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

[BecAus]

3 minutes ago, cruiselvr04 said:

Great you can go to the party at the OH.

Yes it was, it's really a once in a lifetime thing for us and we live in Oz.

Plus... woke up this morning to an upgrade from an obstructed JS to a GS on Dk 11 after bidding just a fraction over minimum - this was a last minute booking on a nearly sold out cruise that only had a JS & 2 high end suites available so wasn't expecting an upgrade to come through - first time for us!

 

@orville99 I sincerely apologise to you.  I did not mean for my posts to take over your thread.

I've had conversations with IslandLady in the past on here so replied to her a couple of times.

I apologise.  I see you're on board now.  I hope you have a wonderful cruise and look forward to any other tidbits you find out about improvements etc.. on the ship.

[orville99]

LAUNDRY FACILITIES:

One on deck 8, one on deck 7 and one on deck 3. None of them are functional yet as they are still installing/testing them. Won’t be available until the WC. We are going to do a walkabout tomorrow and try to find where they are actually located.

[orville99]

INTERNET speed test. Asa reference, there are two sets. The first is from my 1Gig home wireless, and the second is from the ship still docked in Miami:

[orville99]

1 hour ago, BecAus said:

Yes it was, it's really a once in a lifetime thing for us and we live in Oz.

Plus... woke up this morning to an upgrade from an obstructed JS to a GS on Dk 11 after bidding just a fraction over minimum - this was a last minute booking on a nearly sold out cruise that only had a JS & 2 high end suites available so wasn't expecting an upgrade to come through - first time for us!

 

@orville99 I sincerely apologise to you.  I did not mean for my posts to take over your thread.

I've had conversations with IslandLady in the past on here so replied to her a couple of times.

I apologise.  I see you're on board now.  I hope you have a wonderful cruise and look forward to any other tidbits you find out about improvements etc.. on the ship.

Not a problem at all. The more interaction the better.

 

Bye bye Miami:

 

[island lady]

3 hours ago, orville99 said:

Unfortunate for the WC folks, but the cabin decor (drapes, couches, furniture) have not been refreshed) - at least in our cabin. Tears in the drapes, I had to fix the coffee table myself to stop the wobbles, and the love seat has been around since cupid was a little boy.

 

Oh no...that sucks!  Will grab extra towels then, to drape over the furniture like the hillbilly rednecks do.  OMG!!!  😉 

Do we need to bring a sheet of plywood to make our own tables too?  😆

[island lady]

2 hours ago, BecAus said:

Yes it was, it's really a once in a lifetime thing for us and we live in Oz.

Plus... woke up this morning to an upgrade from an obstructed JS to a GS on Dk 11 after bidding just a fraction over minimum - this was a last minute booking on a nearly sold out cruise that only had a JS & 2 high end suites available so wasn't expecting an upgrade to come through - first time for us!

 

@orville99 I sincerely apologise to you.  I did not mean for my posts to take over your thread.

I've had conversations with IslandLady in the past on here so replied to her a couple of times.

I apologise.  I see you're on board now.  I hope you have a wonderful cruise and look forward to any other tidbits you find out about improvements etc.. on the ship.

 

No sweetie.  Orville is a friend of mine.  He does not mind if we converse.  And I love being able to help any of my CC friends with helpful info when I am able to, as he is.  That is what we are here for.  🙂 

 

We are all looking forward to Orville's ongoing information.  So nice of him to take the time out of his vacation to do so.  🥰

[orville99]

 Day 2 at sea off the coast of Cuba:

Best first night sleep on a cruise in years. Bed was very comfortable - no sags, lumps, or that annoying ridge between the two halfs. The bed frames are higher and we were able to fit all the suitcases under with no problems.

Still a lot of refurb work being done all over the ship. There are areas in the corridors where there are ceiling tiles removed and IT terminals exposed. Probably for more access points.

Internet is very stable and fast. Solarium numbers this morning:

 

Now off to breakfast😇

 

[orville99]

Ran into Super Mario this morning. He looks in great shape and very cheerful. A genuine nice man.

Havana has doubled in size (and height) since we last saw it. Too hazy to get any good pix, barely viewable through my 15X binoculars.

[compuryan]

On 11/3/2023 at 5:51 AM, lovesthebeach2 said:

My DH said he can’t plug his CPAP into that without a converter. 

I could plug mine into that.  Runs on DC power, like a laptop or phone charger.

[lovesthebeach2]

48 minutes ago, compuryan said:

I could plug mine into that.  Runs on DC power, like a laptop or phone charger.

Since I wrote that he checked and found out he can use that outlet too. Thanks. 

[orville99]

16 hours ago, island lady said:

 

Oh no...that sucks!  Will grab extra towels then, to drape over the furniture like the hillbilly rednecks do.  OMG!!!  😉 

Do we need to bring a sheet of plywood to make our own tables too?  😆

Other than this, the cabin was in good shape. It would have to be a really small piece of plywood. There really isn’t a lot of spare room in thee older ship cabins.😇

[cruiselvr04]

6 minutes ago, orville99 said:

Other than this, the cabin was in good shape. It would have to be a really small piece of plywood. There really isn’t a lot of spare room in thee older ship cabins.😇

You’re in one of those cabins that has that weird built in behind, what I call,  the chair and a half.  It takes a few inches out of the room making it more narrow.  Nothing to quibble about but what’s behind there?  It’s mostly in forward cabins.  I guess it’s a good place to put the phone and pool towels.  
 

I think the tiny table is going out on the balcony next cruise.  DH gets irritated that he can’t walk behind me when I putting on make up at the desk.

Edited November 8, 2023 by cruiselvr04

[orville99]

4 hours ago, orville99 said:

There are areas in the corridors where there are ceiling tiles removed and IT terminals exposed. Probably for more access points.

Internet port waiting for a new access point - fortunately, this one is right outside of our cabin😇

 

[orville99]

5 hours ago, cruiselvr04 said:

Nothing to quibble about but what’s behind there?  It’s mostly in forward cabins

Based solely on its location directly across from the desk and the fact that it has what appear to be access panel fittings on it, my best guess is that it is how maintenance would get to the electrical circuits in the adjacent cabin if there was a need to do so.

[orville99]

Sunrise over Cozumel:

 

Absolutely calm seas all the way down from Miami. Hugged the coast of Cuba all day yesterday (probably less than 10 miles from their shoreline. 

Edited November 9, 2023 by orville99

[island lady]

1 hour ago, orville99 said:

Sunrise over Cozumel:

 

Absolutely calm seas all the way down from Miami. Hugged the coast of Cuba all day yesterday (probably less than 10 miles from their shoreline. 

 

Beautiful!  We were just there yesterday, currently docked up in Roatan.  Had a nice sunrise also.  

Enjoyed one of our favorite treats there where you are...Pancho's Backyard..walking down to the Carnival dock.

 

So you did dock at the International pier...not the downtown dock.  Kind of hoping we will be at the downtown dock next month when WC starts.  We have been there at the international pier maybe 99% of the time, but always consider it a treat when we rarely score the downtown dock.  🙂 

 

Enjoy Cozumel!  

[orville99]

1 hour ago, island lady said:

So you did dock at the International pier...not the downtown dock.  Kind of hoping we will be at the downtown dock next month when WC starts.  We have been there at the international pier maybe 99% of the time, but always consider it a treat when we rarely score the downtown dock

I can’t remember the last time we docked downtown - we were hoping to do that as well. Much nicer walking around the old town.

 

Morning update on the preparations for your WC. They still have a ton of things to do if they want to present you with a WC worthy ship. Last evening they decided to belt sand the promenade deck right outside of the MDR while early seating was happening Ugh!

 

Promenade deck (both port and starboard) has become a storage/staging area for all of the materials they need to put in place;

 

[ringers0815]

Thank you for doing this review. We will be on the ship in February for the LA to Brisbane crossing and find your review quite interesting and useful. Have a great day in Cozumel and a wonderful cruise!

[Hogladyrider]

@orville99....I may have missed the answer to my question, if so, my apologies ahead of time.

Due to the fact that there is a lot of active ship construction taking place on your cruise, was your cruise price discounted I hope?

 

There was a time when cruises like this were offered at a nice reduced rate.  If not my heart goes out to you for being such a trooper, any cruise is better than no cruise IMO.

[island lady]

1 hour ago, orville99 said:

I can’t remember the last time we docked downtown - we were hoping to do that as well. Much nicer walking around the old town.

 

Morning update on the preparations for your WC. They still have a ton of things to do if they want to present you with a WC worthy ship. Last evening they decided to belt sand the promenade deck right outside of the MDR while early seating was happening Ugh!

 

Promenade deck (both port and starboard) has become a storage/staging area for all of the materials they need to put in place;

 

 

Oh wow....thanks for the update my friend.  Yikes...RCI should have given you a big discount for riding along on the "dry dock at sea" prep.  Ugghh..indeed.  😞  

[orville99]

1 hour ago, Hogladyrider said:

@orville99....I may have missed the answer to my question, if so, my apologies ahead of time.

Due to the fact that there is a lot of active ship construction taking place on your cruise, was your cruise price discounted I hope?

 

There was a time when cruises like this were offered at a nice reduced rate.  If not my heart goes out to you for being such a trooper, any cruise is better than no cruise IMO.

 

19 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

Oh wow....thanks for the update my friend.  Yikes...RCI should have given you a big discount for riding along on the "dry dock at sea" prep.  Ugghh..indeed.  😞  

At the time we booked, the prices were right about where we expected them to be - definitely not discounted. By the time we sailed, Deck3 Porthole cabins were listed at more than we paid for our Deck 9 balcony.

Everyone on board has been equally sc$%^$d.

BTW, the internet contractors were beginning the upgrade installation on deck 3 when we came back on board from a bit of Cozumel shopping.

 

[Jimbo]

Beginning to 

9 minutes ago, orville99 said:

 

At the time we booked, the prices were right about where we expected them to be - definitely not discounted. By the time we sailed, Deck3 Porthole cabins were listed at more than we paid for our Deck 9 balcony.

Everyone on board has been equally sc$%^$d.

BTW, the internet contractors were beginning the upgrade installation on deck 3 when we came back on board from a bit of Cozumel shopping.

 

Beginning to think Royal discounts for anything are a thing of the past.

[Hogladyrider]

@orville99...thanks for the reply....that really s_ _ k_!

[orville99]

44 minutes ago, Hogladyrider said:

@orville99...thanks for the reply....that really s_ _ k_!

Yep! The ones I feel for are the ones who booked the WC at a cost that was twice what a WC on Regent Seven Seas (all suites, All Inclusive) would have cost and are getting a ship that is getting a mostly superficial face lift (at least from what we have seen so far, but they still have ~4 weeks to get everything up to WC standards). 😱

[orville99]

Did a walkabout on both deck 8 and deck 7 and there was absolutely no sign of where the laundry facilities for the WC were. My best guess is that they stuffed them into one of th crew only areas that already had water/drain service. As there were several unmarked interior stainless steel doors in the same locations on both decks.

 

Will probably wander down to deck 8 tomorrow morning and play dumb clutz and just ask a stateroom attendant where I can find them so I can do my laundry.😇