Review: Serenade 1/23/10 St. Thomas-Barbados itinerary

[StaceyCT]

I posted this review in the main "member reviews" section, but it got buried beneath a lot of reviews of February sailings, so I figured I'd post it here. It's kind of long, but I'd be happy to answer any questions that I can!

 

Introduction: We sailed on the Serenade’s 1/23/10 trip, with the St. Thomas – Barbados itinerary. Our group consisted of three generations: myself (42), my husband (52), our son (2) and my mom (72). Our prior cruising experience was limited to two Carnival cruises about five years ago (on the Jubilee and the Valor), so we were fairly new to cruising and totally new to Royal Caribbean. We had such a great time on the Serenade that we are now 100% Loyal to Royal and can’t wait to cruise with them again!

 

Pre-cruise hotel: We flew into San Juan a day early to help ensure that unpredictable Northeastern weather wouldn’t cause us to miss the boat. We stayed at the Marriott Stellaris Resort and Casino at Condado beach. Beatiful, right on the beach, with lively music every night in the lobby area. The room smelled very slightly musty but this wasn’t a big problem. There’s a good restaurant down the street called Danny’s where we had dinner (pizza, sandwiches, that sort of thing). It was fine except extremely noisy inside, plus they let in vendors pushing candy bars and flowers. Turn right out of the hotel for Walgreen’s – lots of beach-type necessities (sunscreen etc.) but no soda (I was hoping to buy a case or two to carry on the ship). Starbucks right across the street.

The Marriott was a lovely hotel, but next time I think I’ll go for something cheaper since we were only there a few hours except for sleeping. I plan to research Priceline bidding, since most people seem to pay about $100 through that method (we paid twice that). Our first choice was the Sheraton in Old San Juan, but by the time we got around to booking a couple of weeks pre-cruise, it was booked. Too bad – it was a short walk from the Segway tour that I took the next morning.

 

Pre-cruise Segway tour: I took the two hour Segway tour of Old San Juan at 9:30 AM the day of the cruise, allowing us to head off to the ship at about 12:30. Nataliya was our guide, a simply delightful and funny woman. Though she could probably do this tour in her sleep, she made it seem fresh for our group. There were 9 people signed up for this tour; Nataliya took 5 and her husband Jose took 4. The Segway was fun and easy to learn. At first I was self-conscious about doing it right, but by the end of the tour I wasn’t even thinking about the Segway – it was as instinctive as walking. Sure wish I could afford one! Nataliya pointed out the major sites (important buildings, sculptures, a tour of the fort) plus little “slice of life” things like the 7 foot wide house that’s for sale for $2 million+. My favorite was seeing all the beautiful, happy, healthy stray cats lounging around OSJ. Nataliya explained to us that a group of 40 women take care of these cats, neutering, feeding, and seeing to their vet care. At several scenic points, we stopped and Nataliya took pictures of each person/couple with their own camera. Thumbs up to Segway tours of San Juan! http://www.segwaytourspr.com/aboutus.html $84 for two hour tour.

 

Embarkation: We got on the line at about 1:30 and the whole process took 30 minutes max (I suspect it’s usually shorter, but three buses had just gotten there before us). Not a big deal. They have free lemonade and cookies waiting for you inside – very nice! Get ready to show your ID over and over again. Skip the photo op as you board – we were so tired, disheveled and sweaty that we would have paid to NOT have a picture of us at that moment! We were able to go straight to our cabin; our bags arrived 1-2 hours later. It was great to start our first cruise day pretty early; I would definitely recommend it.

 

Fellow passengers: What a nice group of people were on our ship! Everyone was polite and friendly – none of the pushing onto elevators, gangs of wild kids, etc. that you sometimes read about. There was a palpable sense of excitement, especially in the beginning (I think we all identified with the woman who walked past our cabin the first day yelling “Ya-hoo, I am SO excited!!!”) People chatted in the elevator, waited for others to get off before getting on, and were generally beyond polite and almost chummy. There was a sense of solidarity arising from the shared situation of being thrilled to finally be on our much-anticipated getaway.

Even though we departed from San Juan, the passengers were overwhelmingly from the United States, with some Canadians and Brits mixed in for good measure. There were few Puerto Ricans (this from observation and also from when a performer asked for people from different areas to clap; only a handful of Puerto Ricans raised their hands). If I had to describe the average Serenade passenger, I’d say middle-aged American couple.

The Serenade does not attract many kids (unlike Adventure of the Seas). During our sailing (not a school holiday), there were 50 kids under the age of 18; only 7 of these were under three. I think this is because the Serenade is a smaller ship without all the activities like the FloRider that the larger ships have. It was perfect for our toddler, however, since he’s too young to enjoy that stuff yet. Almost everyone was kind and friendly toward our son, joking about how much he liked the elevator, etc.; I deeply appreciated this. The way to my heart is definitely through my son J.There was a man at lunch one day giving him the evil eye for fussing a bit, but later I watched this man lose $1,700 during ten minutes of roulette and enjoyed the beauty of karma J.

 

Crew: The level of service on the Serenade was simply amazing. I didn’t encounter a single crew member who wasn’t at least pleasant; most were friendly and had a big smile for everyone they came into contact with. This is especially impressive considering the crazy hours they work and how tired they must often be. The generally anonymous crew that we only saw in passing almost always took the time for a cordial greeting.

Our cabin steward, Sean, did a great job with our embarrassingly messy room. He promptly responded to our requests for extra feather pillows and evening ice refills. He spent time talking about his family in Grenada and brought out pictures for us to see. Like virtually every crew member we conversed with, he has small children at home and seemed happy to interact with our little boy.

Our waitstaff in the MDR were simply outstanding. We did My Time Dining and had “Blinkie” as head waiter, Rupesh as waiter, and Eglan as assistant waiter. They all took care of our needs and wants beautifully. Blinkie is totally on top of things, quelling the potential for chaos in his very fast-paced dining room while finding the time to play with my son. Rupesh is an unusually warm, intelligent young man who responded to our every request quickly and graciously. Eglan was a whiz at bussing our table smoothly while treating my son as if he were one of her own. Her warmth seemed very genuine and was appreciated. The entire team quickly learned our preferences (a bowl of grapes for ds; a club soda and lemon for me) and delivered them immediately without our requesting after the first night.

 

Dining and Food: I heartily recommend MTD. Except for one night, we only had to wait a few minutes for a table (the exception was a 30 minute wait; annoying but not worth ditching MTD for). It’s just so nice to amble down to the MDR whenever you feel like it, and not have to worry about keeping your tablemates waiting as back in the stateroom, your toddler decides that this is the night that shoes must not touch his feet under any conditions J. We had our regular serving staff probably 6 out of 7 nights and developed a good rapport with them.

One concern I had about MTD was the ability to get a table with others; I had looked forward to meeting new people and hearing about their lives and port adventures. We requested a table with others, but the hostess was reluctant to give us one because dining with a two year old is not everyone’s idea of a good time. I hadn’t even thought of that! Makes sense though. Anyway, a plus of dining with only your own family is that you can ask the servers to speed up your meal, since lingering with a toddler is not ideal. Most nights our dinner took 1-1.5 hours. The one night that it was just my mom and I eating in the MDR, they did seat us with four delightful people and we had a great dinner with them. The MTD section (right side of deck 5 [top] of dining room) has a nice mix of tables for 2, 4, and 6.

Formal nights were day 2 (St. Thomas) and day 6 (Barbados). There was a mix of styles within the range of “formal”; I saw few tuxes but didn’t notice any flip-flops either.

Based on what we’d read on Cruise Critic, we didn’t expect much from the food; subpar wedding banquet (with gratitude that we didn’t have to cook and clean ourselves) was about the best we hoped for. So it came as a very pleasant surprise that the food was actually very good! Some items were better than others, but most were extremely tasty, restaurant-quality food which we eagerly gulped down. We had contemplated one dinner in Portofino’s but decided against it – the MDR food was just fine.

 

I’m a vegetarian and had no problem with the menu, except that there were (relatively) so many veg options that it was hard to choose! The Indian dishes were all good, but my favorite entrée was the eggplant and mozzarella tower. Avoid some “calzone” dish they have one night though – nothing to write home about. My omnivorous tablemates very much enjoyed their food too, including my very discerning dh who is a culinary institute graduate and works in the hotel/restaurant business.

The Windjammer was fine for casual eating, and the lack of lines (due to many different stations) was beautiful! I had read that vegetarian items in the Windjammer were marked with a “V”, however, this was not the case. Still, it wasn’t hard to figure out what had meat.

I loved being able to get free room service, and ordered it almost every morning for breakfast on the balcony. Paradise! Sitting there on your beautiful balcony, eating good food and gazing at the port that you’re about to explore makes you think “It doesn’t get much better than this.” If there is a non-breakfast room service menu, I never saw it (have since read on CC that it’s on the TV). Fortunately I’d seen one online beforehand, but RCCL should make it more available in the cabin.

The Seaview Café on deck 12 (walk straight up the stairs from the pool) is a nice alternative to the Windjammer as long as you have an extra few minutes to wait for your order to be prepared and brought to you. Ask for Swiss cheese to be added to the veggie sandwich, and don’t forget to order one of their delicious, rich brownies.

I didn’t get a soda card because on our Carnival cruises I found it hard to find waiters to serve soda. I wish I had gotten one on the Serenade; I drink a lot of seltzer and definitely would have enjoyed more of them if I’d had the package. There were waiters available to deliver soda in the Windjammer, which I totally didn’t expect. Plus, when you’re playing bingo, trivia, etc., it’s nice to have a seltzer in hand. Lesson learned.

 

Ship: The Serenade is elegantly beautiful, especially compared to the garishness of Carnival, where everything seems to be a vivid orange. It is exactly the right size ship, IMO; it’s easy to learn your way around and you don’t have to do complex navigational maneuvers like we did on the Valor, where there were some decks that you couldn’t walk all the way across. There is a small glass model of a ship on each deck right outside the atrium elevators. On it is marked the locations of the major locales, so at a glance you can find the deck and direction of where you want to go. A small thing that really came in handy.

We spent most of our time on decks 11 (pool and Windjammer) and 5 (MDR). For pools, I prefer the Solarium to the main pool. It’s really gorgeous, like a lush, plant-filled little oasis. They keep the retractable roof closed, which is fine with me – I don’t like tanning and it furthers the impression that you’re in a beautiful, hushed little world of your own. The regular pool has that steel drum band always playing (not my favorite music) and is much more active. However, there were generally plenty of available chairs on both, though I did notice a scarcity outside on the sea day.

The kids’ pool looked like a lot of fun, with a long, curvy water slide and shallow splashing areas. Be forewarned, however, that non-potty trained toddlers are not allowed in any pools on the Serenade, so we’ll have to wait until our next cruise to enjoy this pool. I do think there are some little splash pools for our young diapered friends on the larger ships, but not the Serenade.

 

Cabins: Dh, ds and I lucked into cabin 9076, a D1 balcony cabin on the front side of the hump. Its location means that the balcony is extra large (triangular shaped), which was a huge bonus. There were three chairs plus a lounger, and all fit easily. The balcony to our left (9078) was totally not visible from our balcony; however most of balcony 9074, to our right, could be seen. We discreetly did not sit near the railing looking in that direction, but keep in mind that if balcony privacy is of paramount importance to you, then 9074 and its equivalents on other decks and the starboard side might not be for you.

My mom stayed in L category inside cabin 9571, which we chose because it was right down the hall from our room. Were location not important, we would have gotten her an OV, which was only a few dollars more expensive (but on deck 2). Personally, I don’t understand the appeal of paying more for higher decks. You’ll be taking the elevator most places anyway.

The best thing about our cabins was definitely the location. I am now officially a Hump Snob! Walking out the door right into the atrium/elevator area was so convenient that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to go back to a stateroom with a long hike down the hall. Despite our proximity to the elevators, there was zero noise from them in the cabin. Nor did we hear other passengers walking by. If you’re very sensitive to noise, you should know that music from the atrium could be heard in the cabin if you were near the door. This didn’t bother us, and a white noise machine would probably fix the problem for those with extra sensitive ears.

The cabins were predictably small cruise ship cabins, with two single beds that could be pushed together to make a queen/king (not sure which). The bottom edges of the bed are rounded, presumably to make navigation around the small space easier. We are both tall but did not find this to be a problem. Luggage fit easily under the bed. The shower is round with doors rather than a curtain; the water pressure is very good. But if anyone figures out how to gracefully shave their legs in that shower, please let me know! J

Next time, I’ll spend more time unpacking carefully and keeping things organized in the cabin. We spent the week scrambling for locations of items and accumulating piles of worn-but-not-dirty clothes. In the future, I’ll have a system for where to put such clothes. I did bring an over-the-door shoe organizer, but am not sure if it was worth the space it took in our luggage. Most of the stuff in it could have either fit elsewhere in the cabin or was used so infrequently that it could have stayed in an under-the-bed suitcase.

I have seen comments that the cabins could not be made cool enough, even with the AC cranked up all the way. Ours was cool enough, but certainly not that icy cool that you sometimes crave in a hot climate. My mom’s inside cabin tended to be cooler than our balcony room, FWIW. Also, I think it’s important to not only keep your balcony door closed, but actually locked (handle facing straight up) when you’re not out there. At some places (the hotel where my dh works, for instance), the AC automatically turns off whenever the balcony door is unlocked. This could account for some of the warmer rooms that people have encountered.

 

Entertainment (shows):

Night 1: Comedian Don Barnhart – missed it, though he was back on night 4.

Night 2: “Stage to Screen” production show, a “tribute to the great Broadway musicals that have also been hits on the silver screen, including West Side Story, Sweet Charity, Hairspray, and Chicago”. Nice singing and dancing; an entertaining way to spend an hour, though not something you’d pay big bucks to see on land.

Night 3: Comedian Judy Kolba – a very funny German woman who did make me laugh out loud, which is not always an easy thing to do J. She did a little singing too. A funny lady.

Night 4: Comedian Don Barnhart was back. I only saw the second half, during which he got the cruise director and a couple of members of his staff to do an improv type of comedy. I regret to say that it was not very funny.

Night 5: Billy Richards’ Coasters: one original member of the Coasters, along with three new members, sang classic R&B and early rock tunes. Very enjoyable. We ran into members of the band around the ship several times over the next few days and they were very friendly and approachable.

Night 6: “Vibe-ology” production show, “a journey though popular music from Elvis and the Beatles to Cher and Janet Jackson.” Similar to the night 2 production show – enjoyable but wouldn’t knock your socks off.

Night 7: Juggler and comedian Jeff Taveggia. Missed it (packing) and it’s probably as well – the little that we caught on TV the next morning was painfully un-funny. I hate cringing for performers.

 

On-board activities: The cruise director, Dennis Charles, was very funny and engaging. His staff were very likable too.

The two not-to-be-missed events that weren’t official “shows” were Love and Marriage (a.k.a. The Newlywed/Not So Newlywed Game) and Quest. Love and Marriage had three couples from the audience participate in a game modeled directly on the TV show “The Newlywed Game”, even down to the use of the word “whoopie” J. A highlight was definitely the newlywed couple agreeing that their sex life is “Mission Impossible”, while the fellow married 55 years declared himself “Superman” in the bedroom. That older couple were truly a hoot and a holler.

Every night I highlighted in the Compass the things I wanted to do the next day; every day I missed most of them J. With such a port-intensive cruise, daytime ship activities naturally get short shrift. However, there were plenty of activities to choose from. A few faves:

My favorite is trivia games; there were generally two or three each day, in the Schooner bar next to the piano. Each would have a theme, like geography or movie love songs. They were great fun and everybody was intensely focused, considering that we were competing for key chains and fanny packs! About 15-20 people generally showed up for the trivia games. “Ricky Ricardo” was my favorite trivia host; I loved his response to incorrect answers, a humorous “Oh noooooo.”

Bingo was predictably popular. I actually won one game! The bad news: I only won $49! (shared $98 prize with another winner). Well, at least it paid for my $22 card and that day’s foo foo drinks! But the best part was getting to stand up and bellow “BINGO!!!” Woo hoo!

My hubby loves Texas Hold ‘Em poker. There was a tournament that went on for the entire cruise, plus regular Hold ‘Em games some nights in the casino. Keep in mind that the casino’s rake on Texas Hold ‘Em is much larger than what you might be used to online; they take 10% of every pot, with no maximum. Dh was shocked to win a large pot and see the dealer take out $14 of his winnings! The rest of the casino games were the usual: slots, roulette, blackjack, craps, and a few less well known ones. I didn’t see my favorite, “Let It Ride” (just as well; the odds on that one are atrocious). My roulette and blackjack dealers were friendly and helpful and seemed genuinely happy when I won (if only I had won enough to offset dh’s poker losses!).

 

Internet access: Not available in cabins, which is very outdated. The library was a hotspot, but we couldn’t get wi-fi in our stateroom 15 feet away. It seemed almost intentional that they were blocking it. Also, internet was unreasonably expensive at 55 cents a minute, down to 37 cents a minute for a 90 minute block. Daily and weekly rates were unavailable. Though we understand that bandwidth is necessarily limited, the result was ridiculously slow connections. The staff at Guest Relations were very little help with Internet issues. Also, if your laptop settings aren’t right, you’ll get inexplicably, continuously disconnected. For instance, dh’s laptop was set to power saving mode, reducing its performance so much that wi-fi didn’t work at all until he finally figured out what was up and changed the settting.

 

Traveling with a toddler: Many people say a vacation with a small child isn’t a vacation, but rather a trip which must be endured. I suppose it can be, depending on the kid and your individual situation. Here’s what made our vacation fun and relaxing instead of harried and stressful: we brought Grammy along! My mom was more than happy to take care of our 2.5 year old son whenever we wanted her to, and her cruise fare was the best value of all the money we spent on our cruise. I can’t imagine cruising without either my son OR my mom in the future – we’ve found the ideal set-up! J Of course, YMMV – we’re lucky that there are no mother-in-law feuds or anything of that nature; it’s a bonus that my mom is a fun travel companion as well as a brilliant babysitter (example of the latter: she brought lots of cheap toys wrapped in wrapping paper; when ds was reluctant to leave mom and dad, Grammy lured him away with promises of presents, which always did the trick). I’m telling you, parents of little ones: bring the grandparent(s) if at all possible!

My ds, Zach, loved the elevators more than anything else on the ship, and spent many happy hours travelling up and down on them with Grammy (we were sure to allow pressing of only ONE button per trip). We did bring him to the Fisher Price toddler program one morning. A very nice young woman named Gisella did her best to get Zach to play with toys. She has au pair experience and was very good with kids; unfortunately, our kid mainly wanted to be on the elevators.

We’re lucky that ds has a relatively long attention span and can generally sit in one place for quite a while. The more active kids would certainly have trouble in the MDR. Zach not only made it through dinner every night in the MDR, he also attended several of the shows. He especially enjoyed the production shows, telling me after each number, “want to see again!”

 

Debarkation and airport: went quickly and smoothly, except that it was hard to find our luggage in the mass of bags in the cruise ship terminal. We were probably off the ship by 9 AM. The airport in San Juan seemed fine (I’ve read here that it’s a zoo and don’t understand these comments; it seemed like every other airport I’ve ever been in, except with more Spanish). A really cool thing in this airport: they have a ton of video game machines where you can choose to play either Ms. PacMan or Galaga, two old favorites of mine. There must have been a hundred of these machines in the airport – one in each waiting area, plus in some dining venues. A great way to spend the few hours we had before our 2 PM flight! Note to self: next time, either book an earlier flight or one that’s late enough(like 4 PM) that we can do a ship tour first. The non-Galaga-playing members of our party were not thrilled with waiting so long at the airport.

 

Packing tips: Things I wish I’d brought or was really glad I did: lots of sunscreen (one tube wasn’t enough for the four of us; bought an extra pricey tube on ship), Visine (salt water pools and seas leave you red-eyed by dinner time! Again, pricey on ship), two swimsuits (one to dry while wearing the other), water shoes (e.g. Teva or Keens, for rocky shore/sea areas), underwater camera (not just for pictures of pretty fish while snorkeling; also for wet areas like Titou Gorge in Dominica and the incomparable Champagne Reef in Dominica).

 

Ports: This was a port-intensive cruise, with five ports and only one sea day. I chose it for that reason, but in the future I think I’ll go for more sea days and/or the occasional port that I’m not interested in doing a long excursion in. My cruise seems to have a lacked a little of the “sit on the balcony and your read book, listening to the water.”

 

St. Thomas: We took a half-day snorkel trip on the sailboat called the Jolly Mon, http://www.jollymonstthomas.com/ - $75 pp for 3-3.5 hour trip; only Mom and I went. We sailed to Buck Island and snorkeled off the boat, swimming with turtles and a wide variety of fish. It was a lovely morning and I highly recommend it. Here’s the funny thing – I’d heard so much about the beauty of Buck Island on the St. Croix boards, so I figured it must be halfway between St. Thomas and St. Croix. It turns out that there are two Buck Islands – each island has its own! J So, next time I’ll try the Buck Island off of St. Croix for comparison. Anyway, the site we visited was just beautiful.

The boat was captained by Gayle and her adult daughter Sarah, both down-to-earth ladies who are passionate about preserving the marine environment. Another pirate-themed boat was taking off as we arrived – looked to be a ship excursion, with a ton of people making a loud, drunken ruckus. I couldn’t help but feel relieved that we didn’t have to pretend to be party animals, but instead were able to have a nice conversation with Gayle, Sarah, and the other four members of the tour. Highly recommended.

 

St. Croix: This was a beach day with no pre-planned excursion. We had chosen Cane Bay for the four of us because it sounded like a nice beach with pretty good snorkeling. There was some confusion as to the meaning of the word “taxi”: after we agreed upon the rate of $18 pp round trip (half price for ds), the driver went off looking for more passengers to fill up his van. We were rather annoyed that we had to wait around and potentially be crammed in. We’re used to a “taxi” just carrying the group that hired the taxi. We did end up with two more ladies in the van, but it all got smoothed over and all was forgiven.

The other pax were going to Carambola Beach; their stop was to be after our Cane Bay stop (they’re not too far from each other). Well, when we got out at Cane Bay we immediately had a negative impression of it. It was small, deserted, not very attractive, and with no obvious facilities. Granted, we didn’t look around very much, so we may gotten too hasty an impression. But since the other pax were headed to Carambola (and were travel agents who’d had it recommended to them), we decided to get back in the can and head there.

Carambola beach was wonderful. It’s in front of a gorgeous resort hotel, with a long stretch of white sand. It wasn’t at all crowded, but there were enough people for comfort. There were more than enough beach chairs, which I assume were free since nobody asked us to pay. There were also three or four hammocks. It wasn’t right on a major road and there were no vendors set up, so there was that dream-like Caribbean feel. We had snacks and drinks in a pleasant outdoor restaurant, and took the plunge into the water, which was pretty rough that day. Note: go ALL the way down to the left to swim. We went almost all the way and were in danger of being crashed against rocks by the waves, but there are no rocks at the far left.

The driver picked up all six of us at the agreed-upon time and it was a successful beach day which I wouldn’t hesitate to do again. The drive each way was about half an hour.

 

St. Kitts: On St. Kitts we hired Rose and Jim’s taxi service (rose_jim@caribsurf.com or www.roseandjimstaxi.com) for an island tour. Jim took the four of us in his air conditioned van for $164 ($41 pp). It was a good value; Jim knows a lot about the island, so it wasn’t just a taxi service but, a a real tour. It would have taken all day if we had stayed at the beach (see below). Jim’s a real sweet guy, easy to like. He took us through town, to Romney Manor (pretty grounds, where the Caribelle Batik factory is), to Brimstone Hill Fortress, the place where the Atlantic and Caribbean meet (“Black Rocks”?), then finally Cockleshell Beach.

Jim was very easy-going and accommodating. We had explained to him that our toddler’s moods largely determined how long we’d stay at each place, and he had that delightful, typical island attitude of “it’s all good, mon,” hanging back and waiting for us at each stop until we’d had our fill. The Batik Factory had a ton of stuff for sale, and intermittent demonstrations of how the fabric is made (we didn’t stay around for one). Prices for dresses ranged from about $40 to $60, just to give you an idea. The fortress was picturesque and had a reasonably-priced souvenir shop (T shirts for $10).

The disappointing part of the tour was Cockleshell Beach. We got out of the van, saw a not very pretty beach crowded with rows of lounge chairs three deep, plus fairly loud music and lots of vendors’ huts. Hey, it beats a day at the office, but wasn’t someplace we really wanted to hang out at. We’d had a long day already, ds was asleep in my mom’s arms in the van, and we decided to call it a day. Jim gamely took us back to the ship and we thanked him for a great tour.

 

Dominica: This was the most unusual island we visited, just as gorgeous and unspoiled as you’ve read. We chose a day tour with Bumpiing Tours( http://www.bumpiingtours.com), perhaps one of the most uniformly praised tour companies on CC, and we can add our praise to the chorus. They did a great job. I had emailed Levi to ask if the Roseau Valley Treasures tour would be appropriate for a two year old and he answered in the affirmative. The night before, we rethought that decision and it wound up just being Mom and me. Thank goodness! Although there weren’t very long hikes on this tour, there were areas of slippery rocks where you’re using both hands to scramble around. A toddler could not do it on his own, and an adult would need all their hands to get themselves across the rocks, let alone carry a baby too. We didn’t have time to forewarn Bumpiing that we’d changed from four passengers to two, but they were totally cool about it, turning down our offer to pay for the other two people as well (though they got a lot of that back in the tip J).

Our driver was Garry, a genuinely friendly guy who seemed like he was conversing with friends rather than delivering a canned speech. There were ten people in our van, which was not crowded, and the van was pristine. Garry explained that they only keep the vans for three years before trading in for a new model. Note: it appears that the first group to arrive gets Levi and the second gets Garry. I have no idea which is “better”; we certainly had no complaints about Garry, but just an FYI.

The tour was a long day packed with activities: first we went to Titou Gorge, where you jump into cold (but not freezing) water and swim (with a swim belt; it’s easy) through a ravine-type area – there are big rocks on either side of you but you can look up and see the sky between them. Then you come to a waterfall and they pull you across where the water lands, using a life saver flotation device. After that, there’s a drive to Trafalgar Falls, where you see two big waterfalls and bathe in the hot mineral baths which are the runoff of the volcano-heated waterfall (and by hot I mean as hot as you’d run a bathtub – it felt GREAT!). We then took a drive through the Botanical Gardens (fairly brief and not a huge amount to see since a hurricane devastated it a few years back) and went to Champagne Reef to swim amongst the bubbles and fishes.

Champagne Reef snorkeling was definitely worth it. At first I didn’t see where the bubbles were and I thought “big deal.” But if you swim over to the left, you do see a lot of air bubbles coming out of little holes in the reef. It’s fun watching them wind their way up to the surface, and the fish and coral are more plentiful over on the left too. But keep in mind that the beach, such as it is, is not a place most would enjoy hanging out. It consists of little rocks that really really hurt your feet! NOT a place to go barefoot. Cost of entire tour: $47 pp (would have been only $40 without Champagne Reef), an absolute bargain.

 

Barbados: This was a much-needed beach day, after two formal tours in a row. Around noon we grabbed a cab to Accra/Rockley beach, strongly recommended (for good reason) by aplmac on the Barbados boards. Anyway, “grabbing a cab” in Barbados is not a straightforward affair; there aren’t set taxi prices that I know of, and the drivers really try to negotiate you up. We wanted a driver who would get us to Accra and then wait for us while we stayed on the beach, and were aware that we’d need to pay extra for this. A group of drivers originally said $150, then said $100; finally, one accepted our offer of $80. “Blackie”, our driver, was a real gentleman and fun to ride with, regaling us with stories of how he met his wife when she was a cruise ship passenger taking his taxi.

Accra beach is just lovely – fine sand, crystal clear water, very gentle waves. I floated on my back and let the water lift me up and down; it was so relaxing. We rented four beach chairs and two umbrellas for $20 total. Note: the first person offering chairs and umbrellas was out. We asked if anyone else had more, and she directed us to the guy who supplied us. So, keep looking around rather than just taking no for an answer! The beach was not deserted but not what I’d call particularly crowded – there were loungers about one row deep (we didn’t wander too far down the beach where it might have been less densely populated). There are stands with clothes, etc. for sale, as well as a bar and a small open air restaurant, but nobody is pushing anything on you. A very, very nice beach day; highly recommended.

[printingchick]

In less than six days, I'll be the lady, running down the hallway, yelling "Ya-hoo! I'm so excited!" My daughter will be right behind me, echoing those sentiments!!!

 

Great review, Stacey! I'll share mine with you when we return. Just five days left. (I'm not counting today - it's pretty much over!!)

 

I'm so excited, I could burst!!! YA-HOO!!!!

[apk1389]

printingchik you have been waiting so long enjoy

[travelcoupletoo]

Thank you so much for such an excellent and detailed review. You really made my day. We will be on the SOS in May for B2B cruises and we can hardly wait. I'm also vegetarian so it's good to know you found lots to choose from.

We are looking at the segeway tour also, did you make reservations before you got to san juan, or did you just walk up? Lisa

[ValerieJo]

Thanks so much for your great review. We are doing the other itinerary, but I love hearing about the ship, the shows and the food :D

 

The time is getting closer.

[melbur]

Great review ... we were on the same sailing, and I absolutely agree about the crew and service - stellar!!

[BroncosFan2010]

Thanks so much for the detailed review. I was on the Serenade in March last year, and will be back for a B2B in August. I can't wait to return to this beautiful ship and the fantastic islands.

[travelingtrish]

I booked that cruise for my family next year. What time would you recommend flying back home?

[StaceyCT]

Thank you so much for such an excellent and detailed review. You really made my day. We will be on the SOS in May for B2B cruises and we can hardly wait. I'm also vegetarian so it's good to know you found lots to choose from.

 

We are looking at the segeway tour also, did you make reservations before you got to san juan, or did you just walk up? Lisa

 

I'm so jealous of you B2Bers! :)

 

I made reservations online with the Segway tours. They don't ask for a credit card online or anything; it's just a "verbal" agreement. I think I made the reservation about a month in advance. They seem pretty popular so I'd go ahead and reserve fairly soon if you plan to do it.

 

Always nice to hear from a fellow vegetarian. If you like Indian food, they have an Indian veg dish almost every night and they're good; there's always at least one non-Indian one too. You can always do both, esp. since the Indian portions are a little small. As an Indian-food-loving vegetarian, I was in heaven! (or should that be nirvana? :))

[printingchick]

Thanks so much for your great review. We are doing the other itinerary, but I love hearing about the ship, the shows and the food :D

 

The time is getting closer.

 

Stacey did a B2B. I'm sure she'll tell you about her other week as well. I suspect she rushed this one out first because she knew I was less-than-anxiously awaiting it!

 

(Thanks, Stacey!!)

[StaceyCT]

What time would you recommend flying back home?

 

That's a tough question. In reality, you'd probably be fine with 11 AM or so. However, the official recommendation is "not before noon" in case things go unexpectedly slowly with debarkation, customs, airport lines, etc.

 

So, I think that next time I'd look into a ship-sponsored San Juan tour; they take care of your bags so that you're not lugging them around all day, and they get you to the airport. That way you don't have to stress about making an early flight but you don't have to sit around for a few hours with your bags too. I would think that a flight around 4-6 PM would work well with such a tour.

 

Actually, we did luggage valet service this time; I figured we'd find something to do with our couple of hours before the flight. But my family members just wanted to go straight to the airport in the end; I wish I'd put that $20 pp valet charge toward a tour.

[StaceyCT]

Stacey did a B2B. I'm sure she'll tell you about her other week as well. I suspect she rushed this one out first because she knew I was less-than-anxiously awaiting it!

 

(Thanks, Stacey!!)

 

Oh, how I WISH I did a B2B! But alas, we could only afford one precious week.

 

You're a little generous in saying I rushed this review out - it took a month! ;) But yes, you were my main inspiration in getting this review done. I'm glad that you and the others enjoyed it.

 

Next week I'll be thinking of you and what island you're on each day, etc.! :)

[printingchick]

Hmmm... I wonder what made me think you did a B2B. And all this time I've been envying your 14 days!!!

 

Takes a while to do a really good and detailed review! It was well worth waiting for!!

[nyer]

What a lovely review! I will be on the Serenade in July (different itinerary) and loved all the info that you enclosed.

[travelcoupletoo]

I'm so jealous of you B2Bers! :) Our 1st, and we can hardly wait, been planning it for a year, so I can't believe that it's only a little over 2 months away, YEAH! :D

 

I made reservations online with the Segway tours. They don't ask for a credit card online or anything; it's just a "verbal" agreement. I think I made the reservation about a month in advance. They seem pretty popular so I'd go ahead and reserve fairly soon if you plan to do it. Great, thanks for the heads up, from what I read it sounds like fun and a different way to see San Juan. We have never done a segway before, was it easy to learn how to make it go in the right direction and stop?

 

Always nice to hear from a fellow vegetarian. If you like Indian food, they have an Indian veg dish almost every night and they're good; there's always at least one non-Indian one too. You can always do both, esp. since the Indian portions are a little small. As an Indian-food-loving vegetarian, I was in heaven! (or should that be nirvana? :))Love Indian food too, my fav....so I agree it sounds like heaven. Nice to know though, that you had other choices to choose from, since by the 2nd week, I might we wanting something to change up my taste buds a bit.

 

Thanks again for the information. Lisa

[DGNY]

Stacey-

 

Did you keep the Compasses? If so, can you let me know what hours the Windjammer, Seaview Cafe and Solarium Cafe are open on embarkation day?

[StaceyCT]

Lisa -

Yes, it was easy to learn how to make the Segway go and stop. They give you a lesson before you head out - Nataliya first demonstrated to the group inside their office, then they take you out on the sidewalk for one-on-one lessons. The Segway really responds quite sensitively to which way you lean, which lets it know where to go (and how fast) and when to stop. Btw, they set the machines to "beginner", which means you can't go over 5 mph, so don't worry about zooming out of control down the streets of San Juan!

 

Really, the slightly hard things to learn are little things, like how to turn on a "dime" instead of a "quarter". Or maybe you'll stop a little faster or slower at first than you'd like, but nobody goes careening off into the Caribbean :)

[StaceyCT]

Stacey-

 

Did you keep the Compasses? If so, can you let me know what hours the Windjammer, Seaview Cafe and Solarium Cafe are open on embarkation day?

 

I'll have to refer this question to printingchick - I mailed her my Compasses! Wish I could remember; all I know is we ate at the WJ that day. I think I'd read before that the Seaview isn't open during the afternoon of embarkation, but don't quote me on that.

[Tak8]

Nice review. We started taking our son when he was 3. We have some great memories from the cruise and he has gone on 7 others since. I enjoyed every one and now that he is a teenager it's nice to know all food is included.

[DGNY]

I'll have to refer this question to printingchick - I mailed her my Compasses! Wish I could remember; all I know is we ate at the WJ that day. I think I'd read before that the Seaview isn't open during the afternoon of embarkation, but don't quote me on that.

 

Hopefully she checks back in.

[printingchick]

Stacey-

 

Did you keep the Compasses? If so, can you let me know what hours the Windjammer, Seaview Cafe and Solarium Cafe are open on embarkation day?

 

Stacey very generously mailed me her Compasses. Isn't she a sweetie?? I look at them every day!! We're sailing this coming Saturday!

 

EMBARKATION DAY DINING:

 

Lunch:

Windjammer, 11:30AM - 7:30PM

 

Snacks:

Seaview Cafe, 9:30PM - 1:30 AM

Solarium Cafe, Midnight - 5AM

[DGNY]

Stacey very generously mailed me her Compasses. Isn't she a sweetie?? I look at them every day!! We're sailing this coming Saturday!

 

EMBARKATION DAY DINING:

 

Lunch:

Windjammer, 11:30AM - 7:30PM

 

Snacks:

Seaview Cafe, 9:30PM - 1:30 AM

Solarium Cafe, Midnight - 5AM

 

Thanks!

[DGNY]

Stacey-

 

Do you recall what time you went to dinner (MTD) on the first night? From what I have read, muster is at 8:00p. Any idea if they stop seating people at a certain time until after muster is over?

[printingchick]

Stacey-

 

Do you recall what time you went to dinner (MTD) on the first night? From what I have read, muster is at 8:00p. Any idea if they stop seating people at a certain time until after muster is over?

 

The assigned times are 6PM and 8:30 for traditional, but the Compass says nothing about MTD that first night. Stacey will have to chime in here. Good question!!

[StaceyCT]

Stacey-

 

Do you recall what time you went to dinner (MTD) on the first night? From what I have read, muster is at 8:00p. Any idea if they stop seating people at a certain time until after muster is over?

 

On the first night, we went to MTD dinner after 8 PM muster; I think we made it down there about 8:45 probably. So, I don't know if we'd tried to go before muster (say, 7 PM), would they not have seated us? Probably at some point they do quit seating people, but I don't know when.

 

Normal, late seating was also moved to 8:45 for that one night due to muster.

 

Printingchick, you've got your work cut out for you next week - find out when pre-muster seating ends! Of course, they'll probably go all wonky and suddenly go back to 6 PM muster for your cruise :).

 

Hey, here's an idea - there's a place where you can leave questions for the cruise director, and he answers them during the televised "morning show". Ask him about the constantly changing muster times. Inquiring CC minds want to know!