a chartered jazz cruise later that month. Have sailed several times each on Ovation's sister ships - Quantum and Anthem from Cape Liberty (Bayonne NJ) and enjoyed the ships.

Mariner will have a 125 million dollar refurb in April, that alone made the choice for me. We are booked on the Nov. 9th 3 day sailing after getting of the Symphony transatlantic. Mariner has always been one of our favorites. happy cruising

We will also be doing a "bag drop" from Symphony to the Mariner on Nov 9th. Looking forward to sailing on the Mariner again, but a little sad RCL is only offering 3- and 4-night sailings. We were on the Mariner this exact time last year sailing from Singapore to Thailand, Malaysia, etc. It's a beautiful ship, which will be even more beautiful after its multi-million refurbishment!

Interesting, but I guess it may depend on the charter...

My husband and I do at least one chartered jazz/music cruise each year and get all the Diamond Plus perks - points, complimentary drinks and appetizers in the DL/CL, robes, free photo each, our selected gifts (water, wine) cookies and fruit plate. Because of the chartered events and schedule, a Top Tier event is not held. There was no Meet & Mingle either but I don't recall a roll call for the charter.

Yes, the chartered cruises can be pricey, but we sail them for all the great combined entertainment - individual concerts we would attend anyway at a cost per ticket per show - and the organizer gives us perks, gifts and quality souvenirs. We tend to do a B2B to relax afterwards from all the non-stop music and activities. And the follow-on sailing is usually a great price.

Hope this info helps!

Hello Danish King,

Thanks for all your valuable info. I'm still learning to navigate CC. Quick question on Copenhagen Hotels. We'll be departing on a cruise from Copenhagen next May with a large group. Although optional, the selected hotels are: Bella Sky, Radisson Blu Scand, Scandic Hvidovre and Glostrup, SP34. Trying to determine which hotel is most convenient for walking to the local attractions, etc. or if I should select a different hotel on my own. Prefer convenience and cleanliness over mere cost. Also does $170 pp sound reasonable for 3-way group transportation (airport to hotel, hotel to cruise port and port to airport)? I think there's a major sports event in the city close til time of the scheduled cruise in mid-May.

Appreciate all your advice!

Will be following along. Sailing on the Navi on Sep 29th for 14 nights. Interested in internet access/speed and general entertainment. Thanks!

EnricM, I've been reading your previous responses and sincerely appreciate your helpful suggestions! Quick question: With all our cruising in the last 12 months, just realized we double-booked our hotel for our TA cruise departing Barcelona. Forgot we'd booked one hotel almost a year ago, and after returning from an extended vacation and dealing with family emergencies, booked another several months ago while trying to finalize our upcoming cruise plans. Other than $100 price difference for the 2-night stay, thoughts on one hotel versus another - ease getting from airport to hotel, bus/train stops, HOHO bus, etc. We booked the Sagrada Familia tour (early access on Sat @ 8:50 a.m.) and may join friends at Lonja de Tapas (El Born). Previously stayed on Las Ramblas and took a City Center tour. Thanks much!

Excellent review! Thanks for taking the time to share your experience with fellow Cruise Critic members.

I'll be in Venice in April as the final stop on our Suez Canal cruise. Trying to decide on hotels and the pros and cons - Hilton Molino Stucky or Hotel Arlecchino.

Dynamic Classic 1 (Early). Originally booked mid-Apr while onboard Serenade NOLA-BOS cruise; upgraded cabin in May during 30-30 promo.

For future reference, may I politely ask which room you were moved to on deck 6? Also, in your opinion, were there any other drawbacks to sailing in an "obstructed view" cabin, other than not being able to look straight down at the waters from the balcony? I've noticed that category "DO" cabins are reasonably priced, sometimes the same price or even cheaper than an OV cabin.

Thanks and glad you enjoyed sailing on the Anthem OTS!

Log onto the RCL website (or call RCL again) to see if your original (or other) interconnecting rooms are now showing as "available". If so, put a 24-hour hold on them and contact your TA ASAP and advise if you were able to re-select and "hold" your original/other rooms.

In the future it may be a good idea to update your "Upgrade Preferences" online for each cruise booked, as this may change from cruise to cruise, especially when traveling with kids, friends or a group.

Hope it all works out well for you!