mafig Posted September 11, 2018 #1 Share Posted September 11, 2018 In doing research for Serenade, I notice that she was last in drydock late 2017. However.....I've been reading reviews, and judging from them, it appears that this ship isn't in the greatest condition. Any thoughts from recent cruisers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAcruiser19372 Posted September 11, 2018 #2 Share Posted September 11, 2018 She did go in late last year but my belief is it was for routine mechanical maintenance. We were on her this past April and will be back on her in December and April of next year. I've heard people complain over the last two years how bad it is cosmetically and how it needs this or that. It is not a new ship but I've found nothing to complain about. I've walked around and said I just don't get it, carpets are cleaned daily, the stairs and railings are constantly being cleaned. Once again I guess it's subjective, maybe I'm just easy (although my wife would tell you different . As we drive down from PA we try to do the longer cruises to make the drive worthwhile. Hope that helps! Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditmar2007 Posted September 11, 2018 #3 Share Posted September 11, 2018 We sailed her in May. It was lovely. I didn't expect a new ship so I wasn't disappointed. The crew is extremely helpful, friendly and professional. Go for it. ETA: And the beds are fine - not concrete hard as on some of the others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mafig Posted September 11, 2018 Author #4 Share Posted September 11, 2018 Thank you both for reporting back.:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare bobmacliberty Posted September 11, 2018 #5 Share Posted September 11, 2018 Sailed on her in February. We noticed a few things that were a little worn when we looked closely enough, but nothing that really detracts from the cruise. Staff in general was very good. We missed having more things from which to choose that you find on the larger ships. Overall though, a good cruise and I would sail her again. More detail in the link in my signature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cb at sea Posted September 11, 2018 #6 Share Posted September 11, 2018 The ship is seaworthy. Anything that gets a lot of use will have "worn" areas. Won't affect your enjoyment at all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pencruise Posted September 12, 2018 #7 Share Posted September 12, 2018 We disembarked Serenade yesterday after a 16 day cruise from Copenhagen to Boston. The ship is in excellent condition and we had a wonderful time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugar67 Posted September 13, 2018 #8 Share Posted September 13, 2018 ETA: And the beds are fine - not concrete hard as on some of the others. THANK-YOU!!! When we were on the Allure, I couldn't believe how terrible the beds were. It took us a long time to book with RCL again, partly because of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank808 Posted September 13, 2018 #9 Share Posted September 13, 2018 Just sailed her in feb also. Nothing wrong that affected our enjoyment of ship. Crew were great and we had so much fun that we are boarding serenade again in feb 2019. Sent from my SM-T217S using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qstrom Posted September 13, 2018 #10 Share Posted September 13, 2018 That class of ship is one of our favorites as it's got a real connection with the sea. So much glass all around.....it feels very nice and open. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
potsie57 Posted September 14, 2018 #11 Share Posted September 14, 2018 I loved the Serenade, very nice ship. We liked her so much we booked another trip on her for this Jan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RenieRaider Posted September 14, 2018 #12 Share Posted September 14, 2018 The Radiance Class is my favorite. Anyone know if the Pool Tables are working? We have a few Pool Players joining us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ONECRUISER Posted September 14, 2018 #13 Share Posted September 14, 2018 Love Serenade, Great Crew, I sail on her usually doing 45-60+ nites each yr. Never a big Buffet person but food in WindJammer some of best with many choices. As other's said Beds are firm but not cement hard as other ships. They were all replaced on turn around day on my B2B. Each year when ship return's to Florida they do all the busy ship Maintenance like taking care of rust and paint. One biggest they do each yr in Nov/Dec is remove all railings, sand, refinish and replace. Lot of wear and tear a yr at Sea, they usually need it done... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ONECRUISER Posted September 14, 2018 #14 Share Posted September 14, 2018 The Radiance Class is my favorite. Anyone know if the Pool Tables are working? We have a few Pool Players joining us. Tables were working in Dec. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pitbull1130 Posted September 14, 2018 #15 Share Posted September 14, 2018 The Radiance Class is my favorite. Anyone know if the Pool Tables are working? We have a few Pool Players joining us. That's the first thing we do on the Radiance class ships, grab a drink and a play or two................ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batbabe Posted September 14, 2018 #16 Share Posted September 14, 2018 We disembarked Serenade yesterday after a 16 day cruise from Copenhagen to Boston. The ship is in excellent condition and we had a wonderful time. Hello, I’ll be on the cruise from Copenhagen to Boston next year. Any suggestions, recommendations, likes or dislikes. BTW, we’ve been on the Serenade before any really enjoyed the ship. Thank you, Cheryl Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdylady Posted September 14, 2018 #17 Share Posted September 14, 2018 We sailed her this spring. We LOVED her and her crew so much that we booked another sailing on her for 2020. I didn't see anything that caught my eye of old, worn, broken. And if there were things like that, they certainly didn't impact my trip. Enjoy her. We did. Erika Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pencruise Posted September 14, 2018 #18 Share Posted September 14, 2018 The Radiance Class is my favorite. Anyone know if the Pool Tables are working? We have a few Pool Players joining us. They were working on Serenade, we disembarked 3 days ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pencruise Posted September 14, 2018 #19 Share Posted September 14, 2018 Hello,I’ll be on the cruise from Copenhagen to Boston next year. Any suggestions, recommendations, likes or dislikes. BTW, we’ve been on the Serenade before any really enjoyed the ship. Thank you, Cheryl Sent from my iPad using Forums We had a fabulous time. Unfortunately I missed the Golden Circle Tour from Reykjavic (in bed with acute bronchitis !!!) also missed Akureyri !!! Greenland scenery was beautiful and we loved Norway and Nova Scotia. Shetland Islands were interesting especially trying to find a pub ! If you haven’t been to Copenhagen before, try and spend a couple of nights there, lovely city. Temps in Copenhagen were arepund 19 c then gradually got cooler and around 9c in Iceland, colder in Greenland about 5c and then gradually got warmer in Nova Scotia to about 17c. The outside pool on the ship was only open once whilst we were in Halifax Nova Scotia and the sun was out but that was only for about a couple of hours. The solarium pool was however open as was the outside hot tub. Food and service on the ship was excellent. Let me know if I can help with any other info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrivesLikeMario Posted September 16, 2018 #20 Share Posted September 16, 2018 Frequent RCI cruisers I know just got back and said the ship is definitely looking worn. They also said the food was bland and boring. I was hoping it was going in for a refurbishment soon but it appears they just worked on it in 2017. Anyone know of future plans to refresh the ship? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarea Posted September 16, 2018 #21 Share Posted September 16, 2018 Frequent RCI cruisers I know just got back and said the ship is definitely looking worn. They also said the food was bland and boring. I was hoping it was going in for a refurbishment soon but it appears they just worked on it in 2017. Anyone know of future plans to refresh the ship? Nope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ONECRUISER Posted September 16, 2018 #22 Share Posted September 16, 2018 Frequent RCI cruisers I know just got back and said the ship is definitely looking worn. They also said the food was bland and boring. I was hoping it was going in for a refurbishment soon but it appears they just worked on it in 2017. Anyone know of future plans to refresh the ship? No, as said previous they do all the "Upkeep" paint, sand/stain all railings, minor maint. This is done after ship gets back to Florida in a couple months. I'm on there every yr doing B2B2B when they are doing this. One yr they also replaced all the Balcony Deck chairs, another they replaced all the mattresses. This is done on turn around day, and requires boarding delay a couple hrs. Even though a Dry Dock is done every 5yrs it's usually a Marine Side Maintenance of only 2 weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roxy2003 Posted September 16, 2018 #23 Share Posted September 16, 2018 I just did the Copenhagen to Boston - 16 night TA. I found the beds to be very hard and not comfortable at all, even with a topper, which was added the second night. The food in the MDR was OK, but just that. We got the four specialty dinner package, to which they added a free lunch, so that helped break up the "sameness" of the new MDR dinner menus. She is an older ship, so there is visible "wear & tear", like worn carpets, rust spots, and outdated bathrooms and of course does not offer all the activities and entertainment options of the larger ships. Our MDR waiters (early dinner seating) seemed to be overwhelmed and definitely had too many people assigned so they always seems stressed. This could be specific to this sailing. I very much enjoyed the cruise because it was my first TA and the ports of call were outstanding, so that somewhat made up for the lack of glitz and size of other ships. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saab4444 Posted September 16, 2018 #24 Share Posted September 16, 2018 Just to put all this „old and rusty ship“ comments into perspective: Serenade is just three years older than Freedom and even four years younger than Voyager. And the big Oasis ships will never be able to go into any of the ports Serenade just visited on her way to Boston. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrivesLikeMario Posted September 16, 2018 #25 Share Posted September 16, 2018 Thanks for the answers on refurbishment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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