Serenade of the Seas Review
Northen Europe and the Baltic - Outstanding!
Rating by category
Additional details
We were organizing a three generation girl's tour, with my mother (87 and spry), daughter (35 and an experienced traveller) and myself (64, small mobility issue). Our plan was to stop over for 3 days in Iceland, and then visit family in Denmark, and we decided that this cruise would give us an opportunity to extend our trip and get a brief overview of other countries we had only experienced through the news and history books.
The planning went extremely well. We had a day in Stockholm before embarking, and used a HOHO bus to get a look at the city. The airport was quite a distance from the city and from the port, so allow time to get to your destination.
The ship, Serenade of the Seas, was huge! It is quite new, and has deservedly won an award for the best crew team at least twice. We were impressed with the crew who proudly represent 65 nationalities, and that there were 53 nationalities in the guest makeup. It was like a little world within the ship - only a friendly, accommodating world with people getting along. Also the efficiency of loading the equivalent a of small town onto a ship in 3 hours and getting them all happily established in their quarters was wonderful to see.
Cabin Review
Large Ocean View Stateroom
We had a twin room with a porthole, 3rd level, and a single room without a porthole 4th level. I recommend getting a porthole for summer cruising in the Baltic, with all the daylight, and for checking the scenery first thing in the morning. The twin room had a tiny couch too, so it was more relaxing than the windowless single room. Both rooms were spotless with excellent room attendants.
Tip! Level 4 is the same level as the Centrum Bar and the Guest Services and the Reflections Dining Room. This was a very convenient level, especially for an older passenger.
Port Reviews
Stockholm
We had a day in Stockholm before embarking. We thoroughly enjoyed it and used a HOHO bus to get an overview of the city before walking around the area near our hostel, the Stockholm Generator Hostel. (good price for a clean room)
Helsinki
We used the HOHO bus here to tour Helsinki and get a feel for the city. We visited a couple of really interesting places and poked around a little.
Tallinn
One of the highlights of the tours was this city. The UNESCO World Heritage Site status granted to the walled inner city is truly deserved. I am amazed it all survived the wars and destruction of the last century and this one too. Easy to walk around, and great maps to help you identify where you are.