The Serenade of the Seas: A Smaller Ship With a Bigger Heart
Photo courtesy of Chris Mathis (@photos_and_racing)
Not only was this cruise the first time we had ever sailed on the Serenade of the Seas, but it was also the first time we had sailed on any ship in its class. As a part of the Radiance class of ships, we knew that this would be a fairly different experience for us. Even with how different it was, we had a really good time.
The Radiance class, which is comprised of the Radiance of the Seas, Brilliance of the Seas, Jewel of the Seas, and Serenade of the Seas, is practically tied with the Vision Class of ships as being the smallest classes in the fleet. With the ships having a maximum capacity of around 2500, it certainly provides a different feel from the mega ships that are being built today. Because of its smaller size, it can handle itineraries that the bigger ships cannot. For example, the Radiance class can go through the inner passage in Alaska, can fit through the Panama Canal and can go into the more shallow ports of Maine. Also, because of its smaller size, it is not built to hold the new spangled items that are being put on ships with their “amplifications”, such as water slides, a flow rider and fancy pool side bars.
Photo courtesy of Chris Mathis (@photos_and_racing)
Perhaps due in part to the fact that these ships can’t be “amplified”, the ships in this class have not been fully renovated in roughly a decade. That doesn’t mean that they haven’t been well maintained. We did see rust here and there, but we noticed that on embarkation day that they were choosing certain areas to spruce up with fresh coats of paint. If something needed to be fixed or replaced, they were very good about being on top of that. And, we were impressed with how they updated certain areas on the ship. For example, the area known as the Centrum had some color changing LEDs installed to give off a really neat effect at night. We did not leave the ship thinking that it was old and tired.
Photo courtesy of Chris Mathis (@photos_and_racing)
There were aspects to the layout of the ship that we really liked and some that we were not such big fans of. We really liked the design and layout of the Solarium in that it is fully covered and provides a fun elephant design with waterfall to enjoy. I would have preferred, however, that the hot tub was a bit larger. We liked the layout of the Windjammer as we were able to enjoy outside seating, which is not found on most other ships. The Diamond lounge seemed like an after thought and was very cramped. Because there was no promenade, sometimes it felt like getting from one side of the ship to the other was a bit tricky. But, the Centrum was well utilized and provided a nice focal point for the ship. In the back of the ship, there is the Safari Club, which is set up similarly to the Star Lounge, and is used for events such as trivia, The Quest, performances, and the top tier event. A majority of the time, however, you can play a round of pool, a game of chess, enjoy a book or just sit and watch the wake and beautiful ocean out the large glass windows. We were really looking forward to watching movies in the Cinema, as this is not included on new ships, but the rows were so steep and the quality of the projection was too poor for us to be able to enjoy the experience. The Casino Royale was small and incredibly cramped making it difficult to maneuver through. We did find that the pub was a great space to gather with new friends. Since it was located on the way to other places, we could check in with our new friends, have a drink with them, watch whatever sports is on and even play darts. All in all, we discovered the places that helped to make our cruise highly enjoyable.
Photo courtesy of Chris Mathis (@photos_and_racing)
The entertainment on Serenade of the Seas was good, while at the same time, not so good. There were no Broadway style musicals, no ice skating shows, no aqua shows and the performances put on by the Royal Caribbean singers and dancers were pretty “meh”. But, the Headliners on the ship were excellent. We had a comedian who told some great jokes, a magician that was fun to watch, and a singer who was very talented. Another thing that impressed us and perhaps surprised us a bit was how much we enjoyed the cruise director staff. The cruise director was the right amount of business and entertaining, and his staff that ran the events throughout the ship was friendly, entertaining and seemed to enjoy their jobs (which is not always the case). We discovered some surprising tradeoffs when it came to sailing on these smaller ships.
We really enjoyed sailing on the Serenade of the Seas and look forward to our sailing on the Radiance when we cruise in Alaska in 2024. We feel that we made the right call not bringing our kids as they probably would have gotten a bit bored. But, the fact that there were very few kids on the ship doubled our enjoyment of being there without ours.
