Serenade of the Seas Southern Caribbean Cruise, December 2005

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Click on the image to reveal further photographs of the ship & her passengers    Maiden Voyage: 01 August 2003 Passenger Capacity: 2,501 Gross Tonnage: 90,090 Length: 962' Beam: 105.6' Draft: 26.7' Cruising Speed: 25 knots Further detail can be obtained from: Royal Caribbean International & Meyer Werft Shipyard

Our departure port, Puerto Rico, is the smallest and most eastern island of the Greater Antilles,  The island covers approx 3,508 square miles and is situated approx. 1,000 miles (1,600km) southeast of Miami, Florida.  The capital, San Juan, is located on the North Coast.  This walled city, founded in 1521, has one of the biggest and best natural harbours in the Caribbean and is know for it's Spanish colonial architecture.

We didn't spend too much time sight seeing, our time was mainly spent chasing our lost luggage...  Fortunately, our cases arrived in the cabin several hours after we set sail.

Holiday Inn, San Juan	Old San Juan	Alcaldía de San Juan (City Hall).  Built to resemble it's Madrid counterpart it was completed in 1789.  It is situated in Plaza de Armas (Arms Square), Old San Juan's main square.  This is the main city square serves as a meeting place and featuring four statues (all over 100 years old).

The US Virgin Islands (USVI) consist of St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John.  St. Thomas is located approx. 40 miles east of Puerto Rico, and covers an area of 32 square miles.  Charlotte Amalie, the capital of the USVI, was originally named in honour of a Danish Queen.  Once used as a pirate refuge, today the capital is renown for its shopping.  We spent the day in St. Thomas, and stopped for a couple of hours in the evening in St. Croix, whilst the ship was refuelled.

The view of Charlotte Amalie from Paradise Point		Magens Bay. This public park has previously been voted as one of the top 10 beaches in the world.

Located 144 miles east of St Thomas, St Maarten is the smallest island in the world to be shared by two sovereign governments.  The Dutch side, with Philipsburg as its capital, occupies the southern 17 square miles of this 37-square-mile island.  St. Martin with Marigot as it's capital, is a French dependency occupying the northern half.

Philipsburg fills a narrow stretch of land between Great Bay and the Great Salt Pond. Founded in 1763, the town became a centre of international trade.  Today, shopping is a popular port activity.

Phillipsburg Port	In Phillipsburg, Front Street's most prominent landmark, the Courthouse, built in 1793	Great Bay, a two mile stretch of beach which lies in front of the Dutch capital, where we lazed the day away...	Leaving Port at Dusk

Antigua is located in the middle of the Leeward Islands in the Eastern Caribbean, approx. 17º north of the equator.   It is the largest of the British Leeward Islands, at approx. 108 square miles.  Antigua is home to many beaches - it is said that there are 365 beaches on Antigua, one for each day of the year.

St. John's, The Capital of Antigua	St John's Cathedral.  First built in 1845, the church is now in its third incarnation.  Earthquakes in 1683 and in 1745 destroyed the previous structures.
Jolly Harbour Beach Resort, Marina & Golf Club	Montserrat Lava Flow.  The Soufrière Hills erupted in 1997 changing Montserrat's landscape forever.	Montserrat's volcanic exclusion zone covers the entire southern half of the island and extends two kilometres off-shore.
Montserrat's villages were engulfed by pyroclastic flows and the southern half of the island was evacuated.  The capital, Plymouth, was abandoned after being buried under layers of volcanic dust.		Montserrat's Bramble Airport, forced to close as a result of the eruption.
Montserrat's Bramble Airport	Montserrat Coast	Evening in St. John's

One of the Windward Islands, St Lucia is located in the Eastern Caribbean approximately 90 miles northwest of Barbados.  The island, a combination of high mountains, forests, low lying lands and beaches, covers 238 square miles. Castries is the capital which is situated North-west of the island.

Castries	The View from Fort Rodney on Pigeon Island (Left: Atlantic Ocean, Right: Caribbean Sea, Centre: Sandals, leading to Rodney Bay along the coast)	Pigeon Island - The Atlantic coast Pigeon Island is a 44 acre island reserve.  Originally surrounded by water the island was joined to the mainland by a man made causeway in 1972.  It became a National Park in 1979 and a National Landmark in 1992.
Pigeon Island - The Caribbean Coast The Island contains beaches, eateries and the ruins of military buildings used during the battles between the French and the British for the island of St. Lucia.	The Pitons.  Twin volcanic peaks (Gros Piton (797m) & Petit Piton (750m)) which rise from the sea. The area was designated a World Heritage site in 2004.

Barbados, part of the Lesser Antilles, is the most eastern island in the Caribbean.  This lush island covers 167 square miles and is sometimes known as 'Little England' because of it's heritage.   Bridgetown, the capital of Barbados, is a busy commercial city.  It is an architectural mishmash of modern and colonial buildings, with side streets leading off into residential neighbourhoods.

Bridgetown	Bridgetown

Some of the islands that we saw when we were cruising the Caribbean on our final day.

Montserrat	Montserrat	Nevis
St. Kitts/St. Christopher	Saba

Table 107, Illusions Dining Room	Maria & Jose

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