My (late) Serenade Review-August 29, 2010

[Host Faith]

Thanks for taking the time to put together such a great review! Really have enjoyed the pictures!

 

 

 

We always go to LeString in St. Maarten and always run a tab. It has never been wrong, even by a penny. In our experience they have been extremely honest. You picked a good spot to sit!

 

It was great to see detailed pictures of the St. Croix beach by the pier. There's not much information out there about St. Croix.

 

Thanks Sadie! We had a great experience at Le String and I'm sure they meant well...I just have a habit of not trusting anyone walking away with my money, lol!

 

I'm glad the photos in St. Croix were helpful!

~Chrystal

[Worn out mailman]

Hey mailman! It's so great to see another South Jersey person here!

 

You will really enjoy that stateroom. The balcony is larger than most others and the view is great. We're sailing the Serenade again in May, going to St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Aruba, and Curacao. Any suggestions for St. Thomas? We're thinking of doing a daysail with Kathleen of Highpockets.

 

Our airfare ran about $430 pp. It's tough finding flights from the Philly area to San Juan, those flights tend to sell out often. I've been to SJU about 3 times in the past year and a half, each time out of PHL. The lowest we ever paid for direct flights, RT, was about $375. Maybe you could push your sail date back and fly when it's more economical?

 

On a side note, I miss South Jersey. It's sooo hard to find a good cheesesteak here in the Princeton area. People have no idea what a really good hoagie or cheesesteak is unless they've been to South Jersey or Philly! :D At least we have a Wawa close by. :cool:

 

Hi again Chrystal.

I remember reading that you like to sit on the beach and relax. Well, in St. Thomas, it may be worth your while to take a taxi to Red Hook and catch the ferry to St. John, then another taxi to Trunk Bay. It's tied for my favorite beach that I've been to in the Caribbean (the other is Darkwood Beach in Antigua)..extremely beautiful with calm water, and great snorkeling....there's actually a snorkeling 'trail' established...it's a US National Park. Getting there takes about two thirds the time it would take you to get to the Jersey shore from Lumberton, so you probably want to get up early if you do this. I went to Magen's Bay this year which is on St. Thomas itself (so it's much closer) and though it's considered by many magnificent, I didn't enjoy it as much as Trunk Bay on St. John. That could be due to the weather that day being partly cloudy. So, if you've got a partly cloudy day, you may want to consider staying closer to the ship.

 

If we get to Aruba on a cruise, I'll want my girlfriend to see Baby Beach. It's not much of a beach experience (more like a lake) but it's perhaps the best snorkeling experience I've had.

 

Really? As close as Princeton and you can't get a good cheese steak? Pretty soon, you'll be rooting for the Yankees and NY Giants. LOL. :)

Edited October 27, 2010 by Worn out mailman

[Cat54]

It sounds like you had a wonderful time. We are going on the Adventure of The Seas in November of 2011 to some of the same islands. We have cruised on the Adventure before. In June we went on the Brilliance out of Barcelona. She is the same class as the Serenade. They are beautiful ships and we really enjoyed our time. Happy Sailing. Great review.

[Sandy Sails]

Really great review. We are doing it as a back to back Nov26/Dec 3, 2011. I can hardly wait to book some of the same trips. Sheryl

 

Come join our roll call for the 11/26/11 week: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1282763

 

Chrystal - loving your review! I see that your friend is also named Crystal - how fun.

[PNWgal]

This has to be one of the best reviews I have ever read on CC. You are a great writer! If you don't already have a blog, you should consider it. I'm doing the other Serenade itenerary in a few weeks, but after reading your review, I'm sorry I'm not doing this one! Your snorkeling tour in Antigua looked amazing!! Keep up the good work!

 

-- (yet another) Crystal :)

[jlbkty]

faith413, your review is awesome! You seem to see God's goodness in everything and it comes across in your writing. What a joy to read a review that's positive in every way! You have made me excited for my cruise on Serenade (March 2011) to get here!

Thank you again for taking the time to post your review. :D:D:D

[Host Faith]

Come join our roll call for the 11/26/11 week: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1282763

 

Chrystal - loving your review! I see that your friend is also named Crystal - how fun.

 

 

Thanks so much! I also have a goddaughter named Krystal . Fun times when we're all together!:D

[Host Faith]

This has to be one of the best reviews I have ever read on CC. You are a great writer! If you don't already have a blog, you should consider it. I'm doing the other Serenade itenerary in a few weeks, but after reading your review, I'm sorry I'm not doing this one! Your snorkeling tour in Antigua looked amazing!! Keep up the good work!

 

-- (yet another) Crystal :)

 

Hi Crystal! Such a pretty name :)

 

Thank you so much for complimenting my writing. I really do love to write. My shutterly account is nice, but it's pretty limited so I do think I'll create a blog site sometime soon. Your words are very encouraging so I'll get to it sooner rather than later. Sounds like you now have an excuse to book the Serenade again while you're on your cruise, lol!

Edited October 27, 2010 by faith413

[Host Faith]

faith413, your review is awesome! You seem to see God's goodness in everything and it comes across in your writing. What a joy to read a review that's positive in every way! You have made me excited for my cruise on Serenade (March 2011) to get here!

 

Thank you again for taking the time to post your review. :D:D:D

 

 

Wow, thank you so much. Yes, God is good to all of us even when we don't acknowledge it or can't quite see it. He created such a beautiful world- there's so much to see and experience!

 

Enjoy your cruise in March!

[Host Faith]

We had a nice dinner together as a whole group. We didn't want to leave the dinner table since it meant our last evening on the ship was coming to a close! We tipped our waiters and wished them well, and returned to our rooms to finish packing.

 

Sunday, September 5th

 

I'm a little sad all over again as I write about our last morning on the ship! We were greeted with a beautiful view this morning:

 

 

 

We all met for breakfast in the outdoor dining area of the Windjammer. The mood was a little somber, our friends were not pleased that these were some of their last moments on the ship, lol.

 

 

 

Disembarkation was a breeze. We left the ship at 8:40 AM and got a cab as soon as we passed through customs. We reached the airport by 9 or so and were some of the first people from the ships in the airport.

 

We quickly passed through the Ag screening and security, and there were plenty of seats available. Our flight was not until 12:40, so we had lots of time to do some last-minute shopping. Here's what the airport looked like when we first sat down around 9:30 AM:

 

 

 

...and here's what it looked like an hour later!!

 

 

We had a great flight back to PHL, our car service was waiting for us at the baggage claim...I think we were spoiled with the limo service!

 

Thanks for reading my review and for your awesome comments. This was fun! I think I'll try and post a review for each trip we take. Feel free to ask any questions you may have. Happy sailing and God bless!

[cruisinmamma]

Thanks for the review-it was job well done.

Hope you will continue to chronicle your cruises I loved your excitement!

[TwoCruisers]

Faith413,

Thank you for the WONDERFUL cruise review! I love your comments and details of your adventures ashore and on the ship. Your pictures are great and you have given me ideas for our upcoming B2B cruises on the Serenade. It was very fun reading and I am now even more excited for the next four months to pass and embark on our trip.:D

[Cruz4Days]

Great review! Sounds like y'all had a great time. This time next month I'll be in San Juan for my cruise! This is my 10th but it seems like it's my 1st!:)

[Sandy Sails]

I'm just sad that your review is over! Best one I've ever read - thank you so much for sharing! I just LOVE the Serenade and can't wait to be on her again next year. :p

[MARIVIV]

<P>What a great review---so detailed and complimentary!  I hope to sail on Serenade next year.  I love San Juan and now I know what hotel to stay with before the cruise.  Did you go to St. Lucia?  That is the main reason for us taking the cruise.  Thanks Again!!</P>

[Happy ever "aft"]

Faith413:

This was an amazing review. Absolutely loved the pictures of your lovely family...and also the websites for the various tour operators that you used. I have bookmarked them all. I have never sailed the Serenade but hope to some day! Thanks again for taking the time to do this-

[elizabethbp]

My next cruise is on Radiance but I read and loved your review. Your pix were wonderful, as was the review. Keep up the good work!

[tiggyfrank]

Thanks Crystal! Loved reading this while looking forward to my turn.

I'm just sooo jealous of all your upcoming cruises - have fun! :)

[Host Faith]

<P>What a great review---so detailed and complimentary!  I hope to sail on Serenade next year.  I love San Juan and now I know what hotel to stay with before the cruise.  Did you go to St. Lucia?  That is the main reason for us taking the cruise.  Thanks Again!!</P>

 

 

Hi there! We loved the Caribe Hilton...if you try bidding through Priceline, start at a rate of about $75 per night for a resort in San Juan. I increased my bids by $5 each time and ended up with the Caribe.

 

We did go to St. Lucia, you can see what we did on page 2 of this thread. I highly recommend spending the day with Spencer Ambrose. If you decide to go with him, please tell him Chrystal and family said hello!:)

[Host Faith]

Hi again Chrystal.

I remember reading that you like to sit on the beach and relax. Well, in St. Thomas, it may be worth your while to take a taxi to Red Hook and catch the ferry to St. John, then another taxi to Trunk Bay. It's tied for my favorite beach that I've been to in the Caribbean (the other is Darkwood Beach in Antigua)..extremely beautiful with calm water, and great snorkeling....there's actually a snorkeling 'trail' established...it's a US National Park. Getting there takes about two thirds the time it would take you to get to the Jersey shore from Lumberton, so you probably want to get up early if you do this. I went to Magen's Bay this year which is on St. Thomas itself (so it's much closer) and though it's considered by many magnificent, I didn't enjoy it as much as Trunk Bay on St. John. That could be due to the weather that day being partly cloudy. So, if you've got a partly cloudy day, you may want to consider staying closer to the ship.

 

If we get to Aruba on a cruise, I'll want my girlfriend to see Baby Beach. It's not much of a beach experience (more like a lake) but it's perhaps the best snorkeling experience I've had.

 

Really? As close as Princeton and you can't get a good cheese steak? Pretty soon, you'll be rooting for the Yankees and NY Giants. LOL. :)

 

Thanks mailman! These are some great ideas. I'll check them out.

 

...and I don't think we'll ever be NY fans, so much of our family lives in S. Jersey and Philly that it's the Phillies and Eagles all the way in our house! We get teased about it by friends and neighbors all the time, lol.

[BillOh]

Loving your review. You can really feel the fun and excitement that you experienced on the whole cruise adventure.

 

 

I agree, seeing the photo of the escalator going to the ship may not seem like much, but it does bring back the excitement of finally boarding after all the preparation.

[madameleota]

Thanks again, Chrystal. I really enjoyed your commentary & pictures. Our Serenade itinerary is a little different, but I still got some great ideas.

 

I'm going to try Priceline for our San Juan stay - you got such a great deal on your Caribe Hilton stay.

 

One thing I am a little nervous about - it seems like alot of folks on CC use private tours instead of cruise line tours. I like the idea of the private tours - it seems more intimate & that you get more bang for your buck. Is there ever any problems making it back to the ship on time? How do those work? Are they geared toward the cruise ship crowd? Can you tell me mor about booking the private tours? What I should look for & ask about? Like I said, our ports are a little different so I need to find different tours.

 

TIA, Eileen

[socorny]

What can I say but, "WOW!" What a great review. My mom, sister and I are doing a girls cruise in May. Your review with your family just infused in me a greater anticipation of what WE are about to experience. Your pictures put me there with you. I can hardly wait. Thanks again:)

[Host Faith]

Thanks again, Chrystal. I really enjoyed your commentary & pictures. Our Serenade itinerary is a little different, but I still got some great ideas.

 

I'm going to try Priceline for our San Juan stay - you got such a great deal on your Caribe Hilton stay.

 

One thing I am a little nervous about - it seems like alot of folks on CC use private tours instead of cruise line tours. I like the idea of the private tours - it seems more intimate & that you get more bang for your buck. Is there ever any problems making it back to the ship on time? How do those work? Are they geared toward the cruise ship crowd? Can you tell me mor about booking the private tours? What I should look for & ask about? Like I said, our ports are a little different so I need to find different tours.

 

TIA, Eileen

 

 

Hi Eileen! I normally search for tour guides mentioned often on CC. I find that the frequent travelers here on these boards generally tend to have higher expectations for their tours, so if they're pleased with their experiences, I can trust that the tours will be a positive experience for us. I have never had an issue arriving back to the ship on time. Actually a lot of these tours will get you back to the port with about an hour to spare. The tour operators' livelihoods rely heavily on a great reputation, so they are extra careful to ensure cruisers arrive to their ships on time. I have never gone with a tour guide that did not already have at least a few positive mentions, and am fortunate to say that we have not been disappointed so far.

 

What I normally do is go to each Port of Call's board on CC (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=5). I then do a search for "best tour," or "what to do in ____." Lots of options come up, so I read a couple threads, check out the websites of the suggested tour guides, then head to tripadvisor.com to do a search for my top 2-3 choices. I start emailing the tour operators for quotes, and am not afraid to ask them tons of questions for my peace of mind.

 

I try to book an island tour or two, and try to fit in at least one pure beach day.

 

Also, feel free to ask tons of questions in the Ports of Call boards, as well as in the cruiseline boards. Many people have sailed the itinerary you are planning to sail, so if you do a search for their reviews, you can find some great ideas.

 

I hope this helps! Enjoy your trip:)

[madameleota]

Thanks Chrystal (BTW, my nephew's GF is also named Crystal)

 

I think I have plenty of time to do the research. How far in advance do you have to book your tours? I'll have to start taking notes & checking out the Ports of Call boards.