RCCL Serenade or CCL Spirit in July 08 which would you choose and why

[Kajunswty]

we will be a small adult group (12-15 people) in varied cabins from a suite to an inside. what we are most interested in is service and itinerary...well and food ;) most will probably book air included with the cruise for convenience.

 

thanks!

[Sue L]

I would take the Serenade in a heartbeat. First of all I prefer RCCL to CCL but that is strictly my opinion. I think the service, staff, etc is superior as well as the overall experience, though others will disagree.

 

Secondly the Serenade is a Radiance class ship. They are absolutely beautiful with a ton of glass, so you have amazing views where ever you look. The ship is laid out nicely and easy to navigate around. Which the Carnival ships I have been on have not been. The Serenade also have an adults only solarium/pool area (though on Alaska sailings they do allow children during specific "family times"). I have sailed Brilliance, Serenade's sister ship and will be sailing Serenade to Alaska next month (WOOOHOOO!!!)

 

Click on the link in my signature for the Brilliance to see pictures of the ship. Serenade is practically identical with only some decor differences.

[mswmurf]

I agree with Sue about the Serenade as I was on this ship in October of 2006 going through the Panama Canal and the ship is absolutely beautiful. I also ponder which ship I would select for alaska as I have done Celebrity, Norwegian, RCCL, and Carnival. Initially I selected Princess as I have never sailed. I wanted to go in June as this is my husband's fifith birthday. Well, our son has just informed us he will be graduating from college in June so I had to delay the cruise for a later date in June. Anyway, I selected Carnival Spirit Southbound for the following reasons:

1) I was able to book an aft cabin port side.

2) They bring a naturalist on board. ( I heard that sometimes RCCL doesn't do this)

3) I liked the ports as we are doing sitka, juneau, ketchikan, and skagway.(Some ships only do three)

4) Lastly, it gives us an oppurtunity to attend our son's graudation, do a pre-cruise for four days in Alaska, and still be semi close to my husband's birthday.

 

No matter what cruise line you select, I am sure you will have a great time:)

[Budget Queen]

I give the edge to Carnival. Overall, "party ship" labels do NOT pertain to Carnival sailing Alaska, completely different experience than their Caribbean sailings with the demographics of passengers- middle aged and above, the bulk. They do a good job in Alaska. I have sailed them 3 times in Alaska with RCI 2 in Alaska, Carnival was superior in my experience. (I have sailed 5 different lines to Alaska). Their one way itinerary offers 4 ports with Sitka- a gem. :) Their long time ship naturalist- Michelle- is just fantastic and really enhances your trip.

 

But there are no "bad" Alaska trips, just do your homework, specific to Alaska and make the best choice for your priorities.

[Aquahound]

Serenade has a ton of glass. In fact, the elevators even face out so you can look out to sea while on them. They are perfect for Alaska itineraries. As for service, I have never had one single service complaint on numerous RCI cruises.

 

Hands down, Serenade.

[Kajunswty]

Thanks everyone for all the replies...we've decided to go with RCCL. The major factors were the ship and airfare. I didn't realize how expensive the air would be flying out of Anchorage. With the Serenade we can fly into Seattle and take the Amtrak train to Vancouver. With the Spirit it was cheaper for the fare but the air made up the difference in fare when compared to RCCL.

 

Also, when we sailed on the Explorer everyone was in awe of how beautiful the ship was and we had the best service ever....(well, except for Disney but they don't sail to Alaska). I hope we'll have more of the same

 

Thanks again ;)