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

[Host Faith]

 

 

 

The inscription on the cannon reads, “King George II.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We spent about an hour here. Thenford took pictures of us, as well as gave info about a lot of the details of the fort.

 

 

 

[Host Faith]

Because of the incredible views, it was hard to tear ourselves away from this place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Host Faith]

On the way to our next stop, we noticed some goats crossing the road:

 

 

 

We don’t see that too often in New Jersey!

 

We stopped at Timothy Hill, with a view of the Southeast Peninsula. In these pics, the Atlantic Ocean is on the left, and the Caribbean Sea on the right. You can just barely see Nevis in the distance:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was another opportunity to take pics with a cute monkey, and there was also a vendor selling sodas, water, beer, and snacks.

[Host Faith]

Our last stop was Cockleshell Beach, where we had the option of hanging out at the beach for about 90 minutes, or taking a drive back to the ship. Originally, we planned to spend time at the beach, but we decided to go back to the ship for lunch and some downtime. We did have a couple minutes to look around. The beach was nice and well-tended. The sand was black- so cool:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were some green monkeys that lived near the beach. Just as we were leaving, someone came out with peanuts, which you could use to feed the monkeys. Cute!

 

 

 

 

[Host Faith]

Here’s a pretty cool sign at the beach; it shows you how far you are from various cities. We were far from home!

 

 

 

 

Thenford took us back to the ship. I think it was about a 20 minute drive. On the way, he shared a bit about himself, and showed us some pics of his beautiful family. He also asked us to tell everyone a little bit about themselves. I thought that was nice since it gave us a chance to get to know one another. Upon our arrival at the pier, we thanked Thenford and paid him at the end of the tour. We had lunch in the Windjammer, I spent some time on the pool deck, and enjoyed sailaway from our balcony.

 

We highly recommend Thenford if you’re going to St. Kitts. He’s kind, knowledgeable, and gives a great tour. I would tour with him again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bye-bye St. Kitts! We'll be back :)

 

 

 

[Host Faith]

We had another lazy evening. Dinner was good; I really liked the shrimp and crab salad and the sliced tenderloin. The dessert trio was a little disappointing- not much flavor. That’s my only issue with RCCL food- the desserts are kind of hit or miss with me.

 

 

 

 

 

[Host Faith]

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:

 

Whoa! What a day, and such a nice guide! How did you guys get back to the ship?

[hancogran]

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:

 

We also toured with Thenford Grey when we visited St. Kitts.. a fantastic day. On the way down the winding road from Brimstone Fort, there was a tour van stuck with a flat tire... and no spare! :eek: Thenford stopped and it ended up that the 6 passengers in this small mini van with the flat tire, came on Thenford's bus to finish the tour! There were only six of us with Thenford to start with but his bus was much larger than the mini van! :)

 

Love your review of St. Kitts, Faith! Lots of pictures the same as we took when we went with Thenford. :cool:

[bionicman97]

Enjoying the review and the pics :)

[lovemylab]

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 have this tour booked next month and can't wait!

 

Did you supply the school supplies that were donated? Just wondering if I should be taking some school supplies with on our tour. Thanks!

[Host Faith]

We also toured with Thenford Grey when we visited St. Kitts.. a fantastic day. On the way down the winding road from Brimstone Fort, there was a tour van stuck with a flat tire... and no spare! :eek: Thenford stopped and it ended up that the 6 passengers in this small mini van with the flat tire, came on Thenford's bus to finish the tour! There were only six of us with Thenford to start with but his bus was much larger than the mini van! :)

 

Love your review of St. Kitts, Faith! Lots of pictures the same as we took when we went with Thenford. :cool:

 

Thank you hancogran! Thenford is awesome. St. Kitts is beautiful. I've seen a lot of those shots myself but couldn't help taking them. :D

[Host Faith]

Enjoying the review and the pics :)

 

Thanks Curtis! I enjoy your reviews too! :)

[Host Faith]

We have this tour booked next month and can't wait!

 

Did you supply the school supplies that were donated? Just wondering if I should be taking some school supplies with on our tour. Thanks!

 

Hi there! You're sure to enjoy your time with Thenford. I heard somewhere here on CC that someone donated school supplies when they toured with Thenford about a year ago. I emailed him and asked what types of supplies would be most appreciated. A couple weeks before we left for our trip, I let him know what supplies we had purchased, and he arranged a stop at a local primary school. It was totally voluntary, nothing that he suggested. I just saw it mentioned here and checked with him.

 

I'm finding that you can check with tour guides ahead of time and see if there's an opportunity to give in that way.

 

Have fun on your cruise, and enjoy St. Kitts!

Edited October 22, 2011 by Host Faith

[Virtopia]

I'm enjoying this review a lot! I'm now interested in going to St Kitts, but my next cruise will hit St Thomas and I have a list of things I'd like to do now.

 

I also love the donation aspect. I'll have to check with the islands I'm going to if there's something I can bring.

[Host Faith]

I'm enjoying this review a lot! I'm now interested in going to St Kitts, but my next cruise will hit St Thomas and I have a list of things I'd like to do now.

 

I also love the donation aspect. I'll have to check with the islands I'm going to if there's something I can bring.

 

So happy the review has been helpful! Enjoy your cruise :)

[bionicman97]

Thanks Curtis! I enjoy your reviews too! :)

 

Thanks :)

[Host Faith]

Our day at sea consisted of total relaxation. We ate, slept, and repeated several times, lol. I did go to the Cruise Critic Meet and Mingle in Vortex:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I sat with mattsmom11 and BradnTracey (hey ladies!) through the raffle drawings, and we chatted a little. The M&M was pretty quick, so I met up with Wesley for lunch and then enjoyed some time reading in the sun on deck 12. While the belly flop contest was going on, I grabbed my froo-froo drink (a Kiss on the Lips) and snapped a quick photo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Host Faith]

We saw a pretty rainbow early in the day:

 

 

 

 

 

The sunset was absolutely beautiful:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Host Faith]

We booked our dinner at Portofino a few weeks before boarding. This restaurant never disappoints. Gotta love that bread basket:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had the risotto with prawns (shrimp), and the Seafood Skewer. The skewer had salmon, lobster, scallops, and shrimp. Wes had the minestrone soup and the T-bone steak, which was perfection.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We shared the dessert sampler at the end of our meal. We were just too stuffed to try anything larger than that. There was a tiramisu, vanilla panna cotta, flourless chocolate cake, and (I think) a chocolate mousse. The tiramisu is my favorite dessert in this sampler.

 

 

 

[Host Faith]

We were ready to go and wondering why it took so long for us to receive the check. The waiters surprised us with a small panna cotta with a candle it while they sang Happy Anniversary to us. So cute :)

We wandered around the ship for a while, enjoying the live music. We decided to head to the Solarium to take advantage of the empty hot tub. We stopped by the room to change, and were greeted with these:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was no crease in the certificate when we got it. Oops- our fault! I thought it was sweet of RCCL to give us a certificate for our anniversary.

 

It was so nice to enjoy the Jacuzzi in total quiet. If you have a chance, head up there at night!

[Worn out mailman]

I'm really looking forward to your Aruba and Curacao shots...we'll be there on Adventure in March '12. :)

[tropiclvrs]

You're doing a great job at keeping us biting our nails while we wait for the rest of your review;)

 

Seriously though...your effort in putting the pictorial review is much appreciated and I can completely understand that it can take a while to get it done.

[sadie8]

Great review. Can't wait for the rest of it!

[HowBadAmI]

Chrystal,

 

When's your next cruise? Judy and I are going with you and Wesley. She says she'll even buy the drinks.

 

Grinning here. GREAT pictures and review.

 

Jim and Judy.

[Host Faith]

I'm really looking forward to your Aruba and Curacao shots...we'll be there on Adventure in March '12. :)

 

You're doing a great job at keeping us biting our nails while we wait for the rest of your review;)

 

Seriously though...your effort in putting the pictorial review is much appreciated and I can completely understand that it can take a while to get it done.

 

Great review. Can't wait for the rest of it!

 

Thanks everyone! I'm trying to keep it going, I got sick this week. I should be able to pick it back up sometime this weekend. Thanks so much for reading! :)