Serenade - Easter Week ... A Cruise Journal

[Matti]

As I said at the beginning, this is a great, entertaining review. Thanks again for taking the time to write it.

 

That looks super good.... But would still like to see the "actual" picture of what you were describing.... I wonder if any other CC'ers can help me out??? :D:rolleyes:

 

I was interested too. Just go on Google Images and search 'raspberry panna cotta royal caribbean'. The correct result will be obvious :p

[tjdj]

Great review and very much looking forward to the rest. We'll be on the Serenade 6/13/10 - our first cruise so we are VERY excited.

 

Thanks!!!!

 

Todd & Jyl

[BroncosFan2010]

As I said at the beginning, this is a great, entertaining review. Thanks again for taking the time to write it.

 

 

 

I was interested too. Just go on Google Images and search 'raspberry panna cotta royal caribbean'. The correct result will be obvious :p

 

 

Thanks!

[BobbyD]

Great review and very much looking forward to the rest. We'll be on the Serenade 6/13/10 - our first cruise so we are VERY excited.

 

Thanks!!!!

 

Todd & Jyl

 

I'm on that cruise as well. First time on Radiance class ship and can't wait!!

[emeraldcity]

Just a few photos ...

[emeraldcity]

We’d arrived in St. Kitts while I slept. What a charming jewel as seen from the 11th or 12th deck astern. Mounded volcanic peaks speak of the island’s origins, but they are now rounded off and smothered in green fuzz. A few sail boats lay at anchor around the main pier. Buildings spread all along the shore and the flat area close to the shore. But when the slopes sharply rise, the signs of civilization cease. I get the feeling that an artist on a budget would be relieved that he’d only need 2 tubes of paint for those mountains – light green for the non-forested lower regions and dark green for the vast majority. No wait … break out a dark, deep forest green tube for those shadowed areas in the mountain folds and below the wispy clouds.

 

I sat with my pre-breakfast and my notebook at a quiet, shaded table outside the Seaview Café and jotted down my impressions. This is probably the most secluded place to go for breakfast (while still being in a public space), so if you’re looking to shake the crowd, take your coffee and your buffet choices and head up here for a quiet start to your morning.

 

When I finished eating I headed forward along the sun deck. On the other side of the pier was another cruise ship … much smaller. It was unexpected because I seen the list of cruise ships in ports and this was another port where we were supposed to have the place to ourselves. I stopped next to another couple who were studying the ship as well and we tried to puzzle it out. The ship was less that half the length of the Serenade and probably only about 5 or 6 decks high. There was an assembly of young adults (I would say about 40 of them) on the front deck being addressed by a ship’s officer. He was in dress whites. They were all dressed in varieties of navy blue casual shorts and t-shirts. It struck me that it was like a summer camp where they tell you to be sure and pack 4 dark blue t-shirts with no writing on them and 4 dark blue casual shorts (no jeans). The couple next to me said they thought it was some kind of training vessel. I tried to determine if this fit the concept I’d read about where some people choose to sail on a windjammer that gives them the option of helping to handle the boat if they so desire, but I had to reject it. There is no way that a propulsion type cruise ship could make do with volunteers as part of their work force. Periodically the group would break up into smaller groups, so I reasoned that the officer was directing them into whatever smaller groups he needed for whatever they were being directed to do. Then suddenly the meeting broke up. The groups of people all dispersed quickly, fanning out in all directions, as if they’d just been sent on a scavenger hunt and time was of the essence. I continued my walk forward having rejected the thought that this was any sort of cruise ship at all. Most of the people had disappeared inside, but I saw a couple of them on outer decks engaged in carpet sweeping or window cleaning. As I got closer to the stern of their boat I had to do another perception adjustment. There was indeed a pool on the stern. It was clearly smaller than ours, but not postage-stamp size. Since I can’t think of any other type of vessel that has a pool, that makes this a cruise ship. There were 14 deck chairs around it and 6 deck chairs another deck up, just forward of it. There were also three or four people casually wandering the back deck or standing by the ship’s rails like we were. These people were not attired in navy blue. In my mind, that now makes two classes of passengers. There were clearly far too few deck chairs to offer seating for the numbers who were on the forward deck that morning. I’m trying to equate this with the type of cruising we were experiencing on the Serenade. Can you imagine the uproar on the CC boards if one class of passengers got deck chairs and the other didn’t … Wow! That would take the complaints about suite passenger perks to new levels.

 

I took several pictures of the ship, including a couple of shots of just the name plate. On the bow the name Freewinds was painted. On the side was a name plate that said Sea Organization Motor Vessel Freewinds. So when I got home, I goggled it. I landed on the Scientology web site that advised me the ship was a cruise ship used to provide a special retreat for those who are attaining (or have attained) a certain level in the organization. When the keel was originally laid, it was to have been a car ferry, but during construction, plans changed and she became a cruise ship that originally began service for the Commodore Cruise Lines.

 

I went down to the cabin and found DD sitting on the bed with the drapes open, curiously studying the vessel next to us. She’d watched the whole assembly thing on the front deck and was just as puzzled as I was. She got up and we went back upstairs so I could get my waffle/strawberry fix and she could get her breakfast as well.

 

Once fortified, it was time to go shopping! The shopping area for St Kitts is right off the pier, so it’s an easy destination. We were blessed with another beautiful day so my pictures came out sharp. The streets were attractive and well maintained, as were the shops. There were palm trees planted in the streets, which was a nice touch. Benches were set out along the streets to give people a chance to rest. Although the shops were air conditioned, the doors were open. Add to that another beautiful clear day and I got some great pictures. If I was the local urban planner with a nice budget, I would have added some lush planter boxes at frequent intervals, but somebody has to pay for all that, and I suspect it would result in higher prices in the shops.

 

We had barely gotten off the ship when we saw at least four people with green monkeys on their shoulders. Apparently, you don’t actually have to travel very far into the interior to get to see this local animal. Of course, the people that took the trek probably saw monkeys in their birthday suits, which wasn’t what was we saw. The monkeys in town were neatly decked out in monkey suits (sorry, couldn’t resist that one). They offered to let us handle the monkeys, but this is not an experience I need in order to make my life complete. We politely declined and they accepted that gracefully. Again, I compare this to the experience of trying to walk away from some donkey owner in Mexico who is determined to get you to part with some cash so you can photograph your 8-year old on that donkey. In reality, I was more likely to pay for an insurance policy to avoid my 8-year old coming within 20 feet of that sad looking animal.

 

I had planned a walking tour, so we wandered in the direction of Independence Square. Our route took us out of the obvious tourist area, but hardly deep into the city. It was a very short distance, but once on Independence Square, we seemed to be sharing that space only with locals. There are some outstanding trees and flowering bushes here. The size of some of the trees speaks to the environment they have put down roots in. They have had to withstand some serious weather over the years, yet they survive it and continue to thrive. I was particularly intrigued by the tree within the tree. It looked like it was starting all over from the inside of a trunk that had been sliced off. I wish I knew its history. I can only make up stories … my favorite version being that the original tree was downed in a hurricane so they cut it off. But a new tree started again from the stump. I’ll post a few pictures of the square and if you click on the links, you’ll quickly discover the tree I’m referencing. At the center of the square was a dry fountain. The grass immediately around it had obviously been watered, but it was a shame that the fountain itself held no water. I tried to picture it with water flowing. The drought we’d heard other islanders referring to was clearly in evidence. In most of the square, the grass was brown and dried from lack of water, in sharp contrast to the tended area around the fountain.

 

We wandered back toward the pier, passing through the shopping area frequented by the locals. Nowhere along the line did I feel that I had wandered into an unsafe area. We had to have stood out, but people would glance in our direction and then go about their business.

 

One of my objectives was to acquire some local currency. It’s absolutely the best souvenir. This can be a tough acquisition, given that the vendors are conditioned to trade in U.S. Dollars in cruise ports. My first thought was to try the local banks, but we passed two or three of them and the lines were out the door. Either Wednesday is the usual payday in St. Kitts or they were in the midst of a run on the banks. That left me with trying to talk a vendor into parting with some. When I go on this sort of quest, I’m just looking for a few dollars worth of currency and I absolutely never worry about the exchange rate. They could charge me three times its face value and I would neither know nor care that I was being fleeced. The first person I tried said she didn’t have any … we walked away from the counter and went shopping in the store. We returned to the counter later with some purchases and asked again where we could get some. Suddenly she was not only in possession of some currency, she was willing to give us our change in it. DD made her purchases first, so she got the cream of the crop … would you believe they have square coins! And coins with scalloped edges! If the banks hadn’t had such long lines, I would have made a beeline there for more. I was second and I got some great coins, but I also scored some folding money. Among the dollar coins, my favorite was the older mintage that was a decagon.

 

We wandered in and out of numerous shops. I wasn’t looking for anything specific, but I had some general ideas about what would interest me. DD found the shop that sells color-changing t-shirts and color-changing nail polish. We’d heard about it on cruisecritic and she’d filed that information away. We went in the store and I felt the prices were on the high side. Since she was spending her own money, she was free to make her own assessment concerning value for dollar, so she purchased both a t-shirt and a bottle of nail polish (yes, this would be the same nail polish that would later get lost in the cabin down that hole behind the TV … thank you again, John, for retrieving it). I spotted some very colorful, appealing beach towels that I could certainly make use of. I always take extra beach towels when I host my grandkids at the pool, because they are in and out of the water so much that by the time they are ready to head home, their towels are sodden. A good nana should be prepared to whip out extra dry towels to wrap around them before they head home. I seem to end up several towels short every year this way. The towels I saw in St. Kitts were priced at $15-20. While I will pay that much for the big plush towels, these were the thin, somewhat narrow ones. To my surprise, shortly before we got back to the pier we tried one more store and suddenly the same type of towels was priced at 3 for $15 or one for $6. If you find this store (sorry, I wasn’t astute enough to get the name), you’ll likely find prices of other things in this store are cheaper than elsewhere in town. I ended up also buying a skirt. Many of the skirts I’d looked at in other stores were made of several rows of gathered material, with trim along each row. However, the trim was on the front only. Since they generally displayed the skirts by hanging two each back-to-back on a hanger, it was not immediately apparent. I would have bought a couple of skirts if the trim hadn’t been so oddly rationed.

 

I did wander into a couple of stores to see if they had a golden sand dollar. One of the stores produced one and it was clearly not nearly as striking as the one on the ship. Furthermore it was smaller and cost more. But it still didn’t convince me to pay nearly $500 for something I could get limited use of. My DD managed to find some golden sand dollar pendants (the size of a quarter) in a bucket with shell pendants on a store’s check-out counter. They were $3. She bought one and that finally ended the pressure from her to buy the one on board the Serenade. But I will think wistfully about that pendant for many years to come.

 

Overall, I enjoyed our shopping adventure in St. Kitts. We found the shopkeepers cool and professional. They weren’t pushy, but I can’t say they were friendly either. There was one saleswoman who was an exception. She smiled and made small talk with us. The rest were polite, but distant.

 

We had planned an optional trip to Romney Manor, but neither of us was particularly driven to continue on that course, so we headed back to the ship. After lunch we checked the cruise compass and found out that we had about a half hour before the shuffleboard tournament. Given that the only other event this seemed to be up against was the informal bridge play in the card room, we figured we’d throw our hat in the ring on the shuffleboard court. It was a good decision. I’m happy to report that we ended up with silver medals for our efforts. The competition pitted us against other parent/child teams – all of whom were pretty evenly matched. We held on to our early lead for awhile, but were eventually edged out and settled contentedly for our silver medals. Don’t look for us in the cruise-in-review video. Oddly enough, the ship’s videographer was nowhere in attendance.

 

We cleaned up for dinner early enough that we could be back on the pool deck in time for the 5:00 men’s Sexy Legs Contest. Contestants were solicited and there was soon a line of 11 men who aspired to take the gold medal in this prestigious event. There would be four winners, but clearly some of them were unaware that the nature of their various titles wouldn’t put them on the list of the hottest date for the evening. They paraded; they gyrated. There was some hip-hop dancing and one fellow even got so carried away that he mooned the crowd (oh, please). The first winner was a tall guy who I instantly had earmarked the top candidate for Mr. Skinny Legs when they first lined them up. Apparently, he was a newbie. The judge in question put the gold medal around his neck and held off displaying the sign that said Mr. Skinny Legs. While he was basking briefly in his newly awarded honor, he never saw it coming. When they announced which of the four titles he’d won, his face registered complete shock. It didn’t take a whole lot of skill at lip reading to realize he’d uttered “Oh, my God!” Yes Sir, how’s that one going to play at the bar tonight? The next winner was a clear crowd favorite. He was an older gentleman who danced and swung his hips as he made his way past the judges. He struck me as being someone who was pretty comfortable with himself, without being full of himself. He won the award for Mr. Aged to Perfection. There was never any question about who was going to win Mr. Hairy Legs. There was only one guy who had enough hair that it was visible farther than 20 feet away. The judge however, made such a production out of awarding the honor that the MC had to prod her to get on with it. The final award for Mr. Sexy Legs went to a tall black man who looked a bit uncomfortable with having been thrust into the competition. He, however, had been a good sport and strutted his stuff. There was such a certain appeal to him that there was wide support for the choice. Both my DD and I were glad that The Studs walked away empty-handed. This was a group of several young men from Minnesota (or was it Wisconsin) who were clearly full of themselves. They had rolled their swim trucks up (and down) till the damn things were the closest thing possible to Speedos. Then they gyrated and paraded, jiggling their bottoms inches from the judge’s faces. My DD simply summed it up in one of her favorite pronouncements, “Fail.” I’m sure that somewhere there was a wife, girlfriend or (worse yet) a co-worker who was filming the entire event to post on U-Tube when they get home. Let’s face it. There was a time when you could step outside yourself on a vacation to do wild and crazy things. The mantra was “You’ll never see these people again.” Well, this is still probably true, but it’s hardly the point. What get’s posted on U-Tube has the potential to become a worldwide sensation. And it can follow you everywhere … for years.

 

We enjoyed another wonderful evening with our tablemates at dinner. We had developed a practice of mixing up the seating each evening, so we got a chance every night to have one-on-one conversations with someone different sitting next to us. Everyone shared their experiences of the day. As my DD and I talked about our shopping day, the newbies at the table brought up some questions about the ship’s shopping talks. They had attended the start of the ship’s first shopping talk, having somehow gotten the impression it was a talk that covered the differences and expectations of island shopping for the entire cruise. They didn’t realize it was only for the first port. I have no reason to doubt their story, but I admit that the information passed on at this point is third-party and subject to interpretation. They said they left the talk because they were being advised that if you were shopping and the store wasn’t on the recommended list of place to shop … don’t go in the store. The concept I believe was that RCI would assist you if you had an issue later with purchased goods. The reality of my world is that I bought a $6 beach towel. Maybe that’s why that towel was so expensive in the stores where I didn’t make a purchase. But I certainly don’t think it was worth paying 2-1/2 times the cost of the towel to get a guarantee that RCI customer service will rally to my side if the hem frays.

 

True confessions time: I have never attended a shopping talk on a cruise. There’s something ludicrous about that concept that a woman needs to be told how to shop.

 

Not to be missed is the Love and Marriage Show. Three couples were picked from the audience. Given that they all were seated in the same section of the theater, I think Dennis the cruise director, missed the obvious. It would come out later in the show that the newlyweds (remember the wedding party in the disco, day 2?) were the grandkids of the longest married couple. The couple in the middle didn’t identify a possible family link, but they were also from Minnesota, so I suspect they were part of the Royal Wedding Party. The star of the show was clearly Roger. He and his wife had been married for 56 years. Despite everything he tried, Dennis could not get this man to give a straight answer. Dennis would ask a question, and Roger would start of with a long drawn out, “Welllll, let me say …” The audience loved him. He had all us women in the palm of his hand when he said “I just have to say I have the best wife in the whole world.” We all sighed a long “Awwwww ….” Dennis stepped back and looked at us to ask “Did he just dodge the question?” We didn’t care. Of course he did. That’s what made him so sweet. It didn’t get easier on subsequent questions. Dennis would walk over to him and say “I’ll bet you’ve got another story.” And he did. He wouldn’t cooperate and give a one-line answer to what it was that most attracted him originally to his wife. He told the whole story of how they met and who introduced them and how he felt about getting up the nerve to ask her to dance. Dennis is quite a showman and he played up his exasperation at Roger’s easy-going oblivion to the objective of moving the show along. As the show progressed, couple number 1 (newlyweds) did a very credible job of embarrassing themselves in front of their assembled family and blurting out things for which they would have to apologize to each other about later that night. Couple number 2 was pretty open and I got the impression that they weren’t embarrassed by very much at all. Couple number 3 was the best part of the show, hands down … even though it was couple number 2 who won.

 

When the show ended, the next event on the schedule was the late night pool party. I love this event. It’s on my do-not-miss list for any cruise I take. But I was exhausted. DD and I went up on deck and passed through the area, viewed the buffet offerings, watched the dancers snaking around the pool deck in a conga line … then gave it up with some regret. The next day would involve an early wake-up call. We had booked an excursion that started right after the ship docked, so we didn’t have the luxury of prolonging the evening and kidding ourselves that we could sleep in the next day.

[kurtmp3]

I leave for my first ever cruise in less than 2 weeks on the Serenade...All I can say is THANK YOU!

This is making the wait a little easier.

I work in journalism, you definitely have a knack for writing.

Maybe its not what you're after, but many travel publications or newspapers pay freelance rates for good articles. Might be worth a thought once you get this 'journal' done. Just a thought.

Keep them coming, and great work!

[ArkieCruisin]

Wow you are a talented writer. Thanks so much for sharing your cruise with us. I can't wait to read the rest :)

[takevtr1]

Hi Ahawco,

Sorry for the delay in my response. I had been away from the computer for a few days.

Boy it seems I missed a lot.

 

We are 2 families from Long Island NY. 4 adults and 3 teenagers.

We will be on the Serenade 8/1.

 

First time on an RCI ship. Have been on about 4 crusies, all on Carnival. We switched to RCI due to Serenades fantasic itinerary.

 

Have been researching private tour operators for each port as we NEVER have taken a ship excursion.

 

Mitch....

[ahawco]

Hi Ahawco,

Sorry for the delay in my response. I had been away from the computer for a few days.

Boy it seems I missed a lot.

 

We are 2 families from Long Island NY. 4 adults and 3 teenagers.

We will be on the Serenade 8/1.

 

First time on an RCI ship. Have been on about 4 crusies, all on Carnival. We switched to RCI due to Serenades fantasic itinerary.

 

Have been researching private tour operators for each port as we NEVER have taken a ship excursion.

 

Mitch....[/quote

 

 

hi Mitch! My DH and I will be on this cruise. We are both in our mid-thirties. I agree it is a great itinerary. My DH has never been on a cruise and I was on an Eastern Caribbean cruise with NCL about ten years ago so we are really looking forward to it! What excursions have you planned? I have booked one so far...the 12 person Silvermoon catamaran cruise and snorkel. I am so excited. We are beach people so we will probably spend most other days a beaches including the Sandals Grande in St Lucia.

 

By the way I have started a roll call for our cruise so you should join on. There doesn't seem to be anyone who has joined so far. It is nice to see who else you are cruising with!

[emeraldcity]

Sorry ... I missed the segment in my notes about the evening show. In case anyone is trying to conceptualize the schedule, this segment goes just before the Love and Marriage Show.

 

 

 

I was surprised when my DD opted to go to the evening show with me rather than connect with her new friends. The show was to be a double header consisting of another appearance by the comedian Darryl Joyce, preceded by the new-comer on board, Dario El Gaucho. I'm not sure how many people have had an opportunity to see an Argentine gaucho before. If the term brings to mind an Argentine cowboy, you would be rather accurate. Although El Gaucho was missing a principal component for this venue … apparently the horse couldn’t fit through the x-ray machine. Dennis introduced the act and then left the stage. This was followed by a gap of a few moments and we began to wonder if the guy had stage fright. Suddenly, Dario El Gaucho made his entrance from the back, dashing in pounding thunderously on a drum and undoubtedly costing those in the back rows several years of their life in the process. He exploded onto the stage and launched into a drum routine, in case there was anybody still attempting to doze after the latest big meal. This guy was very funny and full of an amazing amount of energy. After his drum routine he extracted a couple of bolas from his belt and began to swing them around in an intricate dance. He would end each segment of his performance with a flourish, rather like my grandkids when they do a somersault and then turn to make sure I'm watching and announce "Ta-Da!". Once he’d done several different routines, he moved into the commandeered volunteer routine. Of course, it's always fun to pull a clueless beefy guy on stage to teach him a routine and El Gaucho employed this gambit with a good natured fellow who even permitted the entertainer to slap a disheveled blond wig on his head. Naturally, he wasn't much of a bola ace, but he gave it his best shot.

 

Next, Darryl came on stage to entertain us with a very funny show that managed to be family-friendly to boot. He launched into a series of observations about such subjects as life in the suburbs and women who chase the self-improvement "10 tips" they find in popular magazines. There were also a few hits about how young people dress, with special attention given to guys who have their pants hanging down around their knees. This topic delighted the nearby family of the young man in front of me, as they took special joy in making it clear he was a poster child for that stated fashion. Darryl kept everybody laughing throughout the show, while managing to make some great points in the process. The main point I took away was that we fill our lives worrying about what is wrong with us – a feeling fed by all those magazines that have those lists of ten things you should focus on so you can have a better figure, a better relationship, a better sex life, etc. All of them are coming from the direction that there is apparently something wrong with you. But the reality is that the articles are just written to sell the magazines. Wouldn’t we be happier if we liked who we are already?

 

The show was followed by another bingo game. DD tried to talk me into it, but I did the math. It was $11 for a Jr. Suite prize game and $22 for a $500 prize game. This was to be a $1000 prize game, so chances are they were taking the cost up to $33. Even at $22 it would have been too costly. It wasn't that long ago that RCI sold a pack of bingo cards for $25 that included 5 or 6 games -- 3 cards per game, with several hundred dollars being won at each game.

 

I did hang around for a little bit asking other cruisers what the bingo cards cost and I got plenty of guesses, but the guy setting up to sell cards wouldn't tell me when I tried to ask before the cards went on sale. He said that would be announced. However, when the game was announced, the info on cost was somehow not part of the spiel. In an nutshell, there was plenty of press about the potential prize, but trying to get someone to tell me how much the cards cost was like asking for the pope's home phone number. They didn't seem to want to part with that information until they had your sea pass card in their hand. To make matters worse, the line to buy cards stretched all the way to the back of the theater. Sorry ... no sale to the tightwad from Ohio.

[takevtr1]

I will join the roll call thread.

We have not booked anything yet.

I will be meeting with the other family this weekend and hope to come away with some decisions.

 

On most islands, we look to take island tours with some beach time thrown in. My group is half beach people and the other half not into beaches, so we try and make everybody happy. NOT AN EASY THING TO DO.

 

As soon as I have some info on the excursions I will post them.

Mitch.........

[emeraldcity]

Wow! Thank you for all the complimentary responses. I'm glad that this is striking a chord with people. I know how I was when I was researching my cruise. You are trying to figure out what works for you and sort through what other people have done to see if it's the sort of thing that would appeal to you. So much of what I read was rather skimpy on the details. Of course, the case can be made that I have over-compensated. Mea culpa.

 

A special note to my tablemates: No I didn't forget your names. I've avoided identifying who said what to whom about what and when or where it was said. It's my clumsy attempt to honor your right to some semblance of privacy. But it's on record who was going on our excursion with us in Dominica. However, I promise it'll all be good.

[ahawco]

The Pope's home phone number...that is a good one. I am sitting on my commuter train to work and I had to stifle my laugh on this one. You are a funny lady!

[ahawco]

I will join the roll call thread.

We have not booked anything yet.

I will be meeting with the other family this weekend and hope to come away with some decisions.

 

On most islands, we look to take island tours with some beach time thrown in. My group is half beach people and the other half not into beaches, so we try and make everybody happy. NOT AN EASY THING TO DO.

 

As soon as I have some info on the excursions I will post them.

Mitch.........

 

Sounds good Mitch! Yes I am supremely thankful that my DH is much like me in that he loves lounging at a beach and swimming in the ocean all day :)). My idea of true bliss! Although we are really looking forward to the catarmaran tour in Barbados. Good luck with your excursion planning!!

[sldcruiser]

We'll be on the Serenade in June. I'm loving this review even though we'll have a different itinerary. Unfortunately, I had to browse through several pages to find it. So I'm bumping it back to the top! :)

[toonjie]

Enjoying your review immensely! :) We also saw the MV Freewinds next to us in one of the Southern Caribbean ports and I did the same thing as you and Goolgled it when I got home. I guess, from what they say, Tom Cruise has been on the ship many times. They often have upper level meetings onboard.

We also loved El Gaucho, he is a classic performer, one of our favorites on RCCL!

[emeraldcity]

Enjoying your review immensely! :) We also saw the MV Freewinds next to us in one of the Southern Caribbean ports and I did the same thing as you and Goolgled it when I got home. I guess, from what they say, Tom Cruise has been on the ship many times. They often have upper level meetings onboard.

We also loved El Gaucho, he is a classic performer, one of our favorites on RCCL!

 

I'm trying to puzzle that out. With all the money Tom C. possesses, why would he choose to cruise on a ship that doesn't have a belly flop context?

[emeraldcity]

We got up early enough to be among those who would be getting off shortly after docking for early excursions. Our usual breakfast was downed quickly and we headed for the gangway where we were to meet Sherri and Mike. The objective was to figure out where the meeting point was for Levi Baron’s Bumpiing Tours. Although none of us really knew where we were going, somehow it seemed preferable to hang together so if we got lost there would be more opinions to examine to figure out how to resolve our directional issues. We needn't have worried. As the four of exited the pier we easily spotted someone holding Levi's sign right across the street. We met Levi as he was checking our names off the list he carried. We had a nice-sized party of somewhere less than 20 and were delighted to find that our Australian family from the first evening's dinner was among them. Traffic was snarled pretty effectively, so Levi had to walk us back a block or so to get to the vehicles. There would be two vehicles and our little foursome got the private "limo". Our driver was to be Cecil (pronounced Sessel) and he was one of the most easy-going people I have ever met. Considering the roads we were soon to be traveling, the man must have had nerves of steel.

 

Once we were all settled in the van, we joined the traffic edging its way out of town. It was rather unsettling to be traveling on the wrong side of the road, but that paled in comparison to the jitters we got from the nature of the deep gutters. If you've been reading this entire missive, you've hit stretches where you truly doubt how accurate the account is. This will be one of the bits you want to believe is an exaggeration. On one side of the road was a gutter (apparently for rain run-off). Dominica gets lot of rain, so they need to handle the run-off decisively. I didn't hop out and brandish any legitimate measuring device, but I judge those gutters to have been about 1 foot wide and about 18 inches deep. They were rectangular in shape and there were never any grates to cover them. Sherri later commented that she kept trying to get a picture of them as we were driving because she figured when she got home nobody was going to believe her.

 

Shortly before we left town, Cecil pointed out the high school and we each made quiet comparisons to the schools we have back home. I suspect my DD will think twice about complaining about her 50s vintage high school from here on in. While the building was neat and well cared for, they clearly lacked the resources that we take for granted, even in our inner cities. Within moments, we were outside of town and the road began to climb. Cecil pointed out some striking trees that were dotted with red flowers. He advised us that although that was an African Tulip tree by official standards, he’d grown up calling it the pee-pee tree. The flowers were a favorite among kids, who would pick them and then chase down their playmates attempting to squirt the flower’s juice onto their victims. If you got hit, you smelled like … Oh, well … you get the picture. He chuckled and deftly dodged the question about what role he played in the game. He pulled over at one point to pick some grass, which he twisted together and handed back telling us to sniff it. It definitely smelled of lemon. It was called lemon grass and is used locally for either keeping mosquitoes away or controlling nausea. Whenever there was an on-coming vehicle, Cecil would slow down and beep his horn. Then as the two vehicles edged past each other (and I kept a wary eye on that roadside trench) the drivers would exchange a friendly wave (Imagine … a wave – not a finger!). As we moved into the mountains, we began a series of switchbacks. Again, the van would slow before a hairpin turn and Cecil would beep his horn. When questioned, he said that sounding the horn was just to warn anyone coming down that there was another vehicle on the curve. It was a cultural adjustment for us. Our American foursome agreed that in the U.S. a driver who’s laying on his horn that much is considered very rude. There’s no question that the intent is “Get the ---- out of my way. I’m coming through!”

 

We climbed 2000 feet into the mountains on roads that were in many places little more than rutted tracks. I asked Mike if he would risk his fine personal driving machine back home on these roads and he said “No way!” We went through a section where the road was under construction. If this paints a picture in your head of impressive heavy equipment, teams of hard-hatted workers (one of whom is leaning on a shovel), rows of orange barrels and a signal guy with a flag, you haven’t gotten a feel for the island yet. First of all, I don’t recall a single orange barrel. There were about 3 or 4 guys, a pile of grading rock we had to circumvent, and no major construction equipment in sight. After we circled the pile of rocks, we saw that one side of the road was now paved in concrete … at least for a short distance. Then it was back to dodging more construction material and occasionally basking in the smooth ride of another section of concrete. The overall impression was that they make do with what they have. Unless I’m off-base here, they probably are leveling, grading, forming, and pouring that roadway one square of concrete at a time. And they’re strengthening that road because they need it, not because some congressman landed some serious funding for his district’s infrastructure.

 

Unexpectedly, Cecil pulled over and got out of the van. We realized there were other vans in the vicinity. There was no sign that was apparent to me, but it was clear that we’d reached the jump-off point for our first trek. It was raining pretty seriously by this time, but Cecil had advised us that they get 300 inches of rain a year in the mountains, so it goes with the territory. Levi was already unloading his passengers, so we joined everyone and set off on the trail behind Levi. Make no mistake about it … this trail is not handicap-accessible. It’s barely able-bodied-accessible. My DD and I had come suitably outfitted with water shoes. Hers had a nice thick sole. I had brought what I already had that had served me well for a number of years. It wasn’t a good call. The rocky trail was rather rough and I was feeling a good many of those rocks with startling clarity. We crossed a narrow bridge and reached Titou Gorge rather quickly. I think I’d been expecting a longer walk. The gorge itself is not for the timid, but that doesn’t mean it’s really all that scary. But you do have to step outside the box a bit to experience it. We walked down a steep stairway and into the water. A few people tried to rate the water temperature as a mere ”cold”. If that was so accurate, why were there so many yelps of shock as people moved off the steps? The water was icy … very icy. We all later agreed that it didn’t feel so bad after you’d been in it awhile, but I guarantee you that if the pool manager at the local pool in my hometown ever tries to maintain that sort of temperature this summer, he will be looking elsewhere for employment.

 

You start off walking on the rough pebbly bottom, but as you approach the opening to the narrow gorge, the bottom drops away and soon you are swimming. The walls of the gorge rear up on either side of you as it twists more deeply into the chasm. When I looked up I was able to glimpse a sliver of sky high above. I took picture after picture, trying to capture this incredible moment (most turned out fuzzy … you try your hand at photography while treading water!). We kept looking at each other and sharing our enchantment with what an incredible experience we were having. With surprise, we found that we had reached a spot where we could walk again. I should have shot more pictures at this point, but we were all focused on the next challenge. Just ahead of us the gorge opened up a bit and took a 90-degree turn to the left. We could hear the waterfall that was filling this section, even though we couldn’t see it yet. The force of the water as it emptied out of that deep pool below the waterfall and into our shallow gorge was tremendous. Levi easily swam across it with a round life ring. I believe a few of those in our party were able to make it across as well. For those who needed an assist, (like me) Levi tossed each of us the ring and pulled us one-by-one to a narrow cubby-hole where you could pause to view the waterfall and make a determination about whether you were going to climb it. The purpose behind the climb was simply to turn around and jump back down again. Another strong young man showed up with a second group of intrepid adventurers. He swan over to the waterfall and offered to help up any who needed a hand. My DD didn’t hesitate. She headed for the waterfall and was helped up so she could jump off. I tried to time the shot, but of course, I only got the splash after she went in the water. Once the first group had jumped, I decided that I’d kick myself forever if I didn’t try this. So I made my way through the rushing water to the waterfall. I still don’t know the name of that young man, but he was strong for his size. I had to have out-weighed him (but not by much, of course), yet he literally hauled me up that waterfall without a lot of help on my part. The force of the water rushing through the gap was tremendous. My biggest challenge was simply trying to make sure my feet were solidly placed so I could make the jump safely. Once situated, I launched myself into the deep pool and then let the water shove me back into the narrow, shallower part of the gorge. After everyone who had wanted to jump off the waterfall had done so, we headed back. Just before climbing up the stairs to make the walk back to the vans, everyone paused to stand under a pipe that was pouring warm spring water into the pool. Marvelous. It was hitting my back with enough force to simulate a massage. But folks were waiting and I had to move on.

 

We hiked back to the vans where drinks were passed around before we loaded up. It might have still been raining, but I don’t remember. We were so wet at that point that it was a non-issue. We headed back to the main road and then turned off to go down into the valley. The next stop was to be Trafalgar Falls, named after Trafalgar Square in England. There clearly wasn’t any similarity, so I suspect it was just somebody’s wry sense of humor.

 

Cecil pointed out the local produce as we traveled. He explained how the banana trees only produce one bunch each, but send up numerous shoots, that then become their own banana trees to produce their one bunch. Since Cecil always put the accent of the first syllable, it took me a moment to even recognize the word, but it’s my favorite way to pronounce it now. It always brings a smile to my face as I hoard a little memory of the great fun we had that day. We got to see pineapples growing along side the road, as well as papaya and avocado. Cecil advised us that the avocado is a vegetable if it’s green and a fruit if it’s yellow. I checked the internet and there is clearly some debate on that subject, so I’ll go with Cecil’s information on that one. He told us that the native language is Creole, which is a variation of French and he threw out a few native phrases from time to time. DD Is taking French and she recognized some of what he was saying. We arrived at the parking area for the falls and paused before taking the trail long enough to allow time for those who wished to use the facilities ($1 ea to help defray the cost of the maintenance). DD and I snapped up that brief opportunity to scan the tables laid out with souvenirs. The prices were absurdly low. We took another risk here, since there was no sign to indicate this was an approved Royal Caribbean shopping establishment and we bought some jewelry anyway. Then we hit the trail. I’m not sure if this trail was rougher than the last one or if the soles of my inadequate shoes were becoming ever more tattered. By the time we got to the overlook, I realized I was inadvertently littering the trail with bits of non-biodegradable, genuine simulated rubber. It was raining pretty hard here (imagine that! … in a rain forest). Since none of us bore any resemblance any longer to the nicely decked out cruise passengers who had embarked on this trip, we ignored the heavy rain and posed for pictures at the overlook with the falls as a backdrop. Half of the overlook was covered, but we didn’t bother to try and huddle under the covered part. Many of the less intrepid visitors go only as far as the overlook. We were the intrepid variety, so we headed on down the path to get to the foot of the falls where there were reportedly hot springs. The path ended abruptly in a pile of boulders that we then had to clamber across. At that point you could see the hot springs. There were a few vacationers who had already figured out a way to get into them and the sighs of contentment as they sunk into the water spurred us on.

 

The hot springs consist of a series of pools below the falls. The first in-depth study of the water raises some serious concerns about what it’s mixed with. The undeniable first reaction is that people are happily simmering in industrial waste. You then freeze long enough to start to rewind some of the facts you’ve assimilated in the effort to get here, chief among them is that no industrial complex big enough to spew this much waste could have possibly towed their raw materials higher upstream than you’ve already managed to arrive at. Minerals! That’s it. It’s just minerals! Repeating this mantra over and over becomes the mind game we employed to step on the wild side and gingerly ease our way into the murky water. You can’t see where you’re placing your feet so moving slowly is the best course of action. I eased down into the water and let out a blissful sigh of my own. It was heaven. Levi led us upstream a bit to get to a little grotto. We posed individually for a picture and then were directed to move to the back of the grotto. That’s when we made the discovery that there was a narrow chimney of sorts that you could climb up, which placed you in another warm, wonderful pool. Not everyone opted to climb through the narrow chimney, but all four of us did it.

 

Then it was back over the boulders and back up the steep trail to get to the overlook. We saw some land crabs on the rocks near the trail, but that is the extent of the animal life we saw in the rain forest. I ran into Doug and Phyllis from cruisecritic at the overlook. They were on another tour and their objective was to stay dry, so they were under the covered part of the overlook and wouldn’t be making the trip down to the hot springs. We piled back into our vans, grabbed some more drinks and headed back down the mountain.

 

...to be continued

[emeraldcity]

I leave for my first ever cruise in less than 2 weeks on the Serenade...All I can say is THANK YOU!

This is making the wait a little easier.

I work in journalism, you definitely have a knack for writing.

Maybe its not what you're after, but many travel publications or newspapers pay freelance rates for good articles. Might be worth a thought once you get this 'journal' done. Just a thought.

Keep them coming, and great work!

 

You'll have a wonderful cruise, I'm certain. Just don't sweat the small stuff (poke fun at it).

 

Hey! You can be my agent! You get a cut of the proceeds.

 

Thank you everyone for the really great responses. If you get a little 15-minute vacation just reading my segments, then we shared something fabulous, and most of you weren't even on my cruise. With any luck someday we'll get a chance to meet up on a cruise someday and put faces to names.

[takevtr1]

Ahawco,

I am getting together with the other familythis weekend and hope to have some decisions on shore excursions.

Keep in touch,

Mitch......

[BobbyD]

We are doing the same tour in Dominica. Looking forward to it (although not looking forward to the cold water!). You mentioned water shoes. Would Tevas be appropriate?

[ahawco]

Ahawco,

I am getting together with the other familythis weekend and hope to have some decisions on shore excursions.

Keep in touch,

Mitch......

 

Will do! Good luck! Looking forward to hearing what you decide. Sounds like a good debate is about to happen :)

 

Alena

[emeraldcity]

We are doing the same tour in Dominica. Looking forward to it (although not looking forward to the cold water!). You mentioned water shoes. Would Tevas be appropriate?

 

I goggled Tevas and they may actually be what Mike and Sherri bought before the trip, and they worked out well for them.

 

I dragged my 16-yr old fashion plate out shopping within days of leaving to insist she make a choice on something appropriate for tramping through jangles paths and streams. Everything she looked at was rejected because it wasn't "cute" enough. She ended up agreeing to a pair of slip-on tennis shoes in light blue that she ruled were the least objectionable of the possibilities, but she made it clear she'd never wear them again. As it turns out, she decided that they are good enough for cutting grass in, so she has a $50 pair of shoes with a really good thick sole for that job now.

[emeraldcity]

We are doing the same tour in Dominica. Looking forward to it (although not looking forward to the cold water!). You mentioned water shoes. Would Tevas be appropriate?

 

I goggled Tevas and they may actually be what Mike and Sherri bought before the trip, and they worked out well for them.

 

I dragged my 16-yr old fashion plate out shopping within days of leaving to insist she make a choice on something appropriate for tramping through jangles paths and streams. Everything she looked at was rejected because it wasn't "cute" enough. She ended up agreeing to a pair of slip-on tennis shoes in light blue that she ruled were the least objectionable of the possibilities, but she made it clear she'd never wear them again. As it turns out, she decided that they are good enough for cutting grass in, so she has a $50 pair of shoes with a really good thick sole for that job now.