Serenade Review - March 29, 2008

[Chitoryubt]

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!

 

I'm so HAPPY somebody "got" that! We got a front loader washer a couple of years ago and I taped a copy of that one to the window . . . :D

[Chitoryubt]

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.

 

THANK you - I have been totally stressed about it. Not something I really wanted to ask my Dr. Dad: "Um Dad? How long does marijuana stay in your system?" :eek:

[Chitoryubt]

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

 

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

 

From what our tour guide said, it is a room with all sorts of their spa products - special creams, lotions, etc., and you and your significant other are allowed to try them out on each other, and "enjoy yourselves, the products, and the privacy". :eek: He even said they have threesomes (and that's the word he used) book the room sometimes :eek::eek:

 

From what I've read here at cruise critic, it's a place to try out all the spa products and have sex. I guess I'm a little to uptight to book that . . . . not condemning anybody who does or has, wish I could, but . . . . just can't!:o

[HurricaneSally]

THANK you - I have been totally stressed about it. Not something I really wanted to ask my Dr. Dad: "Um Dad? How long does marijuana stay in your system?" :eek:

 

You're welcome.

[early 30's couple]

I agree with the above poster...You would have to be locked in a closet with 10 people all smoking heavily to even register on a urine test...And even them the amount would be way below the minimum limit required to call a test 'positive'.

[Chitoryubt]

Thursday, April 3, 2008 –Was awakened by the “Ding” of people getting off the ship – waaaay below us, but could still hear it! Not a bother, kind of cool as we snuggled deeper into the covers because we had absolutely nothing planned! No excursions – we were all exhausted.

 

Had pre-ordered room service coffee (with all sugar) again and it was great. Performed ablutions, but missed the dining room – duh, should have looked at the cruise compass – they closed the dining room at 9:00 that morning. Went to the Windjammer instead and had a GREAT omelet from the omelet station. The breakfast potatoes were a little funky – steam tabled, you know – but the biscuits and gravy made up for it.

 

We got off the ship around 10:00. The port had buses to take us from the ship to the cruise terminal. From there, we paid $2 for a shuttle to the downtown shopping area. Got into a van that held a bunch of people (guessing like 12 but didn’t count). First in, so went all the way to the back seat, right hand corner. The seat in front of that seat fit several people, then had a fold-down jump seat to fit one more person. This seat effectively cut off all escape routes from the back seat. Beth discovered she was claustrophobic – could not WAIT to get out of that thing.

 

Went to downtown shopping area. We were immediately surrounded by tour guides and taxi drivers wanting to take us anywhere and everywhere. The stores we could see were the usual - Diamonds International, Columbia Emeralds, etc. Beth wanted to see some handmade crafts and such. Had read about a great pottery place somewhere. Asked one of the taxi drivers about pottery – apparently, there were several places we could get pottery. Two were within range. One would be a $60 fare for the two of us to go to EarthWorks Pottery in a different city. The other was within walking distance – a place called “Pelican Village”. The driver gave us his card, but told us not to call a taxi to go back to the ship from Pelican Village– that we would be almost there. He took out a map, showed us where we were, where we needed to go, was really really nice. So off we go walking, probably 75% of the way we just paid $2 apiece to come from.

 

Along the way, we met several people of Barbados – all were very friendly and very polite! We finally made it to Pelican Village. It was indeed about a five minute walk from the port. It’s an outdoor mall type of area, all very brightly colored buildings, featuring local artists, works from other islands, etc. We were looking for a wedding gift for a close friend whose wedding we would miss, but if we left the airport and went straight to his reception, we would make that. We found a really cool hand carved wooden vase. Nicely finished. We found some trinkets for the boys, and a really cool bird mobile made out of coconut shell. Not a lot of pottery. One of the stores had a lot of pottery, but the woman inside was the only rude person we met in Barbados, so we didn’t stay. The currency was marked in both Barbados dollars, and US dollars (US dollars being about half the amount of the Barbados dollars).

 

Before we made our way back to the ship, Beth wanted to try a local beer. Handily, Pelican Village had a restaurant with a nice outdoor deck where one could view the sea. We asked for two local beers and they gave us 2 Banks beers for $4. Beth thought it was a nice beer.

 

Be careful with the ocean – one of the merchants told us that the beaches were closed due to some kind of tidal condition – it sounded like run outs, or rip currents. She told us that someone ignored the closure last week and drowned.

 

We walked back to port and went through the shops there, buying some rum, and a t-shirt that had a pirate on it and the words “Time Flies When You’re Having Rum”. As we got to the exit back to the ship, Beth spied an “Earthworks Pottery” store. Good grief. They had some really nice pieces, lots of stuff Beth wanted, but because Beth was unobservant and didn’t notice the place the first time she walked by, she didn’t have any room left to pack stuff.

 

Back on the bus; back on the ship. Went to eat at the Seaview Café – had a burger, fries, onion rings – it was all good. Then Granny, Beth, Jerry, Mike, and Sam went to play putt-putt golf. Beth hadn’t known that the golf balls would actually fly over the dividers and go into another green . . . .

 

Next, on to Trivia. Everybody but Sam played (he went back to the teen room). We’ve lost that Cruise Compass too, so can’t remember exactly which one, but boy was it hard. The trivia games we played during the week were 1) Where in the world am I/Who in the world am I, 2) Name that Movie Tune (love stories), 3) Name that current TV show theme, and 4) General trivia. We stunk at all of them but we had a great time.

 

Lost more money at the casino.

 

As sail away approached, Captain Stig announced that we were going to endure very rough seas because of a low pressure area. He said that if anyone was susceptible to sea sickness, to take their medication NOW. He wasn’t kidding. People were ill. Beth was fine; she took her Bonine as a preventative every single day. The kids seemed ok. Granny didn’t want to be walking around with the boat rocking and rolling, but felt ok. Jerry was sick. Nobody wanted to go to dinner (Formal night) except Beth, and Beth didn’t want to go by herself. Beth mad – it was lobster night :mad:

 

After an amazingly fast recovery, Jerry and Mike wanted to go to the “Battle of the Sexes” game that night. Beth was still mad about dinner, but grudgingly went. Jerry and Mike were playing for the guys; Beth helped the girls. The hosts asked for the women to come up with a barnyard animal for the men’s “buzz-in” sound. Beth suggested “ass”. Nobody on that ship seemed to understand that an ass really is an animal. Oh well. The guys ended up having to crow like a rooster for their “buzz-in”. The women had to moo like a cow. The guys trounced the women pretty soundly, when it came to the “last chance” question. It was worth 400 points, so that the women could win, if they won that round. Mike went up for the guys. Instead of crowing, he said “Cock-a-doodle-do”. A beautiful young woman (we think from Hawaii) went up for the women. They let the woman pick which hula hoop she wanted, and gave the other one to Mike. The winner would be the person who could hold up the hoop the longest. Mike won!!!!!!! Beth was happy that Mike won, but it kinda stunk that the women lost.

 

Tonight was the night the marijuana smell was in the hallway and other people noticed, but did not smell on our balcony. Go figure.

 

One more word about how much the ship was rocking – Beth was awakened sometime in the middle of the night by the f-bomb-spouting neighbor (he was really loud, all the time when he was in his cabin). Seemed like an opportune time to take a bathroom break. Most of you know that the distance between the bedside next to the balcony and the bathroom door is not that far – well, the ship rolled, and Beth was RUNNING DOWNHILL by the time she reached the bathroom. Really strange experience!

 

Tomorrow would be a sea day, and our last full day on the Serenade.

[NiniB]

OMG... how funny... :p never knew that about the spa.. :eek:

Great review.. sorry you had such bad time with your "neighbors".. I think handled the situation the best you could.. It's great that you didnt let them ruin your vacation.. :)

[MIcruiser99]

Thanks for the great review. We are looking forward to going on that cruise next year.

 

I laughed when I was reading about your Granny in the airport. She sounds just like my grandmother. She desperately needs a wheelchair but will not use one, either! It would make her look old.

 

I feel for you about your neighbors. I thought it was bad when we had a cigar smoking guy who also used the "f" word every other word. You just don't enjoy your balcony as much.

 

We read many reviews about Cosol's tour and had reservation about being in a caravan. Seems like the majority of the people love him and a few do not. We decided to take a tour which was land and sea so we will not be in a van most the day.

 

I appreciate all the details you include in your review. It really helps us think out what we what to do or not do.

[lablvr2]

I enjoyed reading this post! Reminded me of the time we had pot smokers and an uhappy couple in the cabin next door. I went down to the Guest Relations desk, asked to speak to a manager and when he came out, I told him I needed to talk to him in private. I told him we could not have our balcony door open without smelling pot and we were traveling with my 17 yr old son. I said the language out on the balcony and the fights were interferring with our sleep and this is something I never expected I would find on a cruise ship. The manager went back inside his office, came back out with a room key and said, please go check this cabin out and see if you would be happier there. It ended up being a better category than what we had (balcony) with alot more room. I joked with him and said are there pot smokers up there, too? He laughed and said no reports of that in the cabin area. So we spent the better part of the week in a larger cabin being able to enjoy our balcony without pot smoke.

[Merion_Mom]

Thursday, April 3, 2008 –Was awakened by the “Ding” of people getting off the ship – waaaay below us, but could still hear it! Not a bother, kind of cool as we snuggled deeper into the covers because we had absolutely nothing planned! No excursions – we were all exhausted.

 

Lost more money at the casino...............<snip>

 

You are a fabulous writer, and I am enjoying your posts so much!

 

Just one quick question: The casino was open while you were in port in Barbados??? I have never seen that. I thought that the casino is NEVER open while in port.

[Chitoryubt]

Thanks for the great review. We are looking forward to going on that cruise next year.

<snip>

We read many reviews about Cosol's tour and had reservation about being in a caravan. Seems like the majority of the people love him and a few do not. We decided to take a tour which was land and sea so we will not be in a van most the day.

<snip>

I appreciate all the details you include in your review. It really helps us think out what we what to do or not do.

 

I'm very glad I could help! I understand your decision about Cosol - he is an extremely hard-working, personable fellow, and I hope that he's just undergoing some growth-type pains and can work things out so that he maintains the great reputation he has among the CC folks!

[Chitoryubt]

I enjoyed reading this post! Reminded me of the time we had pot smokers and an uhappy couple in the cabin next door. I went down to the Guest Relations desk, asked to speak to a manager and when he came out, I told him I needed to talk to him in private. I told him we could not have our balcony door open without smelling pot and we were traveling with my 17 yr old son. I said the language out on the balcony and the fights were interferring with our sleep and this is something I never expected I would find on a cruise ship. The manager went back inside his office, came back out with a room key and said, please go check this cabin out and see if you would be happier there. It ended up being a better category than what we had (balcony) with alot more room. I joked with him and said are there pot smokers up there, too? He laughed and said no reports of that in the cabin area. So we spent the better part of the week in a larger cabin being able to enjoy our balcony without pot smoke.

 

I asked about another balcony cabin and unfortunately, there weren't any. I probably should have asked for any other cabin - inside, ocean view, whatever - I think I would have been less stressed. That's great that it worked out for you, though! And what a great manager that you worked with. I have to tell you, the guest relations folks that tried to help us were 100% professional.

 

It's hard to explain that smell to your kids. Although, these days, I'm starting to realize that they are a lot more street-wise than I knew . . . :(

[Chitoryubt]

You are a fabulous writer, and I am enjoying your posts so much!

 

Just one quick question: The casino was open while you were in port in Barbados??? I have never seen that. I thought that the casino is NEVER open while in port.

 

Thanks Merion_Mom! I appreciate the compliment. With regards to your question, no, the casino was not open during the day while we were in Barbados.

 

I had to go back and re-read my post. I unfortunately lost the Compass for Day 6 (BTW, I have .pdf's for Cruise Compass Days 1, 3, 4, 5, and 7 if anybody wants me to e-mail them). My memory is a bit fuzzy, but I think this is how the day played out: Trivia was at 4:00. We were supposed to sail away at 5:30 but I think we left a tad late. The casino opened at 5:45 (slots - tables were a bit later) and it's kind of a blur as to which happened first, but I believe Capt. Stig made his announcements before I lost my daily limit in the span of about 20 minutes of video poker. We had late dinner (but nobody wanted to go that night but me), so I probably transposed the order of events a bit (oops, sorry about that).:o Must have been that darn smoke again :o

[paylady]

Just wanted to drop a line to say I have been enjoying your posts. Sorry to hear about the cabin neighbors, though.

 

The last three cruises, we've been in D1's that are on either side of the port elevators. From your smoking/cussing experience, I can see where having only one neighbor has its benefits.

 

It's really diappointing when you talk with a ship's officer and still the problem is not rectified.

 

If had happened to us, I would have gone directly to Maritza with this problem. If she couldn't get the right people to take action, I'm not sure who would. She can't fix everything, but she sure will try and will explain why the problem can't be fixed to even her satisfaction. I just love her. She's the reason we are sailing Serenade again to Alaska.

[MIcruiser99]

Are you done with your review? No seaday or disembark info?

 

We stopped at a couple of fast food restaurants in SJ and most servers did not speak English. After reading your review, I remembered it was just easier to order by number! And not use the drive thru!:rolleyes:

[Chitoryubt]

Are you done with your review? No seaday or disembark info?

 

We stopped at a couple of fast food restaurants in SJ and most servers did not speak English. After reading your review, I remembered it was just easier to order by number! And not use the drive thru!:rolleyes:

 

Not done yet - working a proposal with impending deadline. Might be a day or 2.

[SherriZ366]

I enjoyed reading this post! Reminded me of the time we had pot smokers and an uhappy couple in the cabin next door. I went down to the Guest Relations desk, asked to speak to a manager and when he came out, I told him I needed to talk to him in private. I told him we could not have our balcony door open without smelling pot and we were traveling with my 17 yr old son. I said the language out on the balcony and the fights were interferring with our sleep and this is something I never expected I would find on a cruise ship. The manager went back inside his office, came back out with a room key and said, please go check this cabin out and see if you would be happier there. It ended up being a better category than what we had (balcony) with alot more room. I joked with him and said are there pot smokers up there, too? He laughed and said no reports of that in the cabin area. So we spent the better part of the week in a larger cabin being able to enjoy our balcony without pot smoke.

You were lucky that there was an extra balcony cabin. As we readers know, the OP was not able to secure another balcony cabin.

 

I'm a bit disappointed that RCI in both cases were not able to kick the pot smokers off the ship, especially in your case where their fighting and loud foul language kept you up at night. People who work hard for vacations should not have their vacations jeopordized or ruined by those people who are breaking the law.

 

In other cases, some RCI captains have kicked the pot smokers off the ship. And anecdotally from Cruise Critic and other sources, it seems as if Captains are being proactive in kicking offending passengers off the ship.

[happysinglemom]

We decided to take a tour which was land and sea so we will not be in a van most the day.

 

I know the OP had an unusual experience, but I wanted to note that on our excursion with Cosol, we were not "in a van most of the day". The van was our transport, but we were definitely out far more than in. :)

[Chitoryubt]

Sea Day

 

Beth struggled to write about this last day – she always get depressed, realizing that she has to go back to the real world. We pre-ordered our coffee as usual, so we were up by 7:30. After dawdling through ablutions, we were in the dining room a little before 9:00. This was such a special breakfast. Beth had neglected to mention our Head Waiter, “Eric”. Eric would stop at our table each night with some sort of brain teaser for Mike and Sam. This was really quite cool, because both children believe they are of a much higher intelligence than the rest of the world, especially their parents. Some nights, Eric stumped the kids. Other nights, the kids figured it out.

 

Anyway, on this last day of our cruise, Eric stopped by our breakfast table. Mike had ordered the same thing for the last several days – a plate full of hash browns. For some reason, this morning Mike asked if they had chocolate chip pancakes. The waiter that morning was very kind, but said that no, they only had the pancakes listed on the menu (regular, banana, and one or two more). Mike was ok with it, and stuck with his plate full o’ hash browns. He got about halfway through, when Eric, our evening Head Waiter, showed up with . . . CHOCOLATE CHIP PANCAKES!!!! What a really nice thing to do!!!!

 

After breakfast, we played Trivia in the Schooner Bar at 10:00. We lost again (no surprise there!) At 10:30, we migrated to the Safari Club to buy Bingo cards. We did not play all week until today. Beth had always wanted to be one of those people who didn’t play all week, but played the last day and won the jackpot. Didn’t happen. Plus, Blackout didn’t occur within 50 balls.

 

Speaking of Bingo, it’s a little different than from last year. It’s cheaper, but you get less cards. $29 for three cards per sheet, instead of six! Hmmm. Easier to keep up with the balls, but sheesh.

 

Went back to our stateroom and started the dread packing. Beth packed her clothes; Jerry is the packing master and tried to squeeze all the stuff we bought into the suitcases without breaking anything. Jerry is a sweetheart and knows that Beth gets depressed packing to go home, so he took over while she lost more money in the Casino. Beth, Jerry, and Mike met at 1:30 in the Schooner Bar for more trivia – this time it was Name That TV Tune. The cruise staff guy actually asked us if we lived under a rock because we didn’t know several of the songs! Granny was packing – if she had come to trivia, we would have gotten a lot more points – she watches most of those reality shows. NASCAR too.

 

After we finished trivia, we went to grab a bite at the Seaview Café. Beth had a Cuban sandwich and it was really good – gave Jerry half. The soup that day was great too (think it was Chicken Noodle). Some kind of pina colada pie for dessert – Beth didn’t particularly care for it, but Jerry snarfed it.

 

Made a conscious decision to skip the FINAL Jackpot Bingo and spend that $29 in the casino. Won a straight flush at three card poker! That was $200. Too bad that wasn’t near enough to climb out of the hole Beth dug for herself, but Beth was EXTREMELY happy to finally get a little scratch back. But that’s ok, gambling is part of what Beth budgets for – it’s just a lot better to come home with more than less!

 

Went back to our room and tried to verify that Beth kept the right clothing out for dinner, the rest of the evening, jammies, and more importantly, shoes & underwear for the next morning. Secret fear of Beth’s. Also tried to determine how Beth would hide dirties and jammies from everybody else during debarkation.

 

Fixed all of our tip coupons in the envelopes. Verified that the right coupons were in the right envelopes. Put in extra for Josie, our wonderful cabin steward, our Head Waiter (Chocolate chip pancakes! Plus all the brain teasers) and Benni (special honeymoon salad (lettuce alone) for our boys every night we were there, with a bowl full of croutons and ranch dressing on the side). And, of course, the indomitable Maritza. Beth made Jerry lick all of the envelopes (if you’ve ever gotten that urban legend e-mail about the envelope glue . . . . Ewwww)

 

Went to dinner. Beth ordered a quick cocktail (remember, dinner with incompatibles goes better with booze). Dinner that night for Beth: Caesar salad for the table, Warm spinach dip with tortillas for the appetizer, Grilled NY Strip Steak with béarnaise sauce, fried potato wedges, and zucchini, and two desserts because Beth couldn’t pick: Key Lime Pie, and Brownie Madness - Dark chocolate brownie, bittersweet chocolate mousse, and whipped cream, drizzled with chocolate sauce. Believe it or not, Choco-lover Beth opted for the Key Lime Pie. Jerry (Give it to Jerry! He’ll eat anything) finished off the brownie madness for Beth.

 

Passed out our tip envelopes and said our goodbyes. Beth always hates that part. We realize they see a bazillion passengers during their tenure, but Benni, Michael and Erik were OUR waiters and we wanted to take him home with us.

 

Also got a surprise – earlier in the week, we had asked Erik if Mimi, our waitress from our Alaska cruise last year, was still onboard. He said she was and would send her by. Well, all week went by and we didn’t see her. Of course, anybody who’s had Mimi as their server knows that she works VERY hard and goes 90 mph (just like most of the servers). Well, she came by! She remembered all of us and we all gave her big hugs too. She re-taught us a trick she did last year with wine bottle corks (looks like they pass magically through her fingers – Beth still can’t get that one).

 

After dinner, it was around 10:00. Beth decided to stay out of the casino (wish THAT revelation had come earlier in the week). We put our bags outside the door, propped the door open, and Jerry proceeded to watch our bags. We didn’t want any surprises at customs, compliments of our new best friends next door. Jerry went to the Concierge Lounge to grab Maritza’s business card – we had of course lost the one she gave us – because she was going to have them come pick up our bags as soon as we got them out. She was still there (at 11:00) so no need to call her. She called them, and they came by, said they would be right back to get our bags. An hour later, they still hadn’t. By 1:00 a.m., they still hadn’t. We gave up, shut the door, and went to bed. Beth doesn’t think they blew us off; it was more like a language issue – not sure they understood; know we didn’t understand them.

 

P.s. our bags had no surprises – extra, or missing!

[Chitoryubt]

You were lucky that there was an extra balcony cabin. As we readers know, the OP was not able to secure another balcony cabin.

 

I'm a bit disappointed that RCI in both cases were not able to kick the pot smokers off the ship, especially in your case where their fighting and loud foul language kept you up at night. People who work hard for vacations should not have their vacations jeopordized or ruined by those people who are breaking the law.

 

In other cases, some RCI captains have kicked the pot smokers off the ship. And anecdotally from Cruise Critic and other sources, it seems as if Captains are being proactive in kicking offending passengers off the ship.

 

Thanks for the kind thoughts. I was disappointed too, but more in the investigative techniques (Security CALLEd them and asked them if they were smoking marijuana). Since they gave them good warning, they never saw or smelled anything, and it was just our word against theirs.

 

But honestly - calling them first? oh well, We still had a great time! Just couldn't use our balcony.

[Chitoryubt]

I know the OP had an unusual experience, but I wanted to note that on our excursion with Cosol, we were not "in a van most of the day". The van was our transport, but we were definitely out far more than in. :)

 

Glad you had a great time! Just out of curiosity, who was your Driver?

[waterbugohio]

Does formal night change from one week to the next. I have someone compass from a couple of weeks ago and the formal night was St. Thomas, and yours was St. Maarten.

 

Would really like to know this ahead so we can plan excursions?

[SeaBreezy]

Chitoryubt -

Just curious: What does your screen name mean?

 

I have SO enjoyed reading your review. I have sailed on Serenade 4 times (S. Caribbean twice, Alaska, Pacific NW reposition). We've had Capt. Stig and he's just the best! He's soooo funny! I can just picture being there with your vivid descriptions. Is Granny your mother? or your mother in law?

 

Sorry if these are nosy. I have just really enjoyed it!

 

SeaBreezy

[SherriZ366]

Thanks for the kind thoughts. I was disappointed too, but more in the investigative techniques (Security CALLEd them and asked them if they were smoking marijuana). Since they gave them good warning, they never saw or smelled anything, and it was just our word against theirs.

 

But honestly - calling them first? oh well, We still had a great time! Just couldn't use our balcony.

I agree. This should have been handled in a more professional manner. Security should have first come onto your hallway where they could have smelled the pot and then quietly slipped onto your balcony without flashlights to alert the potheads. This way they could have caught them and would not have made it so easy for your neighbors to ID you. Especailly as you were aprehensive that they might retaliate.

 

Did you put anything on your comment card about security's investigative techniques on your comment card?

[MIcruiser99]

I know the OP had an unusual experience, but I wanted to note that on our excursion with Cosol, we were not "in a van most of the day". The van was our transport, but we were definitely out far more than in. :)

 

Thanks for that info. At this point, we have already made a reservation so we won't change but possibly try Cosol's tour on another cruise. I just thought what could be worse than being in a van driving around a tropical island when you could be outside! Glad to know that is not the case.