Serenade of the Seas Cruise Reviews - Reviews

We had a great time with the embarking and disembarking. They have this down to a science. 

 

The food was good in the Windjammer but couldn't tell you about the main dining room as they told me to dress accordingly or something like that. I brought nice Polo shirts and nice looking shorts. You MUST have long pants to enter the dining room. Would have been nice to see those words in print.

 

The pool was fun, saltwater was new to me so I was a little shocked at first but I like the ocean so this was a good thing. The hot tubs were just that. Hot, and comfortable. Loved them!

 

The bars were good. A couple were a bit "stuffy" for me but then again, I'm a more casual kinda guy (see dining room comments) so I didn't hang long there. The pool bar was the best by far. Friendly barkeeps and outside. What's not to love.

 

The room was CLEAN! The housekeeping was the best. The room was a little small but I wasn't there to play in the room. The shower is tiny. I'm a big guy and I had to step outside the small shower to change my mind.

 

Captain had great announcements. I could understand him every time and every time they were clear and concise. The information was spot on as far as times we're going to dock and leave and funny at times. I was able to meet him and he is very approachable and nice to talk to. Thank you Captain Tor! 

Would I do it again? Yes, but on a bigger ship. Ten days is a bit long for a ship of this size, I ran out of places to play.

The ports visited were the best part of the trip.  We had previously cruised to the Western and Eastern Caribbean so these ports were all new to us. Captain Tor was also outstanding.  He was very friendly and personable and went out of his way to be visible on the ship and reach out to passengers.

Very nice cruise.  Ship did not have some features I would have liked.  Our waiter was superb.  Carlos and Eric at table 545 my time dinning.  At 5:15.   They made our cruise a little bit special. Confusion on my time dinning should be addressed. Many were disappointed.  

The staff on the ship were wonderful. We had two of the best servers in the my time dining room that we have ever had. There was a great guitar player - Kevin in the Castle Pub that could play anything and got audience participation. What a showman.  The ports were fun and the ship was nice and has a capacity of 2500 so not a huge ship.  Wonderful cruise and would select them again.

The ports were the typical Caribbean ports...shopping and more shopping.  Plenty of private taxis at each port.  Nothing particularly exciting to see.

Serenade of the Seas is a sweet ship. The staff was exceptional   The food was nothing to get excited over.  Plenty of food but nothing special.  Entertainers were excellent but production shows not of best quality.  Dancing on this ship is offered in the Centrum which is in the middle on the 4th floor.  Small dance area.  Not conducive to dancing due to open space up many floors.  Dance band was not up to par.  Piano bar was flat.  Gentleman was an excellent pianist but not an entertainer.  Use of Safari Room for game nights was too small.  Daily at sea activities were BORING.  Too many uninteresting lecutures "wellness" lectures, typical towel folding, dance class.  Nothing inspiring. 

Great cruise, great islands, love the ship the food was excellent we were 4 couples and they all enjoyed the cruise. we would highly recommend royal caribbean cruise lines

The island destinations were a great itinerary.  The service was good but you could tell that it was not top of the line.  The food selection and quality were good but not what it once was.  The furnishings and staterooms are showing some wear.  Overall it is still a good ship.

In the newspaper, cruises. com promised all these choices if we choose them for our cruise.

when we talked with their salesman he fast talked.  Bottom line we overpaid for cruise through them, got only fifty dollars each credit, and will never use again.

Buyer beware!

Cruise was okay.  Could have had more lecture series or lessons for all their captive audience.

Excellent iternary. Great southern islands.

Recommend using the Shore excursions to really view the islands as they have a lot more to offer and see.

The shore excursions were very well run and very informative on each island.

The speciality restaurants menu and service was exceptional.

Attended the Chefs Table , Mystery Theatre, and Giovanni's all well worth the extra fee. The experience was incredible for all of us.

The ship itself was quiet overall . The nite clubs were sparsely attended. The casino fair attendance .

 

Ships pools need refurbishing.

Much older crowd on board this ship on this sailing

 

Enjoyed the area we sailed in and the food and shows were excellent.

Staff were pleasant though not top notch like on other Royal Caribbean cruises we have been on.

Favorite part laying by the pool and the dinner measl. The only part about our trip we did not care for was so many of the children were running around. I feel the parents let them run wild especially on the dance floor.

 

Their bottom line was all that mattered. Squeezed every nickel out of you. The rooms were uncomfortably small. The sofa was smaller than a love seat. Barely enough room to walk around the bed. We had what was called a Jr. Suite. We were falling over each other at all times. The bed was uncomfortable. A thin mattress (probably not more than 8 inches) set on a strange frame that some sort of spring situation. Stateroom staff were almost always unavailable. Where were they between 12:00 PM and 6:00 PM? If we left the room after 1:00 pm it would not be made up until the evening. Even Motel 6 provides bathroom amenities. Not RCL. No shampoo, conditioner, shower caps, robes, body lotion etc. How cheap can you possibly be? Internet was outrageously slow. Took 2-3 minutes to load a page. Even the computers in their business center. The soft drink package was a joke. They provided a mug that you had to go to a bar to fill. The problem is that the pool bars close early and all of the inside bars did no “fountain drinks.”  Had to go either to the disco above the top floor or the Casino to get “the mug” filled. No laundry room. Have to send clothes out and get charged an outrageous price for the laundry services. The dining room dress code was not enforced at all. People in shorts, tee shirts and flip flops were admitted even on formal nights. On formal nights the photographers were only present for a couple of hours early in the evening and then went away and came back at 10:00 pm for half an hour. There were very few photographers. We went for a photography sitting and were presented with picture packages, some costing a cool $5500.00! REALLY!!! Dining room staff was overwhelmed. They tried their very best under the circumstances. Way too many tables to even expect minimal service. The buffet closed early (9:00 pm) and again the service was horrible. The tables usually didn’t get bussed until we were gone. There was a small (tiny) facility that was open to midnight with a minimal menu. Basically hot dogs and pizza and again no fountain drinks to fill “the mug.” In addition the buffet often started closing an hour before the posted closing time so by time you were ready for dessert, there was nothing left to eat. The pools consistently closed earlier than the posted times.  The food was adequate but have you ever tried to open crab legs without a cracker. They had a cut in them but they sure can ruin a manicure. The Christmas decorations were minimal. Nothing decorated the table in the dining room, not even a cheap candle. When docking at the various ports we were docked way away from the towns, several times parked in freight docks. Had to take taxis to get into the cities. Other cruise lines were parked near and in the cities. Guess it’s cheaper for them to dock in a freight yard. We cruise quite frequently but this was our first and last cruise on Royal Caribbean and we have encouraged other people to avoid this cruise line. Those who have cruised before know the difference. If you have zero expectations it probably would be OK. They did get us there and back…

Overall the cruise and ports of call were great.  Food was decent.  However, there were no porters available when we docked on our return at Port Everglades.  We are elderly and  he has a heart condition.  It was a real struggle to get our luggage and depart. I lost my Fitbit off my arm when the shoulder bags slipped to my hand.  Also they returned to a different pier and when we asked about transportation a person told us we had to get a taxi to our vehicle.  Fortunately, someone else came along and told us where to get free transportation.  Not at all the smooth return we had in Seattle a couple of years ago. 

we enjoyed the ports and while on the ship-the mini golf course.  the staff was very friendly and helpful.  The dining was good but would appreciate more variety...alot of chicken and beef that we can get at home.  

Can't say enough good things about the crew of the Serenade. Everyone was wonderfully friendly and helpful.  Special shout-outs to our fantastic main dining room waiters, and our terrific stateroom attendant.  The ship might need a little freshening, but she's still beautiful -- tons of glass so you can see the ocean from almost anywhere.  Food ranged from good to outstanding, no real stinkers at any meal at any restaurant.  Entertainment was pretty solid.  This was our first cruise with 4 at-sea days (usually we take week cruises with 1 at-sea day at most) and being active people, we wondered if we'd get bored... not at all.  Plenty of activities to keep anyone entertained.  And starting the trip with 2 at-sea days got us fully into relaxed vacation mode by the time we arrived at our first destination port.

 

Overall, we'd go back in a heartbeat!

 

My husband and I really enjoyed the 6 island stops we made in 6 days.  We took tours of the islands or went to beaches and snorkeled.  Our favorite tour was on St. Lucia.  We booked with Cosol Tours on the Internet (the full day St. Lucia Tour) and couldn't have been happier with all the wonderful things we did that day which included snorkeling between the volcanic Pitons, mud baths, standing under the Toraille Waterfall,  high speed boat rides, all the food and drink you could take in and glorious site-seeing.  Our driver/guide was personable and knowledgeable.  The cost was $75 pp, but worth every penny.

We also had a good tour on Antigua, "Scenic Tours Antigua" with very professional, Sean Beazer, our driver and guide. 

 

In Barbados, we took a cab ($3.00 each) to the Brown's Facility beach and snorkeled with sea turtles.  It was the same area where boat excursions come to snorkel with the turtles.  We just went in from the beach and shared the sea with the other snorkelers.  Saw at least 4 sea turtles and watched the handlers feeding them, too.

 

In Bonaire, we took a $2.50 cab to Spice Beach.  There was a pier to allow us to drop into the water with our snorkel gear.  We rented chaise lounge chairs for $5 and snorkeled there for a while.  The water and waves were rough that day.  There weren't a lot of structure or coral reefs there.  But we did see a lot of fish and watched as people fed them bread.  We expected better snorkeling.  Next time, we'll have to choose a better site if we want to see the great reefs Bonaire's reputation offers.

 

We really enjoyed Grenada, too.  It is very hilly, and since we docked on a Sunday, we walked up a very steep hill to the Catholic Church and the 8AM mass.  After, we walked to Fort Georges, then got picked up by a private van driver who offered to give us an island tour.  It was very nice and only cost us $15 pp after some negotiation.  Went to the spice factory, Carenage Harbor, thru the Sendall tunnel, to Grand Etang Lake, Annandale Waterfall, and Fort Frederick.

 

Aruba was one of our favorite islands on the cruise.  It is very desert-like with lots of cactus.  Again, we got off the ship and got a tour from a local person off the street.  We passed the first, closer tours, went a block over, and got our island tour for only $15pp again.  We had a wonderful time going to the Natural Bridge, Ayo Rocks, California Lighthouse, past the beaches and saw the resorts.  Had fun shopping there in the open air markets, too.  There was a nice "feel" to this island and with gorgeous beaches and resorts, we want to go back again.

 

Our ship had good food, good shows and good activities.  Our interior cabin was spacious enough for 2 people to be comfortable there.  All-in-all, we really enjoyed our cruise very much!! 

A good way to get away and relax for a short period of time.  Shows were just OK.  The variety of foold was inadequate.  For instance at the breakfast buffet there was no cream cheese.  The food was not up to RCL standards.  The cabin was really tight. (small)   

Above average trip. Good islands. Free shuttle on 4 of five. Easy embarkation and diesem. Buffet food could be better. Specialty restauant are overpricd ($30 each) for a spaghetti place! Good staff, good pax demographics (wheel chairs ≈ children) mainly Americans.

 

 

 

 

 

Favorite part of the cruise was the room accomodations which were excellent and the waiter service each dinner in the main dining lounge.

Least favorable was the evening entertainment and stage which in our opinion were second class.

Great itinerary but best of all 2 cruising days at the front of the cruise and 2 at the end. It didn't hurt that we had a fabulous aft balcony either.