denisey
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Posts posted by denisey
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Hi Denise - so glad you found us!!!! I hope you'll stick around for the full 17 night journey (which, at the rate I'm going, should be finished by Christmas :eek::p)
I met up with this group on Stef's review. I was so glad to see you review and the same "cast of characters!" So I am planning on being here to the very end...even if it is Christmas! Bless all of our hearts!
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Oh Yay! Another great Serenade review, just started and I can't wait to see what happens!
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I just finished the Adventure cruise...no Malta, so you must have done that on a "land" vacation. We spent one wonderful day there on a cruise, and I would love to go back. St John's was amazing!
I don't know if you learned between you first cruise and your second cruise, but a hint I heard for inside cabins...When you go to bed at night, turn the TV onto a channel that has an outside view. Most ships have a camera that faces the front of the ship or the upper deck. Then turn the sound to Mute. That way, if you wake up during the night, you can see quickly if it is daylight. Also, the cabin will lighten up as the sun rises, just like you have a window.
On of my favorite TV shows has a very smart, scientific character. He says "The Germans are a very comforting people."
Denise
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Hi Stef,
I loved every word of your review! And I am joining the Fan Club that your sweet family now has.
I started reading it because we are going on our first Royal Cruise on the Serenade next year. We will be in the Caribbean, but I thought "well, she will probably talk about the ship..." And then I was hooked! I have been to most of the ports you visited, so that was great to see also.
Some thoughts I had...
I was on the edge of my seat when Tarik was lost also! I'm glad a scraped knee was the worst of the problems!
I love Malta also! Did you go there on the Adventure? I have to read that review.
I told DH that everyone gets lost in Venice and he said "Not me!" We did not get lost once, but boy did my feet hurt from all the walking.
NOTE TO FUTURE EUROPE CRUISERS: We found that Rick Steves maps were the best for Rome, Florence, Venice.
We always call the paper wrappers in churches the "Shawls of Shame!" I think they are that ugly color on purpose. I carry a pashima in my backpack just for that reason.
We did all our ports in the Med as DIY adventures also. And when we got back to the dinner table, found our dinner mates spent $100's of dollars on a ships excursion, where they sat on a bus with 50 people and drove past the interesting sights!
Okay, I am off to read the Adventure review. Can't wait to read the MSC adventure next year!
Thanks!
Denise
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The best purchase I made before my Med cruise was Rick Steves Mediterranean Cruise port book. It had clear instructions on how to get to the main attractions for each port. We did most of the ports using public transportation and had a great time.
With a family, I can see using a tour guide in some of the ports. I agree with the above poster on gathering information from your roll call. The ports of call boards are usefull there also.
Have a fabulous trip!
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Thanks for the Review! We are going on our first RCCL cruise next year, and my first trip to New Orleans, so it was very helpful.
We were in Mexico once during Iguana mating season....that is a sight to behold!
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They time we've left things behind, we've let the cabin attendant know that we were leaving it behind on purpose. That way he can either take it or toss it as he'd like. I've heard that if you just leave it behind, the attendant has to give it to lost and found.
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Hi Chamima, I think I may have been on the same cruise as you...Feb 8th. And I noticed the same thing.
This is just my opinion, but I think it was two fold....the staff seemed to be stretched further to me, our cabin steward had a ton of cabins. But I also think the Norovirus that they were so hysterical about sanitizing over had hit the crew. We heard hints of this, and there is no real way to check, but I saw our Asst waiter flipping burgers at the grill and an Officer stocking glasses at a bar. The staff at the buffet seemed to be ever changing and not doing what they were used to also.
It didn't affect our fun, but it was noticeable to me.
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Thanks Patricia for the great review.
I was on this cruise also, and had a great time. Mostly because we had such a great group of friends with us.
The downside of all the sanitizing is that whatever they were using made me sick. I spent most of the cruise with a sore throat from all the airborne spray in the buffet, and finally had to avoid the buffet completely. I am still coughing. I had the impression that it was the staff that was sick, left over from the prior cruise, but like the OP said, not a lot of information.
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sea pass cards are why my husband's pants have pockets....
My thought exactly! I don't bring a purse on the cruise at all. I use a small backpack for the ports.
Have a great cruise!
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You may not have one right now but as you replace luggage, consider buying one with a suiter (?? spelling). Basically, it's a garmet bag that's on the front of the suitcase. You can hang dresses, suits, etc and then don't have to be rolled up or folded.
All of my luggage (except carry on) have it now - even my 22" piece. Wouldn't travel without one now that I've seen the value.
Good luck.
I travel a lot for business, and my carryon bag has a suiter. I learned that if I pack my hanging clothes in there WITHOUT the hangers, they fit better and the bag weighs less. Hotels and cruise ships have hangers once you get there.
I am also in the only take a carry on crowd. This is for a weekend or a month in Europe with a two week cruise. Mix and match, limit the other "stuff" and take only things you will use enough to justify bringing them.
I place my items in three piles when deciding what to pack...have to have, would like to have, luxury items.
It is amazing how neat the cabin stays too, when you have less stuff!
Have a great cruise!
Denise
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Deck - 11
Cabin # - 1620
Class – Celebrity Suite
Starboard or Port Side - Starboard side
Bed near?(balcony or bath) – NA
Quiet Cabin (With comments on problems. Note if connecting. ) – quiet
Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. –This cabin is after the "hump" so forward view was slightly limite
Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - normal (but huge compared to a "regular" cabin)
Was wind a problem? no
If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? n/a
Any specific problems with this cabin? no problems at all
Any other comments? I don't know if I would pay for this class, but it was nice to have. The two doors to the bathroom were especially nice.
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Has anyone's seen these port guides on **************.com? Pretty cool write ups on several popular ports. I only ask because I have been on the boards a while and I have never seen them mentioned.
I used them for our last Europe trip. They are very handy!
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01 CRUZN BUCKEYE - OHIO
02 Icarrythebags - Ohio
03 CrazyAboutCruising- New York
04 bbiggar-Wisconsin
05 Cotton
06 VoyagerFL - Florida (via Indiana)
07 Tom-n-Cheryl - FLORIDA
08 Nautical but Nice - Missouri
09 Elaine515 - Florida
10 LHP - (Linda, David, Josh and DJ) - Memphis
11 Ladyspoilt and family - Tennessee
12 Cruiser64-Florida
13 Beach4me - South Carolina
14 YesitDonna - Massachusetts
15 RICHFRET - Florida
16 JBHCW-Jane-North Carolina
17 BARBARA J.W KENTUCKY
18 MrPete - New York
19 Doug910 - Florida
20 GottaLuvCruising - Florida
21 Mich6674 - Florida
22 Luv's Crusin' BJW North Carolina
23 JJudy-Michigan
24 burtonsgigi - Fort Mill, SC
25 Cruisedogs2 - Yorktown, VA
26 OBX_FIN and obx_fintoo - Virginia
27 ahoys-only one ahoy--Kathy from Florida
28 ILuvCarnival - Cleveland, Ohio
29 crusinsusan - PA
30 gator bait - Florida
31 jlcga - Florida
32 dls - California
33 Blueocean and husband - Ohio
34 Ronath - Louisiana
35 Mosel - Florida
35 MILEMRKR63- HARVEY CEDARS, NJ
37 PeterV - London United Kingdom
38 bthorn1108 - Florida (by way of Massachusetts)
39 Mike/Cheryl - Omaha, NE
40 Suzys - New Jersey
41 PSRCPA - Florida
42 Host Graham - Rochester, NY
43 CoCoNut Willie- Texas
44 Grouchpuss - Arizona
45 pam7553 - Illinois
46 molme-Georgia
47 meltla (Tommy) New Orleans, LA
48 bonniemari - Tennessee
49 cruzinsteve - Texas
50 jy148 - New Jersey
51 cld1225-Virginia
52 Carnivalkim-Georgia
53 rburns44-Ohio
54 Karter - Florida
55 Birdiegirl - Minnesota
56 Emtnmare - Minnesota
57 mamawg- Blue Springs, Missouri
58 Diane F and Jerry - California
59 rpsinnj - New Jersey
60 gymbrat33 - Florida
61 bonstersd - California
62 Bea2002- Florida
63 Sandgnat- Geogia
64 Cjm61 - New York
65 Kstrickman - Maryland
66 rwdtgt - Florida
67 Louisiana Joe and Family
68 earlethepearl
69 Litewait ( plus dd 21, & ds 15) San Diego, Ca
70 Quickrate- Florida
71 sk8rpatty - California
72 shortstop95 (jane & luke) delaware
73 SCUBA Mark - Texas
74 dotshub- Larry & Doris - Florida
75 woodi- Oklahoma
76 volman and kipmom - Tennessee
77 Bases5 Florida
78 Lv2camp&cruise- Chris and Kim, Tennessee
79 KenMo & DH - Missouri
80 smarks & DH oldfart - GA.
81 Floatway and Hubby - Friendswood, Texas
82 Luv2cruz44 - Redding, CA
83 Stircrzy - Texas
84 irishgirl - Michigan
85 Candigirl41 - So. CA
86 luv2cruise777l - So Ca.
87 Cruise from NY
88 Joel (Cruzman), LA (Lower Alabama)
89 Amanda, also from Lower Alabama
90 75Vette - Missouri
91 Yogi2929 - San Bernardino County, CA
92 JaguarGirl - Jacksonville, Florida
93 vettebuf - Elaine and Frank and Jon, Sicklerville, NJ
94 airmanship - Arkansas
95 *Luv2Cruise*- New York
96 pnjkeith - Oklahoma
97 cruisergirl2002 - Indiana
98. Deaf Dude - New Orlean
99. Dan40&Barb-Florida
100. G'ma-Voorhees NJ
101. JMW / MJW MB SC
102. MelBCroozer - Covington, LA
103 Shawnie - Canada
104. Mikel1733 & Sally - Nebraska
105. DarthGrady- Florida
106. Southbayer - So Calif
107. pmc7704 - Florida
108. MarylandLady - Maryland
109. Smoofdaddy and Mama Linda - Tennessee
110. FunShipFan - New York
111. mek - Ohio
112.S.S. Oceanlover - PA
113. Cbcruiser - San Diego, CA
114. CWcruisers - San Diego, CA
115. MDR Cali Cruisers - SoCal
116. DGP1111 - Florida
117. Crazycath - SoCal
118.M&J-Florida
119 keene state mom New Hampshire
120. Bigboataddict - E. TX
121. nowendy - Marrero, LA
122. Chigirlcruzin - Chicago
123. Georgiagolfer & DW - Augusta, Georgia
124. "Copvet" Wayne & Debbie, Jax.Bch., Fl
125. Manmachine & DW - Melbourne, FL
126. Julienatul - FL
127. Alberta_Cruiser & DW & DD(19) - Calgary, Alberta
128. sjones0920 Virginia 129. GTVCRUISER - San Diego
130. scperk-Collierville,Tennessee
131. PatfromPa - Pennsylvania
132. grey's girl - Pennsylvania
133. jerrymac - Florida
134. LPLRN76& DH -Florida
135. Cruises42 - Virginia
136. imacruiser2 - Washington State
137. funcruzck1 - Atlanta, GA
138. cruisng4fun- Boston, Ma
139. gfsmith- Oklahoma
140. Gracie65 & family, North Myrtle Beach, SC
141. kicia (& George) - Indiana to Florida
142. bots99 - Florida
143. Bobby & Mary-South Carolina
144. CheerBelleMom-Texas
145. gottacruise - Not currentLY from anywhere - full time RV'er
146. Victory2020 - Los Angeles
147. Bill & Leila - Georgetown, KY
148. Kaseyoz- Sydney Australia__________________
149. Fun, fun 44 (& Bryan)- Oklahoma
150. Little - Atlanta, GA
151. Linda Lu (&Jerry & Sandra) Texas
152. Lisa0719 & JoeMc0919 - Levittown, PA
153. Mike and Pat, San Clememte CA
154. Harlekuin & Dcon, Sacramento, CA
155. Salty Dawg (Ken & Nancy) - Michigan
156. cheepwrent - Oklahoma
157. Gatorman - Florida
158. Susan (vidimom) & Scott - Gainesville, Florida
159. Charlotte (Charbill) & Bill - OHIO
160. Host Terry
161. LindaJSteele and DH - Jacksonville, FL
162. Jim & Claudete - TEXAS
163. we're sailing away - Jacksonville, FL
164. SHOLLY (Steve)- Kansas
165. Tertog(Joe and Terry)- Kennesaw, GA
166. mom2girls-Orlando, FL
167. Loisann - South Carolina
168. legalmom and Ben - Jacksonville, FL
169. Beth - Bob and Beth - Georgia
170. Bruce & Pam - Midland, TX
171. cantw82cruise - Michigan
172. Crdtrnr - Shreveport, Louisiana (hubby will be on next cruise)
173. CwuzCwazy & DW - Florida
174. Uncle Doug, Dayton, TX
175. UncleDougsDonna, Dayton, TX
176. allenee-Mary Ann & David, Cheifland,Fl.
177. Bandman - Larry & Melinda - Franklin, TN
178. Tess2cruz - Teri - Houston Texas
179. MszKitty - SoCal
180. Doug & Pat, Wichita Falls, Tx.
181. Michael and Michele, Vermont
182. LornaT (and Mom Olga & DD Jessica) Van Nuys, CA (SoCal)
183. Jessemon-Tampa
184. Navarrecruiser - Bob & Lynda Navarre, FL
185. sa7776 - Mississippi
186. PA Dutchman- PA
187. breenw (Bill and Marsha), New Palestine, IN
188. Beezalar (skip and trisha) gastonia nc
189. bp traveler - MN
190. umwife11--South Florida
191. jmss1950 - Simpsons - Georgia
192. rbrb1951-north Alabama
193. CalifCruiser1 - California
194. Donna n Francis - Nova Scotia, Canada
195. familyof4cruising - NY
196. Spikester- Alexandria VA
197. DEL67 - NJ
198. ScootsMom - Florida
199. MickMac100- Scotland UK
200. rm4778- Auburn, AL
201. Catrin (Cathy and Steve) - Rhode Island
202. Beverlyf - Pittsburgh PA
203. Cruiser@Heart - Illinois
204. Natk - New York (13 done, 14 and 15 booked..looking for 16-20)
205. Flynlo - Oklahoma Go Sooners!!
206. Villagers70 - The Villages, Florida
207. jess2245 - Leesburg, Florida
208. lp343-Woodbury, MN
209. c&d -Ohio
210. CruiseSpecialist03- Miami, Florida
211. cruisecop2006
212. scfcruiser - Steve & Cheryl - Trenton, Ohio
213. Jaxonboy - Ft Smith, Arkansas
214. augie - Melbourne, Florida
215. winddawn - Tennessee
216. Chris64 - Bama....Rollll Tide!
217. OKGIRL - Dallas, TX
218. OKGIRLs Sister - Dallas, TX
219. Au48 - Auburn, AL -- War Damn Eagle!
220. Luckycruzer
221. Funship Freddy - USVI
222. duck512 - Ohio
223. gazingm42 - Stuck in the South
224. yesaCCasey - Go Gators, Florida
225. Rocky123 - NJ
226. Sweetnell and Oldmedic- Texas
227. BuggyStuff - Brad, Iowa
228. LynneL (and family) - Long Island, NY
229. Louisiana Joe (The Original) Geaux Tigers!!
230. Ship Addict - Katy Texas -- Go Tigers
231. CathysCruisin' - Cathy & Dan, San Antonio, TX
232. Denville Dave - NJ
233, MSQPON - Jo - NJ
234. cruizer4662 - Merritt Island, FL-- "GO BLUE, Michigan"
235. Cuizman1 - FL
236. Tallcruiser - CA
237. Stepbrod-MD
238. JoeSmooga and Wife of JoeS - Sioux City, IA
239. Kids of JoeS (2... went Plat. at ages 5 and 7!) - Sioux City, IA
240. ahoys- Dave and Kathy- Tampa, FL
241. can'twaittacruise - Lynn and Dave - Hollister, FL
242. demos-GA
243. Fofita01 - Miami, FL
244. GOTTA CRUISE NOW - Lancaster, PA
245. Volzcruiser - Tn Go Vols
246. Cruizier4662 - Merritt Island, Fl.
247. Jetskier-Lumberton, Mississippi
248. Barbados1999 - Maryland (DC suburbs)
249. glrounds - So Cal
250. Julie McCoy - Fairhope, AL
251. TTz - Tony & Karrie - Mesa, AZ.
252. ADATL & DH both - Angie & Doug - Atlanta, GA
253. KatSt - Kathy & Bill (Both Platinum) - Gilbert, Az
254. Dell08-Adelle - Fort Lauderdale, FL
255. Donan54 - Columbus, GA
256. djacobson - Baton Rouge, La.
257. Mammama - Don and Carolyn - Tennessee
258. Cincy Gal - Cincinnati, Ohio
259. Rosefloater - Los Angeles, CA
260. Ascott318 Newburgh,NY
261. beetle9 - Tim and Tammy, OH.
262. rellersi - Apex, NC
263. LUV'S Crusin - Winston Salem, NC
264. lindanick - Florida
265. DolfanNY
266. maurick Hackettstown, NJ
267. Travel girl23 - Texas
268. Simpleman - Virginia
269. Ccruzer - Chicago, Il
270. Jhale - Houston, Texas
271. rhorhorho - Palm Bay, Florda
272. SeaUonboard - Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas
273. Meowsmurphy - John & M-E, Columbus, OH
274. alberta_cruiser and family - Alberta, Canada
275. Wants to be rich - Massachusetts
276. LRene - Hattiesburg, MS
277. Lifestylecruzer - Hattiesburg, MS
278. popsec - Fair Haven, Vermont
279. thecarnivalkid - Ryan- Windsor, Ontario
280. brcris75 - Arkansas
281. cruising3times - Ohio
282. lidoplease - SC
283. Cruisetobeaches-IL
284. Cruzenagain - South Carolina
285. Shipdogred - Mississippi
286. Jdfireman - New Jersey
287. 007007 - North Carolina
288. SantanaTto - New Jersey
289. KevinKelli - St. Petersburg, FL
290. KelliKevin - St. Petersburg, FL
291. Txsluvscruising-Sanger, TX
292. Cascole - San Diego, CA
293. Grouchpuss - Tucson, AZ
294. TX Southpaw - Plano, TX
295. CruzVinnieCruz - Pittsburgh, PA
296. Astropilot - Decatur, Il
297. ibecruzen2 - Daytona Beach, Fl.
298. Natspawpaw-Florence, AL
299. Lmtrn2001-Florence, AL
300. mulecuizer - Temecula, Ca.
301 Mort13ers Boston Ma
302 ccnvcpl - San Antonio, TX
303. Sockmonkey - Central Tx
304. dorinel - Chester, Massachusetts
305 rwilli01 Arkansas
306 Cateyes2u - Oakland CA.
307 Harlekuin - Sacramento, CA
308 Bluehorizonlover - Buffalo Grove, IL
309 travelinggrandma
310 PaulMedik - Montgomery WV.
311 INCHARGE - Va
312 Ncjeff Cary NC.
313 Scot Griffith, IN
314 Jeff aka DrKleen, Owings, MD
315 Calker, WI
316 Calker's husband, WI
317 kewbrook, SC
318 kewbrook's husband, SC
319 BigDoug, Maryland
320 jenms2000, Georgia
321 thepeach, Georgia
322 aggieastrosfan and DH, Texas
323 framerman, Hendersonville, NC
324 crusinpsychRN, Florida
325 Steveaaaaa, Florida
326 alagirl-- Sally and Donald, AL
327 Babyblue, Harker Heights ,Texas
328 Triplee, Fredericksburg, VA
329 Denisey, Seattle, WA
330 Dennisy, Seattle WA
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John Heald's blog has pictures of the deck 8 balcony AFTER the work was done to move the divider. It looks like the cabins just in front of the wrap will still have a larger than normal balcony (just not as large as they were before!)
Happy sailing!
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Those cabins are very good deals - unless something is not as it appears to be...
Tom
A big part of the reason we book aft wraps is for the sunshine. It looks to me like the wraps on deck 9 are shaded by the Lido deck, so we've decided to not book those. So they do have a big balcony, and they are a good deal, just not for us.
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We are sailing to Grand Cayman, Roatan, Belize & Cozumel on Valor in April. I'm wondering how much alcohol we can bring back thru customs? AND.... if you know of a great place to make such a purchase that would be greatly appreciated! ;)
You can pretty much bring back as much as you want...but on anything over 1 litre per adult you MAY have to pay a small duty on. (we had 6 bottles once, and they didn't charge us, they just waved us through.)
If you are flying home, you will need to pack the alcohol in your checked bags.
Cool Girl & Crazy Mom do the Med-Venice: A (very delayed) review of a Serenade voyage
in Royal Caribbean International
Posted
I'm going to offer a different opinion. I had a couple of people try to talk me out of going to Pisa and I thought it was AMAZING! So much so, that is one of the few places we went back to on our second trip. If you get the chance go into the Bapistry when the guard is singing.
Pickpockets and theives are a fact of life in the touristy areas of Europe. I saw more in Florence then I did in Pisa.