Photo Review: RCCL Serenade of the Seas 10/9/16 New England & Canada

[HeatherC430]

 

 

 

 

 

Inside the port shopping area

 

[HeatherC430]

 

 

 

 

 

[HeatherC430]

 

 

[HeatherC430]

The next day onboard was the last day sea day. In the atrium they had the Parade of Nations. I arrived slightly after it had already started, so I didn't get a very good spot to see everything. But, from what I could see, this is definitely worth checking out onboard. Basically, the mc would announce each country that had staff onboard with the number onboard that sailing. Then, individuals from that country would emerge from the crowd as they played music that reflected that country. The staff would have that country's flag in their hands and do some sort of synchronized dance with the other staff and the flags. Not sure that description is the best, but check it out for yourself on the last sea day of your sailing!

 

 

[easyboy]

What kind of food are served at the Bicycle Thief?

[alainamarie]

What kind of food are served at the Bicycle Thief?

 

 

North American with an Italian twist. Website: http://bicyclethief.ca/

We both really enjoyed our meals even though we ordered very different things.

 

 

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[easyboy]

North American with an Italian twist. Website: http://bicyclethief.ca/

We both really enjoyed our meals even though we ordered very different things.

Our kind of food. And reasonable price too!

Have to try in our next trip. Thanks!

[HeatherC430]

We spent our last evening onboard at our favorite spot on the ship (Rita's Cantina). Here are pictures of our two favorite servers at Rita's (Fernando & Cecelia). I absolutely recommend ordering appetizers a la carte from the menu here. That night we had the guac & jalapeno poppers (both of which we had multiple times during the week). Unfortunately, this is the end of the pictures from the cruise.

 

 

 

 

[bsjcb2000]

Thank you for the awesome review & Pictures - we are going on this one in Oct 2017 and I've had a hard time finding any reviews :)

[roxierox]

Thanks for the great review. We are doing this itinerary leaving from Baltimore on the Grandeaur this coming October. Gotta admit, to me a cruise means palm trees and sunshine but my mom wanted to do this one for her and my step dad's 25th anniversary and wanted us along so of course we said yes, but I have been a little apprehensive. It looks absolutely amazing and I am finally getting excited!

[poffles]

Loved your review and glad to hear how you love our local scenery Peggy's Cove.

 

Maybe I missed it, but what is your opinion of this ship? It looks beautiful. I'm considering a longer southern cruise on the Serenade and having never sailed on RCL I can only go by size compare to other ships I've sailed on other lines. The alternative is on Celebrity Reflection (which I've sailed already) but cost bit higher but has drink package so somewhat of a wash. Would like to try another ship just for the excitement of something different to explore but not if this ship is not so great.

[CruzieSue]

Thanks for a great review !!! Really enjoyed your photos. :)

[HeatherC430]

Thank you for the awesome review & Pictures - we are going on this one in Oct 2017 and I've had a hard time finding any reviews :)

 

You're quite welcome! Yes, I too found it difficult to find many picture reviews prior to sailing! Enjoy your cruise!:)

[HeatherC430]

Thanks for the great review. We are doing this itinerary leaving from Baltimore on the Grandeaur this coming October. Gotta admit, to me a cruise means palm trees and sunshine but my mom wanted to do this one for her and my step dad's 25th anniversary and wanted us along so of course we said yes, but I have been a little apprehensive. It looks absolutely amazing and I am finally getting excited!

 

You're welcome! I'm right there with you. To me, my ideal cruise is Caribbean with sunshine, warm weather, fruity drinks...the list goes on! I will say that this itinerary was a nice change of pace to the standard Caribbean cruise. While it lacked some of the items mentioned, there's alot that's worth seeing! My advice is just embrace what it has to offer and you'll be sure to have a great trip! Enjoy your cruise & thanks for reading! :)

[HeatherC430]

Loved your review and glad to hear how you love our local scenery Peggy's Cove.

 

Maybe I missed it, but what is your opinion of this ship? It looks beautiful. I'm considering a longer southern cruise on the Serenade and having never sailed on RCL I can only go by size compare to other ships I've sailed on other lines. The alternative is on Celebrity Reflection (which I've sailed already) but cost bit higher but has drink package so somewhat of a wash. Would like to try another ship just for the excitement of something different to explore but not if this ship is not so great.

 

Yes, Peggy's Cove I thoroughly enjoyed! My only regret was not having more time to spend there! It was absolutely a highlight of the trip!

 

The ship - This was my first cruise on Royal Caribbean, so for that reason I was really looking forward to something different where I didn't already know every nook and cranny of the ship. Since the Serenade was a bit older, I had my concerns going in. I thought the interior spaces were clearly recently refurbished. Zero complaints with the interior spaces. To me, it reminded me alot of the Celebrity Summit which I've been on several times (and loved). To me, the ship's a great size (not too big or too small), and has a great style for all the interior spaces. My only complaint with the ship was the exterior spaces. For this specific cruise it didn't matter as much since the weather wasn't really nice enough to spend alot of time outside in the outdoor spaces. We really only went out side briefly in the mornings or the afternoon for arrival into port or sail-away's. For me, I thought the outdoor spaces showed a lot of wear and were in need of a refurbish. My only concern on doing a Caribbean cruise on the Serenade would be just that. Then again, maybe for the Caribbean sailings they do more to maintenance the outside spaces (compared to this trip)? I'm sure you can't go wrong on either option though. Celebrity Reflection is on my list of ships I'd like to go on...just waiting for an itinerary to pull me in! ;p

 

Enjoy your cruise & thanks for reading!

[HeatherC430]

Thanks for a great review !!! Really enjoyed your photos. :)

 

Thank you for your kind words! Glad you enjoyed & thanks for reading!:)

[HeatherC430]

Very nice pre-cruise photos. You really know where to get those shots! Will be following along.

 

Excellent photos, thanks!

 

Thank you both! Thanks for following along. Happy Cruising! :cool:

[HeatherC430]

Heather, good to see you back on the boards with another review.

 

Loving the pics and following along...

 

Norris

 

Glad to be back! It really is great to re-live cruises with the cruise review. I wish Cruise Critic had a section dedicated to photo reviews so you could just read others photo reviews all day every day. Thanks for reading along! :)

[HeatherC430]

I am so loving your review. I hope that the cruise line offers the same excursions when I go. Your trip photos makes these places look fantastic.

 

Thank you! I'm sure all of the excursions we picked will still be offered. Most of what we did were some of the go-to excursions (or at least I would say so) for each of the ports since we had never been to any of the ports before. Enjoy your cruise! We thoroughly enjoyed all the ports!

[HeatherC430]

Really enjoying your photos! Looks like a gorgeous itinerary!

 

 

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Beautiful pictures! May I ask what the temperatures were on this cruise?

 

The itinerary was really great! I'd highly recommend to anyone looking for something different, especially if you haven't been to any of the ports before!

 

From what I recall it was anywhere from 50-75 degrees. Sometimes there was even a swing on the same day. The weather was chillier than what I was prepared for on some days. The wind chill is what made it seem even colder than the temperature though. Packing wise, I thought of this like an Alaska cruise where you need to pack layers because you don't really know what you're going to get in terms of weather.

[HeatherC430]

Loving your review. We cruise out of Baltimore with this same itinerary in June. Awesome pictures! We don't have a plan for Halifax, so I'm anxious to see what you suggest there.

 

Thank you! I feel like Peggy's Cove is a must when visiting the port of Halifax. Knowing what I know now, I'd probably look into taking a private tour there (or a taxi) so that you can spend more time there. Enjoy your cruise!

[HeatherC430]

Great shots. They have me looking at Canada/NE itineraries!

 

Nice photo of the Reversing Falls!

 

Thank you both!

[poffles]

yes, peggy's cove i thoroughly enjoyed! My only regret was not having more time to spend there! It was absolutely a highlight of the trip!

 

The ship - this was my first cruise on royal caribbean, so for that reason i was really looking forward to something different where i didn't already know every nook and cranny of the ship. Since the serenade was a bit older, i had my concerns going in. I thought the interior spaces were clearly recently refurbished. Zero complaints with the interior spaces. To me, it reminded me alot of the celebrity summit which i've been on several times (and loved). To me, the ship's a great size (not too big or too small), and has a great style for all the interior spaces. My only complaint with the ship was the exterior spaces. For this specific cruise it didn't matter as much since the weather wasn't really nice enough to spend alot of time outside in the outdoor spaces. We really only went out side briefly in the mornings or the afternoon for arrival into port or sail-away's. For me, i thought the outdoor spaces showed a lot of wear and were in need of a refurbish. My only concern on doing a caribbean cruise on the serenade would be just that. Then again, maybe for the caribbean sailings they do more to maintenance the outside spaces (compared to this trip)? I'm sure you can't go wrong on either option though. Celebrity reflection is on my list of ships i'd like to go on...just waiting for an itinerary to pull me in! ;p

 

enjoy your cruise & thanks for reading!

 

thank you!

[captaincupcake64]

Although it's been said many times, thank you Heather for a very upbeat and objective review of your cruise. Your photos truly captures the beauty and splendor of New England and Canada.

Our family is taking this cruise September of 2017 and look forward to visiting many of spots you explored.

 

Thanks again

captaincupcake64 / Bob

[drneal]

Loved the pictures

Nothing beats a photo review

Great job!