Serenade of the Seas, April 9 sailing, Review

[xpcdoojk]

Sail date: April 9. 2005- Serenade of the Seas

 

I have a completely different view from Ocean Boy. I am totally turned off by Royal Caribbean. First of all, there were NO SINGLE PEOPLE aboard.

Not one!! All families or older passengers. Very boring!! No one was ever in any of the bars. And not one person who signed up for Meet/Mingle even showed up. Lame!

 

The food was a joke. Rotten fruit, moldy jelly. I was in shock. The dining room was pretty bad. The shrimp cocktail was the size of a quarter. Embarrassing for a "captains dinner."

 

The ship overall was pretty but a bit small. The pool had SCUM floating it in and was WAY too tiny. Unsanitary and gross. Never again!

 

I also got a lot of whiffs of sewage around our cabin (deck 3) and onaboard various decks. I remember smelling it more around the pool area. And this ship is fairly new? PU!!

 

Housekeeping was fair at best. I felt as though I had to BEG for a clean towel. Finally, by day six, she knew what we wanted.

 

On top of having a so-so time, they lost my luggage at the pier.

In fact, I was one of at least 8 or 9 other passengers. No one was very helpful. That's for sure! Thank godness Jet Blue stepped in.

They are the best!

 

Ten years ago I sailed the Norweigan line and it was special. Very good food, great service and extras. I think that cruising is now too common.

Way too many people can afford it. It's obvious to me, even the "better lines" like Royal Caribbean are penny pinching.

 

Funny thing is my friend just got off the Carnival Destiny and had equally as horrific experiences. I thought cruises were suppose to be fun!?

 

Let me suggest that you should consider Hedonism or Sandals for that much sought after singles experience....

 

Of course, they will let anyone go there too. All they require is money. What a screwed up world this is with people with no class and a lot of money are allowed to do anything they want. :rolleyes: :p

 

jc

[superjerryw]

Sail date: April 9. 2005- Serenade of the Seas

 

I have a completely different view from Ocean Boy. I am totally turned off by Royal Caribbean. First of all, there were NO SINGLE PEOPLE aboard.

Not one!! All families or older passengers. Very boring!! No one was ever in any of the bars. And not one person who signed up for Meet/Mingle even showed up. Lame!

 

The food was a joke. Rotten fruit, moldy jelly. I was in shock. The dining room was pretty bad. The shrimp cocktail was the size of a quarter. Embarrassing for a "captains dinner."

 

The ship overall was pretty but a bit small. The pool had SCUM floating it in and was WAY too tiny. Unsanitary and gross. Never again!

 

I also got a lot of whiffs of sewage around our cabin (deck 3) and onaboard various decks. I remember smelling it more around the pool area. And this ship is fairly new? PU!!

 

Housekeeping was fair at best. I felt as though I had to BEG for a clean towel. Finally, by day six, she knew what we wanted.

 

On top of having a so-so time, they lost my luggage at the pier.

In fact, I was one of at least 8 or 9 other passengers. No one was very helpful. That's for sure! Thank godness Jet Blue stepped in.

They are the best!

 

Ten years ago I sailed the Norweigan line and it was special. Very good food, great service and extras. I think that cruising is now too common.

Way too many people can afford it. It's obvious to me, even the "better lines" like Royal Caribbean are penny pinching.

 

Funny thing is my friend just got off the Carnival Destiny and had equally as horrific experiences. I thought cruises were suppose to be fun!?

 

Clearly, you did not investigate anything before you sailed. All of the cruise lines have a niche in the cruise marketplace. Royal Caribbean markets itself as a family oriented line. If you were looking for a singles experience, why would you go on a cruise ship that is geared towards families. As for your remark "I think that cruising is now too common. Way too many people can afford it.", well boo-hoo. I'm sorry that you had to mingle with people that are not among the rich and famous as you would seem to be. Perhaps you should limit your cruising to your private yacht......:p

[superjerryw]

AAACCKKKKKKKK!!!!! Are JC and I in agreement about something.......:eek: :eek:

[maggieq]

Did you ever get your luggage? What happened? This is something I worry about every cruise.

 

Sorry to hear you didn't have a good time. I wouldn't recommend RCCL as a singles cruise ship unless around spring break out of FL or during summertime????

[xpcdoojk]

AAACCKKKKKKKK!!!!! Are JC and I in agreement about something.......:eek: :eek:

 

Bound to happen once every 6500 posts or so. Don't let it get you down, SJ! :D :p ;)

 

jc

[PTarbay]

Ten years ago I sailed the Norweigan line and it was special. Very good food, great service and extras. I think that cruising is now too common.

Way too many people can afford it. It's obvious to me, even the "better lines" like Royal Caribbean are penny pinching.

I'm honestly sorry you had a bad cruise but there is no reason for this comment.You can't really expect any sympathy when you make a general comment like that insulting literally thousands of people.Royal Caribbean is a family oriented cruise line.It is also a great "mid-priced" cruise line.If you are looking for true gourmet food you would probably enjoy Seabourne or something similar.If you are looking for more singles and more of a party atmosphere try Carnival.The newer ships are very nice.There are singles cruises and lines with gourmet food.I think you should look into Windstar.It sounds like what you are looking for.Lots of singles and great food.I have also sailed with Norwegian.I was on one of the first sailings of the Sky.There were plenty of singles but they were all in their 60's and 70's.I didn't really like the small shrimp in the diningroom either.Did you try Chops?They had the large shrimp and were great.

[Ocean Boy]

I do respect her right to feel dissatisfied with the cruise but I do have some comments.

 

First of all, concerning the odor that was mentioned as well as the moldy food, if the poster says that she encountered these things then I would never say that she did not. However, there is not one single area of this ship that is open to guests that I didn't visit (and more then once) . I never encountered such an odor and I am extremely sensitive to smells. If it did occur, it and I were never in the same place at the same time. Nor was I ever in the same place as the moldy food. And if housekeeping on deck three was as bad as she found it to be then I am very grateful that I was on deck two. I already wrote about housekeeping in my review.

 

As far as the singles issue goes, I will chalk it up to passion but lets face it to say there was not one single person aboard sounds a bit overdoing it to say the least. I do know this... RCI does not market themselves as a singles cruise line but it does seem that they try to make sure that there are activities for singles. Everyday in the Compass I noticed that there were activities listed for singles. However, RCI can neither guarentee that there will be a lot of singles mixed into the population of any particular cruise nor that those singles aboard will participate in the offered activities.

 

Finally, labeling the ship as small is a bit of a stretch, too. Yes she is smaller than some but she is larger than many. Anyone who books a cruise and ends up being surprised by the size of the ship, big or small, that they walk onto just has not done any homework at all.

[xpcdoojk]

I do respect her right to feel dissatisfied with the cruise but I do have some comments.

 

 

Finally, labeling the ship as small is a bit of a stretch, too. Yes she is smaller than some but she is larger than many. Anyone who books a cruise and ends up being surprised by the size of the ship, big or small, that they walk onto just has not done any homework at all.

 

OB, the final sentence is completely wrong in your assessment. In this case I believe that all this poster did was homework. This poster was at home typing this "review". JMHO. :D ;)

 

Yeah it is extremely funny when people call a 90,000+GRT ship as small. Compared to what?:confused: There are only about 10 ships bigger in all of the fleets. NCL, HAL have nothing close to its size. Things that make you go .. hmmm.... :D

 

jc

[superjerryw]

Bound to happen once every 6500 posts or so. Don't let it get you down, SJ! :D :p ;) jc

 

Must be the full moon......;)

[FinelyCruising]

I hate scum too. Don't you?

[singlegalcruiser]

That's what all of you got. So sorry I bothered.

[PTarbay]

Besides some obviously sarcastic comments you also got some honest opinions and even some suggestions.I think a lot of the posts are not directed toward your review part of your original post but towards a couple of the comments you made.

[Ocean Boy]

That's what all of you got. So sorry I bothered.

Why are you sorry you bothered? I believe I preferenced by comments by saying I would never suggest that the things you experienced didn't occur. We simply had very different experiences aboard Serenade.

 

Possibly, instead of the post I quote you could have responded to some of the comments and suggestions that we have made. That might provide for a more imformative discussion for all of us.

[PTarbay]

Possibly, instead of the post I quote you could have responded to some of the comments and suggestions that we have made. That might provide for a more imformative discussion for all of us.

Very well said

[cruise182]

Very well said

 

 

GReat Review!!!!

[tirakotchi]

Nice review Ocean Boy. Thanks for all the info.

 

Were on the Serenade in November after a week in Aruba.

 

2 questions:

Does anyone know if you board the ship at Noon? ...And...

Does the terminal have a dep lounge for Platinum/Diamond C&A members?

 

Keep them ships sailing..... :D

 

 

Well, here are my thoughts on the April 9, 2005 Southern Caribbean sailing of Serenade of

the Seas. I hope this provides some help and doesn’t bore you. First of all, since this is a

review it means that these are my opinions. If you do not agree with them feel free to say

so but please save the flames for another thread. Also, my previous cruises were on

Celebrity’s Horizon to Bermuda, RCI’s Explorer of the Seas Western route, and Mariner

of the Seas Eastern route. I may at times compare the four cruises but what I won’t do is

say that one was better, or worse, than the other. They were all very awesome, but very

different, cruises.

 

ARRIVAL

We flew into San Juan and the weather was great on Saturday with our flights on time and

no connection glitches. We got a great view of the port and my first look at Serenade as

we were coming in for the landing at the airport. So far a good start to a vacation. Then

came San Juan airport. I think dysfunctional describes this place on earth fairly well.

Baggage claim took far longer to get our luggage than I ever would have thought

possible. Once you get it the distance to get out of the building to the transportation area

was ridiculous. Then they had one person at the exit looking at baggage claim checks to

make sure you were not stealing luggage. The disorganization was amazing. It would be fine with

me if I am never at that airport again. We got a cab and the ride to the Pan American pier

took about twenty minutes. I don’t know if it just happened to be our timing but check in

took no time at all. We gave our bags to a porter, walked into the terminal, up to a

check-in agent, and were walking onto the ship within fifteen minutes of our arrival at the

port. RCI had its act together big time. We later went into Old San Juan and walked

around for awhile. Sailing took place exactly at 9:50PM. The ship was right on schedule

all week. Do not be late getting back to the ship because if you are she most likely won’t

be there .

 

THE SHIP

She is, for lack of a better words, beautiful and elegant. And even if she is not as big as the

Voyager sisters she is still big. But it all fits together so well. She looks very proportional

on the outside when you look at her height vs. her length. And she has a very curvature to

her bow that really impressed me. I still think RCI has the best looking ships in the

cruising business. She is incredibly stunning inside. Her Centrum is beautiful. However,

after Explorer and Mariner, the Centrum just doesn’t quite give you that “wow” factor

that you get walking into a Voyager class ship. I caution you to not let this first impression

close your mind to what this ship is all about. Great things are to come. Give yourself time

to explore her before passing judgement. She is decorated tastefully and filled with

beautiful art work. Nowhere did I see anything that detracted from the beauty of this ship.

This is in opposition to the forward stairwell on Mariner which is filled with stuff that I

would describe as catastrophic at best and has no place in a ship of her stature. I realize

that art is interpreted differently by each of us but kitchen plates and cups stacked on top

of one another do nothing for me. Neither do kitchen utensils made out of wire, a bucket

of paint with a brush in it, or a bunch of shirt collars. Not to mention the infamous piece of

sheet metal with model cars attached to it. Although with half of the cars broken off it is

more just a piece of sheet metal. Nothing like that will be found on Serenade. It is easy to

find your way around her. I loved exploring her and just roaming around. If you have not

seen the whole ship by the end of the week or do not know your way around her it is only

because you put no effort into it. And you rarely feel as if there are 2500+ other guests on

board with you not to mention her crew. We never felt crowded or stood in line for

anything the entire week. And this applies to the tendering process in St. Lucia also. And

the ship is spotless even with the volume of people aboard. There are no maintenance

issues that I could see what so ever. Sometimes the shopping area can get a little crowded,

especially after the end of the shows in the Tropical theatre as people are funneled through

the shop area. A little advice. If you want to avoid the log jam of people leaving the

Theatre as soon as you exit go outside on deck five and walk the outside of the ship down

to the Centrum entrance. You will avoid the long line of jammed up people and the

outdoor walk is good for you anyway. I went to two different rock climbing sessions. I

went up three times the first session and three the second. I never had to wait. If you want

a deck chair next to the pool you had better get up early especially on sea day. If you are

not fussy about location you can always find a chair somewhere in either the sun or shade,

whichever you prefer.

 

Once you start exploring Serenade she really starts making up for the initial first

impression very quickly. On deck 6 as you enter her Schooner Bar you start to realize

what this ship is about. Her Schooner Bar will knock your socks off. It is so beautifully

done and outshines Explorer’s and Mariner’s by a mile. As you walk through you arrive in

the Billiard room and then enter the Safari Club. This entire area of the ship is just

spectacular and a fun place to spend your time in the evenings. The dark woods and carpet

colors all help to create a very soothing atmosphere. The back of the Safari Club is all

picture windows where you can watch the wake of the ship disappear into the horizon.

And speaking of windows, this ship really does have glass everywhere. You can see the

ocean from just about anywhere you are on the ship and this is very different from the

Voyager ships. Her casino is notably smaller than a Voyager casino but it is also much

more classy in the way it is decorated. On deck eleven you will find the most beautiful

Windjammer of all that I have seen so far. Again, dark woods and blue carpeting create a

very soothing atmosphere. And the way it is laid out with various food islands makes lines

pretty much non-existent. Serenade had plenty of outdoor seating and I thought this

would be something that I would really enjoy over the Voyager Windjammers. However,

in reality was so hot in the Southern Caribbean that it was much more comfortable eating

inside with air conditioning therefore making the outdoor seating nice in theory but mostly

unused in reality. Serenade’s adult solarium outshines the Voyager solariums by a mile. It

is in one word- gorgeous. This is especially true at night when it is lit by lights which

change colors. It is a great place to relax. Its roof was kept closed the entire cruise and the

air was kept at a very comfortable temperature.

 

THE CREW

She has a good crew. They seemed quite friendly. This includes the painters and people

scrubbing the decks. I would say that the crew was comparable to Mariner’s crew.

However, there still was no match to the crew that was on Explorer with me. They were

just exceptional. Explorer may have had some unhappy crew members but they and I were

never in the same place at the same time. Horizon’s crew was much more aloof and often

would not speak unless spoken to first. Our cabin attendants were awesome. Our cabin

and bathroom were kept spotless. And these two folks were just plain fun to be around.

Meeting up with them in the passageway always lead to a conversation. They were just

great. Tipping them was a joy. The last morning that we were to leave the ship to come

home one of them came up to me and said to stay in the cabin as long as we wanted. It

was no bother to him. Now, could there be any better attitude than that? The caliber of

service was equal on Horizon and Explorer but I can’t say that about Mariner or

Serenade, especially when it came to the dining room. In the past our wait staff is what

always made the dining room special to us. I would describe the service this year as

friendly and efficient but also rushed just as it was on Mariner. Waiters were moving

through the dining room much faster than ever before. I still think it is a staffing issue. The

dining room was nowhere near as spectacular as Explorer’s or Mariner’s and there also

seemed to be more noise. I think that may be from the ceiling being lower. Finally, we

decided we were going to have our dinners in the Windjammer and that turned out to be a

great move. The atmosphere was very low keyed and we had the same waiter every night.

After the first night he knew all of our likes. He even remembered how many half and half

creamers I like with my coffee. We tipped him very well and again it was a joy to do so.

Even the greeter at the door learned my name and addressed me each evening. It seems

odd that it took the Windjammer to provide the level of service that we had become

accustomed to in Horizon’s and Explorer’s dining rooms.

 

A word about Serenade’s captain Stig Neilson. To me he is the example of what a ship’s

captain should be. He is a bit reserved but very approachable when you see him. On the

last sea day he takes the ship very close to islands that the ship is passing and announces

where you are and gives a history of the island and this included the devastated island of

Monserrat. What an amazing view he gave us of the destruction. As for his departure from

St. Lucia, I will only say that it was spectacular and if you want to know more go for a

cruise on Serenade’s Southern route. I could never explain in words the departure that we

had from that port. I preferred this captain to Mariner’s Capt. Johnny. Somehow, his

riding a motor scooter down the Royal Promenade was just a little too showboaty for me.

And his pushing of the book he wrote and selling it in the ship’s logo shop all seemed a bit

tacky.

 

THE CABIN

We had ocean view cabins on the second deck. I am not a balcony fan so you don’t have

to worry about competing with me to get one. The cabin was good size with plenty of

room for two people as long as you like each other. It could be converted to a quad cabin

but in that case you had better make sure you are all in love with each other. That would

be too cramped for me. There is plenty of storage space. We moved right in and did not

live out of suite cases. The bathroom is small but big enough to do what you need to in

there. There is not a lot of elbow room in the shower but having a door instead of a

curtain was a real nice feature. The water stayed in the shower and there was no curtain

constantly touching you. It also keeps the mirror from fogging up. It was just like the

ocean view cabins on the Voyager ships with one exception. All the ocean view cabins on

deck two have port holes as opposed to picture windows that the Voyager ships have. If

you want a picture window get a cabin on deck three. I had no knowledge of this until I

arrived in the cabin.

 

THE FOOD

We had all dinners in the Windjammer except for one and breakfast and lunch in the

Windjammer buffet. The one dinner we had in the dining room was good but I am not a

big fan of fancy food. It was of the same caliber of Horizon’s, Explorer’s, and Mariner’s

dinners. I notices no decline in quality of food though the portions were rather small. That

is no big deal when you are already eating ten times a day. The buffets were consistently

good and also consistently better than Mariner’s. There was little day to day variation for

breakfast and lunch but I thought the food was notably better than last year. There was

much more variety on Horizon. But the quality was certainly on par with Horizon and

Explorer. Desserts on Horizon and Explorer were better than on Mariner or Serenade and

there was much more assortment on Horizon. The pizza on the ship is not the best but

there was a notable improvement over Mariner. The solarium pizza shop is open until

3AM for snacks but does not have the variety of the Cafe Promenade on the Voyager

ships. Not that the choices in the Cafe Promenade on Explorer and Mariner were all that

good anyway. However, Explorer would have ice tea and lemonade available and Mariner

had water to drink. Serenade had nothing to drink in the Solarium shop that was without

charge. Johnny Rocket’s is replaced with the Seaview Cafe which I really liked and it is

open until 1 - 1:30 Am with plenty of indoor and outdoor seating and very good food.

 

ENTERTAINMENT

The production shows were much better then Mariner’s. The RCI singers and dancers

could actually sing and dance. Serenade must have some great electronics in her Theatre

as the sound quality is excellent and there is not really a bad seat in the place. Lines of site

are very good. The other entertainment was also very good. The Diamonds were aboard

and sang their 50’s songs and they were very enjoyable. After last year we were almost

going to skip the shows this year but I’m very glad that we didn’t. There, of course, are no

ice shows on the Radiance ships. The ship has a variety of venues from quiet places where

you can be almost alone without retreating to your cabin to lively night life. The style of

music is very different in the various lounges. There is something for everyone. My only

negative comment would be that sometimes the music is mixed too loudly which

sometimes makes it hard to have a conversation and on occasion it is uncomfortably loud.

I walked into the disco one night and right back out as it hurt my ears. I am not hearing

impaired and I intend to keep it that way. Activities such as karyoke are typically held in

the Safari Club. So is Quest. This year I decided to check out Quest for the first time after

reading so much about it. All I am going to say about it is.... don’t miss it!

 

PORTS...I will do this quickly...yeah right.

 

San Juan. Old San Juan is really a very interesting place to walk through. It is very

picturesque and loaded with history. The old Fort El Morro was very impressive and

worth touring.

 

St. Thomas. This is a pretty island. We were here last year so this year we took the ferry

over to St. John. It is exactly what they say it is a very unspoiled undeveloped island with

beautiful beaches.

 

St. Croix. We did stop for a few hours to take on fuel. We took a quick walk through

town. There isn’t much more to say about the place.

 

St. Martin. This is a beautiful island. It is very clean and the people very friendly. We

rented a car and drove around the island even though we had done that last year also. It

was a great day. I really like that island . We did go to Maho beach and get sand blasted

by a few planes once again. If you are the type of person that loves riding roller coasters

you will like this place. Some guy was monitoring the tower on a scanner and letting

everyone know what was going to be landing or taking off. I had seen pictures in the past

but you have to see these planes to believe it.

 

Antigua. This island is beautiful. We hired a taxi that brought us for an island tour to

Nelson’s Dockyard and Shirley Hights to the rainforest. We very much enjoyed our time

here.

 

Barbados. We went to see Harrison’s Cave which is spectacular. Bridgetown, where the

ship docks, is a very hot busy city that is not worth spending much time in. The cruise ship

piers are actually inside a working container port. Not the prettiest sight.

 

St. Lucia. Another pretty Island. We went to the volcano and it was very interesting for

me.

 

DISEMBARKMENT

This went much smoother then it did at Port Canaveral. When we left the ship and entered

the terminal we found our luggage grouped by colored tags in a huge room. We located

out luggage in just a few minutes and were out of there before you knew it. We got a cab

and went into San Juan again for a few hours before leaving for the airport. No stress at

all. Here is a tip. Get a porter to bring your luggage out. They seem to have their own

customs officer and get through real fast with no line.

 

SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS

I think the Radiance class ships do have some minor design flaws that I will point out.

Firstly, there is something wacky about the Centrum elevator bank. They are spaced too

far apart or some such thing. Often, if your elevator comes and you are at the far end of

the bank it will be gone before you can get to it. Sometimes I’d run to catch it. I don’t

know what older people with mobility problems do. Secondly, the adult solarium has a

very tranquil environment but every time the doors open that separate it from the main

pool all the noise from the games and activities comes rushing in. It is a bit annoying. I

don’t remember every hearing sound from the mail pool area on the Voyager ships in the

solarium. Thirdly, the main pool on the ship is too small for the number of passengers

aboard. And fourthly, the area with the shops can become very congested with people.

Maybe it wouldn’t have seemed so bad if I hadn’t experienced the Royal Promenade. But

after Explorer and Mariner this area of Serenade seemed a bit lacking. Though the shops

themselves had everything that you would find on the larger ships.

 

This cruise seemed to be more relaxing than our previous cruises even though it was very

port intensive. At first I thought it was possibly the difference between a Radiance and

Voyager ship. But in fact I think it at least in part stems from the fact that we didn’t eat in

the dining room so we were not so tied to the clock and could do things aboard ship more

at our leisure.

 

IN SUMMARY

Serenade is a great ship. My family and I had an incredible week on her though Explorer

is still the love in my life. I was concerned about booking this ship after the Voyager girls

but I truly have no regrets about it. In fact we were in St. Lucia with Adventure and I

never once had the feeling that I wish I had booked her instead of Serenade. I did miss the

Royal Promenade a bit as I knew I would but Serenade has so many other qualities that

make up for it. I can’t say that Serenade has made me a convert and that I won’t go back

to a Voyager class ship. But what I can say is that I would have no problem with booking

a Radiance class ship again and in no way was I disappointed to be on Serenade instead of

one of her bigger cousins. Adding up all the plusses and minuses I’d say that the Voyager

class, and Explorer in particular, is still my favorite but the Radiance class is a very close

second. At the end of the cruise when I was filling out my comment card for the first time

I really could not come up with any constructive criticism to offer so I mostly listed the

names of staff members who really stood out to me. I think that statement says loads

about my level of satisfaction with Serenade.

 

Finally, I have come to realize something about myself. I am a cruise ship snob. When we

pull into a port of call I need to be on the best ship in the port. Yes, I am a cruise ship

snob. I don’t apologize for it and I have no intentions of trying to mend my ways. And I

have never been disappointed riding into port on an RCI ship. And Serenade is no

exception.

 

I’d be glad to hear other’s views of what I had to say and be glad to answer questions. I

hope what I’ve had to say is helpful and you were not too bored reading this.. For those of

you who are about to go aboard Serenade...you are about to have an experience of a

lifetime.

 

Ocean Boy

[Ocean Boy]

2 questions:

Does anyone know if you board the ship at Noon? ...And...

Does the terminal have a dep lounge for Platinum/Diamond C&A members?

 

Keep them ships sailing..... :D

I'm not sure about the Platinum departure lounge. Even if we were platinum members it wouldn't have made any difference. As I said, we walked right up to a check-in clerk upon entering the terminal.

 

I am quite sure you can board the ship by noon unless something goes wrong. I was told by one of the crew to that the Windjammer would close promptly at 8:30AM so that they could have it ready for serving lunch to the arriving passengers.

[mercedesmom2002]

Ocean Boy:

 

Thanks for the terrific review. We will be sailing the Seranade on 10/29/05 out of San Juan.

 

I see in your review that you took a ferry from St. Thomas to St. John Island. We want to do this also. Could you tell me, is there just one Ferry Company or more? Did you just catch the Ferry or did you get it booked ahead of time? How often does the Ferry run? I don't want to get back to the ship late and get left! Did you do things on your own or hire someone for a tour of St. John Island? We specifically are looking for someone to take us to/near Kenny Chesney's house/his beach and to see his ship. We're hoping he may even be there as he's not on tour in October.

 

If you or anyone else out there has any of this info or additional info that would be helpful, please let me know.

 

Thanks...

 

And counting down the days.....

 

Navigator-July 1, 2006

 

Seranade-October 29, 2005

 

Enchantment-August, 2003

[Ocean Boy]

There are two places where you can get a ferry from St. Thomas to St. John. One leaves out of down town Charlotte Amalia and takes about 45 minutes. It is about a one mile walk from the ship's pier or a quick cab ride. I am not sure how frequently it runs. The other leaves out of Red Hook. This is about a 20 minute cab ride and it runs every hour. It is about a 20-25 minute boat ride to St. John. No reservations or advanced booking needed. Just tell your cab driver you want to get the Red Hook ferry. He will get you there and point you to the ferry.

 

We went over from Red Hook and when we were ready to come back the next ferry was to Charlotte Amalia and we went back that way. Both ferry's are very enjoyable. There is also a car ferry from Red Hook if you happened to have a rental car and wanted to bring it over with you.

 

We rented a jeap and toured St. John on our own. You could rent a cab or hook up with a group tour when you get there. If you have a specific interest, like seeing Kenny Chesney's house, I'm not sure that a group tour will be good for you.

 

By the Way, I did go and "watch the boats sail in and out of Cinnamon Bay" but neither Kenny nor his "blue rocking chair" were there. ;)

[QM2 Cruiser]

Hello - I'm fairly new to this website, but I would like someone's opinion on the Serenade Souther Caribbean route. I am used to 8 and 9 night cruises and am considering the Serenade for April 15 2006. I am hoping it will not be to short of a cruise at only 7 nights. I think that the port intense itinerary will "slow down" the trip a little bit because sea days always go so fast for me. Does anyone agree, or will I be dissapointed? Thanks a lot! :)

[OPSoccermom]

We just booked Serenade for 4/15/06. Based on previous threads, we made sure we had cabins on the portside for the cruise out of St Lucia. Now we're really looking forward to this cruise!

 

One question if you don't mind: How tough was it to book the America's Cup excursion? It must be really popular.

[Ocean Boy]

QM2... I have never done a cruise longer than seven nights so I really don't know if you will be disappointed or not. I wasn't sure if I would like a cruise that was so port intensive but I really did like this itinerary a lot. It was, however, very nice when the final sea day came up and we could spend the day in a more leasurely manner on the ship.

 

OPS... We didn't do the excursion so I can't help you at all. You did book a good side of the ship for the departure from St. Lucia. I hope you get the same captain we had. I truly feel he was exceptional. Besides the St. Lucia departure he was great on the last sea day as we sailed by various islands.

[sherry7]

I'm booked on the Serenade for this January....really enjoyed reading your review.