Serenade of the Seas
I woke up at 4 am (again) and couldn’t get back to sleep. After the sun came up, I took a bunch of pictures from the balcony. After Todd woke, we went up to the Ambassador’s Club for breakfast at 6:30. Later checked in w/ L, B&C - they were going to go to breakfast, so while they did that, T & I went for a walk on the beach! (one block from hotel).
I tried to take a picture of the two of us, but it didn't turn out very well. I won't be doing that anymore!!! lol
I was much more impressed with the nice clear ocean water than the brown water in the gulf of Mexico. After our walk we went back up to the Ambassador’s Club to have some more juice with everyone. B had scheduled a scuba dive, so the rest of us got our baggage ready and down to the lobby for the trek to the ship.
Another run to Walgreens (we kept thinking of things we needed and I had already started buying present for the grandkids), lunch at Subway and the shuttle was scheduled to pick us up at the hotel at 1 pm to take us to the pier. The driver came for us promptly at 1 pm, there were no hotel porters available so we had to get the luggage out to the curb by ourselves. Not an easy task, but we managed. One stop at another hotel to get other people on our cruise, and we were off to the pier. The drive was pretty, but traffic was heavy. We had to stand in line at the pier for what seemed like a long time (it was VERY HUMID!) Next time we won't use a shuttle service, but instead take a taxi to the pier earlier - you can actually start boarding the ship at 11:30 am instead of waiting until 2 pm when EVERYONE gets there, so I'm sure there aren't lines early. We gave the cruise line our large bags, then it was through security, then in line to get our SeaPass Cards.
A04 is for the muster drill, it has the last three numbers of our stateroom on it, it doesn't list the first because that is the deck we are on. That way if someone finds your key, they won't know what exact room is yours and they are also used as your room key. It also lists your dining room, time and table number (447). The whole ship is cashless, so you use your SeaPass card for EVERYTHING. Drinks, purchases at the stores on the ship or spa services. The only time you use cash is at the Casino.
We all checked in together since all five of us we were charging to one credit card. Our pictures were taken - they attach them to the sea pass card and when you get back on the ship after being on land at the various ports, they make sure you are the person who’s supposed to be getting on the ship. Boarding went pretty quickly, they asked if we had any alcohol in our bags, I said NO and they didn’t even scan my bag, I guess I don‘t look like the kind of person who would smuggle it onboard. We found our rooms - B&C and L’s staterooms (8512 and 8528) were on the right side of the ship and ours (8026) was on the left, all toward the front of the ship. The rooms were very nice. I didn't take pictures of it right away, but I will later, promise! Here's a picture of the ship for now... :D
We met our Room Steward, Allen, right away and I asked him to empty the refrigerator for us, so we could put water or soda in it that we bought. I also asked him if he could find a foam egg-crate for the bed. He did and put it on for us while we were out of the cabin. (The beds can be either together to make a full size bed or separate to be two twin beds, so the egg crate foam helps a lot.) Each day they give us a “Cruise Compass” that tell us what’s happening the next day, when the restaurants are open and a schedule of activities. This was in our stateroom when we arrived:
A final call to Tab and Sam, and my Blackberry was put away for the week!
T & I went over to Larry’s cabin to see the view from his balcony. The wine truffles I ordered for him were already in his cabin, so he opened them and let us try one. They were good and I think he enjoyed them. I figured that was the least we could do for him taking us on the cruise. We walked around for a little and met up with B&C @ 4 for a small snack at the WindJammer (buffet). We sat outside at the very back of the ship - it was NICE since we weren‘t moving yet! I just had a piece of pizza and since dinner was at 6 pm, we didn’t want to each much. Our luggage still hadn’t arrived in our rooms, so we freshened up as much as we could and went to dinner in “Reflections” (there’s a reason dress suggestion for Sunday night is casual). Our table is right next to the captains table in the middle of the dining room. The 5 of us were the only ones at the table, but it was set for 8, so not sure if the other people just didn’t want to eat in the DR that night or what, we’ll have to wait and see.
Here's the dining room from the top of the staircase - the captain's table is the large one in the middle. Ours is right next to it toward the back of the room:
Our waiter is Luke and assistant waiter is Michael. The “Booze Man” is Sam (easy to remember) and Head waiter is Monty. They were all very nice. I’m sure we’ll get to know them better as the week goes on.
After dinner our luggage was finally in our room, so we started to put it away. (Todd started, at least). 8 pm was the mandatory Muster drill, which only took 15 to 20 minutes. The captain spoke at the end of it saying we were on time for departure, so we headed to the Helicopter pad! A note about the captain - her name is Karin Stahre-Janson and this is the information we received about her: “Captain Karin was born and raised on the west coast of Sweden, in Stromstad. At age seven, her parents taught her how to sail her first sailboat. With several generations of pilots and captains in the family, it’s no surprise her nautical skills goes deep. In 1993, she graduated from Chalmers University of Technology, in Goteborg, Sweden, with a bachelors degree in Nautical Science. Prior to joining Royal Caribbean International, Captain Karin worked on a variety of cargo ships, as well as Petroleum and Chemical tankers, up to 80,000 tons. She obtained her Unlimited Masters License in 1995 and joined RCI in 1997, serving as First Officer aboard Viking Serenade and Nordic Empress. She served as First Officer and Chief Officer aboard Vision of the Seas, and Chief Officer on Radiance of the Seas. She then served as Staff Captain onboard Brilliance, Serenade and Majesty of the Seas. She made history when she was appointed as the first female Captain of a major cruise ship Monarch of the Seas. She hopes you enjoy a wonderful cruise vacation aboard the beautiful Serenade of the Seas.”
8:30pm was scheduled Sail Away. About 8:45 the Captain made an announcement that there was a delay (immigration papers or something), but we should be moving in a few minutes. That turned into a few more minutes - we didn’t actually pull out of port until 9:30. It was neat to see them drop the lines of the ship and things. There was another ship, the Carnival Victory, who was also in port in San Juan and was waiting for us to leave.
After the long delay, they clapped for us as we went by. We stayed there until we were in open sea, then decided it was time to go. Todd went to the casino to find L and I was going to go to the stateroom because my feet were killing me. I got the rest of my clothes put away and sat down for a little bit, but then decided to put my swim suit on and head to the Solarium to sit in the hot tub. I had taken post it notes so we could leave notes for each other, so I left a note to let Todd know I was. He came about 30 minutes after I got there. We decided we were hungry, so went to the Seaview Café for something to eat. Todd had the Rueben, which I had heard on CruiseCritic.com was pretty good and I had “Feathers & Fingers” (chicken wings and tenders) and Onion Rings. Great Food! We went back to the cabin and sat on the balcony for a little, then decided to turn in for the night.
Tomorrow is the first day at sea, so we'll be able to wander around the ship to get to know her better. It's also the first Formal night at dinner!!!
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