Serenade 7/18/2010 trip report w/ pix

[BeancounterUSA]

p a i n f u l l y s l o w

 

 

we have a son who is doing some graduate coursework in Eqypt for his Engineering masters. It is very important to our relaxation that we know he is safe and doing OK.

 

Between hotmail emails, twitter and facebook we were hoping to follow him.

 

I bought the $35 internet package and used a crown and anchor coupon. It's amazing how fast $.57 per minute goes when the internet is so slow.

 

Fortunately, I had 3g service on my iphone while we were in St. Croix. Even so, I went over the $35 amount during the process of trying to print my boarding passes on the last day which took a total of 12 minutes.

[BeancounterUSA]

Are these the menus to the MDR or the specialty restaurants?

Thanks,

Mitch......

 

 

these were selections from the MDR in hopes that readers could figure out which menu goes with which night. There have been several threads with the full menus, but not which night has which menu. Here is one of those threads: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1195465&highlight

 

I mentioned the portofino mystery dinner on night 4 just to point out which night it was held on the Serenade.

 

The specialty restaurant menus don't change (except for the mystery dinner)

[BeancounterUSA]

Forgot to mention that the show during the first formal night was Beatlemania. We enjoyed this show as much as any other. The music was very authentic and the players mannerisms and impressions were striking as well. You were left to wonder if you had gone back 45 years and seeing the real Beatles in their prime. I also thought the costume changes from the early black suites to the Lonely Hearts Club outfits to the later years was well done.

 

Great show.

[BeancounterUSA]

Day 3 - Barbados

 

Ordered room service breakfast for the first time in all of my 4 cruises. Used the crown and anchor coupon for some specialty coffee while we waited for the breakfast to arrive.

 

While picking up the cafe mocha's from Latte'tudes I ran into the Hotel Director and struck up a conversation. It seems he is a relief HD and was filling in the permanent HD while he was on vacation. He seemed to enjoy his relief role. My coffee and my pastrie selections arrived and I attempted to haul the two cups and two pastries back to our room, but didn't get three steps before balance was lost and the pastries toppled over. How embarassing!

 

Tip #8 - it's better to make two trips in this situation

 

After B'fast we got ready for our shore excursion. We booked the Smallcats catamaran through shoretrips.com. We were driven a short distance through Bridgetown to our waiting catamaran and the 12 person vessell only ended up having another family of 4 in addition to the 2 of us.

 

All of my pictures for this excursion were taken with disposable waterproof cameras that we purchased in a duty free store at the terminal in Bridgetown. We had to buy these because our digital waterproof camera didn't end up to be waterproof during my test in the Marriott pool on the morning of day 1. Once I get these developed, I will post some of those pictures in this space.

 

In any event our captain Larry and his crewman Jeff were wonderful. We avoided some scattered showers in the area by going to plan B and snorkling over some shipwrecks on the south side of the island. A boat ride around toward the west side of the island followed, and when we switched from motorized power to sail and wind power they opened the bar and started passing out rum punch, beer and soft drinks. The bar, cleverly enough, was located in one of the pontoons of the catamaran.

 

Our next stop was the location where you swim with the turtles. This was an amazing experience. They withhold the swim fins so as not to disturb the turtles, but unfortunately there are those who swim out from a nearby resort donning full snorkle gear including the fins that ruin things for the rest of us. We had a lot of time with the turtles but all good things must come to an end and we were recalled to our vessel just as a passing shower was upon us. We were wet anyway so no biggie.

 

One last snorkling stop and then we were driven back from the west side of the island in time for lunch on the ship.

 

I highly recommend this tour as it was reasonably priced and well done. There is a longer tour that includes lunch if you so prefer.

 

Tip #9: sunscreen tends to degrade in saltwater and you should re-apply when getting in and out of the water. I forgot and received a pretty good sunburn on my back despite my otherwise best efforts.

 

Here are some photo's from that day (with the underwater camera photos to follow):

 

 

 

and from our deck 7 portside balcony (with the 10 foot lifeboat roof visible)

 

[Nick28]

Thanks so much...keep it coming. We are on the Serenade in Oct for our 25th anniversary!

[KY Deb]

We got a cab into Old San Juan and immediately headed for Maria's Tropical Drinks. They have frozen tropical drinks (tip #1: don't make the same mistake I did and drink it too fast or you'll get a massive and painful brain freeze) and a limited menu of taco's and enchilada's. We also got the chips and cheese dip that was tremendous.

 

 

 

 

We then enjoyed the shops and narrow cobblestone streets of OSJ. Architecturally, we compare OSJ as a mixture of Charleston and Bourbon Street with a latin influence (and without the crazy people). There is a heavy police presence and the homeowners and shopkeepers leave their doors and windows open.

 

 

 

Don't you just love OSJ? And Maria's? I couldn't believe it when I got on cruise critic this morning. It is a must stop for us every time we go to PR.(which can be twice a year for business, lucky us!) Anyway, it has been a tradition for us for 12 years. Did you get a shot of the picture behind the bar of the lions? That has been a standing joke with us and some friends for a long time. Thanks for the great review. Keep it coming.

We're on the Serenade in Feb.

[ahawco]

Night 1 - Sunday (casual)

 

Vidalia Onion tart appetizer

Pan Fried Pork medallions

Prime Rib

 

Night 2 - Monday (formal)

 

Shrimp cocktail, escargo appetizers

Seafood skewer, shrimp ravioli

 

Night 3 - Tuesday (casual)

 

Crab and shrimp salad appetizer

Turkey tenderloin, cornmeal dusted tilapia

 

Night 4 - Wednesday (casual/caribbean) mystery dinner in Portofino

 

crab cake and clam chowder appetizers

sauted catch of the day, Rack of Lamb

 

Night 5 - Thursday (casual/70's)

 

NY strip steak, shrimp & ____ tempura

 

Night 6 - Friday (formal)

 

Lobster

 

Night 7 - Saturday (casual)

 

Scallop Rissoto, Garlic soup

Garlic Tiger Shrimp, Lamb shank

 

Thanks so much for listing what you ate on which night. I was able to figure out which menus are which nights based on what you wrote :) Since the nights seem to have been switched around I will have to change my Chops reservation to the right night. I had it originally booked for night 7 but now that I see Italian night is that night I don't want to miss out...thanks so much for your help!!

 

I am enjoying the rest of your review so far and look forward to reading the rest!

[ssschley]

It looks like you did the murder mystery night for dinner one evening. Was it fun and would you recommend doing it? We have it booked for our cruise next week and I was wondering what you thought.

 

thanks!

[horric29]

If you don't mind me asking, what brand and model was the waterproof camera? I want to make sure I don't buy the same one as I've been looking to purchase for some time!

[wolv4life]

Still can't figure out what this is:

 

 

Its an Armadillo!!!!!!

[BeancounterUSA]

Barbados - continued

 

Tuesday, Jul 20th was our 25th anniversary so we elected to have a special dinner at Chops. We had stopped by Chops on embarkation day and they advised that our 7:00 reservation time may not be early enough to secure one of the window tables for two (see below)

 

 

So we had changed our reservations to 6:00. This just meant that we would have to get ready a little earlier than planned.

 

Some time ago, I had told her that our 25th anniversary would be an occasion that called for an investment in jewelry and we decided on a diamond necklace. After booking this trip the plan would be to find a good deal on one of the islands. So beginning last January, we had spent some time in the local jewelry stores to decide what we wanted and try to become knowledgable. In the course of browsing we had found a necklace with a pear shaped hole surrounded by black diamonds and white diamonds. My wife got the idea to have a pear shape diamond set in the hole of the necklace and it looked stunning. Long story short, but without her knowing I had bought the necklace and smuggled it on to the ship. As far as she knew, we would be looking in Antigua and St. Maarten with home as a fall back position.

 

Anyway, she was late getting ready for our 6:00 reservation which gave me the opportunity to go down and chat with the wait staff and get their help in setting up the presentation of the surprise diamond necklace.

 

The waitress (Karen from Trinidad) did a nice job with the setup speach I gave her and the diamond necklace was unveiled successfully. My wife broke down in tears and so did the waitress. This picture does not do the necklace justice, but we are very proud of it:

 

 

Dinner in Chops was great and we ordered a bottle of wine and some specialty coffee after dinner. The mud pie desert was well worth saving room for:

 

 

The manager (Nalina (sp?)from Trinidad) sent over a couple of glasses of Champagne and another desert in honor of our anniversary, but we didn't have room for the desert. No matter, they had it sent to our room and it was there when we returned to the room that evening.

 

We were so thankful for how we were treated by the Chops staff and mentioned them in our comment card at the end of the cruise.

 

We went to the production show that night (stage to screen) but hardly remember it because we were still basking in the embiance of the evening. I enjoyed watching her wander through the shopping area to show off her new necklace:

 

 

So, I was a hero that night (for once) and we set our sights on the island of St. Lucia and our tour with Spencer Ambrose. But not before we saw another towel animal from Eulalie:

 

[BeancounterUSA]

Here's the two of us just prior to the unveiling of the anniversary gift:

 

 

[takevtr1]

these were selections from the MDR in hopes that readers could figure out which menu goes with which night. There have been several threads with the full menus, but not which night has which menu. Here is one of those threads: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1195465&highlight

 

I mentioned the portofino mystery dinner on night 4 just to point out which night it was held on the Serenade.

 

The specialty restaurant menus don't change (except for the mystery dinner)

 

excellent

thanks very much,

[BeancounterUSA]

St. Lucia

 

How could we top the previous day with the great Smallcats snorking adventure (pictures coming just as soon as we get them developed) and the anniversary celebration? We couldn't, but we were looking forward to our Spencer Ambrose tour.

 

After a windjammer breakfast (omelet, hash browns, sausage) we got packed up and arrived at our appointed location ahead of the requested 8:30am meeting time. Spencer's brother small was holding up the sign:

 

 

There was only one other family of four scheduled for this tour but they never showed up. Meanwhile Cosol had what looked like a full house. This is precisely why I chose Spencer Ambrose. Nothing against Cosol at all, he appeared to have a lot of energy and we enjoyed listening to his welcoming speech, but we prefer the smaller crowds.

 

And it doesn't get any smaller than just the two of us with our own personal guide for the next 7 hours. I felt bad for Small and wondered why the other family of four never made it.

 

We traveled through the town of Castries and made tentative plans to wander around there at the conclusion of our tour. It just seemed to me that they could do so much more with this incredible harbor location. Don't get me wrong, it was nice, but it has so much more potential IMO.

 

First stop was a guy that had some breadfruit. Interesting, but let's move on.

 

Next stop was a banana plantation where they took us through the whole process of banana growing. Very interesting, and we got to sample the banana's. I'm not much of a banana eater but I soon realized what I was missing:

 

 

 

We did not bring small denomination bills with us during this trip which was a mistake as we were solicited for tips at virtually every stop. I have no problem refusing these requests but when they give me something of value (banana's for example) I feel the need. Our supply of tippable cash got real low real quick which brings me to:

 

Tip #10: bring enough cash of every denomination just in case you are in a situation where you wish you had it. In my case, it cost me a little more in tips than it would have otherwise.

 

Next stop, up a mountain where Small got out at a small store and brought back Johnnycake fresh from the oven. It was fabulous and we resolved to get a recipe and try to make it back home.

 

Next we went to the fishing villages of Anse La Raye and Canaries. It was not what I was expecting (not in a good way). Again, this island is beautiful and has so much untapped potential.

 

Next we had a photo opportunity overlooking Soufriere and the Pitons which also included a view to Sulphur Springs.

 

 

 

Next, we went to Sulphur Springs and were given our own personal tour guide (whose services warranted another gratuity). This photo doesn't represent what it is truly like with the gurgling black liquid and the pungent odor, but here goes:

 

 

In the next part we go to the town of Soufriere and the water taxi to the Pitons and Jalousie Beach where we had a bit of an adventure

[JLCruising]

St. Lucia

 

How could we top the previous day with the great Smallcats snorking adventure (pictures coming just as soon as we get them developed) and the anniversary celebration? We couldn't, but we were looking forward to our Spencer Ambrose tour.

 

After a windjammer breakfast (omelet, hash browns, sausage) we got packed up and arrived at our appointed location ahead of the requested 8:30am meeting time. Spencer's brother small was holding up the sign:

 

 

There was only one other family of four scheduled for this tour but they never showed up. Meanwhile Cosol had what looked like a full house. This is precisely why I chose Spencer Ambrose. Nothing against Cosol at all, he appeared to have a lot of energy and we enjoyed listening to his welcoming speech, but we prefer the smaller crowds.

 

And it doesn't get any smaller than just the two of us with our own personal guide for the next 7 hours. I felt bad for Small and wondered why the other family of four never made it.

 

We traveled through the town of Castries and made tentative plans to wander around there at the conclusion of our tour. It just seemed to me that they could do so much more with this incredible harbor location. Don't get me wrong, it was nice, but it has so much more potential IMO.

 

First stop was a guy that had some breadfruit. Interesting, but let's move on.

 

Next stop was a banana plantation where they took us through the whole process of banana growing. Very interesting, and we got to sample the banana's. I'm not much of a banana eater but I soon realized what I was missing:

 

 

 

We did not bring small denomination bills with us during this trip which was a mistake as we were solicited for tips at virtually every stop. I have no problem refusing these requests but when they give me something of value (banana's for example) I feel the need. Our supply of tippable cash got real low real quick which brings me to:

 

Tip #10: bring enough cash of every denomination just in case you are in a situation where you wish you had it. In my case, it cost me a little more in tips than it would have otherwise.

 

Next stop, up a mountain where Small got out at a small store and brought back Johnnycake fresh from the oven. It was fabulous and we resolved to get a recipe and try to make it back home.

 

Next we went to the fishing villages of Anse La Raye and Canaries. It was not what I was expecting (not in a good way). Again, this island is beautiful and has so much untapped potential.

 

Next we had a photo opportunity overlooking Soufriere and the Pitons which also included a view to Sulphur Springs.

 

 

 

Next, we went to Sulphur Springs and were given our own personal tour guide (whose services warranted another gratuity). This photo doesn't represent what it is truly like with the gurgling black liquid and the pungent odor, but here goes:

 

 

In the next part we go to the town of Soufriere and the water taxi to the Pitons and Jalousie Beach where we had a bit of an adventure

I am totally enjoying this review - thanks so much for all the detail! My husband and I are on the Serenade on 9/5/10 celebrating our 34th anniversary. Looking forward to more information.

[BeancounterUSA]

It looks like you did the murder mystery night for dinner one evening. Was it fun and would you recommend doing it? We have it booked for our cruise next week and I was wondering what you thought.

 

thanks!

 

We didn't do the murder mystery dinner but several of our table mates did and they all raved about it. Said it was worth the per person extra charge. I just noted it on that list to indicate which night it was held during our cruise because I've seen some posts (not on this thread) asking.

[BeancounterUSA]

If you don't mind me asking, what brand and model was the waterproof camera? I want to make sure I don't buy the same one as I've been looking to purchase for some time!

 

 

bought it at Walmart and it was a Vivatar 8400 and it cost about $85.00. We also bought an SD card for extra storage memory but I forget what I paid for that.

 

I'm still not entirely convinced that I didn't do something wrong. It appears the water entered the camera through the battery compartment. Either way, what a bummer. I was so looking forward to having the underwater turtle pics to post. Hoping I can get my disposable underwater pics onto a CD for uploading soon.

[BeancounterUSA]

Thanks so much...keep it coming. We are on the Serenade in Oct for our 25th anniversary!

 

You will have a great time. Make sure you do the extra things even if they cost money, because you will only have this anniversary to celebrate once.

 

We saw a good number of passengers from the UK on our trip and several of cruise director's staff. Plus the casino had a number of UK employees including a husband and wife from Scotland and a cashier from Manchester who was a fan of United and not City which I'm told is somewhat unusual.

[takevtr1]

BeancounterUSA,

You were a 'hero for that night, for once"

Is that all it takes is jewelery?

 

I have been married for 23 years and never knew that. I just thought we could never win . LOL

 

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY,

mitch....

[BeancounterUSA]

I am totally enjoying this review - thanks so much for all the detail! My husband and I are on the Serenade on 9/5/10 celebrating our 34th anniversary. Looking forward to more information.

 

You will have a great time. Pay attention to some of the tips I am posting (there are some interesting tips and tidbits coming up) and don't hesitate to ask if you have any specific questions.

 

The port intensive nature of this cruise makes for a happy crew who provide great service. Here is an example: On the first day of the cruise I noticed a sewage odor in our cabin. I found a time when the line at the guest relations desk was short, and went down and communicated the issue. Within minutes there was a maint. guy at our door who said he needed to go next door and deal with the drain from the shower. He finished quickly and we later noticed that the odor was gone. Meanwhile, the guest relations people followed up later with a phone call (might have been a voice mail message) to our room to make sure that the problem was fixed. That is what I call someone taking ownership of the problem.

[brensr41]

thank you so much for the great review my wife and i are thinking of going on this cruise in 2011. again thank you so much

[BeancounterUSA]

BeancounterUSA,

You were a 'hero for that night, for once"

Is that all it takes is jewelery?

 

I have been married for 23 years and never knew that. I just thought we could never win . LOL

 

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY,

mitch....

 

I spent 24½ years keeping her expectations low. LOL.

 

Seriously though, she'll say I'm always a hero, but it was one of the few times that I actually felt like one.

[takevtr1]

I spent 24½ years keeping her expectations low. LOL.

 

Seriously though, she'll say I'm always a hero, but it was one of the few times that I actually felt like one.

 

Got it !

Thanks for the excellent review.

We are doing the same itinerary on Sunday and really enjoy reading your trip report and your great sense of humor.

 

I have already taken away a few things that I did not know just by reading your report.

Mitch......

[ahawco]

BeancounterUSA,

You were a 'hero for that night, for once"

Is that all it takes is jewelery?

 

I have been married for 23 years and never knew that. I just thought we could never win . LOL

 

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY,

mitch....

 

Jewellery always helps Mitch :D

[designerbcg]

Great review!