Congrats to Royal Caribbean and to the Crew of Serenade of the Seas for one enjoyable 3rd week in March 2009. My wife and I flew into San Juan a day early (Friday) and spent the day walking around Old San Juan. We stayed at the Sheraton Old San Juan on Friday night. Taxi from the airport to the hotel was $19 plus $1 per bag. The hotel was nice and in a great location right on the water in Old San Juan. We were both impressed with the comfort of the bed. Check out time was a bit confusing. We were told 10AM while other people said they were told 12PM. Anyway, we vacated the place at 10AM and took the short taxi ride to the dock (cost of again $19 + $1 per bag). We waited in line until the boarding process began. Met a couple from Buffalo, NY and had a nice talk with them and subsequently met them a number of times throughout the cruise for a short chat. The boarding process was quick and efficient. We headed for the Windjammer for lunch. The food was delicious. The desserts were some of the best we had the entire cruise. My wife's luggage arrived by 3PM and my luggage came about 4PM. We met our cabin attendant just before dinner and then did not see her for the entire cruise. She did a great job of keeping the cabin neat and clean and we enjoyed the towel animals she created each night. We did miss the nightly chocolate on the pillow we had received on previous cruises. As for the Cuisine, we had breakfast each morning in the Windjammer. There was plenty of food and beverages. I enjoyed all the made to order omelets each day. We had lunch in the Windjammer each port day. The food was good and there was more than enough variety that I don't see how anyone could complain about not being able to find something to eat. We were disappointed that the Main Dining Room was closed for lunch for I believe all the Port Days. This was the first cruise we have been on with RCL that this occurred. We did have an excellent lunch in the Dining Room on the last sail day back to Puerto Rico. The made to order salad bar was fantastic. We had the early seating for dinner (Table 449) at a table for 10. We enjoyed conversing with all the couples at our table, 2 were from New Jersey, 1 from Cincinnati, Ohio and 1 couple from our home state of Maryland. The only issue we had was that the table was so large and the room so noisy, you could really only carry on a conversation with the couple to your left or right. We are going to ask in the future that we be seated at a table of no more than 6 people. Our waiter, Anthony, and his assistant, Nikki, were great. Nikki had a constant smile the whole time we were in the dining room. The head waiter, Erglie, stopped by each evening and was happy to help with anything we needed. He was the best head waiter we ever had on a cruise. We really appreciated all they did for us. Food in the Main Dining Room was good but nothing I would call spectacular. Lastly, we were disappointed to not be able to view and photograph a gorgeous midnight buffet as we had on past cruises. Although we didn't eat much at that hour, it was a highlight. We also went to the Mystery Dinner Theater in Portofino. The show was great and the cast (mostly the lead singers and dancers in the RCL Singers and Dancers) did a good job in entertaining us. Our only issue was the fixed menu. We would have liked the option of choosing from the regular Portofino menu. We would probably not go again, especially given the $49 per person cost. As for the rest of the ship, my wife won a free week's use of the Persian Garden Spa. It was fantastic. We especially loved the warm lounge seats and the sauna. This was the first time we did not play one single game of bingo while on a cruise nor did we participate in the Art Auctions. We lost some money on the Roulette Table but won it back playing Blackjack in the casino. The Crown and Anchor Society Party was nice and we really appreciated this gesture by RCL for the drinks, food and music to dance to. The nightly shows with the Royal Caribbean Singers and Dancers were entertaining, the Drifters show brought back some great memories of my youth and the comic on the last night was great. We were disappointed that one night there was no show, only the Newlywed Game. The Captain of the Oasis of the Seas was on board along with the VP of the RCL Hotel and Food Section of the company. They were actually on the ship to meet with the crew and give them a status on the Oasis and decided to offer the passengers a sneak peek at things. They showed a 15 minute video of the building of the Oasis and then answered questions for some 30 minutes afterward about the ship. It was very informative. We were worried about the weather as the Weather Channel kept on predicting rain for each day of the cruise. But to our delight, we had a minor shower in St Thomas on the first day and nothing but some mixed clouds and sunshine at all the other ports. The seas were not rough at all. We cannot thank all the crew enough for all they did to make our vacation enjoyable. Everyone was polite, had a smile, never failed to say hello and did everything they could to please. As for the Ports:

St Thomas We did a morning tour STC3- Historic Blackbeard Castle and Shopping. We had a good driver and tour host. We saw everything that was listed in the tour itinerary by RCL: the picturesque ride along Skyline Drive offering breathtaking down island views of the Caribbean Sea, Magen's Bay and Charlotte Amalie Harbor, the 17th century Blackbeard's Castle, and the manor houses Villa Notman, Britannia House, Crown House (once used by visiting Danish Royalty), Haagensen House, the Rum Museum and Hotel 1829. The Caribbean World Amber Museum, home of the most extensive collection of amber objects and jewelry in the world, had many interesting pieces. We did some shopping in the afternoon. I was somewhat disappointed in that the run downtown shopping area did not meet my idyllic vision of what a tropical paradise shopping area should have looked like.

St Maarten We did a morning tour SM86- St Maarten Island Tour WOW, traffic, traffic everywhere is all I can think of in this tour, especially between Phillipsburg and Marigot. Other than the 30 minutes or so in Marigot for browsing among the shops and cafes, the rest of the time is spent on the bus listening to the guide (who did a good job) explain what you were driving by. The afternoon was spent in downtown Phillipsburg walking along the absolutely beautiful beach and shopping in the once again drab shopping area. Got a liter of rum for $8 and a liter of Absolut Vodka for $9. The booze was cheap on all the islands but especially here. Read more