Acceptable but ship needs a refresh

Item: Serenade of the Seas
Rating: 3.1
Author: JamesLyngholm

Serenade of the Seas Cruise Review

JamesLyngholm

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 3

Overall rating:

3.1 out of 5

5 Night Canada (Boston Roundtrip)

Sail date: October 29, 2023

Ship: Serenade of the Seas

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 7606

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

Needed a 5 night to get to Diamond. We were hoping to see the north eastern coast. The ship was too far out for that. It served the purpose but not one I would do again.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Food was acceptable. Not a great selection and the dining room availability did not have a large enough time frame for Breakfast and Lunch. You could find okay food in the Windjammer but everything was over cooked.

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5

Activities were poorly run, over crowded and not as fun as other ships.

Entertainment

2 out of 5

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

Service was good.

Ship Quality

2 out of 5

Badly needs an update. Not a lot of good common areas. Venues for event have worn out chairs and beat up tables.

Cabin / Stateroom

2 out of 5

Small and outdated compared to other ships. Only two outlets in the entire room. Storage wasn't bad. Shower very small. Couch/chair is wore out. Cabin 7606 had a small patio and is not really usable to sit on. View is actually probably better than others.

Ship tip

I would not do a long cruise on this ship. Lower expectations and you'll be fine. I will probably not travel on this class of ship again unless it's after a full remodel.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Saint John, New Brunswick

3 out of 5

It's pretty dead. Food was okay. Not much going on in town. Excursions might be better. Pretty town and some history. When the main draw is large tidal swings, that's not a big draw to me.

Thumbs Up 0

Portland, Maine

5 out of 5

We just hung out in town. Portland was very cool and fun. Could have spent longer here.

Thumbs Up 0