Golden Vs. Serenade - - Help!!!

[Jaybird]

My Wife And I Along With Our 14 Year Old Son Have Booked Airfare For February But Can't Decide On Which Ship To Book. Have Sailed Rccl 6 Times And Carnival 3 Times And Have Always Wanted To Try Princess But Are Worried About The Number Of Teens And Amount Of Activities Available To Them On The Princess Line. Would Like To Hear From Anyone Who May Have Experienced The Same. Also, The Golden Has Many More Cabin Choices Available For The Sailing Date That Interests Us. Rccl Has Only Oceanview And Inside As Of This Writing. Thanks In Advance For Your Help.

[cruise182]

My Wife And I Along With Our 14 Year Old Son Have Booked Airfare For February But Can't Decide On Which Ship To Book. Have Sailed Rccl 6 Times And Carnival 3 Times And Have Always Wanted To Try Princess But Are Worried About The Number Of Teens And Amount Of Activities Available To Them On The Princess Line. Would Like To Hear From Anyone Who May Have Experienced The Same. Also, The Golden Has Many More Cabin Choices Available For The Sailing Date That Interests Us. Rccl Has Only Oceanview And Inside As Of This Writing. Thanks In Advance For Your Help.

 

If you could hold off booking till after Nov I can give you my advice. This Nov I am sailing 1 week on the Golden and the one week on the Serenade!

[cruise182]

I should add that I think you should really try Princess.

[Tak8]

My son is a little younger (11), but he preferred Princess over Royal. I think since you have been on Royal 6 times, you should give Princess a try. Food is really an individual thing, but I liked the food a little better on Princess than Royal.

[lgt]

Went on the Golden last summer with 2 teen girls (17). They have been on 6 cruises with us 2 on RCCL, 2 Carnival, 2 Holland and the Golden was their absolute favorite. They met lots and lots of other teens and attended some of the programs activities. The itinerary is very port intensive (which the girls went with us, but met others) and the girls had dinner with us every night. They had a 1AM curfew and never missed it (too tired). Give it a try.

[meselibibob]

Haven't travelled with children, but have been on both the Golden and the Serenade. Would never go back on the Serenade or any RCCL ship. Try Princess, you will love it.

[cruise182]

Jaybird,

 

Keep in mind this is a Princess board. I am sure if you post over on the RCCL boards you will get the exact opposite!!

[Jaybird]

Thanks to all who answered. With the great selection of cabins available on the Golden - we're leaning that way. Cruise 182 thanks for your help and we'll look for your Golden vs. Serenade review.

 

Thanks again.

[PescadoAmarillo]

I will be the differing opinion here. Having been on the Grand (which is like the Golden) and on the Serenade, there is no comparison between the ships...the Serenade is much prettier. And if you are looking at the Serenade itinerary out of San Juan, we did that last year and it was our absolute favorite 7 night Caribbean cruise we've ever taken. The itinerary was great, and you get to sail within sight of Montserrat twice (seeing where the volcano lava covered the town), Nevis, St. Kitts, and Saba. That one day at sea watching all the islands go by was our favorite sea day ever.

 

I find the dining room food on Princess to be slightly better, but the buffet food on Royal Caribbean to be better. The service we've found to be very similar between the two. But that ship!...the Radiance class of ship on Royal Caribbean (of which is Serenade is one) is really beautiful and there are so many fun things to do. Given the same itinerary, I would pick the Serenade. Obviously, others would too, as the Serenade only has oceanview cabins available.

 

We were on the Serenade during Easter week, with 800 children on board, and we never heard of a bit of trouble. That itinerary is so port intensive that the kids are probably worn out at the end of each day, or else us "old farts" were, because we never heard a peep out of them.

[Jaybird]

Always nice to hear from the other side. We've been on the Brilliance and it too was our favorite "class" of RCI ship. We're partial to "suite" life on the ship and unfortunately it may come down to cabin availability. We'll hold out until mid-November, then make our decision. Thanks for your input.

[nicknack]

As usual in these comparisons with Royal, no one mentioned the most important consideration in my opinion-- personal choice dining on Princess. Eat when you want and with whom you want!

[sseaver1]

We were on the Serenade last april....loved it, though we thought the public areas, lobbies etc, were smaller than we had experienced on a much smaller

Carnival Ecstasy several years ago.....now we are booked on the Golden March 25th 2006......we have heard many great things about the Princess ships....of course Seranade was brand new when we sailed her.....hopefully the Golden will compare well.

 

Scott and Barbie

New Glocuester, Maine

[Coral]

I have done the Golden (2x) and the Radiance (similiar to Serenade).

 

I prefer the size of the Radiance/Serenade and I think this class of ship has a better layout compared to the Golden.

 

I much prefer the food on Princess and I also like the fresh water pools. Service really depends on who is helping you and you can have good or bad on both lines.

 

I would probably let price and itinerary win out here. Teens will have fun on either line.