Sunnyside up

Bring earplugs. we had issues with noise from theater on deck 8 two cabins back.  Beware.

Just  FYI, my DH was asked to change his no sleeve T shirt at breakfast in MDR , which he did go back to  our room and changed into a  regular sleeved T shirt.  No matter what you say,  cloths do have an important role in society, and by you choosing not to go by the suggested  dress code, you are being disrespectful to those that do choose to follow the suggestions.   And yes it offends me to see and then smell the adult male that wore the same T shirt  (unless he bought 9 with the same writing on it) every night to dinner as I passed him in the MDR.  (Don't give me  maybe his luggage didn't make it,  more likely he is one of you that only packs a carry on size of luggage, and choses to wear what he could pack in it.  Change with the times, yes there are many good changes and then there are many things that were better in the years gone by (or before you were born) the good old days as some  would say.  But then this is just my opinion and not that of the majority on this topic.

There is a specialty coffee station that has ice cream,  for a fee, but the snack food is usually free there.  Since they serve ice cream, i bet you can get a milkshake.  I have gotten the frozen coffee drinks from there.  Hope that helps.  Try the specialty restaurants, the;y are good. On our upcoming 10 day we are eating in specialty on day 1, 2 (first formal night) and the last night.  We  do tip our MDR wait staff the next to last night,  We go into meet them  on the first night to let them know why we are not there.  Jewel is nice but we like Serenade of the Seas better.  Have a great cruise.  We cruise Jewel in less than 30 days.  If you are not cruising until after Feb 26, let me know if you have any other questions.

To date DH or I have not received any such emails for upgrade cabin bidding, the Genie program, or any of the upsale offers by RCCL.  Being a Diamond Plus C&A member  that it is disheartening..  I have to find out about all this stuff, on cruise critic.  RCCL are you listening.  And yes, I have that box checked in my profile that allows them to send me emails, on promotions.  I do check their official site about twice a month to see if they are offering any price specials.  About 2 years ago we stopped getting promotional emails.    

I remember all of these gone by the wayside special offerings.  IIems that I miss are the mini muffins (not sure if apple or banana nut) also served with savory bits.  There used to be a sunflower snack bar that was offered  in cafe on Voyager class ships.The smoke free formal nights in the Casino, that is one they really need to bring back.  I only go in casino to spin my free chips, and early morning before smokers arrive. Most of the time don't  go in at all.  I agree about Johnny Rockets, I just went in one in a NE casino, and  my tuna melt tasted like it was just caught. I haven't been in one on RCCL for a while as the RCCL ships I have been cruising don't have them.  Really miss the days when everyone was treated special, not just the ones that now pay for a genie or key.  Those extra perks were earned by your loyalty to RCCL thru the C&A programs.  Just my 2 cents worth (which doesn't amount to much with Royal.  (Still have 3 cruises booked thru 2020).  After that my loyalty is up for sale.

went to web site, the one we used is no longer listed.  We did not use either RIU resort listed, I believe it was Amsterdam Manor.

Used them in Aruba, not happy with the resort, the restaurant on beach charged us 30 per beach chair that was to be included in fee paid so they took that amount from money that was to be used for lunch.  They were charging regular people half the chair fee to non resort for the day customers.  Went back to hotel, and got partial refund. of the balance we paid them.  Make sure to have cash to pay balance.

 

I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your mom. Definitely needed tissues.

 

 

I had the same thing happen with my husband.

 

We had booked "his dream cruise" to Alaska for June of the following year.

In the fall he was diagnosed with terminal cancer and passed away 10 weeks later.

 

We, too all went on the Alaska cruise in his memory and called it his "memorial" cruise.

I know he was there with us in spirit.

Sorry for your loss as well. My brother in law just passed away suddenly last week. He was scheduled to cruise with us this coming February. Working on cancelling cruise and getting refund. I was able to get refund for air very easily thru Expedia. Although he has cruised with us in past years, he will be missed. So it will be hard to look across the hall and not knocking on the door to see if he is ready for Dinner. Enjoy, and make the time for family while you can. Time is too short. We had booked an Alaska cruise many years ago, but had to cancel it to go on a cruise with late brother in law as he was getting married on a Carribean cruise. We never got to go on an Alaska cruise. Don't think it is in the cards for us, as I have knee arthritis really bad and can't walk or do steps without pain. We have been doing the smaller ships as late, but planning on taking my scooter on the Anthem and Symphony cruises we have booked for 2019 and 2020.

That's disappointing for sure. I've had it happen as well. They usually cancel tours due to lack of reservations. I guess they want a minimum number to participate. I've had tours cancelled when the tour provider pulled out of the contract. All beyond our control. I hope you find another suitable tour. :)

I just tried to book excursions for cruise Feb 2019 to the ABC islands which we cruised the last 2 years, and there are no excursions for either Bonire or Curacao only 3 for Aruba and 2 for Grand Caymen. What gives, I wish I had kept brochure on excursions. We did try Resort for the day in Aruba but it did not work very well. The beach restaurant was bilking prepaid customers for beach chairs. We did get our money back from the resort. Whats up with lack of excursions?

Daughter and family are all checked in an in cabin. Going to get drinks, and check our granddaughter into kids club. Normally they do it in terminal, or right inside ship with wrist bands, but I guess with all the delays, and just trying to get all the backed up passengers on board they didn't have kids club sign ups available.

Daughter has boarded her shuttle again from hotel and is on way to terminal again.

Daughter just texted me, the shuttle bus made it to terminal 29 she is schedule for cruise on Freedom but they won't let them disembark at terminal, shuttle is going to take them back to hotel. cops blocking all access. After this she will probably not attempt to cruise again. As long as she, hubby and granddaughter are safe that is all I care about. Will keep you updated as I hear.

I got the " you just won a free cruise " call this week. I was in one of those moods, (what do you take me for) so I listened to their speel, asking questions along the way, it was only $65 per person for port charges. I asked how I could pay for it, of course they wanted my credit card number. I said you have to be kidding, if you think I am just going to give my credit card to a stranger representing a cruise line I had never heard of. Anyway they hung up. On the spoofing of local phone numbers, I called the FTC and currently they can't do anything about it. You can file a claim which I did, but nothing became of it. The spammer/scammers are now spoofing actual credit card customer service numbers. So beware. I got one from Chase and one from Discover. I didn't answer either, just called back the numbers which were the same as the ones on my credit card statements for customer service. I reported it to them. So beware.

I thought someone commented a while ago that there’s a Park Cafe by the casino. I’ve been looking forward to sitting on the balcony eating a roast beef sandwich.

I just looked at the deck plans on the web site and there’s no mention of it.

Has anyone sailed specifically on Serenade recently that can either relieve my mind or send me to the depths of despair??

And yes, I know there is plenty of food on board and I won’t starve!

 

 

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Justoff Serenade in January, Park Cafe is next to Solarium Pool area.

We will be returning to the Freedom April 8th. Will advise if any changes > Bob & Nancy The Villages, Florida

y My daughter, husband and granddaughter (age 7) will be on the April 8 cruise. DD and GD and other daughter and I cruised this ship before when GD was 3. Glad to see good reviews. Sadly to say I will not be going on this one with them, as I will be going on a longer one out of Baltimore the following weekend. with my sister in law. I will have to tell DD about the new menu set up. Looking forward to finish reading this review.

Have daughter in her 20's and she gets the looks since she is diamond and close to plus. (The more I think about it, maybe she is getting the look because she is beautiful.) She has been lucky to be able to cruise with DH and I over the years and on college christmas breaks and an extra cruise with me now and again. We did the longest cruises we could afford, and many out of Bayonne, NJ (no flying required). We did a lot of inside cabins with 4 adults as well.