negc

I am sure you understand that Royal Caribbean will keep all of your monies if you keep the reservation with them. Say the commission on your trip is $700. If you transfer it to a travel agency, Royal will pay the agency the $700. If you keep it with Royal, they will keep that $700, so it helps their bottom line.

Also, any OBC given to you comes out of the agency's commission. Royal doesn't care what your agency is giving you, that's between you and the agency. They have no opinion on whether or not you are being treated "unfairly". All they know is that their rules say you cannot transfer to an agent after the reservation has been live for 6 months.

I am sure we have all lost OBC when transferring ship and or sail date. Comes with the territory.

We have used our Marriott Rewards points to stay at various Marriott properties in London and have been very satisfied with their locations and their facilities. We have also stayed at the Doubletree in Westminster when it has been offered by RCI and found it more than adequate. In contrast, our stay at the Holiday Inn Kensington was fortunately brief as the room was so dreadfully small that we found it difficult to store our luggage anywhere in the room that didn't make navigating the room extremely difficult. we only stayed there for one night because it was a pickup stop for the RCI bus taking us to Harwich. Everything in London is expensive but there are some bargains if you make the effort to seek them out.

how is the night life on serenade? besides the casino what is going on around the ship? thanks.

We will be back on Serenade in two days for the repositioning cruise out of Boston. It and her sister Radiance class ships (Jewel, Brilliance and Radiance) are among our favorite ships in the RCI fleet.

In the evening there is a lot more to see and do than just the casino: there are production shows and/or headliner performances in the theater, live music and dancing in the Centrum, a piano bar in the Schooner, and various games and other activities such as the Quest in the Safari lounge on Deck 6 aft. The Vortex, on Deck 13, serves as a disco and some nights there will be some poolside activity. Movies are scheduled for the Cinema on Deck 6 just past the Pub, and also on the large screen by the pool. On Halloween or on the upcoming cruise, on the night before Halloween, there is usually a costume parade. The ship is busy well into the night with plenty to occupy your evening.

If you email Royal Caribbean with a request for information about the entertainment scheduled for your Freedom cruise, they should respond with that information which usually includes the identity of the person who will be performing in the Schooner Bar.

When we were on Anthem earlier this year, they were selling popcorn on the Esplanade one evening.

I always bring a little something. I pick something edible, either a small box of chocolates or bottle of maple syrup. I tell them it's my celebration of Christmas and I would to offer them a small gift.

And you are doing them a such great favor in the event that they are diabetic or have some sort of food allergy, or are concerned about their weight or eating healthy? Time to rethink your priorities. To repeat what so many have already stated: Cash is the preferred reward.

We've gone to Blue Baie beach the past few times that we have been to Curacao and it fits your requirements very well. Beautiful beach, good food (especially the fries) and drink, plenty of available seating. We'll be there again at the end of the month and look forward to it.:)

I think I'm done sailing in hurricane season period. Better off paying out the nose but sailing in non hurricane season. We are always dodging storms and it's annoying. We actually like sailing this time a year but it's just getting annoying. We are on anthem September 28th and I'll worried and Maria even though we are going to Canada/NE.

 

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you should realize that, technically at least, hurricane season extends from June 1 until November 30th,(and Mother Nature doesn't feel bound to observe those dates) so you will be limiting your cruising options significantly if you choose not to sail during that period. There are also significant other weather events (snow storms, nor'easters etc.) that can impact your travel plans, so no period of time that you choose for your cruises comes with a guarantee of fine weather. During hurricane season, I believe that there are still more weeks that are storm free so I wouldn't automatically eliminate so much of the year from my travel plans.

We loved Kakao Beach near Orient Beach the last two times we were in St. Maarten. Our son inlaw who said that he is not a beach person, claimed that Kakao Beach had changed his mind and he would definitely go there again and stay longer the next time. Unfortunately, it may be some time before we can return and by then I hope that they will have been able to restore the area to its previous wonderful condition.

Both St. Thomas and St. Maarten were on the itinerary of our upcoming Serenade repositioning cruise and it will be interesting to see what alternative ports of call, RCI will be able to arrange for us.

Then, if I was sailing to Bermuda soon, I would bring warm clothes for Canada, just to be sure. :)

New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are hardly the "frozen tundra" and temperatures at this time of year are more likely to be 70 to 80 degrees, a sweatshirt and jeans should suffice and dressing in layers is always advisable on the ocean. While I love Bermuda, I wouldn't be averse to some time in the Maritime provinces especially during foliage season.

Eeek! A little late to the game here, but is outside noise an issue for 9078 after the 2016 refurbishment of Jewel of the Seas? We just booked it for a 2018 cruise. Thank you.

9078 0n Radiance class ships is one of our favorite staterooms and we have found that the fire doors are closed at some point in the evening and this dramatically reduces the degree of noise emanating from the Centrum. The location and the larger balcony are among our reasons for preferring this stateroom.

Really I'd have thought Alaska was for those who have done all the other cruuses, it's one we are thinking about.

We just completed our third Alaskan cruise tour (one with Princess and two with Royal Caribbean). On our latest, on Radiance of the Seas, my wife and I were the only Pinnacles on board, and on a subsequent cruise on Anthem, we were two of the only four onboard. Concierge lounge on both ships was relatively uncrowded during happy hour.

I suspect that we will not be as "alone" on our upcoming repositioning cruise on Serenade in October.

Our Alaska cruise tour was an excellent one and one in which we actually got to join the 30% club (those who actually get to see Denali (from Talkeetna Lodge). Spectacular scenery and great treatment all along the way. Don't hesitate to book it.

I would like to know also was the chicken white or dark meat.

Three pieces - breast, thigh, and leg so there was a combo of white and dark meat, all of which was delicious as was the crispy battered skin. We had no immediate plans so a half hour wait for the chicken was not a problem.

No way will that be eliminated....it's too popular. Apparently no one likes to sit with others...a sad sign of the times.

Not true although I can think of at least one whom I wouldn't care to be seated with. Just because one doesn't choose the inflexibility of traditional dining it is unfair to ascribe sinister motives to that person.

No way will that be eliminated....it's too popular. Apparently no one likes to sit with others...a sad sign of the times.

A tired old canard that doesn't explain the increasing popularity of my time dining. It is the flexibility that MTD gives your schedule and nothing about MTD negates anyone's desire to sit with others that makes it a very popular option. Although I can understand why some folks might not be thrilled if they were in traditional dining and assigned to a table with someone so convinced that their way was the only "civilized" way to do everything that they seek to impose their vision of reality on everyone else. With MTD, you can dine by yourself or with others on a schedule that best suits you. I recognize that this poster will not respond nor will our comments keep her from repeating her opinions ad nauseam.

Serenade. In April. Looks open to me

 

 

 

 

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Not to worry. Despite rebuttals from several posters, some posters will continue to post their biased views even when they conflict with reality.

Have yet to see any indication that they even read responses to their comments.

We stayed at the Renaissance prior to our Azamara cruise and being able to get into our room early morning after a night flight from Boston was decidedly a plus. Location was convenient- short cab ride to Sagradia Familia (sp?) and a short walk to some Gaudi buildings, etc.

The casino is only open in the afternoons and evening, while at sea. Cash is what you need. There is BJ, Poker, Roulette, Craps. And, of course, slots galore.

 

Hubby won a little at BJ once....and a bit on Craps...but the slots are tight...really tight...and our last cruise, the BJ dealer NEVER, EVER lost....

On sea days the slots are frequently operational in the morning and between 9 and 11am you can accrue double points. Table games usually open a bit later. Tightness of the slots seems to vary from day to day but your experiences may differ from ours.

Any time we have experienced a medical evacuation from a cruise ship, and it has happened at least twice on TAs that we were on, the copter hovered over the ship while a crew member and a gurney were lowered to the deck, the sick passenger placed in the gurney and both the passenger and the copter's crew member were lifted back into the copter which then took the ill passenger to the nearest medical facility. Have never seen a helicopter actually land on the ship's helipad.

That cabin has a very small and odd shaped balcony. I would take another cabin if something else was available.

What sort of "thing" is that? Sounds like something Mrs. Astor would have said.:)

My theory is they have reduced the quality and service standards to have a bigger difference to the extra cost options. The MDR is frequently quite good, but rarely excellent, and our last few trips the service could best be described as chaotic; some nights fast, some nights agonizingly slow, no personality from the servers. They worked hard for sure, it was all they could do to keep up. This is no mistake or one off fluke.

That may have been your experience but is contrary to ours. We have found very personable and able servers in the My Time Dining rooms on a variety of ships and the flexibility of dining hours far outweighs those rare occasions when we have had to wait for a table. Mind you, we were strong proponents of traditional dining when MTD was first introduced, but it took but a few experiences with i t to make it our favored form of dining. We have had less pleasant experiences with the lines' form of MTD, but for us, RCI does it very well.

While you may save significantly by doing a land tour on your own, don't disregard the value of having a dedicated escort and the convenience of having all the details(lodging, transportation, excursions etc.)handled by the cruise line. Only you can decide whether the savings of doing it all on your own is worth it.

IMO, no trip to Alaska is complete without a land tour accompanying your cruise. We have done both with Princess and Royal Caribbean and both were very good, but again, IMO, the RCI cruise tour outshone the one we took with Princess because the RCI tour included a tour guide and bus driver who were with us for the entire land trip, included the superior Tundra Wilderness tour in Denali as opposed to the shorter and less satisfying Natural History tour we got with Princess. To top it off, we were able to upgrade our transfer from Anchorage to Seward from a motor coach trip to the better train ride from Anchorage to the ship for a nominal ($25 pp) fee. Also preferred the seating arrangement on the RCI/Celebrity train cars to that on our Princess tour. Frankly, the absence of cruising Glacier Bay with RCI did not detract from our Alaska cruise experience as our visit to Hubbard Glacier was fabulous. We are going to Alaska this year with a group of friends, some of whom have never been to Alaska before, and can't wait to share the experience with them.:)

We stayed at the Renaissance (a Marriott property) which was located near Las Ramblas and near some Gaudi properties. We arrived on an early morning flight and was able to check in and access our room upon our arrival and take a brief nap before heading out to explore the city including a visit to the amazing Cathedral (Sagrada Familia) designed by Gaudi and still in the process ofbeing completed