Not a Fan of RCCL

Item: Serenade of the Seas
Rating: 3
Author: rlngautreau

Serenade of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern

rlngautreau

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 40

Overall rating:

3 out of 5

Verified Review

11 Night Southern Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 07, 2016

Ship: Serenade of the Seas

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 1516

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

Stateroom was smaller than expected. Handicapped male with a scooter was cramped into the room and unable to maneuver in the bathroom and shower. Guest Services didn't seem to care. Excursion was cancelled due to "we no longer do business with the excursion provider" when the shore excursion desk on the ship said it was "due to the fact that the whales have migrated and we wouldn't see any". Learned from speaking with a crew member that the cruise was a "training cruise" which was pretty evident with all the drills that were taking place during our sailing. We paid full price for a cruise where the crew was inexperienced. At times it was evident. Not sure we will sail with RCCL again.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Entertainment

1 out of 5

Venues were small and seating was limited. Most times we had to stand off to the side with semi-obstructed views of shows.

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

1 out of 5

We asked what size the cabin was and gave dimensions of the scooter we were travelling with. We were told that the cabin would accommodate our needs but we found that it was very cramped and we were having to climb over the scooter at night and early mornings. The bathroom facilities were small and unable to meet the handicap needs we had outlined prior to boarding. If we had known upon booking that the cabin would not meet our needs we would have looked to upgrade to a larger cabin.

Ship tip

Ask plenty of questions until you are satisfied. If you are handicapped, immediately get your travel agent involved to ensure that all your needs are addressed prior to boarding since once you're on board they could care less. We were not the only handicapped people who were dissatisfied.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

3 out of 5

Oranjestad, Aruba

3 out of 5

Kralendijk, Bonaire

3 out of 5

St. George's, Grenada

3 out of 5

Bridgetown, Barbados

3 out of 5

Castries, St. Lucia

5 out of 5

We rented a cab with a group of people and took a 2-hour tour of the island. The cab driver was very informative and made many stops for photos and souvenirs.

Thumbs Up 3

St. John's, Antigua

3 out of 5

3 Comments

jmeeme 8 years ago

To bad about your experience did you book a handicap room or a regular....

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cshorlock 8 years ago

Where are they supposed to train new staff? Maybe help the newbies out when you see them and offer positive support instead of complaining. We learned from first day even the lowest crew member can make a difference in your cruise. Be nice to them never know what might come of it. One cruise because we were always nice we got fresh made treats from the chef in our room every afternoon.

Thumbs Up 0

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wolfman1944 8 years ago

I travel with my wife who is in a wheelchair and would never book unless we had an accessible cabin

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Other reviews of this sailing

Awesome Time!

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Dining disaster!