Alaska Cruise Review - Serenade of the Seas

[MillbrookMom]

I will do a day by day posting of our recent cruise to Alaska on Serenade of the Seas (May 22-29).  Day 1 boarding in Vancouver.  We had done our tests in Ontario before flying to Vancouver the day before.  We took the Canada Line from the airport which ends very close to the pier for those staying in that area.  We were at Holiday Inn which was about a 20 minute walk.  Our scheduled boarding time was 11am.  Everything was very smooth, though we did have to wait for a bit for the ship to be ready for boarding (maybe 30 min).  We were lucky have a beautiful day in Vancouver for embarkation.   We had a balcony stateroom 1002 port side.  The bridge does block your view forward a little, but only when they have the shades down, otherwise you can see straight through.  An FYI, we slept with our curtains open the entire cruise.  In Alaska there is always something new and gorgeous to see, we had some spectacular views even at 2:30am as there are only 3-4 hours of actual darkness, at least in May.  

[MillbrookMom]

Day 2 - This was a sea day for us.  The ship took the Canadian inside passage on Day 1 and through the night and on day 2 on our way to Sitka we are on the west side of Haida Gwaii Island so we had sea views.  There was some wave action, but nothing too bad.   We had breakfast in the dining room this day.  I had the eggs benedict, which unfortunately weren't very good, but hubby had the breakfast bowl which he enjoyed.  Our highlights for today were what we saw at mealtime.  At breakfast I spotted some dolphins out the window and shortly afterwards we saw a whale that was "waving" its fin.   Later on we had lunch at Park Cafe and noticed several whales spraying water out their blow holes.  

[MillbrookMom]

Day 3 we were in Sitka.  This was a gorgeous port (I mean they really all are).  Here we decided to do a walking tour on our own.  We took the free shuttle from the dock to town.  Then we headed along the boardwalk towards the National Historical park.  There are some beautiful views from here along with many totem poles to view.  A nice easy hike with a few different paths around the park.  From there we decided to walk to the Raptor Centre.  The entrance is $15 and for our visit I am not sure it was worth it.  They only had a few eagles at the time, along with a couple owls.  There were sections that were closed as well.  It is nice to see eagles up close and learn a little about what they do at the centre, but I think it is a hit or miss attraction depending on how many birds they have at the facility at a time.  After that we made our way back to town, and grabbed a bite to eat, pick up a few souvenirs before heading back to the ship.  We did grab a bite at the dock before heading back on.  Crab and Seafood chowder which were both delicious.

[MillbrookMom]

Day 4 - we awoke at 2:30 am to bright skies and a gorgeous view.  Sunrise over the mountains and seeing a pod of whales from our balcony around 5am while heading towards Juneau was beautiful way to start the best day of our cruise.   We had planned only to go to Mendenhall Glacier today, but once we got off the ship and took the $5 shuttle to town my husband talked me into a whale watching/Mendenhall Glacier combo.  Turned out to be the best decision we made.   First we took the bus to Mendenhall and our driver provided some facts along the route.  We hiked out to Nugget Falls and took the beach path back.  Then we met at the designated area for our bus to the whale watching.  The tour company is Alaska Tales and we had an amazing crew.  Captain Luke did a good job of finding us whales pretty quickly.  We would see them spout a few times and their backs before the show tail before diving down.  Then we went off to see a group of sea lions that were sunning themselves on a buoy.   Then we took off to check out an area and this is where the action was.  We found a young whale that was playing and testing itself.  We were treated to a 15-20 minute display of breaching, tail flaps and fin waving.  It was spectacular.  Even our guides were so excited.  It was truly a treat. (my husband has all the videos on his phone) When we returned to town we tried some local Halibut which was delicious.  So many places to eat in Juneau. 

[MillbrookMom]

Day 5 we woke just before 4am to see the beautiful Chilkat Mountains out our balcony window just before a 4:09am sunrise.  Today we were docked in Haines which I think is the most gorgeous view of the mountains right behind the dock and Fort Seward.  We did a RCL excursion here that was a bit of a disappointment.  It was on a non AC bus and for May it was HOT!  We did the Deluxe Haines Highlights tour.  We spent an hour and a half at the American Bald Eagle foundation which was way too long, and once we had left we found out why.  The 3rd part of our tour had been cancelled due to renovations so we did not visit the Haines Packing Company.  We then drove along the Chilkat River to Chilkat Lake where we spent about a half hour.  It's very pretty, but nothing much to do other than take photos and chill.  Upon return they dropped us off for a lunch of bread, salmon spread that was in individual self serve balls, and snacks.  Most people skipped this part.  There isn't too much to do in Haines compared to other ports, but my husband did go for a swim (he had a thing for swimming everywhere we go) and a walk to the Brewery to try a Sitka Spruce beer.   

[MillbrookMom]

Day 6 - Tracy Arm Fjord.   Once again blessed with gorgeous weather as we traversed the Fjord.  It's so lovely sailing past gorgeous waterfalls and beautiful 360 views.  At this time of year there is a lot of glacial debris in the water (icebergs) so the captain was only able to get us close enough to have a brief view of Small Sawyer Glacier.  It was still a great experience to be so close to the shore.   

[MillbrookMom]

Day 7 was a sea day, but still lots to see.  Around 10:30 am we were having a late breakfast on our balcony with we spotted a whale spout.  It smacked it's tail a few times on the water and breached a couple of times.  Today we did "A Taste of Royal" lunch which we really enjoyed.  Once again we spotted a large pod of dolphins that were diving in and out of the water and making their way towards the ship.  About 10 minutes later we spotted some whales spouting for the last time on this trip.  We had some amazing views late in the afternoon as we sailed along the Vancouver Island coast again.  This was truly an amazing trip.  We feel so lucky to have experienced the raw natural beauty of Alaska. 

[Kellie in Texas]

@MillbrookMomthank you for this report and all the GORGEOUS pictures.  We board Serenade in four days and will visit Sitka, Juneau and Haines as well, plus Skagway.  I hope we have such beautiful weather as you had. 

 

We are in Skagway from 7:00 to 3:00 and then go to Haines from 5:00 to 10:00 pm the same night.  We're just planning to walk around Haines but I suspect the brewery might be on tap ... so to speak.  😄

Edited June 1, 2022 by Kellie in Texas

[Hummingbird33]

Thank you for the review and photos.  Just 18 more days for us.

 

How long did you spend walking around in Sitka? Debating if we will have time for that after our excursion. I think we'll skip the raptor center but I do want to see the park.

[barbienj]

Doing this cruise at the end of July. Where did you do the covid testing for the return flight home to get back into the US?

[Travel R]

Thanks for the review - we will be on the Serenade in 25 days!

[Orange jeep]

Thank you for a wonderful review and the pictures.

 

I have a few questions as we are taking this trip on June 19 and flying directly to Vancouver the day of our departure (June 19).  One of my biggest questions and concerns is... our flight arrives 12:30 pm and how long did it take to go thru Customs?  Is the port close to the airport?  It  shows 10 miles when I google but someone said it could take a 45 minutes cab ride from airport to cruise terminal, can that be right?

 

What was the weather like as in temp wise? It looks like you didn't have any rainy weather... Were there days where you thought you packed too many warmer clothes?  Any recommendations besides layer layer layer?

 

How was the food on the Seranade of Seas?  I have been on the Jewel twice and loved that ship.  Was the ship in good condition?

 

Was the entertain good?

 

Thank you again for such a great review.

 

 

 

[MillbrookMom]

2 hours ago, Hummingbird33 said:

Thank you for the review and photos.  Just 18 more days for us.

 

How long did you spend walking around in Sitka? Debating if we will have time for that after our excursion. I think we'll skip the raptor center but I do want to see the park.

If your excursion drops you downtown and hour to 1 1/2 would likely be enough to see the park.  We spent roughly 5 hours off the ship walking everywhere, plus raptor centre, eating and shopping.  

[MillbrookMom]

2 hours ago, barbienj said:

Doing this cruise at the end of July. Where did you do the covid testing for the return flight home to get back into the US?

We are from Ontario, Canada so we didn't need post cruise testing to fly.  I would ask under some of the roll calls from previous cruises in May.  

[MillbrookMom]

9 minutes ago, Orange jeep said:

Thank you for a wonderful review and the pictures.

 

I have a few questions as we are taking this trip on June 19 and flying directly to Vancouver the day of our departure (June 19).  One of my biggest questions and concerns is... our flight arrives 12:30 pm and how long did it take to go thru Customs?  Is the port close to the airport?  It  shows 10 miles when I google but someone said it could take a 45 minutes cab ride from airport to cruise terminal, can that be right?

 

What was the weather like as in temp wise? It looks like you didn't have any rainy weather... Were there days where you thought you packed too many warmer clothes?  Any recommendations besides layer layer layer?

 

How was the food on the Seranade of Seas?  I have been on the Jewel twice and loved that ship.  Was the ship in good condition?

 

Was the entertain good?

 

Thank you again for such a great review.

 

 

 

So, the Airport is in Richmond and the cruise port is downtown Vancouver (Coal Harbour).  We took the Canada Line Train downtown which drops you a few blocks from the port.  Since we were flying within Canada we didn't have to do customs, so I'm not sure about that.  I do know security in Vancouver was quite busy when we flew home, it was about 30 minutes to get through that line.  I would give yourself a minimum of 30 minutes to get to the port depending if you take the train or a taxi give or take.   We had amazing weather and great temperatures.  13-18 degrees every day.  Quite warm feeling in the sunshine.  We mostly wore sweatshirts with t-shirts under.  We took so much stuff we didn't use.  But I think we were lucky and would likely still pack all the extras we did.  If you can bring binoculars for each person, I would recommend that.  I also felt one of the best things we did was sleep with the curtains open so even if you woke in the night you could see a gorgeous view out your window (assuming you have OV or Balcony).    The food was pretty good.  Some things were amazing, some of the best we've ever had.  Some, not as good as we remembered.   The ship is in pretty decent shape for it's age.  They did have some areas where they were painting or doing other maintenance.   As far as entertainment goes.  I didn't find there to be as many options as I remember on smaller ships in the past (maybe due to Covid).  I personally didn't go to any as I was up so early and always went to bed early as the scenery was my focus this cruise.   Hope that helps.

[Kellie in Texas]

16 hours ago, barbienj said:

Doing this cruise at the end of July. Where did you do the covid testing for the return flight home to get back into the US?

We ordered the eMed test kits directly from Royal and are taking them with us to test before flying back to Texas. When we get off the ship on June 12, we are spending an extra night in Vancouver so we can at least use the hotel's internet to connect to these online proctored tests.  There are various locations in Vancouver (including the airport) to get tested but I didn't want to fool with that.  Maybe by July, that requirement will be gone.