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 Head, shoulders, knees and toes! (Knees and Toes!)  Serenade Panama Canal Oct. 1, 2021


KristiZ

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I didn’t want to start my blog early, or really mention the cruise at all to anyone for fear something would go wrong. But HERE WE ARE! ON A SHIP! I can hardly believe it!

A Panama Canal transit has been on my bucket list forever. Once cruising started up again this summer I was feeling some severe FOMO with the live blogs trickling in. Looking at what was available I suddenly noticed a Radiance repositioning through the Panama Canal. What? Had I just missed this, or was it a new offering? There were even suites available which shocked me — those sell out fast on rare trips like this. I emailed the incomparable @Sharla on July 30th and snagged a GS. It was a 14-day Canal transit, leaving from Los Angeles, with stops in Ensenada, Cabo, Puerto Vallarta, San Juan del Sur, Puntarenas, Cartagena, and ending in Miami. Woohoo!!

And then, 4 days later, it canceled. Noooooooo! One big drawback to reading this blog obsessively is that I knew right away my trip was done. If I had been blithely going about my daily life, the first I would have known is when Sharla emailed about the switch to Serenade and I would have been spared some grey hairs. As it was, I’m pretty sure it went something like this:

Me: SharlaSharlaSharlaSharla!! My shiny new cruise is canceled. Waaaaaaaaah! Is the world ending? I feel like it’s ending!

Sharla: Um, what? Calm down, let’s see what’s going on.

Me: <Breathing into a paper bag> OK, I’ll try…

The next day came the switch to Serenade confirmation, and the itinerary came shortly after that. Now we had a 13-day trip (slight price break), with stops in Puerto Vallarta, San Juan del Sur, Puntarenas, and Cartagena. So we lost 1 day and two ports. Oh well. This trip is about the Canal. And vacation. And cruising again finally!

Then 9 days before sailing, San Juan del Sur was canceled and replaced with a sea day. Bummer, for a number of reasons I’ll talk about later.

Now this really feels like a repositioning cruise, with only three ports in 13 days! But I don’t care one bit! I’m sitting in my cabin waiting for sail away, with dinner at Giovanni’s up tonight and a massage tomorrow morning.

More to come!

 

What’s that? Oh, right, the blog title. About that… I was trying to come up with something catchy. Maybe something musical, because Serenade. Or iconic, because bucket list trip. Or memorable, so everyone will want to read. I also assumed that the flight to LAX would be a good time for brainstorming. Seems logical, right? Well the tiny human sitting behind me on the first flight had other ideas. He spent taxi and takeoff kicking my seat (yay.) and then his mother got out a tablet for his entertainment. Which would have been fine, except there were no headphones for him to use. And I think the tablet only had one volume level, which was nowhere near whisper. What did he listen to? That’s right, the catchy, iconic, musical, memorable ditty, “Head, shoulders, knees and toes”. It earwormed it’s way right into my brain, and so I share it with you. 

You’re welcome.

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So great to see this cruise commence.  I was in my favorite deck 9 corner aft on Radiance which I lost in the move to Serenade with Royal putting me in a connecting side balcony.  As a result I canceled.  However the canal transit is worthy of the bucket list designation and Serenade is a perfect ship with the helipad.  

Make sure to take in each lock from somewhere different.  Being down close to the mules as the ship advances is pretty cool.  

Enjoy!

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We currently live in Managua, Nicaragua. Flight logistics can be odd in the best of times from here, but right now it’s still a pandemic mess. Also, my job has a big fiscal component and for us the fiscal year ends September 30. So piles of work leading up to departure as you can imagine. I’ve earned this vacation for sure!

With air miles to burn, I started trolling for flights. Miami to Managua on the back end was easy, and I scored us business class for a reasonable number of miles plus a few dollars in taxes. Then I started looking for flights to LAX. And looking. And calling United when the website gave me errors. And explaining to the United customer service rep that Avianca was indeed a real airline and is indeed a Star Alliance partner. But finally success in the form of two coach tickets on the route I wanted. Whew!

Then the Covid testing had to be wrangled. Earlier in the year we had been able to get tested at my work, but in the past few weeks that shifted to the proctored self test. Needless to say I then had a minor panic attack when it seemed that Royal was not going to accept those tests. The only other option for us in Nicaragua is to go to the government health center in Managua at 7am and wait with several hundred of our new best friends for a government issued test. Did it once, not interested in doing it again, thank you.

Here’s our test box:

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And here’s what it looks like when you’re done. I may or may not have had an argument with the box…

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Negative test result in hand, we were ready to fly to El Salvador, the US, and get on the ship. Hooray!

Requisite suitcase shot:

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We flew the day before, because that’s what the smart cruisers do 😉 (I say that because the last time we sailed Serenade we were literally the last passengers on the ship, walking in while everyone standing in the muster drill stared at us. But I digress.) We departed Managua, flew to San Salvador and changed planes, then on to LAX. Since we got in very late, we stayed at our go-to LAX hotel, the Courtyard Marriott on Century Blvd. The rooms are nice for a Courtyard, but it is definitely only a transit hotel. I recommend lower level rooms on the east end of the building for less runway noise.

In case you were curious what the Augusto Cesar Sandino International Airport (Managua) looks like:

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And here is Monsenor Oscar Arnulfo Romero International Airport (San Salvador):

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(I’m not going to lie — I included these shots just so I could write out the names of those two airports…)

We finally made it to LAX at nearly midnight. Global Entry, some of the best money I’ve ever spent! We zipped through Customs and then had to wait (im)patiently for our bags in zombie-apocalypse-like bag claim:

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Finally off to the hotel to sleep the sleep of the dead.

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Some more pre-departure details for those that are interested:

We (KristiZ and MisterZ) are in GS 1048. My mother (MomMe) decided to join us; she’s using the cruise as her transportation for her semi-annual cross-country pilgrimage. She summers in the Pacific Northwest and winters in Jacksonville, Florida. She chose a balcony cabin on the same deck, opposite side, 1510. The plan is we will be able to spend time on each side of the ship during the canal transit. As an added bonus, she will go from Platinum to Diamond on this trip, with her 4x points!

When the Labor Day sale came up, I mentioned to my mother she should call Royal and check on a reprice. (She booked direct, so she had to do this herself. Sorry Sharla, I’m trying to teach her!) Turns out that particular promotion was exceptionally good for singles — she ended up getting more than half her money back as OBC. 😮 And since it’s non-refundable, she immediately started planning all the things she was going to spend it on. 😄 MisterZ and I have graciously volunteered to assist her with this chore. We’re generous souls, we are!

RoyalUp did not become available for us until 5 days prior to embarkation. I’ve never seen it so late! Also, the minimum bids were insanely low — we had the option of bidding on an Owner’s Suite, and Owner’s Suite 2-br, or the Royal Suite. The minimum on each was $45pp, $50pp, and $100pp, respectively. We were happy with our cabin and did not bid.

We got the Concierge email 8 days out:

Conciege_Email.pdf

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Boarding was remarkable for how normal it was, provided you could overlook the fact that there were hardly any passengers.

MisterZ had to work in the morning, so we stayed in our hotel room until 11a checkout and then camped in the lobby, mooching off the wifi for another hour. Next, the hotel staff all made me feel very old with their “I think I remember there used to be a thing called a taxi…” and “what do you mean you don’t have an Uber account?” and “no, I don’t have a phone number for a taxi company”. (I am reluctant to Uber/Lyft/etc for Reasons Not Germaine to Cruising.) Fortunately, it turns out there’s a taxi stand about 10 yards outside the hotel door that the staff were completely oblivious to. A nice, polite older gentleman scooped us up and whisked us off to the World Cruise Ship Terminal, Port of Los Angeles, San Pedro. Took us about 25 minutes, some of that time driving 80 miles per hour. Oh, right, we’re back in the US! Ha! (There are no roads in Nicaragua you can drive 80 on. At all. Not just because it’s illegal but because it is physically impossible.)

Royal docks at Berth 91, 92, or 93, and you can see your ship from a ways out so the whole process is painless. The USS Iowa is also docked right there as a museum, if you need a google-able landmark.

Turns out there is a mobile Covid testing location right next to the Iowa, open every day but Sundays. For future reference, all you future Navigator folks!

As we pulled into the near-deserted docks, the porters were staging impromptu dance routines in the road. Very sorry I wasn’t able to photograph them! The taxi stopped, and by the time I paid the guy our bags were gone. The porters were very bored, it seemed. They pointed us toward the tent-covered prescreening area and off we went.

The first door into the tent was Suites/Pinnacle. Once inside, while waiting for the one couple in front of us, we could see the “regular” line, which looked like this:

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This was the first person we showed all our paperwork (vax cards, tests, passports, setsail passes). Then we proceeded into the regular building through this door:

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At this point, the (also very bored) CBP agent threatened MisterZ with vague but ominous penalties for photographing “in the building”. We apologized and hustled along before anything could stop us from GETTING ON THE SHIP.

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All told, we showed 4 different people all our papers.

****I highly recommend you just print hard copies of your test results and setsail passes**** People who didn’t were constantly fumbling for the right spot in the various apps on their phones, with the sketchier-by-the-minute cell signal as your got further into the building. Also, when you print your setsail pass it ends up HUGE, making it very easy for the, um… optically challenged older folks working the check in 😉 

Finally, we were onboard! Amazing! We were greeted by lots of happy crew members, plus all these guys:

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Swag!

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Cabin tour, grand suite 1048 - 

Cabin is really great size, decor is typical:

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The nice sized balcony:

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The bathroom and amenities:

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The first day handouts:

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The safety swag:

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The first day discount offer:

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We’re getting a crystal block on this sailing. Here’s the new process for that:

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I’ll get photos of MomMe’s cabin tomorrow.

 

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Our boarding time was 1p. We arrived at about 1255p, and by 120p we were collecting our SeaPass cards off our door. As we walked down our hall, we saw our bags in a small group, staged for delivery. After checking that no one was looking, we stole our own suitcases and brought them to the room. We’re very sneaky.

Next stop was our muster station for scan in and completion of the safety brief. Super easy! 

We popped up to the Windjammer for a bit of lunch. There’s a scan in and out system for capacity control, although with the rumored “less than 700” passengers onboard I’m not sure it’s necessary. Having the food served to you in the buffet is actually quite nice. I’m glad they’re planning to continue that! Serenade has a nice outdoor seating area for part of the Windjammer, too:

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The specialty restaurant staff were out trolling for customers. We snagged a half-off Giovanni’s for dinner and then headed off to unpack, grab a frosty adult beverage, and revel in actually be on a ship.

Even though the crew onboard had been sailing in Alaska for a few months, we’ve already run into a number that don’t know about the Diamond drink changes — they understand the availability all day part, but not the any drink up to $13 part. So far it has been quickly remedied if we politely ask.

Giovanni’s was lovely. I prefer it to Jamie’s, personally. I got the filet, which I had never considered ordering before, just because of all the “which is best” talk on these forums. It was perfectly cooked, and has a rustic cooked-over-a-campfire flavor. Definitely different than Chops.

The special was Linguini Arrabiatta. MisterZ had that. He said it was tasty but not at all spicy like it should have been. MomMe had the Branzino and was pleased with it (no photo of the fish because it was not at all photogenic). For desert there was Tiramisu, cannoli, and Torte di Chocolate Something Something.

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We were in bed early after the prior long travel day and short night’s sleep. We did, however, sail past Navigator! She’s puttering along off the coast near San Diego. She’s also a little blurry. Hopefully they’ll get that fixed before she starts revenue sailings 😉 

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Sail away was supposed to happen at 5p, but we didn’t leave until nearly 6p.

Drinks in the Suite Lounge before dinner. The Lounge on Serenade is on desk 13, next to the Viking Crown. It has both indoor and outdoor space.(Interestingly they are definitely rebranding the Concierge Lounge, even if the product is a bit different from the bigger ships):

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We were already at dinner as we exited the Port, so this is the only photo I got, through the window of Giovanni’s:

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Bye, LA!

Our first towel art:

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Day 2 - At Sea

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I do enjoy the sea days. We’ll see if I still feel that way after essentially 10 days at sea on this trip 😉 

I am planning to document a lot of the ship, as a bit of a marketing for these “smaller” ships. I really enjoy them and think they get overlooked by a lot of people.

The Centrum from Deck 6:

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The Centrum from Deck 10:

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Entrance to the Schooner Bar. I like the old school nautical theme:

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Adjacent to the Schooner Bar is both Chops and Giovanni’s, and they have similar decor:

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Safari Club (past the Schooner Bar. Also has Next Cruise and the Loyalty Desk):

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Great views and comfortable seats:

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Self-leveling pool tables!

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MisterZ’s absolute favorite thing about being in a full suite is the free room service, including the Main Dining menu. His Day 2 breakfast:

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And as promised, here’s the photo tour of MomMe’s cabin, a connecting balcony, 1510:

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She says the cabin is a fantastic size for a single. This particular one has a maximum occupancy of three — you can see the single hide-a-bed. It would be a tight fit for three. I asked her to pay attention to any noise bleed from the connecting door, but it turns out that cabin is empty so we won’t be able to add any data to the hive mind on that 😉 

Day 2 ended with room service dinner on our balcony. I failed to take any pictures. I know. I’m fired.

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Day 3 - At Sea

We moved the ship clock ahead again today, for the second time. These first two nights have been short! 

Here are some random shots of the assorted Covid protocol signs. Also, Royal seems to have been insistent with the crew that they take care of themselves first. For example, the seats at the bars are closed to reduce prolonged exposure, and anyone who works at a desk is encouraged to come out and speak with guests in more open spaces. Company policy mentions “be sure you are comfortable with your own health and safety first”. The crew seems to really appreciate how Royal is handling the whole thing.

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Door magnets on Day 1:

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Here’s the note about scheduling the mid-voyage test for unvaccinated folks. It was oddly worded because this was the first sailing long enough to require the mid-voyage test. They used the end-of-trip template, causing some confusion. Visiting the scheduling desk cleared that up.

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There are two chunks of cabins blocked off, one set on Deck 4 and one set on Deck 9. Haven’t figured out the Deck 4 ones yet, but Deck 9 is what the crew calls The Ward. It’s where the new crew coming onboard quarantines for two weeks before starting work. Mostly using the balcony cabins, some of the crew have spoken fondly of the time, sleeping all day, watching TV, getting meals delivered. “Sometimes I wish I was back in The Ward!” 😄 

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1 hour ago, KristiZ said:

There are two chunks of cabins blocked off, one set on Deck 4 and one set on Deck 9. Haven’t figured out the Deck 4 ones yet, but Deck 9 is what the crew calls The Ward. It’s where the new crew coming onboard quarantines for two weeks before starting work

I noticed this on Ovation last month - one section of Deck 6 was blocked off. I assumed it was for isolation cabins in case of emergency, I didn't even think about needing some for new crew coming on board.

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We have had phenomenal seas so far. Seriously like glass:

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And some lovely sunrises:

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One of my very favorite things is the days being noted on the elevators. I hope this tradition never goes away!

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A great thing about Radiance-class ships is all the glass. Here is Vintages:

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And here is the view from Vintages seating:

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(Window could be cleaner. Sorry.)

Day 3 ended with Main Dining room delivery to our balcony again. Chicken Parmesan and Braised Beef Ribs:

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No towel art tonight. Kenneth is in big trouble!

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Day 4 - Puerto Vallarta

We were trying to decide when we had last been to PV. Best we could come up with was “earlier than 2000”. It has changed since then 😉 

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We didn’t plan an excursion because none of the options appealed, but we wanted to explore the port area a bit and put a few dollars in the local economy. And by “we” I mean MomMe and me — MisterZ decided it was “too freakin’ hot”. (He was not actually wrong.)

We disembarked on Deck 2 and were then directed to “exit through the gift shop”, otherwise known as Puerto Magico. It’s a big facility with duty free shopping, coffee shops, artisans, photo ops, and various tour operators stumping for clients. The taxi drivers and tour guides in this area and just outside are licensed and all wear government IDs so you can feel pretty confident they will take good care of you.

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We turned right out of the port and walked to a free local beach. I wouldn’t maybe get in the water there in the middle of town, but there was sun and sand and beer vendors. We saw a lot of local Mexican tourists heading this way; both PV and Mazatlan have historically been internal vacation destinations which is likely why the city didn’t seem as hard hit as I feared, economy-wise.

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We stopped at a local pharmacy and bought a pile of consumables to give to the crew — toothpaste, Tylenol, tums, that sort of thing. They were very appreciative, since they are not allowed off the ship in Mexico.

Here’s the view from our balcony while docked:

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The Noordam seems to be in cold layup here. There were some crew, but very little activity. 

We were invited to a sailaway party on the helipad:

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It was hot, as you can imagine, but as we backed out of port we were able to keep to the shade cast by the ship pretty well. It was a fun perspective — made it feel like we were on a much smaller ship.

 

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I never imagined I would get involved in the Filet Wars, and yet here I am…

I have had filet in the MDR, Chops, Giovanni’s, and Asia’s equivalent of CK, the Golden Dining room, on a variety of ships. The best filet is at Chef’s Table on Serenade. Fight me. 

This was our first time trying Chef’s Table. Current protocols limit the attendance to 8; we had 6. We were inadvertently smart, booking it on a night before a sea day — I think I would not have enjoyed a morning shore excursion very much 😉 

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The aperitif, some sort of bubbly Elderflower mint concoction:

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Scallop Carpaccio:

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Smoked Tomato Soup, pre and post combination. It also required stirring to blend all the ingredients, so I’m going to say that I assisted in the preparation of this excellent soup!

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And then, unfortunately, came the third glass of wine. Only unfortunate for you, Gentle Readers — I failed to take pictures of the next two courses 😞 Both the Maine Lobster Salad and the Roasted Branzino were delicious and I apologize for my shortcomings as a blogger!

Then, the filet. Could not have been better! I ate the whole thing even though I was stuffed already!

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There was some sauce added after the photo was taken.

The dessert was The World. Very, very rich! It came with an espresso martini.

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I was very pleased with the whole experience. We had fun companions, a good waiter, and a charismatic chef. One couple had eaten at Chef’s Table a dozen or so times and said that it was always just a bit different as each chef put their own mark on it. 

Kenneth redeemed himself tonight:

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Day 5 - At Sea

One of my most favorite things about Radiance-class ships is the Viking Crown lounge on Deck 13. That the Suite Lounge and the Diamond Lounge are also up in that space on Serenade is an added bonus. The first night, we headed up to the Suite Lounge and saw a big “Private Event” sign on the Viking Crown. Oh, OK, that happens sometimes, no worries. The second night, the same sign was in place. I got suspicious. I asked the nice woman at the door when will the Viking Crown be open and she said it wouldn’t. Whaaaaaat? Nonono! I think she might have seen my panic, because she quickly asked if I was Diamond, Diamond Plus, or Pinnacle. Turns out, the whole Viking Crown has been turned into the Diamond Club for this trip. Whew! I can still sit up there and enjoy the great view! However, if we weren’t Diamond (oh hey, we actually turned Diamond Plus today! Yay us!) I would have been crushed not to be able to use this space, so I feel a little bad about that. It also means that MomMe can’t join us there 😞 

Here’s the Suite Lounge:

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The outdoor space is especially nice.

Here’s the Viking Crown/Diamond Lounge:

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What used to be the Diamond Club is now the Pinnacle Club, at least for this cruise:

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I’m super bummed I didn’t get a picture of the sign the first day — It was a hand-written “Pinnacle Club Only” piece of scratch paper slapped up over the Diamond Club sign, not completely covering it. They quickly fixed it, but I thought it was quite funny. I’ll be curious to see if the Pinnacle Club thing sticks around after Covid protocols are loosened. 

Sorry the lighting is so wonky on these shots. 

 

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4 hours ago, levib2 said:

Unfortunately, we're not Diamond or Pinnacle members though.

 

3 hours ago, SpeedNoodles said:

I will cry if I can't use the Viking Crown Lounge next May when I'm on Serenade.

Hopefully restrictions will be lessened soon. Or there will be fewer higher level C&A passengers on your sailings!

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Hi Kristi!

Really enjoying your blog and hanging on every word since my wife and I will be on the 25 October sailing out of Tampa. We're in a JS so I'll also really be disappointed if we can't go in the Viking Lounge. It's always one of my favorite spaces.

I have a question about the MDR, if you can help. I was looking at the app yesterday and noticed that the late seating is now in the "Dining Room: Seven Hearts." Which I assume is the...Card Room?! We tend to be late eaters and 5:30 seems really early to us, but I really don't want to miss out on the MDR experience, either. Any intel you could share would be greatly appreciated!

Safe travels,

Quinn

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1 hour ago, _Quinn_ said:

Hi Kristi!

Really enjoying your blog and hanging on every word since my wife and I will be on the 25 October sailing out of Tampa. We're in a JS so I'll also really be disappointed if we can't go in the Viking Lounge. It's always one of my favorite spaces.

I have a question about the MDR, if you can help. I was looking at the app yesterday and noticed that the late seating is now in the "Dining Room: Seven Hearts." Which I assume is the...Card Room?! We tend to be late eaters and 5:30 seems really early to us, but I really don't want to miss out on the MDR experience, either. Any intel you could share would be greatly appreciated!

Safe travels,

Quinn

Hi! Welcome to the forums! 
Yes, the app is confusing about the MDR. You don’t have to worry. Late seating is on Deck 4 of the MDR. I believe it is broken up in the app so that it can show the different times available for unvaccinated folks. 
Let me know if you have any other questions and I either answer or go find out! 🙂

 

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4 hours ago, SpeedNoodles said:

Ok, I'm gonna have to hurry and make it to Diamond level, because I will cry if I can't use the Viking Crown Lounge next May when I'm on Serenade.  And nobody wants to see that.

That was a common practice even pre-pandemic (blocking of VCL each evening for D overflow).  However if you need that to justify booking more cruises who am I to stop you?  🙂 

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3 minutes ago, twangster said:

That was a common practice even pre-pandemic (blocking of VCL each evening for D overflow). 

Definitely. But this time they’re blocking the Viking Crown completely, day and night. First time I had seen that. I plan to get to the Loyalty Desk to confirm my suspicion that a large percentage of people on this trip are D or higher.

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