Report on Radiance of the Seas

We were on the Radiance of the Seas for the western Caribbean cruise on
November 28/04. This was our second cruise with Royal Caribbean with our
first last year on the larger Adventure of the Seas. After one cruise with
RCI, we expected roughly the same standards with the Radiance and in
general, I wasn't disappointed.

Staterooms:

Our stateroom was an inside aft cabin and we were not disappointed. It was
roomy enough and the lighting was adequate. Closet space, safe and drawers
were also sufficient for our use. We noticed that the double beds here were
actually a bit better than the one we had on the Adventure since we couldn't
really feel the split between the two separate beds like we did last time.
If there's one thing that can be improved is the shower curtain. The one
installed was not adequate in keeping in all the water from the shower. The
shower on the Adventure utilized a double glass door system which was far
superior. Otherwise, the cabin was nice and dark for sleeping at night.
Although we heard a little noise from the cabins next to us, it was minimal.
We didn't miss having any window or balcony at all since we were hardly ever
in our stateroom. We were either at port or elsewhere on the ship and went
back to our cabins just to relax or sleep. We would definitely book an
inside cabin again with RCI unless we had a free upgrade.

Dining:

The main Cascades dining room was nice and meals were good. Breakfasts had
the same menu every morning. Lunch at the dining room was okay. The
dinners were good but not every meal item was a winner. There was the odd
appetizer and dessert that was not up to par. One thing that my partner
noticed was that the portions of the main courses seemed to be smaller than
those served on the Adventure. We usually went upstairs to the Windjammer
to get more food after dining at the Cascades. In some parts of the
Cascades room, the tables were placed too cramp so walking to out own table
was tricky at times. The self serve Windjammer was good. It usually had
more variety of food than served downstairs at the Cascades. Breakfast and
lunch were busy at the Windjammer but during evenings, most people chose to
dine at the Cascades. The two other optional restaurants onboard Portafino
and Choppe House were available at $20 US per person but we never tried them
since the meals already included at the Cascades and Windjammer were fine by
us. Other passengers who did go to these optional rooms told us that they
were nothing special. There was another cafe available during late evenings
called the Seaview and they provided fare such as sandwiches, salads and
burgers. This was a nice feature. One thing we did object to was that they
charged for the coffee and tea there. There was also a specialty coffee
place on the main centrum of the ship and they also charged. We had more
availability of free beverages on the Adventure.

Service:

The service by the stateroom attendants and dining room staff was top notch
as expected.

Entertainment:

The evening shows at the Aurora Theatre were a mix of the ship's own crew of
dancers and singers plus some outside comics and singers. In general, the
shows were quite good. We would have liked them to mix up the entertainment
each night rather than allocate music, comedy and magic into different
evenings. Rather than an entire show of magic, we would have preferred each
night featuring a variety of entertainment. Live music around the ship was
a nice added touch.

Amenities:

Although smaller than the Adventure, the Radiance had fine amenities
including the gym/spa, mini golf, pools and the shops. There was internet
access but at 50 cents per minute, the service is a bit steep. There were
things to do during the days at sea such as art auctions, cooking demos and
dance classes. However, we felt that there was more offered on the
Adventure. As for embarking and disembarking, there was no problem on the
Radiance. The 6th level contained the casino and for non-smokers, this was
a problem. The ventilation in the casino was not great and as a result,
cigarette smoke travelled to adjacent areas near the casino. My partner
wanted to avoid going on the 6th level whenever possible.

In summary, we enjoyed our cruise on the Radiance of the Seas. However,
comparing it to the larger Adventure of the Seas, we would rate the larger
ship a bit higher. We liked the huge promenade on the Adventure which was
not available on a smaller ship like the Radiance. Given a choice in the
future, we would opt for the larger ship. For first time cruisers, the
Radiance would still be a good ship to vacation on. This is simply the case
of where veteran cruisers would expect more especially if they have been on
higher end ships.

Clint

Free Spirit Gallery
http://www.FreeSpiritGallery.ca
Exquisite Eskimo Inuit Art & Northwest Indian Art

Clint, I enjoyed my cruise on the Radiance, but I would rather cruise on
the Voyager class ships. The hot tubs on the Radiance class ships are
tiny, they may be large enough for 4-5 people. The hot tubs on the
Voyager class ships are probably big enough for 15 people, and the
Solarium has two of them. The Radiance ships only have one hot tub in
the Solarium, from what I recall. I enjoy the ice shows on the Voyager
class ships, too.

Becca -----thanks for the review...

MOAGC http://www.motherofallgroupcruises.com/
Miracle in May http://www.cruisemaster.com/miracle.htm
Canada - New England http://www.cruisemaster.com/carnivalFall.htm
Caribbean Princess http://www.cruisemaster.com/caribprin.htm

Clint, I enjoyed my cruise on the Radiance, but I would rather cruise on
the Voyager class ships. The hot tubs on the Radiance class ships are
tiny, they may be large enough for 4-5 people. The hot tubs on the
Voyager class ships are probably big enough for 15 people, and the
Solarium has two of them. The Radiance ships only have one hot tub in
the Solarium, from what I recall. I enjoy the ice shows on the Voyager
class ships, too.

Becca -----thanks for the review...

MOAGC http://www.motherofallgroupcruises.com/
Miracle in May http://www.cruisemaster.com/miracle.htm
Canada - New England http://www.cruisemaster.com/carnivalFall.htm
Caribbean Princess http://www.cruisemaster.com/caribprin.htm

Clint, I enjoyed my cruise on the Radiance, but I would rather cruise on
the Voyager class ships. The hot tubs on the Radiance class ships are
tiny, they may be large enough for 4-5 people. The hot tubs on the
Voyager class ships are probably big enough for 15 people, and the
Solarium has two of them. The Radiance ships only have one hot tub in
the Solarium, from what I recall. I enjoy the ice shows on the Voyager
class ships, too.

Becca -----thanks for the review...

MOAGC http://www.motherofallgroupcruises.com/
Miracle in May http://www.cruisemaster.com/miracle.htm
Canada - New England http://www.cruisemaster.com/carnivalFall.htm
Caribbean Princess http://www.cruisemaster.com/caribprin.htm

On Sun, 12 Dec 2004 11:38:08 -0600, Becca wrote:

The hot tubs on the
Voyager class ships are probably big enough for 15 people,

If their not little Taco Devils according to a poster to RTCruises. This
link is hilarious and coming from a Jew who ought to know about
discrimination to the nth degree, it is despicable too.

Here's a tidbit for you.

"If you find yourself in a similar position, do as I did,
turn on the jets and bubbles, and give the little devils a swift KICK!
Unless you're alone, they'll never know who did it, and WILL leave. That
seems to be a language that breaks all barriers! If Royal Caribbean wishes
to mix cultures, they had best do so by providing instructions and training
on common courtesies expected to be obeyed on the cruise. Sans this, give
us some notice so we may book elsewhere! "

http://oasis.fortunecity.com/tropica...gertour32.html

If you continue on Mel's Tour From Hell, you will see he wants to prosecute
those "devils".

"Now, again, a complaint about the fellow passengers on Voyager. The
monitors provided are shielded from damage by Plexiglas sheets. By week 9
of Voyager's lifetime, already, the Plexiglas had been marred through the
actions of thoughtless passengers, probably, again, under the guise of "not
understanding English!" The white arrow indicates a portion of the
Plexiglas that, permanently, has been etched by substances rendering
portions of the display almost ineligible. By now, it's likely they have
been damaged to such an extent as to make the displays they protect almost
worthless.

On a positive note, (sad, but positive), Royal Caribbean is in the process
of installing, on all of their ships, complete video monitoring of every
square inch of the public areas on board. In the future, offenders WILL be
caught, and, hopefully, prosecuted! "

Of course, Mel The Mex Hater is a prophet too.

"It's doubtful we'll see Voyager outside of Caribbean waters any time soon.
Like the earlier ships, beginning with Song of Norway, through Majesty of
the Seas, Voyager is designed and intended for Caribbean sailing, PERIOD!"

I have something I need to say to Mel.

"Pegue un burrito encima de su extremo"

On Sun, 12 Dec 2004 11:38:08 -0600, Becca wrote:

The hot tubs on the
Voyager class ships are probably big enough for 15 people,

If their not little Taco Devils according to a poster to RTCruises. This
link is hilarious and coming from a Jew who ought to know about
discrimination to the nth degree, it is despicable too.

Here's a tidbit for you.

"If you find yourself in a similar position, do as I did,
turn on the jets and bubbles, and give the little devils a swift KICK!
Unless you're alone, they'll never know who did it, and WILL leave. That
seems to be a language that breaks all barriers! If Royal Caribbean wishes
to mix cultures, they had best do so by providing instructions and training
on common courtesies expected to be obeyed on the cruise. Sans this, give
us some notice so we may book elsewhere! "

http://oasis.fortunecity.com/tropica...gertour32.html

If you continue on Mel's Tour From Hell, you will see he wants to prosecute
those "devils".

"Now, again, a complaint about the fellow passengers on Voyager. The
monitors provided are shielded from damage by Plexiglas sheets. By week 9
of Voyager's lifetime, already, the Plexiglas had been marred through the
actions of thoughtless passengers, probably, again, under the guise of "not
understanding English!" The white arrow indicates a portion of the
Plexiglas that, permanently, has been etched by substances rendering
portions of the display almost ineligible. By now, it's likely they have
been damaged to such an extent as to make the displays they protect almost
worthless.

On a positive note, (sad, but positive), Royal Caribbean is in the process
of installing, on all of their ships, complete video monitoring of every
square inch of the public areas on board. In the future, offenders WILL be
caught, and, hopefully, prosecuted! "

Of course, Mel The Mex Hater is a prophet too.

"It's doubtful we'll see Voyager outside of Caribbean waters any time soon.
Like the earlier ships, beginning with Song of Norway, through Majesty of
the Seas, Voyager is designed and intended for Caribbean sailing, PERIOD!"

I have something I need to say to Mel.

"Pegue un burrito encima de su extremo"

Chrissy Cruiser wrote:

On Sun, 12 Dec 2004 11:38:08 -0600, Becca wrote:

The hot tubs on the
Voyager class ships are probably big enough for 15 people,

If their not little Taco Devils according to a poster to RTCruises. This
link is hilarious and coming from a Jew who ought to know about
discrimination to the nth degree, it is despicable too.



Maybe he is not Jewish, as he seems to accept the statues as
anatomically correct :-)

JJ

Chrissy Cruiser wrote:

On Sun, 12 Dec 2004 11:38:08 -0600, Becca wrote:

The hot tubs on the
Voyager class ships are probably big enough for 15 people,

If their not little Taco Devils according to a poster to RTCruises. This
link is hilarious and coming from a Jew who ought to know about
discrimination to the nth degree, it is despicable too.



Maybe he is not Jewish, as he seems to accept the statues as
anatomically correct :-)

JJ

Chrissy Cruiser wrote:

On Sun, 12 Dec 2004 11:38:08 -0600, Becca wrote:

The hot tubs on the
Voyager class ships are probably big enough for 15 people,

If their not little Taco Devils according to a poster to RTCruises. This
link is hilarious and coming from a Jew who ought to know about
discrimination to the nth degree, it is despicable too.

On Mon, 13 Dec 2004 22:24:45 GMT, Jeremy wrote:

Maybe he is not Jewish, as he seems to accept the statues as
anatomically correct :-)

JJ

LOL

LOL

Chrissy Cruiser wrote:

On Sun, 12 Dec 2004 11:38:08 -0600, Becca wrote:

The hot tubs on the
Voyager class ships are probably big enough for 15 people,

If their not little Taco Devils according to a poster to RTCruises. This
link is hilarious and coming from a Jew who ought to know about
discrimination to the nth degree, it is despicable too.

On Mon, 13 Dec 2004 22:24:45 GMT, Jeremy wrote:

Maybe he is not Jewish, as he seems to accept the statues as
anatomically correct :-)

JJ

LOL

LOL