Serenade - Easter Week ... A Cruise Journal

[grellis]

We will be on our first cruise ever, the Serenade on 8/15...can't wait! Reading your adventures is like a vaca before the vaca, looking forward to the next chapter!

[kgm0612]

Loving your review......keep it coming!

 

There are 10 of us on the August 1st sailing. Can't wait!

I couldn't find a Roll Call listed for this sailing..... or did I miss it?

 

Karen

[ahawco]

Loving your review......keep it coming!

 

There are 10 of us on the August 1st sailing. Can't wait!

I couldn't find a Roll Call listed for this sailing..... or did I miss it?

 

Karen

 

 

Hi Karen,

 

My DH and I are on the August 1 sailing too!! I haven't seen a roll call either. I am new to this board so I don't know quite how it works. Glad to see someone is on our cruise!! Where are you from?

[cruzingduo]

Can you post when the Repeaters party was held.

 

Can't wait for your next post :)

[emeraldcity]

I agree that it is not necessarily an optimal time. The trick is that this is a port intensive cruise so they try to make sure it is still early in the cruise, but not during the day when you are likely to be out and about.

 

Dorothy, I'm loving your review. Helps me relive my cruise. :D

 

Jen

 

Thank you. I enjoyed getting the chance to meet you on board. Maybe someday we'll cruise together again.

 

Loving your review......keep it coming!

 

There are 10 of us on the August 1st sailing. Can't wait!

I couldn't find a Roll Call listed for this sailing..... or did I miss it?

 

Karen

 

If no one has started a roll call, you can be the OP. On the off-chance that there already is one, the mods will combine them.

 

Can you post when the Repeaters party was held.

 

Can't wait for your next post :)

 

The Crown & Anchor party was held on Day 3 in the evening. That'll be part of my next installment ... I only got halfway through Day 3 last night.

[emeraldcity]

Another day dawned, bright and sunny. So far in this trip, we'd had absolutely perfect weather. The ship was docking in St. Croix and we had the morning free again. To let my DD sleep in again, I slipped out of the cabin with my puzzle book at 6:30 and headed up to the Windjammer for my pre-breakfast. I was settling into a comfortable routine that included fresh pineapple, watermelon and a sugared donut with my morning coffee. I didn't feel like dealing with the hustle-bustle of the Windjammer so I went to the seating area on the stern and climbed the steps to the sheltered, shaded seating outside of the Sea View Cafe. Once I was suitably fortified, I figured it was time to get in some exercise. I generally walk a couple of miles every day and figured I should attempt to do at least a mile every day of my cruise. As it turned out, this was the only time I walked the sun deck for exercise the entire trip. But I get points for the distance I walked to and from the ship on each pier.

 

The track on the sun deck only encircles about half the ship. I veered off the track when it curved amidship and continued on along the side, past the sports deck and around the stern before heading back to join up with the track again amidship. It was on one of these circuits that I spotted Jen (Tex-Jen) from our roll call at a table behind the Windjammer one deck below. I went down to chat a bit before heading back up to finish my mile. I then went down to the pool deck and stretched out in a lounger to work one of my puzzles. By 8:00 I decided to go check on my DD and I returned to the cabin. She was still asleep and it occurred to me that this might be a golden opportunity to get a little more shut-eye myself. I crawled back under the covers and didn’t come to until my DD woke up about 9:30. We then went up to the Windjammer where I got my second breakfast.

 

We had some time to ourselves before our 12:30 excursion, so we went ashore to poke around among the shopping stalls set up on either side of the pier entrance. It was a marvelously pleasant experience. Our last Caribbean cruise was a Western one. I know that many people enjoy the whole bargaining thing that is part of Mexican shopping. I am not one of them. My experience has been that it is not a friendly give-and-take. The shopkeepers are pushy and rude. When you finally settle on a price, they don’t give in with anything remotely resembling grace. They accept your money with a scowl and you wonder why you wanted the damn thing badly enough to put yourself through that. As a contrast, shopping in St. Croix was an absolute delight. Shopkeepers offered their wares at some stalls, but it was very polite. Other stalls, they might be working on a craft and they were clearly aware of you, but didn’t insert themselves unless you addressed them. If you said “No thank you.” It was accepted. Nobody continued to harangue you. We did some great window shopping as we discovered things we wanted to share with one another and assessed whether there was anything that caught our eye enough to take home with us. My DD used to display a driving need to possess everything that caught her eye. She’s gotten a lot more mature, and we now have a comfortable understanding that we can share and enjoy things we see in a shopping venue without having to actually purchase it. We did end up both buying a necklace and were both very pleased with our purchases.

 

After about an hour, we returned to the ship to get ready for our excursion. We put on swimsuits and plenty of sunscreen. By 12:15, we were down on the pier again heading for the RCI employee who was holding up the Mini Boats sign. I rarely book a ship’s excursion. I generally find a better value with outstanding recommendations by booking with a private outfit. But I just couldn’t settle on something for St. Croix, so I had checked out the ship’s excursions and decided this one looked like fun. I tried the St. Croix board to see if anyone had tried it and got no responses. Not sure if the excursion was new, but I wouldn’t be surprised. Once word of this one gets around, they’ll sell out. We had an absolute blast! We had seen a group of small boats coming in at high speed as we had been walking back to the ship from our shopping excursion and I suspected at the time that those were our boats. I was right. We walked to the base of the pier where Derek and Ron were waiting for us. The RC employee turned us over and disappeared. Derek started with some basic instruction, noting that if he was looking your way with his hand in a fist and his arm about his head, tapping the fist to the top of his head, he was asking if you were OK. I don’t recall that he then proceeded to give us what the hand signals were that we were supposed to use for a response; all I could think of at that point is that he looked like he was posing for one of those odd Mayan carvings … all he was missing was the distended belly. We got two more warnings before the boats were brought up for loading. We had to avoid two things. One was a dive boat, the other was the cruise ship. We had to stay at least 100 yards away from either or risk a ticket. The ticket, once issued would require the issuee of said ticket to remain on the island until a judge could become available the next day. Nobody wanted to watch the Serenade sail away from the islander’s vantage point.

 

Derek apologized and said he’d had two boats go down with mechanical issues that morning so there would have to be more than 2 per boat. He ended up putting a family of four in one of the bigger boats and a family of three in another. Then he added that two of the other boats would have to also take either he or Ron. I suspect that they took one look at my skinny DD and figured there was less weight in our boat, so Ron ended up going with DD and I. I also believe that he knew the equipment very well as he held us back until the last boat was brought up for boarding. I was to find out that he loved speed and this was the fastest boat. That was fine with me … since I got to drive. It is not my fault that I like to drive fast. It is a genetic disorder, handed down from my father … all my siblings are similarly affected.

 

Ron was to be the leader of our flotilla and we headed down the coast skimming along the waves. I sat in the back and my DD was just in front of the steering column. Ron sat in the very front. We started to overtake Derek and Ron began to signal something to me. Since this was not the one approved signals that had been part of our instructions, I slowed down. I figured I was being told that I had to stay behind the leader. I was wrong … my DD got the message, even though I didn’t. She turned around “Mom! Kick it!” Cool! Ron was egging me on to take over the lead. I pushed the throttle to the upper limits and we moved ahead of the pack. It was fabulous. The sun was shining. The temperature was very warm, but not scorching. The breeze was playing havoc with my attempts to keep my skirt across my legs to reduce exposure to the sun. The water was slapping against the bottom as the boat bounced atop the waves, becoming a bit airborne from time to time. I’m really very glad Ron was in our boat, since I would have been concerned about damaging the thing if he hadn’t been there to let us know that it would handle this kind of abuse. Ron kept looking back and taking inventory of each of the other boats to assure that everyone was doing fine. From time to time, he would have me slow and swing around to check on someone if he couldn’t spot a wake. The flotilla hadn’t done much of a good job of keeping together. We were spread out over a pretty wide area, each of us reveling in the freedom of having control of our own little craft.

 

We arrived at the first potential snorkel spot and Derek watched as a nearby cattle-maran began off-loading snorklers into the water. He shook his head, conferred with Ron and they advised that it was really too choppy to put people in. This was the spot where the turtles could be seen, but there was never a doubt in my mind that these two guys considered the safety factor first. They were determined we would have the best possible experience without risking any unsafe situations. Accordingly, they said they would take us to snorkel a wreck that was back along the coast on the other side of the ship. This meant more driving time. Fabulous! I pushed the throttle to the limit and we zipped back in the direction we had come from. Ron urged me to have some fun with it, so I weaved back and forth, giving the boaters behind me some playful wake to have to bounce through.

 

We rounded the pier the ship was tied to and headed further along the coast past an old plantation. Ron had me slow down so he could locate the appropriate bouy. Once he found it, we tied up to it and the other boats pulled up one by one and were tied to my boat. Snorkle gear was extracted from the front compartment and we began to get suited up. DD wasted no time in getting her gear on and she jumped in. “How is it!?” Ron called out. “Murky!” she shot back. Meanwhile, I had managed to get everything on, including my flippers and then realized that I would have to make my way to the front of the boat around the steering column … since the other boats were all clustered around my boat at the stern. It is with considerable relief that I report I saw no one with a video camera immortalizing my attempts to flop past that steering column wearing size 11 flippers. I have this visual of Donald Duck rolling on the floor in uncontained mirth. There is no question now in my why ducks will go to great lengths to avoid having to negotiate dry ground. It’s a real challenge to just raise one foot and then attempt to find enough open ground space to put it back down again.

 

I made a memorably ungraceful entry into the water and began to paddle about studying the view. The sunken ship wasn’t too far under the surface, but it wasn’t much to look at. What was particularly cool, however were the barracuda that were swimming nearby. That one was a first for me. There were reportedly sting rays at the bottom, but the water was rather murky and we didn’t see them. We really didn’t snorkel that long, but the main event as far as I was concerned was the boats themselves. So it was time to get back in them. That was easier said than done. DD nimbly hoisted herself over the side and began to shed her equipment. I handed up my flippers and mask and then made several attempts to repeat her maneuver. Again, I was glad there was no videographer recording this moment. Out of pity, Ron directed me to the back of the boat and had me step onto a foothold with one foot. The concept was that I would then have some leverage to hoist myself inside the boat. The reality is that this incredibly wiry young man hauled me up out of the water in one swift movement and I am eternally grateful that I didn’t have to be towed back to the ship.

 

Once everyone was back in the boats, Derek advised we had extra time, so we could take our time getting back to the pier. Of course, that didn’t mean we were going to putt along at a leisurely pace. That meant running flat out, doing donuts and figure 8s, cutting back and forth in each other’s wake, and back-tracking to prolong the experience. I zipped around for a bit on the opposite side of the pier from the ship scanning the rows of balconies to see if I could find someone to wave to. Once again, all I saw were empty balconies. Somehow, to complete the experience, I needed there to be someone on board to wave at me. I finally spotted a couple on the sun deck and they fulfilled my fantasy. We waved back, and I felt ridiculously pleased with myself.

 

All good things must come to an end, and this excursion was no different. We were the last boat in. They helped us onto the dock and we headed back to the ship to shower and make ourselves presentable for the evening.

 

I’m a sucker for most crafts, so when I spotted a craft called pointalism on the schedule for 5:00 p.m. I decided I had to go check it out. I still wanted to go the Crown and Anchor reception at 5:15, so this was going to require some pretty tight scheduling. However, both events were off the stern stairwell, and my cabin on deck 7 was in between the two and right off the stairwell also. That meant I could check out the craft, at least get the project started, and then duck out early. I could then drop it off in my cabin, collect my DD and arrive at the reception a bit late.

 

I arrived in the Hollywood Odyssey for the craft to find that two of my CC tablemates were already selecting their paint colors for the pointalism craft. The craft involves dotting paint onto a provided picture. The more creative folks could use a blank sheet of paper and produce something of their own design. I settled for the little beach scene provided and happily proceeded to dab paint onto it. I doubt this is something I’ll take up, but it was an interesting activity to fill one’s time while you waited for the next dinner bell to sound.

 

I rushed through my craft, bid everyone a quick adieu and then headed down to the cabin for my DD. We went to the Safari Club with our invitation in hand. Even though we were a bit late, the entry was still manned by a gauntlet of ship’s officers who greeted us pleasantly. DD was attending in the hopes she might snag some delicacies, such as chocolate-covered strawberries. She was destined to be disappointed. I would venture a guess that they don’t produce that sort of thing until it’s time for the Platinum and Diamond Reception (which we missed later in the cruise because dinner ran late). There wasn’t much being served in the way of food. I spotted a terrific display of fruit on the way in, but it was so artfully displayed that not very many people had taken any. We arrived as Dennis was addressing the guests. He was followed by the captain, who was very personable and gracious. They both did a great job of making us feel welcome. They were serving drinks. I had a rum punch, which I then carried with me when I left, since dinner was next.

 

We arrived to find that most of our tablemates had already gotten seated. There were one or two folks dealing with sunburn at this point, but everyone was in high spirits. Each of us shared our experiences of the day. Everyone was pretty pleased with how they had spent the day. This was also the night that the dining room staff paraded into the dining room and assembled on the staircase to sing that old stand-by “Ole Sole o Mio”. I suppose if you cruise more often than I do, this sort of thing gets pretty old … especially since I’ve seen it done on every RCI ship I sailed on, starting in 1988. But DD and I found it great fun as did the new cruisers at our table.

 

As dinner wound to a close, Noel came over to show off his napkin folding skills. It’s amazing when you watch someone take a simple square of cloth and with a few folds one way and then another, suddenly something quite unexpected emerges. In this case, it was a suit of clothes. First it was the jacket; then the pants were created, one leg at a time. He even created shoes … elf shoes with a turned up toe.

After dinner, we decided to check out the shops on board. Naturally, the first stop was the logo shop. I always want to take something home that reminds me of the ship or the cruise line. This was one of those times that I found that I needed to heed my mother’s admonition “Blessed is the man who expecteth nothing, for he shall not be disappointed.” The number one objective on my list was acquiring a pewter magnet of the Serenade of the Seas of a particular size and design. We’d bought one on every RC ship we’d sailed on. Unfortunately, the only type they had was the magnet that acted as a memo clip. Consequently, it wouldn’t end up sitting flush on the surface like the three others we have. I’d walked away, disappointed. I was going to have to think about the purchase for a couple days. I knew that the chance they would pull the appropriate type out of inventory before the end of the cruise was unlikely, but I just wasn’t ready to adjust my expectations. We decided we would return later with our 10% logo shop discount coupon and get a Christmas ornament and a travel mug. And DD decided that she would look terribly chic in the black baseball cap with the pink trim and the sparkling RC logo. She tried to convince me that I wanted to buy it for her, but I sidestepped her by pointing out that I didn’t have the coupon at the current moment.

Next we wandered over to the Jewelry Shop and began to window shop the pricey stuff in the cases. There was an exceptionally striking golden sand dollar that I was enchanted with. Once I made the mistake of showing it to my DD, she immediately latched onto the concept that this item needed to go home with us. I went so far as to ask to see it and find out the price. A very smooth salesman pulled it out and advised me that it was the only one they had and they had just added it to their stock in St. Thomas. Now I don’t want to cast any aspersions on the noble profession of sales, but this information launched a full scale Sales-B.S. alert in my suspicious little mind. I don’t believe they add stock anywhere but their home port … and the “only one we have” is the basic informational gambit designed to trigger a female panic that this desired item is going to be snapped up by the next person who spots it. Unaware that I was already looking for more reason to walk away from a potential purchase, the salesman then pointed out that this was normally priced at $900, but was currently on sale for something like $478. This move is designed to work on the fact that a man will go to a store and spend $2 for a $1 item he needs, while a woman will spend $1 for a $2 item she doesn’t need, because it was on sale. The reality is that fine jewelry is always on sale. Nobody pays retail. What I was probably looking at was a $300 item that was inflated to $900 and then reduced to $478 to convince the buyer she was getting a good deal. Was it beautiful? Absolutely! Did I want it? Yes, without question. Did I buy it? No, I didn’t. Had I done so, I couldn’t have worn it, since it was the pendant only. Therefore, I would have also needed to spend more money for a chain to put it on. Of course, that chain would have probably been on sale too.

We headed for the theater to get good seats for The Scintas Show. They were billed as a headline act from Las Vegas. It turned out to be a marvelous show. Brothers Joe and Frank were joined by their sister Chrissi. The show was a combination of comedy and impressions of famous entertainers. They moved through performances by Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Neil Diamond, Elvis, Tom Jones, Frank Sinatra and Kermit the Frog (the head-bobbing for Kermit was a stitch). The impressions were well done, but the best ingredient of the show was the warm out-going personalities that they were able to project from the stage. They were capable of tugging at the heartstrings as the conversation explored interactions with their late father, then they would toss in a quick one-liner to get you laughing again. The two brothers were my favorite part of the show, with a big edge going to the brother who pounded out several incredible pieces on the piano, including the Theme from the Godfather (a tribute to his father) and Piano Man. Chrissi had an incredible voice, but she was playing tribute to performers that aren’t on my personal hit parade, so I’m not in a position to truly assess her performance. My DD, however, is a clandestine member of the fashion police and her assessment of Chrissi’s costumes (of which there were 4) was that the only thing she was taken with were the shoes she wore in costume change #2.

 

When the show ended, we were advised to stick around for Bingo. I didn't really care if we did or not, but my DD was convinced that we needed to do this. The line wasn't too long, so I joined it and pulled out my sea pass card. When I got up to the card seller I found out that this game was going to be double the cost of the previous game. I was stunned. When we played for a Jr. Suite, it was $11 for a triple cards and $16 for 6 cards; this time it was $22 and $32 respectively, for a whopping $500 cash prize. All things being relative, how does that equate to paying $25 just a few years ago for a six pack of three cards each for 6 different games. Each of those games resulted in winnings of several hundred each (and the last set of cards was a coverall with a jackpot that grew all week to several thousand dollars). I let DDs enthusiasm carry the day and I shelled out $22. She claimed the card and handled the responsibilities of punching back the tab for each number called. She even had the thrill of being one of the people who got to stand when they only needed one more number. Eventually, that one more number was called … but it certainly wasn't on our card. During the entire game, however, it became clear that she had already decided what she planned to do with the money when "she" won it. She was going to follow me back to the store so I could buy that golden sand dollar. I figured it wasn’t worth the battle to point out that there was no guarantee I would blow it on the bauble. If we actually won, there would be time for that discussion. But since we didn’t, it became a moot point.

 

The big party for the evening was going to be the 70s party, which promised to be loads of fun. But we had both been burning the late night oil for the past two nights. I want to go on record here of pointing out it was not me who said let’s just call it an early night.

 

This was the time to really find out if our location right around the corner from the Centrum was ill-advised. The party kicked into high gear as we got ready for bed. When I opened the door to slip the “Do Not Disturb” card into the slot, the music filled the cabin. But the moment I shut the door, it was a distant jumble of noise. I quickly fell asleep. DD reports she took a bit longer to drift off and it bothered her to some degree, but it wasn’t a major issue.

[Tex_Jen]

Dorothy, sounds like a fun day. I missed the Scintas, but heard that it was phenomenal. I was one of those that stayed up for the 70's disco party only because I ran into Alan & Diana. I'm sure Dennis was looking at me strangely when I noted that the song "Staying Alive" is a bit ruined for me. Instead of thinking John Travolta moves, I think CPR. The beat is the perfect rate for doing chest compressions. I was explaining that to Alan when Gary & Rose looked over (chuckling) and Dennis was on the stairs turning towards us. What can I say?

 

Noel did the suit of clothes with the elf shoes at the evening dinner as well. He and Dhanesh were so efficient that he often had time to come over and demonstrate his napkin folding skills. I think that is the first time ever that I've had plenty of time to get to a late night show/event. There is a reason the Serenade crew is voted best in fleet!

 

Jen

[BroncosFan2010]

St. Croix is the only island on my next cruise that I have not previously visited. Thanks so much for posting such a wonderful outline of your cruise. Reading your great review is so enjoyable!

[emeraldcity]

St. Croix is the only island on my next cruise that I have not previously visited. Thanks so much for posting such a wonderful outline of your cruise. Reading your great review is so enjoyable!

 

I'm afraid I didn't give you much to go on regarding impressions of St. Croix. We barely sampled the island ... just the shopping at the foot of the pier ... and of course, our selected watersport. I can tell you that from the ship there was a clear view of a nice expanse of beach just to the left of the pier. Other posters have said it's a bit rocky, and it certainly wasn't teeming with people (unless you call 6 people a "teem").

 

I loved the shopping experience, however. I have to tell you that I saw the neatest thing ... and I was really tempted to get it. Mind you, you can't immerse yourself in the Caribbean environment very long before the primary color combinations of red, yellow and green start to look really good together. I spotted a fat tassel made up of those three colors ... a really, really fat tassel (don't think graduation tassel here). I didn't have a clue what I would do with it, but it had a curious appeal for me. I walked away, but couldn't get it off my mind. I circled back later with DD in tow to get her assessment as to whether that would make a fun purchase. She thought I was nuts. Add that to the price tag of $12 and I didn't buy it. I wish I had. What good is a vacation if you can't indulge yourself with a totally useless purchase to remind yourself years later of the fun you had!

[emeraldcity]

Dorothy, sounds like a fun day. I missed the Scintas, but heard that it was phenomenal. I was one of those that stayed up for the 70's disco party only because I ran into Alan & Diana. I'm sure Dennis was looking at me strangely when I noted that the song "Staying Alive" is a bit ruined for me. Instead of thinking John Travolta moves, I think CPR. The beat is the perfect rate for doing chest compressions.

 

Jen

 

Too funny ... I'd never heard that before, but I'll probably be similarly affected whenever I hear that song now. Sounded like the party would have been fun, but we had reached "tilt" by that point.

[Cruzin-K]

Great review. I've been passing the time at the San Juan airport writing my own review and reading Cruise Critic. I am already suffering from severe post cruise depression. The Serenade was fabulous. I think my little review will pale next to this one though. You are a great writer.

[JenAndDan]

We will be on a B2B just before your cruise... I will try to leave the ship in good shape for you, but no promises! :D:D

 

 

Thanks:)

[JenAndDan]

I've personally had a cabin above the Schooner bar in the past (not this cruise) and it was not an issue. I did have concerns before we left, but we never heard a thing.

 

Jen

 

 

Thanks! I know you can't control the noise around you but if I knew in advance that there would be loud music/vibrations from below, I would consider switching.

[cruzingduo]

Another day dawned, bright and sunny. So far in this trip, we'd had absolutely perfect weather. The ship was docking in St. Croix and we had the morning free again. To let my DD sleep in again, I slipped out of the cabin with my puzzle book at 6:30 and headed up to the Windjammer for my pre-breakfast. I was settling into a comfortable routine that included fresh pineapple, watermelon and a sugared donut with my morning coffee. I didn't feel like dealing with the hustle-bustle of the Windjammer so I went to the seating area on the stern and climbed the steps to the sheltered, shaded seating outside of the Sea View Cafe. Once I was suitably fortified, I figured it was time to get in some exercise. I generally walk a couple of miles every day and figured I should attempt to do at least a mile every day of my cruise. As it turned out, this was the only time I walked the sun deck for exercise the entire trip. But I get points for the distance I walked to and from the ship on each pier.

 

The track on the sun deck only encircles about half the ship. I veered off the track when it curved amidship and continued on along the side, past the sports deck and around the stern before heading back to join up with the track again amidship. It was on one of these circuits that I spotted Jen (Tex-Jen) from our roll call at a table behind the Windjammer one deck below. I went down to chat a bit before heading back up to finish my mile. I then went down to the pool deck and stretched out in a lounger to work one of my puzzles. By 8:00 I decided to go check on my DD and I returned to the cabin. She was still asleep and it occurred to me that this might be a golden opportunity to get a little more shut-eye myself. I crawled back under the covers and didn’t come to until my DD woke up about 9:30. We then went up to the Windjammer where I got my second breakfast.

 

We had some time to ourselves before our 12:30 excursion, so we went ashore to poke around among the shopping stalls set up on either side of the pier entrance. It was a marvelously pleasant experience. Our last Caribbean cruise was a Western one. I know that many people enjoy the whole bargaining thing that is part of Mexican shopping. I am not one of them. My experience has been that it is not a friendly give-and-take. The shopkeepers are pushy and rude. When you finally settle on a price, they don’t give in with anything remotely resembling grace. They accept your money with a scowl and you wonder why you wanted the damn thing badly enough to put yourself through that. As a contrast, shopping in St. Croix was an absolute delight. Shopkeepers offered their wares at some stalls, but it was very polite. Other stalls, they might be working on a craft and they were clearly aware of you, but didn’t insert themselves unless you addressed them. If you said “No thank you.” It was accepted. Nobody continued to harangue you. We did some great window shopping as we discovered things we wanted to share with one another and assessed whether there was anything that caught our eye enough to take home with us. My DD used to display a driving need to possess everything that caught her eye. She’s gotten a lot more mature, and we now have a comfortable understanding that we can share and enjoy things we see in a shopping venue without having to actually purchase it. We did end up both buying a necklace and were both very pleased with our purchases.

 

After about an hour, we returned to the ship to get ready for our excursion. We put on swimsuits and plenty of sunscreen. By 12:15, we were down on the pier again heading for the RCI employee who was holding up the Mini Boats sign. I rarely book a ship’s excursion. I generally find a better value with outstanding recommendations by booking with a private outfit. But I just couldn’t settle on something for St. Croix, so I had checked out the ship’s excursions and decided this one looked like fun. I tried the St. Croix board to see if anyone had tried it and got no responses. Not sure if the excursion was new, but I wouldn’t be surprised. Once word of this one gets around, they’ll sell out. We had an absolute blast! We had seen a group of small boats coming in at high speed as we had been walking back to the ship from our shopping excursion and I suspected at the time that those were our boats. I was right. We walked to the base of the pier where Derek and Ron were waiting for us. The RC employee turned us over and disappeared. Derek started with some basic instruction, noting that if he was looking your way with his hand in a fist and his arm about his head, tapping the fist to the top of his head, he was asking if you were OK. I don’t recall that he then proceeded to give us what the hand signals were that we were supposed to use for a response; all I could think of at that point is that he looked like he was posing for one of those odd Mayan carvings … all he was missing was the distended belly. We got two more warnings before the boats were brought up for loading. We had to avoid two things. One was a dive boat, the other was the cruise ship. We had to stay at least 100 yards away from either or risk a ticket. The ticket, once issued would require the issuee of said ticket to remain on the island until a judge could become available the next day. Nobody wanted to watch the Serenade sail away from the islander’s vantage point.

 

Derek apologized and said he’d had two boats go down with mechanical issues that morning so there would have to be more than 2 per boat. He ended up putting a family of four in one of the bigger boats and a family of three in another. Then he added that two of the other boats would have to also take either he or Ron. I suspect that they took one look at my skinny DD and figured there was less weight in our boat, so Ron ended up going with DD and I. I also believe that he knew the equipment very well as he held us back until the last boat was brought up for boarding. I was to find out that he loved speed and this was the fastest boat. That was fine with me … since I got to drive. It is not my fault that I like to drive fast. It is a genetic disorder, handed down from my father … all my siblings are similarly affected.

 

Ron was to be the leader of our flotilla and we headed down the coast skimming along the waves. I sat in the back and my DD was just in front of the steering column. Ron sat in the very front. We started to overtake Derek and Ron began to signal something to me. Since this was not the one approved signals that had been part of our instructions, I slowed down. I figured I was being told that I had to stay behind the leader. I was wrong … my DD got the message, even though I didn’t. She turned around “Mom! Kick it!” Cool! Ron was egging me on to take over the lead. I pushed the throttle to the upper limits and we moved ahead of the pack. It was fabulous. The sun was shining. The temperature was very warm, but not scorching. The breeze was playing havoc with my attempts to keep my skirt across my legs to reduce exposure to the sun. The water was slapping against the bottom as the boat bounced atop the waves, becoming a bit airborne from time to time. I’m really very glad Ron was in our boat, since I would have been concerned about damaging the thing if he hadn’t been there to let us know that it would handle this kind of abuse. Ron kept looking back and taking inventory of each of the other boats to assure that everyone was doing fine. From time to time, he would have me slow and swing around to check on someone if he couldn’t spot a wake. The flotilla hadn’t done much of a good job of keeping together. We were spread out over a pretty wide area, each of us reveling in the freedom of having control of our own little craft.

 

We arrived at the first potential snorkel spot and Derek watched as a nearby cattle-maran began off-loading snorklers into the water. He shook his head, conferred with Ron and they advised that it was really too choppy to put people in. This was the spot where the turtles could be seen, but there was never a doubt in my mind that these two guys considered the safety factor first. They were determined we would have the best possible experience without risking any unsafe situations. Accordingly, they said they would take us to snorkel a wreck that was back along the coast on the other side of the ship. This meant more driving time. Fabulous! I pushed the throttle to the limit and we zipped back in the direction we had come from. Ron urged me to have some fun with it, so I weaved back and forth, giving the boaters behind me some playful wake to have to bounce through.

 

We rounded the pier the ship was tied to and headed further along the coast past an old plantation. Ron had me slow down so he could locate the appropriate bouy. Once he found it, we tied up to it and the other boats pulled up one by one and were tied to my boat. Snorkle gear was extracted from the front compartment and we began to get suited up. DD wasted no time in getting her gear on and she jumped in. “How is it!?” Ron called out. “Murky!” she shot back. Meanwhile, I had managed to get everything on, including my flippers and then realized that I would have to make my way to the front of the boat around the steering column … since the other boats were all clustered around my boat at the stern. It is with considerable relief that I report I saw no one with a video camera immortalizing my attempts to flop past that steering column wearing size 11 flippers. I have this visual of Donald Duck rolling on the floor in uncontained mirth. There is no question now in my why ducks will go to great lengths to avoid having to negotiate dry ground. It’s a real challenge to just raise one foot and then attempt to find enough open ground space to put it back down again.

 

I made a memorably ungraceful entry into the water and began to paddle about studying the view. The sunken ship wasn’t too far under the surface, but it wasn’t much to look at. What was particularly cool, however were the barracuda that were swimming nearby. That one was a first for me. There were reportedly sting rays at the bottom, but the water was rather murky and we didn’t see them. We really didn’t snorkel that long, but the main event as far as I was concerned was the boats themselves. So it was time to get back in them. That was easier said than done. DD nimbly hoisted herself over the side and began to shed her equipment. I handed up my flippers and mask and then made several attempts to repeat her maneuver. Again, I was glad there was no videographer recording this moment. Out of pity, Ron directed me to the back of the boat and had me step onto a foothold with one foot. The concept was that I would then have some leverage to hoist myself inside the boat. The reality is that this incredibly wiry young man hauled me up out of the water in one swift movement and I am eternally grateful that I didn’t have to be towed back to the ship.

 

Once everyone was back in the boats, Derek advised we had extra time, so we could take our time getting back to the pier. Of course, that didn’t mean we were going to putt along at a leisurely pace. That meant running flat out, doing donuts and figure 8s, cutting back and forth in each other’s wake, and back-tracking to prolong the experience. I zipped around for a bit on the opposite side of the pier from the ship scanning the rows of balconies to see if I could find someone to wave to. Once again, all I saw were empty balconies. Somehow, to complete the experience, I needed there to be someone on board to wave at me. I finally spotted a couple on the sun deck and they fulfilled my fantasy. We waved back, and I felt ridiculously pleased with myself.

 

All good things must come to an end, and this excursion was no different. We were the last boat in. They helped us onto the dock and we headed back to the ship to shower and make ourselves presentable for the evening.

 

I’m a sucker for most crafts, so when I spotted a craft called pointalism on the schedule for 5:00 p.m. I decided I had to go check it out. I still wanted to go the Crown and Anchor reception at 5:15, so this was going to require some pretty tight scheduling. However, both events were off the stern stairwell, and my cabin on deck 7 was in between the two and right off the stairwell also. That meant I could check out the craft, at least get the project started, and then duck out early. I could then drop it off in my cabin, collect my DD and arrive at the reception a bit late.

 

I arrived in the Hollywood Odyssey for the craft to find that two of my CC tablemates were already selecting their paint colors for the pointalism craft. The craft involves dotting paint onto a provided picture. The more creative folks could use a blank sheet of paper and produce something of their own design. I settled for the little beach scene provided and happily proceeded to dab paint onto it. I doubt this is something I’ll take up, but it was an interesting activity to fill one’s time while you waited for the next dinner bell to sound.

 

I rushed through my craft, bid everyone a quick adieu and then headed down to the cabin for my DD. We went to the Safari Club with our invitation in hand. Even though we were a bit late, the entry was still manned by a gauntlet of ship’s officers who greeted us pleasantly. DD was attending in the hopes she might snag some delicacies, such as chocolate-covered strawberries. She was destined to be disappointed. I would venture a guess that they don’t produce that sort of thing until it’s time for the Platinum and Diamond Reception (which we missed later in the cruise because dinner ran late). There wasn’t much being served in the way of food. I spotted a terrific display of fruit on the way in, but it was so artfully displayed that not very many people had taken any. We arrived as Dennis was addressing the guests. He was followed by the captain, who was very personable and gracious. They both did a great job of making us feel welcome. They were serving drinks. I had a rum punch, which I then carried with me when I left, since dinner was next.

 

We arrived to find that most of our tablemates had already gotten seated. There were one or two folks dealing with sunburn at this point, but everyone was in high spirits. Each of us shared our experiences of the day. Everyone was pretty pleased with how they had spent the day. This was also the night that the dining room staff paraded into the dining room and assembled on the staircase to sing that old stand-by “Ole Sole o Mio”. I suppose if you cruise more often than I do, this sort of thing gets pretty old … especially since I’ve seen it done on every RCI ship I sailed on, starting in 1988. But DD and I found it great fun as did the new cruisers at our table.

 

As dinner wound to a close, Noel came over to show off his napkin folding skills. It’s amazing when you watch someone take a simple square of cloth and with a few folds one way and then another, suddenly something quite unexpected emerges. In this case, it was a suit of clothes. First it was the jacket; then the pants were created, one leg at a time. He even created shoes … elf shoes with a turned up toe.

After dinner, we decided to check out the shops on board. Naturally, the first stop was the logo shop. I always want to take something home that reminds me of the ship or the cruise line. This was one of those times that I found that I needed to heed my mother’s admonition “Blessed is the man who expecteth nothing, for he shall not be disappointed.” The number one objective on my list was acquiring a pewter magnet of the Serenade of the Seas of a particular size and design. We’d bought one on every RC ship we’d sailed on. Unfortunately, the only type they had was the magnet that acted as a memo clip. Consequently, it wouldn’t end up sitting flush on the surface like the three others we have. I’d walked away, disappointed. I was going to have to think about the purchase for a couple days. I knew that the chance they would pull the appropriate type out of inventory before the end of the cruise was unlikely, but I just wasn’t ready to adjust my expectations. We decided we would return later with our 10% logo shop discount coupon and get a Christmas ornament and a travel mug. And DD decided that she would look terribly chic in the black baseball cap with the pink trim and the sparkling RC logo. She tried to convince me that I wanted to buy it for her, but I sidestepped her by pointing out that I didn’t have the coupon at the current moment.

Next we wandered over to the Jewelry Shop and began to window shop the pricey stuff in the cases. There was an exceptionally striking golden sand dollar that I was enchanted with. Once I made the mistake of showing it to my DD, she immediately latched onto the concept that this item needed to go home with us. I went so far as to ask to see it and find out the price. A very smooth salesman pulled it out and advised me that it was the only one they had and they had just added it to their stock in St. Thomas. Now I don’t want to cast any aspersions on the noble profession of sales, but this information launched a full scale Sales-B.S. alert in my suspicious little mind. I don’t believe they add stock anywhere but their home port … and the “only one we have” is the basic informational gambit designed to trigger a female panic that this desired item is going to be snapped up by the next person who spots it. Unaware that I was already looking for more reason to walk away from a potential purchase, the salesman then pointed out that this was normally priced at $900, but was currently on sale for something like $478. This move is designed to work on the fact that a man will go to a store and spend $2 for a $1 item he needs, while a woman will spend $1 for a $2 item she doesn’t need, because it was on sale. The reality is that fine jewelry is always on sale. Nobody pays retail. What I was probably looking at was a $300 item that was inflated to $900 and then reduced to $478 to convince the buyer she was getting a good deal. Was it beautiful? Absolutely! Did I want it? Yes, without question. Did I buy it? No, I didn’t. Had I done so, I couldn’t have worn it, since it was the pendant only. Therefore, I would have also needed to spend more money for a chain to put it on. Of course, that chain would have probably been on sale too.

We headed for the theater to get good seats for The Scintas Show. They were billed as a headline act from Las Vegas. It turned out to be a marvelous show. Brothers Joe and Frank were joined by their sister Chrissi. The show was a combination of comedy and impressions of famous entertainers. They moved through performances by Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Neil Diamond, Elvis, Tom Jones, Frank Sinatra and Kermit the Frog (the head-bobbing for Kermit was a stitch). The impressions were well done, but the best ingredient of the show was the warm out-going personalities that they were able to project from the stage. They were capable of tugging at the heartstrings as the conversation explored interactions with their late father, then they would toss in a quick one-liner to get you laughing again. The two brothers were my favorite part of the show, with a big edge going to the brother who pounded out several incredible pieces on the piano, including the Theme from the Godfather (a tribute to his father) and Piano Man. Chrissi had an incredible voice, but she was playing tribute to performers that aren’t on my personal hit parade, so I’m not in a position to truly assess her performance. My DD, however, is a clandestine member of the fashion police and her assessment of Chrissi’s costumes (of which there were 4) was that the only thing she was taken with were the shoes she wore in costume change #2.

 

When the show ended, we were advised to stick around for Bingo. I didn't really care if we did or not, but my DD was convinced that we needed to do this. The line wasn't too long, so I joined it and pulled out my sea pass card. When I got up to the card seller I found out that this game was going to be double the cost of the previous game. I was stunned. When we played for a Jr. Suite, it was $11 for a triple cards and $16 for 6 cards; this time it was $22 and $32 respectively, for a whopping $500 cash prize. All things being relative, how does that equate to paying $25 just a few years ago for a six pack of three cards each for 6 different games. Each of those games resulted in winnings of several hundred each (and the last set of cards was a coverall with a jackpot that grew all week to several thousand dollars). I let DDs enthusiasm carry the day and I shelled out $22. She claimed the card and handled the responsibilities of punching back the tab for each number called. She even had the thrill of being one of the people who got to stand when they only needed one more number. Eventually, that one more number was called … but it certainly wasn't on our card. During the entire game, however, it became clear that she had already decided what she planned to do with the money when "she" won it. She was going to follow me back to the store so I could buy that golden sand dollar. I figured it wasn’t worth the battle to point out that there was no guarantee I would blow it on the bauble. If we actually won, there would be time for that discussion. But since we didn’t, it became a moot point.

 

The big party for the evening was going to be the 70s party, which promised to be loads of fun. But we had both been burning the late night oil for the past two nights. I want to go on record here of pointing out it was not me who said let’s just call it an early night.

 

This was the time to really find out if our location right around the corner from the Centrum was ill-advised. The party kicked into high gear as we got ready for bed. When I opened the door to slip the “Do Not Disturb” card into the slot, the music filled the cabin. But the moment I shut the door, it was a distant jumble of noise. I quickly fell asleep. DD reports she took a bit longer to drift off and it bothered her to some degree, but it wasn’t a major issue.

 

On day 3, I see you went to the Crown & Anchor reception. Is this where the captain speaks and the Loyalty Ambassador recognizes those with the most cruises?

 

Was say 3 Italian night in the dining room? I seem to recall the wait staff singing on Italian night and the last night of the cruise.

 

thanks again :)

[emeraldcity]

On day 3, I see you went to the Crown & Anchor reception. Is this where the captain speaks and the Loyalty Ambassador recognizes those with the most cruises?

 

Was say 3 Italian night in the dining room? I seem to recall the wait staff singing on Italian night and the last night of the cruise.

 

thanks again :)

 

Yes. The C&A reception was where they honored the person with the most cruises. I was talking to the young couple we were seated with at that point and I don't remember the specifics, but I believe they awarded a bottle of champagne to them.

 

I suppose it was Italian night, but they really don't take it as far as they did in years past. We were chatting with the diamond cruisers at our table about that. I remember my first cruise on the Sovereign. Every night was a different nationality night and the dining room had bunting on the ceiling that was changed to match the appropriate theme.

[emeraldcity]

Breakfast

RCI had plenty to offer, but I fell into a rut. I decided that I really liked the view from my rut and saw no reason whatsoever to climb out of it. Consequently, I started off with fruit that someone else had shopped for, cleaned and cut up just for me. Then I added a sugared donut. RCI has definitely improved the donut since I last cruised with them. While they aren’t going to put Dunkin Donuts out of business, it was still quite satisfactory. I generally added a yogurt to the mix (have to have some dairy, you know). Not sure what brand they have, but it was a bid for the health-conscious crowd who like low-fat yogurt. I personally prefer the top of the line Yoplait (a habit I developed on the Sovereign of the Seas in 1988), but I made do. The coffee was always a bit strong and I seriously longed for some French vanilla creamer to take the edge off. When I returned to the Windjammer for my second breakfast, it was time to take several Belgian waffles and bury them in strawberries (ambrosia!). The first time, I also added some whipped cream, but you have to draw the line on the over-indulgence tendencies somewhere. So I practiced Whipped Cream Abstinence for the rest of the cruise. Next I went for those breakfast potatoes and added a few pieces of bacon to insure I balanced out all that produce with some fat. The breakfast potatoes varied a bit from day to day. The thinner they cut them, the better they were, because they ended up with more seasoning.

 

I really can’t believe that I did a whole cruise and never had a made-to-order omelet. I really love those and rarely pass up an opportunity to get one. But you have to make your choices, and I was enjoying those strawberry waffles so much.

 

This was the first time I ran into the up-charge offering to get a breakfast beverage. The first table on entering the Windjammer was generally the one where you could get fresh-squeezed orange juice, provided you had your sea pass card with you. It was $2.50 for an 8-oz. glass and 3.95 for a 12-oz.

 

On either side of the entrance to the buffet area of the Windjammer is a curved breakfast bar that will seat five people. At first, I found it a curious installation. Why would anyone choose to sit in such a busy spot? Then I discovered that it is a fabulous place to begin your breakfast with a donut, coffee and some fruit while you wait for the rest of your party to show up. Nobody could get past without you spotting them.

 

Lunch

We alternated between the Windjammer, the Seaview Café and the Solarium Café. The pizza isn’t going to compare favorably to the ones they serve in Chicago, but it was certainly acceptable. The fresh-fried American staples in the Seaview Café were prepared to perfection. DD probably had the chicken and fries at least 3 times, maybe more. Those are some of the best onion rings I’ve had in quite some time. There were plenty of choices in the Windjammer, but I admit I rarely did anything other than fix a nice big salad. They stocked wonderful fresh green Romaine lettuce, which is my personal preference. A nice addition would have been some spinach, but at least it wasn’t that tasteless iceberg lettuce you find on so many buffets. They also have the consideration to stock croutons that are cut small enough that you can actually fit some of the rest of the salad in your mouth at the same time as the crouton. I don’t care for the ones that are so big you feel that you should just use them as a separate appetizer that should be dipped into a puddle of salad dressing and then popped one at a time in your mouth.

 

 

Snacks

Generally, my DD found time each day to get some Soft Serve Ice Cream. She reported back each time on the availability of the different flavors. It seems that it wasn’t very easy to get chocolate. Either they didn’t stock it regularly, or there was such a big demand for it that it always ran out before she got there. Her last foray on Friday resulted in a twist cone, since chocolate wasn’t available again, but at least the twist was.

 

For my part, if it was time to snack, I wanted to sample the cookies. I’ve heard that the peanut butter ones have a big following, but I’m not joining that club. I’m with the people that have discovered how good those oatmeal raisin cookies are. I was pretty desolate one afternoon to find that I was going to have to settle for something else instead, because they were all out. I did try the toffee ones at that point. They were good, but they couldn’t compare to the oatmeal raisin.

 

Dinner

OK. Here’s the meal that is the most important. Dinner is, after all, the social centerpiece of this type of cruising (non-Freestyle … thank you very much). While we linger over dinner, enjoying the company of our tablemates, one of the obvious topics of conversation was the food we were eating. Seated at our table were 4 diamond cruisers, 2 platinum (one of which is a relatively picky teenage girl), and 4 newbies.

 

One other consideration to add to the mix before I get to an assessment of the dining fare … This isn’t like being on that 9-hour Continental flight to Honolulu where the food carts don’t show up for 6 hours … and when they do, you’re so desperate for something to eat that the mini sandwich they hand you with a single slice of lunch meat folded in quarters and a piece of lettuce hiding in the bun is the most fantastic sandwich you ever had in your life. On a cruise ship, the opportunities to grab a quick snack are a constant temptation and you can further rationalize that vacations are not a time to avoid temptations. Accordingly, you don’t arrive in the dining room starving. You probably haven’t had anything to eat for maybe an hour or two, so you’re going to take your time savoring what they put in front of you.

 

Hands down, the entire table was very impressed with the food all week long. Of course, I’m not one of those who are in the foodie classification, so there will be those who think I’m just too easy to please. But the veterans agreed that the current menu is a cut above what we’ve had on past cruises with RCI, despite the fact that the posts we’d read as we prepared for our cruise had us prepared to be disappointed.

 

Appetizers

Let’s start off with a discussion of appetizer choices. The menu you get the first night lists appetizers that include several that sound like just the sort of thing you should be treating yourself to. If memory serves me correctly, the first night was the only night we stuck to one appetizer each (except for my DD). After that, it was pretty common for many of us to double up. Of course, that was the night of the Vidalia onion tart, and that was on nearly everybody’s to-do list. Sign me up for the Onion Tart Fan Club!

 

My DD, however was on a mission to check out the chilled soups every night. Since they served watermelon the first night (and she already knew that CC gives that a thumbs down) she got the exotic fruits in addition to the watermelon soup. She gives the exotic fruits a big gold star, and joins the crowd that doesn’t finish the watermelon. The cinnamon-apple soup she didn’t finish either, since she said it just tasted like watered down applesauce. The peach soup was “OK”. Now let’s move into the gold star category. Star billing here goes to the fantastic strawberry bisque. But there was a serious contender this trip. The raspberry-pineapple soup was outstanding. My DD had to order a second one, just to be sure she wasn’t mistaken. And we are awarding an honorable mention to the cranberry soup (I think it was cranberry-mango).

 

Other appetizers I tried on the cruise were the asparagus creamed soup (if you like creamed soups, don’t miss this one), the shrimp cocktail (a crowd pleaser), spinach dip with tortilla chips (I suppose it would be in poor taste to lick the bowl, so I settled for swabbing out the remainder with pieces of my sourdough roll when the chips were gone), crab and shrimp salad (probably my least favorite … I would just rate as OK). I regret not getting the scallop risotto. Those who did at our table gave it high marks.

 

Entrees

If you see pork medallions on the menu, you’re in for a treat. We loved it. Tender and tasty! The scoop of mashed potatoes that is served with it tastes like “more”. It’s a pity they didn’t just offer a side dish of mashed potatoes for people like me. Fortunately, I got my seconds anyway … DD doesn’t like mashed potatoes (how weird is that?), so I begged for her leftovers and she graciously obliged. Another night we had beef tenderloin, which was fabulous. Prime rib was served on two different nights and it was very, very good. The lobster was served with a couple shrimp. The drawn butter was served to each diner on request, rather than providing you with your own portion to dip into throughout the meal. If I had to pick a favorite meal, I think it would be the Chicken Marsala. Both DD and I ordered it, which meant I once again got a double helping of mashed potatoes. I didn’t order steak all week. Of the two people who I remember ordering (DD being one), they said it was only so-so. The only meal I had that I wasn’t particularly impressed with was the mahi-mahi. But this may just be me, since my ideal fish dinner is Lake Erie perch. You can search the world over and I don’t think you’ll find a better tasting fish. (I probably need to don flame-retardant gear at this point, since I’m bound to have pissed off some fisherman who makes his livelihood catching cod, or something.)

 

Desserts

We didn’t take Noel’s recommendation the first night to try the Strawberry Pavlova. DD ordered the Chocolate Cherry cake and I ordered the Blueberry and Peach cobbler. It was a mistake. When Noel realized my DD had barely touched her dessert, he asked if she wanted that strawberry fluff thing. She said, “No. That’s OK.” He responded, “OK, I’ll bring you one.” I was, however, smart enough not to turn him down when he offered and in short order, we both had a dessert that was terribly sweet and yummy. I left no prisoners. (Did I mention what a great waiter Noel is?)

 

The desserts on my last cruise had been a disappointment. The desserts on this one were a delight. Stand-outs include the key lime pie, the trio of desserts that included the famous flourless chocolate cake, the berry tart pastry, and the double strawberry cheesecake. I didn’t try the apple pie since I’ve never met an apple pie that I like better than the one I make in my own kitchen (of course I have a superior supply chain owing to the fact that my apples come from an orchard that is only ½ hour away, I use a blend of two different varieties, and I only make it in season). On the last night, I just wanted something light, so I went with the pineapple sherbet (which was a really good choice). Many of our tablemates had gone for the recommended raspberry panna cotta. I’ll never forget the look on the face of the first person they placed that pink mound in front of. We all quit talking and sat there in stunned silence. Nobody wanted to be the first to say it. Three or four more of the desserts were served to the waiting diners. One of the guys reached out, took hold of the plate and jiggled it. The mound obligingly jiggled provocatively. So he started chuckling and jiggled it some more. His wife slapped his hand in embarrassment, “Stop it.” We all started giggling. I believe they reported that it tasted very good, but it was the presentation that remained in our minds long after we left the table and headed our own separate ways.

[emeraldcity]

Great review. I've been passing the time at the San Juan airport writing my own review and reading Cruise Critic. I am already suffering from severe post cruise depression. The Serenade was fabulous. I think my little review will pale next to this one though. You are a great writer.

 

I'll let you in on a little secret. My cruise isn't over yet. That's what this exercise is all about. I'm still cruising as I relive it all in my memory and save every little piece of it I can while it's still fresh.

 

My personal philosphy is that any trip is 25% anticipation/preparation, 50% execution, and 25% memories. I'm in the third stage of this one.

[amyphil]

Oh, you make me laugh so much when I read your reviews. I second, third and fourth the posters that think you should be a writer (perhaps you are in "real" life). My husband and I are going on our first cruise, on the FOS, in July and after reading your posts I can't wait. Even though we are not cruising on the ship you did, nor going to the same ports, your review has me laughing and smiling every time I read your words. I feel like I am on the cruise with you.

Your daughter is a very lucky girl to have a great, fun loving and articulate Mom.

Can't wait till your next installment.

Amy:):)

[cruzingduo]

I too think you should be a writer. As I read your review I get more and more excited about next week when we sail on the Serenade.

 

Thanks for your response about the Crown & Anchor party or reception, whichever they call it. So the Serenade does not have another get together just for Plat/Dia and Dia+.

Some of the ships we have been on have both a welcome back party and the repeaters party.

 

I love how you make the cruise last and last. Looking forward to your next post.

[emeraldcity]

Oh, you make me laugh so much when I read your reviews. I second, third and fourth the posters that think you should be a writer (perhaps you are in "real" life). My husband and I are going on our first cruise, on the FOS, in July and after reading your posts I can't wait. Even though we are not cruising on the ship you did, nor going to the same ports, your review has me laughing and smiling every time I read your words. I feel like I am on the cruise with you.

Your daughter is a very lucky girl to have a great, fun loving and articulate Mom.

Can't wait till your next installment.

Amy:):)

 

I wish for you a wonderful cruise, filled with warm breezes, congenial new friends, great food and countless special moments.

 

I'm pretty lucky to have such a great daughter. She's been a pretty good sport to proof my stuff before I post and then let me post anyway. (How many 16-yr old girls would feel comfortable enough about themselves to do that?) However, you should have heard the yell from the other room last night when she was doing the pre-posting review of the food segment ... "I'm not picky!" Of course she did create her own user account a few days ago to make sure that what she sees in the pre-reading is what ends up in the on-line version.

I too think you should be a writer. As I read your review I get more and more excited about next week when we sail on the Serenade.

 

Thanks for your response about the Crown & Anchor party or reception, whichever they call it. So the Serenade does not have another get together just for Plat/Dia and Dia+.

Some of the ships we have been on have both a welcome back party and the repeaters party.

 

I love how you make the cruise last and last. Looking forward to your next post.

 

No I don't write for a living. Wouldn't that be fun though? I guess I'm one of those undiscovered talents that's just waiting to be discovered. If they start putting together an American Writer's Idol Show, maybe I'll see if I can get into the auditions.

 

There was another reception for platinum and diamond. That invite came later in the week (the M&M invite and the C&A invite were in our cabin when we boarded). It was held between the two dinner seatings on the second formal night and we didn't make it ... we were having too much fun chatting with our tablemates and we didn't leave the dining room until well after it started.

[Cruzin-K]

I too think you should be a writer. As I read your review I get more and more excited about next week when we sail on the Serenade.

 

Thanks for your response about the Crown & Anchor party or reception, whichever they call it. So the Serenade does not have another get together just for Plat/Dia and Dia+.

Some of the ships we have been on have both a welcome back party and the repeaters party.

 

I love how you make the cruise last and last. Looking forward to your next post.

 

The Serenade had both parties. The C&A welcome back party was Tuesday. I can't tell you when the Plat/Dia party was because I wasn't invited :(:D

[BroncosFan2010]

Did you happen to take a picture of that jiggly dessert??? I would LOVE to see that!

 

Good to hear the desserts are getting better, I always found RCCL's desserts to be lackluster, at best. They are never sweet or rich enough. I want my chocolate to TASTE like CHOCOLATE!

[emeraldcity]

Did you happen to take a picture of that jiggly dessert??? I would LOVE to see that!

 

 

Ah! But that would take away the fun of painting your own visual. I only took a picture of one dessert ... and it was G-rated.

[ahawco]

Emerald city...thanks so much for posting the food review. This was not the first time that I chuckled at your great sense of humour. I love the part about wanting to lick the spinach dip bowl...so funny! Believe you me when I say my DH has been tempted to do this on many occasions :)

 

This was a great part of your review and I found my mouth beginning to water on more than one occasion as I imagined my DH and I sitting down to similarely great meals. Food to us is a very important part of the enjoyment of a vacation and it sounds as if we will not be disappointed. I look forward to the culinary treats that await us!

 

Did you try Portofinos's or Chops? We will be trying Portofino's for certain.

 

I look forward to more of your fantastic review!

[BroncosFan2010]

Ah! But that would take away the fun of painting your own visual. I only took a picture of one dessert ... and it was G-rated.

 

That looks super good.... But would still like to see the "actual" picture of what you were describing.... I wonder if any other CC'ers can help me out??? :D:rolleyes: