We just got back from one of the best cruises we have ever been on. This was our 8th cruise & our 3rd on RCCL. The Serenade is lovely, very easy to get around. Embarkation was a breeze, I don't think it took us 30 minutes from the time we got out of the cab(1:30pm)until we were on the ship. Leaving was even quicker with the US Direct you can purchase on the ship. You buy bus transfers & if you are on certain airlines you can qualify at an additional charge, to get your boarding passes on the ship the morning you dock. We had to meet in a lounge at 7:30am. We were at the airport having a Starbucks by 8:30am. Amazing!!!! We left our luggage out side our cabin the night before & didn't see it again until we landed in Tampa. We were a bit nervous about that but it worked perfectly.

Our wait service was wonderful in the main dining room. We had 2 great guys, Quintin & Roberto. They were very attentive & quite fun to be around. The Windjammer(buffet) was so so. I have been on Weight Watchers & trying to behave as much as possible but besides rabbit food they didn't have many choices for me. I guess the good news is I only gained .2 pounds on the cruise. :-) Room service worked with no problems for breakfast.

The railroad in Skagway is so worth the money, as are the floatplanes in Ketchikan. I thought the whale watching in Juneau was a bust. Maybe is was just a bad day. We did see some but they were very far away. They just looked like a black spot. I actually saw more as the ship was leaving Juneau. They were right next to the ship. One even "waved" with his/her flipper. Read more