carumba7

Why? :p:D:o

 

Why not? I enjoy breakfast on the balcony, why not lunch or late afternoon snack on sea days? We plan on a romantic dinner or two as well!

Just got it, thanks!

I vow on this trip I really will finally order more room service, besides breakfast!!

Serenade has become my favorite, can't wait to sail again next month.

 

Deck ten is where we stay as well, did not have noise issues with the deck above.

 

Enjoy!

We booked Jewel Paradise Cove for December. We wanted something Adults Only. Reviews have been decent.

 

Thinking about booking this for next month, how did you enjoy your visit?

 

Karen

Can you let us know how you did this tour? Sounds very reasonable and is exactly what we want to do.

 

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Yes, I would like to know this as well!

From what I remember that cabin used to be something called "The Yacht Club" prior to the referb in 2012. We didnt know until we boarded our 2013 sailing that 3 members of our group (one of them my daughters best friend) were staying in that cabin and were right across the hall from us! I only popped my head in a few times and it looked like s standard inside cabin, minus the mess that two teenagers and one 21 girl can make.

 

I didn't find any issues from the deck above but what i cant remember is if this cabin had a door and hallway between their cabin and the centrum. We had that and it really helped with the entertainment noise.

 

Karen

My wife will probably like the Parke Cafe since they have salads to order. As long as they have sammiches, I'll go along :D

 

I love the Parke Cafe! Great salads as well as hot and cold sandwiches.

I too suggest the Secrets resorts in Montego Bay. We went earlier this year for the day while cruising through the Caribbean, and had an absolutely lovely day there! All inclusive adult resort - I would visit each time we cruise through this area.

 

I don't see the day pass offered on their website, am I missing something?

 

Thanks,

Karen

We have been to Hilton Rose Hall and Jewel Paradise Cove.

 

Hilton Rose Hall was very nice. Great pools, water slides, lazy river. Beach was small. Food was very good and service was great. We would have done it this time around but we wanted Adults Only and a place that the cruise line didn't offer an excursion to.

 

We were just at Jewel Paradise Cove. It was 45-50 min from port. Decent food and drinks. Had a much younger crowd of people who were loud and liked to drink. Beach was also nice. Not many lounge chairs by the pool, and there were tons of bees everywhere. Not as clean or as pretty as Hilton Rose Hall. I probably wouldn't go back here again.

 

If you are ok with arranging your own transportation, I hear Secrets Wild Orchid is supposed to be amazing and they do offer a day pass (I would arrange it ahead of time).

 

I don't see on their website where Secrets offers a day pass, am I missing something?

 

Thanks,

Karen

I was wondering the same thing......

For us, yes. We don't have the vacation time to take tons of cruises, so when we take one we have decided that we like the little bit of luxury.

 

Yes, exactly!

I was looking at the balcony for 1554 and 56. How much privacy do you have? It looks like they can see onto other balconies and vice versa....:confused:

 

Yes, you are correct . In 1554 as you walk out to the left was our table and chairs which was private. Walking out to the right on the hump were two lounge chairs, which when you stood gives a view forward all tbe way past the bridge. You can see anyone standing at the rails of their suites and visa versa. This may bother some but for us it wasnt an issue .

RADIANCE CLASS: I've loved both my Jewel and Serenade cruises. I prefer the more intimate experience, the views of the ocean, outdoor dining at the Windjammer, the 70s part in the Centrum, the Quest in the Safari Lounge, the Solarium, the typically port-intensive itineraries.

 

Agreed!

Karen,

 

Thanks for taking time to read and post. We loved Serenade (all Radiance class actually) but didn't have a lot of time to enjoy her. We're headed out again on 1/4 on Explorer (our first time on that ship) after we visit the Grands in Florida for Christmas.

 

It's been such a whirlwind since we returned from this trip that the January cruise has no plans whatsoever! I haven't looked to see how to get to the port yet. We'll be driving from Jacksonville to Port Canaveral so it shouldn't be too hard.

 

We only have 2 port stops at Cozumel & Coco Cay and 3 sea days so I hope to just relax and take in the ship this time. We've been to Cozumel several times now but never to Coco Cay.

 

I plan to do a review of that trip as well. Enjoy your next cruise on Serenade!

 

Cindy

 

Cindy, yes I agree and this is the purpose of our next cruise we have only 3 stops (which we have been to before) and 3 sea days. While I would do the MED again in a heartbeat I'm looking forward to revisiting the Caribbean and the slower paced week. First for my husband and I together without any friends, family or children!

 

I'm looking forward to hearing the rest about your time in Barcelona and your upcoming trip on Explorer!

I just ran across your review today and read the whole thing, fantastic! Our 12 day on Serenade last year was RT out of Barcelona with an overnight in Venice. Some of the stops were similar so it was interesting to see what you did differently and perhaps what we would do next time. Like you did in Rome we had 3 days in Barcelona before than flew to Paris for 6 days after.

 

I personally don't think you are OCD (because I would have to call myself that) but did your research and were prepared for the "must see" things in each port. Anything I could buy tickets for ahead of time was done before we left. Being able to basically walk into the places we wanted to see was priceless, especially in high season and worth the research.

 

We are back on Serenade in February on one of her last times out of NOL, this time it is not necessarily for the itinerary but for the departure port and to be back on this ship!

 

Karen

Vrock, nice to read the posts of another cruise lover from Washington. We are from North Central Washington as well, maybe that's where the love of suites comes from!!!

 

 

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Representing SW Washington here in Vancouver! Can't wait for our Feb sailing out of NO on the exact same ship and GS that we had in the Med last year. The CL on Serenade is so nice, with plenty of inside and outside seating! So excited!

 

Karen

4 cruises in suites with a 5th coming in January.

 

MUCH prefer the CL style on the Radiance class ships to the Voyager class and what I expect on Independence. While it's been mentioned maybe there should just be one big lounge, my thinking is with the design constraints of the ships it's easier to find multiple smaller spaces than one large one.

 

Have never felt disrespect from "Members of Status" but sometimes get a little chuckle out of them trying to one-up one another. On the contrary, we've had several Pinnacle members advise us that we're "doing it right" by booking a suite for double points at a relatively young age, so years down the road when we can travel more often we should have some status built up.

 

As has been mentioned earlier, we will generally dress as we would for dinner in the CL. Certainly appropriate for someone who booked a suite with their own money, and not in the sense of "I'll go to the BMW dealer unshaven and wearing my grottiest threadbare duds with $50K cash on me so if they don't wait on me or let me take a test drive I can oh-so-smarmily tell them they lost a sale."

 

We've usually found space to be at a premium early on and won't apologize that we get there early and stay a while. We're also not protective of our seats and others can certainly ask to join in or borrow chairs. DW works at home, third shift, for facilities hundreds or thousands of miles away, so the poor girl needs some social interaction other than talking to me and really looks forward to this aspect of the cruise. We also get late seating for dinner and on most occasions find the CL all but cleared out when folks depart for the first seating.

 

I totally agree with you! The CL on Serenade is larger, has beautiful views and outside seating! One of the many reasons we have chosen to sail on her again!

That all sounds a bit complicated, not quite sure. Our cruise started and ended in Barcelona. Our group was a total of 10 plus coming and going through different entry locations, all orginating in the US. Maybe i was not clear just stating the facts from our experience

Keep it with you when you get off and leave a copy in the safe. You did not specify where you are traveling but we did not have to relinquish ours or present it at all last year except when landing in Paris since Croatia is now part of the EU. A bit off subject and lesson learned from a small scare . Make sure that you travel and carry at least one different credit card than your spouse / traveling companion. While in Florence we thought for a short time that my husbands wallet had been pick pocketed. We normally only use one CC but he had an extra one in his wallet that I did not have with me. If we had to have cancelled it, it would have made the remainder of our day and the next (overnight in Rome) allot more difficult.

This is great information, thank you!

No way that I was ever going to do it, BUT no judgement to anyone who does. I would not be able to have a good time, thinking "what if" the whole time.

[quote name='dezertcruzer']On our 9/14/14 cruise on the Freedom of the Seas we had afternoon or evening room service several times. The food was very good, hot things hot, and the cookies yummy! Our only complaint, and it was a small one, was the one time they forgot the crackers with the cheese plate! We always tip $3 - $5 for room service, a small price to me for the luxury of sitting out on my balcony with a yummy meal or snack![/QUOTE]

I totally agree, there are times that I would rather stay in and eat on our balcony and we tip approximately the same amount you do. More for a full meal and less for small snack orders.

We sailed right next door #1554 on Serenade last year (same floor plan) and will be again in February. Loved the double sliding doors and balcony!

Good to hear! Not that it is that big of a deal to print them yourself but it's a nice perk!