Middle Aged Drama Queen's Eastern Med Review: Serenade, Pics, Surprises & Fun!

[cathykb]

Thanks so much for sharing - totally enjoyed every word and picture.

 

I see a book in your future!

 

Cathy

[Wriggler]

Sherri...absolutely outstanding!!

 

I've read it from the beginning - think you were at about 2 pages in when I joined and have loved every part of it.

 

I clicked on the link as we are going on Serenade next year (some similar ports but not completely the same itinerary) and had no idea I'd still be here 2 (3? ;)) weeks later still reading and waiting for the next installment :)

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to compile and upload and take us along with you. It must have been so good to relive it all as you were putting it together.

 

Also can't wait for your loooooong overdue Freedom report on your girl's cruise with Mickey as we are on Freedom in around 10 weeks (not that I'm counting!!) So your comparison of the 2 ships will be something I do not want to miss.

 

Thanks again for bringing a little piece of Europe to my lunch-breaks :D

[jjl64]

This is, hands down, THE BEST REVIEW EVER!!! Thank you so much for taking the time to share this with all of us! :)

[jewelinthesand]

Regarding price drops. Check often. They can change from day to day. When I booked last year for my upcoming med. cruise I booked the cheapest inside at $1,999 per person. This past spring there were two price drops within one week. I am now in a balcony for $1,049 per person. A big change from my original booking.

 

that's what i'm hoping. i have an E1 balcony for around 2199 ++ a person so definitely hoping for some price drops!

[jewelinthesand]

wow, sherri, what can i say, you had me at Barcelona! What an amazing review and what amazing writing! i literally have a tear in my eye now that it's over. ok, truthfully, a few tears. i'm going through my typical vacation/cruise withdrawal and wasn't even on this trip!!!:eek:

 

we are going on the same ship/same itin next sept. 2013 and can only hope we have as much fun as you all did.

 

thanks again so much but more than that, thank you for being a red cross volunteer! we are public adjusters and have seen so much devastation in the wake of such hurricanes as Charlie in Florida, Katrina in New Orleans, Ike in Texas and a host of other storms and know how important our service is to getting the homeowner back in their home the way it was before but what you do is the heart and soul of what is needed during disastors like this. so for that, our hats are off.

[BonTexasNY]

Sherri, not sure this has been mentioned BUT you really should give special thought to get all of this bound into a book like they now do for weddings, parties, etc. I know there are quite a few websites that do this. This is not something that should be read once and forgotten. It's table top material for sure! The pictures are priceless, the experiences unforgettable. The drama, the humor are things that needs to be referred to time and time again. RCI should buy the rights to publish and put this book on their shopping site. Hey, if they can sell bedding, they can sell your book! Wait, why stop at the RCI shopping site. Think Barnes & Noble! Best travel log I ever read.

[cruiseplannertoo]

Hi Sherri, I found your report when Rome In Limo posted a link to it on FB.....and I read the first 26 pages in one sitting, and I haven't closed it since except if I had to re-boot my computer! I looked at every link you posted....shoes, tours, your amazing website for this cruise, AND I even read your awesome 2009 Med Cruise TR and some of your blog, too!! You are a FABULOUS writer and I had a blast reading it all.

 

My DD19 did an 11 week study abroad trip in Barcelona this summer and I visited Europe for the first time to visit her and we went on a last minute 7 night Western Med cruise on the NCL Epic. I never researched and planned so much in a week than I planned for that trip and it was amazing. We used Share a Shore Excursion In Italy for our Italian ports and I can highly recommend them, too. We got VERY luck - they paired the two of us up with a family of 6 for three private tours. AND guess what - our guide in Pompeii was the same as yours - she was terrific! We had all beautiful Italian women as our guides and each was excellent. We did Cannes/Nice/Monaco on our won, but I wish I'd have had a guide and known to go to Eze....it's now high on my list. We did an NCL tour of Avignon/Aix en Provence that was actually much better than I thought it would be.

 

I'd love to take my entire family of 5 (I have 2 other DDs and a DH) on this 12 night cruise, but I think it's really more than we should spend. My DD is a university student and she's working for Delta Airlines through their co op program so we can fly free stand by. After the first of the year she can get Buddy passes for her sisters, but even with that savings, it's still a very expensive trip with the tours x5, etc. I'm looking at the cruises though, and studying other options for all of us to go to Europe next summer.

 

My daughter is planning to read your report too....I read her the part where you found the 10 Gelato because she ate a lot of Gelato there this summer! She likes that flavor a lot, too, but she has two other favorites she mentioned yesterday that I don't recall right now.

 

Please post a link to your Freedom TR because I don't want to miss out on it. :)

 

THANK YOU!

Shawn

[krazy4cruizen]

Sherri,

 

We are sad that your fantastic review is over. Thank you for all the time, energy and humor you put into it. Looking forward to meeting up with you in SW Florida soon! Kirsten

 

For everyone else,

 

If you are booked on the Serenade next June 12, 2013, we have a thread at RCI Meet & Mingle roll calls:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1654380

 

We have the same itinerary and plan to use all Sherri's advice!! Kirsten:)

[Yankee123]

WOW - Great review, one of the best reviews I have read here on CC.

 

We are sailing on NCL Epic in a few days, but we got a ton of great tips from your reviews on the ports. especially the Gelato's. We will attempt to stop by the same place in Barcelona for some Gelato.

 

Can wait for your next review.

[Steppy08]

 

I'd love to take my entire family of 5 (I have 2 other DDs and a DH) on this 12 night cruise, but I think it's really more than we should spend. My DD is a university student and she's working for Delta Airlines through their co op program so we can fly free stand by. After the first of the year she can get Buddy passes for her sisters, but even with that savings, it's still a very expensive trip with the tours x5, etc. I'm looking at the cruises though, and studying other options for all of us to go to Europe next summer.

 

Shawn

 

Shawn,

Just a word of advice on flying stand by next summer... I would not do it for a large family or a cruise to Europe. There are just too many variables and if something happens and flights fill up you have no recourse at all and you will miss the trip you paid alot of money for.

 

If you do decide to fly standby, you may need to be really flexible between travel dates and/or split up your family between flights, and take a very interesting routing. And still cross your fingers.

 

I went from flying standby as a kid (Dad was a mechanic) to flying standby as an adult (DH is an airline supervisor). As much as it sucks to pay for airfare when you *could* get it free, we have never flown standby for an important trip.

 

Amy

[d4nigirl]

Hooray! Congratulations!

 

Loved the review!

[cruiseplannertoo]

Shawn,

Just a word of advice on flying stand by next summer... I would not do it for a large family or a cruise to Europe. There are just too many variables and if something happens and flights fill up you have no recourse at all and you will miss the trip you paid alot of money for.

 

If you do decide to fly standby, you may need to be really flexible between travel dates and/or split up your family between flights, and take a very interesting routing. And still cross your fingers.

 

I went from flying standby as a kid (Dad was a mechanic) to flying standby as an adult (DH is an airline supervisor). As much as it sucks to pay for airfare when you *could* get it free, we have never flown standby for an important trip.

 

Amy

I don't think I could do it for all of us for a cruise either, Amy! It is stressful for just one or two of us....especially for my Type A personality! It would be great if we had enough "time and money on our hands" to fly out a week early! You are so right that there are too many variables....we are still such novices at it! :eek:

 

For my trip over this summer, even though it looked great a week out when I booked the cruise (heck, I now know it can look good an hour out and change before your very eyes!), my outbound flight was drama filled and I ended up flying to Amsterdam and then hopped on Vueling to BCN (thank goodness for Vueling!). I did not have a problem getting on the flight back to ATL from BCN. My husband went for a visit, too, and he flew back from AMS, but had a bit harder time getting back than I did.

Thank you!

Shawn

[cruzinlady1947]

This is, hands down, THE BEST REVIEW EVER!!! Thank you so much for taking the time to share this with all of us! :)

I agree completely!!!! I really hated to see it end. Can't wait for her next cruise review.

 

Thanks Sherri. You're the best........:cool:;):D

 

Gwen :)

[MomToPrincePhillip]

Thank You, Thank You!! Sherri, what an inspiration this was for me! It's going to take us 4 years to save up so that we can take our two DS on an adventure like this, and I think your TR has given us the motivation to do it. It was wonderful to spend part of my summer with you. I can't wait for your next report, I'll be looking for it. Thank you for responding to my question about taking tours away from the ones offered by the cruise company! Your thoughts on the matter make complete sense (even to my sometimes irrational mind;)). I am interested to see some of the info that you are going to post as far as cost etc. as it will help with the our savings plan and budgeting.

 

Thanks Again!

Erin

[Steppy08]

I don't think I could do it for all of us for a cruise either, Amy! It is stressful for just one or two of us....especially for my Type A personality! It would be great if we had enough "time and money on our hands" to fly out a week early! You are so right that there are too many variables....we are still such novices at it! :eek:

 

For my trip over this summer, even though it looked great a week out when I booked the cruise (heck, I now know it can look good an hour out and change before your very eyes!), my outbound flight was drama filled and I ended up flying to Amsterdam and then hopped on Vueling to BCN (thank goodness for Vueling!). I did not have a problem getting on the flight back to ATL from BCN. My husband went for a visit, too, and he flew back from AMS, but had a bit harder time getting back than I did.

Thank you!

Shawn

 

It used to be much easier to fly standby... I remember as a kid we did it all the time on our vacations. This was before the airlines really cut back on flights (flights would regularly go out half full!) Even still, we got stuck in Hawaii once and had to pay walk-up fare for 5 of us to get home!

 

And you're right, things can change drastically in an hour! Even for our cruises in the US we tend to buy tickets. It's definitely a perk to fly for free, but not if you want to guarantee that you'll actually get there! :D

[Az's Cruising Nana]

Where is the like button??? Sherri thanks for taking the time you put into this review and patiently answering everyones questions. You are my favorite new author. You are fabulous! I can't wait for your next review. So when do you start???

 

 

Sue

[mycruise2000]

Sherri,

 

Excellent review and loved it. Thanks for sharing.

[cruisingagentone]

Sherri

From one fellow Kansas Citian to another that was the BEST review I LOVED it!!

And don't forget you come from the city of fountains so nothing compares, well maybe the Trevi fountain:)

I am waiting anxiously for you Freedom review I leave on Aug 25th for the eastern run.

Thank You again

[Monk86]

Good work Sherri!

[jtagphillycruiser]

It's over....please say it isn't so....wonderful review Sherri....I hereby nominate you for Cruise Critic Member/Reviewer of the Year for 2012!!!!

 

Also, when you get time can you please give me some info on that international phone that was discussed. Is there anyone out there that can shed some light on the differences of the international phone vs. using your personal cell phone. I'm confused.

 

Thank you again, Sherri.

 

P.S.: What has Hubby Mike & the Klingons thought about your new status as Cruise Critic Extraordinaire...????

[KansCocoa]

Thank you ALL for your awesome reviews and comments and kudos! I appreciate EVERY one of them!

 

I'm going to go back and respond to them all, as I know there are some questions posted that I hope to answer...

 

...in the meantime, I'm hoping to get going on the Freedom Review by tomorrow (or Saturday). It will be a piece of cake, as someone pointed out earlier, as there's not NEAR the drama! I didn't have the boys, so I didn't have as much blog fodder to work with. :p

 

...I have a few things to wrap up here with the Serenade...some summaries... I'm posting one of them now, but then have to head in to the office to teach a class tonight (darn Red Cross gets in the way!)....

 

I promise to be back and get this all finished!!!

[KansCocoa]

Appendix A: REVIEW OF SHIP

 

Here, I want to focus specifically on the Serenade of the Seas, and our thoughts and impressions. For a brief background, I have ONLY sailed on RCI ships…here is my sailing history:

 

Serenade of the Seas (2004, 2012)

Radiance of the Seas (2005, 2007)

Brilliance of the Seas (2009)

Vision of the Seas (2006)

Freedom of the Seas (2012)

 

As you can see, I predominantly sail on the Radiance-class ships, as I like the mid-ship “feel”….and I like the beauty of the Radiance ships.

 

ROOM

We booked #1556, the Royal Suite, located on Deck 10 on the hump. It’s the Royal Suite – what can I say?! It was amazingly wonderful.

 

The Pros: Obviously, the space is the number one pro. There is a HUGE living room, a dining area, a wet bar, a bedroom, a walk-in closet, and two bathrooms (one with tub AND shower; one with shower only). There is TONS of storage space in this room, and our three giant suitcases fit easily under the Master bed. The balcony is also a nice size, with two loungers and a table with four chairs. The location is a plus – right in the middle of the ship, easy to get to from either stairs or elevators. It was wonderful to entertain, so this would be a pro if you had a lot of family or friends onboard. Our Cabin Attendant, Randy, was a joy. He’s extremely attentive and personable, and we loved our encounters with him. Top notch all the way.

 

Cons: Some of the “gadgets” are difficult to figure out…such as the lighting. We never did figure out how to use the steam function in the shower. The grand piano is nice, but it is very loud, so we didn’t use it much, so as to not disturb the neighbors. The “guest” bathroom has no storage whatsoever – no cabinets behind the mirrors, or no shelves underneath. This meant our daughter’s bathroom stuff was always all over the counter; if we entertained, all her junk would have to be quickly scooped up and hidden somewhere.

 

Conclusion: Although we loved indulging in the Royal Suite for this trip, I don’t think I would get it again…unless I could swing a really, really good deal on it!

 

SHIP

The Serenade of the Seas is a beautiful ship; I LOVED seeing the Mediterranean Sea from all angles on the ship. There’s something about looking out through glass elevators while you’re sailing along on the Sea…bliss! We found it easy to navigate and pretty clean. Does it show wear and tear? Duh – of course it does. As I always say, if you had 2500 people in my house every week, MY house would show wear and tear, as well. But it wasn’t anything that detracted from our trip, as I’m not going to get upset about worn carpeting, or a nick in the woodwork. Things found in nature are flawed for a reason, and we still appreciate the beauty of nature. The same with a ship – embrace her for what she is.

 

Pool: We utilized the pool on our sea days, along with everyone else. It would get crowded; most pools do. I found nothing wrong with the pool or the pool deck area. Yes – there are chair hogs. Get there early and claim your own chair, and life will be good! My only complaint – and it’s a minor one – was the day they set up a hot BBQ on the pool deck. This not only took up a lot of valuable real estate on the deck, but the hot coals and grill made the heat even MORE unbearable.

 

Gym: The gym has great equipment; all easy to use. On sea days, it would be crowded – sometimes – but if you planned it right, you could always find an available machine. I found it almost empty if I went at 4:00 pm or so…treadmills were plentiful.

 

My one complaint would be the timing of certain classes. We’ve always enjoyed doing Stretch Class…usually offered at 7:30 in the morning. For the Serenade, Stretch class would ONLY be offered on days we were in port. What??!! We normally had to be meeting up with a tour guide at this time, so we could never do Stretch class. On sea days – when I COULD be doing stretch class – it wasn’t offered. What is with THAT??!! This was NOT the case on Freedom of the Seas; Stretch Class was offered just about every day – sea days and port days.

 

Spa: I used the spa twice; once for a pedicure, and once for a facial. I found the service good, and there wasn’t a lot of pressure to purchase the products. (This would be different on the Freedom; I found the spa on the Freedom to be much more intense on pushing the products.)

 

 

DINING

I will divide this into several sections, to make it easier:

1. Windjammer

2. Main Dining Room

3. My Time Dining

4. Specialty Restaurants (Chops; Portofino; Seaview Café)

5. Room Service

 

Windjammer

This was our normal breakfast spot. It’s a typical buffet – and I’m not a big breakfast eater – so I had no complaints about the offerings or the food. A small serving of corned-beef hash, a slice of bacon and a Diet Coke – and I’m very happy. It would be crowded on port days, with everyone rushing to grab a bite to eat before getting off the ship. We always managed to find empty tables at our “secret spot” – located at the aft (very back) of the ship. I didn’t eat a lot of lunch on sea days, so I can’t comment on lunch offerings.

 

Main Dining Room

We ate in the main dining room every night for dinner, with the exception of two nights in Portofino. The food was hit or miss. I especially noticed a decrease in quality from our 2009 sailing…and wondering if this was an “across-the-board” decrease, I sailed on the Freedom of the Seas two weeks after returning home to compare. I then ordered the same entrée on the Freedom that I’d had on the Serenade – and the Freedom was far superior in taste, every time. I’m not saying ALL food on the Serenade was bad…it was just…okay. There would be some things that were good; there were most things that were…eh…okay. Nothing was outstanding, in my opinion. If there was one consistency on the Serenade, it was that most offerings were overcooked. This included fish, steak and rice – all overdone, which would leave the food a bit dry.

 

The MDR offers their Tutti Frutti Salad Bar on sea days for lunch. I should have taken advantage of this more often. It’s a made-to-order salad, and it’s delicious. And it gets you away from the craziness of the Windjammer.

 

My Time Dining

We loved MTD. Absolutely loved it. We cannot imagine ever doing another cruise without having this wonderful opportunity. We had made reservations before we left (online), but we never had a problem tweaking those reservations once onboard. Our service was impeccable. We had the same waiter & assistant waiter throughout the trip, and we were all impressed with the quality of service we received. This shoots down the theory that service people who receive tips in advance won’t provide a quality product. Pffffft. We ended up tipping over and above to our dining room staff due to the special service we received.

 

However…the Head Waiter…that’s another story. The ONLY time we ever encountered him was the ONE night when he was working the MTD reservation desk and seated us. Every other night, while being seated, the staff would pull my chair out and seat me. I didn’t expect them to, but it was a nice touch. The one night when Moses, the Head Waiter, seated me, he walked up to our table, pointed to it, and walked away. He WALKED away!!! He never talked to us during the cruise, checked on us, or said hello to us. This was FAR different than the service I received on the Freedom of the Seas from my head waiter, which I’ll explain in my FOS review.

 

Specialty Restaurants

We ate at Portofino twice…once, during the Mystery Dinner, and once on our own. The food was good – and sometimes even wonderful….and the service was always impeccable. I would definitely eat here again. The only thing I would do differently, is I would have my reservation time for 8:30 or later…so as to avoid crying babies. ☹

 

We never ate at Chops, as I’ve eaten there once before on a cruise past, and was not impressed. I live in Kansas City – the home of the stockyards – the CAPITAL OF THE WORLD WHEN IT COMES TO BEEF!!! No one, NO ONE, can cook a steak like we do here in KC – so going to Chops is not something we do. It just can’t compare.

 

The Seaview Café – the kids ate here; we didn’t. On the Brilliance of the Seas, in 2009, the menu included pizza and pasta and paninis – which tied in to the Mediterranean theme. On this cruise, however, it was still hamburgers. The kids liked it.

 

Room Service

We didn’t use Room Service like we have in the past…we were just too busy this time to utilize this wonderful feature. We did use it order cheese trays, cookies and milk – for entertaining, or for a late-night snack.

 

ENTERTAINMENT AND ACTIVITIES

Our Cruise Director was Ricky Matthews. I tried to like him. I really did. But…I thought he was the worst CD we’ve ever had. BUT – other people liked him, so don’t be discouraged if you’re reading this and you think your cruise will be ruined now because I didn’t like the CD. I just thought his humor (what little of it there was) was negatively geared towards the passengers…and your passengers are your paying customers. In other words, if I’m hosting a party – I’m not going to make fun of my guests. I hope that makes sense. I also thought the activities offered were few and far between.

 

Wondering if this was, again, across-the-board cuts that RCI was doing, I’ll compare this to the Freedom. No comparison. The FOS offered TONS of activities onboard; the FOS Compass was loaded with things to do. Not so on the Serenade. It was pathetically empty (as well as pathetically loaded with mistakes and misspellings.)

 

We didn’t make it to every show in the Tropical Theater. Some of that was because of timing…when you dine with MTD, the shows don’t always sync up with your MTD reservations. The few shows we went to were…average, for the most part. Nothing super outstanding; nothing that made us go, “Wow!” I found the Freedom of the Seas to have far superior entertainment, as well as superior production numbers. Some people have said this is because we were in a European market…but I’m not sure why that would make a difference.

 

 

CRUISE CRITIC ACTIVITIES

Our Roll Call was one of the most active roll calls in the history of Cruise Critic, I think. Maybe that was my fault – I DO have a tendency to talk a lot. And I wanted to help everyone ELSE plan their vacations!

 

Here’s what our CC members did:

 

1. Pre-cruise dinner at Taller de Tapas in Barcelona

This was well-attended and affordable. This gave everyone a chance to meet before we sailed.

 

2. SailAway Party

Located at the Sky Bar after Muster Drill, this was VERY well attended – with adults and Klingons alike. We took over that deck; the bartenders probably loved us, as we were having a wonderful time!

 

3. Meet ‘n Mingle

Hosted by RCI, this was on our first sea day. Huge crowd, again. RCI came in, did a raffle prize, and then got out…leaving us to party on our own.

 

4. Hometown Gift Exchange

About 14 gifts were exchanged…a lot of fun...!

 

5. Cabin Crawl

The largest CC I’ve ever attended – or organized…and a lot of fun. We started at the bottom and worked our way up to the Royal Suite. Some people decorated their cabins; some didn’t. Some had food; some didn’t. Didn’t matter – it was a lot of fun and it was interesting to see the various cabins that RCI offers.

 

6. Farewell Luncheon

Held on our last sea day in the Main Dining Room… a group of about 20 people attended. Part of the problem was getting the word out on this.

 

7. Farewell Limoncello Party

Supposed to be held in the Champagne Bar the night before we disembarked; we had to move this to the Royal Suite at the last minute, so again, not everyone on CC got the word about the party.

 

Unofficially, our Roll Call joined together for MOST of the private tours…and, we got the kids together for a lot of the sports activities.

 

THE CRUISE CRITIC MEMBERS WERE THE BEST PART OF THIS CRUISE.

 

Seriously. Getting to know everyone BEFORE we sailed…and then solidifying those friendships onboard…made this trip extra special. If you only take away ONE tip from this (excessively long) review, it is THIS:

 

Get involved with your Roll Calls early...

 

Post. Chat. Ask questions. Offer advice. Start forming the friendships early. It WILL make a difference when you cruise.

 

CROWN & ANCHOR PERKS

We began (and ended) this cruise as Diamond members. We didn’t use the Diamond lounge in the evenings, as we had access to the Concierge Lounge. We didn’t attend the Diamond reception held one night, as it conflicted with our dinner reservation. What I DID utilize: my Diamond discount on the cruise, and the coupons in my Diamond book.

 

SUITE BENEFITS

We utilized the Concierge lounge quite a bit; Daniel, the Concierge himself, also helped us with various things, including rounding up champagne glasses when we hosted parties. We also used our Priority tender tickets in Cannes – which helped tremendously. Some of that other stuff - like robes, chocolates - it was nice, but I can cruise without it. :p

 

SERVICE

Most of the personnel onboard the ship were outstanding. I’ve already mentioned how awesome our stateroom attendance was, as well as the Concierge, and our waiter/assistant waiter.

 

However…the people of Guest Relations…are another story. Two instances stand out:

 

1. The first was when Hubby Mike went down to ask a question midway through the sailing. There are “ropes” that you snake through while waiting in line at Guest Services; however, over to the side, they have a separate line that is for “Suite, Diamond and Above Guests”…a priority line, if you will. Hubby Mike saw that, thought, “Well…I’m in a suite…AND I’m a Diamond.” So, he got into the priority line.

 

He later said it was really the Invisible Line, because the Guest Relations staff consistently ignored him over and over again, asking the people in the “regular” line to step forward to be helped. After the 3rd or 4th time of this happening, he spoke up.

 

“Excuse me,” he said…”Am I invisible?”

 

The lady at Guest Relations said, “No. You’re in the wrong line.”

 

:eek:

 

Someone else at Guest Relations overheard this and immediately stepped in, with, “No, he’s NOT in the wrong line. I’ll help you, sir” – and shot a very nasty look to the rude GS lady who’d dismissed Hubby Mike.

 

So the point is…why have a Priority Line if you’re going to ignore the people IN that line? And why work in Guest Relations if you can't have good relations with the guests??!!

 

 

2. The second instance was when I went to talk to someone about not being notified about the cancellation of our Late Departure Option. The lady behind the counter (and it could have been the same lady that was rude to Hubby Mike, for all I know), never apologized….I think all I was looking for that day was, “Oh, we are sorry. We SHOULD have better communicated this with you.” But I didn’t get that.

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

I'll be blatantly honest. We were disappointed in the Serenade this time…between the ho-hum food, the terrible Cruise Director, the lack of activities onboard, the rudeness at Guest Services…Hubby Mike has said it will be forever and a day before he cruises with RCI again. I didn’t want to go that far, which is why I sailed on the Freedom… to do this comparison. I was much more impressed with the Freedom, and I don’t know why there’s such a difference.

 

The FOS had better food, better activities, a better Cruise Director, and just a better atmosphere all-around. So…now I just have to convince Hubby Mike to sail with me next time on the Freedom!

 

With all of that said...we still had an AMAZING TIME, as you all could see! So what if there wasn't storage in a cabin bathroom? So what if the entertainment one night wasn't the best? So what if my rice was overcooked a bit?

 

Life is a journey...and it's not about the destinations or the miles we travel or the vessel that we travel in...it's about the people and relationships we develop along the way.

 

Our cruise was a HUGE success - not because of the Serenade...but because it brought our family closer...and we met a lot of wonderful people along the way, such as our tour guides, our service staff on the ship, fellow shipmates and fellow Cruise Critic members...

 

THAT'S WHAT MATTERS!!!!

[wolfganghowell]

between the ho-hum food, the terrible Cruise Director, the lack of activities onboard, the rudeness at Guest Services…

 

Hubby Mike has said it will be forever and a day before he cruises with RCI again.

 

After reading almost all your posts, I'm really surprised at this. I guess I find it hard to believe that all the great things and all the extra things that were done for you - that this is the final reaction.

 

Food is subjective but I always find their food ho hum. I don't go hungry and I can sometimes find something really good. But for outstanding food, Celebrity gets my vote. Terrible cruise director - honestly they don't impact my cruise. Or perhaps I should say - a great one can improve my cruise but an average or "terrible" one, zero impact. Activities? I am the first to say I am a non expert since I have yet to do Med cruises. But it seems to be really common for activities to be lacking on those since they are so port intensive, guests are so varied there is hard to find common interests and most people are just too dang tired from the mental and physical overload in ports. Rude Guest Services? Meh - they're on every ship - I've run across them. I can usually get over it by drinking a foo foo drink and writing it down complete with their name on my customer survey. :)

 

Bottom line, I love your review but I hope Hubby will rethink such a strong position. And I look forward to your Freedom review - I have been waiting quite impatiently so get going! And if you need to convince him, there's still some rooms available on our 11/4 sailing. :D Thanks for all the time you took on this - your photos were amazing.

[richstowe]

Super super review. My kids should be very glad that I can't write like you when reporting on our family cruises or other vacations.;)

 

Just wondering why you have only cruised with RC. Is it "if it's not broken why fix it?"

Excuse me if question has already been asked but I just picked up your posts and am only on page 4. Lots to go!

[Just The 3 Of Us]

AMEN, Sherri!!!

 

Wonderful, amazing, jaw dropping review... Can't wait to read your Freedom review. :):D;)