Serenade of the Seas is on the smaller end of Royal Caribbean ships these days, but don’t let that dissuade you from booking an Alaska glacier cruise on her. The Serenade has had some minor upgrades over the last decade. The centrum alone is iconic, spanning nine floors, allowing entertainment to be viewed and heard from various locations.
This was my third Alaska sailing on Serenade, and I’ve also been on her sister’s Radiance and Brilliance to other destinations. They were my favorite ship class for many years, and I believe they are the optimal size ship for an Alaska trip.
Embarkation Day
Our Alaska glacier cruise left out of the Vancouver cruise terminal, Canada Place. We stayed in a nearby Marriott, and it was an easy walk over to the port for boarding. We opted for the earliest time, 11:00 am. I prefer to board, eat lunch, and make reservations before most of the crowd arrives.
The process was so quick that we were on the ship just minutes after 11:00 am. We dropped our bags off with the porters as we walked into the terminal and followed the maze of signs to various locations to present paperwork.
Despite the insistence by many online that you need printed copies of documents, you don’t. A digital set sail pass is happily accepted. The one document we were never asked to show at the port was the ArriveCan QR, though we did fill it out the day before embarkation.
Upon boarding the ship, we went straight for the Windjammer for lunch.
TIP: head out to the back of the Windjammer with your food for a fabulous open-air view.
Rooms were ready at 1:30 pm, and many bags were already lining the hallway. One anomaly on this cruise was that the bags were not delivered to their rooms; they were placed randomly in the hall. We found all three of our bags about ten rooms down the hall. On the positive side, we had all three bags before 2:00 pm!
Initial Impression
We booked about two months before our sail date and opted for a guaranteed balcony. Until this cruise, I had always chosen my room beforehand, so this was a completely new experience. We ended up with the first balcony on deck 8, room 8508.
We picked the late, 7:45 pm main dining time for our dining option. The early time is far too early, and I’ve never been a fan of the chaotic nature of MyTime dining. However, it turned out that we would be experiencing chaos as we were unexpectedly swapped to MyTime dining at the last minute.
My husband also pre-purchased the Surf & Stream WiFi package for two devices. It was super easy to connect to the WiFi as soon as we were on board.
We did not book any excursions through Royal Caribbean for this cruise and opted to self-tour the three ports of call.
Cabin
The room is pretty standard for Royal Caribbean. 179 sqft with twin beds that can convert to a king, plus a single pull-out couch.
The rooms are starting to feel dated with their style and colors, and there needs to be more outlets for all the devices we carry these days.
Our balcony wasn’t a “full” balcony, but I didn’t mind as I didn’t feel my view was obstructed enough to care. It was also lovely only having one balcony neighbor.
Dining
Specialty Restaurants
As Serenade is a smaller ship, there are only three specialty dining options offered: Chops Grill, Giovanni’s Table, and Izumi. The specialty dining was pushed heavily on embarkation Day, and I found that there were available reservations throughout the cruise whenever I checked.
We didn’t partake in specialty dining on this cruise, but we recently visited Izumi on Navigator of the Seas and enjoyed ourselves. It was an improvement over the Izumi I had a decade ago. There is a good variety of food choices, and the quality is good overall.
Main Dining Room
I’m intimately familiar with the main dining room. I love going every night, and I love dressing up. The set times for this cruise were 5:30 pm and 7:45 pm. As mentioned above, we selected the late dining time, but somewhere between two days before our cruise and Embarkation Day, we were swapped to MyTime and only knew once we received our room cards.
My Time Dining
We made the best of the situation by immediately setting up reservations for 6:45 pm all seven nights and requesting the same wait staff after we found two that we liked. Formal nights seemed to be extra chaotic; there was always double the number of people waiting at our reservation time compared to all other nights, which resulted in us arriving 20 minutes earlier than our reservation time every subsequent night.
Overall, I did not enjoy My Time dining. It works out great for many families, and I fully understand the appeal, but it is personally not the way I like to enjoy my dinner on the ship. I want the certainty of the same table each night with the same wait staff. We did our best to make the situation work for us, but it’s not something I’d choose to do again.
Food
The food was good. Not great or horrible, but okay. There are always a few stand-out items and a few that fall flat. There are nights when it’s difficult to choose an entrée as nothing is particularly exciting, and the waitstaff noted this. Avoid the beef stroganoff; you’ll thank me later.
Food in the main dining room has decreased in quality over time, and I’m sure this has to do with the push for specialty restaurants that make more money.
Dining Staff
The staff was overall fantastic. Every request for MyTime dining was accommodated, even to the point that our favorite waitstaff served us at a table that wasn’t in their section.
The wait staff we requested to sit with every night were fantastic. They were funny and enjoyable to talk to and were completely on top of quickly getting us anything we wanted. After a few cruises with mediocre dining service, it was a breath of fresh air.
Bars and Cafes
I cannot speak for the quality of drinks or service as we didn’t interact much with the bars or cafes. There was a variety of them all over the ship, and they were often busy but not overwhelmed.
WiFi
The older the ship, the worse the WiFi. This will be the unfortunate reality until Starlink is installed on more ships. It was passable WiFi, and we could browse the Internet and social media, but no streaming was occurring. Offering two different speed options feels disingenuous when the “stream” option struggles with the most basic internet actions. We could hardly check in for our flight; good luck streaming.
Unfortunately, despite the poor quality, I’d still purchase the internet, so I guess Royal Caribbean wins there, no matter what.
Excursions
As mentioned, we didn’t book any excursions through Royal Caribbean for this sailing. Being all US ports, I felt comfortable dealing with excursions myself in each location. This is often the cheaper route if it’s an option for your sailing.
Sitka
In Sitka, we took the free shuttle from the port to town and visited all of the historical sites in town. We also walked to the Sitka National Historical Park to see the totem poles. We initially considered visiting the Raptor Center as well but opted to head back into town for lunch. Many of these destinations were offered through the cruise but are just as easy to facilitate on your own.
I enjoyed Sitka, and I’m glad it has been added to more itineraries!
Juneau
Unfortunately, Juneau was a bit of a bust with heavy rain and fog. The main draw in Juneau is the Mendenhall Glacier, which is easy to get to and completely worth it when the weather cooperates.
Juneau is always a good stop with plenty to do and see! Many popular excursions can be booked in the port as soon as you leave the ship.
Looking for something to do in Juneau, Alaska?
Check out: 5 Things to Do in Juneau, Alaska
Haines
Haines is a cute little town, but there isn’t too much to do without an excursion or pre-planning. You can visit the small town or take a hike. I suggest an excursion if you are visiting Haines.
We opted to hike the Battery Point Trail, an easy hike through a beautiful rainforest with several incredible viewpoints. I highly recommend this hike if you aren’t participating in a scheduled excursion.
Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier
This was an Alaska glacier cruise, and we unfortunately only saw one glacier very briefly. We sailed into Endicott Arm late and left almost immediately. The glacier was beautiful, but the overall experience was a bit disappointing. There was little to no communication from the captain about what was happening.
The experience was a stark contrast to previous cruises where we would spend some time at the glaciers.
Entertainment & Activities
I believe the cruise lines are still struggling after shutting down to staff their ships adequately. This can be seen most when it comes to activities and entertainment. It often felt like there was very little to do during at-sea days that weren’t self-facilitated.
There was a variety of trivia, but it tended to take place in the evening, right before or during dinner, which was not the best timing.
Theater
Some Main Theater shows were offered that involved a ventriloquist and the Royal Caribbean singers and dancers, but none of them seemed very interesting to us, so we skipped them.
On-Board Movies
On the flip side, movies were often shown during the day in the theater and onboard cinema, which were highly popular. This starkly contrasts my previous trips on Serenade, where the Cinema was typically empty. We visited the Cinema once to watch Uncharted, arriving early to an almost full theater.
Serenade does not have on-deck movies like many newer ships. However, given that this is an Alaska cruise, the temperatures are not ideal for on-deck movies after dark.
Live Music
There was a variety of live music in the different venues throughout the ship, with the most popular being the centrum in the evening. Each evening the ship band would play for a few hours, and you could watch and listen from any floor with a view of the centrum. We spent a few nights here listening to the band and watching people dance. It was enjoyable entertainment on the rockier sea nights.
Other Activities
As is standard on most cruises, there is a heavy focus on bingo, spa seminars, and art activities. I’m not interested in these activities; they are often designed to draw you in and upsell you. However, if you want complimentary champagne, check out the art auction!
The mini golf and sports court areas were surprisingly quiet when we visited. The mini golf course is starting to feel dated and needs some maintenance. It’s still a fun time, though!
The hot tubs were utterly packed the entire cruise, another anomaly compared to my previous Alaska cruises. Serenade only has three hot tubs; two are all ages, and the third is 16+ in the adult Solarium. All of them were busy and often full of kids.
Disembarkation Day
We chose to “self-assist” for disembarkation due to an early flight, meaning we kept our bags overnight and brought them off with us. We ate an early breakfast at the Windjammer and were off the ship 15 minutes before our scheduled departure time.
The process after leaving the ship was rapid; we once again spent more time walking through the terminal than clearing customs. We were out quickly and on our way to the airport!
Overall Impressions
Overall, this Alaska cruise on Serenade of the Seas was not perfect, and we spent a lot of time in our cabin, but we still had an enjoyable time during this cruise. While the ship is starting to feel dated, and the lack of activity choices was unfortunate, I can’t complain about the overall experience. We had a relaxing trip with no major hiccups, and all the cruise staff was welcoming, friendly, and attentive. The food was plentiful and, for the most part, delicious. We saw a ton of wildlife and beautiful scenery.
Cruising to Alaska in August has its downfalls due to the rainy season, but this isn’t something you can change by booking a different cruise. Royal Caribbean offers a great Alaska cruise experience, and I’m sure it will improve as they increase staffing and update their older ships.
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