"Live" from Serenade of the Seas - December 1st

[Pappy64]

BRL, hope all goes well. We have friends that are on your cruise. It is their first and they are very excited. Just look for the couple with the biggest smile from NC. We're scheduled to do the same boat and same route in March. Good Luck!

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

BRL....wow, you've had one heck of a rocky start......I can't wait to see LIVE reports from the Serenade!

 

***

[Meshee]

BRL: Hope you got on the ship OK....

[andy1962]

Hope they are onboard and enjoying sailaway

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

Hope they are onboard and enjoying sailaway

 

 

Yeah, I'm thinking they made it on and their having so much fun there is no time to post!! :) :)

 

***

[BuyReallyLow]

San Juan, PR – December 1, 2007

“For in their hearts doth Nature stir them so,

Then People long on pilgrimage to go.

And palmers to be seeking foreign strands,

To distant shrines renowned in sundry lands.”

- Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales

San Juan International Airport

All our journeys are rhapsodies on the theme of discovery. We travel as seekers after answers we cannot find at home, and soon find that a change of climate is easier than a change of heart. The bittersweet truth about travel is embedded in the word, which derives from the older word travail, itself rooted in the Latin tripalium, a medieval torture rack.:-O As many a far-ranging roamer has suspected, there are moments in travel that are like being “on the rack.” For the wandering Bedouins, “Travel is travail.” The ancient Greeks taught that obstacles were the tests of the gods, and the medieval Japanese believed that the sorrows of travel were challenges to overcome, and transform into poetry and song. Whether we are on vacation, a business trip, or a far-flung adventure tour, we can look at the trying times along the road as either torment or chances to “stretch” ourselves.

Our party sat waiting for our various baggage to arrive from the ground and to be collected. This is always a moment of hesitation – what if my bag does not arrive? All that careful packing of careful items of clothing would be for naught – and if one arrived the day that our ship was sailing, how could one’s luggage “catch-up” to them?

We nomally travel down a day early in order to to begin to peel the onion so to speak and prepare oneself for “vacation.” Yesterday put a little kink in that plan – but it is left in our past. Our party this jouney consists of two additional couples other than ourselves – our friends Scott & Amy who have been our partners on a number of journeys, and Victor & Cheryl – first time travelers with us – and also first time cruisers

For us, the real journey begins when we enter the cab to take us to Serenade of The Seas. We enter a cab and provide our guide the name of our hotel. We have no idea of where we are going and how we are going to get there (other than by this cab!!) Roads surge by as we leave the airport and head towards the major metropolis that is San Juan. There is a exhilaration one feels when one gets the first glimpse of your cruise ship. Serenade (and her sister class ships Radiance and ***), have the classiest lines of any ship sailing today. Yes, it is only an opinion but one that is shared by many. Since the delays from yesterday, instead of embarking on our journey at around noon, we will be joining the crowds at 3 PM.

Embarkation: Embarkation continues to improve, and San Juan is far superior to Miami in our opinion. We arrived at the port at 2:55. If you have your (1) your Sea Pass ready, (2) you are a Platinum or higher, and (3) you don’t arrive at 11:30 AM, you will most likely be on board within 10 minutes. We were on board at 3:07 PM – yes, 7 minutes. They simply can’t make it any easier, and as only one ship is boarding each day, it is a relatively small group – so very quick!!

Some Basics to get out of the way:

The Captain is Michel Claveau

The Cruise Director is Carly Boileau

The Loyalty Ambassador is Colleen Lacharity

The Concierge is Rahul Barua.

Muster is at 8 PM between first and second seating. Main Seating is at 6 PM – Second Seating at 8:45 PM.

The Day 1 Entertainment is “Voyage to Adventure”, featuring the Royal Caribbean Singers and Dancers and the Comedy & Skills of Juan & Eileen Los Diablos Gauchos.

The drink of the day is Anchors Away for $5.25

We have a table for six this evening in the main dining room – late seating – deck 4 – table 420.

We are in a Grand Suite, cabin # 1052 on the Port side of the ship.

We walked 17041 steps today.

One of the favorite things is the first nights dinner in the main dining room. Menus are found all over these boards, but, is highlighted by the Cod (which was FANTASTIC!!) and the Prime Rib (more English Style – Thin Cut, but very good!!)

It has been another VERY long day – as it approaches midnight and we have been up since 3 AM. It’s time to get our one last Kir Royale for the evening and head to bed to prepare for tomorrow, where we will visit St. Thomas.

Listen. The old hermit along the side of the road whispers, Stranger, pass by that which you do not love.

Tomorrow - St. Thomas

[wolfcathorse]

thank you BRL for confirming the captain! My Current Captain thread is now officially complete! again...until they move again... glad you're offically in vacation mode now!

[Bargeo]

Congrats on getting there...........now go and enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!

[Pomperaugrr]

How do you like the Grand Suite? We will be in a port side GS on the Serenade in January. Thanks for the embarkation tips too.

 

Eric

[TAC1]

Hey Bill,

 

Glad to see you all made it. I look forward to your continued posts. We will be on the Serenade in two weeks.

 

We were also on the Radiance when you were for your Birthday in 05. You beat me in the dart competition. Maybe some day we will be on the same cruise again and I can avenge the defeat :D

 

Have a great cruise.

 

Tim

[Mrs.G]

We will be on the Serenade over Christmas. Looking foward to hearing about your adventures. I'm glad you made it to the ship ok after your rough start.

[SCCruzer]

Glad to here things are working out better than they started. We are looking forward to your daily reports. We also leave on the 15th. This will be our first Radiance Class trip. Heard alot of great things about this ship and can't wait to board her. We also love this route. Have a great time...:)

[Tex_Jen]

BRL, glad you made it to the ship okay. We really did have a blanket of fog covering us here in Houston on Friday morning. Haven't seen it that bad in quite some time. Looking forward to you posts.

 

Jen

[silver03]

Glad to hear you made it! Your attitude, despite all the setbacks, is very refreshing.

 

Flying in early saves the day again!

[Blueeyes101817]

cant wait to read more!

i will be in a GS on the serenade in january and cant wait..

[BuyReallyLow]

St. Thomas, USVI, December 2, 2007

Ah, beautiful St. Thomas. The arrival in the bay of Charlotte Amalie is a beautiful sight to behold.

“If you stand, stand.

If you sit, sit.’

But don’t wobble!

- Zen Master Ummon

After a restful night, we pull into one of our favorite stops in the Caribbean – St. Thomas. Our arrival time was 7 A.M. How can one not find something of delight in St. Thomas? If one is a shopper – it is Paradise. If one enjoys where sand and water meet, it is Paradise. If one searches for places from which one can see forever, it is Paradise. This is our 5th visit to St. Thomas, and our quest today is to venture to St. Johns for one of the worlds most beautiful stretches of where sand and water meet – Trunk Bay.

I am reminded that Prague-born poet Rainer Maria Rilke was secretary to the sculptor Auguste Rodin and that he temporarily lost the ability to write. To Rodin, that meant that Rilke had stopped seeing. He suggested that the poet go to the Paris Zoo every day and look at one animal until he saw it. Seventy-two poems later, all about a panther, Rilke could say, as he later said of the painter Paul Cezanne, “Suddenly one has the right eyes.”

I have searched to have the right “eyes” for Trunk Bay ever since returning from our first visit to this special place. The journey is not difficult – although because it has a few moving parts it tends to keep many cruise travelers away. The moving parts are catching a cab to “Red Hook”, catching a ferry over to St. Johns, and then getting a cab to Trunk Bay. Of course, one must reverse all of this to return to the ship before it departs the bay.

Trunk Bay is a delightful crescent shaped beach that has dazzling white sand and is famous for its 225 foot “snorkeling trail” just off shore. The beach has full facilities and snorkel equipment available. Trunk Bay is a popular visit – we had hoped that since there were only two cruise ships in St. Thomas today, and that we got an early start, that we would not have any trouble with crowds.

Crowds were not a problem with any beach today, as we were greeted by low-hanging clouds punctuated by rain upon leaving the ship. In fact, it was raining so hard that we were not aloud to disembark for approximately 15 minutes. This weather caused us to veer again on our journey, and change our original plans. Instead of journeying to St. Johns, we decided to get some shopping in during the morning, find someplace for lunch, and then take in the highlights of St. Thomas itself. Victor and Cheryl decided to join us today, so we wandered up and down the main street looking for something that “called” to us to part with our funds. We were able to pick up some stuff for our children, and since your cellphone will work on St. Thomas, we were able to call our Whiskey drinking friend back home to discover if any of the various bottles of aged Whiskey were good values. We ended up picking up two bottles – a 25 year Highland Park and a 15 year Balvenie. The total was a bit over $172.00, but the good news is that it is not for us… it’s for the friend back home, so we will recoup that expense! J (Purchased at AH Riise Liquor - #37 Main Street)

 

Strangely, none of the Jewlery or watches called to my DW today (consider that a success!) Plenty called to me, but there is no way I’m picking something up without making sure she is also taken care of. It was now approaching noon, so we found a small restaurant down a side alley off Main Street towards the water called Café Amici (Food Ventures Amici – 36-37 Drowningens Gade). We were at first concerned when the soup of the day was a Vegan Vegetable, but after looking at the menu was happy with the selection. After finishing our plates (wife – Fettuccini Alfredo, me – Orzo Mandarin Mango Chicken Salad) we were more than satisfied – having a fantastic BBC with each did not hurt!! Total cost - $62.00 plus tip.

Now refreshed, we contracted with a taxi driver for a 2+ hour tour of the island. The established rate for a tour with a taxi driver is $25.00 per person. The tour takes you to the high points of the island, with spectacular overlooks of both sides of the island – Our beautiful ship looks like a Jewel in the bay to one side, Magan Bay and the various islands of the US and British Virgin Islands stretch to the other side. We stopped at an overlook called Mountain Top – home of the “world famous” Banana Daiquiri. Be very careful up here – not only is it a bit of a tourist trap, with the requisite t-shirt and trinket shops, but the Daiquiri itself will knock you over!! The main drag in St. Thomas does seem to lack the tacky style store so we had to pick up a shirt/sweater/hat or two. (total damage - $44.98). We then circumvented the island, stopping at Magans Bay, Coki Beach, Saphire Beach, a number of very nice resorts/condos (including the Ritz Carleton), the Village of Red Hook, before returning to our ship. Total tour time was just over 3 hours –

$50 per couple is a pretty good value for the scenery. Throughout the day we were driven inside buildings or the truck by waves of rain showers, but none succeeded in dampening the memories we created or the time we got to spend with Victor & Cheryl. We were back on board by 3:15 – in time to freshen up, get a bit to eat at Windjammer, and relax to prepare for Team Trivia in the Schooner Bar before dressing for our first Formal Night of our journey!!

Trivia Success!! We had a 20 question quiz tonight, and a stiff challenge from a very nice couple from Toronto, Canada. But they came up a little short…. And we are the proud owner of ANOTHER Key Chain!! Happiness is….. maybe I’ll sell it on Ebay…

Some other details… (and answers to earlier questions):

- The Captain is named Michel Claveau. I am not sure if he is the regular captain, maybe I’ll find out at the Captain reception this evening.

- The drink of the day is the Mellonball.

- The football games shown today were the Colts/Jaguars and the Buccaneers/Saints.

- Tonights entertainment is production showtime “Stage to Screen”, starring the Royal Caribbean Singers and Dancers – a tribute to the great Broadway Musicals that have been hits on the silver screen.

- The Captains reception is tonight at 7:45 PM.

- Our Room Attendant is Maria. She is quiet (even a bit timid), but is wonderful efficient.

Tonight was the first formal night – the main entre’ is the Filet of Beef. It is available Medium Well or Medium Rare. I chose the Medium Rare and it was very good! The Double Strawberry Cheesecake was very good – funny that on the same desert menu they have the Double Strawberry Cheesecake and a Low-Fat Double Strawberry Cheesecake.

After dinner, we stopped to have our group picture taken. Hint – if you wait until after the late dinner seating – the lines are MUCH shorter!! No wait for the picture on the stairs – the longest line we saw was 3 deep.

We also made our reservations at Chops and Portofinos today, on days 5 and 7 respectively. This is always a highlight of our culinary week – so we are looking forward to it. We will miss the “Turkey” meal on Day 5 and be able to have dinner when we want to on the last night when everyone rushes to pack. We will certainly stop in the main dining room to make sure our servers receive their gratuities. Portofinos was completely full with our reservation, as is Chops. Make sure to make your reservations early!!

After the show, we are settling in to take in the wonder of the floral arrangements I purchased before the cruise (still going strong on day 2), and to enjoy the bottle of Champaign and treats I purchased with the guest package. It has been a full day, but at a pace that has allowed us to fall into the wonderfully fulfilling pace and pattern that leads us towards tomorrow.

Integral to the art of travel is the longing to break away from the stultifying habits of our lives at home, and to break away for however long it takes to once again truly see the world around us. This is why “imagination is more important than knowledge,” as Albert Einstein noted, and that is why the art of pilgrimage is the art of reimagining how we walk, talk, listen, see, hear, write, and draw as we ready for the journey. It is not normal for us to spend time on a beach. It is not normal for us to slow and listen to the sounds of the water. It is this slowing down which prepares us for the journey.

The truth of a journey is there I find the strange new voices, the alluring spices in the market you never knew existed, the thrilling moment when your longing is finally fulfilled.

We walked 13135 steps today. Tomorrow – St. Maarten

For pictures and more information visit www.prosapiaeo.net or for just pictures http://community.webshots.com/album/561648225aBtwEs

[waterbugohio]

OK, so do the formal nights change each cruise?? I thought I had read on here that formal night would be the last night?? Will we know this before we cruise??

[wrp96]

OK, so do the formal nights change each cruise?? I thought I had read on here that formal night would be the last night?? Will we know this before we cruise??

 

Formal night is rarely the last night on any cruise. It's usually the 2nd and the 5th or 6th night on most 7 night cruises.

[Radio]

Wow ! Great trip report. . . Keep them coming !

 

I love your witing style !

 

Radio

;) ;)

[w8ing2cruz]

with the flow! You are definately one of those people that will make lemonade when presented with lemons! You've given the people from Wisconsin a good rep! We were/are considering make the trek over to St. Johns but thought it might be too much of a hassle. Right now Sapphire beach is the plan. It sounds like you have late seating - we have early. I'm really into games - in fact at work I'm known as 'game girl'. Will the early seating people have the opportunity to partake in the team trivia and other games throughout the week or is that right during the first seating? Thanks - hope your weather improves!!

[Apoggi]

Great report so far. I am looking forward to the Serenade in March. I am sorry about your adventures getting there. That is my only worry. We are flying in the day of the cruise and were originally booked from Orlando to San Juan. Now they changed and we go Orlando to Atlanta to San Juan. I hate it when they change things on you.

 

Keep up the reports I look forward to reading them.

[Emi's Mom]

Oh NO!!! That's it??? It has been truly a pleasure to read this thread. I'll check back again soon to follow the story.

[ckrobyn]

All I can say is WOW! I think I am reading one heckuva novel!!! :D

[travelerwabe]

I am enjoying your threads, keep them coming please. I will be on the Serenade 12/8/07... I can't wait.

[vivig]

Love reading your reports!

Would you happen to know the names of the Toronto couple? A colleague of mine is travelling on your ship and this sounds just like him...

Many thanks in advance:)

Trivia Success!! We had a 20 question quiz tonight, and a stiff challenge from a very nice couple from Toronto, Canada. But they came up a little short…. And we are the proud owner of ANOTHER Key Chain!! Happiness is….. maybe I’ll sell it on Ebay…