*Photo Review* Serenade of the Seas // New England & Canada 10/9/16

[alainamarie]

Some photos of the beautiful water surrounding Peggy's Cove...

 

 

 

 

 

 

[alainamarie]

They had little shops all around the cove, so here are a few shots of the walkable streets.

 

 

 

 

 

[alainamarie]

The last part of our excursion was the hop on/off tour. We had lunch before getting on the hop on/off and I really did not take any pictures. The only area of interest would have been the museum that had a Titanic exhibit, but I really wasn't in the mood for a museum. There's also the Titanic cemetery, however, you would have to taxi to get there. Sorry to disappoint in the photo department, but it was difficult to get pictures through the window during the hop on/off segment.

 

The Bicycle Thief was recommended to us by someone at the information desk in the shopping area in port. I definitely recommend this restaurant if you're looking for a NICE meal. It definitely exceeded anything we had on the ship, that's for sure!

 

There's also a really nice shopping area where the ship is docked. I purchased a couple of maple syrups as gifts here.

 

Our lunch spot -

 

 

 

[alainamarie]

So glad I've found this thread.

 

I'm doing this cruise on 1st Oct 2017 on the same ship for my birthday. I'm so excited and it's still 11 months away!

I think you will really enjoy this unique itinerary! Are you going with friends or family? I can't imagine doing this itinerary solo, I think having a partner in crime would liven up this particular cruise. Either way, ENJOY!! :D

[easyboy]

Just glad you resumed your photo review. Really enjoying it.

[alainamarie]

Just glad you resumed your photo review. Really enjoying it.

Photo portion is done!

[obnurse]

Thank you so much for all of your hard work doing your photo review! I enjoyed it immensely and can't wait to take this cruise!

[alainamarie]

I'm going to wrap up this review with some overall comments on different aspects of this cruise. Overall I thought this was a great cruise and a unique itinerary. I don't know if I would do it again, but I definitely enjoyed this experience. It was my first time on Royal and I can honestly say it won't be my last.

 

Service:

I thought this was the highlight of the cruise - excellent service all around. Heather and I made frequent comments about how great the overall service experience was. Everyone seemed friendly and genuinely happy. Excellent service really goes a long way.

 

Cabin attendant

This is the part I wish I could skip. I want to first note that our cabin was always taken care of - beds made or turned down. He failed in two major ways. First with the towels. You clearly see that we don't have enough towels, so don't be stingy and stop bringing enough for us. You should take the hint and maybe throw a few more in. We had to take towels off of the laundry cart on MULTIPLE occasions. And you STILL didn't get a hint! I had to call the attendant on the phone for the first time ever on a cruise and guess what?? He didn't answer or call back!! :eek:

He also never introduced himself to us - he was literally like Houdini. The only reason we met him was because we walked in on him on a port day and he was making the beds. He quickly ran out and made a point to be scarce. I must say, I've never hit the attendant jackpot, but this was pretty pitiful. Either way, our cabin was always taken care of except for the towel situation. I just don't understand how something so simple went unnoticed. We also requested another pillow each and he did deliver on that one! :rolleyes:

 

Cabin

I was very happy with our cabin choice and would choose it again. We were concerned about feeling cramped and not having enough room for our "stuff" but I found that we had AMPLE room and never felt overcrowded. Bed was ok. Storage was impressive as I found we had a ton of drawers and nooks to put all of our things. Loved our port hole with the view of the helipad and the large space surrounding the window.

 

Food/Dining

So, here's the hard part. I can honestly say the food left a little to be desired. Dining room was far superior than the Windjammer (that goes without saying). Dining room options weren't all that great and the food was good, but not always memorable. I did not have a bad meal in the dining room - I just preferred some meals to others.

Now let's discuss the Windjammer. Whew, this place needs some help. Ample people around to clean up, etc, but the food options were just completely random. On themed nights, the food options made no sense and really didn't even fit the theme. If you are looking for a quick bite to eat and are one of the "eat to live" kind of people, then you will find no issues. I am one of the "live to eat" people and enjoy a good meal and lots of options. I do not cruise to eat and be a pig, so I will leave this subject alone - I've said enough. :p

 

Entertainment

I cannot comment on the different live shows each night because we never made it. We had our happy hour tradition at Rita's (food there is great, BTW!) in which margaritas demanded to be had. From there we either went to dinner or ate at the Windjammer. We did enjoy our nightly tradition after dinner -- the piano bar in Schooner to listen to Derrek Wayne. He was definitely a highlight of the cruise as far as entertainment goes.

 

Beverage Package

Royal had just converted their alcohol package into one option and it worked well because we were now allowed coffees. The cafe was no Al Bacio, but it sufficed. I had a daily brew (thanks to Heather!) and sometimes an afternoon pick-me-up. I think we got our money's worth from having margaritas. We could have 1 coffee, 2 bottles of water, 3 margaritas, and 1 other cocktail and it would have been worth it. I think we exceeded that on some nights and maybe not as much on others (for me anyway :D

). I'm not a huge drinker, but I like to not worry about the cost of drinks while I'm cruising. I also like the luxury of not getting a big bill at the end of my cruise too. That in itself makes it worth it!

 

Big thanks to anyone and everyone who took the time to read my review. I hope this has helped a little in planning for your next cruise. I was not able to find a lot of reviews with this itinerary, so I wanted to be sure to post some photos to help people who were in my situation of trying to find information.

 

Tare care and thanks again!

Alaina :)

[alainamarie]

Thank you so much for all of your hard work doing your photo review! I enjoyed it immensely and can't wait to take this cruise!

Hey Obnurse (I'm an oncology nurse!), I am overjoyed that this review helped to some capacity. I know that you will LOVE this itinerary and you will have a great time!

Thanks so much for reading!

Alaina

[flowers44]

Thanks for all of your hard work in putting this review together. Makes me think about our cruise coming up next year. This will be our third time, doing the New England/Canada cruise. We are both in out 70's and really enjoy the quieter ship since most kids are back in school by the time they sail. We are not beach people so this itinerary fits the bill. Thanks again for all of your hard work and wonderful pictures.

[ladysummermoon]

Awesome review...thanks for posting! We're taking the same cruise next September and will be doing the same excursion in St. John. I've heard some people mention water shoes for going to the caves....now that you've done it, would you suggest something sturdier like hiking boots? we're not flying to the ship, so throwing some heavy boots in the car isnt an issue.

[flowers44]

We did that tour two years ago. Water shoes will be fine. Sometimes, there is a bit of a stream of water still going out to seas so you need something on your feet that you don't care if you get wet crossing it. I personally think Hiking Boots might be a bit of an overkill for the situation.

[TheGinBoy]

I think you will really enjoy this unique itinerary! Are you going with friends or family? I can't imagine doing this itinerary solo, I think having a partner in crime would liven up this particular cruise. Either way, ENJOY!! :D

 

I'm taking my best friend Craig. Girls week away ;)

[easyboy]

Thanks again for the review. Your cabin attendant does not deserve his job. He may probably not realize that he is also in the service industry. Just glad it didn't affect your cruise vacation.

[twincheryl]

We were on the 10/23 Serenade... always interesting how different experiences are. We had the greatest stateroom attendant... Ivan... had 3 aft cabins in a row on deck 9... he always called us by name, was never in the cabin when we wanted to be, scrounged up a tea kettle for me, brought a lighter weight blanket instead of the duvet... really deserved the extra tip!

 

We ate in the MTD only on the first night. Chops one night, Giovanni's another, and Windjammer the rest. We found Windjammer to have plenty of options... but we are the type who enjoy a little bit of this and that. First time we have seen the sunflower rolls in Windjammer on any of our cruises. We have always loved those in the dining room.

 

Entertainment was probably the best overall that we have encountered. Funny comedian the first night, excellent pianist with the RC orchestra another night. The singers with the production show could actually carry a tune and were quite enjoyable, unlike some others we have heard.

 

Overall a great cruise. We booked all private excursions and were happy with all... especially Bar Harbor and Acadia... this was our favorite port!

 

 

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[alainamarie]

Awesome review...thanks for posting! We're taking the same cruise next September and will be doing the same excursion in St. John. I've heard some people mention water shoes for going to the caves....now that you've done it, would you suggest something sturdier like hiking boots? we're not flying to the ship, so throwing some heavy boots in the car isnt an issue.

 

We did that tour two years ago. Water shoes will be fine. Sometimes, there is a bit of a stream of water still going out to seas so you need something on your feet that you don't care if you get wet crossing it. I personally think Hiking Boots might be a bit of an overkill for the situation.

 

 

My tennis shoes were just fine. I agree that hiking boots are overkill. My friend had on "boat shoes" - Sperry's and she was just fine. It's just hard on your knees/hips because of the uneven rocks. Just be careful and watch where you are going. I had on socks and didn't want my socks/shoes to get wet, so if you are ok with them getting wet, you can stick with that.

[alainamarie]

Thanks for all of your hard work in putting this review together. Makes me think about our cruise coming up next year. This will be our third time, doing the New England/Canada cruise. We are both in out 70's and really enjoy the quieter ship since most kids are back in school by the time they sail. We are not beach people so this itinerary fits the bill. Thanks again for all of your hard work and wonderful pictures.

 

Thank you so much for reading and for all of your kind words/comments along the way! :o

 

I'm taking my best friend Craig. Girls week away ;)

 

Y'all will have fun, that's for sure! :p

[alainamarie]

We were on the 10/23 Serenade... always interesting how different experiences are. We had the greatest stateroom attendant... Ivan... had 3 aft cabins in a row on deck 9... he always called us by name, was never in the cabin when we wanted to be, scrounged up a tea kettle for me, brought a lighter weight blanket instead of the duvet... really deserved the extra tip!

 

We ate in the MTD only on the first night. Chops one night, Giovanni's another, and Windjammer the rest. We found Windjammer to have plenty of options... but we are the type who enjoy a little bit of this and that. First time we have seen the sunflower rolls in Windjammer on any of our cruises. We have always loved those in the dining room.

 

Entertainment was probably the best overall that we have encountered. Funny comedian the first night, excellent pianist with the RC orchestra another night. The singers with the production show could actually carry a tune and were quite enjoyable, unlike some others we have heard.

 

Overall a great cruise. We booked all private excursions and were happy with all... especially Bar Harbor and Acadia... this was our favorite port!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

It is always so interesting to listen to other people recount their experiences, it almost seems like we are on different ships! I'm envious of your room stewart and Windjammer experience... wish we had experienced the same! Neither one ruined any experience. Still enjoyed the cruise and will definitely sail with Royal again! :)

[alainamarie]

Thanks again for the review. Your cabin attendant does not deserve his job. He may probably not realize that he is also in the service industry. Just glad it didn't affect your cruise vacation.

 

It was only frustrating when we needed towels. I also have never had to call my cabin attendant, so it was discouraging when I called and no one answered or called me back. We resorted to stealing towels off a cart; it was definitely a first for me!

I'm fine with an attendant not being social, but not stocking the towels is uncalled for. Oh well, I'm over it! :D

[cruisemainiac]

Our first port on day 1 was Portland, ME on 10/10/16. We booked an excursion via Royal that departed at 11:15am. Kennebunkport and Scenic Cruise (Cost: 65.75).

The scenic cruise was cancelled due to a small boat warning caused by Hurricane Matthew. I was very grateful that they didn't attempt the cruise just to have us all end up sick to our stomachs. Royal also reimbursed us 20% of the total coast of our excursion - I found this to be very generous because the length of our excursion was still the same. We were given the extra time to spend in Kennebunkport which I am SO grateful for. I fell in LOVE with Kennebunkport and I look forward to going back. From the coast to the quaint town, it just has my name written all over it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The yellow house is known as the wedding cake house. It was built by a ships captain for his daughter. What you can't see is the back yard, it's the size of a football field. I know this because I used to mow it.

[alainamarie]

The yellow house is known as the wedding cake house. It was built by a ships captain for his daughter. What you can't see is the back yard, it's the size of a football field. I know this because I used to mow it.

 

Wow! You are right, it is the wedding cake house. I couldn't remember the name of it but knew it had a special name. I think it was built for her as a wedding gift, right?

[cruisemainiac]

Wow! You are right, it is the wedding cake house. I couldn't remember the name of it but knew it had a special name. I think it was built for her as a wedding gift, right?

 

You're right. The other neat thing is that they built ships in the back yard. The house is right on the same river where you took the picture of Kennebunkport. Before the bridge was there they would temporarily damn the river, launch the boat and float it down river. Lots of history in that little town.

[alainamarie]

You're right. The other neat thing is that they built ships in the back yard. The house is right on the same river where you took the picture of Kennebunkport. Before the bridge was there they would temporarily damn the river, launch the boat and float it down river. Lots of history in that little town.

 

I really enjoyed Kennebunkport and would love to go back! I think I would want to stay at a B&B in October. So beautiful!

Thanks for sharing! :)

[easyboy]

It was only frustrating when we needed towels. I also have never had to call my cabin attendant, so it was discouraging when I called and no one answered or called me back. We resorted to stealing towels off a cart; it was definitely a first for me!

I'm fine with an attendant not being social, but not stocking the towels is uncalled for. Oh well, I'm over it! :D

Right, just look forward to your next cruise. Happy sailing!:)

[ladysummermoon]

My tennis shoes were just fine. I agree that hiking boots are overkill. My friend had on "boat shoes" - Sperry's and she was just fine. It's just hard on your knees/hips because of the uneven rocks. Just be careful and watch where you are going. I had on socks and didn't want my socks/shoes to get wet, so if you are ok with them getting wet, you can stick with that.

 

Thanks so much for the advice...extra sneakers in the back pack it will be! lol im a bit of a bumble on uneven surfaces so il need something sturdier than just water shoes.