Serenade of the Seas Photo Review- Take Two: Aruba Route

[Host Faith]

Another terrific review! I enjoyed your last review so much and was so happy to see another one. :) We're sailing Serenade in January and I'm even more excited now that I've looked at your pictures and read the review so far. Thanks so much for posting. :)

 

Thank you so much! I'm so glad you enjoy my reviews. :D Enjoy your cruise in January!

Edited October 18, 2011 by Host Faith

[Host Faith]

Hey Faith! Glad to see you enjoying the Serenade again! You guys really like that Southern Route!... I aint mad at ya! Well after doing Serenade last year, we have decided on the Western Route on the Freedom next! MAybe one of these days we will run into you and Wes, it would be a blast I'm sure.... even though he is an Eagles fan............Go Panthers! Oh and your review last year is what gave me the inspiration to do my review!

 

Hey Mike! I've seen you around CC giving advice on the Southern route. Your review last year was great too! We do love the Southern Caribbean, but I do think we're leaning toward the Western Carib on the Freedom or Allure. Maybe all our paths will cross. Wes can take the heat about being an Eagles fan, those Philly sports fans are pretty tough, lol!

[Host Faith]

We met up with these two ladies who were holding signs for our tour. It was nice because the ferry was right at the pier.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was an absolutely gorgeous day in St. Thomas. The ferry stopped at the Marriott nearby before heading out to sea:

 

 

 

 

The ride was about 40 minutes long, and it was pretty choppy. We thought it was fun. The boat kicked up a spray every few seconds.

 

 

 

 

The captain gave a nice commentary on the history of the area. We really enjoyed our ride. Our first glimpses of St. John:

 

 

 

 

[girl993]

Hi Jennifer! It's great to see a NJ neighbor here :).

 

CC user Cruisinfever created a really great thread listing the current coupons in the C&A Booklet: Current C&A On-Board Ultimate Value Coupons for C&A Members

 

Thanks Chrystal! Looks like those coupons have already expired, but I am sure the next round won't be too different.

[Host Faith]

Thanks Chrystal! Looks like those coupons have already expired, but I am sure the next round won't be too different.

 

Oops I didn't notice the date :o. But I'm about 90% sure the coupons we got were exactly the same.

[Host Faith]

As soon as we got off the ferry, the captain let us know that he was aware that some people take the RCCL excursion just as a means of transportation to St. John. He asked if anyone had plans to go straight to the beach rather than taking a tour…we were the only ones to raise our hands! I don't think many people are aware that they can do this. Felt kind of smart because of all you Cruise Critic folks:cool:.

 

The captain had arranged for a local taxi driver to pick up travelers like us, which I thought was awesome. Seems like he does this every day. The ride to Trunk Bay was $6 per person. It was about a 15-minute ride, and the taxi driver stopped two or three times to let us take photos at some scenic spots.

 

 

 

He dropped us off in the parking lot. There were lots of taxi drivers hanging out there, making themselves available to the tourists. He told us to tell the next driver that we wanted to go back downtown to get to the ferry pier area.

 

After paying him, we went to the booth to pay for access to the beach. The cost for Trunk Bay is $4 pp. It’s a National Park, and they keep the area beautiful.

 

 

 

 

We walked along the paved path that leads to the beach, and we entered the prettiest, most peaceful beach we’ve ever seen.

 

 

[Host Faith]

A picture is worth 1,000 words, so I'll let these tell most of the story:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Host Faith]

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best. Beach. Ever!!! If you’re not sure what to do when you stop in St. Thomas, and love relaxing at the beach, please do yourself a favor and get to Trunk Bay. We decided to rent chairs for $7 each. You have to put a deposit down of $25 pp on top of the $7pp (to make sure they get their chairs back). Wes went to get the chairs got a receipt that stated how much cash we put down for the chairs. No problem at all.

 

The beach was so wonderfully quiet. There are no water sports, but there is an underwater snorkel trail available that many people enjoyed. Snorkle equipment was available for rent, I'm not sure how much it cost though. A refreshment stand was available near the chair rentals, so you could get beverages and snacks. There were a couple children there, but we mostly saw adults.

 

The sand was powdery white, and the water was so crystal clear. We even saw some fish swimming around our feet near the shoreline. It was just a perfect place. Just perfect.

[Sandy Sails]

Chrystal, thank you so much for posting the pictures of Trunk Bay! We'll be there in 45 days with a group on our CC roll call, doing it on our own. It's nice to see that it's really as beautiful as I'd hoped it would be!

[Handsome58]

tell your husband I said congrats on the Eagle's victory!!!! The best team won last Sunday and we will see them later this year in Philly!!!!

[Host Faith]

Chrystal, thank you so much for posting the pictures of Trunk Bay! We'll be there in 45 days with a group on our CC roll call, doing it on our own. It's nice to see that it's really as beautiful as I'd hoped it would be!

 

Trunk Bay is gorgeous! And easy to do on your own. Enjoy your time there, it's now my "happy place" when things get too hectic around me, lol. I think St. John is on our radar for a land vacation in the future.

 

 

tell your husband I said congrats on the Eagle's victory!!!! The best team won last Sunday and we will see them later this year in Philly!!!!

 

I'll pass along the congrats! He was a happy camper on Sunday :)

[tropiclvrs]

Loving your review, and can't wait for more:D

 

BTW, what board are you the host for?

[Yellow Lab's Rule]

I have a question about Trunk Bay. I'm going on EOS in Dec. Normally my mom (82)and I (39) go on tours together so I have someone to watch my stuff. She isn't up to the length and activity of the trip to St. John. I'm thinking of going by myself and really want to snorkel. Do you know if there were lockers where I could lock up my money and ID? I really don't want to take it in the water with me and I wouldn't want to leave it on the beach either. Thanks for your thoughts.

[msakmom]

Enjoying your review! Makes me miss the Serenade. She is my favorite ship. I hate to see her leave the Carribean next year, also.

[Host Faith]

Loving your review, and can't wait for more:D

 

BTW, what board are you the host for?

 

Thanks! I host St. Lucia, St. Croix, San Juan, St. Kitts, St. Martin, and Lose Before You Cruise. You can see our host names at the bottom of each forum :)

[Host Faith]

I have a question about Trunk Bay. I'm going on EOS in Dec. Normally my mom (82)and I (39) go on tours together so I have someone to watch my stuff. She isn't up to the length and activity of the trip to St. John. I'm thinking of going by myself and really want to snorkel. Do you know if there were lockers where I could lock up my money and ID? I really don't want to take it in the water with me and I wouldn't want to leave it on the beach either. Thanks for your thoughts.

 

Hi there! I'm not sure if there were any lockers, but I think it would be a good idea to get a waterproof case on a lanyard. I found them on Ebay for about $6 (including shipping). They float too, so no fears about dropping it and it falling to the bottom of the sea. :)

[Conanc]

I have a question about Trunk Bay. I'm going on EOS in Dec. Normally my mom (82)and I (39) go on tours together so I have someone to watch my stuff. She isn't up to the length and activity of the trip to St. John. I'm thinking of going by myself and really want to snorkel. Do you know if there were lockers where I could lock up my money and ID? I really don't want to take it in the water with me and I wouldn't want to leave it on the beach either. Thanks for your thoughts.

 

We have an "Aquapac" brand waterproof case that we've used for years! It works very well!

[Host Faith]

After a few hours at the beach, we decided to head back to Charlotte Amalie, since I heard on CC about some must-buy chocolate rum. The ship’s tour would have gotten us back to the port around 4:30, which wouldn’t have given us time to explore the shopping area. Looking back, I think we would have had time to shop before the tour, but the tickets said to meet at 9:15 for a 9:30 departure. Some people actually arrived around 9:25, so now we know that we can pay more attention to the departure time rather than the actual meeting time. Another example of me being a "by-the-rules, type A," person. But I digress…we decided to go back to the port area early.

 

We returned the chairs and got our deposit back. As soon as we entered the parking lot, a taxi driver asked us if we needed to go back downtown. He had two other couples waiting in his taxi (they’re more like open-air vans), and we all had a nice conversation as we rode to the ferry terminal. Tickets for the ferry cost $6 per person. The ferry ride was pretty smooth compared to the one we took in the morning, which I actually read about here on CC. There was some pretty loud engine noise on that ferry, though.

 

 

 

A pic of the terminal at Red Hook from the ferry:

 

 

 

 

Once we arrived at the terminal, we caught a taxi back to the pier ($20 total). It was about a 25 minute ride, and Wes adn I were surprised at how winding the roads were to get back to Charlotte Amalie. It wasn't as bad as in St. Lucia, but for some reason I assumed that the ride was mostly flat. Not so at all. Just a heads up :)

 

I’m actually glad we took the chance to take the ferry back to Red Hook, and take the taxi back to Charlotte Amalie. We were able to compare the ship’s tour experience to going on our own. Now I know what to expect when we come back to St. Thomas, and I’m more confident that we could do the day trip on our own.

 

Back in the shopping area, we headed to A.H. Riise, which was literally straight down the street from the ship’s entrance. We got there around 3:00 (all-aboard was 4:30). The shop is immaculate, and the sales people were very nice and helpful. I let him know I was looking for the chocolate rum, and he asked if I wanted to taste it before I made my purchase. How could I turn that down? The rum is delicious by the way! I bought two bottles of the chocolate, and one each of coconut and banana rum. All for $26. I didn’t even have to carry the rum to the ship. A.H. Riise will pack your bottles so they won’t break when you put them in your suitcase, and they’ll deliver everything to the ship. You get your items delivered to your stateroom the last night of the cruise. Here's a pic of the package I received on the last night of the cruise. Everything made it home in one piece too. Very nice!

 

 

We made our way back to the ship, enjoyed a quick lunch in the Windjammer, and watched sailaway from our balcony. We were in no hurry, since we planned to skip the first formal night. We always wondered what it was like for those who chose to forego dressing up for dinner on formal night, and it was great to only have to worry about one of those nights. Our anniversary fell on the second formal night so we thought it would be nice to dress up for that.

 

After a nap, we went to the Windjammer for dinner. It was WONDERFUL. Quiet with the lights dimmed, and really good food. I tried some sushi and confirmed (again) that it's just not a food that I enjoy. Can't do it. The chicken was great. Every day, I noticed that they featured a different type of roast chicken, and it was always really good. Make a note to check it out!

 

 

 

 

The Windjammer wasn’t crowded at all, and a much more relaxed atmosphere than the craziness that was happening on the lower decks, lol. Since our room was on deck 9, and the Windjammer on 11, we never really experienced any crowds that night. I think we’ll do just one formal night on a 7-night cruise from now on.

 

I don’t remember what we did the rest of the evening. Here’s the little buddy we found on our bed when we got back to our room:

 

[Host Faith]

St. Kitts is simply a beautiful island.

 

I went to Guest Services this morning to redeem some of our Crown and Anchor Coupons ($5 credit for internet use). While waiting for the assistant to credit our account, I turned around and noticed, through the glass elevator banks, that we were approaching the island. It was just an incredible sight with the mountains and the clouds. I took the elevator to deck 11, and walked up the steps to deck 12, to take some shots. Here were our first glimpses of St. Kitts from the port side of the ship:

 

 

 

 

 

Some more pics from our balcony (starboard side) as we docked:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Host Faith]

This day, we had an island tour scheduled with Thenford Grey, and we had a fantastic time with him. He met us at the pier at 9 AM.

 

 

 

 

His coaster bus is clean and comfortable, and we really liked the fact that most of the walls were glass, allowing us to take great photos right from the bus. My first pic through the window:

 

 

 

 

 

He had a headset with a microphone, so everyone could hear his commentary. We learned a lot about the history of St. Kitts.

 

Some pics as we left the pier shopping area:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He took us around Basseterre a bit, and shared the history of the area. We stopped at a local primary school to donate school supplies. It was nice to see a local school and meet a couple of the teachers.

 

We then rode about 25 minutes to our first stop, Romney Manor-Caribelle Batik. On the way, he stopped to show us guavas, some various plants, and a man holding a cute monkey (you could take pics with him if you wanted to, for a small fee).

 

 

 

Just before we reached Romney Manor, we passed an old (no longer functioning) sugar mill, and he explained how the sugar was boiled and refined. He also told us how vital the sugar industry was for St. Kitts. A few years back, because of certain regulations, the sugar industry on the island was cut down by about 30%. It had a drastic effect on the economy there, with many jobs lost, and they had to turn toward tourism. Thenford actually worked in the sugar industry, and when it took such a big hit, he decided to start his own business through this tour. So the situation was a blessing in disguise, an opportunity for him to start his own business. I love people with an entrepreneurial spirit, who can see opportunity in spite of a difficult situation.

 

 

So back to the tour! From his website: “Romney Manor-Caribelle Batik which was once owned by Capt. Samuel Jefferson, the great, great, great grandfather of President Thomas Jefferson. The great house which sits amidst 25 acres of lush tropical gardens is now a batik factory turning out multi-coloured prints of exceptional beauty. A collection of exotic plants, palms and trees from all over the world engages the senses in a profound way. The Bismark Palms, Travelers Palms and the incomparable, 370-year-old African Saman Tree are symbolic of the glories of nature.”

 

 

 

[Host Faith]

Thenford took the time to share facts about the different plants, which were absolutely gorgeous. Thenford:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Host Faith]

He offered to take pics of us with our cameras if we wanted to.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then, we had some time in the Batik, where a woman gave a quick presentation on how the batik prints were created on fabric. It’s a wax-and-dye process that is very painstaking and results in beautiful work.

 

 

 

 

After that, we had some time to shop, or explore on our own.

 

 

 

 

 

 

He greeted us in the parking lot with bottles of cold water. Perfect timing! It was starting to get pretty hot outside.

[Host Faith]

Our next stop was the Brimstone Hill Fortress. If you’re ever in St. Kitts, this is a must-see. I wouldn’t dare to drive there on my own though- I’ll explain that in a minute.

 

The ride there was about 30 minutes long. We saw a lot of cool things along the way. St. Kitts is beautiful, such an amazing contrast between the mountains and the sea, so I never got tired of just gazing out the window. Thenford’s commentary was interesting too, so there was rarely a dull moment on the drive.

 

One thing we did see was Middle Island Anglican Church, where Thomas Jefferson’s great-great grandfather was buried:

 

 

 

 

 

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It’s funny because when we reached the fortress, we looked up and noticed how high above us the actual fortress was. We couldn’t believe that we would be up there in a few minutes. Thenford carefully and expertly drove us up the long, winding path. I’m so glad there were guard rails at certain spots. Check out the first view when we broke out of the forest on the way up:

 

 

 

 

When we were almost at the top, we reached this arch:

 

 

 

 

I honestly thought he was going to park here, and we would walk the rest of the way. By some miracle, we squeezed through this with literally an inch of space on each side. There’s nowhere to turn around if you start to get a little chicken about the hairpin turns and tight squeezes, so you have to reach the summit to get back down. It’s amazing that so many tour guides drive here every day, with no issues. I would never drive here, which is why I’m so glad we booked with Thenford!

 

The incredible sights that greeted us made the trip up the mountain totally worth it. The fortress is breathtaking at first glance:

 

 

[spadercool]

Glad you enjoyed the tour of the island. Our tour of the island resulted in a flat tire and the driver hunting us down and refusing to allow us give him a tip large enough to repair it.:eek:

[Host Faith]

We had the chance to watch a quick video that explained the history of the fortress. After that, Wesley and I decided to walk to the top of the fortress to get some better views.

 

 

 

 

The walk was so steep! Even people in great shape seemed to get a little winded. I can’t imagine fighting a battle and having to go up and down those steps! I took a victory pic at the top of the stairs:

 

 

 

 

Thenford was waiting for us at the top of the fort. An amazing view: