Serenade of the Seas Review

4.5 / 5.0
1,675 reviews

contented of the seas

Review for Alaska Cruise on Serenade of the Seas
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mike x ftc
First Time Cruiser • Age 50s

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Sail Date: May 2008
Cabin: Superior Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony

We booked this cruise a year ago for my 40th birthday which I stated when we booked and had complimentary Champagne and strawberry's in the stateroom when we arrived which was a lovely touch - thanks Chris much appreciated. This is our third Royal Caribbean cruise, we last did a 7 night Caribbean cruise but didn't extend it with any extra nights before sailing which was a mistake due to the time difference, this time we spent 6 nights in Vancouver prior to the cruise, it's a long way from the UK so we made the most of it! We stayed at the Best Western Sands which was lovely, the staff are really friendly and it's in a great location. They booked us a taxi to the pier which turned up dead on time. We were disappointed to be going from Ballantyne pier having seen all the other ships in Canada Place all week, it's a long way out and there is nothing around and it felt a bit like we were in the cheap seats. We got to the pier about 11.15am and the queue's were already building, it took us about an hour and a half to get through from one queue to another, there just didn't seem to be enough staff on the immigration desks. Our friends who were joining us for the cruise arrived at 1pm and it took them 4 hours to get through, they boarded at 5pm and there were hundreds behind them. They were less than impressed with Royal Caribbeans organizational skills. There were still people boarding the ship while we were doing the life boat drill which didn't seem right to me. We didn't sail till 7pm.

We had high hopes for the Radiance class having previously done Vision and Voyager, and we were not disappointed. She is the perfect combination of all the glass and light of the Rhapsody but had the extra eating options and space of the Navigator. The Centrum is just stunning and the glass lifts are an amazing feature. All the artwork on the stairs is beautiful and the whole ship just sparkles. There is just such a lovely feeling of light and space and you can see the sea where ever you are, which is really good in Alaska. The public rooms are well maintained and very tastefully decorated although they do smell of stale smoke in the day. I think the no smoking areas should be extended, there is so much outside space, and even a smoking bar in the Viking Crown, there is no need for it in most of the other bars. We attended the casino on no smoking night and there were still people smoking and no one challenged them which was disappointing. The Staff on the Serenade couldn't have been more friendly, our stateroom attendant (Veronica) was great, she was always chirpy and friendly and really efficient. Our room was kept beautifully clean the whole time. The room felt really spacious (we had a Junior Suit before and we were worried it might feel small) in fact, it was so well laid out with loads of storage I think I preferred it in the end. The improved bedding has made a real difference as the bed was really comfortable.

I have read many reports about food going downhill on RCI ships but I could see no evidence of this. Everywhere we ate (and believe me we ate...) the food was of a really good standard. The Seaview Cafe was really nice, the service was excellent in here, the staff all so friendly and helpful but it did get very busy due to limited opening times. We were lucky we had warm sunny days (not at all what we expected) so we were able to sit outside which was lucky. Again, the Windjammer was really good but just got so busy, it was very often a struggle to find a table, we took jackets with us so we could use the outside seating here too. We tended to have a late breakfast and then do afternoon tea or have an early lunch to try and avoid the crowds. Perhaps if RCI made a bit more of afternoon tea like the British Cruise line's it may alleviate some of the lunchtime overcrowding. There had been an outbreak of the Norwalk virus on the last cruise so we were all trying to be really careful but the staff were vigilant with wiping everything in the Windjammer, I did think that the announcements that were made should be done in as many languages as possible, it was only done in English and the staff in the Windjammer were having trouble getting some people to simply sanitize their hands prior to entering. The food in the dining room was also really good. Our waiter Anand was so funny and nothing was too much trouble, if we wanted extra of anything it was with us in seconds, he made us feel relaxed and helped us all on the table get on really well. The Assistant Ernesto, although new was friendly and helpful. We visited Portofino one night and it was superb, the food was exceptionally good and the service great. Really worth paying for as a treat.

Cabin Review

Superior Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony

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