Southern Caribbean Cruise Q's

[beagledude]

We are considering a Southern Caribbean cruise next year. We have cruised 2x, both on the Mariner out of LA and had a great time (took my family 15 years to get me on a ship). We did the Mariner again because we live so close to the port, but it is time to venture out. We had both of our young adult kids with us on the Mariner, but this time it would be just my wife and I.

 

We are looking at a mid-late October 2011 sailing.

 

1. Serenade or Adventure? We will be staying in either a Grand or Owner's Suite. I have a good understanding of the two different classes of ships and having been on a Voyager-class am just a bit worried I may miss some of the amenities. We are leaning towards the Serenade since it is just the two of us.

 

2. Looks like Serenade has two itineraries. Which one is better?

 

3. Port or Starboard preference?

 

4. Weather in October?

 

5. Has the balcony furniture and TV's been upgraded on both ships. Not that the TV is important, just was pretty spoiled on the Mariner in the rooms we had. Just trying to set expectations.

 

6. Recommended hotels in San Juan for one night. Or is it worth staying another day in San Juan?

 

Thanks for your input.

[beagledude]

I answered my one question about which ship. Adventure is in the Med at that time.

[Slowboat2]

.

1. Serenade or Adventure? We will be staying in either a Grand or Owner's Suite. I have a good understanding of the two different classes of ships and having been on a Voyager-class am just a bit worried I may miss some of the amenities. We are leaning towards the Serenade since it is just the two of us.

 

2. Looks like Serenade has two itineraries. Which one is better?

 

3. Port or Starboard preference?

 

4. Weather in October?

 

5. Has the balcony furniture and TV's been upgraded on both ships. Not that the TV is important, just was pretty spoiled on the Mariner in the rooms we had. Just trying to set expectations.

 

6. Recommended hotels in San Juan for one night. Or is it worth staying another day in San Juan?

 

Thanks for your input.

 

1. I prefer Serenade, I like all the glass and being able to see the ocean.

2. Depends on if you like sea days, one route has 1, the other has 2.

3. I like the Port side.

4 . Only sailed out of Puerto Rico in Nov & Dec (sorry)

5. Haven't sailed on Serenade since 2008, will be going this Nov.

6. Only stayed at The Embassy Suites both times (nice place)

[SANDY823]

If its just you and your wife - very simple -Serenade. I've been on her many many times- my favorite ship. Quite elegant, glass everywhere - you really have the ship feeling. There is no promenade deck or skating rink. The shopping area is a bit crammed - but I can think of no negatives. We did b2b this past Jan and are doing it again in 2012, so have hit all the ports many times.

It's port intenseive- which I actually prefer-because you can make your own sea days if you've been to an island you don't want or need to see again, or just want a quiet day on the ship with no wait for anything, and easy access to the pool and chairs.

Port or starboard - doesnt really matter- I like port side- but you never know which way the ship will be in port - as sometimes it backs in -- I do think we had more times than not that we were not facing the port this past Jan.

We've stayed at the Hilton caribe (on points) great hotel , easy to get to ship. So is the Marriott and whatever is open in the new convention center. I always recommend flying in a day early to save stress.

Hope that helps -- and yes, I've been on the Mariner also -but will take the Serenade any day.

weather in Oct -- never know -technically, its still hurricane season.... The only rainy cruise i've ever had was one Nov on the Adventure- 5 out of 7 days- ...

Sandy

[beagledude]

Thanks for the feedback. I'm looking forward to the Serenade! Since that sailing is so far out, I need to find something in between. That's why having the Mariner in LA was pretty good, so easy.

[Alexis]

We are considering a Southern Caribbean cruise next year. We have cruised 2x, both on the Mariner out of LA and had a great time (took my family 15 years to get me on a ship). We did the Mariner again because we live so close to the port, but it is time to venture out. We had both of our young adult kids with us on the Mariner, but this time it would be just my wife and I.

 

We are looking at a mid-late October 2011 sailing.

 

1. Serenade or Adventure? We will be staying in either a Grand or Owner's Suite. I have a good understanding of the two different classes of ships and having been on a Voyager-class am just a bit worried I may miss some of the amenities. We are leaning towards the Serenade since it is just the two of us.

 

2. Looks like Serenade has two itineraries. Which one is better?

 

3. Port or Starboard preference?

 

4. Weather in October?

 

5. Has the balcony furniture and TV's been upgraded on both ships. Not that the TV is important, just was pretty spoiled on the Mariner in the rooms we had. Just trying to set expectations.

 

6. Recommended hotels in San Juan for one night. Or is it worth staying another day in San Juan?

 

Thanks for your input.

 

1. I would take the Serenade because the balconies are glass and not metal. It makes for better viewing while sitting on ones balcony. We have done the sister ship Brilliance and they are really beautiful ships.

The were built with a lot of glass to be able to see out from many places on the ships.

 

2. We prefer to do both itineraries at once. If you can only do one of them, do the one with the most islands. Get in as much as you can.

 

3. I prefer Starboard side, Center Hump balconies myself. :)

 

4. We have sailed every month from September to December and they are all warm and beautiful in the Caribbean.

 

5. We were on the Adventure in Nov/Dec for two weeks and neither were upgraded in our cabin or balcony on Deck 8 center hump.

 

6. We like this hotel.

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/sjupr-san-juan-marriott-resort-and-stellaris-casino/

 

As for the Marriott. We stay there whenever we sail from San Juan and love it there.

 

The San Juan Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino

 

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/trave...llaris-casino/

 

It is a beautiful hotel right on the beach. It has it's own casino, restaurants, lobby bar, coffee and snack bar in the lobby. At night the snack bar serves Chinese food also.

Walgreen's is right across and down a half a block. A lot of people go there to get the things we can not carry on the planes anymore.

There are many very nice restaurants around there to eat at, but if you want a really good reasonable one, try this place.

Go out the front door of the hotel and make a left on Ashford Avenue. Walk about two short blocks until you come to a small place on your left with a covered outside porch for dining outside. It also has an inside dining area.

They have great food, fast service and very good prices. It is called Danny's. It is hard to see the name as it is on the top front, over the porch.

The bellman told us about this place and we ate there 3 times each on our last 2 stays.

It is very safe there to walk around the shops and ice cream places in that area in the day and at night.

__________________

[MagSeven1413]

We cruise late October or early November and have sailed from San Juan 5 times. As far as places to stay, we've stayed at the Caribe Hilton, the Marriott, and the Sheraton Old San Juan. The Hilton and Marriott are very close to the airport while the Sheraton is downtown next to the port. All 3 are excellent hotels, with the Caribe Hilton being the most expensive and the Marriott being the least. The Hilton and Marriott are in the Condado / Isla Verde area and have live Latin music most of the day.

 

If you have the time to spend a day or two there either pre or post cruise, I highly recommend it. There is a lot to see if you stay at the Sheraton- Old San Juan is absolutely beautiful. You can tour the 2 fortresses, 'El Morro' and 'San Cristobal', walk the Paseo de la Princesa (Promenade of the Princess), visit the Catedral de San Juan (and if you're lucky they will be having services), and I could go on and on. No I don't work for the San Juan Tourism Board. :) We just love walking around aimlessly and try to find a good local place to stop to eat and have a drink.

 

As far as the weather, it will be hot in October or November. I don't think we've had a daytime temperature below 85 degrees at any time. We've never been rained out in San Juan or any of the Southern Cruises. We've been caught in short downpours while walking around the city, but when it's between 85-90 the rain doesn't matter.

 

I've got San Juan photos out on webshots somewhere; if you're interested let me know.

 

Joe

[printingchick]

We are considering a Southern Caribbean cruise next year. We have cruised 2x, both on the Mariner out of LA and had a great time (took my family 15 years to get me on a ship). We did the Mariner again because we live so close to the port, but it is time to venture out. We had both of our young adult kids with us on the Mariner, but this time it would be just my wife and I.

 

We are looking at a mid-late October 2011 sailing.

 

1. Serenade or Adventure? We will be staying in either a Grand or Owner's Suite. I have a good understanding of the two different classes of ships and having been on a Voyager-class am just a bit worried I may miss some of the amenities. We are leaning towards the Serenade since it is just the two of us. You posted that AOS is not available at the time you want to go, so I'm skipping this question.

 

2. Looks like Serenade has two itineraries. Which one is better? "Better" is VERY subjective. My two favorite southern ports are Dominica and St. John (via St. Thomas), and I believe there is one of those on each of the two itineraries. It's really something you need to decide for yourself. Read the port of call boards here and get a feel for the ports. Decide which seem more to your taste. Both itineraries are great.

 

3. Port or Starboard preference? No preference. You will dock on different sides.

 

4. Weather in October? ?? Never cruised in October, but southern islands tend to be pretty consistent. Assume about 80s. Rainy season is during the summer.

 

5. Has the balcony furniture and TV's been upgraded on both ships. Not that the TV is important, just was pretty spoiled on the Mariner in the rooms we had. Just trying to set expectations. Haven't been in a balcony cabin. Serenade has not upgraded the TV's, as some of the newer ships have. At least not when I cruised on her in March of this year.

 

6. Recommended hotels in San Juan for one night. Or is it worth staying another day in San Juan? I don't want to get flamed here, so I'll let others answer. I personally think it is safe at that time of year to fly same day, since the ship leaves so late. Others feel it's too big a risk. The hotels in San Juan are all pretty pricey, IMHO.

 

Thanks for your input.

 

Enjoy!!!

 

BTW: I own a beagle too!

[cw2go]

Done both my choice is Serenade w/o kids