On this day last December, we made the transition from the Intercontinental Hotel in Miami to our new home for the next 9 months – the Serenade of the Seas.
This ship holds 2500 passengers so it is definitely not one of the massive cruise ships you might think of. I don’t think we really understood on that day that the number of passengers committing to the full 9-month World Cruise would only be less than 700. Royal Caribbean, when the 9-month opportunity did not sell out, segmented the itinerary into 18 smaller cruises and marketed these to the public (most unaware that they would be joining a World Cruise already in progress). Our thoughts on that would not be clear until later in the cruise.
There were some glitches that day…. some delays in embarkation due to system issues were made bearable while we continued to meet interesting new people along the way. When we arrived in our room, all of our luggage had made it (although one of our fairly new large suitcases no longer had one of its bottom corners or the wheel that was attached to it).
I think we packed fairly conservatively with only 6 checked bags, 2 carry-ons and 2 backpacks (personal items). I can say that now because we got a better sense in September 2024 at disembarkation — now I understand the limitless wardrobes many had during the cruise. We just don’t travel that way — or live that way — anymore. Simplicity and travelling light are much more important to us these days. We did stockpile medications, products we were unsure we could find throughout the world and could not live without. The rest was just overpacking…. And we felt we still brought too much of certain items (like formalwear).
The ship was older but had undergone some improvements in preparation for our long-term stay. This included new mattresses which were honestly very comfortable. We were so happy we invested in a balcony room located mid-ship. This gave us private fresh air when we needed it and minimized the movement during rough seas. Our stateroom was the perfect choice for us. Due to the size of the ship, specialty dining and other activities were limited. It also made it challenging throughout our stay to find quiet space to work, read, etc — this was a real challenge for a 9-month home. There was constant entertainment and high noise levels so really the only place to avoid that was in our stateroom. On the other hand, the ship was small so getting to know our way around was easy.
We started this adventure exhausted so we enjoyed the beautiful sail away out of the port of Miami and called it a relatively early night after taking in the incredible views. This was now our home for the next 9 months.
