Serenade review, 1/6/06 - long

[erniesband]

Well, we're finally getting it together to write our review from our latest Serenade sailing, 1/6-1/13/06. We loved our cruise, but it did have its pluses and minuses (largely pluses :D )

 

Cast of Characters: Me and DH (52 & 56), our 3rd time on Serenade, 6th on this itinerary; my sister and brother-in-law (49 & 52), second cruise, first was on the 11-night Empress with us 2 years ago; and friends from Virginia Beach ( mid-50's, and their 30 year old son). We met them on Radiance 5 years ago, this was our 4th cruise with them since.

 

We all flew into San Juan on different days. Sister and brother-in-law flew down on Thursday to enjoy a couple of days in San Juan before the cruise, stayed and the Hampton Inn. They had nothing but good things to say about their hotel, and enjoyed their time in San Juan. DH and I flew in on Friday. This time we drove from Cleveland to Pittsburgh, stayed at the Crowne Plaza Pittsburgh airport Thursday night, and used their park and fly program to leave our car. The hotel was very comfortable (great bed, nice amenities, including lots of pillows, ear plugs, sleep mask and lavender pillow spray), the shuttle service very convenient, and the price very reasonable. The flight left on time, and went through Charlotte, NC. In the Charlotte airport we met CC's from Pittsburgh we had been corresponding with (Hi Sue and Bill, if you're reading this), and a mother and her 2 daughters who were going on Serenade, as well. Got into San Juan on time, about 2:30, and cabbed over to the hotel with our new Pittsburgh friends. We were both staying at the Marriott Courtyard Miramar. The hotel was clean, comfortable, newly renovated. Nice staff, free internet in the lobby, the restaurant was reasonably priced for breakfast. However, it was in a business area, and we were there over Three Kings Day, so everything in walking distance was closed tight. We took a taxi in to OSJ to meet my sister and BIL for dinner - perhaps because of 3 Kings Day traffic, the traffic was very bad, and our short distance ride was about 1/2 hour long. Spent the late afternoon and evening walking OSJ, and along outside the Old City walls - one of my favorite things to do in Old San Juan. Lots of people out and about, lots of stuff going on, the city was beautifully lit up and decorated for the holiday - it was all very magical. We had dinner at Aquaviva, pricey, but delicious! If we're in San Juan the night before our cruise next year, we'll be back there.

 

Left the hotel Saturday morning at 11:00 and headed for the pier, which is what we usually do. It was about a 5 minute cab ride, and there was already a short line when we got there, including sis and BIL, who had gotten there a few minutes before us. There was a separate, empty line with a Diamond/Suite check-in notice, so we headed over there, being Diamond members, where someone rather rudely told us that the sign didn't mean anything, go get in line with everyone else. What a surprise! Back to the other line we went. About 1/2 an hour later that line started moving as they started collecting luggage and letting people into the terminal. Once inside the process went quickly. There were separate Diamond/Suite check in lines, but the other lines were moving so quickly we didn't bother with them. That's where things stopped moving quickly, however. There were immigration problems clearing the ship from the previous cruise, and we all took seats. It was about 1:00 before we were able to take our security photos and board. During that time, RCI put out cookies, lemonade and some adult beverage samples (free) to keep the crowd from grumbling. And there is a duty free store in the terminal. We had never noticed it before. We bought diet coke, which we boarded with successfully. We did see them taking some liquor which was purchased as people boarded, however. We were on board a little after 1:00, and the plus to that was that we were able to go immediately to our rooms, drop our carry ons and freshen up a little before we went up to the Windjammer for lunch. Usually, if you get on early, you can't get back to your room until about 1:00.

 

The ship: Beautiful as ever, and in great condition. We saw people working to keep her clean and shiny all week.

 

Cabin: We had 1104, sister and BIL had 1604, Sue and Bill had one of the aft JS's on deck 10, and her mother and her husband had the other aft JS. We had great fun talking over the balconies all week! Our cabin steward, Lidia, was terrific - took very good care of us, and was really sweet. She did ask that we always use the port side hallway, so she could see us when we came and went. Our VA Beach friends were in an OS on deck 10, starboard side. We had a D1 (our favorite cabin), which has plenty of room and storage for us, and a balcony to die for. The only thing we could have wished for was a way to open up the balcony between our cabin and my sister's - that would have created an awesome sun deck! We did sailaway from our friend's OS balcony, right at the hump. Great location for sail away - best we've ever had. Guys, are you sure you don't want to book that cabin for next year? Only cabin drawback was at the end of the week - they had been working on the ship's freshwater system during the week, affecting only some cabins at the aft of the ship, and we ended up with brown water for a day or so. Got some bottles of fresh water, gratis, for hygiene/drinking purposes, but we didn't feel that this situation was handled as well as it could have been, and we were actually initially charged for one of the bottles of water. Guest relations took that charge off without giving us any hassles, however. One note - the new bedding program hadn't reached Serenade yet and we had called RCCL a couple weeks before sailing to request egg crates. They were in place when we go there, and the bed was plenty comfortable. I believe they did the new bedding just this last week, however, so we just missed it.

 

Dining: We had initially linked our reservations (we all used the same TA) and asked for a table for 8 in the dining room, so the 7 of us would have a table to ourselves. We had actually asked for these arrangements nearly a year in advance of sailing, since 4 of us had made our bookings while we were on board Serenade in January 06, and our friends had made theirs less than a month later. When we checked our table upon boarding, we found we had been assigned to a 10-top. We immediately went to the maitre d', who said the only thing he could do for us was put us at a table for 6, in the overflow room, right by the doorway. We weren't really happy with that, but in the end it worked out well. We didn't feel overcrowded, didn't end up being run over by people trying to get in or out of the dining room, and had good wait staff. The bar waiter did tend to forget us at the end of the evening, however. My husband and I got our coke at the beginning of dinner each night, but we were only offered shooters once (and this was even after he bought one, and told her he'd want them subsequent evenings, as well). 4 of us ate every evening in the dining room, and found our meals to be good to excellent. I did send one meal back - the snapper - it was too salty. It was replaced with a very good pasta selection. Tip for people not wanting to over indulge in desserts - you can ask for fresh fruit any time, and get a lovely plate of fruit. Our VA Beach friends ate in Chops one night and Portofino another, and highly enjoyed both. We ate in the Windjammer for breakfast some mornings, and other mornings I picked my breakfast up at the Concierge Lounge. Lunches were either in port or in the Windjammer (first day, Tuesday, and Friday only). The selection didn't change much, but the food was good, and I ate mostly salad, anyway. We didn't get to any of the other eating venues this trip, which is a surprise, since we actually really like the Seaview Cafe.

 

Concierge Lounge: We met our VA Beach friends in there each night for a pre-dinner chat and drink. It was usually full, but not too bad. The concierge was Juan, who had been on Serenade just a short time. We also went in there once each night to check our e-mail - there are 2 terminals in there, and I grabbed my breakfast in there. The concierge puts out a light continental breaksfast, and I was able to get my salmon, fruit and a couple of rolls and be happy. The seating area on deck 10 just outside the Concierge Lounge was set aside as an overflow lounge for Concierge guests.

 

Shows: We had actually seen most of the shows, including the comedian who boarded along with us (we were talking to him in the embarkation lounge) previously. The only show we went to see was The Drifters, who we hadn't seen before, and enjoyed. There was one performer who was an original Drifter, the rest probably hadn't been born at the time the original Drifters were performing.

 

Lounges: This was an odd trip for us - didn't spend any time in any of the lounges, and actually didn't even go to Quest or any of the other games. We spent our evenings hanging out talking with my sister and her husband, our friends, browsing the shops, taking lots of pictures to have a nice selection to choose from at the end of the cruise, playing pool. It was relaxing, not having to rush to get seats in the show lounge. And we were bound and determined to get good pictures - which we did. About the pictures - the photographers have been taught specific poses, which they're pretty rigid about using. If you insist they'll let you play around a little, and our best pictures have been the result of "gee, we'd rather do this."

 

C&A: We did go to the Crown and Anchor reception, and the captain made perhaps the best remark I've ever heard a captain make - that the upcoming Genesis ship will be so big "it will have its own bad parts of town." Don't think I ever want to go on a ship that big! Serenade is just the right size for us. We also didn't get to the Platinum/Diamond reception this year - next year we'll make it. Amenities - we did get upgraded toiletries in our suite, and we got our robes. Last year we had gotten food delivered to our cabin nearly every day - fruit and cheese, petit fours, chocolate covered strawberries (from a head waiter, who had been our dining room waiter on our very first cruise). This year we hadn't gotten anything by the middle of the week, and were pretty surprised. We had made a reservation with the Loyalty Ambassador to book next year's cruise, and that's actually where our other complaint of the week comes in. We had 5:00 reservations, mid-week, with Eileen. Eileen was busy with another couple when we got there, so we seated our selves and waited. Janie, the actual Loyalty Ambassador, showed up while we were waiting and started putting out brochures. We indicated we were waiting for Eileen, but my husband did say we had some concerns we wanted to address. She said Eileen could handle that, and continued putting out her brochures. About 15 minutes later, she finally decided she'd help us and let Eileen take her appointment, when they finally got there. We were a little surprised she decided to continue putting out the brochures rather than say, what are your concerns, how can I help? First concern had been the dining room issue - and she explained only D+'s were guaranteed their choice of tables. They're hand placed, every one else is computer placed. Okay, now we understand. No problem. However, she did say next time come see her if we have a dining room complaint, and she'll see what she can do. We also mentioned not having gotten any goodies. She said she only sends out petit fours, and what, hadn't we received ours? We said no, and she sent them down that evening. Guess last year's LA sent out 2 goodies, not just one. She booked us on Radiance for next year (when we came home we switched back to Serenade). My sister and brother in law booked an Alaska Cruisetour while on board, and our Pittsburgh friends booked Liberty while on board. There were issues with all three bookings, by the way. The last day of the cruise, my sister and brother in law received a note in their room that the price that they had been given and for which they had confirmation, had been quoted wrong, and that the actual price would be several hundred dollars more per person. No other explanation. They talked to our TA when they got home, who said that she could probably get them the original price, since they had the written confirmation, but since they're planning on changing dates and will have to pay the going rate for the date they eventually select, they decided not to bother. Our Pittsburgh friends checked with their TA when they got home, and when the booking transferred, the price was higher than they had been quoted. Their TA fixed that up. In our case, we got home and found our C&A coupons, which included one for Serenade for next January, decided to switch back to Serenade, and when we did that discovered we had only been credited with a Platinum balcony discount and then the coupon wasn't correctly applied. Our TA got that all fixed up, and we're set for next year. My recommendation? TA's are wonderful - none of us had to spend our time dealing with the issues, they did it all for us. Oh, and about your internet coupons. We finally figured out the best way to use them. Turn them in BEFORE you first go in the internet. They then show up as a credit on your account, which they debit against as you use the time. Otherwise, getting credited is hit or miss - we had to go back twice to get the first coupon credited properly when we tried turning it in against time we had already used.

 

Ports:

 

St. Thomas - we took a ferry over to St. John and spent the day at Cinnamon Bay, then strolled Havensight when we got back. Little too cool for my sister or I to get in the water, but the guys said the snorkeling was quite good. There's snorkel gear for rent, if you need, but no chairs or umbrellas, we spread out on towels. Also, if you want something to drink, it's a hike to get it, but it is available. Cinnamon is a camp ground in the National Park, and there are trails for hiking, showers, restaurant, plenty of transportation. Transportation was expensive - more than I had anticipated, and probably twice what it was last time we did this. My recollection was close to $80.00 for all the cabs and the ferry round trip - check http://www.********** for the most recent rates when you're making your plans. I should have. The only rate I specifically remember was $10.00 per person round trip for the ferry.

 

St. Maarten - we took a cab over to Orient Beach for several hours, enjoyed some sun time, walked the beach, bought some beautiful prints from an artist set up near the restaurant at Bikinki Beach. The vendors were plentiful walking the beach, but left you alone if you said no. Had lunch in the Windjammer that day, then went to Phillipsburg for some shopping. The water taxi is convenient and reasonably priced.

 

Antigua - did our favorite excursion, Eli's Eco Tour. We've put a full review on the Antigua ports of call board, short story is that this is a terrific excursion - fun and unique - a great way to spend the day!

 

St. Lucia - we used Island Divers to do a day trip to Anse Cochon for snorkeling. Great snorkeling, very good lunch, off the menu, but paid for as part of the day rate, at Ti Kaye Village's (a resort at Anse Cochon) restaurant on the beach. Island Divers picks you up near the ship in Pt. Seraphine, and returns you there, via their dive boat, at the end of the day. I've put a review on the St. Lucia board. Serenade leaves about 1/2 an hour early to sail down the coast of St. Lucia to the Pitons, and does the "Piton Pivot" in the bay there (thanks, Sheffie, for coining that phrase). The captain loves showing off how his ship can "turn on a dime," (as he loves to put it), and pivoted twice. He has the crew set up refreshments on the helicopter deck for people that choose to enjoy the show from up front. We stayed on our balcony, then went to the Concierge Lounge.

 

Barbados - we did Silver Moon 2. Very enjoyable. This excursion has a deservedly good reputation. Fun day on a lovely cat, great crew, great lunch. Our only observation is that in Barbados everyone who does a water excursion wants to snorkle and swim with the turtles (of course). There aren't a lot of places to snorkel, and only one place to swim with the turtles. And the time frame isn't long enough to allow every one to go to each location when no one else is there. The Silver Moon 2 crew does their best to try and keep their guests from the crowds, but that's difficult to do, and no matter how comfortable and fun the cat is, you're going to end up in a crowd with the turtles and snorkeling. And they want you to stay together in a group - not a place for more experienced snorkelers to expect to be able to go explore what they'd prefer to explore - they really want you to stay together. All in all, though, a good day.

 

Sea Day - okay, I get up fairly early to go exercise on the jogging track. I was up there by 7:00 am. There were already plenty of saved chairs. I was up there for 3 miles (true, that's only about 35 minutes, but still...) and no one is claiming the saved chairs. That's 18 laps I did. I was tempted to start picking up towels and depositing them on other places on the deck as I walked, but I restrained my self. My sister and brother in law decided there wasn't enough air movement on their aft balcony and decided to cruise for chairs on deck. Around lunch time finally found a couple vacating theirs and sat on the sun deck for a couple of hours. We used our aft balcony. It's hot - no breeze back there, but it's also ours, and no one's hogging our lounge chairs. The captain did about 14 knots across a glass calm sea on a sunny day, straight back to San Juan. The ship used to do sail bys of Montserrat, St. Kitt and Saba, however that takes it quite a bit out of the way, and necessitate cruising at a higher speed. We were told that cutting the side trip out saves the company over $400,000/year. I'm sure Captain George would do the sail bys if he could but the cost savings measure is probably prudent. We've been on board for the sail bys several times, and I was looking forward to seeing the most recent changes in Montserrat, but it was a good day none-the-less. Some people did see Montserrat erupting off in the distance when we passed it going south early in the cruise, but we missed it.

 

Going home: Had to be done, unfortunately. We were supposed to be on the same home-bound flight as our new Pittsburgh friends. They used the Platinum/Diamond early disembarkation privilege, we didn't because my sister and brother in law weren't entitled, and because with a 1:00 flight, we didn't want to spend hours in the San Juan airport. We sat comfortably in the outside seating area at the aft of the Windjammer all morning. Our friends got to the airport early and were offered a direct flight home and upgraded to first class seats (our flight, the one they had been booked on, was overbooked). By the time we got there, we weren't given that option. Oh, well. Check in and security lines at the airport were LONG. It takes a long while to get through them. And they do collect any liquids that aren't in your quart-sized bag. Don't expect to get them through. We saw wine, liquor, toiletries, other drinks, in the collection bin. Flight boarded on time, left on time, and got home on time. What more could you ask for.

 

Now we're counting down the days to next year's voyage. We know we'll see Eli again in Antigua, and we've already booked a day sail on High Pockets for St. Thomas. And staring out and looking at the snow fall outside our windows...

[Ocean Boy]

It was very enjoyable sitting here reading your review. I always look for write-ups of Serenade. It brings be back to when we were aboard her. It is too bad that they are not doing the sea day sail-bys any longer. That was one of the highlights of our cruise on Serenade.

 

Looking forward to experiencing the Aruba southern route on Adventure in 35 days.

[mitaxi]

Thank you for the wonderful review...I just recently booked this cruise for next year... and have cabin 1604...can't wait..

[erniesband]

It was very enjoyable sitting here reading your review. I always look for write-ups of Serenade. It brings be back to when we were aboard her. It is too bad that they are not doing the sea day sail-bys any longer. That was one of the highlights of our cruise on Serenade.

 

Looking forward to experiencing the Aruba southern route on Adventure in 35 days.

 

I'm glad you enjoyed reading it - thought my fingers were about to fall off writing it!

 

I liked the sail bys too, but I guess if it's a choice between raising prices to cover the additional costs, and dropping the sail bys, I'll go with no sail bys. We were passed by QM2 going south that day, which was pretty interesting. She's a very distinctive ship, and even at a distance you could tell who it was.

 

We did the Aruba route as our very first cruise (on Rhapsody), and were back in Aruba and Curacao 2 years ago on Empress. I'm sure you'll enjoy it - we particularly like Curacao.

 

Jodi

[erniesband]

Thank you for the wonderful review...I just recently booked this cruise for next year... and have cabin 1604...can't wait..

 

You'll love it! Seems you've got to book over a year out to get these cabins anymore, the best we could do a year out (we're booked for 1/5/08) was a deck 9 aft.

 

And I just noticed that the link I typed into my original review turned into ****'s, for some odd reason. For anyone who cares, it was http://www.**********/

 

Jodi

[erniesband]

Stuck in the past, I guess - it was really 2 weeks ago, not over a year.

 

And it seems the boards are just going to keep *****ing out the link - it's the Virgin Islands Best Vacation Guide site, its got tons of great info, and I know the link is on the St. Thomas board.

 

And I just saw someone cross country skiing down the street in front of my house! That's too much snow!

 

Jodi

[mitaxi]

Noticed you are also from Ohio...(by the way.. only about 3 inches of snow here)... how far out did you book your airfare?

 

Seems I can do better than what RCCL wants.. I am flying down a day early though and staying at the El Convento...is this a safe area to be out at night... thanks for your input.

[erniesband]

I think we booked our airfare around June or July this year. We kind of keep an eye out all year. And it's kind of a crap shoot. We ended up going out of Pittsburgh this year, so remember to keep your eye on surrounding cities. It was a 2 hour drive for us, but worth it. We're in an inner ring suburb of Cleveland, by the way, just about 25 minutes from Cleveland's airport. We always do better than RCCL's airfare.

 

El Convento is in a great area, high traffic, you shouldn't have any problems.

 

Jodi

[jumelle]

I too was on that same cruise with my husband and three daughters. We had the same feeling about the Silvermoon, we were on their other boat with 5 other people, making it a total of 10 plus the crew. While it was most enjoyable to sail around on our "private yacht" I thought the snorkeling and swim with the turtles was limited and rushed. I did not expect there to be the crowds we encountered. Our guy had to feed the turtles so that they would stay near us, it was not at all what I imagined. We did stop in a quiet cove to have lunch and swim. The crew was most hospitable and served wonderful drinks and food.

The cruise itself surpassed our expectations. I loved the Serenade, being new to RCCL I was a little sceptical.

[Sheffie]

Serenade leaves about 1/2 an hour early to sail down the coast of St. Lucia to the Pitons, and does the "Piton Pivot" in the bay there (thanks, Sheffie, for coining that phrase).

:D :D

 

This was a fabulous review! Thanks!!! Glad you had a great cruise. I can hardly wait for ours!

[nisky]

Thanks for the very interesting review. What nights were formal nights on your cruise?

nisky

[robtulipe]

Ports:

 

St. Thomas - we took a ferry over to St. John and spent the day at Cinnamon Bay, then strolled Havensight when we got back. Little too cool for my sister or I to get in the water, but the guys said the snorkeling was quite good. There's snorkel gear for rent, if you need, but no chairs or umbrellas, we spread out on towels. Also, if you want something to drink, it's a hike to get it, but it is available. Cinnamon is a camp ground in the National Park, and there are trails for hiking, showers, restaurant, plenty of transportation. Transportation was expensive - more than I had anticipated, and probably twice what it was last time we did this. My recollection was close to $80.00 for all the cabs and the ferry round trip - check www.********** for the most recent rates when you're making your plans. I should have. The only rate I specifically remember was $10.00 per person round trip for the ferry.

 

...

The St.Jonn's ferry from Red Hook is $5 each way but the one from Charlotte Amalie is $10 so maybe this explains the difference.

Great review for us since we leave this Friday for our Serenade cruise.

Thanks for you kindness.

[HeavenlyCruiser]

Thanks for the wonderful review!!!!!

 

I also live in an eastern Cleveland suburb, so after this morning's snow, I can't wait for the warm Caribbean temperatures!! We leave this weekend on our cruise, so your wonderful review has me totally excited!

 

I was wondering if you could tell me what the various theme-menus were for each evening (ex. Monday is formal night,Tuesday is Italian night) so we can plan which evening(s) to make Chops & Portifino reservations.

 

Once again, thanks for your time to let us all know how wonderful your cruise was.

[robtulipe]

I forgot to mention that next time you are in St. Thomas you should consider going to Water Is.which is much closer and easier to get to and has nice beaches. Go to vinowdotcom/waterisland.

I replaced period with dot to avoid being Xs out.

[cruisindoggie]

Nice review. Too bad there is no sea day by Monserratt, we really enjoyed it last year.

[Maineac]

Thanks for the fabulous review.....Do you know if Juan has taken over Maritza's job as concierge? She was such a pleasure last year and we hoped to see her again.....:)

[dizbuster]

Good review and thanks for writing it! We had 1104 on the Serenade last June on an Alaska itinerary. Was so disappointed to learn they no longer do Montserrat sail-bys anymore ... there goes my desire to do an Eastern Carib cruise :(

 

One question ... what was involved in the Eli's Eco Tour in Antigua?

[anteldel]

Hi, we were on the same sailing and reading your review helped me relive the cruise!

We were on the Heatwave Catamaran in Barbados. I noticed all the cats were visiting the turtles at the same time.

Our group decided not to go on our St. Lucia tour because of the weather. Frank said it wasn't raining where we would be heading but they were sceptical. So I am curious, how was the weather in St. Lucia on your tour?

We loved Serenade and everything about it and now I can see why you've sailed in more than once!

[SherriZ366]

Thanks for the fabulous review.....Do you know if Juan has taken over Maritza's job as concierge? She was such a pleasure last year and we hoped to see her again.....:)

Maritza was a fabulous Concierge. She was ours on our Alaska tour in August. I know she was back onboard on Sept. 24 so this may be a vacation for her.

[erniesband]

This isn't going to be in order, but here goes:

 

Thanks all for the compliments on the review - it was long, but worth it. We love being on Serenade, despite the glitches, and hope others will enjoy it as much as we do ;)

 

Our cruise was either Juan's first or second week on board. He said he hoped to be staying on Serenade. I know when we were on her same week last year, Maritza wasn't there, either. We're booked one week earlier next year, we'll see who's there. We've never gotten the opportunity to meet Maritza, and I'd really like to!

 

Our day in St. Lucia started out miserable - a fast boat ride into a driving rain. However, it did clear up, and we were glad we went instead of cancellling. It's a shame you missed touring with Frank. We used him several years ago, and really had a good time - and this was after having been to all those sights before (that was my sister and brother-in-law's first trip to St. Lucia, as well as my aunt and uncle's).

 

Dizbuster, I wouldn't let the lack of a sail by of Montserrat make up your mind about whether you want to do that itinerary or not - it's such a small part of the picture. The islands you visit are wonderful. And you can always do the helicopter tour of Montserrat while in Antigua, if that's a make or break for you. Yes, I would have liked to have done it, but the trip was wonderful even without it. Of course, I like to spend my day in Antigua with one of Eli's tours. On the Eco Tour you snorkel, hike on Bird Island, visit the off shore islands and the mangrove area, and climb on Hells Gate, or snorkel more, or relax in the "jacuzzi" pool at the bottom of Hells Gate. You can also choose to spend your day relaxing on board. The boat is a large, comfortable power cat. You get a great lunch, and liquid refreshments all day. It's not a booze cruise - you do get rum punch in the afternoon, but all day refreshments include pop, water, passion fruit juice and tamarind juice. The crew is informative and friendly. We have a great time on Eli's tours. The website, which has good descriptions of both tours, is www . adventureantigua . com. Take out all the spaces.

 

Robtulipe, thanks for the Water Island suggestion. We're not really sit-on-the beach type folks - we're avid snorkelers, and love being out on boats. The best snorkeling in the area is actually on St. John - we've been to several locations there, and we've already booked a repeat visit for a daysail on High Pockets - we sailed on her 2 years ago and are looking forward to our return. The Red Hook ferry (which is the one we've always taken) used to be $3.00 per person, each way, and went up to $5.00. Taxi fare to Red Hook was $10.00 per person, plus tip, each way, and we spent almost another $20.00 on taxi fare on St. John to get to Cinnamon and back to Cruz Bay. We've never used the ferry from Charlotte Amalie - takes longer, and doesn't run as frequently. We usually go over to St. John on the 9:00-9:30 ferry and try to catch the 2:00 (or 2:30) ferry back to St. Thomas, rather than waiting until the end of the day.

 

Heavenly Cruiser, we live in Cleveland Heights. Would you believe there was someone cross country skiing down the street in front of our house last night? That's really too much snow! Especially for having been in the Caribbean so recently. I suppose I shouldn't complain, since it's really the first bad weather of the season, and there's really only February and March left. Anyhow, formal nights and theme nights... Sunday night (St. Thomas) was the first formal night, and Thursday night (Barbados) was the second. Wednesday night (St. Lucia) was smart casual. Unfortunately, I don't remember which was Italian night and which was Caribbean. I think Caribbean night was Tuesday, and Italian Wednesday. I think.

 

Jumelle, our person fed the turtles, too - they all do. That's why the turtles show up every time a boat pulls up in the area. I think our crew did the best they could, it's just that there are so many people who want to do the same thing. We were pretty realistic about what to expect, I think. Unfortunately, aside from the other catamaran loads that were by the turtles while we were there, some people had swum out from the beach, wearing fins, and were kicking people, the turtles, you name it. One guy elbowed me in the head, and looked at me totally cluelessly when I said something to him. That's when I decided I had seen enough of the turtles and got back on the boat. I was most disappointed that during the snorkeling time we weren't really allowed to explore what we wanted to look at. Had to stay with the group. We weren't going to go far off, just didn't want to swim in a crowd. The crew and the boat were very nice, though. Having done Silvermoon once though, we don't feel a huge need to do it again. My sister and brother-in-law, though, want to do it again if they repeat the itinerary.

 

To all of you leaving this weekend, have a great time! You, too, Sheffie!

 

Jodi

[HeavenlyCruiser]

Thanks Jodi for getting back to me so quickly. It's really a small world. My husband & I are not only about the same age as you & your husband, but we live in University Heights. When we get back from our cruise, we should get together & compare notes. This will be our fifth cruise, third out of San Juan, but the first time on the Serenade. Five more days until Saturday--can't wait! Thanks again for the info.

Eileen

[erniesband]

HeavenlyCruiser, it really is a small world - I grew up in University Heights, on Claver! I'd love to get together with you when you get back - post and we can work something out.

 

Jodi

[barbh]

I was on the Serenade in December (wish I was still there:). Maritza told me she would be taking holidays in January and then would be returning to the Serenade. I am hoping to see her this summer when the ship sails out of Vancouver. I often pick up Juan and Eileen (Los Diablos Gauchos) from the pier. Hopefully Maritza will join them sometimes.

 

Bubby

[Maineac]

I was on the Serenade in December (wish I was still there:). Maritza told me she would be taking holidays in January and then would be returning to the Serenade. I am hoping to see her this summer when the ship sails out of Vancouver. I often pick up Juan and Eileen (Los Diablos Gauchos) from the pier. Hopefully Maritza will join them sometimes.

 

Bubby

 

 

Thanks Bubby....That's good news for us since we have a few weeks before our sail date.

 

 

Again, thanks Jodi ;)

[HeavenlyCruiser]

Hi Jodi,

I will definitely get in touch with you as soon as we return. We live off of Claridge Oval---close to Fairmount Blvd. & Fairmount Circle.

Eileen