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Serenade of the Seas Quick review

kdowneymd

By kdowneymd,
in Royal Caribbean International

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kdowneymd

kdowneymd

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We just returned from Serenade on the Aruba, Curacao itinerary. It was very enjoyable. Just thought I would address a few questions that have come up in previous postings. There were MANY children/families on board, there was only one quincienera party. There was never a problem with elevators being blocked, hanging out on the staircases. All of the children/teens were well behaved. Problematic behaviors were only seen in adults: loud, obnoxious, making inappropriate comments and language in loud voices. Sometimes it was clearly alcohol related but many times it wasn't clear that alcohol was involved. The cruise staff did say something to adults when it was prolonged (asked to leave the venue, either casino or bar). My time dining worked wonderfully for our party of six. The food was very good, service very good. Portofino's was excellent. We did not do any of the ship tours, others seem to find them enjoyable. We had two adjoining junior suites, 3 people in each room. My childre (24 aand 16) each found the fold couch very uncomfortable. It really isn't a mattress but folded out cushions. Let the buyer beware. We did not have flat screen televisions in our rooms.

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kdowneymd

kdowneymd

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Final thought: we had room 1580 and 1582 which are directly under the Windjammer. The noise and vibrations of carts used busing tables woke us up several mornings and late nights. I would not choose these rooms on the future due to this I would move forward several cabins.

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absolutsixthree

absolutsixthree

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I was on this cruise this past week, I also thought that some adults were a little too much.

 

Cutting in the exscursion line to join friends because " they were all taking the same exscursion " ... when maybe that was the exscursion I wanted to take and now you took up my spot.

 

I was in room 9660, aft balcony ... fantastic !

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kdowneymd

kdowneymd

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Sorry but didn't keep the compasses. IN Curacao we walked about the old town (Punta section) and then took a taxi to the Sea Aquarium beach area which was previously recommended. It was very crowded not just with cruisers but many vacatioing there. We were able to find a spot in the shade (very hot and the sun very stong). But it was very crowded and after about two hours we returned to the ship and enjoyed the peace on board. Aruba we decided to stay on board and relax. Dominica was fabulous we walked off the ship about 9 AM, and connected with a taxi driver who took us up to the Trafalgar falls, whihc were so beautiful. We hiked to the falls while he waited for us. Then down to the hot springs area. $40 for both of us for a two + hour tour. It is definitely somewhere I wold like to return. We then walked around the town and returned to the ship. St . Thomas took the ferry to St. John on our own and took a taxi to cinnamon bay to snorkle. We found we loved the time on the ship when everyone was off touring and we could relax. On the last day we took the tour of the kitchen which we really enjoyed

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cccer

cccer

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Kdown, thanks for the quick review. I know you mentioned there are no flat screen tvs, but do you know if they have inputs to plug into the tv for video? I don't really care but my brother in law is interested.

Thanks

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absolutsixthree

absolutsixthree

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My girlfriend and I took a cab to the Westin Hotel and used the beach there. It cost $5 a beach chair, but it is beautiful. They have a little jetty a couple of yards out that you can swim to.

 

The beach is beautiful, they have a little patio restaurant that makes sandwiches and stuff with great frozen drinks.

 

Beds on the beach if that's what your looking for.

 

My only complaint about Aruba is that the island has a lot of wind, strong wind. We were there on the 11th, and it was HOT around 100 degrees.

 

Loved it.

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absolutsixthree

absolutsixthree

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Thanks for your post, I'm watching everything Serenade till next May :). I did have to go to Wikipedia and look up - quincienera party. This is the first I've heard of it.

 

It's basically a sweet 16 party except it's at 15.

 

I didn't see any of that on my cruise.

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jillyfish

jillyfish

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Thanks for your post, I'm watching everything Serenade till next May :). I did have to go to Wikipedia and look up - quincienera party. This is the first I've heard of it.

 

OH BILL!!!:D Over 5,000 posts and you have missed all of the Quincienera posts?!?!:eek:

 

Thanks for the Serenade post. It is a ship we are considering, but have a young child so are not convinced it is 'the' ship for us.

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absolutsixthree

absolutsixthree

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We'll be in 9660 in 2-2012. Any heads up about the cabin??

We had 8170 last February and loved it. But we couldn't get it b/2b. Hence 9660.

We LOVE the Serenade.:cool:

 

We loved the cabin, being that it is in the middle of the ship, the balcony was a pretty decent size, two pool chairs, two regular chairs and a little table.

 

The room is very quiet . ... we didn't find the walk to the room long at all, it's actually pretty nice.

 

The TV is one of the older ones, some of the channel's didn't work.

 

The 9th floor are all rooms except for the library near the elevators. We would fill our water bottles in the windjammer and then put them in the refrigarator instead of paying $4 for Avian in the mini bar.

 

It's funny, i'm looking for our next cruise, but I only want an aft cabin . . those are hard to find. They should allow you to search a cruise just by cabin type.

 

You will love #9660 . .. I did.

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cantwait2cruiz

cantwait2cruiz

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Went on cruise with my wife and 11yr old daughter. We were a little upset with size of balcony room i know its a smaller ship but pull out bed was a small chair good thing there was pullman bed in ceiling my daughter loved it. Do not book a balcony on deck 7 we were in 7126 obstructed view could not see down to water beacuse of roof over deck 6 with life boats under. We were very upset i booked this cruise last year while on freedom i wish i was told got cheated on the view. I like to look down and see water not a sign on a metal roof that says no access! Oh well other than that cruise was awesome great room attendant and waiters. Archemedes was our room attendant and Sandry and Mary our waiters. Dont remember head waiter only saw him a few times did not do much for us.

Ship was nice and clean u can tell its a little older but in good shape. I liked the all the glass. Had a great time in all ports booked 2 excursions thru RCCL and 3 on my own. Gordon in antigua was awesome just the 6 of us.My parents and sister were with us as well. Bernards in St Martin def go to Maho beach its awesome watching planes fly right over your head. We did Sandcastle beach resort in St Croix nice and clean a little small and beach a little rocky but nice. I will more in depth review in review section. Any questions let me know.

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blonde375

blonde375

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Went on cruise with my wife and 11yr old daughter. We were a little upset with size of balcony room i know its a smaller ship but pull out bed was a small chair good thing there was pullman bed in ceiling my daughter loved it. Do not book a balcony on deck 7 we were in 7126 obstructed view could not see down to water beacuse of roof over deck 6 with life boats under. We were very upset i booked this cruise last year while on freedom i wish i was told got cheated on the view. I like to look down and see water not a sign on a metal roof that says no access! Oh well other than that cruise was awesome great room attendant and waiters. Archemedes was our room attendant and Sandry and Mary our waiters. Dont remember head waiter only saw him a few times did not do much for us.

Ship was nice and clean u can tell its a little older but in good shape. I liked the all the glass. Had a great time in all ports booked 2 excursions thru RCCL and 3 on my own. Gordon in antigua was awesome just the 6 of us.My parents and sister were with us as well. Bernards in St Martin def go to Maho beach its awesome watching planes fly right over your head. We did Sandcastle beach resort in St Croix nice and clean a little small and beach a little rocky but nice. I will more in depth review in review section. Any questions let me know.

 

Cantwait2cruiz, assuming you ate in the MDR, which evening would you suggest is worth missing to eat at Chops? Going in less than 2 weeks and can't decide which evening to make a Chops reservation.:)

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absolutsixthree

absolutsixthree

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Cantwait2cruiz, assuming you ate in the MDR, which evening would you suggest is worth missing to eat at Chops? Going in less than 2 weeks and can't decide which evening to make a Chops reservation.:)

 

The Sea days.

 

We actually missed both formal nights on our cruise . .. we don't like to be tied down to a specific time or night to dress up.

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GBM

GBM

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Sailed the Serenade early summer, same itinerary. We had a deck 7 balcony with the lifeboat cover "issue". It wasn't a big deal to us. The room was quiet, the service in the MDR was great, and we really enjoyed the outside seating at the Windjammer. The centrum was filled one night with what I believe to be a big quincienera party, teen girls in white dresses, everyone dressed up, and dancing. Quite a party, but well behaved. We watched the "show" for some time from an upper level. We didn't encounter any more than the usual behavioral issues. The most annoying thing was getting an elevator in the centrum area, as they would sail right by (probably based on some algorithm for efficiency), or they'd stop and be full. Since that's my biggest complaint, I have to say it was a good cruise. Oh, and the ports were great, too.

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