RCCL Serenade of The Seas - April 3 - 10, 2010 - Southern Caribbean

Background - We are a family of 3 (Donnie 46, Sandy 46 and Katelyn 12). This was cruise #13 for Sandy and I and #6 for Katelyn. We flew to San Juan on the morning of the cruise - not our usual routine, but work schedules did not permit us to fly down on Friday. We arrived in San Juan a little before 1 pm, waiting maybe 20 minutes for our bags and caught a taxi. The taxi que worked very efficiently. We told a guy working at the stand where we were going and gave us a ticket with the cost for the fare written on it. After a ride that lasted maybe 15 minutes, we arrived at the pier. We waited in a pretty long line to give our bags to the porters and then waited in a pretty quick line to get our sea pass cards. We were on board by 2:30 pm. Our cabin, an E2 balcony type (8582) was ready by then so we dropped our carry on bags off at the cabin and headed up to the Windjammer for lunch. More on that later.

Cabin 8582 - Is an E2 balcony. As you enter the cabin the closet was on the left and the door to the tiny bathroom was on the right. Beyond the closet was a desk with mirror and opposite that was a small, not quite double seated love seat. There was a small night stand (12" wide at most) between the love seat and bed and the bed sat with its head against the right wall. Between the end of the bed and the left wall was roughly 16" and then between the bed and the balcony door wall the same nightstand roughly 12". That sizes up the cabin. The bathroom was big enough barely, for one person. I am 5'-5" and roughly 175 pounds and the shower was a tight fit - I can only imagine how difficult it is for someone who is taller or weighing in excess of 200 pounds. The balcony was the width of the cabin and roughly 4 feet deep. It was Just large enough for two chairs and a small table (not dining size). Storage space was adequate with our major requirement being met - our empty bags fit under the bed. The closet was a little tight and a little strange. It was comprised of a section for hangers on the right and left with a section of shelves in the middle. Hangers from home would not hang on the right side (the hangers were too deep and had to hang at an angle in order to fit). Strange, but useable. The cabin is located just forward of the "hump" on the starboard side of the ship. This was our first time on a Radiance class ship and I now know why the "hump" cabins are so popular. From our balcony, you could not see past the hump looking toward the stern. From the standpoint of moving around the ship, the cabin is in the perfect location. Deck 8 is 3 decks down from the Windjammer and pool and 3 decks up from the main Centrum activities and dining. Read more