Serenade of the Seas Review

A Diamond Ship than Needs Polish

Review for the Southern Caribbean Cruise on Serenade of the Seas
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Sam13010
10+ Cruises • Age 70s

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Sail Date: Apr 2011
Cabin: Deluxe Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony

We had a group of 14 that flew to San Juan the day before the cruise on April 8, 2011. This was my 25th Royal Caribbean Cruise, and most of the others with us were still Diamond members of the Crown and Anchor Society. We all stayed at the Embassy Suites near the airport. In the afternoon 8 of us toured the Bacardi Rum factory. The tour was free, but getting there was not. From old San Juan you take a ferry and then you take a taxi to the tour. In total it was $7.00 per person. The ones that went on it said the history session and the free drinks were the best part. They went on to explore the city and have dinner downtown. Several of us were too tied to explore the city that afternoon, so we stayed at the pool at the Embassy Suites. This hotel is very nice with large suite rooms, a manager's reception (free drinks), and a great breakfast.The next morning we met in the lobby at 10:30AM and loaded two large vans (7 people in each one) for about $48.00 per van including the tip for the 15 minute ride to the ship. At the cruise terminal I was not impressed the dock workers did not immediately take our bags. They were all sitting around ready to go, but evidently they have a schedule to follow. We tipped them $5.00 for our 4 bags to take them at the most 10 feet. There we were queued up to go into check in. About 11:20 the doors were opened and we checked in. We proceeded immediately to the ship. One of the coupons in the Diamond Plus Booklet is a buy one get one free at the specialty restaurants. I had purchased prior to the cruise as a gift, Chops for everyone on Wednesday Night, so I wanted to make sure the free meal at Portofino's could be used. We all went to Portofino's to make the reservation. The people taking reservations had never heard of the coupon, but we went ahead and made reservations anyway. The free night can only be used the first night after the Muster drill so our reservations were at 9:00 PM. After eating at the Windjammer, we went to our rooms to drop off our luggage. Things were all over the desk, and no one else in our group had the letter about the Diamond Lounge. The others that were on the America's Cup yacht Race in St. Maarten hadn't received their tickets. We proceeded to the Shore Explorations desk where they gave us the missing, already paid for, tickets. As the leader you want everything to go perfectly on a cruise, but the side distractions like this were frustrating.I had never sailed on this class of ship so I wanted to take the time to explore the ship. I proceeded to the Concierge Lounge where I was surprised to find François, sitting there. I introduced myself and he became very arrogant. My wife even commented that he had to be the rudest Concierge ever. Even if something doesn't go the way you want, on a cruise, you can be nice about it. Personally, as a Senior Executive I would have fired him on the spot, but he doesn't work for me. I went back to Portofino's and showed them the coupon and the said they "thought" it would be OK, so I dropped it. Later after eating it became very awkward about the bill. I always leave a nice tip for the great service, but getting a bill was strange. I ended up staying an extra 15 minutes trying to get the bill straightened out. One table of us had ordered multiple bottles of wine and our table had the same. All of the bills were charged to me even though I had made it clear all "personal expenses" were to go to the person ordering. Then the next day I noticed it had still not been straightened out. The problem was still not corrected until Thursday morning - six days into the cruise!! They did give us two bottles of wine for our "hassles" at Chops dinner. Bottom line the Concierge's attitude and the Portofino's bill were ruining the cruise for me. In Tortola we had chartered two 35 foot boats where we were whisked off to Peter Island Resort. It is very peaceful, but the drinks can be very expensive - frozen drinks were about $20 each. The food and service were fantastic. This is a very luxurious resort where the service reflects that. A very nice and relaxing day.In St. Maarten, most of us were on the America's Cup Yacht race and we had invited another couple from England to join us who already had tickets. We raced on True North II winning by a boat length. This was my third time doing this and I will do it every time I am on the island. The others said this excursion rated an A+. About 1:00 Pm when we finished we stopped at The Greenhouse very near the America's Cup reception store, where we had a light lunch and a few "local" drinks. Afterwards we toured the downtown area.Every night we would assemble in the Diamond Lounge for pre-dinner drinks. Veki, the Diamond Lounge server, was great but she was really pushed. On this ship the entire Viking Crown Lounge was at our disposal every night and she was the only server. There is no food or snacks. The house wines were free, and the drinks were 25% off. Where the she seemed to have a hassle was that each drink had to be charged separately to get the 25% off. This created a slowness that several late arrivals in our group were never served. One night we arrived to a group of 8 playing cards in shorts and smoking. The other side of the Viking Crown Lounge was set aside for a private party. We were told they were here already and could not be moved. We all left totally disappointed. In St. Kitts we did the tour of St. Kitts. We spend many hours driving and seeing the sights. The nasty trash on the side of the roads on the island was disappointing for an island that could be a real beauty. We visited the castle near the end of the island and the sights were magnificent. The Batik Factory was a real disappointment - very commercialized. The only clean area of the island was the new Marriott Resort and the surrounding area. If I had a choice again, I would have shopped downtown and skipped the tour.In Dominica we did a similar tour and the waterfalls were great. Two comments that need to be covered. We were told light walking. For some of the waterfalls you really had to be a climber going over rough trails. The other comment is the length of time in the van was excessive, but if you want to see the waterfalls it is required. The tour rated an A in our group except from the long rides and rough terrain. Be prepared, you should definitely wear water shoes and clothes that can easily get wet.In Barbados we did the Calabaza Sailing Cruises. What a trip. Any tour group can swim with the turtles and take you snorkeling. That is the only likeness to the other tour groups. I had to talk the owner, Gina, into taking the 14 of us. We were pampered the minute we got on her 47 foot catamaran boat with service that was off the scale. Gina gives everyone a slice of her world class banana bread. After we left the dock we were pampered with Gina's special fish cakes and crackers with her special dips. Some of us needed some help snorkeling. Chad guided two of us for the first time snorkeling. He made them feel totally at ease while the sea turtles circled us. It was amazing to see them so close. We went on to a snorkeling location and a swimming area. Gina and Danny were busy preparing a fantastic first class lunch. Gina, Chad and Danny catered to all of our "drinking" needs. Sure they serve the normal -- beers, Cokes, water, but their specialty is Gina's rum punch drinks. After the tour we talked about the best excursion we went on during the cruise, and hands down this was voted the best! I highly recommend this tour. On a scale of 1 to 10 this rates an 11. Later that night was the very special Crown and Anchor Platinum, Diamond, Diamond Plus and Elite party. On every ship this party stars after dinner, but on this ship it started at 7:45. At that time we had received our desserts yet, so we arrived a few minutes late. This party has always been the highlight to hear the future of RCCL, new ships, new cruises, changes, etc. from the Captain. All we saw was a belly dance. I asked a couple that was on their 120th Royal Caribbean Cruise (yes 120 cruises!!) and they said it was the worst party they had ever been to. The Captain, Cruise Director, Hotel Manager, etc. were not around.We all thought the meals at Portofino's and Chops were great, but we also definitely enjoyed all of our meals in the Dining Room. Garth our waiter, Williams our asst. waiter, and Puran our head waiter provided service like no other team in the past. Devis, our cabin steward, kept our room spotless where we NEVER had to ask for anything. Our group's only comments is that on formal nights someone needs to stop the guy in shorts, t-shirt, and a hat from eating in the main dining room.One special thing I saw was that Royal Caribbean Had a Make a Wish walk with the Captain. If you donated a minimum $10 you could walk several laps around the track and all of the money collected went to the Make a Wish foundation. All of us in our group donated or walked in the drive.The entertainment on this ship was the best I had ever seen for a cruise. The singers and dancers of Royal Caribbean were great. The shows were ones I hadn't already seen. We had a "mind reader" whose performance appeared phony, but the other headliners were fantastic.The ship condition was really clean but there were there were a few areas that bothered me. First the pool had most of the paint worn away and was showing a tan primer. The running track had areas that had holes in it, and the ship's hull had rust streaks from several areas. In St. Maarten they started painting the hull. The situation with the basics really concerned me and then I finally learned the truth. Several waiters were going to "change their future contracts" to other RCCL ships as the management had changed a month or two earlier on this ship. What was a happy well run ship, changed? The people that were cruising with us were special people -- owners of larger companies or on the boards of others. Most of them hadn't cruised with Royal Caribbean in a long time, preferring to go on Princess. I wanted to bring them back and show them they could have fun once again on Royal Caribbean. Two couples of our group had a good time, but are going back to Princess. Three couples purchased future cruise certificates with Royal Caribbean. Would we ever go back on the Radiance of the Seas, not until some changes are made.

Cabin Review

Deluxe Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony

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