🌐Serenade Ultimate World Cruise - 17 leg breakdown

[John&LaLa]

21 minutes ago, jldev said:

Oh yes please, that would be great thanks 🙂

 

 

 

[jldev]

We just booked on the Singapore to Dubai cruise because, even though not having a balcony will be hard (we have become very accustomed to having one), the itinerary is fantastic as it ticks off several new places for us.  It will be strange boarding a ship where all the passengers already know each other! 

[pattle66s]

I've booked:
 

Hong Kong - Beijing, March 27 - April 8

Beijing - Singapore, April 8 - April 24

 

I would have loved the South America segments but the Christmas timing doesn't suit us.  I hope one day we can do the full WC but we have many years before retirement.

This is our first cruise without taking the kids (they are officially adults now 😄)

 

Edited April 17, 2023 by pattle66s

[Biker19]

2 minutes ago, pattle66s said:

I hope one day we can do the full WC but we have many years before retirement.

Welcome to CC and coming out of lurk mode.

It will likely be a while before RCI ever offers another.

[pattle66s]

1 minute ago, Biker19 said:

Welcome to CC and coming out of lurk mode.

It will likely be a while before RCI ever offers another.

I did notice it says it was my first post which is weird as I used to be quite active on cruise critic.  

[Biker19]

3 minutes ago, pattle66s said:

I did notice it says it was my first post which is weird as I used to be quite active on cruise critic.  

Perhaps under another account or the CC admins deleted all your previous posts.

[lovesthebeach2]

On 4/15/2023 at 7:58 AM, island lady said:

 

Our friend and neighbor, one block down in the RV section (we are in the house section).   Lost his right leg.  Very sad.  His wife pulled him out of the Gators mouth.   He is recovering in the trauma center.  

I read it in the Orlando Sentinel. Such sad news, but thankfully he survived! 

[lovesthebeach2]

On 4/16/2023 at 7:52 AM, Jimbo said:

Please explain the big picture then, I'm sure  I'm not the only one reading this thread then who isn't grasping the big picture.

From what you said earlier seems to be a lot of you that aren't happy with the prices you are all paying. Is there any discussion of any kind with Royal you guys can do to be more fairly treated? or are you guys just accepting it ?

 

You all could buy this t-shirt and walk around the ship with it on. 🤣

 

 

This is my last post on this matter since it seems to be upsetting some on this thread.

Jimbo, please don’t be offended by what I’m going to say, but you seem to post only negatives about this cruise on this thread and I’m not even aware you’re booked on it.
 

Why can’t you post some of the positives? This cruise is going to many places that most people have never had the option to cruise to in the past. Yes it’s expensive, like everything else these days. But this will be a once in a lifetime experiance for many people, but you only seem to see the negative. I’m a glass half full person.

[delmom18]

10 hours ago, jldev said:

We just booked on the Singapore to Dubai cruise because, even though not having a balcony will be hard (we have become very accustomed to having one), the itinerary is fantastic as it ticks off several new places for us.  It will be strange boarding a ship where all the passengers already know each other! 

My sister and I were discussing that last night.  She thought by the time partial cruisers came on board, the others might be glad for new people to talk with.  We're still in talks if we'll cruise or not.

 

[jacobtsf]

On the off chance that we do decide to book one of the summer legs, is there a way to know which 3 person interior or ocean view rooms have a sofa bed instead of a pullman bed (other than trying to google each room individually)?

[island lady]

1 hour ago, lovesthebeach2 said:

I read it in the Orlando Sentinel. Such sad news, but thankfully he survived! 

 

He is doing well, and in surprisingly good spirits.  We just passed his wife walking their dog a few minutes ago.  She was pretty freaked out originally, understandably.  

[island lady]

1 hour ago, lovesthebeach2 said:

Jimbo, please don’t be offended by what I’m going to say, but you seem to post only negatives about this cruise on this thread and I’m not even aware you’re booked on it.
 

Why can’t you post some of the positives? This cruise is going to many places that most people have never had the option to cruise to in the past. Yes it’s expensive, like everything else these days. But this will be a once in a lifetime experiance for many people, but you only seem to see the negative. I’m a glass half full person.

 

No, he is not on this cruise...but for some reason started the roll call.   

[Russ Lomas]

8 hours ago, jacobtsf said:

On the off chance that we do decide to book one of the summer legs, is there a way to know which 3 person interior or ocean view rooms have a sofa bed instead of a pullman bed (other than trying to google each room individually)?

try the deck plans on cruisemapper.com.  They seem to show more detail than the RCCL deck plans on their website. (see the bottom of the image pasted below for the legend)

 

 

[Russ Lomas]

I feel badly for those who have booked this cruise at the very high asking price for the original longer legs.  I really have no idea of what percentage of cabins RCCL were able to book at those rates.  We would have loved to do them, but the price and time off work could not be done at this point in our lives.

 

We are very glad that RCCL has started selling shorter legs so that people such as us are able to join on a few shorter legs.  We are so excited to be able to travel with RCCL to many ports we have only dreamed of visiting one day.  We are loyal to Royal, but are so tired with the same old Caribbean ports they keep visiting over and over and over.

 

I know that those who booked the long segments got a lot of perks included in the price and got prime choice of cabins, but it would be nice if prices have been chopped as much as others have reported here if there were some additional perks RCCL could add (you know they would not reduce the rates that were agreed to in the cruise contract).

[mugtech]

Just noticed the WC will be in Manila from 10:30AM until 11:00PM. Anyone interested in WWII history would probably enjoy a boat trip out to Corregador island.  The island is just like 1945, all the monkeys which were eaten during the 1942 siege have been replaced. The original cannons are still in place, with plates on them such as Bethlehem Steel, 1907.

[cello56]

I know this is a bit off topic, but I had a few questions for those on the entire trip.

 

How do you get refills for your medications?

What are you doing with your pets?

Do you have to put special plans in place for being away from your homes for so long? 

Routine medical care during that 9 month period? 

[John&LaLa]

1 hour ago, cello56 said:

I know this is a bit off topic, but I had a few questions for those on the entire trip.

 

How do you get refills for your medications?

What are you doing with your pets?

Do you have to put special plans in place for being away from your homes for so long? 

Routine medical care during that 9 month period? 

 

Most are stocking up early, getting vacation over rides, or buying out of pocket through plans like GoodRX. You can also request Royal has meds available. Some are getting refills in Hawaii as well.

 

Bell will vacation at the beach as usual

 

Prepping house isn't much different than what Snowbirds typicall do. Good neighbors are a godsend

 

Royal seems to be bringing additional medical personnel. Dentistry will not be available 

[The sea calls my name]

6 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Most are stocking up early, getting vacation over rides, or buying out of pocket through plans like GoodRX. You can also request Royal has meds available. Some are getting refills in Hawaii as well.

 

Bell will vacation at the beach as usual

 

Prepping house isn't much different than what Snowbirds typicall do. Good neighbors are a godsend

 

Royal seems to be bringing additional medical personnel. Dentistry will not be available 

I wonder if they need any addiitonal nurses🤫

[Cayman Turtle]

Booked the Amsterdam to Miami leg. One of the stops is our home port. 🙂

[sgmn]

8 hours ago, Cayman Turtle said:

Booked the Amsterdam to Miami leg. One of the stops is our home port. 🙂

That sounds like a wonderful leg. We were looking at it, but it's over our g/sons birthday and do we reluctantly decided against it

[marquisite]

On 4/14/2023 at 6:14 AM, John&LaLa said:

 

Did you get the 10% discount

Hi John&LaLa, currently onboard Ovation and NextCruise won't honour the 10% discount for mini segments without a world cruise booking number from a family or 'friend' 😕.

 

Has anyone had any luck on other ships? Not sure if it is just Ovation requiring an existing world cruise booking number to combine NextCruise and WC F&F 10%.

[sgmn]

5 minutes ago, marquisite said:

Hi John&LaLa, currently onboard Ovation and NextCruise won't honour the 10% discount for mini segments without a world cruise booking number from a family or 'friend' 😕.

 

Has anyone had any luck on other ships? Not sure if it is just Ovation requiring an existing world cruise booking number to combine NextCruise and WC F&F 10%.

When you book on website it gives thediscount if you put in promo code. I didn't actually end the booking as I wanted to use 'Tesco Vouchers' in part payment (a UK supermarket loyalty scheme) and you have to ring up for that. The agent on phone said I couldn't use both vouchers and discount code

[cruisegirl1]

17 hours ago, delmom18 said:

My sister and I were discussing that last night.  She thought by the time partial cruisers came on board, the others might be glad for new people to talk with.  We're still in talks if we'll cruise or not.

 

Years ago we took the third of a three segment repositioning cruise. Each leg was 15 days so by the time we came on board, most passengers had been together for 30 days. We were told that only 30% of the passengers came off/on at our boarding.  We noticed lots of cliques and also passengers avoiding others. We felt like an outsider most of the time. Even the CD referenced happenings from the previous legs when making his comments.

m

 

 

 

 

[pstone1]

56 minutes ago, cruisegirl1 said:

Years ago we took the third of a three segment repositioning cruise. Each leg was 15 days so by the time we came on board, most passengers had been together for 30 days. We were told that only 30% of the passengers came off/on at our boarding.  We noticed lots of cliques and also passengers avoiding others. We felt like an outsider most of the time. Even the CD referenced happenings from the previous legs when making his comments.

m

 

 

 

 

I always laugh and think of high school when I see that type of behavior on the ship!  

[island lady]

I am only on 1/2 of the WC...but am happy breaking it up into two sections, first 1/4 and last.  Gives us a chance for "catch up"....before we catch back up to the ship in Barcelona.  

 

It works for us with each leg being 62 nights.  Simply getting fresh overstock of meds before we leave, and have neighbor 2 doors down that makes a living taking care of community homes when owners are away and keeps a key to our house. 

 

Pets......sigh, that is one of the big reasons we are booking these longer adventures, since our sweet girls have since passed into fur baby heaven 4 years ago.  We remain pet less, but still miss them so much. 

 

Medical care is actually quite good on deck one when you need it for emergencies...I know for sure.  😉