Everything Serenade of the Seas

[karylrocks]

With all the conflicting information I have read I still can't figure out:

 

Can I bring my hair straightener?

Can I bring water/soda on the ship?

Can I bring packaged snacks on the ship and then off the ship for excursions?

 

I would appreciate hearing from those who have been there and been allowed or not allowed to do these things. Thanks!!!! :)

[nunk]

With all the conflicting information I have read I still can't figure out:

 

Can I bring my hair straightener?

Can I bring water/soda on the ship?

Can I bring packaged snacks on the ship and then off the ship for excursions?

 

I would appreciate hearing from those who have been there and been allowed or not allowed to do these things. Thanks!!!! :)

 

Yes- brought our straightener.

Yes- saw many bringing on water/soda at the start of cruise.

Yes- we often packed a few snacks in my bag to take with on our excursions.

Hope this helps. Have you seen my review? I'm working on it daily and hope to answer additional ?'s anyone has. :)

[karylrocks]

Yes, very helpful, thank you!

[Terre]

You will love the Serenade. We got back a couple of weeks ago and really enjoyed it. The CD is great and the layout is just beautiful. My review and pictures are in my signature below.

[blondie307]

Broncos Fan: what do you think the weather will be like in the Southern Caribbean at the end of August/beginning of September? I know from your posting that you are a cruise-lover...Looking at a last-minute booking on SOS for my husband's birthday!

[Terre]

Thinking about booking Serenade for May 2011. I have 2 questions:

 

1) In your opinion, which itinerary is better. The one with Aruba/Curacao or St.Lucia/Antigua?This is a toss up for me. I love them all. Aruba is so different from St. Lucia and Antigua. It is a desert where St. Lucia & Antigua are so lush and green. We only took a tour of Curaco and we had torrential rains that day, so what we saw of the island was the town part, but pretty.

 

2) Hardly anyone talks about E1 balconies - forward on deck 7. They look like the balcony is larger than many others. Maybe the theatre is a problem? Can't help with this question. We were in 9078 Cat D2. We had the larger balcony and really enjoyed it. I think it was 120 sq feet.

 

quote]

[memadiane]

Thank you, Terre, for your response.

 

I loved your review! And, oh, the pictures! I cannot wait to see that beautiful atrium in person. The ship seems to sparkle. We ended up booking Serenade for the Fall of 2011. I decided on the St.Lucia/Antigua itinerary. They've added St. Croix and I just couldn't resist.

I found pictures of the E1 forward cabins. Though the balconies seem a bit larger, you are unable to look down into the water. It must be the lifeboats below. We were able to get JS1100 aft, with that fantastic wrap around deck. Only one huge problem.......I have to wait 15 more months....

[mommabean]

Thank you, Terre, for your response.

 

I loved your review! And, oh, the pictures! I cannot wait to see that beautiful atrium in person. The ship seems to sparkle. We ended up booking Serenade for the Fall of 2011. I decided on the St.Lucia/Antigua itinerary. They've added St. Croix and I just couldn't resist.

I found pictures of the E1 forward cabins. Though the balconies seem a bit larger, you are unable to look down into the water. It must be the lifeboats below. We were able to get JS1100 aft, with that fantastic wrap around deck. Only one huge problem.......I have to wait 15 more months....

 

I believe that the E1 and E2 forward balcony cabins on deck 7 DO have a full view down without the balcony covers. It's the rear E cabins on deck 7 that have the lifeboat covers partially blocking the view.

 

I don't know this from experience, just from research. Maybe someone else knows for sure. I'll know soon as I have one booked since I thought it would be fun to experience the extended balcony on the side of the ship. I have no issues with the partition not coming all the way to the railing.

 

Even the deck plans at the RCI site make it appear this way. The back of the ship shows something out beyond the balcony.

Gina

[mommabean]

Thank you, Terre, for your response.

 

I loved your review! And, oh, the pictures! I cannot wait to see that beautiful atrium in person. The ship seems to sparkle. We ended up booking Serenade for the Fall of 2011. I decided on the St.Lucia/Antigua itinerary. They've added St. Croix and I just couldn't resist.

I found pictures of the E1 forward cabins. Though the balconies seem a bit larger, you are unable to look down into the water. It must be the lifeboats below. We were able to get JS1100 aft, with that fantastic wrap around deck. Only one huge problem.......I have to wait 15 more months....

 

I'm almost wondering if Serenade and Radiance are slightly different on the forward deck 7 cabins. I can't find a clear shot of Serenade from the outside but it almost appears there is something jutting out below the railing. On Radiance I don't see this "thing". The deck plans appear the same at the website.

 

There are so many pictures at webshots now it makes it nearly impossible to find the shot I'm looking for.

 

I've not been able to find much clear info on cruise critic, either. If I put in more than one word, every post comes up that is unrelated. :(

 

Gina

[aggie1]

Has anyone ever stayed in a D1 #9558 on Serenade? Is it a good location and a good cabin? We are doing a B2B and could get this one for both weeks.

[CruiseyWoman]

My family and I will be on cruise also. I can't wait. Half of the family will be first-time cruises, so I feel really good about all of the great things that I've heard about the Serenade.

[cruisebabe50]

Anyone ever have any experience with 9210? Good or bad. We are leaving September 12th! We can't wait to cruise on this beautiful ship!:D

[datonesanchez]

Hello, I will be sailing Serenade Of the Seas in the Carribean. What is there to do on board for 20 year olds? What is the night life like on board? I have sailed on the Carnival Pride where there was club o2 and met some friends through that (we skipped all of the day activities though :D) but that was when I was 16.

[DramaBB82]

Hello, I will be sailing Serenade Of the Seas in the Carribean. What is there to do on board for 20 year olds? What is the night life like on board? I have sailed on the Carnival Pride where there was club o2 and met some friends through that (we skipped all of the day activities though :D) but that was when I was 16.

 

ohhhhhhhhhhhhmygosh the night life is awesome. Make sure you hit the Vortex every night. Things really get going good 12:30 and later- that's when the music gets really fun too.

 

Just make sure you participate in all the parties and such. Do as much ship activities as you can. You'll start seeing familiar faces and things will go from there ;)

[datonesanchez]

ohhhhhhhhhhhhmygosh the night life is awesome. Make sure you hit the Vortex every night. Things really get going good 12:30 and later- that's when the music gets really fun too.

 

Just make sure you participate in all the parties and such. Do as much ship activities as you can. You'll start seeing familiar faces and things will go from there ;)

 

Thanks for the reply! What is the age group for club Vortex? I remember on previous cruises there were separate clubs for under 18 and 18+.

 

 

 

p.s. I am new to cruises, what does port intensive mean?

[melbur]

Vortex is a night club (serving alcohol) so popular with 18+ crowd.

Port Intensive means you spend almost every day in a different port, as opposed to an itinerary that has a lot of sea days.

[DramaBB82]

Thanks for the reply! What is the age group for club Vortex? I remember on previous cruises there were separate clubs for under 18 and 18+.

 

 

 

p.s. I am new to cruises, what does port intensive mean?

 

Yea, some nights they asked for an ID card, but only once or twice....Maybe even just once, for a theme party- I can't quite recall. But definitely for the most of the time you just walked right in and that's the cool thing- the younger crowd (17-20somethings) were the ones that stayed into the wee hours of the morning, but at the start of the night there was a nice cross section of ages in the Vortex. Maybe that's not what you're looking for, but it made me smile and feel more comfortable. You're on a cruise after all- people come out of their shells and do things they wouldn't normally do. In the "real" world you might not see a middle aged couple at a dance club, but on a cruise anything's possible and that's why I love it: I'm not keen on the regular "club crowd," but on a cruise it's like they take all the good aspects of a club (the dancing, the music, the drinks) and then make it better by enhancing the good things (better music/more variety) and eliminating the bad (gross weird club trollers, odd "substances," the slight element of danger that comes from being out late in any city at night...).

 

If you go in earlier in the night (before 12) don't be discouraged if they're just playing one kind of music- it changes later on. When I was there they started around 10pm with like, a lot of latin music and rap/r&b styles, but then around 12:30 or so the music always changed over to popular dance hits. And just to make sure, you can ask the DJ to play a certain type of music or certain songs.

 

I'm 27 and had a BLAST at the Vortex almost every night until 1am or so. After that I'm the one that got tired, but the party definitely continued.

[MikeBayAreaCa]

Had Grand Suite 1550 on the Serenade last June in Alaska and loved it.

 

Thinking of taking the Serenade next June from San Juan and was going to take two young adult sons this time. (Their first cruise)

 

An Owners Suite would seem like a better idea for four adults. Has anyone been in Owners Suite 1560.

 

The price is roughly $1600 more than a Grand Suite. The extra room seems nice I have heard that the balcony is smaller than a Grand Suite, but I saw a picture of this room and the balcony looked huge. Does anyone know for sure.

 

By the way the Serenade is a wonderful ship.

[sadie8]

Rookiedude, My young adult children like having their own room. They usually keep different hours than we do (stay out much, much later and sleep later in the morning). Everybody has their own space and I don't have to hear when they come in. Does the owner's suite have separate bedrooms? This may be the answer to your question.

[Terre]

Thank you, Terre, for your response.

 

I loved your review! And, oh, the pictures! I cannot wait to see that beautiful atrium in person. The ship seems to sparkle. We ended up booking Serenade for the Fall of 2011. I decided on the St.Lucia/Antigua itinerary. They've added St. Croix and I just couldn't resist.

I found pictures of the E1 forward cabins. Though the balconies seem a bit larger, you are unable to look down into the water. It must be the lifeboats below. We were able to get JS1100 aft, with that fantastic wrap around deck. Only one huge problem.......I have to wait 15 more months....

You will love St. Lucia...if you can book a tour with Cosol you will love it even more. We have not been to St. Croix.

 

Our cabin was on the end next to the elevators and the lifeboats were to the right of us so we could see the water below. I think we were in a D4. I'm jealous that you got the aft balcony!

[datonesanchez]

Thanks to everyone who answered my questions, I could not find the multi-quote option on this forum. Good to hear that there is a diverse crowd in club Vortex, that will make the atmosphere much friendlier.

[memadiane]

I'm almost wondering if Serenade and Radiance are slightly different on the forward deck 7 cabins. I can't find a clear shot of Serenade from the outside but it almost appears there is something jutting out below the railing. On Radiance I don't see this "thing". The deck plans appear the same at the website.

 

There are so many pictures at webshots now it makes it nearly impossible to find the shot I'm looking for.

 

I've not been able to find much clear info on cruise critic, either. If I put in more than one word, every post comes up that is unrelated. :(

 

Gina

 

 

Since I read your post I have been trying to find the picture I had seen of an E1. Finally! The picture is on *****, of cabin 7044.

Hope this helps.

 

How surprising that Radiance may be different. I thought the 4 "sisters" were built identically......

You learn something new every day. ;)

[mommabean]

Since I read your post I have been trying to find the picture I had seen of an E1. Finally! The picture is on *****, of cabin 7044.

Hope this helps.

 

How surprising that Radiance may be different. I thought the 4 "sisters" were built identically......

You learn something new every day. ;)

 

 

I think the configuration of those rooms is the same from ship to ship. There are other unrelated differences, though.

 

I think the reason those deck 7 cabins look different sometimes is because of the angle of the camera or how far away the pictures are taken. The forward deck 7 balconies on all the Radiance class ships have a clear view downward with no lifeboat cover obstruction - not what RCI calls an obstruction. But many of us see it as one.

 

 

I wish more people would post more cabin pictures to that website. The pics of 7044 really are good and should help people who have booked rooms behind the lifeboat covers.

 

Gina

[ncsteeler]

Heading out on SOS in September. Ya'll making me feel like were in steerage class, LOL I don't suppose anyone has ever been in 4542?

[PattyG12]

Heading out on SOS in September. Ya'll making me feel like were in steerage class, LOL I don't suppose anyone has ever been in 4542?

 

We'll be getting on SOS as you're getting off. Please take good care of her. I'm pretty excited about seeing her.