Alaska Cruise 2009: Serenade Inside

The Centrum

Glass Elevators

Our cabin

The saga of Elenor’s fan, Part Deux

“The saga of Elenor’s fan” continued nine months later, amazingly enough, on this cruise. Because of our (secondary) flight Seattle to Vancouver, I was not able to bring (as I had to the Hawai’i cruise) a 20" box fan, so I put a 10" box fan in our checked bag. As I was unpacking our stuff, and settling into our Junior Suite, I pulled out our Concierge Club keycards from the stack of papers on the desk, and read the letter from the Concierge. It said “Rahual Barua welcomes you onboard”!! Rahul was the Concierge who saved me on the Hawai’i cruise by getting my fan up from the bowels of the ship! I knew he had left the Serenade, so when I left him my fan (with a grateful thank you note) after the Hawai’i cruise, I figured he was off to his new ship.

I headed down to the Concierge Lounge – and Rahul was just getting up from studying the pix of the Club members on the computer. He said he’d recognized our pix and was just coming to see us. He had, in fact, gone to another ship, but was back now on the Serenade. His ‘significant other’ entered the Club just then, and we got chatting. She said, ‘oh! That fan had ‘saved them’ numerous times!’ I said that Rahul had saved my Hawai’i cruise by finding it for me! He asked: ‘would, um, I like to have it on this cruise?’ O.M.G.!! Would I ever!! So, I had my lovely 20" box fan for this cruise as well! (Now – because, of course, I left that one for Rahul again – I’m strategizing how to get another 20" box fan onto the Oasis next April!)

See? There’s my fan!!

The library on deck nine, and the sitting area on Deck 10, where we wait on Embarkation Day for the cabins to be released to newly arriving passengers (us). You can see the Concierge Lounge at the left-hand edge of deck 10. Michael always situates us (picks our cabin) to ensure an easy walk to the Concierge Lounge and a good distance (close but not too close) the elevators and stairs. (Since we usually have a cabin on deck 10, the Windjammer Restaurant on Deck 11 is just one flight away – no sense in waiting for an elevator – gotta walk off that food! The stairs are on the opposite side of the Centrum from the library/sitting area; and the elvators are on the left-hand wall out of this picture.)

Concierge Lounge

The Concierge Lounge is one of the most important parts of the ship for me (Elenor). Like any coffee addict, my first thought on arising is the screaming need for coffee. They don’t start the coffee service outside the (locked) Windjammer till 6 a.m., and Latte-tudes (their “Starbucks analog,” which serves Seattle’s Best fancy coffees), doesn’t start till, like 7 or 7:30! (Ack!) Since, on cruises, I'm usually up very early most days… (like, quarter of FIVE on this cruise, although in “body-time” that was 8 a.m.), having to wait (and wait and wait!) for my drug is intolerable!

The Concierge Lounge has a latte / espresso machine – always at the ready! I can stagger down the hall, travel mug in hand, and feed my addiction when I need to. Plus, the machine puts out very hot water, with which I make Michael’s morning coca (but not till 8 or 9 when he awakes! I enjoy my morning beverage as I wander around the ship outside, up on deck 11, watching the sun rise (although it was usually up on this cruise – since it came up around 5 a.m.!)