pattycat1

My husband and I are celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary this year and want to go on a Danube River cruise. Two years ago he was diagnosed with a rare neuro muscular disease (IBM). He walks with a cane or rollator depending on where he is. His main issue is muscle weakness-which means he is prone to falls. He walks safely with his rollator which is lightweight and foldable. Otherwise he is in good health.

We we are trying to decide if he can safely go on this cruise. Our main concern is he struggles with steep steps (motor coach for excursions). We are looking at  Scenic and will look for a cabin on a deck with an elevator but no elevator to the sun deck. We can’t determine if we will be able to walk off the ship at any of the ports and walk around or if there will be a long walk or a bus will be needed. Also how often will we need to be on the top deck?

I am in good health and can help assist him. 

If you have experience with mobility limitations and have been on a river cruise would you please share your experience with me? Is one river cruise line more ideal than others for passengers with limited mobility? Should we do it??

Thanks for your help.

We will be on the Serenade when it returns to the US, the Boston to Maine and Canada cruise. We heard they are no longer doing the ariel show in the Centrum, is this true ?

I did not see any Ariel shows in the Centrum. I checked the cruise compasses that we brought home and I did not see any aerial shows listed. Lots of activities in the Centrum-music, game shows, dance classes, but no aerial shows.

Have a great cruise!

hi pattycat

 

glad you had great trip

 

how was the stadard food on the MDR and windjammer? did they have an Indian curry menu in the MDR?

 

also did you eat at any of the for a fee restaurants? and if you did how did you rate them?

 

Thanks

My husband and I both thought the food in the MDR was really good. We ate several breakfasts in there (1 page menu-did not change the entire week to my knowledge) with the usual offerings, smoked salmon plate, eggs, oatmeal, eggs Benedict, fruit, etc. There is also a buffet in the MDR that is quick if you are short on time. Yogurts, hot foods like scrambled eggs, meats,etc. and there was a waffle station there the mornings we ate there serving fresh waffles. No wait for a table and you could be in and out quickly. We ate one lunch in the MDR (port intensive cruise so we ate in the MDR on the sea day only). There was the salad bar that everyone raves about. I had a delicious fish dish and crepes for dessert that was delicious. We had two dinners in the MDR-both very good with great servers. Never saw a curry menu in the MDR.

Regarding the Windjammer, we only ate one meal there. We really don't eat buffets. I will say I stopped in there one evening and the food looked great. But, I don't know how it tasted. I'm convinced that's how norovirus starts, and I have never had it yet. I would have definitely tried the Windjammer if there was someone serving the food. I had an omelette the day of disembarkation and it was good.

We ate at Chops the first night. Our filets were delicious. Service was a little slow, but we were tired from the travel day. We also ate at Giovanni's, we liked the filets better at Chops. The risotto was delicious at Giovanni's! We did not like Izumi at all. We tried them the second formal night and did not feel like dressing up. Everyone else had the same idea. The restaurant was packed, two overwhelmed servers. Rolls were falling apart, forgot our appetizer. Our server suggested the appetizer, we never received it, then he asked, which one was it that you ordered again? We were like, the one that you suggested? We also enjoyed Chefs Table for the first time. The Chef was from Mexico with a great personality who shared the preparation of each course (interesting since I cook) and the dessert was over the top! This meal was over 3 hours long (we knew that going in ), we were expecting better wines, don't think I would do chefs table again, but we are glad we tried it.

Bottom line for us- we purchased all these specialty dining options thinking the food in the MDR would not be good. We were wrong. I don't think I would spend as much on specialty dining on my next RCI cruise. Our favorite was Chops, although I think more people on CC prefer Giovanni's.

Sorry for the long reply. Hope this helps.

How was the ship when sailing? Very rocky/rough seas? We just booked for next July 15-22. Also, what kind of temps did you have?

The Seas were very calm, one of the smoothest cruises we have ever taken. The highs each day ranged from the 60s to 70s- that is Fahrenheit. The lows were in the 50s each night.

I understand it can be quite warm, but we were never hot on this cruise. Some days were sunny, warm and perfect weather. Several days were cloudy with light rain. We were very chilly in Tallin-cloudy, windy, and rain. That was our worst weather day.

Have a great cruise!

Hi there,

Can you please tell me if you had 2 or three "fancy" dress nights? Also, were there any theme nights aboard?

We had two formal nights. Day two in Helsinki, and Day six in Riga. Day three (our first day in St. Petersburg) was casual/white attire. That was the night we overnighted in St. Petersburg. For activities that night, there was a Russian Folkloric Ensemble show at 9 pm (genuine Russian dance and music experience with a local folkloric ensemble from St. Petersburg), the orchestra played "From Russia with Love" tunes from 7:45 pm until 8:30 pm , and there was a White Russian party with DJ from 10:15 until 11:15. We didn't attend any of these events as we were in port until around midnight enjoying the ballet.

On day five, (Tallin) the dress code was casual / 70s disco with disco dance classes and disco party.

Hope this helps!

Good luck. Hotel guests get to use the sauna and swimming pool-very enjoyable and Swedish experience!

Where on the Serenade could coffee card be used? Thank you

As Bob stated Cafe Lattetudes. That is the only place I used it. We always left $1.00-$2.00 tip, because I didn't know if a gratuity was included in the coffee card, and the guy there was really nice. Maybe one of the experts on here will know if you can use it some place else.

We are doing that cruise on the Senerade in a few weeks. How was the temperature on the ship. Did they have the heat on? Or was it freezing on the ship. I am debating on what to pack. Capris or long pants, sandles or closed toe shoes. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I have to admit, I,too, could not decide what to pack. If the weather stays as it was when we were there, I would pack short sleeve tshirts, capris and/or long pants, a couple of sweaters ( I took one short sleeve sweater and two long sleeve sweaters-and yes, I did wear them), sandals and closed toe shoes (good for those rainy port days) and definitely a good rain jacket with hood.

The ship was very comfortable, not cold at all. I wore a cocktail dress at chefs table and did not need a sweater. Also wore sandals at night and was never cold. Outside was a different story. If you want to watch the movie outside or eat outside at the windjammer or Ria's, bring a sweatshirt, as it was chilly especially in the evening or at night. I wore casual short sleeve dresses at night with sandals and was very comfortable. Just pack and take a lightweight sweater just in case.

Have a great cruise. We really were impressed with the food and the friendly staff!

Thanks for the info on the Grand Hotel. While beautiful I'm hoping for something at a little lower price point.

I understand. We prepaid (non refundable), room with no view (still beautiful room) and paid $225.00. Stockholm is expensive, so we didn't think that was a bad price. And the location was great.

Thank you Pattycat. This really gives me some idea of what we want to do. I do have a question regarding Helsinki. We were looking to take the 3 sights excursion listed on Royal Caribbean. But we also wanted to shop the esplanade specifically Louis Vuitton. Would you say that's a long walk. I will have my 1 year old with me in a stroller. Any guidance on how you got to the shopping area will be appreciated.

If I am remembering correctly, is that the stops at Market Square, Rock Church, and the Monument? I don't know where you will be dropped off for Market Square, probably close to where the shuttle dropped us. The esplanade is very easy walking, wide sidewalks (no cobblestones) but is quite long. If you are dropped near to where we were dropped, probably a 10-15 minute walk. I am assuming the market square area is where you would shop the esplanade. Lots of shops! We also loved the Market Square area, so if you only have 45 minutes or so, there is a lot to see there.

Hello: I booked next year, same cruise but on the Brilliance of the Seas. I also booked an aft balcony. What balcony did you book? Did you do a private excursion in Saint Petersburg? Any advise on port areas is greatly appreciated. Along with ship excursion recommendations. Thanks for posting. :D

We were in 8670. Very quiet due to location. Large balcony with two chairs, small table and two chaise lounges. Small bathroom, and you couldn't open the closet door and bathroom door at the same time.

The only downside was the location to the elevators, a concern for us because my husband walks with a cane. There was one day with a lot of rain and there was some flooding out there. When the weather was nice, (sea day and sail away), the larger balcony was nice.:D

Excursions/ports were discussed in previous post.

Thank you for sharing. Do you mind sharing your port experiences including any excursions you might have purchased.

We did not book any excursions with the cruise line, only the shuttle into Helsinki, otherwise quite a long walk (although I did see passengers walking!)

Helsinki-beautiful city and sunny weather! We booked the "panoramic Helsinki" bus tour that Rick Steves recommended. Only 1 stop, the Rock Church, and lots of drive bys. 20 minutes to visit the church. We were there on a Monday so many sights were closed. We ate at Market Square, shopped on the Esplanade and had a nice day. The bus tour was nice, I wish the driver had stopped at more sights so we could take better pictures. We were afraid if we took the hop on hop off, we might waste too much valuable time waiting for a bus.

St. Petersburg- private tour guide recommended by Rick Steves. Natalya German-Tsarkova with Tzar Travel. Where do I begin? We had two fabulous days with her and Derrick, her driver. My husband walks with a cane, so she arranged the days for us to see as much as we could, within reason. Golf cart tour of the fountains at Peterhof, early entry at Catherine's Palace, walking on the beach approaching Peter and Paul fortress with Russian jets flying overhead, great meals, private tour of the Diamond Room at the Hermitage, and plenty of time to shop. We went to Church on the Spilled Blood at 6pm, all the crowds were gone, and enjoyed Swan Lake at a small, intimate theater with stunning costumes and sets. Very talented dancers and the highlight of our Russian visit! We saw other things as well, including riding the Metro. I didn't see as much of the Hermitage as I would have liked, but the port was so busy. 9 cruise ships in on the first day-I can't describe how busy some of these sights were.

Tallin- private tour with Mati Rumessen. He met us at the port, we did a walking and driving tour and enjoyed our day. The weather was chilly and wet, but we saw the main sights, did a little shopping, had a great day. The port was busy.

Riga- very important!! We were supposed to be in Riga from 11am until 7:00 pm. I could not believe where we docked in Riga. 45 minute complimentary shuttle to the city center, and the last bus left at 5:30. So, we arrived in Riga around noon, and left around 5. This port wasn't busy; we were disappointed we didn't have more time there. Great shopping- I bought a red hand woven wool coat with hood for $100.00. Great prices on amber there too. We walked around on our own, took a taxi to the art nouveau district (highly recommended if you like architecture), went to the art nouveau museum (skip this in my opinion), but there is a fabulous gift shop across from the museum where we bought great handmade souvenirs. There are a couple of sweet squares there with outdoor eating. Great port!

Stockholm- we spent one night there post cruise. We were disappointed with our private tour guide; he arrived late with a very small rental car (our luggage barely fit in the trunk and they were carry on bags) and although we talked about going to many places, we ended up only visiting the ABBA museum and Vasa museum-both with rushed visits! We walked around old town on our own, had some great meals, and would like to return to Stockholm soon.

Sorry this has been such a long reply!

If you stayed in Stockholm pre-cruise any info on hotels is appreciated.

 

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We stayed at the Grand Hotel and loved it, one of the best hotels we have ever stayed at. We stayed post cruise, not pre, and booked a spa package prior to embarking. They picked us up at airport, we had a fabulous breakfast, and enjoyed a Swedish massage. You could also enjoy the sauna, and swimming pool. Afterwards, they transferred us to the cruise ship. They even bought two bottles of wine for us to carry onboard, as we arrived on Sunday and the state run liquor stores are closed in Sweden on Sundays.

After the cruise, we spent one night there. Beautiful room, great bar and restaurants. Friendly, professional staff who could not do enough for you!

Did you use the internet on board? If so, how was it?

Absolutely used it, checking on pets and we are business owners so needed to make sure all was well with business. We bought the package prior to boarding. When we checked in, they gave us our password. We took a picture of it with our camera (or phone) just in case we lost the card. Very flimsy paper card, very small so easy to lose. No problems getting on line. All we did was check emails and internet browse. The only problem was we had to keep logging in with password, and I kept forgetting the password. Since it is a flat rate and not per hour, I wish they didn't require you to continually log in! We bought the package for one device only and used our iPad.

Did you see any drink cards for sale?

Never saw the drink card for sale. We did not purchase an alcoholic beverage package, just water and the coffee card. We purchased both of those before the cruise, so they would be in our cabin. I looked for the drink card every day on the compass, but never saw it. We brought two bottles of wine on board and bought a few cocktails, glasses of wine and beer. Very port intensive cruise so we decided against the beverage package, which was the right decision on this particular sailing for us.

Did you have Evian water bottles in your cabin?

Yes. There were two bottles for sale. We bought the water package (I think it was approximately $30.00) and there were 12 large bottles in our stateroom when we boarded. We left two unopened.

My husband and I returned home last week from our first Baltic cruise. We sailed out of Stockholm on July 9th on Serenade. We had a great time. Rubyfisch did an awesome review earlier, which I followed and thank her for. Our itinerary overnighted in St. Petersburg and included Riga (slightly different from Rubyfisch's, I think) If anyone has specific questions, I will try to answer.

No questions on Suite benefits, Concierge lounge, etc. as we are not Diamond, Diamond Plus or Pinnacle. This was our first Royal Caribbean cruise in 13 years! We enjoyed the week in an aft balcony.

Thanks for the responses!

Thanks for the responses. We are in an aft balcony and plan to start the sail away listening to our fav ABBA songs drinking wine. I understand from previous posts that the scenery can last for hours, and we will probably be tired as we will be arriving the morning of embarkation (overnight flight from U.S.)

Since this is our first sailing on the Serenade, we thought some of the specialty restaurants might have better sail away views than others. We sail away at 5:00, our reservation is at 6:30. Perhaps we will change that to a little later and just enjoy from our balcony.

Taking our first Baltic cruise next month- we are super excited! We have booked the first night done right, early dinner, and wondered which specialty restaurant would have the best view for sail away out of Stockholm? Haven't sailed on Serenade before.

As always thanks for your help.

We will be taking our first Baltic Cruise this summer and are undecided about which itinerary. If you have cruised the Baltic, please help us decide. We can only be away for a seven night cruise due to responsibilities at home. Here are our choices.

Celebrity Silhouette (really like this ship-just enjoyed a quick Bahamas cruise on this ship!) departs from Stockholm (overnighting in this port), then visits Helsinki, St. Petersburg, Tallin, and Riga. It does not overnight in St. Petersburg. We would probably book Aquaclass.

Royal Caribbean Serenade of the Seas visits the same ports, but instead of overnighting in Stockholm, it overnights in St. Petersburg. This is an older ship and recent reviews mentions wear and in need of a refurb. There are several aft balcony cabins available on this ship.

Would we make a mistake by not overnighting in St. Petersburg?

Feedback, please! I am also posting on RCCL board.

Thanks.

Hi

Sailing in Cabin M105 on Royal in October. I've noticed on the deck plan that these forward mini suites cabin space looks smaller than a mid ship mini suite. Are you sacrificing cabin space for the larger balcony?

Hi Pattycat

 

Great to hear you enjoyed your cruise. We are sailing on Connie next year and would love to see PDFs/scans of the dailies if you still have them:)

I am missing two but will try my best within the next few days!

Can you explain how Breakfast and Lunch worked for the suite class. Also are you still allowed to eat in Blu? How does that work? How did you like your Butler? When you boarded the ship, did the higher suites have a different entrance and check in line? Were you escorted to your room? Were there suite only options for embarkation day lunch. Next time would you book a CS or do you find that the sky suite amenities are a better value? And Lastly, were you given special seating by the pool or in the theater?

 

I am just curious how much the suite benefits have been enhanced practically apart from the new restaurant and Michaels Club and tier added benefits.:p

We arrived to the ship really late because we toured Venice prior to checking in at ship. The ship was scheduled to sail at 5:00 and we arrived at 3:30. There was a special line for suite passengers, but arriving that late, there was no wait in any line. We were exhausted so we literally bypassed the mimosas and headed straight for the elevator and up to our cabin. Nobody offered an escort to my cabin. Perhaps that is for higher category suites. We were in a sky suite. We didn't feel slighted as we just wished to rest for an hour or so prior to the lifeboat drill. If there was another entrance onto the ship (which I don't think there is), I was unaware of it. This was our second cruise on Connie, so we just headed to the elevator and our cabin.

We loved our butler. He was amazing. We met him and the cabin steward immediately after spotting our cabin. They both introduced themselves, and the butler encouraged us to try Blu. So, yes, we could have eaten at Blu, and we did but only for breakfast on the morning of disembarkation. Luminae opened 30 minutes later than Blu and we were tight on time to make our flight back to Atlanta. We did make a reservation for dinner the nights we ate in Luminae. No wait and never busy. We did not eat breakfast in Luminae as we enjoyed breakfast on our balcony through room service. It was brought by the butler each morning, along with a very large, hot and frothy cappuccino. We just showed up for lunch or brunch. No reservations needed, never a wait and never busy. The restaurant hours are listed in the daily.

No special seating by the pool, which was my only complaint on the end of cruise survey. No chairs to be found anywhere. That needs to be changed for all passengers, not just suite guests. There were reserved seats on the first formal night in the theater. Two rows were roped off. I think there were only a handful of suite guests at the show that I attended.

We loved the suite, but the sky suite was smaller than I imagined. I would probably go one category up next time to enjoy Michael's Club, which I did not have access to as a sky suite passenger. We definitely thought the sky suite was worth the money we paid, as we felt very special and pampered.

Luminae was open for lunch on embarkation day, but we had a great meal in Venice and did not board the ship until 3:30. If you weren't a suite passenger on embarkation day, your dining options were Bistro on Five, the buffet, and grill, to my knowledge.

Glad you are having a great cruise!

 

How have you found Luminae in terms of layout, space between tables etc.?

 

Are you offered the MDR menu as well?

 

Is there really only two lunchtime menus?

Luminae was a real treat. There were several large tables and a lot of tables for two. We were always sat by the window in the same area (table for 2). Where we sat, it was impossible not to visit with the table beside us (another table for 2). If someone was sitting there, we always introduced ourselves and visited for a while. We're Americans and for some reason, Americans always sat by us-don't know if that was intentional or not. The tables for two are just so close together you really feel that you should visit with the neighboring tables.

I was not "offered" the MDR menu, nor did I ask for it. I did not see or hear other guests asking about or eating dishes from the MDR. I did go off menu every night that I ate in Luminae and ask for a salad or vegetables, which they graciously prepared for me. Service was excellent in Luminae. After the first night, the maître d knew our names and suite number. The food was mostly good to very good. It did take a long time, in my opinion, to eat meals there (it is 5 courses for dinner if you order starter, entrée, and dessert). There was always sorbet served and an amuse bouche (apologies if I spelled that incorrectly).

I ate 5 dinners in Luminae, 1 brunch, and 1 lunch. I was told by our server that there was only one lunch and 1 brunch menu but I can not confirm that, because I didn't eat in there more than once for those meals. We tend to eat in port when we are in Europe. We just love their food too much to not indulge while we are in port. We always ate breakfast on our balcony, except on disembarkation day when we tried Blu, which was very good and beautiful. Blu opened half an hour earlier on disembarkation day and we had an 11 AM flight back to Atlanta, so we ate as early as we could so we could head to the airport.

There was ample seating in Blu that morning so we did not displace any Aqua class guests, so please don't be angry at us!

Patty