A group of 6 of us cruised the Southern Caribbean (Tortola, St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Lucia & Grenada) route on the beautiful Serenade of the Seas. Four of us are have cruised Southern Caribbean before and two were new to both the itinerary and ship. The cruise was fantastic and we all had a great time!

Pre/Post-Cruise: We flew in a day early to avoid the stress of just making it to the ship on time We stayed at the Caribe Hilton, enjoyed their beautiful grounds, comfortable rooms, and proximity to the bus stop to get to Old San Juan. Had some great food at La Bombonera, Parrot Club, and El Patio de Sam. Had a less than stellar dining experience at Budatai. We wandered around the colorful ballast-stone streets, enjoying the Spanish Colonial style architecture and the combination of history and Caribbean charm. We've been to San Juan several times and never get tired if it!

Embarkation: We got to the Pan Am Pier in the mid afternoon for a quick and easy embarkation. Lines were short and everyone was friendly. Except... being solicited for tips from the porters who I watched slam the luggage around. I have read about the porter/tip issue, but never encountered it at the Pan American Pier. Each year we have been happy to tip, but once solicited, we were much less eager to pull out the wallet. We still tipped, but... Once on the ship, all was well. We checked out our rooms, dumped our carry-ons, and headed for the Windjammer. Nothing like a good afternoon gorging before dinner! The rest of the evening was spent checking out the ship until the muster drill which, sans life jackets, was a breeze. Read more