A long Serenade review 12/02/2006

[emtyt]

Here’s our review of the Serenade of the Seas 12/02/2006 cruise

 

Disclaimer: These are observations and opinions. Our minds are made up; don’t confuse use with any facts.

 

Friday, 12/01/2006 pre-flight

We booked ourselves a hotel room near our airport since our flight was early Saturday morning. It was a “park-and-fly” deal so we were able to have our own car stored for the week quite inexpensively (complete with airport transportation). We were relaxing in our hotel room watching some TV when the local weatherman jumped in over the regular programming and continuously tracked a line of severe thunderstorms approaching our area! Tornado warnings were posted and circular motion was detected several times on the radar. With a lot of luck, somehow the line of storms weakened as they passed over the airport and then resumed in their intensity. We still don’t know if there were any actual tornadoes in the surrounding towns. All we did know is that the airport didn’t lose power and our flight was not delayed and our hotel stayed in one piece. Whew!

 

Saturday, 12/02/2006 San Juan

We flew in and landed before 1:00 PM. We got our luggage and we were deciding whether or not to use a cab as opposed to the ship’s transportation. We asked the RCCL personnel and they said the bus will be leaving in about 15 minutes. That was just about enough time for them to fill out and put on our luggage tags and walk us over to the bus. When we arrived at the pier we noticed that the line looked pretty long. We stood there for about ten minutes and then the line moved pretty quickly. We were on board at around 2:00 PM. We went to our room and found it ready for occupancy. We had several special needs requested and did not find them completed. We decided to deal with it later. We enjoyed lunch at the Windjammer. Next, we went to Chops and Portofino’s to make reservations (one night at each). After that we went to the dining room to find out where our table would be located. It was a ten person table near a window (we had requested a table near window). Finally we had to tend to business. We had not seen our room steward as of yet, so we went to Guest Relations to inquire about our special needs requests that had not been done. Guest Relations assured us that they would get it done. Back at our room we finally met our room steward. He assured us that he was aware of our requests and would have them completed. By this time our luggage had already arrived and it was only mid-afternoon! Woo-hoo! We unpacked everything. Then we went for a stroll around this gorgeous ship. When we came back to our room a package was being delivered to my attention! My DW surprised me with half a case of Diet Pepsi and half a case of Becks beer (the Becks in San Juan is more potent, full European strength, than the watered-down stuff they export to USA). We went to dinner and met 4 of our 8 dinner tablemates (the other 4 didn’t show up until 2 days later for various reasons). When we came back to our room, we found one of our special needs completed and the other not done. Back to Guest Relations we went… This time they had somebody complete the special request pretty quickly. To avoid future questions, special request # 1: a sharps container for spent syringes (insulin). Request # 2: “egg crate” foam cushion to make the bed more bearable. It turns out our room steward did place a foam cushion, but it was around a quarter of an inch thick and you couldn’t notice it at all. The second cushion was more substantial in thickness and made a big difference in our sleep experience.

We went to see the first night’s show. Ashley Kerr was the CD and she was fine. The comedian who followed her was boring. We skipped the rest of the week’s evening shows to avoid bad comedians or because we fell asleep from excursion exhaustion.

 

Sunday, 12/03/2006 St Thomas

Breakfast at the Windjammer (we did this all week). Sanitizers at the entrance as well as at the exit/entrances to the ship all week – no problem. We took a cab to Red Hook – this took forever as the cab drivers were arguing amongst themselves on who would take us. Took the Red Hook ferry to Cruz Bay on St John. From there we hopped on an open-air cab towards Trunk Bay. The cab driver nicely stopped at a few scenic overlooks for photo opportunities. We were psyched for snorkeling at Trunk Bay. When we arrived there, the park’s front sign stated: surf – rough, visibility – poor. Uh, oh… It was a pleasant sunny day. We rented a pair of beach chairs and parked ourselves in a nice shady spot. The beach was not crowded at all. There were only a handful of snorkelers out there and they were having a tough time swimming around. Some of them would lie on their backs to get more air; they were exhausted from fighting the currents. We decided to just go for a dip on the shore. The waves were strong and the undertow was noticeable. We enjoyed ourselves getting knocked around in the surf. After the beach, we had snacks and then returned to Havensight for some tourist shopping. I wanted a hat and a t-shirt from every port of call (I did eventually achieve this goal). Back on the ship we enjoyed ourselves in one of the two hot tubs at the main pool. Today was the first formal night and the captain’s reception. We enjoyed our dinner with our 4 tablemates – wondering if we’ll ever meet the other 4 missing tablemates. My DW surprised me again by having arranged the dinner crew to sing happy birthday to me. Our waiter was Hydee from the Philippines and the assistant waiter was Julio from Costa Rica. They were both superb in service and they were both very, very entertaining. There was a third person who would dole out the dinner rolls and refill water for us, etc. He was part of the dining room staff, but he didn’t have any formal title. Later I learned his name: Sebastian, a very nice fellow. That evening I tried Latte-tudes special of the day: Irish coffee (featuring Jamesons and Baileys) – I was hooked. I had one every night, except for that one night when I had two! We found out our Meet & Mingle was going to be on Monday night at 7:30 PM. We were originally booked at Portofino’s for 6:00 PM – not enough time since that meal takes from 2 to 2.5 hours! We cancelled the reservation since we want to attend the Meet & Mingle.

 

Monday, 12/04/2006 St Maarten / St Martin

We took the St Martin Beach Rendezvous excursion. The bus took us through the Dutch side of the island over to the French side. We stayed at Orient Beach. They provided beach chairs. Umbrellas were an extra $3 – no big deal there, once we got too warm we went and paid for the umbrella. When we got to the beach it was overcast, slightly drizzly and very windy. Water and sand were blowing in the air everywhere. It eventually calmed down and cleared up. The surf here too was a little rough, but we enjoyed it never the less. There were a lot of vendors hawking their wares. We’re suckers, we bought a bunch of stuff from several people. We were happy and so were they. Lunch was included in the excursion. DW had Creole chicken and I had pork ribs (very tasty). I sampled Carib beer from Trinidad & Tobago – quite refreshing. Yes, Orient Beach is known for potential nudity. If you are expecting to see someone out of Playboy or Playgirl, you will be disappointed. To paraphrase our tour guide, most of the “birthday suits” needed ironing. On another note, there was this 300 lb, 70 year old man wearing a thong speedo! That’s just plain wrong.:eek:

Back on the ship, we relaxed in the hot tub in the Solarium. At dinner that night we finally met our 4 missing tablemates – two couples who each had missed the previous two night’s dinners for different reasons, Whatever… We had good company at our dinner table all week. We rushed after dinner to make it to the Meet & Mingle. We arrived a half an hour late. The turn out wasn’t too great, but everyone who was there were great folks. DW and I won the first two raffles prizes – honest, there was no “fix”. Papasierra – thanks for the trade for the hat.

We overheard from several crew members that they were going to go from code red to yellow on the ship since there weren’t any new reports of norovirus by then (Monday evening). If it was going to be bad, the medical facility would have known by then. The previous two cruises on the Serenade did have substantial outbreaks. I am not sure how they did it, but they were able trace the initial outbreak to one child. Kids, wash your hands! Later on, I had my usual Irish coffee…

 

Tuesday, 12/05/2006 Antigua

We did the Eli’s Eco tour. We were on a 54 foot motor boat and were taken to various locations around the island. The water was kind of choppy due to the wind, so you had to be a strong swimmer at the snorkel site and at Hell’s gate (a natural stone bridge and cave formation half a mile off of the coast). Lunch was served onboard (good barbecued chicken dinner). The passion fruit juice was very flavorful. The tamarind juice was unique, I liked it. Overall it was a very enjoyable tour. Dinner tonight was at Chops. The filet mignon was excellent. Watch out for those baked potatoes! Share one with your spouse. They’re about the size of the whole state of Idaho! Dessert knocked our socks off! The presentation was worthy of a couple of photographs. Later on, I had my usual Irish coffee…

 

Wednesday, 12/06/2006 St Lucia

We did the Cosol tour. While we waited for our group to assemble, I notice a man doing some stretching exercises nearby. He turned around and I recognized him: our captain, Stig Nielsen. I guess jogging keeps him in “ship shape”. We were in the bus with Cosol’s brother, Yellowbird. This island was beautiful. Very lush vegetation. We sampled fresh bananas, freshly baked bread, Piton beer and some very strong spiced rum. We visited fishing villages and the volcano near Soufriere. The smell of sulphur is quite strong. They say it is good for the sinuses. I came down with a little cold on Monday, it did nothing for me. Sudaphed works better. People with asthma should not take the hike around the volcano. We went for a nice swim on the beach in between the Pitons. I must say that Yellowbird was an excellent driver. The roads are extremely narrow and winding with lots of hairpin turns. His driving skills allowed us to avoid striking a donkey that darted out onto the road, right after a hairpin turn! Just before dinner, the ship sailed to the Pitons and did the usual 360 – very impressive. Since it was dusk, we could see various flashes from cameras from people in resorts along the shore. Funny, we were impressed with the Pitons, the people on shore were impressed with the Serenade. Everyone made it to dinner this night again. Lots of conversations on all of our excursions. Later on, I had my usual Irish coffee…

 

Thursday, 12/07/2006 Barbados

We were booked on the Tiami Five star catamaran cruise and swim with sea turtles. DW woke up not feeling well and she decided to stay in the room for the day. I took the tour (she insisted). Once we got out of the harbor, they hoisted the sail and we were cruising along very nicely – right into a rain squall! The sail went down and all the collected water emptied out onto a gentleman who was sitting along the stern of the boat! He was a good sport about it since he was already wet from the rain. Everyone crammed into the covered part of the boat. They ran the engines to get to the snorkel site for the turtles. I’ve read other reviews about the turtles being so big. Not here, they were about 2.5 feet long each. Not a problem. Later they dropped anchor at the shore where you could go for another swim or snorkel. Lunch included breaded fried flying fish, baked chicken, rice and salad. The captain warned me about the strong hot sauce he personally made. He wasn’t kidding! I found out later it contained habanera peppers. Mount Gay rum got rid of the burning sensation in short order and Banks beer on tap took care of any thirst. Although there about 40 -50 people on board (plus 5 crew), it never felt crowded. At the end of excursion, the passengers gave the crew a long loud round of applause – happy people. On the Serenade, DW wife was feeling worse. Julio, our assistant waiter, recommended a visit to the ship’s doctor. We went to see the ship’s doctor, Carlos from Columbia. She had bronchitis. Bummer. Got antibiotics & she had 4 nebulizer treatments between Thursday afternoon and Saturday morning.

I went to dinner alone that evening (2nd formal night). DW got sympathy from the tablemates and the dining staff. Later on, I had my usual Irish coffee…(twice).

 

Friday 12/08/2006 day at sea

I got breakfast at the Windjammer and delivered it to DW in our room. Did the same for lunch. I spent most of the day photographing the ship. At dinner, I asked if I could select DW’s food and have room service deliver it. Hydee said she’ll take care of it. What I didn’t know right away was that Hydee personally delivered the food to DW in our room! Now that’s service - above & beyond! DW and I agreed that we would definitely make sure Hydee and Julio were tipped generously. We did the same for our room steward, Vaughn, who very nicely made up the room even with DW being there (she’d sit on the sofa or hang out on our balcony – Thursday & Friday). Later on, I had my usual Irish coffee…

 

Saturday 12/09/2006 disembarking

We had previously arranged for the Onboard luggage check in with RCCL and American Airlines ($10 per person). After breakfast and the last nebulizer treatment, we were informed that group 1 had already been called. We were in group 2. When they called our number, we entered the line at the end (as opposed to some others who cut the line at various places - grrrr). Considering that the line was about a third of the length of the ship, it moved more quickly than you would expect. This was 8:30 AM. We cleared customs, found our luggage and had a porter deliver it to American Airlines. We were done. It was 9:10 AM. Our flight was at 7:10 PM. I called Caribe Hilton and got a day room. Got a cab ride, checked in at the hotel and got into our room by 9:30 AM. The hotel had some very nice restaurants, an excellent large swimming pool and a decent beach. This was a relaxing end to a wonderful cruise vacation.

 

The Food

The Windjammer had enough variety to keep us satisfied for breakfasts and lunches. The dining room food and service were excellent. We were visited by the head waiter every night, he was quite pleasant and personable. There was no tip envelope provided for Sebastian, our dining room staff attendant, so I slipped him a generous tip Friday night. He worked just as hard as everyone else. We did not have high expectations from having read so many threads concerning food quality. But, the variety, quality and preparation of the food in the dining room met or exceeded our expectations. The pizza at the Windjammer and at the Solarium café was tolerable, we’ve had much worse elsewhere. I was disappointed with the Seaview café. Many a thread has been posted about their yummy onion rings. They were standard frozen rings, no different that what you could get at a Burger King – not so yummy. DW asked if they could make a grilled cheese sandwich, they said sure. What she got was a sandwich made with a hamburger bun and the cheese wasn’t even melted. These are minor complaints, put back the flame throwers. Room service was pretty quick. We never made any elaborate requests. We enjoyed the guava/passion fruit juice they served onboard.

 

The Ship

I think just about every thread I’ve read about the ship has said it all. The Radiance class of ships are a work of art. The elevators worked fine – what a view. Sometimes you’d have to wait a minute or two, no problem – we were on vacation, not a business trip with deadlines, etc.

 

 

The pax

We were happy to never see any obnoxious or rude people onboard. There were very few children on this cruise and those that were there were well behaved. Formal night dress code seemed to be in general compliance. We personally did not see any poorly dressed people. We don’t know about any chair hog problems because we used the pools during days at port in the afternoons, when everyone was still on the islands. We never felt crowded anywhere on the ship and any time there was a line, it moved quickly.

 

If you have any questions, please ask. I might not remember too much though. Too many Irish coffees.:p

[Sheik]

Great review, thank you very much. I too love the Serenade and did the same cruise in March this year and we had a wonderful vacations. We stayed 5 days in Puerto Rico, hired a car and saw the whole island. Very beautiful, also the other islands in the southern Caribbean.

[Sheffie]

My daughter's in-laws were on this cruise (not CC members). It was their first cruise and they said that everyone on the cruise was soooooo nice! I haven't talked to them yet, so don't know if they found anyone having too many Irish coffees. :)

 

I am so glad you had a great cruise. We took this one in April and have it scheduled for next April, too.

 

Thanks for taking the time to write a great review.

 

I hope your DW has recovered!

[benolathe]

Thanks for the very positive review. And, even though I'm not a coffee drinker - now I'm wanting to try that Irish Coffee. :p

 

Too bad your wife was so sick part of her vacation. Guess you just need to schedule another cruise on the Serenade right away!!

[nrunnion]

How and where did your husband have the Pepsi delivered to your room? I need to do this in February.

thanks

[EggDropErin]

Thanks for the review! Sounds like a wonderful ship! :)

[Az's Cruising Nana]

How early where your excursions? Would it be possible to do 2 on some islands? Maybe a island tour that takes 3 hours and then a beach tour? Thanks for the review sailing in March!

[emtyt]

nrunnion - You can get delivery to the ship from Just Because of You. Call Shelley at 800-882-9707. She and her staff will take care of you very nicely. They no longer do hard liquor - too many problems.

[emtyt]

glendale cruiser - here's what I recall:

 

St Martin Beach Rendezvous (RCCL excursion) - had to be at the pier by 9:30 AM and we were back at the ship by 2:00 PM

 

Antigua Eli's Eco tour (independent excursion) - had to be at the pier 9:20 AM and we were back at the ship a little after 3:00 PM

 

St Lucia Cosol (independent excursion) - had to be at the pier 8:20 AM and we were back at the ship about 3:45 PM

 

Barbados Tiami 5 star catamaran & swim with turtles (RCCL excursion) - had to be at the pier 9:45 AM and we were back at the pier by 3:45 PM

 

I may be a little off on some of the start times, but I accurately recall the return times. It could be tough to get two excursions in on the same day, you might want to call RCCL to discuss these possibilities. Unforseen factors can come into play: weather, late arrival at port, customs issues, etc. Keep in mind that with this particular cruise, the ship usually arrives at each port at 7:00 AM (disembarking starts at 8:00 AM) and the ship leaves each port at 5:30 PM with the exception of St Lucia which is at 5:00 PM - all aboard in all cases half an hour before the ship sets sail.

[mivama]

Thanks for a great review! We leave for the Serenade in just 8-weeks from today and your post has got me even more excited!

I didn't realize the first formal night was the Sunday (St Thomas). I'll have to make sure I leave enough time to get ready before the early seating.

 

As for the Cosol tour, we're booked on that, too, and I was wondering how early did you have to line up to get off the ship? Was there any problem finding him once you got off? It really sounds like a fantastic excursion.

[emtyt]

Hi mivama,

 

Getting off the ship was not a problem. no long lines at all. Cosol wanted us to meet at 8:20 AM. Here's where the confusion could have occurred. In his original email to me, last summer, he said to meet at the security booth. In his recent email to me, just before the cruise, he said to meet in the lobby. I had some concerns. It all made sense once we got on the pier. At the end of the pier, all pedestrian traffic goes through a building. That's where the port security is located. As you enter the building, you are entering a large lobby. that's where you'll find Cosol and/or Yellowbird. They will be holding a sign with Cosol written on it. Arrive promptly, but if you're too early, they may not be in the lobby just yet - don't panic. Have a great time!

[let's go cruising]

On other threads people are talking about Sail-By's of the different islands. Did you sail close enough to see any of the other islands on your sea day? What about Monserrat?

 

I have also heard about a fuel stop in St. Croix or St. Kitts. Did you do that?

 

My group (15) is on the January 13 voyage! We got our doc's Friday from the TA!

[Sheik]

In March we had a fuel stop in St. Croix from 8pm till midnight. After dinner, we walk to the end of the pier and enjoyed a salsa band, some nice shops etc.

 

You'll see a lot of island during the day at sea, Saba (360 degrees view), Montserrat (very close and 360 degrees view), and a lot more islands. It's a 'busy' and beautiful seaday with a lot to see :)

[p0mpey]

:( We saw no islands on sea day (12/02 sailing) except St Thomas late that night in the dark, The Captain sailed a direct route back to San Juan. I personally asked him if we would be seeing the islands and he said no. Not sure whether this is his decision (he recently came on board) or RCI. I, for one was very disappointed.

[NancyB84]

Thanks for the great review. We are on the Jan 13th sailing. Your review has made me even more excited for this trip.

[Az's Cruising Nana]

Thanks Em and Tyt we are just anxious to fit everything in. So much to see so little time! What dining night would you chose to dine at Chops? Usually there is one night night on a 7 day that the dining room menu isnt that great...

Sue

[emtyt]

We made reservations for Chops on Tuesday night. It was caribbean night. We never got to see the menu for that night, so we couldn't tell you if we missed out on anything. Actually, there's no way they could top the food and service at Chops. :D