Radiance 1/22-1/29 Review-LONG!

[jana616]

Radiance of the Seas, 1/22-1/29

Western Caribbean (Nassau, Bahamas; Cozumel; Costa Maya, Mexico; and Grand Cayman)

 

Day 1

Our flight from Indianapolis was at 8:10 a.m. and we arrived in Miami right on time at 10:48. Our luggage made it with no problems. We had been planning to take our own taxi to the pier, but in talking with a RCCL rep at the airport, decided to do the transfer for $12 per person. This had its pros and cons. It was nice to not have to worry about anything other than standing in line for the transfer bus. However, we had to wait for a good 30 minutes for the bus to arrive, they didn’t put us in any order, so people who signed up after us could get on the bus before us, and they didn’t have transfers coming very often. I think if we did it again, we would have just done the taxi or super shuttle since it was pretty confusing. Once we arrived at the pier, embarkation was so quick and easy. I think it was 15 minutes from arrival to boarding the ship. We got on the ship at 12:45 p.m. and found our dining table, then went to our room, which was all ready.

The room was very well laid out. We had an inside room, #2019, which was pretty much the cheapest room on board, and I thought it was fantastic. There is tons of storage (drawers in the desk, shelves in the closet, a cabinet above the TV, a medicine cabinet and shelf under the sink in the bathroom) and plenty of hangers. The decor is tasteful and attractive.

We ate lunch in the Windjammer, which was great. The area where the food is is very spacious and doesn’t feel congested. There are two sides to the area with pretty much the same food on each side. The selection was great and the food was good. We ate breakfast and lunch in here pretty much everyday. After lunch we went up to deck 13 and walked our way down each deck to explore. I would highly recommend this as we got to see everything and look at what we wanted to go back and explore. The Solarium was beautiful (and we never saw any children here all week), and the Colony Club is really elegant. They had an expo for all the different departments on board (photo services, shops, BINGO, casino) with raffles, then the muster drill.

The sail away was a little delayed, so it was a bit anti-climatic. We enjoyed the hot tub before dinner. We were at table #458, a table for 12 for second seating at 8:30. I loved this size, since we had tons of people to talk to. The only downside was that we usually finished last. We had excellent, fun tablemates, although many were very casual much of the week, which I wasn’t wild about. One of the guys wore his baseball cap and jean shorts every night, and I did feel this detracted from my cruise experience, but that’s just my opinion. Our waiter was Jimmy from Indonesia, and our assistant waiter was Francisco from Chile. They were awesome. For dinner that first night, I had the Vidalia onion tart, prime rib, salad and apple pie a la mode, and my husband had the watermelon gazpacho, spinach salad, angus steak, and ivory chocolate fondue.

After dinner we danced in the Starquest club with DJ Jamie until 1 a.m. The dance floor was fairly crowded almost every night.

 

Day 2

Ate breakfast in the Windjammer and out to Nassau by 8 a.m. Leaving the ship was very easy and quick. It took us a few minutes to get our bearings once out on the pier. We took a taxi to Paradise Island ($4 one way) and went to Atlantis just to walk around (not to do the Dig), and that was well worth the time. It is an amazing place to take in. Then we walked to Cabbage Beach, the free public beach. Beach chairs for rent, 2 for $15 for the day, but we were only there for an hour or two, so we just lay down and relaxed. The water was pretty chilly. We went back to the ship for lunch, then headed to the Straw Market where I bought a knock-off Burberry purse. We then tried to take a local bus ($1 each way) to Cable Beach, but it was taking a long time and we were nervous about getting back so we stopped at the Nassau Beach Hotel and went through the hotel to get to the beach there. They did not monitor guests at all, had beach chairs, umbrellas, even a pool. There wasn’t a sign saying it was for guests only, and we weren’t the only cruise passengers there, but I don‘t know the official policy. I wished we had gone there earlier.

The ship left at 4 p.m. and again we used the hot tub, then my husband played soccer with some new friends. We tried the mini golf, which was really fun, and then each climbed the rock wall. The rock wall has a very good variety of courses, with some being very easy and a few being pretty challenging. My husband is an experienced rock climber, and he had some trouble with the hardest one before he got it. On the other hand, I think almost anyone who tried the easiest one can do it. The personnel at the wall were all very nice, encouraging, and professional. We loved Issa from Trinidad and Tobago. By the end of the week he knew my husband by name, because he participated in so many of the sports activities.

Before dinner was the Captain’s Reception. His name is Harnan Zini, he is from Argentina, and this was his first cruise as captain of the Radiance. He is very young (38) and very personable. He made lots of jokes over the PA all week. Not to be crass, but I didn’t realize the drinks were free, so that was a nice surprise. Also, if you want to meet the captain and shake his hand, get there early on. They closed the line two people in front of us so he would have time to make his speech.

This was the first formal night. There were many tuxedoes, many long and fancy gowns. I had shrimp cocktail, lobster bisque, the filet of beef, and strawberry cheesecake. My husband had the shrimp, bisque, Caesar salad, beef, and cheesecake. One thing I was glad I learned on here was to kind of make the menu my own. Most nights I didn’t order a salad, but instead had 2 appetizers. My husband often had 2 appetizers and a salad. One night we ordered an additional entree to share. Every night our table ordered a dessert no one was getting and passed it around to try.

We watched the karaoke after dinner, danced to a string quartet in the Centrum, and then ended the night in the disco on deck 13. We did not go to Piano Man production show, but everyone said it was really good.

 

Day 3

Our first at sea day. I tried the Pathway to Pilates class, and thought it was just okay. I had never done it before and for $10 thought I would see if I like it. This was the intro class, so maybe the others were better, but I just didn’t feel like I really learned anything. My husband played in the 3 on 3 basketball tournament, which he said was lots of fun, and then we hung out by the pool until lunch.

We had asked the morning of day 2 for robes if there were any available, and we got them this afternoon. That was a nice treat, but I wished we had gotten them earlier.

In the afternoon we did the trivia challenge, which was pretty lame, and then played BINGO. Cards were $35 for 6 cards each for 5 games, per session. It took about an hour to play all 5 games.

Then we tried the Solarium and hot tub, which are very nice. Both pools are saltwater.

We went to the comedian, Kelly (or Kerry?) Moncrieff. He was very funny. Tonight was Italian night at dinner. I had the caprese salad, minestrone soup, tiger shrimp, and chocolate cake. The tiger shrimp were fantastic. My husband had the caprese salad, strawberry bisque, salad, lamb shank, and raspberry panna cotta. The waiters gathered as a group and sang after dinner.

After dinner we walked around a bit and went to bed by 11:30, which was a nice change!

 

Day 4

Cozumel-we had signed up for the Xel-Ha excursion through RCCL (only Xel-Ha, not Tulum/ Xel-Ha combo), but we were the only ones so they canceled it. This was the only thing my husband really wanted to do, so spent some time with the excursion desk person to see what could be arranged. In the end, we were able to take the same ferry to the mainland as everyone on the combination trip, then take our own taxi from Playa Del Carmen to Xel-Ha, pay our own admission, and then meet up with the combination tour when they got back on their bus after their time at Xel-Ha and ride back to the ferry with them. This was awesome, because we ended up saving $25 over the ship’s tour, and we gained an hour of time at Xel-Ha that we wouldn’t have had on the ship’s tour. I was very impressed with the excursion desk person, Marcin from Poland, who helped us with this. My advice-never be afraid to ask for what you want.

For dinner, we ate at Chops. (This was Caribbean night, and I had heard the food wasn’t great that night, though a lot of people enjoyed the red snapper apparently.) My husband and I both said that Chops was probably the best dining experience of our lives. We had a table at the window as the sun went down, the service was amazing (for most of our meal we had a waiter for our table alone), and the food was phenomenal. We both had the best shrimp cocktail ever, then dungesse crab and shrimp cakes that literally melted in our mouths, filet mignon cooked to perfection, baked potato, wonderful creamed spinach, and the only thing that was disappointing, spicy sweet corn and snap peas (they were way too spicy). For dessert, I asked if it was possible to try the flourless chocolate cake from Portofino’s, and our waiter said he would ask, but in the meantime had us pick two desserts off their menu, so we chose the Mississippi Mud Pie and Croissant Bourbon Pie. Then he ended up getting the other cake for me as well, so we were overloaded with desserts! Not that I was complaining!!! Of the three, I actually thought the Mud Pie was by far the best, with the Croissant thing a close second. The flourless chocolate cake was a little disappointing. Also, our waiter told us it was the same cake they serve the second formal night, and it was, so I would just get it there.

After dinner we watched the show for the evening, which was a woman named Maria put on a dynamic violin performance. I thought this was okay, but not great. The Love and Marriage show was tonight, and was absolutely hysterical. I would not miss this. Marc Walker is the cruise director, and he did a great job getting some truly shocking and hilarious answers out of the couples, in particular the couple married 52 years. This was also the night of the Caribbean poolside buffet and party. The party part of this was kind of lame, but the buffet looked delicious. Unfortunately we had stuffed ourselves so well at Chops we didn’t try anything!

 

Day 5

Our day in Costa Maya, Mexico started out badly with a downpour of rain. It finally cleared up around 11 a.m. so got off of the ship. The pier area here is very nice; there is a pool or two, lots of shops, restaurants, etc. It didn’t feel very authentic, but if you just wanted a nice, relaxing place off of the ship, this would be great. We took a taxi ($3 per person there, $2 per person on the way back) to Mujahaul, a fishing village about 10 minutes away. We walked down the road trying to decide where to settle, and in the end never did settle anywhere. My husband and two English gentlemen we had met on the ship ended up paying a local spearfisherman $40 total to take them out snorkeling for an hour, while I got a 40 minute massage for $15 (plus tip) on the beach. I would recommend that to anyone. They are very clean and professional, and the girl I had did a wonderful job. The signs all say 30 minutes for $20, but they will haggle and also just call out better offers if it’s slow that day.

We had to be back on board by 3 p.m. so we ate on the ship and then my husband played in the soccer tournament (a note on these: you earn ShipShape dollars and also get medals, which are pretty fun.) The sea was very choppy that evening, so while swimming in the Solarium we noticed huge swells that actually pushed tons of water out of the pool and onto the lounge chairs. Before dinner, we wanted to go play pool in the Colony Club. The self-leveling pool tables are amazing. They cost $80,000 each, but they work so well and it is really neat to see how hard they work at keeping themselves level. My only complaint was that there was supposed to be a 30-minute time limit, and no one enforced this and some people really ignored and broke this rule. Anyway, we tried to play pool, but there was a private Welcome Back party for Crown and Anchor members. We had never sailed RCCL before, but my husband mentioned that he had sailed Celebrity twice before, and they said “Oh, sure, then go on in.” It was awesome-the captain spoke again, this time for longer, there were more free drinks, and then there was opportunity to talk with the captain if you wanted. If you are invited to this, I would definitely go.

This was the second formal night, and the meal was a little disappointing. My husband had the duck consommé and salad with heart of palm, I had pineapple as my appetizer, and then we both had the lobster and shrimp with vegetables. It was a pretty small portion of lobster, but cooked very well. The dessert was a dessert sampler including the flourless choc. cake, and the sampler was just okay.

After dinner we drank with another couple from our table who we had become friends with, and then went up to Starquest to enjoy 80’s music. A note on bringing alcohol on board. We brought Malibu Rum and tequila in water bottles, and had absolutely no problems. In fact, one night we carried those water bottles as well as glasses from our room and juice to the Schooner Bar and drank there with no problem. The couple we were with that night brought nine bottles of wine and 2 bottles of rum onboard and had no problems. From talking with other passengers, it seemed most people brought alcohol on board. In Cozumel, one couple from our table brought back tequila from the shops, and they let them take it right to their room. Alcohol on board was not as big a deal as I feared it was.

 

Day 6

Grand Cayman-we had a pretty short day there, from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., which kind of stunk. We got up and went right to get our tender tickets, so we were on tender #3. Even still, we didn’t get on GC until 11 a.m. Friends on tender #13 didn’t get there until almost 1 p.m. Definitely rush up to the pool to get tender tickets before eating breakfast. We had time to try the formal dining room for breakfast, and I wouldn’t recommend it. It’s basically the same food but less selection, the service wasn’t very good, and it was pretty slow. The Windjammer had good food, wonderful selection, and good service. We never tried room service because the selection was pretty limited.

We arrived on GC at 11 a.m. and were supposed to be doing the stingrays and snorkel with Moby Dicks. Unfortunately, the waters were very rough, and they decided to cancel all tours. Also unfortunately, they didn’t leave anyone at the pier to tell people, so we had no idea what was going on. I thought this was very unprofessional, and would not recommend them to anyone. We did do the stingray portion with a tour company who was going out, but it was more money. The waters were very rough, but it was still an awesome experience. After that, my husband snorkeled at Eden Rock on his own while I shopped. He said it was great snorkeling-he saw a barracuda, puffer fish, parrot fish, butterfly fish, angelfish, and was stung by a jellyfish!) We bought rum cakes as souvenirs and called it a day.

When we got back on board, we ate at the Sea View Cafe on deck 12. This was a great place I wish we had tried sooner. They had Nathan’s hotdogs, burgers, chicken fingers, onion rings, soups in bread bowls, and awesome brownies. The service wasn’t very good, but the food was great. We ate lunch in Windjammer every other day, but it would have been nice to eat here some too.

After lunch we did the climbing wall, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by how little we had to wait any of the days we did it. For dinner, my husband had duck pate and salad for his appetizers while I had crab cake and chilled apple soup, and we both had pork chop, scalloped potatoes, and mixed veggies for our entrees. For dessert, I ordered the Baked Alaska because I thought they would do a big presentation with it, but there was no fanfare, which was a little disappointing. After dinner was the Quest game. Definitely get there early. There are very few seats in the Colony Club where it was held, and you are better off standing at the back railing than sitting in the area behind it, because all the people standing in front will block your view. I had heard a lot about Quest, and it was totally worth going to. I thought it was hysterical. We didn’t participate because I wasn’t sure how risque it was, but after seeing it, I would have without a doubt. Don’t try to find out ahead of time what it is, just go and enjoy.

After Quest was the Grand Buffet. One thing I really liked was that they had time before it was open to eat to take pictures. This was really nice, as there was room to move around and see everything. The food and presentation were both amazing. The breads shaped like everything you can think of, the 10+ ice sculptures, all the beautiful desserts.... they had caviar, different pates, sushi, crab legs, as well as tons of other foods. I also liked that they had people at the end of the line to give you covers for your plate if you wanted to take it somewhere else to eat. This was well organized, though of course the line was very long.

 

Day 7

Our last day on board and our second at-sea day. We slept in, which was wonderful, and then tried to cram in all the things we wanted to do, so we had a busy day. We played putt-putt and pool again. Then we did the scavenger hunt, which was pretty fun and a great way to earn Ship Shape Dollars (we got 14 as a team of 3). We stopped by the art auction for awhile, then ate lunch in the Windjammer. We also watched the tail end of BINGO, and saw two people split the $3300 jackpot. We did the climbing wall again, packed, then went to the Solarium for a last dip in the pool and hot tub. The Solarium pool is very nice because it is warm.

The last dinner was very good. My husband had the red pepper hummus and spinach dip, which were excellent, the forest berries and buttermilk soup, the NY strip steak, and the banana and nut crunch parfait. I had the shrimp cocktail, the roasted pumpkin and apple soup (which was one of the best things I had all week), the mahi-mahi tempura, and strawberry shortcake. One thing that was nice was there were always 2 low-fat or sugar desserts offered, and oftentimes they tasted as good as the fattier ones. The strawberry shortcake was low-fat and delicious, and the night they had strawberry cheesecake, the low-fat one was just about as good (I tried both.)

After dinner, we hung out with a few of our tablemates in the Schooner Bar until 2 a.m. and then called it a night.

 

Day 8

We woke up at 7 a.m. to be ready by 8 a.m. We chose to do the express walk-off service where we carried our bags off, since we were trying to rush to the airport and fly stand-by. We actually missed the time they set aside for that, and ended up walking off with the first two colored tags groups. This kind of stunk because it was very crowded getting off the ship, but it probably would have been better if we’d left at the right time. The whole process of debarking, going through customs and immigration took about an hour. It would have taken a little while longer to get luggage as well. Even still, I definitely think it would have been do-able to have an 11:30 flight, especially if you were willing to carry off your luggage. We were at the airport by 9:30 a.m.

Unfortunately, American Airlines totally screwed up and put two people further down on the stand-by list on the earlier flight instead of us (they admitted it was their error), so we ended up spending 9 hours in the airport our last day, which was kind of a sad way to end an otherwise fabulous trip.

 

Random Notes

Checking e-mail/using Internet very easy. We have a 1-year-old at home with grandparents, so we checked it periodically throughout the week. It was $.50 per minute, and to check our e-mail and write a short reply usually took about 7 or 8 minutes. We did have cell phone service the first day and last day while in Miami, but had to go up to a higher deck than our room and be outside to use it. It was a nice change not to hear cell phones all week!

There is some very nice and interesting art all over the ship.

There was lemonade, ice water, apple juice, and orange juice available self-serve by the Windjammer Cafe all the time. These were also available at the Sea View Cafe and Solarium Cafe. There is self-serve frozen yogurt in the Windjammer during lunch, snacks, and dinner, but not breakfast. There are very nice rattan tables and chairs just outside the Windjammer to eat at, as well as lots of tables all the way aft, which offers a great view.

There is a dart room and Baggo (throwing bean bags into boards), as well as the putt-putt equipment, in the Country Club on Deck 12.

Sorry this is so long! If anyone has any questions, I would be happy to answer them. I saved all of the Compasses and most other papers, so I can refer to them as needed. It was an absolutely wonderful trip!

[jillybabes]

Thanks for the wonderful review...We are going on the Radiance November 25th 8 nt Eastern and are looking forward to it....Glad to know you had a wonderful time:cool:

[ljpjr]

Thanks for the wonderful review. We are sailing on her March 5/06 this will be our first cruise. Couple of questions 1: you mentioned you were in an inside so are we deck 7 ajoining rooms for us as there will be 4 of us and you had no problem getting robes? So we just ask who?. 2: see you mentioned you kept the Compasses how much were the drinks of the day going for with and without glasses. Last but not least is there any way you would be able to send me a copy of the compass. My email is mljr@rogers.com Thx:)

[JulieMcCoy]

Thanks for posting such a detailed review - I know it's going to be good when it says "long" in the subject line!

[shirleygr]

Thanks for the review. I love reading all the details, especially what was available for dinner. Were either of the specialty restaurants open for lunch?

[jana616]

I'm glad you enjoyed the review. It's fun to relive the memories! To answer questions:

1) We just asked our stateroom attendant for the robes. We actually left her a note the morning of our first full day asking if there were any available, would it be possible for us to borrow them? Then she left them on our bed the afternoon of day 3. I don't know the availability, but it never hurts to ask. It seemed like the staff went out of their way to honor requests when at all possible.

2) The drinks of the day seemed to go for $5.95 including glass. They didn't advertise how much without them, but I thought I had read on here a dollar less. They walk around with them on trays, and will add alcohol as you like. My favorite guy would walk around calling "unleaded, leaded, super leaded, just let me know!"

3) I believe Chops and Portofino's were open for lunch on at sea days, but I don't remember them advertising that anywhere. We went to Chops as soon as we got on the ship to make our reservation (as soon as we confrimed which night was Caribbean with the dining room staff), and I'm sure they could tell you. I have heard they have a limited menu for lunch, so I would see if they have one available, and make sure the things that sound best to you are on it. Don't miss the crab and shrimp cake, they are truly phenomenal! Also, if you want to guarantee a table by the window, you have to take a 6 pm reservation, but it's worth it for the view as the sun goes down. I can't stress enough how much we loved Chops. A couple at our table went to Portofino's and they said it was good but not great. We thought Chops was exceptional. In fact, I miss it already!!!

 

Let me know if there are other questions I can help with!

[shirleygr]

Hi, jana.

I have to agree with you on Chops. We went there on our Nov cruise on the Enchantment and thought it was soo worth the cover. We had the crab cakes too and thought they were excellent. I never checked to see if Chops was open for lunch on our seadays, thinking it would be posted in the Compass. We only have one sea day on our Radiance cruise this November, so I will be sure to ask if Chops and Portofino are open for lunch that day. We definitely want to go to Chops on the Radiance, but would like to try Portofino's too, so if we can, we'll do one for lunch.

Thanks again for the review and for taking the time to answer questions. :)