Cruise out of Tampa on the Serenade of the Seas | Royal Caribbean Cruise Ep. 1

[@Explorcation]

Happy New Year everyone 🎉🙌 thanks so much for watching our cruise series from our experience on the the Serenade of the Seas. This footage was taken in October 2021. Are you considering a cruise in 2022? Let us know in the comments! If you are, considering booking we recommend checking current requirements and restrictions as things continue to change frequently.

[@roughshot60]

Thanks for your review and tour. I sailed out of Tampa in February on Norwegian Dawn. It did feel like we were inches from the bridge. I'll be on Serenade November 21 2023. On my first Panama Canal crossing. Los Angeles to Miami. Thank you again

[@Explorcation]

Inches is right, George! It was such a cool experience. We would love to do a Panama Canal crossing cruise some day. Maybe we'll see you on it!

[@roughshot60]

@@Explorcation Come on aboard. It was just posted yesterday. My TA thinks it'll be sold out very soon. I'm still new to royal. I've only sailed Norwegian up till last Oct. Went on Oasis for the first time. What a gorgeous ship. Keep up the great videos. 👍

[@Explorcation]

@@roughshot60 I am sure that is a popular sailing. We are in the planning process to determine what the rest of the year will look like for us, not sure if a cruise will be in the plans or not...but we haven't ruled it out yet! Thanks so much for your comments and for watching we really appreciate the support :)

[@jakmak52]

Living here in St. Petersburg for over 50 years I'm very familiar with the Sunshine Bridge and remember the old bridge being replaced since the tanker accident. I have to say your videos of the Serenade is the best above all others. Thank you.

[@Explorcation]

Hi Jack. We've heard quite a few stories from locals about the tanker accident. Such sad stories. Thankfully they now have more safety precautions in place to prevent something like that from happening again. Thank you so much for the kind comment regarding our videos, and thanks for watching!

[@VernonEmerson-w8f]

Yes, we have sailed out under the skyway bridge several times it is quite beautiful!

[@Explorcation]

It's definitely a one of a kind experience!

[@migrose6547]

Cruised under the verrazano bridge on ANTHEM. It doesn't look like you will clear that one either. So cool. Looking forward to yr next vlogs. Happy New year!

[@yudelmyortega3424]

Amazing video thank you I’ve never been close enough to the sunshine sky bridge

[@Explorcation]

Thank you so much for watching and for taking the time to comment, Yudelmy. The sunshine skyway bridge really is spectacular.

[@floridacycling4842]

We've only cruised once from Tampa, in 2016 on the Brilliance. We have not seen the new lights they've since added to the bridge so now we are really looking forward to our February sailing on the Celebrity Constellation. Fingers crossed!

[@Explorcation]

We sure hope that your cruise end up sailing! We were not very confident that we would even get to go on this cruise, but we were so happy that we got to!

[@adrisadventures7850]

I wish Tampa would get bigger ships in our port. I know they were talking about moving the port from Tampa to St. Pete b/c it wouldn't have to go under the Skyway, which would allow larger ships.

[@Explorcation]

Yeah we've heard rumors about the port eventually being moved as well. We agree that it would be great if it ever happens. But for now, we'll just have to drive to Port Canaveral or Miami/Ft Lauderdale to get on a mega-ship! Thanks so much for watching!

[@MartySalo]

I don't think there is a port which could handle the loading/unloading process except for Tampa. Cruise ships are a smaller part of container shipping, I'd think.

[@wensmyrtlebeachliving]

Love that ship. Great memories. Thanks for the share!

[@Explorcation]

We're glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching!

[@romanandfizah]

We are here again ! Love the cruise experience and the view was beautiful. May this new year 2022 bring you happiness, peace and prosperity.

[@Explorcation]

Wishing you guys the very best in this new year as well! Thank you so much for your support.

[@gladysgriffin7347]

Thanks for the video.

[@Explorcation]

Of course, Gladys. Thank you for watching!

[@stevetaub2826]

Sailing on Brilliance February 28 from Tampa - can’t wait to sail under the bridge!

[@Explorcation]

Great to hear, Steve. It's quite the experience, and I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Hopefully it will be warmed up a little by then!

[@stevetaub2826]

I’m so nuts I’m already checking the long term forecast!

[@Explorcation]

@@stevetaub2826 😆 nothing wrong with being excited and trying to plan ahead. Your trip will be here before you know it!

[@chrissyp3065]

Very cool to see the cruise ship clear that bridge. Thanks for taking us with you! :)

[@Explorcation]

Thank you for watching, Chrissy. It was a pretty cool experience for sure!

[@BobCarlson]

I have only cruised in Alaska and Northern Europe. Never in South Florida even though I lived just miles from Port Everglades for decades. I can’t wait to see the rest of your experience.

[@Explorcation]

We would love to try an Alaska or European cruise some day 😊 so far we've only cruised out of Florida, Louisiana and Puerto Rico mainly due to convenience. This was our first time out of Tampa and we really enjoyed it. We hope you enjoy the series. Happy New Year!!

[@MartySalo]

cool, thanks for the videography. We live in Tampa, so we've cruised out of Tampa several times.

[@Explorcation]

Our pleasure, Marty! Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment. It's such a perk to be able to just drive a few miles to hop on a cruise ship!

[@MartySalo]

@@Explorcation Itineraries tend to be more limited. Ships tend to be older, smaller, fitting under the Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge. I doubt they'd make it a tunnel. It'd be cool if they would, but a tunnel I think is expensive. I think of Newport news/Norfolk bridge tunnel.

[@Explorcation]

@@MartySalo very true that the itineraries and ships are limited, who would have thought back when they were constructing this Skyway that in the near future cruise ships would be so big they can't safely fit under it!

[@MartySalo]

@@Explorcation Tampa is a nice city. Most of the shipping is good enough for passing under the bridge. I don't think the state wants to build another shipping channel on the west coast of Florida. We live in Tampa. We took the train down to Miami. We may need to take a cruise out of Fort Lauderdale some time. But we like Tampa. The cruise for 14 days out of Tampa seems nice, possibly back to back, so 28 days on ship. it sounds nice.

[@Explorcation]

@@MartySalo 28 days on a ship sounds great to me 😁 how was your experience taking the train to Miami?

[@nikkimoor4256]

We will be on our cruise on Serenade of the Sea Oct 29! Celebrating my husbands completion of cancer treatment and surgery from Pancreatic cancer and a long over due belated honeymoon! This will be my first cruise ever and the first vacation my husband and I have ever been on together!

[@Explorcation]

That's awesome, Nikki. Such great events to celebrate. We hope this is just the first of many vacations and cruises for you and your husband. Thanks so much for watching and for taking the time to comment!

[@OurTravelPlace]

Score on the balcony! And the moment you went under the bridge looked fun 😄 That's really good that you have someone walk you through taking the test. Looking forward to watching the rest of the series!

[@Explorcation]

Yeah we initially were a little bummed about the ship/itinerary changes, but then we saw the balcony upgrade and all was good! Going under that bridge was way more exciting than we thought it would be. We agree on the test. We initially thought it may be somewhat confusing but it ended up being incredibly simple with the person giving us instructions.

[@upploverabhi905]

Full enjoy dear

[@Explorcation]

Thanks so much for watching ❤️

[@upploverabhi905]

@@Explorcation everyone vidio watching my dear

[@Explorcation]

@@upploverabhi905 thank you so much :)

[@upploverabhi905]

@@Explorcation ok dear

[@TheAverageTourist]

Guys this makes me so hopeful for cruising... even though I had to cancel my February cruise from Miami. Maybe I'll try again later in 2022. Seems like they have improved the muster drill process so thats really good to know. We've never sailed out of Tampa, but had a similar bridge experience when we sailed out of New York on Norwegian Escape. Looking forward to more cruise info!!

[@brianwluxevovacations215]

Contact me to book your next vacation. ty

[@Explorcation]

We're glad our video gave you some hope for cruising, although sadly I think it's trending back in the wrong direction again now. Hopefully by spring though we'll be moving back towards normal! The muster drill improvements were really great, and we are thinking that they will likely keep them going forward. Hopefully one of these days we'll do a cruise out of New York and will get to have that experience as well!

[@JC-po6yj]

Hey guys! Happy new year!! really cool video. Can’t wait to see next episode.

[@Explorcation]

Thanks, JC. Happy New Year to you as well! Glad you liked the video. We will have 3 or 4 more videos on this cruise coming over the next few weeks.

[@LucasWorldTravel]

Wow! That was a close one! That would be scary to us too. Glad you guys tested negative and are back to cruising again. We look forward to hearing all about it!

[@Explorcation]

Yeah it's definitely a little bit nerve-racking when you are waiting on those test results. We were so relieved when they both came back negative.

[@TideKnotTravellers]

That’s really cool that they’ve changed the muster station boat drill. It makes sense instead of having thousands of guests standing at the muster station. Hope they keep it up post covid. It was every crew members worst bit of the cruise getting that bit done and dealing with angry guests that didn’t realise it was the law not the crews fault 😅 The Skyway bridge lights looked stunning, amazing that the ship sailed out at the perfect time and that it fit! 😂

[@marybusch6910]

Great video. When did you cruise?

[@Explorcation]

Yeah we were really happy with the muster drill changes, and we also hope they keep the new process in place going forward! And yeah, we obviously knew that the ship would fit, but it was still a bit scary because it really looked like it might not. A bit of an optical illusion I guess.

[@Explorcation]

Thank you, Mary. We cruised for five nights in late October/early November of 2021. So right around 2 months ago.

[@TravelInteresante]

Really exciting and informative episode! Very much enjoyed watching it. Very nice that you were upgraded to a room with an entire balcony! Seems like you went through so many adjustments and changes but it shows that you are a true cruise lovers! :) Wow what an incredible bridge, never heard of it before!

[@Explorcation]

Yeah, the balcony upgrade was sure a pleasant surprise. We initially weren't too excited when we saw that they had changed our itinerary and ship, but then we later realized we had been upgraded to a balcony room and all was good!

[@ScullyPop]

I love the way your channel has flourished this year. Keep going strong!

[@Explorcation]

Thank you so much for the support and encouragement 😊 we hop you are having a Happy New Year!

[@TheMapPinners]

Wow!! This looks so cool 😍 Happy you were negative and finally able to get back on a cruise ship. The Bahamas sound like a great pivot still 🇧🇸 look how empty the ship is! What a treat to get ungraded too - your private balcony room looks stunning! We are hoping to get to FL later this spring. Maybe we’ll hop on a ship when we leave 😀 We’ve never been on a cruise before.

[@Explorcation]

Yeah it was such a relief when we got those negative results. It was hard to really get excited for the trip when you know there's a chance that you won't be able to go. We're hoping all the ships are back to sailing by late spring and that you'll have a good selection to chose from if you do decide to try one out! What area of Florida do you plan to visit?

[@markpfost7940]

I am taking myself and my 4 children on the Serenade of the Seas Thanksgiving 2022 out?of Tampa, I have taken one cruise out of Tampa before and my best memory was the sailing under the Skyway Bridge and yes I had the same thought, will we fit under the bridge? Enjoyed your video, thanks for sharing.

[@Explorcation]

It really was such a close fit, Mark! But going under the skyway at sunset really was one of the coolest things we have experienced. We're happy to hear you enjoyed the video!

[@NeeNee214.]

My very first cruise was on this ship. It was a Mediterranean cruise

[@Explorcation]

We would love to go on a Mediterranean cruise someday. Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment!

[@suzyh4479]

I've had the pleasure of sailing on both of Serenade's sister ships, the Brilliance and the Jewel!!! We have a cruise booked on the Serenade in 2023 from Tampa to the Bahamas and are very much looking forward to it! Thank You for these information videos. Did you take any shore excursions? If so, which ones? Thanks

[@Explorcation]

That's great that you've had the chance to experience all three, Suzy! Our cruise was just a short one with stops to Nassau and Cocoa Key.... both places where we felt plenty safe wandering around on our own. So we did not to any excursion on this cruise.

[@suzyh4479]

@@Explorcation Thank you! I had heard that some ports would not let you off the ship without a booked excursion! Good to know...

[@Explorcation]

@@suzyh4479 yea if I remember correctly, when we went on this cruise the rules were starting to relax a bit :)

[@AquariusTraveller]

Wow guys - Some awesome variety here and now on a cruise. Been ages for me to cruise, but probably not my favourite way to travel. We have the bridge in Sydney that my last cruise left from - I remember thinking we weren't going to make it either. Australia are using the in home kits more and more - I home this make travel easier Nice addition guys and can't wait to see what you get up to !

[@Explorcation]

Yeah, we don't cruise nearly as much as we used to, but we are really thankful for it's an easy way to experience several different countries and was a big part of what really got us in to travel. While nowadays we (especially Skylar) enjoy the adventure of planning our own travels, it's still nice to do a relatively stress free vacation like a cruise once in a while! That's great to hear that the home test kits are becoming more common in Australia. They really are easy and convenient.

[@AquariusTraveller]

@@Explorcation yeah...I agree. I love planning my own trips and doing what I want when I want. The freedom on a boat is lacking but is an easy way to travel and less hassle. I've enjoyed river boats in Europe and Egypt much better.... getting off the boat everyday, but cruise ships can be at sea for a couple of days before you even get anywhere.

[@Explorcation]

@@AquariusTraveller yea Skylar gets a bit claustrophobic if we have to be at sea for a few days (usually the drink package helps LOL) We have not done a riverboat before but I think we would really enjoy one in Europe or Egypt!

[@AquariusTraveller]

@@Explorcation I'm with Skylar.... drinks package does come in handy when your on a cruise...not much else to do....lol. You would love the river boats... not having to move your luggage but still get off the boat each day. Egypt was a big favorite of mine going down the Nile for 9 days 💖💖

[@Explorcation]

@@AquariusTraveller if I really want to go on a cruise, it sure helps to convince Skylar if they are offering a deal on the drink package 😁The Nile river boat experience does sound like something we would realllly enjoy!

[@BeingBedingfield]

Happy new year guys! So excited for your cruise series! So cool that you can do at home covid tests, we don’t have that in South Africa 😖 The skyway is so cool!! Must’ve been a great experience to sail underneath it!

[@Explorcation]

Hopefully South Africa will adapt the at-home tests eventually. They were super convenient and surprisingly easy to take. Plus just generally safer to not have to go into a pharmacy or a clinic with a bunch of other people to test. Going under that bridge was a pretty cool experience. Much different than driving over it for sure! Happy New Year to you guys as well! Hopefully it's a great year for travel and our channels!

[@BeingBedingfield]

@@Explorcation yeah! Really hope South Africa will get with the program soon 😂 And hoping travels will be better for all of us this year 🌍

[@Explorcation]

@@BeingBedingfield yes, we sure need to get out and about more this year!

[@andycsun]

Thanks for the video. It is informative. I will not go on a cruise again unless it goes back to the way it was before the scamdemic.

[@Explorcation]

We are glad to hear you found the video to be informative, Andy. While there were certainly some drawbacks of cruising during COVID, there were a few benefits as well which will cover in the final video of this series in a couple of weeks. Thanks for watching.

[@helloyall4355]

Hey, I can't read the comments. Anyways, thank you for sharing this video. I set sail in April.

[@Explorcation]

Our pleasure. We hope you have a great time on your cruise in April!

[@NoBSEateries]

What an awesome time! That’s crazy about the ship going under the skyway! That bridge is huge and I’d be scared we’d hit it too! Thanks for sharing your experience. -S

[@Explorcation]

Yeah who would have thought that going under the bridge would actually be scarier than going over it!😂

[@langtu1532]

I will leave around November 12 / 2022 at Tampa but cannot find the pier number Could you tell me ? Many thanks

[@Explorcation]

We hope you have a great cruise! Right now the Port of Tampa identifies Terminal 3 for both Royal Caribbean and Norwegian, but we would recommend checking their website prior to to your trip, just in case something changes: www.porttb.com

[@jakmak52]

Are there ATM's on the ship ?

[@Explorcation]

Yes, there was. In fact, I believe every cruise that we have ever been on has had an ATM. But if I recall correctly, the transaction fees are pretty high ($5+ per transation).

[@UkeDawg]

How did the vaccine stuff go? Did they shake you down for a proof of vaccination?

[@Explorcation]

It was surprisingly painless. We did have to show our negative test results and proof of vaccine but it didn't slow down the boarding process much at all. Thanks for watching!

[@321gates]

A proof of vaccination is so 2021 and ridiculous.