CTCruiser74

33 minutes ago, kelbell said:

when you say down town do you know what port that may happen to be?

The downtown pier is called Punta Langosta. 

11 minutes ago, CTSandy said:

We did Serenade out of Boston on Sept. 26, 2018 to Bermuda.  I've sailed out of Boston before on NCL and have no issues with the port - easy drop off of luggage and then to either surface parking lot or garage - this trip the lot was closed and we used the garage.  Got there at 10:45 AM and were on ship a few minutes after 11.  This was the first time I had sailed on RCI, my favorite line is Celebrity so I did find a few of the things I liked were missing (the complimentary glass of champagne boarding, the very nice Cafe el Bacio, fresh flowers) but nothing that seriously impacted the cruise.  My niece and her boyfriend (both 30) and I (way more than 30<g>) agreed that we did not care at all for the windjammer at breakfast and lunch - thought it was very disappointing, however we thought main dining room was fine.  Satisfied enough to have done a second RC cruise a few weeks ago on Anthem out of Bayonne.  I'm from CT, too, and frequently just look for cruises out of ports that are driving distance - kind of limits itineraries, but I just enjoy the experience of being on board.  I'm sure you'll enjoy Serenade, it was a very pretty ship.

 

What was the weather like in Bermuda and when were you able to enjoy the outdoor decks on th ship enroute?

1 hour ago, ONECRUISER said:

Sailed over 200 nites on Serenade, doing another 26nites this Fall. 

It sounds like you could be on the sailing we’re looking at.  We are looking at 10/13. 

6 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Yes.

Thank you!  I figured that was true but wasn’t 100% sure. 

5 minutes ago, JCMass. said:

We have traveled on the Serenade a few times to Canada, and throughly enjoy the smaller ship.  We are taking the Bermuda cruise this year.  The port facilities in Boston are great.  We always arrive later, between 12:30pm and 1:00pm, and the terminal is not crowded and it only takes about 30 minutes to get onto the ship.

 

 I expect the Bermuda cruise will attract a similar group as the Canada cruise this time of year.  The demographic is older over 50 crowd, and most are experienced cruisers.  They know what to expect and the atmosphere is relaxed.  People are very much at home on the ship.  The shows are excellent, it is not a problem to get a seat.   The crew told me they enjoy the Boston crowd.   

 

The Serenade was in great shape last September the last time we were on.  This ship did get most of the "upgrades" a few years ago.  Most were not popular like taking away a complimentary restaurant Sea View cafe at the top of the ship.  Though we enjoyed a wonderful Japanese meal at Izumi (a la carte)  last year that replaced it.   The put new cabins in place of  public areas, and used others as the Diamond and Concierge Lounge only open to some cruisers.  

 

We enjoy the ship just the same and are looking forward to the Bermuda cruise this year.  

Thank you!  The more I read, the more I get excited about it. The only thing that will be a drawback is no warm weather departing in October from Boston. It is hit or miss.  

We are looking at taking a 7 day cruise on Serenade this fall out of Boston.  Our last two cruises and my wife’s only cruises were on Oasis. I’ve been on DCL Magic twice and my first cruise was on Nordic Empress before she became Empress of the Seas. I’m excited that she is open to a smaller ship but I am just curious about the 7 day Bermuda cruise out of Boston.  

How are are the port facilities in Boston?  We will drive from Connecticut. 

Does the Park Cafe have the Roast Beef sandwiches?

What is the cruise demographic?

What condition is the Serenade?

Thank you everyone for your feedback. 

I’m curious about this too. I was looking at hotels and it popped up in a search.

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I have enjoyed reading this thread for shear entertainment value...

Several years ago, I cruise on DCL Magic. I was part of a large group on the Disney version of CC called the DIS boards for my sailing.

One of the couples on that sailing did an extensive live trip review with tens of thousands of views and dozens of pages of posts. One night while walking the halls, they came upon the Captain who introduced himself to them and mentioned that he had enjoyed reading their trip review.

You never know...:'):'):')

We like the atmosphere better at Giovanni’s. It’s so nice to eat outside with the live music playing in CP.

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The bolognese was amazing! Probably the best pasta I've ever had.

I was just looking at the menu. Can you order something from the Pasta E Risa section AND something from the Mare e Terra section or are they both considered main courses? Thanks!

You can get a half pasta selection as an appetizer and then a regular entree for your main entree. We did this and it worked out great. The pastas were (y)(y)(y)

Technically prohibited, but usually allowed.

Thats what I thought, but wasn't too sure. Thank you Bob.(y)(y)

My wife is currently at work talking about cruising and more specifically RC. One of her co-workers is taking a cruise in the near future on Allure and was asking her if water is allowed to be brought onboard. We always get the drink package so I was not sure of the answer.

I figured one of my CC friends out there would have a quick response!

Our last cruise, we had a pretty low number. As soon as we left our room around 8:00, our number was called. We weren't even able to get breakfast! We got through the terminal and customs pretty quick. Much quicker than Fort Lauderdale the year before.

How many people and what budget for hotel/transport?

 

The general answer is this:

 

Fly to whichever airport is cheaper. Flying into MIA will save you around $20-$25 in transport cost each way. So if you savings are big just fly into FLL.

 

As for hotel, if you are coming in with time to do things, even just get a dinner out I would say look for a hotel in either Downtown Miami or Brickell area. Hampton Inn Brickell is a very popular mid-tier hotel.

 

Transport to Port Miami from Downtown or Brickell is a very quick and cheap Uber ride.

 

FLL to Miami should also be done via Uber/Lyft.

There are two of us. We typically don’t sweat the hotel prices. We usually stay in Hilton branded properties whenever we travel.

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I am in the early planning stages for a cruise on Symphony of the Seas. Have taken five cruises, but none out of Miami. I am excited about cruising out of Miami, but am curious what the best options are for flying in the day before. MIA is much more costly than FLL and am wondering about the most ideal ground transportation options as well as accommodation options.

Thank you for any assistance!

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Any word on who will be on Freedom the week of March 25th? I just found out my CD will be Drew Devine. Always enjoy waking up to the morning show, hopefully Drew and whoever the AM is will make a great team!

Drew does a great morning show!

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We took this tour in October. It was really good and it’s something I would recommend all cruisers do once.

It was a very cool experience.

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I too am considering switching to Carnival after 3 cruises on RCI and 2 on DCL. We are looking for a better variety in itineraries and the Oasis class ships just don’t offer that.

I’ve heard good is better on Carnival and I must say I’ve always wanted to try Carnival. Looking at an 8 day Southern out of Fort Lauderdale.

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We were on the same sailing and also went to Nachi Cocom in Cozumel. It was a very enjoyable day and the water was the clearest water I have ever seen!

Reading your review has brought back a lot of great memories from our cruise. Thanks for sharing.

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That night after dinner we went to the Headliner Show. For this trip they had Abba-Cadabra. Yep...and Abba tribute band. I am not a huge Abba fan. But, I know the music. How can you not if you lived through the 70's and 80's.

 

They were pretty good. I enjoyed the show.

uUphEThG_R0

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the Cruise Director Jeff Arpin... I wasn't sure about him at first. But he really grew on me through-out the week. I watched his show on the TV everyday. He had really good advice about most things that were happening the following day.

 

This waited for us at bed time! This ends Day 4. Tomorrow (Day 5) is a sea day...then Cozumel Mexico.

We were on the same sailing too. I agree with your assessment of CD Jeff. I was really skeptical at first but he grew on me as the week progressed.

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We really enjoyed Suriawan in Giovanni’s Table on Oasis. The best server I have had on all of my cruises.

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On the first night done right what restaurant did you go to and where you able to go to chops

We went to Sabor. We did get to Chops as part of our 3 Night Dining Plan. We really enjoyed all of the specialty restaurants.

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I just got off the Allure. Why did the Oasis make a short stop at Nassau on Monday?

Medical evac for a passenger. Luckily we were able to make it to Labadee. We were only late an hour. Captain Per had “all engines up and all the handles down”

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Just off the Oasis 10/15 Western Caribbean sailing. Here are a few thoughts...

For us it was our second cruise on Oasis. We went the same week last year, but on the Eastern itinerary out of Fort Lauderdale. There were some changes to the fellow passenger demographics now that she is home-ported in Port Canaveral. There are a lot more families and a lot more senior citizens onboard. I’m thinking this is due to the proximity to Central Florida, the attractions and large retirement communities.

The weather was perfect with only some overcast and high winds on Day 7. The ports were a big surprise to us. We loved Labadee and were very surprised with Falmouth. We chose to take the trolley tour and met some wonderful people from Jamaica. Cozumel is always great and we elected to spend the day in Nachi Cocom.

We had the 3 night Specialty dining package as well as First Night Done Right. We ate at Sabor, Chops and Giovanni’s Table (2x). We really enjoy Giovanni’s. Our waiter Suriawan was awesome! He is a really great guy and we now consider him a friend.

The comedians in the comedy club were great as was the Headliner, Abba-Cadabra.

Cruise Director Jeffrey Arpin grew on me as the week went on. I enjoyed his Love and Marriage show as well as the Belly Flop contest. We were unable to make it to The Quest...too tired lol.

The Oasis has been great to us these last two cruises but we are thinking our next cruise we will head back to Fort Lauderdale and try out Harmony of the Seas.

I would be happy to answer any questions.

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