How is the Serenade ?

[pasc]

We booked a southern caribbean trip on dec 8th and have some questions about the serenade:

 

1. We are mid 30 without kids. Is there a lot of kids on this ship ?

2. Is the Serenade is still in good shape ? I heard that they suppose to refresh last april (paint, chair etc.). Is it done ?

3. How is the new beds ?

4. How is the service ? We sailed with Celebrity and loved that

5. How is the food ? Is there a big difference with Celebrity ?

6. Is there a lot of announcement on this cruise? Can we relax without a lot of noise ?

7. Do you think i made a good choice with the Serenade ? I am still hesitate with the Crown Princess but i read a lot of thing about the small cabin and service

 

 

Thank you

[Apoggi]

We booked a southern caribbean trip on dec 8th and have some questions about the serenade:

 

1. We are mid 30 without kids. Is there a lot of kids on this ship ?

2. Is the Serenade is still in good shape ? I heard that they suppose to refresh last april (paint, chair etc.). Is it done ?

3. How is the new beds ?

4. How is the service ? We sailed with Celebrity and loved that

5. How is the food ? Is there a big difference with Celebrity ?

6. Is there a lot of announcement on this cruise? Can we relax without a lot of noise ?

7. Do you think i made a good choice with the Serenade ? I am still hesitate with the Crown Princess but i read a lot of thing about the small cabin and service

 

 

Thank you

 

1. There should not be a lot of kids cruising on Dec. 8. It is too early for xmas break and we have done Serenade before and we found not as many kids as a whole since the ship goes out of San Juan.

2. The Serenade is in fine shape.

3. The new beds are wonderul.

4. Service has always been good if not great.

5. The food is good. I think it compares with Celebrity.

6. I didn't recall a lot of announcements. Usually only when coming into a new port.

7. I have never done Crown Princess but I think you made a wonderful choice with Serenade. She is a beautiful ship.

Ann

[frudutx]

1. We are mid 30 without kids. Is there a lot of kids on this ship ?

We sailed Serenade on the Canal transit and there were very few kids it really depends on the time of year

 

2. Is the Serenade is still in good shape ? I heard that they suppose to refresh last april (paint, chair etc.). Is it done ?

I thought she was in great condition, granted she's not Liberty just out of TURKU.

 

3. How is the new beds ?

The new bedding is wonderful. Wish I knew where to get some like it for at home.

 

4. How is the service ? We sailed with Celebrity and loved that

I can't make a comparison here because I have never sailed Celebrity.

 

5. How is the food ? Is there a big difference with Celebrity ?

I can't make a comparison here because I have never sailed Celebrity.

 

6. Is there a lot of announcement on this cruise? Can we relax without a lot of noise ?

We spent most of our day time hours in the Solarium and it was very relaxing. I think that by the outdoor pool they have a band or live music that plays during the day.

 

7. Do you think i made a good choice with the Serenade ? I am still hesitate with the Crown Princess but i read a lot of thing about the small cabin and service

We had the center aft cabin on deck 10, it was perfect for the Canal transit. And we did not experience much noise from the WIndJammer above us on deck 11.

 

d

[Sea Island Lady]

We took the Serenade to Hawaii and the ship was great! Perfectly sized, clean, and nice common areas. Service and food were wonderful!;)

[kimbtech]

My husband and I sailed aboard the Serenade a couple of years ago to Alaska and absolutely loved her! The staff was excellent, ship is excellent shape, food very good. We had a balcony cabin on deck 7 and it was terrific. I would recommend the Serenade to anyone.

[MercedMike]

We had a wonderful Southern Caribbean cruise on Serenade. We certainly weren't bothered by any kids. The ones that were aboard were kept busy in the kid's programs, I guess.

 

The service was fine. RCI food is perhaps not the top afloat, but it is always very very good. We particularly liked the Skyview cafe up by the kids area, which serves everything that can be fried in hot fat!

 

Check out our trip report and pics:

 

http://www.elite.net/~thehalls/serenade.html

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[Elaine0138]

hi pasc

 

come and join our roll call

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=499843

[NancyB84]

We loved Serenade. So far, it has been our favorite cruise. The ship is amazing .... glass everywhere.

 

Hope you enjoy your cruise.

[Guest scfjjb]

We chose the Serenade over the Crown Princess for the same sailing date. We have cruised Princess more than RCI but the look/layout/size of the Serenade was more appealing than the Crown Princess.

 

(Don't forget to check out our Roll Call... we have a pretty good group)

[Sea and Me]

We took the Serenade to Hawaii and the ship was great! Perfectly sized, clean, and nice common areas. Service and food were wonderful!;)

 

This is great to know since we will sailing to Hawaii in Oct.:D on the Serenade.

[skandls]

I would take the Serenade over the Princess ship. Your chances of getting traditional dining are very slim on the Princess ships. I do not like the freestyle dining - its more fun to get to know my tablemates. I also do not like the upfront charging of gratuities.

 

The food on our last Celebrity cruise June 2007 was a disappoinment. We had last sailed X in 2003 and found the food much better than Royal Caribbean. Now they maybe just slightly better than RCCL. I do like that many RCCL ships have 2 specialty restaurants with very good food for a reasonable $20 surcharge.

[bplazo]

My favorite ships so far. We went on this cruise 2 years ago in December and there were not a lot of kids.

[karena1]

We booked a southern caribbean trip on dec 8th and have some questions about the serenade:

 

1. We are mid 30 without kids. Is there a lot of kids on this ship ? We were on the ship in early April 2006 and did not notice a ton of kids. We are in our 50's and don't want to be on a ship with a bunch of kids and this one was fine.

2. Is the Serenade is still in good shape ? I heard that they suppose to refresh last april (paint, chair etc.). Is it done ? We thought the ship was in incredible shape. Dont' remember if it had new chairs yet or not, but the ship was absolutely gorgeous.

3. How is the new beds ? Did not have the new beds yet, but if anything like the beds on the Liberty - you can sink in them they are so wonderful - like sleeping on a "Hilton" bed.

4. How is the service ? We sailed with Celebrity and loved that Service was fantastic from our cabin steward to dinner to pool. Loved the service and thought everyone was extremely friendly.

5. How is the food ? Is there a big difference with Celebrity ? Food is the the end all to be all for us - but will say my DH loves seafood and thought the seafood was fantastic. Being pretty much a veggie (only chicken and no seafood at all) I still found plenty to eat and thought it was very good. We have also done Celebrity and think the food on Royal is just as good.

6. Is there a lot of announcement on this cruise? Can we relax without a lot of noise ? Don't really remember about the announcements - I guess b/c they really don't bother me, but will say that on the day at sea, I had NO problem relaxing in my pool chair all day!

7. Do you think i made a good choice with the Serenade ? I am still hesitate with the Crown Princess but i read a lot of thing about the small cabin and service I will say this. We just cruised Crown in April 07, and while a very nice ship, we just don't think Princess holds a candle to Royal and have decided for us, Royal is going to be the only line we cruise on in the near future. For us, everything we want is on Royal and we are just really happy with this line. I think if you have never been on one of the Radiance Class ships, you will fall in love with Serenade. Lots of glass and brass and the elevators that are on the outside of the ship are fantastic.

 

 

Thank you

 

Go and enjoy your cruise on Serenade. I don't think you will be sorry you chose her. We plan to sail on her again in April 2009