Serenade of the Seas Review
Important lessons learned with Royal Caribbean and Fall Colors Sept 15
Review for Canada & New England Cruise on Serenade of the Seas
KESinMN
6-10 Cruises • Age 50s
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Sail Date: Sep 2015
Cabin: Two Bedroom Family Suite
Traveled with children
We are experienced cruisers in particular to the Alaskan market with Holland America. Wanted to try a different cruise line and new market.
First what we learned more about itineraries. Perhaps we are used to Alaska. You get plenty of scenery so you never feel like you have been shorted the opportunity to watch the landscape go by.
This was a fall colors cruise. The only time we would have really been able to see the fall colors (if Mother Nature had cooperated) was in the Saguenay Fjord and St. Lawrence seaway. We didn't realize we were only going to get to see abt an hour and half of the Saguenay fjord. The same stretch we saw after sunrise in the morning b4 docking at 8; is the same stretch we saw after we departed at 5. The virgin mary statue wasn't in that section and many asked abt it. I suspect we also missed out on a great deal of wildlife at the mouth of the fjord and seaway since we went thru in the dark. We were able to view the St. Lawrence from abt 6:30 sunrise until 11 when we got into Quebec.
Cabin Review
Two Bedroom Family Suite
Cabin FF
Excellent!! Too bad the windows got dirty when they washed something higher!! Primo seats for arrival in Saguenay.
Port Reviews
Bayonne (Cape Liberty)
Better transit options need to be available from the train to the pier. Cruiselines need to suck it up and have shuttles that run from the light rail to the pier or offer transfers from Manhattan.
Portland (Maine)
Enjoyed downtown. Make sure you hit Mount Desert Ice Cream!!
Bar Harbor
Rented scooters for Acadia - it was a blast. Enjoyed Mount Desert Ice Cream again!!
Halifax
Booked Bluenose Sidecar Tour independently. Great way to see Halifax!
Quebec City
We were not moored at the cruise ship terminal. We were pier 30. I thought it was because the other terminal was being worked on, wellllll... I was wrong. There was another ship that was moored there later. Extremely unhappy about the walk thru commerical port and marina area to get anywhere. Even at 8pm it was kind of creepy to walk thru. Shuttles should be set up if cruiselines and the city expect people to enjoy the port.
If you want Montmorency Falls and are moored at #30, go over to the VIA Rail station and take the 800 bus.
Charlottetown (Prince Edward Island)
Rented a van to go to Cavendish. Very, very surprised how little was open this late (2nd half September) in the season. Was really looking forward to driving around the island but the kids were being kids so instead of killing them or mounting them on the roof, we went back to the ship after Green Gables.
Very nice terminal. Lovely shopping opportunities.
Saguenay
You gotta visit this port!! Seriously, don't take a NE/Canada cruise without a Saguenay stop included!!
We were scheduled to arrive at 8. I knew that there might be special events going on since this was the first time Serenade of the Seas visited. I honestly wonder if they don't do this for every ship. Music, dancing, costumed villagers, historical displays - all out welcome!! You know it's a big deal when local school children get to come to visit the brouhaha at the pier!!
Wonderful terminal with great wi-fi. Lovely shopping opportunities in the terminal. Special hop on/hop off buses with routes just for cruise ship passengers. The same lady stood at the end of the gangway greeting and answering questions the whole time. These people are serious about developing cruise tourism in their area!
You can tell the area is going to continue to be developed. Make sure your itinerary allows enough time for this port AS WELL AS daylight hours to see the whole Saguenay fjord.
1 Helpful Vote
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