The best part of this cruise were the Destinations/Ports

Serenade of the Seas Cruise Review to Transatlantic

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 54

Overall rating:

3 out of 5
Verified Review
Serenade of the Seas

16 Night Transatlantic Westbound (Copenhagen To Cape Liberty)

Sail date: August 30, 2015

Ship: Serenade of the Seas

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 1540

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 9 years ago

Review summary

Since we've cruised on the Oasis, Quantum and Freedom class of ships, the Serenade of the Seas was a bit disappointing for us, showing her age and doesn't have enough venue areas for big gatherings/activities...the Centrum is awkward for viewing  and the Safari is not big enough for the 2,000+ passengers. There were so many Diamond  and up loyalty cruisers and the Diamond lounge was always packed.  It was nice that they gave us 3 drink vouchers to compensate for the lack of space in the Diamond Lounge. The destinations were the best part of the cruise.  

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5
Food was mediocre at best...too much sauce, lobster was overcooked and chewy, etc., not much variety for breakfast. Breads, cold soups and desserts were good

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5
Need more variety of activities on long sea days.

Entertainment

1 out of 5
The big production were the worst we've ever seen on a cruise ship...the performers were just 'phoning it in', pretty bad costuming and musical numbers were bad. Topi, the cruise Director was fun and very talented and most of the activities personnel were friendly and fun. Loved Silvia, the Zumba instructor.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Mari, our cabin steward was wonderful. The bartenders were very friendly and efficient, MTD worked well as they tried to put you with the same server. Waitstaff were very friendly and efficient.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

1 out of 5
Right above our cabin is the Park Cafe that opens at 6:00 AM 'till 11:00 PM. Every morning at 4 AM, we are awakened by banging, scraping , movement of the crew preparing the food and setting up the cafe. Then the clean up after it closes at 11 PM. Spoke to Guest Services who couldn't really do much about it ( structural problem) . This Junior Suite should be sold with this disclosure and priced accordingly.

Ship tip

When picking your stateroom, make sure there are no public areas above it . Deck 10 is where most of the suites are but unfortunately Deck 11 is where the pool, Windjammer, Park Cafe, the Solarium and the Spa are located. If you are a light sleeper, you'll be able to hear all the movements at night

Ports of call

Copenhagen, Denmark

5 out of 5
Spend at least a couple of days to tour this city.

Oslo, Norway

5 out of 5
Easy walk to the center of the city.

Kristiansand, Norway

3 out of 5
Not really much to see.

Klaksvik, Faroe Islands

5 out of 5
Spectacular scenery...take a tour of the islands

Reykjavik, Iceland

5 out of 5
Make sure to soak in a geothermal spring...out of this world! We rented a 4x4 to avoid the crowds and be able to see more than just what the tours offered

Akureyri, Iceland

5 out of 5
Not much in town so make sure you take a tour of the surrounding areas

Halifax, Nova Scotia

5 out of 5
Peggy's Cove is worth the trip...rent a car.

Cape Liberty (Bayonne), New Jersey

1 out of 5
Hard to get sail to and from...RCI tranfers are your best bet to get to the airports.
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1 Comment

glomarrone    9 years ago

I agree.  After you have sailed on the largest ships in the world, the small ships seem less exciting.  Not everyone feels this way but I do.  And, after you have sailed on newer ships, older ships are less exciting - maybe.  Sometimes newer is not better but just less expensive.  We have sailed on a grand voyage where we felt like newbies after 50 cruises.  

When I went to Peggy's Cove it was socked incompletely with fog. How disappointing!  But, still, I was excited to be there.  It was eerie.  The fog cleared just before I left luckily.  

 

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