Serenade of the Seas Review

4.5 / 5.0
1,674 reviews

First and Maybe Last Time Aboard a Royal Caribbean Ship

Review for Transatlantic Cruise on Serenade of the Seas
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mrsmacadam
10+ Cruises • Age 20s

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Additional details

Sail Date: Sep 2016
Cabin: Superior Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony

We chose this cruise because of its very different itinerary which included Copenhagen as a starting point, 2 ports in Norway, 3 in Iceland, Halifax, and, finally Boston. We had had such a wonderful first-time transAtlantic experience with Princess in April that we were expecting a similar experience with Royal Caribbean.

This was our first cruise with Royal Caribbean. We are the kind of folks who look for great itineraries at the best prices (and always a balcony cabin). We have cruised on Princess three times, Carnival twice, and Norwegian four times (3 of those on the Nor. Pearl). So, we were able to compare several things and, unfortunately, this ship/cruise came up short. Here are a few of the reasons why:

1. Only ship that didn't welcome their first-time cruisers with some type of a get-together.

Cabin Review

Superior Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony

Cabin D1

We loved our balcony cabin which was much roomier than what we had on previous ships and the balcony itself was much larger as well. There was plenty of room to prop up your feet. The closet layout with a vertical shelving divider really worked out well for us. The room+reading lights could be controlled from bed so we didn't have to get up to turn off the lights. There were two outlets on the desk. TIP: We enjoyed the use of our 6 port USB charger to charge all of our devices. There was plenty of room under the bed to store our suitcases, so no need for crowding in the closet.

Port Reviews

Akureyri

We walked around but would have enjoyed the port much better if we had known that the CITY BUSES ARE FREE!!!! When we found out we took one twice. If we're there again, we'll study the different lines to see where all they go. The one we took made a long loop that took us up the hills for wonderful views and a good look at where the locals live.

Halifax

We took the hop on/off bus. The guides were good, BUT it's costly for what it is. Some of our cruisemates got the taxi at the harbor to take them to Peggy's Cove and some other sites for only $200--for 4 people, so that would have been better for us. ANOTHER thought is that the very long cruise port extends into the town. I think the cruise lines reign supreme there because we couldn't purchase the hop bus there for a competitive price as we usually can when we buy in the port. When we were a the Wharf, we saw a sign for a lower price for the same bus--it would have been less than a 1-mile walk for us which we would have been fine with--if we'd known about it.

THE BIG PROBLEM WITH THIS BUS IS THAT THEY MADE US EXIT THE BUS AT THE CRUISE STOP TO LET OTHERS ON. Long wait to get back on. This negated the attraction of the hop on/off idea. We usually sit for one entire loop to decide where we'll get off the second pass.

Oslo

We loved Oslo. Great to walk around. Enjoyed the sculpture garden.

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