Norman & Maria on the Serenade of the seas

I. Norman Sarette, am writing this review. It is mostly my Opinion.  Maria's Wold have given you 5 stars.  I did not because of a few small things that I noticed since I sailed about 15 years ago. The food was better and you did not have to go to a specialty restaurant to get it.  The bar staff had more waiters and would come to you more often and had a better attitude.  I believe it is because they are understaffed and whereas most people have opted for drink packages there is an underlying attitude not to always give there best.  They are definitely overworked. And the times we did not go on excursions there would be only one bar tender.I think again it is a Policy Problem and not so much a people problem. We had a royal replenish package for the both of us as we don't drink much alcohol and I believe it was not a good value for us.  We understand how these packages can be abused and seen people abuse them.  So I can see why some restrictions apply.  I was going to a zip line tour on one of my excursions and used my card to get 2 bottles of water to take with me so as to have enough water for the next 4 to 6 hours that I would be off the ship on a hot day in a humid climate on an Island that I would be concerned with parasites in the water. I was told I could only Have one and he would not give me two because of policy. I took another on my own and I could see the panic in his eyes that there was going to be a problem and he reached for it and I gave it back to him and avoided a bigger situation. I survived but it is a major reason why I gave you 4 stars.  Over $200 a piece My wife and I payed for a royal replenish package, which we did not abuse, and We could not get 2 bottles of water at a time, like we were going to abuse the system. Like I said I seen people do it with drinks and I therefor see the need for being cautious about the abuse of these cards, but not for water, a staple for life in those climates.  You would do better to give any person who books a tour with Royal Caribbean all the water they would need while on that tour. When we came back from that tour the person who was selling the waters was still there and I said to him you finally got your water, as they had run out as we were leaving the ship, he said yes and that his relief person had not shown up yet and that he was hungry and might miss his break.  Again we were treated with respect from your staff. I believe some improvement in some policies would help. As for our cabin steward and our dining waiter and sub waiter  Paul & Adi We gave them all another tip as they were so exceptional.  All the waiters in the windjammer and any of the food places were exceptional! We can not praise them enough.  All the room stewards too. Not just our room.  We thank them.  This is where your your policies and your People shine. Keep up the good work. I see that most of these people come from poverty and poor situations in there home countries.  My wife Maria is from those situation and knows what hunger and fear is. It is good that the cruise ships give them an opportunity.  You can be proud of yourselves. Please beware not to abuse them.       PS.    We believe that the value paid and what we received was a very good value.  The money spent in today's dollars for this cruise of 10 days would have been much more for the 7 day cruise 15 years ago. So a good value for our cruise.   Thank You The  Sarettes