While not as much to do as some ships, Serenade of the Seas, can still be a relaxing cruise to enjoy. Don't expect perfection and just go for time to get away and relax.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
Went pretty smoothly. Also parked at the Port and it was $105.00 for the week and was close to the terminal.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
The MDR food was decent for the most part. The buffet could use more better food options but the food was okay. The Park Cafe was open odd hours and not during lunch so we never got to eat there. I did get food poisoning one night and I think it was from the shrimp cocktail because the shrimp was lukewarm and not cold, but can't say for sure. But I did not let it ruin my cruise and just stopped ordering the shrimp after that.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Being a smaller older ship there wasn't enough offered to do. The pools & solarium were usually full, even on port days. The one good thing was the movie theater that played Top Gun, Dowton Abby, and Elvis.
Entertainment
2 out of 5
I was not impressed with the entertainment. The newer bigger ships get the best entertainers. The singers and commedian were just okay. I heard the Adele impersonator was really good, but I did not go to that show.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
The staff worked hard and tried hard and were friendly. Our Cabin Steward was great. The MDR staff would be 2 stars. We had been assigned early dining prior to our cruise and once onboard we were changed to My Time Dining. This happened to several couple who, like us, were not happy and the head waiters, outright lied to us all. It was rectified the second night where they put us all at tables just inside the entrance. I joked that we were the misfit tables. Our waiter tried , but service was exceptionally slow and for some unknown reason, she kept serving only half the table and then about 5 mins later would serve the other half. This was awkward since no one would start eating until the others had their food. This happened for many courses and many nights. Then our asst waiter was new and did a great job of keeping our water topped off, but not always on the ball on other things. She also liked to rudely interject herself into conversations uninvited and argue with us about things she thought she knew.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Ship's design and flow was good. It was clean, but dated and showed some wear. But given it's age, is expected.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Our balcony cabin 7668 was at the back part of the ship and was a good cabin. It was clean, but had some wear. The fridge and AC worked good. Our balcony was bigger than normal size which was really nice.
Ship tip
Relax and enjoy. The ship is not the newest and some of the ports aren't great, but you can still enjoy your time on this ship.
This is an industrial area and so no beaches nearby. There is shopping off the ship, but at one of the straw markets, a woman asked to see a bag that she was interested in and the employee refused to get it down so she could look at it closer. Very rude so many people looking just kept on walking to other shops. Not a good way to sell your stuff. Also, many items had "Made in China" tags on them if you looked closely.
We rode the free tram around the island and on the last stop at the end of the ship pier, we went to the free public beach. It was awesome. Green-bluish postcard water and swimming with many fish all around. Best time on the whole cruise.
Was going smoothly until someone decided to not go by assigned times and tag numbers and decided to let everyone off the ship at once, which created long snaking lines down the halls. This then caused the same problem in the terminal. Not sure why they did that since they were not behind schedule.
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