Any Serenade of the Seas questions?

[DLaHaye]

Just returned from 7/24/05 cruise. Although I will submit a review shortly I will answer any questions if possible now.

[kimbtech]

We will be aboard this ship for the Aug. 12 cruise and have never been aboard her before (other RCL ships, but not this one). Do you have any little secrets you could share about this ship. i.e. the best place on board to view the glaciers, etc. Any info would be appreciated. Hope you thoroughly enjoy your cruise. What was the weather like?

[jstducky]

Being a Radiance class ship, the Serenade is covered with glass. Almost any public area you are in, you will see glass and can get a good view of the outside.

 

That being said there are a couple of places that are very popular for watching the glacier. The first being the helipad, at the bow of the ship on Deck 5. But if you want a spot at the rail, get there early as people tend to reserve their spots there ahead of time. However, the ship is at Hubbard for close to 2 hours, and after the first hour, the crowd has pretty much disappeared.

 

Also at the bow of the ship up on Deck's 12 & 11 were very popular, right in front of the ship shape center. The only thing I personally don't like about that, is that in front of you there is slanted glass, and it makes it difficult to take a picture without catching some of the glass in your shot.

 

Finally, another semi hidden spot that some people don't think about, is at the aft of the ship on Deck 12, outside of Seaview cafe. The glass and rail there is only waist high, so you get a good view and don't have to try to avoid getting the glass in the middle of your shot.

 

You'll love the cruise. I had a wonderful time on my July 3rd cruise on Serenade.

[kimbtech]

Thanks for the info. I've written down the "special" spots and will give them a try! Can't wait - less than two weeks now.

[OnlyMe]

Hi jstducky, What excursions did you do?? Any recommendations Good or Bad??

Thanks

[RandS]

Thank you posting after your return. This is incredibly helpful to those of us traveling to Alaska for the first time. My question is regarding shipshape walk-a-thon. On caribbean cruises we like to do the walk-a-thon to get exercise in the morning. Usually this is done on the jogging track. Do they have the morning walks on the Alaska cruise or is it too cold on deck for this?

[thecoug]

Or possibly, a power strip (has multiple places to plug in adapters, etc). I figure I will need at least two separate plugs, one for camera and one for phone batteries and maybe a laptop as well. We are looking forward to our first visit to Alaska and would hate to run short of battery-power, especially for camera! We are booked in an E2 balcony room. Thanks!

[Terpnut]

Did you use the ship's new wireless network?

[jstducky]

Hi jstducky, What excursions did you do?? Any recommendations Good or Bad??

Thanks

 

I've been to Alaska 3 times now, so I did a bunch of excrusions that I've never done before. I have to say that was the most amazing of the 3 trips, but also the most expensive, as I went all out and did the expensive tours! OUCH!

 

In Skagway, I took the morning White Pass & Yukon Route railroad to the summit, booked through the ship. In the afternoon, I did the Valley of the Glaciers Helicopter landing trip booked direct through TEMSCO. I highly recommend both of them. The railroad was a great excursion. Very pretty scenery and made for some nice photos. The glacier landing was amazing. I was amazed that after 2 previous trips to Alaska, I'd still never done a helicopter trip, so I went for it this time. It was well worth the money and an incredible experience! I would recommend both excursions.

 

In Juneau, I did the Four Glaciers Helicopter Adventure with Dog Sledding. I booked this one through the ship after trying unsuccessfully to book it independently through ERA Aviation. This trip was amazing. The dog sledding was incredible. Way better than I ever thought. The experience truly memorable and the helicopter flight seeing was amazing as well. I was glad that I had done the glacier landing the previous day and followed it up with the dog sledding. Had I done it the other way around, I might not have been as impressed with the experience. I thought this was well worth the money and highly recommended. But as a warning, its very very expensive.

 

In Ketchikan, I saw the Great Alaskan Lumberjack show. It was very fun an entertaining. Since this was my third trip to Ketchikan, and I had previously done the city tour with Saxman Native Village the first time, and kayaking the second time, I didnt want to repeat anything. I also was trying to keep my spending down. So the Lumberjack show was fun and entertaining and pretty cheap. However, if you want a really good time in Ketchikan, I would suggest a flight seeing trip on a floatplane out to Misty Fjords National Monument. Kayaking in Ketchikan is also great for a very outdoorsy and adventurous person. I also spent the rest of the afternoon walking around historic Creek Street and I took the $2 ride up the funicular which was interesting.

 

Hope that helps.

[jstducky]

Thank you posting after your return. This is incredibly helpful to those of us traveling to Alaska for the first time. My question is regarding shipshape walk-a-thon. On caribbean cruises we like to do the walk-a-thon to get exercise in the morning. Usually this is done on the jogging track. Do they have the morning walks on the Alaska cruise or is it too cold on deck for this?

 

RandS - there is Walk A Mile twice a day around the jogging track on Deck 12 of the ship. The morning Walk a Mile is at 8:30 AM and the afternoon Walk a Mile is at 4:30 or 5:00 PM, for some reason, I can't seem to remember which one it is. Its 6 laps around the jogging tract. You get ship shape dollars for every walk a mile you participate in. You can save the dollars and get a prize at the end of the cruise depending on the number of ship shape dollars you've collected.

[MNmom]

Did you notice many kids on this ship??? We are considering a trip next year with 5 kids (6,8,9,10,13) NOT ALL MINE..we are 2 families. Was there much for them to do? or did you see them just wandering around a lot? Is there a pool available to kids or is the Solarium just for adults??

 

Thanks!!!

[crusinhokie]

What time would be the earliest you would book a plane ticket home on the Sunday you returned to Vancouver?

[jstducky]

MNmom - I didn't see an overabundance of kids, but yes, I did see kids. Most of the kids I noticed were teenagers, but that could just be because they seemed to be annoying and everywhere. There were kids that were part of the Adventure Ocean club, I noticed that because a few of the nights right before the show, the would come into the theater and put on a little skit for the audience. It was cute. I probably counted about 20-30 kids in that group that ranged in age from 2-10? Around that area.

 

There is a kids pool with a waterslide etc. I don;t know what the times on the pool were though. It is an outdoors pool too, so I would guess that operating times might be limited due to weather. Also everyday, I beleive from 12-4pm was family time in the Solarium so kids were allowed with adult supervision.

 

cruisinhokie - as for return flight home. I got off the ship around 9ish, but they started calling people off the ship around 8:15 ish. The trip from the pier to the airport will run about 35 minutes or so. if you can take the USDirect program, I would suggest that so that you don't have to go through Customs etc at the airport. Since I wanted to tour Vancouver for the day and take a late flight home, I didn't have that option. Even when I arrived at the airport at 6:00 pm, the line to get through US Customs was about 40 minutes or so. I can only imagine that in the morning, depending on the number of cruise ships arriving back into town, and the number of guests wanting to leave right away, its probably a much longer line. I would say that to be absolutely safe, book a flight that leaves after 11:30 am.

[Westv]

Terp,

Looks like you're having a helluva time finding info on your wifi. Good luck! See ya onboard! My kids will be playing w/ your kids!!! :) David Vaughan

[Terpnut]

Terp,

Looks like you're having a helluva time finding info on your wifi. Good luck! See ya onboard! My kids will be playing w/ your kids!!! :) David Vaughan

Yeah, still no luck finding wireless users! I'm currently in Vancouver (actually in Whistler right now!) and will see y'all in just three days! :) BTW, the weather forecast for Vancouver and Alaska are outstanding!