World "shakedown" cruise on Serenade starting next week (Semi-Live Review)

[orville99]

54 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

Good idea as well!  I use my hook magnets on the ceiling, hanging stuff on them to air dry.  🙂 

 

 

Love this idea. Have to show this one to DW. We have lots of those hooks with us.😇

[orville99]

Off the coast between Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador. The only downside to the internet is that it thinks we are in Mexico City so all of those annoying ads and pop ups are in Spanish. All of my steaming services like Pluto are also coming up in Spanish. 😱

 

[orville99]

Random pictures from Puntarenas:

 

[island lady]

14 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

I pack my own pillow for every cruise.  

 

Good idea...though my four bags are going to packed to the gills for the WC in a few weeks.  😉 

 

Though I did opt for the foam topper, which I am packing in favor of a couple of pillows.  Maybe need to wander down the hallway and pilfer a couple of those from the high end suites.  😄 😄 

 

And in case some don't have a sense of humor...yes...I am kidding on the pilfering.  😝

[Oceansaway17]

3 hours ago, orville99 said:

Apparently a tighter fit in the canal locks than I thought😱

 

wow that is going to need re painting.

Could you feel the ship bumping 

[Oceansaway17]

On 11/15/2023 at 8:34 AM, island lady said:

 

Very much so.  😉 Laura is flying back with us from LA to Orlando after first quarter, sitting next to us on the flight.  We will rejoin in Barcelona for 4th quarter, and Laura rejoins in Copenhagen.    John doing all 274 days.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

sure am sad he won't get to do a blog. oh well.  274 days is a long time.  But Serenade WC itinerary looks a lot better than HAL Zuideram did last year. I was supposed to do Copenhagen to Amsterdam but it would involve two 1 way flights so I changed to the Jewel and will just sail Norway,

 

I hope RCI gives good gifts and perks and the weather is good too.  

[StanleyandGus]

55 minutes ago, Oceansaway17 said:

wow that is going to need re painting.

Could you feel the ship bumping 

Not the OP, but there was a bit of a bump once, otherwise it was pretty smooth.

 

 I am getting so lazy that I was considering a manicure, but it seems like too much work!

[orville99]

1 hour ago, Oceansaway17 said:

wow that is going to need re painting.

Could you feel the ship bumping 

No but we could hear it squealing as it entered the locks - sounded a lot like taking your hand and running it along a balloon - or trying to stop a car whose break pads were shot.

Edited November 16, 2023 by orville99

[orville99]

Sea day WC progress update:

 

It looks like all of the internet access points are installed. Just did a walkabout on decks 3 and 4 and all of their APs are in.

 

In the solarium (feel sorry for WC folks doing the Antarctica leg) there is a lukewarm (not remotely hot) tub - not too bad as long as you don’t turn on the jets which pump cold water into the tub, and an unheated pool. Unless my memory is completely shot (a possibility), weren’t the solarium pools on Radiance class ships somewhat heated?

 

A lot of heavy pounding down on deck 5 this morning - not sure what they were doing, but it sounded like some serious attempt to reshape steel that didn’t want to be reshaped.

 

Oh, and none of the ice makers on deck 11 (solarium or WJ) have worked all cruise.

 

On a positive note, they were doing a Mongolian stir fry last night in. WJ and it was excellent.

[island lady]

22 minutes ago, orville99 said:

 

In the solarium (feel sorry for WC folks doing the Antarctica leg) there is a lukewarm (not remotely hot) tub - not too bad as long as you don’t turn on the jets which pump cold water into the tub, and an unheated pool. Unless my memory is completely shot (a possibility), weren’t the solarium pools on Radiance class ships somewhat heated?

 

Thanks again for the updates!  And that's OK on the hot tub/pool. We never use the "bacteria soup" kettles ever anyway.  🤢

[dbancroft]

2 hours ago, island lady said:

 

Good idea...though my four bags are going to packed to the gills for the WC in a few weeks.  😉 

 

Though I did opt for the foam topper, which I am packing in favor of a couple of pillows.  Maybe need to wander down the hallway and pilfer a couple of those from the high end suites.  😄 😄 

 

And in case some don't have a sense of humor...yes...I am kidding on the pilfering.  😝

What are the 3 p's...pinnacles pilfering pillows...lol sorry had to say it

[island lady]

Just now, dbancroft said:

What are the 3 p's...pinnacles pilfering pillows...lol sorry had to say it

 

LOL!!!  Love it!!  😄 😄 

[Oceansaway17]

49 minutes ago, orville99 said:

No but we could hear it squealing as it entered the locks - sounded a lot like taking your hand and running it along a balloon - or trying to stop a car whose break pads were shot.

Wow well might have go through new locks soon

[orville99]

2 hours ago, Oceansaway17 said:

I hope RCI gives good gifts and perks and the weather is good too.  

IMHO, the best gift RCL could give to the WC folks would be to turn Rita’s Cantina back into a Mexican restaurant (it is just a bar now) and figure out a way to actually serve pub food in the Pub.

[Oceansaway17]

2 hours ago, orville99 said:

IMHO, the best gift RCL could give to the WC folks would be to turn Rita’s Cantina back into a Mexican restaurant (it is just a bar now) and figure out a way to actually serve pub food in the Pub.

oh yes I agree.

On Carnival newer ships they have Blue Iguana quick mexican food with quality rice, toppings, meats and various sauces and garnish.  It is free and they do a breakfast version as well.  It is near the pool and open until 4pm.  

[orville99]

Looks like they have a lot more things to deliver/install (this is the conference room this afternoon):

[ZoeyVictoria]

Uniforms. 

[orville99]

4 minutes ago, ZoeyVictoria said:

Uniforms. 

The back wall has different boxes than the ones on the right side, and I couldn’t get into the room while the staff member was working, so I have no idea what is in those. At the beginning of the cruise the room was floor to ceiling with boxes of pillows.

[orville99]

Can’t wait to see what they load on the ship in LA.

[ZoeyVictoria]

I will be on the four-nighter on December 5, in between your cruises and the WC. I’ve been curious about the changes, so I am paying close attention to your comments. We were on the Serenade in July, so hopefully the differences will be noticeable to us. We are hoping it will be similar to the early post-pandemic cruises, based on the number of cabins still available. We booked an inside with a casino offer, but received a Royal Up offer with a “special promotion” on balconies a couple of weeks ago. The minimum was $15 pp, we bid $20 and were upgraded within a week. It should be an interesting cruise.

 

Edited November 17, 2023 by ZoeyVictoria

[orville99]

Morning in Huatulco. Beautiful sight to wake up to. Probably the cleanest and most laid back town we have ever visited in Mexico. Even the tour hawkers don’t chase you down the street, and no one tried to entice us into their store.😇:

 

Edited November 17, 2023 by orville99

[orville99]

Ship update:

We seem to have been kissed by a tugboat in the canal, and

The roof of the solarium still works😇

 

 

[lovesthebeach2]

On 11/16/2023 at 8:47 AM, island lady said:

 

Good idea as well!  I use my hook magnets on the ceiling, hanging stuff on them to air dry.  🙂 

 

 

I have the exact same magnets, along with smaller lighter ones for other things like hats

[Jimbo]

On 11/16/2023 at 12:43 PM, orville99 said:

 

 

On a positive note, they were doing a Mongolian stir fry last night in. WJ and it was excellent.

Wish you would have took a few pictures of the set up of the vegetables and the meat choices. Had kind of a debate on another thread just how Royal is doing their stir frys now.

[Jimbo]

23 hours ago, orville99 said:

IMHO, the best gift RCL could give to the WC folks would be to turn Rita’s Cantina back into a Mexican restaurant (it is just a bar now) and figure out a way to actually serve pub food in the Pub.

Loved Rita's 🙂