Serenade of the Seas Cruise Reviews - Reviews

WE HAD A GREAT TIME ON THIS CRUISE VACATION IN SPITE OF A COUPLE LESS THAN PERFECT WEATHER DAYS. I BELIEVE THE WEATHER WAS A FLUKE AND IT JUST HAPPENED TO FALL DURING OUR CRUISE. I HAD DONE A LOT OF RESEARCH PRIOR TO DEPARTING AND PLANNED FOR OUR OWN EXCURSIONS AT EACH PORT. OUR FIRST STOP WAS JAMAICA AND I HAD 3 "FREE" PUBLIC BEACH OPTIONS TO VISIT WHILE THERE.  ONE OPTION WAS RED STRIPE BEACH, ONLY 7 MILES FROM THE PORT,BUT WHEN WE ASKED TO GO THERE, THE LOCALS SAID THEY WOULD CHARGE US $30 PER PERSON TO GET THERE!  THEY WOULD NOT TAKE US THERE. INSTEAD SUGGESTED A BEACH IN MONTEGO BAY THAT WAS TO COST $20 PER PERSON TO TRANSPORT, BUT BECAUSE WE HAD ONE EMPTY SEAT IN THE VAN, EVERYONE HAD TO PAY AN EXTRA $2 TO MAKE UP FOR THAT.  UPON ARRIVAL AT THIS BEACH, WE ALL HAD TO PAY $5 TO GET IN AND THEN ANOTHER $5 IF YOU WANTED A BEACH CHAIR. THE DRIVER KEPT ASKING US TO GIVE HIM MONEY FOR HIS LUNCH SINCE HE WAS WAITING AT THE BEACH SO THAT HE COULD RETURN US TO THE PORT WHEN WE WERE FINISHED.  I WAS TOTALLY DISGUSTED WITH THIS GUY AND FELT IT WAS A "SHAKE DOWN" FROM THE MOMENT WE GOT STARTED. WE WERE TRAVELING WITH OUR TEENAGED AND PRE-TEEN GRANDCHILDREN SO WHAT I THOUGHT WAS GOING TO BE AN "EASY ON THE BUDGET" DAY, TURNED INTO A VERY EXPENSIVE DAY.  GRAND CAYMAN IS WONDERFUL PORT AND I WISH WE HAD HAD MORE TIME TO SPEND THERE!  COZUMEL IS ALSO A GREAT PORT TO VISIT.  ROYAL CARIBBEAN IS A GREAT CRUISE LINE THAT MEETS THE NEEDS OF BOTH ADULT AND YOUNG PASSENGERS. THE SERVICE ON THE CRUISE WAS GREAT.  NO COMPLAINTS.  PLANNING OUR NEXT CRUISE WITH RCCL!

This was my first cruise and was extremely disappointed.  After all I read about Royal, I expected better quality food.  The food was a big disappointment.  It took 12 minutes or longer for us to get a drink at any bar we went to on the cruise ship. I think this is way too long to have to wait for a drink when you are on vacation. The stateroom service and dining room service was great.  I had to fight with Royal for them to honor a massage.  provided a voucher that Royal didn't want to stand by.  After being very stern with 4 different people, I was finally able to use this voucher.  The massage was fabulous but it was a shame I had to spend so much time and energy on my vacation debating with the cruise ship to honor the voucher.  I wouldn't recommend Royal to others.  My husband and I are planning another cruise to Alaska next June and we will be going with another cruise line after our experience with Royal.

George Town Grand Cayman BEAUTIFUL, The Mayan ruins at Cozumel Mexico very interesting, You can Keep Falmouth Jamaica! once you leave the pier its kind of well not on my return list.   

This was a very good cruise.  However, first and last impressions are most important and these were both problematic - to the point that we were almost the last ones to board the ship.  Then, upon return, same situation - nothing was working as stated.  Otherwise a great cruise.

I hadn't been on a cruise since I was 18, so this was a nice break from working and Royal Caribbean allows for a complete week of relaxation. You don't have to do anything but "be there". The staterooms are wonderful and are kept up by the attendants who are super nice and make sure you have everything you need.The food was great, the servers at dinner are top of the line and the excursions are easy to book as well. The whole experience was low stress (none at all really) and I will be taking another one hopefully in the second half of the year. You really can't beat Royal Caribbean Cruises.

The cruise was great. A lot of things to do on the ship thanks to the cruise director Carly and her group. Had lots of fun and laughs. The food was not so good. This was my 5th cruise.

We chose this cruise because it will be one of the last Royal Caribbean vacations out of the beautiful city of New Orleans.  The Port, Embarkation events, and parking was a wonderful experience.  Tampa should take notes.

The ship and its crew did all they could to insure a safe and wonderful voyage.  

Key West and Nassau were great destinations, and the early arrival at Key West was wonderful.

We couldn't have enjoyed the trip more.... 

Was a very relaxing and enjoyable cruise. Service was great, bartenders were terrific, all the crew were pleasant and efficient. Special thanks to Priscilla and Ramon at the Schooner bar, they are the greatest. This cruise met all our expectations of Royal Caribbean International.

My husband and I celebrated our granddaughter's 12th grade graduation (senior this year) with a cruise to the Bahamas.  My 18 and 20 year old granddaughters and their parents and grandparents (I'm Nana) loved the fine dining.  I felt like the splendor of the Titanic in the dining room...only with a happy ending.  The food and service were wonderful.  Our waiters made recommendations on what to order and even helped my granddaughter cut up her duck when he saw her struggling with cutting it up.  We saw a lot of "live entertainment", movies, swimming and GranGran & Nana played ping pong a lot (good for memory & balance).  "Gus" kept our stateroom in good order; all staff were efficient and courteius.  I wanted to sign up for another cruise, just didn't know when we had some days available.  I WANT ANOTHER CRUISE!!!!!

1. Entertainment very good

2. Centrum area too small for number of people on cruise. Not enough space or seating

3.Quality of food just mediocre

4. Service people excellent

5. No enforcement of formal attire. We had jeans and a baseball cap at our table on formal night

6. Coco Cay was a nice idea with great potential, but not not developed enough for older people.

Quite a great first cruise experience! The weather was fantastic, hardly a spitting of rain. We were amazed by the amount of detail and attention paid to keeping our state room clean and tidy, with the bed being made every time we came back to it. The bathroom and middle area were the same was as well. So great! The food! Our dining experience was amazing as well, with great quality food being cooked expertly. That experience was made all the better by our Head Server, Ivo Vas. He was very professional, and took his work very seriously. At the same time, he was so good humored and truly enjoys being around people. We looked forward to dining each night (and sometimes breakfast too!) because of Ivo. Truly remarkable experience! 

This was our first cruise and we LOVED every minute of it! The ship had excellent staff in all areas.  Everyone was pleasant and helpful with all our questions.  The excursion process was smooth when we left the ship and when we returned.  The food was SO good and the service as well.  The activities staff provided a variety of things to do that catered to a number of different tastes. We will certainly be booking another cruise with Royal Caribbean!

Being first time cruisers this was such a JOY to experience. 

We had one glitch: Our ship left Jamaica about an hour later than usual due to late passengers returning to ship. It happens and sometimes cannot be helped. We understand that. But...

Our time in Grand Caymen was cut short. We did not get to take the excursion we booked with to the turtle refue and to the town of HELL. We were supposed to dock at 7 but it was l 9:30 and then lhad to be back by 3:15 to leave early to make Cozumel on schedule. Being that we had to take tender boats to shore we did not make our excursion. Yes, disappointed. I did buy trip insurance and hopefully will be able to get some type of refund for this excursion. 

Everything else from start to finish was perfect. The crew was so accomodating and friendly. Lots of smiles and laughs throughout the week. The sea cooperated with smoothe waters for the duration of the trip. Our room was wonderful. The balcony surely was a big plus and we enjoyed it day and night. The entertainment was good at night. There was so much to do we were busy all the time. Food was good both at the Windjammer buffet and the main diningroom. Our server, Jose, and his assistant were excellent. We met new people with whom we hope to be in touch through emails and txts. We enjoyed this trip so much we plan on another next year. 

Royal Caribbean will not sail from New Orleans in 2016. Perhaps the approx. 8 hours it takes from port out away from the Mississippi River is one reason. Our next cruise will be booked out of Galveston. Looking forward to the Liberty of the Seas in 2016.  

A big thank you to Jackie Greenwood who answered my silly questions, helped me register online, and gave us great tips to make our first cruise a memorable one. 

All in all, this was a very enjoyable cruise. lots to do onboard and the staff was very friendly. The one complaint We had was that we prepaid our gratuities so we could enjoy the my-time dining, which allows you to eat whenever you want. But when got our seapass, it was written on it with a 8:00pm assigned dinner time. When we talked to the customer service on the ship they informed us that they had overbooked the my time dining and we would have to come at the time that was on our seapass, which was the 8:00 time. We were not happy. Every night we had to go over with the waiter why we didn't want the 8Pm time.  They really need to limit the amount of my time dining times to avoid this overbooking. Our cabin steward and staff were very nice and our twin 15 yr. olds loved the teen center. Entertainment was ok, would have loved to see more broadway type shows. Their cruiseline dancers and singers did ok, but the shows only lasted around 40 min.

we had a good experience on our Royal Carribean Cruise to the Western Carribean. my only suggestion to the cruise line is: when you book passengers that are dog lovers ei (K9 college) out of respect to fellow passengers it is only fare to alert them before purchasing . Several people in our group have alligeries to dogs and pet dander, causing discomfort to their cruise. Just saying it would have been nice to lknow several pets were going on the cruise with us and in the dining room.

Our stateroom attendant (Ernesto) was the best we've ever had.  Good variety of music. Team at Schooner Bar was excellent.  A nice, moderate-sized ship. Great ports of call.  Don't miss swimming with the dolphins at Chankanaab Marine Park in Cozumel.  Excellent dinners in Reflections Dining Room, but waited 10 - 40 minutes to get seated at appointed time.  Dinner buffet (Windjammer) stops too early (8:30 p.m.)  Although the small Park Cafe in Solarium serves until 2:00 a.m., its menu is limited.  Windjammer buffet offered vast selections, however they were the same items for breakfast, lunch, and dinner day after day.  Lousy elevators - slow every day, and five of us got stuck between floors for 15 minutes on day three.

Was completely satisfied with my first cruise experience. It was fun and full of things to do!! Our statesroom attendant, Rio, was great and attentive. But it has to be our main dining room experience that set this cruise over the top. Our service was amazing and the food was unbelievable!!!!! Would for sure recommend this for any family!!!

Excellent service from everyone and very nice boat. The first trumpet player in the orchestra was a little crazy with the high notes even when he struggled to hit them. The shows were good and the game shows were great.

Loved our service in the main dining room!!! Great food!!!!!! Had fun!!! Great for families and people traveling with kids. Would not go during spring break again. Too many college kids.

We chose this cruise in a large part because we wanted to visit New Orleans. Since it was an older ship, my expectations were not that high. The ship was absolutely beautiful! Well maintained, very clean. The food was better than we experienced on the Freedom in November. The crew was very friendly. The cruise exceeded my expectations all around.