Traveled aboard the Serenade July 4-11, 2009.  Along with me, came my husband, 10 year old son and 16 year old brother in law.  I was the only previous cruiser- everyone else was a first timer.  Traveled to Vancouver by air and stayed at Pan Pacific at Canada Place.  Got that room on Hotwire for $90 and was upgraded to a suite for free when we got there.  Boarded ship next day.  Ballayntine Pier is about a 5-10 minute ride from Canada Place.  We arrived around 10:30 and had no problems getting in security, then on to check in.  Had done everything online and check in took less than 5 minutes.  It's not the most attractive terminal/embarkation facility ever- but RCCL had it running smoothly and efficiently.  We boarded in the third group- early around 11:30 am.The ship itself is extremely beautiful and we loved all the open spaces- glass elevators and public areas.  We found it to be very clean and maintained well.  By the end of the second day, we all had a good lay of the ship and could find our way around without deck plans and directions for the most part.  Plenty of places to just relax if you wanted to read or sit and watch the spectacular scenery going by. Mini golf was fun and rock wall awesome.  I also loved the Solarium pool- they did open it up to families for about 4/5 hours a day- which I liked.With regards to food, we found it to be generally very good.  My husband and I dined at Chops Grille once- and that by far, was the best meal on the cruise- service impeccable and professional.  Worth the service charge.  We ate in the main dining room on 2 other occasions- using the My Time Flexible Dining program which generally worked very well.  Once we did wait about 15 minutes for a table- but other than that, were usually seated right away.  Service in the dining room was excellent- particularly from head servers.  Energentic, friendly and attentive.  Food in main dining room was good.  Windjammer Cafe (buffet) was occasionally hit or miss but for the most part very good food.  Their salads were the best I have ever had on any cruise, as were the desserts- most of the time, they were to die for, regardless of where they were served.Stateroom:  We had a balcony "hump" cabin.  Furnishings and linens were very pretty and comfortable.  At first, we thought we would never survive in it- but there is good storage space and utilizing all of it, including space under the bed- the four of us managed extremely well.  Beds were comfortable and both my brother in law and son- had no issues with the fold out or the bunk.  Our stateroom attendant was by far the most attentive and kindest I have ever had on any cruise, including Disney Cruise Line.  His name was Marcilano.  If you sail with this ship- I hope you are lucky enough to have him tend to you and your cabin.  I couldn't say enough good things about him.  The shower was the best I ever had on any cruise ship.  My husband is a big guy and he had no complaints whatsoever- showers were hot and water pressure fantastic. Entertainment: Someone posted that the cruise director, Mike, reminded them of Tom Green- and boy, was that ever spot on.  He was hilarious.  Cruise activities were fairly good- could have used a little more variety though.  My son and BIL were in different age groups and didn't want to be split up so they didn't use their age level programming at all. There was only one meet and greet with the Captain during the whole week- and the picture opportunity only lasted 15 minutes.  They do a fabulous Q and A with the Captain though and backstage digital photo tour the last day at sea- which we loved.  The other members of the cruise entertainment staff were funny and engaging.  Activities manager Andy was very friendly also.  We saw 2 stage shows: one was Jonathan Clark- musical impressionist and comedian- very good.  Also saw Vibeology- pretty good as well. 2 of the singers- Jay and Shvonne- did their own R and B matinee show on the last day- they were fantastic. Ports:  We did all RCCL excursions.  Whale watching in Icy Strait.  It was fine and we did see several humpbacks- but the boat was big and it was crammed in outdoor viewing areas.  If I were to do it again, I would book a private charter.  In Skagway, we did the Sled Dog Camp.  It was unseasonably warm so they cancelled the cart pull as the heat was too much for the dogs.  They showed us other stuff instead- like harnessing and such.  We loved the dogs, hearing the musher talk about the races and seeing puppies but not doing the cart race was a bummer.  In fairness, we received notice of that before hand from the camp and RCCL.  In Juneau, we did the Salmon Hatchery and Mendenhall Glacier.  Interesting and Mendenhall was fabulous.   We were able to go to Tracy Arm Fjord- a venture the entire crew, including our captain was thrilled about- and he did an amazing job - got us 8/10 of a mile from Sawyer Glacier.  The most amazing scenery ever.  Unforgettable. The only tender was at Icy Strait Point, and that was handled smoothly and efficiently, with tours going out first in order of the time they were to meet.   Generally, Skagway and Juneau's downtown areas were sort of boring to us - the streets were lined with the typical jewelry and souvenir stores.  Had I known we wouldn't find much other than that, I would have booked us on two excursions a day.  Getting out to outlying areas offered us chances to see more landscapes and animals- including bald eagles- which is what the trip really, for us, was all about.  Service in general was excellent.  There were a few crew members who I found to be not very friendly, but for the most part we came across folks that were very friendly, helpful and kind.  Guest Relations staff in particular were quick and efficient in answering questions and concerns.  Our arrival back into Vancouver was delayed due to currents in tight straights that necessitated us going slower- and we got plenty of notice of that- I think 3 days notice, so we were able to get express departure way in advance, not to miss our flights.   The captain made informative and fun announcements at least once, sometimes twice daily, telling us about weather conditions, routes and other info when necessary.Disembarking was even easier then embarking- we had express departure and by the time we got to our assigned area to wait- they were already offloading passengers and we literally walked out the door with no waiting whatsoever.  There were plenty of staff members to guide us through Customs and out of the pier to transportation to the airport.On a scale of 1-5, I would give the Serenade a 4- 4 1/2.  Wouldn't hesitate to return to this ship again and I definitely will cruise with RCCL again, based on this cruise.  We had a fabulous time and loved our time onboard.