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Radiance vs Solstice for a new zealand cruise


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Hi,

i am trying to decide between these two for a multi generational family trip. Ages 15 for youngest and 76 for oldest with a few 20 something and 50 something thrown in for good measure. Also the youngest is wheelchair bound.We would really like to go balcony, as we have had balconies on carnival cruises with both the legend and spirit. Is the price difference between the two really worht it?

Any comments on either ship would be appreciated.

TIA Maree

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Hi,

i am trying to decide between these two for a multi generational family trip. Ages 15 for youngest and 76 for oldest with a few 20 something and 50 something thrown in for good measure. Also the youngest is wheelchair bound.We would really like to go balcony, as we have had balconies on carnival cruises with both the legend and spirit. Is the price difference between the two really worht it?

Any comments on either ship would be appreciated.

TIA Maree

 

Depends on what the price difference is.

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Celebrity usually has perks for balcony cabins which RCI doesn't. You need to compare the prices taking that into account.

 

We've done two NZ cruises on Solstice and think she is the ideal ship for that region. The Sky Lounge is awesome for sailing out of some of the NZ harbours.

 

We've done one cruise on RCI, on Rhapsody, and although we liked the the ship we really didn't like RCI overall but I can see that RCI might be better for a multi-generational group. More things for the younger ones to do.

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I'm doing radiance to NZ next year but went to New Caledonia on her a couple of years ago. She is a loverly glass filled ship. Really enjoyed our cruise on her.

 

If the price was not to much different then I would choose the solstice simply as she is meant to be one of best ships in this region. I would love to cruise on that ship.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I love both these ships. Solstice is larger and newer, Radiance is older and smaller.

Radiance although has lots of glass, the decor is dark wood, love all the bars at the aft.

Both have an aft area off the buffet to sit outside.

Solstice had a fully enclosed pool area, Radiance had an adult pool area that is not covered.

You could not go wrong with either:D

For me it would come down to cost, whats is included, and itinerary.

Let us know what you choose!!

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I would go Solstice especially as they normally have perks if going ocean view or better. I am biased though as it is my favourite ship and while I have cruised Royal, I haven't been on the Radiance. IMO, X is a better cruise product compared to Royal though.

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I IMO, X is a better cruise product compared to Royal though.

 

Definitely!

 

We did our first Solstice cruise a couple of years ago. We chose Solstice because Celebrity had the perfect one way cruise (Auckland to Sydney) over Christmas, and we wanted a one way cruise so we had plenty of time to catch up with friends in Auckland before the cruise. We repeated that cruise last February and have another one booked for March 2019.

 

It's a real toss-up between Princess and Celebrity for us. Princess often wins out just because it has cruises out of Australian ports all year round.

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Hi Everyone,

thanks for the comments, it is really appreciated, turns out radiance don't do 3 berth wheelchair balconies, so its either a junior suite or ocean view,( ocean view is a no go for me as it defeats the purpose of going through the sounds. So we are now looking at princess, either the majestic or the golden, which are better value per day , but dearer over all as they are longer cruises. Too many desicions!!!

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Hi Everyone,

thanks for the comments, it is really appreciated, turns out radiance don't do 3 berth wheelchair balconies, so its either a junior suite or ocean view,( ocean view is a no go for me as it defeats the purpose of going through the sounds. So we are now looking at princess, either the majestic or the golden, which are better value per day , but dearer over all as they are longer cruises. Too many desicions!!!

So is the Solstice ruled out?

If so Princess is a good cruise product as well, I have enjoyed the Golden but will not sail on the Majestic until March 2019.

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Hi Everyone,

thanks for the comments, it is really appreciated, turns out radiance don't do 3 berth wheelchair balconies, so its either a junior suite or ocean view,( ocean view is a no go for me as it defeats the purpose of going through the sounds. So we are now looking at princess, either the majestic or the golden, which are better value per day , but dearer over all as they are longer cruises. Too many desicions!!!

 

Seriously, it is much better to be on an upper deck, preferably outdoors, when going through Fiordland. Milford Sound, in particular, is best viewed as far forward as you can get and on the port side going into the sound. However if outdoors isn't an option for you then Majestic has the Hollywood Conservatory forward, and Solstice has the Sky Lounge. I know the Sky Lounge has amazing views, and I'm expecting the Hollywood Conservatory to be similar. Golden doesn't have a forward viewing lounge, unfortunately. The Sanctuary is great but costs extra and is only partly covered.

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Golden princess is a beautiful ship. Bigger than the radiance. If you could get a suitable cabin on deck 7, they have the extended and larger balconies. Radiance JS are very nice.

 

 

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Hi rabbit 1971.

Just put my two bobs worth in here and I might get bashed up for it.

Did a 25 nighter from China to Sydney on the golden princess last year and although our group had a marvellous time we all thought the ship was very tired indeed. Needed a lot of maintenance for eg some of the pools were closed for days, spas closed also some days. Entertainment was very ordinary at best. The staff were excellent. Probably wouldn't do golden again as in our opinions she is in need of an overhaul.

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... Probably wouldn't do golden again as in our opinions she is in need of an overhaul.

She's going into a 2 week drydock in Singapore next March/April 2018.

 

 

My 2 cents worth ... in the past we've always had a balcony cabin but for our New Zealand cruise on the Golden Princess last March we decided that in view of the sometimes very rough weather in the Tasman we'd go an ocean view this trip. So glad we did, the weather was so bad that outside decks closed, pools emptied, etc., a balcony would have been unusable. There were many disgruntled guests who had booked balconies and were unable to use them.

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My 2 cents worth ... in the past we've always had a balcony cabin but for our New Zealand cruise on the Golden Princess last March we decided that in view of the sometimes very rough weather in the Tasman we'd go an ocean view this trip. So glad we did, the weather was so bad that outside decks closed, pools emptied, etc., a balcony would have been unusable. There were many disgruntled guests who had booked balconies and were unable to use them.

 

That can happen on any ship.

 

We've done two NZ cruises, both on Solstice in balcony cabins. The weather on the first was quite cool so we didn't use the balcony that much but we had glorious weather on the second, last February, and really enjoyed having the balcony on the sea days crossing the Tasman and from Tasmania to Sydney.

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Seriously, it is much better to be on an upper deck, preferably outdoors, when going through Fiordland. Milford Sound, in particular, is best viewed as far forward as you can get and on the port side going into the sound. However if outdoors isn't an option for you then Majestic has the Hollywood Conservatory forward, and Solstice has the Sky Lounge. I know the Sky Lounge has amazing views, and I'm expecting the Hollywood Conservatory to be similar. Golden doesn't have a forward viewing lounge, unfortunately. The Sanctuary is great but costs extra and is only partly covered.

 

My thoughts exactly, thats why we were so determined to go with a balcony. Turns out that the Golden also doesn't do a three berth wheelchair cabin, so we are going with the Majestic Princess, price per day it was better value than the solstice when we factored airfares and accomodation into it.So now I can get super excited about going. The accesable balcony cabins are all up front so it sound like the perfect spot to go through the sounds, will have to remember to book the port side on friday when we put our deposits down.

Thanks maree

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