Radiance 5/27 South bound Alaska cruise

[gwt119]

We have done this same itinerary previously on Radiance in 2013. I found a lot of differences in service and state of repair on the ship from 2013. I love this itinerary- we had a great time in each port. In Seward we did the Kenai Fjords cruise of Resurrection Bay- finally saw puffins, sea otters, seals, orcas and the Holgate glacier calve! Juneau and Ketchikan we had nothing planned and just wandered as we liked. We did the Alaskan Brewery tour in Juneau and loved it- it's really a talk in a viewing room and tastings. We had a employee who really LOVED beer and taught us a lot about the process. Also did Mt. Roberts tram. Skagway we did the Yukon train and bus tour. In Icy Strait we did a whale watch tour with FISHES. I do not book excursions through Royal- I prefer other touring companies.

 

I was disappointed with the state of repair on the ship. You could not tell the ship had been in dry dock at all. They were painting our balconies in port. You still see rust everywhere. She's tired. The VOOM service is a joke and RCI is blantantly advertising high speed internet when it is nothing of the sort. Service was spotty at best. You would get kicked off service all the time. We got a one day refund after complaining of bad service because there was no service at all in Skagway. My husband is in computer security and he said the servers are crap. Guest Services needs training in customer service- rude and I don't appreciate friends being called liars when they complained about the internet. Managers of guest services always seemed to be "on break" when friends with the flooded cabin wanted info on what was being done. Most of the crew appeared to be brand new and not sure of what their duties were- our room steward never introduced himself and didn't understand English very much. The My Time was a disaster- the starboard side could not seem to handle seating people or the computer was down. They kept telling people if you like your server and table site you need to reserve the same time every night. Which defeats the purpose of my time dining. The food in the dining room was the usual cruise food- nothing special. Service was fine. We ate in Giovanni's and Chops which was excellent.

 

The shows were fine, and there were plenty of activities.

We spent a lot of time in the Pub because they had a great singer in there. The Colony Club is a lovely place to relax and have a cocktail.

 

Beware if you have been assigned Cabin 8625. Friends had this cabin and it flooded twice. It must have flooded previously since it was musty smelling and damp the first day. Communication was lacking and repair of the problem was slow. Our friends had to stay in an "emergency" cabin which was the size of a closet with a twin bed for 2 people. It's no fun to come back from an excursion, find your cabin wrecked and have no where to go. Finally a balcony cabin that had been under repair got fixed for my friends to use for the last 2 days of the cruise. Finally RCI offered 25% off another cruise for all of the difficulties. You tell me if you would find that acceptable for no use of your cabin for 4 out of 7 days.

 

Despite all these hiccups we had a great time. We were in a group of 26 and we cruise together every year. We made the best of it. I love Radiance class, but I think RCI is neglecting the smaller ships and concentrating too much on the big classes of ships.

This is just my opinion- no need to flame because I saw problems.

[birdylady]

Thank ou for your review. We are doing Radiance next June and have never done this class of ship, but always hear wonderful things about it. Sounds like your last statement may be sadly true about paying attention to the bigger ships. They really need to make sure all their ships have good upkeep. After all, it's all one product for them.

 

Erika

[Gordo]

Thanks for sharing your experiences. We sail on Radiance next year to New Zealand, and based on scheduling she may be an option for our May 2018 Alaska sailing. After reading your post, I am not sure we want to sail on her two years in a row.