We had a great time, but Royal was lacking in some important areas.

Item: Serenade of the Seas
Rating: 4.5
Author: gscottconsultin

Serenade of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern

gscottconsultin

Contributor Level: Deck Hand

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 32

Overall rating:

4.5 out of 5

Verified Review

10 Night Southern Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: November 24, 2017

Ship: Serenade of the Seas

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 8534

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

We had a good time. We cruise a lot with Carnival and like them more than we did Royal. In particular we find that Carnival management staff in the casino is much more friendly, more likely to spring for a drink for customers, or even some goodies sent to the room. Disappointed with Royal doing none of the above though we were in the casino nine out of ten nights. One of us found the food choices to be lacking. Otherwise the boat was great, good stops, we had a good time.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Very smooth and fast.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

One of us liked the food in the main dining room while the other was not so pleased with the selection or quality. Room service food was ok but not great, and there was a surcharge for delivery of $8.00. Again, while one of us was happy with the buffet the other was not happy with the quality of the food.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

We played a lot of ping pong and participated in a tournament, which was a lot of fun. We also used the walking track and putt putt golf, which were both good. We were in the casino a lot, had a great time with the dealers, but were never talked to by the managers, they never learned our names or approached us even to ask where we were from.

Entertainment

3 out of 5

The two shows we attended were very good, but several nights there was nothing offered. We really enjoyed the shows with the crews entertainment team.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Our dining room wait staff was one of the best we have encountered on any ship. Very fast efficient and professional, not to mention friendly. Room steward was great. Again, the casino dealers were great, but the casino management team was invisible.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Ship tip

We cruise a lot and we found that Royal tends to nickel and dime; they charged a surcharge for room service, the drinks were also one to two dollars higher than what we see on other ships, even the Bingo charges were much higher than what we are used to. Bring some extra money!

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

5 out of 5

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

5 out of 5

Great snorkeling trip with Carribean Girl snorkel trip. Very well done. Fun, competent crew, and great rum punch.

Thumbs Up 3

Castries, St. Lucia

5 out of 5

Bridgetown, Barbados

4 out of 5

St. John's, Antigua

5 out of 5

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

1 Comment

askoleern 6 years ago

I am so sorry that you can't see the difference between Carnival and RCCL beenon Carnival and the food was awful, powder eggs for breakfast thought i was in the military RCCL IS far better with food and staff

Thumbs Up 1

Flag

Other reviews of this sailing

Serenade comes through with an outstanding cruise

Substandard Cruise Line

RCL just can't seem to get it right.