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Curt From Canada

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Curt From Canada last won the day on January 18

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  1. Yes … they had both on the second leg of the Ultimate World Cruise (Serenade of the Seas). Curt from Canada
  2. Excellent summary … thank you. I am afraid you may know what I am going to ask: This is a real long shot, and from pictures we have seen it appears the venue is not set up for it. Still, just to make sure: Is dancing in the “2 Pianos Venue” encouraged, discouraged, not possible? Our minimum is a 12 ft by 12 ft “solid surface” (no carpet) … but we have danced in our small kitchen 8 ft by 8 ft (at the cottage). Any thoughts, would be greatly appreciated … Curt from Canada (and my “happy feet” Soulmate)
  3. Thank you … we were expecting your feedback, we just needed to confirm. I have never been in a “speakeasy”. Still, I had imagined there was almost as much dancing as drinking . Typically, we “adapt” quite nicely to the ship we are on. We have danced in all the “regular” spots plus: Schooner Bar (too many to count), many Elevator lobbies, 2 Elevators (once with the Stowaway Piano Player), 3 times on the MainStage (plus twice at the back of the Theatre), in the MDR, and Central Park (a lot). Say hello sometime, when you see two amateur dancers dancing where they shouldn’t be and having a blast. Curt from Canada
  4. This is a real long shot, and from pictures we have seen it appears the venue is not set up for it. Still, just to make sure: Is dancing encouraged, discouraged, not possible? We are very prejudiced with this question as we love to dance and an Empire Supper Club “screams” dancing to us. I am sure we would enjoy the meal and cocktails, but a great band would seem like terrible a waste to us. Any thoughts, would be greatly appreciated … Curt from Canada (and my “happy feet” Soulmate)
  5. The Ultimate World Cruise seems to be going a little bit above what a normal cruise offers when it comes to food in the MDR. We had that amazing Thai Shrimp dish one night and I had the best Filet at sea on day 1 (of the second leg) in Buenos Aires. After that dinners and breakfasts in the MDR were good to “OK” for the rest of the 18 day Antarctica leg. However, except for the two amazing dishes, the food was as per usual (nothing bad … nothing great). A typical Royal MDR experience. One major disappointment was lunch. We are not WindJammer people. In addition, the cafe in the solarium was not good at all. We tried the MDR for lunch many times and it always disappointed … nothing was very good at all. By the end of the cruise, we had soup for lunch in the MDR and tried to pick up a sandwich somewhere. Very disappointing. For entertainment, nothing can compare to the experiences we have had on Oasis class ships. However, the UWC is trying extremely hard in the entertainment area. They have 5 excellent principle singer/performers (you usually have 1 or 2 on a Radiance class ship), 2 excellent principle dancers and a 9 piece orchestra (I think the norm is 7). One night they flexed the orchestra up to an 11 piece. For a formal party in the Centrum one night they had a 7 piece orchestra on the very small stage. Big, excellent sound in the theatre and Centrum. They also seemed to have many more bands around the ship than normal. All of them were excellent. On sea days, the Centrum had music from just after lunch until late in the evening. Headliners were skewed to the culture of the part of the world you were in at the time. We love to dance, so we still enjoyed the 3rd Tango group as we sailed through Argentina. Still, we understand that might have been too much for some people. Given how strong the Royal singers, dancers and orchestra was we can only remember one bad performance in the main theatre in 18 nights. The Love & Marriage Show had the oldest newlywed couple ever. Going in we thought the show might skew older. It definitely didn’t disappoint. Lastly, there was an effort to have much more going on during the day than on a regular cruise. More enrichment lectures, more trivia, more dance classes, more movies … everything seemed to be intentionally just a little bit more. Curt from Canada
  6. We have never seen a reservation system for dance classes on a ship (and my soulmate and I “chase” any lessons offered all over the ship). They are typically offered by a couple of the principle dancers on the cruise on sea days. The best way to find them is to: - Look on Cruise Compasses from previous cruises (the closer to your sailing as possible) to determine possible dates and times. We have found (in the past) that just before or after lunch is a popular time. - Study the cruise compass the day before to find the classes that are offered. - We do find that the smaller ships have greater opportunities, but we have had classes on most ships. The pace of the lessons are good (maybe a little fast for beginners), but they are fun and the instructors have always been excellent. Curt from Canada
  7. Trying to get caught up and then wrap up this terribly disjointed Antarctica recap. Remember we were on the Ultimate World Cruise (freeloader edition) … the price will forever be held as a secret. Ushuaia was our next spot and it was another highlight. Spending two days at « Fin del Mundo » (End of the World) was not enough. The overnight was great, but we could have spent another day or two there. It had a lot of things to do and not enough time to do them all. We did not do our homework on Ushuaia. I assumed it would be a sleepy little town that was the jumping off point for many Antarctica cruises. It definitely was the start for many cruise ships (we saw 7 different expedition ships) using the port in the 2 days we were there. However, there were other things to like about the port: Since it is in the Beagle Channel you can do lots of exploration by catamaran (and there are lots of them). We explored the lighthouse, National Park, some wildlife hangouts (cormorants, sea lions, albatross, penguins, etc) and a number of « End of the World » sites . The penguins sanctuary was particularly interesting. The catamaran beached within feet of the penguins. We could not get off the vessel, but the penguins were very close and easy to see. We only saw a fraction of the National park. Given how different the topography was, more time was definitely required. Given how many places claimed to be the « End of the World », we were unsure when we were actually there. However, I think we were well covered with 3 sites we visited . Both tours took 7 hours, so we did not see the town at all. Like I said, 1 or 2 more days would be required. Sail away through the Beagle channel was spectacular. We saw glaciers during sail away and the next day as well. There are very few glaciers that come close to the Hubbard Glacier in Alaska. We have seen it twice and it is a must see. We have also flown on to the Mendenhall Glacier and drank from the crystal clear waters. Still, southern Argentina and Chile have some of the most beautiful glaciers we have ever seen. Even more amazing was the sheer number of them. Glacier, after glacier … after glacier. Many more seen in 2 days than the 15 days we spent cruising in Alaska. I will try to post some pictures when I get on to the big computer. Glacier watching at “Fin del Mundo” was spectacular. If you get the chance do not miss this. Just a few more sea days to get caught up on, before I wrap up. Curt from Canada
  8. Exactly the same as the ones on the UWC. A big upgrade. Curt from Canada
  9. Thank you, thank you, thank you … Central Park = Best place on any ship for us. Just seeing the pictures makes me happy. Curt from Canada
  10. Revised numbers based on a new Icon total of 5,500 (I hope I get partial marks from the teachers out there … it is literally the only way I graduated ): ICON 34% SERENADE: 46% Curt from Canada
  11. Sorry everyone … the numbers for Icon were mind boggling (so I had to get out my slide rule). For the teachers out there, I can show my calculations, but quickly: Diamond and above percent of cruisers: Icon of the Seas JAN 27 to FEB 03: 31% Serenade of the Seas JAN 05 to 23: 46% Curt from Canada
  12. More Diamonds and above than the number of passengers on the entire second leg of the UWC (we were told around 1,600 on Serenade). I hope the Crown lounge is the size on 3 Quantum style music Halls Curt from Canada
  13. THERE’s the STOWAWAY PIANO PLAYER that disappeared from the Ultimate World Cruise. We are so relieved to see that he is safe. Ask him to play Crocodile Rock. He does it really well. Curt from Canada
  14. Update from the investigating done during the 18 segement: 1). UWC Pinns can use the Concierge Lounge anytime. It still looks virtually empty every time I am on the way to the Crown Lounge. I think I saw 5-7 people once. All the other times … empty 2). Regular “normal” Pinns are in the Crown Lounge. Once you meet them they are a blast. Obviously the Crown Lounge opened up into the Viking Crown Lounge is the place to be. Still, if there was no voucher system it would not work. Curt from Canada
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