Radiance of the Seas.....Past - Present - Future (Continued)

[cruisenfever]

Morning all,

We are going be riding on Radiance in September from Vancouver to Hawaii. Can someone tell me which pier the ship docks at in Vancouver, sorry I am not familiar with the area when it comes to cruise ships. Is it Ballantyne Pier or Canada Place Pier?

Thanks :)

 

Bill

This link might help http://www.portmetrovancouver.com/en/about/cruiseandtourism/cruiselineschedules.aspx

 

Go to the Bottom of the Page and select Radiance from the Drop Down Menu. It will bring up her schedule for 2012 (there are 2 pages) and she will be docked at Canada Place all season.

Edited February 12, 2012 by cruisenfever

[mommabean]

I was just looking at the official Royal Caribbean iPhone app. The deck plans for Radiance are the OLD deck plans. What more did I expect out of an app that hasn't been around so long, relatively speaking? The ship has only been updated for 8 months.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited February 12, 2012 by mommabean

[packercruising]

Hey, I paid for that App! Do you know what is different?

[Coralc]

Hey, I paid for that App! Do you know what is different?

 

Pretty much the public decks with new restaurants and some of the cabin decks are different. But I think you might have paid for the Shipmates app. The Royal Caribbean (official) app is free. :D:):D But is is also (apparently) not updated. :rolleyes:

Edited February 13, 2012 by Coralc

[PCWalton1]

I was just looking at the official Royal Caribbean iPhone app. The deck plans for Radiance are the OLD deck plans. What more did I expect out of an app that hasn't been around so long, relatively speaking? The ship has only been updated for 8 months.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

They will get around to it, about 2013. :rolleyes:

[PCWalton1]

This link might help http://www.portmetrovancouver.com/en/about/cruiseandtourism/cruiselineschedules.aspx

 

Go to the Bottom of the Page and select Radiance from the Drop Down Menu. It will bring up her schedule for 2012 (there are 2 pages) and she will be docked at Canada Place all season.

 

I knew I could count on this thread. thanks!!

 

Bill

[jmf123]

I knew I could count on this thread. thanks!!

 

Bill

 

Patti is a wealth of information as usual! :)

[mommabean]

Hey, I paid for that App! Do you know what is different?

 

I got that app when it was free. No, that one isn't official. I've found errors in it, too. Even problems with incorrect itineraries. In fact it was much better before they "improved" it. Now you need to add cruises to your own list to look things up on a particular cruise. It used to be much easier to look up any cruise.

 

I don't know about now, but previously that paid app used the same deck plan for all ships in a category even though they aren't all the same and the lounges and theaters don't have the same names.

 

I'll go check the Radiance deck plans now and see if they were ever updated.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mommabean]

Ship Mate has the correct deck plan for Radiance now while Royal's own app is wrong. Haha! In a sad sort of way.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[suzyluvs2cruise]

Ship Mate has the correct deck plan for Radiance now while Royal's own app is wrong. Haha! In a sad sort of way.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

The deck plan is correct but the black page with the writing that I see first still shows for Deck 10......Concierge Lounge and Yacht Club. I'm using the Android version so maybe the IPhone version is different. ;)

Edited February 13, 2012 by suzyluvs2cruise

[packercruising]

The deck plan is correct but the black page with the writing that I see first still shows for Deck 10......Concierge Lounge and Yacht Club. I'm using the Android version so maybe the IPhone version is different. ;)

 

The ShipMate App on my Itouch has those on Deck 10 as does the Brochure. Cruise Deckplans.com has the Card Room where the Yacht Club was and a stateroom where the Concierge Lounge was.

[cruisenfever]

Our cruise started in Honolulu and went to Papeete, Moorea and Bora Bora then we overnighted in Auckland and then on to Sydney.

 

When visiting French Polynesia, we found that we did not need to purchase their local currency which is the French Franc (XPF) prior to leaving home. They will accept US dollars.

 

It was raining when we got to Papeete, so we just went out into town looking for an internet cafe. No luck, plus you have to be very careful as one lady who was using a walker had her purse stolen as she walked out of the gated area into the street. If you are doing a tour, you will be OK. The port of Papeete is not very clean but we were told that outside of town it is awesome.

 

Moorea was a beautiful port and we didn't do any tours (we are not tour people unless we find a local guide), so we just took the tender into the drop off area, walked around as there were some vendors there selling their locally made items and then back on the ship.

 

Bora Bora is my idea of Paradise! It is also a tendered port, but the port itself has lots to see and many shops and restaurants all within walking distance of the tender dock. If you are thinking of getting Black Pearls, this is the place to go and I would recommend the Tahiti Pearl Market. You must make a trip to Bloody Mary's which is a $5 cab ride from the town and make sure you go to the bathroom as they have some very strange fixtures. This is just a local restaurant, but many famous people have been there.

 

Sailing out of Bora Bora you must be up on deck to really see the beauty of the surroundings including all the above water huts and the small islands and the different colors of the water.

 

Before we got to Auckland we were notified that we were 2 of 100 "lucky" folks that were randomly selected by the New Zealand Customs & Immigration Officials to present ourselves with passports at 6:30 in the morning. Why we were selected.......haven't a clue. We also learned at this early morning get together in Auckland that the whole ship would be doing the same thing upon our arrival into Sydney. :eek: However, thanks to Bobbie Brown, our fabulous CD and Clunis Daly, the best Hotel Director in the fleet, the Australian Customs & Immigration agents boarded on Day 2 while we were docked in Auckland and sailed over to Sydney with us. The inspection procedure was very efficiently done during our 2 sea days and no one had to wake up at o'dark hours.:D

 

On Day 1 we were docked at the more people friendly pier which is located next to the Holiday Inn. It is a beautiful location and the walk from the ship into Auckland is really nice as there are some shops along the way. If you are doing a bus tour the first day you will get an idea of what there is to see in town on your second day. At 11:30PM on Day 1 we had to move to the fueling pier, which was not as people friendly, because the vessel that was to refuel the Radiance was deployed to Tauranga, on the North Island to help in the recovery of the oil from the container ship that ran aground.

 

The weather on Day 1 started out cloudy and overcast but by the afternoon it had brightened up and temps were in the 60's. Just a lovely day to walk around the city. A walk up to Queen Street & Downtown (from the map it will show you where you are docked) is also a must. If you are looking for an internet cafe be careful as the internet is government controlled and while you may think you are getting 1 hour of internet you are actually getting so many MBs which might only be 20 minutes. We found that the MacDonald's on Queen Street was the best place to check emails. You get 1 hour free and you can just sit outside on their patio without making a purchase. There is also a Starbucks up on Queen Street that offered internet service for $3 but you had to give them a credit card because it was handled by a 3rd party and we didn't like that. Anywhere you go Internet service is very slow.

 

Day 2 turned out to be overcast and wet, so we just stayed on the ship. We did everything we needed to do and see on Day 1 and we were so glad that we did. Now it is on to Sydney.

We arrived in Sydney and the weather was absolutely gorgeous. Something we hadn't seen since we left Bora Bora. Because we had Noro on our cruise, which was controlled very well by the Staff, they wanted to do a complete top to bottom cleaning of the ship once we got to Sydney and they had an outside company hired to do the job. So everyone had to leave the ship and all consecutive cruisers, which we were part of, were offered a complimentary excursion of Sydney which lasted about 3 hours. We went to the Royal Gardens, Bondi Beach and a tour of the city. If you didn't take the excursion, then you could go out on your own but you weren't allowed back on the ship until the cleaning process was completed which turned out to be about 11:30AM.

 

Where the ship is docked Cruise Ship Terminal is at Circular Quay because Radiance is too tall to fit under the Harbor Bridge. The terminal is not what we are used to here in the US and you may have to wait outside as it is a 2 story building with check-in being done downstairs and then I believe you have to go up the escalator to where you will board the ship.

 

Because we had the free excursion, when the bus dropped us off all we had to do was show our "in transit" cards and we were directed to boarding the ship on Deck 2, the crew entrance. When we returned, which was about 11:30AM, there was a very long line outside and it was a very warm and sunny day. Since this was the first time Radiance had been to Sydney, there were bound to be hiccups and hopefully they have eliminated some of them. I would suggest that you get to the terminal early and try to be first in line. They were busing people over to a Darling Harbor check-in area, checking them in, giving them a boxed lunch and then busing them back to Circular Quay to make embarkation go a little quicker.

 

While in Sydney, depending on where you are staying and for how long, you must visit The Rocks - The Rocks Markets which is a very nice area and within walking distance of the Cruise ship terminal . You can also take a ferry from The Rocks Area to Darling Harbor (or vice versa) which has the Harbour Side Shopping Center. If you click on Harbourside Shopping Centre it will show you what is in and around Darling Harbor which does include The Opera House.

 

Another thing that I would like to pass on is that the laws in New Zealand and Australia for bringing food in are very strict. However, we also learned that, when disembarking the ship, if you had any pre-packaged snack bars/candy that is commercially sealed, as long as we declared them to the Agents as we were exiting, we had no problem taking them with us.

 

Auckland and Sydney are cities like no other and the people are so very friendly. We can not thank them enough for their gracious welcome and hospitality shown us during our visit.

Edited February 16, 2012 by cruisenfever

[mommabean]

So Patti...I've read a lot of who says what about debit cards in Australia. It's too hard to follow all this stuff from people who haven't really experienced it. Did you personally use an ATM machine with your debit/credit card? I'm not interested in fee info as we will have all fees refunded by our company. I simply want to know if our cards work in their machines. They use a chip in their cards. We don't. I find it hard to believe that the machines are not backward compatible. We have had no trouble with our card in ATMs in Europe as recently as last fall.

 

What do you or your DH know from experience about using our cards in Australia? I know they work at point of service - it's just ATMs I'm interested in.

 

We called our credit card company and they say they've never heard of a problem. Vague answer, I say.

 

Gina

[cruisenfever]

So Patti...I've read a lot of who says what about debit cards in Australia. It's too hard to follow all this stuff from people who haven't really experienced it. Did you personally use an ATM machine with your debit/credit card? I'm not interested in fee info as we will have all fees refunded by our company. I simply want to know if our cards work in their machines. They use a chip in their cards. We don't. I find it hard to believe that the machines are not backward compatible. We have had no trouble with our card in ATMs in Europe as recently as last fall.

 

What do you or your DH know from experience about using our cards in Australia? I know they work at point of service - it's just ATMs I'm interested in.

 

We called our credit card company and they say they've never heard of a problem. Vague answer, I say.

 

Gina

Unfortunately I can't help as we didn't use ATM machines while in New Zealand or Australia. We purchased enough money prior to leaving and when that was gone, we just used our credit card for purchases.

[mommabean]

Unfortunately I can't help as we didn't use ATM machines while in New Zealand or Australia. We purchased enough money prior to leaving and when that was gone, we just used our credit card for purchases.

 

OK, thanks. We like to just get it from the machine as needed. We realize if that fails, we can just pay in most places with our card anyway. It's not like we'll need tip money or anything. :rolleyes: :D

 

Gina

[cruisenfever]

OK, thanks. We like to just get it from the machine as needed. We realize if that fails, we can just pay in most places with our card anyway. It's not like we'll need tip money or anything. :rolleyes: :D

 

Gina

You're welcome. Sorry I couldn't be of more help as we don't use a debit card.

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

Loved your review Patti. Its the closest we'll ever get to Australia :)

 

Love the tags for the ports and info, very useful for anyone who's booked on a future cruise to Sydney or Auckland.

 

***

[packercruising]

So Patti...I've read a lot of who says what about debit cards in Australia. It's too hard to follow all this stuff from people who haven't really experienced it. Did you personally use an ATM machine with your debit/credit card? I'm not interested in fee info as we will have all fees refunded by our company. I simply want to know if our cards work in their machines. They use a chip in their cards. We don't. I find it hard to believe that the machines are not backward compatible. We have had no trouble with our card in ATMs in Europe as recently as last fall.

 

What do you or your DH know from experience about using our cards in Australia? I know they work at point of service - it's just ATMs I'm interested in.

 

We called our credit card company and they say they've never heard of a problem. Vague answer, I say.

 

Gina

 

When are you going? We will have some time there before and after our cruise. We should have out enough Aus $$ too, but I might be willing to try it once.

[cruisenfever]

Loved your review Patti. Its the closest we'll ever get to Australia :)

 

Love the tags for the ports and info, very useful for anyone who's booked on a future cruise to Sydney or Auckland.

 

***

Thanks Linda. I find that tags can be very useful at times.

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

Thanks Linda. I find that tags can be very useful at times.

 

 

TY...Yes they are Patti.... You never know when you need a bit of info for yourself or to pass on. I have a favorites folder just for them!!!! ;)

 

 

***

[DT1304]

Hi Gina,

 

You have no need to worry. You can use your cards in the ATM in Australia and New Zealand with no problems. Some banks will charge you a $3 fee, others will not. (But that is not an issue since you will get that refunded)

 

I have used a South African credit/debit card in Europe, USA, New Zealand, Fiji and most recently since I live here, in Australia. I have never had a problem. In fact I hardly ever pre purchase my foreign currency. I just withdraw it from an ATM when I arrive at my destination.

 

The only issue I had was that I had to inform my South African bank that I would be out of South Africa, as sometimes with multiple use outside of SA without informing them, their fraud department picks it up and stops the card until you call them and sort it out.

[mommabean]

Hi Gina,

 

You have no need to worry. You can use your cards in the ATM in Australia and New Zealand with no problems. Some banks will charge you a $3 fee, others will not. (But that is not an issue since you will get that refunded)

 

I have used a South African credit/debit card in Europe, USA, New Zealand, Fiji and most recently since I live here, in Australia. I have never had a problem. In fact I hardly ever pre purchase my foreign currency. I just withdraw it from an ATM when I arrive at my destination.

 

The only issue I had was that I had to inform my South African bank that I would be out of South Africa, as sometimes with multiple use outside of SA without informing them, their fraud department picks it up and stops the card until you call them and sort it out.

 

Thank you. This is what I wanted to hear from someone who has actually done it - not been told by this or that person who may have heard from someone else. We've already informed our card company of our schedule, too, so they know if 2 days after we leave some place and someone uses our number there, it's not us.

 

We plan to spend a couple of weeks pre-cruise in Australia and like to get a little cash now and then, maybe for street vendors in markets and for the "free" walking tour - things like that.

 

Gina

[cruisenfever]

Bringing this over here as the OP has included some wonderful photos that truly show how boarding looks in Sydney.

 

Review: Radiance of the Seas 29Jan-12Feb12 (with lots of photos!)

[sbalax]

All (Especially thosel of you who were with us YVR-HNL and who we were supposed to be with HNL-SYD last September.) --

 

I finally got an offer of compensation for my claim for expense incurred as a result of the severe staph infection I got as a result of acupuncture treatment in the Spa on Radiance! I originally filled this request on October 17, 2011 and it took this long for it to go through the mill at RCI and then at Steiner Transocean (the Spa Concessionaire) after RCI passed the buck for any responsibility.

 

Kudos to "Laura" in the Excecutive Offices at RCI who kept after Steiner to move on this.:D

 

While I'm satisfied with the settlement (my actual out of pocket expenses and nothing for the "pain and suffering" that a lawyer would have asked for) but, obviously, not very impressed by how long all of this took. "Valued customer" was used way to often in communication. I don't think this is how a business should treat a "valued customer" (Diamond at RCI and Elite at Celebrity and Azamara).

 

If you decide to have any procedures (manicures, pedicures, acupuncture, etc.) done at the Spa I would suggest you be very vigilant about sanitation and hygiene procedures.

 

Frank in sunny and cool SBA:cool:

[Linda41]

All (Especially thosel of you who were with us YVR-HNL and who we were supposed to be with HNL-SYD last September.) --

 

I finally got an offer of compensation for my claim for expense incurred as a result of the severe staph infection I got as a result of acupuncture treatment in the Spa on Radiance! I originally filled this request on October 17, 2011 and it took this long for it to go through the mill at RCI and then at Steiner Transocean (the Spa Concessionaire) after RCI passed the buck for any responsibility.

 

Kudos to "Laura" in the Excecutive Offices at RCI who kept after Steiner to move on this.:D

 

While I'm satisfied with the settlement (my actual out of pocket expenses and nothing for the "pain and suffering" that a lawyer would have asked for) but, obviously, not very impressed by how long all of this took. "Valued customer" was used way to often in communication. I don't think this is how a business should treat a "valued customer" (Diamond at RCI and Elite at Celebrity and Azamara).

 

If you decide to have any procedures (manicures, pedicures, acupuncture, etc.) done at the Spa I would suggest you be very vigilant about sanitation and hygiene procedures.

 

Frank in sunny and cool SBA:cool:

 

Frank, glad you finally got something resolved, even if it wasn't a great settlement. Those things can just be plain worrisome so its good to get them taken care of. Glad you kept us posted as many of us wondered how you were getting along and if you'd ever see the end of it.

 

Linda (and C. D.)