Coralc

I love your orange Tabby too! We had Frisky for 19 years, he looked a lot like Morris. :D:):D

I don't think Trekker, meant at all to be mean. It was just the opening, that might have "sounded" that way. The pinnacle level is new, not that we're ever going to be there......and I thought the same thing when I opened a thread with "top tier" in the subject line. We are just curious about it. My thought was more of an "Oh". :D:):D

"Did I join? Yes. As an affiliate to get on the cruise and that was free."

I think he is saying that he signed up to be an affiliate (free), and did not purchase the program. :)

Thanks for letting us know how it went. :D

That was a wonderful telling of the tale Carol. :) I know now where "dirtgirl" came from.. Thanks for sharing the whole story with us. :D

Fondest,

Patti :)

What a wonderful read! Please continue Carol......see, this is all so much more detailed than when you were in the thick of it. Fascinating, and you write very well. Thanks! :D

~Patti :)

And I thought you had something to do with law enforcement...I didn't know you became a TA.

Thank you! :) There was a long thread about my stay in England, so I don't want to bore everyone with repeating it!

You're not boring us...we wanted to read it all in one place. Continuity is important...please continue with your review. We are looking forward to it. :D:D

Can I guess? :D And it's just a guess, could it be the Royal Day Spa? Obviously you haven't booked anything, but maybe it is a line item in case you do? :)

We're sailing the Granduer next month. I hope the hurricanes taper off by then.

 

Ok, the view from the Windjammer sounds amazing. I have to ask, since you've practically made me teary from the idea of looking out of those tall windows, can we go up there for dinner even if we requested the main dining room?

Of course you can! You can dine in the windjammer or order room service. No one can force you to eat any particular place. Enjoy your cruise. :)

The deck plans show it on Deck 10, but is actually above the deck. You have to walk up the stairs into this tower structure, where the helipad would be on other Royal Caribbean ships. It's really neat, and the telescopes are free, but it is windy up there when the ship is underway. :)

Grandeur has an observatory with telescopes! for stargazing. :)

My heart goes out to you as you make this bittersweet journey........we're all here for you.......maybe not in person,but in spirit!:)

Truly we are Kathy. We always enjoyed Jim's reports of their cruises, and we are enjoying Carol's final one. I had subscribed to this thread, but not posted. It does sort of feel like we are attending her service. Best wishes Jim.

Good news. We might get some Bailey's for the coffee then. :)

Are you suggesting MORE people should move to California to enjoy the weather? :D

Nooooooo. :D But I can't even imagine it being that cold. :eek: My job/work is outside year round. How could you even go to the grocery store when it's that cold? I understand why Caribbean cruises are popular during "Wave" season. But it just boggles the mind, that it could be that cold and you still have to do daily activities. :D:):D

will dream about the beaches when it's -20 this winter in WI.

EEEWWW. :eek: How do people even do day-to-day things when it's that cold? :D We dream of beaches, and get whiney, even when it is the wintertime 40's here in CA. Thanks max'smom, I noted your beach recommendations for next May. :D:):D

Wow. This is the best review I've ever read on here- and even better because it's my dear Serenade. I just love Simeon *sigh* But he's leaving the Serenade this month and after that there's no way to tell where he'll be, so I don't know if I'll ever get to sail with him again :( My second favorite CD Teamer was Omar. I think he'll be on there a while. Hopefully I'll get to cruise with him again at least!

 

I am DYING for the rest of your review because the Curacao itinerary is the one I cruised over Memorial Day! :)

Oh bummer. We really like Simeon... we were hoping that he would be the CD on on our cruise in May. :(

Jane' date='

 

Thank you for this EXCELLENT review and pictorial! It couldn't be more timely- Diane and I just signed up for a B2B on Serenade for next May! So I am definitely taking notes!!!

 

Keep the info and pictures coming, please!

 

Cheers,

Paul[/quote']

 

Great Review! Thanks for all the beach info and photos! :)

 

Paul, we will be onboard Serenade with you the 2nd week. May 22nd....it will be the first week of OUR B2B! We have a roll call started if you'd like to chime in. :D

They do switch, but he never did...he has been at the Schooner on all of our Explorer cruises. :eek:

Okay. :) Our crewmember friend switches to the our favorite bar on Serenade when we will be oboard. So I know what you mean. :D

Beautiful pictures! Thanks for sharing them. 45 days and counting. :)

 

Do you know if Christopher is bar tender @ the Schooner bar?

I think the bartenders switch bars every few weeks or after long cruises. That's why it is funny, when people say "Hi" to so and so at a particular bar. They move around to ALL of them including the Diamond & events and all the different bars on the ship.

Thanks Radio! Wonderful photos and live review. Your commentary is really enjoyable. :D:):D

We stayed on Rocky Point too, at the (formerly Radisson) Bay Harbor hotel. Even though these hotels don't advertise a shuttle to the cruise port....they all seemed to have one. The hotel shuttle driver was soliciting cruise passengers in the lobby as we were checking out. Best suggestion would be to call.

We rented a car from National, returned it at the airport. They had a free shuttle to the port. :)

Are you trying the link this evening? (Saturday night) Try it tomorrow, the website generally goes down for maintenance on Saturday evenings. :)

Most definitely you can ! Make sure that you leave your Next Cruise booking with Royal Caribbean when you make the deposit. Emphasize and underline the fact that you want to leave it with the cruise line instead of having it sent to your current TA. :D:):D

I think it might be easier for you to book your Next Cruise cruise of your choice and cabin, and then transfer it to the TA of your choice. That way, you have everything in place that you want...and you can interview TA's that might offer perks or provide benefits for your cruise.

That's great news Emmy. We have always done the shareholder's by email as well, and Linda Buchanan has always been VERY prompt with her reply. She is really a wonderful employee and a shining representative of Royal Caribbean. :D:):D

It should Emmy, if you can keep the same booking number. Keeping the same booking number is really important. I would ask them to be sure before the transfer is made. You will have to increase your deposit. :)

OK, I'm a bit confused as to what options I have (if any), so I'd be interested in some feedback...

 

During Dec '07 Serenade of the Seas cruise, both my wife and I purchased NextCruise for $200 for RCI (non-designated itinerary). It was my understanding at the time that by both of us paying for the NC, we would get twice the OBC. After all, we are a couple booking a single room and if we knew we only needed to pay $100 for one NC to get the full benefit rather than $200 for no extra benefit, we would have only paid $100.

 

We are looking at using the NC for a September 7-nt sailing (still debating which). We are shareholders intending to use shareholder credit. We also own C&A Visa, eventually intending to redeem for coupon to reduce cruisefare.

 

1. If what I read here is correct, we did not need to pay $200 NC, only $100, as our OBC will be $100 for a 7-nt cruise regardless of cabin type or the fact that we have prepaid $200 NC, correct? [or will we receive $200 OBC since we paid $200 NC and were told that it would work that way]Your OBC will be $100 for a seven night cruise. The $200 that you already paid will reduce your deposit to $300 (for a $500 deposit/7 nt. cruise)

2. Since our NC was purchased prior to 1/2009, we can combine with shareholder benefit, correct? Your booking will be combinable with shareholder's and balcony discounts and possibly coupons.

3. In any case, if our TA elects to provide us with on board credit, that should not conflict with either sharholder or NC program (i.e. TA $50 plus $100 shareholder plus $100 NC is combinable) It would not conflict with NC OBC.

4. Given the new restrictions on NC, can we use this to our advantage and specifically advise our TA to only use $100 of the $200 NC that we purchased for this cruise, leaving the $100 NC balance for a future cruise so we can combine with shareholder and other discounts, or is the 'reservation' stuck together as a single reservation even though we do not receive double the credit?No, unfortunately not. Your Next Cruise cerificate was issued with only one future booking number to be used

5. Are we forced to use the same TA designated when we purchased NC or can we use any TA and they can activate our NC? It depends on whether the booking was sent to the TA or not. Is there an agency name shown on the certificate? If your TA has it, you would have to convince the TA to release it back to Royal Caribbean so you could then transfer it to someone else.

6. Finally, they did say that NC was only for RCI but if we want to use our credit for Celebrity, is there ANY WAY to get it transferred to their program, it seems like a silly penalty to assess....Celebrity has their own future cruise program and they are not transferable, but you could always ask.

 

Thanks

Daniel

I think that is everything. :) I had a length issue with my reply. :D

I thought of a question, too. With the Next Cruise rule change....that "old" (pre 01/01/09) cerificates are eligible to be stacked with other discounts (except coupons). Does if anyone know if the friends & family certificates that are booked with that master booking will be eligible for the same benefits?

We just used our April '08 certificate to book a cruise and we are hopeful that our friends will also be allowed to combine the OBC and balcony discount when they book the same cruise. :)