Serenade of the Seas Cruise Reviews - Reviews

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!

We just sailed on the Serenade of the Seas on a Baltic cruise. The service was excellent as was the food. The ship was very nice, but it's showing its age and could use a few updates. They do keep it spotless though. The Captain is wonderful and very outgoing. Great time and great cities to visit. Only slight negative was that some of the tours where good, but not outstanding. Maybe we picked the wrong tours had the wrong tour guide. The nightly shows where very good, but we saw one of the shows on a different cruise line. Overall, Royal Caribbean was a good choice for our trip.

my husband and I had fabulous time on a cruise.  Great entertainment, tons and variety of  food, spa, games, sports, excursions - you name it! just fun, fun, fun!

Each port very interesting and different. St. Petersburg was the highlight. Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.

The ports were great and the room was very nice.  I had a lot of issues with the excursion desk and front desk and spent several hours sorting things out.  The internet for the iPhone was crap mand I made them refund it, I was tired of fighting with it.  They indicated it was a known issue so duh  why did it not say that in the signup thing?

I liked pool and hottub hours but there was little activities set there, maybe that is normal for that location.  Not as much as a Caribbean cruise.

Entertainment was a bit weak, however we completely enjoyed our trip.  Met some wonderful people on board. Everyone was already planning their next cruises!  Learned of some interesting itineraries and also realized what a bargain doing back to back cruises, less airfare! Completely enjoyed our cruise, came home relaxed and rejuvinated!

We loved all the ports of call, the ship and its staff make all the difference in the world...we really enjoy traveling like this, not having to pack and unpack every time we visit a new country!  this cruise has encouraged me to take the 2 or 3 other routes in the Mediterranean!

 lovely time... wonderful sites, great entertainment!