My (late) Serenade Review-August 29, 2010

[matandbri]

Thank you so much for your review. After reading this and seeing your balcony I have reserved the same room for our 30th anniversary cruise next September. We are going to go on our first B2B and I have you to thank for knowing to reserve that amazing balcony!!

[Host Faith]

Great review. Great pics. Barbados is my favourite island as well....but then again I maybe a bit biased.;):D

 

 

Haha! Lucky you! The island is beautiful. The beach in Barbados is my "happy place" I think of when it's cold and everyone is in a hurry here in the Northeast ;)

[Host Faith]

Another South Jersey person checking in here (Maple Shade). I'm really enjoying your review and the photos. You know, it's funny....yesterday I posted to someone who had stayed in 9580, which was our stateroom in '08. One day later, I'm posting to you, who stayed in 9576, our stateroom next March. Weird and wild. :) I'm looking forward to seeing Antigua and St. Thomas again. St. Croix, Dominica, and Grenada will be new for us.

 

Oh, how did you make out on your airfare? We're almost considering bailing on our cruise next March because the airfare to SJ is outrageous.

 

Hey mailman! It's so great to see another South Jersey person here!

 

You will really enjoy that stateroom. The balcony is larger than most others and the view is great. We're sailing the Serenade again in May, going to St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Aruba, and Curacao. Any suggestions for St. Thomas? We're thinking of doing a daysail with Kathleen of Highpockets.

 

Our airfare ran about $430 pp. It's tough finding flights from the Philly area to San Juan, those flights tend to sell out often. I've been to SJU about 3 times in the past year and a half, each time out of PHL. The lowest we ever paid for direct flights, RT, was about $375. Maybe you could push your sail date back and fly when it's more economical?

 

On a side note, I miss South Jersey. It's sooo hard to find a good cheesesteak here in the Princeton area. People have no idea what a really good hoagie or cheesesteak is unless they've been to South Jersey or Philly! :D At least we have a Wawa close by. :cool:

[Host Faith]

Thank you so much for your review. After reading this and seeing your balcony I have reserved the same room for our 30th anniversary cruise next September. We are going to go on our first B2B and I have you to thank for knowing to reserve that amazing balcony!!

 

 

Yay!!! Happy Anniversary to you two!!! You will love that balcony. Glad I helped you make your decision. Enjoy, and here's to many more!! :)

[Kim4]

I think this is one of the best reviews I've read, thank you so much! I think it's because you take pictures of things that I would take pictures of too (like the coconut macaroon!!) My favorite pictures though, are the ones where you're sitting on the beach, and I see your toes in the foreground and the ocean in the background! Great job, I can't wait to read the rest!!

[6coolcats]

Really great review. We are doing it as a back to back Nov26/Dec 3, 2011. I can hardly wait to book some of the same trips. Sheryl

Edited October 27, 2010 by 6coolcats

[Time2Shipout]

I have to echo what others have written, you have done a wonderful job, and your love and enthusiasm of your cruise on the Serenade is so apparent in your reviews. I started my day reading your posting and am finishing it now :) It has really made me more excited and looking forward to our cruise in a few weeks! This will be our 4th time on this ship, we love her. We are sailing with great friends we have made the 1st and 2nd times on her. The lunch in Portofino is something new we didn't know about, and then I have heard rumor of a brunch in Chops also. We absolutely love breakfast on the outside of the Windjammer, glad you discovered that early on, and the Seaview Cafe is the best! Our group is quite the fun bunch to sail with, last year we won The Quest :D Thanks again for your great review, really has us anxiously awaiting the next couple weeks and time to step aboard again! Kathy

[CruisinChris412]

Why did you leave that hotel in San Juan?! lol The pictures were awesome!

 

You said in Barbados(I think?) you had rum punch? What is rum punch?

[boaterette]

I sure hope I look as good as your mom when I am her age. Nice review.

[Host Faith]

I think this is one of the best reviews I've read, thank you so much! I think it's because you take pictures of things that I would take pictures of too (like the coconut macaroon!!) My favorite pictures though, are the ones where you're sitting on the beach, and I see your toes in the foreground and the ocean in the background! Great job, I can't wait to read the rest!!

 

 

Thank you so much, Kim! I appreciate your compliments. One of the things I look for when reading reviews is photos, so I tried to capture as many details as I could. I think pictures say so much more than we could ever write! :)

[Host Faith]

Why did you leave that hotel in San Juan?! lol The pictures were awesome!

 

You said in Barbados(I think?) you had rum punch? What is rum punch?

 

 

Hi Chris! We're hoping to get the Caribe Hilton again when booking via Priceline. We stayed at the Ritz Carlton the first time we were in San Juan, and my husband actually enjoyed the Caribe more than the Ritz. I think it's because the atmosphere was a little more relaxed, and he's a no frills type of guy :rolleyes:. I love the Ritz, but for the rate we got on Priceline, I think we'll stick with booking that way and use that money we saved for excursions!! :D

 

Most tours you take in the Caribbean (in our experience) include their own version of rum punch. Each of the excursions in my review serve a version of it. Sometimes it's weak, sometimes strong. On the tours in my review, the rum punch was pretty strong. They normally won't serve it until you've either finished swimming or are having lunch;). It's basically a mix of fruit juices and rum. There are lots of variations on the beverage, so it will probably taste different on each island. Here's a pretty good link I found regarding rum punch: http://www.stcroix-beaches.com/Caribbean-Rum-Punch-Recipes.html

[Host Faith]

Really great review. We are doing it as a back to back Nov26/Dec 3, 2011. I can hardly wait to book some of the same trips. Sheryl

 

 

Hi Sheryl! So happy you're going to book some of the trips. Please tell the tour guides that I said hello. Have a great time!

~Chrystal

[Host Faith]

I have to echo what others have written, you have done a wonderful job, and your love and enthusiasm of your cruise on the Serenade is so apparent in your reviews. I started my day reading your posting and am finishing it now :) It has really made me more excited and looking forward to our cruise in a few weeks! This will be our 4th time on this ship, we love her. We are sailing with great friends we have made the 1st and 2nd times on her. The lunch in Portofino is something new we didn't know about, and then I have heard rumor of a brunch in Chops also. We absolutely love breakfast on the outside of the Windjammer, glad you discovered that early on, and the Seaview Cafe is the best! Our group is quite the fun bunch to sail with, last year we won The Quest :D Thanks again for your great review, really has us anxiously awaiting the next couple weeks and time to step aboard again! Kathy

 

Thank you so much, Kathy; I think sailing on the Serenade is going to become a habit for us too. We're probably sailing her again in May and hope to do a B2B in the future. Sounds like you have a great group of friends! This was the first time we sailed with friends and it's such a great experience. I love how travel can help you make new friends and bond with old friends. Everyone's happy on vacation (well, 99% of us are, lol!).

Edited October 27, 2010 by faith413

[Host Faith]

Friday, September 3: St. Martin

 

We were excited to visit St. Martin. Last time we were there, we visited the open air market in Marigot, and I found the best jerk seasoning I have ever tasted! I ran out, and was looking forward to finding the booth again. The Captain let us know that there had been a really bad storm on the island the day before, however most businesses were up and running.

 

 

We met on deck 4 at about 9 AM to leave the ship. We saw other guests gathering for the ship-sponsored island tours, and passed a looooong line of people waiting to begin their tours. My friends thanked me for not booking one of those tours, they looked so uncomfortable and impatient waiting for their tour guides to lead them on their tours. I know many people enjoy the ship’s excursions but I’m not sure we will ever book one through the ship. We've had a lot of success doing research on CC and booking local tours or taking taxis on our own. I love this website, everyone is so helpful!

 

 

Anyway, we caught a taxi at the stand just off the ship’s pier. There will be signs that point you to the taxi stand as you walk into the port area. The stand is to your right. We asked how much to the market in Marigot, and it was just $6 per person.

 

 

I was disappointed when we arrived at the market. There were not that many vendors set up, and I couldn't find my spice lady! :(I assumed it was either because we got there too early, or because of the storm the previous day. However, I did some searching upon my return home and found out that the best day to visit the market is on a Wednesday or a Saturday! I was so disappointed. We didn’t get any spices, however Crystal and Osh got some nice souvenirs. I bought a pretty watercolor from one of the vendors. We walked around and took some photos in the meantime.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Host Faith]

Our taxi driver picked us up about an hour later, and drove us to Orient Beach for another $6 pp. The last time we stopped here, we were on a quick island tour by a cab driver we hired, so we didn’t have much time to spend at the beach. The beach is beautiful, so we were looking forward to some fun at Orient. We bought chairs and umbrellas at LeString. The guy taking the money said he owed me change for my $20, and I made sure I followed him to get the change. I remember once (not sure where we were), we believed the chair guy when he said he would come back with change, and he never returned. Lesson learned. So this time I told him, Oh, ok well I'll go with you while you make the change, I don't mind. He looked a little shocked. I don't know if he was planning to come back or not, but either way I just wanted my money, LOL!

 

 

 

 

Because of the storm the previous day, we had to wade through lots of grass along the shoreline, before we reached the more clear water. You can see the grass in the water in my photo above. I was kind of grossed out, but I gritted my teeth and got through it as quickly as I could. This beach is so pretty, with mountains in the distance, perfect white sand, and that perfect shade of blue water. The water was fine if you went out far enough.

 

 

 

After swimming for a while, we took advantage of our free drinks at Le String. I had their signature lime drink- it was soooo sweet! I didn’t finish it. My husband just had a Coke. We got a little hungry so he walked down a few restaurants to grab some hot wings. They were pretty good.

 

 

About nudity on the beach: we didn't really see much nudity. We only saw one topless woman our whole time there.

 

Janelle and Crystal rode jet skis. I think they each paid about $40 for 30 minutes. They were very happy since they got to ride them without a guide. Janelle took a few minutes to get accustomed to the speed, however Crystal gunned the engine and sped off right away, LOL!!! You can see Janelle to the far left, and Crystal zooming past her on the right! :DThey had a fun time. We must have stayed at the beach for about 3 hours.

 

 

We met with our cab driver once more, and she took us back to the ship for another $6 pp. So our ride around the island was $18 pp. Not bad for a full day!

[Host Faith]

This night was formal night, as well as lobster night in the MDR. I couldn’t choose between lobster or the prime rib, so our waited brought me both. I was a happy girl!

Fisherman's Plate (Lobster and Shrimp)

 

 

Yummy Prime Rib

 

 

Mom and Janelle

 

I loved all the artwork in the stairwells. Just beautiful!

 

Mom showing off her cocktail ring. So cute!

[Host Faith]

Saturday, September 4: St. Croix

Well, this morning I broke tradition and had breakfast in the Windjammer with Mom and Janelle! Everyone else wanted to stay on the ship this day, so we met around 9 AM and had a great breakfast. It was pretty quiet in the WJ that morning. I guess everyone was exhausted from the busy week!

 

We grabbed some fresh towels from the pool deck, then disembarked the ship. A stilt walker greeted us. We laughed at Janelle because she tried to avoid him and he followed her for a few seconds, lol!

 

[Host Faith]

There’s a beach to the left of the cruise pier, and we decided to spend our day there. If you walk outside the cruise terminal area and head to your left, you will see a path that leads you to the beach.

 

I noticed it would be difficult for anyone with walking issues, etc, to get to this beach, so if that is a concern you may want to take the beach shuttle offered at the pier so you can get to a more accessible beach.

 

 

After the bridge, this is what we had to walk across to reach the beach. Just a heads up....

 

 

 

It was just what we wanted for the day. Chairs were just $5 pp, and umbrellas were just $5 each. We got 4 chairs 1 umbrella. This way we could store our bags in one of the chairs so they weren’t in the sand.

 

 

The sand had smooth pebbles in it, and the shoreline was covered in pebbles you had to wade through to get to the smoother sand. The shore drops off by less than a foot, so be careful when you enter the water. The water in St. Croix is warm and beautiful. I think one of the chair guys had a crush on Janelle, and he gave us two free floats to enjoy for the day. Not that that would get him anywhere with her at ALL, but we took them, LOL!!!

 

 

 

Loved being able to see the ship from our beach

 

[Host Faith]

Janelle and I on our free floats, lol. You can see where the shore drops off a bit- right where the waves were breaking:

 

 

 

Janelle wanted to climb the giant "iceberg" way out there in the water. It was challenging because there's no step stool for you to get a good grip with your feet. It's all upper body strength. It took her a while, but she finally did it!

 

We stayed out here until about 3 PM, then headed to the right of the cruise pier to check out the shopping.

 

We found a small store that sold Cruzan rum in cute bottles for $5 each. I bought some coconut rum as a gift for my boss. We boarded the ship and went to our rooms. Bye bye, St. Croix! The view from our balcony...

 

Edited October 27, 2010 by faith413
More photos

[bigque]

Whoa! Small world! :)

 

 

I am enjoying your review & pics! We currently have simultaneous reviews going on, even though I am moving along a little slower. Check mine out also!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1297487

[LABCHICK]

Hi Chrystal

 

Did you notice in the port area of St. Croix, if there were any car rental places? My SIL want to rent a car and drive to Christainsted. His grandfather built a vacation home there and SIL want to go see it. He has been there several times in the past, but never while on a cruise.

 

Thanks

Judi :)

[Host Faith]

Hi Chrystal

 

Did you notice in the port area of St. Croix, if there were any car rental places? My SIL want to rent a car and drive to Christainsted. His grandfather built a vacation home there and SIL want to go see it. He has been there several times in the past, but never while on a cruise.

 

Thanks

Judi :)

 

 

Hi Judi,

 

That sounds like a wonderful day! I didn't notice a car rental company at the pier, however it sounds like there is one (www.budgetstcroix.com), from a thread in CC: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1270000&highlight=car+rental . I hope this helps, enjoy your day in St. Croix. :)

[madameleota]

Really great review. We are doing it as a back to back Nov26/Dec 3, 2011. I can hardly wait to book some of the same trips. Sheryl

 

Coolcats - we are going to be on the Dec. 3, 2011 cruise. Have you seen anything about any meets for that?

 

I'm getting lots of great ideas from this review. Thanks again. I'm so excited to see all this stuff in person.

[Host Faith]

I am enjoying your review & pics! We currently have simultaneous reviews going on, even though I am moving along a little slower. Check mine out also!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1297487

 

 

Great review and Happy Anniversary! Looks like you just got off the ship a couple weeks ago and had a great sailing. Keep the review coming, I love seeing others' perspectives on the ships we sail.

[sadie8]

Thanks for taking the time to put together such a great review! Really have enjoyed the pictures!

 

We bought chairs and umbrellas at LeString. The guy taking the money said he owed me change for my $20, and I made sure I followed him to get the change.

 

We always go to LeString in St. Maarten and always run a tab. It has never been wrong, even by a penny. In our experience they have been extremely honest. You picked a good spot to sit!

 

It was great to see detailed pictures of the St. Croix beach by the pier. There's not much information out there about St. Croix.