negc

Not right now ... but I'm sure its in the works . :rolleyes:

If it is, it has been in the works for many years since your claim is at least that old and it has yet to happen. Only fee is for private lessons, otherwise the flowrider and so many other features are included with the fare.

We recently docked at Crown Bay on this year's repo cruise on Serenade from Boston and I enjoyed our time in the port and saw many of the same shops we have found at Havensight and downtown Charlotte Amalie on previous cruises. Ours was the only ship at Crown Bay and it was busy but not over-crowded. Change is sometimes upsetting to some but this is not one of those that should cause anyone much concern.:)

On the RCCL CruiseTour #3A they asked that you keep one bag for daily delivery to your room and any other bags they will store in a box truck until the day before the cruise when you will receive all your bags. The morning that you leave from the hotel to the ship all bags for your cruise will be collected and dropped of at the ship terminal and receive at your cabin. Just don't give them anything you might need during the day. We received our luggage at about 6pm the first night on the ship. Enjoy Alaska It was Fantastic.

That pretty much describes our experience when we did our last Alaskan cruise tour a few years back and what we expect to find next June. We are hoping that the train from Anchorage to Seward will once again be an option but our cruise tour this time brings us to Seward a day ahead of our sailing date so things might be a bit different this time. RCI does a terrific job of handling and transporting your luggage so you shouldn't worry.

We were on the Serenade of the Seas for 24 days and I have to agree that it is very well run and the crew seemed to be happy. Looking forward to sailing with Patrick and his crew again in just a few days.

Usually, the dining room opens at 1 p.m. for changes, so you will most likely all be onboard before the Maitre'd is available.

Having cruised during previous Presidential elections when Fox was still offering its version of "fair and balanced" news, I can only be grateful that we won't be subjected to its biases this year, though now that Roger Ailes is no longer in charge, their news coverage may have improved.:)

Well I guess Im a horrible person because we have always,always taken apples,oranges,bananas etc off ship... Go ahead and crucify me!Im a bad bad person... I see nothing wrong with it.You arent searched on your way off ship.Trust me,worse things are taken off ship..I tend to eat healthy so im not taking chips etc..

While you may "see nothing wrong with it", the restriction is in place for very good reasons and the agricultural communities in the ports you visit won't appreciate the fact that you are endangering the well-being of their communities by possibly introducing invasive species by your actions. Just ask people in the citrus industries in California and Florida and elsewhere if you doubt the consequences.

I guess that's not me. I don't want to sit with the same group of random strangers each night at the same time. Ugh!!!! I'd rather dine with who I happen to meet, that's interesting, fun to be around at a time that suits.

 

 

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Then My Time Dining seems perfect for you and others who feel similarly. If the traditional dining times don't meet your needs, it is also possible to set up times in MTD that match your requirements.

We were just on Serenade for 24 nights (Norwegian Fjords and Transatlantic) and with the exception of a few relatively brief periods of time we had good internet service. We will be on her again in a few weeks and hope to have equally good service.:)

I signed up for MTD the other day & had to prepay gratuities.... [emoji853]

 

 

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Whoever made you prepay your gratuities was in error. That requirement was eliminated some time ago. Speak to whomever had you do this and you should, if you wish, be able to get it corrected.

Aysy (not Ansy) was Activities manager on Serenade's Norwegian fjords and subsequent transatlantic cruise from Copenhagen to Boston while Topi was the CD. Carly took over the CD position after the TA but I don't know if Aysy stayed on. Perhaps someone who has been on one of the Serenade's Canada-New England cruises can enlighten us. If not, I will post the information when I am onboard Serenade for the repositioning cruise in a few weeks.:)

We were just on Serenade for her Norwegian Fjords cruise followed by her transatlantic from Copenhagen to Boston and noticed none of the "tired" aspects that some have claimed to have seen. In fact we noted an area on Deck 13 which had appeared in need of refreshment a year or so ago, now sported much needed new carpeting. I agree with the poster who mentioned the amount of preventative maintenance that RCI regularly performs on its ships and don't think you need to be unnecessarily concerned about the condition she will be in when you sail.

In fact we will be back on her in just a few weeks and will be happy to confirm her condition at that time.:)

Assuming I am with friends who are not Diamond, can I use the 3 to get them drinks too? (one for me, one for each of them?)

 

Or do I have to run back and forth 3 times?

 

(at a bar, I know that they can't come into the diamond lounge)

The three free drinks are supposed to be for your personal consumption not to treat non-Diamond guests.

Your experience might be different since apparently one major reason for not allowing Diamond members to enter the diamond lounge at the TA with the Serenade was that the coffee machine for the Diamond plus members had broken and somebody has decided to give them the sole access to the lounge.

However the loyalty ambassador, who was quite irritated after so many people complaining, told us that we were complaining for a benefit no longer available to us, diamond members. The diamond concierge told us that we were denied access to the diamond lounge only during this TA. We found the whole thing a litle bit intransparent.

The reason for limiting access to the Diamond Lounge to Diamond Plus members and turning the Safari Lounge into a Diamond Lounge each evening on the Serenade was due to the extraordinary number of Diamond and Diamond Plus members and despite what the Diamond lounge concierge may have told you, free coffee, including cappuccino was available in Cafe Lattetudes at all hours, not just at breakfast time. Diamonds most likely had access to the concierge lounge on subsequent cruises if the numbers made that feasible. More than once when the coffee machine in the Concierge Club was not working on the Serenade TA, I went to the Diamond lounge and found that it was functioning and I was able to get my cappuccino. No big conspiracy to take perks away from C&A members, simply a matter of the numbers.

Cruisers on the repositioning cruise out of Boston may face a similar situation if the numbers demand and the functioning of the coffee machines is not a factor.

I have been to more than a few land-based restaurants where a request for a cappuccino was met with the answer that "unfortunately the cappuccino machine is broken". Seems that their unreliability is not limited to RCI cruise ships.

Thank you for the review, always helpful. We have been on this ship before. It certainly needs an update. This will be our 1st time doing the Canada/New England cruise/from NH and love not having to fly. We are doing the B2B also Beantown to Beaches. 2nd time doing the repo.

Does anyone no how the Diamond lounge is going over with having to pay (25% discount on beer etc.) We finally get a perk and they take it away.

We are looking forward to both cruises.

Nancy & Mike

Where did you get the idea that guests with access to the Diamond lounge have to pay anything for drinks during the cocktail hour (the only time that drinks are served in the lounge)? There are no such charges, discounted or otherwise, and during the cocktail hours, Diamond members and above can also get three free drinks from any bar during the cocktail hours and they haven't taken any perks away from you, so you shouldn't anticipate anything but an excellent experience.

We recently spent 24 nights on Serenade and didn't notice the wear and tear that some on this thread have reported though if it was in a specific stateroom it is always possible but was likely limited to that room and is not a general condition throughout the ship. Officers and crew on the ship excel in their attempts to make everyone's cruise as wonderful as possible.

:)

NCL only has My Time Dining. So it is difficult to compare.

Where did NCL enter the picture? Our Norwegian fjords cruise and the TA were on RCI's Serenade of the Seas, and the OP never mentioned NCL in his or her query so no comparison was involved.

We just did a Norwegian fjords cruise followed by a TA and found that MTD worked very well for us. Traditional dining times weren't as late, at least on those two cruises, as you cite- more like 6 and 8 pm.

I know this is not popular, but give us our own lounge if need be.They know how many are coming.

On Serenade's recent TA, Diamond Plus members DID have their own lounge - the Diamond Lounge, and Diamond members had the Safari Lounge for cocktails and hors d'oeuvres in the evening. Coupled with the three free drinks loaded on sea pass cards each evening it seemed to work reasonably well. Not a perfect solution but can you offer a better one? Knowing how many are coming doesn't guarantee anything if the numbers exceed lounge capacities. RCI may be the victim of its own success but I think that they try their best to deal with the hand they are dealt.

Ask the host at the MTD podium to seat you with other guests but barring that, the tables for two are positioned so close to one another that in many instances you will find that the folks at the next tables are almost close enough to be considered to be at the same table.

Not throw Diamond plus out of the Suites lounge.

What would you have them do when the number of Diamond plus members far outnumbers the capacity of the Suites lounge?

Crikey!!!!

 

How did I ever survive skating without a helmet since I was 3??????

That's a tired old argument against this safety regulation. While you may have survived, all too many serious injuries occurred when skaters failed to wear protective gear. Ask any ER doctors for their experiences.

Love TAs. However I wouldn't personally risk a northern Atlantic crossing. We've done Caribbean to the UK and had exceptional weather throughout in April and even sat by the pool in the English Channel. It's a very relaxing holiday.

 

As a single traveller it may give you more time to meet and get to know other passengers and the higher number of daytime activities might also help you meet new friends.

 

 

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We just returned from a northern Atlantic crossing (Copenhagen to Boston) that was one of the smoothest crossings we have ever experienced. Our first northern crossing was spent avoiding the full impact of hurricane Gustave and was briefly rough but still a wonderful cruise. It all depends so I wouldn't automatically rule one out because of the weather you might encounter.

In the 6 nights we dined in the MDR on Oasis we had very good food with out choosing an upgrade item

 

 

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We had similar experiences on our recent 24 nights on the Serenade and only ate in specialty restaurants on 4 of those nights. Food that we ordered in the MDR was generally very good and the service was exemplary and we never ordered the special upcharge items.:)

The complimentary cappuccinos are in the CL and DL. You can pay for cappuccino at Lattitude's here on Radiance, or Starbucks and other locations on other ships.

On Serenade, when the coffee machine in the Concierge Club was broken, we could get a cappuccino in the Diamond lounge or alternatively, in Cafe Lattetudes (complimentary - by showing our seapass cards).

Or your concierge. That is what I do. They always pull up the list on the

computer and give me the numbers break down of Ds, D+, and Pinnacles.

It is always fun to know how many are on each ship.

 

They used to announce those numbers at the upper tier get together,

but we have not experienced them doing that any longer for some reason.

They did just that on the Serenade repo from Copenhagen to Boston. Captain Tor mentioned that the number of guests who were Platinum or higher C&A members totaled somewhere around 1600, of which 29 were Pinnacle Club, 300+ Diamond Plus, and 500+ Diamond members. The number of members who reached a milestone on this cruise was an extremely lengthy list and each member reaching a milestone had a picture taken with the Captain and the Staff captain.