Radiance Somewhat Live Review

[Wanna_Cruize]

Boarded Carnival Radiance today, and wanted to come and recap the day. Learned a lot of things about this new ship, and can answer some questions I've seen floating around here about the ship. 

 

First a few words about us. DH and I have just (finally) made Diamond on our last cruise in Sept. We generally stick to cruising out of Long Beach, as DH hates flying. We cruise for the experience, and have been to all the ports here many times. We just love being on the ship, and just go with the flow. No drama here. We were supposed to have our first cruise on Radiance in early January, but I tested positive 2 days before we were supposed to leave, so we had to wait until today to see this ship.

 

First impressions, I like it! It has some similar features to our old favorites Inspiration / Imagination (may they rest in peace) and some of the new features we loved on Panorama. plus some new things. It's only a 3 night cruise, so it will go by in a flash, but these are the only cruises we can do right now, for personal reasons, but luckily we always enjoy them.

 

We boarded a bit late, just after 1pm, but absolutely NO wait to get into the parking garage & drop off our bags, got into the terminal immediately, and boarded soon after. Something new was after we checked in at the little round tables (before the xray machines) we were then directed to get into the lines to the desks along one side. We've never had to go to the desks before, because we always do our online check-in and set up our S&S account with a credit card. We had to show our passports again, and they took our picture there (probably for the facial recognition I hear Customs is using now when we disembark. I'll keep you posted on that. 

 

I did notice that they turned the Captains Lounge (used to be for Platinum/Diamond/Suites waiting area as the testing center, for those that need to do that at the port. 

 

We got on board and went immediately to our cabins to drop our carry-on bags, and headed to Red Frog Pub on Deck 5 for Happy Hour!  Yes, it is still available on Radiance, and from talking to the bartenders, it is only on embarkation day now, until  2pm. Got our 1/2 price fishbowl (served in a pitcher, which came with 2 silicone straws as a lovely parting gift. You can get the fishbowls with any of their Caribbean drinks, I chose the Cruiser. They do have beer half off, but it's a limited selection of some craft beers, including the Red Frog brands, of course. 

 

After that, we headed to our muster station E (in the Liquid Lounge Deck 4). Took all of 5 minutes, I hope this stays after the pandemic. Afterwards, we headed up to check out the Serenity area, which is on Deck 12 and Deck 14. Deck 12 Starboard is where the hot tub is, which was pretty full. There is a full bar there, so that is probably where we will hang some tomorrow on our Sea Day.

Edited February 5, 2022 by Wanna_Cruize
Stupid fat fingers

[Wanna_Cruize]

Next we went to tour the spa, because I wanted to check out the Thermal area. I know they don't have the Thalassotherapy pool 😢 but it does have the tile heated loungers in a room with floor to ceiling windows, about 6-8 I think. They also had an aromatherapy room, and two saunas, one regular (HOT) one with rocks you can pour water on, and one that wasn't so hot, but had a wall of Himalayan Salt tiles. We  happen to have a Spa Interior on our March cruise, so we will take advantage of it. The gym was very large and they off a lot of different classes. 

 

After that fun, it was time to rest up for dinner. We decided to do early dinner, and I had no problem changing it from Your Time online during the past week, probably because of the low passenger count. According to a deal the the Casino, it's about 1400 this week, but the prior 4-day cruise only had about 600-700 people onboard. 

 

I did some walking around while DH was resting, and found Big Chicken, which was new to us. Had a quick snack, and it was pretty tasty; will be back. 

 

I hid a couple of small rubber duckies that I brought, and most of them were found soon after. I'll have to check out #cruisingducks on the unmentionable site to see if anyone posted pics of them. 

 

Then we met up for dinner. They ARE now using both dining rooms, apparently when the counts are low, maybe the only use one. Early seating was at the Sunrise Dining room, midships. Dinner was good, and didn't have to wait too long. 

[Jamman54]

Thanks for posting! Looking forward to the rest! 😎

[Wanna_Cruize]

DH is on a low-sodium diet and we boarded too late to meet with the Maitre'd to pre-select his course. However, at the dining room our Asst. Waiter told him that he could order any of the 3 items that are always available (salmon, chicken or steak) and that he'd ask the chef to make one without any salt for him. It took a little longer, but it was well worth the wait. I had the veggie lasagna and it was good. A tiramisu to top it off, and we were stuffed.

 

By then, it was time to visit the Casino and see how our luck was. I must say, it was really nice to experience the (currently) non-smoking casino. I found a spot at the $5 Let It Ride table and spent a couple of hours there. o big wins, but enough to keep playing, so that was all good. 

 

Just before 9, we went off to the Limelight lounge for the first comedy show. The room was pretty full, but we were able to find 4 seats together on the side of the room. The comedian, Sam Demaris was pretty good, and the crowd was lively. 

 

I will say, mask compliance by the passengers was pretty good throughout the ship, as far as I noticed. I was so happy to hear Ryan Rose was the cruise director assigned to Radiance, we really enjoyed him on Inspiration BP (Before Pandemic). Haven't run into him yet, but maybe at the Diamond party. Speaking of which, the invitation was in our stateroom when we returned, and it's scheduled at 10:30 am on our sea day. 

[LuvCruiSun]

Thank you for the review! Looking forward to cruising on the Radiance in 2 weeks. Have a great cruise!

[Wanna_Cruize]

The crew has been fantastic so far, and we're so happy to be onboard again.  Loved sitting in the atrium listening to the strings trio. I did get some pictures, but haven't gotten them from my phone yet. Didn't hit Alchemy yet, as none of us has Cheers on this trip. Will have to stop by sometime, though. 

 

We're having our coffee now, and discussing our experience. We will definitely be going these quick weekend cruises more often, as they fit our current lifestyle perfectly. 

 

If anyone has questions, let me know and I'll try and find out info for you. 

[Wanna_Cruize]

Forgot to add about the situation in the dining room. A lovely gal introduced herself as Wendy, and said she was our waitress. A bit later, a young assistant waiter came by with the the bread (yummy). Finally, another older man came by, and he was the one we asked about the low-sodium options. He was very on the ball, and went off to discuss with the chef what the options were that night, and was also the one to take DH's order for the next night. Apparently the chef can take any of the options and make a special 'batch' with no salt when requested in advance. I commented to my DH later that he probably was an Asst. Waiter who wanted to be a Head Waiter. DH thought perhaps he WAS a Head Waiter, but they had doubled them up on teams, because the passenger count was so light. That might be true? 

 

Anyway, need to get up and going, and venture off to see the rest of the ship. I'll check back later & report more. 

[JGB]

appreciate your posts...on some cruises even though the casino tables close down in the early morning the slots are still made available if the ship is not in port, is this the case with the Radiance?

I like to play the slots from 3 am to 6am.

John

[Wanna_Cruize]

4 hours ago, JGB said:

appreciate your posts...on some cruises even though the casino tables close down in the early morning the slots are still made available if the ship is not in port, is this the case with the Radiance?

I like to play the slots from 3 am to 6am.

John

Yes we left Long Beach on Fri, and sea day was Sat. Tables closed around probably 1-ish ok so am, and reopened at 10 am Sat,  it slots open 24 hours during that time. 

[Wanna_Cruize]

Picked up our platinum gifts at Pixels. Pin was personalized to Radiance 2022. Play/Diamond gift was a bottle cozy (flat that snapped around). 

[Wanna_Cruize]

Diamond event requested to call to RSVP, which we did the. IV thanks before Friday 1men er plus 1guest. Invitations NOT collected at the door of thePiano bar ‘ 10:30. Lots of ships officers in attendance but no introductions done ??  Mimosas &. Lordy. Aries o trays passed around but a group of us asked for & received Tiramisu martinis. Passed snacks were mini croissants and danish, small fruit cups, profiteroles, puff pastry with Prosciutto @shaved Parmesan; etc. after that, we went to Sea Day Brunch. Now napping before dinner

[Wanna_Cruize]

Wow, read above & “drunk much?”  Can’t edit, so oh well was supposed to be Bloody Mary’s. 

After the diamond party, off we went to Sea Day Brunch. And to redeem our free drink “coupons” of course. Great food, as always. 
 

Just a lot of lounging after that. We’re mostly over trivia these days, but I did see a couple at the diamond party bring their ship on a stick with them. 

[Wanna_Cruize]

Ben is singing now in the atrium. Very talented. It takes a bit to get what song he is singing, because he puts his own spin on it, but very enjoyable. 

[Wanna_Cruize]

Well, another MDR dinner in the books. DH had his low-sodium dinner he had picked out the night before:prime rib & Italian meatball soup. I ordered the same soup from the regular menu so we could compare, and you could really taste the difference in the salt content. His was still really good, so they obviously do make two different batches. 

[Wanna_Cruize]

After dinner we went to the early comedy show with Sam Demaris again. He was really good. Afterwards we headed forward to see Rock Revolution. I think we may have seen this before, but I like this show lounge, the seating on the lower level 4 is chairs in the main section, so they can be moved around. But there seem to be fewer columns than on Panorama (probably because a smaller room).  What was definitely different was the use of drones at one point, it was really awesome.

[Wanna_Cruize]

Afterwards we headed aft to the rock & roll party on the lido deck with Ryan Rose. Really high every, and we learned the thriller dance. After that, it was time for the 10:15 comedy show but it was full so our friends took off & DH & I spent some quality time in the casino. I had a better run on the Let It Ride table & managed to play quite a while & ended up $30. Time for bed, with Ensenada tomorrow. 

[mondello]

Thank you for the running review. Glad to know they have a Big Chicken, I thought it was only on Mardi Gras? I've heard other ships only offered a glass of wine and drink coupon at the Platinum/Diamond party, and not always have any food. Glad you are able to enjoy a short cruise. I prefer longer the better, especially with the hassle of flying for us.

[Wanna_Cruize]

On these 3 day cruises they don't have the Platinum & Diamond event, only on cruises 5 days or more. This was the Diamond only event, which can be anything, sometimes I hear lunch, sometimes drinks & canapes, etc. We do prefer longer cruises, but can't do them anymore, at least for a while. 

[mondello]

How did you post, you're supposed to be sleeping?!

[Wanna_Cruize]

Drunk posting. This is the way. 

[SuperCatMom2]

On 2/5/2022 at 1:49 PM, Wanna_Cruize said:

Diamond event requested to call to RSVP, which we did the. IV thanks before Friday 1men er plus 1guest. Invitations NOT collected at the door of thePiano bar ‘ 10:30. Lots of ships officers in attendance but no introductions done ??  Mimosas &. Lordy. Aries o trays passed around but a group of us asked for & received Tiramisu martinis. Passed snacks were mini croissants and danish, small fruit cups, profiteroles, puff pastry with Prosciutto @shaved Parmesan; etc. after that, we went to Sea Day Brunch. Now napping before dinner

LOVE IT!!!! Sounds like you had a great time! "Do you" is my motto.