OCD Planner's Mah-valous Mediterranean Adventure on Serenade of the Seas

[ace1zoe2]

What a fantastic review, thanks for posting, as a fellow OCD planner, I was wondering if you had in the compasses or port info given out details about the port shuttles. We are a family of 4 and I need to decide between DIY and RCCL excursions I would like to know the charge that RCCL is making for the shuttles. I know in some ports the shuttles are provided by the port but can't remember the situation in the above ports. I did notice last year that if RCCL are providing the shuttle the prices have greatly increased.

 

 

 

Can you help?

 

 

I believe the information that you are asking for starts in post #181 of this thread. You should be able to click on the pictures to enlarge.

 

I scanned every Cruise Compass, Port Destination Guide, Excursion Brochures, Transportation offerings, etc.

 

I believe if you click on the pictures you may also have the option to go on to my Photobucket site where all the pictures are stored for a better view possibly.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Cindy

 

 

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[paylady]

Cindy:

 

Another great review!

 

You didn't like going through ATL? MIA wasn't any better! Same story --- had to claim bags, then recheck bags. Horrible TSA lines, DH bought some kind of liquid at BCN that was confiscated here. Our one saving grace was that we had plenty of times between flights.

 

I know you felt bad about initially ordering tickets for the wrong day (La Sagrada Familia) but it just shows you're human. Think of it as a public service! :) The rest of us make mistakes all the time and it makes us feel better when a mega-planner like you messes up.

[ace1zoe2]

Cindy:

 

 

 

Another great review!

 

 

 

You didn't like going through ATL? MIA wasn't any better! Same story --- had to claim bags, then recheck bags. Horrible TSA lines, DH bought some kind of liquid at BCN that was confiscated here. Our one saving grace was that we had plenty of times between flights.

 

 

 

I know you felt bad about initially ordering tickets for the wrong day (La Sagrada Familia) but it just shows you're human. Think of it as a public service! :) The rest of us make mistakes all the time and it makes us feel better when a mega-planner like you messes up.

 

 

Thanks PayLady!

 

I wish I could say that was the first mistake I ever made ;)

 

At least they let me change it so it all worked out.

 

Just made plans yesterday for an excursion on our 1/4 Explorer cruise. Definitely taking a different approach to our next cruise!

 

Cindy

 

 

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[Hailzmick]

On all of our previous cruises I have carried "THE BINDER", you know the one... the one that has ALL the information for everything we will see and do. The daily itinerary, pre-purchased tickets, maps, directions, email correspondence, set sail pass and on and on.

 

 

 

This trip I finally decided to go high-tech and put EVERYTHING on my iPhone/iPad using the app Trip It, which I then shared with Debbie so that she could have all of the plans. I could add pictures of tickets, etc. to each activity as well as directions and more. It worked out great and I think the binder will be a thing of the past.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now I have converted to this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

It really was much easier not hauling the book around, flipping thru pages, etc. Everything was at our fingertips instead.

 

 

I've just downloaded this & will look at it in the morning.

We're doing 4 weeks thru Europe, (planes, mostly trains, etc) before a 12 night cruise on Vision, then a 7 night cruise on Splendour.

We booked this trip 60 weeks we leave & I still feel so unprepared! Ha ha. & your amazing reviews don't help me with my stress levels! X

[ace1zoe2]

I've just downloaded this & will look at it in the morning.

We're doing 4 weeks thru Europe, (planes, mostly trains, etc) before a 12 night cruise on Vision, then a 7 night cruise on Splendour.

We booked this trip 60 weeks we leave & I still feel so unprepared! Ha ha. & your amazing reviews don't help me with my stress levels! X

 

 

Hailzmick,

 

Thanks so much for taking time to post. You will have so much fun planning your cruise. Just take it one port & one day at a time and you will come up with a fabulous itinerary!

 

Cindy

 

 

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[Hailzmick]

Hailzmick,

 

Thanks so much for taking time to post. You will have so much fun planning your cruise. Just take it one port & one day at a time and you will come up with a fabulous itinerary!

 

Cindy

 

 

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I'm baaaack!!!!

Finally finished your review today. So very awesome!!!

I posted a review on our last cruise last April on Radiance & I will definitely be posting reviews for our two med cruises in May!

I've even created a Facebook page called "Havereuro Adventure"- (our surname is Havercroft & I love a good pun), so our friends, family & CC peeps can keep up to date with our travels.

I'm going to take on your advise & plan day by day!

Thanks so very much!

Happy travels.

Hailey.

[Irish Cath]

Hi Cindy !

 

Just last night I found your review and have read as far as your trip to Cinque Terre. I'm so glad you visited Corniglia, isn't it one of the most beautiful places ever and I can't wait to get back there one day.

 

Anyway, just wanted to say that I am really enjoying your photo's and look forward to reading the rest of your review.

 

Catherine :)

[ace1zoe2]

I'm baaaack!!!!

Finally finished your review today. So very awesome!!!

I posted a review on our last cruise last April on Radiance & I will definitely be posting reviews for our two med cruises in May!

I've even created a Facebook page called "Havereuro Adventure"- (our surname is Havercroft & I love a good pun), so our friends, family & CC peeps can keep up to date with our travels.

I'm going to take on your advise & plan day by day!

Thanks so very much!

Happy travels.

Hailey.

 

 

Thanks Hailey!

 

Writing the reviews gives me a chance to relive my cruises and hopefully lets me help someone else along the way.

 

Have fun planning!

Cindy

 

 

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[ace1zoe2]

Hi Cindy !

 

 

 

Just last night I found your review and have read as far as your trip to Cinque Terre. I'm so glad you visited Corniglia, isn't it one of the most beautiful places ever and I can't wait to get back there one day.

 

 

 

Anyway, just wanted to say that I am really enjoying your photo's and look forward to reading the rest of your review.

 

 

 

Catherine :)

 

 

IrishCath,

 

Thanks so much for taking time to read my review. I enjoyed reading yours very much as well & got some good ideas for CT in the process.

 

Hope you enjoy the rest of the review!

 

I am currently laying in a lounger on my aft balcony watching the wake as we make our way from Coco Cay to Cozumel aboard Explorer of the Seas. Taking advantage of my free hour of Internet (diamond coupon) to catch up on what's going on in the world.

 

I plan to post a trip report upon our return.

 

Happy Sails to All!

Cindy

 

 

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Edited January 6, 2015 by ace1zoe2

[lah66]

Wow Cindy! Fantastic review. It looks like it was an amazing trip! All your details will help all cruisers going to Europe! We hope to cruise Europe when the kids have graduated from college! I think Barcelona will be my favorite! Great to see you and Charlie travelling so much! I hope the cruise you are currently on is nothing but pure relaxation!

We are doing an 11 day on the Legend on Feb 16th. One of our stops is Aruba! We had such a great day in Aruba with you a few years ago! This time we are taking a trike excursion but will probably go to the same stops as we did with Bully!

Again, thanks for such a great review and amazing pictures!

Lauri (and Mike)

[ace1zoe2]

Wow Cindy! Fantastic review. It looks like it was an amazing trip! All your details will help all cruisers going to Europe! We hope to cruise Europe when the kids have graduated from college! I think Barcelona will be my favorite! Great to see you and Charlie travelling so much! I hope the cruise you are currently on is nothing but pure relaxation!

 

We are doing an 11 day on the Legend on Feb 16th. One of our stops is Aruba! We had such a great day in Aruba with you a few years ago! This time we are taking a trike excursion but will probably go to the same stops as we did with Bully!

 

Again, thanks for such a great review and amazing pictures!

 

Lauri (and Mike)

 

 

Hey Lauri!

 

Nice of you to comment. We had a great trip. Just started my review tonight.

 

Aruba remains my surprise island. Always thought it was a lush tropical island until our tour together. We had a great time with you guys!

 

I hope you have a fantastic trip. We are doing a back to back from SJ in March/April 2016.

 

Maybe some day we will end up on the same cruise again! Until then, Happy Sails!

 

Cindy (and Charlie)

 

 

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[HardHeadedWoman]

Cindy, just wanted to say how much I enjoyed your review! I just finished it last night and now I want nothing more than to book a trip back to the Med!

 

Your itinerary sounded great, too! Does Royal Caribbean still offer it? I can't remember seeing it for 2015 last time I checked (but they have so many itineraries, I could be wrong).

 

Thanks for posting! I also appreciated your planning tips as a fellow obsessive planner. :)

 

Happy travels,

Lissette

 

 

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[Kevin's girl]

On all of our previous cruises I have carried "THE BINDER", you know the one... the one that has ALL the information for everything we will see and do. The daily itinerary, pre-purchased tickets, maps, directions, email correspondence, set sail pass and on and on.

 

This trip I finally decided to go high-tech and put EVERYTHING on my iPhone/iPad using the app Trip It, which I then shared with Debbie so that she could have all of the plans. I could add pictures of tickets, etc. to each activity as well as directions and more. It worked out great and I think the binder will be a thing of the past.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now I have converted to this:

 

 

It really was much easier not hauling the book around, flipping thru pages, etc. Everything was at our fingertips instead.

I have a question for you about the Tripit. I like you were, am a binder girl. As soon as I read this and saw an opportunity to dump the heavy binder I downloaded the Tripit app. Now that I have it my question is - did you forward your confirmations to Tripit or did you manually enter your information? I feel a little odd forwarding my confirmation emails to what feels like a generic site.

[ace1zoe2]

I have a question for you about the Tripit. I like you were' date=' am a binder girl. As soon as I read this and saw an opportunity to dump the heavy binder I downloaded the Tripit app. Now that I have it my question is - did you forward your confirmations to Tripit or did you manually enter your information? I feel a little odd forwarding my confirmation emails to what feels like a generic site.[/quote']

 

 

I didn't on that particular cruise but I have for the one I just returned from as well as a couple of land trips.

 

It works great for corporate confirmations but not for things like VRBO or Home Away confirmations.

 

We you email it as soon as you hit send you will almost instantly receive an email stating you're itinerary has been updated.

 

It is all done by a computer system. No way a person could even open and read the email before you get an email back.

 

Try it... I think you'll like it!

 

 

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[ace1zoe2]

Cindy, just wanted to say how much I enjoyed your review! I just finished it last night and now I want nothing more than to book a trip back to the Med!

 

Your itinerary sounded great, too! Does Royal Caribbean still offer it? I can't remember seeing it for 2015 last time I checked (but they have so many itineraries, I could be wrong).

 

Thanks for posting! I also appreciated your planning tips as a fellow obsessive planner. :)

 

Happy travels,

Lissette

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

 

Lissette,

 

Thank you so much for taking time to read my long, long report. I'm glad that you enjoyed it & I hope that it will help you with your future planning.

 

The Med was amazing & I definitely want to return to do the Venice route (which we originally booked but RCI changed the itinerary) in a few years after I have a chance to save up some money!

 

Cindy

 

 

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[Kevin's girl]

I didn't on that particular cruise but I have for the one I just returned from as well as a couple of land trips.

 

It works great for corporate confirmations but not for things like VRBO or Home Away confirmations.

 

We you email it as soon as you hit send you will almost instantly receive an email stating you're itinerary has been updated.

 

It is all done by a computer system. No way a person could even open and read the email before you get an email back.

 

Try it... I think you'll like it!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you so much for the quick answer. I will give it a shot tomorrow. I have all kinds of emails and plans for our next cruise.

[ace1zoe2]

Thank you so much for the quick answer. I will give it a shot tomorrow. I have all kinds of emails and plans for our next cruise.

 

 

Let me know what you think!

 

 

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[OurDogCisco]

Wow, Cindy... What an awesome review. I bookmarked all your links. So very helpful and kind of you to take the time to write a review. I've even been to a few of the places you visited. Off to read your other reviews...

[ace1zoe2]

Wow, Cindy... What an awesome review. I bookmarked all your links. So very helpful and kind of you to take the time to write a review. I've even been to a few of the places you visited. Off to read your other reviews...

 

 

Thank you so much for your kind words. I figured if I already had the info I might as well include the links to save someone else the trouble of trying to find them.

 

Hope you enjoy the other reviews. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

 

Cindy

 

 

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[laurieal]

After reading your Explorer review, I went straight to this one! Your pictures are beautiful and I really enjoyed reading about your trip. I particularly appreciated the Barcelona part since I will be going there for the first time later this year. I am a planner, too, and I added a lot of notes to my adventure doc :)

 

Thank you for sharing!

[ace1zoe2]

After reading your Explorer review, I went straight to this one! Your pictures are beautiful and I really enjoyed reading about your trip. I particularly appreciated the Barcelona part since I will be going there for the first time later this year. I am a planner, too, and I added a lot of notes to my adventure doc :)

 

Thank you for sharing!

 

Thanks laurieal!

 

Hope that you have a great time in Barcelona. We could have spent a few more days and still not have seen everything that I wanted.

 

If you ever plan to visit Alaska, I have a ton of planning information in that cruise review. It's not planning for a Caribbean vacation... you have to do everything early if there are excursions that you want to take.

 

Cindy