Review: Serenade of the Seas January 15, 2011

[soccercrazy]

vintage914racer,

 

Is there any chance you saved the daily cruise compasses and could scan them? We are doing this same itinerary, leaving in 3 wks. on Feb. 26th, and there are several on our roll call that have been waiting and hoping that some kind individual would be able to provide these. I know it is probably alot of work but we would be very appreciative! :) They files would probably need to be e-mailed, so if you do happen to have them, my e-mail address is: dbulman@charter.net. Thanks for considering this!!!

 

I cruised Jan 8-15, 2011 ports- St.Thomas/St.Croix/St.Lucia/Antigua/Grenada I have emailed them to you. Let me know if you don't receive as .pdfs are quite large.

 

Anyone who would like them post your email and I will send.

 

After the snow today I wish I were back on the ship, I am not a winter person. :eek:

[soccercrazy]

travelair - sorry wrong itinerary (I won't send) but if anyone else is looking for them let me know.

[JWestShuh]

travelair - sorry wrong itinerary (I won't send) but if anyone else is looking for them let me know.

If you are still offering I would be grateful! jwestbooks@yahoo.com Thanks! :)

[subtchr]

If you are still offering I would be grateful! jwestbooks@yahoo.com Thanks! :)

 

The link in the post above (and in my signature) is the same itinerary with the exception of Dominica instead of St. Lucia. If you go to the link, you can either view or download them if you wish. It's easier than having to email large PDFs.

 

I have also included specialty restaurant info, internet, gratuity, ship facts, and departure info as the last few pages.

 

Even with different port stops, the daily schedule and ship activities will be very similar.

 

Hope it helps!

[travelair]

Thanks Soccercrazy & Subtchr! Appreciate it!

[soccercrazy]

If you are still offering I would be grateful! jwestbooks@yahoo.com Thanks! :)

 

 

I have emailed them to you.

[kyfirsttimecruiser]

Hi there!

I'm going on this ship/itinerary April 2nd. I'd love see your scanned Compass papers if you still have them. jilloak32@yahoo.com

Thanks!

[kyfirsttimecruiser]

Great trip report! I'm on the Serenade in April. Did you go up to the Helipad at all?

Just wondering how to get up there. We stop in St. Lucia and I hear the view is great from the helipad

 

On the deck plans, I see three dining rooms: Reflections, Mirage and Illusions....Whats the differences?

thanks!

[subtchr]

The helipad is not too hard to get to - just go outside on the Promenade (where most of the muster stations are, and where you can walk around the ship), and go all the way forward, then up the steps. Here are some pics:

 

 

Looking back toward the walkway:

 

 

The steps you go up (if the helipad is closed for wind or another reason, there will be a rope placed across the bottom of the stairway):

 

 

View from the top of the stairway:

 

 

Few more steps up:

 

 

And the great view:

 

[JWestShuh]

I have emailed them to you.

I got them. Thanks so much!

Thank you subtchr for the helipad instructions as well. Very helpful.

[vintage914racer]

Great trip report! I'm on the Serenade in April. Did you go up to the Helipad at all?

Just wondering how to get up there. We stop in St. Lucia and I hear the view is great from the helipad

 

On the deck plans, I see three dining rooms: Reflections, Mirage and Illusions....Whats the differences?

thanks!

 

 

I intended to check out the helipad, but never made it

[cliffday]

Were cruising Serenada in March, does anyone know which night they hold the murder mystery dinner at Portofinos?

[subtchr]

Were cruising Serenada in March, does anyone know which night they hold the murder mystery dinner at Portofinos?

 

Not sure if it stays the same, but on our December cruise it was Day 4 (Tuesday).

 

I included the flyer about it with the Cruise Compasses, linked in my signature. The Murder Mystery Dinner and other specialty restaurant info is on p. 61-66 of the file.

 

Hope that helps!

[kyfirsttimecruiser]

I can't open the program that your Compass was saved in.

Can you send it in a different format?

jilloak32@yahoo.com

Thanks

I loved all the details and photos from your trip. I'm so excited to be going on her in April!

[subtchr]

I can't open the program that your Compass was saved in.

Can you send it in a different format?

jilloak32@yahoo.com

Thanks

I loved all the details and photos from your trip. I'm so excited to be going on her in April!

 

Hm, it's not really saved in a format, it's a pdf file posted on a website that you can view and download. The total file is huge (72 pages), so most email servers would not be able to handle it as an attachment.

 

What comes up when you click on the link?

[kyfirsttimecruiser]

"security error loading document"

[Mary Ellen]

Thank you for sharing your experience with us.

[subtchr]

"security error loading document"

 

I did a little research, and this is usually caused by a firewall or high security setting on your computer. The site pulls up fine for most people.

 

You might want to try another browser, or to see if you can clear cookies or possibly reset your security to allow access to scribd.

 

I tried compressing the file, and it's still too large for my email server, almost 40 mb.

 

Let me know if you still can't access it, and we can try something else!

[BUMPSETSPIKE]

Hi I have enjoyed reading your review. I too agree that Steve Walters is the best entertainment. I cruised with him September 2010 and had kept in touch but have not heard from him since about 6 months ago. Have you been in touch with him recently? I am trying to find out which cruise ship he is on currently? Thanks for any help you can give me. Diane aka at the piano bar with Steve "your brown eyed girl"

[BUMPSETSPIKE]

Day 7: At Sea

While the end of the cruise was in sight we still had a full day at sea and late night ahead before we had to jump ship. It was our mission to get the most out of our last day. In an effort to offset multiple entrees, desserts and all the other tasty food offerings, I agreed to go work out with a buddy. We headed to deck 12 around 9am and decided to give the outdoor running track a try. On the Serenade it takes 6 laps to run a mile and we planned on running at least 2 miles. For whatever reason I have an easier time running on treadmills and after 1.5 miles I was struggling. I toughed it out though and managed to get 2 miles in before switching to a fast walk. I think my lack of motivation can be attributed to seeing everyone else relaxing on their pool chairs. After a few more laps of walking I went down to the room to get in my pool gear and returned topside around 10pm. As always chairs were at a premium but we did manage to get 4 chairs at the edge of the stage. While we were a group of 6 we weren’t too worried, since it always seems that a couple people are in the pool, at the bar or somewhere else on the pool deck.

 

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After a couple hours enjoying the beautiful weather on the pool deck we all decided it was time to have lunch. I was a little burned out on the Windjammer so three of us opted for the Seaview Café, while the remaining three went to the WJ. This was our first visit to the Seaview Café and I’m glad we had a chance to eat there. Amongst the three of us we ordered two reubens, a Cuban sandwich, two orders of onion rings, cole slaw, german potato salad and brownies. We managed to eat everything and probably suffered from protruding belly’s at the pool. Upon our return to the pool the belly flop competition was in full swing. We had missed the first few belly flops and fortunately each flopper was given 3-4 attempts. In the end we got to show our Minnesota pride as 1st and 2nd place were awarded to passengers from MN.

 

Once the competition ended we returned to lounge mode and ordered a round or two of cocktails. I feel obligated to order a frozen fruity drink when I’m sitting at the pool on sea days. After about 45 minutes the passenger/crew volleyball tournament commenced and lasted for 4 rounds if I remember correctly. In the end the passengers came out on top.

 

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The remainder of the afternoon was spent in the pool area relaxing, sunning, playing some cards poolside and enjoying a beverage or two. We were in good spirits when we left the pool deck as the sun set. At this point it was back to the room to get things packed up and get ready for dinner. This is the part of the trip that I always dread, knowing that the end is really coming. Fortunately, I had Italian night to look forward to in the dining room. I was excited for this as, Edwin, our waiter, talked up the caprese salad, shrimp scampi and tiramisu the previous night at dinner.

 

We came to dinner with appetites and dining room staff delivered. At one point we had 11 different entrees for 6 people.

 

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Despite the abundance of food we managed to eat nearly all of it. We capped off dinner with dessert and coffee and then made our routine trip to the Schooner Bar to see Steve and our piano bar friends. As expected our night in the piano bar did not disappoint and Steve played until a few minutes past 1am. After talking a bit with him in between songs and at the end of the night he noted that the piano bar has never been this lively. Naturally, liveliness is good for Steve, as it translates into more tips. Since we’ve returned from the trip we’ve stayed in contact with Steve and he noted that the current batch of piano bar patrons is too sedate and we should come back soon to liven things up a bit.

 

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Given we had energy to burn, and the Schooner Bar was closing, we headed up to the vortex for a little more dancing. As usual it wasn’t too crowded, with perhaps 25 or so patrons, and we nearly had the run of the dance floor.

 

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On past cruises traveling with this group we’ve always heard a new song that becomes our cruise anthem. This was also the case with this cruise, so as usually we requested the song, “We no speak Americano,” as well as other favorites and enjoyed ourselves into the vortex closed around 3am. After a quick stop at the Solarium café for a slice of pizza we retreated home and called it a night. All in all we achieved our goal of maximizing our enjoyment the last day of our cruise.

 

Up next: Disembarkation and wandering around Old San Juan

Hi I have enjoyed reading your review. I too agree that Steve Walters is the best entertainment. I cruised with him September 2010 and had kept in touch but have not heard from him since about 6 months ago. Have you been in touch with him recently? I am trying to find out which cruise ship he is on currently? Thanks for any help you can give me. Diane aka at the piano bar with Steve "your brown eyed girl"