This was our 2nd cruise, the first with RCCL and it met our every expectation. Getting on the ship was a breeze. Had to wait in a line approx 15 minutes. The Serenade is an excellent ship and you will not be disappointed.

The only negatives that I have is the entertainment was not very good and that sometimes the smokers light up on the wrong side of the ship and get very defensive when you ask them to move. However since this was a very port intensive trip the lack of entertainment was not that big of an issue .

The Captain that we had, who we only saw 1 time the entire trip was fantastic. Kept us very well informed of where we were at and pointed out the islands that we were passing. Made a 360' of the Pitons, also took us as close as possible to Montserrat on the return trip and pointed out the Volcano damage that occurred. We were able to pass this at night on the way down South and could see hot Magma spewing out. In the pitch black of the night this was an amazing sight. We did two shore excursions thru RCCL and the first in St. Thomas was a SNUBA tour which we would highly recommend. The other was in St. Lucia and was not worth the 78 bucks per person. This was a trip along the coast in a Catamaran to Soufieere. The trip was very slow, the crew was OK but not great, the drive in Volcano was neat. They took us to a so called working plantation, what a joke. Not my idea of a working plantation. Our tour guide had trouble remembering what some of the plants were. I was not impressed. Then back to the Catamaran for lunch. Again not impressed. The food was OK but not great. I say skip this trip. The best excursion by far was in Antigua and we booked this ourselves on the Internet. Was Eli's Eco tour(adventureantigua.com). This trip was worth every penny. The crew was exceptional from start to finish. Had a lunch that was superb. No complaints with that one. The food on the ship was excellent no matter you ate. The crew was very accommodating in everything that you asked. I highly recommend this trip. Can't wait to do again and will most likely book the exact same ship. There is no comparison in this trip compared to the Western trip that we did in 03. Getting off the ship was a little more of a challenge. Had to vacate the room by 8 AM and then wait for your color to be called. We waited approx 1.5 hours to be called. Then waited in more lines as you have to go thru Customs to get back in the US. We were at the Airport by 11:00 AM so not too bad if you ask me.