Cruzman

I was on Eurodam last year, on a 7 day cruise, and at 60, I was among the youngest. My best friends were on Westerdam last Feb and were right in the demographic at 67 and 75.

Heck,I have been on Carnival cruises with a similar demographic! All one can do is predict certain tendencies based on cruise line, cruise length, time of the year and cruise ship quality. Based on my experience (45 + cruises), I kinda think what the OP is seeking would likely be best fulfilled by either Princess, HAL, or Celebrity cruises; all quality cruise lines! Oh yeah,definitely go for a minisuite!

Brilliance has an aft Grand Suite on Deck 10. May be the case for the other Radiance class ships as well, but I'm to lazy to check deck plans right now. :o

Yep, Serenade definitely has one; believe it's cabin 1600.

Sailed on the Carnival Holiday from Mobile 5 times. First time; the grits were like soup; but on each subsequent sailing, the grits got better. On my final sailing on the Holiday, they had finally mastered it; the grits were the best I've ever had on a cruise ship! Wish we had her back!

I'm now getting daily e mails from Royal, encouraging me to purchase my drink packages prior to sailing. Is there any advantage to doing so? The prices are the same after you board. The only difference that I can see is that the charges will appear on my credit card sooner rather than later. Am I missing something?

Any ship that does not offer traditional dining, will not get my business! If I want a Red Lobster experience, I'll go to Red Lobster!

I beg to differ. The service, care and attention from Royal Waitstaff is not even in the same universe as what you get at a chain, commercial restaurant.

 

Now, if you want the whole "meeting people" thing, that's great for you. I've done that twice and batted .500. On our first cruise, DW and i got a bunch of oddballs. ON a later cruise with DS we got some really nice folks.

 

Personally, we prefer to dine as a family. If you want to meet people, as an earlier poster said, you can request that in MTD. The point of MTD is time flexibility. Not having to worry about missing a show, or if you want to eat a bit earlier or later based on how you feel after getting back from an excursion in port.

 

But again it's personal choice. You like traditional, fine. Don't knock it if you haven't tried it, though I suspect you haven't.

On the contrary, I certainly have tried MTD; didn't like it, and will not do it again! To each his own.

Does anyone have a picture of an atrium balcony on the Serenade?

Kinda confused by your question, as there are no balcony cabins that overlook the atrium on the Serenade.

Have you ever been to Olive Garden, or Red Lobster? That is exactly what you can expect with Mytime dining. Some folks like that experience; I simply hope to experience something different while on a cruise. Good luck on getting assigned late traditional dining on your cruise!

I know there's a Courtney Taylor that does tours also. We booked with Peat Taylor in 2011 after reading such rave reviews, sorry to say that I wouldn't use him or recommend him. Pick up was fine as well as Dunne's River Falls but when it was beach time he took us to a isolated little beach next to RIU resort , it wasn't pretty or nice in any way. He never talked about Jamaica on the tour, it had me thinking are we with the same tour that people rave about. Your better off getting in a cab and going to the places you want to visit...in my opinion.

Does't sound like the Peat Taylor I know. We've used him three times over the years, and have had nothing but positive things to say about his services!

I highly take exception to the way Princess is implementing this policy. I travel with my 29 year old daughter who has Down Syndrome; obviously she does not consume alcoholic beverages. I always purchase the soda package for her, however. Guess I'll stick with RCCI for a while.

Any Royal ship will be far superior to any Ncl ship!

NCL would be out of the question for me; just an inferior cruise line. Of the choices mentioned, I would definitely go with the Explorer!

I think you will find that "different experience" if you select traditional/assigned dining. I have always found the service better, and I like having the same waiter and assistant waiter - plus we have always been fortunate in our table mates - with one exception, and then we were able to get reassigned the second night and then had a good group.

I'm thinking you misinterpreted my comments. The "different experience" that I referenced is in fact traditional dining; same table, same waiters, and same table mates throughout the cruise. If I want an Olive Garden experience, I will go to Olive Garden!

Pretty much sounds like the description of service at a normal restaurant.

Exactly! Think Olive Garden, Red Lobster, etc. It is what it is; I just want a different experience on a cruise ship!

Two cruise lines that have been doing Alaska and are most experienced at doing it. They are Holland America and Princess. The rest are Johnny come latelies and still learning IMHO.

Princess, wonderful in every way! Carnival, good food, upbeat entertainment, but limited. NCL, the pits unless you wanna pay extra for their alternative venues.

Life is all about opportunities, choices, and consequences. First mistake, NCL. You are now dealing with the consequences. I know that doesn't help. but it is what it is.

Have to agree with the others. I think the food will be great on either ship, but the Bermuda itinerary would sway me toward the Explorer.

Dunno about this promotion. We are booked on the Serenade next month and considering adding a third person to our JS. I was quoted an additional price of $753 for the 3rd person today. Sure as heck is a long way from being free.

Traditional dining options typically fill up long before anytime dining on just about any cruise line that offers both options. I have found that many times I have to book a year in advance to be certain that we get our dining preference.

Have used Godfrey 3 times; never had any issues.

#46 coming up in April on the Serenade; #47 in November on the Island Princess.

The Bayport cruise terminal is definitely not new. It has been there for a number of years, just not used because cruiselines find using the Galveston terminal much more cost friendly. Right now, a couple of ships are using the Bayport facility because they are getting some very lucrative incentives for doing so.

I am not mentioning any by name so I hope this isn't against the rules. ;)

 

We used a TA and received some gifts and OBC for booking with them and by a certain date. However, I have never seen in writing from her what was put on our reservation. We sail in 30 days. I feel like she is either avoiding it or just doesn't have herself together. So, if you have used a TA for an RCI cruise have you ever gotten this in writing on something like a booking confirmation? What wording do I need to use to tell her exactly what I need? She sent me a guest copy of our booking confirmation to show us that our gratuities had been paid but that stuff isn't on there. thank you!

I understand your concerns. I booked my cruise about a year ago through a TA who was offering a number of incentives such as OBC, prepaid gratuities, a romance package, etc. I did receive an email detailing these incentives which I printed out. Fact is however, I won't know for sure if I get all that was offered until I board the ship in about 7 weeks.

To the OP; have you not noticed that our own gov't has for some time, chosen which parts of which laws to enforce. Try Obamacare, border enforcement to name a couple. Why not include maritime law?