Serenade of the Seas Inaugural Cruise from Boston August 12-14 2003
Pre Cruise –My husband David and I stayed at the Marriott Cambridge for 2 nights prior to the cruise. This was a great location. The hotel is located at the Kendall Station and is 2 stops from the Park Street Station which is the start of the Freedom Trail. The Subway(T) costs $1 per ride. Around the corner is Legal Seafood (our favorite seafood restaurant) as well as many other great dining options. We decided to walk the Freedom Trail and took the audio tour which is available for $12 per person from the visitor’s center at the start of the Freedom Trail. We were able to leisurely walk the trail throughout the day. When in Boston don’t miss Faneuil Hall. This is a great place to shop, eat and just watch people. For those who have a bit more time or don’t want to walk the freedom trail there are plenty of Trolley Tours available or if you want to have some fun take the Duck tours. The Duck tours are amphibious vehicles that do both land and sea tours if Boston.
The Cruise – This was in invitation only 2 day cruise to nowhere for Travel Agents. We arrived at the ship at 11:45 and were onboard by noon. The Serenade is an absolutely beautiful ship. The artwork is incredible. Everywhere you turn there is another beautiful piece of art. Just walking up the steps in the fore and aft of the ship you see amazing photos and paintings. The amount of the glass on the ship is also very impressive. Everywhere you look there is another incredible view. We loved the glass elevators that face the sea. This is indeed a great ship for Alaska(the Serenade will be in Alaska next summer). Even if you are not up on deck you always seem to be able to view the scenery. For those passengers who are afraid of being closed in and feeling confined, the ships layout and open spaces really gives you a wonderful spacious feel. The staff was well prepared and we were able to tour all of the different categories of staterooms available.
Staterooms – From Inside to the Royal Suite each stateroom is perfectly appointed for all of your needs. Of course the Royal Suites are extremely impressive with amenities such as a baby grand piano, whirlpool bathtub, flat screen TV and amazing balconies. The Serenade also has Family Suites for large families that do not want to have separate staterooms. The Royal Family Suite can accommodate 8 passengers and comes with a very nice balcony. They also offer an Ocean View Family Stateroom which can accommodate 6 people. We stayed in a Category E2 Deluxe Ocean View Stateroom with balcony. There was plenty of storage space as well as a nice size balcony and a refrigerator. The Junior Suite and Grand Suites are larger than a Deluxe Ocean View and had a much larger bathroom with a tub instead of a stall shower. Staterooms from the Grand Suite on up have access to the Concierge Club.
Dining – We dined both nights in the Reflections main dining room. The food and service were excellent. The dining room is nicely laid out with table for 2, 4, 6 and 10. In addition to the main dining room, the Serenade has 2 alternative restaurants available for a fee. Chops Grille is a nice steakhouse that offers full service dining in a much more intimate setting. Portofino’s is an Italian restaurant that has a wonderful menu. If you are looking for a special treat during your cruise I suggest that you try one of the alternative restaurants on at least one night.
There are 2 other options for dining onboard the Serenade. The Windjammer and Seaview Cafes offer casual alternatives. We ate at the Windjammer for breakfast and lunch. The Windjammer had the most variety of any cruise ship buffet I have ever encountered. For breakfast they offered fresh fruit, assorted danish, pastries, smoked salmon, cereals, eggs, an omelet station, and more. Lunch was equally varied. They had everything you could want, made to order sandwiches, hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza, salads, stir-fry, hot entrees, great deserts, and a carving station. We really enjoyed the Seaview Café, especially for a late night snack. The restaurant has seating both inside and out. The Café is not full service like the main dining room but instead of having to wait for your order to be prepared they seat you at a table of your choosing and then bring your food to you. They had a nice variety of foods including a grilled grouper Caesar salad, chicken fingers, Nathan’s hot dog, nachos, etc. My only disappointment was that they did not have brown mustard for the Nathan’s hot dog only Dijon. Growing up in Connecticut Nathan’s was a special treat for us when we visited New York. I teased the staff that once the New Yorkers got on the ship they would have to change the mustard.
Sports and Water Activities –
Rock-climbing -Although we did not participate, the rock climbing looked like a lot of fun. The staff was extremely patient and encouraging for those guests brave enough to attempt the climb.
Miniature Golf - They had a nice course, which had its challenges while still being easy enough for young kids. David had a legitimate hole in one and I had one as well with a little help from the Captain. The ship swayed just enough for my ball to go in while it was sitting on the rim of the cup.
Shuffleboard, Basketball and Soccer -The shuffleboard was actually a lot of fun. We played while we were waiting for our Golf Simulator appointment. There is a netted basketball court which also had a soccer net available on deck 12 near the water slide.
Golf Simulator - Neither Dave nor I play golf but we thought we’d give it a try anyway. I’d have to say I was very impressed. We played Pebble Beach, but not too successfully. While playing another agent came to watch us play. He said he had played golf regularly so I let him take my turn. It was great to see what the simulator was meant for, real golfers! He really had a great time and could easily hit the ball. Our only complaint about the simulator is that it was difficult for Dave to use because he is 6’1”. The ceiling is a bit too low for him and he hit it a few times when driving. We noticed from the marks that others had hit the ceiling a few times as well.
Billiards – The Games Reserve near the Safari Club has 2 billiard tables that use gyroscopes to keep level at sea. We did not get to participate in Billiards but we did enjoy watching several people play.
Chess and Checkers and Backgammon– Also available near the Safari Club there were several tables for chess, checkers and backgammon and several board games were available in the Serengeti Card Club room.
Pools and water slide - The Serenade offers 3 pools. The main pool with 2 heated whirlpools is available for all guests. The solarium pool with 1 whirlpool is only available for adults 16 and over and they also have a wading pool for young children near the water slide. The waterslide does not enter into a pool but still looked like a lot of fun.
Lounges and Nightclubs
Viking Crown Lounge – A signature of all Royal Caribbean ships the Viking Crown lounge also doubles as the disco Vortex at night. Great views from the front of the ship, and it was really hopping at night when the Disco was in action.
Hollywood Odyssey – A small theater style lounge. While we were sailing they had some nice live music playing and attracted a quieter crowd.
Safari Club – This is our favorite lounge. At night a great 4 piece band would play requests from passengers. It is in the rear of the ship and offered great views of the moonlit Sea
Overall Impression
We love the Serenade of the Seas. It is an easy to navigate ship with lots of light bright areas. It has many of the amenities of the larger Voyager class ship without the overwhelming size. The staff was well trained. RCCL pulled experienced staff from their other ships so that even a new ship can sail problem free.
Post Cruise
We were off the ship by 9:30 am and headed for a 2 night say in NYC. We arrived in the city around 2:00pm and waited in line for about 1 hour for day of show tickets. We got out tickets at 3:30 pm and headed for a bite to eat. At 4:10 pm the lights went out. Fortunately we were staying at the Courtyard Midtown East. I cannot say enough about the staff at the hotel. They were incredible. They had generators for the elevators, lobby air conditioning and all hall lights were on. We were on the 30th floor and were able to make it to our room with no problems. Each room was provided with a flashlight for the night and they provided ice water and snacks in the lobby as well as had a radio on for us to hear the latest news. We got up at 5:30 am to find that the streets were somewhat cleared and we decided to make a run for it. Our car was in a parking garage provided by the Marriott and we were lucky enough to get our car out. Some of the garages in NYC are elevator operated and the cars are there for the duration of the blackout. On the 1st night of the blackout the streets were full of people trying to find their way home. A few drivers were honking their horns and complaining but the cars were gridlocked and not going anywhere no matter how much they honked. Most bars were open and people were drinking in the streets (the ultimate street party). We always felt safe. Everyone handled the situation calmly. We were able to pickup some food at a corner grocer who was working by candle light. Again things were handled well; they did not rip us off. We chose to leave the next morning because we were not with our kids and the city will need several days to fully recover. They were warning people to be careful not to eat spoiled food and there was garbage piled up all around the city. The cabs were also having difficulty because the gas pumps were out and many ran out of gas. Since we had our van with us we gave a ride to a couple we met on our way to the parking garage. This will definitely go down as a most interesting vacation. And yes, I still love New York!!
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