Cabin 7500 on Serenade of the Seas

[prodoc]

My husband and I will be cruising in cabin #7500 on Serenade of the Seas which is listed as a forward spacious ocean view.  We have cruised on a aft facing balcony before (perfect for an Alaska cruise) but this is our first time having a cabin that is totally at the front of the ship with just a window.  I cannot find any reviews or pictures for this cabin on the Serenade or one of its sister ships (Radiance, Jewel, Brilliance?).  Since this will be a b2b cruise for us in the same cabin on both cruises, I would love to hear from people who have stayed in this cabin before.  I know on some ships this is a family cabin but that is not the case with this one.  

Thank you,

Penny

[Sunny AZ Girl]

We were in 7000 on the Brilliance TA last fall.  Great cabin! Very spacious and we loved the view out the window.  We would book it again.  However, they did decide to do some construction on the crew's gym (which turned out to be directly below us) during the crossing.  In the daytime we had a lot of (excessive) construction noise and paint fumes.  At night there were times when our friends in 7500 heard music and doors slamming from the crew using the gym.  All of us in the forward cabins complained loudly about these issues and we ended up with a 50% credit and the agreement that the construction work would be done only on port days and the crew would be not allowed the loud music after 10 PM and a sign posted about closing the door loudly.  

 

Again, these were otherwise great cabins and the issues we had were probably not the norm.

 

 

 

[prodoc]

Ginny,

Thanks so much for the pictures and information as I wondered what was under us other than the theater.  We felt like the rooms would be further out than the theater but knew there had to be something in that space.  Now we know.  🙂  Was the room a little longer than the normal ocean view rooms?  Your picture didn't show a slopped ceiling by the window so wondered about that since it looks angled on the outside of the ship.  I had wanted a balcony and my husband would have been happy with an inside room (we have had both) so we compromised on the window for these b2b cruises.  Were there rules on when you could have your curtains open?  I feel like I read somewhere that forward facing cabins were required to close their curtains when it got dark.

Penny

[Sunny AZ Girl]

20 minutes ago, prodoc said:

Ginny,

Thanks so much for the pictures and information as I wondered what was under us other than the theater.  We felt like the rooms would be further out than the theater but knew there had to be something in that space.  Now we know.  🙂  Was the room a little longer than the normal ocean view rooms?  Your picture didn't show a slopped ceiling by the window so wondered about that since it looks angled on the outside of the ship.  I had wanted a balcony and my husband would have been happy with an inside room (we have had both) so we compromised on the window for these b2b cruises.  Were there rules on when you could have your curtains open?  I feel like I read somewhere that forward facing cabins were required to close their curtains when it got dark.

Penny

Yes, the room was quite a bit larger than a normal outside cabin.  We actually did a B2B on this cruise, first the 16 night TA from Amsterdam to Tampa, then a 5 night Caribbean, where we switched to a regular balcony cabin around the corner.  We felt as if we had taken a step backwards when we went to the balcony!  It felt so much smaller.  I think the actual space was the about same if you included the balcony, but the OV cabin space felt much larger. 

 

The window itself is slanted, but not the wall in these cabins.  You can see the slant in the window in the second picture. It is a large slant space.  My husband could sit up there!

 

We are booked on the Serenade in 2020 from Vancouver to Hawaii.  We debated getting the same cabin, but decided against it since we really do like the idea of a balcony for our 5 days in Hawaii itself (just like we wanted a balcony for the 5 night Caribbean).  But, we did go with the large balcony cabin since we did feel so cramped in the regular balcony cabin on the Brilliance.  

 

And yes, we had to keep the curtains shut at night. But since there was nothing to see anyway it didn't bother us.

 

Edited March 5, 2019 by Sunny AZ Girl

[prodoc]

Ginny, that picture with your husband really shows how deep the window space is.  Now I am getting excited about the room with what you have shared.  I have been second guessing our decision for weeks but now I feel so much better.  We really don't spend a lot of time in our room normally but our last cruise was in August doing an Alaskan cruisetour with RCI.  We had a balcony room facing the back of the ship and LOVED it for all the scenery and we did spend a lot of time on the balcony whale watching and just enjoying the beautiful scenery go by.  So I guess I am going through withdrawal but this has helped.

Thanks again,

Penny

[Sunny AZ Girl]

9 minutes ago, prodoc said:

Ginny, that picture with your husband really shows how deep the window space is.  Now I am getting excited about the room with what you have shared.  I have been second guessing our decision for weeks but now I feel so much better.  We really don't spend a lot of time in our room normally but our last cruise was in August doing an Alaskan cruisetour with RCI.  We had a balcony room facing the back of the ship and LOVED it for all the scenery and we did spend a lot of time on the balcony whale watching and just enjoying the beautiful scenery go by.  So I guess I am going through withdrawal but this has helped.

Thanks again,

Penny

You are welcome.

 

We have a balcony for our Alaska cruise on Ovation coming up in May.  From my past experience I knew that there were times I wanted to run out quickly for an amazing picture (my photobooks are our main souvenir).  But for our Snowbird Migration cruise in October (Quebec City to FLL) I knew that while underway the views would be mostly ocean and it would be too cold to just sit outside like in the Caribbean or Hawaii, so we managed to snag one of Adventure's Panoramic OV cabins on Deck 14.  Then we will be back in a balcony on the Serenade to Hawaii (plus the prices for a balcony were almost exactly the same as the large OV cabins,  go figure!).  It just depends on the circumstances, the cruise. and the prices at the time we book.  We try to save money where we can, but are willing to spend a bit more where we think it will pay off in the long run.   I am becoming a real fan of the larger OV cabins, though.  I don't feel as if I am giving up much of anything at all.  And up until lately we always sailed in a balcony!

[NanaOak1]

We recently spent 14 nights in 7000 on Jewel of the Seas and loved the cabin! Yes, it is longer than other oceanview cabins and some balcony cabins. There were a set of shelves at the bed end of the vanity/cupboard area (does that make sense?) that we used for lots of stuff, and wonder how we will do without them on our next cruises. We did feel a fair amount of motion when the ship was moving at a good speed, but it was not enough to bother us. The only negative was that the bathroom door kept closing when my husband was trying to keep it open so it wouldn't steam up during his shower before he shaved. The motion of the ship just naturally kept closing the door. That was a very minor negative. We would definitely book a cabin in the front again! When we tried for our cruises next year, those cabins were all booked, so we have one along the side close to the front (7508). It is also a "spacious oceanview cabin," but when we looked in that room when the door was open on the last morning, I don't think it is as long. I don't think it had those extra shelves we loved. Hope this helps!

[Sunnyside up]

Bring earplugs. we had issues with noise from theater on deck 8 two cabins back.  Beware.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

We never heard theater noise in 7000 or 7500, only construction noise. We did get some theater noise in our balcony cabin 7514. Since we go to the late show it didn't affect us much. 

[prodoc]

3 hours ago, NanaOak1 said:

We recently spent 14 nights in 7000 on Jewel of the Seas and loved the cabin! Yes, it is longer than other oceanview cabins and some balcony cabins. There were a set of shelves at the bed end of the vanity/cupboard area (does that make sense?) that we used for lots of stuff, and wonder how we will do without them on our next cruises. We did feel a fair amount of motion when the ship was moving at a good speed, but it was not enough to bother us. The only negative was that the bathroom door kept closing when my husband was trying to keep it open so it wouldn't steam up during his shower before he shaved. The motion of the ship just naturally kept closing the door. That was a very minor negative. We would definitely book a cabin in the front again! When we tried for our cruises next year, those cabins were all booked, so we have one along the side close to the front (7508). It is also a "spacious oceanview cabin," but when we looked in that room when the door was open on the last morning, I don't think it is as long. I don't think it had those extra shelves we loved. Hope this helps!

 

Thanks for the additional information NanaOak1.   It is so helpful hearing that others loved staying in those front facing cabins.  Thanks for the reminder that there will be motion since it is at the front of the ship.  My husband wears a patch when he cruises and that seems to take care of things for him.  Hopefully we will have calm seas for our cruises.  I am looking forward to having the extra space you mentioned.

Penny

[prodoc]

It is interesting reading that Sunnyside Up had noise on deck 8 on the forward side but those on deck 7 front cabins did not.  Makes sense though that those on the side might get more theater noise as it puts them closer to the theater.  I think we will be okay.  But I always have the white noise app on my phone if I need to use it.

Penny