Dec 23 to Jan 4th Christmas and New Years Cruise Review - Radiance of the Seas

[Hobart Hurricane]

Ok so here is my first attempt at a Cruise Review. I have previously completed 3 cruises on Princess and would of completed a 4th, however Royal offered a Christmas and New Years cruise to the South Pacific and Princess were going to New Zealand and the in-laws (who were doing their first cruise) wanted to do the South Pacific.

 

We booked the cruise in November 2013 and got a really good deal, for two balcony cabins on deck 9. We didn't get much OBC, with only $50 for each cabin, but that didn't bother me.

 

Day 1:

So at 8:30am on the 23rd of December we boarded our flight from Hobart, Tasmania to Sydney. We arrived into Sydney and caught a taxi to the OPT in Circular Quay. The Taxi cost $49.60 (AUD) from the airport, but we did take the option of the tolls, instead of the back way when the driver asked us, as it was much quicker on the freeway.

 

We arrived at the OPT at 11:45am. The OPT is currently being renovated, but this didn't slow as down at all, we dropped our backs off, picked up the outgoing passenger forms, through customs and were lined up to be on the ship by 12:15pm.

 

By 12:45 we were sitting just outside the Boardwalk Doghouse on Deck 11, with our ID photos taken and enjoying lunch from Windjammers. An announcement came over saying our rooms would be ready just after 1pm and by the time we finished lunch they were ready.

 

Our cabin was 9530 and the in-laws 9514. We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the ship and finding our way around. Before we knew it , it was 5:30 and we made our way down to Deck 4 to Cascades. We did traditional dinning at 6 as I always find this the easiest, and we were on Table #477. Our to waiters, Robert and Lewiu were fantastic and we had a table of 10, with only 8 people being there the first night. I had steak for the first night and the chocolate celebration for dessert, but can not remember my entree.

 

We missed sailaway from Sydney due to being at Dinner, however I have seen the sail out from Sydney twice before and didn't mind missing. For the rest of the night we went to the welcome show, and then to bed. I was surprised to find on the TV that we still had Channel 10, so spent the last of the evening watching my hometown team Hobart Hurricanes lose to the Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash.

 

Day 2 will be posted latter, with some photos.

Edited January 7, 2015 by Hobart Hurricane

[kftw]

Looking forward to more of your review.

[Hobart Hurricane]

I forgot to add two things. Before we left for the cruise, we purchased Royal Replenisher Drink Package and a tour in Luganville and one in Noumea. We did this because we were charged in AUD before we left, thus avoiding the International Transaction Fee on our credit cards and also it lowered our on board account. Also on Day 1 we did a tour of the Spa area. My girlfriend decided to purchase the Thermal Suite for both of us for duration of the cruise. This was a nice little addition.

 

Day 2:

Day 2 was Christmas Eve. We woke fairly early and decided to have breakfast in Windjammer. Windjammer is as good as the Horizon Court Buffet on the Princess ships in my opinion. I never had any problem with the food in there. After breakfast we grabbed some towels and found a spot in the Solarium pool area. This was one of my favourite areas on the ship, when it wasn't busy. We spent the morning swimming and reading poolside.

 

I should add that there was roughly 600 kids on board, due to it being a Christmas and New Years cruise. There was some that were barely noticeable and then others that behaved in a manner which would have had me sending them out of my classroom and not back in. Im lucky that so far teaching I haven't experienced anything like I saw on the cruise with some of the children. The parents were mainly to blame as they let their kids run free and do whatever they wanted. However, like I said above, many were great and hardly noticeable. We will get to one incident I witnessed later on!

 

We grabbed lunch from the Park Cafe, the roast lamb roll, which was nice and headed off to the Port Lecture. Amy was our CD and Saini the activities manager. Amy gave the lecture, I had been to all put Luganville and Mystery Island, but the in-laws found it interesting and book some tours from this. They also won a prize in the raffle.

 

For the rest of the day we spent up in the Thermal Suite, on the heated ceramic chairs and in the saunas. I particularly liked the Ice showers in there. I booked a massage for Boxing day, as did my girlfriend and her mum. Her dad booked in for Acupuncture treatment also.

 

At dinner that night two of our table went to the Samba Grill, so we had two Anytime Dinners join us for Ireland. They were nice and told us they had been living in Australia for 3 years, originally was supposed to be 3 months.

 

The show was Piano Man, however I had seen this before so we skipped it and had an early night.

[loungelady55]

Following! On Radiance in September:D

[Hobart Hurricane]

Day 3:

Christmas Day. We woke reasonably early and headed down to Cascades for breakfast, wearing my funky Christmas shirt and hat (not really was forced into wearing it). We were seated by 8, with a few people. I decided to have pancakes, due to the reason I knew the bacon in Cascades was fried and I don't fancy it that much. Windjammer has english bacon which is much nicer.

 

After breakfast I watched the kids under 17, have photos with Santa and get a present. We then went to the Christmas trivia, but performed terribly.

 

For the rest of the day we lazed around and went to the cinema to watch the Grinch.

 

It was formal night, where we had a few photos taken and then ate. One thing to note I was a little disappointed with Christmas onboard. In the dinning room for tea there was no ham or turkey on the menu (the turkey was on for the last night of the cruise). I don't think there was any ham in Windjammer or turkey either. It didn't really feel like Christmas day to be honest, with the atmosphere around the ship also being down. You couldn't complain about the decorations and the ginger bread houses as they were great, but I think people on board maybe were right into the swing of relaxation by this stage. This didn't faze me much, other than having turkey for tea would of been great.

 

That nights show was one performed by the singers and dancers from the ship, but we skipped it and went and had a little flutter in the casino, then a late night swim.

[Hobart Hurricane]

[lucymorgan]

Thanks for the review - we are on Voyager in a few weeks so it is interesting to hear your experience :)

[canadianaustralian]

Keen to hear more, I am on her on tuesday:-)

And is MONA worth a visit, if so how do I get there from the ship? Thanks in advance

Edited January 9, 2015 by canadianaustralian

[dubaihammer]

One thing to note I was a little disappointed with Christmas onboard. In the dinning room for tea there was no ham or turkey on the menu (the turkey was on for the last night of the cruise). I don't think there was any ham in Windjammer or turkey either. It didn't really feel like Christmas day to be honest, with the atmosphere around the ship also being down. You couldn't complain about the decorations and the ginger bread houses as they were great, but I think people on board maybe were right into the swing of relaxation by this stage.

This was a huge disappointment to my wife as I had assured her that there would be a traditional Christmas dinner available on Christmas day. We talked to the dining room staff and expressed our unhappiness but nobody actually seemed to care!

We will definitely not sail on another Christmas cruise with RCI.

[Hobart Hurricane]

Keen to hear more, I am on her on tuesday:-)

And is MONA worth a visit, if so how do I get there from the ship? Thanks in advance

 

I have never been to MONA as I havent had time due to Uni and sporting commitments. However, my family and partner have and they enjoyed it. Where the ship docks in Hobart, all you need to do is walk down past Mures and you can catch the MONA ferry, up the Derwent and under the Tasman Bridge to the museum. The ferry is very nice and have heard the ride up their is nice as well. Anything else you would like to know about Hobart, fire away I'm sure I can help you out

[Hobart Hurricane]

This was a huge disappointment to my wife as I had assured her that there would be a traditional Christmas dinner available on Christmas day. We talked to the dining room staff and expressed our unhappiness but nobody actually seemed to care!

We will definitely not sail on another Christmas cruise with RCI.

 

Yeah I was looking forward to that. Was a bit of a let down

[Aussie FF]

This was a huge disappointment to my wife as I had assured her that there would be a traditional Christmas dinner available on Christmas day. We talked to the dining room staff and expressed our unhappiness but nobody actually seemed to care!

We will definitely not sail on another Christmas cruise with RCI.

 

Hi Steve & Veronica.

We had a fabulous time every evening with you in the CL.

Just to let others know, as we discussed, we asked for turkey for Christmas dinner, even thought it wasn't on the menu, and we got it.:)

 

Cheers

Seija & Adrian & family

[Hobart Hurricane]

Day 4:

Boxing Day was another sea day. I had a Swedish Massage booked in for 9. The massage was relaxing, as usually I'm receiving a deep tissue massage before a game of football or for recovery. My partner and Mum had one booked for 12, so I went exploring. I went right down to Deck 2 and looked at all the plaques and shields the ship had been given by different ports. I went from Deck 2 right up to Deck 13 into the night club, which was completely empty.

 

I spent some time in the Thermal Suite talking to a couple that had completed 4 cruises with Princess and this was there 3rd Royal cruise. We compared the two companies and ships and I enjoyed the talk we had with them.

 

That afternoon we decided to go and have a look at the watch sale. I ended up buying a nice Invicta watch that was reduced by 75%. Then it was off to tea. During which I heard my first Alpha call. Someone had decided to slip near the pool and split their head open.

 

After tea we went of to the Quill and Compass for trivia with our table group for dinner. Trivia become a constant thing with our table group.

[Hobart Hurricane]

Day 4: Luganville Docked

We arrived at Luganville for our first port day. For today we had booked the Blue Water Hole and Northern Beaches excursion, while the in-laws had the Glass Bottom boat tour. Our tour left early and we into a mini-van and on our way by 9:15. Each mini-van had a guide who talked about the city and Vanuatu. The drive to the Blue Hole took roughly 25 mins.

 

The water colour was unbelievable and the water temperature wasn't bad. I made the mistake of jumping off a ledge of no more than 2 metres and cut my foot on some limestone. I even packed my reef shoes, but thought in the fresh water they wouldn't be needed. We spent roughly an hour here before we were packed back in the mini van for another 25 minute drive to a beach on the North side. The beach was great, there was a bar set-up with free fresh fruit and some water, and for a small price you could purchase soft-drinks and beer. We spent 45 minutes at the beach before we were dropped back at the ship.

 

We spent the rest of the morning walking around the dock looking at the market and taking photos of the ship.

 

We were back on board by 1:30 and it was a shower and straight to the Windjammer for some lunch. The temperature for the day was about 30 degrees, but the humidity would of been in the high 80's, making for a sweaty and sticky day.

 

The show that night was a hypnotist. I was pretty skeptical going into, but the show was pretty good and was enjoyable. I still don't fully believe but thats another story, for another day.

[Hobart Hurricane]

[Eagercruiser8]

How did Royal Caribbean do New Years?