Russ Lomas

We said the same thing when we sailed Odyssey in July 2022 after the Covid restart when ships were not sailing at peak capacity (like Icon was not). We were packed on Odyssey in March, and it was the most crowded ship I have ever been on (spring break). Let's see how Icon does if they are sailing at full capacity for March Break this year, then we will know for sure. Back to the Serenade, which we have never been on yet, I keep seeing all these posts about how the ship is about 70% full. It would be nice when we join in Southampton, but being summer, I will expect it to be close to sold out.

Well, making the 11:33 am flight will not be an issue any longer. Spirit just cancelled our 11:33 am flight and moved us to a flight at 8:20 am. Thanks, Spirit. We are price watching other airlines to see what flights they offer that are doable and reasonably priced. There are 4 or 5 flights we are watching but the price is about 3 to 4 times what we paid for the Spirit flights. For now, we are holding onto our Spirit flights because they will likely change things 5 or 6 more times before we fly with them in 6 weeks. They may even come up with a decent flight. If we see a fair price on a different airline (Delta, AA, or United) that is more reliable in terms of not switching things every few days, we will book that and get a refund from Spirit.

Question to all those out there who read this and have an answer for us based on personal experience. We booked a 3:24 pm direct flight out of IAH to fly home. Spirit just changed it and added a layover and booked us on our first flight at 11:33 am from IAH. Is this doable at all, or will I need to call and get them to move us to a later flight? Problem is the only later flight due to layover added will not get us into Detroit til after 11 pm and we still have a 3 hour drive home after that, making work and school the next day tough.

We asked why they were doing the brunches instead of offering lunches. They said that the MDR staff were having to put in too many hours and this would reduce hours. Alternatively, could be like housekeeping services...cut back the number of housekeepers and give them more cabins but only clean cabins once per day...cut back number of staff for food services and reduce the hours that food is served.

WE did the Oasis in March and July and yes, no more lunch in the MDR was offered, only Brunch and it closed early (noonish) Sad. You had to go to Windjammer, El Loco Fresh, or one of the other venues. Used to enjoy lunch in the MDR once or twice per cruise but it was not an option this past year on the Oasis.

Especially if you sit them at dinner and share the bottle with them.

Loosen up a little and have some fun! Stop looking so serious all the time. You are on a World Cruise remember. Love the photos.

🤣🤣🤣 Laughed so hard, I could barely contain(er) myself. Hope they were OK. There seems to be a lot more medical calls on cruises like these, where the average passenger age is higher. I worked for Princess Cruises many years ago. I remember we had 3 deaths on the ship on one single sailing transit of the Panama Canal (ships back then only held 2ooo passengers, so 3 deaths were a lot - especially since the ship morgue only had room for 2, and we were not allowed to "disembark" the bodies until they docked in the USA again.) I see you captured a photo of the Uruguayan tender coming out to take passengers ashore.

One thing I have read on these boards several times is to request James' Beard French Toast for breakfast in the MDR on Princess (not on the menu, but you can get it). This is one thing that I was shocked they did not offer on RCCL when we 1st started sailing with them. It is one thing we really enjoy on NCL cruises and will definitely be doing this embarkation day on Princess this March.

I sure hope I do not miss the Flowrider too much on the 15-day Serenade cruise next summer. We only have 2 sea days, so I am doing this cruise for the ports more than the flow. We are taking a 7-day cruise on the Regal Princess in March, so this will be a test to see how I am without a flowrider on the ship. My rotator cuff still has a tear in it from my flowriding last March, so maybe by the time I do my next flow cruise (December), it will have healed fully.

At home, I rotate between 4 different types of dry cereal with milk and a slice of multigrain toast with a glass of orange juice. Cruise breakfasts are like I died and went to heaven - smoked salmon, made to order omelettes, muesli, fresh fruit, waffles, hash browns. I will be happy to trade in my breakfast rotation when I finally join for part of the world cruise.

Booked on Dec. 27, 2024 on the Adventure for $650 Canadian per person, 3 people in cabin) for an aft balcony. Deals still show time to time if your travel agent has a good eye for deals. No way we will be paying any extra for a table to sit at for the New Year celebration next year.

We have been enjoying the posts about the ship and the Caribbean, but I think it is some of those parts of the cruise, like Antarctica, that all of us are anticipating the most in your reports.

Love that last one in the list. Alas, I am a teacher and will be back at work by then. If only they had started that voyage 2 weeks earlier.

Put the prices back to what they were (1/3 of what they are asking now) a couple of years ago. (and better food if we can go back in time as well)

I feel the same way on a 7-day cruise sometimes, never mind a 27-day one. We have Princess Plus on an upcoming Princess cruise. 15 drinks per day limit. Some people you read about say it is just too limiting. The only time I purchased a beverage package with RCCL for the week, I was tapping out by day 4. To each their own.

Thanks. I just looked that up. Looks like just a 2 1/2 week span, she is out of commission. Nothing major likely will be done in that time. Hopefully, she will be refreshed a little then and ensure the engines are in good shape for our December 27, 2024 cruise on her. I know they have to take dry dock space where they can find it and when they can get it, but looking at the price of those 2 transatlantic crossings in consecutive sailings, you figure that they would have kept the ship in Europe for a while after heading across the pond, before returning right back to Florida.

Do you know when the drydock is scheduled for the Adventure? Just curious because we have it booked for December 2024 and was wondering if it was before or after that date. My guess is after 😔

We have not booked guaranteed cabins before. I am always apprehensive we will receive a cabin in a location of the ship that is now what we would like (loud - banging doors, above a bar, below a public deck, etc.) The last few days even raised the issue that RCCL may deny you boarding if they have oversold the ship, and the guaranteed passengers are the ones who get the boot. Similar to airlines, I guess. Those who paid extra to reserve their seats ahead of time get seats, those who do not get bumped. https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/2023/11/30/royal-caribbean-passengers-denied-boarding/71749345007/

Cabins make extra $$$. The Diamond lounge does not generate revenue. Jason Liberty is all about the bucks. Pretty sure I can guess that the current Crown Lounge will become something that generates revenue and be relocated to a less desirable location (like it was on the Oasis)

It may be the last meal for some of them. You better be extra nice. You are young enough to be their child.

You were trying to be funny right? Mumford, not Sanford.

A Mission Impossible movie lasting only 1 hour 15 minutes. THAT is an impossible mission. Must be a misprint.

It is actually the 15-day Northern Europe (England, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Sweden, Germany) cruise we are booked on. We also had the 9-day Norway cruise on the Serenade booked (the cruise right after our 15-day one) for a total of 24 days, but thought that too long to leave the kids alone at home for (plus the Serenade Norway leg did not have the best Norwegian ports as you mentioned). I am a school teacher, so unfortunately my vacation dates are decided by my school board, and the cheaper months like May are never a choice for us til we retire.

So happy that our travel agent put a hold on the Serenade's 15-day portion of the WC for us for next summer in Northern Europe the minute it was released. Got a great price and it appears that if we had waited for 2025, that itinerary would not exist.