Unpopular Ship????

[cabanachick]

We just booked our first cruise on Serenade of the Seas. From reading these boards, it doesn't seem like this is a very popular ship. Any idea why it seems like very few people are sailing on this ship???:confused:

[OnceAMarineAlwaysAMarine]

I have read many posts that are very favorable for the Serenade of the Seas. I am booked for a southern Caribbean cruise on the Serenade for next October and I am lookibg forward to it. I don't think this is such an unpopular ship. I'm curious, why do you think that this ship is unpopular?

[cabanachick]

I guess I have been looking for posts on the Serenade and haven't seen very many compared to ones for the other Radiance class and Voyager class ships. I was just wondering if there was a reason why. All of the reviews of the ship that I have read seem to be favorable, so I am hoping I made a good choice.

[lauren0309]

I was on the Serenade last November for her first sail to the Southern Caribbean. The ship was beautiful. It was the most beautiful I've been on so far! The decor was very pretty, the itinerary was great. The only thing we disliked was the food. We found it to be better on our other cruises. I don't know where you heard it was an unpopular ship. For me it was my best one. My next cruise is on the Enchantment so I'll see how that one rates next to it.

 

Majesty of the Seas 3/02

Monarch of the Seas 2/03

Serenade of the Seas 11/03

[my $.02]

I was on this ship for it's 2nd voyage with the canada itin. It is a BEAUTIFUL ship and everything about it is great. Food is a personal opinion, so I will go there. We have been on voyager class twice and Radiance class twice, we like radiance class better. So much so, I just made final payment on Serenade for 1/7.

 

You will LOVE it.

[JHealy28S]

I sailed the Serenade last April and we had a blast. The ship was georgeous, the entertainment was very good, and I thought the food was fine....it wasn't 5 star restaurant quality but it was fine....overall a wonderful trip. Also, we had a roll call going here before we cruised....about 30 of us by sail time, but about 15 who talked for a long time before we sailed and meeting on the ship was fabulous. The Serenade is a relatively new ship as well...probably will be gaining in popularity as word gets out! Hope this helps.

[baseballmom]

We will be on Serenade next June and one of the reasons I chose this ship over others on RCI or other lines is because of the overwhelmingly positive reviews I've read on here and other message boards. Sure, there have been some criticisms, but that's the case for every ship.

 

I hope you have a wonderful time on your cruise.

 

Laurie

[SethB24]

I was thinking the same thing! Ill be on the Serenade Dec 4 and was hoping there would be a lot of other people I could chat with beforehand but there are so few. The roll call board does not have many posts and there doesnt seem to be many on other sites.

[moby roby]

Hi there, I posted pretty much the same question a week or so back. We're going on Serenade Feb 5/05 and have seen quite a few people responding with cruises on a lot of other dates before and after our date but none on Feb 5! Don't know your cruise date but Feb 5 just doesn't seem that popular yet, according to Cruise Critic boards but who knows, maybe it will heat up soon. The ship reviews do seem to say the ship itself is great. We'll be with our two teens - boy 17 and girl almost 19 - so hopefully the ship's activities, etc, and other teens travelling then, all gel together!!

 

Cheers!

[snowcruiser]

Take a look at Cruise Critic Reviews tab on their home page. You will see that the Serenade of the Seas is rated by members as the number 1 or highest (4.0) ship in the Cruisers Choice Poll. That is not just rating Royal Caribbean, but all cruise lines and ships. Don't worry, be happy!

[sunshinegal]

We are sailing on Serenade on Nov 6, just 7 more days. We picked this one because our T/A was on her maiden voyage and and said the ship was awesome and also the newest in the fleet. There is a thread 'Serenade of the seas Nov 6" with about thirty people talking on it. We started very slow and have built up to more people since time is nearer, maybe you can start your own thread too. Will let you know what we all think (4 adults) when we get back. Meantime have fun getting ready to cruise.:)

[skiiergirl]

The Serenade is a beautiful ship. The itinerary is great. (I think you said you are doing the southern route. OUr favorite!!!) We did her last year. We have done the Radiance 4 or 5 times and Serenade once. The ships are almost identical (decorating differences only). We enjoyed the Serenade very much. We are doing Jewel this Thanksgiving (sister ship). The only reason we have done Radiance more than the others is that a. it was the first to come out so has been around longer and b. itinerary/date meet our schedule better. I think you will have a great time.

 

Sometimes there are just more CC'ers on board than other times. For instance, we are doing Radiance for the PC 4/17/05 and already have a roll call thread with something like 35 pages and 700 "replies". (We are still 5 1/2 months from sailing and already have that much talk on the M&M thread.) However, for the same sailing this year (same ship/same itinerary) we only had something like 6 or 8 people "chatting" on the M&M thread and we didn't even make it to 10 pages before the sail date.

[mbisson]

It seems to me that posters on the boards are more likely to post complaints than praise. So a lack of posting about a ship could be a good thing.

 

Now for those that post praise - I wasn't talking about you

 

LOL

 

-Monte

[xpcdoojk]

The Radiance is older therefore more people have sailed on her, and talked about her. She was also the first of the class that includes the Serenade so when she was launched there was more anticipation and excitement. The Serenade is part of the most beautiful class of ships being operating by any cruiseline. The buzz that you need to worry about is generating a meet and mingle group on your sailing.

 

 

jc

[bUU]

We actually chose Serenade of the Seas over Adventure of the Seas, at least in part because it was the #1 rated crusie ship on Cruise Critic's poll. Even checking again today, some five months after we booked her, she's tied for #1.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/reviews/index.cfm

 

I think, like the Adventure and Brilliance, Serenade spends a good part of the year running cruises thare are perhaps patronized more heavily by non-Americans, so as a result, Americans make up less of the passengers aboard. That may account for us seeing less written about the ship on these boards.

[Wakka]

August '03 we took the Serenade out of Boston. Beautiful ship !!!

 

NO COMPLAINTS:)

[mringenoldus]

The Serenade is considered almost the perfect ship by most people. Not too big or too small...great layout...good service. It must be fairly popular because it is the only ship comepletely sold out for the April Panama Canal cruise!

[criss]

The Serenade was our favorite cruise so far. The staff was great and the ship was amazing!! We would not hesitant to book a cruise on it again.

[tonyt]

We did the Seranade with our two 19 year old grand daughters last December. They had a blast. Beautiful ship, friendly crew and great itinerary.

tonyt

[driftychick]

Just got off the Serenade Hawaii cruise and I must say I prefer the RADIANCE of the Seas and will not sail on the Serenade again. Just my opinion, I like the staff, crew and Captain better on the Radiance and I also think the ship is better maintained. The Serenade is newer but you would never know it! The showers on the Serenade do have a plastic door, more like a shower "tube" which is an improvement over the Radiance. I think we will try the Jewel next year.

[w770496]

This will be our third cruise on the Serenade. The staff is great! The ship is one of the most elegent in the fleet, when I was recently on the NCL Spirit I really missed seeing all the art work that the Serenade has.

[Sea Island Lady]

We were on the Serenade last month and loved it. The food was pretty good also, and the crew great!

 

One reason you may not be reading much about it is because the ship has recently been taking extended cruises to Alaska and Hawaii. The age group on these cruises tends to be an older crowd that may not frequent the computer (or these boards) as much as the younger crowd.

[nerak]

Been on the Serenade twice and loved it so much we have already booked for May 2005...Hawaii. We have also been on the Adventure and Voyager, which are great too. The Serenade...there is just something about her that makes her wonderful. Like a poster above said: beautiful ship, great ports, and friendly crew.

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

Just got off the Serenade Hawaii cruise and I must say I prefer the RADIANCE of the Seas and will not sail on the Serenade again. Just my opinion, I like the staff, crew and Captain better on the Radiance and I also think the ship is better maintained. The Serenade is newer but you would never know it! The showers on the Serenade do have a plastic door, more like a shower "tube" which is an improvement over the Radiance. I think we will try the Jewel next year.

Hi Shelly.....our friends sailed with you and said a few of the same things.

Last years PC cruise on the Radiance was pretty tough to top, it was awesome!

Hope next year the Jewel is better.

Did you enjoy Hawaii? We may get there next year.

 

Linda

 

***

[driftychick]

Hi Linda! Yes last years cruise was Fab, it will be hard to match and that may have been a part of the problem. I did enjoy Hawaii, just felt the ship and crew were lacking compared to the Radiance. Looking forward to the Jewel, love the Radiance Class as a whole.