Serenade of the Seas/Alasaka May/June 2008

[relo854]

First time cruise/first time to Alaska. Looks like we might be booking this cruise soon. I posted on the Alaska forum but didn't have any luck with responses. Any comments positive/negative about what we can expect on an Alaskan cruise in late May/June (weather, wildlife, scenery,etc) comments on the cruise ship also would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance

[Sue L]

I just did the Serenade but in August so I can't help you with the time frame. But you will never find a better ship to go to Alaska on. There is a ton of glass so beautiful views no matter where you look. Click on the link in my signature for pictures.

[beckster42]

I can't speak for Alaska, but we just returned from the Serenade of the Seas this past Saturday. The ship is absolutely fabulous. So much to do, and never seems crowded, with the exception of the Shops at Centrum (I think that's what it's called... where the gift shop, duty free shops, etc... are at) in the evening hour as there was a bit of congestion then. There are a lot of indoor spaces, including bars and other areas, to relax in and enjoy the scenery and there are also lots of nice outdoor spaces to take everything in. We never got bored even with spending 14 days aboard this ship. There were new spaces aboard that we kept finding every day.

 

Everything on the ship is in very good shape and the cabins are quite nice. We were on deck 8 on the hump which I would highly recommend if you are going for a balcony cabin. It is in a perfect location on the ship (right in the middle) and the view was abaolutely wonderful. Since this section of the ship sticks out a bit, you can see straight down and all the way to the front and back of the ship.

 

We sailed on the Voyager last year, and enjoyed the Serenade much more. I would sail on her again in a heartbeat! Have a wonderful time on your first cruise!!

[GMoney]

Give the AK board time; it doesn't get as many visitors as the RCI board, but there are some very good experts who always help when they can.

 

Also - have you tried searching old posts there? If not, it might be worth the time. You could search words like Serenade, May, June, etc and just see what pops up. Most questions have been asked at some point in the past. :)

[GMoney]

Well, my idea sucked. I tried similar searches and the site's search engine can't handle them. Sorry..

[relo854]

I tried several differant "searches" and had no luck.

 

I have used other websites similar to this one and had great responses from very helpful travelers. I'm hoping that I will get the same response on this forum.

 

This ship sounds wonderful and came highly recommended by the travel agent.

[GMoney]

The itinerary is very good and Serenade is a beautiful ship. You certainly wouldn't be making a mistake by sailing her. I spent 2 weeks on her sister Radiance in Sept and had a great time.

 

My only nit-picky comment is itinerary based: she's only in Juneau from 7a-3p. It would be nice to have more time there because there is so much to do in Juneau. It's not a make or break, but maybe research that port and if there's a must do activity, make sure you have enough time.

 

As for wildlife, I assume you're just going the cruise and not a land tour?

[Cleocruiser]

My family went on the Serenade to Alaska late June last year. We had perfect weather all week. I think it rained for about one hour total. Evan the locals were suprised. Some of the tour guides in Skagway were taking photos with their own cameras because they rarely get the great weather we had.

I highly recommend the Serenade. Fly into Vancouver a few days early and look around. Whistler was beautiful.

 

Get a balcony if you can swing it!

[flpenguin]

We did the serenade that same time frame in 2006-weather was great-light weight long sleeve shirts with a lightweight fleece jacket. Only time I was really cold was watching at Hubbard Glacier but totally worth it. We went whale watching in Juneau with Captain Larry of Orca Enterprises-it was great. In Ketchikan my husband did the ziplining and I did the Duck tour(just ok-his was great) and then we met up and did the lumberjack shoe-cheesy but fun. In Skagway we rented a car thru Avis and drove out to Emerald Lake-beautiful but not too much in between except great scenery-then we did the Helicopter/dog sledding on the glacier. I didn't want to do it and was scared to death(also at the price) but it was a once in a life chance and I was glad my husband talked me in to it. Any other questions I can answer let me know-also if you can afford it get a balcony-worth every $$

[relo854]

Thanks for all the comments.

 

We were thinking about doing a helicopter/dog sled tour. Which port and which tour would you recommend?

 

We would love to have a balcony, but they are so much more expensive than the ocean view. We thinking either paying the extra $$ for the balcony or spending $$ on some of the great excursions. We're leaning toward the ocean view room and using the money for the excursions. We also think that it might be a little chilly at this time of the year to really enjoy the balcony and we're also thinking there must be plenty of places to enjoy the scenery on the ship..what are some of your opinions?

 

There's so much to choose from....it's all so confusing!!

[Jiffymom]

We were there in June. Loved the balcony. Some of the passages were so quiet and beautiful. It was so nice to sit and enjoy the beauty.

[Sue L]

Thanks for all the comments.

 

We were thinking about doing a helicopter/dog sled tour. Which port and which tour would you recommend?

 

We would love to have a balcony, but they are so much more expensive than the ocean view. We thinking either paying the extra $$ for the balcony or spending $$ on some of the great excursions. We're leaning toward the ocean view room and using the money for the excursions. We also think that it might be a little chilly at this time of the year to really enjoy the balcony and we're also thinking there must be plenty of places to enjoy the scenery on the ship..what are some of your opinions?

 

There's so much to choose from....it's all so confusing!!

 

 

If you have to pick between balcony and helicoptering to a glacier, take the glacier. It was amazing. We did the one that just helicoptered in Juneau not dog sledding. We absolutely loved it. We had debated both but chose the glacier only and glad we did because the dog sled one was canceled for our day and most of the week before us. Something to keep in mind is that the dog sled one is at a fixed location at 3500 feet which gets fogged in a lot according to the guides. Where as the one we did can be moved depending on the conditions. Plus we were told (not sure how true) that the area by the dog sledding is more snow like and not the blue ice that you associate with glaciers. This is my kids roaming around the glacier

 

[Cleocruiser]

The Serenade is great for watching the world go by----via the solarium. It was nice and toasty in there.

 

We did the dogsledding/helicopter tour in Juneau through www.dollyvardentours.com. All the helicopter tours book up fast, so plan ahead. We had to pay in full at time of booking. We also rented a car in Skagway and drove to Emerald Lake. We booked a private tour through www.yukonhorses.com and went for a true trail ride around the Emerald Lake area. We also booked a whale watching tour in Sitka with Captain Davey. We used www.puffinsandwhales.com. It was the best!

[mach4]

We did Alaska twice this year - once in May on the Zaandam and again on the "last ship out of Alaska" cruise on the Serenade. Both cruises were excellent. We did have a bit of a brush with weather - had to switch from Sitka to Wrangell due to an impending storm. The week before our cruise the Serenade had 125knot winds and 30 foot seas in the Gulf of Alaska.

 

I would go anytime. Weather is always an unknown. One year we had 90 degrees in Alaska - that was on the sister ship to the Serenade, the Radiance. We had to go in the solarium to cool down!

 

I wouldn't sweat the time of year. It's always beautiful. And even if it's cold, rainy, foggy, rough and windy, the ship is still beautiful, the food excellent and lots to do... and as someone already pointed out, lots of glass.

[Coralc]

I wouldn't go in early May again...it was freezing cold!:eek: And the snow at the top of White Pass in Skagway, was higher than the top of the railroad car. We were in a big white ditch. If we go again, it will be later in the season.

 

Serenade is always great, our 3rd cruise in a row will be in April. But I felt like the Michelin man in all the layers and parka and the silly Fargo hat. :D Pretty, but I associate warm with vacation. :)