Serenade of the Seas Review

4.5 / 5.0
1,675 reviews

Serenade of the Seas - Alaska

Review for Alaska Cruise on Serenade of the Seas

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Sail Date: Sep 2007

My wife and I sailed on the Serenade for the last cruise of the Alaska season. We have sailed 8 times with several other cruise lines. The Serenade is beautiful and very well kept. We saw nothing that was worn out or in bad repair. We love this size ship (around 90,000 tons) and found the Serenade was easy to get around in. We had our first balcony cabin and for this trip it was worth every penny extra it cost. We loved being able to just sit on the balcony and watch the fabulous scenery go by. If we got cold, we just went inside for a few minutes and then came back out, sometimes with a blanket. The cabin layout was somewhat tedious as the bathroom door opened up on the closet doors and the hallway to the door of the room. The beds were wonderful! The cabin steward was very good with not interrupting us in the cabin and keeping everything clean. He called us by name after the first day every time he saw us anywhere on or off ship. The food was good to very good for the most part, exceptionally fantastic in Chops (best Filet I have ever had!). The head chef was from India and every meal had something to represent that. The portions were not small or large, but this was the first time I have never been offered a second lobster tail, and the first tail was small! The waiter and assistant waiter were absolutely first rate though. They knew by the second day what we liked to drink and always entertained us with something special. The group at our table of 10 was a very fun group and we constantly kept switching seats so we could talk with everyone. Chops was worth the extra as everything was extremely good (shrimp cocktail, onion soup, filet, and chocolate cake too rich to finish). Our favorite spot to eat was the Seaview Cafe at the rear of the ship, deck 12. Very good food (I tried about all of it) and very friendly staff. We even got to talk with the Captain for about 5 minutes there one day.

The Captain had to cancel our first 2 stops (Sitka and Hubbard Glacier) due to very bad weather in the Bay of Alaska. We instead stopped at Wrangell and Tracy Arm Fjord. These turned out to be my favorite stops of all! Wrangell is a very small town that truly welcomed us there. It has locally owned stores and none of the Caribbean stores(Diamond I/Tanza I/Del So, etc)that I have come to loath. It is a quaint place with one main street and real Alaska everywhere. Tracy Arm Fjord was awe inspiring! Sheer cliffs that go up about 3000 feet with absolutely gorgeous waterfalls everywhere. The Captain even took us past the normal turnaround point and closer to the glacier. We got to see the glacier calf a couple of times as the Captain made circles so everyone could see no matter where you were. On the way out, he even pulled up close enough to a waterfall that you could feel the spray from it. It was truly memorable. The other stops were Skagway (filled with Caribbean stores, ugh!) where we were treated to a farewell mooning by about 20-30 locals as we were the last cruise ship of the season; Juneau where we had the only sunny day in Alaska (the rain didn't bother us though) and got to see humpbacks (Orca Enterprises) and a bear at Mendenhall Glacier; Ketchikan (filled again with the same Caribbean stores!!!) where it was raining very hard and our float plane excursion was cancelled; and Icy Strait Point (why bother with this stop!!) which was a tourist trap in every sense of the word.

The remainder of our trip was a repositioning to San Diego and we cruised down the coast stopping at Seattle and San Francisco. We enjoyed the trip and it is something that a person should go on just to see the scenery and wildlife. We live on the edge of Rocky Mountain National Park and see beautiful scenery every day, but every place is unique and Alaska was beautiful in its way. We were surprised by the rain forest type woods and the towering cascading waterfalls. We got to see humpbacks, orcas, seals, sea lions, bear, and lots of bald eagles. The entertainment was really fantastic, especially the original Drifters! We never had trouble getting a seat and almost all viewing angles were good and not blocked. All of the staff was very polite and worked hard to make you feel at home (except the spa, which seems to be universally rude on all ships). Room Stewards would greet you in hallways, and bartenders would greet you by name after 1 or 2 days, and even know what you preferred to drink. Bartender John in the Pit Stop bar was great at this, and I usually only had non-alcoholic drinks on my drink card. He was so good I tipped him for his personal service at the end of the cruise. The Captain was very personable and easy to talk with. He seemed to relish talks with the cruisers. We would definitely sail with Serenade again (maybe to the Canal).

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