Just off Serenade Repo to Alaska

[cinnamon]

We disembarked yesterday from a wonderful 14 night cruise on Serenade, San Francisco to Vancouver. We are currently in a hotel in that city before flying back to the UK later today so only have a couple of hours to answer any questions. I will then be back online again on Monday afternoon.

 

The mostly wonderful weather we enjoyed really made the cruise. Hubbard Glacier in sunshine with blue skies was amazing and we got so close to the face of the ice mass.

 

There were over 260 Diamonds and plusses, so the evening drinks that we enjoyed were in the Viking Crown. Very upsetting for those cruisers not able to use this great venue to view the scenery for over 3 hours each evening.

 

We were impressed with Captain Michelle and the CD Keith. The activity staff we encountered were great but the evening shows ranged from mediocre to very poor.

We thought that the food was better than on Mariner in November but it did vary in quality. This was often down to the choice on the menu and our waiter had no clue as to which dishes were best and could not pronounce the names of the foods.

 

Now for a cramped overnight transatlantic flight and loads of laundry.

[cinnamon]

What, no questions?

[sas80]

Just jealousy!

I think DH and I are going to try to do an Alaska repo in 2010.

Glad you had a great time!

[Rancher Dave]

Sounds like a nice cruise. Did Mike S come aboard to prep for his tour as CD for the AK runs thru early July?

 

How was the Concierge?

 

Any tour you would say is a Don't Miss Tour?

[JJ2sail]

Love those repo cruises! Glad you had a good time!

[cinnamon]

Sounds like a nice cruise. Did Mike S come aboard to prep for his tour as CD for the AK runs thru early July?

 

How was the Concierge?

 

Any tour you would say is a Don't Miss Tour?

 

Sorry don't know anything about Mike S.

The Concierge, Kenneth, was fine with us but he was disembarking that day. I don't know the name of the guy taking over for his 6 week holiday.

 

Off to Vancouver airport now!

[C&K2Cruise]

We were also on this cruise ... fantastic trip! ;)

We did My Time Dining and found it to be a wonderful option. We were able to dine whenever we wanted and had the same great wait staff every night.

Service was outstanding throughout the ship with just a few minor exceptions (tendering issues primarily). The ship is kept in spotless condition.

Highlight Excursions:

Ketchikan - float plane with Island Wings. Incredible!

Icy Strait - F.I.S.H.E.S. ... only six passengers on the boat. Saw a whale breach completely out of the ater right in front of us!

Hubbard Glacier we will never forget. As stated earlier, we were so close you could almost reach out and touch the ice. Lots of calving ... some of it very large chunks and very dramatic! We were there for a long time with the captain rotating the ship so that all sides got a direct view.

We were blessed with sunny warm weather for most of the trip ... after a rainy start in San Francisco, Astoria and Seattle.

What more can I say ... ;)

[WeBCruisin]

So excited to finally hear from someone just off the Serenade in Alaska!

 

We are scheduled to be on her July 11th! Second trip to Alaska for us but first time on a Radiance Class Ship and first time in a GS!! The excitement is overwhelming!!

 

Anxious to hear reviews of the ports/excursions as well as more info on the staff and service received!

 

I noted that you were actually at the hubbard glacier. Was this just for the repositioning cruise? I know that on our cruise we are doing Tracy Arm instead of Hubbard Glacier.

[Rancher Dave]

Sorry don't know anything about Mike S.

The Concierge, Kenneth, was fine with us but he was disembarking that day. I don't know the name of the guy taking over for his 6 week holiday.

 

Off to Vancouver airport now!

 

Guess I need to count weeks...Ok I cheated and looked at the calendar. Looks like he is back aboard right when we arrive...that could be very nice.

[Blizzard54]

So excited to finally hear from someone just off the Serenade in Alaska!

 

We are scheduled to be on her July 11th! Second trip to Alaska for us but first time on a Radiance Class Ship and first time in a GS!! The excitement is overwhelming!!

 

Anxious to hear reviews of the ports/excursions as well as more info on the staff and service received!

 

I noted that you were actually at the hubbard glacier. Was this just for the repositioning cruise? I know that on our cruise we are doing Tracy Arm instead of Hubbard Glacier.

 

 

Originally the Serenade was suppose to visit Hubbard each week this season but that got change quite a while ago. I suspect that if may have been to save fuel.

[mrchips14]

How cold was it in Icy Strait on the water whale watching.

 

Thanks

[nunk]

We were also on this cruise ... fantastic trip! ;)

We did My Time Dining and found it to be a wonderful option. We were able to dine whenever we wanted and had the same great wait staff every night.

Service was outstanding throughout the ship with just a few minor exceptions (tendering issues primarily). The ship is kept in spotless condition.

Highlight Excursions:

Ketchikan - float plane with Island Wings. Incredible!

Icy Strait - F.I.S.H.E.S. ... only six passengers on the boat. Saw a whale breach completely out of the ater right in front of us!

Hubbard Glacier we will never forget. As stated earlier, we were so close you could almost reach out and touch the ice. Lots of calving ... some of it very large chunks and very dramatic! We were there for a long time with the captain rotating the ship so that all sides got a direct view.

We were blessed with sunny warm weather for most of the trip ... after a rainy start in San Francisco, Astoria and Seattle.

What more can I say ... ;)

 

what exactly was "warm weather"? we are headed to alaska in less than 2 weeks and am frantically planning for unknown weather.

 

thanks,

nicole

[C&K2Cruise]

The weather for the most part was in the 50's and 60's so you still needed to layer. We did have cloudy, overcast days along the way (Juneau all day and Skagway in the morning), but no torrential downpours. Hubbard Glacier was sunny, but very cold near the glacier. The whale watch trip in Icy Strait Point was likewise sunny but cold out on the water .... had a turtleneck, fleece jacket and rain jacket on as well as wool hat and gloves.

One thing we found handy especially at the glacier were the hand warmers that heat up when you open the package. We stuck them in our jacket pockets. They are a one time use, but last all day. Nice and toasty warm. We got them at REI.

[nunk]

The weather for the most part was in the 50's and 60's so you still needed to layer. We did have cloudy, overcast days along the way (Juneau all day and Skagway in the morning), but no torrential downpours. Hubbard Glacier was sunny, but very cold near the glacier. The whale watch trip in Icy Strait Point was likewise sunny but cold out on the water .... had a turtleneck, fleece jacket and rain jacket on as well as wool hat and gloves.

One thing we found handy especially at the glacier were the hand warmers that heat up when you open the package. We stuck them in our jacket pockets. They are a one time use, but last all day. Nice and toasty warm. We got them at REI.

 

Thank you for the details!

[paulabr]

WE were also on this trip! it was awesome, as everyone has said the weather was really good to us. We used the bal. almost everyday.

Float plane in Ketchikan was great, Train in Skagway.

Hubbard Glacier :D:D It was awesome and the Captian was the best!!

 

MTD was pretty good, as some people would not leave there tables so we did have a small wait, mostly because we wanted our same waiter. ASK for Andy and Kevin:D they were really good, funny, new the menu.

 

The ship was really clean.

The shows not really up to par with some we have had.

The Concierge, Kenneth, was very good to us.

only seen 2 whales. Not much wild life on this trip, but everything else was great.

[BayStateguppy]

All of us with upcoming Alaska cruises have been dying for the first reviews to come in. I am going 7/11 just like WeBcruisin.

 

We would love to know what you thought of your excursions, your cabins, activities onboard (Did anyone do the Murder Mystery dinner?), tips for onboard and onshore, and anything else I might have missed.

 

Thanks and Welcome back!

[dedle]

only seen 2 whales. Not much wild life on this trip, but everything else was great.

 

Was this from the ship or on an excursion? We are schedule for an excursion in ISP, but where thinking about doing one in Juneau also, to make sure we see whales...but both are expensive.

 

Dee Dee

[WeBCruisin]

Were the crepes available in the Solarium Cafe on the Serenade? I have heard conflicting information on this. My boys are derinitely looking forward to crepes for breakfast so if they're not available I need to break it to them before we board the ship!

 

Also - are their blankets available on deck? Our last Alaskan cruise was with HAL and we loved having the cozy blankets available on deck.

 

Thanks!!

[C&K2Cruise]

Were the crepes available in the Solarium Cafe on the Serenade? I have heard conflicting information on this. My boys are derinitely looking forward to crepes for breakfast so if they're not available I need to break it to them before we board the ship!

 

Also - are their blankets available on deck? Our last Alaskan cruise was with HAL and we loved having the cozy blankets available on deck.

 

Thanks!!

Crepes were available, but no blankets on deck ...

[cinnamon]

Well I am back in the UK and glad to see people chatting about their upcoming cruises on the lovely Serenade. To answer a few questions:-

 

I didn't see any blankets available either. People were snoozing around the pool deck with the yellow pool towels covering them. Blankets would have been better.

 

Dee Dee, I think the 2 whales were from the ship. I managed to miss them but those who went whale watching at ISP saw plenty, you should not need a second excursion to see them. My friends went with F.I.S.H.E.S. and were very happy. They had a boat with just 6 people whereas the ship's trip was packed with too many for much comfort.

 

Baystateguppy, some of our CC posters went to the Mystery dinner and were not especially impressed. I thought it was too much money for a restricted menu and somewhat amateur acting but I am sure some people loved it.

 

Excusion tips.

Do not take the Skagway train early. Those who did missed the views due to morning fog/low cloud. We drove up and only saw the wonderful scenery on the return after lunch. Train passengers on the afternoon run saw everything. I believe it is possible to take the train more cheaply as an independant traveller than on a ship's trip.

 

Juneau, it is easy to buy inexpensive trips to Mendenhall glacier, around the town, up the tram etc. on the dockside. Do not go with the ship, it will cost a lot more.

 

In ISP, we arranged a flight seeing trip from the cafe in the village called The Galley. The pilot, Mike, owns the place and you can pay him on a credit card in the cafe. $95.00 each for a 45-50 minute flight. Absolutely wonderful. Alternativley, in the cafe you can meet up with Pat Wickens who will take you out to see the bears. He could not do this for us as there was too much snow but it should be fine in a week or two. However, the ship still told passengers that they would see bears and charged them a lot. They saw none as Pat predicted. He could easily have taken us and we would have paid out for no sightings. He is too honest to do that and I trust him thoroughly. A great local chap who knows the island and people extremely well. Be careful of booking trips with some agents as in the busy season they use guides who are not local and do not know the area so well.

 

I have just edited this after I realised that the 7 night cruises probably do not go to Skagway. Sorry about posting that.

[wrp96]

I have just edited this after I realised that the 7 night cruises probably do not go to Skagway. Sorry about posting that.

 

The 7 night cruises go to Icy Strait, Tracy Arm, Skagway, and Juneau.

[cinnamon]

Thanks. I wasn't sure if it was Skagway or Ketchikan and hadn't checked before I started posting.

[wrp96]

No problem. We're grateful for whatever info you can give us.:D

[rrgreennc]

I understand there is a pool which is covered, but also that this was the adults-only pool. Is the temperature in this area actually warm enough for swimming? Are children allowed in this pool at some times? Is the pool fresh or salt-water.

[springaussie]

I understand there is a pool which is covered, but also that this was the adults-only pool. Is the temperature in this area actually warm enough for swimming? Are children allowed in this pool at some times? Is the pool fresh or salt-water.

 

The covered pool is for anyone to use with warm salted water.