Serenade of the Seas Review

4.5 / 5.0
1,674 reviews

No Wow's Here; Just Average

Review for the Southern Caribbean Cruise on Serenade of the Seas
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grayesun
10+ Cruises • Age 70s

Rating by category

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Value for Money
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Sail Date: Nov 2019
Cabin: Ocean View

We like a more than 7 day cruise, so RCI options are really limited unless you do a pricey back to back. We also like the larger ships, Radiance class & larger - for me, the larger the better! After cruising Oasis last year, this ship is disappointing & in need of refurb work. Biggest disappointment is the tiny, congested main pool area, with an overhead video screen that doesn't work. A poolside bartender told us the screen has never worked, so it's sort of a big dark "sore thumb" just hanging there! Wear & tear in our stateroom & bathroom were obvious: couch material worn & frayed, shower door gasket failure. We're diamond level cruisers & found the bed on this cruise so uncomfortable, we needed to request additional cushioning. We've never had a bed on an RCI ship before that was this uncomfortable. Embark & disembark went perfectly. Dining was average at best, we only used Windjammer & Dining Room; selections were uninspired, many nights we ate at Windjammer because they had same offerings as Dining Room. Entertainment was average compared to other RCI cruises. Service aboard ship was above average, our stateroom attendant was excellent. Ports were average, been to these same ports with RCI many times before, except for St. Kitts & Antigua. We wouldn't do this ship again unless some big refurbs were done; this ship claims to be a sister to Brilliance & Jewel (we've sailed both), it isn't. It's a smaller ship enlarged to be similar to 90K ton vessels, it's not - the too small main pool area causes the Solarium pool to get overcrowded. Very loud stomping neighbor above us was never home when we called Guest Services to try to remedy this. Never had this issue before on an RCI cruise.

Cabin Review

Ocean View

Cabin worn, bed extremely uncomfortable.

3 Helpful Votes
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