Keith1010

In the end you have to decide what is best for you. I consider myself savvy but my TA has saved me money identifying optimal ways to book us providing savings and has identified promotions or other amenities that I was not aware of. What I recommend is a TA who is experienced with the cruise line(s) one wants to book with who knows how to cut through red tape to get things done and resolved expeditiously along with questions asked. Read CC often enough and some of the questions people ask about and some of the issues people have could have been answered/avoided by having a good TA. Like all professionals all TA's are not the same. Finally, the TA can provide amenities one can't get on their own and they are your advocate when things go wrong. A good way to find a TA is to ask friends who you respect if they have a recommendation. If you decide to continue to book on your own the world won't come to an end but you might learn that you are missing out on benefits that many others have realized over the years. To me it's like a will. These days you can write your own will but having a strong lawyer writing it can help avoid mistakes. Keith

We enjoyed it but the response varies by person. Those who can't get over Prego were disappointed. Other such as myself saw it as something unique and an overall upgraded experience. Like CC opinions vary by person.

I don't think of this as a butlers staton. I would describe it more as a bar area. They created a nice area for the guests to use for glasses and for drinks. Yes, the butler now takes care of this rather than the stewardess but it's not sized for a tray. The outlet could be used to charge devices. The butler uses a cart to service the area such as refilling beverages, bringing food, etc. If just bringing a bottle of wine the butler might hand carry it from the pantry. If several items they will use a cart. The only true butler station I am aware of is in the CP's on Serenity with the Butler Pantry. These are photos from a solo room. As you can see a tray isn't going to fit on the area with the glasses and they don't use trays. Food could be eaten on the coffee table or at the desk. Keith

Front row seat. Keith

Bob, Our son sailed out of Bayonne recently and said how easy it was. Wishing you a wonderful cruise. Keith

I know.

Thanks Vince. Agree with all you said. I like the look of the new rooms and as you note they began with various limitations. Keith

Just adding that they closed it at 6:00 PM each day. Keith

Vince, your update on the space is in line with me. Please note that t's an issue for longer voyages such as for two people doing a World Cruise.For most people not an issue for solos, particularly on shorter cruises. But for even solos on longer cruises it could be an issue depending on how much clothing they bring. When we stayed in those rooms we already had removed the bathrobes and changed out the hangers. Keith

You are very welcome. The music they performed was not one kind of music just as the previous group didn't play the same music so I think that should work out very well. I also think they will incorporate the DJ as well and even in the Cove one night he didn't play music what some might worry about. He can easily adapt. In fact, he might be a possibility for ballroom dancing. I realize people prefer a live band but let's see what happens. Keith

They have not had a cheese cart since the changeover from Crystal Dining Room to Waterside. They bring over a cheese menu which changes each evening and it has a writeup for each cheese and you select as many as you want and either the head waiter or senior waiter cuts them and brings over bread/crackers, and other condiments. Keith

Ashley: I know it is being looked at but not sure if there will be a solution. People who need to know are aware of this. The reduction in space can be seen in my photo. The same goes for a couple of other items. Keith

They did this for flexibility. Let's say the room doesn't sell. It provides options. Plus they had the beds. As we can see they made use of a lot of what they have. Bathrooms, Kimonos and even the blanket are examples of that. Waste not want not. And maybe one wants to have an overnight guest. Just saying. 😀 Keith

I don't think it's for show but yes you can have them removed. Over the years in certain rooms we would have several of the wooden hangers removed and use dry cleaning ones we brought from home for shirt to save on closet space. They are happy to accommodate any of this. Keith

David. you are very welcome. Keith

I was told they kept it like this for flexibility. Keith

Dancing. Some of the people who enjoy ballroom dancing prefer a larger band over the pianist and the vocalist and they made their feelings known. For most others they seemed fine with the two performers. And those two performers can easily play music from the 60's, 70's, 80's, etc. The vocalist who performed at the Gala has a most amazing voice IMHO. Keith

These are photos of one of the solo rooms on Deck 7. The room is the same as the other double occupancy rooms on Deck 7 other than the location and the cost. The room is the same as the double occupancy rooms on Decks 8 and 9 and 10 other than those rooms have a verandah and the ones on 7 have a picture window. Keith

Luggage Tags. Anne Marie who has far better hand-writing than I do used a sharpie as she does for the cardboard ones and it worked very well with no smudges. Keith

Vince good catches. Pulse is still Pulse. It was the only room we never visited. Yes I answered a question on another board about Luxe. I thought maybe Jade for the former Jade Garden. In the end, there was only so many things they could do both in terms of cost and amount of time the ships wouldn't sail. In some cases more to come on both ships including placement of the casinos but I expect other things as time permits. Keith

July 31 the first night of the inaugural cruise. It was also our wedding anniversary. So the question is were the fire works for the inaugural cruise or for our wedding anniversary or for both? We couldn't have asked for a better day. Keith IMG_2318.mov

Vince that's correct. The classic rooms that remain on both ships had very few changes. In some cases new paint and touchups and likely new phones, TV's (at least Serenity had both) and new bed linens. The changes are in the rooms where they needed to move walls. Same goes for the rooms renovated in 2017 on Symphony with the introduction of the Sea Breeze category. Keith

I am sorry we didn't get to meet on-board. I did meet several members of CC and another group too. I do know they plan to publish the entertainment schedule ahead of time and are just working through the mechanics of this. Of course, they are always subject to change. I heard the portion size was too large for the Portuguese Tarts. But we'll have to see what my fellow Texan and Portuguese expert says. Just kidding Patty. 😀 I would have come off the ship at around the same size if not for my injury. 😀 Over the several days there was no exercise for me and it was the first time I took elevators on the ship in years other than on embarkation and debarkation days due to hand luggage. I was stubborn and didn't listen to my body the first two days after the injury. On the third day during our Bordeaux tour this led to a role reversal. For the first time since I met Anne Marie while walking at the Chateaux I uttered the following words. "Anne Marie can you please slow down?". This was a first as it is often the other way around. Keith

Yes we had the third party vendor problem too. For our cruise they were not pre-printed so you filled them out. They arrived two day UPS. There were several last minute assignments of rooms which is why they didn't pre-print them. As mentioned there will be tags at the pier so the world won't come to an end if they don't arrive. With that said, we prefer to have them in advance so we don't have to fill them out at the last minute. But like everything we all have our own preferences. Right now they are using the tags that have sticky glue in the back so you just attach them that way. Keith

Me too. For years we had the port on most of our cruise but for Northwest Passage we had the starboard and I kept going the wrong way for the laundry room and the fitness center. Always go to the right and going to the left threw me off. Keith