Serenade of the Seas Cruise Reviews - Reviews

My husband and I had a delightful time on our cruise because we both love to dance ballroom, salsa, Latin, swing, and just about any dance we can dance together as a couple.  We were able to do that almost every night on Serenade of the Seas.  I was also able to line dance a couple of times as that is one of my passions when not dancing with my husband.  Serenade of the Seas was a beautiful spacious feeling and very clean ship.  We have sailed on Carnival, Holland America, and Royal Caribbean and we love both Holland America and Royal Caribbean.  Carnival is a notch below both of them but still a nice That said, Royal Caribbean has the best entertainment of the three lines.  Our Cruise Director, Carly Boileau, was one of the most enthusiastic and friendly we have ever had. We were pleased with every aspect of the service and friendliness of the staff onboard and would do another Royal Caribbean cruise without hesitation.  Everyone we met and talked to seem to be having a great time.   

We have sailed on several different cruise lines but this was our first time on Royal Caribbean.  We were excited because we have always been under the impression that Royal Caribbean was a step above the other cruise lines.  I will list the things we were disappointed with and then list the things we liked better than the other cruise lines:

1)  Embarkation process was very disorganized and cumbersome.  Even though we arrived 4 hours early, we stood in line to check in for a long time.  When we finally made it through the metal detector, etc. we were directed to another line.  We again stood in line for a long time.  When we finally made it to the desk we presented all of our documents to the representative.  She looked over our documents and gave us a medical form to sign.  While we were signing the form (which took less than a minute), she just disappeared.  We waited for about 10 minutes and she finally returned.  We were then directed onto the ship.  When we reached the deck, we had to stand in line AGAIN to get our pictures taken.  On other cruise lines, the paperwork and pictures were all done at the desk and the process was much faster and smoother.

2)  The food was not the same standard of food as the other cruise lines.  Same menu every night with very little variation and steaks were very small and dry.  Servers spent more time hinting for tips than actually serving.

3)  We had a balcony state room.  The bathroom was uncomfortably small.  There was a lot of high wind during our cruise and the seal around the sliding glass balcony door was messed up and the wind coming through it howled all night.  We talked to our steward about it and he said he contacted maintenance.  Maintenance never showed up so we had to stuff paper napkins in the crack to stop the noise.  No lounge chairs on the balcony, just regular lawn chairs.

4)  This is childish, but we always enjoy the animals made from towels and looked forward to them each day.  On this seven day cruise, there were only two animals placed in the room for the entire cruise.

5)  If there was any late night food service we could not find it.  Very limited room service menu for breakfast and never saw another room service menu for any other meal besides breakfast.

Things we liked:

1)  Beautiful decorations.

2)  Fast debarkation

Royal Caribbean will not be our preferred cruise line for any future cruises.  They are not worth the additional money it costs to cruise with them.

Thanks.

We have been on several cruises and this one was one of the nicest.The ship was beautiful, lots of wood detail like you see on older wooden boats. The ship was one of the cleanest we have been on. The help was very friendly and always going the next mile for you. It's amazing how they go from one to the next cruise and never miss a beat. The stateroom was a balcony and was very nice. I missed having a coffee pot in the room as all of the other ships we taken had one. The departing and arrival back in port went very smoothly. They really have it down and it moves right along.The only complaint we had was the open dining rooms. The food tables are set up independently by food groups and so people were moving about like in a maze.  There was no direction so by the time you had all your choices your food was usually cold. They need better direction to move in so everyone goes the same way. We would definitly take another Royal Caribbean cruise with hopes they find a better way in the  open dining rooms.The independent dining rooms were excellant.

We had a great time.  Ship was smaller than what we are use to. Larger ships had more to do keeping the days at sea more interesting. I don't think we would take another cruise out of New Orleans.  River very rough.  Next time will take a cruise out of Florida.  In February much warmer. Ship very clean.

This was my third cruise. I have cruised with RC once, and Carnival once. RC was better than Carnival between my first two cruises (more activities, better food, great staff, etc.), but in the 5 years between my first sailing with RC to now, things have changed. I was traveling with my husband to celebrate our first wedding anniversary. He hadn't been on a cruise before, but we did a week long because I had so much faith in RC to be fun. To be honest, we spent most out time in our room, reading our books. We did this for a couple reasons: 1, the daily activities didn't appeal to a younger couple. 2, the lines for the bar were ridiculous (we had to wait in line for 5-10 min to order a drink because the ship was so crowded), and there wasn't any room to just sit peacefully by the pool or in one of the public spaces. All of the pool chairs are tied to each other and the ship (which makes sense, you don't want them sliding away while in the sea) but they were to the point you couldn't even lay the back down. You HAD to sit up. Who wants to sit up by a pool the whole time? They used to have staff walk around, to wait on you. This isn't the case anymore. The windjammer's food sucked. The main dining room's lunch and dinner was fine, but it was obvious they wanted you to spend your money on the additional restaurants and not put as much effort into the dining room. Daytime activities were Bingo & Trivia... playing this everyday for a week is too much.

Ports of call were Falmouth, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, & Cozumel. All the ports were not the best. If you wanted to do any excursion, you had to drive 30 min or so + to get anywhere.

Cruises just aren't what they once were. Next time, we're going to just book a week in a single destination at a resort. 

This is my 3rd cruise on 3 different cruise lines.  There was not one thing to complain about other than Royal is leaving New Orleans :(.  The food was delicious.  I found the buffet to be very good. in fact, it was better than the fine dining area.  They had so much seating room in the buffet area, it was very nice.  usually there hasn't been room to sit on other ships. the seating was endless.The rooms were nice. They were one of the bigger rooms we stayed in.  The entertainment was really good.  It had a full schedule, never leaving you wondering what to do. 

My cruise experience was awful with Royal. My family and I anticipated enjoying a family vacation but were otherwise surprised when we arrived at the port for 3:20 pm and were refused to abroad the boat.  However, we were not allowed to board the cruise liner, but my friend (Susan Mayo) and 5 other passengers were able to board.

This was my second time cruising with Royal Caribbean  and  they just do an awesome job. They're very well organized so the onboard process is quick, or room was ready,  we got our luggage within an hour of getting  on the ship. The staff are very professional  and  willing  to do anything in your favor. The ship it self was beautiful. There were  activities available for people  of every  interests. If you're someone  who can appreciate  the services and hard work of others, you will  definitely  appreciate  this itinerary.

This was my husband and I fourth cruise, and we have never had customer service like this. The staff was polite and made you feel at home. Our dinner waiters Adrian and Raymond was a awesome team. They made every night wonderful, they were witty and funny. We went to dinner just to see them they absolutely made the cruise a great experience. The food was great, the ship was huge and kept very clean. we had a great time . If you decide to go on this boat I suggest you request Adrian and raymond for your table

Had a wonderful time.  The crew, the ship, and all the ports were so much fun. I felt like a Queen for a week!  Can't wait for my next cruise on Adventure of the Seas next year!  Go Serenade of the Seas....You are awesome! 

The only shortfall on this vacation was that the internet was so dammed expensive...Would have loved to have shared on Facebook and tweeted but alas, it just wasn't worth the price that we would have gotten charged.

The ship was great, the shows were great, the activities were fun.  Our cabin was nice and had plenty of storage in the closet.  Elliott our cabin steward was the best!  We went to the Mystery Dinner and enjoyed it a lot.  The meal was fabulous.  Our Dining Room meals not so much.  The staff was great but the food was just OK.  Not very warm, over cooked, and almost the same choice every night!  We ate at the buffet most of the meals.  It was our first cruise and enjoyed it, but would say I was disappointed in the Dinning room.

The cruise was good.  Food was mixed (some great, some very mediocre). Service mixed. Excursions excellent.  Would recommend, but may or may not sail with again. 

This is my second time cruising my first with Carnival - I was hoping this cruise would be better than my first and it wasn't at all.  Everything was about money.  We had not planned to pay $367.00 extra for the two of us for service and servers.  What was the $1600.00 for that when we paid for the cruise?  The deck entertainment was lousy.  Hardly no one attended, the floor was always wet and slippery.  The Super Bowl Game was the worst setup I have ever seen.  What happen to the commercials?  What's Super Bowl without the commercials?  The Casino had a Super Bpwl Pool - selling blocks for $20.00 a block.  They gave you a ticket that stated Stadium Buffett and a "Speciality Drink" of your choice. When it was time to get a drink the bar in the casino had a flyer on the bar that offer a drink called  "Touchdown" which contained 3 different rums, vodka, tropical juice and 3 or 4 other ingredients in it.  I showed the bartender the ticket and said there must be a mix-up because the ticket said a choice of Speciality Drink - Who's choice?  I asked the bartender for a Apple Martini and she said she had been serving the Touchdown drink all afternoon and this was the speciality drink for the day.  I ask to speak to the bar manager and a guy came over and I showed him th ticket and he agreed with me and the wording could have been better and he told the bartender to give me the Apple Martini.  She was very rude and refused to give me the drink.  She called someone over wo had a Black and white referee shirt on and he sided with the bartender when the manager old her to give me the Martini.  Two other ladies heard the conversation and agreed that the wording was wrong on the ticket and they also didn't want that drink called Touchdown - who wants to get sick with that crap? The guy with the referee shirt told her (bartender) too give the ladies what ever speciality drink we wanted and he would pay for it himself.  We had already paid for he drink - it was included in our $20.00 ticket. Some of the dishes in the Wind-Jammer was a mystery, such as Beef Kofi?? I asked what was in it and I was told Beef and lamb.  We don't eat lamb!  We thought they were meatball - atleast they looked like meatballs.  This cruise was supposed to be special for us.  There was 6 in our group and everyone was not having a good time. Between the six of us we paid over $2000.00 extra that non of us had intended to pay.  Falmouth Jamaica was not a nice port - we didn't feel like we were in Jamaica - other in the group had bee to Jamaica and was very disappointed with that port.  The slots were tight as wax - no returns - lost lots of money.  Bingo was the pits - they sold cards for $22,00 - $32,00 and $52,00 for the machine - machine was not charged up the first day so we were sitting there with machines that were not charged.  They credited our account and we had to get the regular cards - they only played 4 games and the money didn't add up to what they paid out. Royal Caribbean you let us down..

DUE TO A WATER PIPE BREAK AND ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS WE WERE UNABLE TO TAKE THE CRUISE. FROM THE TIME WE ARRIVED 10:00 AM UNTIL THE 4:00 PM WHEN ROYAL CARIBBEAN REPRESENTATIVES TOLD US WE COULD LEAVE THERE WAS NO DIRECTION OTHER THAN WE WERE NOT GOING ON THE CRUISE.AFTER DRIVING OVERNIGHT 11 HOURS WE WERE NOT OFFERED HOTEL LODGING .AFTER WE FOUND ROOMS FOR OUR PARTY OF 8THEY CALLED AT 7:30PM AND TOLD US WE HAD ROOMS AT THE HILTON . THE LETTER WE RECEIVED BEFORE WE LEFT OFFERED REIMBURSEMENT OF $150.00 CHANGE FEES FOR AIR TRAVEL NOTHING        FOR ANYONE WHO HAD DRIVEN TO TAKE THE CRUISE.ADDITIONAL EXPENSES WERE INCURRED AS VACATIONS HAD TO BE SET UP IN ADVANCE AND WE MAY NOT HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO THIS IN THE FUTURE.IT WAS A DISAPPOINTMENT FOR OUR FAMILY.

MICHAEL & JOYCE DOYLE ,STEVEN DOYLE SR. & JR. RONDA &DANIELLE DOYLE,& DAVID DOYLE &KAREN LUCY.

Showed up at the port in New Orleans at 9:30 a.m., all excited to be sailing on RCL, and out of New Orleans, for the first time. After about 3 hours, I was told that my cabin was on a list that had been damaged the night before. I would not be able to sail. Spent another 2 hours being told by 5 other people who worked for RCL, that I was unable to sail. My bag was on the ship and took quite awhile to get it back.  I have not gotten any information, no phone calls, no emails, no regular mail, no apologies from RCL. I have not gotten a refund from RCL or an explanation, no nothing, not even a go fu-- yourself from RCL. Not very good customer service.  I was to spend my 68 birthday on that cruise. Was to be in Key West on the 26th of January, for my first time to visit, and celebrate my birthday.  WooHoo! Thank you RCL!!

Been on quite a few cruises in the past 30 years or so and this one was above most.  The food was as good if not better than NCL and much better than Carnival.  The ships layout was convenient for most activities and the cabin was small as expected but clean and very nice.  What made this cruise better than most was the entertainment on board.  The staff were professional with good voices and could dance very well as does those on the other cruise lines.  What set this cruise apart were those that came on for a 1 night stand as they had a comedian, a singer/entertainer and a ventriloquist who were above the type of entertainment usually provided as per my experiences.  This was my 1st cruise on Royal Caribbean and I must say, I was impressed and would return.

I had sailed on Freedom of the Seas 18 months ago, the only Royal cruise I've tried.  I have sailed on Carnival once.  I will start with the CONS- so I can end on a good note- This ship badly needed a reno, especially in the Reflections Dining Room which had brown paneling on the walls.  There was an odor from the carpet around some of the elevators.  The food was mediocre in the dining room, a real disappointment compared to the food on the Freedom.  The entertainment also was not as good as on Freedom, only because the cruise director seemed bored, the Centerum which hosted many continual events often reeked of smoke from the casino on the middle floor, and the comedian was NOT funny.  However, the singer/dancers were top notch, the orchestra fantastic, and the ventriloquist they had made us laugh until we cried.  (I can't remeber his name) 

The PROS- The service, however, was excellent in all areas of the ship.  Our waiter was so willing to make everything a great experience for us even doing "tricks" at the end of some of our meals (balancing acts, "magic" tricks).  Our stateroom attendant was also super, actually calling each of us by our first name everytime he saw us in the hall (and sometimes we were with 2 other couples)!   The rooms were clean and we got an excellent rate for our room that had an oceanview.  The bathrooms on the ship were also clean.  Some of the entertainment was superb as mentioned, others not so much.

I would not give up on Royal, but I would not sail on this ship again.

The entertainment was excellent.  Especially Ronn Lucas the ventriloquist. Mr. Turner was also very good.  The waiter and assistant were excellent!   Friendly, humorous. and efficient.

The dance floor in the Centrum was terrible.  Sticky and unclean.  Dancing was likely to cause falls, and damage to ankles and knees.  Dancing should be done in the Safari Lounge.

This was the first cruise my boyfriend or I had ever been on and it was a great experience. We are both 30 years old and looking for a cruise to relax/unwind. It was easy to get overwhelmed at first but once we settled in, everything was wonderful. If you haven't cruised before & you're reading this review, GREAT! It felt a little silly doing so much research before our first cruise but I'm so incredibly glad that I did.

We had an oceanview stateroom on the 3rd floor which truly was perfect. Our location kept our "seasick" feeling to a minimum and the room was just the right accommodation for a couple. We benefitted greatly from having a window for 2 reasons: 1. the view over the ocean was incredible- providing beautiful scenery during the say and a really unique view of the ocean lit up by the moon at night. 2. a window allowed us to acclimate to time changes and be aware of the time of day much more easily than if we'd just been looking at a clock.

The staff was exceptionally friendly and helpful. Any issues we had were minor and painlessly remedied. Moving a shipload of people from place-to-place went smoothly and it was obvious the staff had every scenario well in hand. I think we made the right choice by starting with a smaller ship. At times, the "salesman" aspect can feel pushy & be a little exhausting but I assumed as much. 

We opted for an upgrade to the Thermal Suite which was on sale for $198/couple on Day 1. It was money well spent and we both enjoyed the luxury of the aromatherapy room and hot stone beds thoroughly. We also managed to go to the suite on off-peak times (like during the first dinner sitting) and we had the suite all to ourselves. 

Our only real complaint would be the room service food. It was often late (sometimes an hour late) and not worth the wait. I'd imagine the system will be remedied in subsequent cruises. Whatever the challenge is that the kitchen is facing, it wasn't worth any effort put forth on our part. A few tupperware containers and some planning ahead at the buffet made up for the lack of room service food. The food on the rest of the ship is really spectacular by comparison so focus your dining efforts in the restaurants instead.

We also had several reservations for the sushi restaurant, Izumi, for the cruise. I was under the mistaken impression that the specialty restaurants required reservations and a cover charge ONLY, not a cover charge in addition to paying full price for your meal. The menu at Izumi is geared toward diners that are new or possibly unfamiliar with sushi and most of the food is cooked. We thoroughly enjoyed the meal we had at Izumi but the menu wasn't diverse enough to tempt us to pay for another meal on an otherwise all-inclusive trip. It really was some of the best sushi we've ever had so if you're interested in trying something new, by all means make a reservation. The prices were very reasonable so that alone was not a deterrent for us.

The ports were all really interesting and varied. We had a fabulous time and we can't wait to cruise again. If not for our own curious nature and desire to experience new things, we would book on the Serenade again in no time.

We left a day late because of a broken water pipe on the inbound cruise. Stuff happens. The problem is the way the situation was handled in MSY, and then onboard. Basically, we got zero, nada, nothing, for missing a day at sea enjoying our cruise. We stood in line for SIX HOURS to get onboard! Yes SIX HOURS! Cold pizza, hamburgers, were sent into the terminal for approximately 10% of the guests. Nothing to drink.......nothing. No chairs for the elderly, nothing. Eventually they threw off about 500 guests to make the cruise work. Bad for them, bad for us. No open bar, nothing. We then could not get on the private island due to winds......it happens. We then received a $100 per person credit for our inconvenience.......sorry not near enough. They of course charged me for a loss  day my drink package. No credit there...........Very very bad decisions in MSY by local mgt. We could have cleared security earlier, and waiting in the designated "waiting area"!!!!! What a concept! Chairs and everything! Showed up a 10:00am........got on at 7:00pm........you decide.