What a great cruise! This cruise (2/17-2/24/07) was our first on Serenade and we thought the ship was terrific. It never felt like there were 2,200 people on board. We are a couple in our late-50's and this was our 5th cruise - three on Princess (Sea, Dawn and Golden) and our second on Royal Caribbean (Legend last year).

First, some helpful tips for us that you might want to consider taking with you: binoculars to see the islands and for excursions; travel alarm clock; night light; clothes pins to hang up wet items; suction cup toothbrush holder (also rubber bands for toothbrush handle in case the holes are too large); dry cleaning bags to pack your clothes in (none of our clothing arrived wrinkled!); and most importantly, a smaller suitcase you can wheel on board with you with your swimsuits and clothing for the first night's dinner. Do not give it to the luggage handlers at the airport if you have a airport-to-ship transfer coupon, since then it gets automatically checked in. Take it on the shuttle bus with you and hold it on your lap. We got on the ship by 5 pm, but our luggage did not arrive until 9 pm. The carry-on piece we had was a lifesaver!

Now for the cruise... Read more