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Positives:
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Embarkation went very smoothly. We had
about a 15 minute wait at customs but the RCCL check-in went very
fast.
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We upgraded to a Grand Suite this time and it was
truly Grand.
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The dinner service was exceptional. We
loved Ernie, our head waiter, Andy, our waiter, and Herman, our
assistant waiter. They were very entertaining and
professional.
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We also lucked out with our dinner mates.
RCCL paired us with another family that was approximately the same
age. We really enjoyed the company and it turned out to be
another highlight of the cruise. (Hi Kirk, Mary, Jim and Lorraine!)
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The Concierge Room, hosted by Maritza, was
another highlight of the trip. We loved having before dinner
drinks and socializing with the other guests. We met some very
interesting and fascinating people. Maritza did a fabulous
job. She is warm, friendly, and attentive.
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Negatives:
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The photographers on board were the worst we have
seen on a cruise ship. In some cases they were just down right
rude. One night our formal dinner was interrupted by "you do
this and you do that".... We were never even asked if we wanted our
picture taken. Very unprofessional. It is pretty bad
when the pictures on your own digital camera come out better than
their "professional" ones. (Selling for $19.95 a piece!)
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Probably our biggest "complaint" came with their
bar service. One evening I walked up to the Vortex bar and
ordered two different types of "Patron Tequila" margaritas.
Patron is a very good and very expensive tequila. There was
nobody at the bar so I was watching the bartender pour the drink.
He made a VERY DELIBERATE effort to be "out of my sight" when he
actually poured the Patron tequila into the drinks. In fact, I
swear I saw him put some "plain bottle type" tequila into the
drinks. I did not have proof because he made sure is was "out
of my sight" when he poured both drinks. All other ingredients
were there for me to see. Just not the most expensive piece.
The drinks were absolutely horrible, so I decided the next day to
complain to the beverage manager. We contacted Maritza, our
concierge, and she was able to arrange a meeting with Paul, the
assistant beverage manager. I told Paul my suspicions and said
"either RCCL is ripping people off intentionally or you have a
crooked bartender". His response was "thank you for bringing
this to my attention". I told him that the drinks were
horrible and that I did not feel confident in buying anymore mixed
drinks after seeing this behavior. His response was that he
would "buy me another drink sometime throughout the cruise".
He never said this was not RCCL policy or never offered to refund us
on the original "suspect" drinks. We later told Maritza and
she again contacted him. His response was that "they substituted a
higher end tequila" and that he had given us credit. That was
just totally untrue since I saw the bartender reach for the Patron
tequila bottle, it was just that he "walked around the corner" when
he poured it into the drink. Anyway, the credit we received
was for two beers. ($9) We complained once more and were finally
credited our $17 back for the original drinks. I did a quick
search on CruiseCritic.com and found other cases where on RCCL
ships bartenders were caught drinking the Patron tequila. Bottom line,
I wouldn't order any mixed drinks from this cruise line. The
beverage service is one of the few "rusty spots" on the Serenade of
the Seas.
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