My partner and I recently cruised for a week long holiday on Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas. This was our first cruise and our first time in the Caribbean and we had an amazing time. As a young couple (21 and 22 respectively) we were slightly concerned that the cruise would be popular with more older people and although this turned out to be the case, it wasn't a problem at all. We flew from London Gatwick to San Juan via JFK (Delta Airlines were useless- we would never use them again but that's a different story). We stayed for one night in The Radisson Ambassador Plaza in San Juan before boarding the ship. The hotel came as part of the cruise package and was fine for one night. Check in was painfully slow but beds were extremely comfortable and nearly made up for the check in.

Ship: The ship was beautiful. All of the bars were beautifully decorated and spotlessly clean (I enjoyed the Safari Bar whilst my boyfriend was keen on the Pit Stop Bar and Casino). The ship, although busy, was never overcrowded and public areas were always pleasant to sit and relax in. Guest Relations were helpful, as were all the staff we came into contact with. Prices for drinks on board were reasonable ($8 for a cocktail, $5 a pint of lager, $5 a glass of wine). Even with the 15% gratuity added prices were still good. There is a huge cocktail menu-much to my delight!

Embarkation: Having never cruised before I wasn't sure what to expect with regard to embarking the ship. To our delight, it was just as easy as checking into a hotel- if not quicker. From entering the terminal building to reaching our cabin it took us 15 minutes. Very impressive indeed. Staff at check in were friendly and helpful (as they were throughout the entire cruise). Read more