Seranade TA Mini-review

[sjb317]

Just got back to Indy from our Seranade TA. I am still a little discombobulated from the time changes and the long day of flying, so please excuse any typos. :D This was our 7th TA but our first time to do eastbound.

 

We flew into Ft. Lauderdale on an early (630AM) flight a few days before the cruise, staying at the B Ocean Resort which was very nice. Beautiful ocean views and great location. Basic room rate was decent but then they add in a daily resort fee and taxes, so not so cheap! But we enjoyed staying there.

 

Embarkation was short and sweet. We left our room about 10, took an Uber to the port and were on the ship by 1110. Couldn’t ask for anything easier.

 

Cabin was the typical balcony. Our cabin steward, Sheeriden, was excellent. I think we had a different towel animal almost every night of the cruise and he kept the room perfect.

 

I’ve learned over the last few years to lower my expectations of food on a cruise ship so was pleasantly surprised to find the food was, for the most part, really good. We like to eat breakfast most days in the WJ and Seranade’s was excellent, I think the best ever. Lot’s of choices, eggs Benedict and Belgium waffle stations every morning as well as the usual omelet and egg areas. We loved it. Did not eat there for an other meals but I did notice in the compass each day a theme for WJ dinner.

 

MDR food food was good, except for my husband’s prime rib one evening. I do feel the new menus give you fewer options, especially on a 16 night cruise. Our wait staff, Veeren & Vanisha,was outstanding. A table mate mentioned how she missed the cold soups on the menu and had one waiting for her each night after. I mentioned I missed the cheese rolls and wear a basket on our table each night then so it is Veeren’s fault I am avoiding getting on the scale!😂

 

Specialty restaurants were pretty much empty throughout the cruise. We went to Chops and had excellent steaks but then went to the Chef’s Table and had the BEST steak ever! Amazing meal, wine and service.

 

Entertainment was ok, basic cruise ship shows. The production shows were my favorites, especially the shows done by the singers on some nights. Casino was very smokey, I think I saw more people just sitting & smoking at a machine without playing on this cruise than on any other.

 

Weather was not always the best for sitting around the pool but there was no problem getting a chair. Solarium was a different story, you couldn’t buy a chair there! 😂 I noticed the first day, a staff member had put yellow sticky notes that said “no reservations” on most of the loungers, inside & outside but that did not stop people from “reserving” chairs.

 

Like any TA, Seranade had a large number of Ps/D+s/ Ds onboard, too many for the lounges on 13 so the Ds were given the Safari Lounge 430-8p and the upstairs lounges were used by suites/P/D+. The waiters in the usual DL, Claudiu and Igusto, were kept busy but still managed to give me way too much to drink! You could use the evening drink coupons in any bar or MDR, just not in Vintages.

 

Ports were all amazing, getting on & off the ship was easy in each port. I highly recommend Ponta Delgado, Cobh, Ireland, France ( toured Normandy), Amsterdam & Bruges. Total WOW in each! Bruges was the only port in which we did a ship’s tour and I was glad we did as there was a problem that shut down the highway so the busses could not get back on time to pick us up. We were in the last bus to get back, over an hour late. First time I’ve ever been late!

 

Debarkation was almost as easy as embarkation. We used the ship transport to go to the airport. It took about 40 min to get to the airport in Copenhagen and it was extremely busy there so lines everywhere. Very difficult to find any place to sit, outside of a restaurant or coffee shop.

 

Flights were uneventful but we did have a unique experience on our flight back to the states. A couple two rows behind us spent the flight vomiting😳 and the flight attendants did not seem to know what to do. One of the attendants told me the couple had been on a cruise prior to flying so I’m guessing they picked up a virus there. It would be interesting to know how many people get sick after flying with them as I didn’t see any precautions being taken when picking up their trash, etc.

 

Anyway, (sorry for the length) this was a great cruise, probably in my top 5, although I do think I like westbound better. We had to change our clocks 5 times going over, always at 12 noon. I believe my body prefers gaining an hour each night!😀

 

Sherri🙂

[zounds]

Thanks very much for the descriptive, well-written review! Wish a TA was in my future. steve

[Beachammo]

Just got back to Indy from our Seranade TA. I am still a little discombobulated from the time changes and the long day of flying, so please excuse any typos. :D This was our 7th TA but our first time to do eastbound.

 

We flew into Ft. Lauderdale on an early (630AM) flight a few days before the cruise, staying at the B Ocean Resort which was very nice. Beautiful ocean views and great location. Basic room rate was decent but then they add in a daily resort fee and taxes, so not so cheap! But we enjoyed staying there.

 

Embarkation was short and sweet. We left our room about 10, took an Uber to the port and were on the ship by 1110. Couldn’t ask for anything easier.

 

Cabin was the typical balcony. Our cabin steward, Sheeriden, was excellent. I think we had a different towel animal almost every night of the cruise and he kept the room perfect.

 

I’ve learned over the last few years to lower my expectations of food on a cruise ship so was pleasantly surprised to find the food was, for the most part, really good. We like to eat breakfast most days in the WJ and Seranade’s was excellent, I think the best ever. Lot’s of choices, eggs Benedict and Belgium waffle stations every morning as well as the usual omelet and egg areas. We loved it. Did not eat there for an other meals but I did notice in the compass each day a theme for WJ dinner.

 

MDR food food was good, except for my husband’s prime rib one evening. I do feel the new menus give you fewer options, especially on a 16 night cruise. Our wait staff, Veeren & Vanisha,was outstanding. A table mate mentioned how she missed the cold soups on the menu and had one waiting for her each night after. I mentioned I missed the cheese rolls and wear a basket on our table each night then so it is Veeren’s fault I am avoiding getting on the scale![emoji23]

 

Specialty restaurants were pretty much empty throughout the cruise. We went to Chops and had excellent steaks but then went to the Chef’s Table and had the BEST steak ever! Amazing meal, wine and service.

 

Entertainment was ok, basic cruise ship shows. The production shows were my favorites, especially the shows done by the singers on some nights. Casino was very smokey, I think I saw more people just sitting & smoking at a machine without playing on this cruise than on any other.

 

Weather was not always the best for sitting around the pool but there was no problem getting a chair. Solarium was a different story, you couldn’t buy a chair there! [emoji23] I noticed the first day, a staff member had put yellow sticky notes that said “no reservations” on most of the loungers, inside & outside but that did not stop people from “reserving” chairs.

 

Like any TA, Seranade had a large number of Ps/D+s/ Ds onboard, too many for the lounges on 13 so the Ds were given the Safari Lounge 430-8p and the upstairs lounges were used by suites/P/D+. The waiters in the usual DL, Claudiu and Igusto, were kept busy but still managed to give me way too much to drink! You could use the evening drink coupons in any bar or MDR, just not in Vintages.

 

Ports were all amazing, getting on & off the ship was easy in each port. I highly recommend Ponta Delgado, Cobh, Ireland, France ( toured Normandy), Amsterdam & Bruges. Total WOW in each! Bruges was the only port in which we did a ship’s tour and I was glad we did as there was a problem that shut down the highway so the busses could not get back on time to pick us up. We were in the last bus to get back, over an hour late. First time I’ve ever been late!

 

Debarkation was almost as easy as embarkation. We used the ship transport to go to the airport. It took about 40 min to get to the airport in Copenhagen and it was extremely busy there so lines everywhere. Very difficult to find any place to sit, outside of a restaurant or coffee shop.

 

Flights were uneventful but we did have a unique experience on our flight back to the states. A couple two rows behind us spent the flight vomiting[emoji15] and the flight attendants did not seem to know what to do. One of the attendants told me the couple had been on a cruise prior to flying so I’m guessing they picked up a virus there. It would be interesting to know how many people get sick after flying with them as I didn’t see any precautions being taken when picking up their trash, etc.

 

Anyway, (sorry for the length) this was a great cruise, probably in my top 5, although I do think I like westbound better. We had to change our clocks 5 times going over, always at 12 noon. I believe my body prefers gaining an hour each night![emoji3]

 

Sherri[emoji846]

Just did the eastbound Brilliance TA...

 

They did the clock changes at 2am.

 

The crew and most of the passengers hated it!!

 

 

 

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

[Clarea]

Just did the eastbound Brilliance TA...

 

They did the clock changes at 2am.

 

The crew and most of the passengers hated it!!

Another reason Westbound is better.:)

[debandbruce]

We just finished the same TA. We also loved the ports of call and couldn't believe our luck with the weather while visiting them. I agree about the options in MDR, very limited. We found the entertainment very lacking and the timing of it incredibly poor. Love and Marriage game at 7 pm was very disappointing. We were not impressed with the cruise director at all.

Yes the solarium was prime location for sure. We usually sat at the tables and chairs and watched for people to leave. We were very upset that the pools closed earlier than they were supposed to and the 24 hour hot tubs closed by 9:30 pm. One night there were 12 of us, 6 in each outdoor hot tub watching the movie. We were quite rudely told to get out so they could clean them. This was just after 9. Made a quick trip to guest relations and they sent a supervisor to talk to us. She said she would ask the staff to adjust cleaning time until after the movie was over from now on, didn't happen, they were still closed early and the movies played to an audience of empty chairs and hot tubs.

We sat in Vintages every evening before dinner for drinks and had no problem using our drink coupons. Did someone tell you it was not an option? Bartenders Edward and Rein were wonderful.

We did the ships tour to Ghent over Brugges and was so happy we did. Ghent was like a fairy tale city and once we heard about the issue the Brugges tours were having we were even happier about our choice.

Good thing I wasn't on your flight as I would of been sick too if I had to hear others being sick. We liked Copenhagen airport found it quite efficient. We also had a fabulous cruise happy to hear you did too.

[Beachammo]

Another reason Westbound is better.:)

Agree....

 

That was out first eastbound that they did the hour change overnight instead of noon.

 

All the westbounds have been overnight I believe.....

 

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

[sjb317]

Just did the eastbound Brilliance TA...

 

They did the clock changes at 2am.

 

The crew and most of the passengers hated it!!

 

 

 

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

 

I think it’s probably easier on your body to lose an hour in the daytime vs. an hour of sleep at night, especially for the crew work late hours.

 

I like losing it all at once flying over then gaining it back at night😁

 

Sherri:)

[sjb317]

We just finished the same TA. We also loved the ports of call and couldn't believe our luck with the weather while visiting them. I agree about the options in MDR, very limited. We found the entertainment very lacking and the timing of it incredibly poor. Love and Marriage game at 7 pm was very disappointing. We were not impressed with the cruise director at all.

Yes the solarium was prime location for sure. We usually sat at the tables and chairs and watched for people to leave. We were very upset that the pools closed earlier than they were supposed to and the 24 hour hot tubs closed by 9:30 pm. One night there were 12 of us, 6 in each outdoor hot tub watching the movie. We were quite rudely told to get out so they could clean them. This was just after 9. Made a quick trip to guest relations and they sent a supervisor to talk to us. She said she would ask the staff to adjust cleaning time until after the movie was over from now on, didn't happen, they were still closed early and the movies played to an audience of empty chairs and hot tubs.

We sat in Vintages every evening before dinner for drinks and had no problem using our drink coupons. Did someone tell you it was not an option? Bartenders Edward and Rein were wonderful.

We did the ships tour to Ghent over Brugges and was so happy we did. Ghent was like a fairy tale city and once we heard about the issue the Brugges tours were having we were even happier about our choice.

Good thing I wasn't on your flight as I would of been sick too if I had to hear others being sick. We liked Copenhagen airport found it quite efficient. We also had a fabulous cruise happy to hear you did too.

 

We were surprised to see the pool close early, too but didn’t realize they closed the hot tubs also.😳 We noticed the outdoor pool closed every night at 7. I would not have been happy to be kicked out, especially if watching a movie. People were not happy the solarium pool was closed on the first sea day.

 

The letter we received in the cabin outlining our D+ perks said the drink coupons could not be used in Vintages. We never asked about it.😂

 

I felt sorry for the poor man sitting next to the sick couple. He was told there were no other seats but a miracle occurred about halfway through the flight when a seat opened up for him.😂

 

Glad you had a good cruise, too.

 

Sherri🙂

[njkruzer]

I think the closing of the pools early has to do with the lifeguards that are on board now. They seem to keep the pools open only when they are on duty. I thought the hot tubs were being allowed to stay open later. Seems i'm wrong.

[debandbruce]

I think the closing of the pools early has to do with the lifeguards that are on board now. They seem to keep the pools open only when they are on duty. I thought the hot tubs were being allowed to stay open later. Seems i'm wrong.

 

Solarium pool was supposed to close at 10 but it closed at different times. One couple who got in the hot tub with us the night we were kicked out had just been asked to leave the solarium pool. When they said it's open until 10 they were told, no it's closing for cleaning. Lots of unhappy folks about the pool and hot tub situation.

[FLKrewzer]

Thank you SO much for posting your review. I’ve been waiting patiently for a review ever since I booked the exact same TA for next year!

When you have some time (between meetings at work—) would you please describe what you did (and how you did it) in each of the ports?

I’ve been reading all the excursions on the cruise planner.....but very interested in what you actually did and what it was like.

Thank you, again.....and now I’ll wait patiently again for your replies!

[sjb317]

I’m so excited for you! As I said in review, the ports are amazing!

 

Punta Delgado: We did a private tour arranged by another poster on our roll call. The company was funtasticazores.com ( I think). We were in a van with 3 other couples, driver/guide was Paulo who did a great job driving us around the island with various stops. Island is absolutely beautiful.

 

 

Cobh, Ireland: My husband found a bus tour online called e coach. We spent several hours at Blarney Castle and village, toured through Cork, then drove down to Kinsale where we had several hours for lunch, shopping etc. On the way back, our driver/guide, Ian, drove us around Cobh for a quick tour.

If we ever have another cruise where we dock in Cobh ( sometimes the ships dock over in an industrial area of the port) we will just stay there and explore Cobh on foot as it was very walkable with several things to do & see.

 

 

Le Havre, France: Another private tour my husband put together with Normandy tours, Normandy-st.com. 9 person van, Francoise drove us to Bayeux for a quick drive around, then on to Point du Huc, Omaha Beach, American cemetery, and lunch. Very good tour, but miserable day weather wise. Also, keep in mind it takes a good 2 hours or more to get to beaches or to go to Paris, so just getting there & back takes a lot of time.

I would go back and spend several hours in Bayeux, very walkable. Maybe even spend the day!

 

 

Brugges: Ship excursion called Walking & canal tour. Drove by large bus to city, 30+ min., then walked around city, did short canal tour, had about an hour on our own. Two couples were upset when we started walking as the guide explained we would be walking for about 1 1/2 hours and they said they did not realize we would have to walk😳 so we lost about 15 min of our tour while the guide tried to work out an alternative for them.

Royal offered a shuttle to the city for 20 Euros per person each way that I wish I had known about as we could have easily explored on our own and skipped the canal ride.

 

 

Amsterdam: We bought tickets at terminal for hop on hop off canal. Two routes for 25 Euros pp. Very good way to see city. Walked from terminal to Redlight district & walked back to ship. Very easy.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Sherri🙂

[debandbruce]

Thank you SO much for posting your review. I’ve been waiting patiently for a review ever since I booked the exact same TA for next year!

When you have some time (between meetings at work—��) would you please describe what you did (and how you did it) in each of the ports?

I’ve been reading all the excursions on the cruise planner.....but very interested in what you actually did and what it was like.

Thank you, again.....and now I’ll wait patiently again for your replies!

 

If you would like to know about some other tours I can tell you about what we did. Having never been to any of these ports before we did all ships tours. Glad we did as due to the Brugges setback one couple missed getting back to the ship from a private tour and had to take a train to Amsterdam to meet us.

In Ponta Delgado we did the tour to Sete Citades, a lovely park and the pineapple plantation. Nice tour of the city and parts of the island and just the right amount of time.

Cork, we did a tour of Cork City then off to Blarney Village where we browsed through Blarney Woolen Mills and all the lovely things they have for sale. Walked the village and then had lunch at Christy's in the Mill. Fantastic fish and chips and I had an Orchard Thieves cider which was delicious. When we returned to the ship we walked around Cobh for a bit.

Le Havre, we did the scenic tour of Paris that was supposed to have 3 hours to tour the Louvre on our own. We had about 2 hours, lost about 15 minutes at the security screening, 15 more to wait in line for the washroom. Louvre was very busy, too busy. Not a place to limit your time so we wished we had picked another tour. Paris was beautiful and the weather was as well. Our waiter was upset when we said it was sunny and warm in Paris as he could of gone for the day but thought it would be rainy like Le Havre was.

In Brugge we did the tour to Ghent and the canal boats. Our favourite stop by far, lovely canal tour, had Belgian waffles and cherry beer in the village on our free time. Bought some very delicious chocolate and a local treat called Cuberdons or noses as some called them. A very tasty raspberry candy and only available there.

Amsterdam we did the Keukenhof Tulip Festival which is a must see to us. Only open 7 weeks a year this beautiful gardens is breath taking. We did have time to tour Amsterdam when we returned from the tour but my mother had cut her leg badly getting on the tour bus so my husband and I headed back on the ship to check on her and my dad. She was ok, the ships medical took very good care of her. She needed 14 stitches. The Dr wrapped it well and they changed the dressing later in the day then again before we disembarked in Copenhagen so she would be good for the flight home.

[FLKrewzer]

Thank you both,for your detailed explanations of your port experiences....the only problem now is what to choose! It seems that I am interested in both your tours!

 

Thanks, Sherri for the idea to check in on the roll call and join with others. Also, I’ll find out where we’re docking in Cobh, because I’d be interested in exploring the port area. What did you see that was interesting? In Brugges did you do the “Bruges Sightseeing” ship excursion? And in Amsterdam-the hoho canal ride—would you remember what the schedule was like-how they ran? (I’m thinking to do the Tulip tour and then maybe squeeze in a canal tour, as well)

 

Debandbruce-thank you for sharing your excursions experiences. Like you, this is my first time in many of these ports, and I usually do ship’s excursions (just to be safe ) Glad to hear your mother was treated and cared for properly by the ship dr. Hopefully she is recovering and healing.

Thanks for the heads up about the Louvre. I’ll have to save that for another trip when we have more time. The Tulip Festival sounds beautiful. I imagine, since we’ll be there around the same time, that it will be in full bloom—and not to be missed. I would like to try to get one of those canal boat tours - either with the hoho or maybe something else .

 

One thing I noticed on the cruise planner was that some excursions seemed able to book and others said “online reservations are not available. Please check onboard.” Is that what you did?

 

Thanks, again for such good information. Looking forward to more from you and anyone else that has any ideas!

[debandbruce]

One thing I noticed on the cruise planner was that some excursions seemed able to book and others said “online reservations are not available. Please check onboard.” Is that what you did?

Keep checking back, we found they can come and go. You are still about a year out so things can change. I belive when docking in Cobh it is the same place we were. Very easy to walk up the street to the town. There isn't a lot to see there but there is a couple great pubs and the Titanic experience tour.

[sjb317]

There are two docks in Cobh/Cork. One is in Cobh and easily walkable off the ship. The other is across the harbor in an industrialized area where you could not walk off the ship. The last time we went to Ireland, we docked at the industrialized area. If we go back again and are docking in Cobh, I think we would just walk off and explore the area. There are several museums,a large cathedral, and lots of pubs so I think we could find enough to interest us.

 

There were two lines for the hop on hop off boats in Amsterdam. One took about an hour and 45 minutes to complete the entire loop, the other was a little shorter. There is also a bus line you can do for an extra charge. But also very easy to walk to red light district which is a big tourist area.

 

Sherri

[sjb317]

The tour we did in Brugges was listed as a walking tour with canal ride. I liked the walking part but felt like the canal ride was unnecessary.

 

Sherr🙂

[davekathy]

sjb317...thanks for taking us along on your cruise.

[FLKrewzer]

Thank you for your valuable firsthand info. I appreciate all your help!

[patreke]

I was on the same cruise...I pretty much agree with both opinions so far. Also got kicked out of hot tub, which was very disappointing. It was great place to watch movie on a cool night.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[sjb317]

I was on the same cruise...I pretty much agree with both opinions so far. Also got kicked out of hot tub, which was very disappointing. It was great place to watch movie on a cool night.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Hard to believe you would get kicked out of the hot tub! I would have been furious,😖

 

Sherri🙂

[Ontario Cruiser]

If you would like to know about some other tours I can tell you about what we did. Having never been to any of these ports before we did all ships tours. Glad we did as due to the Brugges setback one couple missed getting back to the ship from a private tour and had to take a train to Amsterdam to meet us.

In Ponta Delgado we did the tour to Sete Citades, a lovely park and the pineapple plantation. Nice tour of the city and parts of the island and just the right amount of time.

Cork, we did a tour of Cork City then off to Blarney Village where we browsed through Blarney Woolen Mills and all the lovely things they have for sale. Walked the village and then had lunch at Christy's in the Mill. Fantastic fish and chips and I had an Orchard Thieves cider which was delicious. When we returned to the ship we walked around Cobh for a bit.

Le Havre, we did the scenic tour of Paris that was supposed to have 3 hours to tour the Louvre on our own. We had about 2 hours, lost about 15 minutes at the security screening, 15 more to wait in line for the washroom. Louvre was very busy, too busy. Not a place to limit your time so we wished we had picked another tour. Paris was beautiful and the weather was as well. Our waiter was upset when we said it was sunny and warm in Paris as he could of gone for the day but thought it would be rainy like Le Havre was.

In Brugge we did the tour to Ghent and the canal boats. Our favourite stop by far, lovely canal tour, had Belgian waffles and cherry beer in the village on our free time. Bought some very delicious chocolate and a local treat called Cuberdons or noses as some called them. A very tasty raspberry candy and only available there.

Amsterdam we did the Keukenhof Tulip Festival which is a must see to us. Only open 7 weeks a year this beautiful gardens is breath taking. We did have time to tour Amsterdam when we returned from the tour but my mother had cut her leg badly getting on the tour bus so my husband and I headed back on the ship to check on her and my dad. She was ok, the ships medical took very good care of her. She needed 14 stitches. The Dr wrapped it well and they changed the dressing later in the day then again before we disembarked in Copenhagen so she would be good for the flight home.

We met your parents in the airport wheelchair area and enjoyed talking with them

Sherrill Peterborough Ontario

[debandbruce]

Hard to believe you would get kicked out of the hot tub! I would have been furious,😖

 

Sherri🙂

 

Oh we were, went to customer relations and the timing of cleaning was supposed to be changed but it was not.

[sjb317]

Oh we were, went to customer relations and the timing of cleaning was supposed to be changed but it was not.

 

There’s just so many other things they won’t do anything about for fear of upsetting the customer but then they kick you all out when you are watching the pool deck movie. That’s what’s unbelievable🙄

 

Sherri🙂

[hancock]

We were on that cruise as well. Did the tour to Blarney Village. It was really just a ride to the Blarney Woolen Mills. Would not recommend it. Understand that those who took the the RCL transfer to Brugges had a LONG walk into the city center from the drop off point. Found that the Copenhagen airport required too much walking. Took the tour to Honfleur in France. Quaint town but weather was miserable.

Visiting the tulip festival was wonderful! It was flower overload...7,00,000 bulbs planted. We were there on Friday. It was very crowded. Can't imagine how bad it would be on a weekend. Wouldn't have missed it! Will be waiting for all the tulips I ordered in September.

Most of the weather sailing the Atlantic was cool to chilly. We lucked out with good weather(Make that great weather) in Cork, Brugge, Amsterdam and Copenhagen.

Had the Copenhagen Card. Finally got some understanding of it's transportation uses on the third day. Wish a better map of bus and train and Metro routes had been included. Did use it to get to CPH on day 3. Card could only be used once at each venue. Could only use it once to visit Tivoli Gardens. Would have liked an option to visit more than once. Also, because of the very late sunset, we did not see it lit up at night. We were also exhausted after having walked on cobblestones all day.