Serenade of the Seas Review

Alaska wonderful, ship disappointing

Review for Alaska Cruise on Serenade of the Seas

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Sail Date: May 2008

We did a 10 day Cruisetour that included 2 nights in Whistler. This trip was wonderful and Whistler was fantastic! The Whistler Mountaineer train was great and we upgraded to the Glacier Dome service which was worth every penny! On Saturday we boarded the Serenade of the Seas. We did the on line check in so we could "breeze aboard". About 2 and 1/2 hours later after standing in line, we boarded. Our cabin was very nice, roomy, had a balcony on deck 8. I did notice the curtains were old and worn, had holes in them. But the first thing that made quite a lasting impression was after using the bathroom, there was a lingering sewer smell. This smell kept, not only in our cabin, at times after flushing, but even in the casino and on the outer decks at time, you would get this sewer smell, until about day 3 or 4, and then it immediately stopped. On the first day, we went to the buffet upstairs for breakfast and lunch. At breakfast, the coffee was the worst I have ever tasted, I tried 3 cups and could drink none of them. Eventually, aft, I found a spot to get a decent cup of coffee. The other thing we noticed, the crew at the buffet all seemed very unhappy, they seemed all mad at each other and there was a definite tension. As time went on this did lessen. For Dinner, we did the My Time Dining which is as much a a joke as the on line check in. Each night, you are asked what time you want to dine the next night, so in other words, you were always making a reservation for the next night. The food in the dining room was really very mediocre and the best meal we had all week was at Chops where we paid the extra $25 per person. You certainly get what you pay for! Our stateroom attendant was by far one of the worst we have ever had. We would take water out of the fridge and it would take days to get it replaced. She was never around, but obviously had been there since she left her cleaning supplies behind. The problem with RCL, it never seemed that anyone knew what the other was doing, nothing was in synch, very disorganized. Just like after waiting the 2 1/2 hours to board the ship, we stepped through the doors onto the ship and were never directed on where to go or what deck we were on, as the crew at the door were having a great old conversation. So, we wandered lost for about 10 mins. This was not our first cruise. We have been on 2 Celebrity Cruises, 1 Princess and now 2 Royal Caribbean. It is the last Royal Caribbean for sure. As far as Alaska is concerned, it was wonderful and a must! We saw Bears, brown and black, seals, Eagles, black tail deer, whales and dolphins. It is a wonderful feeling knowing that the US still has this wonderful treasure in Alaska and it's vast wilderness. It is certainly a sight everyone should see, absolutely beautiful. My most favorite day was Hubbard Glacier. I laughed and smiled the entire time and it was less than 30 degrees out there on the bow of that ship and I said to my husband " I don't ever remember being this happy and this cold at the same time!" It was wonderful! Again, something everyone should experience! My husband did not want to go to Alaska, he wanted to go to the Caribbean, but I can tell you, he came back glad he went and it was much much more than he ever thought it would be!

Cabin Review

I was impressed with our cabin. We had a balcony, and the cabin itself was very roomy.

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