Serenade Review - March 29, 2008

[Chitoryubt]

Bear with me - I'll post the review as it gets written.

 

Pre-Cruise Day 1 - Travel Day

 

We got up early (like 6:30 for Beth, 6:00 for Granny, not early for Sam – like 8:25). Got ready, packed the van, and Jerry drove us to Orlando International Airport. Naturally, we were shuffled into the slowest line at TSA – the slowest line ever. There must have been at least 150 people in the left lane that got through the metal detectors before our line even moved. No kidding. All the TSA agents were very very surly. Granny volunteered to be wheelchair bound for a little while, but we were afraid we would lose our place in line (note that that is a joke – Granny won’t do wheelchairs, even when she desperately needs one).

 

The flight was full and uneventful. We arrived in San Juan at 1:30 p.m. . AirTrash told us our bag carousel was #3. Guess what? It was not. Sam found our bags on carousel #6. We shagged our bags from the carousel to the curb for the rent car bus to pick us up. It was Hertz. Usual hassle. Rumour that no cars were available for 2.5 hours. Luckily ours was ready. I guess mini-vans were not in high demand.

 

The trip from the Hertz place to the Rainforest Inn was relatively uneventful, only one mis-step. Thanks to John Cleese, the voice of our friendly GPS, we came on a narrow winding highway – 186.

 

At a certain point in time, all three people felt faint from lack of fud (reference an old “Far Side” cartoon involving “Cat Fud”). A McDonald’s approached on Route 66. Quickly, we took the off-ramp.

 

The sudden realization that we were in a foreign country occurred when we tried to order in the drive through. So we pulled up thinking we would say dos, numero uno, y numero dos - it wasn’t that easy. We forgot about that. We reverted to Floridian talk. We want 2 number 1’s and a number 2 with nothing on it but cheese and burger, then Sam had to say “Yeah – I want a milkshake too – strawberry”. After we were finished ordering, we ordered in Spanish, and we were going to get our food – it was a first for us. Ordering in Espanol. But - the lady taking the order only spoke Spanish so this is what we hear on the speaker back . . . bla;lsdkfa;ala b;alkdf; b;akdflkdjsidf wslkdfsldw osodifs . Dead silence. Then we hear, heavily accented, “Poool Up to the weeendow pleez”. So, of course, we pull up to the window. After sitting there, she opens the window, says something really fast, and we ordered taking an excruciatingly long time. She says “This number!” and holds up a piece of paper with $17.83 written on it. Sam’s thinking “I guess I should have paid attention in Spanish. So we pulled up to the next window. The next lady at least tried to speak to us in English. And then we got our food, and we asked where was a supermarket. She didn’t understand, so Granny said “Donde” or as Sam says, “el Supermarket-o”. That didn’t fly. She tried; We tried. It didn’t work.

 

On to the Rainforest Inn. After turning off on a winding mountainous 2-lane (or more like 1.5 lane road) we worked our way to the Rainforest Inn. Sam had to get out when we turned into the Rainforest Inn driveway because a small, shrimpy dog was ambling up the driveway. Sam messed with the dog to get it out of the way so we could drive down the driveway without running over it.

 

Met Bill & Laurie, our genial host and hostesses. Met the dogs; met the cats. Peter of the Dead (just a nickname from the “Shawn of the Dead” movie) brought us pina coladas (a virgin one for the virgin). Heard the tiny little frogs, coquis, all night. We were too tired to go out for dinner (and we ate McDonalds so late) so we called it a night. Beth ate the emergency Snickers bars she bought in the Orlando airport.

 

Granny’s bird list– saw Greater Antillean Grackle at San Juan airport.

At Rainforest Inn: Bananaquit, Puerto Rican race. Red-tailed hawk.

Zenaida Dove which a White-Winged Dove.

 

We had an early night after our episode at McDonalds.

 

More to follow.

[Chitoryubt]

Up early since Daylight came early. Granny made coffee. Beth up at 7:00. Sam up at 8:50. All were up by 9:00. Had a wonderful breakfast of Rainforest Inn Frittata with toasted “pan del dia” and fresh fruit. Mango and pomegranate juice was wonderful. After breakfast, we didn’t know whether to bring our dishes back to the kitchen or not. We prepared to launch an invasion on the Beach at Luquillo Beach. Beth was programming the GPS when accosted by Bill who said “You don’t need that to get to the beach; it’s easy!” Well hell, we needed all the help we could get, being strangers in a strange land.

 

We headed down highway 3 without the aid of John Cleese. After several terse moments (Granny screamed because she thought Beth was going to wreck and almost made Beth wreck). Fishtailing a mini-van is not easy, you know. Saw several tacky beach towels for sale (Sam adds “One of them depicted a topless babe”, two or three that Granny saw). Saw lots of homeless-looking people. Missed the turn for Luquillo Beach. Took the next turn. Now driving through the barrio. Beth locked the doors. Lots of graffiti on the buildings; lots of tough looking dudes. Some puny ones too. Finally made our way back to the municipal beach. $4 to park; handicapped parking still very far away from the beach. Bathrooms are $1 to use the facilities and change; guess where everybody goes? Same place the fishies do.

 

Went to the beach. Red flags everywhere, but Beth lets her 14 year old go out in the surf anyway. Major bird sightings – Granny spied a “yellow-billed white tropicbird”. She was totally shocked that she saw this bird, as it is usually found on the water, not near the land. Also saw a “Magnificent Frigate Bird” and an “Eared Dove”. Burned out at the beach after 2 hours.

 

Back on the dreaded “3”. John Cleese heading us back to the Rainforest Inn. Fussed at us when we turned off the path to go to “Amigo” supermarket. Granny bought $125 worth of bottled water, munchies, sandwich makings, sodas, beer, and don’t forget the Jack Daniels and the Crown Royal ☺. Sam tried to put everything made of sugar and that wasn’t nailed down into the cart. This was an interesting cultural experience. Granny asked an employee where the mayonnaise was. She didn’t know, but the Coca Cola man said “mayonisa” and the employee took Granny to the mayonnaise place.

 

Then, the checkout lady and Sam and Granny bonded. Granny said “I am abuela” and the checkout lady said “Ah! La abuela!” and Sam said “el nino means boy and she (Beth) is la madra and the checkout lady said “Oh – Mommy!”. The checkout lady pointed to Sam and said “nieto”. She was smiling the whole time. Very nice.

 

Back into the car, this time with John Cleese in command. Went back up the “dread mountain” to the Rainforest Inn. At one point, we saw a dude in a little car swerve around the curve and we looked and there was a washout (drop-off) in the road. Eek! Panic. On up the mountain to the magic gate – but WAIT! We went BACK down the mountain to eat dinner at Don Pepe’s. Standard fair, not that great - Sam's port chop was WAY overdone. As we approached the dread 3, a large woman wheeled out ahead of us, impatient that Beth hadn’t pulled the minivan out into heavy traffic, then had to run down the shoulder of the road for 4 blocks because no one would let her in. We passed her. Beth waved at her; Sam laughed, and Granny said “This is the most fun I’ve ever had with my clothes on”.

 

At Don Pepe’s Sam witnessed an Ugly American teenager who loudly said “But Dad, I thought you said this was an upscale restaurant!”. Sheesh.

 

Back up the Dread Mountain 186 after dinner, yet before Darkness fell. Back at the “Chalet” at the Rainforest Inn by 7:30. Drank and acted silly.

 

Granny’s bird list for today: Pearly-eyed Thrasher (has nest in the coconut tree visible from the Chalet’s balcony). Mourning Dove. White-winged dove (Zeniada). More Bananaquits. Greater Antillean Oriole. Humming bird species that won’t slow down long enough to identify.

 

Eared Dove (at the beach). Cattle Egret at the park in the beach. Brown pelican at the beach. Laughing gull. White-tailed Tropicbird. Greater Antillean Grackle. Gray Kingbird. Of those birds, Granny has eight new birds for her life-list.

 

More to come.

[Chitoryubt]

Up early again. Granny first, Beth at 7:00, when she received the following text message from Jerry, who was to join us today, along with Michael. The over 40 set just doesn’t get that texting thing:

 

On plane. Tirmmomg [sic] off electronics! Did you know that jet blue charges 2 bucks a bag plus tip. Uhave [sic] the guy 12 for 4 bags. I hoe [sic] they Make it. We were late. Got 2 plane at 6.45. Argh! Love you. Signing off!

 

Please note that Jerry and Mike’s plane left at 7:00 a.m.

 

Made coffee. Went to breakfast. Today breakfast was as follows:

Guava and cream cheese stuffed French toast

Home fries

Fresh fruit

Orange Juice

Breakfast was wonderful. Beth couldn’t decide if this was her favorite breakfast, or the frittata.

 

While at breakfast, Granny spied the elusive Puerto Rican lizard-cuckoo. Granny also saw:

Gray Kingbird,

Red-tailed Hawk

Puerto Rican Flycatcher off ruins deck

Puerto Rican Stripe-headed Tanager.

 

Picking up on Friday March 28, 2008:

 

Jerry and Mike arrive after many adventures getting to the plane. Forgot to set the alarm at the house, had to go back, missed the bus at the parking satellite place, got to the plane about 15 minutes before it took off, had to drive on the dreaded 3 highway, totally ignored Beth’s directions and words of caution (Take Route 66, it won’t show up on your GPS but it is MUCH faster and less traffic) and wound up the more dreaded 186 to the Rainforest Inn.

 

Decided to go to the Biobay place to see the luminescent stuff in the water as the Innkeepers were having a party. The person there suggested that we eat at El Estacion restaurant several blocks away until our time for the Kayak ride. The food was very good. Granny had the appetizer which was barbeque shrimp; Jerry had chicken and barbeque, Beth had steak and the boys devoured something like hamburgers. There was a kitty wandering around (the tables are all outside) and begging for food. Scratched Jerry because he was absentmindedly dangling his fingers.

 

We drove down to the push-off place on the bay. Granny suddenly had a real panic attack – started crying, shaking, DIDN’T WANT TO GO!! – in her words, like a tittie baby. Everybody looked non-plussed at a crying 76 year old – who was scared she couldn’t sit in a kayak? (Those were all Granny's words . . . ) And couldn’t stand when we got through the tangled mangrove trees and like that. Granny has a bad back and was worried she would not be able to sit in that position for several hours – physical work would not have bothered her, because the young stud who was an employee was going to do all the work. Mike and Sam did not act like the 14 and 16 year olds they are; they handled the disappointment of not going like absolute angel. Beth was very proud. Oh, well, we all got stiffed by Evil Bill who kept our deposits.

 

Returned to the Rainforest Inn where Bill and Laurie’s party was over.

 

More to come later.

[Chitoryubt]

Up early for packing and getting off to the airport in San Juan. Ate breakfast – another good one. Had oatmeal with yogurt, pan-fried bread, guava jelly, orange juice.

 

We all said tearful goodbyes to Nice Bill, then cheers of joy as a goodbye to the 186 road up the mountains and the Dread Highway 3. Jerry in the lead driving the minivan, Beth driving the mustang.

 

Back on the dread 3. Jerry again ignored Beth’s directions to take Route 66, even though it was not on the GPS map. Ended up back at the airport because Jerry mistakenly programmed the GPS to go there, not to the Pan Am pier as was discussed in the Chalet. Jerry, Jane, and Mike took a nice tour of the convention center. Beth and Sam waited on the road to the ships. Good thing cell phones don’t cost extra in San Juan.

 

We dropped Granny, Mike, and Sam off at the pier. Jerry and Beth raced to return the rental car at Tropical Air Aviation. NOTE: Rental car return is NOT the building at the Airport with the Big HERTZ sign on it. That’s a Hertz office that closed, at Million Aire aviation. Tropical Aviation is almost at the end of the road that goes through the airport. The drop off was very very easy and we had a taxi to take us back to the ship within 10 minutes. The only problem was that you really have to have researched what the airport looks like topographically, and WATCH the signs. One must know they are going to Tropical Aviation and follow those signs accordingly. Beth knew this; Jerry did not. Got separated; had to guide Jerry in with the cell phone.

 

We boarded the Serenade about noon. Embarkation was SO easy. We had our paperwork in order – the thing that took the longest was checking the open liquor bottles we had gotten at Amigo’s supermarket, and that only took 2 minutes. We were on the ship within 15 minutes and heading for the Windjammer. Beth had soup and salad. Sam had ice cream.

 

Went to the spa tour and purchased the “thermal suite”. Only got to use it once, because the cruise was so Port intensive that we just did not have the time, but that thermal suite is great. Wish we could have used it more.

 

Staterooms opened at 1:00. We had two side-by-side D1’s on the 9th deck, on the hump. Very nice configuration, lots of storage space. We met our stateroom attendent, Josie from Indonesia. She was absolutely awesome. Granny, Mike, and Sam were in one room, while Beth and Jerry were in the other. One can imagine how two teenage boys can trash a cabin without even trying (think changing for dinner, leaving whatever they were wearing where ever they stepped out of it), but Josie kept up with them like it was no effort at all. She’s amazing.

 

We decided to wander around on deck. We found the Country Club and watched the planes take off and land at the air strip alongside the pier. Took shelter in the Country Club during a sudden strong downpour.

 

We raced up to the Sky Bar at 4:00, where we were supposed to have our informal meet n’ mingle. The backup spot was the Schooner Bar (in case of rain). Well, it had been raining off and on, so we dashed back and forth between the Sky Bar and the Schooner. Never saw anybody (our roll call had a picture web site set up).

 

We saw Frankie (Activities Manager) on one of our dashes to the Schooner bar. He was so sweet – always great to talk to. He told us that he is leaving the Serenade late in the smmer (I think) and is joining the Rhapsody for the Australia cruises. He’s very excited and it was great to talk to him.

 

Since we couldn’t find anyone from the roll call group, Beth and Jane decided to attend the Expo in the centrum. We dashed from table to table answering the questions, and had a great time. While sampling the Portofino fare, Jerry was giving Beth a taste and dropped pasta all down her white collar and sleeve. Mental note: Tide To Go Stick is a must!

 

Met some really nice folks from Ocoee, FL. One young man was descending the stairs in the Centrum from Deck 5 to Deck 4 and let out a very loud “OWwwww” yell (not Ow as in hurt, but OW as in “Oh Yeah!”. Several seconds later, he sat in an empty chair next to us. He had had a few drinks and was great to talk with. Turns out he was trying to get his wife’s attention with the OWwwww. She was not pleased. We had a ball teasing him about that one all week. We met his Grandmother, wife, etc. Great fun.

 

Muster was at 8:00. Our muster station was in the Schooner bar. It was really strange for Beth, since she had always been outside on the deck for muster. Pretty mundane as usual.

 

2nd seating dinner at 8:30. Met our Waiter, Benni, from Indonesia, and Assistant Waiter, Michael, from one of the nearby islands (never caught which one). We also met our head waiter, Eric, that night. More on him later. Dinner tonight for Beth was the Vidalia Onion tart for the appetizer, spinach salad, and Slow-Roasted Prime Rib. For some reason, can’t remember what was for dessert that night. Mike and Sam, like typical teenagers, don’t like spinach and requested plain salad, just lettuce, with ranch dressing on the side, and croutons. Benni happily complied. A couple of comments about dinner: for some reason, our table was always last – last to order, last to get served. We weren’t the last group to have a full table, either. We had to remind them about our wine package every night. One night, we got our appetizer and entree before we ever got the wine ordered. Benni seemed to be very good and Michael tried very hard, he was just a large person. Lots of stuff dropped. And a word about our tablemates: we were incompatible. Dinner was an extremely boring affair. Beth discovered that alcohol made dinner a lot more fun around Day 3 of the cruise. Days that we could manage seating our 16 year old near their teenager, things were better as well. Sorry for those of you offended by using alcohol to have fun, but it worked for Beth.

 

Sailaway took place while we were at dinner between 9:30 and 10:00 that night.

 

No new birds or any listed in San Juan at dock.

 

Experienced a rather difficult problem that night. Beth here: After reading on Cruisecritic about RCI’s new smoking policy and about people who complained that smoke blew into their room, and wondering how that could possibly happen, I am here to tell you that it does indeed happen. I don’t know if it was because we were on deck 9 and had an overhang over our balcony or what, but it is a real problem. Saturday evening, after losing abysmally in the casino, I returned to our stateroom and opened the balcony doors. We were underway to St. Thomas. I was immediately assailed with cigarette smoke. I shut the door, and went and took a shower. After putting on my jammies, I thought I would try the balcony again. I was met with the overpowering smell of marijuana. Folks, I am not a prude by any means, but I have a problem with being around marijuana. I hold a job that requires that I have random drug testing, and I can’t have that stuff in my system or I risk losing my job. I don’t care if other people do it, I just can’t be around it. I could not sit on my balcony, the smoke was so bad, and so strong. I went inside and got my hubby. He confirmed my fears, that it was indeed marijuana. I was very upset, but shut the door and went to bed. We decided to work that issue the next day.

 

More to come.

[rmchunter]

What was your cabin number on deck 9???

[Chitoryubt]

it was on the back end of the hump, Starboard - there were some difficulties with the smokers, so I don't really want to post the number, sorry. I don't know how the e-mail or chat thingy works on cruisecritic's boards, but if you can guide me through it, perhaps I could convey that information to you that way.:confused:

[rmchunter]

The problem with the smoke is why I'm asking. A D1 back of the hump starboard would mean that you had quite a few cabins upwind of yours. We have booked cabin # 1056 with nothing upwind untill past the concierge club, so we may be fine.

Now for the rest of the ship, WAS THE SMOKE A PROBLEM? If so, just how bad was it.

[macskakitty]

You can definitely smell the smoke at least on the balcony. My husband is a smoker and even he could smell when the person two cabins down was outside. The smoke smell does not linger, it just passes by and is not strong.

 

Before you rip on smokers, remember they payed the same price for the curise as you did. Most are considerate of those around them, even in smoking areas. There are few smoking areas on the ship and for some reason, non-smokers always want to sit there. My husband would get up and move so his smoke didn't blow into peoples faces at the pooldeck, even if we were seated first and the non-smokers chose to sit next to us.

 

For the most part, smokers will respond positively to a friendly request for them to "trade places". If your request has attitude, or is demanding or demeaning, expect the answer to be no. But if you are friendly, most will be accommodating. I am not just talking about my husband, but people in general, I have never had a problem getting a smoker to move, or trade places with me so I am not in the direct line of smoke, just be friendly in the request.

[kingsgirl]

The sudden realization that we were in a foreign country occurred when we tried to order in the drive through. So we pulled up thinking we would say dos, numero uno, y numero dos - it wasn’t that easy. We forgot about that. We reverted to Floridian talk. We want 2 number 1’s and a number 2 with nothing on it but cheese and burger, then Sam had to say “Yeah – I want a milkshake too – strawberry”. After we were finished ordering, we ordered in Spanish, and we were going to get our food – it was a first for us. Ordering in Espanol. But - the lady taking the order only spoke Spanish so this is what we hear on the speaker back . . . bla;lsdkfa;ala b;alkdf; b;akdflkdjsidf wslkdfsldw osodifs . Dead silence. Then we hear, heavily accented, “Poool Up to the weeendow pleez”. So, of course, we pull up to the window. After sitting there, she opens the window, says something really fast, and we ordered taking an excruciatingly long time. She says “This number!” and holds up a piece of paper with $17.83 written on it. Sam’s thinking “I guess I should have paid attention in Spanish. So we pulled up to the next window. The next lady at least tried to speak to us in English. And then we got our food, and we asked where was a supermarket. She didn’t understand, so Granny said “Donde” or as Sam says, “el Supermarket-o”. That didn’t fly. She tried; We tried. It didn’t work.

 

omg I laughed so hard reading this!!:D :D :p

[Chitoryubt]

The problem with the smoke is why I'm asking. A D1 back of the hump starboard would mean that you had quite a few cabins upwind of yours. We have booked cabin # 1056 with nothing upwind untill past the concierge club, so we may be fine.

Now for the rest of the ship, WAS THE SMOKE A PROBLEM? If so, just how bad was it.

 

Unfortunately, the smoke was from the next cabin AFT of us. I know it doesn't make sense. I believe it was because of the overhang. I know it was them, because my Mom was in the cabin upwind of us, and I saw the guy lighting up (reflected in the balcony railing glass because he had his light on, and I didn't.

 

Smoke on the rest of the ship was not noticeable to me except when I was in the Casino (awful) and that sports bar right next to the casino.

[Chitoryubt]

You can definitely smell the smoke at least on the balcony. My husband is a smoker and even he could smell when the person two cabins down was outside. The smoke smell does not linger, it just passes by and is not strong.

 

Before you rip on smokers, remember they payed the same price for the curise as you did. Most are considerate of those around them, even in smoking areas. There are few smoking areas on the ship and for some reason, non-smokers always want to sit there. My husband would get up and move so his smoke didn't blow into peoples faces at the pooldeck, even if we were seated first and the non-smokers chose to sit next to us.

 

For the most part, smokers will respond positively to a friendly request for them to "trade places". If your request has attitude, or is demanding or demeaning, expect the answer to be no. But if you are friendly, most will be accommodating. I am not just talking about my husband, but people in general, I have never had a problem getting a smoker to move, or trade places with me so I am not in the direct line of smoke, just be friendly in the request.

 

I didn't like the cigarette smoke, but I had resolved myself to that. It was the other smoke that i didn't quite know how to deal with. Plus, I did not mention, but the man doing the smoking did not have an adjective in his vocabulary other than "f*ck" or "f*cking". I didn't know quite how to deal with that.

[macskakitty]

Oh, the language is a drag, and those are the type of people who usually are not very accomodating to non-smokers. We were lucky and had very friendly people all around us so we all said good morning to each other as we pulled into ports.

 

We also smelled the other smoke, and we were across the ship from you.

 

Did you try the casino on the two non-smoking nights? It was practically empty, you would've had your choice of seats at any table or slot machine. Seems like gamblers also tend to be smokers.

 

We didn't sign up for the meet n mingle but did read the posts and hoped to maybe say hello and thanks to you all for all the valuable info but we also did not see anyone at the informal gathering, except the guy in the flower shirt, but we did not end up approaching him.

[Chitoryubt]

Oh, the language is a drag, and those are the type of people who usually are not very accomodating to non-smokers. We were lucky and had very friendly people all around us so we all said good morning to each other as we pulled into ports.

 

We also smelled the other smoke, and we were across the ship from you.

 

Yes, the language is exactly why I did not approach him. That started early in the first afternoon and did not ever let up.

 

Did you try the casino on the two non-smoking nights? It was practically empty, you would've had your choice of seats at any table or slot machine. Seems like gamblers also tend to be smokers.

 

Yes we did! Thanks for mentioning that - I had neglected to do so. My Mom and I both had a great time in the casino, even though we lost lost lost, even with all the smoke, but especially on the non-smoking nights. We had a great three-card poker table most of the week. Lots of fun.

 

We didn't sign up for the meet n mingle but did read the posts and hoped to maybe say hello and thanks to you all for all the valuable info but we also did not see anyone at the informal gathering, except the guy in the flower shirt, but we did not end up approaching him.

 

I ran back and forth between the Sky Bar and the Schooner Bar (because of the rain) but I didn't see anybody I recognized at the informal m&m (for those not on our roll call, one of the folks set up a website with private access that had pictures of all who sent them to her). We did meet lots of the roll call folks throughout the week - they were all really nice. Sorry I didn't get to meet you!

[rmchunter]

I didn't like the cigarette smoke, but I had resolved myself to that. It was the other smoke that i didn't quite know how to deal with. Plus, I did not mention, but the man doing the smoking did not have an adjective in his vocabulary other than "f*ck" or "f*cking". I didn't know quite how to deal with that.

 

If everyone would read and follow RCCL'S guest conduct policy, none of this would be an issue. You must let the crew know if you are having a problem with other guests, They can't fix it if they don't know about it. You did not have to put up with the drugs or the vocabulary. READ THE POLICY it is on the RCCL web site. Print it and take it with you, at some point you may need it.

[Chitoryubt]

If everyone would read and follow RCCL'S guest conduct policy, none of this would be an issue. You must let the crew know if you are having a problem with other guests, They can't fix it if they don't know about it. You did not have to put up with the drugs or the vocabulary. READ THE POLICY it is on the RCCL web site. Print it and take it with you, at some point you may need it.

 

Actually, I had already read it. I did let the crew know. Over and over and over again. I will have more in my review as time permits, probably this evening or at best later this week.

 

I think it's important to note that I'm including this issue in my review, because cruise critic members are concerned about these types of things, not to incite people. If folks feel inclined to flame, so be it.

[pmfan]

Thanks for such a detailed, informative review. Can't wait to read the rest.

[CincinnatiGal]

Thanks for such a detailed, informative review. Can't wait to read the rest.

 

 

I cannot get over how many Bahamas and Caribbean trips you take...can you tell me why?

 

CincinnatiGal:)

[SherriZ366]

Actually, I had already read it. I did let the crew know. Over and over and over again. I will have more in my review as time permits, probably this evening or at best later this week.

 

I think it's important to note that I'm including this issue in my review, because cruise critic members are concerned about these types of things, not to incite people. If folks feel inclined to flame, so be it.

I'm looking forward to your future installments. If the crew did not do something about the "special" smoke etc., I will be disappointed. Lots of threads here about disembarking passengers for infractions of RCI's rules including possession of illegal substances.

[Chitoryubt]

We also smelled the other smoke, and we were across the ship from you.

 

Thanks so much for letting me know that you smelled it too.

[Chitoryubt]

I'm looking forward to your future installments. If the crew did not do something about the "special" smoke etc., I will be disappointed. Lots of threads here about disembarking passengers for infractions of RCI's rules including possession of illegal substances.

 

Thanks - as for what the crew did, one of the crew really really tried to help. Security, however, was a while 'nother story. I am afraid I can't be unbiased because I lived through it, but as I had also read those threads about disembarking passengers, I couldn't believe how this incident was treated. About to post the next installment.

[Chitoryubt]

Sunday, March 30 - Arrived in St. Thomas. Had room service bring coffee which we drank on the balcony. No smoke, the partiers were still abed. After performing morning ablutions we at breakfast in the dining room – Beth had Eggs Benedict. Pretty good. Granny had the “Fast Fare” (scrambled eggs, choice of bacon/sausage, and toast). Jerry had cereal mixed with yogurt (Ewww). Youngest son had a ham and cheese omelet with crispy bacon; oldest boy had a plate full of bacon. Oh well, it’s his vacation too. The four excursion folks went upstairs – the kids to grab sunscreen, towels, sunglasses, hats, etc., for the excursion; Beth and Jerry were on a mission. Granny went upstairs to chill.

 

Beth and Jerry sought out one of the ship’s officers. This particular officer was someone we had met on a previous Serenade cruise and we trusted that they would know what to do. We quietly told about the marijuana incident of the previous night. The officer took notes on which cabin, what time, etc. We were told that it would be reported, and to call if it happened again. It did, see towards the end of this day.

 

Beth, Jerry and the boys were off to the American Yacht Club in Red Hook to meet Capt. Pat and her mate, Ray. Took a taxi from the ship – our taxi driver was Black 007 (no kidding, he had his name right there on the front of the taxi and he referred to himself that way). 007’s taxi was an open-air taxi. He gave a nice tour of the island although there was much discussion regarding the fact that St. Thomas residents have to pay taxes, social security, etc., yet don’t get to vote in the presidential election. Taxi was $40 for the four of us, tipped him $4.

 

Beth had chartered the Independence, a 44’ catch captained by Pat Stoeken. We were repeats as we had sailed with Captain Pat back in 2006. What a wonderful, wonderful, relaxing day. We left Red Hook around 9:30 a.m. and sailed to St. John, USVI. Ray, Captain Pat’s first mate, filled us with facts as we sailed. He told us about the Devil’s Table, the area where the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean come together, and the various islands we saw along the way. He pointed out birds (a magnificent Frigate bird, a migrating Bermuda long-tail, and Brown Booby), and sea turtles! He and Mike and Sam (16 and 14, respectively) absolutely bonded. Beth and Captain Pat just looked at each other and rolled eyes when Mike quoted a line from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and Ray finished the scene, word for word. We knew we were in trouble. Ray also pointed out the Brown Booby, after one of the boys asked what it was. Ray told the boys they could go back to school and tell all their friends they went to the Islands over spring break and saw lots of Brown Boobys. The only problem, according to Ray, is that our boys are GAY, because they were looking at MALE Brown Boobys. Ahem. This sort of humor really appealed to the 16 and under set (and Beth has to admit that she thought it was funny too).

 

Along the way we were able to watch the sailboat regatta – Captain Pat’s son was competing. Beautiful view of the islands, the gorgeous sea, all the colorful sails. Ray pointed out the different kinds of sailing vessels. It was very windy that morning, and we made way quite nicely. Captain Pat and Ray work very well together – they rarely had to speak to each other, just did the work. Beth was amazed, and still wants to know how that thingy works that the rope connected to the sail goes around (no idea what it’s called, but it looks cool, like a giant silver spool).

 

Ray pointed out several sea turtles to us. They looked like big brown plastic bags floating just under the surface, until a little head would pop up and get a quick breath. Jerry got some great pictures of them with Beth’s Nikon D80. Only reason I mention that is because at 10 megapixels, we can zoom in on the turtle’s head and have a GREAT picture.

 

Captain Pat dropped anchor in a bay of which Beth has forgotten the name (e-mail in to Capt. Pat for clarification). There were many beautiful homes there on the hillside. Ray told us that one particular home was owned by the founder of Monster.com. It was huge, beautiful, awe-inspiring. Ray made us start snorkeling with “noodles” under our arms and told us to swim around and around the boat until we saw a turtle. Beth and Mike made one circle around the boat, when Beth had had enough and called out to Ray: “I want to ditch the noodle!”. He asked if we were strong swimmers (definite yes) so we handed up the noodles and away we went, over to the reefs and rocks. Saw lots of fish. Not a fish expert so don’t know what kind, but lots of pretty colors. We saw at least 5 sea turtles eating grass on the sea floor, while snorkeling. Ray and Pat were calling to us that there was a sea turtle off the bow of the ship – well, we had five underneath us, munching on turtle grass. Ray said “Well nevermind!” One of the turtles had a remora hanging with him, removing any bad guys from his shell. Sam and Jerry stuck with the noodles. A remora became very interested in Sam (they are harmless, but when Mike and Beth saw it, they first thought it was a SHARK! Tourists.). The remora was a lot longer than Beth remembered them – around 3 to 4 feet long. They look weird too – there’s a flat spot on top of their head, and it looks like somebody stepped on their heads and left tread marks). Ray threw a bread crumb trail to get the remora close to Sam and guess what? The Remora wanted to check him out, getting within a foot of Sam! Sam almost levitated.

 

While we snorkeled, Captain Pat prepared an awesome lunch of pasta, salad, garlic bread, and of course, her famous rum punch! Chocolate covered bananas with whipped cream and a brownie for dessert – yummmm.

 

Captain Pat made another stop after lunch. We snorkeled and saw a baby puffer fish. Jerry wanted to make him go “puffy” – Beth was glad the fish swam under a rock. Current was a bit stronger here, and we had to limit ourselves to twenty minutes in order to get back to Red Hook in time for a taxi back to port. We made it back to Red Hook without any problems and said our goodbyes after taking pictures of the Captain and first mate, along with a couple of group shots. Taxi ride back to the ship was uneventful and we were back on board by 4:10.

 

Granny stayed on the ship, kicked back and rested and read until we got back from a wonderful day. No new birds for her today.

 

Dinner was formal. Beth had lobster bisque as an appetizer, Caesar salad, the Chef’s signature dish, a filet of beef along with “creamy whipped potatoes and crimini mushrooms, with green peppercorn sauce”, and the Grand Marnier Souffle’ for dessert. Awesome. A note about Benni: without asking, he brought the boys the same salad configuration as they had the previous night – plain lettuce, Ranch on the side, lots of croutons. He had that for them every night. They were happy; Beth was happy. Thanks Benni!

 

Gaming was again abysmal, but we had a lot of fun at the three-card poker table. Always seemed to be a nice group of folks there.

 

Back to the stateroom. Beth opened the balcony door – no problems. The balcony door in the next cabin opened, and the male began speaking about ordering room service. F-bomb was dropped every phrase (only adjective used). Beth heard him light up something, and the strong odor of marijuana wafted through our balcony. Just reporting the facts here, but they were disappointing to Beth. Called Guest Services. Guest Services said that Security would be upstairs in 5 minutes. 10 minutes later, Beth called again. Guest Services said they would call security again. Several minutes later, Guest Services called and said that Security had called the people in the room and asked if they were smoking marijuana. Honestly, that’s what they said they did. They reported that the people next door said they were not smoking marijuana (Surprise, surprise, surprise!). Beth was incredulous at this investigative tact. Security then came to our stateroom. They went on the balcony, sniffed, and shined flashlights from our balcony into the marijuana people’s balcony. There was no marijuana smell at this time. Any surprise there? The security people said they would beef up patrols in the halls. Then, they left.

 

Things seemed quiet (no noises from next door, no voices on the balcony) so Beth went out on the balcony to sit. No smoke. The balcony door next door opened, and a man came out, stopped at the divider crack, looked through at Beth for a long moment, continued to the chair, and said, VERY loudly, “I found me a f*cking RAT!” Guess the flashlights on the balcony gave us away.

 

Beth responded by dressing and going downstairs to talk to Guest Services to report the rat comment. She asked that Security send someone in with the room service meal they just ordered to check it out themselves. Security reported that the waiter didn’t see anything, and that the couple in the room said they were smoking Cuban cigars. Beth responded that many drug users are very adept at covering their tracks, cigar use being one of those methods, and asked if they really expected the people say “Yes, we’re using marijuana?” Security said that they would monitor the situation. Beth asked guest services for another balcony cabin to try and resolve the situation, but there weren’t any available.

 

More to come on the marijuana story. It wasn’t over yet.

[Cathomas]

You must be kidding me that they bought the cuban cigar line and did nothing about it. Assuming they flew from the US (no cuban cigars there) to San Jaun (still no cuban cigars there) and first stop St. Thomas (again no cuban cigars there either). This makes me think about something I saw at the cruise port mall in St Thomas. Two college kid had big smiles in there faces because they thought they just bought a Cohiba cigar from cuba, all I could think is that we are in a US territory, no cuban cigars.

 

I look forward to the rest of the review, even if I was on the same cruise.

[Chitoryubt]

You must be kidding me that they bought the cuban cigar line and did nothing about it. Assuming they flew from the US (no cuban cigars there) to San Jaun (still no cuban cigars there) and first stop St. Thomas (again no cuban cigars there either). This makes me think about something I saw at the cruise port mall in St Thomas. Two college kid had big smiles in there faces because they thought they just bought a Cohiba cigar from cuba, all I could think is that we are in a US territory, no cuban cigars.

 

I look forward to the rest of the review, even if I was on the same cruise.

 

<sigh> I wish I was kidding . . . :(

[Chitoryubt]

Forgot to mention that we had the official Meet n’ Mingle at 5:00 today. This was a victory because it was originally scheduled for 11:00 today. We did an informal “roll call” of who could attend and who could not, on our Roll Call Forum. NO ONE could attend (that responded, anyway). We started an e-mail campaign. Beth and several others e-mailed the Serenade’s most awesome concierge, Maritza. Maritza asked US when we would like to have it. Most in our roll call agreed that 4-5:00 on Sunday would work. Maritza forwarded the e-mail to the appropriate person on board, and it was changed to 5:00! Thank you, Maritza!

 

Around 15 people showed up for the meet n’ mingle. Beth was embarrassed because she came straight from Captain Pat’s boat – no makeup, generally gross look. But what the heck, wasn’t going to miss it! The party was rather subdued, in Beth’s opinion. The people were really nice, though, and it was worth it to see everybody. One of the Cruise Director’s staff played a “Serenade Facts” game with us, and we got a free Royal Caribbean memo/around-the-neck thingy. Then everybody left.

 

Also, got our days mixed up. Formal dinner was NOT on St. Thomas day. It was on Day 3, St. MARTIN day. Sorry for the confusion . . .:o probably all that darn smoke. Beth had the minestrone soup (yummy - always like that one), Chicken Marsala, and . . .TADA! Personal favorite dessert - warm chocolate cake. Benni was kind enough to add a scoop of vanilla ice cream . . . YUM.

[Sprocket Rocket]

Interesting stuff. I live in Maitland so hi!

 

We are traveling on the Serenade this August in Alaska.:) Can't wait to hear more about the ship.