Radiance of the Seas short review

[sailawaysally]

Radiance of the Seas

Positives

Beautiful design, so smooth in choppy seas, fast, and great for anyone who suffers seasickness I would say.

Outside views of water on nearly every deck with Huge windows

Leaning rails that we used more than expected, to see what was happening in the centrum.

Deck 5 lets you walk a complete circuit of the ship but with steps up and down at the front of the ship, you can stand and view out the back on Deck 5 as well.

We were able to go right to the front of the bow where the helicopter pad is and of course did the ‘Titanic’ thing.

6 lifts in the centrum area with 4 of them having views of the ocean, still had to wait for ages most times. “Going down, going up”

Touch screen information panels on most decks, really handy for finding places and cabins etc. Captain said he demanded them because if they were good enough for the Oasis then the Radiance should have them.

A model of deck plans outside the lifts on each floor which also includes lift buttons.

Most decks outside are vinyl? with some wood inlays here and there

Showlounge (Aurora Theatre) has great seating on three levels

Reserve seating on second level for Suite guests, Diamond Plus and Pinnacle members

Buffet is really well layed out and only queued for freshly fried eggs or omelets

Dining room is very well spaced as well and is on two levels

The Centrum is beautiful to behold

The crew members are awesome.

The Solarium is a favorite with me but not with some because the chlorine smell is strong and sound reverberates around so it gets a bit noisy. There is also food available in this area.

The gymnasium is the best we’ve used on any ship.

The beauty spa etc. is next to the Solarium area with lovely views out to the ocean.

Negatives

Noro is a pain but they handled it very efficiently.Some people refused to wash hands with cleaner, how stupid can you be?

Too many activities in the Centrum area which means crowds on most levels looking down and if you need to get to the Pursers desk and other desks. it is very cramped at these times. Forget getting a coffee from the Latte-tudes if something is on. Good coffee by the way. Free biscuits and pastries from the Coffee shopL

The Colony club was underused in our opinion, so much that was in the Centrum could have been held in this club. The Schooners bar was popular too but if you wanted to join in with the trivia, forget getting there ten minutes before, more like half hour before.

We always loved eating out the back of the ship but the way they have the Mexican café set up it took us a few days to realize we permitted to walk through it to the chairs and tables at the back.

Entertainment is geared to mostly the older generation, for example, pool party (what we would normally call Island night) only had a few people dancing with a lei or two, no palm leaves, flowers, flashing glasses, coconut bras, grass skirts etc. and the pool deck wasn’t decorated for anything.

The Cruise Director was ok and tried to be funny but I guess with such a long cruise (they told us it’s the longest they have done on the Radiance) it gets a bit stale. Hopefully he will gear a few more things to suit the Aussies in future.

A lot of their activities were very late so hope they change to have some things start at at least 9 or 10pm not 11pm.

The shops sell the usual things but they only have a little section of the alcohol shop for snack foods, personal care items, medical helps for seasickness etc. Horror of horrors they ran out of chocolate bars half way through the cruise!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The biggest down for us was NO LAUNDRY!!!!!!!!!!!! $25 for a little plastic bag of ‘small items’. We washed our smalls in the bathtub (we were in a Suite)

No map on the wall for current status but it was on the TV screen though not as detailed, some were disappointed with that. I didn’t care.

They ran out of mint leaves so no Mojitos, some were complaining, I was happy with the mudslides and margaritas.

The biggest negative, TOAST AS HARD AS A ROCK, don’t know why they couldn’t make it rightJ

Verdict

Would recommend this ship to everyone, don’t worry about booking a suite, not worth the extra money. I am sure they will ‘adjust’ some things to suit Aussies as they learn what we like. They even had vegemite at the buffet and they served crocodile and kangaroo in the dining room. I am sure the Americans think we eat that all the timeJ I didn’t have any.

[rkmw]

Sally thank you for the review i enjoyed reading it.....bad about the noro but some people dont care

[wildweston]

Great review, loved it, thanks :)

[sailawaysally]

I forgot to add that the pool tables are amazing just to watch in rougher seas as they move around to keep level. The mini golf is very popular too and the kids looked happy too with their clubs except that they were closed for quite awhile because of the Noro virus so a few were floating around wondering what to do. Love the area that is set up for jigsaw puzzles, cards, board games etc. Library was great too, good reading material. The Casino was popular, gained $5 but I was gobsmacked to see the big rolls people were playing with. One guy lost $5000 in one day.:eek: The bingo was popular of course but I don't think they are used to how many Aussies play because they had it in the lounge area instead of the showlounge but had it in there for the last day, it was packed! I think it got up to $10000. I think they take even more photos than Princess or P & O. They seemed to be everywhere. They were all nice so that was good as we've come across some grumpy rude photographers in previous cruises.

[Guest012]

Great short review Hmmmm think i'll give touch screens a wide berth unless there is plenty of antibacterial handwash handy ...lol cheers Shiona

[sailawaysally]

Great short review Hmmmm think i'll give touch screens a wide berth unless there is plenty of antibacterial handwash handy ...lol cheers Shiona

 

 

They had the antibacterial stands everywhere so you'll be right!:)

[rugbypopsie]

Good review thanks...cant wait until the 18th Nov....bring it ON!:)

[musicorn]

Thanks for writing this review so quickly after disembarking. I really appreciated it.

 

Can you tell me was there a charge for the mini-golf? Also what was the food in the main dining room like? Is it worth going to the Specialty Restaurants?

[sparky-elpaso]

Nice review. Just 4 more months for us. :D:D:D:D

[LuckiePuris]

Thanks for a great review Sally! Do you mind if I ask, did you try the specialty restaurants?

[sailawaysally]

The mini golf is free as are most things, the Dining Room is beautiful and roomy and the food is good so we didn't try the Specialty Restaurants except for the Giovannis for the Mystery Dinner which we booked online. It was fun but I wouldn't do it again. You can get a package where you pay so much for 4 different restaurants or something like that. The Hot Dog place was popular with my family cos they are beef and taste nice but I didn't have one. You can make your own pizza in the buffet at night. There is frozen yoghurt in the buffet at lunchtime that dispenses like a soft serve into a cone or plate. Very nice. Choc, Choc/Vanilla, Vanilla, Strawberry. The Solarium has an amazing choice of food like, fruit cups, pastries, muffins, cakes, biscuits, rolls, foccaccias, packets of potato crisps at lunchtime (popular), tea, coffee, hot chocolate and lots more. All free! The coffee shop on deck 5, Latte-tudes makes nice coffee you pay for and has a cabinet with free biscuits, cakes, muffins, pastries!

[Topaz_M]

That's all great information!

 

Thanks Sally :)

[lonig]

Thank you for the great review. Will be traveling on Radiance November 20th for two weeks. Hopefully we will have the same great time you did and no noro virus. If only people would stay in their cabins if they are sick and not infect others but they feel they paid for the cruise and they are going to do everything. Getting my flu shot tomorrow but since noro is a virus won't help if it is on the ship. I am a hand washer so I usually don't get sick, even at work when others are ill I don't seem to get it, thank goodness.

[LuckiePuris]

The mini golf is free as are most things, the Dining Room is beautiful and roomy and the food is good so we didn't try the Specialty Restaurants except for the Giovannis for the Mystery Dinner which we booked online. It was fun but I wouldn't do it again. You can get a package where you pay so much for 4 different restaurants or something like that. The Hot Dog place was popular with my family cos they are beef and taste nice but I didn't have one. You can make your own pizza in the buffet at night. There is frozen yoghurt in the buffet at lunchtime that dispenses like a soft serve into a cone or plate. Very nice. Choc, Choc/Vanilla, Vanilla, Strawberry. The Solarium has an amazing choice of food like, fruit cups, pastries, muffins, cakes, biscuits, rolls, foccaccias, packets of potato crisps at lunchtime (popular), tea, coffee, hot chocolate and lots more. All free! The coffee shop on deck 5, Latte-tudes makes nice coffee you pay for and has a cabinet with free biscuits, cakes, muffins, pastries!

 

Thanks Sally for the information, the food sounds fantastic! If you're planning on uploading your photos online, would love to see them.

 

Thanks again Sally for taking the time to answer our questions :)

[sailawaysally]

Forgot to mention, speaking of the Noro, their public toilets are beautiful and actually all were working:D! So used to them being blocked up or awkward to wash hands and open door without touching, you can use the paper towel to open the door, prop it with your body and throw the paper in the bin that is near the door. No worries!:) They had the antibacterial stands all over the ship, outside the elevators etc. so we were constantly using it and never got the Noro, thank goodness!

[thied]

What a great review, glad to see you had a great time.

[cazz0069]

Thanks for the review....very fair and equitable way of explaining the pros and cons.... :)

[erewhon]

Thank you for your review.

It's a shame that some people refuse to use the hand sanitizer.

[mummyrose]

Thanks for sharing Sandra.....sounds great...had to chuckle at the kangaroo and coc....and the toast eck.....I do like the sound of plenty of hand sanitizer.....We could have done with more on the cherry blossom...

[musicorn]

The mini golf is free as are most things, the Dining Room is beautiful and roomy and the food is good so we didn't try the Specialty Restaurants except for the Giovannis for the Mystery Dinner which we booked online. It was fun but I wouldn't do it again. You can get a package where you pay so much for 4 different restaurants or something like that. The Hot Dog place was popular with my family cos they are beef and taste nice but I didn't have one. You can make your own pizza in the buffet at night. There is frozen yoghurt in the buffet at lunchtime that dispenses like a soft serve into a cone or plate. Very nice. Choc, Choc/Vanilla, Vanilla, Strawberry. The Solarium has an amazing choice of food like, fruit cups, pastries, muffins, cakes, biscuits, rolls, foccaccias, packets of potato crisps at lunchtime (popular), tea, coffee, hot chocolate and lots more. All free! The coffee shop on deck 5, Latte-tudes makes nice coffee you pay for and has a cabinet with free biscuits, cakes, muffins, pastries!

 

Oh I want to be there now after reading this, thank you soooooo much!

[Bandyup]

what a great review.i am sick of reading all the bad stuff from the yanks, its time we got positive comments. We are sailing 4dec'11 and are realy looking forward to it. We are having a sneak peak at her as she is in fremantle at the end of this month.

[Mothballs]

Great review Sailawaysally.I was also on this cruise and I agree with you on everything you had to say.

The only complaint would be about the entertainment.Personally I prefer P&O entertainment and I'm not sure if the Aussies and New Zealanders play Trivia more than the Americans but the Schooner Bar was way too small.

It will be interesting to hear what others think about the Radiance as I overheard a lot of people say they preferred The Rhapsody.

Regards Elaine.

[golfer76]

Great review Sally :)...did you get a chance to play mini golf (or bothered wanting to lol)? What about the golf simulator onboard? Did you see that by any chance? If so, how much for a go? :)

[sailawaysally]

Great review Sally :)...did you get a chance to play mini golf (or bothered wanting to lol)? What about the golf simulator onboard? Did you see that by any chance? If so, how much for a go? :)

 

We played the mini golf a few times and had a lot of fun up there with the wind:D. I didn't see a golf simulator and never heard about one onboard, I think the Sun Princess had a simulator, but not sure. Anyway, there are plenty of golf clubs and balls of different colours so lots can play.:)

[Kinkacruiser]

Thanks for sharing Sally. I would definitely miss a laundry onboard. Imagine how many clothes you would need for a long cruise.

Do they have auto tipping on RCCL?