We loved our first-ever cruise and very much enjoyed the RCCL Serenade of the Seas.
We booked through a travel agent, but he really didn't add much since we are good researchers, so I probably wouldn't bother next time. We cruised with another couple who had cruised several times before, and felt more comfortable having some seasoned cruisers with us. We did pretty careful research on each port, so we had a good idea what we wanted to do in each place and were able to arrange a good balance of adventure and relaxation. Our friends had never bothered to research much in advance, but after cruising with us and seeing how much our preparations added to the trip, they are sold and plan to do more research in advance next time. Plus, it makes the fun of the cruise last much longer - the months of research and anticipation are half of the fun!
Arrival:
We were in Cabin 2021. We had heard how small the cabins on cruises were, but actually our cabin was just fine. We opted to save our money and get an inside cabin and that worked well for us - I think we'd do that again and put the extra money towards another cruise! The cabin was so well-designed that there was room for everything we brought in all the nooks and crannies of the room. True, I couldn't quite walk around my side of the bed without climbing over the end of the bed, but it was no big deal. I liked the location of the cabin. I know that Deck 2 is not particularly classy, but it was very convenient to getting on and off the ship in port. Our cabin steward was great - we expected 3 towel animals, but actually got 4 which was a fun surprise! The room was always clean, with plenty of clean towels - there was even room for a loveseat which we could actually sit on to relax. The single best advice we had gotten before the cruise was to take the stairs instead of the elevator - great advice! I ate much more than I should have, but the stairs from Deck 2 to the Windjammer on Deck 11 (and elsewhere) gave us a good work-out and I ended up not gaining weight on the cruise - a very pleasant surprise!