Serenade B2B Review

[MikeBayAreaCa]

Just got home after a wonderful two weeks on the Serenade. Will start writing a complete review sometime tomorrow.

 

Great cruise, great people and we can't wait to do it again.

 

Just a preview: Crew was great. Dining Room food was very good. Chops is great, but way too much food. Cosol Tour in St. Lucia was outstanding.

We brought cokes and water on board with no problem. The second week we purchased a soda package and it more than paid for itself.

 

Never a problem getting a deck chair by the pool. Kid were well behaved both weeks. Very quiet both weeks. You would never guess he ship was full.

 

Weather was great the first week. Not as good the second. Rain all day in St. Thomas.

 

It's 2:00 A.M. now and I am tired. More tomorrow.

[DolphinSmile]

Looking forward to it!:D

[TxStacey]

Cant wait for your review Rookiedude! I am in the process of doing mine from the first week..Ill agree that the ship never seemed full at all..we had commented on that.

[MikeBayAreaCa]

We left home from the San Francisco Bay area on Friday night June 17th. It was an overnight to Charlotte. A two hour layover and then onto San Juan. We arrived at 11:45 and checked into the Doubletree by 12:30. Room was ready and they greeted us with some great chocolate chip cookies. The room was very nice, but much too small for us. I probably would not book it again.

 

My wife and I left immediatly to explore Old San Juan. We took a taxi. It was $15.00 We wandered all over, taking pictures (which I will post sometime when I figure out out to do it)

 

Lot's of things to see. Took the free trolley bus around also. Most of the places to eat seemed empty (that is usually a tip off to us) , but we found one place that was crowded with locals and took a chance. Glad we did. It was called Mojitos and it was very good. A family run place and not very expensive. Food was great.

 

We decided to walk to the hotel. It was still light. Well I enjoyed the five mile hike, but my wife was complaining after the first three miles (it was her idea).

 

Glad we did however as we found the street of Presidents. Statues of many famous U.S. Presidents. Have pictures of all of them.

 

We went to the grocery store across from the hotel (More expensive then our local stores) and got some diet cokes and water to take on board.

 

After that we went to sleep.

 

Up early and packed. Put on the luggage tags on and then put on our patches. Did ahve one problem. Sun screen can leaked. Thank goodness it was in a plastic zip lock bag and the mess was minimal.

 

Out the door at 11:00 and arrived at the Pier ($20.00 cab ride) by 11:15. Jane (Max's Mom andher husband John arrived a few minutes after us. I introduced myself to them.

 

On the ship by 11:50. Purchased the 5 bottle plantium wine package for the first week, something I soon regretted and then we headed to the Windjammer to get something to eat. We didn't eat any breakfast and we were starved.

 

We sailed the Serenade two years ago in Alaska and it was as I remembered it. Beautiful ship. Easy to navigate and really just the right size for us.

 

Lunch was great. Always something to find in the buffet. Salad bar gave you plenty of choices.

 

Room was ready by then and we went in. Grand Suite 1554. A nice fruit plate was on the bar. We had 1550 two years ago.

This cabin is on the hump and, while the room may appear smaller, the balcony was great. I found myself laying on the lounge looking out with the same view as the bridge. Some people have commented on privacy issue from 1552, but it was never an issue. I slept on the balcony the first night since it was so nice.

 

Our room steward for the two weeks was Carmen. What a delight. Towel animals most nights. Chocolate on all three pillows every night (my son slept on the sofa that converted to a bed) and she went out of her way both weeks. We purchased the pre-paid tips, but I gave her 10.00 cash the first week and another $20.00 the second.

 

As we were exploring our room our luggage arrived. By 2:00 we were all unpacked for our two week stay.

 

Wife wanted a nap and I needed a workout. The gym on the Serenade is great. I was in there almost every morning at 6:00 or so. Today was an afternoon workout.

 

Dumbells up to 75 pounds, Weight machines to hit most parts of your body and plenty of bikes, treadmills and other aeorbic machines.

 

On every crusie the gym is always packed the first few days and then is starts to dimish as the week progresses. On the last day I was all by myself for a while. You also see the same people in there everyday.

 

There is also a walking/running track. 6 laps to a mile.

 

We went to the concierge club every night. What a great perk. We book a suite for the extra room, but having the CC is a great perk.

 

Each night we had a drink or two and met some great people. Very nice and relaxed. Maria was the Concierge for both weeks Very, very nice. She was filling in for the regular concierge. Vanessa and Sean were the bar servers the first week. It took just the one day for Vanessa to know exactly what we liked. Sean did everything and was wonderful for both weeks. Errol took over for Vanessa the second week.

 

We ate dinner in the main dining room each night for the first week Pedro was our waiter and Iris our assistant. We saw Iris in the Windjammer almost every day too. Great service. They did everything but hold the fork for us. Food was better than I thought. Plenty of variety.

 

Hard to understand the food complaints you always see here. We are not foodies, but enjoy a good meal and we found that this more than met our needs.

 

We like to dress nicely each night for dinner. We don't do it at home and it is a nice thing to do on a cruise. I did see men in shorts and sandals in the dining room both weeks. To each their own, but I would have been embarraassed to eat in a venue like that in shorts. I was in shorts all day and wear shorts whenever I am not working, but I that was one compliant I had. We really enjoy the aspect of dressing for dinner each night. If you don't want to do that then go to the buffet.

 

They did enforce the no tank tops for men in the dining room for breakfast and the no bathing suits in the windjammer. Speaking of wndjammer. teh scrambeld eggs are not too good. The made to order omlettes are great.

 

Not too many kids the first week. No behavior issues at all.

 

We went to most of the shows. Didn't see the Production shows, but enjoyed the comedians and jugglars.

 

For whatever reason I was picked by two different jugglars to go on stage each week. I will talk more about that later.

 

Need to go water the plants right now.

[TxStacey]

Oh wow Rookiedude...I was at the juggler's show the first week..of course I didnt realize that was you..lol..sounds like you had a great trip! I posted pics for my reivew this time and was able to figure it out. I put my pics on Photobuket and then downloaded them from there...if I can do, anyone can..lol

[MikeBayAreaCa]

Yes, that was me. :)

[trucruising]

Just got home after a wonderful two weeks on the Serenade. Will start writing a complete review sometime tomorrow.

 

Great cruise, great people and we can't wait to do it again.

 

Just a preview: Crew was great. Dining Room food was very good. Chops is great, but way too much food. Cosol Tour in St. Lucia was outstanding.

We brought cokes and water on board with no problem. The second week we purchased a soda package and it more than paid for itself.

 

Never a problem getting a deck chair by the pool. Kid were well behaved both weeks. Very quiet both weeks. You would never guess he ship was full.

 

Weather was great the first week. Not as good the second. Rain all day in St. Thomas.

 

It's 2:00 A.M. now and I am tired. More tomorrow.

 

We will be on the Serenade in December for B2B. Look forward to reading your review.

[Alayne]

I will be on the Seranade in October for a B2B. Can't wait to read more of your review.

Cyndi

[MikeBayAreaCa]

First day was a sea day. Very relaxing. As I mentioned I ordered the wine package. Turned out even the five bottle package was too much. Had a few glasses of wine in the CL each night and we just could not drink that much. Ended up taking almost two full bottles back to the room for the next week. Did not get the package for the second week.

 

We spenr some time at the pull. I did see towels on deck chairs at 6:00 in the morning. Felt like going over and taking them all off, but never did. It is amazing that people can't read. Signs all over that prohibit saving chairs. Didn't really matter as there were always plenty.

 

Even watched a movie in the theater.

 

We did not visit the casino other than to get our free pulls. I am way past the stage of gambling and can't see throwng money away on vacation. The cruise cost enough as it was. Use to go to Reno and Tahoe a lot, but now avoid those places. Besides the place reaked of smoke.

 

 

First stop was Barbados. I was up every day at 5:30. Got coffee in the CL and was in the gym workng out. Ran every other day and rode the exercise bike the others. Never any guilt eating all that food. Great facilities in the gym.

 

No plan in Barbadoes. We wandered around. Saw St. Marys Church and took some nice pictures of it. Strolled down the main street and around the docks, Ended up at a beach right next to the Boatyard. Rented two charis fort 10 dollars. They came with two rum punches and also got a "Banks" Beer. It was the best beer I had for both weeks. Very good.

 

The water in Barbadoes was so clear and very blue. I loved it.

 

Turns out that Jim and Debbie and their grandaughter, who we met in the C.L.,were also at the same beach. Didn't know that until we talked with them that night. They have been on over 50 cruises.

 

We spent about 2 to 3 hours on the beach and then walked back to the ship. I really don't like taking taxi's. Prefer to walk or take the public bus. You learn alot more about the people on an island taking the public bus.

 

We took public busses in Antigua and Aruba.

 

Next Day was St. Lucia. Again no plan. Was going to book the Cosol Tour, but never got around to it. We walk off the ship and the first person to see us is, you guessed it, Cosol. He needs two more people for his tour. It was just Yvonne and me. Son stayed on the ship. He quoted me $65.00, which is the regular price. Pay at the end of the tour. So away we went. The result was the best tour of the cruise. Bapstiste was our driver. There were three full vans and the blue van with all the drinks.

 

Turned out to be a seven hour day. Great food. All the beer, soda, rum punch and water you wanted. A high speed boat ride to a beach. Got back to the ship in plenty of time. Well worth it. The great reviews of this tour on the port thread were correct.

 

St. Lucia is a interesting island. Woman washing their clothes and their hair in the creek. Schools were in session and students wore immaculate uniforms that werer clean and pressed. All the boys wore their pants at an appropriate level, not like what we see in the U.S.

 

Island appeared to be very poor. They must really depend on cruise ships to bolster their economy.

 

Tomorrow Antgua and our bus ride to Valley Church Beach.

[janabm81]

Can't wait to hear more!!!! I'll be doing our review in the next couple days once I get caught back up at work......It was a great cruise though!!! :)

[Alayne]

Rookiedude,

What was the transition like between the first half and the second half?

Cyndi

[erin_cruisers]

Can't wait to hear more of your trip.

We're on it in just two weeks. :D

[cruzin2relax]

Just got home after a wonderful two weeks on the Serenade. Will start writing a complete review sometime tomorrow.

 

Great cruise, great people and we can't wait to do it again.

 

Just a preview: Crew was great. Dining Room food was very good. Chops is great, but way too much food. Cosol Tour in St. Lucia was outstanding.

We brought cokes and water on board with no problem. The second week we purchased a soda package and it more than paid for itself.

 

We're doing a B2B also in October. Was wondering how you got the cokes & water on board...in suitcases/backpacks or in plain sight?

Also did you have your room steward remove everything from the refrigerator and put your drinks in it? I had heard someone else do this. Was debating on whether to get the coke card for each week or just 1 week....still undecided.

Just curious! Just 3 months and we'll be on SOS!! Can't wait!

[MikeBayAreaCa]

Been swamped so have not been able to continue the review. Going to try and do more this week.

 

We just took the cokes in water on in a back pack. No problems. We have always done that.

 

I took the stuff out of the fridge and told the room steward we would no be using them. Again no problems.

 

After the success of the coke card for my son on the second week I would not hesitate to get it again. It more than paid for itself. At dinner the assitant waiter kept refilling his glass over and over without being asked. Of course he drinkes diet coke like it's going out of style.

[cheaptravel]

Rookiedude, when you have the time to get back to your review, I have a question. If you saved your compasses, is there a way you could send me a copy for the Barbados thru St. Croix week ?

 

Thanks, and we await more of your story. :)

[jameybano]

Mike-

I had a good giggle when I read your comment about the 5 night wine package! Don and I enjoy wine with dinner, so we ordered the SEVEN bottle package. I didn't think that one through though, as I have never had wine seven nights in a row! Especially when you add in the wine Vanessa forced me to drink, I was all "wined" out by day four ( I have since recovered ;) ). We brought back two bottles, so the five bottle package might work for us!

 

Great meeting you and your family. Yvonne looked gorgeous in that red gown on the first formal night. Glad you made it back to SFO safely.

[brianabrad]

Great review. We leave on the Serenade this Sunday. We are on the Aruba itinerary. I'm assuming that's the second leg of your trip. Hoping to read more of your review before we leave!! :)

[BillOh]

There is also a walking/running track. 6 laps to a mile..

 

I've never been on a Radiance class, but am considering it for our next cruise. Was there any problems with deck chairs and people while trying to run? This can be an issue on Voyager and Freedom class ships.

[Tim,n,Sue]

We are doing a B2B on the Serenade in September of this year. There are a number of people on our threads doing B2B's and we all want to know what the specific procees that happens on the Serenade. Looks like you can tell us. Can you please go into detail on the process that was used for the B2B people. Did you meet in a certain place, was lunch provided, did you have access to your cabin at all times. We had friends who were given a complimentary laundry service on one B2B but not on another B2B.

 

We want details, lots and lots of details.

[maxs mom]

We are doing a B2B on the Serenade in September of this year. There are a number of people on our threads doing B2B's and we all want to know what the specific procees that happens on the Serenade. Looks like you can tell us. Can you please go into detail on the process that was used for the B2B people. Did you meet in a certain place, was lunch provided, did you have access to your cabin at all times. We had friends who were given a complimentary laundry service on one B2B but not on another B2B.

 

We want details, lots and lots of details.

 

Hey.....Don't know if you saw my review from this same B2B or not, but I have it all detailed there. Have a look.....

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1441400

[Tim,n,Sue]

Hey.....Don't know if you saw my review from this same B2B or not' date=' but I have it all detailed there. Have a look.....[/size']

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1441400

 

Have flagged it now. Did a quick scroll through to the B2B part. Did you have to get off the ship in S.J. for customs/immigration. How was the lunch?

[maxs mom]

Have flagged it now. Did a quick scroll through to the B2B part. Did you have to get off the ship in S.J. for customs/immigration. How was the lunch?

 

No.....you do not have to get off the ship. Just show up at the International Desk on Deck 8 between 8 and 9 to pick up your new Sea Pass cards. The lunch was fabulous. Be sure and go. Some people didn't go. It was very nice. You will love the B2B, especially on this ship. They really take care of you!

[trucruising]

Purchased the 5 bottle plantium wine package for the first week, something I soon regretted.

 

Curious, can you elaborate on why you regretted purchasing the wine package?