Last year my husband and I greatly enjoyed our Holland America cruise to Alaska, so we decided to go on a Caribbean cruise on Serenade of the Seas (we did not pick HAL because they offered no sailings when and where we wanted to sail). We picked late May to avoid the big crowds in winter and spring, or later in the summer. Given that, with our copious slathering of sunscreen, we still got burned, I don't even want to think about what the sun must be like in summer. If you are new to this kind of climate, please do NOT take seriously the hype about sunscreens or even sunblocks. SPF 70 won't protect you twice as long as 30. And whatever 'waterproof' means, it does not mean that you can slather it on, be in the water for 45 minutes, and not get burned. If you are planning on spending time in the water or anywhere other than indoors, buy yourselves some sunproof clothing, like a surfer shirt that you can swim with. This, unless you are the kind of person who never gets burned (and I'd use them even in that case).The good: The price was just right for a balcony stateroom, which was extremely well designed with more than enough space for us and our things. No, it didn't have the fancy flat screen TV. No, we did not care. We have one at home and didn't miss it one bit.The stateroom was impressively soundproof. They regularly had blaring music down at the Centrum (the 'core' of the ship), but as soon as you shut the door it was pure, blissful silence. For people who don't particularly care about the party life, or about loud music late at night, this was a big plus. We never heard our neighbors, ever. The itinerary was great. We stopped in Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Maarten and St. Croix. Each island had its own flavor. I had booked (independently-thanks to Cruise Critic reviewers for all the info!) excursions for most ports and we enjoyed them immensely. I recommend Spencer Ambrose's Land and Sea tour of St. Lucia (his rum punch, as far as we are concerned, is the best in the Caribbeans), Big Beard's all day trip to Buck's Island in St. Croix, Adventure Antigua's Extreme Tour on Antigua. The sea taxi on St. Maarten sells Carib beer for 2 bucks a bottle, and you can get smashed before 9am, if this is what you want. The food. It went from 'pretty darn good' to delicious. We didn't have anything we didn't like, although risotto cooking is a hit or miss (that is true of most restaurants). Don't miss the Coconut Ranger cookies. And beware the bread tray at dinner: it's overflowing with delights, a torture if you are on a carb restricted diet.The service. Five stars. From Jorge's attentive service in our stateroom (and his lovely towel animals) to the team Corwin-Estephan in the dining room, and almost anyone in between, it was flawless (read below).Entertainment. We gave it a shot, and we enjoyed it very much. Talented singers and dancers, and a comedian/juggler that made us laugh and then go aaaw! in seconds (he made a few mistakes, maybe because of the ship motion, maybe because he hit the rum punch too much, but we had a blast anyway). We did not see their comedy show. We also enjoyed Joseph's fresh pasta demonstration. The 'room for improvement'. We arrived around 12.30 (departure scheduled for 8.30 pm). Our suitcases did not show up until after 6pm. When we boarded the ship, there just wasn't a big crowd. I have no idea why the suitcases took so long. I dread to think about how long they'll take at a busier time of the year.The gym. Nicely set up, but a bit small for such a large ship. There were enough cardio machines, but the weight section was overcrowded. We did not try the climbing wall, and we did most of our exercise out in the sea, so no biggie, but if you are considering exercising a lot to burn all that food and alcohol, consider going very early in the morning or during a dinner seating.Service in the Windjammer was mostly OK, but sometimes, with the restaurant half-empty, you'd see the servers loitering around and if you wanted a drink you'd have to pick up your own. Not a big deal, of course, but it mars an otherwise flawless crew.And talking about the Windjammer: the garbage room reeks. Seriously. Well, duh. So, why was the door always open, in a spot where people keep passing because it's right behind the drink counter?Computer glitches. RCI website is a bear. So say I, so says my travel agent, and so, apparently, say several of her customers. I had to re-do online check in several times, because the system would not save the info I submitted, and yes, I clicked all the appropriate buttons (my employer has very counterintuitive softwares that I must use, so I always check everything). With all this, the seapass I printed was apparently incomplete, and I had to fill a bunch of information by hand that should have been already in the system (credit card number etc.).Food choices: my main objection is that I would have liked some Caribbean options on the menu. There was Italian, Mexican, Indian, Chinese, Thai; you could have tempura, pizza, enchiladas and goulash; but not a single Caribbean item. They had a Caribbean buffet-at 10.30 pm, and not everyone can, or is willing to, eat at that time. A dinner option would have been nice. The shower shelves are a pain. It's not a matter of whether stuff will fall, but when. And be aware-at least in the stateroom we were in (which is the next option down from a Jr. suite) there were no toiletries, except for bars of soap. In these times where people try to squeeze as much as possible in carry-on baggage, you may want to take notice that you need to bring your own lotion, shampoo, conditioner and whatnot (we did, so no problem).The theater. If some parents are so clueless or selfish (or both) as to think that it's OK to bring a baby who will not stop squalling at an evening show, staff should intervene. I would have loved to tell those parents off myself, or to call staff on them, but I would have had to ask a half row of people to get up for that. Chair hogs were in full swing, but we did not hang much by the pool, which is small, noisy and overcrowded.We had one drink, and it wasn't that great. Bit more alcohol next time. I am not much of a drinker, but I can tell.The hard sell: especially on the first day, waiters were really pushing drinks under your nose. And you had to ask for the price, because they did not volunteer that the drink was not free. The waiters in the dining room pushed for wine or bottled water packages. I am sure that they were under orders, but... memo to RCI: I understood you the first time, and I said "thanks but no thanks." And where I come from "no thanks" means no.Sugar substitutes. They offered sugar free options for dessert, which is nice, but they should explicitly mention the sweeteners used. Waiters aren't always informed, and not everybody tolerates Aspartame well (we were told that Equal was the sweetener used).Overall we had a great trip, and we would not hesitate to sail RCI again or to recommend them.