Serenade of the Seas Question

[char@blakemail.org]

We are considering booking a cruise on the Serenade out of Tampa in Dec 2024.
I would like to hear opinions on the ship from people who have cruised on it lately.

We started cruising on the Majesty in 2011 and cruised on the Jewel in 2018.  So we are aware of the difference in amenities compared to the newer ships.
We typically book Voyager,  Freedom and Oasis class ships.

Question leans more to the condition of theSerenade.  I don't see it has been updated/refurbished since 2012.

 

[firefly333]

There is a whole long thread called the world cruise. All the posters posting live are on serenade. 

 

They did quite a bit of work before the world cruise, not sure how much will remain, like laundry added.

[leaveitallbehind]

Serenade was last refurbished in 2022, but I don't have details on what that included.  

[char@blakemail.org]

6 hours ago, firefly333 said:

There is a whole long thread called the world cruise. All the posters posting live are on serenade. 

 

They did quite a bit of work before the world cruise, not sure how much will remain, like laundry added.

Will search for that thread.  I thought I saw a reference to it in another place.

[firefly333]

29 minutes ago, char@blakemail.org said:

Will search for that thread.  I thought I saw a reference to it in another place.

This one. Island lady I think was on serenade something like 63 days and rejoining the ship in Barcelona.  It's a good read and it's on the serenade.

 

 

 

[leaveitallbehind]

33 minutes ago, char@blakemail.org said:

Will search for that thread.  I thought I saw a reference to it in another place.

I think you will enjoy Serenade.  Although many years back, she was the ship that provided one of our most memorable cruises.  And we have been on 50+.  She may not be one of the newest, but she is still a good ship.  Enjoy!

Edited March 10 by leaveitallbehind

[Mike&Nancy]

7 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

I think you will enjoy Serenade.  Although many years back, she was the ship that provided one of our most memorable cruises.  And we have been on 50+.  She may not be one of the newest, but she is still a good ship.  Enjoy!

 Serenade will always hold a special place in our hearts as well.  We did a B2B on her in January 2010, just a few weeks after the Haiti earthquake.  They held an auction (proceeds towards Haiti), and as a result I got to blow the ships horn leaving port one day, and we got a tour of the engine room.  Both are unforgettable experiences, and I doubt either will ever happen again.  She's special for sure.  

 

Nancy

[Sunseeker20]

My husband and I loved Serenade and its sister ships! There is so much glass so you get to see the ocean every where you are on the ship. It's got a bit of wear and tear, which is  normal for an older ship but I wouldn't say its in disrepair or terrible shape. We love this class of ships so much that it's mostly what we book for RC

[sgmn]

13 hours ago, char@blakemail.org said:

We are considering booking a cruise on the Serenade out of Tampa in Dec 2024.
I would like to hear opinions on the ship from people who have cruised on it lately.

We started cruising on the Majesty in 2011 and cruised on the Jewel in 2018.  So we are aware of the difference in amenities compared to the newer ships.
We typically book Voyager,  Freedom and Oasis class ships.

Question leans more to the condition of theSerenade.  I don't see it has been updated/refurbished since 2012.

 

We did a cruise last September from Tampa to Boston. I think she is a great ship. Love the Viking Crown lounge on this class. Yes she is a bit faded and tired looking in places but still a lovely ship. Food was OK, waiters and service amongst the best ever

[char@blakemail.org]

We booked it!

I needed a nine day trip in addition to our seven day booked in Feb 2025 to make diamond.
I loved the itinerary and just needed reassurance that I wouldn't be horribly disappointed with the Serenade.

Thanks for all your input.

I will try to remember to come back after the cruise and hopefully say how much we enjoyed it.

[kruzerci]

On 3/9/2024 at 5:17 PM, leaveitallbehind said:

Serenade was last refurbished in 2022, but I don't have details on what that included.  

It was dry docked for a technical drydock in 2022. It was NOT refurbished. It has not been refurbished in a decade. She’s very tired. Patched here and there but certainly outdated and overdue for an overhaul, as are most of the Vision and Radiance class ships. 

[leaveitallbehind]

59 minutes ago, kruzerci said:

It was dry docked for a technical drydock in 2022. It was NOT refurbished. It has not been refurbished in a decade. She’s very tired. Patched here and there but certainly outdated and overdue for an overhaul, as are most of the Vision and Radiance class ships. 

Guess you can't believe everything you read.  There was a story published that acknowledged the 2012 enhancements with that refurbishment and again with more in 2017, but also used the word "refurbishment" for what you likely more accurately describe as what would have been since 2017 as a 5 year technical / maintenance drydock.

 

Thanks for the correction.

 

[island lady]

Serenade should have gone in for extensive dry dock before the WC put her out for 274 nights.  

So many things not working.  She is in need of some real care.  I hated to see her in that condition, since the Radiance ladies have always been my favorite class of ships. 

 

Still enjoyed my recent 63 nights on board just weeks ago, but was amazed at the lack of repair.  Will be back on again for another 62 nights this July to finish up the WC.  Will be interesting to see what else is not working then.  🤕

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 11 by island lady

[kruzerci]

3 hours ago, island lady said:

Serenade should have gone in for extensive dry dock before the WC put her out for 274 nights.  

So many things not working.  She is in need of some real care.  I hated to see her in that condition, since the Radiance ladies have always been my favorite class of ships. 

 

Still enjoyed my recent 63 nights on board just weeks ago, but was amazed at the lack of repair.  Will be back on again for another 62 nights this July to finish up the WC.  Will be interesting to see what else is not working then.  🤕

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m shocked they didn’t do major work before the WC. We sailed from Tampa in 2023 and it was really eye opening- we thought surely it would all be remediated and cleaned up before the WC. 

[SilkySal]

19 hours ago, char@blakemail.org said:

We booked it!
I needed a nine day trip in addition to our seven day booked in Feb 2025 to make diamond.
I loved the itinerary and just needed reassurance that I wouldn't be horribly disappointed with the Serenade.

Tom and I are booked on the Serenade for February 14, 2025 for the 9 night, same one? We'll be getting off of the Utopia (out of PC) on February 14th, and driving on over to Tampa to board the Serenade. If you're interested in joining the roll call, here it is:

 

 

 

[steveru621]

On 3/9/2024 at 4:52 PM, char@blakemail.org said:

We are considering booking a cruise on the Serenade out of Tampa in Dec 2024.
I would like to hear opinions on the ship from people who have cruised on it lately.

We started cruising on the Majesty in 2011 and cruised on the Jewel in 2018.  So we are aware of the difference in amenities compared to the newer ships.
We typically book Voyager,  Freedom and Oasis class ships.

Question leans more to the condition of theSerenade.  I don't see it has been updated/refurbished since 2012.

 

 

Ships do a drydock every 5 years.

 

Refurbishment happens continuously.

 

BTW Voyager is 4 years older than Serenade.

[char@blakemail.org]

3 hours ago, SilkySal said:

Tom and I are booked on the Serenade for February 14, 2025 for the 9 night, same one? We'll be getting off of the Utopia (out of PC) on February 14th, and driving on over to Tampa to board the Serenade. If you're interested in joining the roll call, here it is:

 

 

 

Thank you
We are cruising December 2024 so will already be back.

Our cruise goes to Grand Cayman, Panama, Costa Rica, and Cozumel. 

[char@blakemail.org]

3 hours ago, steveru621 said:

 

Ships do a drydock every 5 years.

 

Refurbishment happens continuously.

 

BTW Voyager is 4 years older than Serenade.

We've been on the Jewel but it was six years ago.  I've always been glad that we started on the Majesty to try out cruising to see if we liked it.  We are pleasure boaters.  We did a 16 day trip on our 34' power boat but that is a whole different type of "cruising".

I know the ships typically go in every 5 years or so but the one reference I saw was the last time for the Serenade was 2012 and I thought  "WOW!  It is way past due."  It made me a little concerned if they had not done any updating in 10 years.  Obviously whichever site I was on has not been updated.  I didn't think to look and see that it is the one doing the World Cruise.

I'm glad to hear they are still putting money into the old girls.  They are still beautiful.

Edited March 11 by char@blakemail.org
additional information

[island lady]

6 hours ago, kruzerci said:

I’m shocked they didn’t do major work before the WC. We sailed from Tampa in 2023 and it was really eye opening- we thought surely it would all be remediated and cleaned up before the WC. 

 

Cash cow.  Charge high prices...deal with the problems (or actually not) as they come.  😉 

[steveru621]

1 hour ago, char@blakemail.org said:

We've been on the Jewel but it was six years ago.  I've always been glad that we started on the Majesty to try out cruising to see if we liked it.  We are pleasure boaters.  We did a 16 day trip on our 34' power boat but that is a whole different type of "cruising".

I know the ships typically go in every 5 years or so but the one reference I saw was the last time for the Serenade was 2012 and I thought  "WOW!  It is way past due."  It made me a little concerned if they had not done any updating in 10 years.  Obviously whichever site I was on has not been updated.  I didn't think to look and see that it is the one doing the World Cruise.

I'm glad to hear they are still putting money into the old girls.  They are still beautiful.

There is a misconception that dry dock means refurbishment. While some major items may be replaced, cabins aren't usually touched. A dry dock is to check major systems like the engines.

 

Refurbishments happen continuously.

[kruzerci]

2 hours ago, steveru621 said:

 

 

Refurbishments happen continuously.

Or, in Royal’s case the last couple years, don’t. 

[char@blakemail.org]

I've seldom seen much changes in cabins over the years on ships.

 

They can't reconfigure them easily.  The most can hope for is it refreshed.

[island lady]

We didn't see them repairing much during the first quarter.   A couple of the broken windows (there are several) and a hatch repair...but that was it that we could see.  

 

Both self leveling pool tables, revolving bar in VCL, sliding glass doors in VCL, one elevator, and most of the broken windows were all like that when we boarded, and except for two of the windows...were still broken when we left.  There were other things, but I can't remember now.  

 

Nothing that would prevent the journey from continuing...but really should have been repaired before she left Miami IMHO.   

[steveru621]

15 hours ago, kruzerci said:

Or, in Royal’s case the last couple years, don’t. 

 

Yes, the refurb has been going on.  I've seen it on 2023 & 2022 Jewel and Serenade.

[jp01104]

Can't say much about the condition as it has been awhile since the wife and I have sailed on her.

We are also on the Dec 6 sailing this year and looking forward to it. I can say we like the smaller ships much better than the floating cities even if a little dated.