Review: Serenade OTS, 2/18/06 (Long)

[MargaritaPlease]

We cruised on the Serenade of the Seas departing out of San Juan on February 18 for the Southern Caribbean itinerary including St. Thomas, St. Martin, Antigua, St. Lucia, and Barbados. What follows is our review with some spattered Disney comparisons – as that’s the only other line we’ve ever cruised on and seems often asked about here. We’re a family of four – my wife and I in our mid-40’s and our two boys, 9 and 11.

 

We traveled on an RCI charter out of Boston operated by Miami Air. It was loaded with both RCCL and Celebrity cruisers. Check-in was fine – the helpful desk clerk warned us to eat before getting on the plane as there would be no food – of course, a full meal was actually served. Thus, the overeating began.

 

We had to claim our bags and transfer them to a truck waiting at the curb. (On Disney, we’d checked our bags in Boston and not seen them again until our stateroom.) It also seemed like there were insufficient busses or trucks lined up to handle the charter flight full of passengers – we seemed to stand around for longer than necessary here.

 

The worst part of our arrival was the lateness of it. Despite being on a flight chartered by the cruise line, we didn’t arrive in San Juan until 7 PM and didn’t get on the ship until close to 8 PM, at which time we needed to scramble into the boat drill and hustle to dinner. We felt robbed of the first day of our cruise.

 

Our stateroom was smaller than we’d experienced previously on Disney. Our stateroom on Magic had two bathrooms – one with toilet and sink and one with shower/tub and sink. Really helped. The stateroom itself was well appointed, but was just a bit cozy for four people trying to move around and get dressed.

 

Our youngest was sleeping on the “sofa bed”. He’s 9. He likes to sleep in the fetal position. That’s a good thing because this was a short little bed that even he couldn’t fully stretch out on. He was a trooper though – and curled.

 

We were on Deck 7 just about the life boats. The roof of the lifeboats really obscured the view here – if you can, get at least to deck 8. Further, our balcony enjoyment was limited because of the number of smokers on neighboring balconies. Seemed to us there were a disproportionate number of smoker on this cruise and on their balconies.

 

Our stateroom attendant(s) did a great job for us. They made sure we got what we needed while staying out of our way. Towel animals were cute, room was neat, and all was good.

 

We had an early excursion one day and ordered room service breakfast as a treat for the kids before going. Never showed. We were treated to some chocolate strawberries as an apology – nice try.

 

We though the Reflections main dining room was nicely decorated and welcoming. We had a nice table, next to a column, on the lower floor. We could look into the center area and up to the second floor.

 

We bought the top-of-the-line wine package. Even so, the selections weren’t that great – not bad, but not that great. A better Chard, a better Cab… would have been nice. Disney’s packages were a notch up – perhaps for a little more money. Still, we’d have paid a bit more for a better package.

 

I thought the service in Reflections was superior. Our waiter (Claudio) and his assistant (Reuben) did an outstanding job. The headwaiter (Francesco) watched his teams carefully and jumped in to help where required. We knew and enjoyed all three of our servers and they all worked hard to please us. (On Disney, our headwaiter was barely existent and the service was not as attentive.)

 

I wore my Tuxedo on the two formal nights – so did maybe 20 other gentlemen. The remainder wore suits or jackets or polo shirts. We saw several folks in what we considered very informal clothing – even on the formal nights. Still, we didn’t feel out of place and enjoyed being dressed up for pictures, cocktails, and dinner.

 

We enjoyed the main dining room food and found it better than we were led to expect. I had excellent seafood entrees, chicken, lamb, etc. We enjoyed a variety of appetizers and salads and we all sampled several tasty deserts. No complaints at all. We passed on lobster – it’s better in Boston.

 

We ate one night at Portofino’s and I was happy – but expected more. (I thought Disney’s Paulo’s was highly superior). The atmosphere was “ok” – the “Name that Tune” game in the adjoining bar could have been better muffled by closing the doors.

 

The service was initially overwhelming – we had server after server introduce themselves and tell us they’d be taking care of us – and we just wanted to sip our wine and enjoy a relaxing dinner without our kids. But, they did a good job attending to our needs. The Maitre De was watchful and attentive. I did make the mistake of wearing a jacket and tie to this “premium” restaurant – there wasn’t another jacket or tie in sight.

 

The food was excellent. My wife had a bisque that was a bit bland but other than that, we enjoyed each offering. Still, it wasn’t the “to die for” experience we’d been led to expect.

 

We ate one night at Chops as well. Here, I thought the service was much better balanced – we knew who was in charge of our table and didn’t feel constantly ambushed. Our steaks were excellent – though unimaginative. Personally, I much prefer a well coordinated plate to a piece of meat and unrelated sides served family style.

 

We found the Seaview Cafe a fine late afternoon cocktail location. We’d grab a drink from the bar while the kids ordered onion rings and nacho chips. We’d enjoy a last look at the port from the aft deck and enjoy our snacks.

 

Windjammer was a nice buffet – though it puzzles me that some folks would actually take all of their meals here – it’s not nearly on par with the main dining room. There was a good variety of healthy and sinful foods and we tried them all. We enjoyed the outdoor aft tables and, overall, the restaurant felt less crowded than Disney’s equivalent “Topsider”. Our kids ate here on their own on the nights we went to the premium restaurant and were treated well.

 

The midnight buffet was pretty cool. Disney didn’t do this, or at least we didn’t attend. I went to the picture taking session – it was pretty impressive with the ice and fruit carvings. I went back to try some of the food in the “eating” session. Only drawback – long slow lines. And some of the plates I saw people taking were pretty impressive too – how can people eat that much in the middle of the night?

 

We didn’t spend a lot of time in the bars though we tended to hit the Schooner bar before meals. It’s a nice cocktail atmosphere with a piano. The downside – smoke. It reeked. We found this true of most of the bars which was a real turn off for us. The very back of the Safari bar was a fun spot – nice windows looking aft – we looked out while the kids played bingo.

 

I thought the casino was well-run and fun. I’m not much of a gambler – spent my time at the $5 blackjack tables. Managed to play 5 or 6 times - went from being up as much as $100 to down as much as $100 to walking away pretty much even at the end of the week. I call it a win. The only bad thing – smoking. Though there were some non-smoking tables, you had to endure the smoke at others.

 

Bingo was huge on-board. One or more games each day. Of course, my kids were sucked in. Expect $35 each game. I found the caller, “Bingo Spice”, a bit annoying – but she was cute and had energy.

 

We didn’t shop much but on the few excursions we made to the on-board stores, we found what we needed. We held out to the last day for logo-wear and were rewarded with half-off specials and an extended selection.

 

We made it to three of the shows in the big theater. I went to a magic act with my youngest that had him intrigued and scratching his head. We also saw a “singing impressionist” and the “Vibe-ology” review. I thought they were all OK – but not outstanding. Disney’s shows were more polished (and more oriented to children).

 

The deck bands were a mixed bag. The reggae/calypso/steel drum quintet did a nice job with background music for sipping and swimming. The blues trio was uninspiring. Disney’s poolside entertainment was clearly one notch up and kept a lot more folks, many of them admittedly younger, boogying past the pool.

 

My kids were disappointed that the pools were salt water. Perhaps they were spoiled by Disney’s fresh water pools, but they spent less time in the water than they had on previous cruises. I enjoyed the spraying fountains though the hot tubs were almost always overcrowded. The kid’s water slide got very poor reviews from our kids who thought it was too slow and not at all thrilling – not to mention only open for a couple of hours each day.

 

The pool Deck Chairs, or limited number thereof, provided the low point of the cruise for us. On our final day, a day “at sea”, notices were posted all over the ship that saving of deck chairs was not allowed and that the crew would remove articles left to do so. Of course, by about 8 AM, every chair had a towel or a book or a shoe. Near 11 AM, after watching a row of chairs for half an hour, we moved some items and sat down. A half an hour later the previous occupants returned and angrily wanted their chairs back. When they refused my pleas that chairs could not be reserved, I called a helpless pool attendant over. Rather than enforcing the posted policy, he offered to help us find another chair. Infuriating. Don’t post a policy if you’re not going to enforce it. If you’re going to let people reserve chairs, say so and we’ll all get up early and snag them.

 

We thought the kids’ club was well run. We met the counselors on the first day, reviewed procedures, signed up our kids, etc. From there, our kids were will entertained by “Icky Vicky” and the other stuff. It’s always a good sign when the kids want to go to the club every day!

 

We enjoyed multiple climbs on the rock wall, several rounds of mini-golf, deck shuffleboard, etc. We could always find plenty to do. I did a few 5-6 mile runs on the upper deck “track”. This worked well as long as you finished before the deck chairs were dragged closer to the railing overlooking the pool and the crowd grew. Otherwise, there was too much bobbing and weaving to make running feasible. We also participated in a family scavenger hunt and a bizarre bar game involving cross dressing. All good fun.

 

We enjoyed the islands we visited and consider them almost not to be part of the cruise so I won’t review them extensively here. I will say that St. Martin remains one of our favorite islands and that we’d like to spend more time in Barbados. St. Thomas continues to do very little for us.

 

We booked several “excursions” through the cruise lines and enjoyed most of them. The scuba outfitter I was set up with in St. Thomas was great. The Dolphin encounter was totally memorable for my kids. The eco kayak in Antigua was an all inclusive, well run, and wonderful time. The mini-buggies in Barbados offered a thrill ride for the kids, a tour of the island, and a swim. My one disappointment – the scuba outing I’d booked in St. Lucia was cancelled – allegedly due to “high winds” that must have shifted after cancellation.

 

We enjoyed the “bonus” tours we were treated to by the ship’s captain. The close encounters with the Pitons of St. Lucia were enough to make us want to go back there and the tour of Montserrat will make excellent fodder for my 9 year-old’s volcano report! Both were well described and amazing!

 

We approached the purser’s desk late in the cruise relative to tip vouchers. We found it odd that if you wanted to use the vouchers and have tips charged to your Sea Pass account, you could only do so at the recommended tipping amounts - if you wanted to reward any server more (or less), you’d have to use other methods. (On Disney, you could designate any amount you wanted for each of the servers and obtain vouchers for any amount.)

 

Our disembarkation was a bit rushed. We read in one place (cruise documents book) that the numbers on our bags indicated which departure group we were in and in another (flight list) that it didn’t – and couldn’t get a straight answer. At least in part due to that, we erred on the early side and got to the airport by about 10 AM for our 2 PM flight. Of course, since everything on the ship looked closed for the morning, we probably didn’t miss much there either. (Add this to our late embarkation and you’ll understand why we thought this should be labeled a shorter cruise.)

 

Our RCCL chartered Miami Air flight got us home about an hour late due to departure congestion in San Juan and snow in Boston. We waited another hour or more for our bags and left unimpressed with the travel arrangements.

 

Overall, we had a great time. Versus Disney, RCCL did some things better, others not. We think we could have a fun time again on either line. Sign us up!!

 

Comments and questions welcome.

[superjerryw]

The worst part of our arrival was the lateness of it. Despite being on a flight chartered by the cruise line, we didn’t arrive in San Juan until 7 PM and didn’t get on the ship until close to 8 PM, at which time we needed to scramble into the boat drill and hustle to dinner. We felt robbed of the first day of our cruise.

 

This is the reason that many people make their own air arrangements. You fly when you want on the airline that you want. In addition, many people fly down a day early. The money you save on the airfare more than pays for a hotel for one night and you can go to the ship early the next day and not get robbed of that first day.

[margaret91326]

It is hardly fair to compare Disney to any other cruise line. WE have sailed Disney twice as well as Princess, Royal Carribbean, Holland America. Disney is a ship and a class all by itself. WE loved it with our children, who were entertained continually. However, they have also been on the other ships and were actually bored since they are not geared as much for kids. Once the children are older they will appreciate the other lines. I still think that cruising is more of an adult getaway to relax.

[heartofamerica]

It is hardly fair to compare Disney to any other cruise line. WE have sailed Disney twice as well as Princess, Royal Carribbean, Holland America. Disney is a ship and a class all by itself. WE loved it with our children, who were entertained continually. However, they have also been on the other ships and were actually bored since they are not geared as much for kids. Once the children are older they will appreciate the other lines. I still think that cruising is more of an adult getaway to relax.

My daughter started cruising at age 9. She's been on 3 cruises, none of them Disney. And she enjoyed each of them - even the ones on the "older" lines like Celebrity and HAL. Quite frankly, we looked at Disney once, but we saved a considerable amount of money by cruising the other lines. I am sure that Disney is great at what they do, but IMHO, I couldn't justify the additional costs for the ability to see Mickey on board.

[vivig]

Thanks so much for your wonderful review!

 

This is the first time we are venturing away from Disney with our Son and your review was perfectly timed.

 

We should be leaving on the March 11, 2006 sailing.

 

IF you were to ask your boys which cruise they preferred what do you think they will answer? Would they cruise with RCCL once again? I am hoping our son will enjoy this cruise as much as the Disney cruises.

 

Thanks again for the review I truly enjoyed reading it!

Vivian

[MargaritaPlease]

IF you were to ask your boys which cruise they preferred what do you think they will answer? Would they cruise with RCCL once again?

 

Just asked my 9 year-old. He says RCCL for sure - more to do, liked the kid's club better, etc. Now I'm sure some of that is because it was more recent - he had a blast on Disney too. He also had a little more freedom this time around - and that was a boon for him as well.

 

Glad you enjoyed my write-up - you and your son will have a blast!! Give our regards to the Serenade!

[dcardone]

Great review - thanks

Few questions (we are going on April - wife and I w/ our two kids 7&10)

 

1. What did you do w/ the kids for diner on formal nights? Was that when you went to the chops? Trying to figure out which nights to go to Chops and Portofino’s - was it worth it?

 

2. How were the kids cluds?

 

Thanks

Dan

[PappaSiera]

We didn’t spend a lot of time in the bars though we tended to hit the Schooner bar before meals. It’s a nice cocktail atmosphere with a piano. The downside – smoke. It reeked. We found this true of most of the bars which was a real turn off for us.

This makes me a little nervous. One of the things I've really liked about the other Radiance class ships I've been on was that they had non-smoking sections of the Schooner bar that actually were fairly clear of cigarette smoke (always wished I could hang out at the Schooner on other ships, particularly on Voyager class ships, but they always reeked of smoke). Was there a non-smoking section?

The very back of the Safari bar was a fun spot – nice windows looking aft – we looked out while the kids played bingo.

This gives me an idea. We've pretty much given up on Bingo (spent WAY too much on first 1/2 dozen cruises or so), but sitting back there as a spectator might be interesting. I've always thought it was a waste that that bar wasn't open, unless there was a scheduled activity. I think it offers a better local for a cocktail with a view than all the other bars on board. I just love watching the wake. Wish I could get DW to go for another aft cabin, but she is now a hump enthusiast ;) If RCI would just build a ship with sideways elevators, I could get her to do another aft cabin.

[MargaritaPlease]

What did you do w/ the kids for diner on formal nights? Was that when you went to the chops? Trying to figure out which nights to go to Chops and Portofino’s - was it worth it?

 

We spent both formal nights at late seating in the main dining room - I in my tux, my wife in long dress, my kids as dressed as they get in chinos, button down shirts, and ties. They sat happily - with my guidance. ;) Seriously, my kids are accustomed to participating in family meals and enjoyed the attentive service there as much as their parents. After their desert, they were excused to change in the stateroom and check themselves into kids' camp.

 

We did Portofino's on Sunday night and Chops on Friday. Just worked in our schedule. Was it worth it? Yah... We like trying different restaurants. The meals were enjoyable, the service good. Was it worth the extra cost? Your call. We got a fine meal in main dining.

 

How were the kids cluds?

 

Our kids enjoyed both the counselors and the new friends they had there. Despite being a big school vacation week, there were relatively few kids in the club (both our guys in Adventure Ocean) - maybe a dozen tops. (This was an advantage over Disney which seemed to always have a big heard!) We granted our kids self check-in/check-out privileges with specific direction on when they could or couldn't leave. They handled it well - always meeting us at specified times and locations. They always came from the club with a smile - telling us about the fun activities. I'd rate the clubs highly acceptable. We particularly enjoyed meeting "Icky Vicky" - the camp's science counselor. She was fun.

[MargaritaPlease]

Was there a non-smoking section?

 

Yah know... I'm not sure. In our state (Massachusetts), all bars and restaurants are now smoke-free - so we've gotten out of the habit of looking for these. I don't recall seeing any signs - but I couldn't swear they weren't there. Shame on me.

[ribarfly]

Great review! We will be sailing on the Sernade 4/1, this will be our second time sailing on her. I am glad to hear that she is still a fantastic ship, we were on the Brilliance last December were we meet PapaSiera. We spent a year talking on the M&M boards and then guess who was our table mates. Cruising is a great way to meet new friends:)

[heartofamerica]

Great review! We will be sailing on the Sernade 4/1, this will be our second time sailing on her. I am glad to hear that she is still a fantastic ship, we were on the Brilliance last December were we meet PapaSiera. We spent a year talking on the M&M boards and then guess who was our table mates. Cruising is a great way to meet new friends:)

I second attending the Meet and Mingle. We've met more folks this way, and on our last cruise, went together to Pineapple beach with a family we met at the M&M. Despite the number of folks on the ship (FWIW, the Serenade never seemed crowded), it was amazing how often we bumped into to the people we met at the M&M. It adds to the fun of the cruise.

[LarryF]

Thank you for the great review. It sounded like you all had a great time!

 

My wife and I will be sailing on Serenade in April. It's honest reviews like yours that really educate future cruisers to make good sound dececions for their cruise!

 

Thanks so much!

[Martin and Lindsey]

We've not been to a Meet and Mingle before, but if anyone is on the 1st April Serenade Cruise from San Juan, please join the list for Meet and Mingle as we just need 3 more people to join to have enough for them to hold one. We want to try this out. :)

 

Our only other cruise was with Princess, and we loved how sociable it was. It would be even nicer to Meet people and chat to them at the Meet and Mingle.

Looking forward to meeting you all :D

[MargaritaPlease]

It sounded like you all had a great time!

 

We did! (Good enough that I've just come back to read this again!) Thanks!