Let me Serenade You - the 12/11-18 Review with Too Many Pictures

[NordicPrince]

This video is GREAT STUFF, wish I was back there again.

 

All positive from my viewpoint.

 

Thanks for sharing and happy cruising!

[Megan_Strick]

The guy on the right looks like has a halo!

 

 

 

LOL he sure does

[nancronin]

Nice job Sue - thanks for sharing!

[gjsmth]

Great review and thanks for we are considering the Serenade for the 7/14 itinerary. We were on the Carnival Victory Southern last July and are thinking of RCCL again. How was the ship? For the others taking the Serenade soon post your reviews too.

[donamae]

Sue - WOWZER!!!! Great job on your video of the Xmas cruise you took with DD & DH, enjoyed it so much. Now, must drag DH from the Family Room & sit him down here to watch. But... he got the entire 'Soprono' series on DVD for Xmas, something like 86 hours, he started watching it today. I probably won't see him till Spring.

Thanks for all your efforts Sue, loved taking the trip with you. Are you booked for another?

Donna

[IBookHePays]

Great job! Thanks for taking me to the Southern Caribbean for awhile!:)

[DLD14580]

Enjoying the photo tour of your cruise, the video was great as well. The quality of your photos, especially the underwater ones, is fantastic. What type of camera did you use?

 

Thanks for sharing your photos and experiences.:)

[cmscrapperjen]

Wow!!!! Beautiful pictures, great job. My boyfriend and I were on the same cruise, his first and my 23rd, needless to say he LOVED everything about it. He is the one that planned the next one for December 2011. RCI didn't disappoint. Once again, thanks for sharing the beautiful pics.

[subtchr]

Sue - WOWZER!!!! Great job on your video of the Xmas cruise you took with DD & DH, enjoyed it so much. Now, must drag DH from the Family Room & sit him down here to watch. But... he got the entire 'Soprono' series on DVD for Xmas, something like 86 hours, he started watching it today. I probably won't see him till Spring.

Thanks for all your efforts Sue, loved taking the trip with you. Are you booked for another?

Donna

 

Glad you liked it Donna, and loved the comments about your DH! You can get a lot done before Spring...

 

Nothing booked specifically, but we did get a "Next Cruise" certificate (open booking) to use when we do decide! Maybe Alaska?

 

Enjoying the photo tour of your cruise, the video was great as well. The quality of your photos, especially the underwater ones, is fantastic. What type of camera did you use?

 

Thanks for sharing your photos and experiences.:)

 

Glad you liked it! I have a Nikon D5000 DSLR that I used mostly around the ship, plus St. Croix and San Juan.

 

But the pleasant surprise for me this trip was my new little underwater camera, a Sony TX-5. Waterproof, shockproof, very small, and some very cool features. Best of all, it takes really fine photos - all the excursion photos in St. Thomas, Antigua, Dominica, and Grenada were taken with that. A great new "toy"!

 

Sue

[cruiserone]

Great job!

 

How far was the beach from the hotel? Usually stay at caribe Hilton.

 

Thanks again.

 

Carol

[subtchr]

Great job!

 

How far was the beach from the hotel? Usually stay at caribe Hilton.

 

Thanks again.

 

Carol

 

Not sure where the Hilton is, as this was our first time in San Juan, but the beach was about three blocks from the Embassy Suites, an easy walk.

 

We walked to the beach, had lunch at a little beach-side bar/restaurant, then walked along the beach and stopped at a Walgreens on our way back to the hotel:

 

 

We chose the hotel because we could stay there on my DH's HHonors points, but we would definitely choose it again. Very nice, convenient, and a good value with the manager's reception and a great breakfast included.

 

Hope that helps!

 

Sue

[everyotheryear]

Wow thank you for taking all the time and effort to do this review. I am going on this cruise in March and your review made me even more excited.

Was there anything you or your family had for dinner that you thought was just great or anything you would advise us to skip?

I noticed you have the same problem I do when I get back to from a vacation I have wonderful pictures of everyone else and very few of myself ( which sometimes is a good thing). We travel with 2 other couples and they don't take pictures because they know I will.

I love the picture of you and your daughter in the water....the color of the beautiful water and pretty blue eyes priceless.

Thanks again for all your work.

Love it!

[subtchr]

Was there anything you or your family had for dinner that you thought was just great or anything you would advise us to skip?

 

Hmm...as I mentioned, we did not have dinner in the MDR the first night, but from other RC cruises I know I love the vidalia onion tart.

 

I loved the filet of beef the next night, and we always love the chilled fruit soups and the caesar salad. The "standard" steak was pretty mediocre (we did not try the Chops filet for the extra charge). My favorite from the bread basket are little savory bites. The chicken marsala was surprisingly good - sometimes that dish can come off as "banquet food", if you know what I mean, but it was tender and flavorful.

 

I was really looking forward to the bread pudding they have in the Windjammer during "tea time" (3:30 - 5:00). Although it was good, it was not quite the same recipe as we have had on our other cruises. Also in the windjammer, for breakfast I like the oatmeal and the bran muffins.

 

 

I noticed you have the same problem I do when I get back to from a vacation I have wonderful pictures of everyone else and very few of myself ( which sometimes is a good thing). We travel with 2 other couples and they don't take pictures because they know I will.

 

Yep, the few with me in them are because DH realizes that occasionally and will take the camera from me for a couple! Also, the private tour guides we had at a couple ports always offered to take group photos, and they do it enough that they were actually very good pics. They know the best spots to do it and are pretty familiar with most cameras.

 

I have to admit I hate to have my photo taken (a trait my DD obviously did not inherit). :rolleyes:

 

I love the picture of you and your daughter in the water....the color of the beautiful water and pretty blue eyes priceless.

 

Aw, thanks. DH and I both have blue eyes, but kinda grayish...DD and one of her older brothers got the strikingly blue ones. And as she tans they look even bluer. We really did have a great family time together!

 

Sue

[RaiderFaninNM]

Thanks for the review and the lovely pictures!!!

 

And NO you can NEVER have too many pictures, I enjoyed them all thank you!

[maxs mom]

Just found this today. Very nice! I love to do reviews like this myself. I know how time consuming it is and it is appreciated. Just finished one on our Holiday cruise on the Explorer. We booked the Serenade for a B2B this summer while we were on board the Explorer. We did the same trip last summer and it was just so fabulous......we had to do it again.

Thanks for some wonderful pictures from our favorite ship!

[brrscuba]

Sue

Great pics and review, will be on serenade in March

Did they offer the Murder Mystery Dinner on your cruise? if so, what night?

Thanks

[everyotheryear]

Thanks for the food advise. For some reason I also love those savory bites....our last assistant waiter had a wonderful accent and we all loved the way he pronounced savory bites the poor guy we had him saying it over and over, just didn't sound as good when we said it in our boring midwest drawl. I will be ordering the chicken marsala upon your advise.

Thanks again for your wonderful report.

[subtchr]

Just found this today. Very nice! I love to do reviews like this myself. I know how time consuming it is and it is appreciated. Just finished one on our Holiday cruise on the Explorer. We booked the Serenade for a B2B this summer while we were on board the Explorer. We did the same trip last summer and it was just so fabulous......we had to do it again.

 

Thanks for some wonderful pictures from our favorite ship!

 

Thanks' date=' Jane - I love your reviews, too! Yes, they take a lot of time, but I know folks appreciate it, and it becomes a great record of a wonderful vacation.

 

Sue

Great pics and review, will be on serenade in March

Did they offer the Murder Mystery Dinner on your cruise? if so, what night?

Thanks

 

We did not do it, but I looked back at the compasses, and yes, the Murder Mystery Dinner was in Portofino on Day 4 (Tuesday) at 6:30. $49.50 per person.

 

Enjoy!

 

Sue

[ciera123]

Sue - I also want to thank you for such a wonderful review. I very much enjoyed your thoughts and pictures. We will be on the Serenade of the Seas for a B2B June 5 - 19, and reading your review was very helpful to my planning, and so enjoyable to read. You also have a great eye for pictures! :) Thanks again!

[slobeatz]

I don't know if it was mentioned, but who did you use for your tour in Old San Juan? Thanks for the help!

[subtchr]

I don't know if it was mentioned, but who did you use for your tour in Old San Juan? Thanks for the help!

 

We used Jose from Tours by Locals, and had a wonderful time.

 

I had never used this company before, but I like the concept, and after researching them (they set up tours all over the world), I was comfortable with taking a chance.

 

The downside is that you have to pay in advance, something I realize many folks are not comfortable with. I figured if anything went wrong, I would have recourse through the company. In this day and age, all it takes is one bad review on here or TripAdvisor to really put a damper on a business like this.

 

It was also quite expensive for the three of us ($170 plus $10 per person after the first person), but would be much more affordable per person for a group of 6 or 8.

 

All in all we are very glad we used Jose, who was very knowledgeable, flexible, and personable.

 

Hope that helps!

[subtchr]

Hi, all,

 

I have scanned the Cruise Compasses from our wonderful cruise.

 

I have also included a few other information items, such as the ship "Fun Fact" sheet, the "Behind the Nametags" sheet, and informational flyers about specialty restaurants, internet access, and departure procedures. Just keep scrolling through the compasses to reach those pages.

 

Click on the link: SERENADE CRUISE COMPASSES

 

Hope it helps someone!

 

Sue

[S&SCruisers]

We are going on our first cruise in less than two weeks, on the Serenade. Your review and photos have been the most helpful info I've come across, and believe me, I've been looking at a lot of websites. You have valuable info that has helped us make decisions on what we will do and what we won't be doing. I especially appreciate the Compass scans...a lot of questions I had were answered by reading over those!! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!

[duncanmaria]

Just found your thread last night and have enjoyed your review and photos. You have a beautiful family and it looks like you had a wonderful cruise. And I had one right along with you through your generosity in sharing your experiences.

 

A couple of years ago I found myself unemployed (after 30 years in the workforce) but with incredible severance benefits, including extended unemployment and COBRA; the catch was I had to be enrolled in college full time for the duration (18 months!). I ended up earning a certificate in Digital Design and part of the curriculum included classes in digital photography. It was a great experience and I learned a bunch about camera settings and, more importantly, composition. After enjoying the many shots captured on your cruise, I want to tell you that you have a great eye for composition, lighting and color - a natural talent that isn't the result of the camera you are holding but your own eye for the shot.

 

Thanks again for sharing your experiences and your fantastic images!!

[RAG124]

:confused: I hope this link works. Using new website called keepandshare. If you view photos in a medium size, you don't have to scroll down to read descriptions. We had a lot of fun morning shore excursions.

 

The link worked for family viewing so here it goes.... :rolleyes: Enjoy

 

http://www.keepandshare.com/photo/361834/honeymoon-serenade-of-the-seas-december-11-18-2010

 

We also have some great photos of El Morro Fort and the Cathedral in Old San Juan that I'll add later. :)

 

- RAG124