[LIVE] From the Serenade of the Seas 2-12 December 2016

The VOOM internet system went down about noon today and came back up while we were at dinner.

This is why I have not been posting for awhile.

We had dinner at Rita's Cantina tonight and really enjoyed it! The food was excellent and the prices were reasonable

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We got a complementary serving of chips and dips. The dip servings seemed sort of puny but they brought more when we asked for it at no charge.

Judith had two (2) Tacos and they were gigantic, well stuffed, and excellent!

I had the Chicken Tortilla Soup which was served with my main course. I asked them to leave off the taco strips. It was the best Chicken Tortilla soup I have ever had. I also had the mixed Fajitas which were excellent!

Overall, it was thebest dinner so far on this cruise!

The only downside to Rita's is that it is in the non-air conditioned area behind the Windjammer on the port side. It was warm and a bit muggy.

Both the Food and the Service were Excellent! We will probably go back again on this cruise.

On the way from Rita's to the smoking area, we walked through the Windjammer and they were making Crepes for desert. Jack and I each had one. ZOWIE! They were fantastic!

The pools were both closed early this morning but by 7 am they were being opened.

 

 

 

 

 

Has anyone else ever boarded an RCI Ship and found the pools closed?

A quick note about the pools on Serenade. We had rough seas going South the preceding cruise and both were shut down for a least a day and half. The next to last sea day they had the main pool shut down to be repainted. The pool was opened the last day (Thursday) and the water was so discolored we choose to go into the Solarium Pool. I am guessing maybe paint was still wet??? Just a thought...

Last night we had dinner at CHOPS and we were very disappointed.

 

 

Our Steaks were cooked as requested and the flavor was "right" but they were both tough and chewy!

 

Judith had the 6 Oz Filet

 

 

I had the 10 oz Filet with Bearnaise Sauce

 

 

 

We were so disappointed with the steaks that we are going to cancel our second reservation at Chops.

OMG! Judith's steak looks ridiculous, the fork is larger than her steak. :eek: and your steak looks like it's drowning in sauce. :eek:

Thank you for this review and all these pics. It's Awesome! You are making it feel like we are cruising right along with you. :)

Happy Sailing,

Debbie

:)

Hi Train. We just got off then you got on and am enjoying your pics and review so far. Almost like cruising a B2B

Yes, the pool was repainted at a very odd time.

Although we did not eat there, we heard the same things about Chops.

The Coast Guard was doing tests prior to our cruise too, we were told this is random and happens once a year.

The Serenade will mostly be updated behind the scenes,,,engine room etc.. for 17 days in Nov/17. The upholstery in the theatre needs cleaning/replacement badly. This will not be a full refurbishment.

No more ships or change of ships are planned for Bayonne/Baltimore.

We had surf and stream and no complaints, we caught up on Survivor, Below Deck, and a movie or two late at night while the TV was searching for a signal, our laptop was not.

Yes, Topi the CD was great!!

After I get my life back in order, I will write a review.

Have a wonder remainder of your cruise!!:)

can you see how heavy the dumbbells go up to in the gym. Pretty please!!! I'm going on the ship on the 23rd of this month

Day 4 - Monday - December 5, 2016 - Tortola, B.V.I.

We are going ashore today and taking our walkers.

We have no excursions booked and may arrange a private taxi tour of the island.

VOOM Update

Speed test results:

Ping: 592 ms

Download Speed: 3.27 Mbps

Upload Speed: 0.15 Mbps

http://www.speedtest.net

I am surprised with the speed of uploading photos to PhotoBucket early in the morning when I am one of the few up and using the system. Later in the day when everyone has their sell phones hooked in it is noticeably slower.

One big surprise is that I can watch videos on YouTube anytime with almost no delays or interruptions! I cannot do this at home with my Hughes,Net Satellite System!

Booty Report

My favorite activity is: Getting attention from the staff!

My favorite part of playtime is: Hanging out with my friends!

My favorite friend is: Nikki!

My appetite has been: Pretty good!

So far my favorite part of being in Pet Paradise is: Running around everywhere!

Miss you, Booty

Cat Report:

Max (top) and Cooper (bottom) are both doing fine!

It has been raining but we have sailed out from under the clouds and it is starting to look like it will be a nice day ashore.

We are due at the pier at 8 am and expect to be cleared by 8:30 am.

"All Aboard" time is 4:30 pm.

We are planning to dine at Giovanni's tonight with Kathie and Jack.

I checked their menu and they still have Lamb Chops on it.

We hope they have real Mint Jelly to go with the Lamb, not some kind of "strange and spiffy" mint sauce.

We are getting ready to go ashore and meet Kathie & Jack at 9:30 am.

There is still some light rain in the area but it seems to be moving off.

Weather permitting we will tour the terminal area and maybe arrange for a taxi tour of the island.

More later...

Enjoying your thread. We are sailing in March and look forward to all your comments and suggestions.

Thanks,

Scott

I got a late start....but am now caught up! Hope you all are having a great day ashore, and thanks for taking us all along with you :)

We are planning to dine at Giovanni's tonight with Kathie and Jack.

 

I checked their menu and they still have Lamb Chops on it.

 

We hope they have real Mint Jelly to go with the Lamb, not some kind of "strange and spiffy" mint sauce.

I had to laugh at this one. I cruised right before you and we ended up at an all British table. And everyone was very lovely, They ordered the lamb shanks in the MDR and wanted that " strange and spiffy" and were served the mint jelly........we had to explain to them that it was quite common in the US to serve it that way, but they really looked bewildered!

Living a B2B.....Thanks!!:)

Trainman-2, noticed that you're reading The Last Jihad. Love the series of books by the same author, i.e., Rosenberg. Suggest that you check out the library and look for novels by Daniel Silva. Excellent writer who researched all the sites described in his terrorist books.You won't be disappointed. We, the souse and, I are leaving in December 22nd on the same cruise and itinerary as you are presently on. Best regards and hope you and your lovely wife enjoy the cruise. Sheldon

I have a few minutes for a quick update.

We went ashore this morning just after a rain shower and returned just before another rain shower. We "shopped" all of the stores in the terminal area but felt that everything was over priced and didn't see anything we could not get along without.

We were on board in time for lunch at the Windjammer.

Judith

Me

Tonight we are going to Giovanni's for Lamb or maybe a Filet. (If they still have them)

NOTE TO SMOKERS!

 

The entire Terminal Area is non-smoking, inside and outside. Most of the staff in the stores seem to be honorary members of the anti-smoking police and they will run out of their stores to berate you if you are smoking while walking down the middle of the street.

Here we are on our way to the terminal area where we posed for this photo.

We sailed at 5:00 pm and, after turning around, we are on our way.

Much more later...

Enjoying your review and photos. Will be on Serenade on 12/23. Notice you don't eat in the MDR much, but if you do, could you post the dinner menus?

Some reviews I've read lately mention that the MDR menus have changed and have less items. We're D+ and have enjoyed the MDR food menu options.

I'll look forward to checking out your ongoing reviews.

I have a few minutes for a quick update.

 

We went ashore this morning just after a rain shower and returned just before another rain shower. We "shopped" all of the stores in the terminal area but felt that everything was over priced and didn't see anything we could not get along without.

 

We were on board in time for lunch at the Windjammer.

 

Judith

 

 

Me

 

 

Tonight we are going to Giovanni's for Lamb or maybe a Filet. (If they still have them)

 

 

 

 

 

Here we are on our way to the terminal area where we posed for this photo.

 

 

 

We sailed at 5:00 pm and, after turning around, we are on our way.

 

 

Much more later...

Love the hat it's a make America great again one that? Anyone on the cruise lashing out about it?

I have a few minutes for a quick update.

 

We went ashore this morning just after a rain shower and returned just before another rain shower. We "shopped" all of the stores in the terminal area but felt that everything was over priced and didn't see anything we could not get along without.

 

We were on board in time for lunch at the Windjammer.

 

Judith

 

 

 

Me

 

 

 

Tonight we are going to Giovanni's for Lamb or maybe a Filet. (If they still have them)

 

 

 

 

 

Here we are on our way to the terminal area where we posed for this photo.

 

 

 

 

We sailed at 5:00 pm and, after turning around, we are on our way.

 

 

Much more later...

Bravo to NON SMOKING. I prepped them at all ports the two weeks before. What do you mean by streets? The area around the shops?

Enjoying you review just the same. Serenade did allow smoking in the Casino Bar even without playing.

What do you mean by streets? The area around the shops?

Streets are the areas between buildings where cars and trucks normally operate. In this case, the streets were closed to vehicular traffic when one or more ships are in port!

See the area between the yellow curbs in the photo below. This is a street!

We had a great dinner tonight at Giovanni's!

The old basket of assorted breads and sticks is gone and has been replaced with some excellent Italian style bread and an oil and balsamic vinegar dip.

Jack & Kathie special ordered some risotto with mushrooms which was excellent!

They also gave us a small plate to sample.

After extensive negotiations, my request to increase the regular three lamb chop order to a five lamb chop order was denied unless I was willing to pay a $10 up-charge. We compromised on four lamb chops for no extra charge.

Judith couldn't eat all four of hers so she gave me one more which brought my order up to five.

Everything was cooked just right and presented with panache.

We were all very pleased with the dinner!