Serenade of the Seas Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Although I was concern sailing on a smaller ship than previous cruises, the Serenade of the Seas was excellent. There were no "surprises".  The islands we visited were enjoyable and excursions were fun and informative with each have unique features.  The food on the ship was very good and the service was excellent.  The pools were small but not overly crowded.  The casino was average.  The entertainment was good and enjoyed the bands that played in the centrum and the piano players in the other lounge areas. Embarkment was quick and easy while disembarkment  was very slow.  Enjoyable time.  

We loved this cruise ship and the staff. They are there for your every needs!!! The food and the entertainment were Awesome! The ports of call and the excursions that we did were great. We did zip lining in St. Lucia and UTV riding in Aruba!

There is something for everyone. As a solo traveler I booked this 12-night cruise on Serenade of the Seas approximately one week before sailing – 7 day cruises do not cut it for me anymore. I wanted to be on a beautiful ship for Christmas and New Year's and that's exactly what I got. The ship was beautifully decorated and the planned activities were appropriate. As I have been on several Caribbean cruises, I decided to forego the tours and just enjoy the ship.

My Time Dining was the only option available. While I prefer a fixed dining time, this option allowed me to meet several other solo travelers, some of whom became friends.

Your survey does not give a choice of FAMILY only--without designation of children.  W/older children implies children who are teenaged.  My sister and I are in our 50's and 60's and traveled with our 90+ year old mother.

The midnight LOUD announcement:  ALPHA, ALPHA, ALPHA was VERY, VERY disturbing.  Woke us and many other passengers out of sound sleep with NO INDICATION THAT IT WAS A MEDICAL EMERGENCY.    Most of us were alarmed not knowing what was wrong.  If only we had known that it was a medical emergency, we could have gone back to sleep!!!!!

There is no stern elevator or stairs EXCEPT for the crew, It is over 200 yards to the center elevators, one of which did not work the whole cruise. Getting an elevator during peak times was nearly impossible without a VERY LOT of patience. The many people in wheelchairs and scooters and all the people with them were given priority in every line. Why? They are sitting down!

The crew and service was great but the ship not passenger friendly.

Most meals were overcooked or under cooked,except Chops Grill.  Elevators don't stop at floors just wiss by empty. One crew member stated this is a training ship for new employees,and that's why the food service is poor. Talked to chef about overcooked carved entrees and the next day fried chicken was under cooked and bleeding inside.Key West immigration  check was a real farce with lines winding throughout the ship very poorly organized!!!.

I'd like to offer you some constructive suggestions for your Customer Service personnel and your Guest Services desk. They both are in need of 'further training,' especially in the category of Smiling and Courtesy. There is quite a 'I'm better than you' attitude AND a 'you're wasting my time' air about them. They really need to remember that they are 'there for the people cruising,' not the reverse. ALSO, there was an incident that was handled VERY POORLY in the Chops restaurant.(Apparently, a person on the Cruise wasnt able to get into Multiple rooms with their room pass. Instead of asking the person to step outside the Restaurant, there was a heated exchange INSIDE!!! Three different personnel on FOUR successive visits inside the Restaurant argued with this Patron, disturbing everyone's meals! Very poorly handled!)

As well, our bed in room#4045 was extremely hard and barely usable. We could manage with the bed, and if assured that the Customer Service and Guest Relations personnel would seriously improve, we would consider returning. However, at this stage I would recommend that my friends NOT Cruise on this Ship!!

We chose this cruise for its southern caribbean itinerary to assure a warm, sunny trip. It did not disappoint. Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao delighted us.

We were celebrating our 25 year wedding anniversary, so we splurged on the superior bacony cabin. This proved to be plenty spacious and comfortable. The balcony did lack a little in privacy, since there are large gaps, allowing us to see a full reflection of the couple next door. 

This was our first time cruising with Royal Caribbean; we have always cruised with Carnival before this. So we were trying to compare everything. Being that the Serenade is a smaller, older ship probably put it at a slight disadvantage for comparison. Shipwise, it came up a bit short.

The water slide was clearly only put there for kiddies only. I attempted to go down it, only to realize that there was not enough water to slide me down.

Mixed bag on the My Time Dining. The first night, we were put at a table for two, as requested. But the tables were so close that our neighboring table decided that we should converse like we were all together at one table. We were able to move tables after that, but that zone had waiters who were very slow and inattentive. Fortunately, we met some new friends and were able to join them in a different area with friendly, jovial, attentive waitstaff for the rest of the cruise. So with My Time, if you don't end up in the right place, it was nice to have some flexibility.

We felt that the dining room food was merely adequate. The only thing that wowed us was the nightly escargots. Their desserts left me wanting for the Carnival melting chocolate souffles.

The theatre entertainment we found to be meh. The karaoke was in a fun environment in the Crown and Castle Pub. The setup seemed to contribute to not feeling like you are on stage.

Loved the Centrum area with all the views and seating on different deck levels if you wanted to just hang out.

All in all, this cruise provided everything we were looking for for this special occasion. We were in a mellow mood, looking to destress, unwind, read, sun, relax. The ports provided great diving and snorkeling opps and just enough shopping. The sun was warm, the drinks were cold and the sun set on the horizon each night after a fulfilling day. Now I am ready for another 25 years with my mate :-)

Service was very good, food and dining were good.

Entertainment was average. Cabin was very good,

Room service was excellent.

In the past we have cruised with Royal Carib enjoying the high quality food, shows and service. The food quality for Royal Carib has gone down with poor quality meats and very salty. The shows were average and several of them were the sames shows produced three years ago.  The service was average - maybe the staff wanted to be home with their families for the holidays...  And lastly I think Royal Carib had a booking fire sale with a nursing home.  Most of the passengers were in walkers or wheel chairs and were grumpy and snarly.

The staff (dining, cabin stewards) couldn't be better.  Not enough to do on ship unless you enjoy endless trivia.  Many nights, there is only one show and if you opt for my time dining- good luck on seeing the show.  Decks "roll up" at appx. 10:00 p.m..  Food is fine.  Without "flow rider" and other amenities of the newer ships,  there is much to be desired. 

This was our 2nd smaller ship experience after Allure and Oasis, the first being Independence, the second being Serenade, and all things being equal, we will stay with the smaller ships. All of the staff and crew were recognizable and available, and quickly resolved all issues. Only glitch that could not be fixed was the internet service which was very spotty and iffy, but that will take major upfitting.

We did book again while on the ship.

We love cruising and we love RCCL.....That said we don't plan on going on Serenade of the Seas again....The people were lovely the weather was perfect the ports were very enjoyable, we found fault with the food, it was dry and over cooked....We over looked the food because we enjoyed ourselves, it was a great ten days.

VERY POOR, SENT SURVEY TO c.e,o OF rccl. TOO MANY PROBLEMS THEY HAVE BAD KITCHEN HELP AND TRAINEES AS WAITERS. iNTERNET POOR,

ELEVATORS ARE VERY BAD. dO NOT LIKE PRECOOKED FOOD. bREAKFAST ALWAYS SERVED COLD, TOLD HEAD WAITERS THAT AND MEAT WAS EITHER OVERCOOKED OR RAW.sHOWS WERE NON EXISTANT EXCEPT FOR PRODUCTION SHOWS WHICH WERE GOOD. i AM dIAMOND MEMBER AND HAVE DONE 87 CRUISES ON ALL LINES AND THIS WAS THE PITS. COULD'NT WAIT TO DEBARK

A good relaxing time.                                                                                                                                                       

Every thing was great.  The only thing I found irritating at times, was all of your photographers blocking walkways.  One time I had to up a deck and back down to get around them, they blocked both sides of the Centrum. 

We had a fantastic time with our best friends.  The crew was great, the waiters were so friendly.  I don't know how they do it,  with back to back cruises.  We had a balcony room which we love, and they kept it clean and fresh every day.  The my time dining, (we made reservation at the beginning of the cruise) was wonderful.  We got the same waiters everynight, and we felt like we were sooo special.  Food was wonderfull, deserts to die for. 

The only complaint I have was the internet that I paid $20.00 per day for, was soooo slow, it was not worth it!  It was hard to connect, and I think it should be free!!

Good points:  Q&A session with officers.  Appreciate priest onboard.  Good job forcing hand cleaning entering Windjammer & dining room.  Good music all over.  Ventriloquist and magician good shows.  Used fitness center daily.  Card room important for us.

Not so good:  3 games of bingo? -- too much silly talk -- played once & never went back. Deck chairs too close to t-shirt sale tables created traffic jam as well as tables too close to doors to pool deck.   "Trainwreck" was a terrible movie -- get tired of constant foul/offensive language and movie themes.  "Max" and "Minions" more my speed.  Need LOUD/CLEAR VOICE on intercom for announcements to leave ship at end of cruise.

First time taking a cruise this long but it was worth it as there was plenty to see and do at all the islands visited.  Weather was perfect and there was enough time in each port to do shopping, sightseeing, or just beach relaxing.  The ship was nice but does need some updating in the furniture area.  Overall it was a good trip.

I really enjoyed the cruise.  Even though the cruise length was 11 days, the itinerary made the trip go by fast.  The food was great.  Our Waite staff was excellent.  Our cabin steward was outstanding. There were several ammenities that were missing (chocolates on the pillows, 24 hour snack bar, midnight buffets) but it's understandable in today's economy trying to remain profitable.  My wife and I did not miss any of them.  We still felt that our money was well spent.  Royal Caribbean, Thank you for a great cruise!