LIVE from Serenade 10/16 - 10/21

[Bell Ringer]

Just wondering who the CD is on your cruise this time? Let us know how the shows are.

[shipknotshore]

Heck with the email, it needs to be posted on these boards for all of us to see.:D

 

I second that!!!!! And Jean, if you're reading this, I WILL have my camera ready for photo taking on our pub/cabin crawl next month. BTW...those chocolate martini's are to die for.

[critterchick]

Jeez - nothing like having my habits monitored and posted. That would be ONE chocolate martini (and a couple of regular ones). The new wine was Byron Pinot Noir. Nothing exotic, but it would appear that my nephew is a wimp. :rolleyes:

Mexican wines are not good, but it was a fun excursion anyway. Our Ensenada spa was closed yesterday because this was an odd day for them, so I had a massage on board. No sales pitch, probably because I put that on my questionnaire.

 

Serenade is a beautiful ship, but Radiance remains our favorite, if only by a whisker. Our cabin is fab; I'll post pics when I have a decent connection. The hallway art is just ghastly. Really bad, except for some Venetian masks.

 

Bob knows if he posts that picture (or any picture of me) he will live to regret it. I am so not kidding.

[rubrrick]

Jeez - nothing like having my habits monitored and posted. That would be ONE chocolate martini (and a couple of regular ones). The new wine was Byron Pinot Noir. Nothing exotic, but it would appear that my nephew is a wimp. :rolleyes:

 

Mexican wines are not good, but it was a fun excursion anyway. Our Ensenada spa was closed yesterday because this was an odd day for them, so I had a massage on board. No sales pitch, probably because I put that on my questionnaire.

 

Serenade is a beautiful ship, but Radiance remains our favorite, if only by a whisker. Our cabin is fab; I'll post pics when I have a decent connection. The hallway art is just ghastly. Really bad, except for some Venetian masks.

 

Bob knows if he posts that picture (or any picture of me) he will live to regret it. I am so not kidding.

 

Jean.........so good to see you surfacing!! Our fav massage parlor in Ensenada was closed??? Bummer!! Knowing you, you are having the time of your life. Look forward to your report when you return. Say hi to anyone else that we know.

 

Rick

[dirtgirl]

Bob knows if he posts that picture (or any picture of me) he will live to regret it. I am so not kidding.

 

Oh, darn! :p

 

Glad you are having fun!

[ChoosinCruisin]

Hey Choosin:

 

It's deadly but good and a great cruise drink:

 

1 1/2 oz vodka

1/4 oz Chambord® raspberry liqueur

1/4 oz fresh pineapple juice

1 twist lemon peel

 

Has the potential to become a new favorite!

 

Thanks much.

[p0mpey]

'cos we will be on her in December. Can't wait as we have heard such great things about the Serenade.

One question. What exactly does the Seaview Cafe offer? Is it along the lines of Johnny Rockets?

Also, we went with a guaranty OV and see we have the very first OV cabin at the front on deck 7. We have always been mid ship....should I see if there is any way to change it even though it could mean being lower? We are easy going and will have fun wherever we are but just wondering. Sounds like you are all veteran cruisers and would know what is best.

 

Have a great time!

 

Thanks! Pat.

 

PS Jean...I believe we both did the repositioning cruise from LA to Vancouver last year on Princess. Is my memory correct?

[Treven]

He'd well better have the ship back on time this Saturday so I can get onboard!!!!!

[critterchick]

'cos we will be on her in December. Can't wait as we have heard such great things about the Serenade.

One question. What exactly does the Seaview Cafe offer? Is it along the lines of Johnny Rockets?

Also, we went with a guaranty OV and see we have the very first OV cabin at the front on deck 7. We have always been mid ship....should I see if there is any way to change it even though it could mean being lower? We are easy going and will have fun wherever we are but just wondering. Sounds like you are all veteran cruisers and would know what is best.

 

Have a great time!

 

Thanks! Pat.

 

PS Jean...I believe we both did the repositioning cruise from LA to Vancouver last year on Princess. Is my memory correct?

 

Yes, we did! We're doing 7 nights on the Diamond Princess repo next year - care to join us? I think you'll be ok where you are, but I would at least ask to move further aft if possible. Lower decks aren't so bad - you're closer to the dining room!:D Seaview has burgers, fried, onion rings, Reuben & Cuban sandwiches & a few salads. Plus milkshakes & a bar. The food is "free"; there is a charge for the shakes & drinks.

 

Rick, I was quite bummed that the place was closed, but I sucked it up & got a massage onboard as a consolation. And after reading my questionnaire where I asked not to hear a sales pitch the tech didn't breathe a word!

 

We ate at Portofino's last night and it was fabulous. We had a big table for 11, consisting of most of our DR table plus a couple from the table next to us, all from Bob's group. I had the risotto w/prawns, the pear & gorgonzola salad and the frutti di mare, a seafood skewer. Dessert for me was a sampler. All was fabulous. The show was a pair of illusionists, who were entertaining. Matt (?) Yee was in the Schooner Lounge and he was hilarious - really packed in the crowd, too. Sort of a solo Dueling Piano player.

 

I booked the Monarch 4-nighter that so many CCers are going on. The LA was happy that I had everything down to the cabin number for her - she's a busy gal this week!

 

A note about our cabin - we're in 1602 on the stern and many people have asked how the view from above down onto the balcony is, so I went up to the WJ w/my camera. I could see all of Don, but only if he was at the railing. If he moved 2 feet in, I couldn't see him at all. 1100 and 1600 (the corner cabins) are less visible - maybe from the waist up. No matter. People just aren't looking at us when they can see that fabulous wake.

 

That's all for now - I need a nap so I'm ready for sailway from Cabo! We shared the port with the Diamond Princess & the Norwegian Star, so it was a bit crowded!

[Tequilacat]

Sounds like a fun crew, guys!

 

If you just happen to walk by the aft staterooms on Deck 7, or if you have anyone in your group that has one of those cabins, could you please ask how the noise is, since there are some bars right beneath them? We booked cabin 7676 on the Jan 13th sailing, but then found out about the possible noise only once all the D1s were sold out...

 

Just curious!

 

Thanks.

[wrp96]

Bob knows if he posts that picture (or any picture of me) he will live to regret it. I am so not kidding.

 

Bob my email address is wrpierce at sbcglobal dot net. ;)

 

Hi Jean!:D

[RDeagazio]

Hi Gang. I'm back now. Let me try to catch everyone up with the past 2 days.

 

Wed. was a day at sea. I was hoping to take a nap by the pool to supplement my total of 6 hrs sleep since boarding the ship, but there was no such luck. By the time I finished doing all my work chores, the day was gone.

 

As Jean posted, part of us in the group had dinner in Portofino, and as she stated the meal and service were great. After dinner we watched Matt Yee in the Schooner Bar and made our nightly visit to the casino. Everyone slowly started to head to bed, and FlyingPirate (Laurel) and myself wound up pulling an allnighter sitting by the pool, talking and watching the lights of Cabo come into view which is the reason I haven't posted in a while. It's hard to post when you never make it to your cabin--LOL.

 

Yesterday was Cabo, and I only left the ship for 2 hrs, and only to take some crew member friends to lunch in town. Again I was hoping to take a nap to make up for never making it to bed the night before, but that didn't happen-- (Big Surprise). Connie and Stan were kind enough to host a sailaway party in their cabin (AFT JS, #1100) and I was busy arranging to have some chocolate covered strawberries and other muchies delivered. We hung out on theie balcony until Cabo faded from view. On our way out, we walked past the Royal Suite and decided to check it out. The RS is being used by the Paragon Steakhouse Group as a Hospitality Suite for their group and the door has been left open for most of the cruise so their cruisers can come and go as they please. Who can resist an open door, so we all walked in and had a look around... Thanks to Sue from Paragon for being so welcoming to us--especially she was in the bathroom when the 7 of us came visiting--LOL.

 

Tonight was lobster night in the dining room and again the food was very good. Service was excellent thanks to Virgil our waiter. After dinner was the usual visits to hear Matt Yee in the Schooner, and the casino, or should I say the casino BAR!! Sorry, but the rest of tonight is Classified Info..LOL.

 

I'm sure Jean will add more detail when she gets connected. She had a little surprise tonight at dinner, but again, that's classified unless Jean cares to share those details. See what you all miss by not joining my groups--LOL.

 

I managed to only make it to 4am, so I went to bed and tried to get a few hrs sleep to make up for never making it to bed the night before.

[RDeagazio]

Good Morning-- getting a solid 5 hrs sleep has done wonders!! Today is our last day at sea, and as we get closer to San Diego the weather has turned a little chilly, but it's still a beautiful day.

 

We have our Plat/Diamond brunch at 11am in the Safari Club, so until then, I'm trying to catch up on some work emails and of course catch all of you up on our cruise.

 

I'll try to answer some of the questions you've been posting-- I'm doing this from memory, so forgive me if I miss any.

 

Wolf-- the bars onboard have been open until after 3am. The latest to close is the Vortex anywhere from 3-4am. After hours, I stay up and have a few drinks with my crew friends-- they tried to get me to the crew party the other night, but I declined this time.

 

DirtGirl-- Sorry, but the pics from the Group Cocktail Party will not be posted, nor will the other pics from last night.. unless Jean decides to share those with you and the gang. I do have the negatives though-- shall we start the bidding at $100.00??!! LOL

 

This was the first group I arranged and escorted for CCers, and it won't be the last!! Actually we were talking last night about doing another on the Vision. So far everyone seems to think Feb would work for us all. If anyone is interested in joining us, you can get my email from Jean since I can't post my work email on CC. If you shoot me a message I'll add you to my distribution list and keep you posted as more details are finalized.

 

Whoever said they have the first balcony cabin on Deck 7--- I would try and get yourself moved to another location. I'm in 9010, just aft of that cabin and I looked over my balcony down onto the one you have on deck 7 and that balcony is smaller than the others. It has a strange design due to the curve of the ship and there's also a steel bulkead that makes it look very closed in and small.

 

That's all I have time for now... I'm off to the Diamond Brunch.. will post more later.

[dirtgirl]

Thank you for the update, Bob! I don't think I could keep up to you, LOL!:D

[RDeagazio]

Treven... it's now 120p and in the middle of the Diamond C&A Brunch, the lights started to flicker a little and there was a noticably rough vibration in the back of the ship. We lost power for a few mins, and now we're stopped and seem to be drifting. Apparently the pod problem has resurfaced and it doesn't look good. I overheard one of the officers tell the Loyalty Ambassador that they may need to rebook peoples flights home... I doubt we'll be on time getting back to SAN... who knows if we'll even be home tomorrow.. Capt is supposed to update us in a little while.

[RDeagazio]

Treven... it's now 120p and in the middle of the Diamond C&A Brunch, the lights started to flicker a little and there was a noticably rough vibration in the back of the ship. We lost power for a few mins, and now we're stopped and seem to be drifting. Apparently the pod problem has resurfaced and it doesn't look good. I overheard one of the officers tell the Loyalty Ambassador that they may need to rebook peoples flights home... I doubt we'll be on time getting back to SAN... who knows if we'll even be home tomorrow.. Capt is supposed to update us in a little while.

 

 

JUST KIDDING!! Everything's fine!! We'll be right on time.. Have a great cruise next week. LOL

[wrp96]

Bob, that is cruel!! You know people will see the first post and not read your 2nd post. The rest of us are going to have to put up with questions about it. Not fair!!!!

[jdrow]

That was cruel. :)

 

We just booked on the Serenade for January 2008 to the Southern Caribbean. Can't wait. We were fortunate enough to get 9256 right under 1100. It's a long ways off but reading this thread has me ready to go. Thanks for all the info.

[RDeagazio]

Wrona.. LOL--- Jean and I were laughing about this during the brunch..

[dirtgirl]

Ohhh, way nasty!:p

[Fran Harp]

She'll kill me, but I'll second that!:p

 

Heck, I'll third it!!!!:eek:

 

Fran in Toronto

[Coralc]

Uh Oh Treven! :) Bob's group is trying to hijack your ship! :D :D And after we took such good care of her in Hawaii! Have a wonderful cruise next week. Say hi to Matt Yee for us, from the FOD group. :D

[wrp96]

Wrona.. LOL--- Jean and I were laughing about this during the brunch..

 

Tell Jean I'm going to get her. I'm still upset because she won't be joining my on the Vision (something about having to sail her 2 weeks later, why can't she do both cruises?).

[flyingpirate]

Hi Kids -

 

Just thought I'd jump in with a few comments...our first RC cruise has been great!

 

Jean and Bob (classified) and it was a hoot...then we all went to dinner and the wine flowed. You should have seen Jean when (censored).

 

After my husband went to bed, Bob and I (eyes only), all night long, even saw Stan on his mornig power walk as we pulled into Cabo. You should have seen his face when he saw us there in the Windjammer (classified) wearing the same clothes from the night before. :eek:

 

It's been an adventure, wrong tender (oops)

 

(secret)

 

(need to know basis only)

 

:D ;) :p

[dirtgirl]

OK, I am going to have to get all the 'dirt' from Jean!:D :eek: