Comparing the Serenade to the Adventure

[TwoCruisers]

I have a question about comparing two ships. I am looking into B2B cruises on either the Serenade or the Adventure. I have been on a number of cruises before but have not sailed on RCI yet. Both of the B2B cruises are 7 days per segment and are out of San Juan. The itineraries are both comparable and interesting. The main difference is the ships.

Would you please give me information about the two ships and tell me of any positive or negative differences.

Thanks,

-Gordon

[Bakincakes]

I've always seen rave reviews about Serenade.

 

AOS has its' fan club but some pax have said that they have encountered problems with "locals" on that ship. I think the AOS does alot of Quincenera cruises(15th birthday in the Hispanic culture) and pax have said that large groups often "take over" the ship.

 

I am not a fan of San Juan so we avoid cruises out of that port.

[lovemylab]

I have been on both. The Adventure is larger and has the Promenade (basically like an indoor mall - they have shops, bars and cafes in this area. It's great for people watching and they also have a few parades and other entertainment that takes place in the evening), a larger pool area, Johnny Rockets and an ice skating rink.

 

The Serenade has two specialty restaurants (Adventure just has one), Seaview Cafe, thermal suite, outdoor seating area in the Windjammer and a covered solarium (adult pool area). The Adventure has a solarium as well but I find the one on the Serenade to be nicer. The Serenade has a lot of glass so you can see the ocean from many of the public areas. The glass elevators on this ship also face out to the ocean.

 

I prefer the Serenade for the reasons stated above however I would gladly cruise on the Adventure again.

[Mikensusanl]

I have only been on AOS and EOS but have a cruise booked in September on Serenade, so the comparison is informative. Wouldn't you think that serenade would have the same issues with the locals that AOS did/does? or due to the decrease in the ships size, perhaps they do not hold as many places open for the locals?

[khank]

I have only been on AOS and EOS but have a cruise booked in September on Serenade, so the comparison is informative. Wouldn't you think that serenade would have the same issues with the locals that AOS did/does? or due to the decrease in the ships size, perhaps they do not hold as many places open for the locals?

 

Susan,

 

We are on this sailing of the Serenade also. Please join our roll call board. This is our first time on the Serenade and I'm so excited! I've read so many rave reviews!

[MIcruiser99]

I have only been on AOS and EOS but have a cruise booked in September on Serenade, so the comparison is informative. Wouldn't you think that serenade would have the same issues with the locals that AOS did/does? or due to the decrease in the ships size, perhaps they do not hold as many places open for the locals?

 

I think that AOS is larger and has more spaces to fill so maybe there are better last minute deals.

 

We have been on both and think Serenade didn't have as many families period.

 

Neither cruise did we experience any problems with "locals." Could be problems like any other spring break problems, when school is out??

[printingchick]

My very first Royal Caribbean cruise was on Adventure of the Seas. Coming from a Carnival background, I was extremely impressed. You'll note from my signature that I've stuck with RCL, never looking back.

 

Just last month, I sailed on Serenade. I worried I'd be disappointed by the smaller ship, but found it had a lot of advantages. To date, these two ships remain my favorites, but for very different reasons. I'll try to offer some comparisons so you can choose which features are most important to you.

• AOS has the Royal Promenade, which I have to say is very impressive. Imagine areas in EPCOT or hotels in Las Vegas which attempt to give visitors the feeling of being outdoors when they're actually indoors. That's what the Royal Promenade does. You feel like you're on a quaint, city street. There are pubs and restaurants offering "outdoor" seating, which are great for people watchng. There are also parades hosted on the Promenade, complete with costumes and floats, which are just wonderful.
  
• SOS does not have the Royal Promenade. Instead, the entire center section of the ship (find an image of SOS for reference) is glass. SOS offers passengers a veiw of the ocean from nearly every public area of the ship, even the elevators! The exterior lifts are glass and face the ocean. It's a unique experience. Instead of simulating the outdoors, SOS actually brings the outdoors in through lots and lots of glass.
  
• AOS has many of the same bells & whistles featured on the newer, larger RCL ships. There is the ice rink, which offers times for passenger skating as well as featuring an amazing ice show. Instead of the FlowRider, found on the Freedom and Oasis class ships, AOS has an in-line skate track. Skates for both venues are offered for use by passengers at no charge.
  
• SOS has the rock-climbing wall and mini-golf, but no in-line or ice skating.
  
• AOS offers a Johnny Rockets retro burger restaurant. There is a $4.95 cover charge to eat there. Malts are charged as any other frozen virgin beverage.
  
• SOS offers a Sea View Cafe, featuring Reuben sandwiches, burgers, soups, salads, etc. There is no cover charge to dine there. It is open late for wee-hour snacks.
  
• AOS has two pools in the main pool area, so passengers always have a place to swim, even if the belly-flop contest or passenger versus crew water volleyball competition is going on.
  
• SOS has only one main pool. However, SOS offers an incredible adult solarium area. You really need to locate an image of it on-line. It's amazing. It has a glass retractible roof, so it can be used in any weather. When the Radiance class ships go to Alaska, I believe they drop the age restriction so that all can use the climate controlled area to swim. The Solarium area includes a bar as well as a snack bar, which offers made-to-order crepes. (no extra charge)
  
• AOS includes the Sorrento's pizza on the Promenade (no extra charge.)
  
• SOS has outdoor seating at the Windjammer (buffet). For us, that was a HUGE plus. We enjoyed eating breakfast outdoors in the morning, watching the ship dock at that day's port.
  
• Cabins are slightly larger on AOS than SOS, at least for the standard OV cabin. Both have plenty of storage and very comfy beds.
  

The differences that are more difficult to describe pertain to the feel of the ship. Most public events on AOS will take place in the largest venues, being either the Promenade or the ice rink. (They cover the ice to create a larger theatre.) Most of the public events on SOS are either in the Centrum (main lobby area) or the Safari Lounge. I really preferred the more intimate setting on Serenade, which enabled a lot more personal contact with crew and fellow passengers. Events felt more like parties than performances. It really gave us an opportunity to bond with others and feel like part of a small and friendly community. My daughter and I both cried when departing. (Ok, that said, it's not the first time I've shed a tear over having to disembark.)

 

I honestly think you'd be happy with either ship. Keep in mind that you're looking at very port intensive itineraries. You won't have more than 2-3 sea days, regardless of which ship you choose. You'll spend most days on land.

 

If you're someone who prefers a larger ship with a huge variety of choices, you may prefer AOS. My next cruise will be on a Voyager class ship because I'm traveling with teenagers and the itinerary includes three days at sea. If you prefer a more intimate and elegant cruise, you'll probably prefer SOS.

 

If you can't decide, flip a coin. You can't go wrong either way!

[BillOh]

We have been on both and think Serenade didn't have as many families period.

 

Neither cruise did we experience any problems with "locals." Could be problems like any other spring break problems, when school is out??

 

 

We are considering Serenade and try to avoid family cruises, though it hasn't been an issue on Voyager class ships, but we want to cruise the first week of May and Serenade will already be doing her TE Eastbound, so Serenade is the only choice for the southern route, unless there are going to be changes that aren't posted yet.

 

Can the covered Solarium be opened? Does anyone know when the PR school year ends?

[cb at sea]

The solarium on Radiance class CAN be opened, but usually is kept closed, which seems silly in warm weather! It was NEVER opened on our Panama cruise...and that means, no tanning with the roof closed! I prefer the Solarium on Voyager class ships!

[niecyd]

Wow. :) This is great to know. DH & I are considering Southern Cruise Serenade for January 2011. We've been on AOS 2x. What drew my interest to Serenade is not only is goes to some of the southern caribbean ports we haven't been to, i.e., St. Kitts, British Virgin Island and Dominica, also it's overall glass view....even in the elevators. NICE.:)

[BillOh]

The solarium on Radiance class CAN be opened, but usually is kept closed, which seems silly in warm weather! It was NEVER opened on our Panama cruise...and that means, no tanning with the roof closed! I prefer the Solarium on Voyager class ships!

 

 

 

Thanks for that info, I really like the Solarium on the Freedom class, haven't heard if there is such a thing on Oasis yet.

[TwoCruisers]

Thanks everyone for all of the wonderful information. This has helped us to make our decision and we have decided to take B2B cruises on the Serenade.

I guess it’s now time to join the Roll Calls.:D

[JenAndDan]

I can't really compare - yet - but I can tell you one of the reasons we chose the SOS this time around (August 2010) is because it is a smaller ship. The AOS was awesome but could be overwhelming at times and we are bringing my parents and our baby this time around so we wanted something a little more relaxed and not quite as daunting. When my son is a little older I would definitely do AOS again.

 

This will be my 3rd cruise out of San Juan (1 in January, 1 beginning of August and now this one will be end of August) and I have never come across any problems with locals people have talked about. The ONLY issue we ever had was on my very first cruise (which I booked through a TA) and didn't put a dining room request (seating wise - didn't even know this was an option at the time) - we somehow managed to be at a huge table (8 or 10) that was all PR family and with the table next to us which was the same size (so it kind of felt like we were invading this large family vacation). It wouldn't have really been an issue I guess, except they didn't speak English. I guess they felt uncomfortable too because everyone that was at our table never came back after the 2nd night so we had this huge table to ourselves (with really good attentive service!) So my only suggestion would be (on any cruise - out of any port) is to put in your seating request.

 

If you travel out of any port during school breaks you tend to get more families. I am always surprised, though, when they show the cruise video of everything and they show all the kids in the various activities on board. I am convinced they put the same one in every video because I never see these things:) On a side note, the worst "crowd wise" cruise I was on (happened to be Carnival but that's not the point) - was out of New Orleans in May and was filled with large groups of teens who just graduated high school and were chaperoned by heavily drinking parents (I gather one adult to every 3 teens? Regardless, they were never around and when they were, they were drunk and crazy....ie no supervision). I would avoid this type of cruise WAAAAAAAAAAY before I would avoid a cruise out of SJ. Plus, you'll miss the best ports!!!