Serenade of the Seas--RC v. Carnival

[tjeanty]

Good Morning, All:

 

I think I am going to be a newcomer to RC. My SO and I are really contemplating about cancelling our cruise with Carnival in July and trying RC. I have a few questions to help me better determine if I want to go ahead and cancel with Carnival.

 

1. We plan to cruise on Seranade of the Seas, how is the ship? Are there flat screens in the staterooms?

2. Carnival is becoming more laxed with formal attire in the MDR. Is RC the same way? I would love to wear something relaxing/casual as I do with Carnival.

3. I've heard many stereotypes about Carnival being more of the party ship, whereas RC is catered to older folks. I'm young, and love to have a good time; will I enjoy myself on RC?

 

If there are any other things that you all can add that you think may be beneficial in helping me decide, please feel free to let me know! Thanks!

[bigtoeswim'n]

Hi Tjeanty: Welcome to RCI. My favorite cruise line. I was just on the Serenade in Sep 09. Concerning the TVs. I just checked my photos and see Serenade has tube-type TVs not flat screen.

 

I'm in my 50s, and went to bed early, so I don't know what the night life is like, but I would imagine those younger folks had a rip roaring time.

 

Hopefully, someone else will address that. As for relaxed formal wear, I think RCI has relaxed some. Seems people just are not that interested in dressing up. It is like a 50/50 split. I would a sparkly, cowl-neck polyester top with a sweat that was covered in sequence, all black. nice jewelry. I wore simple black pants that are warm-up pants. It had a stripe down the side. I wore Mukker shoes. This was an Alaskan cruise and I didn't have room in my one-bag carry on. (we travel light to avoid hassles of lost luggage.) My DH (dear husband) wore a white button down shirt, tie and a black vest. No suit jacket, black pants and casual brown shoes. If you look good from the waist up, I think it is passable. I think on Alaskan cruise, there is more dress-down bc of suitcase being occupied by cold-weather clothes, scarves, hats, gloves, etc.

 

Hope this helps in some way.

[tjeanty]

Thanks, bigtoeswim'n....more responses please!

[mtchg]

...which Carnival ship were you thinking of cancelling and what itinerary and number of nites are we talking about...those details would help.

 

Mitch

[tjeanty]

...which Carnival ship were you thinking of cancelling and what itinerary and number of nites are we talking about...those details would help.

 

Mitch

 

Carnival Freedom (it's in my siggy), 8 day Eastern Caribbean. Although we have sailed Victory with Carnival (Southern Caribbean), we want to do the same itinerary with RCI. The only difference is that RCI goes to St. Maarten and St. Croix.

[mtchg]

...try Royal for the first time. The Carnival Freedom is a little newer, and and about 25,000

ton's larger ( I have sailed her)..but I have sailed Serenade's sis the Jewel OTS...and

after reading a pro Serenade OTS review; I can almost guarantee that Serenade will

be more beautiful in the classic since; and yes there will be lotsa folks your age and

it won't be quiet at nite.

 

The Carnival Freedom has a huge HDTV screen at the main pool that was very impressive

and fun; but your Royal ship will have a Rock Climbing wall.

 

Unless you are booking a suite of some kind, your Serenade cabin will be a little snug compared to Carnival but it will be very modern and comfortable.

 

After sailing her, you will do some comparisons and decide you like some things better on one than another, but I suggest you give RCI a try...try something new.

 

Mitch

[printingchick]

Good Morning, All:

 

I think I am going to be a newcomer to RC. My SO and I are really contemplating about cancelling our cruise with Carnival in July and trying RC. I have a few questions to help me better determine if I want to go ahead and cancel with Carnival.

 

1. We plan to cruise on Seranade of the Seas, how is the ship? Are there flat screens in the staterooms? I won't sail on Serenade until March 6, however I'm pretty certain there will NOT be flat screen TVs in the cabins. I don't believe they introduced those until Freedom Class. I'm sure someone who has areadly sailed on Serenade will correct me if I'm wrong.

2. Carnival is becoming more laxed with formal attire in the MDR. Is RC the same way? I would love to wear something relaxing/casual as I do with Carnival. RCL has eliminated "smart casual". All your dinners in the main dining room will be either casual or formal. (Two formal nights on a 7-day cruise.) You'll see few, if any, tuxes. Most men wear a suit or dress slacks with a sports coat. Some just dress slacks and a nice shirt - with or without tie. Women typically wear cocktail dresses. There is a fairly wide range of FORMAL.

3. I've heard many stereotypes about Carnival being more of the party ship, whereas RC is catered to older folks. I'm young, and love to have a good time; will I enjoy myself on RC? I believe that both Carnival and Royal Caribbean market to a younger passenger than the other cruise lines. Carnival tends to draw a party crowd as well as families with young children. Royal Caribbean also draws families with young children, however their adult crowd tends to be more active. Look at their ships. On various classes they offer things like the rock-climbing wall, ice-skating in-line skating track, FlowRider and golf simulator. Activities include things like crew versus passenger dodge ball and/or crew versus passenger water volleyball. Their old slogan, "Get Out There" was well-suited to their marketing strategy. I've personally found I stay MUCH more entertained on sea days on RCL. I was often bored on Carnival, which depended upon their party atmosphere and BINGO to keep passengers entertained.

 

If there are any other things that you all can add that you think may be beneficial in helping me decide, please feel free to let me know! Thanks!

 

As you will see in my signature, I was a loyal Carnival cruiser turned Loyal Royal. See my responses in red.

RCL maintains it's fleet to a MUCH higher standard than Carnival. If you've sailed on older Carnival ships, you've experienced torn carpet on mini-golf courses, broken furniture in your cabin, sewage smells on lower decks, etc. My first cruise on RCL was on Adventure of the Seas. She was seven years old at the time, but looked BRAND new! As nicer or nicer than Carnival Valor, on which I sailed just weeks after her maiden voyage.

I enjoyed my cruises with Carnival and wouldn't hesitate to cruise with them again. However, I prefer Royal Caribbean. I feel the ships are nicer (I love Vegas, but does every inch of the ship need to be chrome, neon and burnt orange??), the service is superior (more friendly - our ship's captain on AOS played in the crew-vs-passenger dodge ball game. Ever had a Carnival captain you could envision doing something like that??), and better maintained.

Don't worry about the activities closing early. There is LOTS of nightlife on RCL. Be SURE to attend the Quest show. I won't tell you why or what it is. It's more fun to be surprised. But you absolutely HAVE to go!!!

 

The southern itineraries are the very best. There's a lot more variety than on a western itinerary.

ENJOY!! Come back and let us know what you decided and how it panned out!!!

[mikepmcm]

Here are some shots from the Serenade:

 

outdor dining area at the rear of the windjammer

 

Party in main gathering area the centrum

 

Main pool on a sea day

 

Glass covered adults only solarium pool