Serenade of the Seas July 17-24 review

[Conanc]

We were on the same cruise as Paramedicduo and also starboard side. It was perfect.

San Juan we faced the harbor (not the airport and dock).

Barbados we faced the harbor (ship pointed in, pier on the port side)

St Lucia we faced the pier (ship pointed out, but plenty of viewing and photo ops)

Antigua, we faced the harbor area (ship was pointed in towards St John and pier on left)

St Maarten, we faced the main harbor and pier (ship was pointed out)

St Croix we faced open water (ship was pointed towards island and pier on left)

 

Hope that helps (starboard side was wonderful if you enjoy water views)

 

Sidenote - A and C, those are great pictures. I finally have our review up also. Hope you have the cruising bug now - just bring the boys along next time :)

 

Tiki

 

Thank you! :)

[KansCocoa]

Great review & great photos! We did this same cruise back in 2004 - loved it! We will be back on the Serenade next summer, but will be cruising the Mediterranean. Thanks for all of the info and the pics of the ship; it's helping to build our excitement!

[Canadian Tyler]

Enjoying the review and pictures. Great idea with the Canadian flag!

Thanks for posting pics of the ship, takes me back to my Serenade cruise in February. Lots of good times in the Solarium and Safari Lounge.

[paramedicduo]

Day 7: St Croix

We got off the ship at around 9:30 here, and wandered through the small town for a couple of hours, purchasing the last few souvenirs we "needed". There isn't a lot to see in the town, once you venture past the main street it's fairly run down. The boardwalk is beautiful though & we walked along...originally planning to walk to Sandcastle Beach, but decided we'd just head back to the beach and enjoy a day poolside before having to say goodbye to The Serenade. After a few drinks poolside, we wandered around the ship, exploring the last few places we hadn't checked out during our week on board. Dh was ready for an afternoon siesta, so I used the time to organize our bags for our departure. Later in the evening, I would realize how lucky we were that I decided to do the packing sooner rather than later...the seas were a little rough for mama & we left the dining room before dessert so I could toss back a couple of gravol & call it a night.

 

We did spot a fire station a few blocks from the pier

[formerlivaboard]

Fantastic pics, great details, and kudos on such wonderful consignment finds!

[DonnaK]

This is a great review! I'm really enjoying all the little details you included. We're thinking about booking Serenade for January when we're onboard Allure next month.

[mommabean]

You are too cute. I knew Max's Mom would be here, too. I love reading everyone's perspective on this cruise and it's ports and seeing pictures.

 

It's the luck of the draw when getting a tour in port. We had pouring rain in Antigua last year and walked from cover to cover talking to taxi drivers along the way. We finally made a deal with a scary looking guy. We had a pretty good tour but we had some ideas in mind already. He accommodated us and even took us to some out of the way places - like a road side stand for roasted corn. We look back at the pictures of him and wonder what on earth were we doing with this scary looking guy. He was harmless from what we could tell but he hardly if ever cracked a smile. It gives us something to laugh about. I don't remember what we paid but overall it we remember it as being a nice tour and didn't feel disappointed.

 

We have had the occasional disappointment when just grabbing a tour at the pier. But usually it's interesting with some unexpected surprises. That being said, this year we have a tour pre-booked for Antigua - something water based since it's so hot this time of year.

 

Gina

[CruisinRoxy]

Once again, great review. You are too funny! You have a great eye for fashion, consignment or not. Would you say that on formal night, most ladies were dressed like you? You did say casual night, for some, was a little too casual, though, right? I have never felt comfortable dressing for the MDR like I walk around during the day. My family tends to get a bit more dressed up, even on casual nights.

[paramedicduo]

Once again, great review. You are too funny! You have a great eye for fashion, consignment or not. Would you say that on formal night, most ladies were dressed like you? You did say casual night, for some, was a little too casual, though, right? I have never felt comfortable dressing for the MDR like I walk around during the day. My family tends to get a bit more dressed up, even on casual nights.

 

Thanks CruisinRoxy :) I would say that most nights, formal & casual, the ladies were dressed along the same lines as myself. There were of course, a few every night that surprised me with their choices. When packing/dressing for the MDR, formal night or not, I thought of what I'd wear to a nice restaurant on land...I'd never wear a ball cap through dinner, or blue jeans...so dh was told to wear collared shirts & long pants and, I went with the cute consignment shop casual dresses. It wouldn't take all the fingers on one hand to count how many times a year dh & I would go to a nice restaurant (we're usually hitting up a burger joint or pizza place with 4 boys in tow), so it was a bit of a novelty to get a little jazzed up each night...didn't hurt that dh was falling all over me because he rarely sees me without a ball cap or blue jeans or yoga pants ;) I think it certainly helped to make our first vacation a little more special (silly as it might seem to some).

[CruisinRoxy]

Not silly at all. DH and I have been married over 30 years with 3 kids. Now that we are able to go away together alone about once a year for a short trip, it's still special and my heart still goes pitter-pat!

[paramedicduo]

And, some more shots from around the ship...

I'm not much for desserts...but I sure did have my fair share of the soft serve

A few stations in the Windjammer

As paramedics, we were happy to see these in several areas of the ship

Still trying desperately to get a little color

Checking out the kids area

A little game of b'ball on our last day

[paramedicduo]

The crew...always hard at work

Latte-tudes (we never did get anything from there)

Loved these little "maps" outside the elevators

Deck 4 - live entertainment area

Champagne Bar

No explanation needed

[paramedicduo]

A few more from the ship

Looking up from deck 4...the glass, mirrors & lights were so beautiful

A few better shots of inside our suite...the storage was incredible...these drawers were underneath the bar top

The storage inside the 3 mirrored doors was incredible!!

[paramedicduo]

Day 8: disembarking/post cruise hotel

 

As suite guests, our designated area to gather for departure was Portofino's with a continental breakfast. We were leaving the restaurant at 8:08, following our concierge (Francois) and we were out front with our luggage & hopping into a taxi 15min later. As we were handing over our declaration form to the US Customs agent, dh put his carry on down - which had our boxed booze on top of...the box tipped and our 2 quarts of rum/vodka broke & started spilling all over the floor...Ugghhh!!

Anyhow, we took a taxi for $17 to the Caribe Hilton (which I had booked on priceline for $90). Our room was obviously not ready since it was only 8:35 when we arrived, but the bellman took our luggage & we were allowed access to all the facilities (the 14% resort fee gave us access to wifi, pool & beach - including hammocks, chairs, umbrellas & towels, fitness facilities...). We decided we'd head to El Morro before it got too hot to enjoy. The taxi fare was $18, and for $10 at the fort, dh & I had access to both El Morro & San Cristobel for the day. The 2 are easily within walking distance of each other & well worth the visit! Likely some of the best views we've had all week! We walked back to the hotel from Cristobel, stopping for lunch at KFC on the way back. It was likely about a 25 minute walk...a little warm, but not a difficult walk at all (the gentleman working the front desk had told me we'd definitely need a taxi because it was a 1-1.5hr walk). Once back at the hotel, we were told our room still wasn't ready (only 12:20 and check in is listed as 4pm, so I wasn't surprised). We thought about taking the public transit bus to the mall of America, but the sign days it's between 40-55 minute ride...the $16 taxi ride was less than 10 minutes long...worth it. The mall was huge, clean & lots of great stores. I spent a few of dh's bucks on back to school clothes for the boys & then we grabbed a cab back (not sure why it was only $14 back - thought San Juan had set prices). We got back to find our room ready, a king room with balcony & oceanview...it was a very large room with a safe, coffee maker & refrigerator. We changed & headed out to enjoy our last day in paradise.

It was very busy outside!! People were enjoying the beach, pools, children's area, restaurants & bars. If you're looking for some place quiet...this isn't for you, but, if you're looking for somewhere with every amenity available - this is it! We would stay here again in a heart beat...it was gorgeous!

We snagged a few loungers out in the sun - we didn't need any shade for our last afternoon. We decided to grab a few rum punches from the bar outside...be wary here - they cost us $13 each (for a single)!! Yikes! There were lots of options for dinner on the resort, but if the price of the drinks was any indicator of what we'd pay for a meal...we opted to order pizza from a nearby spot that was recommended by a bell man (we later spotted someone with Pizza Hut - so obviously there's more options in the area).

We left the hotel the following morning at 7:17 (for our 9:35 flight) for our short ride to the airport. The line ups looked long in every direction! We got our bags screened quickly (thru the agriculture screening) and went thru the self check in kiosk at the Delta counter, then headed straight for the security line...that was long, but we were through quickly - from start (leaving hotel) to finish it was just shy of 1hr.

Our vacation officially ended at 10:20 that night when our final flight landed & we ran to see our children waiting for us!! Vacation was fabulous, but the best was all the slobbery kisses & tight squeezes from our boys!!

 

The hotel lobby at the Hilton was cool...it was completely open at the front

Walking up to the El Morro entrance

Views from level 6 at El Morro

The cemetery & Chapel at the Fort

Views from San Cristobal

My poor 9y/o is obsessed with Puma lately...we don't have a shop nearby, so I had to get this photo taken...they were having a great sale, but nothing in his size, I guess I'll have to stick with online shopping for him

[paramedicduo]

I swear...I'm almost done! I know, enough with all the pictures...but I couldn't find very many pictures of what I was looking for when I was researching, so I'm sharing everything that I think might be the least bit helpful...

 

Oceanview from our balcony at the Hilton

The surf was pretty wild here today too, but the wind was a welcome relief

Almost sunset

Pool area of the resort

Hammock area

Beach area of the resort

[paramedicduo]

So, that's pretty much our week in review :) Now, being first time travelers, we learned a few things that we wouldn't do quite the same next time...

 

First, dh insisted on getting the soda passes for each of us, instead of bringing drinks on board. It ended up being $90 for the two of us, but there is no way we drank any where near that in soda (maybe it's because I'm a Pepsi addict and it was only Coke products on board). Next time, we would likely either purchase it by the can or even bring on a bottle each at every port - that would have been more than enough.

 

Next time we're in a suite, we'd be sure to take more advantage of the Concierge Lounge. I was told that RCI was fairly strict about not traveling from area to area with drinks in hand...but this was certainly not the case (at least on this sailing). Next time, we'd save ourselves the cost of bottles of wine in the MDR & just enjoy a glass in the concierge lounge and then maybe take a second glass to the MDR with us (dh is the only wine drinker).

 

We will pay more attention next time to the drinks we get in the pool area...I'm pretty sure we paid for the drink of the day in the souvenir glass a few times, but actually left the glasses behind, not realizing we had paid for them.

 

We'll be more assertive in ports about what we want or don't want - we got haggled into buying some jewelry a few times (just cheapie stuff & one set, I'm actually quite happy to have bought), but we're just soft Canadians I guess ;) We'll also be more assertive about our "no thank you's" when talking to cabbies.

 

Which leads me to...as flexible as we like to be, next time I'll spend a little more time researching our ports & having a plan for what to do in each place...maybe we'll be less likely to cave to pressure if I'm sure of what we want to do.

 

We purchased the water package (8L) when we boarded & we'd definitely do that again...or just try bringing water on board...but, it was definitely not a waste of money, it was great to have fresh water in our backpacks for every port.

 

If we were sailing out of San Juan again, if we were the only ship disembarking again, we'd likely opt for flying out the same day. We were very apprehensive about time restrictions...but we would have tons of time to catch our flight. By the time we disembarked, as much as we enjoyed one last day in paradise, we were just ready to be home with the kids!

 

And, despite the additional cost of staying the GS, we would definitely do it again...perhaps it'll cut down on the number of times we actually travel...but whatever we have to do ;)

 

For now, we've already started planning our next vacation...with the kids!! We're still trying to decide between a land vacation or a cruise - we'll search for deal :)

 

If you've made it this far...thanks for keeping up with my review :)

[cruisebabe50]

Amanda,

I truly enjoyed your review. We sailed the same ship and itinerary in Sept of 2010. It was our best cruise so far and we have done many. We can't wait to go again and maybe do the other southern itinerary this time.

[Alayne]

Thank you for a wonderful review. We will be doing a B2B in October from San Juan and I can't wait. Loved all the pictures.

Cyndi

[Darkingnj]

Thanks for your wondrful review. We sail Serenade in four weeks.

[OttoCal]

thanks for a fabulous review! Loved the photos!

 

It is so great to see the pictures and hear details about your trip. Sounds like you had a fabulous time!

[erin_cruisers]

Amanda, thanks for posting your review, and pics.

It was great meeting you and Chris on board. Hope to run into you guys again. :)

...and the Tiki's. :D

 

This was our second time on the Serenade and it really is a lovely ship.

The service is top notch, and certainly ranks right up there in RCI's fleet.

 

We stayed on for an additional 2 1/2 days in San Juan and found out why it was so busy - Monday was a national holiday, and so a lot of PR's were on holiday.

Our hotel (Embassy Suites) was packed, as were the roads to El Yunque.

 

All in all a great cruise.

[paramedicduo]

Glenn - it was great to meet you and Maggie as well! I think you are us, a few years down the road ;) I couldn't put a finger on why Maggie seemed so familiar to me and when I finally mentioned it to Chris the other day, he pointed out how much she looked & spoke like a friend of mine's mother - they could practically be twins now that I've made the connection.

Tiki Man - it was also great to meet you and Mary! I know I mentioned in passing when we met up in the Gallery area, that we had seen the 2 of you dancing on the first formal night...but, I cannot believe I didn't compliment Mrs Tiki at the time...she looked absolutely gorgeous in that dress she was wearing on that 1st night!! The color was stunning on her!

 

I'm back to work tonight...daydreaming about being back onboard while sharing stories with curious coworkers :)

[NordicPrince]

Thanks for a great review with wonderful pictures. Brings back great memories of our Jan 2010 trip. Serenade is a beautiful ship and the crew is great.

[sailingawaysoon]

So, that's pretty much our week in review :) Now, being first time travelers, we learned a few things that we wouldn't do quite the same next time...

 

First, dh insisted on getting the soda passes for each of us, instead of bringing drinks on board. It ended up being $90 for the two of us, but there is no way we drank any where near that in soda (maybe it's because I'm a Pepsi addict and it was only Coke products on board). Next time, we would likely either purchase it by the can or even bring on a bottle each at every port - that would have been more than enough.

 

Next time we're in a suite, we'd be sure to take more advantage of the Concierge Lounge. I was told that RCI was fairly strict about not traveling from area to area with drinks in hand...but this was certainly not the case (at least on this sailing). Next time, we'd save ourselves the cost of bottles of wine in the MDR & just enjoy a glass in the concierge lounge and then maybe take a second glass to the MDR with us (dh is the only wine drinker).

 

We will pay more attention next time to the drinks we get in the pool area...I'm pretty sure we paid for the drink of the day in the souvenir glass a few times, but actually left the glasses behind, not realizing we had paid for them.

 

We'll be more assertive in ports about what we want or don't want - we got haggled into buying some jewelry a few times (just cheapie stuff & one set, I'm actually quite happy to have bought), but we're just soft Canadians I guess ;) We'll also be more assertive about our "no thank you's" when talking to cabbies.

 

Which leads me to...as flexible as we like to be, next time I'll spend a little more time researching our ports & having a plan for what to do in each place...maybe we'll be less likely to cave to pressure if I'm sure of what we want to do.

 

We purchased the water package (8L) when we boarded & we'd definitely do that again...or just try bringing water on board...but, it was definitely not a waste of money, it was great to have fresh water in our backpacks for every port.

 

If we were sailing out of San Juan again, if we were the only ship disembarking again, we'd likely opt for flying out the same day. We were very apprehensive about time restrictions...but we would have tons of time to catch our flight. By the time we disembarked, as much as we enjoyed one last day in paradise, we were just ready to be home with the kids!

 

And, despite the additional cost of staying the GS, we would definitely do it again...perhaps it'll cut down on the number of times we actually travel...but whatever we have to do ;)

 

For now, we've already started planning our next vacation...with the kids!! We're still trying to decide between a land vacation or a cruise - we'll search for deal :)

 

If you've made it this far...thanks for keeping up with my review :)

Thanks for the awesome review. I loved all the photos and details of each day of your cruise. It looks like you had an awesome cruise!

[skunkface]

Great review. DH and I are sailing the Serenade this winter and I love reading all the reviews.

 

Quick questions about your experience with My Time Dining as I've read various reviews of how well the system works, or not, and it seems to vary from ship to ship. Did you make your daily reservations before you left or once you were on the ship? Did your dining times vary from day to day or did it stay fairly consistent? Some have commented that they were pressured by the staff to stick to a similar dining time each day. Again, this seems to vary by ship. And finally, did you request a two-person table or did you dine with others? I ask because DH and I, like you, are sailing without the kids and, although we love meeting others, we're really looking forward to the "us" time on this trip and I'm trying to get a feel for the availability of two-tops in My Time Dining on the Serenade.

 

Thanks!