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30 MAR - 09 APR Southern Caribbean cruise on Serenade


SaltyNavyCruiser15

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Hello all!

Id like to go ahead and get the thread started for those sailing on Serenade of the Seas between 30 MAR and 09 APR. This will be our third cruise (2xdisney, 1xRCL) with this being our first on RCL. We are stoked!! 

Will be flying in from Asheville NC to Ft Lauderdale, and will spend a night on the 28th. From there on the 29th, we will embark! The Wife and I hope to meet new friends!

Bon Voyage, Shipmates!

 

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16 hours ago, RamblingRandie said:

Have a great trip. What's your itinerary?

FRI 30 MAR FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA

SAT 31 MAR CRUISING

SUN 01 APR CRUISING

MON 02 APR CHARLOTTE AMALIE, ST. THOMAS - Scuba Diving Excursion

TUE 03 APR ST. CROIX, U.S.V.I. - The Palms at Pelican Cove Beach Break

WED 04 APR FORT-DE-FRANCE, MARTINIQUE

THU 05 APR BASSETERRE, ST KITTS & NEVIS

FRI 06 APR PHILIPSBURG, ST. MAARTEN - Maho Beach Airplane Experience

 SAT 07 APR CRUISING

 SUN 08 APR CRUISING

 MON 09 APR FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA

 

Needless to say, we are STOKED! 

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On 3/27/2018 at 7:06 AM, SaltyNavyCruiser15 said:

FRI 30 MAR FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA

SAT 31 MAR CRUISING

SUN 01 APR CRUISING

MON 02 APR CHARLOTTE AMALIE, ST. THOMAS - Scuba Diving Excursion

TUE 03 APR ST. CROIX, U.S.V.I. - The Palms at Pelican Cove Beach Break

WED 04 APR FORT-DE-FRANCE, MARTINIQUE

THU 05 APR BASSETERRE, ST KITTS & NEVIS

FRI 06 APR PHILIPSBURG, ST. MAARTEN - Maho Beach Airplane Experience

 SAT 07 APR CRUISING

 SUN 08 APR CRUISING

 MON 09 APR FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA

 

Needless to say, we are STOKED! 

I love Martinique.

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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??) 

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@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!

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16 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

@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!

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 :) 

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4 hours ago, SaltyNavyCruiser15 said:

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 :) 

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.

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Glad you are overall having a good time. Cranky bartenders are a long way from 2 beers on Steel Beach but I get that this is something you are paying for so want more. Hope you find a bar that gets to know you but I’ve found it helps to give a dollar or two extra tip so they will remember what you want before you order it. Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

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While I have not been to Martinique before, I have heard a number of complaints about unwelcoming locals.  It really doesn't seem to make any sense that they would have an unwelcoming attitude but I'm sure they have a reason....whatever it might be. All I know is that if they don't want my money, I will just keep it.

So glad to hear that you are having a good time and enjoying the cruise.  I am also sorry to hear about the flippant bartenders.  I guess everyone has a bad day from time-to-time...but I think you handled it well and didn't let it ruin your day.  Good job !

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4 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

While I have not been to Martinique before, I have heard a number of complaints about unwelcoming locals.  It really doesn't seem to make any sense that they would have an unwelcoming attitude but I'm sure they have a reason....whatever it might be. All I know is that if they don't want my money, I will just keep it.

So glad to hear that you are having a good time and enjoying the cruise.  I am also sorry to hear about the flippant bartenders.  I guess everyone has a bad day from time-to-time...but I think you handled it well and didn't let it ruin your day.  Good job !

 

Oh, they want your money, alright.... 

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