Serenade of the Seas

[ValerieJo]

Another question - As I understand from these posts, the muster is at 8:00, sail-a-way at 8:30 and late dining at 8:45. Since I have late dining, but I really want to be on deck or at least our balcony during sailaway, will I have to skip dinner in the MDR that first evening? Or is it okay to be a little late for dinner? (there should not be anyone else at our table to be inconvenienced)

 

Thanks for all the helpful info you all contribute!

 

Viv

 

I have the same question. We have the late dinner seating and would hate to miss sail away. Is there enough time to do both?

 

Thanks.

[melbur]

I'm trying to book a private excursion for St. Lucia and am wondering what time I will actually be off the ship in port - I know it's supposed to be there at 9:00, but there are several ships in port that day and some threads have alluded to the possibility of tendering. Would I be safe in scheduling a 9:30 pick-up, or is that cutting it too close?

 

Another question - As I understand from these posts, the muster is at 8:00, sail-a-way at 8:30 and late dining at 8:45. Since I have late dining, but I really want to be on deck or at least our balcony during sailaway, will I have to skip dinner in the MDR that first evening? Or is it okay to be a little late for dinner? (there should not be anyone else at our table to be inconvenienced)

 

Thanks for all the helpful info you all contribute!

 

 

Viv

 

We did not tender in St Lucia and we were able to get off right away, but the port was not busy, so I would give yourself 30-45 minutes just in case. Let your tour operator know this may be the case.

The late seating is 845 only on the first night, and the mustering only took maybe 15 min tops - time to see sailaway and get to dinner at 845.

The rest of the week its 830

[skiiergirl]

I'm trying to book a private excursion for St. Lucia and am wondering what time I will actually be off the ship in port - I know it's supposed to be there at 9:00, but there are several ships in port that day and some threads have alluded to the possibility of tendering. Would I be safe in scheduling a 9:30 pick-up, or is that cutting it too close?

 

Another question - As I understand from these posts, the muster is at 8:00, sail-a-way at 8:30 and late dining at 8:45. Since I have late dining, but I really want to be on deck or at least our balcony during sailaway, will I have to skip dinner in the MDR that first evening? Or is it okay to be a little late for dinner? (there should not be anyone else at our table to be inconvenienced)

 

Thanks for all the helpful info you all contribute!

 

Viv

 

Typically I say don't be late at all. But on the first night there is always a line to get in and people tend to straggle in. So being maybe 15 minutes late would be ok but I wouldn't push it past that. Even though you may be at a table for two, your waiter will be serving folks at other tables so it will throw him off schedule and affect folks at other tables if you show up too late.

[printingchick]

Couple of questions I just thought of - if you can believe I have any left!!

• We're in a category H, oceanview cabin. What will the shower be like? So far, I've only sailed Royal Caribbean on Voyager and Freedom Class. We've always had that sort of rounded shower door. Is it the same on Serenade?
  
• Voyager and Freedom class cabins have a curtain splitting the room at the foot of the bed. Same on Radiance class?
  
• If we have the beds as twins, where would they be positioned in relationship to the window?
  

Thanks!!

[melbur]

Couple of questions I just thought of - if you can believe I have any left!!

• We're in a category H, oceanview cabin. What will the shower be like? So far, I've only sailed Royal Caribbean on Voyager and Freedom Class. We've always had that sort of rounded shower door. Is it the same on Serenade? yes, the spaceship tube shower!:D
  
• Voyager and Freedom class cabins have a curtain splitting the room at the foot of the bed. Same on Radiance class? not sure about oceanview curtain
  
• If we have the beds as twins, where would they be positioned in relationship to the window? under the window, there is a sofa in the room as you enter
  

Thanks!!

 

maybe someone else can answer your 2nd question better

Have a great cruise

[printingchick]

maybe someone else can answer your 2nd question better

Have a great cruise

 

Thanks!! The questions you answered were the critical ones!! I am used to the bed being under the window, so I can look out at the ocean without even leaving the bed in the morning! I'd miss that if it were different on Serenade!!

[Reijo]

I'm thinking of booking this cruise but enjoy the larger ships SO much that I don't know if I'll be disappointed or not. I've heard that the Radiance class ships are the best. How did you fell about the ship?

[Shocker]

We were off the ship at 9A as the ship arrived about 8:30A. I would suggest a tour with Cosol Tours, I've been cruising for 20 years and it was the best tour dollar for dollar I have ever been on. $65.00 He will pick you up at the dock and have you back in plenty of time. Check him out on the net.

 

I was at anytime dinning but I assume you could be late. Check when you board but I also would suggest the buffet as they have 80% of what the dinning room has on the menu plus other things.

 

Dave

[Shocker]

I'm thinking of booking this cruise but enjoy the larger ships SO much that I don't know if I'll be disappointed or not. I've heard that the Radiance class ships are the best. How did you fell about the ship?

 

When we first explored the ship the wife and I discussed how small the ship seemed as we were also use to much larger ships. Once underway we were amazed that not one time were we in a crowd or waited in any line at all. The breakfast buffet has more seating than most large ships it seems and we always wondered where did the 2000 passengers on this ship hang out. They don't allow chairs on deck to be saved and do a decent job of policing this so there was always deck chair available. The crew was the friendliest crew I have ever experienced. Book this ship, you will love it.

 

Dave

[skiiergirl]

I'm thinking of booking this cruise but enjoy the larger ships SO much that I don't know if I'll be disappointed or not. I've heard that the Radiance class ships are the best. How did you fell about the ship?

 

We love Serenade. We love the RD class in general having sailed Jewel once, Brilliance once, Radiance many times, and Serenade many, many times. In comparison we have done the Voyager class on 2 times and the Freedom class only once. Hands down we prefer RD class to any other class afloat (except now Oasis is a nice alternative). As another poster said, SR has one of the friendliest (and efficient) crews in the fleet.

[melbur]

We love this class of ship, and the Serenade can't be beat.

I guess it depends what it is about the larger ships you enjoy so much. there is no skating rink, or Royal Promenade but it is is roomy, and glass everywhere with a view to the sea. And the staff are exceptional.

[Kikkycat]

I'm thinking of booking this cruise but enjoy the larger ships SO much that I don't know if I'll be disappointed or not. I've heard that the Radiance class ships are the best. How did you fell about the ship?

 

Although I have only one other ship to compare, I found the two (Adventure and Serenade) to be more alike than dissimilar. The extra seating in the Windjammer on Serenade was appreciated, as Adventure always seemed to be crowded. The outside part of WJ was particularly nice! I did sort of miss the Promenade, but not enough so that it'd keep me from sailing Radiance class again. Serenade is a beautiful ship, I doubt you'd be disappointed too much.

[ValerieJo]

They don't allow chairs on deck to be saved and do a decent job of policing this so there was always deck chair available.

Dave

 

So happy to read this. Thanks for the info.

[marys350]

I have the cruise compasses from the entire week if anyone has questions.

 

Main seating dinner that night: 6pm

Second seating: 8:45pm

 

Muster was at 8pm.

 

Kikkycat,

What time are the shows? I'm thinking of a MTD reservation for 7:00 and wondering if I'll be finished in time to go to the shows?

Thanks,

Mary

[melbur]

Kikkycat,

What time are the shows? I'm thinking of a MTD reservation for 7:00 and wondering if I'll be finished in time to go to the shows?

Thanks,

Mary

 

Most nights the show for 1st seating passengers was 9pm. You shouldn't have trouble making that. I believe there was one night there was an early show but you could go to the 2nd seating time slot - 10:30pm.

[Kikkycat]

According to the Compass (I don't go to shows), the shows were at the following times on our 1/30 sailing. The times probably stay the same, although I'm sure some of the shows will vary.

 

Saturday (sailaway night): 10:30pm (one show only) - comedian George Kanter

 

Sunday: 9pm and 10:45pm - "Stage to Screen"

 

Monday: 7pm and 9pm - The Coasters

 

Tuesday: 10:30pm - Love & Marriage Game show

 

Wednesday: 7pm and 9pm - Merrill Osmond

 

Thursday: 7pm and 9pm - Vibe*ology

 

Friday: 7pm and 9pm - the Physical comedy of Steve Carte

[marys350]

Thanks for the quick replies Melbur and Kikky Cat.

 

Kikky Cat- Thanks for taking the time to list all of the specifics from your copies of the Compass, especially where you didn't go to the shows. I appreciate it.

 

Mary

[Cruisin KLS]

I'm thinking of booking this cruise but enjoy the larger ships SO much that I don't know if I'll be disappointed or not. I've heard that the Radiance class ships are the best. How did you fell about the ship?

 

I don't think you will be disappointed in the Serenade at all. We sailed AOS in 2009 and just got off Serenade on 02/06. We were worried that the ship would be too small, that we would miss the promenade. Not the case at all. Like someone else said, I didn't feel like we were ever in a crowd. Never had trouble finding a table in the WJ. Loved the layout of the ship....very easy to navigate. Loved all the glass. I am sure that you will have a good time.

 

-Kristi

[paulap70]

I'm thinking of booking this cruise but enjoy the larger ships SO much that I don't know if I'll be disappointed or not. I've heard that the Radiance class ships are the best. How did you fell about the ship?

 

We just completed our first Serenade (and Radiance class) cruise. We thought the ship was great and staff well-deserving of their high rankings within the fleet. I did, however, miss the activity of the promenade. The shops on the Serenade seemed a bit weak for me in comparison.

 

Our only real "disappointment" was the inability to get ice cream once the WJ closed. We had attended the super bowl party. Since they served a lot of food, we weren't hungry for our usual main dining room dinner. Around 10 PM, we decided we wanted some ice cream, so we went to the Seaview. There is no Ben and Jerry's and the soft serve ice cream is located in the WJ, which closed at 9 PM. We were informed that we needed to get this from room service. Room service said they did not offer ice cream. I had to check on a missing onboard credit, so I asked about this at guest relations and they also told me to call room service!!!! I spent entirely too much time with this and too much time here explaining it, but it was strange to me that it was so difficult to get something so simple at a relatively early hour.

 

I also didn't care for some of the menu changes in the main dining room. The food was good and no one is going to starve, but it just didn't seem as good or exciting as I had remembered from prior cruises. Fortunately, we had great experiences in Chops and Portofino, and in the Seaview Cafe. We loved the WJ, too. As others have said, it never felt crowded. You didn't have to nail down a table as soon as you entered the place as is often the case on the larger ships.

 

The crowd was definitely older and there were few kids on our 2/6 sailing. No problem with this at all.

 

The solarium area is very nice, but the roof is closed, meaning that there is only one outdoor pool area. On the sea day, they had the belly flop contest and the volleyball tournament in the main pool, so it wasn't available for a couple of prime hours in the afternoon.

 

All in all, it was a nice cruise and a great itinerary, but I believe we will head back to the voyager class or larger ships in the future. Just our personal preference.