We cruised on the Serenade of the Seas January 20-31, 2020 sailing from Ft. Lauderdale. The Port Everglades Cruise Terminals are only 10 minutes from the FLL airport and very convenient. We stayed at the Embassy Suites on 17th St the night before departure. Instead of taking the hotel shuttle to the ship, we took Uber which is less expensive and more convenient.

We chose this cruise because of the ports of call: Costa Rico, Panama, Colombia, Aruba and Curacao. Unfortunately, we had to miss Costa Rico because of a medical evacuation for one of the passengers. The captain tried to evacuate him in Falmouth, Jamaica and allow us a 4-5 hour visit, but the weather didn't cooperate. Instead, we had an extra sea day which we enjoyed. As to the ports visited, our favorite was Cartagena, Colombia. It is a large, modern and clean city. We took the hop on, hop off bus and had a great time. For those wanting beach time in port, Aruba and Curacao are great, but we spent most of our time wandering the downtowns - both clean and safe. Colon, Panama is another story. There is nothing there and it is dirty and dilapidated. Some of our tablemates took tours of the canal, but still commented on the conditions of the country.

As to on-board activities, we enjoyed the movie theater, headliner shows, daytime activities and the live music. The production shows can be missed. The food is good, but nothing extraordinary (except for the rack of lamb the last night of the cruise). All of the crew are very friendly and willing to do what ever they can to assist. We were on this ship last February and one recommend it to others.