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Day 3 (sea day) This was another slow day for us, but I think we all were getting into a bit more of a groove with the ship. Certainly it didn’t hurt that I got a much better night’s sleep. For me, this was a day to take pictures around the upper decks, as well as catch some unusual items in a sort of “photo safari”. First, pics of the latter hunt: This odd enclosed couch: Dammit, how many times did I tell the merchant my name does NOT have a “G” in it?!? This old girl has been photographed a million times, but it was a good test of my tele lens. This Next was definitely an oddity for this day and age. Seriously, when was the last time you saw a Wurlitzer jukebox (on land, at least)? I stumbled across this in one of the stairwells. Very different from the other art and artistic photos you’ll find on each deck landing. Last was this mural-style wall sculpture in Boleros Lounge. Now on to the pool deck, where I gave all three of my lenses lenses some work. After this, I checked out the live pool band for a bit. Next I made my way over to the Flow Rider. On the way, I had to get a shot of the wake from this high vantage. I spent about a half hour at the Flow Rider, getting some stills but mostly video. I’m going to put together a wipeout compilation after I’m home, but here was one of the better stills I got. After a quick lunch in the Windjammer, I went back to the pool and found a nice little hallway between the solarium and gym, with a handful of chairs and relatively empty. It was still open to the sea, so I spent an hour there going through the previous day’s pics and cleaning them up. After that I went back to my cabin to recharge my phone and work on the post for Day 2; you all know how that ended. ? During all this time, my wife and daughters were off doing their own things. My wife checked out the t-shirt sale (2 for $30) and grabbed a shirt for me and one for D14. After that, she got in another workout at the gym. Meanwhile, the girls did some homework (D17) and drawing (D14) before going out. D14 tried the kids’ arcade and couldn’t figure out how to get the credits onto her Sea Pass card; I wasn’t much help here, I’m afraid, so that visit was a dud. D17 went to the rock wall with my wife after she was done with her workout. Only D17 actually climbed, my wife said she did well. While they were out, after the Day Two posting mess, I went to the casino for a little bit and tried my luck at the slots; as expected, they were not my friend and I lost the small bit I’d brought out of my total gambling budget. Now it was time for Chef’s Table! I got dressed in my suit, even though the invite said smart casual, and it was a good thing! The other six taking part were all dressed the same way, so clearly we all agreed smart casual made NO sense for this event. The three couples I met, two from southern NJ and one from Texas, we’re all great company for dinner and we had lots of good conversation while thoroughly enjoying the meal and all the wines. I’ll be writing about that separately, it’s a post all to itself! My wife and girls had regular dinner, and while wifey wanted to see the ice show, the girls were both tired and went to bed after dinner, around 9:15. I was back from Chef’s Table not long after, and since it was after the start of the second ice show we decided to wander the upper decks, try see the stars around the still nearly-full moon, and see the pool deck at night. My plan to go to the helipad with her was scrapped when I found the gate leading to it on deck 5’s outside track closed. A staff member passing by said the winds were too strong and passengers weren’t being allowed on at night for safety reasons. Hopefully we’ll get a chance on one of our remaining nights! My wife and I then took the elevator to the uppermost decks; even with the lights from the pool area killing our night vision, we got a great view of the moon on the water. I was also able to see the Big Dipper, and what was either Venus or Jupiter below the moon, but nothing else. After taking in the moon, we checked out the pool and agreed it’s really pretty at night. I got one decent shot of the Solarium area using my night shot app, but nothing else. Mat this point we went back to our cabin. We had this guy as our towel animal this night: I wasn’t tired yet and decided I wanted another crack at the casino, but this time at the craps tables. I couldn’t make it a late night because we had to be up early for our excursion in St. Kitts, so I set myself a 1-hour timer. Craps worked out much better for me, and made back everything I’d lost on the slots. It was a good way to end the day, and I went to bed feeling a lot better about Day Three than I had Day Two. Next is St. Kitts, where we’ll be swimming with dolphins and crossing a major item off my wife’s bucket list!

There is an option in your account settings to chose "automatic" upgrade or something like that. I have booked over a dozen cruises with Royal and never received a call yet so I wouldn't get my hopes up. I watch for price drops and try to make my own upgrade but that doesn't usually work either. Good luck and stay positive for the elusive Upgrade Fairy!

Day 5 - St. Croix St. Croix is the largest US Virgin Island but not as populous as St. Thomas where the capital of the USVI is located. I've always liked St. Croix because it isn't the same as St. Thomas. I like the fact it isn't as commercial and it's more relaxed here. I think it's the lack of a Diamond International store glaring you in the face or being forced to make your way through a maze of stores selling foreign made trinkets which are the exactly the same as the last port that differentiates the St Croix experience. Lacking that desire to force people through the maze means that excursions can pickup and drop off right at the ship. There is a free pier shuttle bus that just runs up and down the pier. Today I needed to get some work done so I just self-explored around the port area. Fort Frederick It does appear some trees have lost some vegetation but it's starting to come back. They had the street blocked off for pedestrian traffic only and some vendors were set up. Something that really struck me about the vendors here is how relaxed and easy going they all were. There was no attempt to entice you or drag you into their tent, no hard sales pitch. It was very refreshing and very enjoyable to stroll around without any of the usual 'harassment' that occurs in so many ports. You could approach, look around, say 'good morning' and it was all very pleasant. Time and again the merchandise was locally crafted and the person who made it was usually right there to talk about it. Having visited so many other ports I've built up an immunity that usually involves avoiding eye contact, moving quickly, showing no interest and politely repeating 'no thanks' over and over again. It was so refreshing to not require any of that today. I didn't make it over to the beach area right next to the port but from a distance I could see people using that area. This end of the island doesn't show the level of damage from hurricanes although you can see a few blue tarps on some roofs along the coastline. Talking with some of the vendors they confirmed it was more of a rain event with flooding than it was the wind event that St Thomas and St Johns had to deal with. Several miles up the coast I could see more beaches and jet skis playing in the water. Sadly I did have to get some work done today but this view is a lot better than my office back home. It was a very enjoyable experience and I really got the feeling the locals were all happy to see us and were very welcoming. I'd like to return one day soon and be able to try some excursions beyond the port area. It doesn't have the hustle and bustle of St Thomas or many other ports and I think that is a good thing. I'd like to come back before it becomes too popular with cruise ships and it loses it's slow, relaxed charm.

Hello everyone! Shoutout to @twangster and his VERY extensive live blog he’s got going on. Here’s a very brief rundown from my first time sailing with RCL: Days at Sea (31 MAR-01 APR) - Two Words: Very Relaxing ?. Much deserved R&R after a long 6 months of being away from home on a deployment. My wife and I used these two days to explore the ship and all that it has to offer. First timer recommendation: BUY THE DRINK PACKAGE BEFORE YOU SAIL! I paid a hard lesson my first day when I had to drop a G+ on drinks, but I can assure you, it’s WELL worth the money! St Thomas, USVI (02 APR) - AWESOME diving excursion spent with Underwater Adventures. For anyone reading this who is open water diver certified or higher, HIGHLY recommend this port for diving. We dove on Rye Reef & Cartanza Seniora, which was about a 20 minute charter boat ride to the dive site (video to come after returning home). My wife and I were unable to head into town as we didn’t have cash at the time for a taxi. Another rookie mistake - make sure to bring cash! St. Croix, USVI (03 APR) - We pulled into St Croix and it rained ALL afternoon. Others who are sailing with us said that there was a side of the island that they went to with their excursions and didn’t get the rain, however, my wife and I were not able to attend our catamaran excursion due to severe weather. Fort de France, Martinique (TODAY, 04 APR) - Allllllright, here’s where it begins to turn sour. Our morning started out fantastic with a breakfast on our balcony and sun beating down on us with 80+*F. We got off the ship and decided to head into town. We encountered very unfriendly locals in a lot of the locations that we went to (I.e - shops, the library, etc). On the elevator ride back to the room, this was a common complaint from many of the other folks sailing with us. My dive buddy I had in St Thomas got so infuriated with the unfriendliness of the locals that she swore to never book another cruise with Fort De France as part of the itinerary. After what we encountered, I can’t say as though I blame her... Speaking of unhappy attitudes, I do have to mention at least two instances where ive been incredibly uncomfortable with bartenders. Situation 1.) Im in the solarium while docked in St Croix, and it’s POURING down raining. The solarium top is open, while it’s pouring, and lots of people begin to start scurrying like ants because of the rain. I was really confused with the top being open while it’s pouring, and not while it’s sunny out? Well, the solarium closes, and the bartender finally arrives. I walk up to order a drink and shoot the s*** with him since I was the only person standing there. I decide to ask, “hey, why doesn’t the solarium open up when it’s sunny out?” His response? “I don’t know, why don’t you ask the Captain?” Situation 2.) same day, in the casino. As we begin to pull away from the USVI, the bar and casino open up. I can’t really tell if the bar is open yet or not (because I couldn’t tell if he had just arrived or not), so I ask if he was open? His response, “idk, you tell me?” After getting this response, a second bartender in a row, I snapped a response like, “well I didn’t know because I didn’t want to get in the way of you opening and setting up the bar, so I’ll ask again, are you open?” He served me a drink, and away I went on my merry way. I have wanted to make a complaint but I have no idea who to talk to, or if anything would come of it. Overall, we are very happy with this cruise. We’ve had a blast so far, and are very pleased. I will make a second half of my blog for the remaining 5 nights we have at sea and will score our cruise based on others we’ve been on, between 1-5 point scale. (hopefully we won’t have anymore issues with bartenders??)

I tend to look like Elaine from Seinfeld when I'm on the dance floor. To say I'm ugly at dancing would be a compliment..... because I'm far worse.

Happens to me all the time. Darn stuff refuses to stay in the trays, and it would be rude to not eat what's on my plate.

Try using your email address instead of your old username. I had the same thing happen to me (changed passwords about 5 times) but once I started signing in with my email address it stopped asking me to change my password.

Okay, enough of the small talk and niceties.... Now that you're a vet, we need one thing, and one thing only from you: A SORRENTO'S REPORT We all know that Jersey-ites are pizza connoisseurs, so we must have answers.

@twangster LOL! The selfie is hilarious! You caved to the pressure! That has to be your new profile pic ?

Day 4 - St Thomas There is no easy way to put this, this post will be photo intensive. Sorry @Matt, in the immortal words of Roy Sheider's character in Jaws... "We're going to need a bigger boat". I met with a friend and former co-worker before the excursion. He reports the majority of residents on St Thomas have power back but other luxuries like cable TV are still a work in progress. Residents on St John are still getting there. Many areas have power but more remote areas are still without. Despite that people are settling back into a routine. My excursion today - St John's "All Inclusive" Beach & Snorkel To clear up a commonly heard misconception, all inclusive refers to ferry + taxi + park admission + snorkel gear. Nothing else. No water, food or anything else. A few pictures around Crown Bay to start us off: Our greeting committee: Our chariot (ferry) to St Johns. We cruised along the Southern coast of St Thomas and from a distance much looked normal but you could see many of these coastal buildings took it hard during the storm and they are a work in progress. Twenty fives minutes later we approached Cruz Bay in St Johns. We loaded into our taxi's to begin our way to Trunk Bay. Our first glimpse at Trunk Bay. After a 15 minute drive we arrived at the Virgin Islands National Park - Trunk Bay. Restrooms and showers faired well during the storm: Some things like the concessions are not open yet. Chairs are available for rent. Snorkel gear included in the excursion was available near the beach. There is a snorkel trail underwater. The beach is gorgeous with sugar like sand. The snorkel course is to the left of the island with marker buoys in the water. I set my stuff in the sand and donned my snorkel gear. Lots of Sea Urchins. You do not want to step on one. If you look closely you'll see lots of minnows. This complete and about an hour later we boarded our taxi. Our driver stopped at several viewing spots so we could take pictures. That's the British Virgin Isles in the distance. Jumbie Beach This is the Caneel Bay Resort. Like most hotels it's closed pending restoration. Back on our ferry and heading to St Thomas they offered beer for $5 (brewed in Portland, ME). I managed to talk to a few locals this trip. Most hotels remains closed with no word when they might reopen. Building material and labor are hard to come by to fix them. While some hotels have opened, tourism is swayed towards cruise ships at the moment. While island life is settling into a new normal, the storm's effects continue. For example, rain inundated many homes. Appliances not physically damaged are beginning to rust and break down just now from water damage, even if minor at the time. The storms that keep on giving. Those that had the money built with concrete and faired better than those with older homes. They didn't escape unscathed though, even the concrete began to saturate from the days of rain before, during and after both storms which amounted to weeks of rain. The concrete in some cases withstood the wind but leaked water from saturation. I was glad to make it over to St Johns and just as happy to see life moving forward. It's a process but the tens of thousands of dollars each cruise ships brings are very welcome. With hotels shut many are out of work but they very much appreciate each ship and the jobs that are created from the cruise industry.

Thanks ! I love those cinemas. They are so great - especially on long cruises where you really look for something to do on multiple sea days. I hope they NEVER get rid of them !

I won! Woohoo! At the CC Meet & Mingle they had a raffle for "stuff you'd never buy" and I won an RC backpack. Our ship representative warned us several times they tend to fall apart but knew exactly how they could be fixed by sewing them up with dental floss. Things you make you go "hmmm". I should have brought my dental floss needle, but heck it's free and I won it (I never win anything). Enjoying my balcony today... how else? I thought I'd test out wifi calling given that this is a non-O3b ship. I called my agent to save $400 on a December cruise. Not bad, the call broke up a few times but in the end I saved $400 so I'll take it! As I sat there I spotted a celebrity approaching. Using my bot-like vision I discovered it's the Celebrity Silhouette. Soon after some birds came along. At first I wasn't sure what they were doing out here but then it became obvious. Success! Flying fish being taught a lesson by a flying bird - better to stay in the water.

Early start to the day after getting a solid sleep. Walking through the solarium and around the pool deck before sunrise I observed the pool attendants at work Here is the solarium on Serenade

Finally a post-dinner sunset: Deck 5 Hyperlapse

Here is a hyperlapse of the pool deck. I'm hoping to capture more of the ship in this way as it's a quick way to get a feel for a ship.

Cabin Tour! Deck 7 Standard Balcony 7028 On the Radiance class the deck 7 balconies are extended with the extension open to the sides and above. I don't plan to be on my balcony in my underwear so this isn't an issue for me but if you are seeking a more private balcony experience you may want to accept a smaller balcony on a higher deck.

IT'S CRUISE DAY!!! Disclaimer - @SaltyNavyCruiser15 started a live blog a few weeks ago but out of respect I'm trying to avoid taking over his post and starting this. I'm hoping they continue to blog as it will be an interesting comparison having different users providing perspective of the same sailing. Their blog is here: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/5849-30-mar-09-apr-southern-caribbean-cruise-on-serenade/ This week has been a busy week for me. Between business trips and my flight to reach Serenade there were four flights to her the day before sailing (an unexpected business trip had me flying over 6,000 miles this week). From my 3am ET start to the day to landing in Fort Lauderdale at 1:44am ET on the day of the cruise I would have been up for 24 hours by the time I reached my hotel if it were not for sleeping on the MD88, 767, 757 and 737 it took to arrive here. Someone today asked me what class of ship Serenade is and I drew a blank, I couldn't even remember half the classes. Yeah I'm tired. A cruise starting with two sea days is perfect right now. Itinerary Sea Day, Sea Day, St Thomas, St Croix, Martinique, St Kitts, St Maarten, Sea Day, Sea Day Excursions (booked during a recent sail event:) Skipping St. Croix excursion due to work requirements. I'm familiar with St. Croix from having done some work there so once conference calls are over I'll wander around a bit on my own. Fun fact - St Croix is home to the Eastern most point of the United States (excluding the main land). Fort Lauderdale - Port Everglades I called my hotel twice throughout the day to make sure they wouldn't give away my room as a no-show given my 2am arrival. It was nearly 3am when I crashed into the hotel bed. I woke at 8am to re-arrange my luggage and inventory what I missed since packing for the cruise a week ago. I did pretty good and double packed some items. Lyft was $12 and I arrived at terminal 19 at 10:10am. Apparently they were doing work on some terminals so we couldn't use terminal 18 or 29. I haven't used terminal 19 since a cruise on another line in 2013. It hasn't changed much (still small). The terminal contractors seemed to like it as much as I did. Suites/Pinnacle boarded at 10:30, Diamond Plus at 10:40-ish and a few minutes later they called Diamond - the escalator can only take so many at a time so they regulate flow. Not bad - just over 30 minutes from my early terminal arrival to boarding. Pretty painless. BTW - terminal 19 also has free wifi. Lunch in the WJ. Honey Stung Chicken and Curry and a few other things and before I knew I it my plate looked like food coma. I need a nap. Cabins opened right at 1pm as offered. Cabin and dinner pictures tomorrow once I've slept.

@rjacI know you're not going to see this until after you're done living it up on your B2B but wishing you a Happy Birthday anyway!

There is a similar thread going on today over on the "other site" and I just skimmed through it but it doesn't look like many have received the call... I hope you get it @Skid

Next time you run into that situation...just quietly whisper that you know Twangster and he makes people disappear, if you know what i mean! :-) We got the same vibe from the locals while we were there in Jan and came to the conclusion that Martinique would not be on our list of Islands to stay at for a land vacation.

Nahhh it’s not something worth complaining about now... it happened yesterday so it would be silly if I mentioned something about it now ? thank you for the advice!! If I encounter anymore issues I’ll make sure to bring it up :)

@SaltyNavyCruiser15 about the bartenders....sorry to hear that their attitude was not on par with what you normally get from RC. Did you get their names? We actually had a situation on Anthem last month with a crew member that did not sit well with me at all. Like you, I had no idea who I was suppose to complain to. I will give you the advice that hubby gave me....take a couple of hours to decide if it's something actually worth complaining about. If yes, then I would head to guest services and ask to speak to whoever might be in charge of the bartenders. Don't just speak to a GS rep. Also, when you get the link after your cruise, you can also mention it in the survey. Sounds like you are having a great time so far despite the rudeness. Thanks for sharing so far!

From @F1guynz

Just go to the main forums page and scroll down to "live blogs". Lots there to keep you busy ?

You are going to love the views.

I emailed Casino Royale and here is their less then informative response: “Hello,We are expecting all announcements to be made shortly regarding the new program benefits and tiers.” This is standard issue “Casino Royale” BS. Is “shortly” today, tomorrow or next year?

Put on your dressy rash guard and snorkel gear and you could be famous for the next viral dance move ?

That's why we always purchase trip insurance.

So, just got back, and for those that want to know, I was able to use my diamond credits 5-8 pm to buy my daughter drinks. :)

It took me a few nights before I understood this fully. I think I 1st called it a 'mermaid thing' (I blame the drink package). It's still the favorite of the Freedom class use of this space IMO. This is exactly how I dance. All my life I look like this on the dance floor.

I am sure Spectrum will be released separately at some point in the future. I am not actually which ships will end up in Australia now that Explorer has left. It would seem unlikely to have 2 Quantum ships (Ovation and Spectrum) in the same market. I think Radiance is certain, maybe Voyager will make a return and Spectrum. It is too hard to work out which ships do not have 2019/2020 itineraries too see who the candidates might be.

Day 4 Dinner Menu: After missing my reservation on account of the sunset, I headed to the MTD no reservation line at around 7:30pm. It was pretty busy and they were handing out pagers with a lot of people waiting. I decided to make it a Windjammer dinner night and discovered it was Greek night. As I walked around the WJ food sprang onto my plate. Before I knew it my plate was full. Yum.

Day 4 - St Thomas Departure I had a 6pm MTD reservation but decided to skip it in favor of the sunset. Not a bad decision as it turns out. It started out pretty great but as the sun went down further it got a bit better. Looking back towards St Thomas with the Windjammer Al Fresco seating area: At this point the sun was below below the horizon but it begin to illuminate the clouds and I just couldn't stop taking pictures. As it became darker the colors became more vibrant. Show nearly over, I grabbed one more photo with the deck 12 slide in the foreground. These were all taken with an iPhone 8. I think they turned out okay.

In no particular order 1. Oasis Allure Grandeur Harmony Freedom Anthem Independence Liberty Serenade 2. Haven't sailed a #2 yet I've loved all my cruises and can't rank them

I go all the time to Cozumel with no excursions. Very easy to go into town and figure it out on the fly.

Jim welcome to our forum as far as room service is concerned continental breakfast is complimentary and can be ordered the night before from your cabin you will find door hang menus in the papers left for you everything else is 7.95 per order not item but per order there is a rumor going around that it will soon go to 9.95 but no proof has surfaced when Royal instituted the new charge they improved there menu greatly I have had many of the new items and they are quite tasty . I hope this helps if I can be of any help don't hesitate the freedom is one of my favorites I have sailed her a couple times and the other 2 ships in her class are a treat also enjoy your cruise

Ditto, Twangster. We winged it both days and had a great time. Don't be afraid to haggle a little for price reductions with tour operators - it's better to go out than loose a sale. Also, we paid in American dollars which is a higher price than the local currency so I think there is some room for wiggle.

Thank you @TNphilp !! It looks like they are under the balcony and they will not obstruct my view. I did find a youtube video of a large balcony on Harmony of the seas, and they had a great shot on the balcony. No lifeboats in view. :) You worked hard for me!!!!!! So kind. I loved the video

Yes. Right in front of the pub. They've had at least 3 different movies playing so far.

Pictures taken ~7:40am. WJ opened at 7am.

I don't think you're giving them enough credit.

Playing around with a timelapse video from my balcony. The wind blowing the tripod around makes it look like I'm on a train more than a ship but I'm traveling light and left my heavy duty 8 lb. tripod at home so my cheap but light tripod can't hold still in this wind. The ship isn't moving very much, just an occasional gentle and slow pitch. I don't feel it but looking aft I can see a slight up-down slow pitch. Great day so far. Lunch is calling, gotta run.

It's chair hog mitigation. Trying to out fox the chair hogs by getting one step ahead of them. I guess instead of dealing with it once people have put down their stuff, the pool attendants went to work very early to place notes informing people you can not reserve loungers. "No Reservation" maybe be better phrased "No Reserving" but I'll take it.

And great pics, as always!

Dinner in the MDR I ordered the Calamari and Prime Rib. Since I told my waiter I was going to skip dessert he brought me two Calamari

So I get off a ship and you board another one. I love Serenade. I did a B2B on her a couple years back. I will be following as usual. I had three slices of my favorite cake.

We've done CM once and Cozumel twice now with no excursions. I would say it depends what you are looking for. Adventure, beach, leisurely exploring? CM has a great touristy area that has lots of shopping, beach, etc. right when you get off the ship. @twangster featured this area in his Liberty of the seas live blog in the live blog section. Cozumel has lots of cabs waiting at the pier when you get off and they can take you just about anywhere. We have gone twice now and just walked around downtown Cozumel.

That is distinctly possible. It's 1 1/4 hours so it's not going to be a cheap taxi but its very possible a local shuttle company or taxi independent of this "excursion" may be more cost effective. This website lists several taxis. I'd suggest calling one. http://caribya.com/jamaica/taxis/ The page suggests Falmount to Dunn is $90 but make sure to ask if the fare is per person or total. Taxis on different islands work in different ways, ask lots of questions and make sure you negotiate before getting into any cab.

I thought we did too, but I cannot believe it, I actually got the email today!! After not getting anything for years, they sent the Indy one. Can't figure them out lol! Not even going to try.

I'm doing the transatlantic in October. Looking forward to hearing about your experiences on board!