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Everything Serenade of the Seas

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NordicPrince

NordicPrince

Posted
Posted
Does anybody know how to get to the helocopter pad on the Serenade? We were on the Freedom last year and never made it there.

 

Thanks

 

A smart aleck (1/2 of me) would say take a helicopter.

 

The proper half of me would say you go to deck 5 and go outside on the promenade area. You walk completely forward, the path will get narrow, you will come to a set of steps, you go up and there you are.

 

I got to tell you, it gets windy out there when the ship is moving.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

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BILL-WI

BILL-WI

Posted
Posted
Does anybody know how to get to the helocopter pad on the Serenade? We were on the Freedom last year and never made it there.

 

Thanks

 

In some of the Caribbean ports, if you are up early in the AM, as the ship is going into the port, you will see Dolphins form the helicopter pad. Also, it will be less windy, because the ship is going much slower!

 

BILL

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dnrider

dnrider

Posted
Posted

I also have been looking for "Everything" to no avail. We are cruising April 17 to St. Thomas-Barbados on the Serenade. The Cruise Critic forums are great, but would love to see a recent Compass. My hubby (a 1st time cruiser) thinks he is going to be bored......thought if he saw Compass it might convince him otherwise. Also, we booked the mini-boats in St. Croix and haven't found any info on that excursion.

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melbur

melbur

Posted
Posted
I also have been looking for "Everything" to no avail. We are cruising April 17 to St. Thomas-Barbados on the Serenade. The Cruise Critic forums are great, but would love to see a recent Compass. My hubby (a 1st time cruiser) thinks he is going to be bored......thought if he saw Compass it might convince him otherwise. Also, we booked the mini-boats in St. Croix and haven't found any info on that excursion.

 

I have all the compasses but keep in mind they vary every sailing, they are rarely exactly the same week to week. Being a port intensive itinerary, it would be tough to get bored. Do you have tours planned in other ports?

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Suzy B

Suzy B

Posted
Posted

Hi Lou,

 

Wow! Thank you so much for the great detail on the Pro's & Con's of the Starboard side. As you say, "depending on if they pull in or back in", results will differ. What side was the dock on for your departure & return back to San Juan?

 

Being that you've sailed so many times on the Serenade, has your Captain been the same?

 

Bill - thanks for answering the elevator question ..."elevators on the hump are port side only... four glass enclosed elevators that overlook the sea and 2 that overlook the centrum." Looking forward to riding the one's that overlook the sea!

 

It looks like the Itinerary we are sailing Dec. 11th is only offered once during 2010 [st. Thomas, St. Croix, Antigua, Dominica & Grenada [saturday to Saturday] & it's not even listed 'in detail' in RCCL's Vacation Planner book. It's almost 8 months out & the ship is not filling up very fast compared to all the other RCCL ships we've been on, probably due to this fact. We're worried that RCCL may cancel this sailing as they may not meet their revenue requirements. Has this happened to anyone out there who has sailed on the Serenade? Or are we worried about nothing?

 

We've noticed that all four sailings during this December are entirely different itinerary's. Is this normal for the Serenade?

 

Thank you in advance for all your help.

 

Take care,

Suzy B

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melbur

melbur

Posted
Posted
Hi Lou,

 

Wow! Thank you so much for the great detail on the Pro's & Con's of the Starboard side. As you say, "depending on if they pull in or back in", results will differ. What side was the dock on for your departure & return back to San Juan?

 

Being that you've sailed so many times on the Serenade, has your Captain been the same?

 

Bill - thanks for answering the elevator question ..."elevators on the hump are port side only... four glass enclosed elevators that overlook the sea and 2 that overlook the centrum." Looking forward to riding the one's that overlook the sea!

 

It looks like the Itinerary we are sailing Dec. 11th is only offered once during 2010 [st. Thomas, St. Croix, Antigua, Dominica & Grenada [saturday to Saturday] & it's not even listed 'in detail' in RCCL's Vacation Planner book. It's almost 8 months out & the ship is not filling up very fast compared to all the other RCCL ships we've been on, probably due to this fact. We're worried that RCCL may cancel this sailing as they may not meet their revenue requirements. Has this happened to anyone out there who has sailed on the Serenade? Or are we worried about nothing?

 

We've noticed that all four sailings during this December are entirely different itinerary's. Is this normal for the Serenade?

 

Thank you in advance for all your help.

 

Take care,

Suzy B

 

Fear not - early December is not a peak time, so bookings may be slower.

During the summer months into the Fall, Serenade is the only ship in San Juan as Adventure is in Europe. She does a different itinerary then, including ports like Aruba that Adventure does when sailing from there. When Adventure returns in December, they go back to the current itinerary. Keep in mind they also are jockeying the itinerary slightly to accommodate a longer holiday cruise for Dec 23rd.

If your sailing is booking slowly, watch for price drops, you could end up getting a very good deal.

Enjoy your cruise!

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momof2furkids

momof2furkids

Posted
Posted

My husband and I will be on SOS June 20-27. We are getting into San Juan the day before. My husband wants to rent bikes and ride around Old Town San Juan. Are the streets conducive to bike riding or is it too much of a city?

 

Also, can anyone recommend good local restaurants on any of the islands - Barbados, St.Lucia, Antigua, St. Maarten or St. Croix? We did the western caribbean on Freedom last June and did the touristy route. We'd like to avoid that this time and do a more authentic, local-flavor kinda thing in the ports.

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kc320

kc320

Posted
Posted
My husband and I will be on SOS June 20-27. We are getting into San Juan the day before. My husband wants to rent bikes and ride around Old Town San Juan. Are the streets conducive to bike riding or is it too much of a city?

 

Also, can anyone recommend good local restaurants on any of the islands - Barbados, St.Lucia, Antigua, St. Maarten or St. Croix? We did the western caribbean on Freedom last June and did the touristy route. We'd like to avoid that this time and do a more authentic, local-flavor kinda thing in the ports.

 

I would not try bike riding in OSJ...the streets are very narrow & are cobblestone..traffic is quite heavy..and there are many pedestrians/tourists walking...

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NordicPrince

NordicPrince

Posted
Posted
Nordicprince - Thank you so much for your response. I was a little worried about #9558 but I feel much better. It was hard getting a cabine for both sailings. thanks again for your response.

 

Glad to be of assistance.

 

Hope you have as memorable a cruise as we had.

 

Also you've got to listen to Bill-WI. He's the Chief Maniac and King of

the Serenade Aft-ers. He's got Terrific YouTube videos out there.

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JerseyGem

JerseyGem

Posted
Posted
My husband and I will be on SOS June 20-27. We are getting into San Juan the day before. My husband wants to rent bikes and ride around Old Town San Juan. Are the streets conducive to bike riding or is it too much of a city?

 

As another poster said, biking around OSJ would not be a good idea- very narrow, hilly streets with lots of pedestrians and cars whizzing (or trying to whiz LOL) right by you. I suggest downloading a walking tour of OSJ before you leave (or your hotel's concierge should have one). It's very walkable (although somewhat hilly). Don't forget to visit the fort (El Morro) as well as San Cristobal (within walking distance of each other). Great views of the city and the harbor. If you have a National Parks Pass, don't forget to bring it! The Rangers give great tours at each, or you can use their guided tour maps to set your own pace.

 

Don't forget the sunblock for your walk- both forts will be very sunny!

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emeraldcity

emeraldcity

Posted
Posted
As another poster said, biking around OSJ would not be a good idea- very narrow, hilly streets with lots of pedestrians and cars whizzing (or trying to whiz LOL) right by you. I suggest downloading a walking tour of OSJ before you leave (or your hotel's concierge should have one). It's very walkable (although somewhat hilly). Don't forget to visit the fort (El Morro) as well as San Cristobal (within walking distance of each other). Great views of the city and the harbor. If you have a National Parks Pass, don't forget to bring it! The Rangers give great tours at each, or you can use their guided tour maps to set your own pace.

 

Don't forget the sunblock for your walk- both forts will be very sunny!

 

I've got my eye on the Segway tour of OSJ for this Saturday morning before boarding. Has anyone else tried it?

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paylady

paylady

Posted
Posted
I've got my eye on the Segway tour of OSJ for this Saturday morning before boarding. Has anyone else tried it?

 

The segway tour (2 hr) was WONDERFUL! We went the day before boarding so we only had one instructor. Day of embarkation you may have two instructors due to the size of the group. It was great to go to El Morro on a segway compared to on foot. We had a great time and have been on segway tours twice before at Epcot. This was the best segway tour we've been on by far.

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ilgander

ilgander

Posted
Posted
Love the cows on the Serenade. They are the ONLY blue ones I have ever seen!!

 

2848217490083281049S425x425Q85.jpg

 

 

Where are these cows? We've been on Serenade twice (and a third time this June), but we missed them somehow!

 

Carla

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BroncosFan2010

BroncosFan2010

Posted
Posted
A smart aleck (1/2 of me) would say take a helicopter.

 

The proper half of me would say you go to deck 5 and go outside on the promenade area. You walk completely forward, the path will get narrow, you will come to a set of steps, you go up and there you are.

 

I got to tell you, it gets windy out there when the ship is moving.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

 

LOL that made my morning....

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cruisingrightalong

cruisingrightalong

Posted
Posted

Take the external elevators that look over the ocean in the centrum area....go to the top floor towards the Crown Viking...they are right there looking peaceful and calm. The elevator on the "top" floor is solid on the side facing the lounge so the cows give you something to look at.

 

Lou

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