Serenade Review - March 29, 2008

[Chitoryubt]

Interesting stuff. I live in Maitland so hi!

 

We are traveling on the Serenade this August in Alaska.:) Can't wait to hear more about the ship.

 

Hey! My favorite knee dr. is in Maitland. I love him but I hope I don't have to see him anytime soon :eek:

 

You will love the Serenade. I still do, despite all the trouble with the smoke. She's my favorite ship and she is beautiful.

 

A word about the ship - she looks great. The only thing I could even pick at was the casino (probably out of jealousy, since my performance there was so awful . . .), and that would be to say that I wish they would upgrade the machines so they have those tickets that you can run to the Cashier with, rather than dumping out quarters/tokens that you have to lug to the Cashier. Not from winning mind you, but from "cashing out" my change :D

[SherriZ366]

Forgot to mention that we had the official Meet n’ Mingle at 5:00 today. This was a victory because it was originally scheduled for 11:00 today. We did an informal “roll call” of who could attend and who could not, on our Roll Call Forum. NO ONE could attend (that responded, anyway). We started an e-mail campaign. Beth and several others e-mailed the Serenade’s most awesome concierge, Maritza. Maritza asked US when we would like to have it. Most in our roll call agreed that 4-5:00 on Sunday would work. Maritza forwarded the e-mail to the appropriate person on board, and it was changed to 5:00! Thank you, Maritza!

 

Around 15 people showed up for the meet n’ mingle. Beth was embarrassed because she came straight from Captain Pat’s boat – no makeup, generally gross look. But what the heck, wasn’t going to miss it! The party was rather subdued, in Beth’s opinion. The people were really nice, though, and it was worth it to see everybody. One of the Cruise Director’s staff played a “Serenade Facts” game with us, and we got a free Royal Caribbean memo/around-the-neck thingy. Then everybody left.

 

.

Another example of how fabulous Maritza is!!! She was our concierge in Alaska in Aug. 2006. You can understand why she has been awarded "Employee of the Year" at least once.

[tinkerme1]

I'm appalled at the way the ship's security handled the "drug/smoke" issue. I would definitely write an email to Adam Goldstein with your concerns. This should never happen on a cruise ship, although I know that it does. Most times it is handled well and the individual who is caught is escorted off the ship at the next port.

[wolfcathorse]

Chitoryubt- who was your captain?

[SherriZ366]

I'm appalled at the way the ship's security handled the "drug/smoke" issue. I would definitely write an email to Adam Goldstein with your concerns. This should never happen on a cruise ship, although I know that it does. Most times it is handled well and the individual who is caught is escorted off the ship at the next port.

This is even worse as the way it was handled allowed the offenders to know it was you who called security.

[Chitoryubt]

Chitoryubt- who was your captain?

 

Our Captain was Stig Nilsen.

[Chitoryubt]

This is even worse as the way it was handled allowed the offenders to know it was you who called security.

 

That was my concern as well :eek:. I was looking over my shoulder a lot after that . . .

[tinkerme1]

Maybe next time have a sealed-envelope, addressed to the Captain, delivered to him via Guest Relations! Captain Stig would NEVER have put up with that situation.

[Chitoryubt]

Maybe next time have a sealed-envelope, addressed to the Captain, delivered to him via Guest Relations! Captain Stig would NEVER have put up with that situation.

 

That is a GREAT idea. I wish I had thought of that (slaps head) . . .

[Chitoryubt]

I'm appalled at the way the ship's security handled the "drug/smoke" issue. I would definitely write an email to Adam Goldstein with your concerns. This should never happen on a cruise ship, although I know that it does. Most times it is handled well and the individual who is caught is escorted off the ship at the next port.

 

I feel exactly the same way (about how security handled the drug/smoke issue). It's not that I wanted the smokers kicked off the ship - I just had (and still have) a real concern about having marijuana in my system. I did not use my balcony while they were at it (except for that initial BAM each night when I opened the door and they were using) - so I also had that "gee, I paid for a balcony but I can't use it" feeling.

 

I could lose my job if my number comes up for random drug testing and I test positive. If they just could have been convinced to stop the illegal stuff, that would have been good enough for me.

 

I did request a copy of RCI's report - I thought that would satisfy my employer - but was refused. According to the officer I spoke with, RCI will absolutely not release an internal report. I did not push the report issue; I figured if worst comes to worst and I do get tested AND it ends up positive (a lot of if's), i would have to hire a lawyer and subpoena the report. I'm really hoping it doesn't come to that though.

 

I realize this is just my opinion, BUT - it seemed that RCI Security gave the smokers EVERY OPPORTUNITY to hide their stash and clear the air (with a Cuban Cigar? Opening their cabin and balcony doors? Smoking regular cigarettes?) I mean, security's first investigation action was that they CALLED the people and asked them if they were smoking marijuana.

 

I just can't fathom it.

 

I realize there are liabilities involved and Security can't just accuse someone of smoking illegal substances based on my word alone. They were more than welcome to come to my balcony first and smell for themselves, as I asked them to do, BEGGED them to do, but they did not do that.

 

I'd like to add here that we went through this drill with security for two more nights in a row. The problem was that when the folks next door heard our balcony door open, they immediately extinguished the pot (we smelled it very strongly at first) and started HEAVILY smoking regular cigarettes. As soon as the security guys were gone again (from shining their flashlights from our balcony to theirs, AGAIN), they would light up with the pot again.

 

I resigned myself to not being able to use the balcony after that last security whoop-ti-do.

 

I also think it was very poor judgement for the security guys to so obviously identify us as the accusers. I wasn't worried about myself or my husband, but I worried a lot about my kids and my mom who were in the next cabin. The male knew what I looked like (remember the rat comment) and it wouldn't have taken much cognitive power to deduce that the two boys and one elderly lady were close to me.

 

I also worried about them doing something to our baggage that last night (remember the thread about the guy with nasty neighbors, so the last night he switched their early departure tags to the last color group?) or worse, putting something IN our bags (like, their pot - can you imagine what would happen at customs?) We talked to an officer who told us to call when our bags were ready, and they would pick them up. We called. By 1 a.m. they still hadn't picked them up, so we gave up.

 

Luckily, they didn't seem to be interested in any foul play.

 

Does anybody know how long that stuff stays in your system? Last time I had a random drug test, it was a urine test.

 

Sorry for the diatribe. This was just a totally stressful situation for me but it helped to put it into words.

 

The rest of the cruise was AWESOME. I'll be posting more reviews in a day or so, but I'm going to drop the pot issue other than answering questions, if y'all have any.

[Chitoryubt]

MONDAY MORNING, March 31: Slow-cruised last night to St. Maarten. Disembarked to a little rain. We had no planned excursion this day, so we milled around in the port area for a bit. When it started to rain, we realized that we had left the ponchos (those little plastic kind that fold up into a tiny pouch) in the stateroom where they would really do a lot of good keeping us dry. Beth had forgotten her hat so in between showers, she was squinty. Jerry took off back to the ship to pick up the ponchos and Beth’s hat. Meanwhile, Beth, Granny, Sam, and Mike milled around the shops and sat underneath overhangs when it rained. Beth went to check out the Water Taxi to see if it went to Marigot - $4 for the whole day, I think is what the sign said – but it ONLY goes to town and back, so . . . . nevermind.

 

While Beth was checking out the water taxi, Jerry came back with the ponchos but forgot the hat. SO – he went into one of the shops and bought both himself and Beth hats. Beth came back to our meeting spot while he was in the shop. This went on for a good half hour. FINALLY, we all were in the same place at the same time, so we headed off to the taxi stand.

 

The taxis in St. Martin are pretty well organized and have established fares – there is a large sign, located just a short way from the security checkpoint, that shows all the fares from point to point. We took our chances on a taxi tour and happened to get Freddy. We explained that we wanted to go to Marigot (the French side of the island) to shop for cosmetics (well, they are French cosmetics, so maybe a bargain?) and then we wanted to go to Maho Beach (The Sunset Beach Grill) to watch the big jets land (well, that’s what Beth and Granny wanted to do. All the males wanted to watch the women on the nude beach).

 

Freddy was sort of a silent type at first. Our family is rather intimidating – we take no prisoners, we spare no one teasing, we chat down on anyone and everything. Not mean stuff, just we like to goof around a lot. Beth had claimed the front passenger seat next to Freddy. She explained to Freddy that in Oct. of 2006, we had visited St. Martin and taken a tour with Bernard’s Tours. She explained that one of the children had wanted the “shotgun” seat. Well, within 10 minutes of windy, mountainous roads, Beth was sicker than a dog. Every stop Beth ran for the garbage can and was sick. SO – she claimed the “shotgun” seat. Upon hearing that we had already seen the island, Freddy left the main road and went up over the mountain on a narrow road. We saw goats, pigs, chickens, dogs and all sorts of animals. Plus, a Very good view of the north side of the Island.

 

Freddy listened to us goofing around and tried to act reserved as we dissed anybody and everbody (including ourselves). Pretty soon he was smirking at our conversations while we rode along. Pretty soon after that, he was laughing out loud. We talked about our tablemates – remember, the ones we are totally incompatible with. They were pretty . . . well, uptight. Nice people, just very uptight.

 

When we got to the shopping mall, Granny gave Freddy a tenner to have lunch. We found our French cosmetics, at a substantially cheaper price than in the U.S. of A. Beth had done a lot of research about credit cards and exchange rate fees, and had discovered that Capital One is the ONLY credit cared (well, at least out of the ones we all see commercials for, etc.), that does NOT charge a percentage of purchase price as a currency exchange fee. She had made a tactical mistake, however. Capital One declined her charge. After making the sales clerk call the 800 number on the back of the card, and undergoing countless menus, number entries, security questions, and a lecture about letting your credit card company know when you are leaving the United States, AND a broken credit card machine at the merchant’s cash register, Beth finally got the charge cleared. After settling the stuff, we went back to our cab. Freddy got indignant as another cabbie tried to usurp his passengers. About ten minutes later, we passed another taxi heading in the opposite direction. Freddy and he honked at each other, but the other cabby looked VERY unhappy. Granny asked “What’s wrong with him? He looks kinda mad.” And Freddy said “Maybe his passengers are your tablemates!” That broke us all up. Freddy was awesome.

 

On the way to Maho Beach, Sam and Mike asked Beth if they could buy postcards with naked ladies on them, from the vendors along side the road. Beth responded, “NO! Isn’t it enough that I’m taking you to a nude beach?” More snickers from Freddy.

 

We drove to Sunset Beach Bar to watch the airplanes land about 100 feet away. The boys were ogling the naked ladies’ towels and giggling. We teased them about the naked lady post cards/ T- shirts. We got out and went to eat lunch at the outside café. Sat from 12:30 until 3:30 watching all sorts of aircraft land but specially wanted to see the Air France 747. Saw Airbus, and some 737s but the big one didn’t land. One of the sports on the beach for the young fools still about mid-ways up Fool’s Hill was to stand in the jet backwash when the planes began to take off towards the mountains. The kids stand on the beach at the end of the runway, the pilot runs up the engines and the sand and wind pushes them back, sometimes into the sea! This despite all posted warnings about how dangerous this is. Of course, Mike and Sam want to get in on the Darwinian experience about natural selection and tried it! Only one time I might add.

 

When we started to leave the beach, Freddy appeared and handed Beth a brown paper sack. We all thought it was a barf bag for the one who tends to get car sick. When she opened it, viola! A bunch of naked ladies (tasteful, I might add) postcards for the boys! At that point, Freddy officially became family.

 

The boys were impressed with Freddy’s adroit maneuvering around the traffic, taking several short cuts and bypassing 25-30 cars in the process (there was a school bus that we used to tell where we were and how many we cut off) and soon we were back at the ship. Freddy made pictures with us. What a fun, fun day! Freddy’s Taxi number is Taxi 223. I have his phone number too if anybody wants it. Ask for him at the taxi stand - you will have a great driver, and a great time.

 

After saying our goodbyes to our newest family member, we headed back to the ship. Jerry and Beth finally got a chance to use the “Thermal Suite”. The thermal suite is in the spa. You go to the reception desk, show them your seapass card, and (providing you’ve purchased the thermal suite package) they give you robes and offer you the use of a locker. We had our swim suits on under the robes. The spa was not very crowded, and was very clean and neat. First, we hit the steam room. It was very nice – we were the only people in it. Then, we tried the aromatherapy. Beth was a little disappointed, because it did not smell as aroma-y as it did during the spa tour on Day 1. After that, the “Tropical Showers”. That was NICE. It felt so good after running around all day and then the steam room. Beth then tried the cold shower. Can’t remember what they called it – “Ice Rain” or something. Expected it to be really really cold, but it was more like a nice refreshing pool temperature. After drying off, we went to lay in the thermal tile chairs. Those things were the best. They are contoured such that they offer your back warm, warm support (as well as the rest of you). All too soon we had to go get cleaned up for dinner.

 

NOTE: On Day 1 during the spa tour, we were shown the “Rasul” therapy room. We were also pretty much told what it is for. At that point, Beth, who just had to know, asked “how often do you clean these rooms?” I mean, you know, if people are – well – using them as the spa staff described, Ewwwww. Another lady in the group turned and looked at Beth and said “That’s what I want to know!”. The tour person told us that they are cleaned in between each usage. Whew. Beth wasn’t sure she could deal with making an appointment to . . . well, Rasul.

 

Beth and Granny went to the Captain’s Welcome Aboard reception in the Safari Club. Kind of standard fare – he introduced himself and the officers, then there was dancing. Somehow we missed the picture taking event with the Captain.

 

This time, dinner was FORMAL (if you read the earlier posts, Beth incorrectly posted Day 2 as formal night – oops). This time, Beth really had lobster bisque as an appetizer, Caesar salad, the Chef’s signature dish, a filet of beef along with “creamy whipped potatoes and crimini mushrooms, with green peppercorn sauce”, and the Grand Marnier Souffle’ for dessert. Awesome. Boys had their special “Benni” salad again.

 

There was a show that night – “Stage to Screen”, a tribute to great Broadway musicals that have also been hits on the silver screen. We missed it – we were in the Casino, losing more dough. Well, actually Beth hit $400 on the $1 video poker, but her brain was still affected by the “smoke” and she re-invested it. :( That’s her excuse, anyway.

 

Granny saw Gulls, Terns and Magnificant Frigate Birds in harbor at St. Maarten and Ruddy Turnstones at Maho beach.

[Blizzard54]

The problem with the smoke is why I'm asking. A D1 back of the hump starboard would mean that you had quite a few cabins upwind of yours. We have booked cabin # 1056 with nothing upwind untill past the concierge club, so we may be fine.

Now for the rest of the ship, WAS THE SMOKE A PROBLEM? If so, just how bad was it.

 

I have sailed in cabin 1056 and you will not get any wind on that balcony when the ship is moving.

[wolfcathorse]

thanks for clearing up who the captain is. And I LOVE reading your review!!!

[Chitoryubt]

thanks for clearing up who the captain is. And I LOVE reading your review!!!

 

Thank you! We had a lot of fun writing it (the whole family pitched in).

[Chitoryubt]

Sunday, March 30 - Arrived in St. Thomas.

<<snipped>>

Captain Pat dropped anchor in a bay of which Beth has forgotten the name (e-mail in to Capt. Pat for clarification).

 

Captain Pat made another stop after lunch.

 

Captain Pat replied that the first stop was Peter Bay, and the second stop was Henley Cay. :)

[RoosterTeeth]

I still can't wait to see what she says about the Battle of the Sexes. I love being the reason we won it!

[Chitoryubt]

Tuesday, April 1, 2008 - TUESDAY, April 1, 2008

 

Room Service brought coffee on the balcony – nothing beats that, in Beth’s book. She had put on the order form “Coffee – sugar only” (no sweetner) so they sent us an entire container full of sugar packets. Awesome. Ordered it for Granny and the boys next door too, but forgot to tell them because they were all abed when she was filling out the form. Oopsie. They enjoyed it anyway.

 

Performed ablutions and went to breakfast in the dining room (Granny and Beth prefer to be served rather than fight the milling crowd upstairs in the Windjammer – didn’t bring any “Tide to Go” so, given the number of pushers and shovers and line cutters, that would have been a poor choice).

 

We had cruised all night (verrrrry slowly) from St. Maarten to St. John’s, Antigua. Our expedition for the day was Eli’s Eco Tour, on a 60 foot cat that took us out to three islands between the Caribbean and the Atlantic. One was Graveyard Island, another was Hell’s Gate and the third one was Great Bird Island. Our captain was Tony, the mates were Wanlovv, and Oliver. Tony was about 5’9”, Wanlovv was about the same, both black Islanders and Oliver was a Brit. We went on a fast, rough trip to Graveyard where Tony gave a lecture of the Sea Turtles and how they survived. The females come up on the beach during the summer and lay thousands of eggs, usually up among the palm trees. They come back to the beach where they hatched themselves – always back to the same beach. The eggs are very vulnerable to wild predators such as raccoons, cats, dogs, mongoose and to humans. Groups of people monitor the beaches to keep people and lights off during the laying and hatching cycle. The turtles are monitored as to where they lay their eggs; the nests are marked and fenced off until they hatch. The new hatchlings are protected as best they can be until they go to sea.

 

Antigua is home to many very wealthy people (and yet has much poverty). The late Princess Diana attempted to come to an exclusive resort on Antigua to get away from the press, but was refused a reservation because of the paparazzi’s infringement upon the other guests’ privacy. Robin Leach was a visitor.

 

After we went to the next island, Great Bird Island, we went ashore and listened to some info about the plants and birds. One of the birds nesting was a Red-billed Tropic Bird. They could be seen flying in the air. White Egret, Brown Pelican, Ruddy Turnstones (the eco men said they were least terns. Har har har. Saw several birds on the island that I couldn’t identify. The Thorpes hiked to the top of the hill where they saw a “blow-hole” and the Red Billed Tropic bird’s nest. That sounded a little benign; let Beth give you the REAL picture. We climbed up to the summit of Great Bird Island. At the top, Beth was HORRIFIED to see her children near a great, gaping, maw that Wanluvv said was a Blow-hole. He said it was only active during hurricanes and the like (as if THAT was comforting . . ). If one got close to the hole, one could look through it and see the Atlantic Ocean. Beth, Jerry, Sam, and Mike all looked (but not in that order, guess who was last). Beth could scarcely contain herself when her children and her husband looked. She wanted safety nets, safety lines, safety whatever. It made the bottoms of her feet feel funny. And as for viewing the Red Billed Tropic Bird’s nest – Beth needed tranquilizers. One had to walk along this rocky, teeny path NEXT TO THE BLOWHOLE (as in slip, and you’re through the blow hole and into the Atlantic, if you survive the fall. Sheesh. Beth had a death grip on the rocks surrounding the hole that the nest was in. We all managed to pull it off, though. Jerry somehow managed to get a picture of the tropic bird sitting on the nest. Beth thought he was going to die. Beth thought she was going to die.

 

Next, back down the mountain. Seemed easier. Maybe it was the being in shock factor.

 

We later went out to Hell’s Gate Island, a small rock formation that has the Caribbean Sea on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other. This is the other “Adventure” portion. Beth, Mike, Sam, and Jerry swam from the boat to the island. Sharp, sharp rocks that we had to be aware and careful of. We climbed up onto the sand, and began a climb up the rocks. Handholds were aplenty – plenty SHARP! Around the middle of the climb, we came across a large whirlpool. Instant death if you fell in. Ollie told us that in the summertime, you could jump in and swim through a tunnel and end up in the Atlantic (Woo Hoo . . .). We finally made it to the top, and hiked across the bridge and down the other side. Apparently, grains of sand get into the rock formations, and the wind causes a whirlpool effect that’s sort of like a drill. In other words, some day, that bad boy is going to fall right into the ocean. Unfortunately they told us this BEFORE we crossed the bridge. They also told us that it was a lot harder and much more dangerous to climb down the way we just came up, so we had to go over the bridge. We made it, and then of course no one would admit how scared they were.

 

While Beth, Jerry, Mike, and Sam were on Hell’s Gate, Granny began to talk to Tony, who said he was Rastafarian. Granny asked how one spelled “Wanlovv” and he began to explain about the Rastafarian religion. We asked Wanlovv about his dreadlocks and he explained that he had been growing them for 23 years but because the sun and salt water was so hard on them and made them break off, he had to wear a Dread hat. Tony began to explain the religion – how the true Rastafarian would go into the wilderness and live on vegetables – true Vegans – and had ceremonial circles that were part of the religion. As each member in the ceremony became involved, they would fall flat on the ground and then the circle moved closer together. There are several different sects of Rastas, some more religious than the other. They worship no god, simply live from the heart.

“Commerical Dreads”, a sort of derisive term, described some of the celebrants.

Tony told all of this laughing and you could see the affection he had for Wanlovv, who smiles and was wonderful with his job. When we were arriving in port, Granny asked Wanlovv if he lived in St. John’s and replied, “no, madam, I live in the wilderness.”

 

Granny decided that she really liked the Rastas and declared that she was going to go home and research the religion on the Internet. Beth tried to buy her a Dread hat (one with the dreadlocks already attached) but Granny said no. She truly did not want to mock their religion.

 

Dinner was awful that night – as in, extremely extremely incompatible tablemates. Beth had not yet discovered that alcohol worked wonders for tolerating incompatible tablemates. Beth had the jalapeno potato soup – sounds weird, but it was really good. The Chef’s signature dish that night was cornmeal dusted tilapia – not being a fish fan, Beth opted for the Slow-roasted Beef Shoulder Filet, served with Mascarpone mashed potatoes and Shiraz reduction. Dessert that night was BBB (Banana and Bailey’s Irish Cream brulee custard baked under a crust of caramel) AND the Choca-Chino Trilogy (Grand Marnier white chocolate mousse, milk chocolate cheesecake and chocolate mud cake (because Beth couldn’t pick – ended up eating the BBB).

 

Beth Thought that the Love N' Marriage show was on Day 4 (but we lost our compass, so we aren't sure). It was hilarious, as usual. The "middle" couple was definitely a little more outspoken than we would have been. :eek:

 

New bird: Red-Billed Tropic Bird

[RoosterTeeth]

They middle couple really was very outspoken. PM me if you'd like details on several of the questions (I can't post them publicly for subject matter).

[Chitoryubt]

Wednesday, April 2, 2008 -

 

St. Lucia. Cosol’s Tour. We had heard/read so many wonderful things about this tour that we just couldn’t wait to take it. It ended up being kind of a disaster, but had one redeeming quality: This family met another family that handles adversity as well as we did.

 

Our group’s other family was from Miami. Father and mother of the young mom. She had her husband and a seven year, old Michael. My boys thought their Michael was awesome. Granny commandeered the front seat for Beth who suffers from car sickness. We were part of a convoy of ten vans for the Cosol tour - That’s 100 paying tourists - which goes to a banana plantation, a villa for refreshments, the Sulfer volcano (still active with fumes, cauldrons and like that, a rainforest waterfall, and a beach stop where swimming and snorkeling was available. Beth had requested that we drive with either Cosol himself or his brother, Yellow Bird (we think). The folks that rave about this tour talk about how wonderful the drivers are – they continuously chatter and teach and entertain. We did not get either Cosol or Yellow Bird, but we thought all would be fine. Things started out ok – our driver gave us a few facts about the island and the topography as we drove. Those comments became fewer and fewer, though.

 

As we set out, we went through Castries which was crowded with wild and crazy drivers. Took about15 minutes to get through the town after which we began to climb the mountains. We got a glimpse of the Queen Mary 2 which was anchored outside the harbor because it was too big (or not enough room for us and them). We stopped to see a cave through the rocks, then on the narrow, winding roads we rode up and down mountains until we came to the banana plantation. Each banana tree had a large bunch of bananas covered with a blue plastic bag. When the banana bunch is harvested, the tree is then cut down and a sucker grows up to be the next tree. Served bananas to us.

 

We drove for some minutes up winding, steep, dangerous road to the villa where about 11:00 we ate brunch. I didn’t get anything because of the way hog people act. Lots of those people bellied up to the trough and that was it for the rest of us. Plus, the only available bathroom cost $1. It began to rain, the tile and concrete walk was slick and Jerry and Mike and Sam helped Granny get around.

 

By now, our driver is not saying much at all. Beth would estimate that over the course of the day, he said maybe 350 words, and that included all of the “Everybody onboard” comments. He wasn’t mean or anything, just . . . was a driver, not a tour guide.

 

We left the villa and went thru several vistas. Then drove down where we saw the smoke rising from the volcano. We traveled several more miles to the crater of the volcano. Our guide at the volcano, Mr. Junior (not Junior guide!) told us about the volcano. It last erupted in the 1700s and collapsed on itself. The hillside (mountain) above it was bare of all timber. At the site, there were bubbling cauldrons of mud and heated water. Steam spewed out of the rocks and down into a steaming stream.

 

After hearing the lecture, we drove to the waterfall where Granny saw a new bird. First hummingbird she’d been able to identify because it sat still long enough for her to get a good luck. Beth saw the same: Green-throated Carib.

 

While we were at the waterfall, it began to rain. All the people on the tour begin to try to shove their way into two small huts to try to keep dry. We just wanted to get back to the van. After saying “Excuse me, Pardon Me, Coming Through” a bunch of times, we finally slipped in behind one of the officials there and got ourselves out and went to the van, soaked.

 

We drove to the beach down steep hills, with right angle turns. We were warned not to sit in the chairs or cabanas as this is an exclusive resort named Jalousie plantation resort, and we would have had to pay $20 to sit in the chairs. We spread towels under the trees, and stayed a while. It began to rain very hard. We broke out ponchos and just sat down in the sand with our heads hunkered under the stuff. We then got in the van and commenced to ride back up the hill, spinning and sliding sideways. After several miles of nightmare, the grandmom of the Miami people became really carsick. We were not happy campers.

 

As we got nearer to Castries, all of the vans stopped (we were told to STAY IN THE VAN) and our drivers got us piping hot bread, and cheese slices. This stuff really was good. Good, good, good. During the time our driver was out of the van, the two families had a very frank discussion about the tour. Cosol’s Tours had earned rave reviews on Cruise Critic, and that was why both families had chosen this tour. By the luck of the draw, we apparently got one guide/driver who was not interested in anything. He did do a little speaking but not much. Beth was really upset that we got very little information from him and ZERO entertainment. The young mom was disappointed as well – there are lots of tours out there, but Cosol got the nod because of the personalities and characteristics of his drivers. So, Granny explored with her fellow travelers Rastofarianism, Bob Marley’s beliefs (which she believes has something to offer everyone). She wants to go on the record that she is NOT making fun of this. She believes that any religious belief that preaches goodness and love of one’s fellow man has a lot of validity in her book. Her enjoyment of the whole experience was how Tony, our boat captain in Antigua, enjoyed Wanlovv. We were told that Wanlovv sometimes tends to stray from his rigid diet. Granny told them she was looking for a wilderness in Central Florida in which to live, but felt that it had all been bulldozed down. Still looking.

 

We finally got back to Castries. Beth debated and debated on whether or not to even bother tipping the driver, and ended up giving him $5. Beth and Jerry sent the rest of the family back to the ship, and then went to find Cosol.

 

Beth and Jerry told Cosol exactly what we told you in this review – we were very disappointed with the tour, because our driver did not speak to us. Cosol tried to refund our money (all five of us) at least three times. He was upset and did not want us to be disappointed. Beth explained that getting our money back was not what this was about. She felt that we got a good tour of his beautiful island, and saw lots of nice things, but that the tour did not live up to the reputation that Cosol has worked so hard to achieve. Cosol very much appreciated us telling him that. He said that our particular driver’s sister had been buried the day before we took this tour. He said that he had worried about the driver’s frame of mind and had asked him if he was SURE he would be up to do the tour, and the driver had said he would be. Beth replied that she was sorry for the driver’s loss, that was very tragic, but it didn’t change the fact that there are 10 people who now feel that Cosol’s reputation was not lived up to. She told him about the cheap tip she gave the driver, and he said she should NOT have tipped him at all. Cosol asked Beth to please convey his apologies to the other family. He said he appreciated the fact that we sought him out to tell him, that he would rather we tell him than write a bad review. He also said that he would have an e-mail to Beth in her inbox that night to reiterate what he was saying, and that he would contact the other family as well. He showed Beth on his paperwork where our family was supposed to ride with him (he indexes parties by e-mail address), but things were SNAFU because he had had to wait for some other people who were running late. Beth explained that that was another reason he had such a great recommendation – that he was so flexible, and that she understood completely. She just did not want his great reputation to suffer, and what we paid for today was worth a tour of the island, but did not live up to what a Cosol tour is rumoured to be. Cosol thanked us again and said he was going to go meet with his drivers right that minute, and make sure that never happened again.

 

Beth believed him. He seems very genuine. So why the so-so review? She NEVER got that e-mail. Did the driver’s sister really pass away? Who knows, and our hearts truly go out to him if such is the case. Cosol seems like a great guy – he did try to refund our money – and we think we paid a fair price for a fair tour of St. Lucia. What we did not get, was a Cosol tour. Beth's unsolicited advice: Ask Cosol how many he has scheduled that day. If it is a huge number like we had (100) he has to subcontract drivers, so consider taking a different tour, or ensuring you get to ride with one of his regulars.

 

Back to the ship – it was Chops night for the adults. We got a great seat by the window (early reservations, 6:00) and Captain Stig was barely making way, so we got a GREAT view of the Pitons. No pivot, sorry to report. Dinner was absolutely fantastic. We had Olga and “Mr. B” (Beth couldn’t remember how to say his name, so he just said “Call me Mr. B!”) for our waiters. Beth had the BIG filet, Granny had the small filet, can’t remember what Jerry had but he isn’t writing the review so oh well. Olga brought out every side dish they had, family style, so we could try them all. Plus, we had the Mississippi mud pie for dessert. OMG it was so good. Sigh. If only we could go there tonight.

 

Casino was brutal. Wednesday night was Quest night. Beth could not convince Jerry to go (we’ve won three times in the past and Jerry couldn’t remember if he had on holey underwear or not).

 

Marijuana incident occurred again. This was the last night we called security. It was evident that as soon as the heads next door heard our balcony door open, they would extinguish everything until the coast was clear. Gave up. One more word about this though: on Thursday night (Day 6) the male got very upset and yelled at his female companion because she had not put the thing out, and it had continued to burn down to nothing. He called her the b-word (but remember, that’s a noun. He still only knew one adjective). Okay, two more words about it: that’s also the night that my husband was about to open the door to our stateroom, and a young person walked by, sniffed, and said “Man! Where’s the pot?” so we weren’t the only people smelling it. The weird (and NICE) part was, we couldn’t smell it on our balcony that night.

[deppong]

great review. I am living it all over again. We did this cruise about 4 years ago and loved it. I think we are doing it again in march 09.

[Chitoryubt]

great review. I am living it all over again. We did this cruise about 4 years ago and loved it. I think we are doing it again in march 09.

 

Thanks - enjoy it when you go. She's a beautiful ship!

[happysinglemom]

I am so sorry that you did not experience the fantastic time that we did on this tour. I do think you should email him and let him know this. He prides himself on his excellent repuation here on CC, and would want to know if things were not as they should be, so that he may correct any problems for future travelers.

 

Also, we have done Eli's tour twice - the first one was with Eli himself, and both excursions were very wonderful - glad you had a great time. :)

[QTgas]

Great review

 

At a certain point in time, all three people felt faint from lack of fud (reference an old “Far Side” cartoon involving “Cat Fud”).

 

Best Far Side Panel ever!

[NiniB]

I've GOT TO KNOW what is "Rasul Therapy"..... :confused: please indulge me...

Cant wait for the rest of your review....

[HurricaneSally]

I feel exactly the same way (about how security handled the drug/smoke issue). It's not that I wanted the smokers kicked off the ship - I just had (and still have) a real concern about having marijuana in my system. I did not use my balcony while they were at it (except for that initial BAM each night when I opened the door and they were using) - so I also had that "gee, I paid for a balcony but I can't use it" feeling.

 

I could lose my job if my number comes up for random drug testing and I test positive. If they just could have been convinced to stop the illegal stuff, that would have been good enough for me.

 

I did request a copy of RCI's report - I thought that would satisfy my employer - but was refused. According to the officer I spoke with, RCI will absolutely not release an internal report. I did not push the report issue; I figured if worst comes to worst and I do get tested AND it ends up positive (a lot of if's), i would have to hire a lawyer and subpoena the report. I'm really hoping it doesn't come to that though.

 

I realize this is just my opinion, BUT - it seemed that RCI Security gave the smokers EVERY OPPORTUNITY to hide their stash and clear the air (with a Cuban Cigar? Opening their cabin and balcony doors? Smoking regular cigarettes?) I mean, security's first investigation action was that they CALLED the people and asked them if they were smoking marijuana.

 

I just can't fathom it.

 

I realize there are liabilities involved and Security can't just accuse someone of smoking illegal substances based on my word alone. They were more than welcome to come to my balcony first and smell for themselves, as I asked them to do, BEGGED them to do, but they did not do that.

 

I'd like to add here that we went through this drill with security for two more nights in a row. The problem was that when the folks next door heard our balcony door open, they immediately extinguished the pot (we smelled it very strongly at first) and started HEAVILY smoking regular cigarettes. As soon as the security guys were gone again (from shining their flashlights from our balcony to theirs, AGAIN), they would light up with the pot again.

 

I resigned myself to not being able to use the balcony after that last security whoop-ti-do.

 

I also think it was very poor judgement for the security guys to so obviously identify us as the accusers. I wasn't worried about myself or my husband, but I worried a lot about my kids and my mom who were in the next cabin. The male knew what I looked like (remember the rat comment) and it wouldn't have taken much cognitive power to deduce that the two boys and one elderly lady were close to me.

 

I also worried about them doing something to our baggage that last night (remember the thread about the guy with nasty neighbors, so the last night he switched their early departure tags to the last color group?) or worse, putting something IN our bags (like, their pot - can you imagine what would happen at customs?) We talked to an officer who told us to call when our bags were ready, and they would pick them up. We called. By 1 a.m. they still hadn't picked them up, so we gave up.

 

Luckily, they didn't seem to be interested in any foul play.

 

Does anybody know how long that stuff stays in your system? Last time I had a random drug test, it was a urine test.

 

Sorry for the diatribe. This was just a totally stressful situation for me but it helped to put it into words.

 

The rest of the cruise was AWESOME. I'll be posting more reviews in a day or so, but I'm going to drop the pot issue other than answering questions, if y'all have any.

 

Just to ease your mind, you can't test positive for THC though passive smoke. I work in probation and our clients try to use that excuse all the time, and it doesn't fly.