Never sailed RCI before - Lots of Serenade questions

[elycelynne]

I've only sailed Holland America so far (7 cruises, all Caribbean) and am now considering the 10-day Eastern Caribbean itinerary on the Serenade (which goes to 3 ports that I actually haven't been to before). I have a few questions:

 

1. I've read discussion that the "E" balcony cabins are kind of cramped and that the "D" balcony cabins are a tad more spacious. If I decide to go with a "D", are there any specific cabins to be avoided, and why?

 

2. IF I decided to scrap the balcony idea altogether and go with an ocean view cabin, how are those set up? Are the beds under the window, or are they parallel?

 

3. How comfortable are the beds? I can't tolerate a hard mattress very well and was wondering if an egg crate mattress topper can be obtained if necessary?

 

4. Is it necessary to make dinner reservations with open dining (whatever RCI's version is -- "My Time", maybe) or can you just walk in the dining room without one? And if you can, will they ask if you'd be willing to sit with others or do they just relegate you to your own table?

 

5. If anyone has sailed solo on this itinerary, how was the experience? I don't necessarily expect a red carpet to be rolled out, but I wouldn't want to be treated like a second-class citizen either.

 

6. If anyone who's reading this has sailed on Holland America, could you provide a brief comparison between the two (something like "RCI does this better but Holland America does that better", etc.)?

 

7. And finally, does anyone have recent daily programs from this itinerary? I would just like a general idea of how busy RCI keeps its passengers in terms of activities and entertainment.

 

Thanks! :D

Edited March 22, 2016 by elycelynne

[Clarea]

Can help with some questions.

 

In my opinion there is little difference in size between "E" and "D" balconies. The "D" is probably around 3 feet longer, so the loveseat on the "E" turns into a sofa on the "D". If you've got more than 2 people in the stateroom, then I'd probably want that extra 3 feet, but it would not bother me with only 2 people in the stateroom.

 

You do not need to make dinner reservations with My Time Dining. You can just show up when you want. Reservations are supposed to reduce wait time, but some people report little to no wait time just showing up.

 

One thing that may be different than Holland are the bathroom amenities. Royal gives you two bars of soap and a combo shampoo/conditioner dispenser in the shower. That's it.

Edited March 22, 2016 by clarea

[Mar56]

We have 3 cruises with HAL and 3 with RCL. rcl does trivia much better than HAL plus the nightlife is much better as well. Lots of places to dance, or listen to great music plus the atrium is our favourite place to just sit and listen, or dance.

 

Our food was better on HAL.

 

We have done 2 cruises on the Brilliance,a sister ship to the Serenade and loved that ship. Lots of views of the water, great layout, and a good size - not too large. We are sailing on the Serenade next January and are really looking forward to it.

 

Oh, and the staff are just as excellent as on HAL.

 

Hope this helps.

 

And didnt we win a dance contest on the Noordam with you? Disco I believe.

 

 

 

Marion

[Keith1010]

RCI is a lot more vibrant then Holland.

 

Keith

[elycelynne]

Hi, Marion!

 

I believe it was a dance-off that served as the tie-breaker for "Name That Tune" at the Seaview pool. (Noordam, 2014) The big prize that we won was a deck of cards! :rolleyes:

 

I hope you and Bryan are well!

[Mar56]

Hi, Marion!

 

I believe it was a dance-off that served as the tie-breaker for "Name That Tune" at the Seaview pool. (Noordam, 2014) The big prize that we won was a deck of cards! :rolleyes:

 

I hope you and Bryan are well!

 

You are correct lol. Bryan and I are doing very well. I hope that you are too.

 

Marion

[Cruzin-K]

I can answer one thing - the Serenade mattresses are hard as a rock. Really really really hard :( I've sailed on many RCI cruises, including a previous one on the Serenade (in 2010) and never had a problem before, but the new mattresses they bought are horrible, as I discovered this past October. I asked for a topper and got some sort of pad, but I would have needed three to make much of a difference. I woke up with a bad back every morning which took a few hours (and much ibuprofen) to stop hurting.

 

If you find that your mattress is too hard, make sure your stateroom attendant puts more than just one topper on the bed. Two or three at a minimum and you should be OK.

 

I found our E cabin to be too small for me and my Mom, but I would have been fine with it if I'd been solo.

 

I've sailed solo on several RCI cruises and always had a great time. I never felt like a second class citizen at all.

[TigerCruzin]

One thing that may be different than Holland are the bathroom amenities. Royal gives you two bars of soap and a combo shampoo/conditioner dispenser in the shower. That's it.

 

We were just on Serenade last week. There were individual bottles of shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and (something else I can't remember) along with bars of soap. :)

[Clarea]

We were just on Serenade last week. There were individual bottles of shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and (something else I can't remember) along with bars of soap. :)

Very nice, what category of stateroom did you have?

[TigerCruzin]

Very nice, what category of stateroom did you have?

 

We were in 1604 a D1. Not sure if location made a difference.

 

I was expecting the shampoo conditioner combo dispenser so brought my own. My hair is pretty particular if I want it to cooperate :eek:

 

Oh and the last thing I couldn't remember was body wash. :D

[Clarea]

We were in 1604 a D1. Not sure if location made a difference.

 

I was expecting the shampoo conditioner combo dispenser so brought my own. My hair is pretty particular if I want it to cooperate :eek:

 

Oh and the last thing I couldn't remember was body wash. :D

It's unusual for a regular balcony stateroom to get the separate amenities. They used to do that on Oasis and Allure, but I didn't think it was happening on other ships. Thanks for the info.

[stretchcruz]

We were on Serenade for 2/26 sailing. Bed was HORRID!!! The first night we dug out the extra blankets from under the bed and put them under the sheet. The next day our stateroom attendant said he noticed and he put 2 extra pads on it (there was already one). Then he got another pad the next day. Terribly uncomfortable, and our tablemates felt the same way....they also had the attendant put extra on their bed. No egg crates available any more. Our cabin attendant was very aware of the complaints regarding the hard mattresses(which is why he left the topper on from the last cruise). We gave him a big extra tip but honestly he shouldn't have had to do this.

We had amenities every day...shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, and lotion, in bottles. Plus bar soap. We were in 9660, a balcony, D1 maybe? No idea the category. We are Diamond so don't know if that made a difference. We had the large sofa not the love seat. Enjoyed the extra room to stretch out.

We had traditional dining, late seating, enjoyed it, tablemates that we had met on prior cruises, and time to enjoy the lounge before dinner. The food was fine. We did one HAL cruise with a bad dining (and, actually, service) experience, and haven't been back. Our service at our late seating was exceptional...waitress and ass't were great.

[elycelynne]

The above feedback was probably the last thing I wanted to hear. Might have to reconsider!

 

Thanks for the warnings. :(

[Worn out mailman]

One thing nobody else mentioned....solid shower doors on Serenade, as opposed to flimsy curtains that flop around and get the bathroom floor all wet.

 

New mattresses are also hard eh? I've always assumed that the uncomfortable mattresses were due to their age.

 

If you do opt for Serenade, be prepared to get up early on sea days to get a primo spot by the pool, since there's only one outdoors. You may have a better chance being you'll only need one chair.

 

I did Enchantment solo in '06 and I had the time of my life.

 

Anyway, to the op, good luck deciding.

[ravensbad]

I'm surprised to hear so many comments on hard mattresses on the Serenade. I hate firm mattresses, almost all vacation rentals and hotel rooms I've stayed in have been too firm and make my back hurt. I was pleasantly surprised though that on our December cruise on the Serenade the bed was really comfortable and I had no back pain during our 10 day cruise.

[blueblock]

I sailed solo on the Serenade last year - a Transatlantic cruise. I had a wonderful time. I don't do My Time Dining as a solo - I always do traditional dining when solo because it gives you a built-in core of people to eat with; I also met a lot of people at trivia. I never felt that I was treated as a second class citizen; all of the staff were lovely to me. I also got the upgraded toiletries, though I didn't want them as I prefer my own. I found the beds very comfortable, but then I prefer a hard mattress. I've never felt much difference between a D and an E cabin, and if you're solo, either one will provide sufficient room. I've only done an ocean view once, on a different RC ship, and the bed was under the window.

[squadron]

I've only sailed Holland America so far (7 cruises, all Caribbean) and am now considering the 10-day Eastern Caribbean itinerary on the Serenade (which goes to 3 ports that I actually haven't been to before). I have a few questions:

 

1. I've read discussion that the "E" balcony cabins are kind of cramped and that the "D" balcony cabins are a tad more spacious. If I decide to go with a "D", are there any specific cabins to be avoided, and why?

 

2. IF I decided to scrap the balcony idea altogether and go with an ocean view cabin, how are those set up? Are the beds under the window, or are they parallel?

 

3. How comfortable are the beds? I can't tolerate a hard mattress very well and was wondering if an egg crate mattress topper can be obtained if necessary?

 

4. Is it necessary to make dinner reservations with open dining (whatever RCI's version is -- "My Time", maybe) or can you just walk in the dining room without one? And if you can, will they ask if you'd be willing to sit with others or do they just relegate you to your own table?

 

5. If anyone has sailed solo on this itinerary, how was the experience? I don't necessarily expect a red carpet to be rolled out, but I wouldn't want to be treated like a second-class citizen either.

 

6. If anyone who's reading this has sailed on Holland America, could you provide a brief comparison between the two (something like "RCI does this better but Holland America does that better", etc.)?

 

7. And finally, does anyone have recent daily programs from this itinerary? I would just like a general idea of how busy RCI keeps its passengers in terms of activities and entertainment.

 

Thanks! :D

 

I have cruised a number of times solo on RCI and have always had a good time. Last month did a 10 day on Serenade. Have never found beds to be too hard. I prefer fixed dining and had a great table last month and always looked forward to dinner and sharing the day with others. Fixed times fits in to seeing the show better. Have sailed in interior, OV and balcony(with friend that time). Found I never used the balcony and even with the discount I can receive not worth the money for me - especially paying solo rates.