World "shakedown" cruise on Serenade starting next week (Semi-Live Review)

[island lady]

14 hours ago, orville99 said:

Probably never going to happen, but was thinking that the video arcade (directly above the WJ and adjacent to Izumi) would make a nice little boutique seafood restaurant. Just sayin….

 

I agree.  All the times we were on Wonder, for example, the arcade never had any users...just a horribly annoying loud heavy metal or punk rock music playing.  IMHO the arcade is a waste of space.  

[island lady]

10 hours ago, orville99 said:

Quick update, and my apologies to all the WC cruisers if this grates a bit, but we are 12 days into a 15 day cruise and Chops has already run out of some of its side dishes, has dug down into the freezer for whatever proteins are left, and apparently has lost the ability to cook. Giovanni’s is even less prepared. Last night they served my wife an old cow shank and called it veal. Totally inedible - made stew meat look tender. Quite honestly, the only disappointing meals we have had in the past 12 days have been in the specialty restaurants. Just went online and cancelled our dining package for the return voyage next week.

 

I sincerely hope they figure it out before the WC group gets on board for 8 months.

 

 

Thanks my friend.  I am starting to think we will just stick to the MDR. 

[orville99]

4 hours ago, kernow said:

Not received any emails ourselves but apparently everyone else boarding on Tuesday has had an email saying to arrive at the terminal one hour later than scheduled time. 

Have those of you onboard heard anything about a delay? Hopefully it will only be an hour.

We received the same email, but so far there have been no announcements or apparent delays on this cruise. We do have two more full days at sea before we reach LA, so we may hear something before Tuesday.

 

Based on the captain’s announcement last evening, we are scheduled to get into LA at 6:30AM on Tuesday.

 

If I hear anything different, I will post it here.

[orville99]

19 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

Thanks my friend.  I am starting to think we will just stick to the MDR. 

MDR has been much better than the specialty restaurants so far on this cruise - and WJ is better than the MDR IMHO.

[RFerrington]

11 hours ago, orville99 said:

Quick update, and my apologies to all the WC cruisers if this grates a bit, but we are 12 days into a 15 day cruise and Chops has already run out of some of its side dishes, has dug down into the freezer for whatever proteins are left, and apparently has lost the ability to cook. Giovanni’s is even less prepared. Last night they served my wife an old cow shank and called it veal. Totally inedible - made stew meat look tender. Quite honestly, the only disappointing meals we have had in the past 12 days have been in the specialty restaurants. Just went online and cancelled our dining package for the return voyage next week.

 

I sincerely hope they figure it out before the WC group gets on board for 8 months.

 

😮

[Badatz2]

Will there be a B2B situation for people doing the Dec 5th cruise and then going on the World cruise?

[island lady]

43 minutes ago, orville99 said:

MDR has been much better than the specialty restaurants so far on this cruise - and WJ is better than the MDR IMHO.

 

Works for me!  🙂  Thanks!

[orville99]

4 minutes ago, Badatz2 said:

Will there be a B2B situation for people doing the Dec 5th cruise and then going on the World cruise?

I would imagine that would be a normal TAD for those folks. We received the standard TAD letter for this one.

[Badatz2]

48 minutes ago, orville99 said:

I would imagine that would be a normal TAD for those folks. We received the standard TAD letter for this one.

What does TAD mean?

 

[island lady]

17 minutes ago, Badatz2 said:

What does TAD mean?

 

 

Turn Around Day..one of my favorite days.  😉 

[ZoeyVictoria]

The December 5 cruise gets back to Miami on the 9th, the WC leaves on the 10th. Interesting that they kept that extra day, if it is not offered to WC guests. Possibly just a lot more cargo to be loaded?  Last minute detail work?

[Badatz2]

17 minutes ago, ZoeyVictoria said:

The December 5 cruise gets back to Miami on the 9th, the WC leaves on the 10th. Interesting that they kept that extra day, if it is not offered to WC guests. Possibly just a lot more cargo to be loaded?  Last minute detail work?

So what will the B2B guests do?

[orville99]

5 minutes ago, Badatz2 said:

So what will the B2B guests do?

There is a gala and a pre-cruise night hotel stay as part of the WC festivities, so anyone doing the WC cruise that gets back to Miami on the 9th will be a part of that event.

 

We have several on this cruise that are also doing the little one before they get on the WC, and I expect we will be picking up a few more when we dock in LA on Tuesday.

[LadyZolt]

8 minutes ago, Badatz2 said:

So what will the B2B guests do?

If they are on the full cruise, they will probably stay overnight at the hotel and attend the gala. 
 

Many on the full cruise are having luggage sent ahead to the ship. I am sending four pieces myself. I think the 9th will be spent loading all that luggage and putting it in the staterooms.

 

By the way, the cruise is 9 months long. I see a few posts saying 8 months, so just clarifying. December 10 to September 10. 😀

[Jimbo]

Maybe I have this wrong aren't the specialty restaurants included for free for the Full World Cruisers?

 

Do the segment cruisers also get that perk ? Or do I have all this wrong?

[LadyZolt]

1 minute ago, Jimbo said:

Maybe I have this wrong aren't the specialty restaurants included for free for the Full World Cruisers?

 

Do the segment cruisers also get that perk ? Or do I have all this wrong?

Specialty dining is not included for either full world cruisers or segment cruisers. Full world cruisers will get 50% off (theoretically) at the time they dine. We’ll see what happens! 😄

[StanleyandGus]

14 hours ago, orville99 said:

Quick update, and my apologies to all the WC cruisers if this grates a bit, but we are 12 days into a 15 day cruise and Chops has already run out of some of its side dishes, has dug down into the freezer for whatever proteins are left, and apparently has lost the ability to cook. Giovanni’s is even less prepared. Last night they served my wife an old cow shank and called it veal. Totally inedible - made stew meat look tender. Quite honestly, the only disappointing meals we have had in the past 12 days have been in the specialty restaurants. Just went online and cancelled our dining package for the return voyage next week.

 

I sincerely hope they figure it out before the WC group gets on board for 8 months.

 

Our last dinner is at Chops - I am hoping not to experience the same thing, but if sides are gone, I guess I will! 
I haven’t experienced any poor food at the specialty restaurants, but agree that the MDR and Windjammer seem very good. We did notice that the portion sizes were smaller, but I have difficulty eating a three course meal.

[lovesthebeach2]

4 hours ago, orville99 said:

MDR has been much better than the specialty restaurants so far on this cruise - and WJ is better than the MDR IMHO.

I had to read this twice…..the WJ is better than the MDR …..good to know.

on the Odyssey TA we ate in WJ more nights than we have ever done on a cruise. We liked it. And the MDR menu got boring, the same “themes” over and over.

[orville99]

46 minutes ago, StanleyandGus said:

Our last dinner is at Chops - I am hoping not to experience the same thing, but if sides are gone, I guess I will! 

Last evening in Chops, they were out of asparagus, the mushrooms were the same ones that were available in the WJ, the “truffle” fries were WJ fries tossed in a bit of white truffle oil, the mashed potatoes were a solid flavorless lump, and the broccoli was undercooked. DW ordered salmon cooked medium, and they served it to her virtually raw and cold, and you could taste and smell the freezer burn.

 

Other than that, the waiters attempting to sing happy birthday was comical, even if out of place in a fine dining establishment.

[orville99]

Sunrise over Puerto Vallarta.

 

 

[StanleyandGus]

14 minutes ago, orville99 said:

Last evening in Chops, they were out of asparagus, the mushrooms were the same ones that were available in the WJ, the “truffle” fries were WJ fries tossed in a bit of white truffle oil, the mashed potatoes were a solid flavorless lump, and the broccoli was undercooked. DW ordered salmon cooked medium, and they served it to her virtually raw and cold, and you could taste and smell the freezer burn.

 

Other than that, the waiters attempting to sing happy birthday was comical, even if out of place in a fine dining establishment.

Yuck! Asparagus and mushrooms are my usual sides, so I guess is going to be a baked potato.

We had a dinner in Chops earlier, and it was good. That’s disappointing.

[island lady]

3 hours ago, orville99 said:

There is a gala and a pre-cruise night hotel stay as part of the WC festivities, so anyone doing the WC cruise that gets back to Miami on the 9th will be a part of that event.

 

We have several on this cruise that are also doing the little one before they get on the WC, and I expect we will be picking up a few more when we dock in LA on Tuesday.

 

We being "half of the WC"...were not invited to the gala.   Hotel, transfer, party, dinner...all for the full 274 night  WC folks. 

 

But with being only a quick "up an down" flight from Orlando to Miami the morning of...I prefer the comfort of my own bed the night before anyway.  😉 

[orville99]

1 hour ago, island lady said:

But with being only a quick "up an down" flight from Orlando to Miami the morning of...I prefer the comfort of my own bed the night before anyway.  😉

We had a friend drive us down day of for this leg, and we are taking Brightline back on the 5th.

[rae8836]

For those who might be interested, this is the reading/library area added to 12 as of 18 Nov:

 

 

          RAE

 

[orville99]

17 minutes ago, rae8836 said:

For those who might be interested, this is the reading/library area added to 12 as of 18 Nov:

 

 

          RAE

 

Thanks. My wife told me to stop taking pictures of that room. I will add that if anyone on the WC in a junior suite is missing their sofa or love seat, they are now on on deck 12😇