Serenade of the Seas New Years Cruise Review out of New Orleans for the OCD Planner!!

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[Italy52]

We were also on the same cruise and had a great time. Loved our balcony cabin (8588) -- only problem was music from Atrium could be heard in the cabin and we were quite surprised that we could smell cigarette smoke from the casino as we exited our room and entered the Atrium.

 

Question for you: How much did it cost for a shuttle to Atlantis? And, if you took the ship's excursion to Atlantis did you have to stay with the tour? Or, could you leave the tour and return whenever you wanted to the ship?

[toosaxykk]

What is the name/ brand of your hammock. I think it is a MUST HAVE! Thanks! I love the pictures!

[5 in OK]

Thank you SO much for posting this review. My husband and I will be celebrating our 9th anniversary on the SERENADE in March! I am enjoying reading your review. Cannot wait to see more pics!

 

OH and BOOMER SOONER! (I'm an OU grad and lived in Norman for 12 years before moving to Houston)

 

 

Always good to meet an Okie! We are from Broken Arrow. You are absolutely going to love your cruise - have so much fun!

[5 in OK]

We were also on the same cruise and had a great time. Loved our balcony cabin (8588) -- only problem was music from Atrium could be heard in the cabin and we were quite surprised that we could smell cigarette smoke from the casino as we exited our room and entered the Atrium.

 

Question for you: How much did it cost for a shuttle to Atlantis? And, if you took the ship's excursion to Atlantis did you have to stay with the tour? Or, could you leave the tour and return whenever you wanted to the ship?

 

 

We did the waterpark, beaches, ect.. and it cost $160/person. Pretty steep! After we were led to the towel lady we just took off on our own. After a couple of hours the park grew so crowded that we decided $160 was a bit much (there were 5 cruise ships that day so it was packed!!!) to charge but we enjoyed the day.

 

Yes - there were times we could smell the smoke from the casino when we walked through the Centrum area, however, we were far enough down that we never heard music - even on New Year's Eve when it was really rocking!!!

[5 in OK]

What is the name/ brand of your hammock. I think it is a MUST HAVE! Thanks! I love the pictures!

 

 

We got it from Amazon.com - it was awesome - and it looks like it's on sale. It comes with it's own hooks, straps and bags!

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Yes4All-Ultra-Light-Hammocks-Purple/dp/B00E1O96E2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420657257&sr=8-1&keywords=Yes4All+Ultra+Light+Hammocks

[5 in OK]

What about a picture of hammock. We are goin 17th might need to order 1! :)

 

sent from app

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Yes4All-Ultra-Light-Hammocks-Purple/dp/B00E1O96E2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420657257&sr=8-1&keywords=Yes4All+Ultra+Light+Hammocks

[Italy52]

We did the waterpark, beaches, ect.. and it cost $160/person. Pretty steep! After we were led to the towel lady we just took off on our own. After a couple of hours the park grew so crowded that we decided $160 was a bit much (there were 5 cruise ships that day so it was packed!!!) to charge but we enjoyed the day.

 

Yes - there were times we could smell the smoke from the casino when we walked through the Centrum area, however, we were far enough down that we never heard music - even on New Year's Eve when it was really rocking!!!

 

 

Thanks for the information, I appreciate it.

[5 in OK]

Our final sea day – and the day before the end of our amazing cruise. The last day is bitter sweet – you are almost ready to admit you are craving your own bed, a shower you can actually turn around in and to flush a toilet without causing a wind tunnel – but you hold on to that last day with every ounce of power because having someone else cook, clean and provide unlimited entertainment is just a novelty for busy parents! We tried to sleep in but woke up at 7:00 a.m. so we headed down to build the perfect breakfast plate and then went out to our breakfast “spot”. We ate leisurely trying to slow down our final day. Then we headed up to deck 12 to drag our long chair to our favorite spot and to 11 to grab a short chair to pair with it (two longs wouldn’t fit because of the track – and WOW – a lot of people run and walk – ALL day long!). We crashed in our chairs and read for a while until the decks grew busy with everyone trying to catch their last sun rays before heading back to cold and reality! There were still bowl games to catch so those were playing on the big screen. We went to the Windjammer for our final lunch on the ship (things are getting real now!!) and then went back to our rooms for a bit to cool off (it was surprisingly warm – we were just a couple hundred miles from New Orleans but it was over 85 degrees!!!). I grabbed some final hammock time while my husband caught up with ESPN and some zzzzz’s. We went back up around 2:00 to finish off the afternoon in the sunshine and then went in to get dressed for our final dinner. Joy, our wait staff member, took excellent care of us – we tipped him generously even though our tips were pre-paid (a requirement if you choose My Time Dining) as we felt he went above and beyond constantly to make our dinners wonderful! Then we went to catch the final farewell show. It was a combination of singers from the entire week of shows. Very nicely done. It was approaching 8:15 p.m. and we had not packed a thing (we were in total denial) so we headed to our room to begin packing to get our bags into the hallway by 11:00 p.m. with our tags for the New Orleans Excursion. We finished in plenty of time so we both enjoyed our balcony for a final time – he read while I hung in the hammock. The sound of the waves is therapeutic for both of us – we aren’t sure why we live in landlocked Oklahoma (family) but would both someday like to retire to an ocean front community! Around 10:30 we put our bags out (always makes me a bit nervous) and headed to bed. A super fun and relaxing final sea day with excellent entertainment, food, plenty of sunshine, warm temps and fun! :)

[5 in OK]

Departure Day: A mixture of sadness and anticipation of returning to normal was the mood for our final breakfast. They serve breakfast from 6:00 – 8:30 a.m. on departure day (instead of the normal 7:00 a.m. start time) so we headed down about 6:30 a.m. We weren’t sure if our outside eating area would be open as they were already preparing for the next group but were delighted to see the glass doors slide open to admit us to our favorite spot! We ate as slowly as we could trying to drag out our last, wonderful minutes of carefree!! We had to be in the Safari Club by 7:45 a.m. for our New Orleans excursion and airport drop-off so we headed down to our rooms to get ready and pulled our last piece of luggage and our carry-ons to the Safari Club right on time and were give a bus sticker (1 or 2 – ours was 1) and directions to stay put until we were called. Right at 8:00 we followed the excursions director – very, very sweet lady – down to claim our luggage – she walked us to the customs lines (super easy customs check-out) and then we proceeded out the door to find our buses. We handed our luggage over to the bus driver and loaded up for our New Orleans Tour. Over all I would give disembarkation a 10 – it was super easy and zero stress!!!

New Orleans Post Cruise Excursion and Airport Drop Off: If your flight leaves New Orleans after 2:00 p.m. you are eligible for this tour! We are so glad we went as we didn’t really see much the day before our cruise and we had never been to New Orleans before. They took us to the City of the Dead – an above ground cemetery – and gave us the history behind their burial requirements. Very interesting stuff – one tomb can hold like 250 bodies because they decompose so quickly. Icky but interesting! Then we toured the 9th ward and saw the wall where the levy broke flooding the community. There were still houses and street signs with watermarks so we could see just how high the water rose with Katrina. It was sad – so many people died! We stopped at a park and enjoyed beignets – not quite as good as Café du Monde but a nice treat – we were getting hungry just thinking about not having access to a buffet for lunch!! We were dropped at the airport right at noon, checked in and flew home to 28 degree Tulsa. All three of our adult children (18, 20, 22) greeted us at the airport and we went to Red Lobster of all places (we hadn’t gotten our fill of seafood I suppose). It was so good to be home but we already missed our 85 degrees and sunshine & endless food and fun!!!

[Jiminy1955]

So glad I stumbled upon this review since we will be sailing on her on Feb 28th :) different ports though.

 

You said you purchased the hammock on Amazon. Can you give me the exact item? My DH & I are in an inside cabin but some of my family & friends that we are sailing with will be in balconies and I would like to tell them about it.

 

Loving your review by the way!

[5 in OK]

So glad I stumbled upon this review since we will be sailing on her on Feb 28th :) different ports though.

 

You said you purchased the hammock on Amazon. Can you give me the exact item? My DH & I are in an inside cabin but some of my family & friends that we are sailing with will be in balconies and I would like to tell them about it.

 

Loving your review by the way!

 

Thanks!! You will really enjoy the Serenade!! Here is the link to the hammock:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Yes4All-Ultra-Light-Hammocks-²CXTPZ/dp/B00E1O96FQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420682627&sr=8-1&keywords=Yes4All-Ultra-...Light%2BHammocks

[PaulInPGH]

So glad I stumbled upon this review since we will be sailing on her on Feb 28th :) different ports though.

 

You said you purchased the hammock on Amazon. Can you give me the exact item? My DH & I are in an inside cabin but some of my family & friends that we are sailing with will be in balconies and I would like to tell them about it.

 

Loving your review by the way!

 

If you'd like to read a little about the Western Caribbean itinerary I'm currently in the middle of a lengthy review of our recent trip to New Orleans and our Serenade cruise from early December. The link is in my signature.

 

Cheers.

[5 in OK]