Serenade of the Seas?

[Cruisin' R.N.]

Contemplating a Southern Caribbean cruise on Serenade of the Seas...(2 adults & 2 teens)

 

Any comments on this ship from those of you who have sailed her would be appreciated?

 

Thanks...;)

[Sue L]

One of the best ships in the fleet, beautiful ship! Look in my signature at pictures with my then teens.

[Tim,n,Sue]

http://www.beyondships.com/RCI-JOS-Profile.html

 

Try this website for excellent photos and info.

[Ocean Boy]

Beautiful ship with awesome Caribbean itineraries.

[skiiergirl]

Contemplating a Southern Caribbean cruise on Serenade of the Seas...(2 adults & 2 teens)

 

Any comments on this ship from those of you who have sailed her would be appreciated?

 

Thanks...;)

 

Our favorite ship in the fleet and we love most of the ports on the southern route. (Some ports better than others and there are variations in "southern" so we really need to know which itinerary you are considering...but overall "southern" wins in our book over "eastern" or "western" itineraries any time.) Also, overall the crew is one of the better in the fleet also.

[nanfromatlanta]

Here is a recent review...

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1171868

[akcruz]

Here is a thread started a few days ago on Serenade

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1168510&highlight=all+things+serenade

 

lots of good info

[BroncosFan2010]

I love the Serenade, but I would not cruise on it if I had children/teens. The fact is that this ship does not have a lot of amenities for teens. There is no skating rink, no flowrider, and no Royal Promenade. The week I was on the ship, 1st week in March, there were not enough kids/teens on board, so they canceled the teen program altogether. If your teens are able to entertain themselves, then maybe I would consider it, but if they are expecting lots of activity, I would suggest the Adventure if you want to do Southern Caribbean. Otherwise, stick with the larger ships.

[Lyndihop]

We did Serenade in February, '10. We've sailed numerous cruiselines. This is 2nd only to a Regent cruise we took. It was fabulous!!!!

However, we didn't see many teens at all. You are in port almost all but one day. So, I would think the teens wouldn't be too bored. The only drawback, having to fly to San Juan.

 

All I can say is "lucky kids"

[Debde]

Last sailing was on Serenade with one young adult and one teen.

All of us had a great time.

Love flying into SJ doing the southern route. Actually-prefer leaving from SJ then Fla. any day.

[Cruisin' R.N.]

Teens are 16 & 19.

 

Ports are Curacao, Aruba, Dominica, & St. Thomas out of San Juan...

[Sue L]

Teens are 16 & 19.

 

Ports are Curacao' date=' Aruba, Dominica, & St. Thomas out of San Juan...[/b']

 

Curcao, has an underwater National park with excellent snorkeling. There is a sunken tug there with thousands of fish around.

 

Dominica, the river tubing is soo much fun. St Thomas you can go over to St John,ride the tram to the top of the mountain or just go to some of the most gorgeous beaches you will ever see. Aruba there are beaches and tons of water activities.

[Debde]

Mine are 17 and 21.

Self leveling pool tables and a bb court is all they needed. Both boys!

Port intesive sailing so we were very busy and found plenty of active excursions. We did the other route but have been to those on Adventure and same thing, plenty of active excursions..

[Cruiser Forever]

Contemplating a Southern Caribbean cruise on Serenade of the Seas...(2 adults & 2 teens)

 

Any comments on this ship from those of you who have sailed her would be appreciated?

 

Thanks...;)

 

 

She is a beauty and my favorite on the RCI fleet. Sailed on her on our Alaska cruise. You will not be disappointed. :D

[Sheffie]

We are getting ready to go on the Serenade for the third time, and I am looking at doing the alternate itinerary on her next year. I LOVE this ship!!

[bplazo]

I love the Serenade, but I would not cruise on it if I had children/teens. The fact is that this ship does not have a lot of amenities for teens. There is no skating rink, no flowrider, and no Royal Promenade. The week I was on the ship, 1st week in March, there were not enough kids/teens on board, so they canceled the teen program altogether. If your teens are able to entertain themselves, then maybe I would consider it, but if they are expecting lots of activity, I would suggest the Adventure if you want to do Southern Caribbean. Otherwise, stick with the larger ships.

 

This is a good reason to sail this ship if you do not have children.

 

My teen daughter also preferred the Adventure over the Serenade.

[textbookcase]

This is a good reason to sail this ship if you do not have children.

 

My teen daughter also preferred the Adventure over the Serenade.

 

I agree with this. My H and I love Serenade when we are by ourselves, but would go on a larger ship if we have our kids with us.

[Pusniski]

We just took our first RCCL aboard the Serenade this past February and we are "hooked" on Royal! The crew was fantastic and the ship was beautiful. We didn't have our son with us, but we will be sailing the sister ship, Radiance, in the summer with him.

 

Yes, the larger ships have additional features your teens or you might enjoy. However, we are perfectly fine with the Radiance class ships have to offer. We will be sailing the Freedom and Oasis in the future for the entertainment value.

 

If you plan to take your cruise during the off season then it's going to be mainly adults. We felt as if we were on an adult only cruise. There were very few children and teens onboard. Just something to consider.

[apk1389]

in dominica best excursion i have taken so far for adventure and thrill seeking is rccl adventure combo.. which was the high hope high ropes and the river tubing simply amazing

[Ocean Boy]

I agree with this. My H and I love Serenade when we are by ourselves, but would go on a larger ship if we have our kids with us.

 

Though I very much like Serenade I still prefer both the Voyager and Freedom class ships even without kids. We really enjoy the Royal Promenade in the evening and miss it when we are on the Rasdiance class ships.

[printingchick]

Just got off this ship a few weeks ago. GREAT cruise.

 

I was a little concerned that I'd miss the Royal Promenade and the Ice show. Let me give you my impressions.

 

Initially, I did miss the Royal Promenade a little. I really like the atmosphere there and the parades are fabulous. However, I was surprised how quickly I STOPPED missing it and began to really enjoy the benefits of the Serenade.

 

The Quest Show is MUCH more intimate and a lot more fun on Serenade. Rather than splitting up the enormous audience into sections which comprise the teams, on Serenade they form 12-16 teams each featuring 6 passengers - three men/three women. We inheritted a couple of male passengers to fill out our team and it was an opportunity to make new friends! You FEEL like part of the team when there are only six of you, as opposed to 60+. I enjoyed it so much more.

 

We're big fans of the 70s night, even being sure to DRESS for the occassion. I loved the event on the Voyager Class in the Promenade. Hated it on Freedom, where it was too crowded to move. I have to say that Serenade takes the award for best presentation of this activity as well. In the Centrum, the "Village People" come right down and dance with the passengers. The more intimate setting makes for a more familiar, party feeling. Awesome.

 

As everyone says, the glass really does make a big difference. I loved being able to see the ocean from the elevator to the disco! It's a beautiful ship.

 

Speaking of beautiful, you won't find a more lovely area than the Solarium pool. Just incredible.

 

I'll stop short of saying that I prefer Radiance to Voyager class. The cabins are larger on Voyager Class. We occassionally noticed sewage odors on Radiance Class, due to the well-publicized plumbing issues. The odor presented itself rarely and we had no operational plumbing issues, nor did we hear from anyone who did.

 

Serenade does very port-intensive itineraries and the smaller size really assists passengers in getting to know each other and getting to know the crew. That's another benefit.

 

You will have few children on Serenade as it tends to draw an older crowd, probably due to the lack of the ice rink, Flowrider, etc. It does have a great kids' pool area with slides, however, that the little kids really seemed to enjoy.

[lovemylab]

printing chick - great review! We were on the Serenade two years ago and had the same concerns you did before boarding - that we would miss the Promenade and Ice Shows. We ended up not missing them at all. Ironically when we were on the Adventure in December we found ourselves missing some of the things that the Serenade does offer - mainly the beautiful Solarium and incredible views of the ocean from all over the ship.

 

We enjoy both the Radiance and Voyager class ships - but for different reasons. While we would gladly cruise on either of them, we do have a preference for the Serenade.

 

As soon as the itineraries are released we are hoping to book a B2B on the Serenade. In the meantime I sit here impatiently waiting!

[karle]

We are sailing the Serenade in august with our kids, 21 & 19. We have been on 5 cruises,never the serenade. I also was hesitant to book but my kids wanted to do this one because they have never been to these ports ( ST LUCIA, ANTIQUA, ST CROIX, BARBADOS, AND ST MARTIN) I gave them the choices of which cruise,after we finally came up with a week everyone could go! And they choose the southern because they had already done the western! My hubby and I are just happy to be able to have another "family vacation" So they chose the Serenade over the FOS, AOS, OR LOS, and i thought they would want a newer ship!

[bigtoeswim'n]

DH and I sailed on Serenade RT in Alaska Oct 2009. I ditto others both on she is a wonderful/beautiful ship and we didn't have teens. There are plenty of art sculptures here and there, makes for great interactive pictures. Look for the cows on the elevator that face the ocean up on 12/13 decks. So cute. The crew seemed very happy. Not a sour face in the bunch. Since you have port intensive itinerary, maybe not having the on-board activities will be okay. I'd sail on Serenade again in a heartbeat. BTW: We are in our late 50s if that helps. Hope you have a wonderful time. Order room service for breakfast on port days. We had smoked salmon bagels. So tasty. Tip the porter for his efforts. Saves the hassles in the WJ on port days. It was delivered right on time and coffee was hot. Also on port days, we skipped the MDR and had Mongolian grill and/or reuban sandwiches and just relaxed either in our room or at the back of the ship. Thanks for letting me prattle on. Hope this helps.

[bigali2]

We are sailing the Serenade in august with our kids, 21 & 19. We have been on 5 cruises,never the serenade. I also was hesitant to book but my kids wanted to do this one because they have never been to these ports ( ST LUCIA, ANTIQUA, ST CROIX, BARBADOS, AND ST MARTIN) I gave them the choices of which cruise,after we finally came up with a week everyone could go! And they choose the southern because they had already done the western! My hubby and I are just happy to be able to have another "family vacation" So they chose the Serenade over the FOS, AOS, OR LOS, and i thought they would want a newer ship!

 

My friends and I (ages 21 - 24) are doing the same itinerary this august too! Our sail dates are August 29-Sept 5.

 

We were on the FoS last year, and we had a blast. We are looking forward to this next cruise. Although, I'm still a little nervous about how much fun we will all have on this one. :o