Anyone sailed RC Serenade of the Seas?

[Redrobo]

3 hours ago, gordylad said:

just wondering does RCL ever give free bev package offers like Celebrity?

 

tx

 

In the Uk they do, however it is generally not free as the cruise price is increase accoringly.

[39august]

I have never seen a "free" beverage package in my many, many RCI cruises. I believe they do offer these on some European cruises.

[Langley Cruisers]

4 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

 

Karen !!! Great to see you're posting again😍

 

Thank you, I am hanging in there! 🙏

[TeeRick]

Celebrity's beverage packages are not "free".  They are priced in with the cruise fare or as a choice depending on your cabin category.  On RCCL it is much more clear what the basic cabin fare is without the added beverage package.  But on RCCL they do go "on sale" online frequently in your cruise planner.

[Chip and Dale]

We have only cruised RCI till recently. Have cruised Serenade many many times. The ship is beautiful, full of glass and it’s enjoyable to stand on the lookouts on multiple decks down into the centrum. Any cabins close to that area can be quite noisy in the evenings due to the entertainment. You will often see the doors closed leading to cabins in these areas in the evening. We have always booked either hump or aft balconies. Some extremely large aft balconies that are balcony cabins not suites on this class. Love them!

 

The Diamond Club is located beside the Viking Crown Lounge. They usually expand into the VCL in the evening. You can use your 3 free drinks at bars or go to the Diamond Club. They typically allow you to top up and take drinks with you to dinner on all RCI ships. The lounge servers are typically very good and don’t want to tick anyone off. They have appetizers every night and they aren’t bad at all.  The Diamond Concierge can assist with reservations, problem resolution and assistance with issues you may have on-board. Some are better at the job than others but we have had pretty good experiences with most of them.   There is a coffee machine in the Club. Slow but not bad coffee. You always have access with your card. They do a continental breakfast in there daily which isn’t bad at all. The Concierge has regular morning and evening hours. It’s a nice perk!

 

You will each have some free internet minutes (I’m D+ ), not sure about what it is for Diamond or a discount on a pkg. You should get a discount on laundry. Invite to welcome back and I believe top tier party.  You will each get a buy one get one free for the first night in the specialty restaurants i believe. Sometimes they will be flexible with the nights and other times not so much. 

 

Make sure you  go on the website and get logged in once you have a C and A number. You can put in your preferences and order freebies that will be in your cabin when you board or soon after. I’m not positive what these are for Diamond but we get a bottle of sparkling, coke and some bottled water. They always leave a plate of cookies. 

 

I have extensive deadly allergies and we are now trying Celebrity to see if they handle this better. The food has deteriorated throughout Royal ships over the years but you won’t starve. 

 

Breakfast room service is free if you go with the continental options. There is a charge for hot food. Not worth it!  There is a $7.95 charge for ALL room service orders EXCEPT the continental breakfast. 

 

Boarding you  will get some priority but so do many others. It all hinges on your timing as to how much quicker it gets you on-board. Disembarkation is a pain with most ships now. They want you OFF as quickly as possible. Our last cruise on Adventure (a larger ship with the promenade and ice rink......our favourite class) was a nightmare. This can vary by port we have found and also crew. 

 

Cabins usually open at 1 p.m.  cabin stewards appear shortly before muster drill to see if you need anything and then to make sure you go to the drill. We’ve had phenomenal cabin stewards and crappy ones. Much more good than bad. 

 

You can each carry on a bottle of wine. I usually have bottled water that I carry on BUT you can get bottled water in the Diamond Club each night. Some ships the servers will hand out a can of pop/Soda here and there. I usually tip $1 per drink most of the time in the Club. We receive EXCELLENT service 😁. 

 

No complaints with the Diamond Club. They’re very good to us. It’s nice to chat with other cruisers and it is open each night including embarkation day. We usually do the muster drill and then go up for a drink then go to the cabin to check on luggage. 😃

 

That’s all I can think of for now. 

Dee

[mafig]

I'm considering a cruise on Serenade.  I like the itinerary.  However, reviews for the ship are all over the place.  Even though she was refreshed in the last couple of years, there are many cruisers who consider her condition to be marginal.  Also, there are very few raves about the dining room and there's really nothing to do at night.  (I haven't been on her, I'm just saying what my research is telling me.)  However, her crew does get raves.

 

I do like the Diamond benefits on Royal.  And on Serenade you can use your three drink vouchers in the dining room.  We were Diamond via Celebrity (on our Allure cruise)  and we did not register our gift preferences.  You can't do this via the website any longer, you have to call them.  We didn't.  So we missed out on our free can of soda.

Unfortunately for us, on the cruise we're considering all the aft balconies are taken.  

 

We're still trying to decide on Serenade ourselves.  

Edited April 21, 2019 by mafig

[gordylad]

thanks could you recommend any cabin numbers?

[dani negreanu]

11 hours ago, gordylad said:

thanks could you recommend any cabin numbers?

 

8594 or 8596😀

9584 or 9586

7600 or 7602

 

[TeeRick]

17 hours ago, mafig said:

I'm considering a cruise on Serenade.  I like the itinerary.  However, reviews for the ship are all over the place.  Even though she was refreshed in the last couple of years, there are many cruisers who consider her condition to be marginal.  Also, there are very few raves about the dining room and there's really nothing to do at night.  (I haven't been on her, I'm just saying what my research is telling me.)  However, her crew does get raves.

 

I do like the Diamond benefits on Royal.  And on Serenade you can use your three drink vouchers in the dining room.  We were Diamond via Celebrity (on our Allure cruise)  and we did not register our gift preferences.  You can't do this via the website any longer, you have to call them.  We didn't.  So we missed out on our free can of soda.

Unfortunately for us, on the cruise we're considering all the aft balconies are taken.  

 

We're still trying to decide on Serenade ourselves.  

What do you mean by many cruisers?  Are there people posting on here that maybe you have met and absolutely trust their opinions? I would put more weight on those posts versus random posters.  Since you have over 10k posts on CC you probably know that comments and reviews for any ship are all over the place.  I personally am of the opinion that major cruise lines like RCCL do not sail their ships in "marginal' condition.  Maybe not brand spanking new, but perfectly acceptable for most of us.

[mafig]

Actually, I do trust the reviews here on Cruise Critic.  There are many ships that get overwhelmingly good reviews.  Serenade is not one of them.

Ten years or so ago this class of ship was "it."  Now it's hardly mentioned at all on the Royal site.  

People I know who have sailed her?  My travel agent hated her TA on her.  Someone else I know loves the ship and has repeatedly sailed on her.

 

 

[Ontario Cruiser]

53 minutes ago, mafig said:

Actually, I do trust the reviews here on Cruise Critic.  There are many ships that get overwhelmingly good reviews.  Serenade is not one of them.

Ten years or so ago this class of ship was "it."  Now it's hardly mentioned at all on the Royal site.  

People I know who have sailed her?  My travel agent hated her TA on her.  Someone else I know loves the ship and has repeatedly sailed on her.

 

 

I am a TA and I loved the crossing April 2018

Ontario Cruiser

[boscobeans]

We are Elite and Diamond, with earned points not due to reciprocity. Cruised Celebrity in 2018 and RC a few months ago. 

Serenade is a great ship, great crew and staff. Plenty to do and see.

 

As far as food goes the two lines have almost become equal in our opinion. Celebrity more downhill and RC a little better over the past years

 

One point some have that may or may not be a problem is smoking in the casino on RC. Doesn't bother us but to some it is annoying.

 

Depending on date, port of embarkation, itinerary and price we would sail either line unless it was on the Edge, which doesn't seem to fit our liking. 

[TeeRick]

22 hours ago, mafig said:

Actually, I do trust the reviews here on Cruise Critic.  There are many ships that get overwhelmingly good reviews.  Serenade is not one of them.

Ten years or so ago this class of ship was "it."  Now it's hardly mentioned at all on the Royal site.  

People I know who have sailed her?  My travel agent hated her TA on her.  Someone else I know loves the ship and has repeatedly sailed on her.

 

 

So if you have feedback that you trust from your TA and you trust or perhaps give more weight to the negative reviews, why come here and ask the question?  It seems you are a veteran cruiser.

[PaperSniper4]

On 4/19/2019 at 4:41 AM, gordylad said:

.....but looking at RC Serenade for a future cruise. Looks like an older ship, smaller but seems to be popular and had dry dock last year so any help with thoughts, experiences, best cabin locations.

 

...............

 

Many thanks

We sailed on her March 2019. Any specific questions? In general, no complaints. Great crew, ship was in top shape, our SV cabin had the largest balcony we're ever had, very quiet. Food comparable IMO to Celeb, Princess. We liked the ship's size.