Loved the new ports.

Serenade of the Seas Cruise Review

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 3
Helpful Votes: 39

Overall rating:

4.2 out of 5
Serenade of the Seas

10 Night Western Caribbean & Panama (Tampa Roundtrip)

Sail date: January 18, 2023

Ship: Serenade of the Seas

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 1044

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

We enjoy the longer cruises to different ports and this 10 night Americas cruise worked well for us. We enjoyed the ports and ship.

Embarkation

1 out of 5
I get that Coast Guard inspections need to occur. No information from RCL and changing, belated info at the port was bad. Arrived at 10:30 for our 11 AM only to find hundreds of people ahead of us. Most did not have 11 arrival and it took hours to get onto the ship. We had suite (Junior) and Key which helped.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
We had the 3 night specialty dining package and enjoyed each restaurant. We also had 6 nights in main dining for dinner, old menu which was great for us. Also had one dinner as room service due to RCL getting us back late from an excursion. The food was great.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5
Enjoyed the spa thermal suite as it was almost always empty and the heated chairs faced the ocean.

Entertainment

3 out of 5
It was fine. This was is hard as our fall cruise was on Disney Wish and they win for entertainment. I think RCL had problems figuring out 10 nights of entertainment.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Staff was wondering. Wonderful room attendants and dining staff.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
We liked our cabin. Truly enjoyed the walk in closet, large balcony and extra storage areas throughout. Missed the phone chargers at the bed as found in newer ships. Easy to figure out the flow of the ship.

Ship tip

10th floor was easy to get to food and entertainment. Cafe Perks is wonderful for chai tea and people watching. When you have low status (this was our second RCL with a 17 night Arctic coming in August and Wonder in April) then the Key was worth the price as it was the same cost as internet for us.

Ports of call

Cartagena, Colombia

5 out of 5
Absolutely loved this port. Used Tours by Locals and reserved a city tour with Jhon. The port has a beautiful nature area with monkeys in the trees, Toucans running at your feet, flamingos, flowers it was beautiful. Easy to find Jhon. He loves his country and it shows. He had hired a driver so he could point things out to us. We had an incredible, safe day and I would love to visit again. We saw the RCL mass groups and were quite happy with our choice.

Colon, Panama

4 out of 5
This was our only RCL tour. Waited well past our noted arrival time. 37 groups left before us. When we finally were told to head to the busses it was chaos. No one knew what they were doing. Busses were late taking off. We were doing the Engineering Panama Canal tour. After a 90 minute drive we arrived at a boat ramp and got on a 2 level boat. The canal was fascinating. We dropped 9 meters in 10 minutes as we went through several locks. Ended up in the Pacific watching the ships lined up to cross back through the canal. Lunch was a total mess. 3 lines merged into one, took an hour to get through the line and the food was not good. When we got off it was another chaotic mess and we arrived late back to the ship. We were too late for our dinner so it was room service night.

Puerto Limon, Costa Rica

5 out of 5
Loved this port and had a wonderful excursion. Private tour of Tortuguero Canal and canopy tour of Veragua Rainforest. Reserved through Eduardo Humphreys. Quite easy to find. First half was the where we got into a boat and were able to take incredible photos of wildlife (including a baby sloth). Second part was the Veragua Nature park. This started off slow, we were told we had 2 hours here. Our guide seemed quite new so an hour and 45 minutes was spent with her pointing out each frog, snake, butterfly whatever in each area. Finally over to the gondola which was what we wanted to do. Begged her not to make us watch the video and just let us get on the tram as our 2 hours time limit had arrived. Waited in line and got on the tram. My husband felt this was Tower of Terror like, I though we were more Jurassic park as it was fence material wrapped around the tram. Got to the bottom and presumed we would go back up. Nope. Got off and then it was a hike to a waterfall. 350 steps to climb plus inclines over rocky terrain. After 35 steps, looking at the time, we turned around. First tram going back did not have extra room second did. Had to find our own way out as out guide was at the waterfall. Fortunately, high school Spanish paid off and we followed the salida signs. Had the front call our driver and we were off. Had him stop by a grocery store for coffee to bring home and snacks and candy for the kids. Good day overall.

George Town, Grand Cayman

4 out of 5
We have been to the Cayman Islands several times before so we have experienced many of the sights and activities. Chose a foodie tour that canceled on our way off the ship. They did give us a free lunch so it wasn't a total loss.

Tampa, Florida

1 out of 5
Not our favorite. Traffic was horrid arriving the night before the cruise. Our Ubet driver had issues trying to drop us off. Had to wait for a long time with no info as to what the hold up was with zero communication from RCL. Much prefer Canaveral over this port.

Cozumel, Mexico

3 out of 5
It is kind of like the Nassau port of the west. Not our favorite and we have been here before.

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
This made up for the horrid embarkation. We were in group 1 due to Key and walked off. Found luggage and walked swiftly through customs. Grabbed a cab and we were at our hotel picking up our car by 8:30. Still chuckling over a family whom I had observed throughout the cruise. Lines and rules did not apply to them. (They rushed over handicap people trying to get on the elevator among other things). They plowed ahead of us just before luggage and questioned where their luggage was located. Workers asked what number they were as we were on group 1, 2 and Key. They said 16. I hope they had to wait for awhile.

Traveler Photos

Non moving line due to Coast Guard inspection. Cafe for people watching.. Junior Suite 1044 Tram Canal tour
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