Serenade of the Seas. Thoughts? / March sailings.

Looking at booking a cruise, we've done Allure, Oasis and Harmony so are used to the bigger ships.

But our favourite itinerary is on Serenade of the Seas, on the website the ship looks great, but what are your personal views on the ship?

Probably looking at staying in an ocean view room, person I'm with happy to lounge by the pool most the day, I get a little bored and love activities etc.

My next question is having only sailed during September + October (yup hurricane season) what's March like in the Southern Caribbean? Obviously you can never predict the weather all that much but is it generally smooth? I get super sea sick and have thankfully never been affected during hurricane season.

There's really no general weather prediction that can be made. It can be smooth as glass in March and September. It can be rough in March and September.

Looking at booking a cruise, we've done Allure, Oasis and Harmony so are used to the bigger ships.

 

But our favourite itinerary is on Serenade of the Seas, on the website the ship looks great, but what are your personal views on the ship?

 

Probably looking at staying in an ocean view room, person I'm with happy to lounge by the pool most the day, I get a little bored and love activities etc.

 

 

 

My next question is having only sailed during September + October (yup hurricane season) what's March like in the Southern Caribbean? Obviously you can never predict the weather all that much but is it generally smooth? I get super sea sick and have thankfully never been affected during hurricane season.

Been to the Caribbean 20 times in January-March and the weather is beautiful. Probably 2 days of rain in over a hundred days

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Looking at booking a cruise, we've done Allure, Oasis and Harmony so are used to the bigger ships.

But our favourite itinerary is on Serenade of the Seas, on the website the ship looks great, but what are your personal views on the ship?

Probably looking at staying in an ocean view room, person I'm with happy to lounge by the pool most the day, I get a little bored and love activities etc.

 

My next question is having only sailed during September + October (yup hurricane season) what's March like in the Southern Caribbean? Obviously you can never predict the weather all that much but is it generally smooth? I get super sea sick and have thankfully never been affected during hurricane season.

I have sailed on Serenade twice and Brilliance (sister ship) once. It’s my personal favorite class. The size is so manageable, and the connection to the water (because of all the glass) is a pleasant side benefit. It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of the larger ships, but that doesn’t matter to me.

Sail between 33-50+ nites year on Serenade, also doing another 32 on Jewel this Feb/Mar. Less kids, smaller ship, not tons to do but still lot of usual Royal things. Weather, no guarantees but average 1-2 nites rain each sailing, at times only few hrs. Might have few waves in Spring or Fall for day... Food as usual is subjective but sailing Royal 30 yr have to say Serenade's WindJammer has some the best Dinner offerings and flavor...

Are you looking at 7, 10 or 11 nights? Some March sailings are heavy with spring breakers. The longer the cruise the less kids.

Not a fan of this class ship...the "adult solarium" is enclosed...so if you want to tan, you can't do it in there. They say the roof is retractable, but we've NEVER been able to have it opened. It's like a greenhouse. Not a fan.

Well I would dissagree with the last post. Serenade is one of our favorite ships and they do open the solarium roof quite often, but if you really want some good hot sun there are hundreds of loungers in the sun. Fantastic ship crew is very close and very helpful. We are sailing 21 days on her this coming fall on a 10 and 11 night back to back.

I think it depends what you enjoy. The bigger ships offer much more especially in terms of entertainment. I sailed the Serenade almost 2 years ago and found I missed the entertainment, promenade and multiple eating options (no fee).

I thought the staff and MDR were excellent, and food overall better than the bigger ships.

Ship did seem crowded at times. Even though the ship is smaller it has bottlenecks and didn't handle crowds as well as the bigger ships.

Solarium pool roof was not closed in the Caribbean. Main pool was crowded most days.

Overall, I missed the shows. I also found the ship to be very smokey. Smoke from the casino really permeated Centrum and other areas, but I could have just been on a sailing with a lot of smokers.

Are you looking at 7, 10 or 11 nights? Some March sailings are heavy with spring breakers. The longer the cruise the less kids.

11 nights at the end of March. This could mean Spring Break right? I'm from the UK where we don't have Spring Break so would never have thought to factor this in!

I think it depends what you enjoy. The bigger ships offer much more especially in terms of entertainment. I sailed the Serenade almost 2 years ago and found I missed the entertainment, promenade and multiple eating options (no fee).

 

I thought the staff and MDR were excellent, and food overall better than the bigger ships.

 

Ship did seem crowded at times. Even though the ship is smaller it has bottlenecks and didn't handle crowds as well as the bigger ships.

 

Solarium pool roof was not closed in the Caribbean. Main pool was crowded most days.

 

Overall, I missed the shows. I also found the ship to be very smokey. Smoke from the casino really permeated Centrum and other areas, but I could have just been on a sailing with a lot of smokers.

The entertainment is definitely one of my favourite things while on board, I feel like I would miss this alot as well as the Promenade.

I guess we usually eat in the MDR & Windjammer most so I feel we might be fine with this and I see Serenade has Giovanni's which we have enjoyed on Oasis + Allure. But loved Park Cafe on the Oasis class for lunch or snacks.

Thanks for your help.

11 nights at the end of March. This could mean Spring Break right? I'm from the UK where we don't have Spring Break so would never have thought to factor this in!

Pretty much every sailing from March until August is going to be kid heavy. Spring Breaks go from March until the end of April and then private schools in many areas start summer breaks in May.

The weather is likely to be very nice.

We sailed on Serenade last Fall. New England/ Canada cruise. Enjoyed the ship and crew. I consider this a small to medium size ship. If you enjoy interacting with staff and guests this is a great ship. Loved the piano bar at night. We are booked for a 10 day end of February into March. Can’t wait!

Happy Cruising

Looking at booking a cruise, we've done Allure, Oasis and Harmony so are used to the bigger ships.

But our favourite itinerary is on Serenade of the Seas, on the website the ship looks great, but what are your personal views on the ship?

Probably looking at staying in an ocean view room, person I'm with happy to lounge by the pool most the day, I get a little bored and love activities etc.

 

My next question is having only sailed during September + October (yup hurricane season) what's March like in the Southern Caribbean? Obviously you can never predict the weather all that much but is it generally smooth? I get super sea sick and have thankfully never been affected during hurricane season.

We love the Serenade of the Seas, so much so that we have booked B2B cruises on her in Jan.2019...20 days! I don't think you will be disappointed. You might find my youtube video from our 2017 cruise on the SOTS of value in maing your decision.

I was on the Serenade with a friend on a N.E./Canada cruise last October. I really liked the ship, perfect size for me. The service was excellent. I am booked again in the same cabin on the Serenade for Bermuda this October.

11 nights at the end of March. This could mean Spring Break right? I'm from the UK where we don't have Spring Break so would never have thought to factor this in!

We sailed Rhapsody March 11 thru the 18th this year. There were about four hundred spring breakers on this cruise and while they did tend to take over the pool and hot tub areas, the solarium remained quiet. Having heard horror stories about traveling during spring break, I can honestly say that the spring breakers on our cruise were well behaved, obviously having a good time while being respectful and interacting well with other cruisers.

We are a retired couple in our 60s and did not have any issues at all.

If you are looking to book an ocean view cabin may I recommend one of the cabins from 4580 to 4590. These are newer cabins that were put in where a small dining room used to be and have the original large windows. I was in 4586 the second half of my 21 night B2B this past March/April. There is a glass door at the entrance to the Centrum that keeps things quiet. I had a very good time aboard Serenade, she’s a fine ship.

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"Usually" the 10 and 11 night itineraries are not extremely heavy with the spring break crowd on a ship of this size. We did B2B 10 & 11 nights in March on Serenade year before last and it was a great itinerary without an excessive crowd of breakers. Are doing the same B2B this coming March (3/4-15 & 15-25) and not concerned at all about it. More concerned with hotel this time of year than cruise. Serenade is one of our favorite ships.

As always, your mileage may vary.

We love the Serenade of the Seas, so much so that we have booked B2B cruises on her in Jan.2019...20 days! I don't think you will be disappointed. You might find my youtube video from our 2017 cruise on the SOTS of value in maing your decision.

FYI, can't watch your video because it has been blocked due to a copyright issue.

We have never been on this ship and curious to see what it is all about. We are booked on this ship for March 2019

Not a fan of this class ship...the "adult solarium" is enclosed...so if you want to tan, you can't do it in there. They say the roof is retractable, but we've NEVER been able to have it opened. It's like a greenhouse. Not a fan.

Sorry but yes you can, they do open the solarium roof on nice days...

FYI, can't watch your video because it has been blocked due to a copyright issue.

We have never been on this ship and curious to see what it is all about. We are booked on this ship for March 2019

Serenade is a BIG favorite of ours! She's agreat size with plenty to do but not tto large! When she has a longer itinerary there are less children as well. The Radiance Class ships are so Open with views of the Sea with all the Glass!:D

We love the Serenade of the Seas, so much so that we have booked B2B cruises on her in Jan.2019...20 days! I don't think you will be disappointed. You might find my youtube video from our 2017 cruise on the SOTS of value in maing your decision.

:oYou are breaching Copyrights using the MUSIC you chose!

not a fan of the Serenade ….. too small for me , wont go back.

like the Oasis class much better … more entertainment and the promenade .