As much as I would love to cruise on an over the top luxury line, my pocketbook suggested I return to one of the large cruise companies. Past cruises on Royal Caribbean were generally rated as an above average vacation. Of course, variables like traveling companions, ports, weather etc. can make a so so ship a terrific experience. One criterion for choosing this cruise was ports I had never visited -- Curacao, Aruba and Domenica as well as returning to what I believe is the best destination in the Caribbean, the Virgin Islands. When all was said and done, the Serenade of the Seas became the obvious choice and what a tremendous ship it is.

We (two youngish 60's year olds) made our own flight plans from Philadelphia. We landed at San Juan a little before noon, bags arrived quickly (US Air) and the taxis were waiting. Fare was announced before entering the cab and at $19 plus $2 for bags, it was a bargain. This is my second cruise from San Juan and it just seems to be filled with friendly people at the airport and the cruise terminal. We arrived at the ship around 12:30 PM and were quickly ushered on board. Bags were taken but we had packed a small carry-on bag so were were ready with swim suits and shorts to enjoy our first hours on the ship. One bag arrived quickly, when another did not, I called guest relations and they said they would check on the missing bag. It arrived and I was able to unpack. We tried to travel light and were able to efficiently use the storage in the stateroom. As per the norm the bathroom is very compact and I actually wondered how some of the larger passenger even used the shower. One thing that I would have thought RCCL would have addressed to gain a bit more storage was wall hung flat screen tvs since the old style tv actually takes up a good deal of space. Ship Info -- The ship is a beautiful ship with some aspects that seem like a throwback to a grander and more elegant style than some of RCCL's mega ships. Art work throughout the ship is very well thought out and create pleasant backgrounds for all activities. There is lots of wood and brass and tons of comfortable seating in the public rooms. An area that used to be a favorite quieter sport, the Viking Crown Lounge, is now a more active, louder venue that seemed to attract the 20-40 crowd but they did have a smaller area called the Hollywood Odyssey that was a nice area for a quiet drink as quiet areas of the ship are really in short supply (I'll come back to that later). As always the Schooner Bar is a favorite gathering place and is it me or does that area always have the best bartenders and drink servers? Now further back is couple of very elegant areas, the largest being the Safari Club. It is a truly beautiful area of the ship with a card room, billiard tables, and a couple of tvs for watching football and baseball. At night we would go there after dinner and there was always something fun going on. The best event was the Qwest which was beyond uproarious. That brings us up to the man others called the energizer bunny, the Cruise Director. He is beyond a doubt one of the hardest working and most effective directors I have seen. There are just not enough compliments for him AND it seems like the whole crew is infected by his energy and willingness to please. Every single crew member seemed to want your week to be a good one. By the way, Dennis, the Cruise Director, attended the Meet and Mingle and spent the better part of an hour with the Cruise Critic people even introducing us to his family! He did ask us to stop him with any suggestions but he was just so busy and seemingly enjoying what he was doing that I did not feel like bending his ear with minor suggestions but here is one I think would make the cruise more enjoyable. The ship needs more quieter spots as many of the gathering places were just too noisy fun for the folks enjoying the activity but not really conducive to reading, dozing, etc. For example, the singer in the Schooner Bar was terrific but the speakers throughout the room made conversation difficult. On days at sea there was a truly fabulous band at the pool that everyone seemed to love but if the deck above the pool could have had the speakers turned off, guests wanting a quieter area would have been satisfied. This, however, was not cruise ruiner. There are about four lounges in the very front of the ship that are a bit hard to find but worth it for the quiet and view. They are in front of the spa.

One really neat innovation is the Pit Stop, a sports bar, that allowed those of us interested in baseball playoffs and pro football to get our fill. Also, at this bar is the number one bartender on the ship -- Erroll, go see this beautiful man and have him make you an old fashioned cocktail! Read more