Balcony on Serenade?

[Mickey78R]

I have previously sailed Princess 4 times. I am looking at maybe doing a RC on the Serenade. I always picked the Caribe Deck on Princess since that deck had the biggest balcony and half covered/half open. I have also done an aft which I also loved. But in general, what deck/catagory would you pick for a balcony on the Serenade and why? Thanks so much for any help you may give.

[cb at sea]

Personally, I like to be only 1 deck below the pool, as that's where I spend most of my time! Noise isn't an issue, even near the elevators/stairs (which is my most preferred area).

We always books a JS, as it's most like a hotel room and the bathroom has a tub, which gives you a bit more space. I'm not a huge fan of the aft cabins, despite the deeper balcony (there's only 2 of us, and a JS has a more than ample balcony!!) because it's such a loooooong walk back and forth to the cabin! I prefer something more mid-ships!

[alcpa1]

We were on the Serenade just a few months ago and have also been on several of her sisters.

This class of ship does not have many of the more open balconies like Princess. There are almost no open balconies at all. The sides of the ships are perpendicular not sloped so the balconies provide a little more cover particularly on the starboard and port sides. The hump cabins do project out beyond the main body of the ship and there are cabins in this area that do have slightly larger balconies in both E and D class cabins. The D class aft cabins have wonderful deep balconies with about two to three feet where there is open sky. The most sought after D class cabin is 9256. It's a corner aft with a wrap balcony. The balcony for 7172 is not quite as spacious. The deck 10 aft cabins are wonderful and there is almost no noise from the Windjammer.

Cat JS 1100 is absolutely the best cabin in its class. It has the largest balcony and if you prefer a more Princess like cabin with more sky that would be my recommendation.

The only cabin that has an uncovered balcony that I have been in is 1600. It is a GS corner aft and I would not recommend it to anyone who wants to have a little protection from the elements. The cabin also has an awkward layout.

If you want a larger balcony with an obstruction try 1098 or 1598. For the life of me I would not call it obstructed. We have sailed in 1098 and the aft hull does diminish some view but it is also a larger balcony. The window washing machine is just off the aft of the balcony but it was never in use when we were in the cabin. It's perfect for a balcony in the rain! Unlike some lines RCI does not discount these cabins.

The D 1 cabins are just fine even though they do not have a tub. I like the layout. The JS's are just as CB AT SEA described...roomy with a tub. I too prefer deck 10.

If you have any more questions ask away and when you book the Serenade join the Meet and Mingle group for your cruise.

[Mickey78R]

Thanks for the info all! I do like a big balcony since we do end up spending alot of time on it. A tub is ok. I am used to the small showers so that is ok. I can soak in a tub at home. Give me a balcony on a cruise ship anytime. We usually end of having people over on our balcony so a bigger one would be great. Also, RC balconies do not connect like Princess does. Am I correct in saying that? Since we cruise with a group of people, we always get all our cabins in a row and the connecting balconies is nice. Thanks again for the info.

[wrp96]

Correct. The dividers on Serenade do not open (on some RCCL ships the dividers do open, but not the Radiance class).