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When the Serenade replaced Rhapsody in August, all cruise planner purchases were wiped out.  Now beverages and such can be rebooked, but not excursions, which still show Australia.   Anyone out there been able to rebook excursions on the Serenade for early 2022?

I agree with what has been said already.  I always pack a pair of shorts that can double as a swimsuit.  (Some sort of a plaid design that dries out quickly).  Then I wear long pants with a collared shirt onto the ship in case my suitcase doesn't arrive until after dinner.  I switch to shorts once our room is available and keep my long pants in reserve.  I switch my collared shirt to a T-shirt.   I know a lot of folks don't care about MDR attire, but I am old school and in a nice restaurant I feel more comfortable in long pants and collared shirts.  Sometimes we don't get our suitcases until after dinner.

On a similar but different note, we had a recent experience with Rhapsody being replaced by the Serenade (same dates), and I lost the OBC I had purchased with points.  However, my TA arranged for our promotional OBC to be reinstated when Royal updated our reservation on the new ship.  So I'd recommend talking to your TA, if you have one, as the other posts have indicated.    I am not worried about the other $50 OBC I lost since Royal upgraded our room.  Another benefit of having a TA....

17 hours ago, Reigert2008 said:

A good travel agent would be able to assist in this.  While I would certainly trust most information on this forum, things change so quickly that i woudl want to verify with my TA or Royal directly.

Yes on the TA.  When we cruised out of New Zealand, our TA arranged our visas.  

15 hours ago, Matthew Smith said:

We are looking to book our next cruise before the deadline for the end of the Double C&A Points offer. 

Is it worth paying £1000 more for a junior suite vs large balcony, just to gain an extra 14 points?

(If we go for Junior Suite, we will both be Emerald Level, 19 nights away from Diamond, if we go for Balcony we will still be Platinum level, 33 nights away from Diamond)

What do you think? 

While being Diamond offers some perks, I myself wouldn't pay the extra $$ to get there faster.  Instead, I'd put the $$ towards another cruise. 

PS. When we sailed out of Southampton, we enjoyed the Canaries!  That is typically a longer cruise with more guest nights, which is another way to spend your dollars.

I agree.  On our next cruise I plan on using my camera phone to document the superior service we receive.

We've done 12 nights and 14 nights, and find we are getting a little tired of the cruise.   Annoyances seem to accumulate at that point, such as when the Noravirus outbreak interfered with the buffet and Diamond lounge experiences.   Laundry also begins to be a factor.  That said, I am willing to push it for 3-4 weeks.  Since we lost our cat a year ago, we are less concerned about being gone for a longer period of time.

PS.  I have noticed that very few excursions are being offered for our future cruises, and the ones shown were the more expensive, small-group variety.

It's been said that there is no logic, just supply and demand.   I noticed last week one of my cruises had the drink package at about $47 plus gratuity when other cruises we'd booked were up to $60+.  The cruise in question was in the Med, which is normally a popular route.  I really can't explain the pricing....

11 hours ago, Pattycruise said:

I didn’t get an in cabin sheet last cruise. Very irritating. (Adventure 8/7)

I went to guest services and they insisted it was in my cabin,  then they finally pulled one out  

something must have been “off” in regards to the offerings, because they accidentally gave hubby a second glass of wine at dinner, and it wasn’t a BOGO or whatever discount -doesn’t matter-he didn’t ask for it, didn’t drink it, and we had guest services remove it  

Every once and a while they goof.  I ordered a coffee card a couple of years ago but found soda glasses in my room (no soda sticker for my Seapass, though).  I went to Guest Services and got my card after explaining what I thought had happened.  We left the souvenir glasses behind....

We found the Radisson to be underwhelming for the price, but it's been 3 years since we were there.  If you want beach access, I'd move farther down to the pier.  The upgraded rooms at Best Western give a nice view and are close to the beach.  They offer shuttle to the cruise terminal.  Not 5 star, but very pleasant.

The seapass card with the OBC needs to be used to get the OBC.  What I was trying to get at in my earlier reply is that another stateroom guest may have OBC on his/her card, but if that card itself isn't used to make purchases, the OBC doesn't get applied to the stateroom total at the end of the cruise.  My OBC was applied, as my CC was on file for payment.  So with OBC, it is important to know which account has the credit.  When I trade in Royal Visa points for OBC, I can choose whether I want to share the OBC with my wife or keep it in just my name. 

The normal balconies I've been on in other ships have been about 180 sq feet (plus balcony), so it seems like you are getting significant extra footage.

9 hours ago, em.down.the.rabbit.hole said:

 

My Questions - 

1. What happens at the end of the cruise with any unspent credit?
2. Can I transfer OBC to another sailing?

Any tips or help welcome...otherwise anyone else on Jewel on 2nd October can help me spend it (participation won't be optional )

There are different types of OBC, refundable and nonrefundable. Nonrefundable is lost at disembarkation if not used.  I usually spend my OBC, but I have learned the casino trick mentioned by others: Take an advance at the casino on your seapass card, pay the 5% commission or whatever it is, and pocket the cash (don't lose it gambling).

In Costa Maya, we really enjoyed Chacchoben (take insect repellant), and we've also just hung out at the local village.

Chocolate Sensation in MDR.  I used to have it multiple times for dessert...Last cruise I couldn't find it listed.

9 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

I finally got my travel party to agree on our specialty dining, Izumi and Sabor won. We want to do one for a lunch and one for a dinner. So it looks like Sabor offers the same foods for lunch and dinner based on preliminary menus. But lunch is cheaper, can anyone tell me why? Also is it all you can eat or when you pay the price is it just a starter, entrée and desert?

We had a lunch at Sabor on Harmony, and it was a lot of food.  Basically, we didn't have much room for dinner in MDR.  My recollection is it was starter, entree, and dessert, but it's been a couple of years.  My take away was that next time I won't eat lunch there so late (about 2 PM).  Food quality was high.

Thanks everyone! Good suggestions.

There is an iced espresso drink - Caribbean Coconut, I believe, for which I was charged two punches on the Harmony.  I have tried making my own iced coffee using complimentary cups and ice, as mentioned above.

We are travelling to the Med in 22 and are trying to plan a Royal Caribbean excursion out of Civitavecchia that doesn't go to Rome (been there, done that). Suggestions?  Can't get an updated excursion brochure yet.  Thanks for sharing your suggestions.

My wife and I continue to wear masks while shopping, picking up pizza, etc.  That in addition to what has been said about social distancing, etc.

On 6/30/2021 at 10:44 PM, Karla said:

Does anyone have any experience with RC’s snorkeling excursion in Nassau? My original plan was to book through an outside company that I snorkeled with a few years ago that had at least 3 stops but with my kids not being old enough to be vaccinated it looks like RC is my only option. I’m trying to decide if we should try it or try Key Largo snorkeling the day before or day after our cruise out of Miami. 

One winter we booked a cheap one and froze our rears off in the water.  There were too many people crammed into the boat and on the water - kept getting kicked.  There was only one stop at a reef outside the harbor (I think a 15 min boat ride).

So don't pick the "cheap" one.  Next time I will try a catamaran snorkeling adventure!

23 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

I heard rumors of this but of course it was never consistent from ship to ship.  I think it may have been based off the number of espresso shots in a drink that constituted a punch? 

Yep.  They punched by the shot on that cruise.  On a different cruise they didn't.

On Monday I tried to take advantage of a cruise planner sale and discovered that $75 promotional OBC was added to my account.  I used $25 on one excursion and was going to use the balance on another, but at checkout the OBC had been reduced (it should have been $50 but only $25 showed).  So $25 in OBC disappeared.  But at the same time, the "sale" discount of 20% jumped to 25%.  Given previous posts, IT issues aren't a surprise anymore.  But I had never encountered these particular cruise planner issues before.  My takeaway is to use all of the promotional OBC at once!

On 6/27/2021 at 1:55 PM, AshleyDillo said:

Complimentary coffee is your typical regular coffee.

Refreshment package coffee and coffee card coffees are the same -- they are the espresso-based drinks such as lattes, cappuccino, and frappes, for example.

Yes, you can share the coffee card with others.  

One small note. The last time I sailed on the Harmony, Sep 19, some drinks were charged two punches instead of one (like the Caribbean Coconut iced drink).  I don't know if this is still a practice on some ships.  Something to think about as it would be moot with the Refreshment package.  I still prefer the coffee card, though.