Need Answers..

Hi,

Can anyone share their experience on Serenade of the Seas as we have booked a 10 nite in Jan/16 but getting mixed reviews... Would appreciate the good & the bad... Love RCI but not sure if this was the right ship...

We just spent 15 nights on Serenade OTS TA. If you like RCI's overall product then you will like Serenade. Is it perfect? Certainly not. But in 6 months there will be some different staff members.

It's just my opinion, but passengers will vent more about a bad cruise than a good cruise. Many of the bad reviews stemmed from what I would consider as unreasonable requests or expectations.

Typically less than 1% of passengers write a cruise review of any kind for a specific cruise. I don't take this as a total endorsement from those that didn't review but...

Hi,

 

Can anyone share their experience on Serenade of the Seas as we have booked a 10 nite in Jan/16 but getting mixed reviews... Would appreciate the good & the bad... Love RCI but not sure if this was the right ship...

We have sailed in Serenade several times and are booked for a TA on the ship. We love the Radiance class ships. We love the design of being able to see out almost anywhere in the ship, the size of the ship, and what the ship has to offer. I think, like dining, ships are so subjective to each person's taste and wishes. Whatever you choose, enjoy your cruise.

Hi,

 

Can anyone share their experience on Serenade of the Seas as we have booked a 10 nite in Jan/16 but getting mixed reviews... Would appreciate the good & the bad... Love RCI but not sure if this was the right ship...

oops. . . typo - - I meant to say we've been on the Serenade and the sister ships several times.

Hi,

 

 

 

Can anyone share their experience on Serenade of the Seas as we have booked a 10 nite in Jan/16 but getting mixed reviews... Would appreciate the good & the bad... Love RCI but not sure if this was the right ship...

I love Serenade. I like the size of the ship. I also was on the TA and was traveling with a couple friends who had never been on a Radiance class ship. They didn't care for it because it didn't have a Promenade.

Hi,

 

Can anyone share their experience on Serenade of the Seas as we have booked a 10 nite in Jan/16 but getting mixed reviews... Would appreciate the good & the bad... Love RCI but not sure if this was the right ship...

Didn't you sail the Jewel and Radiance? Same layout. Same type of shows, not mini Broadway caliber such as you'll find on the mega ships, but they aren't terrible. I've been on Serenade the past two years. We've enjoyed.

You booked it...now, go and enjoy! It's all good!

First time on Serenade past April, loved it so much we booked three raises on her for next year. Have been on all other Radiance class, Serenade was the only one we hadn't been on but loved it.

If you have sailed this class and enjoyed those trips, you should have a great time on Serenade

Arm auto correct...booked three cruises on her for next year, including a transatlantic!

[emoji16][emoji16][emoji16][emoji16][emoji16]. Darn auto correct![emoji16][emoji16][emoji16][emoji16][emoji16][emoji16]

Thanks everyone for the replies... it certainly helps. Yes have sailed on the Radiance back in 2004 not the Jewel. Love this class of ship was just a bit concerned with some of the reviews. Looking forward to the 10 days in Jan/16.:)

We are on Serenade right now... Stockholm, St. Petersburg, etc... Everything is perfectly fine. We are not terribly picky. Of course, nothing is perfect but the ship is in great shape. We have MTD and our wait staff is fine. The best we've ever had? No... but no big issues. Windjammer food is same as always and we enjoy breakfast and lunch there. Aft balconies are wonderful! This size ship is perfect for us and we are sailing again in Oct 2016 in the same cabins we have now. I will say that the production shows and fly on performers have not been very good, but that doesn't have much impact on our overall enjoyment. Will be happy to answer any questions.

Thanks everyone for the replies... it certainly helps. Yes have sailed on the Radiance back in 2004 not the Jewel. Love this class of ship was just a bit concerned with some of the reviews. Looking forward to the 10 days in Jan/16.:)

I think a previous poster was right... Those that have no real problems are typically much less likely to write a review. And those that do, the positive reviews seem to quickly slide to later pages. Those who have negative experiences (whether through what many would consider unreasonable expectations or demands or through issues that would bother the most laid-back traveler) are much more likely to write about it - and those posts seem to stick on page one longer because of debates and/or justifications.

I judge each ship individually as they have their own crew, but in all our cruises with the Radiance Class, #1 with the Brilliance and #4 with the Radiance, we have had wonderful cruises. The crew have been polite and enjoy what they are doing. The little things that might have come up, were just that, minor and nothing to focus on. We did sail one Freedom Class, a beautiful ship, cruise and everyone was great, but we personally didn't like the layout or closed in feeling. We would not hesitate to sail a Freedom Class again. We have a cruise coming up on the Serenade this October out of Quebec which we are looking forward to.

On any given day on here you can read a thread the same as yours, just replace the ships name:

"I have been reading mixed and negative reviews about __________ Of The Seas and now I'm worried if I made a bad decision"!

If you went by the bad and negative reviews that are written on Cruise Critic, then there would really be no ship in Royal's fleet that you would want to take a cruise on! I have learned from my very first cruise on Sovereign of the Seas not to go with all the negative stuff people write, but go and come to my own conclusion about how I enjoyed it!

My 2010 cruise on Serenade (Pre Dry Dock) was Outstanding!

:cool: