Ultimate Scandinavia Cruise on the Serenade of the Seas Review 7/24/16 – 8/6/16

[Bmorecruiser021]

So one of the major appeals of this cruise was the multiple night stops the ship had in Stockholm, made in St. Petersburg, and then had again in Copenhagen. However this then led to a lot of uncertainty: how and when did the muster drill occur? How did embarkation and disembarking occur? How did meals and returning to the ship at night work? Well I plan on answering all those questions and more since they were the major ones me and my family had going into this.

 

Continuing with our story; I wanted to go to the Park Cafe and get my first roast beef sandwich of the cruise but the girls won out and we headed to the windjammer for a bite.

 

 

 

I was able to get some roast beef at the windjammer, but it wasn't the same, lol.

 

After lunch the girls took a nap, while waiting for the rest of the family and our cabins to be ready.

 

 

I was too excited and walked around taking pictures!

 

 

 

 

Remember I said earlier the cab driver took us to the wrong terminal. You can see many cruise ships and ferries in port. So make sure you know where you are going (unlike me lol)

[Bmorecruiser021]

I walked over the Centrum.

 

 

And up to the Viking Crown Lounge.

 

 

Then out to the sports area and slide.

 

 

 

 

Love that the ship has mini golf! Definitely one thing I miss sailing out of Baltimore.

 

[Tin can]

Very much looking forward to reading this and reliving a few memories from our own Baltic cruise [emoji846]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[Chris92671]

Great review and picture, looking forward to follow this review future.

[Bmorecruiser021]

Hey everyone, I got to run to a meeting ill finish the day in a few hours :)

[Surfguyxxx]

Is your meeting over????? Hurry; I can't wait :eek: Thanks for taking the time to do this; very informative.

[Bmorecruiser021]

Hey everyone, sorry about that, still on Europe time and I fell asleep as soon as I got home from my meeting.

 

Continuing from yesterday......

 

Continuing to explore the Serenade, I made my way down to deck 6 and saw the casino, pub and cinema.

 

 

 

 

Along with the Schooner bar, pool tables, and shops.

 

 

 

[Bmorecruiser021]

By the time I went back to the girls, my in-laws had found them. We talked a little about our flight and then before we knew it, the cabins were ready. We headed down to deck 3 where our cabin was. Ali and I got an interior for this cruise, and it definitely had its pluses and minuses. One HUGE plus was when we shut the lights off we could sleep! it was pitch back and that definitely helped Ali with jet lag. However I had a tougher time adjusting, and I think getting a ocean view or balcony with the sunlight might have helped me better, but I didn't realized how north we were and it was only really dark for a few hours every night. But either way we made it work, and were very grateful for the cruise from my in-laws.

 

 

 

 

 

[Bmorecruiser021]

After dropping off our bags in our cabin we headed out, grabbed a cab, and headed for the ABBA Museum (my FIL LOVES ABBA)

 

 

Cabs were very easy to come by, and we learned our lesson; my FIL negotiated price before we got in the cab and watched the driver put the number in the computer before we got into the vehicle.

 

Public transit is also readily accessible, with trains (or what we call "light rail" here in Baltimore) everywhere

 

 

With only a 15 minute drive we made it to the ABBA Museum, and had a great time! definitely recommend it for anyone who is an ABBA fan, or just enjoys music in general!

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately, my camera died, and I forgot my extra battery back on the ship, so no more picture of the museum. But I will tell you it was a lot of fun for the whole family. Lots of interactive exhibits, and not too big that anyone would get board. My FIL was in heaven!

[Bmorecruiser021]

After fun at the museum we headed back to the ship around 8pm and went to MTD for dinner. This was another area of uncertainty for me, having never done such a long cruise, or overnight (in same port cruise); I was not sure what to expect for service or for menu. Let me tell you I was pleasantly surprised (for the most part, but ill tell you about the one thing that disappointed me later) at how the ship accommodated all the irregularities of this particular cruise.

 

For one thing, on certain nights (such as the overnights in port, and our day in Germany) they had "open seating." What this meant was there was no traditional seating, everyone was "My Time" (since a lot of the passengers just stayed in town and ate at a local eatery) and just showed up and got whatever table and wait staff that was available.

 

We ended up LOVING our waitress Christina! We requested her every night that we ate at MTD.

 

Dinner was wonderful and we were so hungry we ate everything right up!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My favorite was the fruit and berry crumble for dessert!

 

After dinner we headed to our cabins and passed out! We were all so exhausted from the events of the last 36 hours we needed to get some much needed rest.

[Bmorecruiser021]

Ok everyone, Thats the end of day one, Ill continue a little later today with the next day or two. If you have any questions please feel free to ask. Also I have all the cruise compasses, daily specials and all the other paperwork our cabin attendant left for us, but I wasn't planning on scanning them (other then maybe one, and ill explain why I want to scan that particular cruise compass later). However if anyone wants to see any specific paper please let me know. If I have them, Ill be more then happy to share :). Until then everyone, enjoy your day!

[Cat54]

Great review! Can't wait for the next installment!:D

[ladysummermoon]

Following along...we'll be on this ship next September and I'm dying to know more about it. Great review so far!

[norhel]

Nice report so far :-)

[Cat54]

I know that you arrived the day of embarking but was wondering if you had any members of your group may have arrived early and stayed in a hotel in Stockholm. If so do you know were they stayed?

 

Thanks

[jonj]

I missed your original post, if you have this information I would be very interested in seeing some menus and compasses from your cruise. Looking forward to your review.

[easyboy]

Thanks for the review.

[Havin'fun]

Kraig,

Loving the review. Your pictures are wonderful as usual. Looking forward to the rest :)

Diane

[Bmorecruiser021]

I know that you arrived the day of embarking but was wondering if you had any members of your group may have arrived early and stayed in a hotel in Stockholm. If so do you know were they stayed?

 

Thanks

 

Yes, my MIL, FIL, BIL, and Aunt-in-law went 3 days early and stayed in "old town" Ill ask them for the hotel name and their experience with it tomorrow :)

[Bmorecruiser021]

I missed your original post, if you have this information I would be very interested in seeing some menus and compasses from your cruise. Looking forward to your review.

 

I'll be more then happy to scan the compasses and share them. Ill do it tomorrow as soon as i get home from work. Also, I took some pictures of the menu, some came out ok, other not so much, but ill share everything I got :)

[Bmorecruiser021]

Kraig' date='

Loving the review. Your pictures are wonderful as usual. Looking forward to the rest :)

Diane[/quote']

 

Thanks Diane! I know you are counting down the days to your Explorer cruise. Not going to lie, Ali and I are very jealous. We miss her here on the east coast. She was so easy to get to and we enjoyed sailing on her so much!:D Enjoy!

[Bmorecruiser021]

Ok Everyone, I apologize for not posting more today.

 

For those who don't know Ali and me personally, we own and operate a horse farm in Maryland, along with having our days jobs (I'm and educator, and Ali is a computer programer). Anyways, I was doing my barn chores this morning and got stung by a bee. I am highly allergic and had to be rushed to the hospital. Im home and ok now, but I have to go to work early in the morning so I will be unable to post tonight :( Sorry. I get off of work in the early evening tomorrow and Ill be sure to post at least the next two days of the cruise, hoping to get to Helsinki. Thank you all for your patients and understanding. Have a great night and see everyone tomorrow :)

Edited August 11, 2016 by Bmorecruiser021

[cincicruisers]

Goodness, that is scary about the bee sting. Allergic reactions are no good.

 

 

I am enjoying your review.

[easyboy]

Ok Everyone, I apologize for not posting more today.

 

Anyways, I was doing my barn chores this morning and got stung by a bee. I am highly allergic and had to be rushed to the hospital. Im home and ok now, :)

Be well:)

[Cat54]

Yes, my MIL, FIL, BIL, and Aunt-in-law went 3 days early and stayed in "old town" Ill ask them for the hotel name and their experience with it tomorrow :)

 

Thanks!