Cruise of a lifetime

Serenade of the Seas Cruise Review to Panama Canal, Central America

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 3

Overall rating:

3.8 out of 5
Serenade of the Seas

14 Night Panama Canal - Eastbound (Los Angeles To Miami)

Sail date: November 21, 2023

Ship: Serenade of the Seas

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 8658

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

This was a cruise I did to celebrate my birthday. It was the cruise of a lifetime, very costly but all in all, other than the fabulous crew, I wasn't impressed for the money I paid for it.

Embarkation

5 out of 5
Very quick, made it from hotel into the ship in 20 minutes

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
Loved the main dining room so much I never felt the need to book a different restaurant on the boat.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5
I only did the pool and bingo and both were fabulous.

Entertainment

I could not really find what was going on, almost too much going on so I felt overwhelmed.

Children's Programs

No kids.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Our room steward was very flexible with when to clean our room. The staff at the Schooner bar was excellent. Mila in the bar at Windjammers was beyond excellent, and the waiters at bingo were also excellent. I felt like I made some great friends on the cruise.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5
Clean, but this boat is old and needs updated in general.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5
I don't think I was given the room I paid for, but it was clean.

Ship tip

This is a small boat, the smallest I have sailed on. Limited shopping.

Ports of call

San Pedro (Los Angeles), California Did not visit port

Got into town and slept then went to the ship.

Huatulco, Mexico

4 out of 5
It was fine, we basically walked around some and shopped.

Puntarenas, Costa Rica

3 out of 5
No excursion, the beach was filthy.

Panama Canal Transit

3 out of 5
I have a boat and lock through in Pittsburgh all the time so I was surprised to find that the canal is the size of the locks I use in Pittsburgh. After I went through the first one and realized this I slept the rest of the day.

Cartagena, Colombia

5 out of 5
Rented a car and toured around. Didn't see many good excursions for any port.

George Town, Grand Cayman

1 out of 5
Probably my least favorite port, for most ports we contemplated staying on the boat.

Cozumel, Mexico

1 out of 5
Did an excursion in a Jeep that was old, rusty, and filthy. Requested manual shift and did not get it. Then they put two people in the Jeep with us so we had to make uncomfortable conversation all day.

Miami, Florida Did not visit port

Got off of the boat and went home. Have been here many times already.

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
Very easy.
Was this review helpful? 3

6 Comments

TheBigSalad    1 year ago

Thank you for your review.

Gwbigdog    1 year ago

Thanks for sharing

enjoyurdaysmile    1 year ago

To mention..it is a ship not a boat. I was on this ship in 2016. You should Google when it was refurbished.

javawoody    1 year ago

Sorry you were not impressed with the canal or the history.

javawoody    1 year ago

Sorry you were not impressed with the canal or the history.

cruising2004    1 year ago

Sorry this cruise was not up to par. Thanks for your review.

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