Serenade of the Seas Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Quality of food and service in Main Dining Room and the Windjammer excellent!  Attentive and friendly servers.

Cinema was extremely small, would like for them to show movies in the Tropical Theatre when no other show is using it....

Need to have 2 shows on the first and last night - we missed both due to still eating in dining room.  Got there late the first night and it was so crowded, there was standing room only, couldn't really see the show too many people in front of us...

Need a permanent card room that is available 24x7...

I thought our trip on RC Serenade of the Seas was worth the money.  However, had I upgraded to a higher cabin class, I would have been disappointed.  We loved the food and the restaurant choices, the dining room crew was far above expectations, the ports in New England and Canada were beautiful, and the boarding and exiting the ship were very well organized.  However, the ship is showing lots of wear and tear-carpets are worn, peeling paint in bathroom, couch soiled and worn.  The computers and wifi were a complete waste of money. The computers are old and extremely slow.  I paid for the wifi, and I could barely get online, either on my phone or on their computers.  It took the Customer Service Director three tries before he could log my in, using his passcode! The satellite television was also very disappointing--much of the week, we only got a few stations.  It would go out for hour at a time, even when in port.  Overall, we got our money's worth, but we heard the ship is going in to dry dock next year--I hope they will do a complete overhaul, because the ship needs it.  RC did a good job with everything else.

A beautiful ship and outstanding customer service on board.  The ports of call offered many opportunities to explore an exciting region .  A great trip if you enjoy the outdoors. A perfect mix of cruising and exploring the ports.  

We chose Royal Caribbean because they are reasonably priced and have good reviews for gluten free and dairy free service. We were not disappointed. Our head waiter (Jerome) oversaw each dish to assure our needs were met, and we were able to enjoy all courses safely. We chose from the menu for appetizers and main dishes, and he came up with a surprise dessert after each meal. Everything was flavorful and we had plenty to eat-- not what we are used to at restaurants, where we cannot have appetizers or desserts, and everything is plain. Kudos to RC! Food for special diets is only in the dining room and buffet-- not snack bars. Room service was not reliable.

Our room was straightened multiple times each day, and very clean. Space was small, but, as a married couple, we don't mind.

Some shows were better than others. The visiting entertainers were much better than their own singers/dancers.

We had a wonderful time on this cruise. I loved the ports in Maine and Canada, especially Bar Harbor and Halifax - wonderful port cities. The cruise entertainment for the most part was wonderful and could not say enough about the wonderful staff! They were awesome all around. The food is what kept me from giving this a 5 star. It was good, but not great.

Best Part - visit to Bar Harbor... Food was average.   Servers were excellent 

but seem rush.  Did not appreciate the nickel,dime approach.  Always trying to 

increase sales I.e. Pictures all the time at dinner , stair ways , etc. 

Charging for a soda and adding 18% to each serve.

TV Lounge - in the very end of an exciting college football game they turned off 

all the TV's stating the room was booked for an event. We had to leave a ND game with 2:37 second left.... WOW.  They add 13.50 per person daily for each guest for service  .  But give an extra envelope for serve tip.  

more time to explore on the shore excursions, very few stops to get out for viewing and picture taking, On the Boston tour not enough history of the city but pointing out Starbucks and Insurance buildings are of no interest to me and others when you are in such a historical place and time of our Country

My wife and I have been on this ship before to the same destinations.  This most recent cruise was no exception.  We enjoyed the cruise very much.  In no particular order, I've listed those things that I see room for improvement:

* our daily scheduled My Time dining was inconsistent.  Our requested table for two often had us assigned to a table near the kitchen.  The noise and traffic of wait staff was crazy loud and constant.

* the aerial show productions in the Centrum were impressive.  However, the area regardless of floor where viewed, were often packed with people with poor views and very little available seating.  

* the movies offered in the Cinema were not appropriate for the average age of the passengers onboard.  The majority of us were between 60 and older.  Angry Birds and The Avengers were intended for a younger audience in my opinion.

* the Art Auction solicitations were constant and annoying.

* and the ship photographers were relentless as usual.  The areas set up for picture taking were often in areas where those passengers simply passing thru had to stop and wait for the photographer to finish or pause between snaps.  Some locations posed a safety hazzard by obstructing the flow of people passing by.

This was a great way to spend our 20th Anniversary.  We've always wanted to come to the New England area, so this was perfect.  Going to Portland and Bar Harbor, Maine was awesome, as was St. Johns, New Brunswick and Halifax, Nova Scotia.

MY FAVORITE PART OF THE CRUISE WAS THE PORTS WE VISITED.  THE EVENING ENTERTAINMENT WAS AVERAGE AT BEST EXCEPT FOR THE LAS VEGAS TENORS.  THEY WERE EXCELLENT.  THE DINING ROOM FOOD WAS AVERAGE BUT THE SERVICE WAS EXCELLENT.

Halifax, St. Johns and Portland were exceptional. Bar Harbor park tour would not be recommended to friends.

Service on board was exceptional with the exception of Bar service.

Food was not what was expected. Seafood dishes were not worthwhile.

Many items seemed to be "out-of -stock" such as skim milk at the coffee shop, and non-alcholic drinks at the bar.

It was ok, nice and relaxing. Third time going on this cruise, so no surprises.

Casino paid off. The trivia was a good. A nice way to get to Maine to see friends and Family.

One of the most important things when purchasing a cruise is your accommodations.  I asked for a balcony that did not have an obstructed view.  I paid what was asked and was excited to cruise... After a long walk down the hall to the stateroom I was very disappointed when I opened the door to the room and the Obstructed view.  It was so bad we did not even sit on it.  I will not use again because of this.  There are lots of other companies.

Loved the entertainment in the centrum plus the shows.Rooms were very comfortable. The my time dining was mixed up which was upsetting as our group leader had spent a lot of time on the phone setting it up.. we had a table for 12 which was too large for the servers and us. We were squeezed into a corner with little space to eat. This was my only complaint. Otherwise the cruise was tops!!

Smaller ship with detail on customer satisfaction. Crew was extremely friendly and leaving from Boston was easy. Only did one excursion from cruise line which was kayaking in Bar Harbour. Definitely a highlight

My husband and I took both sets of parents ages 76-81 and it was a perfect cruise for all.  The seas were calm, the weather was perfect.  The leaves had not changed yet but the warm weather made up for it.

Meals except for specialty restaurants were average at best

Cabin service was outstanding our attendant was super

We scheduled dinner for 7:30 pm and were unable to view the headline performances due to starting times. on other cruises there were shows early 6:30 and late after 9pm

I prepaid for internet service and I had to go to guest services several times to have if fixed

The casino smelled like an ashtray and I could not spend any time there

Facilities (pool, spa) were very good

The bad:

1. Shore excursion options are ridiculously overpriced.  One example was the Titanic exhibit excursion in Portland.  Royal Caribbean offered this tour (which is self-guided) for I believe $49/person.  The museum was a 10 minute walk from the port, and the ticket for an adult was $20.  Having 4 people in our party, we saved quite a lot by doing this on our own.   2. The drink packages are ridiculous.  In order to have a juice drink package we would have to pay almost $30 per person per day.  Orange juice was $3.50 per glass.  In order to make the drink package worth it, we would have to drink over 8 glasses of juice per day.  That's a ridiculous amount of juice/pop drinking.   3. Speaking of orange juice, that juice should NOT be $3.50 per glass.  It is concentrate mixed with way too much water, and tastes awful.  We did complain and got our money back, but it shouldn't have happened in the first place.  If you charge money for a glass of orange juice, it better be actual orange juice.  4.  The food was not impressive at all.  I couldn't even eat some of the meals in the dining room.  There were maybe a total of 5 dishes that I was impressed with during the entire cruise.  The rest was bland and some even inedible.  It was difficult to find anything good in the Windjammer buffet as well.   5. When we mentioned the quality of the orange juice at Guest Services, the girl gave us attitude and that in itself was not a pleasant experience.  

On to the good: The head waiter took care of special food allergies and he was incredible.   The staff in Adventure Ocean (kids club) is wonderful, the kids loved going there daily and loved the whole cruise because of this.   Apart from the negative experience at the Guest Services, everyone working on the ship has been great, the service is really wonderful, and everyone is always willing to help out.  We really appreciate that.

This cruise was a celebration of our 50th anniversary. We enjoyed the many friendly workers on board. Especially were the kindness and work well done by Neil and his partner at the evening meal and John, our room steward who was respectful and diligent. The Mounties and many people we got to enjoy talking together with. The food was excellent. The entertainment in the the Centrum was very enjoyable. We did not appreciate the strong emphasis on drinking and the unfamily  friendly program in the theater.

The staff on this ship are awesome.  Bar Harbor is an awesome port but Portland, St. John and Halifax aren't quite as tourist-friendly.  The ship was in very good shape.