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Another Serenade of the Seas Review July 4-11, group of 9!

loves2cruise07

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loves2cruise07

loves2cruise07

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DAY 6: July 8, 2010, Antigua

When we were on our balcony this morning, I could look right down on the place where we were to meet Eli’s Eco-Tour. At promptly 10:00, we pulled away from the dock. Our first pressing question was to ask how to pronounce Antigua. The guides said that the natives pronounce it ‘An-tig-a’, but others pronounce it ‘An-ti-gwa’ and that was perfectly acceptable. The power boat we were on made one stop at a resort to pick up a few more guests, and then we were on our way. This was an awesome tour, stopping several times to give us the history and information about the island and its resorts. Seeing the island from this perspective made all of us want to return to possibly stay for a week! We learned all about the nesting turtles, and what Antigua has been doing to help increase their population. Next, we stopped at Bird Island and hiked to the top of the hill. Many birds were nesting in this area, and we could see the rough Atlantic Ocean on one side, and the smooth Caribbean Sea on the other. We were given information about wildlife on the island, including a certain type of snake, which is endangered. The guide told us we may see one, but luckily for me, we did not! Back down the hill, it was time for a refreshing dip in water as blue-green as you have ever seen. Soon it was back aboard to pull a little way from shore to have our picnic lunch, which included barbeque chicken, pasta salad, tossed salad, plantains, and banana bread. Plenty of different fruit drinks were offered, as well as water. I don’t remember the kind of fruit drinks, but there were types that you usually don’t find in the US. All were very tastey.

 

After lunch, we entered the rough Atlantic Ocean to get to the area know as Hell’s Gate. This is a natural rock structure which has been carved out by wind and water, and is the ‘gateway’ between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. We swam out of the boat over to Hell’s Gate, and then walked into the cave-like structure. Birds were nesting in this structure, and we had to bend low so as not to bump our heads. Then we climbed a narrow passage way up to the top of this hill, which was really a crazy climb. We joked that in the US you would have had to sign all sorts of forms, hand rails would have been necessary, etc. However, it was a little scary, and I am glad the youngest in our group was not really young at 15! Up to the top and once again, we were able to see the power of the Atlantic Ocean. In this area, the Atlantic was a dark blue, while just on the other side the Caribbean Sea was the beautiful blue-green.

 

Back in the boat, we rode to the reef area for some extensive snorkeling. The reef was some of the most amazing I have seen. The kids complained that they didn’t see a lot of fish, but I found if you took your time, and really looked there were plenty to see. No sea snakes (like we saw on the catamaran tour in Barbados) or barracuda (like we saw a few years ago in the Cayman Islands), but just really a lot of small pretty fish and beautiful reef. We followed one tour guide who was leading those with more experience, but another tour guide stayed close to the boat to help those who were new to snorkeling or just didn’t want to venture too far. After the snorkeling, we had a leisurely ride back to the ship. Along the way, the guides served rum punch, which was good. The crew was also so personable, sitting with us to answer any questions or to give us more information as they thought of it. We had booked this tour on-line at Eli’s web site, and were given a 15% discount due to our party size. I would highly recommend this tour. We pulled up at the pier near the ship at about 4:10, with all aboard the Serenade at 4:30.

 

A man came up to our boys with some plant that he had cut open, and he began to rub it on their sunburns. I started to walk away, and he made the comment that someone had to tip him for taking care of their sunburns. The boys didn’t ask for it, but I still gave the man $1, but can you believe that he still complained about that? He said he was giving us the remainder of the plant, but I told him that really we weren’t supposed to bring any plants back on board. Oh well, it is so interesting to meet all these different people!

 

The show tonight (again 7PM) was Judy Kolba, an entertainer, dancer, singer. Only 3 of us attended, which was fine because we felt the show was just ok. Afterward, we again decided to try the Viking Crown Lounge, but the sign from yesterday was still up. However, we did notice that a bartender was inside, so we went in to have a drink and we were the ONLY ones there. Does anyone know what was going on here? I just remember that it was always so crowded when we were on the Explorer of the Seas 2 years ago.

 

Vipin and Kaduk were so used to us by now. They always offer us 2 rolls, and they never react when the boys order so many appetizers. In fact, they even started bringing out extra appetizers either of what we had ordered or of different things. I guess they figured that better to go to us than to go to waste, since we were the last dinner seating. The boys all loved trying new things, and they are adventurous eaters. I think today was also the day where salad plates were at each person’s setting, and Kaduk just kept serving it to the boys, as I believe Cesar Salad is their favorite item, or at least the one that invokes some fond memories!

By now we were in a pattern, all 4 parents off to our respective rooms to go to bed. I’m not sure about the boys. I know a few nights they went to their rooms to watch a movie, other nights they went to the casino, where they had only very mild losses or maybe a gain of $10! Then sometimes, I know they went to play pool. I forgot to say that yesterday after our St. Lucia tour, we ate at the Sea View café. My husband and I enjoyed the Cuban sandwich and onion rings, and our youngest son had the Nathan’s hotdog. Also, my middle son discovered the smoothies in the Sea View café, and I think he may have gone back some evenings after dinner to get one. There is a charge for the smoothies, but I know he really liked them.

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loves2cruise07

loves2cruise07

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DAY 7: July 9, 2010, St. Maarten

Today during breakfast at the Windjammer, a really strong rain storm moved through the area. It was so dark, I wondered if we would be able to go to Orient Beach and ride the jet skis as we had planned. But guess what, the weather in the tropics is usually very quick moving. After about 10 minutes, the storm had passed, and we had clear skies. (I forgot to say that yesterday, when we were first cruising up the Caribbean Sea on Eli’s Eco Tour, it really poured for about 5-10 minutes. But just the same as today, after that it was sunny and clear all day.)

 

We had booked 4 jet skis through Shore Trips. We had to take a taxi at the port to Bikini Beach Sports at Orient Bay. Just as mentioned on Cruise Critic, we had to pay $6 each to take the taxi. We had a really nice cab driver who introduced us to a lady at Bikini Beach, and told us to tell her to call him when we were ready to go and he would be back in less than 30 minutes. We agreed to do so, as we liked him.

 

The boys were the only ones of our group going on the jet skis, 3 individuals and my oldest and youngest sons on the 4th jet ski. They were given life jackets, and not much else in the way of instruction. Luckily, they had all driven jet skis before. So they were off into the choppy Atlantic Ocean for an hour ride. As they jet skied, we decided to just rent an umbrella and 2 chairs for each family right near Bikini Beach Sports. I think it was $15 for an umbrella and 2 chairs. We settled in for a beach day, and as we were laying on our chairs, we were introduced to the topless sunbathing/walking/etc. of St. Maarten. We had never been to a topless beach before, so this was something surprising to us even though we knew to expect it. The water at this beach was just gorgeous blue. The waters of the Caribbean are just something that continues to amaze me cruise after cruise. We wondered what causes the water to have such beautiful colors, even when it appears that there is no coral directly under the water where we see the wonderful colors. Can anyone explain?

 

The boys got back after a great ride, and we all had lunch at a little restaurant nearby that served very good quesadillas. I felt it was a little pricey, and maybe next time, we would just wait to eat until we got back to the ship. At this point in the week, it seems that we were always full anyways, so I think it may have been a good thing to skip lunch one day and just have a snack when back on the ship! The guys got a bucket of beer and enjoyed that back on the beach. The boys found a baby turtle in the water that we all looked at and then made sure it was safely on its way in the surf. After a little walk, we decided it was time to call for our taxi. When our friend went to find the woman to call, she was no where to be found, so we just got another taxi from the many that were waiting to take passengers back to the cruise ship. Well, just as we began to board the taxi, the woman spied us from another location, and she began to swear at both us and the taxi driver taking us. She just could not calm herself, so that really wasn’t too pleasant of an ending to a beautiful day at a beautiful beach.

 

Back on the ship, we decided against attending the show, and showered early for the second formal night. My husband and I did some shopping in the Centrum, including buying our usual 3 items: rum cakes, ship replica, and coconut patties. Then we perused the pictures that had been taken of us, and decided on the ones that we wanted to buy. There was no one in the picture area at this time (about 7PM), and we had no trouble buying what we wanted quickly. We knew that tomorrow night it would be like a madhouse in there.

 

Tonight there was another party for repeat cruisers, and of course we all went. Tonight in addition to the usual free drinks, there was also a table set with many yummy hors d'oeuvres. Some of the boys tried caviar. As we talked a couple of our sons played chess at one of the chess tables which are along the back wall in the Safari Lounge.

 

I guess I have to say that tonight is always our favorite dinner: LOBSTER! When Vipin took our order, we all politely asked for extra lobsters if there were any remaining. We all enjoyed our dinners, and then to our surprise, Vipin arrived with a plate full of extra lobsters, already taken out of the shell. We all said, ‘Ahh’ when they arrived, and then we clapped. I have to admit that the table next to us was looking at us to see what was going on. This was a wonderful dinner as usual, and we couldn’t thank Vipin enough. (We will have to take care of that tomorrow with his tip!)

 

Off to sleep to prepare for our last full day of the cruise, and our ATV adventure!

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loves2cruise07

loves2cruise07

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DAY 8: July 10, 2010, St. Croix

The last full day of our cruise is officially here. Why does time go so much more quickly when you are on the ship versus any time prior to being on the ship? After a great breakfast at our usual, the Windjammer (including a stop at the omelet station), my husband and I went ashore to look around. There were many tents set up by locals, selling everything from t-shirts and jewelry to lawn decorations. It reminded me of local craft fairs. We spotted where the little beach was that Vipin had told us was within walking distance. Then we found where we would pick up the ATV tour, booked again through Shore Trips, by run by Gecko’s Island Adventures. We found some cool t-shirts in their shop, and bought one for each of our boys. Then we headed back to the ship to wake everyone!

 

Six of us decided to walk back to the small beach, which is as you walk down the pier (which by the way is fairly long, such that they have a free tram which will take you from the ship to the end of the pier, and back again) to the left. My friend and I each rented a chair for $5, and it was worth it because they were very comfortable! My sons and husband played in the water with a nerf ball. They seem to never to be too old to ‘play’ with dad. The water was warm and beautiful, and my friend and I took turns going in to get refreshed. Soon it was time to return to the ship to eat our last lunch at the Windjammer (boo-hoo!)

 

We met outside our staterooms at about 1:30, ready for our last excursion, the ATV’s! After the short walk, we arrived at Gecko’s Island Adventures. The couple who owned it told us that they had lived in St. Croix for about 1 ½ years, after having vacationed there for many years. They were from Colorado. They also said that they usually didn’t rent out all 6 ATV’s at one time. This time our group made up the entire excursion. They took us for a very short drive to where the ATV’s were waiting. After some instructions, we took off on the road which ran right next to the Caribbean Sea. Soon we went off road onto some dusty trails. The tour guide stopped us every so often to explain some of the history of the island and to give us a ‘heads up’ as to what to expect on the trail ahead. At one of these stops, he showed us how to put the ATV’s in 4-wheel drive! What a crazy stretch of trail it was! My husband and I were right behind the guide, and I thought we had to go really fast to keep up. At each stop, I asked the rest of our group if I should ask him to slow down, and I’m sure you can guess what everyone said? NO! After reaching the very highest point, where we could see the cruise ship, I looked around at everyone’s faces and they were covered in dust and dirt! Now it was time to ride out of the trail onto a road down through the rain forest. Actually the guide called in a subtropical forest, because this area was short rainfall by the 6 inches a year that it needed to be classified as a rain forest. There was some awesome foliage to look at, and I was able to do that since my husband was driving.

 

I believe all the boys chose this excursion as their favorite. We walked back to the ship at about 4:30, and all aboard was at 5:00. I hope others weren’t wondering why we were so filthy! I forgot to mention some of the boys’ other activities on the ship. They played volleyball and ping pong. They also enjoyed playing basketball with Gilbert, who I believe was the tallest employee on the ship. He seemed to be in charge of the sports deck. The boys placed second in the basketball tournament. Also, two from our group competed in the rock climbing competition, with one placing first and the other second. They enjoyed wearing their gold and silver medals around their necks to dinner!

 

Tonight we got ready early because we had to take the ‘robe’ pictures, which I will post later. Then we all attended the last show, which was a new show by the comedian Carl Banks. (In his intro, it said that he had appeared on Seinfeld, and wouldn’t you know that one of the first Seinfeld reruns we saw when we returned home was the one with Carl Banks!) We had drinks in the Safari Lounge and watched the ‘Millionaire Gameshow’. Then it was on to our last dinner. Tonight I was so full afterward that I could not have the soft chocolate cake dessert. Oh well, maybe next time!

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JenAndDan

JenAndDan

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Continues to be a great review! One quick question I forgot to ask before. you mentioned you had to hit the ATM but you were also using the casino. In the past, we were able to get money off our seapass in the casino for either nothing or very minimal fee - do you k now if this is still the case?

 

I am guessing you did the Gecko tour in St Croix? It's been really fun to read your review and see your pics because, even though some things are a little different, a lot of our excursions are the same are very similar to the ones you have chosen to do!

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loves2cruise07

loves2cruise07

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When we went to get the money, we were all ready in port so the casino was closed. Also, I believe that since our last cruise 2 years ago, they have instituted a 3% fee on any money you get out at the casino. I'm sure that someone else can verify that.

 

You will have a great time on the Gecko tour. Even though we went at 2:15, we did not feel hot because of the great breeze from the ride!

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loves2cruise07

loves2cruise07

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My husband came up with the robe picture idea, and since he is our official photographer, no one 'messes' with him! Actually, each fall he will put together a vacation DVD which include our pictures, video footage, and music. Then in January, we all gather to watch it together and it actually seems like we had more fun than we could even remember!

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JenAndDan

JenAndDan

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When we went to get the money, we were all ready in port so the casino was closed. Also, I believe that since our last cruise 2 years ago, they have instituted a 3% fee on any money you get out at the casino. I'm sure that someone else can verify that.

 

You will have a great time on the Gecko tour. Even though we went at 2:15, we did not feel hot because of the great breeze from the ride!

 

 

How much was the ATM fee?

 

I am really looking forward to the Gecko Tour - i've never been on an ATV before so it'll be fun and exciting to try something new! We will be riding them earlier, though, I think our tour starts at 10 or 10:30 (have to check). We are doing the full day land & sea tour (we booked directly through them) - ATV tour and then jet skis/snorkeling/kayaking etc. at Rainbow Beach.

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ahawco

ahawco

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I have really, really enjoyed your review!! The pictures have been really amazing as well..you look like such a nice, fun group :). I really love the waterfall shot and the robe shot and the one with the Pitons is great!! What a cute idea for a picture! Glad you had such a wonderful trip..I look forward to coming back from our cruise with a similar great vacation to tell everyone about!

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loves2cruise07

loves2cruise07

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DAY 9: July 11, 2010, San Juan, Puerto Rico

Well, the dreaded day has arrived at last. We were up early to have our last breakfast in the Windjammer. We had packed in a whirlwind yesterday afternoon, and now only had one small piece of luggage with us. At about 8:30, we went to the main dining room, which was the waiting area for platinum and diamond members. They had some Danish for us, and we sat at a table to play cards. I was surprised that more people weren’t in this area. I believe we left the ship at about 9:20. Getting off the ship was no problem, and we found our luggage in record time. We found a taxi to the airport with no problem and probably arrived at the airport at about 9:45.

 

Remember there are 3 lines to wait in at the San Juan airport. First, go to the agricultural line. This moved very quickly. Next check in with your airline. This line moved slowly, and it seemed that there should have been a separate line for those who had paid for luggage and had a boarding pass. Oh well, we had plenty of time, so we just enjoyed talking with each other about the cruise. Last, go through security. I have to say that on this day at this time (about 10:30), the line was long. I believe it took us 1 hour to get through security. Once again, we had plenty of time, and did not stress. We arrived at the gate with 3 hours to spare, so we had time to have lunch and buy a snack for the plane. Word of caution: the food can be very expensive. There is a concourse with Subway, David’s Cookies, and other fast food places. Be sure to look for that before spending your money at unknown airport eateries. (We didn’t do that, and lunch cost us $69!)

 

Flight home was great, arriving early. We all agreed that this was a wonderful cruise, and we thought about what we would be doing on our next ‘big’ vacation together!

 

P.S. I just noticed on the robe picture that some of the boys have their medals on!

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