Serenade of the Seas Question

[nwcruisemamma]

Hi,

 

We are considering an 11 day Caribbean on Serenade of the Seas, but I keep reading reviews where people comment it is not a great ship for kids and that the slide is only open part of the day.

 

We have three kiddos 6,7 and 12.

 

Can anyone comment on the slide being closed a lot and if this is a good cruise for a family with three kids.

 

Thanks so much!

[NightOne]

Read this review:

 

Serenade of the Seas January 3, 2015 **FAMILY EDITION ~ PHOTO REVIEW**

 

and I think you will be able to decide afterwards. :)

[Proseknitic]

Hi,

 

We are considering an 11 day Caribbean on Serenade of the Seas, but I keep reading reviews where people comment it is not a great ship for kids and that the slide is only open part of the day.

 

We have three kiddos 6,7 and 12.

 

Can anyone comment on the slide being closed a lot and if this is a good cruise for a family with three kids.

 

Thanks so much!

You can read the review.

 

Short answer - if your kids LOVE water sports - pick a different cruise line. Seriously. Royal has a great toddler pool. The slide operates 10-14 on sea days. It is not a huge slide. They will allow adults if there is not a line up of kids. But Royal is not know for slides, pools and the rest. The wave riders are on Adventure Class and above, but not suitable for the young and short.

 

The Radiance Class ships have good children's programs and activities, but they are not Disney (but don't cost that level either). The Radiance Class ships can get overwhelmed with large numbers of children.

 

Don't get me wrong, I love Royal but my kids when teens much preferred NCL for the water slides, open dining and multi-language programs....

 

-Holly

everyone's opinions will vary. Pick an itinerary that is heavy on what your kids like to do. All the "private islands" will work wonderfully. Many of the other ports have great beaches and kid friendly tours...

[Ocean Spirit]

Even ships with big slides may end up closing if it gets too windy on sea days.

 

I think you're going to get about a 50/50 turn out on whether or not to sail on the Serenade .... some love it others don't (just like every other ship)

 

My vote would be to look at another ship (however, that 11 days sailing to all those ports sure looks like a lot of fun!)

 

Now your back to where you started.... still don't know what to do oops.

[Paul65]

Just off the Serenade. We had a 17 year old with us, and he met some good kids his age and had a great time. I can't comment specifically on the slide, but whenever I passed by the kids pool, there were little ones in there who seemed to be having a good time.

 

Our son has been with us on several RC cruises from the time he was about 3 1/2 years old. He used to love the Adventure Ocean kids program. Now that he's a teen, he tends more to make his own fun, rather than doing ship-organized activities, but the kids program was always good fun, when he was younger.

 

If you decide to look at other lines, though, I've heard that Disney is one of the best for kids.

[tiessa]

If I were taking kids I would look at the Freedom and larger. I've also heard Disney is the best with kids...and even without...but I've never cruised with them personally.

[robint]

We were on Serenade for a 12-night cruise last summer (Greek Isles) with my then 9 and 13 year old daughters.

 

Neither really liked the kids/teen clubs. My 9 yo felt like there wasn't much going on for her age, and my 13-yo is introverted and didn't feel like participating in much.

 

The slide is ridiculously slow. My 13-yo had to push herself down it. The pool is saltwater; once my 9-yo realized this, she pretty much refused to go in for fear of getting salt in her eyes.

 

Their favorite part of the ship? The ice cream machine and the ever-present french fries.

 

We were on a very port-intensive cruise, so it was fine, but sea days were pretty boring for them.

 

I agree with those that say one of the bigger ships might be better for kids.

[NightOne]

Just off the Serenade.

 

Curious if there was still no aerial show on your sailing ???

[Paul65]

Curious if there was still no aerial show on your sailing ???

 

Never saw it mentioned in the Cruise Compass, so I don't think they had the show.

[Bamagirl_gina]

Never saw it mentioned in the Cruise Compass, so I don't think they had the show.

 

We just got off Serenade Saturday. No, there as no aerial show. The "ropes" (or whatever they are called) are still up at the top, but no performances. We were on Serenade a year ago also with the same itinerary. Honestly, the quality of the ship (venues, food, etc) was not nearly as good this time around. We had such a great cruise last year, so I was a bit disappointed this year.

[NightOne]

We just got off Serenade Saturday. No, there as no aerial show. The "ropes" (or whatever they are called) are still up at the top, but no performances. We were on Serenade a year ago also with the same itinerary. Honestly, the quality of the ship (venues, food, etc) was not nearly as good this time around. We had such a great cruise last year, so I was a bit disappointed this year.

 

I did my post when I returned:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2187023

 

and gave it a 79/100 at the time.

 

Now that it has been a month and I reflect back and think more on it I would raise that to 85/100. All my original thoughts are the same but when I reflect on the overall experience I would say it was very good and deserves a slightly higher "score".

 

I definitely think each sailing can have its own unique experience based on your fellow passengers and a multitude of other factors.

 

So while I would certainly like to try Freedom or Voyager class next time I sail on RCCL, I would not necessarily say no to a Radiance class ship in the future.