Dolby1000

On the Serenade, the handle to open the balcony door is on the INSIDE only, it appears they used to be on the outside and inside, but for security reasons (really, who is going to climb 9 decks to break into a cabin, so this is a bit ridiculous to me) there is no handle for the outside. RCCL assumes that being able to only open and lock the door on the inside is secure enough. Except, the design has a serious flaw. The door is locked with the handle at the noon position. It is designed to be open at the 6 o'clock position. The problem arises you stop at the 4 or 5 o'clock position and unlock the door. If you open the door at this point and go out onto the balcony and close the door, the spring mechanism for the door springs the handle to the noon position, locking the door. This happened to us, the door opened at the 4 o'clock position and my wife joined me on the balcony. When she shut the door, the handle sprang back to the upright, noon position, locking us out on the balcony. We had nothing but our clothes on. There is NO WAY back in! No phone you can pick up to call, no tool to unlock the door, no way to signal anyone for help. You are at the mercy of someone close by coming out to their balcony you can yell at to get help. For us, tragedy was averted as we were in port in Key West, facing the dock. We screamed down 9 decks and they sent a security person to open our door. In my imagination, this could have turned bad very quickly. If we were at sea, or on the other side of the dock, there is no way to get quick help. My wife is a diabetic and in my worst nightmare, if help took hours to find, she could go into diabetic shock and die. RCCL needs to find a way to get help or unlock the door when the handle springs into the locked position without warning, or at least, issue a warning not to open the door until the handle is at the 6 position.

I can confirm, as this is what happened last week on our stop at Labadee, no questions asked. We had a great time.

Thank you for posting pictures of the PCR (Panama Canal Railroad). We were there about 5 years ago and the Atlantic Bridge was nearing completion. We did a train ride across the isthmus in a dome car, it was wonderful. These pictures bring back so many memories. Even further back, I don't know how many years ago, we went through the locks in the Brilliance. At that time, the new locks were a dream. Fun fact, the Panama Canal Railroad was owned by the Kansas City Southern, as evidenced by the sharp paint scheme. Canadian National just completed their acquisition of KCS, so now the railroad is owned by a Canadian company, completing the turn over of all canal assets to foreign interests.

This is just me being curious, well, nosy. We are on the Serenade on April 30th. It is cruising out of The Port of Tampa, Terminal 2 rather than Terminal 6. The previous cruise docs in Tampa on the 27th. What is the ship going to do between the 27th and the 30th? I can't find any evidence of any sailing for those 3 days. Will it sit in port? That seems expensive if they are charged for being docked. Again, just curious. Dolby1000

So envious of your trip, have a great time. I can also recommend the Path Between the Seas, great book. McCullough is one of my favorite historical authors.

Quick Serenade question, did they have the Coke Freestyle machines? Thanking you in advance for the answer

I have the Royal App on my iPhone (I have Iphone 11, pretty old version). I have my cruise added to the app. From the App Home page, click on Daily Planner and the activities are listed day by day. For our April 30 cruise, day 1 and day 2 seem pretty complete. It may vary by cruise.

On the Mariner last November, we had Dress Your Best nights as opposed to Formal Nights. We are on the Serenade on 4/30 and the first 2 days of the Daily Compass are available. At 5PM on Day 2, which is a sea day, it says Tonight's Attire: Formal. Are others seeing Formal instead of Dress Your Best?

Yes, I know what I booked. Nellies Beach Cabana's were a couple of hundred dollars more. My confirmation says Barefoot Beach Standard Cabana. Thanks to all for the answers, I can stop worrying now. Dolby1000

Are they strictly reserved for Suite customers? We are in a Balcony Cabin yet the site allowed me to book a Standard Cabana on Barefoot Beach. Will we be turned away at the entrance to the beach or the fact that we paid for one takes priority? Thanks for all the answers. Dolby1000

We are in a Balcony Cabin, not a suite. I was looking at Cabanas on Barefoot Beach and was able to book a Standard Cabana. Will we be denied entry to the area because we are not suite guests or does booking the cabana get us in? The rules are bit unclear. The RCCL site did not prohibit us from booking it even though we are not in a suite. Thanks

We are on the Mariner for 5 nights just after Thanksgiving. I've searched the web site and all over the App, where/how can I find out which nights, if any, are formal nights? It will impact what we pack. Thanks so much Dolby1000