Serenade of the Sea

[gpepe1228]

I will be going on the Serenade of the Sea in March. Can anyone tell me about the ship? Any details will be helpful. I was on the EOS last year and it was fantastic. I hope this cruise will be the same.

[MadCnty]

The Serenade is a beautiful ship. We were on her for the last cruise to Alaska this year before the repo. to Hawaii. The decor is magnificent and so is her staff. The staterooms have the new showers that do not have curtains and that is "big" plus in my eyes. The public areas are very nice and "open" with all the glass, and there is great artwork everywhere you look... I could go on, and on, but you get the picture, and if not there are some of those too, linked in the "pictures" section of my signature. ;)

[gypsygirl]

I agree completely with everything MadCnty said. You'll love the ship!

[Ocean Boy]

gpepe...

 

I'm in the same situation as you. We are doing Serenade in April after having done Mariner last year and Explorer the year before. I love the Voyager ships and Explorer is my favorite. I'm a little nervous about trying Serenade but after two years on the Voyager class I thought it would be good to try something a little different.

 

I'm always looking for information on Serenade.

[njcruisebunny]

We're on the Serenade in January and I'm always looking for information also. This is one ship that supposedly is so popular but has so few posts.

 

I had a woman write me and say that she'd send me the Compass and then didn't. I even offered to pay postage and she lives about 15 minutes from me. Can't figure out why people don't want to share information that can be useful. Maybe they feel their time is too precious. After emailing her twice, I don't want to be a pest.

[MadCnty]

If there is anything I can help with let me know. We do have all of our Compasses athough they are for Alaska and as such will probably be of no help now that they are back in SJ and I do not have a scanner, but I will post what I can. I can tell you that the bartenders in the Schooner (Steven and Pablo) are first rate(If they are still there). I do know that the C&A welcome back party is held in the Safari Club and they served free drinks, (champaigne, and something like Bahama Mamas), canapes and also had a Q&A with the Captain. Our M&M was held in the Hollywood Odyssey and was hosted by an Assistant CD whose name escapes me (I do remember that she had an Australian acccent). They did serve drinks (at an additional charge, but I don't think the bar itself was open). We never ate at Chops or Portfino so we cannot comment on those venues.Well you get the point. Let me know if you have something specific and I will try to help...

[Guest enjoycruises]

MadCnty: Where on the ship was your cabin? We are sailing to AK in June in an E1 cabin on the 8th deck. I am curious if this is a good choice.

[MadCnty]

We were in 9588 on the hump, it was a D1. There are pictures like I stated before linked in my signature. The first album has a picture looking aft from our balcony and the second to last has more pictures taken inside the stateroom. Also which stateroom are you in?

[Guest enjoycruises]

We will be in 8086 a "hump" cabin also.:)

[Guest enjoycruises]

I just looked at some of your photos. Very nice. I can't wait to take photos of my own!

[MadCnty]

Good choice and it looks as if you may have a little more balcony area than we had, but also there may be just a bit of an obstuction to the water below because of the lifeboat covers, but as long as you have a balcony you are in good shape. You get good views on either side because when the ship enters a Fjord they do have to turn around... :D

[Guest enjoycruises]

I wish it were cruising time now. I am so anxious to go. Did you take any excurisons? If so, did you sign up with the ship or did you go directly to the tour operators. I have been reading that fellow cruisers tend to do either.

[MadCnty]

We booked our excursions directly through RCI. We did the White Pass & Yukon Railway in Skagway. Personally I would book this one directly through them as it is cheaper, but you will have to walk aways to get to it, but it really isn't that far. In Juneau we did the Mendenhall Glacier tour, and the Salmon Hatchery. Then in Ketchikan we visited Creek Street early in the A.M. and would recommend doing so as there were no crowds. Then for our excursion we did Totem Bight S.P.. Again there are pictures of each in the respective albums...

[Guest enjoycruises]

Sounds and looks like you had a great time. We were thinking in Juneau of going whale watching and then touring the Mendenhall Glacier, in Skagway either taking the train as you did or renting a car and driving the same path as the train and in Ketchiken we had no clue.

[sally r]

We did an Alaska cruise in August on the Serenade and then did a back to back to Hawaii in September and October, a total of 29 days on the ship.

 

We had cabins 1574 (D1), 1086 (JS) and 1534 (GS).

 

Paulo and Stephan were pulled from the Schooner bar..such a shame..they were great! Did amazing tricks and bottle juggling. Other great bartenders are Alexander (Phillipines) and Hussain (Trinidad).

 

The Captain (Stieg Nielson or something like that) is kinda reserved and you don't see or hear him much.

 

Germaine was (is?) the Consierge and very nice. Jorge the Loyalty Ambassador is an idiot. Don't even get me started on him.

 

The food in the dining room was very good as was the service. Even the Head Waiters are fun. The windjammer food was okay but the service was great. Some really weird dishes like deep fried boiled eggs :eek: . Don't miss the Seaview cafe. Best secret on the ship. The chilli was excellent.

 

Our cabin attendants did a great job and were not intrusive. You did not hear whining or complaining at all from the crew and staff. Guest relations was hit and miss. Sometimes it was like talking to the wall behind them. Other times they were very helpful. All in all, the best crew ever.

 

The ship is fabulous. You can not go wrong with the Radiance class. Clean, spacious, smooth..classy.

 

The spa personel were very nice and not all stuffy. I went in for a nail repolish and she also plucked my eyebrows and did my makeup for free. I waited for the hard sell but nothing! My husband had two massages but only said they were "okay". All the women were booking Igor. I guess he has very large hands and was awesome. He was booked solid from 7am until late night.

 

We only had lunch in Chops and it was very good. Did not try Portifinos. Neither were very busy. I think the dining room was satisfiying everyone. Oh, this is important: the dining room has a rib-eye steak on the menu but it is more like a slice of prime rib. A lot of people were surprised as it was not what we Americans expect. It is really delicious.

 

Casino was tight on the Hawaii cruise. No real big winners. On the Alaska cruise everyone was hitting it BIG! I even came out ahead $58! I don't gamble much so that was huge to me. Guess you need to just hang out there and see if things are hitting or not. It was real obvious.

 

The pools were always busy but the Pool Patrol kept the chair hogs under control.

 

Okay, what have I missed:) ? Happy to answer any questions.

[Guest enjoycruises]

Thanks Sally. I am even MORE excited now. I have not read anything bad about this ship. This will be our 5th cruise. All were on the Carnival and now we are ready for a change.

[gpepe1228]

everyone for the great info.

[MadCnty]

No problem that's what these boards are for...:D And that is a shame about the Schooner gang. They were the best...

[FOXTROT]

We just got off the Serenade last week. It was a great ship. Sally r I have to disagree about Jorge he was hilarious. We booked 2 cruise with him but we knew what we wanted. Two minor complaints-1) the shows where after dinner 2nd seating. If they are before dinner we can enjoy more ship activities. 2) Tendering into St. Lucia was a total disaster. We had a 2 1/2 hour wait, also encountered some rude staff during the wait. All in all you will enjoy the cruise.

[lbchew]

Just got back from our first cruise-on the Serenade of the Seas and we loved it! The ship is beautiful and I don't think I'd ever want to sail on a ship that didn't have all of the windows the Serenade has. We passed lots of islands which the captain spoke about. I loved having 5 port days. For those of you who hear stories about the balconies on the 7th deck being obstructed by the lifeboats, you can relax. We were in 7144 and had a lifeboat under us. Although we couldn't see straight down, we had a beautiful view and I would have no problem having the same room again. As for the food-it was actually good. I was worried after reading some posts before our trip. I'd say the Windjammer was good-our kids favorite, the dining room was better, and Portofino was excellent (8 of us agree!). I would be happy to answer questions, but since I won't be checking the boards too often now that my cruise is over, you can e-mail me at lbchew@frontiernet.net.

[njcruisebunny]

Did they have a 50-60's night and then a 70-80's night? A Western night? Of course the Caribbean night(casual)? 2 Formal nights?

[MadCnty]

On our Alaskan 7 day there were 2 formal nights and a Western night, but I don't recall the others... I will have to check our Compass's and check back.

[Ocean Boy]

In San Juan did Serenade dock at the piers in Old San Juan or at the Pan American pier?

[Honey's Gal]

The Serenade is now my favorite ship. We sailed on her last month thru the Panama Canal, and it was amazing, both the ship and itinerary.

 

Oh, yes, Jorge. I remember him well! I can understand why he could certainly get under your skin. He is more than willing to help, however he is not all that good. I had him price out 2 separate itineraries for next year and he did 3 (one we didn't ask for). We finally chose the one we wanted, however when we got home we all (3 couples) received a phone call from RCI asking us if we were cancelling our cruise (they were talking about the 3rd option he checked). Then I got nervous that he actually didn't book us correctly....he did but neglected to cancel the other "holds"

 

The bartenders in the Schooner bar were Dion and Paul, very good. We had such a great time.

 

The food overall was very good, not any complaints at all. The menus have changed, but not bad. Still plenty to choose from. I loved the layout of the Windjammer. The 1st day or two I had to find my way around, but after that it was easy to find everything.

 

We were in cabin 9584 in the middle of the hump and it was exceptional. I loved it going thru the canal and cruisin Gatan lake, and the cabin location was so convenient for getting around. We loved it so much we booked almost the same cabins on the Jewel for next Sept.

 

 

Happy cruising

[gypsygirl]

The Serenade docks at the Pan American pier.