Serenade of the Seas Cruise Reviews - Reviews

To be honest I would probably rate the experience  3 stars, only, not  as "fine as expected".  The boarding experience lacked any of the amenities of tradition afforded to cruising celebrators such as 'the drink of the day' or 'glass of champagne'.  No live calypso band playing on the deck poolside or tireless frenzy of waitstaff making sure to show every guest the souvenir drink glass of the day and fulfill their orders. Everyone quietly shuffled onboard and began looking for....... FOOD!   It was kinda like being in a nursing home during dinner service,.....many dinner services.....one long dinner service. Very few kids, lots of "Q-tips". There were convoys of hover rounds and rascals. Must be cheaper than retirement center.  I'm 54 and most guests were older than me. Ship was very nice, staff was courteous and room was big and clean. However bathroom is small and shower smaller than normal.(If you drop the soap you have to get out and reach back in for it.)Giovannis was excellent as was Chops. Ritas Cantina was a surprise because gave us two complimentery meals at Johnny Rockets which isn't on this ship. One of the managers converted one of our coupons so we ate at the cantina instead. It was surprisingly good. There we found out about the drink specials that are not advertised, you have to ask each bar.  The buffet, however, was repetitious(boring) and, at many times, unable to keep up with demand.  Thanks to my father in law, they now know to put rice grains in the salt shakers to prevent caking and waste. There is a 'wine bar' that doesn't carry the same wines or all of the wines that the restaurants/bars carry. Kinda dumb, they still have to go to another part of the ship to get it. TV was mostly foreign languages and soccer. Real uprising when everyone found out championship football games woudn't be showed. You could rent movies on the tv for $12.95!!!!! and that's for old tv movies!!!  "Welcome to America!" Royal Caribbean, set your channels and watches to USA!! DUhhh!  Pools were nice, and heated pool was open all the time, but, if you want drinks, you have to get 'em yourself.  No tables anywhere poolside, only loungers. No tables Nowhere! Casino was fun. Pictures were small and expensive. No raffles in the stores just expensive jewelry even at a "bargain". Ports were great. Excursions great. Reminder: When we turn 65 quit wearing bikinis and speedos ;(   

The trip was quite relaxing.  The ship was lovely and staff was amazing.  Our dining experience was excellent.  Never a complaint regarding service or food.  Our room stewart was always helpful and kept our room in excellent condition.  The only complaint was we felt the cabin was quite small compared to other RC ships.  For as little time as we spent in our room it was still quite nice as an overall experience.

Serenade of the Seas was a nice size ship not too massively huge yet big enough to go rock climbing, dancing, shows and entertainment. The entertainment was great and all staff were very friendly. We enjoyed the cinema one day, gym another, casino tournament, pool, spa, needless to say there was always something to do, if not many things at once, something for every age. Food was great quality and ship was clean at all times. In all we thoroughly enjoyed our time on the Serenade of the Seas. 

Our only dissapoinment is with the menu of the main dining, it was poor no versatility, they almost repeat the same and taste of the food was not great.

Our cruise on Serenade of the Seas was a wonderful experience. Our room, a 2 bedroom suite, was spacious and the staff was gracious and very helpful. We were greeted with a bottle of wine and fruit bowl. Use of the Concierge lounge was fabulous. Everyone was looking out for our best interests while on the ship. The ports we visited were fun and enlightening. The Serenade was the perfect size ship for our group. There were plenty of activities all day and night! Cruising the Mediterranean in October also proved beneficial. The crowds were a bit smaller and the weather not too hot. The food was good and I highly recommend the "Chef's Table."

Bar was very nice and help full while attention from restaurant personnel was fair/nice as expected. All entertainment shows were very nice and truly like them.

Unfortunately some of the on shore excursion personnel on board were not as polite and courteous as rest of the crew. There was a particular person in the on shore team seems always “quite rude” in her way how she frequently talk to other passengers. Onshore tours were OK; too much rush/fast track visiting historical site and too much emphasis encouraging shopping in pre-designated store rather than tourist sighting. Actually it was quite disgusting having such pushing to purchase local souvenirs; which by the way, they were more expensive compare to other others without the tour. They usually claimed that buying from those store we have the “warranty from Royal Caribbean” about price and quality. Reality is that prices were higher and quality were not much different than any other store…

I was extremely disappointed with food serve in main buffet area. Boring, low quality and same breakfast options for 12 consecutive days! I personally felt that food option during lunch and dinner in buffet area was low quality. Similar comment applies to regular dining table where food was not exceptional. I would rate it as average to low; especially when I compare Royal Caribbean with other cruise lines like Carnival where most of the “star rating” show Royal Caribbean cruise higher compared with Carnival. I did not purchase upgrade to specialty restaurant because I don’t see value paying more for something should be in standard fare.

The ship is in great shape, it has been refurbished about 6 months ago. We stay in a Family Room 8502, it was big and have space for 6 people. The dinning was good, the pay restaurants was Great. WE have 1 time Chops Grill, and 2 times Izumi. The ports of Call was great, with plenty fo time to see Monte Carlo, Florence, Capri, Rome, Venice, Dubrodnik, We are a family with small children (12, 8, 5), the ship have a lot of things to entertain them. Even is a big ship 2,400 ghest, we never made a line for anything. Great expirience

This cruise was great! All the places we visited was an awesome experience and historical moment. This cruise is more of an experience than fun. If you are traveling from the US be sure to take in condition the difference in currency. That was a big blow for my family!

We took the 7 night Dubai cruise in March 2013. The ship was pristine, right-sized, and filled with terrific amenities and staff that consistently went above & beyond.

Royal Caribbean should have some arrangement for Enter and Exit Visa, we were told by Emirates that we needed only one visa and on embarking we were asked to go to emergency visa counter, where they asked us to pay 2000 dirams on the spot. We agreed, with very unpleasant feeling, and none of the credit cards were going through, they wanted cash, and we do not carry that much cash. I am not well and was sitting under stress in the wheelchair for one hour. Finally my husband went to some higher person, and said to use the manual machine. The lady who first saw us swiped 10 times, I think she had no knowledge!!! I hate to use these words but whole day was not enjoyable with this unfortunate experience. Then they asked us to go to exchange office, they refused to do anything and said to walk to other terminal to get cash. They should have some empathy for wheelchair and older people.. Also before getting visa from Emirates, we phoned Emirates office in Ottawa, UAE Embassy in Ottawa, emailed Royal Caribbean, with no reply. We request some refund as this was not our fault at all.

#1. Prior to Cruise I sent a letter to request a cabin Change if someone cancelled prior to the Cruise.No one answered my letter. #2 The food was not as good as the Cruise we took on the same ship on Oct 28 from Barcelona....#3 Some of the Show Act,s were a repeat of the previous ..Other than that the Waiters,Room Staff $ Crew Members were fantastic so friendly & could not do enough for you,which helped make up for our previous remarks. Peter & Lana..

The 10 day Mediterranean Cruise is a great value at this time of year. The crowds are gone, the weather is comfortable and it makes for a great vacation. The Royal Carribean Seranade of the Seas is a smaller but very comfortable ship and the food was great. All in all....a great time of year for a vacation in that part of Europe.

Every minute since you arrive until the last day that you leave the cruise was amazing every person that works on the ship always smiling willing to help with smile and going above and beyond, every tour we took in each city that we stop was great , we are looking forward for our next cruise

The ship in need of new updating of decro. and we hear it will be done after our departure. Would be interested in seeing the ship after it is redone.

Great ship. Good size.

Overall all cruise was fun. Lots of activities, like trivia, crafts, slot tournament, etc. Nice mix of passengers -- young and old. Ship was right size. Plenty to do, but not so big you got lost.

The ship is getting a total revamp in 3 weeks. The weather was cold, the seas were rough so there was very limited things to do poolside, as expected. However, the ship's crew could have increased the available activities indoors to make up for the bad weather. It seems med cruises are more for the elderly!

She needs renovation badly.

The Serenade was wonderful. It was clean, the crew were always helpful and friendly, The food was super. Most of our tours were good. overall,we had a super time. Our only major negative were getting through the Barcelona airport..

The ship and staff overall was a disappointment. The staff of the ship would repeatedly talk to you about their tip that was expected at the end of the cruise. Staff did not seem to be in tune with the customers.