We flew into San Juan the day before the cruise. Based on good reviews from Trip Advisor, we stayed at Hotel Milano. It is only a 5-10 minute cab ride from the Pan American pier (where the Serenade docks). It was a perfect pre-cruise hotel.

We arrived at the pier around 10:45 AM. There were only a handful of people in line. They let us board around 11:15 AM. There were no lines at all and we were on the ship within 10 mins. You can't go to your cabin until 1:00 PM, so we made our way to the Windjammer for a yummy lunch. Once the clock struck 1:00 PM, we made our way to our cabin to checkout our home away from home for the next 7 days. This is the first time we've had a balcony - it is soooo worth it! We are officially spoiled! Our luggage arrived around 2:00 PM.

St. Thomas: We had a golf excursion at Mahogany Run Golf Course. It was wonderful. The views were breathtaking and the course was challenging. It was a great way to spend the day. Later, back to the ship to have a couple drinks on our balcony before dinner... Read more