Serenade of the Seas Cruise Reviews - Reviews

The best port on this cruise is the Geiranger Fjord, the last port of call in Norway.  The Serenade of the Seas ship is a smaller ship, so it is able to navigate the narrow passages deep inside the fjord.  The ship itself is pleasant, a little tired, but very clean and the staff are the best!  The dining options were great, we especially loved the Chops Grille specialty restaurant.  Our balcony cabin mid-ship was the perfect location.  They could use more activities during the day and in the evening, but overall, we enjoyed the shows they put on in the Theater and the Centrum areas. 

Roaming around the Baltic Sea is much more interesting than simply parking oneself in St. Petersburg and hitting the museums. It was a good opportunity to see how the countries interrelate. The shore excursions arranged by Royal Caribbean were excellent with very informative guides. If you want to see and do everything in St. Petersburg, however, you should arrange a private tour ahead of time that leaves the ship at 7 am each morning and returns at 11 pm. Royal Caribbean's excursions try to get back to the ship (a 20-minute drive from the city center) by 5:30 pm so that people can change and then go back out for an evening event if desired.

Royal Caribbean apparently leads the industry in Internet service. I measured 3 Mbits down and 2 Mbits up consistently for their Voom service (about $15/day depending on the number of devices connected). This makes it practical to work from the ship using Google Docs, Dropbox, etc. I uploaded about 30 GB of photos and videos using Voom. Streaming from Netflix worked well.

We didn't take any children but the ones that we saw were having a great time exploring the ship and looked only slightly bored on the cultural shore excursions.

Food? If you're trying to kick the bread habit, this is the place to do it. They bake everything from scratch every morning and yet somehow the donuts and croissants didn't work out at all. We stopped eating bread after a few days and consequently didn't gain any weight. Food safety is the #1 priority and we didn't get sick nor hear of anyone who got sick. The price that you pay for perfect safety is that you're not going to get spectacular and unexpected tastes.

Alcohol? I didn't see anyone staggering around drunkenly. People did seem to be enjoying the bars. I refrained from buying the unlimited drinks package and limited myself to one or two glasses of wine per day ($8-14 for regular wine; only about $6 for a Graham's port with dessert, plus 18% gratuity). For any given wine, the prices were comparable to what we would pay at a hotel here in Boston.

I'm not a coffee snob, but the regular drip coffee was pretty week. I guess it is comparable to what would happen if you bought Maxwell House at the supermarket and ran it through a Mr. Coffee. There were some on-board espresso bars (prices similar to a Starbucks) but there didn't seem to be a Dunkin' Donuts equivalent with slightly stronger drip coffee.

Staff are friendly and obviously competent. We never waited in a line for more than about 5 minutes. I.e., they manage to get 2400 passengers plus some crew back on the ship before sailing, putting everyone through a metal detector and all bags through an X-ray, without making people wait. The gym is fantastic with a great view towards the bow from Deck 12. It was never crowded. I got a great haircut for about the same price as I would pay in downtown Boston ($25; thanks, Annie!).

The ship was 13 years old at the time of our sailing and was in perfect condition. I wish these guys would come over and maintain our house.

The on-board entertainers were great. The band, mostly Eastern Europeans, could have played in any Broadway theater. I wished that they had done some longer performances, e.g., a full Broadway show or play instead of one hour of excerpts. The theater itself is an impressive facility that, again, rivals anything you'd find in a big American city. The cinema is kind of weak. It doesn't look like a 4K projector and the lenticular screen impairs resolution.

The itinerary is well-designed. Three days in St. Petersburg is kind of the minimum. Fredericia, Denmark is not a place a typical tourist would go and Royal Caribbean uses it mostly as a launching point for shore excursions, e.g., to LEGOLAND. However, I enjoyed the fact that the folks in this small town were delighted by our visit and turned out as volunteers, to park their classic cars, to dance and play in bands, etc. It was a good reminder of what it would be like to visit on a ship in the 18th century. I would have liked to stop in Poland at least briefly instead of having the "at sea" day from Lithuania to northern Germany. Alternatively I would have preferred to stop in Hamburg instead of a port that is a 3.5-hour bus ride away from Berlin (we did a local shore excursion instead; Warnemunde would be a great town if the weather had been sunny, which it wasn't). Stopping at all three of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania was wonderful and educational.

Our basic oceanview cabin was larger and much more usefully organized and equipped than our hotel room in Paris. That said, given that my mom could do only one activity per day and there aren't a lot of quiet indoor spaces on the ship (no library or reading room, for example), it would have made more sense to get a suite. We spent more time in the room than originally planned.

My mom suffered a minor medical issue at one point and visited the on-board clinic and was favorable impressed.

It was a great experience overall and Royal Caribbean puts together a pretty amazing floating city at a reasonable price.

As mentioned above, overall cruise was good. We did not always liked the lunch food choices - most of them tasted bland and did not look appetizing.  The dinners, on the other hand, were much better.  Almost every day we had very good food and some of the days the taste was excellent.  We also would like to recognize some people that served us.  To begin with, our dining room server Petrovic, Marko and his assistand Ferreira Dias, Ademerson.. the service we received from both was top notch - prompt, accurate, cordial, attentive and just pleasant to deal with.  We also would like to recognize our cabin steward.  Unfortunately we don't remember his name.  We would like to pint point that were were in Cabin 1102 on Deck 10 and maybe this way you will be able to figure out the name of the person.  In addition, we thought the the Entertainment Director were SUPERB - funny, witty , talented, articulate, and overall very pleasant person.  He was a star.  The rest of the crew were very good in making our life on the ship pleasant, organized and easy.  Thank you very much for well run ship. 

A good cruise for those looking to experience the Baltic, detailed visits with enough time in each port to experience the town and people.  We had children ranging from 7-17 and there was rarely a wait for any of the boats amenities.

I would recommend this to friends and family.  I'm glad it was a 3 day stop in St. Petersburg, so we were able to go to Moscow on day 2 In St. Petersburg.

Ports of call were wonderful. Did not do any of the ship excursions. Dinning Room Service was great. I do object to the asking of an additional tip on all signed receipts. We paid daily gratuities, 18.5% and than you make the servicers ask for more. 

This was our first Royal Caribbean cruise and we loved it!  The ship was clean and the food was absolutely amazing!  From the buffet to the main dining room to paid specialty restaurants.  Our cruise director, Topi from Finland was amazing.  What a crazy cat.  There was such great entertainment aboard the ship, that I didn't even get to gamble in the casino.  

The only thing I didn't like was the smoking that came out of the casino while I was watching a show in Centrum.  

We had an issue with our stateroom but it truly had to do with the booking through BJ's Wholesale Club rather than Royal Caribbean.  I booked a room for 3 with a sofa couch and received a room with a pullman.  I do feel that Royal Caribbean could have done something so my 76 year old mother didn't have to climb up the pullman but they didn't.  That annoyed me some, but hopefully BJ's will make good on this.

Great cruise ports, great food, great entertainment, and amazing entertainment staff.  We had the time of our lives on it.  We loved it so much that I booked another cruise on Royal for next year!

I highly recommend this line and ship to everyone!  

This was our first Cruise.  We thoroughly enjoyed it.  The staff/crew were exceptional and every one of them were experts in there job.  My only disappointment is having to pay for a shuttle bus to Riga when there is no other option of taxis or walking..  I realise that the cruise ship is 15 kms from the city and a working port so pedestrusn were not allowed to walk.  We are very happy with Royal Caribbean. 

I enjoyed all the ports of call and the excursions however the evening dining experience was a major let down, poor quality of food preparation, meals often cold and up to the standard on RCI.

Posts of Call are good choices. Needs improvement in management in the following:

1. On the 1st day on board, 1 piece of luggage was not found until 9:45 pm.

2. We booked 3 stateroom but lost 1 due to overbooking. We were informed only a few days before departure. 4 adults were cramped into 1 stateroom. TIme to take turn to use bathroom was a pain.

3.We used 1 credit card to pay all on board expenses; but the staff had problem to do that.

3. The staff for the Riga tour was very rude and the instruction to go to which gangway (front or back) was not clear. As a result, our group of 6 was separated into 2 groups.

We were a party of 6 adults who had taken this same cruise on the Vision of the Seas 5 years ago.  The ports were all still amazing, but we were disappointed in the condition of the Serenade, the over-crowded/oversold conditions, and the tired and grumpy crew.  The ship was sold as having undergone a recent renovation, but we did not see it.  Pool areas are unpainted and rusty.  Stateroom furniture is threadbare.  This particular ship was WAY oversold.  We, ourselves - were offered a HUGE last-minute discount to put 4 adults in a stateroom with bunk beds (no way!).  Many others took the deal, and it showed.  Loud announcements were made frequently to eat and then get out of the cafe area, due to insufficient seating for the number of people onboard..  All of the staff seemed very tired.  Also, this ship docked VERY far from the Riga city center (unlike the Vision 5 years ago), and we were required to pay $14 per person to get into the city and back.  This was not announced until the night before we arrived, leaving no time to make other arrangements.  We felt "nickeled and dimed", unlike our previous cruise.  All in all, we had a great time...but this was not the "luxury vacation" that Royal promises. 

Nice trip and great food.  Our previous cruise was on the Allure of the Seas and the amenity difference was quite significant.  It was difficult not to make comparison. The ports of call were great and I couldn't find a better way to visit the region.

This cruise was a wonderful way to visit Scandinavia and Russia. Seven ports and only 2 days at sea kept us very busy exploring Northern Europe. Ship was in good condition, smooth sailing. Food and entertainment were adequate but not outstanding. Staff didn't seem as welcoming as other cruise ships.

We had a great cruise on the Serenade.  The cabin was comfortable and clean.  The food was great and the service attentive.  Had dinner at 2 of their specialty restaurants: Chops and Giovanni's.  Both had excellent food, however, service at Giovanni's was lacking.  The ports of call were very interesting, except for Rostock, Germany.  (We did not take the option to go 6 hrs round trip to Berlin)

The food in the dining room was consistently cold.  We advised our server and the head waiter and basically nothing was done until I dropped a note off at the Customer Service desk.  That evening things started to change and were fine for the rest of the cruise.  I wonder what the other tables were experiencing if they did not complain????? Food presentation was not like I have experienced on other Royal Caribbean ships.

Our cruise to the Fjords would have been nice, provided we would have given a good cabin for the extremely high price we paid for. Our fellow cruisers received the same kind of cabin as ours for half of the price. Unfortunately, we purchased it from BJ's - a big mistake, because the cruiseline refused to deal with us directly. The ports visited were beautiful, all the crew members were helpful. The entertainment was OK, but not much of variety. I think we could have done better with other cruiseline, and definitely without BJ's as a travel agency.

very disappointing overall. However the housekeeper was really good and the servers were good.

The other services were horrible. If there was a problem and asked to speak to general manager no call back.

internet did not work as advertised and company would not refund. Staff knew internet was bad but customer services said differently. Needed internet for work. Had I known that poor internet service I would not have gone on cruse. Needed internet for business. Had to use the free internet in port and as a result did not enjoy port.

Food in dinning room was a little better than Arbys or McDondalds. Food in dinning room lacked quality. First night food was horrible.

Food  in buffet was better than dinning room. 

Could not obtain ice from bartender. Though I was in a suite. Needed ICE for leg. Had to call room service who did not come with ice. Had to chase a worker on the floor to obtain ice. Ice took 2 hours.

The suites were overpriced for the Services provided and the quality of food.

According to my understanding the suit were entitled to one complementary dinner in a specialty dinning room. That was not the case. Therefore did not eat in specialty dining room.

Overall I dont think I would go on this cruse line again. But the ports were nice.

still trying to obtain refund for the internet and the company has not responded to my request. 

Read the fine print

Shore excursions especially St Petersburg.  Glorious weather and smooth seas made for a grand voyage. Ship was clean and well maintained.and the crew were very pleasant.

We were celebrating our 36 year wedding anniversary.  We extended our travel experience before the cruise to include Berlin and Amsterdam, also.  The whole experience was marvelous.  The weather cooperated and we had fabulous sunny warm days.  With the additional tours we got to immerse into each port location. Even the days at sea were full of exciting shows and movies.  The food was excellent at both the general seating and special restaurants as well as the service.  My only negative comment is that the cruise ship needs cosmetic renovations including face-lift of common areas and cabins.    

The cruise was great! Great ship and ports! The only suggestion is that they get their internet together-it was bad! But they did refund the money spent on it when we complained.

Great trip!