Ship Monkey

Hi. Enjoying your review a lot!

Is Topi Ylönen the cruise director? We are on Serenade in one month and his current contract should be on until March according to his website. How do you like him? He's Finnish like us, which is pretty cool considering how rare it is bumbing into Finns on RCCL. Last spring my wife and I were the only guests from Finland.

Hi,

I was excited to find out my countryman is the CD for our next cruise on Serenade of the Seas! Last spring on our TA my wife and I were the only guests from Finland, but at least had one Finnish ice skater too. So as Finns are quite rare on these cruises, it's pretty cool that now the most visible person is Finnish :)

According to Topi's website topiylonen DOT com his current contract on Serenade is until 20/3/2017. How has your experience with him been?

182. Less than half a year, which is nothing!

Drop dead checkin time would be 3:30 pm. But it's NYC and traffic can be screwed up anywhere anytime. I wouldn't push it past 1:30 pm.

 

But remember it's the Quantum! Why wouldn't you want to board her early and have time to find your way around and not feel rushed from due to a late boarding. I know it's a TA and there will be lots of time, but the reality is that if you miss the ship, you miss the entire cruise so I wouldn't screw around with it if you are already in downtown Manhattan.

Thank you Carol. I want to be safe, especially since plenty is invested in the cruise. Never been to NYC, but I can imagine that traffic can get very ugly and there's nothing more frustrating than sitting in a jam and thinking whether you'll make it. Cape Liberty is upgraded and like you said, it's the Quantum (not a ferry between Helsinki and Stockholm/Tallinn)! :)

When ordering a car to pick up from mid or lower Manhattan to Cape Liberty, how much time have you or think should be reserved between pick-up time and ship's depart time? My cruise next spring leaves 17:00 and was told to order the pick-no later than 12:00. Is that an overkill? Thanks.

Hello all, thanks for a great site and forums!

First of all, I know I'm "a bit early" with my question, but guess I'm already just so excited!

Ok, so I'm doing a transatlantic with my fiance on Quantum of the Seas next spring and was thinking of taking a car service (Dial7 etc.) to Cape Liberty from Wall Street area where we are staying the night before. The departure is 5 pm on a Saturday, and from what I've understood, you have to be all set onboard 90 minuted before. I hate nothing more than being in a hurry and worrying whether I'll make it or not, so I want to be safe.

So what kind of schedule would you recommend? I was thinking of ordering a car to hotel around 1 - 1.30PM. The median driving time should be around 30 minutes, right?