Terre

I've searched the boards and can't find an answer...when bringing a small fan on board, does it have to be in your carry-on or can you leave it in your checked bag?

Every cruise line is different and you get different answers when you call them.

I tried logging in just now and had to change my password. It now comes up with my husband's name and info. Past cruises didn't show up until I put in his past guest number for both RCI and Celebrity. The RCI ones show up except for one, but not Celebrity's. It has our points correct, though. All info for our cruise next week is there, no problem with that.

I logged into Celebrity's website and it worked fine with the old user name and password.

I guess we'll just have to get used to it like we did Cruise Critic's new site...remember all the complaints and issues with that!

I emailed Richard Fain a couple years ago and got a response the same day from him personally. He also had two other executives get in touch with me that day I was blown away to say the least

Once I emailed Mr. Bailey I got an email the next day from someone else.

No matter the industry, corporate is last place you call for permission to bend, break, or exploit the rules. It’s just a fact of life.

 

 

 

Gregg

I wasn't asking to "bend or break the rules".

This is a very nice review. We enjoyed the ship and the cruise immensely and have booked another

cruise on this ship embarking Ded 10 2018:

 

Serenade Of The Seas

Departure Port: Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Ports of Call: Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Willemstad, Curacao; Oranjestad, Aruba; Kralendijk, Bonaire; Castries, St. Lucia; St. John's, Antigua; Fort Lauderdale, Florida

 

11 NIGHT SOUTHERN CARIBBEAN CRUISE

We've been to all of these except for Bonaire. I love Curacao! Enjoy your cruise.

Thanks for your review. We'll be on her in April. We've been to all the ports. We're going because we love to cruise.We've never been on Serenade, but we've been on Sister ship Radiance three times. Looking forward to a great cruise.

We booked for March 18 on the Serenade and that's coming up very quickly! We really like the Serenade and have been to all the ports except Ponce. You'll enjoy it...I like the size of it.

And I'm worried that all the people abusing the rules by bringing "Little Fluffy," with her fake service vest & fake documents as well as her poor behavior, will jeopardize the ability of people who need trained assistance dogs like the Veteran to bring them on a cruise.

That's exactly what I keep saying.

I would feel upset about that.

I have been reading this thread and never thought I could add anything that hasn't already been said, but I want to share a horrifying experience that happened early this morning that might make everyone think twice about critising others when you don't know the facts.

 

About 6:00 am our 5 pound Yorkie began barking like crazy and just wouldn't stop....running from one to the other. My husband was unconscious and having seizures caused by low blood sugar.......it was truly amazing how she sensed what was happening and alerted both of us. Thankfully the paramedics were able to revive him and he was back home from the ER in a few hours. Without her alert, the outcome would have been devastating.

 

We are still reeling and not sure if we can continue to travel. If we do, and you happen to see us with a tiny fluff ball named Baby, please feel free to ask what service she performs.....we will proudly share with you all of the details of how she is a diabetic/seizure alert dog and saved his life. Of course we will get her ADA certified and follow all of the rules.

And I have no problem with this whatsoever. Glad your husband is okay. I have type two diabetes also so I completely understand. And...you are following the rules to get her certified!

On our Serenade cruise this past December there was a Veteran with his service dog. The dog wore her service animal vest and stayed under his chair until given a command otherwise.

I thought all service animals behaved this way and that they all had to wear the official service animal vest. I have no problem with official service animals, it's the ones that are obviously not one and are treated like they deserve to be fed from the table.

You used that word “established”. Dress codes are suggested. I don’t think Royal has any dress codes that are now established. If they enforced their suggestions, it would no longer be a suggestion but a rule.

 

I wonder how many of these people that want to force dress up on others dress up at home?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Not many times/events that you can dress up at home. Is it so hard to do one or two nights for one week?

I believe what she said was that she wished the cruise lines would simply enforce their own established dress codes, not that they should enforce people to dress up.

 

Two entirely different things..

Exactly! I don't understand why some people have to always leave a smart a$$ comment. I'm saying it would be nice to go back to the days of one or two nights everyone dressed up a bit. There are so few times you get to do that at home. And I don't let what people wear ruin my cruise...I don't let anything ruin my cruises.

We have also gotten very casual ourselves for dinner, but do dress a little nicer on formal nights just not like the "old days".

I actually miss the days when everyone dressed nicely on cruises, especially formal nights. That made a cruise seem "special". These days it is like staying home and eating out. I wish all cruise lines would enforce the dress code in the MDR again.

Update: I received an e-mail last week from Nelson Frau of the Executive Offices letting me know that my e-mail had been forwarded to him from Mr. Bayley's office.

Over the weekend we booked with the Serenade for March and I sent my requests in to Special Needs with a copy to Mr. Frau.

Today I received an e-mail from Kaylee Contreras where she had contacted the ship and forwarded me their reply that they would supply what I requested. I also got a call today from Mr. Frau apologizing for all that went wrong in December and letting me know that the request DID reach the ship. He noted our upcoming March cruise and assured me that they are taking steps to make sure my needs are met for that cruise as well.

So, emailing Mr. Bayley was good advice, thank you everyone!

We get that from every cruise line and still get there by 11:00. I think they are trying to prevent long lines and everyone arriving at the same time.

Fabulous review and pictures. Thanks!

 

As a lover of good soup, I really appreciate your pics. But the most uplifting detail was your reference to the pumpkin seed rolls. We’re really glad that they are still around. Awesome!

The pumpkin seed rolls are very good. We didn't have a soup that we didn't like, they are all very good.

Mine now is black pants, black silk tank and a black sparkly jacket. I wear this on every formal night on every cruise. It's changed over the years, updating style and, yes, size! I wear the same clothes on every cruise and yet to run into someone who has seen me in that outfit on a prior cruise. Go ahead...wear that dress til it falls apart!

Freedom also will not punch card any more. Indy still does in the casino.

Wow...that's interesting. I thought all ships would punch it for you. Learn something every day!

Enjoyed reading your review. We have hump cabin 8102 for the April TA

Ontario Cruiser

You will enjoy that balcony. It's just a little bigger, but the both of us could sit on it with plenty of room left.

Some Ponce threads in the San Juan forum: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=131

Also check TripAdvisor.

Thanks for the link; I found a couple of decent threads with some info. I have checked TripAdvisor; just not finding a lot.

Google Ponce.

I did.

We just booked the Serenade for March and Ponce is one of the ports. I can't find anything about it on the boards, though.

What should we not miss?

I have all my cruise scrapbooks and folders when I stopped doing scrapbooks. I just can't throw them out. Now that there's Photobucket, I don't have pages of photos like I used to keep. I, too, have paper docs and airline stubs...goodness, things have changed in 37 cruises. I used to love getting my docs in the mail. Now I anxiously await that email telling me my docs are ready to print!

My husband and I have sailed on both Carnival and RCI...open my signature to see how many on each line. You are going to get answers that are personal preference. Personally, I like the food better on Carnival and entertainment better on RCI.

Other than that,. They are basically all the same. As someone said, you need to compare ships as the classes are different. We have been on all cruise lines when the passengers were older and when they were young and wild...I don't think any one line has a certain kind of clientele, with maybe the exception of Holland America. The type of clientele depends on the length of the cruise and the time of year.

I like both lines and I think you will, too. The cruise is what you make it.

In addition to the Eastern, Western, Southern Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, Alaska, and Hawaii, I forgot to mention Bermuda and the Bahamas. I loved Bermuda, it's really pretty.