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Simply Serenade Thanksgiving 2022


Neesa

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The Captain tried his best but the Port of Tampa closed due to heavy fog. It is supposed to lift soon so we are parked out here in the Gulf with our sister Brilliance in the distance. They are saying we may be back in Port at 1300hrs if the fog lifts. They are needing us out of the cabin by 8:30 so we are probably going to the SL or Vortex for the remainder of the day. I will keep you all updated.

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I'm looking forward to a long pull on an ice cold bottle of Spring Water, lol!

Went to Chops for Suites and Pinnacles  breakfast, oh my I thought my ears would bleed. So much complaining, so much drama oh boy! Stuff happens, it's not ideal, we have to be flexible during times like this.

I'm not thrilled we need to be out of the cabin soon and we aren't slated to disembark until at least 1300hrs. But it is what it is. Daughter took off work today so we are good there. I do feel for the people with flights out today, I'm sure they will get it sorted. I do feel for them and hope it goes smoothly for them for sure. Brilliance is out here with us we are both disembarking today, Tampa Port area will be interesting as well. 

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39 minutes ago, Neesa said:

The Captain tried his best but the Port of Tampa closed due to heavy fog. It is supposed to lift soon so we are parked out here in the Gulf with our sister Brilliance in the distance. They are saying we may be back in Port at 1300hrs if the fog lifts. They are needing us out of the cabin by 8:30 so we are probably going to the SL or Vortex for the remainder of the day. I will keep you all updated.

Been there, done that.  

In my case the port remained closed until afternoon.  Fortunately there doesn't appear to be any cruise ships in port right now.  Some of the narrow channels in the Bay can't accommodate two ships passing each other so when fog impacted my cruise return in Tampa we had to wait for cruises ships to leave the port before we could start our way back in.  This caused our return to be further delayed and we docked near 5pm.  

In your case there are no cruise ships in port so all you need is for the sun to rise and burn off the fog as the morning progresses.  

Tampa Bay and the local pilots are particularly sensitive to adverse weather and fog since a ship hit the old bridge in 1980.  They don't take any chances so they won't open the port until it's truly safe to do so.  

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Update, it's 1010 and we are still parked, fog is still thick. They just opened the pools and the Solarium and are serving lunch at WJ and the MDR at 1130. We are allowed to stay in our cabins as they don't want people congregating in public spaces...very nice! @SpeedNoodles my audio actually works! 

I am feeling sad for my fellow cruisers leaving today and of course everyone who put out their luggage! Yikes, glad we have ours and packed light.

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On 11/23/2022 at 12:57 PM, WAAAYTOOO said:

This cruise was plagued from the beginning (COVID false alarm cut it from an 8 night Caribbean to a 5 night Bermuda)

I remember your blog! I followed daily to see what happened next! 🤦‍♀️. Our first time on Anthem was plagued with a few problems to so I was sympathetic.  

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Oh man, that stinks! Thank goodness that you are able to stay in your cabins! I am with you, I feel bad for those with early flights or plans. For those without it, maybe an extra few hours to just hang out and relax. I know most are ready to be on the road, but good that they opened the pools and places for meals. I hope it goes smoothly!!

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So we are still here in the stateroom it's 1701. We just tied up terminal 6. Many many announcements begging people to stay in their cabins. They are lining up with luggage and congregating and clogging the hallways. We are in the cabin waiting for our number to be called. When we pulled in the workers on land were all cheering. Pretty cool. 

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I would sail the Serenade again in a heart beat. Hands down the friendliest crew and the CD Jaime was likeable as well, without being to silly. Our concierge Christian was phenomenal, even the MDR was better then usual. Funny the only employees lacking were at the Guest relations desk. Bye bye Serenade have a great time around the world. 

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Glad you enjoyed Serenade! I spent 5 weeks on here, debarked the day you arrived.  I’m a new Pinnacle and really enjoyed the breakfast at Chops. 
Agree, the MDR was great. Loved the vegan dishes, thought they were the best of any I’ve had on other ships. The braised lamb shank was my only disappointment, ordered one sailing 1 & 2, both were under seasoned and cooked too high of a temperature. Moved on to something else.

I really enjoy Radiance class ships. Love all the ships but especially enjoy how you can navigate forward to aft easily. I could go days without needing to take an elevator.

Christian is a doll and Jamie is a hoot. He might be one of my favorite CD. 

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Update: we stayed in our cabin until our given time to leave our stateroom at 1730hrs. This allowed for the best comedy show I've ever witnessed, Land personnel trying to tie up the ship. We watched from our balcony and it was a hoot! They kept dropping the lines, lines getting caught on rocks, a forklift ramming into a fire hydrant....

We decided to take the stairs as we only have our carry on and decend into utter chaos and ugliness. Deck 4 was a sh!tshow of epic proportions. It was a sea of bodies screaming, pushing yelling at the staff. I was embarrassed to be part of that. I turned to hubby who was on the same page and we decided to just go back to the cabin and wait it out. 

We turned to leave and there was Christian, he said no you don't. You arrived at your assigned time and after asking if we had everything he ushered us to the bleep out your sea pass area. I could feel daggers in the back of my head. Yikes! Now I know why they kept announcing to stay in the stateroom until assigned times. Christian was on the quiet side, but boy did he get things done. I felt he was personally invested in our experience the entire sailing.

A lady behind us walking down the long hallway gangway pushed our daughter" by accident" we wish to believe hubby and I just let her go by, she had a huge roller board she was using to muscle her way down the ramp. Well I could see her husband behind me, we know because they had on matching items. He apologized for her and I offered for him to pass by our family to get to her, he said no thanks, I'm good right here! Lol! We chatted while we waited for the line to progress, he said they were from Georgia and were driving home and he was just fine taking his time to the car, he was great. We wished him safe travels and strength at the same time.

The terminal 6 area was chaotic to put it mildly. There was no traffic plan, it was a free for all. Brilliance and Serenade people embarking and disembarking, ride shares, family pick ups and drop offs in the dark. I held my breath I was sure we would get in a car accident, it was chaos with only 2 sheriff's trying their best to control the madness. I feared for their safety as well. 

I am sure the fog (late arrival) and the late hour caused this nightmare but it didn't  deter us, we pack our patience and dwell on all of the positives. Thanks for joining us on out Tampa/Serenade adventure. 

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@NeesaI just finally went through this blog now and your cruise is already over! I feel terrible, this past week and a half has been so crazy (life and work) that I've barely been on the boards. Finally had time to sit down today to find this, oh my! At first I was so happy for your RU, and then in shock at the problems in that cabin. You and the fam have the most amazing attitude. I am happy that in the end, it was great sailing for you. We had Jamie on Indy back in2018. I have often wondered what happened to him as he is one of our favourite Cruise Directors. Hubby says that he reminds him of James Corden. I wasn't sure he came back after covid but good to see that he is still with Royal.

Quick question, you asked the concierge about the GT and he said it was reserved and then you got the RU on it?

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LOL! It's a placeholder for Summer 2024! They are not out yet except for Icon and we are celebrating an 18th birthday and a high school graduation.  I want to put a lot of thought into this our last as a family of 3 for a long time. Itinerary will be key, Icon itinerary is boring and I'm just not into the carnival theme park type style. I'm excited for the new releases......

 

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15 minutes ago, Neesa said:

I want to put a lot of thought into this our last as a family of 3 for a long time.

Right there with you my friend. We just deposited for a sailing on Voyager in July 2024. Go big or go home. That is the theme for 2024. Running of time and squeezing in as much as we can with her before grad and university.

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@Lovetocruise2002 Hello! Working backwards, yes TIME our most precious gift! Our girls will be off and I'll be in a pool of tears, a mixture of happy & sad! Visiting university & seriously doing the numbers, yikes! But yes, go big or go home is the perfect mantra.

Yes with the RUB bid. We were in an Owners Suite with all suites sold out. When the concierge email came I told Christian I had 2 RUB's in, one for the Royal Suite (of course) and one for the 2 bedroom owners suite with two bathrooms (of course) He said he was already communicating with those cabins and the other passengers were indeed sailing. Okay, no worries and the NEXT day I saw the charge and thought, what is this? I went to my account and saw my cabin number had changed to deck 7 2 bedroom owners suite. 

There was a huge snow storm up North my best guess is the people probably had to back out last minute because flights were being canceled everywhere up there. The issues were all addressed some better then others within the cabin and I feel good we left that cabin in great shape for the next person/family. Christian was on top of all things suites and made sure to even call the cabin to follow up. The water was better but we did have to shower at 1500hrs to have really hot water, in the evening especially it was always tepid, but we made it work. 

Yes, that is who the CD reminds us of also, we enjoyed him. We felt bad for him on the last day he was so flustered no one would listen to him! 

The SL was small but we quickly learned to navigate that also, there were 39 Pins and they were all there by about 1530 until at least 1830 making it difficult to even get the bartenders attention, they took every seat at and around the bar. We would have dinner (by day 3) and visit the lounge afterwards, much more relaxed and enjoyable. The crew were the main stars of this sailing, the friendliest in the fleet we have been on (well except Dudley, we LOVE Dudley) Guest relations was in a terrible spot & they were awful but the rest of the Serenade just wonderful!

*Christian the Concierge was also a force, quiet but wow, he took on our vacation as if it was his own, I was flabbergasted by his attention to detail. 

 

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@AandD the MTD lines were insane, if you are comfortable I would pick a traditional time. 

The Solarium pool was warmest on the last sea day. 

Lattitudes is a popular place. Often very long lines, they move though.

The snoozefest itinerary wasn't as bad as I thought.

We walked around the port area of Freeport, Bimini rented golf cart, Nassau =sea day for us and many others and Coco cay was a wonderful day. Water was colder but not awful. 

Lunch is WJ on embarkation day unless you book Chops specialty, we did this and it was so relaxing. Place was empty, WJ packed. Cabins were ready at 1330hrs. Next Cruise was standing room only, centrum same. We chilled in Vortex after lunch and before cabins opened, it was so relaxing.

Enjoy your sailing! Any questions I'll do my best to answer them. 

Bring a USB charger if you need it there are none in the cabin.

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7 hours ago, Neesa said:

LOL! It's a placeholder for Summer 2024! They are not out yet except for Icon and we are celebrating an 18th birthday and a high school graduation.  I want to put a lot of thought into this our last as a family of 3 for a long time. Itinerary will be key, Icon itinerary is boring and I'm just not into the carnival theme park type style. I'm excited for the new releases......

 

My son is also graduating in 2024, and he chose a cruise over a big graduation party.  He has 2 friends lined up to go with us,so we are planning 2 cabins (or maybe a big suite? - I am Mr Cabash in my family so not likely).  It's amazing how quickly they grow up.

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@Big Tule @Yesiamthere6  Thanks so much! I appreciate you following along! I look super ugly and old when I'm complaining and/or negative lol. I learned long ago only I can choose to be positive, while that first no hot water shower had me adjusting my attitude after "winning the RUB" thinking, oh no what have I done? I was like okay how do I navigate this? Calm notifications & off the gym where I know they have hot water! I hope with my heart my daughter will be the same, sometimes are harder than others. 

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays to you all, I hope this season is an enjoyable one filled with many, many blessings!

 🎅🤩🎄🇺🇸

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@Xaa Awww, thank you. I second the face to a name, I met @wordell1, @SebagoSue @Lovetocruise2002 and a few others all onboard and it's pretty neat knowing who you are chatting with! I am humbled by your kind compliment and who knows one day our paths may just cross at sea. Thanks again for joining us on our very first Radiance class adventure!

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