We had only cruised one time before, and that was on a short four-night Bahamas cruise. So this cruise with Royal Caribbean was our first real adventure and it truly turned out to be the time of our lives. We flew in from Dallas the evening before and stayed at the Marriott Resort & Casino in San Juan. The room was beautiful, overlooking the pool and the ocean, but maybe a little pricey. We had a quick dinner in the hotel, as it was late when we arrived, watched some salsa dancing in the hotel club area and took the opportunity to see if they knew how to deal blackjack in the casino. We had a nice breakfast in the hotel and took off to see the sites of Old San Juan. We had planned on taking a horse and carriage tour but learned they don't usually run until the afternoon, so we found a friendly and knowledgeable cab driver who took us on a complete driving tour of Old Town and then took us back to our hotel to pick up our baggage, then to the Pan American Pier, all for thirty dollars including a good tip. We boarded the ship around 2:00 P.M.. It was painless and quick, with no waiting whatsoever. What can you say other than the Serenade of the Seas is gorgeous! It exceeded our expectations by far. The ship is immaculately clean and the crew members were very friendly and helpful. Our Suite was delightful and more than accommodating, with a balcony to match. At this point I won't go through every single day's activities as you can only read so much about each of the destinations. I will bring a couple of excellent tours to your attention, however. On the first day of the cruise, the ship docked in St. Thomas. We took a day-sail on a 42' sloop, High Pockets, captained by one of the sweetest ladies you ever want to meet, Kathleen. To find out more about this tour, you can go to www.sailhighpockets.com. She arranged everything from the taxi service to pick us up at the ship's dock, to an incredible gourmet lunch complete with wine and homemade rum cake for dessert. She sails her sloop out of Red Hook which is a wonderful way to see the island on the taxi ride. She anchored us for a while in a cove for snorkeling and swimming, relaxing and of course the lunch. In St. Lucia we took the Cosol tour. So many good things have been said about this tour and I don't want to sound repetitious but it is fantastic. Yes, it's quite a bit of driving around in a van, but the vans carry only about ten tourists and are very clean and the guides are extremely friendly and knowledgeable. It's a fantastic way to see the island and learn of its people and taste of its food. And there's plenty of that! For more information about the Cosol tour go to www.cosol-tours.com. So much for the tours . . . back to the ship. We ate in the main dining room for dinners only, all but two nights. The food in the main dining room was very good and there were enough choices to keep the majority of people very happy. The staff were extremely friendly, helpful and very service-oriented. Two nights we dined at Chops where the food and service were exceptional. The menu stays the same each night in Chops but all the choices were excellent. Because of our suite, we were entitled to use the concierge lounge, where we opted to have a light continental breakfast each morning. The concierge, Kenneth, is an exceptional young man, very professional, helpful and friendly, and he does a tremendous job of making you feel at home. After dinner each night we visited the casino for a short period of time and it was especially pleasurable on the non-smoking nights. The Serenade is incredible. The warmth and the service from the employees are exemplary. The southern route of the Caribbean is absolutely wonderful at this time of year. This trip and this ship and its personnel provided the time of our lives! We will return!