Summary of our Serenade Transatlantic Cruise (29 Apr - 15 May 2016)

[Compass Rose Monica]

My husband and I got home yesterday afternoon from our transatlantic cruise on the Serenade. We spent three nights’ post-cruise in Copenhagen.

 

This was our third RCL cruise since 1996 and 1997, so it’s been quite a few years. We love cruising with Celebrity (14 on Celebrity, elite plus members, diamond on RCL; plus several other cruises) but decided to do this cruise with our friends; plus, we loved the ports.

 

Cabin: We were in cabin 7038, E1 category. You can read my comments about the noise issue we had here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2357865. We were moved to a quiet room later in the cruise.

 

Our cabin attendant for 7038 was very friendly. His name was Antony. Location of the cabin was very nice, being close to the forward elevators and stairs.

 

Small cabin compared to the ones we enjoyed on the S-class Celebrity ships, but still comfortable. I couldn’t put my 29” suitcase under the bed, so I had it standing next to the desk in corner. The balcony was larger than the other standard rooms with about 1/2 of it covered from above and the other 1/2 being open. You can stand and see the bridge forward or aft towards the center of the ship. Small bathroom and shower. They only had the pump shower gel/wash, so I knew to bring our own supplies of shampoo/conditioner.

 

We were later moved to cabin 9062. Great cabin. Larger room (D2 category), standard balcony size, good location. We were about 9 cabins back from the centrum, which we were happy about. There’s daily and nightly entertainment. I would never book a cabin near the centrum, as some of the entertainment was very loud. In fact, one night I could just barely hear some of the music from our cabin.

 

You can tell the ship is older. A couple of the drawers were broken and the bathroom flooring looked old; but overall the ship was in very good condition. Nothing to complain about.

 

Food/Diamond Happy Hour: We were in anytime dining, but were able to arrange a table for 10 for 7:30pm each night. We usually waited 1-10 minutes. We were at table 501 where Romeo and Anis served us. Great guys!!!! Great service by both of them!!!

 

The food was good to sometimes very good in the MDR. The fish was always overcooked/dry with the exception of the sea bass (excellent!) and salmon. The lobster (had two!) was the best I’ve ever had in ages on a ship. The meats (beef and pork) were usually overcooked that we had to ask for new ones. No problem there, but we got tired of returning our food. The rack of lamb was very good. The first night or so I asked for a side of greens: spinach and/or broccoli. Romeo brought out a nice plate of greens each night. I had some of the soups, which I enjoyed (especially the jalapeno potato soup!).

 

At lunch in the MDR they have a wonderful salad bar that you can select a wide variety of foods. The staff will toss your salad. This makes a complete meal, as they are huge. They also had a pasta station a couple of days.

 

At the pool side on the warm days, they had buffets. One day they did BBQ. The meat was tender, but you could taste the lighter fluid. They didn’t let the coals burn long enough to get rid of the lighter fluid smell. Too bad. Another buffet was Mexican.

 

Giovanni’s: We all enjoyed our dinner very much. We could have gone back another night it was so good, but we chose not to.

 

Windjammer café: I liked the layout and design of the café. We ate here for breakfast a few times; lunch on embarkation.

 

The Park Café was okay. Some of the breakfast items were good; others not that great. Good sandwiches for lunch; and there’s a small salad bar.

 

As diamond members, we really enjoyed their long evening happy hour. It was 3.5 hours long. We usually got there about 5:15pm or so and left around 7:20pm to go to dinner. Both Djordje “George” and Ranga took good care of us in getting our drinks. The hors d'oeuvres were very good and always a variety. There was a larger group of diamond and d+ that they opened the entire room on deck 13. Mario, the concierge for the Diamond lounge was friendly, helpful, accommodating, and just a happy man. He was so sweet. We were amazed that he remembered so many names after the first day. He always greeted people by their names.

 

We sometimes had breakfast in the diamond lounge. Similar to that on Celebrity but no mimosas or bloody Mary’s. Tony was happy, as he could prepare his own coffee.

 

Entertainment: Average to very good. They had a variety, which was good. The comedian was pretty funny. Some of the singers were good. I think the best entertainment was the last group to perform at the crew talent show. A rock concert, in which Captain Tor played the guitar!! He was great!! I loved his personality. He was jamming with the group having a great time.

 

Ports: This was the second time I missed out on a tour in the Azores. Due to some impending bad weather, the captain cut our port time short to skirt around the weather. We certainly understood and appreciated him taking care of his passengers. We did spend a few hours in town and enjoyed the market and other sites.

 

Cork: Rainy day in Cork. Took the train there, which was very easy to do. Station right across the ‘street’ from the port. Train every half hour. Walkable city. Great food market. Ate a lousy lunch, but good beer and wine. Window shopped. Back in Cobh, my friend and I walked around. Still rainy.

 

We visited Le Havre where I rented a small van for my group. We visited the D-Day beaches and Honfleur (lovely town).

 

I loved, loved, loved, Bruges!! What a beautiful and charming city!! We had perfect weather that day. I wish we had an overnight stay there. Great views from the tower in town.

 

The “bad and ugly” of this day was the absolute mess getting the shuttle bus to the port entrance where I had a taxi service waiting for my group to get to town. It was a total mess. There was lack of direction on where to go to get the courtesy bus to the main port entrance. There were a couple of RCL staff members but they didn’t have any good answers. There were quite a few buses but they were for the private tours. There was a line for people to purchase a ticket to get to the train station. The courtesy but didn’t show up for 45 minutes and when one finally came, everyone scrambled to get on. I’ve never seen such disorganization with a cruise line like this.

 

Amsterdam is quite overwhelming with traffic end people on bikes compared to Bruges. Still a very nice day. Took the tram to get to the Anne Frank house/museum (very moving and emotional place to visit). My friend and I climbed the tower at the Westerkerk church. Delicious lunch and just a nice day of walking around town.

 

Copenhagen: Spent three nights there. Rainy the first day; cloudy/sunshine mix the last two days. We purchased the Copenhagen Card and used it for museums, train/metro, etc. On our second day we took the train to Roskilde to visit the Viking ship museum and the Cathedral. Lovely, lovely town.

 

In Copenhagen, we visited two palaces, climbed the round tower; ate well, although we got tired of Danish foods. Menus seemed to be the same. We had an excellent Thai dinner our last night. The portions were huge!!! Reasonable prices.

 

Summary: While there are some things we didn’t like about RCL, overall, we were happy with our cruise. We had complained a few times about the noise issue in our cabin, but it took 10 days to get resolved. When comparing with Celebrity, we missed the free laundry and free internet (only 24 hours each on RCL and the service was soooooooooooo slow!!).

 

The elevators in the center, or “lack” of them, was terrible. At times at least two of them were sitting on deck 2 never moving. One was completely shut down because a person in a motor scooter hit the glass door and broke it. We were told it would be fixed after we docked in Copenhagen. Many times while waiting for an elevator on deck 9, one would pass us by. They weren’t full. At one time five elevators went by within 2 minutes, never stopping! My husband saw a mechanic/crew member and mentioned this. The guy simply said “a button must be stuck,” but never bothered to try to locate the problem. Many others complained about this.

 

Our cabin attendant for 9062 walked by our cabin one morning (second day after we moved into the cabin). I asked her for a tube of shampoo. She said she didn’t know we were diamond members and would get that for us. I didn’t understand her statement. Did that mean non-diamond members couldn’t ask for shampoo? She didn’t remove our used towels one evening; otherwise, our room was tidy and clean.

 

The staff, for the most part, were very friendly and helpful. Some walked by without a "hello". I felt the staff on Celebrity is friendlier. Carley, the CD was great. Very friendly.

 

We booked a cruise for 2018 for New Zealand on the Radiance ship while on board the ship. I hope it’s enjoyable and without any issues. I will be keeping my eye out for other options too.

 

If you have any questions, let me know.

 

Monica

[regg1216]

My husband and I got home yesterday afternoon from our transatlantic cruise on the Serenade. We spent three nights’ post-cruise in Copenhagen.

 

This was our third RCL cruise since 1996 and 1997, so it’s been quite a few years. We love cruising with Celebrity (14 on Celebrity, elite plus members, diamond on RCL; plus several other cruises) but decided to do this cruise with our friends; plus, we loved the ports.

 

Cabin: We were in cabin 7038, E1 category. You can read my comments about the noise issue we had here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2357865. We were moved to a quiet room later in the cruise.

 

Our cabin attendant for 7038 was very friendly. His name was Antony. Location of the cabin was very nice, being close to the forward elevators and stairs.

 

Small cabin compared to the ones we enjoyed on the S-class Celebrity ships, but still comfortable. I couldn’t put my 29” suitcase under the bed, so I had it standing next to the desk in corner. The balcony was larger than the other standard rooms with about 1/2 of it covered from above and the other 1/2 being open. You can stand and see the bridge forward or aft towards the center of the ship. Small bathroom and shower. They only had the pump shower gel/wash, so I knew to bring our own supplies of shampoo/conditioner.

 

We were later moved to cabin 9062. Great cabin. Larger room (D2 category), standard balcony size, good location. We were about 9 cabins back from the centrum, which we were happy about. There’s daily and nightly entertainment. I would never book a cabin near the centrum, as some of the entertainment was very loud. In fact, one night I could just barely hear some of the music from our cabin.

 

You can tell the ship is older. A couple of the drawers were broken and the bathroom flooring looked old; but overall the ship was in very good condition. Nothing to complain about.

 

Food/Diamond Happy Hour: We were in anytime dining, but were able to arrange a table for 10 for 7:30pm each night. We usually waited 1-10 minutes. We were at table 501 where Romeo and Anis served us. Great guys!!!! Great service by both of them!!!

 

The food was good to sometimes very good in the MDR. The fish was always overcooked/dry with the exception of the sea bass (excellent!) and salmon. The lobster (had two!) was the best I’ve ever had in ages on a ship. The meats (beef and pork) were usually overcooked that we had to ask for new ones. No problem there, but we got tired of returning our food. The rack of lamb was very good. The first night or so I asked for a side of greens: spinach and/or broccoli. Romeo brought out a nice plate of greens each night. I had some of the soups, which I enjoyed (especially the jalapeno potato soup!).

 

At lunch in the MDR they have a wonderful salad bar that you can select a wide variety of foods. The staff will toss your salad. This makes a complete meal, as they are huge. They also had a pasta station a couple of days.

 

At the pool side on the warm days, they had buffets. One day they did BBQ. The meat was tender, but you could taste the lighter fluid. They didn’t let the coals burn long enough to get rid of the lighter fluid smell. Too bad. Another buffet was Mexican.

 

Giovanni’s: We all enjoyed our dinner very much. We could have gone back another night it was so good, but we chose not to.

 

Windjammer café: I liked the layout and design of the café. We ate here for breakfast a few times; lunch on embarkation.

 

The Park Café was okay. Some of the breakfast items were good; others not that great. Good sandwiches for lunch; and there’s a small salad bar.

 

As diamond members, we really enjoyed their long evening happy hour. It was 3.5 hours long. We usually got there about 5:15pm or so and left around 7:20pm to go to dinner. Both Djordje “George” and Ranga took good care of us in getting our drinks. The hors d'oeuvres were very good and always a variety. There was a larger group of diamond and d+ that they opened the entire room on deck 13. Mario, the concierge for the Diamond lounge was friendly, helpful, accommodating, and just a happy man. He was so sweet. We were amazed that he remembered so many names after the first day. He always greeted people by their names.

 

We sometimes had breakfast in the diamond lounge. Similar to that on Celebrity but no mimosas or bloody Mary’s. Tony was happy, as he could prepare his own coffee.

 

Entertainment: Average to very good. They had a variety, which was good. The comedian was pretty funny. Some of the singers were good. I think the best entertainment was the last group to perform at the crew talent show. A rock concert, in which Captain Tor played the guitar!! He was great!! I loved his personality. He was jamming with the group having a great time.

 

Ports: This was the second time I missed out on a tour in the Azores. Due to some impending bad weather, the captain cut our port time short to skirt around the weather. We certainly understood and appreciated him taking care of his passengers. We did spend a few hours in town and enjoyed the market and other sites.

 

Cork: Rainy day in Cork. Took the train there, which was very easy to do. Station right across the ‘street’ from the port. Train every half hour. Walkable city. Great food market. Ate a lousy lunch, but good beer and wine. Window shopped. Back in Cobh, my friend and I walked around. Still rainy.

 

We visited Le Havre where I rented a small van for my group. We visited the D-Day beaches and Honfleur (lovely town).

 

I loved, loved, loved, Bruges!! What a beautiful and charming city!! We had perfect weather that day. I wish we had an overnight stay there. Great views from the tower in town.

 

The “bad and ugly” of this day was the absolute mess getting the shuttle bus to the port entrance where I had a taxi service waiting for my group to get to town. It was a total mess. There was lack of direction on where to go to get the courtesy bus to the main port entrance. There were a couple of RCL staff members but they didn’t have any good answers. There were quite a few buses but they were for the private tours. There was a line for people to purchase a ticket to get to the train station. The courtesy but didn’t show up for 45 minutes and when one finally came, everyone scrambled to get on. I’ve never seen such disorganization with a cruise line like this.

 

Amsterdam is quite overwhelming with traffic end people on bikes compared to Bruges. Still a very nice day. Took the tram to get to the Anne Frank house/museum (very moving and emotional place to visit). My friend and I climbed the tower at the Westerkerk church. Delicious lunch and just a nice day of walking around town.

 

Copenhagen: Spent three nights there. Rainy the first day; cloudy/sunshine mix the last two days. We purchased the Copenhagen Card and used it for museums, train/metro, etc. On our second day we took the train to Roskilde to visit the Viking ship museum and the Cathedral. Lovely, lovely town.

 

In Copenhagen, we visited two palaces, climbed the round tower; ate well, although we got tired of Danish foods. Menus seemed to be the same. We had an excellent Thai dinner our last night. The portions were huge!!! Reasonable prices.

 

Summary: While there are some things we didn’t like about RCL, overall, we were happy with our cruise. We had complained a few times about the noise issue in our cabin, but it took 10 days to get resolved. When comparing with Celebrity, we missed the free laundry and free internet (only 24 hours each on RCL and the service was soooooooooooo slow!!).

 

The elevators in the center, or “lack” of them, was terrible. At times at least two of them were sitting on deck 2 never moving. One was completely shut down because a person in a motor scooter hit the glass door and broke it. We were told it would be fixed after we docked in Copenhagen. Many times while waiting for an elevator on deck 9, one would pass us by. They weren’t full. At one time five elevators went by within 2 minutes, never stopping! My husband saw a mechanic/crew member and mentioned this. The guy simply said “a button must be stuck,” but never bothered to try to locate the problem. Many others complained about this.

 

Our cabin attendant for 9062 walked by our cabin one morning (second day after we moved into the cabin). I asked her for a tube of shampoo. She said she didn’t know we were diamond members and would get that for us. I didn’t understand her statement. Did that mean non-diamond members couldn’t ask for shampoo? She didn’t remove our used towels one evening; otherwise, our room was tidy and clean.

 

The staff, for the most part, were very friendly and helpful. Some walked by without a "hello". I felt the staff on Celebrity is friendlier. Carley, the CD was great. Very friendly.

 

We booked a cruise for 2018 for New Zealand on the Radiance ship while on board the ship. I hope it’s enjoyable and without any issues. I will be keeping my eye out for other options too.

 

If you have any questions, let me know.

 

Monica

How was the weather?

[Clarea]

Thanks for the report.

[Compass Rose Monica]

[/i]

How was the weather?

 

The weather started off great from Fort Lauderdale. For the first 4 days it was warm, sunny, and comfortable on deck. It slowly got cooler. Before we hit the Azores, I think we had a little rain.

 

The Azores was overcast with a peak of sunshine now and then.

 

Cork was rainy all day.

 

Le Havre (and the day before at sea) was very foggy. It lifted later in the a.m. The sun came out a little, but cloudy for the rest of the day.

 

Bruges and Amsterdam was wonderful. Sunny days and comfortable temps. I brought a light jacket but didn't need it.

 

Copenhagen was rainy the first day; fine the last two days, but cloudy.

 

Monica

[EZ1]

We were also on that cruise. Nice quiet room on deck 4, but got cold when they used deck 4 for exiting at the ports. We were near the computer stations there.

Yes, mid elevators were horrible. Sometimes, got on going down, just to go up. Later, I just walked a bit further to the front elevators(by the showroom , spa, etc.) Those were always so fast & hardly used !!

We got tubes of shampoo, cond, gel & real nice lotions each day!!Found out it was because we are diamond. Never before did we get those on any other cruise! must be something new.

Yes, loved Brugge & Amsterdam.

Went to Waterford crystal showroom & factory-great excursion, but too far.

2 hrs each way by bus.

[Mary1951]

Thank you for review , we are looking forward to being on her in Febuary . Can you please tell me if there is a coffee station on the pool deck ?

[Mrsfbg]

Arrived at Fort Lauderdale Port to embark on Serenade, 29th April 16 night Transatlantic Cruise. Ship was late getting in so a delay occured. Over 90 degrees heat with 100% humidity and boarding was slow. Took us well over an hour to reach Deck 4 only to find a massive queue (people waiting to use the Elevators). One of our party fainted due to heat exhaustion and was taken to the Medical facility. 3 ECG's were attempted and Bloods taken. Our friend was also given fluids intravenously and was fine 30 minutes later (even went to the Restroom unaided). We were told that the ECGs were abnormal an hour later and that our friend was going to be sent to the Hospital. We asked for another ECG to be carried out but was refused quite abruptly by the Doctor (who by the way had left her Nurse to do the tests on her own, shut herself away in her Office) and then was told that there was also a problem with the Bloods and the Ambulance was on it's way. Not once did the Doctor or the Nurse ask how our friend was or how they were.

On arrival at the Hospital 10 minutes later, the same tests were carried out and all came back clear within an hour and our friend was discharged fit to sail.

Unfortunately, because of the delay in ringing for the Ambulance, the Ship had sailed out of Port and couldnt be boarded.

This meant that our friend and their partner were left stranded without any back up from RCI with no Luggage and no accomodation. They were left to fend for themselves.

They ended up paying the Hospital for the treatment carried out, to go back to the Hotel they had left 4 hours earlier and Flights back home to England the next day which in total cost over £3000.

 

What would you have done in this situation and what advice could you give?

Edited June 8, 2016 by Mrsfbg

[Grandma Dazzles]

Arrived at Fort Lauderdale Port to embark on Serenade, 29th April 16 night Transatlantic Cruise. Ship was late getting in so a delay occured. Over 90 degrees heat with 100% humidity and boarding was slow. Took us well over an hour to reach Deck 4 only to find a massive queue (people waiting to use the Elevators). One of our party fainted due to heat exhaustion and was taken to the Medical facility. 3 ECG's were attempted and Bloods taken. Our friend was also given fluids intravenously and was fine 30 minutes later (even went to the Restroom unaided). We were told that the ECGs were abnormal an hour later and that our friend was going to be sent to the Hospital. We asked for another ECG to be carried out but was refused quite abruptly by the Doctor (who by the way had left her Nurse to do the tests on her own, shut herself away in her Office) and then was told that there was also a problem with the Bloods and the Ambulance was on it's way. Not once did the Doctor or the Nurse ask how our friend was or how they were.

On arrival at the Hospital 10 minutes later, the same tests were carried out and all came back clear within an hour and our friend was discharged fit to sail.

Unfortunately, because of the delay in ringing for the Ambulance, the Ship had sailed out of Port and couldnt be boarded.

This meant that our friend and their partner were left stranded without any back up from RCI with no Luggage and no accomodation. They were left to fend for themselves.

They ended up paying the Hospital for the treatment carried out, to go back to the Hotel they had left 4 hours earlier and Flights back home to England the next day which in total cost over £3000.

 

What would you have done in this situation and what advice could you give?

 

If you want a number of responses would suggest starting a new thread to answer specific questions.

 

My personal opinion is that a lot of information is missing.

 

Boarding can be slow and Florida is hot and humid. However, once on board the ship is air conditioned. Was there a reason that your friend didn't find a spot on deck 4 to sit and let the line for the elevator disperse? Sounds like your friend was dehydrated. Had they been drinking lots of water during the waiting time?

 

Blood work and tests are usually done by nurses. Did your friend have any medical problems that might have been made worse by the heat and/or dehydration?

 

If it were not a life-threatening situation I can understand a wait for transportation. I am pretty sure that the medical facilities have the right refuse passage to someone. How would you feel if he/she had become really sick at sea?

 

Truly sorry that all this happened. Hopefully your friend had insurance. When people are transported RC normally is very helpful. Just sounds like their was a lot of miscommunication. Would suggest checking with your insurance/travel agent. Good luck.

Edited June 8, 2016 by Grandma Dazzles

[Langley Cruisers]

Can you please tell me if there is a coffee station on the pool deck ?

 

The Park Cafe (inside the Solarium) has a drink station available for you. The Windjammer buffet is on the same deck and there is coffee and tea available outside of the entry when WJ is closed, and inside and then in the outside aft eating area when WJ is open.

[Mrsfbg]

M

If you want a number of responses would suggest starting a new thread to answer specific questions.

 

My personal opinion is that a lot of information is missing.

 

Boarding can be slow and Florida is hot and humid. However, once on board the ship is air conditioned. Was there a reason that your friend didn't find a spot on deck 4 to sit and let the line for the elevator disperse? Sounds like your friend was dehydrated. Had they been drinking lots of water during the waiting time?

 

Blood work and tests are usually done by nurses. Did your friend have any medical problems that might have been made worse by the heat and/or dehydration?

 

If it were not a life-threatening situation I can understand a wait for transportation. I am pretty sure that the medical facilities have the right refuse passage to someone. How would you feel if he/she had become really sick at sea?

 

Truly sorry that all this happened. Hopefully your friend had insurance. When people are transported RC normally is very helpful. Just sounds like their was a lot of miscommunication. Would suggest checking with your insurance/travel agent. Good luck.

 

Grandma Dazzles

 

The answers to your questions are:

 

Couldnt find a spot on Deck 4 as there were queues of people waiting to get inside the Ship and we hadnt reached half way down the Deck (we were about 15-20 yards from the nearest entrance)

 

No, She wasnt dehydrated as she has been to hot climates before and knows what to do in those situations and had at least 2 large bottles of water during the wait.

 

She does not have any medical conditions otherwise she wouldnt have been able to travel over 3000 miles to get on this Cruise.

 

Another Passenger who boarded the same day, was quarantined in their Cabin, after showing Flu symptoms until the Ship arrived at the Azores. That was 6 days later. Our friend wasnt even given that option, even after showing response to the intravenous fluids given and being able to walk around unaided.

Edited June 8, 2016 by Mrsfbg

[Grandma Dazzles]

M

 

Grandma Dazzles

 

The answers to your questions are:

 

Couldnt find a spot on Deck 4 as there were queues of people waiting to get inside the Ship and we hadnt reached half way down the Deck (we were about 15-20 yards from the nearest entrance)

 

No, She wasnt dehydrated as she has been to hot climates before and knows what to do in those situations and had at least 2 large bottles of water during the wait.

 

She does not have any medical conditions otherwise she wouldnt have been able to travel over 3000 miles to get on this Cruise.

 

Another Passenger who boarded the same day, was quarantined in their Cabin, after showing Flu symptoms until the Ship arrived at the Azores. That was 6 days later. Our friend wasnt even given that option, even after showing response to the intravenous fluids given and being able to walk around unaided.

 

Again, sorry this happened to your friend.

 

However, with an abnormal EKG and you said she was given intravenous fluids (dehydration?) I would not have wanted to be in middle of the Atlantic. I think the staff made the only realistic decision they could make. Heart attacks can happen to anyone.

 

By the way, it is highly unusual to find the line for the elevator to be outside of the ship. That is the point I was trying to make. You don't have to use the elevator to get inside the ship ......there are two banks of elevators on the Serenade ...... Front and aft ...... Either way you could have sat and cooled off. Once you are on board the ship you don't have to go straight to the elevator, and again, never seen a line for the elevator to be out side on the deck.

 

Again, I hope she has good results with her insurance. Definitely needs to talk to them.