Grandeur or Serenade for 10 plus days in 2015

[NOSaints1]

Just wondering if you were gonna do a 10-11 day cruise, which ship would you think would be a better ship, serenade would be out of FLL and Grandeur is out of Baltimore.

 

 

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[deliver42]

Personally, I would take the Serenade. It's larger and newer.

[NOSaints1]

I've seen a 11 day cruise on Carnival for just over. 900 from Galveston to San Juan, in October with 7 ports. I've only sailed on Carnival, I'm more leaning towards RC, but what would you say is the big thing between the two?

 

 

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[Janet524]

Definitely Serenade for a 10 or 11 day cruise. Beautiful ship, great crew.

[NOSaints1]

Carnival has 11 for under 1000 pp, would you say RC is worth the money? How much is the deposit on RC for 10 or more days, Carnivals is 400 pp.

 

 

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[Priusprof]

I would highly recommend Serenade. We have sailed both ships and the Serenade has more to offer. It has a great crew as well.

[FloGaleRNTX]

I keep reading that Grandeur still has the unpleasant odor........anyone know anything about that?

 

Barb

[NOSaints1]

11 Day Southern Caribbean

from Galveston, TX

 

Aboard:Carnival Triumph

Sails to:Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; Aruba; Bonaire; Grenada; Martinique; St. Maarten, NA; San Juan, Puerto Rico

Finish: San Juan, Puerto Rico

 

10 Day Eastern Caribbean

from San Juan, Puerto Rico

 

Aboard:Carnival Triumph

Sails to:St. Thomas, USVI; St Kitts, WI; St. Maarten, NA; Antigua; Grand Turk; Half Moon Cay, The Bahamas; Galveston, TX

Finish: Galveston, TX

FROM

$759

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as little as $76 per night

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NOV 4, 2015

Wed - Sat

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OCT 24, 2015

Sat - Wed

$829.00$979.00$1,329.00$1,829.00B

 

11 Night Southern Caribbean Cruise

FROM $1,169 CAD*

ON NOVEMBER 2, 2015

Depart from Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Serenade Of The Seas

Ports:

Oranjestad, Aruba | Kralendijk, Bonaire | St. George’s, Grenada | Bridgetown, Barbados | Castries, St. Lucia | St. John’s, Antigua | Fort Lauderdale, Florida

*Taxes, Fees & Port Expenses $123.00 CAD

 

10 Night Southern Caribbean Cruise

FROM $899 CAD*

ON DECEMBER 4, 2015

Depart from Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Serenade Of The Seas

Ports:

Tortola, British Virgin Islands | Philipsburg, St. Maarten | Fort De France, Martinique | St. John’s, Antigua | Basseterre, St. Kitts | Fort Lauderdale, Florida

*Taxes, Fees & Port Expenses $138.00 CAD

 

If you were me and you were picking a cruise, which one would you pick and why? Thank you so much.

 

 

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[NOSaints1]

I think I know which one I would pick, but I value your input.

 

 

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[NOSaints1]

I think I know which one I would pick, but I value your input.

 

 

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[NemoCrownie]

If money was not a concern, Serenade 11 night because air fare and hotels are less expensive in FL and the itinerary does not have Martinique or a private island. BUT, RCI changed our 11 night itinerary and substituted Labadee for St Lucia so no guarantees. There was no price listed for 11 night Triumph so don't know. I love the Serenade so I can't offer an unbiased opinion.

 

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[NOSaints1]

It's 979 for an OV.

 

 

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[Dave85]

I would not book a 10 or 11 night on the Carnival Triumph, so that would make the decision easy for me IMHO. Serenade doesn't have all of the amenities of the newer and larger RCI ships, but the Radiance Class are very attractive, comfortable ships with some lovely public spaces and great ocean views. I sailed a number of times on the Destiny Class back in the day and would not choose Triumph for such a long cruise.

[NOSaints1]

I'm thinking booking RC, just not sure what ports would be good. We're going in Nov to Barbados, st Maarten, st Lucia, st Thomas and st kitts.

 

 

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[goldiemom]

I have been on over 35 cruises. Many on Carnival and RCI. After the last Carnival cruise my husband and I took, I told him I was no longer a Carnival gal. Hands down our favorite ship with RCI (we are Diamond members) is the Serenade. We have cruised on her six times. We have just booked a b2b on her in Norway for the summer of 2015. There is a reason she has been voted best ship/crew in the RCI fleet for years. She may not have the all the amenities that the larger ships have, but she doesn't have the crowds either. Her crew will bend over backwards for you.

 

As for the Caribbean, I have been to all the islands except Bonaire (my brother has and loved the snorkeling there). Depends on what you like to do as to which islands you might enjoy more. We never take ship excursions. We take local tours that are conducted by locals or we DIY. Our favorite stops (we have been to all of them at least twice) are St. Kitts, Antigua, Tortola and Dominica. Seriously, you can't go wrong with either of the Serenade cruises.

 

Good luck and bon voyage!

[DragonOfTheSeas]

11 Day Southern Caribbean

from Galveston, TX

 

Aboard:Carnival Triumph

Sails to:Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; Aruba; Bonaire; Grenada; Martinique; St. Maarten, NA; San Juan, Puerto Rico

Finish: San Juan, Puerto Rico

 

10 Day Eastern Caribbean

from San Juan, Puerto Rico

 

Aboard:Carnival Triumph

Sails to:St. Thomas, USVI; St Kitts, WI; St. Maarten, NA; Antigua; Grand Turk; Half Moon Cay, The Bahamas; Galveston, TX

Finish: Galveston, TX

FROM

$759

AVG PER PERSON

as little as $76 per night

LEARN MORE

Compare Add to Favorites

HIDE DATES

InteriorOcean ViewBalconySuites

NOV 4, 2015

Wed - Sat

$759.00$909.00$1,259.00$1,759.00BOOK NOW

Close

InteriorOcean ViewBalconySuites

OCT 24, 2015

Sat - Wed

$829.00$979.00$1,329.00$1,829.00B

 

11 Night Southern Caribbean Cruise

FROM $1,169 CAD*

ON NOVEMBER 2, 2015

Depart from Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Serenade Of The Seas

Ports:

Oranjestad, Aruba | Kralendijk, Bonaire | St. George’s, Grenada | Bridgetown, Barbados | Castries, St. Lucia | St. John’s, Antigua | Fort Lauderdale, Florida

*Taxes, Fees & Port Expenses $123.00 CAD

 

10 Night Southern Caribbean Cruise

FROM $899 CAD*

ON DECEMBER 4, 2015

Depart from Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Serenade Of The Seas

Ports:

Tortola, British Virgin Islands | Philipsburg, St. Maarten | Fort De France, Martinique | St. John’s, Antigua | Basseterre, St. Kitts | Fort Lauderdale, Florida

*Taxes, Fees & Port Expenses $138.00 CAD

 

If you were me and you were picking a cruise, which one would you pick and why? Thank you so much.

 

 

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It seems the Carnival ships are listed in US dollars and the Royal Caribbean are in Canadian dollars. Is that so?:confused:

[NOSaints1]

Your right it is in CDN dollars, which works out better for us. I think we would use my vacation pay to put the deposit down, the nice thing at my work is you don't get the VP unless you ask for it. By August I will be making 19/hr, so that will be good.

 

 

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[KeywestK]

Just wondering if you were gonna do a 10-11 day cruise, which ship would you think would be a better ship, serenade would be out of FLL and Grandeur is out of Baltimore.

 

 

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I have been on both Serenade and Grandeur recently, and would choose Serenade, hands down, over Grandeur.

[NOSaints1]

Does Serenade have the Freestyle?

 

 

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[Clarea]

Does Serenade have the Freestyle?

Not currently.

[Sea Turtle]

I would rule out Carnival right off the bat because:

 

 

1. that Triumph ship has bad vibes :eek: – too many things have gone wrong with it. Just realized I can say that about Grandeur as well and I've been on her twice so guess I can't come down too hard on Triumph ;)
   
2. both the itineraries you list require multi-city airfare because you begin/end at different ports which can (not always) lead to higher fares for the flights
   
3. it's my understanding that Galveston is an hour away from the closest airport which is a put off
   

10-night Serenade would be my choice. You originally mentioned Grandeur but didn't list any specifics on dates/itinerary. Anyway, I would choose the 10-night because:

 

 

1. I've been to all those ports and had a memorable time at each one
   
2. the date will have the ship adorned with Christmas decorations which was a pretty sight (I was on Grandeur first week of December 2013) regardless of my personal beliefs
   
3. few children during the first week of December
   

Have fun making your decision! :) What's Freestyle?

Edited March 30, 2014 by Sea Turtle
Added thought to Triumph

[NOSaints1]

Sorry the Coca-Cola freestyle.

 

 

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[NOSaints1]

How is the ship layout? How is the entertainment, is there a lot of pool area, now if your on this ship for 9-11 days is this the kind of ship you want to be on? From what I've read on the Carnival forum is that it's kind of small for that long of period.

 

 

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[KeywestK]

How is the ship layout? How is the entertainment, is there a lot of pool area, now if your on this ship for 9-11 days is this the kind of ship you want to be on? From what I've read on the Carnival forum is that it's kind of small for that long of period.

 

 

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The Serenade ship layout is actually similar to the layout of Grandeur, but is approx. 20,000 GRT larger. That gives you more space in the public areas. That was the single most noticeable difference to me. Also, the Windjammer on Serenade has a lot of outdoor seating, which is very nice. The entertainment on our recent Serenade cruise was terrific. Of course, that can change from week to week. We did have a good cruise on Grandeur, but if given the choice, I'd go with Serenade.

 

As far as Carnival is concerned, we only ever did one Carnival cruise, and will likely never do another. Too many issues that we weren't happy about.

[NOSaints1]

So if the cruise price is in CDN dollars, would that mean the deposit price be in CDN dollars as we'll.

 

 

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