Back from the Serenade of the Seas

[stitchLi809]

This is my second cruise, and i have to say i was IMPRESSED! My first cruise was on the Carnival Destiny which i thought was great until I went on the Serenade of the Seas.

 

My stateroom attendent, Roberto, was great. We had a balcony and I asked him for a lounge chair, which he bought up a couple of days later. The first thing he told my boyfriend and I was that we were on vacation so don't worry about the room, the mess, or anything else. Just enjoy and relax. And trust me we took his advice.

 

The Dining Room staff was amazing. After one night, our waiter and assistant waiter, Govind and Katherine, remembered our names and what we liked to drink. They were extremely attentive. The food was great! and staff genuinely seemed to enjoy working there.

 

Windjammer was surprising good too. After having the buffet on Carnivall, I thought buffets wouldn't be great in general. But the food in general was tasty and desserts were great. I loved the fudge cookies besides the self serve ice cream. :D

 

We also did the Mystery Dinner Theater. We really enjoyed it. The ship's dancers and singers are the actors in the myster dinner and they were entertaining.

 

I loved the Solarium, i think that was my favorite part of the ship. It was relaxing and peaceful and not noisy. The ship is great. There is glass everywhere so you can see the ocean all over the ship.

 

I have to say the only downside were that some people, fellow cruisers, were rude. Anytime i wanted to exit the elevator there would be a group of people trying to get on, while i was trying to get off. After 15 to 20 times, this became quit annoying..but that's just a side note... just needed to vent.

 

I can't wait to plan my next cruise on Royal. I am day 2 of withdrawl :(

I can't stop gushing about my great experience.

[frogkat]

Glad you had a good time. We are going on Serenade next week. Thanks for the review.:)

[LBumb]

How did you like your ports of call.

[karena1]

We have been on Serenade twice and are doing a B2B on her next April. Love that ship. Service is amazing, and even though she doesn't have the bells/whistles of the Voyager/Freedom class, she is so beautifual with all the brass and glass. Cannot wait to get on her again. Not to mention that the Southern Caribbean is by far our favorite.

[gdpups]

On that itinerary can you tell me which nights were formal. Sometimes they change the second formal night to the sea day. I'm on her next week and want to make sure I have the right night booked for Chops. I'd also like to know what you did in each port??

[nyer]

So glad that you had such a great time. I will be on the Serenade in July.

Was the Solarium very crowded?

[BroncosFan2010]

Glad to see the Serenade is still in top shape! B2B on her in 68 days!

[jvdcal08]

My fiance and I will be honeymooning on the Serenade (July4th-11th)... We were wondering when the mystery theater took place and what time? We are interested in making reservations for Portofinos or Chops and the Mystery theater sounds fun!

[frogkat]

Oh, I would like to know also how the ports were? Did you do shore excursions? Thanks.:D

[gdpups]

I'm on the Serenade next week and am signed up for the Murder Mystery dinner, which is the 4th night. You should be able to book it online now and it will show which night it is, if it's not sold out.

[spencercoop]

Glad you had a great cruise.

 

I hope to take cruise out of San Juan someday so I can hit some of the Southern Caribbean islands.

[cruisebabe50]

I just tried to reserve the mystery dinner theater for our Serenade Cruise in Sept. I got an error message saying that there are no specialty restaurants on my cruise? Huh? I guess I need to call C&A later today. That sounds like so much fun!

[cruzinjudi]

we are looking to book a balcony for next year-we are looking at the st lucia itinerary, should I be looking at the port side or starboard side ---thanks

[apkpcruisers]

Thank you for the review, glad you had a great vacation!

[stitchLi809]

So glad that you had such a great time. I will be on the Serenade in July.

 

Was the Solarium very crowded?

 

The loungers are usually taken.. I think I only got on them once, but then again i went during the afternoon which was busy. But i didn't mind taking a seat facing the ocean.. it was still relaxing and I was able to take a nap and relax! :D

[stitchLi809]

Oh, I would like to know also how the ports were? Did you do shore excursions? Thanks.:D

 

Curacao was nice. It was raining and we did an excursion to the beach. I'm the type that loves to sun bathe and enjoy the water and i still managed to do that in the rain!

 

Dominica was ok in my opinion. It's not as developed as the other ports. We did an excursion that took us to the falls. If you decide to do this please please bring the right footwear. The hills are rocky and steep. You have the option of going to swim at the bottom of the fall. We didn't make it there.. It rained in the morning and the rocks were slippery. We say a few people fall. I also had to pay $1 to use the restroom..HA!

 

Aruba was beautiful. Turquiose water and white sand. We took a taxi there on our own. We bargained for $10 and got it. Other taxis were asking for 15-20 dollars. We got off near the Hyatt and rented a beach chair for $4. You can use the bathroom at the Hyatt to change. We took the bus back to the pier which was $1.65. it was right outside the Hyatt.. can't beat that..

 

St. Thomas, we did the BOSS excursion which is AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!! it's pretty much a scooter under water with a water free helmet. I can barely swim and was scared and have to admit I did the excursion for my Boyfriend at first... but I ended up loving it! The guys that ran the tour were hilarious and genuinely fun and made everyone have a good time. They also made me feel safe underwater because at any given time there were 2 divers near me Just in case.. You enter the helmet and then they bring you down 8 feet deep into the water and they bring fish food to attract all the fishes..Awesome awesome.. a must do in my opinion..

[stitchLi809]

My fiance and I will be honeymooning on the Serenade (July4th-11th)... We were wondering when the mystery theater took place and what time? We are interested in making reservations for Portofinos or Chops and the Mystery theater sounds fun!

 

On our cruise, it was on Day 4 at 6:15pm.. They served hors d'ourves in a theater and served champagne and set up the mystery... It was a lil corny but in a fun way. Everyone was having a great time. They then break you into tables and escort you to Portifino... where there is unlimited red or white wine..hahahaha.. i took advantage. =)

[cruisebabe50]

I called C&A to try to book my murder mystery dinner and she said that she was getting the same message as I am. "there are no specialty restaurants available for this cruise". She said possibly that Royal tech folks had not updated the times and such for my particular cruise yet and to keep trying periodically.

[BroncosFan2010]

Curacao was nice. It was raining and we did an excursion to the beach. I'm the type that loves to sun bathe and enjoy the water and i still managed to do that in the rain!

 

Dominica was ok in my opinion. It's not as developed as the other ports. We did an excursion that took us to the falls. If you decide to do this please please bring the right footwear. The hills are rocky and steep. You have the option of going to swim at the bottom of the fall. We didn't make it there.. It rained in the morning and the rocks were slippery. We say a few people fall. I also had to pay $1 to use the restroom..HA!

 

Aruba was beautiful. Turquiose water and white sand. We took a taxi there on our own. We bargained for $10 and got it. Other taxis were asking for 15-20 dollars. We got off near the Hyatt and rented a beach chair for $4. You can use the bathroom at the Hyatt to change. We took the bus back to the pier which was $1.65. it was right outside the Hyatt.. can't beat that..

 

St. Thomas, we did the BOSS excursion which is AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!! it's pretty much a scooter under water with a water free helmet. I can barely swim and was scared and have to admit I did the excursion for my Boyfriend at first... but I ended up loving it! The guys that ran the tour were hilarious and genuinely fun and made everyone have a good time. They also made me feel safe underwater because at any given time there were 2 divers near me Just in case.. You enter the helmet and then they bring you down 8 feet deep into the water and they bring fish food to attract all the fishes..Awesome awesome.. a must do in my opinion..

 

Sounds like a great time! Bummer about the rain.

[smacksgirl11]

We were on the Serenade in May and she was a beautiful ship! Cant wait to sail her again. The service was excellent and we really enjoyed Chops the food was delicious!

[frogkat]

Thanks for the info about the ports. Sorry it rained. Hoping it doesn't rain next week. The BOSS sounds fun. :)

[gdpups]

Still trying to find out when the second formal night is if you remember. Thanks

[stitchLi809]

Still trying to find out when the second formal night is if you remember. Thanks

 

 

Sorry.. the first formal night was the night #2 and the second formal night was night number 5 if i remember correctly :D

[jvdcal08]

Thank you so much for the information. I am looking into booking it today :)