LIVE From the Serenade of the Seas with Trainman-2 & Judith

[Langley Cruisers]

Jim .. Let me know if you see escargot on the menu?

 

Just off Serenade and although the menu stated it may not be available due to the "global shortage", it absolutely was available and delicious! Make sure you take an extra bun to soak up the lovely juices. :D

.

[3CatsInMA]

Thank you for the Park Cafe information. Was it quiet there?

 

I've found that early on in the cruise it is quieter. As the days go by more people seem to discover the cafe, then it is more crowded.

[maxcat910]

How is the thermal suite? Does anybody know how much RC is charging?

[#1cruiseaholic]

We got a nice Cheese Plate and Fruit Bowl from the C & A Manager.

 

 

 

 

No Fruit Bowl Photo available, sorry...

 

Really liked the look of that cheese plate. Why did the C and A Manager send it? Curious since we did the Snowbird cruise and will be on again with friends in Feb and would love to share it with them on the balcony.

Thanks

[Clarea]

Really liked the look of that cheese plate. Why did the C and A Manager send it? Curious since we did the Snowbird cruise and will be on again with friends in Feb and would love to share it with them on the balcony.

Thanks

You can get this for free from room service on all ships, except possibly Quantum class.

[Trainman-2]

Some Thoughts on the Ship's Internet Service.

 

 

Speed (average of 5 tests)

 

Down - 0.26 Mbps

 

Up - 0.09 Mbps

 

 

I pre-paid for a single devise, unlimited use, for $200 for the 10 night cruise. I received an email when I made the purchase several weeks ago from RCI confirming that I had prepaid and informing me that I would be provided an Access Code when I boarded the Ship.

 

When we got into our Cabin, no Access Code was waiting for me. The Guest Services phone number was not being answered and when I went down to Guest Services the line was too long for me to want to stand in.

 

So I went back up to my cabin and signed up a second time from my Cabin figuring I would "fight it out" with Guest Services later. The price was the same.

 

Today I "fought it out" and the second sign up on the ship was deleted from my onboard account. After 3 trips to Guest Services I finally got a working Access Code.

 

 

In the future, I will not prepay for internet service. It seems to be quicker and easier to sign up on line once I am on board the ship.

[Trainman-2]

We are off to Chops for Dinner!

 

More later...

[cocod08]

How is the thermal suite? Does anybody know how much RC is charging?

 

When I did the Thermal Spa last year on the Serenade it was $99 for the week. Signed up the 1st day.

[maxcat910]

Thanks cocod08!

[shelbylook]

Hey Jim. Don't you get a C & A discount on your internet service?

 

Cathy

[happicruzer]

Hey Jim. Don't you get a C & A discount on your internet service?

 

Cathy

 

Times two, one for Jim and one for Judith Should have popped up when you signed on.

Judy

[Nunagoras]

Cafe Latitudes which later in the day becomes "Cookie Central."

 

 

They are now featuring a new brand of coffee that I have never heard of.

 

 

Illy is a very good Italian coffee trademark and IMHO way better than Seatles Best or even Starbucks that RCI has anywhere else. Is Serenade of the Seas going to Europe soon?... That may explain part of this experiment. May they be testing something different to differenciate in the different markets they are serving? Seatles Best coffe in Alllure in Europe last Septemer was horrible. Are they learning with their mistakes? Hope yes!... :)

[BettyPC]

Great trip - looking forward to the Chops pictures!

[F27TW]

Trainman2 - mint for lamb is never a problem - have them chop mint and add some malt vinegar - it is close to the real thing - mint sauce :D

 

That's ridiculous ... in this era of the overworked dining room teams who are barely able to juggle all the tables they have, do you SERIOUSLY think its reasonable to "have them go and find and chop some fresh mint and mix it with malt vinegar" for you? You can't even get a soda by the end of dinner usually nowadays, I think they would laugh right in your face ... once you explained what fresh mint leaves even are .. :rolleyes::confused:

Edited November 16, 2015 by F27TW

[squadron]

If the ship is in port, they only run trains through the cruise line, and you have to book it with them. It was okay. It is a ride through a whole lot of abandoned sugar cane fields. If it is in the Spring/Summer, there are a lot of goats. During the Winter, the goats are far fewer in number.

 

Maybe not a great idea! Thanks for the info.

[jmf123]

Maybe not a great idea! Thanks for the info.

 

I came across a photo of the St. Kitts train excursion, on an Independence review that offers a description. It was thought to be a 'pretty great way to see the island':

St Kitts

 

I was excited about visiting St Kitts because it was the one port of call we'd be visiting during this cruise that was new to me. I'd been to all of our other destinations before, except St. Kitts.

 

Something that you probably don't know about me is that I'm a bit of a rail fan. One of the things I really liked about a vacation in Alaska last year was that we got to spend several days on the Alaska railroad. Just recently, I took my interest in railroads to a new level and spent several thousand dollars on a bunch of G-scale model railroad equipment that I sometimes set up around the house. (For short periods of time, until Kellyn and I get tired of having to step over them. We've got a very small house!)

 

So, when I saw a railroad excursion on the shore excursion list for St Kitts, it seemed like a fun idea to me! In fact, it turned out to be a pretty good way to see the island, as the tour literally takes you in a big loop all the way around the island... full circle. The train only makes it about 3/4 of the way around the island, and then you take a bus the rest of the way. But it's a pretty great way to see St Kitts, since you end up going all the way around.

 

I failed to capture a decent picture of the train, but I snagged this next photo off of their web site... so you could see it.

 

Picture courtesy of the St Kitts Scenic Railway

 

It's a double-decker car with an open-air section up on top with great views, and an air-conditioned lower section... in case it gets too hot on the top deck for you. There are also bathrooms in the lower section. There's a seat for each passenger both up above and down below.... so you do not have to choose either/or... you can sit in either place any time you want. It wasn't uncomfortably hot when we were there, so Kellyn and I ended up staying up on the top for the entire ride.

 

Like I said, it gave us a good look around St Kitts... and what I learned about St Kitts is that there's not much there for me! It's not one of those places like Jamaica where there's mile after mile of beautiful sandy beaches. It was quite mountainous, and where the land met the ocean tended to be quite rocky. I didn't actually see one beautiful beach on the entire loop around the island.

 

Out of all the ports I've visited in 30 cruises, and all the shore excursions I've gone on, St Kitts and the railroad tour would probably rank in the lower 20% of my list.

 

[britty1]

That's ridiculous ... in this era of the overworked dining room teams who are barely able to juggle all the tables they have, do you SERIOUSLY think its reasonable to "have them go and find and chop some fresh mint and mix it with malt vinegar" for you? You can't even get a soda by the end of dinner usually nowadays, I think they would laugh right in your face ... once you explained what fresh mint leaves even are .. :rolleyes::confused:

 

Not ridiculous, most of these ships actually have mint sauce in bottles from England, however sometimes they run out and if you ask them in advance what night they are serving lamb you just tell them you would like fresh mint with vinegar. I have never once had an problem because most of these ships have either done a stint in England or at least know about mint sauce. One more point, why be so :rolleyes: rude

[joand452]

We did the Sugar Train on our first time in St. Kitts. While it's enjoyable you don't get to see much of the island. The tracks seems to run just along the coast. Next time there we took the Thenford Gray tour -- it was excellent! We just loved Brimstone Hill Fortress. I'm just not sure how great it would be with a walker. :( I stayed on the lower ground level, but you can walk up a long, fairly steep ramp to get to the top. It's a long way to roll a cannon up to the top!!

 

Whatever you decide to do, enjoy your day! (There's also a nice shopping area there now, which wasn't there the first couple of trips. Last time we did some shopping and found a nice inexpensive bar for a couple of frozen beverages.)

[daisyaday46]

It's so good to be able to read your posts Trainman. And your photos are really interesting. I can see that you and Judith are having a really great time. Enjoy. . .

[kmw350]

Some Thoughts on the Ship's Internet Service.

 

 

Speed (average of 5 tests)

 

Down - 0.26 Mbps

 

Up - 0.09 Mbps

 

In the future, I will not prepay for internet service. It seems to be quicker and easier to sign up on line once I am on board the ship.

 

Thanks for the info. Are there any shorter packages? It would be nice to have if I really have to pay for the full cruise, but I really only want the last three days, in particular to check our flights back to UK.

 

Thanks again, keep enjoying the holiday

[Trainman-2]

Day 4 - Monday, November 16, 2015 - Tortola, B. V. I.

 

 

Good Morning Everyone,

 

 

We are due into Tortola at 8 am this morning and it is expected that the ship will be cleared for debarking by 8:30. All Aboard Time is 4:30 pm.

 

 

We do not have any excursions planned ashore but we will head to the terminal once we get a chance to look ashore and decide if we need to take our Walkers.

[Trainman-2]

We really enjoyed out Dinner at CHOPS last night.

 

We both agree that the food and service were excellent.

 

Unfortunately, the sizes of the individual servings have shrunk dramatically!

 

There is a new kind of bread with two kinds of butter (regular and seasoned) but no cheese spread as in the past.

 

 

We ordered a Caesar Salad and told the waiter that we were going to split it but is was so small that Judith ate it by herself.

 

 

I ordered the Onion Soup which was excellent and the Shrimp Cocktail which had changed from 4 shrimp to 3 shrimp.

 

 

 

Edited November 16, 2015 by Trainman-2

[Trainman-2]

I apologize for not placing a fork in each photo to help you compare it to the size of each offering. We will probably go back and I will do that next time.

 

 

Portions of the side items served family style and to be split between the two of us were very small. Even the serving dishes were smaller than in the past.

 

 

Judith had the 6 oz filet and it was tiny.

 

 

My 9 oz filet was larger but not as big as 9 oz filets I have had elsewhere.

 

 

My desert included the chocolate cake with a warm pudding like center which was tiny but excellent. (I got 3 bites out of it)

 

 

One of the desert offerings was fresh baked cookies (implied baked just for us) which were hard as rocks and all dried out when we got them back to our cabin.

 

[Trainman-2]

We liked Chops much more than Giovanni's and I am going to try to talk Judith into going back there.

[tip]

We liked Chops much more than Giovanni's and I am going to try to talk Judith into going back there.

 

When we were on the Serenade for a 13 night cruise back in April, they had a special price for the specialty restaurants. It may have been something like 20% off if you booked for three nights, but I am not sure. Are they still running that? We booked Chops twice and Giovanni's once and had some great meals.