First-time Transpacific- What to expect

[MedicMariner]

We have sailed on several cruises of varying lengths, and done B2B as well. The 2021 TP cruises were published while we were on Harmony two weeks ago, so we took the plunge and booked an OS on Serenade for April 2021. We will also be diamond at time of sailing. I have always wanted to visit Australia, New Zealand, and Bora Bora.

Having never done a TA or TP before, what should we expect? Specifically looking for who will be on the cruise (ages, interests), variety of activities for all those sea days, how varied the dining menu is, etc. Any tips we should know would be awesome as well. We are very active, I'm 38 and DH is 55, and just want to make sure we won't feel super out of place on this sailing, as we likely won't know anyone else on the ship. I know that the sailing is a long way out, but I want to make sure we know what we're in for while we're still in the 30-day no penalty window to re-book if we decide that this cruise may not be a good fit for us.

[Bee Guy]

You may want to join the roll call for that cruise.  If you are interested, here is a link: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2650896-april-17-2021-transpacific-serenade-of-the-seas/

 

[MedicMariner]

Thank you!!

[taglovestocruise]

27 minutes ago, MedicMariner said:

We have sailed on several cruises of varying lengths, and done B2B as well. The 2021 TP cruises were published while we were on Harmony two weeks ago, so we took the plunge and booked an OS on Serenade for April 2021. We will also be diamond at time of sailing. I have always wanted to visit Australia, New Zealand, and Bora Bora.

Having never done a TA or TP before, what should we expect? Specifically looking for who will be on the cruise (ages, interests), variety of activities for all those sea days, how varied the dining menu is, etc. Any tips we should know would be awesome as well. We are very active, I'm 38 and DH is 55, and just want to make sure we won't feel super out of place on this sailing, as we likely won't know anyone else on the ship. I know that the sailing is a long way out, but I want to make sure we know what we're in for while we're still in the 30-day no penalty window to re-book if we decide that this cruise may not be a good fit for us.

Average age about 55+. kids, maybe a dozen.  Activities, you have to love, love, love sea days with not much to do. Menu will repeat every 7 -8 days, nothing TP related.  Lots of Diamonds, overflow lounges every night.  Great prices on flights using Royals Air2Sea one way pricing.  Will will be on the 2020 TP sailing Ovation. I would think Serenade wold be slightly more mundane.  Might want to try a TA first to make sure you love sea days. We are booked on the Nov. 2020 Allure TA Barcelona to Miami, looking forward to the 10 sea days and being on a refurbished ship.  You will not feel out of place at all. Royals seniors are very young at heart. 

[soak01]

We did the Radiance TP last year (same class as Serenade) from Honolulu to Sydney and absolutely loved it (We are 46 and 48). A trip of a lifetime getting the opportunity to visit Moorea and Bora Bora. Yes the trip does have a lot of sea days but you don't take this type of cruise to be doing activities every minute of the day. We found that there were plenty of activities everyday which you could do if you wanted.  We found the variety of menu options was good and didn't find that the MDR menu was repetitive. There were 3 formal nights and a number of the usual theme nights.  Most nights were different themes in the Windjammer and along with the other speciality restaurants there was plenty of choice. The length of this cruise also gave us a great opportunity to really get to know the crew.