World "shakedown" cruise on Serenade starting next week (Semi-Live Review)

[orville99]

1 hour ago, Biker19 said:

Hmmmm......will RCI turn it back into a cabin after the WC or just charge for using it? Which makes them more money?

 

1 hour ago, island lady said:

 

That picture is the only time I will see it.  😉  

 

Looks like an employee prep closet?  

They were never staterooms. They were (and will be again) crew areas where there is an existing water/plumbing/drain infrastructure in place. If I'm not mistaken, the large piece of equipment in the back that is covered with a white cover is the existing ice machine for that side of the corridor.

 

I showed the pictures to DW and her first comment was where is the ladder so I can get to the controls for the dryers?😇

Edited December 7, 2023 by orville99

[Jimbo]

25 minutes ago, orville99 said:

Checked bags go in a baggage car. Unlike airlines, they do not have a weight limit, only a size limit and one bag weighed 67 pounds, one weighed 43 pounds and the lightest one weighed 27 pounds.

 

You can have one carry on each, and the size limit is quite liberal, so two of the bags we checked could have been rolled on (unfortunately we had 5 bags total, so three would have to be checked anyway.

I guess there is a big difference then the Amtrak we went on, we had like 20 stops, there would be no way to have bags in a luggage car because most of the stops are only 2 or 3 minutes long.

No weight limit on our train, they just said whatever you bring on the train you have to manage it yourself, there is no one on the train to help you either on or off the train.

 

Took 8 hours and 30 minutes , about 500 miles, longest stop is a 1/2 hour in Washington when the switch the engine to electric from diesel.

 

There is like 12  total cars, 1 business car, 1 cafe car, 10 coach cars and the Engine.

 

So I guess yours was a nonstop to Orlando? to have a baggage car.

Edited December 7, 2023 by Jimbo

[island lady]

33 minutes ago, orville99 said:

 

They were never staterooms. They were (and will be again) crew areas where there is an existing water/plumbing/drain infrastructure in place. If I'm not mistaken, the large piece of equipment in the back that is covered with a white cover is the existing ice machine for that side of the corridor.

 

I showed the pictures to DW and her first comment was where is the ladder so I can get to the controls for the dryers?😇

 

Uh-oh...limited ice deliveries now.  😄 

[cruisin from florida]

On 12/4/2023 at 8:09 AM, orville99 said:

Just morning people I guess😇. 

We loved the new mattresses as well. I wonder how much more comfortable they will feel once they add the mattress toppers for the WC folks (presuming that they are actually doing that).

 

One thing I think will come in handy on the WC is that these are true two-sided mattresses so they can be flipped over whenever they start to wear in.

The new mattresses are great!!! I so wish they'd do this fleet-wide. My friend has not had to use the mattress topper she brought.

[SummerBeee]

5 hours ago, cruisin from florida said:

The new mattresses are great!!! I so wish they'd do this fleet-wide. My friend has not had to use the mattress topper she brought.

My husband said the new mattresses are hard. We like ours on the softer side. I’m hoping to get a topper for our cabin
I wish the mattresses on Wonder were fleet wide, so comfortable 

[cruisin from florida]

1 hour ago, SummerBeee said:

My husband said the new mattresses are hard. We like ours on the softer side. I’m hoping to get a topper for our cabin
I wish the mattresses on Wonder were fleet wide, so comfortable 

They are WAY softer than some of the flattened bricks that have been called mattresses on other ships, but definitely on the firm side. If you need a plushy pillow top feel, bringing a topper is a good idea.

[ZoeyVictoria]

Brightline offer on Travelzoo today:

 

 

[ZoeyVictoria]

We debarked this morning from the last Serenade sailing before the WC.  Left the cabin at 7:50, got to the car 1 hour and 54 minutes later. “Technical issues” with the terminal, extremely long, slow lines, and no facial recognition. Finally made it outside the terminal and were surprised that we didn’t see the parking garage. We had to ask to find out that we were at Terminal E, not G where we embarked. We were told to go across the street and wait for a bus to be taken to the parking garage. “A bus should be there every 30 minutes or so.”  We walked instead.  About twenty minutes, past the terminal with thousands of people from the Carnival Celebration, then the Independence in G, where we expected to be. At 11:20, I noticed a text from Royal from one hour earlier, stating “There has been a change…”.   Apparently the painters busily painting the outside of the ship had more notice than we did. 
 

 

 

 

Edited December 9, 2023 by ZoeyVictoria

[island lady]

39 minutes ago, ZoeyVictoria said:

We debarked this morning from the last Serenade sailing before the WC.  Left the cabin at 7:50, got to the car 1 hour and 54 minutes later. “Technical issues” with the terminal, extremely long, slow lines, and no facial recognition. Finally made it outside the terminal and were surprised that we didn’t see the parking garage. We had to ask to find out that we were at Terminal E, not G where we embarked. We were told to go across the street and wait for a bus to be taken to the parking garage. “A bus should be there every 30 minutes or so.”  We walked instead.  About twenty minutes, past the terminal with thousands of people from the Carnival Celebration, then the Independence in G, where we expected to be. At 11:20, I noticed a text from Royal from one hour earlier, stating “There has been a change…”.   Apparently the painters busily painting the outside of the ship had more notice than we did. 
 

 

 

 

 

I was also surprised to see her sitting at T#E  this morning.  Did not realize you were all coming in today.  

 

I wonder if she will move to G in the morning?  

[RFerrington]

We were disembarked from E once when we had embarked at G.  Can’t recall which ship.  They also told us there would be a bus….which never showed, so we just walked.  It’s not really that far.  What a PITA.  Hopefully Serenade will be at G as expected.

[island lady]

1 minute ago, RFerrington said:

We were disembarked from E once when we had embarked at G.  Can’t recall which ship.  They also told us there would be a bus….which never showed, so we just walked.  It’s not really that far.  What a PITA.  Hopefully Serenade will be at G as expected.

 

At least we don't have to worry about finding our car parked when Serenade gets back to whatever terminal they will use in September.  😉 

[ZoeyVictoria]

11 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

I was also surprised to see her sitting at T#E  this morning.  Did not realize you were all coming in today.  

 

I wonder if she will move to G in the morning?  

Royal did not even provide info about the sailing we were on 🙄. I don’t know which terminal would be better. We got to G on Tuesday at 12:30, due to our extended tour of the highways in Miami. The entire ship’s system was down, so we waited in line for a while before entering the gangway.  While we were standing there, one of the terminal employees mentioned that they “didn’t complete debark until noon”. I don’t know how that was possible, though, because the line we were in wasn’t that long and there were a huge number of people on board. I asked one of the terminal E employees if it always took as long as it did this morning and she said, “Every time.”  
 

If nothing else, this has strengthened our position of no more Miami cruises. 

[ZoeyVictoria]

9 minutes ago, RFerrington said:

We were disembarked from E once when we had embarked at G.  Can’t recall which ship.  They also told us there would be a bus….which never showed, so we just walked.  It’s not really that far.  What a PITA.  Hopefully Serenade will be at G as expected.

The temperature was about 76 and it was sunny, so it wouldn’t have been a bad walk if it wasn’t for the five pieces of luggage (another cruise tomorrow, so more than the usual amount for four nights) and the number of people from the Celebration blocking the sidewalk. 

[Saab4444]

1 hour ago, ZoeyVictoria said:

We debarked this morning from the last Serenade sailing before the WC.  Left the cabin at 7:50, got to the car 1 hour and 54 minutes later. “Technical issues” with the terminal, extremely long, slow lines, and no facial recognition. Finally made it outside the terminal and were surprised that we didn’t see the parking garage. We had to ask to find out that we were at Terminal E, not G where we embarked. We were told to go across the street and wait for a bus to be taken to the parking garage. “A bus should be there every 30 minutes or so.”  We walked instead.  About twenty minutes, past the terminal with thousands of people from the Carnival Celebration, then the Independence in G, where we expected to be. At 11:20, I noticed a text from Royal from one hour earlier, stating “There has been a change…”.   Apparently the painters busily painting the outside of the ship had more notice than we did. 
 

 

 

 

At least they are puting some paint over the rust!

[ZoeyVictoria]

Just now, Saab4444 said:

At least they are puting some paint over the rust!

The other side had been painted when we arrived on Tuesday. 

[Saab4444]

13 minutes ago, RFerrington said:

We were disembarked from E once when we had embarked at G.  Can’t recall which ship.  They also told us there would be a bus….which never showed, so we just walked.  It’s not really that far.  What a PITA.  Hopefully Serenade will be at G as expected.

Would be interesting to know how many people are parking their car for nine months!

[marquisite]

Thanks for sharing pictures and insights into Serenade getting prepared for the UWC. It has been an interesting read.

[GimmeOcean]

Serenade w/ Anthem at CocoCay last Wednesday. Just now noticed the “Ultimate World Cruise”  signage.

Edited December 10, 2023 by GimmeOcean