Chose this cruise mainly to see St Petersburg, Estonia, Stockholm and Copenhagen. Excellent to have the overnights in Stockholm and Copenhagen and especially two nights in St Petersburg. We found both the embarkation and disembarkation went well for us and I didn't hear anyone we spoke to complaining about it. Found the ship easy to navigate and liked that there are not too many people on board. All the staff we spoke to were all friendly and helpful. Great having the Solarium on the cooler days and will look for that on other ships when we choose our next cruise. Very good entertainment at the different areas around the ship and people seemed to join in with the crew. Bingo was a bit of a rip-off so won't do that again but did have a go on the pokies and won $500. Good variety and quality of food in the free dining areas. (we didn't try any that you had to pay for) We didn't do any of the ship's shore excursions so can't comment on them. (we did do a tour in St Petersburg with TJ Travel and would highly recommend them) Will definitely travel Royal Caribbean again! Read Less

First let me say that my wife and I are not active cruisers, having taken fewer than 8 in our 50 years together. We prefer to plan our own trips and see things on our own. We chose the Baltic cruise on RCI because of the 3 days in St. Petersburg and we didn't want to try Russia on our own. It was a mistake we will not make again. If we ever cruise again, it will not be with RCI. Embarkation was smooth and painless thanks to the pre-cruise checkin process offered on the RCI website. The food and service on Serenade of the Seas were good. The food in the Windjammer was plentiful but if you dine there every breakfast, lunch and some dinners, it becomes somewhat repetitive and is often quite crowded. All the staff that we came into contact with were very friendly and helpful. The entertainment was acceptable but not exceptional. The ABBA show was very nice, but some of the entertainers in the Centrum were boring. The cabin facilities were nice but somewhat tired, especially the carpet and sofa and the in-room amenities were non-existent. Having said all of this, the cruise would have been enjoyable if not for the way Royal Caribbean operates. Everything is designed to sell, sell, sell. They start trying to upsell you the moment you step on the ship with upgraded meal packages, drink packages, photos, excursions, etc. The price for internet service was especially outrageous. Over $26/day for a single device. Very annoying. As for the ports of call, it seems that they berth the ship as far away from town as they can to encourage passengers to book their overpriced excursions. They provide very little information on where the ship is berthed or what transportation options there are to reach town. There were no port briefings on things to see so if you don't take their excursions you have little idea of what is available. If you don't want to use RCI's excursions at each stop you must do a little research prior to your trip. Try to find out where the ship will be berthed in each port and what types of public transportation is available. The daily tip sheet provided to the staterooms provided very little information. If you wish to explore on your, you must plan ahead. Before you leave home, print out a map of each town you will visit and decide what sites you wish to see. If you decide you don't want to do this and let RCI do it for you, that's your choice of course, but be prepared to travel with bus-loads of fellow cruisers and to pay RCI's exorbitent excursion prices. Prior to our departure we used the internet to pre-book our excursions in St. Petersburg and Warnemunde for far less money and with far fewer passengers. For the other ports we used the public bus system, taxis or our feet to get around. Read Less

We booked this Baltic Sea cruise because of the itinerary, especially because it spent 3 days in St. Petersburg and included a stop in Riga, Latvia (other cruise lines did not stop here). Having been on many cruises, on other cruise lines, here's my impression about RCCL Serenade of the Seas: Check-in and embarkation is a breeze providing you have done all of the registration online and printed your Sea Pass prior to boarding. RCCL wants you to use their mobile app for many things, like setting up your profile and account, booking activities and restaurants, etc. The problem is the app doesn't work well and can be frustrating to use. Within the first hour of boarding, we were approached no less than 6 times about purchasing either one of the dining packages or the beverage package. We did end up purchasing the 5-dinner package, which allowed us to dine in the 3 specialty restaurants. During the cruise we were also told we could use one of our dinners for the Champagne Brunch and Galley Tour on the one sea day, which we did (it was very nice). Booking the specialty restaurants in advance is more expensive than waiting until you get on board, so wait. These restaurants were never full for the times we ate there so booking onboard should not be a problem. The specialty restaurants are Chop Grille, specializing in steaks. We ate here twice and had good steaks both times. If you don't have the dining package, the supplemental fee for this restaurant is $39.99 plus 18% gratuity. With the dining package we also got 40% discount on a bottle of wine. The second specialty restaurant is Izumi, the Japanese restaurant where everything is charged a la carte. We had not been told beforehand that we each had a $35 limit to choose from with our dining package. We may not have eaten here if we'd known that. The food was good, not remarkable, sushi, sashimi, typical Japanese offerings. The third specialty restaurant is Italian, Giovanni's. We had our best meal on the ship in this restaurant. The Osso Bucco was fantastic. The only downside is that there are no sommeliers on the ship and our waiter knew less about wine than I did. We ended up with an OK wine but it could have been better. Also, the restaurant insists on piping in music but right outside the always open doors is the piano bar of the Schooner lounge. So we kept getting a disparate musical background of lounge piano and Italian-themed music. We finally asked the maitre'd to lower the volume of the restaurant music so we could enjoy the piano music, which he did. Food in the main dining room is OK, not great. Our wait staff, however, was excellent. We did the My Time dining but probably should have booked our dinners in advance as our preferred time slot was fully booked most days. As for ship excursions, we only used RCCL for the 3-day tour in St. Petersburg, which was excellent. We had been warned by friends that those people on a ship excursion get to disembark first, and independent travelers or those on other tours disembarked afterwards. You must obtain a Russian visa if you are not on a ship's excursion and want to get off the ship. Our friends had gone the independent route and waited a long time in the passport line to exit. We had also booked the shuttle bus in the Warnemunde port stop to take us to/from Berlin (a 3-1/2 hour bus ride EACH WAY). We got a call the day before that the shuttle bus was cancelled because not enough people signed up for it, so we ended up not going into Berlin. At most of the ports of call (Helsinki, Riga, Tallin, Visby, Fredericia) you can walk into town from the cruise terminal. In Stockholm it would have been a very long walk, but there is a public bus that gets you from the cruise terminal area into town and back. For Copenhagen, you need transportation into the city. There is a public bus that goes from the cruise terminal into town but it only stops at the cruise port twice an hour. Depending on your interests, you may not need to book any ship's excursions in Riga, Tallin, Visby or Fredericia. All of these are smaller towns, easily walking distance from the ship, and easy to explore on your own, or look up free walking tours online before you go. The free tours operate on donations (tips) and are well worth it. Serenade of the Seas insists on doing almost everything in The Centrum, the atrium area at the center of the ship. On the main deck it has a small dance floor and most of the music for dancing was held here. The problem is that there are not enough chairs for everyone. The atrium is open all the way up to the 9th or 10th floor and there are seats on other levels that allow you to listen to music (but not dance). If you are sitting on the same level as the Casino, you will get cigarette smoke smell, since smoking is allowed in the Casino. Interestingly enough, there is a large dance floor with lots of seating in the aft of the ship called The Safari Club, but it was never used for music/dancing. No idea why. Overall, we're glad we went on this cruise because of the ports of call. Would I go on another RCCL cruise? Probably not. Read Less

We chose this cruise because of the 3 days in St Petersburg, adding a few days before in Copenhagen, and after with Stockholm, Norway in a nutshell, and Bergen. A long trip. Ports Stockholm Was so Hot! We enjoyed our Steves walking tours and meeting with a friend from home for lunch before he went home the next day. Lots to see and do, ran out of time. Helsinki- cold. Steves walking tour. Helsinkin library was a must see we may have missed if not told about it St. Petersburg- cold rainy. crowds, crowds, do a tour to get past them all. so much glitz. Peterhoff was a nice break. Tallin- warmer. very quaint town. Iron man competition was happening but navigable. Riga- Not much there, tried to do church but not easy to get around. Not as cute as we had hoped. Visby- a favorite spot for us. You have never seen a medieval festival till you have been here. The only ones not in authentic wear and gear was tourists from the ship. So amazingly authentic and not the hype of festivals we americans are used to. We were very disappointed the ship left so early so we couldn’t see the evening games. cute town easily walkable. Warnemunde- took tour to schwerin. Ok, but could have spent time seeing the incoming tall ships for the next day festival. Fredericia- rainy. we took the train to Jelling for a change, then walked around Fredericia till time ran out. 
Copenhagen- rainy. we were worried hot to get off the ship and what to do with luggage but it worked out to take it to our hotel early and store it there. Again lots to see and not enough time. Steves walking tour. Embarkation- lightening fast. Never had it so good and easy. Props for organization. Disembarkation- very fast and easy although there was much confusion among many passengers about when we had to actually get off the ship, and how. Transportation to and from ports each city was different. The Compass was to give information but one of our first ports was wrong in the compass. We had researched it and knew we needed a bus or taxi but compass said walking distance. Good thing we had already made our plans. City bus (bought the 2 day pass) for Copenhagen was a lifesaver. A few tours picked us up. Mostly we just walked to towns although we did spend for taxi a few times with luggage. Someone mentioned and there is lots of confusion over getting off in Russia. We had a private 3 day tour booked with Alla. We did not have visas. We did have have lines showing passports going thru checkpoints at the dock like everyone else. We got off like everyone else. We read you had to have a ‘sponsored’ tour to leave the dock BUT I saw plenty of people coming and going and taxi’s outside. Not sure if legal to do so. Our second day a few of us wandered out the door but were missing one. The guard there (not on the last day) wouldn’t let us back in to get the one who we could see inside and didn’t know we had left him…he eventually did. We waited outside for our tour leader. Dining: Main dining room Reservations for each night depending on the schedule. twice placed at a new location than our ‘regular’ spot. Waiters were very good. They remembered our evening requests like no ice, herb tea, and most importantly 2 plates of grilled veggies for the 6 of us (once we started asking for it). (veggies seem to be non existent on cruise ships). Background music got a bit too loud for conversations a few nights but they turned it down when we mentioned it. Food was hit and miss. We were told the first night that the bottom half of the menu stayed the same the entire cruise, that meant that only a few items in each category changed each night with many repeats. Unfortunately my favorite 2 desserts I had the first night were never again to be seen. Many nights a good portion of the dishes were variations of seafood. Fine if you like seafood, and I do, but not so many options ruling out other choices. Other nights most of the offerings had some type of alcohol which I don’t want so was limited. Some dishes were really good, a few were not. Among my group of 6 the hit was the apple ‘pie’, cheese plate, and sugar free variations. We were disappointed that there was no ‘local’ options or fresh seasonal fruits other than easy to store stuff. We did breakfast on the sea day with menu or buffet option (or as it turned out both). Our food took forever to come and was only mediocre. Buffet was better options. Better than the mobs upstairs but not the variety. Buffet Why is there so much indian and japanese food? No mexican or other options. I like indian but this was all too spicy (as some main dining dishes were when I asked for mild). Lots of variety of breads, eggs, healthy stuff. Short on fruit options other than the easy to store stuff like melon, apple, oranges…I am not a buffet type diner as I find food not as good and I eat too much but we used it for all breakfasts but one due to the schedule, and lunch on the sea day. Nothing great. I really wanted a chef salad as opposed to the basic, caesar, etc. and none were available so I resorted to creating my own and asking for a sliced hard boiled egg. It was the best meal I had there. We found it easy to find spots to sit with our group (we kept crossing paths) off to the sides, behind drink station, and in the wing which gets opened and is very nice, just away from the food. After hours dining Limited options. Period. Mediocre. I recommend grabbing a cheese plate at dinner and taking it to your room for an evening snack. The ship For 6 of us not into the bar and noise scene, we never really found an ideal place in 2 weeks to play games. The best we did was the safari club which was very underused and only the stage area for the most part. It had a great rearward view and was quiet unless a game was happening which was rare. The chairs are ok and table would be if it didn’t have an annoying mounted lamp in the middle we had to work around. The game room we had planned on using didn’t have any space. Safari was comfortable and our ‘meeting’ spot. People seemed to go there to read and have quiet. The dining areas were closed off during down time, so not usable Shipboard Pool- too cold and busy and was actually covered up each evening even though it was supposed to be open. Props for having life guards who looked official even if it wasn’t necesary. Pool table- it 2 weeks to get it Shuffleboard- we gave it a try on our sea day. missing ball, bent pusher. and the puck things were defective. After an hour we succeeded in only getting about 5 pieces on the game board. All others stopped half way or flew 3x farther than intended. We have played before without issue. so it wasn’t us. We couldn’t even get any points. Movie theater- same movie all day and not great ones. Ok, too bad there isn’t a popcorn or refreshment stand nearby. Activities We tried a few ship activities on our sea day and evenings. Have had much better on other ships. Dancing lessons in the atrium could have been fun if we wren’t stepping on each other and getting smacked by inconsiderate flying arms in the cha cha. Why not use the Safari lounge with so much more room and empty??? Who cares if passers by can see? The game ideas were good but completely dare I say ‘unfair’? Ok, I am being picky but if you go you have a hope of winning. The young people leading the games were so ‘whatever-ish’ that it was really a waste of time. The game where you try to find the unique answer…those of us at the beginning crossed off the answers others said Those at the end were talking and didn’t cross the answers we said a long time earlier. Trivia game, same thing. Scavanger hunt was for items in the ship but started early before we got there and we couldn’t find anyone to tell us what to do just ‘here’s your paper, go’. Then it ‘ended’ when someone said they had all the stuff but it wasn’t on their person. I would like to see a ship do a ‘digital’ scavenger hunt where you have to bring back photos of items pertaining to the ship itself, not things you may not have in your cabin or a big group may have. After the first evening show would have been a good time to have some games but there wasn’t. Entertainment What we saw was excellent for the most part. We went to the introductory night and was not impressed by the ships entertainers so didn’t go back to their night. We heard it was OK, but not great. The other entertainers were a range of good to excellent, and we were glad we went to them. We could hear bits and pieces of special musicians around the ship but again, they are always overlapped with other things we were doing, like the 5:30 -6 dinner and show afterwards. Guitarist was great as we passed by. I wish they were staggered more or someplace other than the atrium. If our cabin wasn’t just past the atrium on 4 we would have missed many happenings as we came and went. Medical- yes we did have to make a stop for something (never had before). Hubby got bit by something someplace unknown, and it turned really nasty looking. After trying what we could we headed downstairs where the nice Dr. took a look and told us we were doing what needed to be done. At least we had it documented. We were also pleasantly surprised we weren’t charged the full bill, one we could handle without contacting our insurance company. Read Less

We’d booked the Mediterranean cruise onboard Freedom of the Seas & wanted to try out the Baltic & Russia cruise with Royal Caribbean. We found the ship smaller but enjoyable but having been on the larger ship Freedom of the Seas it felt like a downgrade. No soda dispenser machine & awkward to be asking at a bar for soda top ups. Highlight was the cinema & the excellent movies. Hardly anyone ever went into the crown pub it was also awkward walking through casino to get to other places. Onboard entertainment in Tropical theatre was average. The one shore excursion we booked via RC wasn’t great. The independent tours we did book online were more superior. A charge of about €245 was taken from my account despite having paid a final statement of over €600. Waiting to get this back. Overall I’ll consider trying another cruise company or going on a bigger ship with more facilities Read Less

We’re a family of six that had a most lovely time aboard the Serenade of the Seas for a 7 night voyage across the Baltic Sea. Our trip began with a little bit of conflict as one of our suitcases did not make it to Stockholm. Onboard the Serenade, Jasmine was most helpful by calling us every day, several times a day, to tell us of the latest whereabouts of the bag. She really went above and beyond and by the time we made it to Helsinki we were supremely confident that the bag would be there as Jasmine had shown her extreme dedication to the process! This was only the start to what was what we all unanimously agreed the best service that we’ve ever had on a cruise ever (and we’ve been on plenty!). Immediately we noticed that we had a very jovial crew. This continued throughout the entire stay with absolutely outstanding service throughout. Our waitstaff for the majority of the nights was a team of Kelly/Lissandro and they were beyond phenomenal. We ate at the main dining room every night and they were exemplary. We never had a dry glass or an empty plate. Lissandro we all joked was like Linus from How I Met Your Mother (a reference that I’m not sure how many people here will get, but I can assure you is the highest of high compliments!) and Kelly was the most well-versed on the menu server we’ve ever had in addition to being wonderfully attentive and patient. On one night the maître d (whose name escapes me sadly but was also excellent) sat us with TingTing and Samsul who were also outstanding. We apparently made an impression because every night after that TingTing/Samsul greeted us all by name. Additionally, this was the cruise where by far the staff also knew us all by name. Koko (a drink specialist) learned our names on the very first day and we saw him throughout the vacation and he was always outstanding. Aaron the pool bar bartender was also phenomenal! He made us an inhuman amount of Kracken Coladas (which I couldn’t recommend more!) and by the end of the second day he had both memorized our names, room numbers, and our orders. Franklin was our very first bartender onboard and we saw him throughout and the interactions were always warm and wonderful. We saw him both in port and in the other bars and he greeted us every single time! Ashford (I believe his name was, unfortunately there were so many great people that a few of the names escape me!) was another great bartender that we really enjoyed. Beyond the service, the food was also the best we’d ever had on a cruise. Specifically, dinner every single night was incredible. We never had a single complaint on any appetizer/entrée/dessert. In particular, the entrée choices every night were outstanding and I can’t remember a cruise where I had so many amazing dessert choices every night (NOT good for those of us that are dieting back at home, but some things are just more important than that!) I do wish that there was more late night eats/drinks on the cruise. The ship does stop serving alcohol at 2 am. Probably not an issue for most (particularly this cruise wasn’t exactly a frat/sorority getaway) but the fact that there wasn’t an easy burger/fries/pizza location was a bit of a bummer (again, not a college kid getaway). We did get room service one night and I can say that the grilled cheese/fries I ordered were quite good! The ports were also great as well. It’s amazing that for a vacation that we picked with the ports in mind that the service/food we had onboard was the thing we’ve talked about the most, but in truth, it was THAT good. St Petersburg, Russia lives up to all the hype. It’s a little surreal to be in Russia and to be sure, it confirms a lot of the stereotypes. We did Alla Tours and we did the Must See Tour, thinking it might be a little less extreme than the Grand Tour. While The Comfort Tour is supposedly the more laid-back version, the Must See Tour was still extremely taxing on us. We got to see A LOT (and Polina, our tour guide was incredible) but we came back to the ship both days (2 day tour) absolutely wiped. 4/6 of us collapsed for a nap upon arrival both days and that’s the younger part of our group! To be clear, you see a TON on Alla Tours. We saw the museums and the palaces and did the canal boat cruise. Polina, our tour guide, has apparently been doing tours for 10 years but she had all the enthusiasm and happiness of someone on their first day (while being as well-versed as someone that’s been doing it for 10 years). Just amazing that anyone could have that much enthusiasm for anything but she absolutely did. The one knock that I will say on Alla Tours is that we found the lunches to be lacking to put it kindly. Both days were “restaurant lunches” and for $230 for two days with lunches included we thought we were getting a steal but in actuality we were sort of getting what we paid for. Chicken kiev the first day and beef stroganoff the second day at two different restaurants were very uninspiring choices. One member of our group was essentially knocked out of commission due to an upset stomach after both. Not sure how much Alla Tours can do about the lunch choices but we were underwhelmed on that front. For Helsinki we also stuck with Alla Tours (they gave us a discount on our tour there because we had done the one in Russia). The first part of the tour we absolutely loved. The downtown part of Helsinki was great, the city is beautiful and the tour guide was great fun. Then, speaking of underwhelming, was the second part of the tour, Seurasaari, the open air museum. For two hours we walked around an old campground area. Interesting enough for some people, I guess, but for those of us that had never been to Finland (all of us) we really felt like we could’ve easily spent the time in downtown Helsinki. Tallinn we did more on our own (it’s a little walk from port to downtown but nowhere near bad of a walk as Helsinki/St Petersburg are from downtown). We did do a KGB Tour at the Hotel Viru which was very interesting (and it also had the best view from the 23rd floor of anywhere). We probably should’ve allotted ourselves some more time in Tallinn; the old town area was beautiful, and there was plenty to do in the way of exploring/shopping/bar hopping/eating through town that could be very fun/doable for a family. As aforementioned though, we were kind of just wiped from the previous three days worth of tours! After hearing that Visby was the “throwaway port” (and we’ve seen some throwaway ports in our day! Sydney, in Canada, NOT Australia! Is the gold standard in “throwaway ports) I booked us a “Free Tour” that I found on TripAdvisor with Aiden and I could not possibly recommend that more. It was short and sweet (1.5 hours) and he gave a comprehensive overview of the island/town/his life which were all fascinating. The tour was free (entirely on tips) and we tipped him handsomely because he really made our day. As much as we loved Polina, Aiden was a tour guide that really made the port for us and really put a nice capper on the trip. After returning to Stockholm, we all agreed that we were a bit burnt out on doing “tours” in the traditional sense. Our group split up amongst ourselves. We stayed at the Hilton Stockholm Slussen which is a nice place to keep you close to Old Town and the like. We tend to be rather fatigued at the end of trips, so we didn’t push ourselves too hard, so no real recommendations on Stockholm. We went right directly from airport to ship to begin the journey, so we had not seen the city at all on the way in. It was a wonderful trip, and for a family that’s been on many, we do absolutely have to say that it stood out in so many ways, for so many reasons, some of them not expected! Read Less

We've been cruising with Disney before RC, and even considering the fact that Disney is much more expensive, it left us with a feeling that it was much better, especially in the food, entertainment, and general feel ( there were 2 big spots of rust in the indoor pool on Serenade). Even the free food court (near the pools) in the Disney Dream was much better. What I found most irritating the design of the beds, that for some reason are half arched toward their end, so if you are a tall person like myself ( 1.92 meters) , if you sleep with legs stretched, you ankles will be outside the bed. I was told it is the same in all RC ships, and it was not comfortable at all. The RC app is a very good idea - too bad it doesn't always work in the real world and needed many restarts during the day. We tried specialty drinks ( 1 coffee, 1 alcoholic and one mocktail) , the mocktail was good but the other terrible especially for the price of 12$ before 18% tip. Quality of food in main dining room - 7/10 Main dining room service 10/10 Quality of food in Windjammer (buffet) 7/10 Service at Windjammer 9/10 The specialty restaurants (extra charge) Chops Grille (American, Meat) Giovanni's Table (Italian) 10/10 If you get a discount, you should try these. The food is noticeably better than in the main dining hall. Breakfast in Windjammer - tends to be very very busy, and it takes some times to find a place to seat. Guest services staff 10/10 Service was terrific! All staff members tried to help and find solutions, smiling, positive. Service - We got Alemao and Dehiby as waiters in the main dining hall, and Ikomang as room attendant. They were all excellent 10/10 and we gave them an extra tip. Staterooms - very clean, but design feels outdated (and uncomfortable as mentioned) Entertainment - 8/10 Daytime Activities (Rock Climbing Wall, Mini Golf, Dance Classes, Pool Side Events, Contests, Enrichment Classes, Lectures,etc.) 7/10 Arcade - very small arcade, with around 20 machines. It was deserted when I visited it during rainy days, and it was July (many kids on board) General : * I wish they would state the names of the cruise piers in each destination in advance, as it might lead to confusion when you tour by yourself. * The cruise felt like it was best for the adult crowd, less for families with children. *Embarkation - Swift and easy. Leaving the ship on disembarkation was also a very fast process, while in Disney it took a long while. *Duty free or not, the shops on the ship changes the stock everyday, but the prices are pretty expensive. I saw there a Russian chocolate they sold for 7 Euros, found it was sold for 2 Euros in St.Petersburg. * The Itinerary is pretty good, since the cruise began and ended in Stockholm and that enabled us to visit the city for a total of 5 days. The stops in Tallinn, Visby and Helsinki were too short (last boarding time 15:30 to 17:00), but those city are much less to offer than Stockholm. St.Petersburg is a marvel - try to book a cruise that docks there at least 1 night (equals 2 days in the destination). Read Less

Chose this ship because it was going where we wanted to at the time we wanted to at a price that we wanted. Embarkation and disembarkation went very smoothly, except that we were given the impression that you had to check your luggage on boarding but we saw people who carried their own luggage on, which I would have preferred to do since we only had carry-on bags. The first day onboard you must attend a safety drill, which was not done well, they had us standing inside a hall near a bar, it was hot and they had us standing for over a half hour without any information or instruction, when they finally did give us info it was very sparse and took about 5 minutes. Awful! Finding where you were to go for certain things such as safety drill, disembarking on a daily basis, etc were not clear, the announcements were not always loud or clear enough and there was no signage on the decks to direct you. The food was very good, I was impressed with the quality and choices in the buffet, though we had dinner in the main dining room every night except one. The main dining room was lovely, our waiter (Francis) and assistant (Michael) were very attentive and personable. I felt the entertainment was just okay, no high end shows, etc. The Duo ArtMotion, Moroshka, and Tap Factory shows were very good. The Royal Caribbean Singers and Dancers, Serge Massot and Roger Wright left a lot to be desired. In general I found the ship clean and neat but "tired", in need of updating, refurbishing and maintenance. Loved all the ports, but didn't do any of the ships excursions. Did a local tour in St. Petersburg with TJ Travel which gave us a discount for being a Cruise Critic member which was wonderful. Otherwise we explored on our own in the other ports and was happy that we did. Read Less

This is an old design ship with no big comfortable areas for strolling and activities. Everything is in a specific area and feels old and claustrophobic. Its also an aged ship. Why would you choose such a ship when there are so many new and amazing ships available? The entertainment was quite disappointing and especially compared to my other cruises where the entertainment was excellent. Activities on board could be better in comparison to other ships. Dining was OK but not excellent. A more sophisticated menu would be nice. . . . . .. . Service is excellent. The crew is great. Some of the ports were unnecessary. I could skip Frederica, less days in Saint Petersburg and more in Copenhagen where its beautiful. Shore excursions are very good but you can do as well if you go to town by yourself. Embarkation and Disembarkation were smooth in all places. Read Less

We primarily sail with Royal Caribbean and decided on a Baltic itinerary, on Serenade of the Seas. We prefer to avoid the larger ships. We find them too impersonal and crowded. We were very happy with the numbers of ports and time allowed in each. Fredericia Denmark is really fun. The locals come out to welcome the ship, and to wave goodbye (including a three cannon salute! The entire staff: waiters, bar staff, cabin attendant, performers and cruise directors staff (even security) were friendly and really went out of their way to make the cruise enjoyable. We sail a lot on Royal Caribbean, so the production shows were repetitive, but there was a nice mix of headliners. The main dining room menu was disappointing. For only 5 out of the 15 days did it have anything upscale or interesting. The rest of the time it was ravioli and chicken breast; and no lobster night. Except for the smaller Denmark stops - Fredericia and Aarhus, we booked the Royal Caribbean excursions. NOTE: this made Russia easier, since the tour ticket serves as the required visa. The tours were good, but overpriced. And the feedback from other guests was that except for Russia, the Hop On Hop Off buses were a great value and access to the locations. One very negative note, they completely mishandled the arrival transfer. They had the group of early arrivals (7:15 am) lugging bags all over the terminal to the wrong locations before finally boarding the bus to the ship. And as luck would have it, our luggage didn't arrive in the cabin until 8:30 at night, despite arriving with us on the bus at the 11 am embarkation. Read Less

So this was our first cruise and 13 days was kind of a risk we were taking! But the itinerary makes everything so worth it :) The first 6 days were so packed that we did not even get a chance to visit the main dining hall. The ship is kind of old but it was spotless and so we did not mind. Food was excellent. We took an interior guarantee and I think Royal Caribbean chose the best room for us (3549). It was spotless and we slept like logs - that is all we want from a room!! We had a comedy show and an Abba tribute band which we really loved. Did not get inspired to see other shows. Stockholm - do the canal tour first and then anything else. That will give you a fair idea of the city. Helsinki - Our time was very limited and it was very, very hot. We did not like this port due to these reasons or I don't know what! St. Petersberg - Ah, what a beautiful city. We did a private tour with White Nights Travel and loved every moment of it. This gives you a time to be yourself rather than following a group in a hurry. A luxury which we thought was well spent. Tallinn - Again, very limited time but a beautiful city. You will have to take the HoHo bcoz the port is far off. After seeing the old time, do visit the newer areas of Talinn. That gives you a glimse outside the walled city. Riga - We loved this port. It felt so nice and warm here. The Ship was docked right next to old town. We walked around a lot, saw the beautiful park and sat in the squares. Riga has a great vibe to it. Klaipeda - We had to take the shore excursion to Curonion Spit. They try to show you a lot of stuff in very little time. I wish they just went to the spit and then one village and that would have been great. The ship docks near market square, so you can visit that after the excursion. Fredericia - They give you a walking tour map to explore the town. A few spots were not worth the walk in the sun! It is a cute town so you will enjoy visiting the port. Do grab a drink at the beach and DO NOT miss the sail away from the top decks. They really make you feel special! Aarhus - Go to Dokk 1 library (the free shuttle from ship drops you here) and take the Aarhus card. After that, tour the city on your own using public transport and HoHo (both included in card). The card also includes entry to very interesting Den Gamble By and the Art museum which is must see. We missed going to the castle though. The museum there is supposedly very nice. Copenhagen - Do plan to stay one day extra in this city. We took the HoHo and covered as much as possible. Canal tour is a must as well. Christiania is a world of its own. Take out time to walk around on your own away from touristy areas. Also, take the 24 hour transport card from a metro station. It helps to go to the cruise port by public bus whenever you want. We used Air Luggage the next day to transport our luggage from cruise terminal to airport and then used the bus again to tour Copenhagen. And then the metro to go to the airport on our own. It worked out very well. I hope this info helps people!! Message me in case you need more advice :) Read Less

Enjoyable time on a beautiful ship. Food was plentiful and very good in the Windjammer and it was inot oftencrowded. We didn’t eat at any of the specialty restaurants. There is a definite attempt by Royal Carribean to encourage you to eat in the specialty restaurants by offering repetitive menus when eating in the dining room. The dining service was excellent and the food was very good, except often the same choices each night. Our beds were comfortable, the room noisy and the ports of call great. We did excursions through the ship except for St. Petersburg where we went with a private company. All excursions were great except Helsinki. The entertainment was fair except for two shows, we didn’t like the ships singers..the Russian dancers and the Ukrainian circus pair. After two Royal CarribeAn cruises back to back, we are ready to try a different cruise line for something new. Read Less

I'll start off with this - I did not even want to go to the cruise as I had apprehensions about being sea sick and bored..but NOW I'm converted, and really, I'd recommend it whole heartedly to anyone! So -- all in all, I'd say it was fantastic. There was something for all age groups - young kids, teenagers, twenties, thirties, young couples, middle aged couples, and elderly people as well! I'm telling everyone it was like being on floating 5 star hotel! All in all - here's what I thought were par excellence: -Staff: Everyone was friendly, professional, went out of their way to ensure they could help - whether it be bringing food for someone who couldn't walk well; or cleaning the room thrice a day. Also, if you're South Asian, the staff were more than happy to bring you a handmade roti/chappati at Windjammer Hall - all you have to do is ask! -Entertainment: evenings were fully booked! Theater, dance, drama, movies, dance nights, you name it - it was all there. -Sports: I loved the mini golf and table tennis/ping pong! Jogging track was great -- jogging while staring at the ocean, who wouldn't like that! -Serenity/ease: The ride was smooth sailing. Not a moment of turbulence AT ALL. At times I had to look outside to ensure we were even sailing, it was that smooth! -Timing: We were at every destination at the times promised. -Ease of embarkation and disembarkation at all ports: NO long lines, no waiting for ever - everything was smoothly handled thanks to the security staff throughout. -Views: Lovely Baltic Sea views throughout, to help you de-stress, unwind, and just enjoy the sea! -Food: Can I say food, food, food! The Windjammer Dining Hall (included in cruise price) has unlimited breakfast buffet, lunch buffet and dinner buffet. And the buffet was extravagant - 50 dishes (minimum!), salads, vegetarian, chicken, meat, sea food - gluten free, catering to whatever your dietary restrictions may be. They had a special theme every night, so we had Spanish food, Seafood, Indian food, French food night among others. -Snacks: No matter what time of the day - you will find unlimited tea, coffee, snacks, chips -- especially at the Park Café on Floor11 :) -Attention to cleanliness: We were really impressed by the attention to cleanliness - all public spaces, Centrum, public bathrooms were always spotless; and they had unlimited hand sanitizer there before you entered the Dining Hall. Really good initiative! -Lack of crowd: Although there were about 2500 passengers, 700 staff, at no point did the ship feel overflowing or crowded. This is thanks to all the space, and different entertainment areas they had, including multiple dining halls (Reflections Dining Room, Windjammer included in ticket price). -Cabin: We had an Ocean View Balcony view on Deck 7. This was ideal as since it is in the middle of the ship, it is very smooth and you can't feel the water. Having a balcony is recommended as it makes the room spacious, and allows you some air. Recommend. It was a double bed plus a bunk bed on top ( for the 3rd person); sofa; TV, bathroom, cupboard, mini fridge, AC etc. All in all, it felt a good size and not cramped at all. -Fellow passengers: Fellow passengers were friendly and nice. No large and noisy groups, no drunk people. Mostly families, singles, couples - everyone was decent and respectful. Read Less

We chose this cruise solely for the ports of call as we really wanted to visit St.Petersburg and we were also interested in the other places as well. We had a couple of nights in Stockholm first and the hotel arranged a taxi to the port, our embarkation the was 12-12.30 and although we arrived a little bit early we were swiftly 'processed' and we were on the ship in a matter of 15 minutes - there was no queuing at all at this time. We chose 'My Time Dining' and there was some chaos on the first night as it seemed everyone had turned up at once. We did complain (albeit in a typical pleasant English sort of way) and thereafter everything went very smoothly and the staff made sure we were happy all week. We ended up requesting (and getting) the same table and waiters all week as they were excellent, attentive and very pleasant. We were very happy with the service. 3 out of the 4 of us were very happy with the food and choices but I am very difficult when it comes to food. I thought that the food was never served at a really hot temperature but I accept that am really picky. However, I always managed to get an acceptable meal, sometimes having 2 starters or a cheese plate and a pudding. The waiter went out of his way to come up with something that I enjoyed. The menu was rather repetitive on the whole. On one evening I paid extra for the filet mignon from Chops Grille - it was absolutely delicious and definitely put the regular menu to shame. The buffet restaurant was fab for breakfast or a couple of lunches that we had. The veggie curries were very tasty. It was always warm enough to eat just outside the main dining area which was always a bit crowded (it was beautifully peaceful and pleasant outside. We chose the deluxe drinks package as we liked to have a couple of cocktails before dinner, a few glasses of wine with dinner and a couple of whiskies after dinner ( i know, it sounds bad but we were on holiday!). We purchased the packages at "Buy One, Get One Half Price) and we certainly seemed to get our money's worth. Especially as I discovered an unexpected love of Piña Colada which I have spent my whole life thinking that i didn't like, along with bottles of water, the odd Diet Coke, Americanos and mint tea added up to a worthwhile package and it was very nice not to have a bill to pay at the end of the cruise as it had already been paid for in advance. For us it was worth it anyway. also, by the way, we were always served promptly and pleasantly (with one notable exception unfortunately). We certainly had no problem getting drinks and, as far as I could see, got exactly the same service as people signing for drinks. In fact, the service everywhere was excellent and everyone was very pleasant. The weather was amazing and we spent quite a bit of time on deck, following our excursions, we always found somewhere to sit in the sun, this was a lovely thing to do. The entertainment was fine, nothing spectacular but pleasant enough. The shows were good (as expected really), we didn't join in much to be honest. I was expecting more of the daytime entertainment but this was a very port intense cruise anyway. I felt a lot of the activities, sadly, were there to encourage you to spend more. The shore excursions that I booked through RCL were very disappointing on the whole. In St.Petersburg I booked our own tour and it was far superior to any of the ships tours that we went on (and much cheaper!). However, the sea day tour of the ship was fabulous, and the Panoramic tour of Stockholm with airport drop-off was good. Overall, I don't think that large group tours are right for us, I guess they're ok for some people. I also had a treatment (pedicure) in the spa and I didn't think it was anything special. I'm not sure if I would choose RCL again but, for the price and the ports of call it was worth it on this occasion Read Less

This was my 5th cruise with RC. It was about what I expected. The ship was clean and updated. We had about 2100 passengers and I think it’s just enough. We had the four night food package and one night at chefs table. We were a little disappointed in this Chops compared to past cruises but Giovanni’s was excellent and we ate there twice. Izumi had good food and we went there twice as well. Chefs table by far had the best food, great service and was well worth the extra cost. The pairing of wine was good and had one of the best and most original desserts ever. This cruise focused on music. The game show on song knowledge was really funny. The 50s and 60s night had a band and surprise visit with a British Elvis. It was hysterical and fun to sing along. There were two guys who sang reggae and were very good and another band of four members with softer sounds. There was also a pianist and guitarist playing background music in various dining and bar venues. It was nice to sit and relax to good music. Finland was pretty but our guide knew little about history and this week was unseasonable warm and they refused to turn on the A/C until everyone on the bus complained loudly. Two days in St Petersburg were fantastic but we shared the city with crowds from the World Cup. Our two guides, Alexandra and Andre knew tons of history and were really great. Both days were over 10 hours and were saw plenty but were totally wiped out the next day in Estonia. Our guide was good but I think insulted that everyone on the bus immediately fell asleep. The town was beautiful and I would go back there for a more leisurely stay. Riga, Latvia was not nice. We docked 30 minutes from town and drove through a depressed looking area. The best part was the small handmade items market. The other shop owners were downright rude and after three hours of feeling unwelcome repeatedly we went back to the ship for lunch. Read Less

Its was chosen for our leadership training where the top leaders of the champion team were there and most especially we had 9 families that were included . Truly amazing time with lots of activities for the kids and adult alike and wonderful staff that are friendly mostly the filipino crews and staff on board for always being so helpful and always have that smile. The very accomodating kitchen staff sincr we have birthday for one of the kids , for the guest relation staff on the 4th floor and talented musicians as well as tye dance instructor on the vortex, even the kids had fun , to the staff on the ocean adventure where we know that pur kids are safe and having fun while learning. For the stewards where they always clean our room and have fresh towel. Thank u for the wonderful time for my family and the whole team. Read Less

We cruised the baltic sea in July. The ship was a little disappointing in regards to the food availability, especially from 20 yrs ago. First, no midnight buffet. Second, No food available after midnight - we would go to see a movie that finished at midnight, but unable to get a snack after unless you wanted to pay room service. Third, the other food service areas did not have a place just to pick up a slice of pizza or minimal hours to get a glass of ice tea. Positive, disembarkment the ship quickly was well worth taking our minimal luggage with us & not having to pack the night before. We did enjoy looking out our balcony at the scenery & sunset/sunrise. The drapes did block out the sunlight. Finally, since our flight had mechanical issues & we missed our connection - we purchased our air fare with the package air 2 sea. We were told that we should of bought insurance multiple time..... we missed our embarkment in Stockholm, air 2 sea was able to get us to Estonia. Royal Caribbean took no responsibility or consideration of us missing the first day on the cruise. A very expensive day for sitting in airports! Read Less

Serenade of the seas We chose this cruise liner because we wanted to visit the Baltics in Scandinavia We travelled 4 hour journey to Heathrow terminal 5 arriving at midnight in Stockholm which left very little time to look around the city. We had no information or details provide as to what time Royal Caribbean that would be picking us up for transfer to the cruise liner. Grand Centre by Scandic hotel were unable to provide information, but mentioned RC rep would be arriving in the morning for transfers. 1 July 2018 in the morning of our cruise we checked again, hotel staff informed us they received an email and pick up would be 11:45am an hour delay instead of 10:45 Am. So if we wanted to go out we should arrive at the hotel by 11 AM Luckily we decided to return to the hotel by 10 am RC was present at the hotel transfers were 10.45 am so we should bring all our lunch gage down to the lobby at 10-30 am John our house keeper was very efficient and friendly. Our select to dine at 8-30 pm in the main dining room, But they were very flexible regarding the dining times. The waitress were friendly, comoared to our first cruise with RC dining wasn’t as nice experience, waiters were rushing about very busy serving guests, at times we had to draw their attention. Our main meals were lukewarm so I requested to ensure our meals could be served hot. There were quite a number of guests coughs and colds, many without covering the mouse was inevitable that it would be passed around . We both did finally catch a cold. Saturday early morning after midnight, my husband got out of bed he stood on the carpet outside the shower / entrance door which was soaking wet. He quickly moved our luggage to one side used towels to soak up the water. I was woken by the commotion To call r3cotion. Maintenance men at requested promptly resolved this issue Instead of leaving it till the next morning in Ashe the situation worsens. A hot air very noisy heater was left in our cabin the whole day to dry the carpet. It did cause some on convenience as we are unable to rest inou cabin. Last day of cruising was no toilet flushing water again this was dealt with very quickly by maintenance . We were offered a 10% discount for next cruise, which is based on the cruise fair paid for the current sailing and is valid for one year. With family commitments thank you we are unsure if we will be able to use this complimentary gesture offered ! Arriving at Stockholm airport at 11.30 am with many hours to spare before flight departure at 21-20 pm. Not feeling too well we just rested in the airport. Read Less

Chose this cruise because it offered solo passenger fare without having to pay double rate. Room small but more than adequate as I was only in there to sleep. Steward Ardjul went out of his way to be pleasant. Food delicious. Activities great and enjoyable. St Petersburg dancer & singer show wonderful. Restaurant staff more than accommodating. Guest services & shoreex desk helpful. I spent my ship time walking the jogging track basking in the expanse of the Baltic sea. Em and debarkation very easy. Spent prenight at Nordic C hotel in Stockholm arranged thru RC. Great choice, efficient pickup from airport, fantastic included breakfast, efficient transfer to pier. Pilipino activity staff Mark very funny & enthusiastic. Parade of nations in centrum was highlight. shoreex: St Petersburg 2 day all inclusive was highlight, exhausting and the gold and palaces were mindboggling; fantastic guides German and Ekaterina. Helsinki (Porvoo) charming & quaint. Guide encouraged sampling at chocolate factory. Riga and Tallin were taken right out of the pages of medieval history. Stockholm city tour enjoyable. Saw palace in Helsinki where trump & putin were to meet. Saw cathedral in Riga where pope will soon visit. Over 1,000,000 visitors in St Pete for fifa but didn't cause any problems or traffic jams. St Pete guide referred to speed limits as speed suggestions-how funny to describe a limit as a mere suggestion! Will go on another cruise that has solo room rate. Read Less

Having heard much, but never actually experienced cruising in the past, my wife and I decided to try a new way of vacationing. I had expected to be satisfied at the end of the Cruise, of course. However, looking back on the experience after a couple of days, I can assure you that it was much better than I had expected. My wife shares this sentiment. I first learned about the ship and its facilities from the information provided by the agent with whom we booked the Cruise. I got more information provided by Royal Caribbean International on the Internet. Should you do something similar, feel sure that you can rely on the positive things you read. I must commend the ships' staff, and say lots of good things about the Ship, the Cabin, Dining , Entertainment Activities, the Service and the Ports and Excursions. Since these would be very positive words, I guess you can imagine what I can write. We travelled with members of our extended familiy, yet had the opportunity to meet and interact with lots of people (both staff members and passengers) from many different nationalities. The friendly and relaxed athmosphere encourages this interaction. This is also an outcome of the work done by the staff (those we came in contact with, and the large numbers who work behind the scenes). I strongly recommend this Cruise and hope you have a positive experience, too. Read Less

Have never traveled this part of the world. A very enriching experience. Realized how much I need to learn about the history,culture of these nations. St. Petersburg, Peterhof -incredible, almost unreal.Every port was unique and beautiful. Interesting how the historical events intertwined and affected the people of all the surrounding nations. Would definitely recommend to anyone interested in learning. Traveled on serenade of the seas- a really great ship. Enough entertainment to keep anyone busy and more. Shore excursions- absolutely wonderful. Food was fantastic! My only gripe was that the health club opened at 6:00. Wish it was 5:00 for the early birds. Service and friendliness of the staff just incredible! In Stockholm stayed at Victory hotel; a very nice maritime themed hotel with a delicious breakfast and very helpful staff. Took Stockholm archipelago boat tour- very informative and the salmon lunch was absolutely fantastic. The Vasa museum and Nobel museum- very informative. Definitely recommend St. Petersburg tour/2days includes surrounding attractions/Pushkin and Peterhof. Helsinki/Tallinn andRiga not to be missed- all unique. Too much to list. Well worth it!! Read Less

This was our 8th cruise with RC and we were excited for the many ports, especially three days in St. Petersburg. Really liked that the ship spent two days in Stockholm, three in St. Petersburg and two in Copenhagen at the end of the cruise. Royal Caribbean usually does a good job with embarkation but the first day, the Windjammer was a mess, totally packed, no seats for everyone. Getting a nice table for My Time Dining was difficult...the dining room hosts were harried and not easy to work with the first two days. It just seemed to be unsettled for a few days... then got better. The ship is tired and in need of refurbishing. It's also felt quite small and crowded for the number of passengers. The food was just okay. Two years ago, we were blown away by the specialty restaurants. This time, after eating at Giovanni's and Chops...we felt the dining room food was just as good. The staff has been reduced and those left work very had and are tired. We may try a more upscale cruise line for our next trip.. Read Less

We've chosen this cruise for the ports of the Baltic cities but the ship could not stop at Riga because of the wind. This really disappointed me and I think there should be an alternative when these things happen as, I think, weather inconveniences should be quite frequent in that latitudes. Some people choose the cruises just for the cities to visit not for the entertainments. On the other hand, there are some stops with absolute no sense that could have been saved in favour of staying more hours in an important city such as Helsinki. I do not know if the navigation day could have been saved if the ship would have navigate more than 10 knots (18 km/h). Prices were quite expensive specially for alcoholic beverages and internet connection. Service were excellent, staff were very helpful specially in the restaurants and cabins but some furnishings are ready to be replaced. Food is extremely abundant and good quality and there are a lot of activities during the whole day if you want to be entertained. Read Less

We, 2 adults, chose this cruise specifically for the itinerary, mostly for the 3 days in St Petersburg. The itinerary was awesome, as were most of the shore excursions booked through RCI. The ship is tired and in need of upgrades, particularly the furniture in the cabins, although I did find more than enough storage room in the cabins. As we took advantage of the excursions, we did not spend alot of time on the ship, as there was little that entertained us. We don't use the casino, nor the bars. We tried the hot tub once, but were put off by the loud, brutish men and their women who made it difficult to converse or find a space. The dining was less than we had expected from other cruises, including RCI. We did buy the 3 option specialty dining but neither of the restaurants provided the additional value one expects when paying for additional quality and service. The buffets were fine, although finding a place to sit and enjoy your meal was a challenge. We used those as opportunities to chat with others, although some large groups only spoke with their own. The entertainment varied from very good (pianist and guitarist) to poor (the band in the Centrum). The stage band and productions were quite good. Service varied from very good (cabin steward) to poor (buffet staff) as I was disappointed that buffet staff seemed slow to clear tables to make room for others. The ports were very good and with the exception of a couple, the shore excursions were good. They need to be better described as clearly people in need of mobility devices delayed a couple of our tours, as the tours in the Baltic are quite strenuous. One tour was supposed to be a city tour with amber, but turned out to be totally focussed on amber, which was a disappointment. Read Less

Great - the stay of 3 days in St. Petersburg was why we took this cruise instead of the 2 day only stays on cruise lines we normally take (NCL, Oceania, Viking). The other ports were interesting, though a couple seemed like "filler" days. Several other folks we met were also on the cruise only because of the 3 day stay; most were otherwise disappointed. Very good - The table service in the main dining room and room steward. The cabin was in reasonable shape except for badly scratched furniture. They are to do a refurb in Nov. and had started to do some replacements during the cruise. OK - entertainment was hit or miss. Not sure what age group it was targeted for. Band was very good. Other performers were so-so and played often during the cruise; not much variety. Movies were welcome, though crowded to overflow. On the cancelled port call day, the movie should have been moved to the big theatre. Poor - Staff gave wrong information frequently. One day 2, we returned to ship at 2:35pm and went to dining room. After finding it, closed, the attendant told us the pool cafe was open. NOT. It didn't open until 1 1/2 hours later. So no food until 4pm. Shore excursion people told passengers that there was no transport available in Warnemunde. WRONG. The train station is 200 yards from the dock. Hit or miss - the food. The first 3-4 days were poor quality and not inspiring, but then improved. Nothing was really stellar; the most consistently good food was the French onion soup! Bottom line - I think I'll stick with more upscale cruise lines in the future. Read Less