Serenade of the Seas Review

First time! Serenade was a great start

Review for the Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Serenade of the Seas
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sunnymay
First Time Cruiser • Age 60s

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Sail Date: May 2010
Traveled with children

We had a great first time cruise! Me (48yo single Mom), my sister (46 yo single Mom) and our kids 12,14,15,17 sailed the Serenade of the Seas from Puerto Rico on the 5/23 7 day sailing. We chose this cruise because of the itinerary and loved it. We arrived in Puerto Rico on Sunday 5/23 at 12:30 and were on board with first drink in hand by 1:30! The Serenade- Beautiful, very clean, stable, food quality and variety were great! This was my first cruise. I loved all the windows to the ocean! I am hoping not to be disappointed on other ships! The centrum area was really nice.

I have issues with sinus pressure and dizziness, so I did end up taking Bonine for the trip as the second day (at sea) the woozies set in. The sailing was smooth for most of the trip!

Cruise Compass was well laid out and contained all the events of the day. They even have one for the 12-14 yo and the 15-17yo . We were in a large family stateroom on the 3rd deck outside and it was perfect for us. Small but efficient. Shaving legs in the shower was definitely an acrobatic feat. The Pullman bed was pretty hard and our stateroom attendant said if he tried to put a mattress pad on it, the height would prevent them from rolling over! They just took turns. I took advantage of the laundry deal on Thursday. Whatever you could fit in the bag for a flat $25. There were plenty of drawers and closet space with shelves. As long as you heed the advice to pack half of what you think you need, you will be fine. I was able to get extra hangers with no problem. There is a little counter space in the bathroom with a shelf underneath. A "bucket" type space is built into the shelf to heap small items in to keep them from rolling around. We pushed the little table in the middle of the room up to the sofa for extra walking space. The towel animals every night were a big hit. I was disappointed that they did not have a towel animal demonstration on our sailing! Our service in the dining room as well as our stateroom service were very good. A little slow at dinner sometimes, but overall really good. There was always a good variety to choose from. Lobster only one night, the second formal night. I would suggest that you do check your table seating when you board. Don't wait until dinner. We had requested a small table for the 6 of us. We arrived to find we had been assigned two four tops that were not even together. There was line of people that were handling table issues. We ended up sitting together, but the table was on the 4th floor by the door. We could not see much of the festivities in the main dining room from there. Table 112. My kids took advantage of all the sports activities. My 14yo ended up in a basketball tournament and won a RCL medal! He could be found either on the basketball court or the Windjammer eating! My 12yo son was thrilled with the pools, the shows, the golf, shuffleboard and Windjammer. There was a good mix of nationalities on board. We met some really nice people from all over the world. We found the value for our money to be well spent overall. I do wish they would include the fresh OJ (2.50 per glass) and upgraded coffee choices in the package.The coffee bar was a nice place to spend time, but would have preferred that the coffee was included. I did purchase the soda package for the boys and it was well used and paid for itself in a couple of days. They do have ice tea, several types of lemonade, regular coffee and water on the drink stations for no charge. Drink prices were average , beers however were $5 each. The drink of the day was $5.95. I also think their excursions are overpriced. I booked a couple of outings recommended on this board. When I added up taxi and activities in comparison with RCL sponsored tours, we came out ahead by at least $15 per person cheaper. The sun rose each day at 5:30 am and so did I! I am an early bird anyway, so hopping up to get the day started was the norm for me. I would go up to the Windjammer each morning at 6-6:30 and find a nice table to watch the ship dock in each port with a nice cup of coffee. As the rest of the family started filing in, I would head out to the decks to take pictures. Then go back to the room to get packed for whatever day excursion lay ahead. We were always ready to hit the destination at 8. Getting on and off of the ship was very easy and convenient. I received a spa credit through my travel agent and used it for an evening massage. It was very relaxing. Had a good spa experience. I would have booked a couple of the specials if we had time! So much to do! We went to all the shows in the evening. The RCL performers were really good in their two shows. Charo was on board and actually really good! She has a new CD of acoustic flamenco music. On sea day, we did a backstage tour in the theater. It was really interesting and my 12yo loved it as he is a budding entertainer. In fact you may see him soon on YouTube doing the Macarena with the dining room staff!LOL

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