Serenade of the Seas Review
Amazing Port of Calls with a Packed Itinerary
Rating by category
Additional details
My wife and I booked this cruise with our 9yr old twins and her parents. We had booked this particular cruise because of the itinerary, as we had always wanted to see Russia, and figured this was the most cost effective and easiest way.
With all the other ships coming out of late, we had wanted and hoped that one of the bigger ships would of been offered. Overall because of the destinations and that we only really had one day at sea, we were preoccupied with the shore excursions to the point where the ship didn't really matter. It would of been nice to have the extra amenities that the new ships have, but with only one day at see and packed shore excursions, it was ok.
The cabin was great, standard interior on the 3rd deck, with 2 pullman beds that come down. We put our suitcases under the bed (tip from another Cruisecritic post!) and had enough room for 4. Others have said that it is way too small, but we had 9yr old twins and us in the room, and we felt it fine. You could always use more room, but we were honestly only in the room to sleep (the old Vegas line!) so we didn't need more room nor would of wanted to pay for a bit larger room.
Cabin Review
Interior Stateroom
Clean and comfy. Standard inside state room with two pullan beds. I find it OK for a family of 4 (2 adults and 9 year old twins) as we don't really spend time in the room, and the time we did, you easily make do. A standard hotel room doesn't give you much more anyways. We find the value worth it and rather spend the money on excursions than upgrade the cabin for a small amount of room.
Perhaps on an Alaskan cruise or Mediterranean cruise where you may use a balcony given the sites it would be worth it, but for this European cruise, you don't see much as you cruise around the Baltic, and not worth it.
Port Reviews
Stockholm
Stockholm is an amazing city. The people are very friendly, and given its international nature, you get a lot of English spoken all over as you have travelers from everywhere, so it makes it easy to navigate. Transit is great, and easy to use and gets you to every location you would want to go to. We arrived 4 days earlier and stayed to explore the city, and took in all the standard sites as well as just had time to walk around and explore. Gamla Stan, the old city, is easily walkable and you can see the entire place just by walking, including the Royal Palace. Lots of restaurants and food options are available, so it should satisfy any palette and price point.
Tallinn
Tallinn is a must see city. You feel like you are in medieval times, and it is hard to even describe. It is a beautiful small city with friendly people and a definite place to see. When we were there they even had a medieval fair going on with everyone in town dressed in time period clothing.
Riga
A mix of old world and new. You get the medieval nature of the old town, but then it is a very modern place. It really blew us away how you had the two contrasting time periods in the same city, and it just seemed to mesh together effortlessly. This is a city you could spend a lot of time in and enjoying the outdoor bars, cafes, markets, etc... an awesome city that we had no clue about!