This is the first time I have ever written concerning any vacation or cruise I have taken. This is because I am a very laid back person and realize that sometimes thing will go wrong on any trip or vacation. So, I have learned to go with the flow and don’t sweat the little things in life even when one of the islands I wanted to see was replace with one I been to last year because of the hurricanes. You are on vacation so chill and have fun because there are many people who can’t take a vacation or in this case a nice 10 day cruise to 5 Caribbean Islands. I decided to write after receiving a survey from Royal Caribbean concerning my cruise experience on Serenade of the Seas so decided why not. First, I would like to say I had a great time but I have never had a bad time on a cruise if traveling with friends, family or alone. The food was good, the ship and staff was great, the entertainment was good, and the locations were fantastic. I received some sort of insect bites on my first day and night on the ship and the staff, front desk, nurses and doctors went above and beyond to make sure I was ok. They gave us a new room and gave me great medical service to relieve my discomfort. Ricky the cruise director was great! I don’t know where he gets all of his energy from but he and his staff did a great job of keeping us entertained. If I had to write about anything that can be improved I would say that there should be more than 1 night showing of great comedians like James Stephens because if you miss the act one day you can see it another. I made the mistake of heckling him from the audience, something I have never done before, but he got me back by calling me to the stage. It was all in good fun and I spent the rest of the cruise explaining to other guest that I wasn’t part of the act and that it just happened. He does the best impresses of Bill Cosby and Ray Charles I have ever seen. When there is a great show word gets around the ship but if it is not shown on the ships TV anyone who missed it doesn’t get to ever see it. This is what happened to a friend who missed his act because she wasn’t feeling well. There should be a video of the cruise that can be purchased because with all of the activities going on there is no way to catch them all. It would be a great memento to keep and share with family and friends. I asked the front desk if there was one to purchase and was told there was not. I have been on other cruises in which there were.

Also, the Centrum should be extended or have more seating because whenever there was certain events going on there was not enough room for the over flow of guest. The front desk being right next to the stage area where music and other events were going on makes no sense because it gets pretty loud at times. The few times I had to talk to someone at the front desk I had to shout to be heard. This has to be a big problem for the front office staff too. It seems it would be better served if the front desk was moved to another floor and the space was used for more seating. I was on a ship with many senior citizens and it was sad seeing them show up late for events at the Centrum, on walkers and crushes, only to not be able to find seating. There was even a show one night in the Tropical Theater which was crowded in which a elderly women was having a hard time finding a seat and was being forced to walk down the stairs to the lower level until I stepped in to help find her a seat in our area. Cruise lines with a high number of elderly guests should have staff available to assist them in finding seats. I’m not a big gambler but would love to give it a try when cruising but the strong smell of smoke in every cruise casino I have ever been on runs me out fast. Now I’m not trying to ban smoking in cruise casino’s but there should be another casino on the opposite side of the ship for those like me who may want to gamble but can’t because the smoke smell is so repulsive. Lastly, Royal Caribbean should take a page from Carnival and begin serving burgers, and vegan burgers, fries, tacos and burritos at the poolside which makes it a nice touch and adds to the feeling of having a party at the pool. All in all I had a great time and I love RC and will continue with the cruise line but I do like to try other cruise lines and ships, to compare, to get the best deals and the locations I want to visit. But again, I have never been on a bad cruise.