Serenade of the Seas Cruise Reviews - Reviews

amazing and looking to book the next trip already. the staff was wonderful and our waiter was amazing. there are not enough good things I can say about this trip

We thoroughly enjoyed our cruise, especially the entertainment provided by John and Katrina, the cruise directors.  The shows, ventriloquist, comedian and more shows were over the top in quality of talent and quantity of offerings.  The disco night was really fun with John being part of a YMCA group.  And the Neil Diamond show was awesome.

Cabin service excellent.     Windjammer food not so good. Anytime dining food ok with great waiters.  Limited menu at Reflections.   Needed more variety daily of food selection.   Ladies restrooms needed cleaning more frequently.  

My wife and I just returned from our first cruise on RCB's Serenade of the Seas.  Overall, the ship, service and value were excellent however there is definitely areas of improvement.  We had a balcony room in the front of the ship (8th floor), and since this is not a very big ship, it took us a little while to get adjusted to our sea legs. 

Here are some of the pros: Stateroom (We got spoiled by the service provided by our stateroom attendant), the features on the ship itself such as the common areas, the Solarium (It gets crowded easily), fitness area and the centrum (Truly a sight to behold). Cruise ports were good and Royal did a good job on managing the entry and exit in the ports of call.  We booked our own excursions independent of the cruise line, and saved 25-30% from the cruise line prices.

Cons: Food choices and quality ranged from poor to excellent.  The options were limited in the main dining room, however the food selection in the Windjammer was excellent.  Complimentary beverages only included water, tea, fruit juice and coffee.  The quality of on-board entertainment also varied from average to excellent.  On our first two days at sea, they only showed one movie and none in the outdoor screen.  The movie choices and selections vastly improved towards the end of the cruise, which was very puzzling.

For a first cruise, we definitely had a good time and learned a lot about cruising in general.

I REALLY LIKED THIS SHIP. THE FOOD WAS GOOD AND LOTS TO DO. THE HELP WAS VERY GOOD AND WE ENJOYED OUR OCEAN VIEW BALCONY. I DEFINITELEY LIKED IT BETTER THAN MANY CARNIVAL CRUISES I'VE BEEN ON.

The casino area was partially non smoking but the smoke permeated every area so we did not enjoy that area as much as we would have liked. The food was good not great but it takes a lot to beat New Orleans food. The service and cleanliness was excellent. We are sorry the ship is leaving our port as we would have taken another cruise on it next year.

The entertainment was good not great. The staff were very congenial in all areas.

all in all this was a very good cruise and we would recommend it to anyone considering a relaxing week. I would skip the port in Jamaica unless you travel to Montego Bay. Falmouth had little to offer.

The trip to Stingray Bay was awesome. Cozumel was of course just made for tourist shopping but all the vendors were very pleasant and buying the vanilla is worth the stop.

This was my first cruise on Royal Caribbean, and I think it's now my favorite cruise line.  I've sailed on several others, but RC was a notch above the others. From the roominess of the cabin (sofa in even the smallest cabins) to the quality of the entertainment to the value of the items in the on-board shops, RC impressed me with their quality.  And the service was excellent.  Sailing from New Orleans was very convenient.  The vistas of the Mississippi delta as the sun set were outstanding. And New Orleans is a great city to begin or end your cruise.  So much to see and do there.   I'll definitely choose RC again.

Overall very good experience, fast check in!

Fast check out!

"Variable dining" (always 8pm) choosen, caused seating on different tables. And causes waiting times...!

The Serenade of the Seas is a beautiful ship. It doesn't have all the new bells and whistles that many look for, but she is only 2500 passengers big and full of glass to watch the scenery go by. The crew was amazing - they work hard yet had smiles and "Merry Christmas" every time we encountered them. Even the officers got into the act by judging the belly flop competition. The food was very good to excellent and our Christmas Eve dinner in Chops was simply amazing for food and service. The magic of Christmas was everywhere, from ship decorations to staff wearing Santa hats to officer and guest caroling to Santa's visit on Christmas morning. The reason I gave this 4 instead of 5 stars? Some inconsistencies in service in the main dining room; port selection (can we PLEASE get rid of Falmouth Jamaica? although it left us with the ship on a beautiful day to ourselves!); internet connectivity is extremely expensive and very slow; small cosmetics of the ship (e.g., balcony rails, peeling mirror in cabin bath) should be taken care of. Overall I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this beautiful ship if you are looking for the feel of a cruise and not looking for an amusement park at sea!

Excellent, helpful staff; food inconsistent--better @ dining room than in cafeteria; entertainment inconsistent--good Olympic gymnast, poor comedians, good dancers, poor movie selection--repeated same film in theatre several times; dance lessons poor--nice instructor but didn't spend enough time on each step before moving to the next one, tiny dance floor; major safety issue--corridors & stairways blocked at peak times by photographers causing back-ups and crowding--escape routes, when available, required crossing over wires.  Food & entertainment better on Carnival, Norwegian.

need another cruise but prices are getting to high ................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Beware of the purchase of the little extras they sell, ie the Romance Package of Champagne, cupcakes, and breakfast in bed.  Ordered it in advance for a surprise for my wife.  It was to be in the room when we first arrived onboard the ship.  Well, it was there, but was sitting in a bucket of warm water.  Nothing like warm champagne.  Anyhow, we weren't going to drink it right away anyhow.  So I asked the housekeeper, to get some ice, and we would be back later to start our festive cruise with a bottle of the bubbly.  Got back to the room approx. 8PM, and the bottle was still sitting in the bucket of warm water.

Cupcakes were there!  Call the front desk, and had them remove the bottle, and the cupcakes.  Never did see the menu for the "Breakfast in Bed" part of the deal until like Friday (6th day of the cruise)  It mysteriously appeared on our desk.  Royal was good about refunding the money but that's not what I was after.  Royal should have a person that follows up on all there little extras that they sell.  Especially if someone complains they should follow up on this.  It made for a very poor start to the cruise.  Royal did compensate us with extra fine dining, and complimentary champagne, but that's not my point.  I lost the first 2 days of the cruise dealing with this unnecessary ordeal.  But, be Leary of those packages.  Thanks for listening! 

Food average to below in taste variety and quality, food often not warm. Too few areas available for snak food or in-between eating. The gymnest was exceptional, otherwise the entertainment so-so.The cabin and attendant were above average. The restrooms very well maintained. The desk personnel very accomodating. The general 'tone' of the servers was not one of pleasure toward their passengers.

This cruise was just my pace, the ship so nice, over the top for the money. The sailing was just dreamy, the food choices and entertainment on board was wonderful. The choices for shopping and learning about jewelry and home items and other fun stuff tax free and not found in the states make you feel like a celebrity. I learned so much and am so happy I chose this cruise. Jamaica was a new port to shop at, nice and clean. Grand Cayman Islands was so dreamy, finest shopping for distinct diamonds and watches. Cancun Mexico's food was so fresh and very historic with the Aztec and Maya ruins, just the best. I liked the cruise because it included people that have worked hard and or wanted to spend and invest their money wisely. This was my first cruise so I have nothing to compare it to, but I don't no what could have been better. Specific features include the ship it self, so nice, clean, every where you were on the ship was great for taking pictures a dream hotel on water. Honestly, if you are close to retirement and a baby boomer or older the entertainment on this ship will make you glad you were a part of it all. The entertainment was in good taste, decent nothing vulgar implied, everyone of the wait staff at every level were concerned with pleasing and ensuring satisfaction with everything served. I am so blessed to have experienced something so wonderful, cruising with Serenade of the Seas is the best way to go if you have to get there. I am taking my husband on the next one, can't wait.  

I took this cruise because it went where I wanted to go.  It did that so I had a good experience.  There were several things that could use improvement.  The food quality did not seem up to par, and it wasn't just me who had this opinion.  I heard numerous complaints from others on the cruise.  In addition, it was not an enjoyable experience to stand in line past my scheduled dining time before the doors to the dining room were opened.  On another dining room, the buffet did not open for breakfast until 7, so there were a lot of people waiting in line there, too.  Although they decorated the centrum for the holidays, it still was not all that impressive.  I enjoyed the live musical groups that I saw and appreciated the tropical duo that played "island" tunes out by the pool.  The pool bar staff left something to be desired.  I would tend to purchase the drink of the day and I was overcharged a time or two when they rang it in wrong.  I just don't like to bother with negative experiences like that while on vacation, so I wouldn't take the cruise again.  I'd try another way to go where I wanted to go.

This cruise was mostly enjoyable, the cabin staff and dining room staff was great. The buffet seemed to serve the same food daily with only a couple of items changed up. There was no place to get food over night except through room service. the live shows in the theater were nice but just not enough of them. this review is based on other cruise lines we have cruised with. We would most likely cruise with royal Caribbean in the future. 

I loved Key West, but I am tired of Nassau, Bahamas. Ship didn't make it in to CoCo Key and this seems to be a constant problem for Royal Caribbean. Other cruises refund part of the trip costs when they get you into the port, but apparently not RC. I really enjoy cruising, and RC tends to provide the best service, however, I think I will try something different and a cruise that actually makes it to the places I pay to visit.

Our ports were Key West, Nassau and Coco Cay.  Due to weather, we were not able to make Coco Cay because they could not tender us to the island safely.  The problem with this, after talking to others on the ship, is that this happens often.  One person we spoke with has taken this same cruise 4 times and they have never made it to Coco Cay.  If it's that unpredictable, at least have a back up plan.   It made for a long 3 days at sea, which became monotonous since nothing extra was planned or no special activities. 

While the bedding was good, they definitely need to update to new pillows and mattresses.  

And as most cruisers know, cruise ships have been cutting back.  Many were disappointed that there was not a lobster night, even on formal night.  Now, you can purchase a lobster in the main dining room for $25 or so any night that you choose.  With that said, we did upgrade to the specialty restaurants 4 out of 7 nights and really enjoyed those.  It's just sad, that you have to pay extra to get a great meal when that used to be the norm. 

Overall, we had a wonderful cruise.  The staff was wonderful, the ship was beautiful and always immaculately clean, the food was good, etc.  This was a fun time and a really good cruise. 

Our room was a little dirty when we arrived (mold in shower, dust on shelving). It also smelled musty.  It took a few phone calls and it was resolved but not a nice way to start out! The housekeeping manager was wonderful to work with.  The snorkeling tour at Key West should have been canceled due to high waves since no one could stay in the water for more than 10 minutes. The catamaran crew were very rude (they probably do better with college students that are half drunk!) The RC cruise tour director had many complaints and did credit our account but we missed a nice day in that port. The weather was actually good just too windy for snorkeling. We did the Atlantis aquarium tour in Nassau and it was great. Apparently access to Coco Cay has been a problem repeatedly and if we had known this we would have selected another cruise since the private island tour is one of our favorites. The crew said they haven't been able to go to Coco Cay for the last 4 or 5 trips due to problems with choppy waters and tethering. I understand this can happen but there was no back up plan. We could have stayed in Nassau an extra day or came back home early but we ended up on the ship for 3 days!! No special perk to make up for that disappointment. They should have at least given you free wifi or a movie in your room or even a complimentary drink but NOTHING!  For some reason they couldn't get the lobster for formal night so that was another disappointment. (Food overall was ok but nothing special) The specialty dinner at Chops was fantastic!

We visited amazing ports of call.  The service on board the ship was fantastic.  We were indeed treated like royalty. I felt like the queen visiting a proud old town that pulled out there best linens that were very clean but a little tattered, I was given the best room that was very well cleaned but the paint was peeling in the bathroom and the rust was breaking through. The food was just ok but the table service was excellent.  The ship procedures for getting on off the ship were top notch.