island lady

Ooooh...yes yes please!! We did the 3 week European Sojourn last year. Loved it! But really want to do the Bordeaux wine cruise next like you are doing. Have three ocean (Orion/Venus), and two Expedition(Octantis) cruises lined up before I book that however.

Ahhh...sadly (but not really 😉 ) I have since retired 15 years ago. I still love my wines and will jump on every wine tour we can get. Lucky the DH loves to do so ......and loves wine as well. 🥰

Hmmm...I would not suggest getting on Serenade then. There are indeed things neglected, even before the ship left for her 274 days from Miami...it's unreal. Including several broken windows, one elevator that is still not running, VCL door slider not working and out of operation, pipes bursting...etc. Will be interesting to see what else is broken when I rejoin in Barcelona for 4th quarter. 😮 Or what has actually been repaired. 😉

Aww...I still have sample glasses from Freemark Abby and Grgich Hills! Beautiful wineries! I worked as a wine distributor for northern California wines to restaurants in my county here in Florida. Wonderful career...great samples to enjoy. 😉 And I still love my wine....I don't drink other alcoholic drinks except wine. Such a wino I am. 🍷😄

Indeed the picture and description is Evian...but when we get our complimentary C&A bottles...it's the ship brand or equivalent which I am fine with. We get a large bottle of Evian (that I don't drink) when we check into our cabin (GS). I used to order the 1/2 case of water, which was the ship brand. I wish there was a choice that we could order the ship brand instead of Evian.

OMG...that is for sure!! What is it with the high volume at the shows and events now? Do they think we are all deaf? DH has hearing aids he takes out, and still too loud for him. Getting worse all the time. Maybe they think loud makes it seem more talented! 🤪 I have started taking soft earplugs with me to each show...and have had to use them 90% of the time.

Totally agree. Our upcoming stay next month at a winery guest house, adding in vehicle rental, visiting fees, food purchase (to cook ourselves) restaurant visits, beverages, etc..etc...add up to more than a cruise for that amount of time for us.

Interesting observations...thanks all. I did not have the SS package on our 3 week Viking river last year. Did I miss it...sort of...but could have bought one by one if we so desired. The allure of not having to nickel and dime the thought process is appealing, anyway...making it more of an "all inclusive". I have the package for our 45 night B2B Aussie/NZ adventure on Venus and Orion early next year. Will compare that experience as to if we need it on the B2B Great Lakes and NW passage on Octantis later in the year.

I keep forgetting to use my left over vouchers for bottles of water. Though I have simply been asking for couple of bottles of water at the bar in the SL...and always give them a cash tip. They have not been charging my vouchers. I used to like ordering a 12 pack of water sent to the cabin...but they are listing Evian as the choice...of which I really don't like. Makes me wonder if it is indeed Evian they are sending to the cabins...if not, I will go back to ordering the water to have waiting in the cabin when we check in. Easier than schlepping it onto the ship.

Nothing wrong with popping into the Crown Lounge early in the morning for coffee though. 🙂 I think it was on Wonder (or maybe Harmony) they had two coffee machines in there, versus just the one in the SL.

Very popular place on Serenade World Cruise. 🙂 We like the bar seats along the wall facing out.

Agree indeed. The fried overcooked apps...just not our thing. I bring a simple little plate over to Bucky at the bar for us to share of various cheeses to pleases. 😉 Sometimes they have some nuts, and some dried fruit...which are a good combo.

We as well, especially if it is in "the bilge" on deck 4 as a windowless large closet on most of the Oasis class ships. 😕 IMHO...There are just too many interesting lounges around the ship not to enjoy a "bar crawl". 😉

Mmm...good cheese when we were on 3 weeks ago. Bucky especially likes the "stinky cheese"...AKA blue cheese chunks. 😉

Wow...really beautiful. Thanks again for sharing! Wish we were still with you, thanks for letting us be "virtual cruisers" with you. 🥰

By now that is some pretty old barf...not to mention the kid is four years older. 😉

Thanks! I will be back on the last quarter (62 nights) out of Barcelona back to Miami. Plan on revving up my experience and observations pictures/posts from on onboard again, and showing the daily location reports. 🙂

OMG...awful! Will the chef's refund my money?!! 😄 😄

OK...found it. This link to the forum might be a better place to follow the activities and post the pictures. 😉

Indeed it does help to get a sense of par of what you will need when we are on these longer trips. The only thing I ran out of, and had to buy in port was Q-tips. 😉

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing and updating the World Cruise Serenade location and experiences! 🥰

Thanks. We are also big fans of the local Paella...sooo good! 😋

At this point in our age....having everything "all inclusive" has an appeal to us. Cost smart...maybe not, .....but Viking is not a bargain discount line anyway. 😉 We prefer higher end wines. Three drinks a day all through the day for us...not a problem. Not interested in splitting hairs and the taking out a calculator for price of each drink. Eh..... 🙃

The filet mignon at Giovannis is just as good as Chops...and sometimes better. 😉

I have been to Coco Cay when there was 4 ships...but it was during the pandemic days. They were taking turns at docking and leaving ......early in the morning loading and off loading crew members to different ships. The waiting ships just floating off to the side of the two ships. There were actually 3 Oasis class ships there at once. And of course little Rhapsody which was the ship they used to guarantee covid positive crew members. But normally....no...only 2 ships at once.