Serenade 12 day Mediterranean Cruise semi-live

[Princess & 4 Princes]

I walked by the Hotel Colon today. Definitely a nice location. I had a booking, but decided to go with the Hotel Jazz. It has a nice room and is very convenient to the Place Univeritat drop off for the Aerobus.

 

I've been getting most of my food from the covered market on the Ramblas. I've also picked up a few things fom the supermarket/department store near the north end of the Ramblas.

 

I opted or the camera connection kit or my iPad instead of the wireless card. It is slightly less convenient if you have wifi access, but infinitely more if you do not.

 

Hope your cruise is going phenomenally, as well! Hope you post a review.

[cinnamon]

I am looking forward to some updates on the cruise itself. We were in an aft cabin on Serenade on the previous 12 nighter which had some ports the same and some different.

[MAHA]

Is the CD still Rich Edwards? When was your M&M scheduled for? I heard that on the May 5 cruise, the M&M was scheduled for the day in Cannes and not many people were able to make it as they had shore excursions. RCCL had had it scheduled for the first sea day, but the cruise director decided to have it on a different day.

 

I am hoping that Ricky Matthews might be back as CD for our cruise, but he's not scheduled to be back until June 10. We had him on Serenade in October and he was great!

 

Mary Anne

[ScubaNPcruiser]

Finally have wireless connection in Venice. Sitting at a cafe enjoying the sites of Venice. Wonderful trip, all I hoped for and more. The meet and mingle was sparsely attended. We've had several cool days and it was held on the first sea day, which was a beautiful, sunny day so I like others wanted to be in the sun. I stopped by for a few minutes and met a couple very nice people.

 

We used Rome in Limo for Rome, Florence and Naples. We saw the highlights of Rome and had an awesome driver and lunch. It definitely is only the highlights as Rome is HUGE. Take along Rick Steves audio guide for the sights. We were picked up right on time and dropped off with plenty of time to spare. Awesome company!! The cost is a fraction of what RCCL charges for their tours. Florence was my least favorite city but still interesting. We toured the Ufizzi museum, which was underwhelming for me. The art was all the same period. In Naples we chose Pompeii, Sorrento and Positano, which was definitely a highlight. Wonderful driver again and great choice for lunch in Sorrento. Note to others, check to see how big the entrees are as we have over ordered several times. I'll send a link of a picture of the capresse salad which was HUGE. We ordered 7 and could have split 2. Wonderful pasta and pizza in all ports.

Currently in Venice. Just wandering the city and getting slightly lost. Wouldn't change a thing. Toured St. Marks square and Doge palace and prison. Worthwhile for sure. The lines look long but move quickly. Well happy sailing to all. Headed back to the ship for dinner at Portifinos. Last night we ate in Venice and it was very reasonalble. Alot cheaper than I imagined. I'll post when I get a chance.

 

Shan

[newcruiser1573]

Shan,

 

Thanks for the update. Can you tell us about the shows on board or any other activities you've found to be interesting.

 

I really appreciate the heads up about the WIFI. I wanted to use skype to communicate with my husband while away, but looks like the WIFI is pretty scarce.

 

GLAD YOUR HAVING FUN:)

 

Kim

[swcruise]

Hi there, Following this with interest as this is one we have ear-marked as a 'possible' for our annual cruise in 2013..

[ScubaNPcruiser]

Just back from our trip. On the backend we stayed in London for a couple days. It was fun to the see the prep for the Queen's Jubilee. The coming Olympics seemed more low key. We had a hard time finding an bundance of Olympic gear,besides T-shirts, compared to other cities we've visited pre-Olympics. Just an observation. I'll post more review of the cruise after I get some rest. I will say it was one of the best vacations we have ever taken. We would go back in a heartbeat!

Happy sailing!

 

Shan

[kohngirl]

Hope you are getting your much needed rest. Have been following your thread as we are headed on this ship this week. We are 23 family members from Florida.....keep the info coming please.

[Princess & 4 Princes]

Could you give me some info about how the photo packages worked? I am on the June 22nd sailing, and got info for a pre-purchase deal to save 20% on the "Buy every photo" package. Do you know if this included a CD for all the poses? And how many photo ops were there and how were the lines?

 

We are sailing with our 3 boys, who are not fond of photos to begin with, much less long lines for photos! :rolleyes:

 

Thank you so much!

[Princess & 4 Princes]

Also--did they have the ship iPhones available for rent on the ship? Thanks for any help you can give me!

[ScubaNPcruiser]

Shan,

 

Thanks for the update. Can you tell us about the shows on board or any other activities you've found to be interesting.

 

I really appreciate the heads up about the WIFI. I wanted to use skype to communicate with my husband while away, but looks like the WIFI is pretty scarce.

 

GLAD YOUR HAVING FUN:)

 

Kim

OK back to the review. Over the next week I'll post a more extensive review and links to pictures or actual pictures (if I can). Thanks to fellow cruiser for adding to the review.

 

Answer to a couple questions. Shows on board were OK. The Broadway rendition of shows was not good. The songs were not well known and just ok. It seems that there has been budget cuts in the area of shows. Costumes were gaudy and stage backdrops were non-existent. The hypnotist was good and a few of the guest singers. We didn't go to all the shows. Some were well attended and others not.

 

WIFI is VERY slow. Not sure Skype would work. I bought the 30 min. package and used it just to check email. If you were surfing the web you would eat up the time quick. I only used their computers around the atrium.

[ScubaNPcruiser]

Also--did they have the ship iPhones available for rent on the ship? Thanks for any help you can give me!

No IPhones available.

[ScubaNPcruiser]

Could you give me some info about how the photo packages worked? I am on the June 22nd sailing, and got info for a pre-purchase deal to save 20% on the "Buy every photo" package. Do you know if this included a CD for all the poses? And how many photo ops were there and how were the lines?

 

We are sailing with our 3 boys, who are not fond of photos to begin with, much less long lines for photos! :rolleyes:

 

Thank you so much!

There were several advertisements for discounts on the photo packages. $199, comes to mind. I didn't take advantage of the package and only purchased one photo. Our photos were not very good this time so we were not tempted to purchase more pictures. Yes a CD was available with the package. There were several photo ops each day on multiple decks around the atrium. Sometimes they were on break though when we were ready for pictures, like inbetween dinner.

[Princess & 4 Princes]

No IPhones available.

 

There were several advertisements for discounts on the photo packages. $199, comes to mind. I didn't take advantage of the package and only purchased one photo. Our photos were not very good this time so we were not tempted to purchase more pictures. Yes a CD was available with the package. There were several photo ops each day on multiple decks around the atrium. Sometimes they were on break though when we were ready for pictures, like inbetween dinner.

 

Thank you!