It’s been a few weeks since our cruise on my new favorite ship! I know most of you can relate to coming home from vacation and painfully trying to ease back into your daily routine. We cured our post-cruise sadness by planning two more cruises next year, LOL! I know this is late, however I hope this review is helpful to everyone considering or planning to sail on the Serenade.
About us: We were a group of 6- Me, my husband, our married friends, my Mother, and my best friend. We are all in our 20’s and 30’s, and my Mom is in her 60's (doesn’t she look fabulous? J). My husband and I sailed with NCL (to Bermuda) for our honeymoon 4 years ago, and also on the Adventure of the Seas last October on the same route. This was everyone else’s first cruise.
Friday, August 27: The Serenade sailed on Sunday, August 29th, so we decided to spend two nights in San Juan pre-cruise. We live in NJ, so we took a 9:50 AM flight, from PHL to San Juan. We had a limo service pick us up from our home and take us to the airport. Our limo service (John’s First Class Limos) was great. The driver arrived about 20 minutes early. Hiring a driver saved us lots of $$ and time. Here’s a photo of us in front of the limo. Not bad for 7 in the morning! DH and I are to the far right:
About us: We were a group of 6- Me, my husband, our married friends, my Mother, and my best friend. We are all in our 20’s and 30’s, and my Mom is in her 60's (doesn’t she look fabulous? J). My husband and I sailed with NCL (to Bermuda) for our honeymoon 4 years ago, and also on the Adventure of the Seas last October on the same route. This was everyone else’s first cruise.
Friday, August 27: The Serenade sailed on Sunday, August 29th, so we decided to spend two nights in San Juan pre-cruise. We live in NJ, so we took a 9:50 AM flight, from PHL to San Juan. We had a limo service pick us up from our home and take us to the airport. Our limo service (John’s First Class Limos) was great. The driver arrived about 20 minutes early. Hiring a driver saved us lots of $$ and time. Here’s a photo of us in front of the limo. Not bad for 7 in the morning! DH and I are to the far right:
I love Philadelphia airport first thing in the morning. There are no crowds, it’s always a smooth boarding in the morning. Went through security with no problems. For some reason there were about 4 rows of children with no adults supervising them on the flight…and the children were pretty rowdy….some were climbing over the seats, running up and down the aisles, crying, and screaming. It didn’t seem like they were unaccompanied minors (they didn’t have the US Airways armbands on to identify them as such), but their chaperones were either in first class or near the front of the plane (we were over the wings of the plane)- or completely ignoring them lol. Note to people who travel with several children in tow...PLEASE sit with your children, and please correct them when they are not behaving in public. We could not relax on our 3 hour flight. My Mom and Crystal got to the point where they actually corrected the children when they ran up and down the aisles and climbed over the seats. flight attendants would give them warning glances which were ignored. Crystal and Osh were planning to sleep a bit on the plane, but that wasn’t going to happen!
We landed in SJU around 1:30 PM, about 20 minutes early. I like this airport since it’s smaller and very simply laid out. We went right to the baggage claim and had our bags within 15 minutes. Right outside the baggage claim there’s a taxi stand. We walked right up to the stand and let them know how many passengers we had, where we wanted to go, and how many pieces of luggage we had with us. They showed us our price on a sheet of paper we got to keep with us.
We landed in SJU around 1:30 PM, about 20 minutes early. I like this airport since it’s smaller and very simply laid out. We went right to the baggage claim and had our bags within 15 minutes. Right outside the baggage claim there’s a taxi stand. We walked right up to the stand and let them know how many passengers we had, where we wanted to go, and how many pieces of luggage we had with us. They showed us our price on a sheet of paper we got to keep with us.
We were headed to the Caribe Hilton (Zone 4), so our price was $19+ $1 for each piece of luggage. Not bad at all split among 6 people. I love the taxi service in San Juan since all 6 of us could fit in the van with ALL our luggage. Four of us had 25’ suitcases, and two of us had 29’ cases. Of course, each lady had a carryon, and my husband had a laptop. Miraculously, everyone and everything fit comfortably.
I love the open-air lobby of the hotel. It made me feel like we were finally able to start enjoying our tropical vacation. There was a water station that had large pitchers of water with melon. Photos of the open-air lobby and heading to the Hhonors Tower:
Checkin was easy. We hurried to our rooms in the newer Hhonors Tower and were very pleased with our accommodations! We were on the 18th floor with a great view of the city and the ocean. Here are some pics of the room and the view from our room:
We all planned to change and meet in the pool area. DH and I walked the grounds a bit, grabbed some towels, and grabbed some burgers at the pool bar. The burger was great, but expensive; food, a soda, and a mojito for both of us ran about $40. The views from the outdoor dining area are beautiful.
After lunch DH went to take a nap (which became his ritual on this trip, hehe), and Mom and I grabbed some towels and headed to the beach area. The beach was situated in a lagoon; you can see the rocks that block the waves from the beach. The water is warm and calm. We were able to enjoy the beach for about an hour before it began to rain. It rained for about 20 minutes and the sun came back out.
Later in the evening, we went to dinner at the Pina Colada Club, located off the lobby of the Hhonors Tower. The service and food were pretty disappointing. I had skirt steak that was a little too gamey for my taste. I normally love skirt steak in PR, but I couldn’t finish this one. The rice and beans were good though. My husband ordered ribs which were very good. I should just order whatever he orders, it seems like he always has great luck with his food. I literally took two bites and gave up. When the waitress discovered that I didn’t like my food, she didn’t offer to replace it with something else, and she charged me full price. I don’t mind paying it since they couldn’t just take the food back and serve it to someone else, however it would have been nice to have been able to try something else. I don’t think we would go back there again, but we were tired from our traveling and didn’t want to go offsite. We all went to bed pretty early to prepare for a full day of touring Saturday.
Mom is so cute- inside of the restaurant:
Mom is so cute- inside of the restaurant:
Saturday, August 28: I’m an early riser, so I got up early to spend some quiet time on my own and take more photos of the grounds. It’s beautiful in San Juan first thing in the morning:
View from the balcony
View from the balcony
Headed to the internet center (on the 2nd floor in the main part of the hotel) to check some things. It was nice that the first 10 minutes on the computer were free…that was all I needed anyway.
The parrot in the lobby was very talkative this morning. Seems like I missed my dog so much on this trip that I was fascinated with any animals I encountered J
We met our tour guide, Victor Balbin of San Juan Happy Tours (http://sanjuanhappytours.webs.com), at 9 AM. He was right on time in the hotel lobby area, and we were excited to learn that we were the only group scheduled for the tour that day. We had a pretty personalized tour. Victor showed us around New and Old San Juan. My Mom and I had been to San Juan a year ago, and my husband and I visited the city before our cruise last year. We never had a tour guide, so it was nice to have so much information about the city. We were able to appreciate San Juan so much more with such an informative guide. He was a great guide and we learned awesome facts about the history of the city. Halfway through the tour, he let us choose between seeing El Morro Fort or San Cristobal Fort. We chose El Morro because of the incredible views. Turned out to be the perfect place for some amazing photos:
I must say that we were happy to arrive at the fort early in the morning. I think we arrived around 10 AM. There were no crowds, which is why we could take such great photos. We noticed it started to get pretty busy there around 11 or so.
I forgot to note that the fort has a $3 entrance fee.
My friend discovered a wonderful little cart in front of the fort. A man there sold shaved ice with the option of several flavors. There was a large block of ice inside the cart, he shaved it into a cup and topped it with the flavor of your choice.
My friend discovered a wonderful little cart in front of the fort. A man there sold shaved ice with the option of several flavors. There was a large block of ice inside the cart, he shaved it into a cup and topped it with the flavor of your choice.
Most of us tried the coconut (real coconut milk sweetened just right) and fell in LOVE with it! And for just $2! I’m craving one as I write. It was so good I had to take a photo as a memento:
We met with Victor once more, and he showed us around the city some more. He suggested we stop by Café Manolin if we wanted to have lunch where the locals ate. We wanted to take some time to shop and walk around the city on our own, so he dropped us off in the center square so we could enjoy the rest of the day at our leisure. We did some shopping, then wandered back to Café Manolin (http://www.cafemanolinoldsanjuan.com/). We knew it had to be good because it was PACKED full of locals- always a good sign for me.
The menu was simple and very reasonably priced:
I had fried pork chops with rice and beans. They were fried crispy and seasoned well. Everyone was pleased with their orders, and with most of their lunch entrees around $10 and under, we were very happy J
The menu was simple and very reasonably priced:
I had fried pork chops with rice and beans. They were fried crispy and seasoned well. Everyone was pleased with their orders, and with most of their lunch entrees around $10 and under, we were very happy J
Walked around the city a little more, and ended up in front of the Sheraton. There’s a taxi stand right in front, so we were able to easily catch a ride back to the hotel for more pool/beach time.
For the rest of the afternoon, we enjoyed our time at the hotel pool bar. We met in the hotel lobby to head to Barrachina in Old San Juan (http://barrachina.com/) for dinner. I love this restaurant because the food is wonderful, and they have a flamenco show with dinner (free if you spend $20 on food and drink). If you’ve never seen a flamenco show, it’s a great experience. Food and drink ran about $30 pp. I've been here twice- the food is great. You can't go wrong with any of the chicken dishes. My Mom got steak, and it wasn't as good as I remembered the first time. Just about everyone else got different chicken and seafood dishes and they were all wonderful.
For the rest of the afternoon, we enjoyed our time at the hotel pool bar. We met in the hotel lobby to head to Barrachina in Old San Juan (http://barrachina.com/) for dinner. I love this restaurant because the food is wonderful, and they have a flamenco show with dinner (free if you spend $20 on food and drink). If you’ve never seen a flamenco show, it’s a great experience. Food and drink ran about $30 pp. I've been here twice- the food is great. You can't go wrong with any of the chicken dishes. My Mom got steak, and it wasn't as good as I remembered the first time. Just about everyone else got different chicken and seafood dishes and they were all wonderful.
After the show, we headed back to the hotel for some rest. We board the ship the next morning! 
I got up early (as usual) and visited the hotel gym. The gym is in a separate building, about a 1 minute walk from the hotel lobby. It’s nice because the back wall of the gym consists completely of windows, so I had a great view of the ocean while I was on the elliptical machine. Met up with Mom who wanted to check out the Subway around the corner from the hotel. She wasn’t impressed with the breakfast there, so we went back to Starbucks for our croissants and coffee. No biggie since we were headed to the ship today!
We all met in the hotel lobby at 10:30 AM and caught a taxi at the hotel taxi stand. We all fit into the taxi at one time, which was great. When we arrived, there were about a good 50 people in front of us. We waited about 10 minutes, then porters began taking our suitcases. We tipped them ($1 per bag), then headed to the next line where we waited for about 25 minutes. A vendor was selling large bottles of cold water for $1 each, which was great. It was hot and muggy out there!
DH and Mom- love them both so much!
One of the benefits of arriving early- see how empty it is?
Having sailed on the Adventure, we were amazed at how elegant this ship looked. Our first sight was of the centrum, and we were so, so happy and excited! The ship is beautiful!
We toured the ship, went to the Windjammer for lunch, etc. The food was great! Wes and I headed to Chops and Portofino to confirm our reservations. We surprised everyone with a dinner at Portofino, and booked ourselves for Chops for a romantic dinner by ourselves later in the week. I made these reservations online, however I wanted to confirm. Everything was in order! I heard from the CC boards about a lunch and cooking lesson at Portofino, and was delighted to find that the lesson would be the next day, our day at sea. It was just $10 per person, so I booked the ladies and myself right away
Photos of the ship:
Main Dining Room:
Photos of the ship:
Main Dining Room:
Jacuzzis in the pool area
Chops Steakhouse
We went to our rooms at 2 PM. Loved our stateroom and the size of our balcony. It had two chairs and a lounger. We were in room 9576, and will try to snag this room whenever we sail a Radiance Class ship! I think we're spoiled with 'hump' balcony cabins. We had 7312 on the Adventure, and have come to love having balconies on the front of the hump. Perfect location (close to elevators), and still very quiet.
My 29' and my husband's 25' suitcases fit under the bed. We had to lift the frame by an inch and slide them in. Once they were underneath the bed, the frame came back down level again, so no worries if you have an oversized suitcase! There was plenty of space for storage. My husband has a laptop, and I have a portable DVD player, and we were able to charge both at the same time.
My 29' and my husband's 25' suitcases fit under the bed. We had to lift the frame by an inch and slide them in. Once they were underneath the bed, the frame came back down level again, so no worries if you have an oversized suitcase! There was plenty of space for storage. My husband has a laptop, and I have a portable DVD player, and we were able to charge both at the same time.
We all packed our bathing suits in our carryons, so we changed and headed back to the Solarium to relax.
Dinner was great! We chose My Time Dining, and I was able to choose our dinner times during the weeks before our vacation. Upon our arrival on the ship, I confirmed our MTD reservation and requested a table by the window. They said they couldn’t guarantee it, however I was so happy to learn that we had indeed been given a table by the window J We all sat together and had a wonderful meal. My favorites are the chicken tortilla soup, the Caesar salad, and the ribbon pasta with mushroom truffle sauce- YUM! I think anything with truffles tastes divine . We had dinner at 6:45 so we wouldn’t miss sailaway.
Right after dinner, we had the muster drill (8:30 PM). We then headed to the pool deck for sailaway. San Juan is beautiful at night, we saw Old San Juan and El Morro. It’s a beautiful sight! Be sure to head to the pool deck for sailaway. Everyone is excited and happy to start their cruise vacation, it's really an enjoyable experience.
After sailing into the open sea, we headed back to our room to unpack. Our luggage had arrived around 6, so we didn’t really have time to unpack earlier. The seas were a little rough that night since we just missed a hurricane. It was a quiet night on the ship as everyone felt a little queasy. We had smooth sailing the rest of the cruise.
. We had dinner at 6:45 so we wouldn’t miss sailaway. Right after dinner, we had the muster drill (8:30 PM). We then headed to the pool deck for sailaway. San Juan is beautiful at night, we saw Old San Juan and El Morro. It’s a beautiful sight! Be sure to head to the pool deck for sailaway. Everyone is excited and happy to start their cruise vacation, it's really an enjoyable experience.
After sailing into the open sea, we headed back to our room to unpack. Our luggage had arrived around 6, so we didn’t really have time to unpack earlier. The seas were a little rough that night since we just missed a hurricane. It was a quiet night on the ship as everyone felt a little queasy. We had smooth sailing the rest of the cruise.
Monday, August 30thDH and I always have room service breakfast. We love eating on our balcony. After a lazy morning, I met with my Mom and Crystal for the Portofino cooking demonstration. I think this was held in Chops, which is separated from Portofino by a couple doors. We learned how to make pasta. The chef explained early on that he would not give us exact measurements, but gave instructions just like our grandmothers would give us: a basic formula that was left open to our interpretation. He wanted us to see what good pasta dough looked like and feel the texture. I was happy he did this, since this is how I learned to cook from my mother. He made several types of dough, and would pass it around for us to touch and smell. He gave us some great ideas like adding fresh herbs, beets (for color), or chocolate for a dessert ravioli.
Afterward, we were led to Portofino (next door), and were served a wonderful 4-course lunch: salads, appetizers, main course, and dessert. We each ordered something different so we could try one another’s meals. Again, I loooove that truffle ribbon pasta.
This night was the formal night on the ship. My friend found out there was a movie marathon in the ship's theatre (an impressive theatre at that), so she spent the evening there. The rest of us enjoyed a lovely dinner. I reminded everyone that they could order as many appetizers and entrees as they wanted, as long as they ordered them in their initial requests. This saves the waiters a long trip back to the kitchens. Everyone was impressed and pleased with the food and service.
Tuesday, August 31- Barbados
Helpful tip I found on CC: take a photo of the elevator floor each morning...they change the plate in the floor to reflect the day of the week. This really helped me keep our photos in order!
Again, I woke up before anyone else. I visited Royal Caribbean online for a few minutes since I had a free $5 coupon. I loved seeing the view of the ocean while checking my email, etc. Actually, I loved all the views of the ocean from the ship. You feel so connected to the sea on the Serenade.
Again, I woke up before anyone else. I visited Royal Caribbean online for a few minutes since I had a free $5 coupon. I loved seeing the view of the ocean while checking my email, etc. Actually, I loved all the views of the ocean from the ship. You feel so connected to the sea on the Serenade.
Some more shots of the ship early before it gets busy:
Solarium
Pool Area
Solarium
Pool Area
Barbados:
This is one of our favorite beach days. We watched the ship pull into port from our balcony with our room service breakfast: eggs, sausage, raisin bran, assorted pastries, and two fresh fruit platters J
Crystal and Osh decided to hang out on the ship. Mom, Janelle, Wesley, and I met at about 10:30 AM in the centrum. We disembarked the ship and enjoyed the sound of the steel drums. Janelle is hilarious- as soon as she heard the music and saw the bright blue water under our ship, she said, “Oh my gosh now I know I’m on a real tropical vacation! Yippeee!!”
We left the cruise terminal, and walked toward the taxi area. I learned through CC that we should politely turn down the taxi drivers inside the actual cruise terminal area because they charge more. We were headed to Lobster Alive, a restaurant right on the beach next to the Boatyard that rents chairs and umbrellas. It was very close to the ship, so we discovered that we didn’t have to worry about the drivers being pushy. As soon as we told them we were headed to LA, they would back off (LOL).
We saw a dispatcher in the circular driveway just outside the cruise terminal area. He caught us a cab to LA, and I think the cost was just $7 one way. Pulling up to Lobster Alive, it doesn’t look like much, so don’t be alarmed at first sight! Janelle asked me, “Ummmm, Chrystal, is this our stop?!” I said, “Just trust me, you’ll see in a few seconds.” We crossed the street and went past the side of the restaurant, and entered one of the prettiest beaches we’ve ever seen. Mom and Janelle were so happy! You can rent two chairs and an umbrella for $15 total. This gives you the rentals, as well as 3 tickets for free rum punch or soda at LA. As soon as we got our chairs, we ran straight into the ocean. The sand is white and soft, and the water is a beautiful turquoise blue. The temperature was absolutely perfect. We have to go back there for a land vacation someday.
This is one of our favorite beach days. We watched the ship pull into port from our balcony with our room service breakfast: eggs, sausage, raisin bran, assorted pastries, and two fresh fruit platters J
Crystal and Osh decided to hang out on the ship. Mom, Janelle, Wesley, and I met at about 10:30 AM in the centrum. We disembarked the ship and enjoyed the sound of the steel drums. Janelle is hilarious- as soon as she heard the music and saw the bright blue water under our ship, she said, “Oh my gosh now I know I’m on a real tropical vacation! Yippeee!!”
We left the cruise terminal, and walked toward the taxi area. I learned through CC that we should politely turn down the taxi drivers inside the actual cruise terminal area because they charge more. We were headed to Lobster Alive, a restaurant right on the beach next to the Boatyard that rents chairs and umbrellas. It was very close to the ship, so we discovered that we didn’t have to worry about the drivers being pushy. As soon as we told them we were headed to LA, they would back off (LOL).
We saw a dispatcher in the circular driveway just outside the cruise terminal area. He caught us a cab to LA, and I think the cost was just $7 one way. Pulling up to Lobster Alive, it doesn’t look like much, so don’t be alarmed at first sight! Janelle asked me, “Ummmm, Chrystal, is this our stop?!” I said, “Just trust me, you’ll see in a few seconds.” We crossed the street and went past the side of the restaurant, and entered one of the prettiest beaches we’ve ever seen. Mom and Janelle were so happy! You can rent two chairs and an umbrella for $15 total. This gives you the rentals, as well as 3 tickets for free rum punch or soda at LA. As soon as we got our chairs, we ran straight into the ocean. The sand is white and soft, and the water is a beautiful turquoise blue. The temperature was absolutely perfect. We have to go back there for a land vacation someday.
After swimming for a while, we got hungry, so we went to Lobster Alive for lunch. Be warned that the rum punch is STRONG but delicious. Sip it slowly with a glass of water 
Wes and me inside Lobster Alive. My rum punch next to his Coke
View of the beach from LA
Flying fish with french fries and a small salad
LA was right next to the Boatyard, so if you want to ride jet skis, etc, you can simply walk over there. We like LA because it’s a quiet area, and we can enjoy the motorized water sports if we want to without having to sit at the (normally) crowded Boatyard.
We enjoyed the ocean for a few more hours. A storm quickly approached around 3 PM so we quickly dried off. It was amazing- as soon as we got out the water, a cab driver came onto the beach and asked if we needed a ride back to the ship. Nice! $7+ tip got us back to the pier just before it started raining J
We enjoyed room service and took a nap. By the time we work up the ship was leaving the pier. There's a rainshower in the distance- pretty cool!
We had dinner at 6:45 pm. Can’t remember what we did afterward. I think we went to the casino, they were giving free gaming lessons.
Wes and me inside Lobster Alive. My rum punch next to his Coke
View of the beach from LA
Flying fish with french fries and a small salad
LA was right next to the Boatyard, so if you want to ride jet skis, etc, you can simply walk over there. We like LA because it’s a quiet area, and we can enjoy the motorized water sports if we want to without having to sit at the (normally) crowded Boatyard.
We enjoyed the ocean for a few more hours. A storm quickly approached around 3 PM so we quickly dried off. It was amazing- as soon as we got out the water, a cab driver came onto the beach and asked if we needed a ride back to the ship. Nice! $7+ tip got us back to the pier just before it started raining J
We enjoyed room service and took a nap. By the time we work up the ship was leaving the pier. There's a rainshower in the distance- pretty cool!
We had dinner at 6:45 pm. Can’t remember what we did afterward. I think we went to the casino, they were giving free gaming lessons.
Wednesday, September 1
This day was a little bit of a bummer, however DH and I made the best of it. We planned to have this day to ourselves, visiting Sandals Grande on the island, however it was a pretty cool and rainy day. One of our favorite things is to swim in the ocean, and we don’t do that if it’s cool outside. We would have to hang out on the beach in cool weather, without the option of retreating to a hotel room, so we decided to stay on the ship. More about that later.
I have to give a big THANK YOU to Spencer Ambrose, a tour guide in St. Lucia: http://www.spencerambrose.com/
My husband and I toured the island with him last year, so I asked the rest of the group if they would like to do the island tour with him this year. They all said “Absolutely,” so I booked them with him. Spencer’s tour is wonderful, so I trusted that he would take great care of my family and friends. He even let me know he would care for my Mom as if she was his own J They had a great day. He loves his island, and cares very deeply about making sure guests have a great time with him. We always felt safe with him since he’s a well-known retired cop in St. Lucia. You will find lots of info about his tour in the St. Lucia ports of call board. Some photos from the tour:
Spencer at the banana plantation
Jalousie Beach
In the meantime, DH and I stayed on the ship. We went to the Solarium and enjoyed the Jacuzzi for a while, it was a quiet day on the ship. Because I was so down about missing Sandals, he treated me to a trip to the spa. They were running a special that day, so I had a foot and leg massage, body wrap, and neck and back massage for $99. We had a pretty lazy day.
This day was a little bit of a bummer, however DH and I made the best of it. We planned to have this day to ourselves, visiting Sandals Grande on the island, however it was a pretty cool and rainy day. One of our favorite things is to swim in the ocean, and we don’t do that if it’s cool outside. We would have to hang out on the beach in cool weather, without the option of retreating to a hotel room, so we decided to stay on the ship. More about that later.
I have to give a big THANK YOU to Spencer Ambrose, a tour guide in St. Lucia: http://www.spencerambrose.com/
My husband and I toured the island with him last year, so I asked the rest of the group if they would like to do the island tour with him this year. They all said “Absolutely,” so I booked them with him. Spencer’s tour is wonderful, so I trusted that he would take great care of my family and friends. He even let me know he would care for my Mom as if she was his own J They had a great day. He loves his island, and cares very deeply about making sure guests have a great time with him. We always felt safe with him since he’s a well-known retired cop in St. Lucia. You will find lots of info about his tour in the St. Lucia ports of call board. Some photos from the tour:
Spencer at the banana plantation
Jalousie Beach
In the meantime, DH and I stayed on the ship. We went to the Solarium and enjoyed the Jacuzzi for a while, it was a quiet day on the ship. Because I was so down about missing Sandals, he treated me to a trip to the spa. They were running a special that day, so I had a foot and leg massage, body wrap, and neck and back massage for $99. We had a pretty lazy day.
I forgot to mention that I like to wake up around 5:30 AM when pulling into St. Lucia. Since we were on the starboard side of the ship, we get a wonderful view of the Pitons as we arrive in St. Lucia. I even saw some dolphins/whales (?) from our balcony. It was a nice peaceful moment. Here are some photos:
This was also our night for Chops by ourselves. We had a romantic dinner.
Our view from our table:
Later in the evening:
We had the beefsteak tomato and blue cheese appetizer. So good! I could have had that by itself and been satisfied!
We both had a filet, with asparagus and sauteed mushrooms on the side. All the sides are served family style, so you can try one another's selections. Delicious! We tried to eat our Mud Pie at the end but had to give up. That dessert is to die for!
Our view from our table:
Later in the evening:
We had the beefsteak tomato and blue cheese appetizer. So good! I could have had that by itself and been satisfied!
We both had a filet, with asparagus and sauteed mushrooms on the side. All the sides are served family style, so you can try one another's selections. Delicious! We tried to eat our Mud Pie at the end but had to give up. That dessert is to die for!
Saturday, September 2THIS WAS OUR FAVORITE DAY OF THE CRUISE! We woke up to a wonderful sunrise.
I went to the gym and had a nice workout.
Had room service breakfast again and met the gang on deck 4 at 9:15 AM. We left the ship at about 9:20 to meet our tour guides.
We took the same tour that we did last year: Creole Cruises. www.creolecruisesantigua.com My husband and I had such a great day with Captain Glenn and Mario last year that we booked this excursion with them as soon as we booked the Serenade J Corresponding with them via email is always a great experience.
We walked from the ship to Exotic Antigua, on the marina. Glenn was to pick us up at 9:45 AM.
While we waited, we took some photos.
We saw Creole approaching in the distance, right on time in their new boat:
We boarded and were impressed with their new boat! A nice amount of space for everyone, and nice seating. I think there were about 12 of us on the excursion that day.
I went to the gym and had a nice workout.
Had room service breakfast again and met the gang on deck 4 at 9:15 AM. We left the ship at about 9:20 to meet our tour guides.
We took the same tour that we did last year: Creole Cruises. www.creolecruisesantigua.com My husband and I had such a great day with Captain Glenn and Mario last year that we booked this excursion with them as soon as we booked the Serenade J Corresponding with them via email is always a great experience.
We walked from the ship to Exotic Antigua, on the marina. Glenn was to pick us up at 9:45 AM.
While we waited, we took some photos.
We saw Creole approaching in the distance, right on time in their new boat:
We boarded and were impressed with their new boat! A nice amount of space for everyone, and nice seating. I think there were about 12 of us on the excursion that day.
After making introductions and greeting our friends, Glenn and Mario, we were off to have a wonderful day! Mario offered us all something to drink, and we were ready to go! We sped past the Serenade, into the open sea….
The Atlantic meeting the Caribbean Sea. The Atlantic is that dark line across the horizon:
We passed Sandals and Jumby Bay resort. We were able to get close to Oprah’s vacation home- just beautiful! I snapped a pic of her property:
We rode for about 45 minutes, and it didn’t feel like it was that long at all. It’s a windy, exhilarating ride! My husband posted a cute video of some of the ride on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbiYWkjqF9w
We dropped Mario off at Bird Island to prepare lunch…more about the lunch in a bit…can you tell that I’m a foodie? J
If you wanted to hang out with Mario on Bird Island instead of snorkeling, you could. You could also just hang out on the boat while others snorkeled. See yall later!
We rode about 10 minutes from Bird Island to try some snorkeling. I love to snorkel, DH and Mom, not so much. They stayed on the boat with Osh while I helped Crystal snorkel for the first time. There were some pretty interesting fish to see.
Me and Crystal:
We were in the water for about 45 minutes, then headed back to Bird Island for lunch.
The Atlantic meeting the Caribbean Sea. The Atlantic is that dark line across the horizon:
We passed Sandals and Jumby Bay resort. We were able to get close to Oprah’s vacation home- just beautiful! I snapped a pic of her property:
We rode for about 45 minutes, and it didn’t feel like it was that long at all. It’s a windy, exhilarating ride! My husband posted a cute video of some of the ride on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbiYWkjqF9w
We dropped Mario off at Bird Island to prepare lunch…more about the lunch in a bit…can you tell that I’m a foodie? J
If you wanted to hang out with Mario on Bird Island instead of snorkeling, you could. You could also just hang out on the boat while others snorkeled. See yall later!
We rode about 10 minutes from Bird Island to try some snorkeling. I love to snorkel, DH and Mom, not so much. They stayed on the boat with Osh while I helped Crystal snorkel for the first time. There were some pretty interesting fish to see.
Me and Crystal:
We were in the water for about 45 minutes, then headed back to Bird Island for lunch.
..and now for my favorite part of the day. We came back to Bird Island and a lovely sight greeted us:
Fresh caught lobsters were cooking on the grill. Sodas, water, rum punch, and chardonnay were cool and ready to drink. Each table had a table cloth. Lunch was served on real plates and with real silverware. We had split lobster, Katja's (Glenn's wife) excellent potato salad, green salad, pasta salad, and garlic bread. Fresh coconut macaroons for dessert. There was enough for seconds too. We had our feet in the warm sand and had an incredible view while we ate. I can't imagine a more wonderful lunch!
Our view during lunch....
Fresh caught lobsters were cooking on the grill. Sodas, water, rum punch, and chardonnay were cool and ready to drink. Each table had a table cloth. Lunch was served on real plates and with real silverware. We had split lobster, Katja's (Glenn's wife) excellent potato salad, green salad, pasta salad, and garlic bread. Fresh coconut macaroons for dessert. There was enough for seconds too. We had our feet in the warm sand and had an incredible view while we ate. I can't imagine a more wonderful lunch!
Our view during lunch....
After lunch, we had time to hike to the top of Bird Island with Mario if we wanted to. Osh headed out with Mario, the rest of us stayed in the picnic area for swimming and snorkeling. I went to the top last year, and there's a great view up there. You can see the Atlantic and the Caribbean at one time:
Mario explaining details about the island
Mario explaining details about the island
It looked like another tour brought people to Bird Island, however they only stayed for about an hour or so. A couple of them realized what our lunch was like and looked like they wanted to join us. My impression of other tours in Antigua (through the reviews, etc) is that they serve BBQ or sandwiches. There's nothing wrong with that at all, we just like to enjoy something more unique when we're traveling, whenever possible.
A cute little visitor- he must have smelled the food.
Sadly, it was time to leave. We were headed to one more snorkel spot to see starfish!
Bye bye Bird Island! Hope to see you again!
Mario pulling up the anchor
A cute little visitor- he must have smelled the food.
Sadly, it was time to leave. We were headed to one more snorkel spot to see starfish!
Bye bye Bird Island! Hope to see you again!
Mario pulling up the anchor
Now this next spot was a little more tough in terms of snorkeling. The current was very strong! We had a blast cracking up at each other trying to swim against the current. We finally gave up and just enjoyed swimming. We did get to pick up and hold a starfish, which was pretty cool. Here's a video of us swimming- hilarious! My Mom is trying to call out instructions to help us get closer to the starfish garden- she can't even swim, LOL!!!! That's my husband's voice in the video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_51i...eature=related
Thoroughly exhausted but happy, we boarded the boat again and headed back to the ship. We had a really fun day! Thank you again, Glenn! I highly recommend their tour for a relaxing, fun, pampering day. Check them out on Facebook as well.
Pics with Glenn- we appreciate you and call you our friend!
Thoroughly exhausted but happy, we boarded the boat again and headed back to the ship. We had a really fun day! Thank you again, Glenn! I highly recommend their tour for a relaxing, fun, pampering day. Check them out on Facebook as well.
Pics with Glenn- we appreciate you and call you our friend!
This evening we had dinner together at Portofino. What a great place to have a meal for a large group! I think we had one head waiter and two extra waiters at our table for six.
We had two antipasti platters as well as the crostini platters as appetizers. The bread basket was great. I tried the minestrone soup, and the broth was clear rather than the tomato-based broth I'm used to- but it was absolutely delicious! My husband had the steak (delicious!!), and I had the seafood skewer. Everyone followed my lead on the seafood skewer, and we were all very happy with our choice! We were stuffed at the end of the meal, but lingered over dessert samplers and coffee. We had a great time and great conversation. I'm glad I chose Chops for just the two of us, and Portofino for the group. Both nights were perfect in their settings.
The Centrum was pretty wild this evening, since it was 70's night. The "Village People," greeted us and we had a BALL dancing to 70's and 80's music. The cruise director's energy was impressive! We were amused to discover that the Native American in the Village People is the ship's CPA! LOL!!!!!!
Some guy kept going up and down in the elevator while dancing. In any other setting, it would have been annoying, but most everyone cheered him on during the party, HAHAHA!!!
We danced for quite a long time, and after the long day we had, I was exhausted! We went to our room and it was lights out by midnight!
We had two antipasti platters as well as the crostini platters as appetizers. The bread basket was great. I tried the minestrone soup, and the broth was clear rather than the tomato-based broth I'm used to- but it was absolutely delicious! My husband had the steak (delicious!!), and I had the seafood skewer. Everyone followed my lead on the seafood skewer, and we were all very happy with our choice! We were stuffed at the end of the meal, but lingered over dessert samplers and coffee. We had a great time and great conversation. I'm glad I chose Chops for just the two of us, and Portofino for the group. Both nights were perfect in their settings.
The Centrum was pretty wild this evening, since it was 70's night. The "Village People," greeted us and we had a BALL dancing to 70's and 80's music. The cruise director's energy was impressive! We were amused to discover that the Native American in the Village People is the ship's CPA! LOL!!!!!!
Some guy kept going up and down in the elevator while dancing. In any other setting, it would have been annoying, but most everyone cheered him on during the party, HAHAHA!!!
We danced for quite a long time, and after the long day we had, I was exhausted! We went to our room and it was lights out by midnight!
Friday, September 3: St. MartinWe were excited to visit St. Martin. Last time we were there, we visited the open air market in Marigot, and I found the best jerk seasoning I have ever tasted! I ran out, and was looking forward to finding the booth again. The Captain let us know that there had been a really bad storm on the island the day before, however most businesses were up and running.
We met on deck 4 at about 9 AM to leave the ship. We saw other guests gathering for the ship-sponsored island tours, and passed a looooong line of people waiting to begin their tours. My friends thanked me for not booking one of those tours, they looked so uncomfortable and impatient waiting for their tour guides to lead them on their tours. I know many people enjoy the ship’s excursions but I’m not sure we will ever book one through the ship. We've had a lot of success doing research on CC and booking local tours or taking taxis on our own. I love this website, everyone is so helpful!
Anyway, we caught a taxi at the stand just off the ship’s pier. There will be signs that point you to the taxi stand as you walk into the port area. The stand is to your right. We asked how much to the market in Marigot, and it was just $6 per person.
I was disappointed when we arrived at the market. There were not that many vendors set up, and I couldn't find my spice lady!
I assumed it was either because we got there too early, or because of the storm the previous day. However, I did some searching upon my return home and found out that the best day to visit the market is on a Wednesday or a Saturday! I was so disappointed. We didn’t get any spices, however Crystal and Osh got some nice souvenirs. I bought a pretty watercolor from one of the vendors. We walked around and took some photos in the meantime.
We met on deck 4 at about 9 AM to leave the ship. We saw other guests gathering for the ship-sponsored island tours, and passed a looooong line of people waiting to begin their tours. My friends thanked me for not booking one of those tours, they looked so uncomfortable and impatient waiting for their tour guides to lead them on their tours. I know many people enjoy the ship’s excursions but I’m not sure we will ever book one through the ship. We've had a lot of success doing research on CC and booking local tours or taking taxis on our own. I love this website, everyone is so helpful!
Anyway, we caught a taxi at the stand just off the ship’s pier. There will be signs that point you to the taxi stand as you walk into the port area. The stand is to your right. We asked how much to the market in Marigot, and it was just $6 per person.
I was disappointed when we arrived at the market. There were not that many vendors set up, and I couldn't find my spice lady!
I assumed it was either because we got there too early, or because of the storm the previous day. However, I did some searching upon my return home and found out that the best day to visit the market is on a Wednesday or a Saturday! I was so disappointed. We didn’t get any spices, however Crystal and Osh got some nice souvenirs. I bought a pretty watercolor from one of the vendors. We walked around and took some photos in the meantime. Our taxi driver picked us up about an hour later, and drove us to Orient Beach for another $6 pp. The last time we stopped here, we were on a quick island tour by a cab driver we hired, so we didn’t have much time to spend at the beach. The beach is beautiful, so we were looking forward to some fun at Orient. We bought chairs and umbrellas at LeString. The guy taking the money said he owed me change for my $20, and I made sure I followed him to get the change. I remember once (not sure where we were), we believed the chair guy when he said he would come back with change, and he never returned. Lesson learned. So this time I told him, Oh, ok well I'll go with you while you make the change, I don't mind. He looked a little shocked. I don't know if he was planning to come back or not, but either way I just wanted my money, LOL!
Because of the storm the previous day, we had to wade through lots of grass along the shoreline, before we reached the more clear water. You can see the grass in the water in my photo above. I was kind of grossed out, but I gritted my teeth and got through it as quickly as I could. This beach is so pretty, with mountains in the distance, perfect white sand, and that perfect shade of blue water. The water was fine if you went out far enough.
After swimming for a while, we took advantage of our free drinks at Le String. I had their signature lime drink- it was soooo sweet! I didn’t finish it. My husband just had a Coke. We got a little hungry so he walked down a few restaurants to grab some hot wings. They were pretty good.
About nudity on the beach: we didn't really see much nudity. We only saw one topless woman our whole time there.
Janelle and Crystal rode jet skis. I think they each paid about $40 for 30 minutes. They were very happy since they got to ride them without a guide. Janelle took a few minutes to get accustomed to the speed, however Crystal gunned the engine and sped off right away, LOL!!! You can see Janelle to the far left, and Crystal zooming past her on the right!They had a fun time. We must have stayed at the beach for about 3 hours.
We met with our cab driver once more, and she took us back to the ship for another $6 pp. So our ride around the island was $18 pp. Not bad for a full day!
Because of the storm the previous day, we had to wade through lots of grass along the shoreline, before we reached the more clear water. You can see the grass in the water in my photo above. I was kind of grossed out, but I gritted my teeth and got through it as quickly as I could. This beach is so pretty, with mountains in the distance, perfect white sand, and that perfect shade of blue water. The water was fine if you went out far enough.
After swimming for a while, we took advantage of our free drinks at Le String. I had their signature lime drink- it was soooo sweet! I didn’t finish it. My husband just had a Coke. We got a little hungry so he walked down a few restaurants to grab some hot wings. They were pretty good.
About nudity on the beach: we didn't really see much nudity. We only saw one topless woman our whole time there.
Janelle and Crystal rode jet skis. I think they each paid about $40 for 30 minutes. They were very happy since they got to ride them without a guide. Janelle took a few minutes to get accustomed to the speed, however Crystal gunned the engine and sped off right away, LOL!!! You can see Janelle to the far left, and Crystal zooming past her on the right!
They had a fun time. We must have stayed at the beach for about 3 hours. We met with our cab driver once more, and she took us back to the ship for another $6 pp. So our ride around the island was $18 pp. Not bad for a full day!
This night was formal night, as well as lobster night in the MDR. I couldn’t choose between lobster or the prime rib, so our waited brought me both. I was a happy girl!
Fisherman's Plate (Lobster and Shrimp)
Yummy Prime Rib
Mom and Janelle
I loved all the artwork in the stairwells. Just beautiful!
Mom showing off her cocktail ring. So cute!
Fisherman's Plate (Lobster and Shrimp)
Yummy Prime Rib
Mom and Janelle
I loved all the artwork in the stairwells. Just beautiful!
Mom showing off her cocktail ring. So cute!
Saturday, September 4: St. Croix
Well, this morning I broke tradition and had breakfast in the Windjammer with Mom and Janelle! Everyone else wanted to stay on the ship this day, so we met around 9 AM and had a great breakfast. It was pretty quiet in the WJ that morning. I guess everyone was exhausted from the busy week!
We grabbed some fresh towels from the pool deck, then disembarked the ship. A stilt walker greeted us. We laughed at Janelle because she tried to avoid him and he followed her for a few seconds, lol!
Well, this morning I broke tradition and had breakfast in the Windjammer with Mom and Janelle! Everyone else wanted to stay on the ship this day, so we met around 9 AM and had a great breakfast. It was pretty quiet in the WJ that morning. I guess everyone was exhausted from the busy week!
We grabbed some fresh towels from the pool deck, then disembarked the ship. A stilt walker greeted us. We laughed at Janelle because she tried to avoid him and he followed her for a few seconds, lol!
There’s a beach to the left of the cruise pier, and we decided to spend our day there. If you walk outside the cruise terminal area and head to your left, you will see a path that leads you to the beach.
I noticed it would be difficult for anyone with walking issues, etc, to get to this beach, so if that is a concern you may want to take the beach shuttle offered at the pier so you can get to a more accessible beach.
After the bridge, this is what we had to walk across to reach the beach. Just a heads up....
It was just what we wanted for the day. Chairs were just $5 pp, and umbrellas were just $5 each. We got 4 chairs 1 umbrella. This way we could store our bags in one of the chairs so they weren’t in the sand.
The sand had smooth pebbles in it, and the shoreline was covered in pebbles you had to wade through to get to the smoother sand. The shore drops off by less than a foot, so be careful when you enter the water. The water in St. Croix is warm and beautiful. I think one of the chair guys had a crush on Janelle, and he gave us two free floats to enjoy for the day. Not that that would get him anywhere with her at ALL, but we took them, LOL!!!
Loved being able to see the ship from our beach
I noticed it would be difficult for anyone with walking issues, etc, to get to this beach, so if that is a concern you may want to take the beach shuttle offered at the pier so you can get to a more accessible beach.
After the bridge, this is what we had to walk across to reach the beach. Just a heads up....
It was just what we wanted for the day. Chairs were just $5 pp, and umbrellas were just $5 each. We got 4 chairs 1 umbrella. This way we could store our bags in one of the chairs so they weren’t in the sand.
The sand had smooth pebbles in it, and the shoreline was covered in pebbles you had to wade through to get to the smoother sand. The shore drops off by less than a foot, so be careful when you enter the water. The water in St. Croix is warm and beautiful. I think one of the chair guys had a crush on Janelle, and he gave us two free floats to enjoy for the day. Not that that would get him anywhere with her at ALL, but we took them, LOL!!!
Loved being able to see the ship from our beach
Janelle and I on our free floats, lol. You can see where the shore drops off a bit- right where the waves were breaking:
Janelle wanted to climb the giant "iceberg" way out there in the water. It was challenging because there's no step stool for you to get a good grip with your feet. It's all upper body strength. It took her a while, but she finally did it!
We stayed out here until about 3 PM, then headed to the right of the cruise pier to check out the shopping.
We found a small store that sold Cruzan rum in cute bottles for $5 each. I bought some coconut rum as a gift for my boss. We boarded the ship and went to our rooms. Bye bye, St. Croix! The view from our balcony...
Janelle wanted to climb the giant "iceberg" way out there in the water. It was challenging because there's no step stool for you to get a good grip with your feet. It's all upper body strength. It took her a while, but she finally did it!
We stayed out here until about 3 PM, then headed to the right of the cruise pier to check out the shopping.
We found a small store that sold Cruzan rum in cute bottles for $5 each. I bought some coconut rum as a gift for my boss. We boarded the ship and went to our rooms. Bye bye, St. Croix! The view from our balcony...
We had a nice dinner together as a whole group. We didn't want to leave the dinner table since it meant our last evening on the ship was coming to a close! We tipped our waiters and wished them well, and returned to our rooms to finish packing.
Sunday, September 5th
I'm a little sad all over again as I write about our last morning on the ship! We were greeted with a beautiful view this morning:
We all met for breakfast in the outdoor dining area of the Windjammer. The mood was a little somber, our friends were not pleased that these were some of their last moments on the ship, lol.
Disembarkation was a breeze. We left the ship at 8:40 AM and got a cab as soon as we passed through customs. We reached the airport by 9 or so and were some of the first people from the ships in the airport.
We quickly passed through the Ag screening and security, and there were plenty of seats available. Our flight was not until 12:40, so we had lots of time to do some last-minute shopping. Here's what the airport looked like when we first sat down around 9:30 AM:
...and here's what it looked like an hour later!!
We had a great flight back to PHL, our car service was waiting for us at the baggage claim...I think we were spoiled with the limo service!
Thanks for reading my review. This was fun! I think I'll try and post a review for each trip we take. Feel free to ask any questions you may have. Happy sailing and God bless!
Sunday, September 5th
I'm a little sad all over again as I write about our last morning on the ship! We were greeted with a beautiful view this morning:
We all met for breakfast in the outdoor dining area of the Windjammer. The mood was a little somber, our friends were not pleased that these were some of their last moments on the ship, lol.
Disembarkation was a breeze. We left the ship at 8:40 AM and got a cab as soon as we passed through customs. We reached the airport by 9 or so and were some of the first people from the ships in the airport.
We quickly passed through the Ag screening and security, and there were plenty of seats available. Our flight was not until 12:40, so we had lots of time to do some last-minute shopping. Here's what the airport looked like when we first sat down around 9:30 AM:
...and here's what it looked like an hour later!!
We had a great flight back to PHL, our car service was waiting for us at the baggage claim...I think we were spoiled with the limo service!
Thanks for reading my review. This was fun! I think I'll try and post a review for each trip we take. Feel free to ask any questions you may have. Happy sailing and God bless!
Thanks for the great blog including the information on Creole in Antigua - looks like fun!
ReplyDeleteIt is truly awesome! The reviews that you have given over here about your first cruise is really nice. I must say that you have enjoyed a lot on your first cruise. The pictures that you have shared of your trip are also awful.
ReplyDeleteReally enjoy your reviews. Just 15 days before we sail on the Serenade. In one of your posts on CC you mentioned that you recently relocated to the Princeton area, my wife and I were born and raised in the Princeton/Trenton, we now call Burlington home. Let me know if you have any questions about the area. My email address is darkingnj@msn.com.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Darryl! Looks like we switched; my husband and I grew up in Burlington County (went to Rancocas Valley HS), and moved to the Princeton area. It's beautiful here, we love it. Central/Southern NJ is a great place to grow up :)
ReplyDelete