My wife Kelly and I booked this cruise to Hawaii some 18 months prior to the
sailing. We took an E1 class stateroom, an outside stateroom with balcony on
10 deck starboard side. The ship was to depart at 5pm, we flew via United
Airlines from San Fransisco and arrived at 1:30pm. The taxi to the ship
terminal in downtown San Diego took but 10 minutes and cost (with tip) 15
USD.
Upon arriving at the cruise terminal the cab driver removed our three bags
and placed them on the pavement beside the car. From that moment on the
departure "proceedure" became a confusing and poorly executed mess. In a
line we trundled toward an apparent area where something related to getting
the bags on large carts was happening in a halting and haphazard fashion.
Finally what appeared to be a cruseline employee hoisted our bags onto a
waiting cart and we departed to the terminal building to check-in.
The check-in process took about 20 minutes, the usual security checks of our
carry-on bags and whatever was in our pockets plus (of course) in enevitable
shoe removal and xray. Now onto the ramp and up into the Serenade of The
Seas.
Once aboard we were directed toward the #@!@!#@ elevators, these damnable
things NEVER performed as elevators are supposed to in regard to stopping at
floors with lighted up/down buttons. Who designed this system?! We waited
and waited along with a growing crowd as elevator after elevator, sometimes
full, most times NOT, went past.
Our cabin (#1500) was far forward on the 10 deck starboard. It was a quite
nice space, about 170 sq ft. with a sliding door to the balcony with it's
magnificent panoramic view. This was the first time we ever had such a room
on any cruise we have taken and it made the room seem larger and brighter
than the inside cabins we have had before. Well worth the added cost in my
opinion. Storage room in the closet was adequate for our needs except that
our larger bag could not be stowed in the closet and instead had to be left
at the foot of the double bed. We shortly met our room steward with his
kindly manner and big smile. The room was always cleaned when we expected
and because of my wife's illness he had to work around the oxygen
concentrator given to us by the hospital staff onboard at times.
This is a large ship, at 90000 tons she holds about 2300 people though it
never seemed crowded no matter where we were. The public areas are quite
large and the expansive windows allow magnificent views out over the ocean.
The Centrum is a large attrium midship that with it's glass, large modernist
sculpture and elevators was the central interior feature of the ship.
A dance floor with bandstand on the 4 deck was always full and with other
public areas about the circumfrence the music was easy to listen to no
matter where you were.
The Library was a small area with many bookshelves filled with both
hardbound and softbound books numbering perhaps 1000. Not a major effort like that of the Cunard Lines QE2 or even the library of the old New Amsterdam of Holland
America Lines.
We did not use the pools so cannot comment on that area of the ship.
The Windjammer was on 11 deck and was the ship's informal dining venue.
Large and with the same expanse of glass it was quite inviting. Breakfast,
lunch and dinner were available with a large selection of entries,
sandwiches, cold cuts, salads and deserts. Large platters were the manner
of serving oneself and though the hub bub of many people (the place was
popular!) there was more than enough space to move around the islands of
food. While we did take a few meals (mainly breakfast and when Kelly was ill
it was convienent for me) we preferred to eat in the Reflections Main Dining
Room on Deck 4. Overall I would grade this dining room as 6 on a scale of 10
as many entree items sat too long and became lukewarm and rather uninviting
looking, smaller amounts available would have solved this problem easily.
Also you should try to get there before near the end of the time of closure
of the facility as this will improve the quality of your experience, less
people and more and hotter food will be available.
The Reflections Dining Room was a magnificent space with large cloth
surrounded pillars and white table cloths stretching out for a hundred feet
in all directions. It quickly became our favorite of the entire cruise as
our table-mates and wait staff were exceptonal people by any measure! Almost
immediately we became fast friends and enjoyed telling tales of our lives
and families and our activities both on the ship and on the shore. The food
was abundant and of very good quality (8 out of 10 I'd rate it) throughout
the entire cruise with a special night set aside for the lobster feed
(Wonderful!). Our Waiter Cesar was exceptional in his good humor, bright
and ready smile and continuous helpful, can-do attitude.
He and his assistant MADE the dining experience for us! They were 10 out of
10!
Two other dining venues, Chops Grill and Portofino were used by out
table-mates but not us. I would say that they had mixed reviews for those
that I either overheard or talked to, food was very good (7 - 8 out of 10
perhaps) but some service flaws were apparent.
Deck areas were virtually spotless throughout the ship, that and the 4 acres
(Yes!) of glass made the ship feel light and airy as well. Distances
to/from some facilies can be troublesome for those wheelchair bound cruisers
or the elderly. Handrails are well placed throughout.
I mentioned earlier "kelly's illness". On Friday and Saturday after we had
arrived at the islands we both came down with a mild illness resembling a
cold. Sniffles, itchy, watery eyes and irregular coughs. We discounted the
symptoms and thought ourselves lucky as there were quite a few empty spots
in the Reflections Dining room in the last few days and we had but these
mild symptoms to deal with. Sunday morning she was running a slight fever
and wanted only to sleep and we watched Honolulu thru our balcony door. My
condition improved but hers did not, with periods of sleeping growing longer
and longer. We had dinner via Room Service's rather limited menu and I told
her we'd be visiting the ship's hospital the next morning. I was still
hopeful she'd improve and we could visit Honolulu the next day (Sunday).
In the morning...the motion told me that we were at sea NOT at the dock at
Honolulu! The schedule had included 2 days there but because of the Hilo
Iron Man competions the ship's schedule had changed. We were on the way back
to San Diego this particular Monday morning.
We dressed and I took her directly to the Medical Clinic on 2 Deck forward.
After filling out a three page document with her ID and pertinent medical
information she was taken into the facility, it was 9:15am, Monday morning. At 10:45 I asked if I could see her, the head nurse took me to her bed, she looked pale and drawn and was hooked up to an IV, oxygen and a nebulizer was delivering Ambuterol to help her breathe. Shortly the doctor summonded me to his office, showed me the x-rays and told me that she was very ill with pnuemonia in both lungs. I was shocked,
additionally so as he said they had discussed turning the ship around AGAIN
(more about that later) to evacuate her by helicopter IF she didn't improve
very soon. We retired to our stateroom to allow the Cipro to do it's good
work. We returned at 5pm for a second treatment and she was looking and
acting better even then. The staff was MORE than helpful, very skilled and
communicative through the entire illness. Kelly has since improved and has
a appointment with our physician at Kiaser tomorrow.
I cannot thank or praise the staff of the ship's medical clinic enough, they
saved Kelly's life in front of my very eyes with their quick and accurate
diagnosis and proactive actions. Our emergency care nurse was equally
impressed with the actions taken by the ships medical staff. A 10 out of 10
performance, hurray!
