Serenade of the Seas-reviews?

[dmfloghouse]

Would love to hear how the first couple of cruises are going in Alaska ???

[Eileen G]

Here are two Cruise Critic's articles written by someone on the ship.

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/6310/

Also if you google Serenade of the seas Alaska you will find another site that has people on board reporting.

[dmfloghouse]

Thanks!

[Jonbiloh]

Currently on the July 26th sailing. Approximately 800 passengers onboard. 

 

A few key takeaways:

 

- Buffet closed for dinner service

- entertainment is so so, what you would expect on this class ship, I suppose 

- the weather has been excellent and ports great thus far 

- crew generally happy though low occupancy is cutting into the earnings for food and beverage staff so that weighs on morale. 

- passengers seem happy to be aboard and are generaly following the mask policies, etc. 

 

It should be mentioned that serenade is desperately in need of a refresh. Rust everywhere, lots and lots of light bulbs out, soft goods are both dated and tired, teak is falling apart, stateroom balcony door doesn't open or lock properly, stateroom closet doors are out of alignment and don't close, a/c noisy, etc. We went into the trip with low expectations for the ship and I am glad we we did as we aren't disappointed. I did think that after 18 months out of service the ship would have felt cleaner and better looked after but it seems Royal wasn't spending even a penny more than required to keep her afloat. 

 

[mkca91]

If you don't mind answering, what room are you in?

[PNW Traveler]

7 hours ago, Jonbiloh said:

Currently on the July 26th sailing. Approximately 800 passengers onboard. 

 

A few key takeaways:

 

- Buffet closed for dinner service

- entertainment is so so, what you would expect on this class ship, I suppose 

- the weather has been excellent and ports great thus far 

- crew generally happy though low occupancy is cutting into the earnings for food and beverage staff so that weighs on morale. 

- passengers seem happy to be aboard and are generaly following the mask policies, etc. 

 

It should be mentioned that serenade is desperately in need of a refresh. Rust everywhere, lots and lots of light bulbs out, soft goods are both dated and tired, teak is falling apart, stateroom balcony door doesn't open or lock properly, stateroom closet doors are out of alignment and don't close, a/c noisy, etc. We went into the trip with low expectations for the ship and I am glad we we did as we aren't disappointed. I did think that after 18 months out of service the ship would have felt cleaner and better looked after but it seems Royal wasn't spending even a penny more than required to keep her afloat. 

 

Our last pre-Covid sailing was on the Serenade.  It is our favorite class of ship.  Yes, the staterooms were looking tired and there were a few spots of rust here and there.  These are not new ships.  That said, the public areas were beautiful, clean and well maintained.  I would expect that Royal was concentrating on sanitizing and cleaning public areas and working on its improved air filtration systems during the many months of shutdown. 

[chefchick]

The elephant in the room is…how bad/not bad are the mask restrictions?  I understand what “actively eating or drinking” means, but what does it look like in practical terms?  Can you remove your mask once seated in the restaurant or do you literally have to put it back on between bites or sips?  What about bars and lounges?  Can you sit at the bar for example?  At shows in the theater or at trivia, games, or even listening to music if it’s in a venue designated for all, can you remove your mask if you at least have a drink in your hand?

 

Would love to hear some “real world” experience of how this might have gone for someone who was actually there. 

[dmfloghouse]

16 hours ago, Jonbiloh said:

Currently on the July 26th sailing. Approximately 800 passengers onboard. 

 

A few key takeaways:

 

- Buffet closed for dinner service

- entertainment is so so, what you would expect on this class ship, I suppose 

- the weather has been excellent and ports great thus far 

- crew generally happy though low occupancy is cutting into the earnings for food and beverage staff so that weighs on morale. 

- passengers seem happy to be aboard and are generaly following the mask policies, etc. 

 

It should be mentioned that serenade is desperately in need of a refresh. Rust everywhere, lots and lots of light bulbs out, soft goods are both dated and tired, teak is falling apart, stateroom balcony door doesn't open or lock properly, stateroom closet doors are out of alignment and don't close, a/c noisy, etc. We went into the trip with low expectations for the ship and I am glad we we did as we aren't disappointed. I did think that after 18 months out of service the ship would have felt cleaner and better looked after but it seems Royal wasn't spending even a penny more than required to keep her afloat. 

 

Thanks for the inside scoop. Nice to have an idea what it’s like aboard since it’s been so long.  What did you hear about the tsunami warning issued (I think it was today).?  What happens on a ship when this happens?

[Jonbiloh]

We are in room 9620 this week and next week something similar on the other side of the ship. 

 

No announcements were made about the earthquake and subsequent tsunami warnings, at least as far as I heard (I could have missed it). I only knew about it from a news alert. 

 

A couple positives to report:

 

1. The wifi is working great with the stream package, obviously low passenger count helps here. 

 

2. The dining room staff have been very polite and welcoming. Whenever you say hello or thank you in Indonesian/their native language it goes a long way. 

 

3. Icy strait point has come a long way in two years with plenty of noticeable improvements. It's a first class operation in my opinion. 

 

Regarding the ship and real world experience on mask policies, etc:

 

I fully recognize that Serenade and this class are all almost 2 decades old, and ships that are heavily used daily will show wear. The class is among my favorites too, but if Royal intends to provide an equal or near equal level of service and experience (not referring to entertainment or gimmicks) they need to invest into the class, and especially Serenade, at the soonest financially sound opportunity. I'm certainly not overly picky or a snob, but the ship is just very tired. Worn paint, door handles that don't close properly (public bathrooms), aged soft goods, etc, you get the picture. The ship isn't why we travel to Alaska and it's not going to impact my overall experience but the delta in shipboard experience between Serenade and something newer like Ovation is stunning now. 

 

Onto masks:

 

Three weeks ago on Apex I'd say by the end of the cruise half of the passengers were nto wearing masks indoors at anytime. By comparison, now on Serenade, 95 percent are wearing masks indoors. Outside, as per the rules not requiring it, very few people are wearing masks. 

 

For mixed bars and lounges masks need to be worn and the staff will politely remind you if you're not wearing one while seated a but not eating or drinking. In the vaxed areas no masks required and they are rarely worn, this includes vintages, lower deck of the theater, viking crown, one floor of the dining room and a few others. The social distancing in areas like schooner bar is silly, with more than half the tables off limits. This has resulted in multiple parties sharing one table. Obviously not accomplishing the intended impact. 

 

Overall my biggest gripe is that the buffet lunch and breakfast food has been (very) poor and the jammer is closed for dinner. I remember pre covid the buffet food being just fine but now it resembles more of a cafeteria quality. Maybe I'm just spoiled from an absolutely amazing experience on Apex a few weeks ago... 

 

Overall the cruising experience under the CSO on Serenade has been really positive and I'm glad to be here! 

 

If you are considering Alaska this season, do it! The lack of crowds more than makes up for any inconvenience caused by the masking. If shipboard experience, and condition of the vessel and its interior, soft goods and cabins are important pick ovation. We went with Serenade because I wanted to make the trip happen earlier than later. 

 

Hope that helps! 

[Tree_skier]

6 minutes ago, Jonbiloh said:

the staff will politely remind you if you're not wearing one while seated a but not eating or drinking

Does this mean you need to put your mask on between sips of the drink or as long as you have a drink going while seated you can be maskless.

 

Also, I've been perplexed by the listing of the Solarium as a mixed venue.  It is adults only and all adults must be vaxxed.  I'm confused by why this is.  What was your experience in the Solarium like and was it in fact masked all the time?

Edited July 30, 2021 by Tree_skier

[tugtraveller]

You mentioned Icy Point Strait has improved.  Can you give more detail about that?  We are on the Serenade's August 9th Alaska cruise, and we are there from 8am - 7pm.  I can't imagine what we will do with all those hours based on photos I've seen of the town.   I don't know that I want to do another Whale Watch trip when we already have a 4-hour whale watch booked with Allen Marine in Juneau.  

[Jonbiloh]

3 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

Does this mean you need to put your mask on between sips of the drink or as long as you have a drink going while seated you can be maskless.

 

Also, I've been perplexed by the listing of the Solarium as a mixed venue.  It is adults only and all adults must be vaxxed.  I'm confused by why this is.  What was your experience in the Solarium like and was it in fact masked all the time?

 

It seems they are treating the solarium as a pool area and guests are frequently lounging without masks and without eating or drinking. 

 

If you are in an indoor mixxed area and you are not actively eating or drinking and you do not have a mask on there is a good chance you'll be asked to mask up. This is 180 degrees different from Apex three weeks ago where I never once saw a crew member ask a guest to mask up while indoors (and less than half of the guests were wearing masks indoors). 

 

2 hours ago, tugtraveller said:

You mentioned Icy Point Strait has improved.  Can you give more detail about that?  We are on the Serenade's August 9th Alaska cruise, and we are there from 8am - 7pm.  I can't imagine what we will do with all those hours based on photos I've seen of the town.   I don't know that I want to do another Whale Watch trip when we already have a 4-hour whale watch booked with Allen Marine in Juneau.  

 

They have a new ski lift system which is free (7 minutes per way, coolnforeet views and moves you from one pier to the other and the surrounding shops at each), ropes course that's recently expanded, some new guest facilities, etc. 

 

The zip line is lots of fun, too. 

 

There are also some really great independent kayak tours run by locals in Hoonah which I'm happy to recommend if you are interested.