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xSAILEDx Serenade of the Seas - Sep 12, 2023 - Sep 24, 2023 (12 Night Tampa To Boston Cruise)


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Thanks to @Lovetocruise2002 for pointing out a very good deal on suites on a 12-night repositioning cruise, I am booked on this sailing.  Itinerary looks great and sailing on this class of ship will be a new experience for me, as well as sailing in an Owners' Suite.

Did anyone else book this one?

 image.jpeg.2317519795324e300d4fcff9060fdba8.jpeg

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On 8/17/2022 at 5:20 PM, dmattinson said:

Thanks to @Lovetocruise2002 for pointing out a very good deal on suites on a 12-day repositioning cruise, I am booked on this sailing.  Itinerary looks great and sailing on this class of ship will be a new experience for me, as well as sailing in an Owners' Suite.

Did anyone else book this one?

 Thought about it seriously, but already have Grandeur for a B3B.

Enjoy, that one will be a great one!

 

 

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 9/17/2022 at 9:23 AM, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Unfortunately no. Could not find a way to justify leaving the 15 and 17 year old home alone for 12+ days....

Yeah, that's tough.  A week, maybe.  More than that becomes a worrisome challenge.

I think back to when my parents went on vacation and my sister and I couldn't go because we still had summer school. We didn't get wild (my grandmother lived across the street) but we capitalized on limited supervision for the week.

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  • AshleyDillo changed the title to Serenade of the Seas - Sep 12, 2023 - Sep 24, 2023 (12 Night Tampa To Boston Cruise)
  • 2 months later...
  • 3 months later...

I’m sailing this one as my first solo cruise.  Booked it in Sept ‘22 for a good balcony price (esp for solo).  Now, I see the balconies are all sold out and the prices for interior are way more than I paid for balcony.  It will be a solo adventure for me!  I’m also on the CruiseCritic Roll Call for this sailing, in case anyone wants to jump over there too.  Not much chatter I’ve found on either one.  Looking forward to this itenerary.  I’ve been to every port previously except Perfect Day…..

Patsy

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20 hours ago, PLOVE said:

I’m sailing this one as my first solo cruise.  Booked it in Sept ‘22 for a good balcony price (esp for solo).  Now, I see the balconies are all sold out and the prices for interior are way more than I paid for balcony.  It will be a solo adventure for me!  I’m also on the CruiseCritic Roll Call for this sailing, in case anyone wants to jump over there too.  Not much chatter I’ve found on either one.  Looking forward to this itenerary.  I’ve been to every port previously except Perfect Day…..

Patsy

Yeah, I think this sailing is going to have limited chatter and engagement - with still 148 days to go, I think people are sitting on their hands waiting for it to get closer.  We also have a Facebook group for this sailing that seems to have some regular posts.

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  • 4 weeks later...
2 hours ago, SDK said:

First cruise for me in 13 years. First for wife and daughter ever. Their going to be shocked at the size of the ship. Arriving early in Tampa and staying an extra day in Boston.

best way to do it-come early and stay after!  I wanted to stay in Boston, but those hotel prices were crazy enough that I decided to go straight home  

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  • 1 month later...
36 minutes ago, PLOVE said:

GC is just a  beach day for me—going to snorkel hopefully from a nearby restaurant from the port (Paradise Restaurant) or Sea Grape Beach.

Last time we went, we hit Sea Grape beach.  Rented a few chairs and spent time in the water for a few hours.  Once the catamarans started showing up, we finished our beach time and headed back into town.  This was before the megaships though...looks like we are in port with Grandeur and MSC Seascape so potential for about 10k cruise passengers on shore that day.

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  • 2 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Welcome back to reality for most of us...

Some takeaways:

  • COVID is still going strong on these sailings - it doesn't show up until somewhere around day 6 for people to start feeling it.  By the end of the cruise (and in the airport), I felt like I was walking through a tuberculosis ward
  • If you have a suite and use the suite lounge before or after dinner (and maximize the drink benefit), you probably don't need to buy a drink package - if you are Diamond and you go to the lounge, you definitely don't need to buy a drinks package
  • Could people get up any earlier to claim one of the limited chaise loungers in the Solarium?  C'mon, chair hogs abound before 7A 
  • Service was excellent no matter where I went - passengers on the other hand, some weren't so excellent - I don't know what some people were so mad about (12-days on this ship was not a challenge and was quite enjoyable)
  • Using the casino to get to the front of the ship for the pub and the theatre was a no-go on sea days - the casino bottle-necks at the front of the ship near the video poker machines and getting through was challenging as a walking person, and near impossible for someone in a mobility scooter
  • It was a shame that they really didn't open the bar in the Safari Club aside from 1 night or event - the Schooner, R-Bar, Pool bars, and casino bars were the only ones open during the day time - the casino was a little too smokey for me to sit and hang out, the R-Bar was in the Centrum where people hung out frequently making seating limited, Schooner was trivia, trivia, and more trivia (with some music mixed in) but it was pretty much full most of the time and the pool bars were great...if you could get a seat near the pool - pub didn't open until 5P and music act occupied it for a good portion of time up until 11P (goes back to the drinks package...I didn't find I broke even on this sailing with the cost, even at 4 mixed drinks a day because I just couldn't find a place to sit and stay seated for a long period of time and just have low-level background nothingness that I prefer when enjoying some cocktails)
  • The Schooner bar new drink menu has some winners - the Irish Peach was really good, the marshmallow old fashioned was decent but it was a 1 and done type drink because it was so sweet
  • The dining staff was amazing - my servers Amit and Jatta were great, as was our head waiter, Narciso - Roland (bartender in the suite lounge, now the R-Bar) was great too
  • Stateroom attendant, Mohan was awesome and refused tips throughout the cruise to show he was taking care of us no matter what and appreciation at the end would be the only time he would accept a tip
  • Bonaire is beautiful - just be careful of petty crime like stealing from vehicles or golf carts if left unattended, especially on the remote roads - golf carts were a good way to explore the south side, people that went to the north side said they struggled a little on the slopes and elevation changes 
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  • AshleyDillo changed the title to xSAILEDx Serenade of the Seas - Sep 12, 2023 - Sep 24, 2023 (12 Night Tampa To Boston Cruise)

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