Very Very Long and detailed Serenade Cruise Vacation Review for June 2011

Let me start by saying that I am not the best writer in the world but I am a very detailed one.

This cruise was just me and my husband, we also have 3 teen boys but decided to make this a vacation for just us.

So I guess...Let's begin!!! :D

Serenade of the Seas/Summer Vacation Review June 17th through June 29th, 2011

June 17th: Pre-flight Hotel stay...

Finally got off work at around 10:30pm and headed to the Hyatt Place hotel by the airport for our pre-flight stay out of Kansas City. The drive was easy due to the lack of traffic at that time of night and it took us less that 40 minutes to get there.

When we arrived at the hotel we couldn’t find any parking spots though so we had to leave our car out front and ask where to park. The gentleman at the reception desk told us that if there was no spots open that we would have to park in the street. :mad:

We weren’t very comfortable with that so we just parked at the other hotel across the street.

Luckily, we didn’t have any problems parking there, but I later found out that people had gotten their cars towed. :eek:

The hotel it’s self has great décor and the staff was wonderful. :)

I’d say it was nice for an overnight stay but there’s not much around it that’s open late as far as food goes.

We were stuck eating cold ham & cheese sandwiches from the hotel, which with the addition of 2 sodas came to $30 :eek:...a little overpriced, even for a hotel, if you ask me.

The rooms at the hotel are very spacious and clean but the bathrooms are very oddly set up.

The sink and vanity was out side the main bath area right in front to the bed. Then the toilet and bath are in a separate little room that is so small it’s difficult to close the door after you enter. :confused:

I would think that with as spacious as the rest of the room was they could’ve used some of the space to make the bath area more user friendly.

June 18th: Travel day from Kansas City to San Juan...

The alarm went off at 3:45am and I was soooo not ready to get up yet. After yanking our selves out of bed and getting ready we left the hotel right at 4am.

We parked at The Parking Spot like we always do but this time the service was not up to par. It took the airport shuttle over 25 minutes to pick us up and the driver was driving as slow as a slug! What usually takes 10 minutes from parking to getting picked up and to the airport took over 35 minutes and made us very close to flight time.

Thank goodness I checked in and printed our boarding passes the night before.:rolleyes:

Kansas City International security was fairly smooth and quick as always. We were so close to our flight time that by the time we got through security and sat down at the terminal they had already started calling the boarding zones.

The flight was uneventful and we made it to our layover destination in Atlanta 10 minutes early.

We had over 2 and a half hours for our lay over and for once our flight was in the same terminal as the one we had landed in. To kill time we grabbed some breakfast at the Burger King and walked around for a bit.

Amazingly, our flight to San Juan left on time and was once again uneventful.:)

We got into San Juan around 3pm, quickly grabbed our luggage, got a taxi, and checked in to our pre-cruise hotel by 4pm.

We stayed at the Sheraton in Old San Juan because we’ve stayed there many times before and love the location. The hotel it’s self is well taken care of and the staff was good.

We had a room on the 6th floor that was in the interior of the hotel. While this makes for a room with just a mediocre view of an inner court yard type area; it also makes for a very quiet and peaceful room.

The room it’s self was nicely decorated and was a decent size but once again I had an issue with the bathroom set up. It wasn’t a huge deal but the only lighting in the bath was above the vanity so created a dark shower/tub experience.

The beds were very nice and we had no problems getting hypo-allergenic pillows. (I’m allergic to feathers)

After getting checked into the hotel and seeing our room we both realized we were starving, so, off we went to find a bite to eat. We deliberated for about 15 minutes on where to go and finally decided just to go to Senor Frogs because it was close and we knew the food was pretty good.

The Senor Frogs in Old San Juan is just like any one you’d go to around the Caribbean. They have the usual Tex-Mex quesadillas, tacos, burritos, and burgers/sandwiches. I personally have always been a fan of their chicken quesadillas but then again that’s kind of a dish that’s hard to screw up. :p

We decided, because we knew we wanted to go out to dinner tonight, that we’d just share the chicken quesadilla. The size was perfect and our waiter even brought us an extra side of sour cream at no charge.

After stuffing our faces we decided to walk around and get reacquainted with Old San Juan. This was our 5th trip here and I think we fall more in love with it every time. We even decided after this last trip that in 5 years, after our kids are done with school, we’re going to do all we can to move here.

We walked around for about an hour and a half, looking in shops and checking out some of the new restaurants and looking at menus for some of our favorites to see if they’d changed at all.

We did get one sad surprise...there is no longer a McDonalds in Old San Juan. Now you may ask, “Who Cares?!?!” But you have to understand one thing, the McDonalds that used to be in Old San Juan was the best McDonalds we had ever been to...the service was always wonderful and the food was always fresh and hot. Also, with kids who aren’t always into trying new exotic foods, a good McDonalds near by is always a good thing.

When we were done wandering around we went back to the hotel and took a nice long nap. We ended up sleeping until almost 8pm...I had no idea I was even that tired! :eek:

Waking from our obviously needed long nap we decided it was time to go to dinner. Last year we found a really good steak place in Old San Juan called the Old Harbour Brewery and we decided to go there again this year. Though the food was just as yummy, the service wasn’t as great as we’d experienced the year before. This could’ve been due to the fact that they were extremely busy this time and last year we caught it at a slow hour.

As we walked back to the Sheraton after dinner I decided that I needed something chocolate. We walked up and down looking for a restaurant that had any sort of chocolate dessert and finally we stopped at a cozy little place we’d gone to a few times before for breakfast called Toro Salao. Sure enough they had an awesome flourless chocolate cake infused with different spices like ginger and red pepper. It was the best dessert I’ve ever had!!!! :p

One little side note though, if you like your chocolate cake with a glass of milk, like I do, be aware that most places serve the milk warm. That was fine with me since it was so late I figured it would just put me to sleep faster.

Keep the story coming:)

June 19th: Embarkation Day...

We got up around 10am, checked out of the hotel but had them store our bags and went back to Toro Salao for breakfast. It was just on a whim last year that we found this place for breakfast. The

atmosphere is great and the prices are pretty good too. It’s a short walk from our hotel and they serve a nice basic breakfast. We both got the Dos Huevos breakfast which included 2 eggs, seasoned breakfast potatoes, your choice of ham or bacon, and toast. :)

Shortly after breakfast we walked over to the San Cristobal fort. Even though we’ve been to Old San Juan multiple times we always enjoy going to one of the forts each time we’re there. We went to El Morro last time so it was San Cristobal’s turn.:rolleyes:

In 2009, when we went to San Crisobal, there were iguanas every where and me, being the wildlife enthusiast that I am, was really looking forward to seeing them again. :p Unfortunately, this time the only ones we saw was one little on sunning on one of the walkways and a bigger one right as we were leaving sitting on a wall. :(

As usual, the fort was fantastic and it looked as though they’d added quite a bit in the way of exhibits.

If you have some extra time in Old San Juan and are even remotely into history, go to the forts….they are fantastic!:D

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Once we were done at the fort we headed back to the hotel to collect our bags and head to our new home for a week, the Serenade of the Seas. :D

We got to the ship at about 12pm and thanks to cruise critic I knew that because we were Diamond Crown and Anchor members we could bypass the main baggage and check in lines. We were on the ship and on our way to lunch in the Windjammer within 15 minutes. ;)

The Windjammer set up is fantastic on this ship, with all the separate stations there was never a line for anything. The food on the other hand was just so so. It’s not like it was all bad and we were always able to find stuff to eat there, but it just wasn’t as tasty as we’ve had in the past on other Royal Caribbean ships. :o

After lunch we wandered the ship a bit and then went to check our table assignment for dinner. As requested through Royal Caribbean we got our 2 top table...Yay! :D

Our table was on deck 4 in the Reflections dining room right in the middle of the room. This was an awesome spot because you could easily see every thing that was going on around, yet it was set next to one of the large pillars so we still felt like it was nice and intimate. :)

to be continued.....:D

Finally, it was 1pm and we could go check out our cabin. We had cabin 8088 which is one of the coveted hump cabins with the extra large balcony. :p

This cabin was wonderful, even though the interior of the cabin is the same size as the normal balcony cabins the balcony was huge!

It really made the cabin feel much larger than it actually was because I could go out on the balcony with a book and read in the one of the lounge chairs while my husband watched tv or took a nap.

Around the same time we got into our cabin our room steward stopped by. He was fantastic the whole cruise doing a great job keeping our room spic and span and leaving a towel animal every night. (I’m a sucker for a good towel animal!):p

The rest of the day was spent either unpacking or exploring the ship.

Speaking of the ship, she is beautiful! :)

Out of all the cruises we’ve been on we both have said that this ship is the classiest looking ship we’ve seen. With all of the glass and the small touches here and there it really looks great.

Eventually it was time for the dreaded boring muster drill. To be honest, it wasn’t too bad this time. Our station was inside the schooner bar which is more than big enough that every one assigned there was able to sit though the drill.:)

to be continued yet again!!!...:D

After the muster drill we quickly made our way back to our cabin and got ready for our first night of dinner in the dining room.

The dining room food was good every night and our wait staff was well trained. We had Pedro as our Waiter and Iris as our Assistant Waiter, both of which did a good job of waiting on us hand and foot. Unfortunately, even though he stopped by our table a few times, I can’t remember our Head Waiter. :o

Once dinner was over and we had stuffed ourselves completely we went to the opening show. We’re not really show people but we always like to at least see the first one on a cruise.

Tonight’s show started with Ricky our cruise director who we’d just had on our winter weekend cruise in January on the Majesty. This guy is a riot, I swear he has to be on some sort of drug because he never stops moving.:D Then the Singers and Dancers did a short number. Though the did a good number I felt like we’d seen better on other ships.:( Finally, they had the guest comedian do an act. He was pretty funny and I guess he’s done a lot of stuff for Jay Leno. :)

When the show was over we both decided we were too tired to do anything else so that was the end of the day for us.

More to come ASAP.....:D

June 20th: Sea Day...

So, for us, sea days aren’t exactly what we look forward to on a cruise because we’re the type of people that constantly want to be out doing something. Lo an behold this one cruise day was actually a lot of fun!

We got up at our leisure (around 9:30am), went and had breakfast in the Windjammer (the “scrambled eggs” were horrible :(but the other options were yummy:)) and then wandered the ship some more.

Eventually, we ended up at the mini golf and figured we’d play a few games. My husband beat the pants off me the first game and when we came back around to play again we saw there was a big line so we decided to go to the pool instead. Little did I know what an event that would be!:eek:

We got to the pool around 11:30 and couldn’t find a lounge chair any where. We figured we’d probably just be in the pool most of the time so we just put our stuff next to the pool and got in. I ordered a Margarita from the pool bar and that’s where the excitement begins...:rolleyes:

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ahhh ....keep it going, we're going on July 31st Serenade too with our family all first timers except me and mu hubby this is our 2nd time.

Now for the excitement...;)

Let me start off by saying, I do not drink unless we’re on vacation or it’s a very special occasion.

Well, we were on vacation so I thought it wouldn’t hurt to get a little tipsy. Boy would I regret that later! :eek:

After I’d had 2 margaritas and a mud slide they announced it was almost time for the belly-flop contest and if you’d like to enter to go to the front music area...My husband and I began discussing the fact that we’d never see a female do the contest on any of the cruises we’ve been on. :confused:

Then liquid courage stepped up and I decided to go up and enter. Much to my surprise the let me enter and thanks to the liquid courage I didn’t back down. Granted, it was fun, but it’s something I would’ve never done had I been sober. :rolleyes:

For the rest of the cruise I had complete strangers coming up to “congratulate” me. Even though I didn’t win (Thank God) I soon became known as the belly-flop girl all around the ship. :rolleyes:

writing as fast as possible...more to come soon!...:)

Once I was done humiliating myself it was time for the dodge ball tournament up on the ball court.

Any time there is dodge ball on our cruises we go to watch...I don’t know what it is about people smashing each other with small red balls but we both find it fun to watch. :p

This one, though, was a bit lame. :(There weren’t very many teams and the energy that is usually there was a bit lacking. Towards the end we decided the leave and go find the Seaview Café for lunch.

The Seaview Café is on Deck 12 up the stairs towards the back of the ship.

I think because it is a little out of the way not a lot of people think about it but the food was awesome!:D

I had the Cuban Sandwich with fries and my husband had the Fish n’ Chips but with onion rings instead of fries.

We’d never been on a ship with a Seaview café but now both agree they should replace Johnny Rockets with them instead. The food is better and you don’t have pay a “cover charge” to eat there.:rolleyes:

to be continued....;)

I don’t know if it was the sun or the alcohol but after lunch I was exhausted and so we went back to the cabin for a cat nap.

I think we slept for a good 2 hours and then I just sat out on our balcony reading my book while my husband watched some sports on tv.:)

Once the sun went down I came back in and we went to dinner. Tonight was the first formal night and it was a mess...:(

We really wanted to get a bunch of pictures taken because we each had a coupon for a free photo in our diamond coupon booklet but when we got to the centrum area where they were doing photos we were hit with a crowd of people. :(

Through the whole cruise and even on the other formal photo night the ship never seemed crowded but tonight it was horrible.

There were people every where and we couldn’t get through anywhere!:(

Finally, after standing in line for 45 minutes we were able to get our pictures taken at the white backdrop. Though this wasn’t the backdrop we wanted we figured it had the shortest line and there fore was our best chance if we wanted pictures. :rolleyes:

Dinner, as usual, was wonderful and we had both stuffed our bellies full so it was time for bed for us.

My hands are tired now so I will write more tomorrow!....;)

Enjoying your review immensely. Will tune in again tomorrow!

Keep it coming!!!

Anxiously waiting to read more! :D :D

Great Review. We are going on Serenade in January.

You are doing a fine job! Keep it up.

Anxiously awaiting the rest.

The DW and I loved Serenade. We ate in the Seaview several times. The Cuban's were great!

Unfortunately, I believe I read that Royal is replacing the Seaviews with something else. Can't remember what, though.

We also had Pedro and Iris on this cruise. Did you have early or late seating?

After the muster drill we quickly made our way back to our cabin and got ready for our first night of dinner in the dining room.

The dining room food was good every night and our wait staff was well trained. We had Pedro as our Waiter and Iris as our Assistant Waiter, both of which did a good job of waiting on us hand and foot. Unfortunately, even though he stopped by our table a few times, I can’t remember our Head Waiter. :o

Once dinner was over and we had stuffed ourselves completely we went to the opening show. We’re not really show people but we always like to at least see the first one on a cruise.

Tonight’s show started with Ricky our cruise director who we’d just had on our winter weekend cruise in January on the Majesty. This guy is a riot, I swear he has to be on some sort of drug because he never stops moving.:D Then the Singers and Dancers did a short number. Though the did a good number I felt like we’d seen better on other ships.:( Finally, they had the guest comedian do an act. He was pretty funny and I guess he’s done a lot of stuff for Jay Leno. :)

 

 

When the show was over we both decided we were too tired to do anything else so that was the end of the day for us.

 

 

More to come ASAP.....:D

We recently did a b2b on the Serenade and for 2 weeks we never saw Ricky rest, the guy is better than the energizer bunny!

I am really enjoying your detailed review. Lots of personality and zip! Keep up the good work.

Can't wait to read the rest of your review! We're going on Serenade in January!

Thanks for the detailed review. We sail on Serenade in 10 days! :)

Going in September. I can't wait to read more. :)

Rookiedude: We had late seating :)

Okay....I'm back & ready to continue writing!!!! :D

June 21st: Barbados

The ship docked at around 8am and we were off by 8:30 to meet our excursion group and head out for a day of snorkeling with the turtles.

We chose to do Silver Moon Catamaran’s 12 person turtle encounter and snorkel excursion. Even though it was a bit on the expensive side it was well worth the money. Because there are only 12 people on the catamaran we were pretty well waited on hand and foot. Our captain was Stacy and her assistant was Tony and both did an excellent job.

I still wish I was able to get the recipe for their excellent banana bread they served when we got on the boat. :p

The turtle encounter was amazing.

Tony got into the water with us and started luring the turtles close with food and we were able to touch them...I even had a turtle get so close that it head butted me! :)

Unfortunately, when we got into the water at the snorkel spot I noticed that there were lots of small jelly fish.

Now, I’ve been stung by a jelly fish before and it is not something I ever want to do again. :(Stacy got in the water and checked it out and told us that they we just babies and hadn’t gotten their stingers yet.

They say that if you are allergic to bees that you could also have the same reaction to certain jelly fish, and even though I didn’t have a horrible reaction when I got stung by a jelly fish, I am allergic to bees so I wasn’t going to take that chance so I stayed on the boat while every one else snorkeled. :o

I really didn’t feel like I missed out on too much because they only snorkeled for about 30 minutes and then we were off again to have lunch on the boat by the beach.

Lunch was fried flying fish, baked chicken, cheesy macaroni casserole, seasoned rice, and salad. It was all really tasty except I wasn’t too keen on the flying fish. Other people seemed to enjoy it but mine tasted over fried.

After lunch we were able swim around for a bit, go to the beach, or just hang out on the boat. We’d swam to the beach last year and even though it looks really close it’s further than it seems so we just swam around the boat for a while and then hung out on the netting at the front of the catamaran. :)

More to come soon!!!!

After our excursion we had the excursion driver take me and my husband into town instead of back to the port because I needed a new pair of shoes.

Some how or another I had brought to different black dress shoes. Luckily, I also had a pair of silver shoes but they weren’t going to match all my outfits. I found a pair at a nice little women’s shoe store for just $14 American!:p

We then noticed we only had 45 minutes left so we headed back to the ship. Instead of hailing a taxi and spending extra cash we decided to walk back. I do not recommend this.Not only is it a fairly long walk back from the shopping area downtown I also felt like it was not the safest. We had to cross traffic a few times because the side walks end on one side and start again on the other side and traffic does not really slow down for pedestrians like it does back home. :(

Once back on the ship we got cleaned up, watched sail away from our balcony, relaxed for a bit, and then got ready for dinner. I had Royal Caribbean make a note in our reservation that we’d like to celebrate our Anniversary tonight and sure enough at the end of dinner our wait staff and the dining serenaders came over with a dessert with a candle in it and sang us “Happy Anniversary”. :)

I was actually surprised that they remembered because I’ve heard stories where things like that have been noted but never recognized.

All in all this day was an awesome and memorable day.:D

To Be Continued....;)