Serenade Of The Seas

The 2003-built Serenade of the Seas cruise ship is the 3rd Radiance-class Royal Caribbean Royal Caribbean liner, with sisterships Jewel OTS, Radiance OTS, Brilliance OTS.

The vessel (IMO number 9228344) is currently Bahamas-flagged (MMSI 311492000) and registered in Nassau.

History - construction and ownership

Royal Caribbean International (RCI) is a USA passenger shipping company, trademarked travel brand, and subsidiary owned by Royal Caribbean Group (RCG/shipowner). RCI was established in 1968 and currently has over 1/5 of the worldwide cruise market. RCI also has RCG's largest fleet by both vessel number and GT tonnage (ship sizes and capacities).

All RCI liners have names ending with "of the Seas".

The 2500-passenger ship Serenade OTS fits just within Panama Canal's Panamax measurements. That also means that all Radiance-class boats can access pretty much any region of the world. These mid-sized ships offer plenty of options, from dining to entertainment, and have ~3 acres / 1,2 hectares of exterior glass, including glass-walled elevators with ocean views.

Decks and Cabins

Serenade Of The Seas staterooms (1074 total, in 32 grades) include 61 Suites, 517 Balcony, 247 Oceanviews, 249 Inside (3 Single). Most cabins are sized 165-190 ft2 (15-18 m2). Most cabin balconies are sized 45 ft2 (4 m2). The smallest is Studio Interior (110 ft2 / 10 m2). The largest is Royal Suite (1000 ft2 / 93 m2 plus 105 ft2 / 10 m2 terrace). Wheelchair-accessible cabins are 19.

The boat has 13 decks, of which 12 are passenger-accessible and 8 with cabins.

Shipboard dining options - Food and Drinks

Reflections is the ship's 2-deck-high formal dining room. The focal point of its decor is the cascading waterfall. For dinner, guests can choose between assigned early or late dining, or opt for My Time Dining, in which you pick anytime between 6 and 9:30 pm. Those passengers who opt for My Time Dining have to pre-pay gratuities. The Reflections restaurant operates under an open seating policy for breakfast and lunch. Food is delicious and offers a pretty good variety, including alternate menu items for guests on restricted diets.

Windjammer Cafe is the main buffet venue. It is open for breakfast, lunch, afternoon snacks and informal dinner. Numerous stations serve up pasta, burgers, salads and sweets. Portofino and Chops Grille are ship's alternative restaurants.

Chops is a steakhouse venue with an open kitchen. Enjoyable as Chops is, the real highlight of the onboard dining is Portofino with favorites including tiger shrimp risotto and spaghetti with lobster sauce. Both Chops Grille and Portofino levy a per-person service fee ($30 in Chops and $20 in Portofino).

Follows the complete list of Serenade of the Seas restaurants and food bars.

• Reflections Restaurant (1096-seat aft Dining Room, with two smaller private dining rooms: 30-seat Mirage and 102-seat Illusions)
• Windjammer Cafe Lido buffet restaurant (638-seat, offers Early Breakfast at 6:30 am, Breakfast between 7-11:30 am, Lunch 11:30-3:30 pm, and Dinner 6.30-9 pm)
• Chops Grille (95-seat specialty restaurant; reservations recommended)
• Giovanni's Table (Italian specialty restaurant; reservations recommended)
• Chefs Table (12-seat gourmet dining room)
• Park Cafe (deli restaurant; complimentary - serves the Solarium area)
• Izumi (Asian specialty restaurant)
• Rita's Cantina (84-seat Mexican specialty restaurant).

Shipboard entertainment options - Fun and Sport

There is no shortage of entertainment onboard Serenade of the Seas. Cultural and educational courses like digital photography and wine-tasting seminars are offered, along with horse races, blackjack tournaments, elaborate production shows in the Tropical Theater, and informal dancing in the atrium lobby.

Those looking for more excitement have to visit the Vortex Disco on deck 13 (featuring a spinning bar), the spot for singles to congregate. The DJ plays everything from Top 40 rap hits to the Village People till late each evening.

Additional amenities include Complimentary 24-hour Room-Service, Supervised Youth program, Internet/WiFi Access, Laundry.

Follows the complete list of Serenade of the Seas lounges, clubs and other entertainment venues for kids, teens and adults.

• Tropical Theatre (915-seat, features grand production shows with dance, acrobatics, comedy and games)
• Vortex Disco and Nightclub (126-seat; revolving bar)
• Photo Gallery and Shop; Art Gallery
• The Centrum (social hub, offers aerial acrobatics entertainment); Card Room; Next Cruise Lounge; Safari Lounge (320-seat, hosts religious services and auctions); Crown Lounge (fka Diamond Club Lounge & Bar for past guests only); Concierge Club (suite and past guests only); Viking Crown Lounge and Nightclub
• R Bar (59-seat cocktail bar); Cafe Latte-tudes Bar (46-seat specialty coffee bar, Starbucks Coffee); Crown and Castle English Pub (sports bar); Vintages Bar (wine bar); Schooner Bar (74-seat piano bar); Sky Bar
• Centrum Boutiques (duty-free; clothes, perfumes, accessories, jewelry, logo souvenirs, General Store/alcohol and cigarettes)
• Casino Royale (258-seat)
• Royal Caribbean Online Center (Internet computers room; 24-hour)
• Vitality at Sea Spa and Fitness Center; 3 Jacuzzies; 2 pools
• Solarium lounge (includes Cafe Bar, pool bar and adults-only pool area)
• Outdoor movie screen; Cinema (53-seat)
• Video Games Arcade; Fuel Teen Disco club; Royal Babies and Tots Nursery
• Adventure Beach; Adventure Ocean kids lounge area
• Sports Court (golf simulator, table tennis, basketball court); Jogging Track; Rock-climbing Wall; Fairways of Serenade Mini-Golf Course.

Itineraries

Serenade of the Seas itinerary program groups voyages in the Caribbean and in Northern Europe (Baltic Sea ports in Scandinavia and Russia), with Transatlantic repositioning crossings between Europe and Florida USA. In summer 2025, Serenade OTS is deployed in Alaska with homeporting in Vancouver (BC Canada).

For winter 2025-2026 season (October-April), Serenade OTS is deployed in the Southern Caribbean, to operate 7-night itineraries leaving from homeports Cartagena Colombia and Colon Panama. The voyages were opened for booking on July 31, 2024.

Following the Coronavirus crisis, in 2021 Serenade OTS restarted services on July 19th, with an Alaskan roundtrip from Seattle WA. The 7-day Alaska Glacier itinerary included as destinations/call ports Sitka, Icy Strait Point, Juneau, Ketchikan, as well as Tracy Arm Fjord (Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier). Serenade became the industry's first ship to resume operations in Alaska and RCI's second ship to restart services in the USA (after Freedom OTS from PortMiami /July 2nd).

After the Alaskan season, for Serenade OTS was planned an Australia-New Zealand deployment (2021-2022 winter/October-March, with homeporting in Sydney NSW), followed by Alaska 2022 (from Vancouver BC) and Bahamas-Western Caribbean from Tampa FL (2022-2023). However, the Australian program was canceled and replaced with the Caribbean (4-5-day roundtrips from Tampa) to Mexico (Cozumel, Costa Maya) and Bahamas (Nassau, CocoCay).

In October 2021, RCI announced the company's first World Cruise (2023 December - 2024 September), which became also Royal Caribbean's longest itinerary and one of the world's longest around-the-world voyages (274-night). Read more in the ship's Wiki section.

Serenade OTS is one of Royal Caribbean's Radiance-class liners, with sisterships Brilliance, Jewel, Radiance.

Serenade was built at Meyer Werft's Papenburg Shipyard. The vessel's godmother was the always charmingly smiling Whoopi Goldberg (US actress, Oscar winner). The naming ceremony was held in NYC on August 22, 2003. The inaugural voyage started on August 25th. The maiden season (2003) was based on 5-6-night roundtrips from New York to Canada and New England USA, then (in November) the ship was deployed in the Caribbean and homeported in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

All Radiance-Class ships were constructed in compliance with Panamax standards allowing marine vessels to transit through Panama Canal. Serenade, along with all her sisters, has gas turbines instead of diesel engines. This makes them more fuel efficient, also reducing the emissions of harmful gases.

Comic-Con Cruise 2025

Serenade OTS is RCI's first ship to host a Comic-Con - the annual event (by San Diego Comic-Con International (1970-inaugurated as "Golden State Comic Book Convention").

The special voyage (February 5-9, 2025, roundtrip from Tampa Florida) is a full-ship charter by Entertainment Cruise Productions (Clayton Missouri-based company) specializing in themed voyages.

The industry's first Comic-Con cruise ship experience will feature various small group events (including Q&A sessions, trivia, fun contests), video gaming competitions, parties (dancing, karaoke, cosplay/costume play, DJs).

When the announcement was made (in July 2023) prices (per person) varied between US$990 (interior cabin) and US$5620 (Royal Suite) with double occupancy, while single occupancy was US$1240 (interior).

World Cruise 2023-2024 (RCI's first around-the-world voyage)

In October 2021, RCI announced the company's first World Cruise, which is also Royal Caribbean's longest itinerary as well as one of the world's longest around-the-world voyages.

The 274-night itinerary (themed "Ultimate World Cruise"/December 10, 2023, through September 10, 2024) scheduled for Serenade OTS is roundtrip from Miami and visits 150 ports and islands (57 new for RCI) in 65 countries (7 continents).

Prices started at US$60,000 per person (double occupancy) inclusive of Business Class flights, Pre-Cruise Hotel (5-star/overnight), Premium Transportation (transfers airport-hotel-ship), onboard gratuities. Loyalty program's Platinum and above members received as bonus perks a Shore Excursion Package (7x guided land tours), Deluxe Beverage Package, free Wi-Fi Internet (VOOM Surf & Stream), free laundry (Wash & Fold services).

The next table shows the original itinerary, with some of its ports later substituted due to the Red Sea crisis (Houthi attacks on marine vessels).

Shorter itineraries/world cruise segments included:

• 64-day (Dec 10 - Feb 11) "Round the Horn: Americas and Antarctica Expedition" itinerary visits 36 ports/islands, 3 continents, and destinations in the Caribbean, Central and South America, Cape Horn, Antarctica, Rio de Janeiro (New Year's Eve overnight), Los Angeles (overnight).
• 87-day (Feb 11 - May 9) "Wonders of Asia and the Pacific Expedition" itinerary visits 40 ports/islands, 3 continents, and destinations in North America (Hawaii), Oceania (French Polynesia), New Zealand, Australia, Asia (Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, India, Japan).
• 63-day (May 9 - July 10) "Middle East Treasures and Marvels of the Med Expedition" itinerary visits 44 ports, 3 continents, and destinations in Arabia (Dubai, Jordan), Africa (Egypt), Mediterranean (Turkey, Greece, Italy, France, Spain), Adriatic (Croatia).
• 63-day (July 10 - Sept 10) "Capitals of Culture" itinerary visits 40 ports, 3 continents and destinations in the Mediterranean (Spain, Morocco), Baltic (Russia/St Petersburg, Norway), with the Transatlantic crossing from Europe to the USA (via Iceland and NYC New York) ending in PortMiami.

The Balcony stateroom cost USD 75,000 ($136 pp per day), the 4-passenger Royal Suite cost USD 760,000. ~70% of the ship was booked within the first week. Full-paid early bookings (made by January 6, 2023) receive a 10% discount. Additional costs include taxes-fees-port charges (USD 4667 USD pp).

The above-listed itinerary segments were open for booking on Feb 10, 2022. In April 2023 were open for booking more segments:

• 26-day (Dec 10, 2023 - Jan 5, 2024) "Ultimate Caribbean and South America" itinerary (Miami to Buenos Aires) visits CocoCay Bahamas, Cozumel Mexico, Oranjestad Aruba, Willemstad Curacao, Kralendijk Bonaire, Bridgetown Barbados, St George Grenada, Cayenne (Devil Island French Guiana), Brazil (Fortaleza, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Copacabana) and Montevideo Uruguay.
• 18-day (Jan 5-23) "Ultimate South America and Antarctica" itinerary (Buenos Aires to Valparaiso-Santiago) visits Puerto Madryn Argentina, Port Stanley Falklands, Antarctica (Gerlache Strait, Paradise Bay, Schollaert Channel, Elephant Island), Cape Horn Chile, Ushuaia Argentina, Punta Arenas Chile, Magellan Straits, Chilean Fjords.
• 19-day (Jan 23 - Feb 11) "Ultimate Central and South America" itinerary (Valparaiso-Santiago to Los Angeles) visits ports in Chile (Coquimbo-La Serena, Arica), Peru (Pisco-Machu Picchu, Callao-Lima), Ecuador (Manta), Costa Rica (Puntarenas), Nicaragua (San Juan del Sur) and Mexico (Cabo San Lucas, Ensenada).
• 29-day (Feb 11 - Mar 11) "Ultimate Hawaii, Tahiti and Australia" itinerary (Los Angeles to Brisbane) visits ports in Hawaii USA (Maui-Lahaina), Hawaii-Kailua Kona, Oahu-Honolulu), French Polynesia (Moorea, Papeete Tahiti), New Zealand (Auckland, Russel-Bay of Islands) and NSW Australia (Sydney, Newcastle).
• 16-day (Mar 11-27) "Ultimate Australia and Southeast Asia" itinerary (Brisbane to Hong Kong China) visits ports in Queensland Australia (Airlie Beach, Cairns), Indonesia (Lombok, Benoa) and The Philippines (Manila, Subic Bay-Luzon).
• 12-day (Mar 27 - Apr 8) "Ultimate China, Japan and South Korea" itinerary (Hong Kong to Tianjin-Beijing China) visits ports in Taiwan China (Keelung-Taipei), Japan (Ishigaki, Naha) and South Korea (Busan, Jeju Island, Incheon-Seoul).
• 16-day (Apr 8-24) "Ultimate Japan, Vietnam and Singapore" itinerary (Beijing to Singapore) visits ports in Japan (Nagasaki, Kagoshima, Yokohama-Tokyo, Shimizu, Osaka-Kyoto) and Vietnam (Nha Trang, Phu My-Saigon).
• 15-day (Apr 24 - May 9) "Ultimate India, Sri Lanka and Malaysia" itinerary (Singapore to Dubai) visits ports in Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur (Port Klang-Kuala Lumpur, Penang), Sri Lanka (Hambantota, Colombo), India (Cochin, Mormugao-Goa, Mumbai) and UAE (Abu Dhabi).
• 18-day (May 9-27) "Ultimate Jordan, Egypt and Israel" itinerary (Dubai to Piraeus-Athens Greece) visits Salalah Oman, Aqaba-Petra Jordan, Safaga Egypt, Suez Canal (transit), Alexandria Egypt, Ashdod-Jerusalem Israel, Limassol Cyprus Greece.
• 11-day (May 27 - Jun 7) "Ultimate Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey" Black Sea itinerary (Piraeus-Athens to Istanbul) visits Kusadasi-Ephesus Turkey, Burgas Bulgaria, Constanta Romania, Varna Bulgaria, Trabzon Turkey
• 13-day (Jun 7-20) "Ultimate Greece, Turkey and Italy" itinerary (Istanbul to Ravenna-Venice) visits ports in Greece (Thessaloniki, Chios Island), Turkey (Bodrum), Greece (Rhodes Island, Mykonos Island, Santorini Island, Chania-Souda, Crete Island, Katakolon-Olympia, Corfu Island) and Italy (Bari).
• 11-day (Jun 20 - Jul 1) "Ultimate Italy, Croatia and Malta" Adriatic Sea itinerary (Ravenna-Venice and Civitavecchia-Rome) visits Trieste Italy, Koper Slovenia, Croatia (Zadar, Split, Dubrovnik), Kotor Montenegro, Valletta Malta, Italy (Catania Sicily, Naples).
• 9-day (Jul 1-10) "Ultimate Italy, France and Spain" itinerary (Civitavecchia-Rome to Barcelona) visits ports in Italy (Carrara-Florence/Pisa, Portofino), France (Ajaccio Corsica, Cannes, Villefranche-Nice, Toulon) and Balearic Spain (Palma de Mallorca).
• 16-day (Jul 10-26) "Ultimate Spain, Morocco and France" itinerary (Barcelona to Southampton England UK) visits ports in Spain (Valencia, Cartagena, Malaga), Morocco (Casablanca-Marrakesh, Agadir), Portugal (Lisbon, Leixoes-Oporto), Spain (Vigo), Ireland (Cobh-Cork), France (Cherbourg, Le Havre-Paris).
• 15-day (Jul 26 - Aug 10) "Ultimate Denmark, Germany and Sweden" Baltic Sea itinerary (Southampton to Copenhagen Denmark) visits Xeebruge-Bruges/Brussels Belgium, Skagen Denmark, Warnemunde-Berlin Germany, Riga Latvia, Tallinn Estonia, Helsinki Finland, Sweden (Stockholm, Visby), Klaipeda Lithuania, Ronne Denmark, Kiel Germany.
• 9-day (Aug 10-19) "Ultimate Norwegian Fjords" itinerary (Copenhagen to Amsterdam Holland) visits Aarhus Denmark and ports in Norway (Oslo, Kristiansand, Haugesund, Olden, Alesund, Bergen).
• 22-day (Aug 19 - Sep 10) "Ultimate Iceland, Greenland and Caribbean" Transatlantic itinerary (Amsterdam to Miami) visits Reykjavik Iceland, Greenland (Qaqortoq, Nuuk), St Johns Newfoundland Canada, NYC New York, King's Wharf Bermuda, CocoCay Bahamas.

Ultimate World Cruise itinerary change (2024)

In February 2024, RCI allowed the Ultimate World Cruise passengers (including those booked on the affected segments) to vote on the itinerary changes necessitated by the Red Sea crisis.

The company offered two route change options - "Immersive Africa" and "Africa & Greece", with the same length (43 nights, between May 9th and June 20th, 2024).

"Immersive Africa" itinerary (option 1)

• (May 9) Dubai (UAE)
• (May 10-13) at sea
• (May 14) Victoria (Mahe Island, Seychelles)
• (May 15) La Digue Island (Seychelles)
• (May 16) at sea
• (May 17: Antsiranana/Diego Suarez (Madagascar)
• (May 18) at sea
• (May 19: Port Louis (Mauritius)
• (May 20) Pointe Des Galets Cape (Reunion Island)
• (May 21-23) at sea
• (May 24) Port Elizabeth (South Africa)
• (May 25) Mossel Bay (South Africa)
• (May 26-27) Cape Town (South Africa)
• (May 28) at sea
• (May 29) Luderitz (Namibia)
• (May 30) Walvis Bay (Namibia)
• (May 31-June 1) at sea
• (June 2) Luanda (Angola)
• (June 3-4) at sea
• (June 5) Takoradi (Ghana)
• (June 6) Abidjan (Ivory Coast)
• (June 7-8) at sea
• (June 9) Dakar (Senegal)
• (June 10-11) at sea
• (June 12: Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Canary Islands Spain)
• (June 13) at sea
• (June 14) Gibraltar UK
• (June 14-16) at sea
• (June 17) Corfu Island Greece
• (June 18) Bari (Italy)
• (June 19-20/overnight) Ravenna/Venice (Italy)

"Africa & Greece" itinerary (option 2)

• (May 9) Dubai
• (May 10-13) at sea
• (May 14) Victoria/Mahe Seychelles)
• (May 15-20) at sea
• (May 21-22/overnight) Cape Town
• (May 23-31) at sea
• (June 1) Tenerife Canaries
• (June 2-6) at sea
• (June 7) Istanbul (Turkey)
• (June 8) at sea
• (June 9-10/overnight) Alexandria-Cairo (Egypt)
• (June 11) at sea
• (June 12) Piraeus-Athens (Greece)
• (June 13) Mykonos Island Greece
• (June 14) Santorini Island Greece
• (June 15) Chania-Souda (Crete Island Greece)
• (June 16) Katakolon-Olympia (Greece)
• (June 17) Corfu
• (June 18: Bari
• (June 19-20/overnight) Ravenna-Venice

Most passengers voted for Option 1. All guests received a 25% pro-rated refund (of the segment's fare) in a refundable OBC/onboard credit.

Serenade OTS refurbishments review

The list of deckplan changes after drydock refurbishment 2012 included:

• upgraded cabin amenities (flat TVs, bathrooms with shower floors)
• Jumbotron (huge poolside LED screen for movies / located close to the main pool on Lido Deck)
• new lounges ("Diamond" and "Concierge")
• new gourmet dining options at an additional charge (Giovanni's Table/Italian Trattoria, Izumi/Asian, Rita's Cantina/Mexican, Chef's Table/5-course VIP dining)
• Nursery
• upgraded Centrum Atrium entertainment options (acrobatic shows, LED screens)
• R Bar (retro 1960s-themed, replacing the old Lobby Bar), Vintages Bar (wine), an English pub
• Wi-Fi coverage was upgraded to shipwide.
• Digital signage boards were installed.

The last drydock (in 2022) included mainly routine maintenance works (hull cleaning and painting, mechanical/machinery inspections and upgrades), outdoor spaces renovations (sundeck, swimming pools), recarpeting of all indoor public areas (hallways, bars, lounges).