My husband and I cruised on Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas on 07Apr2018. The Serenade is part of the Radiance class of ships.   Our 11-night cruise included port visits to Antigua, St. Lucia, Barbados, Curacao and Aruba.

Serenade of the Seas - launched: June 20, 2003

Length: 293m  Guest Capacity: 2,490    Ship Crew: 891

After a couple of nights pre-cruise in Fort Lauderdale, we’re off to board the Serenade of the Seas to start our 11-night adventure. We arrived on board around lunch time which gave us lots of time to explore the ship and unpack our bags before the Sail Away Celebration.

Some of the activities on board include swimming, exercising, cinema, bingo, casino, spa, cooking classes, wine tasting, dancing, card games, trivia, etc. I could go on and on as there was something to offer for everyone.

Today was the first of 5 sea days. After breakfast, we did some walking on the outdoor track. There were lots of activities around the ship but after leaving snow back home, we were happy to relax by the pool. Tonight was our first formal night, with opportunities to get your picture taken with the Captain. After supper, we attended the headliner show where we watched an Elton John tribute show. We finished off the night with some dancing at the Vortex Night Club.

Our second sea day consisted of another walk on the track and relaxing day by the pool.   Tonight’s headliner show was RCL’s own production that featured songs by favorite artists from the 60’s to 90’s.

Our arrival into St. John’s was 8:00am. We started off our day with a tour of Sandals Grande Antigua, where we then spent most of the day enjoying the resort. We were lucky enough to sample the food, beach and services before heading back to our ship at 3:00PM. All Onboard time was 4:30PM.

We arrived in Castries, St. Lucia at 8:00am. Our 4 hour Coastal Cruise to the Pitons excursion left at 8:30am. We boarded a catamaran for a scenic cruise to the Pitons, the iconic volcanic peaks located in St. Lucia. We even had a swim stop at one of the bays. The scenery and views are spectacular. All Onboard time was 4:30PM.

We arrived in Bridgetown around 8:00am. After a short walk outside of the gates, our driver was there to meet us and take us to our catamaran cruise with Tiami Catamaran Cruises. We got to snorkel at a couple of different spots and swim with the turtles. The tour also included a delicious buffet lunch with lots of cold drinks. Barbados is beautiful and is definitely a place I would like to return. All Onboard time was 4:30PM.

After a busy 3 days at port, we welcomed this sea day to relax around the pool. We had supper at Chops Grille, one of Royal Caribbean’s Speciality Restaurants. This is one of my favorite restaurants to dine at on Royal Caribbean.

We arrived in Willemstad at 7:00am and didn’t have to be back onboard until 9:30PM. This allowed us to sign up for a Trolley Tour where we got to enjoy a commentated ride taking in key sights and landmarks. After we finished the tour, we walked back to the ship, where we had lunch. We put our swimsuits on and headed to Mambo Beach where we spent a few hours. We returned back to the ship to get changed and walked back into town where we did a little shopping and dined at a local restaurant. We tasted some of the best ribs in town. As we didn’t have to be onboard until 9:30pm, we got to see the town lit up at night. This was a great port to visit as we got to see and experience a little bit of everything in Curacao.

Our arrival into Oranjestad was 7:00am. Our Aruba Island Sightseeing and Beach Adventure excursion gave us an overview of the island. We went to visit the California Lighthouse and some geological landmarks. Our last stop was at Eagle Beach, where we got to relax on the white beach with the beautiful turquois water. We decided to extend our stay at the beach and took a cab back to the port later on to walk around. After some walking around, we stopped at a local restaurant for some snacks. Aruba is another beautiful port I would like to return to.

After a busy couple of days at port, we relaxed around the pool. Tonight is the second and last formal night. After watching the headliner show, we headed back into the Crown & Castle Pub, where we finished off our evening listening to some great guitar and singing entertainment.

Today we took some time to pack and then off to enjoy our last day at the pool. We took some time to visit the onboard shops and enjoy some speciality coffees. We attended the headliner show and finished off the night at the Crown & Castle Pub.