Serenade of the Seas Review
Great ports, but underwhelmed by dining room service and cabin.
Rating by category
Additional details
I was cruising with friends who had never been on any cruise before. I apologized numerous times to them about the cabin and the service or lack there of at My Time Dining.
My Time Dining had issues the entire cruise. I love being able to book different times each night depending on our schedule but the cruise before this one and this most recent cruise just seemed to bring out the worst in this type of scheduling. Service was spotty, hectic and just not up to the standards I had experienced on prior cruises. One night we left after waiting for our desserts to show up. The order was placed but the wait staff just disappeared. I know everyone is working really hard, but we always felt we were in no man's land since our waiters made themselves scarce during the time we were there. We always felt we were an afterthought. I had to explain to my friends, this was not how it used to be. Not sure if RCI has cut back on staff or what. But very disappointing.
The ports were great even though we did not see any fall colors. The weather was great although warmer than I expected but still not too hot in the ME ports. We took private tours or went off on our on and never had any problems in returning to the ship in time.
Cabin Review
Deluxe Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony
My complaint with the cabin was that I asked if there was any obstructed view from our cabins and I was told no. I had never even thought to ask this but after booking the cabin and then reading reviews about Deck 7 I felt like there might be a problem. You technically did not see the lifeboats but there was a type of white cover that obstructed our view (of the lifeboats) and the ocean if we wanted to look straight down from our balcony. We could see the ocean but you had to always look past the cover. My fault in not booking a higher cabin. I usually stay on decks 9 or 10. But I also feel the RCI representative should have mentioned this white cover. Also probably my fault again with booking Deck 7. This was probably the smallest cabin I have ever been in. I felt bad for my friends - at least I had the whole cabin to myself. Room attendant was great and the cabin itself was nice and clean. The shower structure looked a little worn but otherwise the decor was very nice.
Port Reviews
Portland (Maine)
90 minute tour of the city on a trolley, then a break for lunch then a 90 boat tour of Cascoe Bay
Bar Harbor
Rode a bus through the Park along the shore road. Really did not see much of the coast line
Bayonne (Cape Liberty)
Good port to depart from. Close to the airport and great views of NYC