AtSeaAlways

More photos of Good Hope. I felt the operation had a lot of jobs for young people so there was a feel good element here.

So we had $50 in last minute onboard credit on a Radiance of the Seas cruise from the travel agent. There is a lot of negative energy around Jamaica so we decided to buy one of the cheapest ship excursions on sale for like $40 PP up to Falmouth / Good Hope Plantation to try it out. The port is lovely - it feels like Downtown Disney. It's pretty, tidy and gated. Shops, music, dining, no walk up street merchants. Disney was in port with us actually. I think credit for the development goes to RCI. So you can hop off the ship and go there. Chukka is I think a tour operator. Again well organized. A big bus takes you five miles ish up a poorly maintained road to the plantation. It was converted to a bit of a water park. It is in the jungle and has a cute river winding though it. The reception center has a big pool, some historical exhibits and shops. There is a bar and dining room. The bar sold like baked /fried pockets like Roti. The buffet food is included in some tours? We did not buy the add ons- which included I think ziplining and river rafting. The bus took you up (9 ish) and then returned every hour- the basic pass did not seem timed. We walked on the paths and saw bamboo - very cool and some older historical buildings. The port and park felt very secure. We got back and spotted a cute historic church and walked there. There was a little flea market in the parking lot. We dropped some money in the collection box. All in all a nice day. I am going to write to the Ministry of Tourism- good job overall - a few pickup loads of Class Five would sort out the road, which is hard on the bus springs. And bring bug spray.

It was a trip on the otherwise lovely Vision a few years back that reminded me somebody in RCI HQ has been reading the studies that suggest people are happier, more productive and buy (a lot) more stuff with piped in music. The Science of Muzak (skeptoid.com) So it is everywhere. The only reliable quiet places aboard based on recent experience on several ships - your cabin/balcony. Promenade decks. Once in a while Viking Crown. On the Radiance and Grandeur, the music was good and loud in Solarium and a different feed was going in the pool deck.

You might see a light load on an oddball transatlantic - I saw one recently -9 days at sea no break.

With Surf, eBay and Facebook, and all other non-video websites worked fine for me on the Grandeur recently. Surf generally blocked most streaming/video services and content. A few worked but watching a movie or a TV feed on say Hulu or Sling- nope. If you like /depend on video content - get the stream upgrade. Plain Surf is hard to find for sale any more. Worst case, if he is unhappy with Surf you can likely upgrade to Stream on board. The Stream package was surprisingly good on Radiance - football games, Hulu, Zoom etc. were generally fine. We may have had a day long uplink outage in one of the ports, but the $10 AT&T Day Pass to LTE ashore was a backup. Internet at sea is a limited, finite resource, and the fact that it works at all in the face of astonishing passenger demand is like watching a bumblebee fly.

I feel like a throwback rebel on these older ships. The popular trend is to be inside, enjoying the air conditioning, premium dining and sugary beverages. I'm out, by the sea, enjoying a walk, free coffee or - get this - a deck chair 🙂 Don't tell anyone.

We walked around the city on our own, which is certainly poor but not dangerous. I have been there before and rented a car for a week and went to the resort areas South. It felt perfectly safe. Belize is crawling with American Expats. The Belize currency is pegged to the US Dollar by law. Americans move there to start businesses and buy homes. It is like parts of Mexico - say down in the Baha. My favorite stops are the craft tables - descendants of the Maya make the cool woven animals.

Thanks. On one of MSC programs I did see a note for 24 hour coffee someplace. I am not fussy but cannot wait until 0730. Room Service is not really an option - DW is asleep - do you meet them in the hallway?

Thanks for this. We love to ballroom dance. Or bits of Latin. How common is this? I get up early - is there coffee anyplace at say 0600? What about a quiet indoor venue like a library?

It was a relaxing cruise. I was glad not to be steering in the fog. Thanks for following along.

I usually shop when the "Brochure Fares" on some lines come down say 120 days out. But the off season deal fares (say early December- New Orleans) are out a year in advance? I suppose the lines are aware it is not a great week?

Having the same cabin is harder booking last minute, GTY fares or if RoyalUp is involved. I do a lot of sniffing around in last minute, off season departures. On the other hand, not going home is worth it.

We followed the letter not what we heard out here. Plus the stewards are under major deadlne pressure that morning to clean all the cabins by 130.

Thanks. It would be interesting to compare the experience between similar/ identical ships.

Thanks so much. Belize is a lovely and safe stop. English is super common. We did not try any excursions. Money was simple - they would often take USD - at one tiny stand it was two Belize $ to one US. The tender was like 15 minutes = five miles. To get to town exit the terminal, go left.

Ovi was standing by with waffles for us. Food and Beverage made an announcement thanks for sailing our friendly ship. I think that is a good motto for the Radiance. Corporate hates individual ship brands- except for Icon LOL - there is a thing about being consistent. This falls apart when a lowly older ship outscores the shiny new ones in the fleet in surveys. Chinese tonight in WJ. The Creole was good last night. And we had it outdoors. One of the top F&B leaders is also from Romania. He never needs a Dracula costume at parties or Halloween. Top Notch was back in the Colony Club but we got a bit of wind and seas. Pro Tip - Country Two Step or slowdance works on a lively dance floor, Rumba not so much.

A guess is they did not feel much on the ship- the motion was gradual. In the Med with a lot of bad weather - you need a real harbor 🙂 The ships over 1000 feet are longer than three average Atlantic swells - so don't pitch as much. The Allure hardly noticed those waves.

Yes there is no harbor. I need to ask a bridge officer at what point do you have to skip the port in an onshore wind or serious swells. Eight footers or 30 knots maybe. I think the dock lines need to be a little slack in that case. Another good place for slack in dock lines or adjustment is a rising tide 🙂

We were also at the dock there today on the Radiance. The Pride was pitching quite a bit, bow into the growing wind driven waves. Stabilizers which extend outward like wings and nearby cement docks are not compatible 🙂 No lines in Windjammer or incidents in MDR here today. They kept reminding people via PA the gangway was on Deck Two - which made the ship even more quiet. 1900 ish guests.

Just a few hours at Costa Maya. We did not partake. Breakfast at Windjammer - outdoors. The plan was not to go back for a third home made waffle. The Waffle Chef has my name memorized. I told the F&B Director there was a rant on CC about too much pre made food on a larger newer ship - but he did not have a horse in that race. There is no way they can find large trays of packaged frozen goat curry to warm up- and there was a run on Nan and other Indian goodies yesterday. 🙂 The greeter is from Romania. Some days dark humor is what is needed. We tried the MDR for lunch. It was just right. Who knew Starquest has a revolving bar?

Found JR - not his real name - in the Casino Bar. And there is an Ugly Sweater contest.

Cute town and church. Yummy lunch.

Shanice setting the tone outside Windjammer

Spotted Ephraim in the Solarium. He is normally in the Suite Lounge. Jr in the casino.

I think you are right. I am not finding many issues. I got them to turn the music down a bit in the back - all good. We went ashore in Belize. RCI seemed to have rented the biggest and fastest ferries. Big tender lines at Carnival. Lots of shopping on Albert Street. The port area was hopping. If you need water shoes, socks, a cell phone case or roll of fencing this is the place.