Serenade Canada sailing 9/18/16 quick review

[jd10367]

Not much to say here, but I'll say it anyway.

 

- Ship is rough around the edges. Could use an overhaul. Broken drawer, broken bathroom shelf, patchy carpet and worn woodwork in common areas. Nothing awful but definitely could use attention.

 

- First experience with Voom. Bought the wife the Surf+Stream package for her iPod, she loved it, used it all the time with few issues; although she didn't do any heavy lifting with it (Netflix, YouTube, etc.,.), it was speedy enough for texting, email, Facebook, etc.,. Since we had two US ports I used our free Diamond days for two days at sea for the lower level Surf only; while it was fast enough for email and Facebook, it seems to block you from certain websites and activities (I couldn't text her through my iPhone texting but instead had to use Facebook messaging). I've seen it mentioned here that you can save money by buying it for one device and log in and out; in reality, that's a pain in the butt trying to coordinate, and kind of defeats the purpose (i.e. my wife wanted to get Facebook updates, email notifications, etc.,.).

 

- You would think the ship would prepare for Happy Hour, knowing that from 4:30-8 the Diamond peeps get free drinks. Yet, every afternoon in the Schooner Bar at 4:30, I'd find one harried overworked bartender trying to serve 8 waiting customers at once. How hard is it to make sure two bartenders are on duty when you know it's going to be busy?

 

- I've said this before and I'll say it again: Royal needs to change its Self-Assist departure system. They used to give you a luggage tag and (supposedly) limit the numbers; now they give you no tag and tell you to assemble in a common area, like Deck 5 Centrum. Well, by the time 8:00am rolled around, the Centrum was literally standing room only, packed with people and luggage. Disembarking was so slow that, by the time we got to the gangway at 8:35am, the #1s and #2s were coming up the outside promenade from the theater end and getting off FASTER than the Self-Assists still stuck behind us in the Centrum. Is it really that hard to assign a luggage tag to Self-Assist and limit the numbers? Maybe even designate specific waiting areas for them (e.g. 100 Tag As wait in the Centrum, 150 Tag Bs wait in the Schooner, etc.,.)?

 

- On the bright side--maybe because it was such an issue, or maybe because it's Canada--the Customs "inspection" consisted of two guys at the bottom of the gangway collecting the Customs cards. They didn't even look at them, or look at passports. So that was nice.

 

- This is our fourth time on this cruise, and we like to park at the garage on the corner just behind the terminal. It's $20 a day, it's easy to park and get out. Much better than trains, cabs, buses, etc.,.

 

Not really sure what else to mention. This was our 20th cruise and our 4th on this itinerary. We like it because we live in New England so don't have to fly, and at all four ports (Portland ME, Bar Harbor ME, Saint John NB, Halifax NS) you can just get out and walk around the town, which is nice.

[funnychick39]

Thank you for your review. How was the food on the ship?

[cincicruisers]

Thanks for posting.

[easyboy]

Thanks for the review.

[mabellcouple]

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

[HoundMom4]

Do you have the cruise compasses from your cruise? Would love to see them in prep for our cruise in a few weeks.

[tonto524]

What does this mean about "how the Diamond lounge is going over with having to pay"?

 

 

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[39august]

All designated drinks are free in the Diamond Lounge for cocktail hour(s). Have no idea where you got the idea there will be a charge. We did not care for the food in the WJ on SR at all back in Feb. Hope it got better.

[Ocean Dancer]

Tell me about the entertainment, shows, clubs etc.

Was the smoking in and around the casino as bad as I'm hearing?

Thanks in advance! :)

[negc]

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.

:)

[Langley Cruisers]

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....

 

Untrue. You have been misinformed or you misread something here. The Diamond Lounge is still on Serenade plus the 3 drinks each evening.

 

Enjoy your repo. We will do it again some day!

[patmama]

What are the requirements to get into the Diamond Lounge? is it suite or above or number of cruises?

[Clarea]

What are the requirements to get into the Diamond Lounge? is it suite or above or number of cruises?

C&A points, which are based on number of cruises.

[Langley Cruisers]

What are the requirements to get into the Diamond Lounge? is it suite or above or number of cruises?

 

Diamond Crown and Anchor members have 80 or more cruise points and are permitted to access the Diamond Lounge; they also have 3 free drinks on their Sea Pass card each evening for several hours.

[Ocean Dancer]

Tell me more about the ship. Cruising on her for Thanksgiving :):)

[esseff35]

Tell me more about the ship. Cruising on her for Thanksgiving :):)

 

Anything in particular you want to know about? Just got back from the Sept. 25-Oct. 2 cruise to Maine and the two Maritime stops, so it's still fresh in mind for a day or two.

[twincheryl]

I read somewhere that the RCI excursion people are taken to the front of the tender line and everyone else needs to get a ticket, which is available starting at 6:30am. In all of the cruises we have been on, have never experienced the ticket issue.

 

What is the deal with the tickets? Should one of us rush down at 6:30am to get tickets? Do you get tickets based on the time you want to get the tender? We have a 9am privately booked tour and would like to understand the process.

 

Thanks!

[impatientlywaiting]

I read somewhere that the RCI excursion people are taken to the front of the tender line and everyone else needs to get a ticket, which is available starting at 6:30am. In all of the cruises we have been on, have never experienced the ticket issue.

 

What is the deal with the tickets? Should one of us rush down at 6:30am to get tickets? Do you get tickets based on the time you want to get the tender? We have a 9am privately booked tour and would like to understand the process.

 

Thanks!

Yes, RCI excursions get off on the tenders first. You will need to get your tender ticket as soon as you can.

 

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[twincheryl]

Not sure I understand the tender tickets... so if we go down early and get tickets, do we have to get off the ship whenever our "number" is called or can we wait until 8:30 or so?

 

 

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[riclop]

Thanks for the quickie.

[Clarea]

Not sure I understand the tender tickets... so if we go down early and get tickets, do we have to get off the ship whenever our "number" is called or can we wait until 8:30 or so?

You cannot go before your number is called, but you can go after.