Serenade Southern Carib - Anyone been on?

[AZDCruiser]

I'm very interested in the Serenade's Southern Caribbean itinerary for 2009, but I'm just concerned at the amount of ports -- I usually like a few more sea days. We're both young (late 20's), but I'm afraid by the end of our vacation we'll be ready for another!

 

Anyone been on this itinerary lately...what did you think?

 

I'm thinking we may spend a couple of days in San Juan before the cruise, so we can just relax....good idea?

 

Thanks!

[Sue L]

Remember you also don't have to get off at each port. Make your own "sea days" at the ports you aren't that interested in or have been to before. We did a very port intensive cruise and we were exhausted at the end and needed another vacation from the vacation. I can definitely recommend the Serenade though and if you want to see pictures click on the link in my signature.

[Fury1995]

I haven't sailed on the Serenade (yet) but I have sailed the southern route on the Adventure, both itineraries.

 

The Serenade sails the same itinerary as the Adventure's alternate itinerary and yes, it is very port intensive. That was the reason we chose it, and we knew it would be more like a sight seeing cruise than a relaxation cruise. Having already sailed the southern caribbean we went again to check out the ports we missed.

 

My suggestion is to take a look at the Adventure and compare the *other* itinerary which includes an extra sea day. Both give you St. Thomas and St. Marteen/St. Martin but you will get a stop in Aruba and Curacao.

 

Also, if you haven't sailed on a Voyager Class ship this will give you that extra day to really check out the ship and what it has to offer.

[Kevin's girl]

We loved this itinerary and the ship. We did stay a couple of days before and one day after. This is always a good Idea. The port days are as busy as you want them to be. We always get off the ship, but a day watching planes at Maho beach is relaxing and the day on Prickley Pear island in Antigua was great. Island food, drinks all included as well as nice snorkeling. We loved it. Here is a few photos, just click the thumbnail.

 

[clararats]

I'm very interested in the Serenade's Southern Caribbean itinerary for 2009, but I'm just concerned at the amount of ports -- I usually like a few more sea days. We're both young (late 20's), but I'm afraid by the end of our vacation we'll be ready for another!

 

Anyone been on this itinerary lately...what did you think?

 

I'm thinking we may spend a couple of days in San Juan before the cruise, so we can just relax....good idea?

 

Thanks!

 

Sailed the Southern Caribbean aboard the Serenade in 2006. We had a great family vacation. I've been to most of the ports already, so as long as the weather was nice, I really didn't care where the ship went.

 

We stayed in San Juan for a bit after the cruise was over. Just for the fact that we didn't want to go home.....lol. It worked out well because I beat them up at the blackjack table.

[waterbugohio]

We are taking the serenade also. In Nov. of 08.

 

My problem is I can't decide which of the island to "miss" and stay on board????

 

I'm always afraid to miss something really great.

 

So in everyone's opinion, which island would you miss if you have never been to any of them???

 

St. Marteen, St Lucia, St. Thomas, Barbados, Antiqua ????

 

(oh and by the way, shopping will probably be our least important thing to do)

[bUU]

We enjoyed our cruise on Serenade of the Seas. As someone else suggested, you don't have to take advantage of every port. (We skipped St. Maarten; we practically had the ship and its services to ourselves!)

 

<STRIKETHROUGH>Sending you a PM with a link to our photos.</STRIKETHROUGH> (Forgot: No PMs here. grrrrrr) It was a great trip.

[mitaxi]

We loved this itinerary and the ship. We did stay a couple of days before and one day after. This is always a good Idea. The port days are as busy as you want them to be. We always get off the ship' date=' but a day watching planes at Maho beach is relaxing and the day on Prickley Pear island in Antigua was great. Island food, drinks all included as well as nice snorkeling. We loved it. Here is a few photos, just click the thumbnail.

 

 

Loved your pics.....WOW

 

Did you book a private excursion for the Prickley Pear Island?

 

I am booked for the Serenade Jan 09.....

 

THanks

[Bakincakes]

Good choice of ship for the SIT....doesn't seem to have the problems that the AOS has with rude pax from PR.

 

If I had to skip one island it would be ST. Marteen..but have been there numerous times.

[CruiserTK]

We sailed the Radiance when it did the same itinerary as the Serenade is now doing. This past March we sailed the Aruba itinerary aboard the Adventure (no rude pax). Both were great itineraries. My favorite island of all the Southern islands is St. Maarten, so if you haven't been there before, I wouldn't skip that one. If I had to skip one of the islands, I think it would be Antigua -- once we got off the ship, there were many, many cabbies hounding you to take tours with them. We quickly scanned the small shopping area near the pier, and then took a cab ride to a beach. The driver seemed put out that we didn't want a tour of the island as well. Having said that, my brother went to Nelson's Dockyard in Antigua, and loved it. It's so difficult to advise one as to which island to skip. What you can do is get off the ship for a couple of hours, and then get back on. The Serenade is definitely a port intensive tour. Your idea of spending some time in San Juan is a good one. I have always liked the looks of the El Convento, and would like to stay there one day. Kevin's Girl has some good photos of this hotel, a former convent.

[prc]

My wife & I board in 25 days!

[bUU]

My favorite island of all the Southern islands is St. Maarten, so if you haven't been there before, I wouldn't skip that one. If I had to skip one of the islands, I think it would be Antigua

Hehehe... Antigua was our favorite. Incredibly beautiful. We took a kayaking excursion -- the water was incredible, and the hospitality was wonderful.

 

Different strokes....

[Ocean Boy]

We also did this ship and itinerary. I also tend to prefer two sea days but at least the sea day comes at the end of the cruise so you get a chance to relax on the last day.

 

Every island on this itinerary has something unique about it and I would not suggest missing any of them. Even on the sea day the ship does some island sail-bys that are very interesting, especially Montserrat.

 

My advice would to not try to do too much on each island. We usually go for a trip somewhere on the island in the morning and then in the afternoon we spend some time walking around the port area until it is time to re-board the ship for sail away. This seems to work for us so that we don't come home feeling like we need a vacation to unwind from our vacation.

[volleyballmom87]

We were on the Christmas Serenade cruise where they added an extra day at sea after the first 3 ports. I would not have skipped any of the ports. We had been to St. Thomas before so we went to St. John (don't think we would do that again). We chose to make a couple of islands beach stops on purpose to relax. THat said, I was still glad we had that extra day at sea to recharge our batteries.

 

St Thomas/St. John - beautiful beaches

Antigua - took boat ride that went completely around the island and snorkeled with sting rays

St. Maartin - ORIENT BEACH is incredible. I did not even mind seeing the topless women walking down the beach on occasion. Go early and when it gets super crowded you will have already had your relaxing beach time and can be back on the ship before everyone else and chill. (take LOTS of cash - you get a better exchange for the Euro if you pay in cash.)

St. Lucia - scary roads, but the people were AMAZING and the island is BEAUTIFUL. Make sure you stay on deck during sailaway to take pictures of the Pitons.

Barbados - the most beautiful water of all of the locations because the island was not created by volcanos. So it is true sand under the water making it an incredible blue. You can go chill on one of their MANY beautiful beaches or we took a booze cruise.

Sea turtles are WAY COOL.

 

If you prefer to chill on the ship, choose a different iternerary. I prefer the ports and would not have skipped any of them. The last day on the normal itenerary is a sea day to recover.:)

[tracey980]

We did this route in Jan. It was our favorite cruise yet. The ship and staff were amazing and each day we had something else to look forward to. My husband doesn't enjoy laying in the sun all day so we prefer less sea days on our routes.

 

Our least favorite of the islands was Antigua. I have heard a lot of people love the beaches there. Instead of skipping an island,why not go on some adventurous excursions mixed with beach days.

[mitaxi]

We were on the Christmas Serenade cruise where they added an extra day at sea after the first 3 ports. I would not have skipped any of the ports. We had been to St. Thomas before so we went to St. John (don't think we would do that again). We chose to make a couple of islands beach stops on purpose to relax. THat said, I was still glad we had that extra day at sea to recharge our batteries.

 

St Thomas/St. John - beautiful beaches

Antigua - took boat ride that went completely around the island and snorkeled with sting rays

St. Maartin - ORIENT BEACH is incredible. I did not even mind seeing the topless women walking down the beach on occasion. Go early and when it gets super crowded you will have already had your relaxing beach time and can be back on the ship before everyone else and chill. (take LOTS of cash - you get a better exchange for the Euro if you pay in cash.)

St. Lucia - scary roads, but the people were AMAZING and the island is BEAUTIFUL. Make sure you stay on deck during sailaway to take pictures of the Pitons.

Barbados - the most beautiful water of all of the locations because the island was not created by volcanos. So it is true sand under the water making it an incredible blue. You can go chill on one of their MANY beautiful beaches or we took a booze cruise.

Sea turtles are WAY COOL.

 

If you prefer to chill on the ship, choose a different iternerary. I prefer the ports and would not have skipped any of them. The last day on the normal itenerary is a sea day to recover.:)

 

Were your excrusions by RCCL or private?

[Kevin's girl]

The Pricklye Pear Island trip was booked through Royal Caribbean. It may seem a bit expensive, but it was worth every penny. It was a great day. Here is the info from Royal Caribbeans website.

 

Antiguan Crusoe Island Break - AN52

Activity Type: Cuisine Tours | Beach and/or Water-Related Activities | Sightseeing and/or City Tours | Snorkel & SCUBA Tours

Approximate Duration: 5 hour(s) 30 minute(s)

Prices starting from:

*98.00 USD (Adult)

*65.00 USD (Child)

*0.00 USD (Infant)

[mitaxi]

The Pricklye Pear Island trip was booked through Royal Caribbean. It may seem a bit expensive' date=' but it was worth every penny. It was a great day. Here is the info from Royal Caribbeans website.

 

[b']Antiguan Crusoe Island Break - AN52[/b]

Activity Type: Cuisine Tours | Beach and/or Water-Related Activities | Sightseeing and/or City Tours | Snorkel & SCUBA Tours

Approximate Duration: 5 hour(s) 30 minute(s)

Prices starting from:

*98.00 USD (Adult)

*65.00 USD (Child)

*0.00 USD (Infant)

 

Thanks

[AZDCruiser]

Thanks everyone! So many responses.

 

I think we will stay 2 days in PR before and MAYBE the night afterwards. We are planning the 1/3/09, so we can celebrate New Year's there, how fun! too bad it is so far away...but had to book something when we got off the Mariner last month:D

 

We chose SOS instead of AOS as I have always wanted to go on a Radiance class (I love all the glass...feel like I see the ocean everywhere). After the Mariner, I knew I didn't want another big ship for awhile....just not my taste, but lots of fun. And I've always wanted to go to St. Lucia -- and that's on the SOS itinerary.

 

We did go to St. Thomas and St. Maarten on the last cruise, so we may stay on board..I think we've just decided to play it by ear:rolleyes: . But I appreciate all the input, esp the tip on Prickly Pear -- I was wondering what to do in Antigua. And thanks for the pics...so beautiful. I'm even more excited all ready...this is going to be a LONG year with this cruise to look forward to!!! Thanks again everyone!!

[lizstas]

Sailed Royal 9 times and this ship and itinerary are by far my favorite. This sailing we had a family group of about 20 ranging in age from 40-90 and everyone loved this trip. I've sailed Serenade 2x-once to Hawaii loved that trip as well---awesome Captain even gave us a tour of the Bridge. Hands down Southern Caribbean is the best Caribbean itinerary--in my opinion--St. Lucia is unbelievable beautiful....You will not be sorry booking this cruise. Happy sailing--we're headed to San Juan Friday for our Adventure sailing....I'm not very optimistic that this trip could even possibly top the Serenade itinerary....fellow posters even have me worried about the guests on board! I'm keeping my fingers crossed....several first time cruisers with me this time out so I don't want them to have a horrible experience.

[Ocean Boy]

Sailed Royal 9 times and this ship and itinerary are by far my favorite. This sailing we had a family group of about 20 ranging in age from 40-90 and everyone loved this trip. I've sailed Serenade 2x-once to Hawaii loved that trip as well---awesome Captain even gave us a tour of the Bridge. Hands down Southern Caribbean is the best Caribbean itinerary--in my opinion--St. Lucia is unbelievable beautiful....You will not be sorry booking this cruise. Happy sailing--we're headed to San Juan Friday for our Adventure sailing....I'm not very optimistic that this trip could even possibly top the Serenade itinerary....fellow posters even have me worried about the guests on board! I'm keeping my fingers crossed....several first time cruisers with me this time out so I don't want them to have a horrible experience.

 

You don't have to cross your fingers too tightly. I have done both ships and both itineraries. Adventure is an awesome ship and the Aruba route is great. It is cool to see the deserts or Aruba and Curacao compared to the rain forests of St. Lucia. You will have a great time.

[cruisindoggie]

Best ship, best itinerary, best crew, just the best ever. I hope the Mariner is just as good!

[SlightDraw]

Hands down our best...St.Lucia is beautiful, the Pitons are something to see. The Captain did a 360 turn below them when leaving. One of the finest Sea days I have had was on Serenade. The Captain was great. Took us up close to the active volcano on the island of Montserrat. The Captain pointed out everything we passed. Up close to the island of Saba.............That all said, the family needs to try the other Southern route, probably just as fantastic as the other.

[volleyballmom87]

Were your excrusions by RCCL or private?

 

We only booked 1 thru the cruise and that was ziplining in St. Lucia - GREAT experience!

 

Beach days were taxis and the Antigua and Barbados boat rides were booked privately.

[CruiserTK]

we're headed to San Juan Friday for our Adventure sailing....I'm not very optimistic that this trip could even possibly top the Serenade itinerary....fellow posters even have me worried about the guests on board! I'm keeping my fingers crossed....several first time cruisers with me this time out so I don't want them to have a horrible experience.

 

 

Go with a positive attitude. We loved the Adventure, and had no problems with fellow cruisers.