Review: Serenade, June 5-12 (warning: long with lots of pictures)

Background

My name is April and this is my third cruise, my second with RCI and my first as a “solo”. This trip started out with a friend to celebrate my 30th birthday back in February, but she had to cancel a few weeks ago for financial reasons. Since it was only 2 weeks before the trip none of my friends and family had the money or the vacation time to go with me on such short notice so I decided to go by myself.

I know I get a great deal of information, advice and tips from these boards, especially the detailed reviews, so this “review” may hold a lot more information than some of you are looking for. You’ve been warned. J

For those who may be interested, all of my pictures were taken with my new Sony Alpha A33 (primary camera) or my Olympus Stylus 350SW (waterproof pocket camera).

I’m on the Serenade of the Seas (June 5-12) with a one night pre-cruise stay in San Juan. My itinerary is San Juan, Sea Day, Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Martin, St. Croix, and San Juan. I have excursions booked in every port except for St. Croix which is a beach day for me and I can’t decide which one I am looking forward to the most. I have some great ones booked! I’ve had my eye on this itinerary since I started researching my first cruise, so I’m VERY excited that it is finally here!

I’m writing this as a journal, and posting it when I get back, so the verb tenses may not always make sense, but I’m sure you guys are smart enough to figure it out. J

I cashed in a lot of RCI Visa points for this trip. The cruise was “free” and I was able to upgrade to a balcony cabin for $170 each (back when my friend was still going). I also cashed in enough for $300 OBC that I will use for one shore excursion and then whatever else strikes my fancy on the ship.

My flight was “free” using my US Airways points and paying a $45 booking fee. It was worth the points to me because airfare to SJU is expensive!!! I also got an added perk of using LESS miles to book a first class seat (YEAH!!!) instead of coach from Charlotte to San Juan, but I’ll be in coach on the return flight (BOOOO!!!).

I used my Hilton Hotel points to book a free night at the Doubletree by Hilton in San Juan (I did have to buy $30 worth of points so it wasn’t totally free). TripAdvisor gave it rave reviews but there isn’t a lot of information about it on the San Juan boards. I will give a detailed review over there on the hotel.

Can't wait!

Saturday June 4th: Travel to San Juan

I had to get up this morning at 3:00 to get ready for my 5:25 flight out of Columbus. I’m a night owl (my normal bedtime is around midnight) but I tried to go to bed last night at 9:30. I got rest, but not a lot of sleep. I kept waking up and ended up “awake” 10 minutes before the first of the three alarms (yes, THREE!!!) went off. At that point I gave up and just got in the shower. Hopefully I can sleep some on the plane.

My roommate was kind enough to get up before the sun and take me to the airport so I wouldn’t have to pay a week of parking. It was so nice being dropped off at the curb and not have to deal with a parking shuttle with a 25 inch suitcase, a 21 inch rolling carry-on and a large tote bag.

I feel like I’ve been packing for a week, but it only took me 2 days. It probably helped that I started a pile of miscellaneous stuff in my closet. I was worried that my suitcase would be over 50 pounds, but thanks to my new super-light weight luggage my bag was only 37 pounds!!! I kind of wish I had time to go back home and grab a few more things! LOL

Mini Luggage Review: I bought new luggage for this trip and I decided to go with Traveler’s Choice Toronto 2 piece set from Overstock.com. So far I am very pleased! The 2 piece set was $95 with free shipping and I LOVE the spinner wheels. It makes navigating the airport so much easier when I’m not “dragging” two heavy bags. I feel much more balanced. We’ll see if they survive the baggage handlers…

I’ve kept an eye on the weather the past few days and I’m trying not to worry. There is a tropical disturbance in the Caribbean and there is a 50-70% chance of rain all week in San Juan and the forecast is similar for the rest of the islands. It does get a little better towards the end of the week. I have my fingers crossed!

Mini Airport Rant: I’m a frequent flier so I’m used to going through security with all the constantly changing rules. I had to go through the Backscatter Scanner this morning and it kind of ticked me off. They were sending more people through the scanner than the regular x-ray and it was taking forever with only one lane open. I didn’t feel like causing a scene and asking for a pat-down so I was a good little sheep and did what I was told. After that I STILL had to get a pat down (luckily it wasn’t invasive by any stretch). I’m assuming it was the underwire on my bra because they just checked my torso from my bra line to my belly button. Surely the TSA can determine an underwire from a weapon, right? I mean I’m not the only woman in the United States that wears one…

My first flight was on time and I was really glad that my airline status allowed me to board early. There are lots of vacationers on this leg and lots of carryon bags. I have valuables in mine and would be a very unhappy camper if I had to check the bag. I don’t know what good deed I have done in my life but I usually have very good travel karma and it was in full effect this morning. J The seat next to me was empty which allowed me to spread out a little and not feel so cramped. I don’t mind the regional jets; they are usually pretty comfortable and today was no exception. These are some of the most comfortable seats I’ve had in coach.

There is a beautiful sunrise this morning. I’m not usually up to see it, but from the air it is a great view!

Mini Airport Praise: I really like the Charlotte airport (maybe because this was my “home” airport for so many years). I like the way that the food court and news stores are centrally located and has rocking chairs along the big wall of windows. My flight to San Juan is leaving from the international terminal (D) and it is a really nice place to sit and wait. While the rest of the airport is a madhouse this terminal is usually pretty quiet until one of the overseas flights start boarding. My one recommendation for Charlotte would be for them to install power stations at/near the gates. I can never find power outlets when I need them.

Mini Luggage Review Part 2: My carry-on is hit and miss on the spinners working. It does pretty good on a smooth surface (tile, linoleum, etc.) but it grabs a little on carpet, which the Charlotte airport has a lot of. I’ve also noticed that the handle seems a little flimsy when it is fully extended and has this much weight (25 lbs). Still a pretty good deal for the price I paid, especially to get the super-light weight luggage.

One hour and 50 minutes AFTER our scheduled departure we finally push back from the gate. We had to wait for maintenance to come and fix some sort of problem with one of the emergency exit slides. It was only supposed to take “a few minutes”. This is one of the reasons people recommend flying in a day before, especially if you are flying a long way and have a connecting flight; there are just too many things that can happen to interfere with the travel schedule. Once we pushed back from the gate we had another 10-15 ATC delay. The pilot said they were holding all of the “southbound flights for awhile”. I assume it was some weather. I’m just happy they didn’t cancel the flight and I’m on my way!

I was quite impressed by the meal served in first class. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it was a hot meal with two choices, BBQ chicken or cheese tortellini with spinach. I decided the tortellini was the safer bet, and it was pretty good (especially for airline food). Lunch came served on a tray with real dishes and silverware (another surprise) and included a roll, Caesar salad and two pita wedges with an unidentifiable topping. Dessert was a chocolate cake.

We arrived in San Juan two hours late and to a rain storm. It looks like my worries about the weather may be coming true. My taxi driver said that tomorrow morning is supposed to be better, I hope he is right! When I got to baggage claim I noticed that my checked bag had actually been shipped down on an earlier flight. YEAH!!!! I don’t have to wait for my bag and I will miss the taxi line.

NOTE: SAN JUAN TAXIS ARE NOW CHARGING A FUEL SUPPLIMENT. I hadn’t noticed this in any other review/post so I wanted to point out that about two months ago they started charging a fuel supplement on each trip. The current rate is $1.50 per trip, but it keeps going up. Otherwise my taxi fare was as I expected, $15 +$2 for my two bags (total of $18.50 +tip).

Saturday, June 4: Doubletree by Hilton (San Juan)

Wow it has been a looooong day! I didn’t time the taxi ride from the airport, but the driver said about 10 minutes and that is what it felt like. I made it to the hotel around 4:00 and quickly checked in. The lobby and staff made an immediate good impression. I love how Doubletree greets their guests with a warm cookie!

There was one small mix-up that was inconvenient but quickly solved. The room they originally gave me still had people in it! Well, the people weren’t there but their bags were. A quick trip back down to the desk solved the problem. They apologized profusely but it wasn’t that big of a deal.

My room is 2008 and I have patio access to the pool (which I could imagine could get loud if there were rowdy groups out there) which is convenient. The hotel looks like it has been recently renovated and so far everything I have seen looks well done. The bathroom is nice, but I do wish there was a counter around the sink instead of just having the vessel. I travel with a lot of stuff. :)

The bed is comfortable and my room had a Murphy bed instead of the second queen bed. It made the room seem a lot larger than it actually was. Room amenities include a safe, microwave, coffee maker, and all of the other standard hotel room items.

Doubletree offers free internet (which is nice) and this one has three restaurants and room service. There is a 24-hour grocery store across the street which is VERY convenient. Last night I ran over there to grab a sandwich and some soda to take with me on the ship. I found what I needed and the prices were only slightly higher that what I was expecting. The only drawback was that it was REALLY busy and the lines took forever. Make sure you leave plenty of time if you are on a tight schedule; I probably stood in line for 20 minutes in the check out.

Enjoyed your review, very well written. Can't wait to read more!!!

This is a wonderful, thorough review. I am loving all the little details

Ditto!

Anxiously waiting to hear more!

Yippee! I have been looking forward to your review. Thanks

I love detailed reviews. We make our final payment this week for our August 28 Serenade trip. Can't wait to read more. Do you have the Compass from your cruise? How about the room service menu?

Great review so far and excellent photos! Keep it coming!

I love detailed reviews. We make our final payment this week for our August 28 Serenade trip. Can't wait to read more. Do you have the Compass from your cruise? How about the room service menu?

I do have the Compasses but not the room service menu. From memory it was something like this:

Drinks: Orange Juice, Apple Juice, Hot Tea, Coffee, Milk, Skim Milk

Hot Meals: Scrambled Eggs, Scrambled Egg Beaters, Hash Browns (maybe bacon and sausage, I don't remember)

Cereal: Cornflakes, Special K, and a few others

Fruit: whole apple, whole banana, whole orange, tropical fruit plate

Breads: assorted pastries, muffin, white toast, wheat toast, butter and margarine

My fave kind of review- great job so far, can't wait to read more :)

Saturday, June 4: Bio Bay Kayak Excursion

My first excursion is tonight and I hope it stops raining. I booked a Bio Bay Kayak trip with Kayaking Puerto Rico. The new moon was two or three days ago, so tonight should be almost as good as it gets. This has gotten great reviews, but I’m skeptical if it is really THAT cool. Regardless, I’ve never been on a kayak, let alone at night so this should be pretty fun.

During my research, original booking, and reservation changes everyone I dealt with has been quick and responsive. My OCD thanks them. LOL This morning they called me and told me they would be picking me up between 6:20-6:25 for the one hour and fifteen minute drive. I’m glad I paid for the pick-up service; I’m too tired to even attempt to drive anywhere let alone in the dark and rain.

The trip was better than anything I imagined! I was the only single (or odd numbered group) so I got paired with the lead guide Anthony. They gave us instructions at 8:45 and then we got in the kayaks and paddled around a small bay until everyone was in the group. From there we went single file into the mangrove “canal”. The guides were using spotlights to show us things along the way, including a large termite nest, iguanas, and the mangrove roots.

It was so much fun to be in the lead kayak with him! Half the time I forgot to paddle because the scenery was so pretty. About midway through the canal I started seeing bioluminescence. There was a string dangling from the kayak and the sparklies trailed behind it. A little further in I thought my eyes were seeing things because the water was sparkling like a small disco ball, just little flickers randomly, but the water was actually sparkling!

Once we reached the lagoon the guides had us all pull into a group and hold on to each other’s kayaks so we wouldn’t drift away. Anthony told us about the bioluminescence, the organisms, how they work, and how they are protected. We then had about 20 minutes or so to play with the water (no swimming allowed in order to protect the lagoon) before heading back out.

Throughout the excursion, beginning with the orientation meeting, the guides were going around and taking pictures (it looked like a Cannon D10 for those who are interested) of everyone, including a group shot taken after we got back to the check in point. They will email the pictures for FREE to all the email addresses they have for the group. I thought this was a great added touch!

Summary: This was a great way to kick off my trip. I would HIGHLY recommend Kayaking Puerto Rico for this tour and I would definitely book this trip (or one of the others they offer) again if I ever make it back to Puerto Rico. My only recommendation is that they need to put new shocks in the vans. LOL Sitting in the back was a little bumpy at times.

Great review April. Can't wait to read more. Love the pictures! We will be on the Serenade the end of January! :D

Alice

This is a fantastic review. Thanks a lot. We are arriving in San Juan the day before but not early enough to do this trip on the saturday morning (think we get in at about 6pm):(

Can you tell me what time you got back to the hotel? From your review and pictures we really want to do this excursion, but would probably have to do it on the same day we embark.

 

This is a fantastic review. Thanks a lot. We are arriving in San Juan the day before but not early enough to do this trip on the saturday morning (think we get in at about 6pm):(

 

Can you tell me what time you got back to the hotel? From your review and pictures we really want to do this excursion, but would probably have to do it on the same day we embark.

They only do the excursion at night, they have a trip about 6:30 and a second one at 8:45 (pick-up in San Juan is between 6:00-6:30). I got back to the hotel around 11:30 pm I think, it was a really long day but I'm glad I did it!

Sunday, June 5: Old San Juan

My goal was to leave the hotel by 9:00 to go to the forts for a few hours. I underestimated how long it would take me to get organized and repacked… LOL I didn’t leave until 10:00.

My first thought was to take the bus to the forts, but the bellman said that since it was Sunday the busses run an “unofficial” slow schedule and I could wait for 30 minutes for one to come by. I didn’t want to waste any more time this morning so I took a taxi ($16.00 + tip and no fuel charge this time, maybe it is only for airport runs?).

I went to El Morro first on the recommendation of the front desk. The entrance to the fort was $3 and if you paid $5 it included a ticket to San Chrisobal (FYI once you purchase the second ticket it is good for 7 days from the date of purchase, so you don’t have to do both forts in one day if you don’t want to).

El Morro was pretty neat, had some great photo ops and was not crowded (about 10:15 am on a Sunday) but my fun was slightly dampened by the humidity and clouds. I would have loved to see the fort with the contrast of blue skies and blue water. Still, I was grateful it wasn’t raining!

I spent about an hour wandering around and checking out the gift shop (for those of you who collect Christmas ornaments both fort gift shops had wonderful handmade clay ornaments) before walking to San Cristobal.

The forts were very different and I can’t decide which one I liked better. The interior of El Morro and the lighthouse were spectacular and the exterior of San Cristobal with the turrets were just as pretty.

Around 12:15 I walked to Columbus Square (I think that was the name of it, a park ranger gave me directions so I could catch a cab). The square was surrounded by local artisans, and I decided to take a quick trip around to see if there was anything interesting. A woman was selling pressed aluminum “paintings” and one of the Three Wise Men immediately caught my eye. I love Christmas decorations and I collect Christmas ornaments and this was so unique that I was tempted. The cost was $25 which seemed reasonable to me since it was handmade and included a black wood frame (the aluminum is pretty thin and would damage easily without it). I walked away the first time but as I continued to browse it stuck in my mind so I went back to get it. My first impulse purchase of the trip. (This picture was taken from my phone so it isn't the greatest.)

After I made my purchase I did go catch a cab ($16 + tip) back to the hotel to freshen up my make-up (I would have killed for a shower and fresh clothes) before heading to the pier.

Sunday, June 4: Pan American Pier, Serenade of the Seas

I left the hotel about 12:30. Taxi fare from the Doubletree to the pier was $17 +$2 for my two bags + tip. When I arrived at the pier there seemed to be a lot of confusion. People everywhere a bus unloading and if there were signs I missed most of them. I found a luggage stand and dropped off my large suitcase and went to stand in line for security. While I was there I noticed that there were lots of people in line waiting to drop their bags off. Uh oh, I think I dropped my bag off at a place for the “special people” with high status and suites. I tipped the porter so hopefully he won’t care. LOL

NOTE: for those of you who plan to travel with a laptop/netbook. I didn’t realize I would have to take my laptop out for the first security check. I had packed mine inside my locked carry-on so I had to step out of line, unlock, unzip and dig my laptop out before I could get back in line.

Once I got through security the rest of check in was pretty smooth.

I skipped the embarkation pictures since it was just me and I looked like a wreck with my hair all frizzed out from the humidity.

NOTE #2: In my carry on I had a 12 pack of Diet Pepsi and two bottles of water. No one said a THING or even asked what I had. For all they knew it could have been a case of beer. I was prepared to have the drinks confiscated, but I was pleased I would have them for the trip. I don’t know if this is usual or not.

I was on board by 1:00 just as the staterooms were opening up.

I took my bag to my stateroom and unpacked my stuff and went to get lunch. The Seaview Café was not open so I had to settle for the Windjammer. By now it was almost 2:00 and there were lots of tables available, I was glad it wasn’t an absolute zoo. I always love the fruit carvings on the first day. The cantaloupe flower was a new one for me.

After lunch my first stop was the Explorations desk to book one shore excursion with my OBC from my RCI Visa. I stood in line for about 30-45 minutes which was annoying, there was only one person working the desk and a huge line of people (although people at the end kept leaving because it was taking so long). As a “planner” I was amazed at hearing people walk up to the desk and say “What can I do in port?” They didn’t even have a clue what was available, let alone what they wanted to do. That would drive me BONKERS to not have a game plan for each port (even a tentative one). I was fortunate that the excursion I wanted was still available. I really wanted to try out Snuba and I will get the chance in St. Maarten!

By this time it was 3:00 and I was hot, sweaty and tired. A bunch of us from our roll-call were meeting at the Sky Bar at 4:30 so I had time for a short nap. YEAH!! Nap time!!!

I’m not sure how many people showed up to the Sky Bar, but I would guess about 10-15 stopped by at some point. It was great to start putting faces to names to screen names.

My luggage arrived around 6:00 if I remember correctly. It looks like it didn’t matter where I dropped it off. I quickly unpacked and then took a shower and put on fresh clothes. That felt so good!

Muster drill felt weird without the lifejackets, but at least I didn’t have to take it back to my room! I stayed on Deck 5 for sail away which seemed subdued and I had to go inside for dinner before we sailed past El Morro (but I saw it all lit up from a distance and it did look neat).

Dinner the first night was kind of awkward. I requested to be seated with other solo travelers or people my own age and I really didn’t get either. Everyone seemed nice enough but conversation was awkward at the time I couldn’t decide if I should try to switch tables or not. The food itself was okay, I had the prime rib and the flavor was good but it was pretty tough (hard to cut even with a steak knife).

Loving your review so far! Can't wait to read the rest.

Cheers,

June 5: Serenade of the Seas, Stateroom 7564

Overall this was a great cabin for me. I was on the starboard side, slightly forward of the Centrum. Deck 7 was a good deck to be on, just a few decks away from everything I was interested in. It made it easier to take the stairs more often than not.

A few random thoughts about the room:

-There was some sort of "generator" type noise that would come on and off at random times. It never woke me up (but I am a sound sleeper) and I couldn't figure out where it was coming from. It was too loud to be the fridge kicking on.

-About halfway through the cruise I noticed that the railing on my balcony had been removed and replaced with yellow and black caution tape. I have no idea what happened, but there were a lot of cabins around me with the same thing.

-The fridge kept things nice and cold!

-I did miss being able to look straight down and see the wake of the ship. It wasn't a huge deal, but I wouldn't have minded to be a few decks higher to see if that would have made a difference.

For more pictures from Saturday and Sunday you can visit my PhotoBucket album: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/1003/AprilHoward/Serenade%20of%20the%20Seas-San%20Juan/

Monday, June 6: At Sea (Formal Night)

I got up at 9:00 to go buy a “Walk for Wishes” t-shirt for a $10 donation to the Make a Wish Foundation (charged to my sea pass). They also had a 2 for $10 t-shirt sale going on at the same time. Usually I find those to be junk t-shirts, but they actually had a decent selection and I bought two.

Our official Meet and Mingle was at 11:30 in the Vortex Lounge. We had a great turn-out, I didn’t do a head count but I would guess about 40 people showed up. We had two staff members show up to welcome us.

They had a fruit and cheese platter for us and they had Bloody Marys, Mimosa’s and glasses of champagne available for those who wanted it (complimentary!!). They gave a brief speech thanking us for taking the time to go online and talk about the RCI product and how our input was important to the company and to let them know if there was anything they could improve upon.

Then we all went around the room and introduced ourselves with our real name, screen name and where we were from. We had three sets of honeymooners in the group! After that they raffled of some prizes and left us alone to chat. I was talking to Darrell and Donna about my dinner situation and found out they were seated with Sue and her friend Vickie and had empty seats at their table. The Maitre ‘D switched me to their table that night before dinner and I was able to stay there the whole week. I’m glad I decided to move. Dinner was much better with them and the rest of my table mates!

I attended the seminar on towel folding where they showed how to make some of the towel animals. They had volunteers to do it along with the crew and then gave us all handouts to take with us to try at home (and now I can’t find mine). After that I had a quick lunch at the Seaview Café (I tried the Cuban and it was wonderful!!) and headed to the pool for the afternoon.

This was our first formal night and I was impressed with the amount of people really dressed up. There were several “Quinceanera” (spelling?!?) girls and their family who were all dressed up and a lot of the teen girls looked like they were getting another use out of their prom/formal dresses. There were a fair number of people who were wearing “church” dresses and very few who were wearing casual clothes.

The show that night was “From Stage to Screen” and some of it was great and most of it was good. They have some really nice singers and talented dancers in the crew. I really think they need to come up with a better name than “Royal Caribbean Singers and Dancers” it makes it sound really cheesy and undermines the talent of the group.

For more pictures from Monday: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/1003/AprilHoward/Serenade%20of%20the%20Seas%20Day%20at%20Sea%20June%206%202011/

I am loving your review!! We board the Serenade this coming Friday, doing your same itenerary..I cant wait to read the rest of it!

Great review, thanks for sharing!

Great review! Thanks for doing that! We're on this Sunday for 2 weeks! Woo Hoo! Did the same thing last summer....just fabulous.

Complimentary Bloody Mary's and Mimosa's at the M&M!!?? You've got to be kidding! That's a first. Hope we get that, too!

Did you happen to remember the name of the Maitre D? Was it Promod from India? I sure hope so.......we made good friends with him last year and he really took care of us.

Keep up the great job on your review!

Great review! Thanks for doing that! We're on this Sunday for 2 weeks! Woo Hoo! Did the same thing last summer....just fabulous.

 

Complimentary Bloody Mary's and Mimosa's at the M&M!!?? You've got to be kidding! That's a first. Hope we get that' date=' too! [/size']

 

Did you happen to remember the name of the Maitre D? Was it Promod from India? I sure hope so.......we made good friends with him last year and he really took care of us.

 

Keep up the great job on your review!

I didn't catch the Maitre D's name...

I was surprised at the free drinks as well. It wasn't free flowing but everyone got a drink that wanted one.

The review is starting to slow down because I ran out of pre-written material. :p I got too busy to even take notes so I'm going off of my memory while I wait for my pictures to upload.