Middle Aged Drama Queen's Eastern Med Review: Serenade, Pics, Surprises & Fun!

[jdvmd]

What is AARP eligible ???

 

You can become a card carrying member of AARP when either you or your spouse turns 50. I got a membership for my husband (much to his dismay) a month or two before he turned 5-0. As a spouse, I also got to be a member though I was only 44 at the time.

[Disney4Nonah]

Had a wonderful time reading your reveiw, I snuck looks at it at home and work over three days. I'm so ready to go Tomorrow...thank you for the detail..it helps so much in planning. :) you have a beautiful family

 

:p

[LifeIsButADream]

Hi Sherri....have read both of your reviews and hands down, they are the best and funniest on Cruise Critic! Your account of the purse alarm at the statue of David had me laughing out loud so hard, tears were streaming down my face!! I feel like I know your family and that you are all dear friends of mine!! :p Am going on the Freedom's Valentine Day Cruise next month, so made copious notes of all the things you did, both on the ship and your shore excursions. THANK YOU SO MUCH for taking the time and making the effort to produce such informative, hilarious, and heart-warming narratives...you have quite the writing talent and I look forward to your next adventure on the high seas!!

 

Love from Texas,

Barb

[LVinTennessee]

Silly question - what kind of shoes were you wearing (in pic from Barcelona as you are on your way to Tapas Tour)? It's a girl thing... ;)

[cruiseclues]

Thanks for your extensive and informative photo review. :)

 

We had poor or at best average food in the Explorer of the Seas 2/2012, and went on the Enchantment of the Seas 10/2012, which had the new RCI MDR Dinner menu, and the food was outstanding. I was anxious to hear about the Serenade as...For Large Cruise Ships Dining is Rated Number 1 by Cruise Critic Cruiser's Choice 2012. I believe this rating came out before we went on the Enchantment of the Seas, so perhaps the new MDR menu makes that much of a difference, though it seems unlikely. I'm thinking that the Enchantment of the Seas chefs are fairly good, and on our cruise, they only had to feed a 50% full cruise ship, & our great waiters may have also had a hand in the great food, by great suggestions, and selecting the best from the huge choices of the same dish in the galley.

[PathfinderEss]

Great review and wonderful pictures, thanks for posting.

[KansCocoa]

Hi Sherri,

I've enjoyed both of your reviews. Great job! Have you been back to Ft. Myers recently?

Cheers, George

 

Hi, George!

 

Actually, I'm in Ft. Myers as we speak!!! Came down here after the holidays to get some warmth...thanks for reading my review! :)

[KansCocoa]

Had a wonderful time reading your reveiw, I snuck looks at it at home and work over three days. I'm so ready to go Tomorrow...thank you for the detail..it helps so much in planning. :) you have a beautiful family

 

:p

 

I'm glad you enjoyed it! (And welcome to Cruise Critic, btw!)

 

I hope it does help with the planning; if you have a future trip coming up, I hope you have an amazing time - I know that we did! :)

[KansCocoa]

Hi Sherri....have read both of your reviews and hands down, they are the best and funniest on Cruise Critic! Your account of the purse alarm at the statue of David had me laughing out loud so hard, tears were streaming down my face!! I feel like I know your family and that you are all dear friends of mine!! :p Am going on the Freedom's Valentine Day Cruise next month, so made copious notes of all the things you did, both on the ship and your shore excursions. THANK YOU SO MUCH for taking the time and making the effort to produce such informative, hilarious, and heart-warming narratives...you have quite the writing talent and I look forward to your next adventure on the high seas!!

 

Love from Texas,

Barb

 

Aw, Barb - thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed both reviews...and believe me, my family STILL laughs hysterically when they reminisce about the David incident. In fact, my daughter recently had to do a speech in 7th-grade speech class - and she recounted the David incident!!!

[KansCocoa]

Silly question - what kind of shoes were you wearing (in pic from Barcelona as you are on your way to Tapas Tour)? It's a girl thing... ;)

 

Sorry it's taken me so long to respond - I've been recovering from the flu...NOT fun!!! :(

 

Anyway - those shoes I'm wearing in Barcelona...don't laugh, but they're called Get Lei'd....and they are from a company called Sanuk. I get them while here in Ft. Myers - they're great for the beach! And they are SUPER-DUPER comfortable! They're called Get Lei'd - because they have a tropical/Hawaiian theme.

[KansCocoa]

Thanks for your extensive and informative photo review. :)

 

I was anxious to hear about the Serenade as...For Large Cruise Ships Dining is Rated Number 1 by Cruise Critic Cruiser's Choice 2012. I believe this rating came out before we went on the Enchantment of the Seas, so perhaps the new MDR menu makes that much of a difference, though it seems unlikely. I'm thinking that the Enchantment of the Seas chefs are fairly good, and on our cruise, they only had to feed a 50% full cruise ship, & our great waiters may have also had a hand in the great food, by great suggestions, and selecting the best from the huge choices of the same dish in the galley.

 

As in most things, food can be so subjective...I found it average, for the most part, although there were some things that were really tasty....I could always find good food in the ports, though, so I was very happy! :)

[midwestchick]

I read about this trip report on our Celebrity Cruise roll call...and I have to admit I've spent hours today reading it and thoroughly enjoyed and loved all of it.

Sherri...you have done an amazing job and I applaude you and I've enjoyed every page...I know I will never write a review now...way too much competition for me. ;) I've learned so much and we will be visiting some of the same ports you did...some we did last year...and the Cit..Cita...Citave...lol....I had a heck of a time pronouncing that one.

I loved our Azamara cruise last year and it was port intensive and we're not spring chickens....one good thing, our upcoming cruise will have two sea days and we're doing the cruise tour option so hopefully we'll be able to rest up a bit before we sail. I don't plan on being idle once we are on the ship...I want to see as much as we can and will strive to do that...I'll look at what is offered as far as shore excursions with Celebrity but will also look at the companies you used. Thank you for posting all of them.

For you other ladies...I did find some shoes that are very lightweight and great for packing and even better for walking...Skechers Go Walk...they are wonderful and come in a variety of colors. They are not the most glamorous and I love my sandals and flip flops but they were wonderful for walking on the uneven cobbletstone pavement...and uphill and downhill walking.

For those of you that can afford to take a cruise like this and are putting it off...ask yourself..."how many times have you seen a U-haul behind a hearse ;) :D...puts it all in prospective.

[suzyluvs2cruise]

I just found this post tonight and know what I'll be doing tomorrow. We'll be on Serenade for b2b cruises in May and can't wait. I know your review will make me want to go now!! :)

[KansCocoa]

Yay! I'm glad you all found this review! I hope you enjoy it! :)

 

 

I JUST got off of the Allure of the Seas last week - and if I ever get my act together - I plan on writing an extensive review of it, as well....I have some interesting observations, considering I booked it at the very last minute (four days before sailing - yikes!) and I cruised SOLO (yowza!)!!!

 

I've had to travel this week, due to a death in the family - but now that things are settling down - I will get to writing the new review - where the Middle Aged Drama Queen goes BIG!!! ;)

[RicardoC]

 

 

I JUST got off of the Allure of the Seas last week - and if I ever get my act together - I plan on writing an extensive review of it, as well....I have some interesting observations, considering I booked it at the very last minute (four days before sailing - yikes!) and I cruised SOLO (yowza!)!!!

 

I've had to travel this week, due to a death in the family - but now that things are settling down - I will get to writing the new review - where the Middle Aged Drama Queen goes BIG!!! ;)

 

I'm sorry for your loss :/

I happened to "stop by" to check when we'd have another review from you and find out you were on Allure! And solo! I'm still working on my summer review and you're going for the 3rd since then; I should be ashamed :p well can't wait for another great one!

[alaska_planner]

We left off with us on our way to pick up the key to our apartment…and wondering if the apartment would measure up to what it was advertised as online…

 

Although the apartment itself is located about a block or two from Las Ramblas (it was actually right behind the famous La Boqueria, the market)…we had to travel to a different address in the city to pick up the key. Thankfully, Carlos got us there safely, and Hubby Michael and I hopped out to go check-in.

 

It wasn’t quite 3:00 pm yet…perhaps about 1:30 pm…but we were all so tired, I was praying that it would be ready. If it wasn’t, I was prepared to nap on a park bench under the beautiful blue skies of Barcelona at this point. As we were checking in, the girl behind the counter basically did one of those, “I have good news…and I have bad news” thingy.

 

Oh, great. I hate those thingies. Because no matter what, the paltering “good news” NEVER makes up for whatever bad news they’re getting ready to throw at you. Ever.

 

The good news? The apartment was ready.

 

The bad news? The apartment wasn’t quite ready.

 

Huh???!!!

 

“Well,” the girl continues…”It’s ready as far as being cleaned and all….But…we have a problem.”

 

“What problem?” I ask, suspiciously. I’m too exhausted for problems….

 

“Weeeeellllll….” She hesitantly goes on. “There’s a slight leak in one of the bathrooms…it’s probably no big deal.”

 

Well. This is curious. I’m interested to see if HER idea of “no big deal” and MY idea of “no big deal” are compatible. Or anywhere close.

 

“I’ve called a maintenance guy in to check it out…but you won’t be able to use that bathroom.”

 

Whew. No big deal…the apartment has another 1.5 bathrooms…we should be fine. Right?

 

We head over to the apartment, quickly unload all of our stuff from the van, bid Carlos a fond adieu, and lug all of our stuff up three flights of stairs to the first floor. (I’ll never understand why three flights up is considered the “first” floor in Europe, but that’s a whole nother subject for another day.) Yes, there was an elevator…but the elevator was lucky to hold one suitcase with one person, so it was quicker to just take the stairs. They must have used those anorexic models when configuring that elevator...it was TINY.

 

The apartment is…nice. It’s certainly not a 5-star resort, but for our needs, it’s sufficient. It’s clean. It’s spacious. And it has beds.

 

It actually has more than beds; it has a nice living room/salon:

 

 

 

 

With a basic kitchen (not like I’m planning on cooking, though – I AM on vacation, after all!):

 

 

 

 

A master bedroom:

 

 

 

And three smaller bedrooms – giving each kid their own space:

 

 

 

A full two-and-a-half bathrooms, and we are living in luxury. Although one bathroom is temporarily out of service…what with the leak and all.

 

 

Before collapsing in our respective beds, we realize that the apartment is…hot. As in stuffy…and…well…hot. We fiddle with the a/c, but can’t get it to kick on…and yes, we had remembered to insert our key into the thingy so that the power works (a European thing). A call to the apartment manager is in order. She cheerfully replies, “Oh…the maintenance man has turned the air off to the building while he figures out your leak.”

 

At this point, I’m too exhausted to care about a lack of air-conditioning…so off to our respective beds we go…the bed is comfortable, the street sounds are comforting, and I’m just about to nod off to dreamland, when suddenly, BANG! BANG! BANG!

 

Whah??!! I groggily snap wide awake, a bit disoriented, trying to figure out what that sound was. Oh…someone’s pounding on our apartment door. Looking over at Hubby, and seeing that he's dead to the world (of course he is), it is up to me to go see who’s there. And it’s the maintenance guy – of course it is – and he’s NOW ready to come into the apartment to fix the leak in our bathroom. Of course he is.

 

He speaks no English - my brain is too tired to speak Spanish so I let him in – motion to the bathroom in question – and amble back to bed. Oh, blessed bed…blessed sleep…here I come.

 

A little later, I’m just about there – to dreamland – when suddenly, BANG! BANG! BANG!

 

Whah??!! AGAIN???!!! Are you KIDDING me??!!

 

Hubby is still dead to the world, so sighing, I head back to the apartment door. This time, it’s the apartment cleaning lady – wondering if the bathroom has been fixed and is ready to be cleaned. We both go investigate, and there’s still ceiling tiles everywhere, a mop, bucket, and water on the floor. And no maintenance guy in sight. Huh.

 

We look at each other…shrug…and she promises to return when the bathroom is fixed. Not wanting another interruption, I assure that I can live with the bathroom as is.

 

I shuffle back to bed, collapse on the mattress, and close my eyes one more time, hoping for just a few zzzzz’s before our evening tapas tour. I’m just about to the point where visions of sugar plums are dancing in my head, when…wait for it…here it comes:

 

BANG! BANG! BANG!

 

Are you freakin’ KIDDING me???!!!! Am I being punk’d??!!!

 

Stalking angrily to the door, I about rip it off the hinges, only to find the aforementioned missing maintenance man…he’s very sorry, but he had to leave earlier to get a necessary part. Sigh. Of course he did.

 

After ensconcing him in the bathroom, and crawling back to bed, I manage to nod off to dreamland. Finally.

 

Sigh. Sleep never felt so good.

 

I have approximately 45 minutes before we must get up and get ready for our Tapas tour…and I wonder…

 

Will I make it? Will I wake up in time? Will the leaky bathroom EVER get fixed? Will people EVER stop banging on our door? And will I EVER get some sleep????

 

as someone who lives on the barcelona side of the pond, i have to say that this is an absolutely lovely apartment!!!!!!! and huge!!!!!

and you call that a basic kitchen?????? that's a fantastic kitchen!!!!!

i'm not a big fan of barcelona, so i don't need the details, but you definitely did a great job finding a gem like that!! (and with such quick service to take care of problems - that's amazing!!)

 

anyway, i've started reading this review (while waiting for the allure updates! :D )...

i'm really enjoying it !!

[alaska_planner]

Friends and chocolate...you can never have too much or too many! :)

 

Amen to that!!! :)

[KansCocoa]

as someone who lives on the barcelona side of the pond, i have to say that this is an absolutely lovely apartment!!!!!!! and huge!!!!!

and you call that a basic kitchen?????? that's a fantastic kitchen!!!!!

i'm not a big fan of barcelona, so i don't need the details, but you definitely did a great job finding a gem like that!! (and with such quick service to take care of problems - that's amazing!!)

 

anyway, i've started reading this review (while waiting for the allure updates! :D )...

i'm really enjoying it !!

 

Hey - any kitchen that doesn't provide a chef that cooks for me, as well as a butler that serves it to me, and a maid who cleans for me - is basic. (I'm being snarky - DON'T take me serious!!) :p

 

It was a GREAT apartment; we loved it...plenty of room to stretch out - and the price was great, too!

 

I'm glad you're enjoying this review...it's a long one, so I hope you have lots of spare time on your hands.

[MomtoCCC]

Sherri

 

What a wonderful review!! I've spent the last 3 days reading through it all. Someone else asked but I didn't see a definitive answer.. Did you pull all of this into a separate document or page? I would love for my Dh to read this but not sure he will go through all the comments (although there are some good tips there)

 

I'm off to read your Freedom Review next. Wish I had seen that one before. We just go off our Freedome cruise last week and we had a GREAT time. I want to see how the mother/daughter cruise went since I'm planning one with my dd for next Feb (5 night Liberty of the Seas). I think I'm going to make it a surprise for her 10th birthday (which is in December). I'm planning on having the "Becoming a woman" talk while on this trip :eek: 10 seems so young but after seeing pics of your 12 yo, I know I need to do it soomer rather than later...

 

Thanks again for a great review. I've saved the link to your web-page for future planning purposes :)

Edited February 10, 2013 by MomtoCCC

[KansCocoa]

Sherri

 

What a wonderful review!! I've spent the last 3 days reading through it all. Someone else asked but I didn't see a definitive answer.. Did you pull all of this into a separate document or page? I would love for my Dh to read this but not sure he will go through all the comments (although there are some good tips there)

 

I'm off to read your Freedom Review next. Wish I had seen that one before. We just go off our Freedome cruise last week and we had a GREAT time. I want to see how the mother/daughter cruise went since I'm planning one with my dd for next Feb (5 night Liberty of the Seas). I think I'm going to make it a surprise for her 10th birthday (which is in December). I'm planning on having the "Becoming a woman" talk while on this trip :eek: 10 seems so young but after seeing pics of your 12 yo, I know I need to do it soomer rather than later...

 

Thanks again for a great review. I've saved the link to your web-page for future planning purposes :)

 

Hi - and thank you! I'm glad you were able to slog through this review...!

 

Unfortunately, I haven't put it together in a condensed form without the comments; it's on my "to-do" list, but I just haven't found the time yet. I need to do that...maybe after I finish the Allure review!

 

Yes - you need to read the Freedom review, as it was a surprise trip for MY daughter! She had no clue...and yes, 10 is not too young, for sure! Good luck with it - I hope it goes well....both the cruise AND the talk. :D

[flannbarr]

Been reading your Allure review since I will be sailing her 3/31/13. Then I found this Med review because I am considering this same cruise in July 2014. It is between this itinerary and the Carnival sailing which is more Italy intensive. I am leaning toward RCCL and am anxiously awaiting the release of the 2014 schedule. I am hoping my wife and 11 and 19 year old boys will enjoy Europe potentially on the Serenade if tha happens to be the ship. They have been pretty spoiled on the Oasis and soon the Allure but also went on a mid size ship for Alaska. To me it seems that Europe is not about the ship but the destination.

Edited February 10, 2013 by flannbarr

[skittl1321]

I started reading your allure review and while waiting for more updates I've read your other two. Absolutely fabulous- both sound like great cruises.

 

A European cruise sure seems tiring!

 

Thus far, I've stuck with Carnival as the prices have been lower when I've looked, but am now really wanting to do a Baltic cruise- so I'm looking at Vision. If it is half as exhausting as this cruise sounded, I'm not sure I can make it!

 

Question: Did you feel the Royal Suite was 'worth it' on such a port intensive cruise? Now, we won't book that high, but I'm wondering if I should go balcony or oceanview, and if it matters since we'll be out in ports so much of the time, and dead asleep the rest!

[Venusleo1]

Just wanted to see how the last week for you has been in sunny south florida... ohh you werent here? Well it sure seemes like I just spent a whole week with you!!

 

I started your Allure Review and read as far as you have posted, then hoped over to the Freedom and finished the entire review, then hoped over here and just finished this review.

 

I have literally spent the last week with you, so I hope you enjoyed your trip! hahahaha

 

Thanks so much for the great entertainment!!! Looking forward to the rest of your Allure review!!!

 

YOU ROCK!

[Ocean Spirit]

I can't believe I've gone through all these pages! We had a great cruise on the Med in 2011 and I thought we had done a lot... but, boy there is som much more I'd love to see and do.

 

We are taking the Serenade in Dec. for a 9 day out of New Orleans. I found our cruise on the Med (was a NCL not RCI) had less activities etc.

I do hope there is a new CD. If you get a good one it just adds to the cruise and enjoyment.

 

Thanks for the very entertaining and informative review. Makes me wish I had $10,000 to go and do the same trip.

[gbntmom]

I just stumbled across your review & can't wait to read all of it. I am looking at taking dd (18 yo at the time of the cruise) in early summer of 2014 as a graduation present.

Just from your first entry, I can tell that we are kindred souls - the planners, organizers, anal-retentive ones of our families. The agony we endure to create such special memories for them ;) Of course, I LOVE spending time doing this while the rest of the fam just pokes fun at me.

Oh well, getting comfy to read your reviews!

Janet