Is Carnival Radiance the worst ship in the fleet?

[wallyboag]

A little background on this question:

I took my first Carnival cruise back in December of 2021 on the Carnival Miracle. This was during the restart times and masking everywhere including the bars was in effect and the ship was less than half full. I had an amazing time and couldn't wait to cruise Carnival again!

 

Later Carnival Radiance came online and Miracle sailed away for a while. I booked a trip on Radiance not long after she debuted. It was not as good as the Miracle. At this time they were at about 75% full, but the ship felt way more than 25% more crowded than Miracle. Still I had fun even though I had to occasionally wait for a drink or an elevator. I was also stunned at the lack of imagination of the interior. Miracle had a lot of whimsy and imagination. Radiance felt boxy and sterile.

 

A couple of months later I booked another Radiance cruise because the price was unbelievably cheap. This time the ship was at 100% capacity, and it felt very much like it. At times I would wait over 30 minutes for a drink. Lines at every food venue were out of control, and let's just say my legs hated me for having to climb so many stairs because the elevators were too busy. I love having a drink in the piano bar, but the line was out the door every night with people understandably not wanting to leave once they got inside. Also, there is no actual bar in Radiance's piano bar. It shares a server with the nearby Red Frog Pub, but it was so busy in the pub the server rarely had a chance to make it into the piano bar.

 

That is the last cruise I will ever take on Radiance. It was just too crowded with not enough space for all the people there and not enough crew to take care of the passengers.

 

Miracle recently returned to Long Beach, so I trepidaciously booked a cruise on her, worrying that at full capacity she would be more like Radiance was on my last trip.

 

Well that couldn't be farther than the truth. I am on her now and had a great cruise! Even though this cruise is at capacity, there is still lots of room on this ship for everyone. You never have to hunt for a seat in a bar, and the food service has been incredible (though the quality of the food is not great, but it was edible so I can't complain much).

 

So I ask:

 

Is Radiance the worst ship in Carnivals fleet, or is it more like what all the other ships are?

 

Is Miracle an exception when it comes to quality and style and space, or are the other ships more like Miracle than Radiance?

 

[woodey]

Miracle is a little smaller and like 2100 to 2500 full and the Radiance is 2800 to 3400 full... and the Radiance is not very user friendly very chopped up and hard to get around...the Spirit class is by far my favorite... I've been on the Radiance twice since it has been in Long Beach.. neither one a bad cruise but far from the best.... first was a complete booze cruise  3 day weekend ...second during the week 4 day and much better... I will never do a 3 day cruise again...... I've been on the Miracle 4 times since the start up and once after the dry dock, they did a great job on her all new carpet and changed the Casino around a bit...im sure you will enjoy the Miracle on future cruises... but dont rule out the Radiance in the future ...plus the Panorama out of Long Beach is awesome! but even bigger... it has more dinning options... 

Edited December 18, 2022 by woodey

[Dominay]

It’s your math. Your second cruise had 50% more passengers. 

[shof515]

I think what make this ship and the Sunshine the most hated is that they converted the 3 deck high traditional theater with tier seating now to a 2 deck non tier seating theater to add additional cabins and they also removed the deck 5 aft lounge that was used for other events to also add in more cabins

 

with more cabins and less public space it makes the ship feel very very crowded very very quickly.

[Jamman54]

20 minutes ago, shof515 said:

I think what make this ship and the Sunshine the most hated is that they converted the 3 deck high traditional theater with tier seating now to a 2 deck non tier seating theater to add additional cabins and they also removed the deck 5 aft lounge that was used for other events to also add in more cabins

 

with more cabins and less public space it makes the ship feel very very crowded very very quickly.

You can throw the Sunrise in there as well, as these three conversions have the worst Passenger Space Ratio (PSR) in the fleet. We enjoyed our cruises on the Sunrise and Sunshine, but we sailed on them during off peak times. We would never book them during peak times. 😎

[sanmarcosman]

For a ship doing only 3-4 day cruises I think Radiance is a good fit for Long Beach. She has taken over for the Inspiration and the Imagination on this route.

 

I like the sleek public room interiors after the $200 million overhaul of Radiance. The two story main dining room and the lido dining room are bright and inviting while the same spaces, Bacchus MDR and lido dining room on Miracle are bat cave dark. 

 

Here Carnival Radiance is seen from the bluff overlooking the town of Avalon on Catalina Island.

[mkcurran]

6 hours ago, woodey said:

Miracle is a little smaller and like 2100 to 2500 full and the Radiance is 2800 to 3400 full... and the Radiance is not very user friendly very chopped up and hard to get around...the Spirit class is by far my favorite... I've been on the Radiance twice since it has been in Long Beach.. neither one a bad cruise but far from the best.... first was a complete booze cruise  3 day weekend ...second during the week 4 day and much better... I will never do a 3 day cruise again...... I've been on the Miracle 4 times since the start up and once after the dry dock, they did a great job on her all new carpet and changed the Casino around a bit...im sure you will enjoy the Miracle on future cruises... but dont rule out the Radiance in the future ...plus the Panorama out of Long Beach is awesome! but even bigger... it has more dinning options... 

Thank you. Got of the Radiance a couple of weeks ago and it just felt off, after cruising on the Splendor. Chopped up and hard to get around, is exactly what that ship is.

I really need to book a cruise on the Miracle before it leaves again.

[dbrucern]

1 hour ago, Jamman54 said:

You can throw the Sunrise in there as well, as these three conversions have the worst Passenger Space Ratio (PSR) in the fleet. We enjoyed our cruises on the Sunrise and Sunshine, but we sailed on them during off peak times. We would never book them during peak times. 😎

We just got off the Sunshine and it was packed, forget the casino we saw people standing behind those playing waiting for them to get off the machines. It was insane but we had a wonderful cruise despite the crowds and booking off season

[justafem]

I must be the oddball.  I find the miracle to be strange. It's odd.  It's ecliptic and I don't mean that in a good way.  It's  It's like all the officers got together and let their spouses decorate the ship.  But each spouse only got one area and none of them coordinated.  The hallways to nowhere, the weird, closed off public rooms and everything is boobies.  All boobies all the time.   

 

Ok, previously I'd only cruised princess, but since carnival now has cruises from SF, I thought I'd try.  Our first carnival was a 4 day and OH BOY was it a party ship!  People yaking, kids amuck and oh the horrible food.

 

So I tried it again.  Laugh at me all you want to! 

 

Next, I went on a 10 day Alaskan with a friend, on her casino rate.  Better, less party, more 'norms'(?).  But still the horrible food and strange décor.  But I lost a LOT of money in the casino, so I guess that makes up for everything right?  

 

So I tried it again!  Are you laughing at me yet?  

 

This time I brought hubs on my own casino rate, who was just as confused as I was.  While we were on a cruise, it didn't feel as 'cruisey'.  

 

I have 2 more on the miracle next year.  And another on the Spirit.  Then back to the miracle in Jan 2024.  All casino.  

 

So carnival is cheap.  At least the rates I've been given are.  We've decided that we will cruise with them, knowing that the price is 1/3 of princess, but we won't love it.  And we're ok with that. 

[crazycatlady82]

So I just got off the Radiance on 12/16 after a 4 day cruise. I was talking to a lady on the shuttle to the airport and we both agreed that it was not our favorite cruise and something was just not right.
 

For me, there was a lot of little things…like having to run the shower 20-30 min before the water would become warm (I timed it lol). Hub app showing different times for when things are open…being turned away from the blue iguana for breakfast, saying they weren’t open until 7:30, but then serving others 5-10 min later. Not being able to get 2 bottles of water at the same time with cheers package. Guest services telling me that I didn’t do the online check in, as my card was not linked, and how everybody is supposed to go to a kiosk when they check in to link their card (not true). No quiet place to just sit, chill and read when the weather isn’t the greatest. Those are just a few things…

 

I did have some great crew members but I’ve been wondering if I’ve just kind of aged out of the short cruises on carnival or just kind of aged out of carnival in general.

 

[DallasGuy75219]

I haven't been on Sunshine, Sunrise, or Radiance since they were Destiny, Triumph, and Victory.  But I can only imagine they do feel chopped up and crowded because they all had public areas converted into more cabins and are now sailing with more pax than originally designed for.

[staceyglow]

I just got off the Radiance a week ago.  It was my 20th Carnival cruise. My expectations were low because it was a short cruise to ports I had already visited, and I was actually pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. 

 

I thought the decor was really nice.  I never had to wait for a drink at any of the bars I visited.  I did not visit the piano bar, but it is typically crowded no matter what ship I have been on, so wouldn't expect anything different on this one.  The cruise director, Deon was great. His shows in the center atrium are not to be missed.  My MDR dinners were good and nicely paced.  I was able to easily get a seat at the comedy club.

 

I was not a fan of the Playlist Production shows, however, although I have generally thought they are weak across the board on Carnival.

[DallasGuy75219]

8 minutes ago, staceyglow said:

I just got off the Radiance a week ago.  It was my 20th Carnival cruise. My expectations were low because it was a short cruise to ports I had already visited, and I was actually pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. 

 

I thought the decor was really nice.  I never had to wait for a drink at any of the bars I visited.  I did not visit the piano bar, but it is typically crowded no matter what ship I have been on, so wouldn't expect anything different on this one.  The cruise director, Deon was great. His shows in the center atrium are not to be missed.  My MDR dinners were good and nicely paced.  I was able to easily get a seat at the comedy club.

 

I was not a fan of the Playlist Production shows, however, although I have generally thought they are weak across the board on Carnival.

Was it full though?  The weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas/New Years week are not normally busy nor are there a lot of families with kids in 3rd/4th berths.

[staceyglow]

12 minutes ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

Was it full though?  The weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas/New Years week are not normally busy nor are there a lot of families with kids in 3rd/4th berths.

I would assume that the OP sailed around the same time I did.  Why would he wait so long to go on his rant?  

 

[ZoeyVictoria]

4 hours ago, crazycatlady82 said:

So I just got off the Radiance on 12/16 after a 4 day cruise. I was talking to a lady on the shuttle to the airport and we both agreed that it was not our favorite cruise and something was just not right.
 

For me, there was a lot of little things…like having to run the shower 20-30 min before the water would become warm (I timed it lol). Hub app showing different times for when things are open…being turned away from the blue iguana for breakfast, saying they weren’t open until 7:30, but then serving others 5-10 min later. Not being able to get 2 bottles of water at the same time with cheers package. Guest services telling me that I didn’t do the online check in, as my card was not linked, and how everybody is supposed to go to a kiosk when they check in to link their card (not true). No quiet place to just sit, chill and read when the weather isn’t the greatest. Those are just a few things…

 

I did have some great crew members but I’ve been wondering if I’ve just kind of aged out of the short cruises on carnival or just kind of aged out of carnival in general.

 

I think there is something to the “aged out” theory.  I have been on a Fantasy-class ship eight times, but after the Paradise in May, we decided we are done with that class. There was something just not right, as you stated.  The biggest issue for us was the volume. The ship was just plain loud and noisy and we could find nowhere to go for a peaceful and relaxing time.  We think we have just outgrown that type of cruise. 

[staceyglow]

13 hours ago, wallyboag said:

 

I took my first Carnival cruise back in December of 2021 on the Carnival Miracle. This was during the restart times and masking everywhere including the bars was in effect and the ship was less than half full. I had an amazing time and couldn't wait to cruise Carnival again!

 

 

 

Another thing to keep in mind:  You sailed on a half-full ship that even when full, has more public space per passenger than any other class of Carnival ship.  Barring another pandemic or similar situation, you are NEVER going have that experience again, on Carnival or any other line.  It's kind of a shame that this was your first cruise, because it spoiled you in comparison to a normal cruising experience.

 

Edited December 18, 2022 by staceyglow

[wallyboag]

4 hours ago, staceyglow said:

I would assume that the OP sailed around the same time I did.  Why would he wait so long to go on his rant?  

 

The OP sailed on the Radiance twice. Once at 75% capacity and once at 100% capacity. 75% capacity was crowded but OK. 100% capacity was not enjoyable. The 100% sailing was back in May.

 

The OP just got off Carnival Miracle today, also at 100% capacity, and not feeling crowded at all.

[wallyboag]

4 hours ago, staceyglow said:

Another thing to keep in mind:  You sailed on a half-full ship that even when full, has more public space per passenger than any other class of Carnival ship.  Barring another pandemic or similar situation, you are NEVER going have that experience again, on Carnival or any other line.  It's kind of a shame that this was your first cruise, because it spoiled you in comparison to a normal cruising experience.

 

 

As I stated in my original post, I was just on Miracle at 100% capacity, which means my comparisson is actually apples to apples. 100% on Miracle vs. 100% on Radiance, and the difference is night and day. My real question and point of the post was are the other ships in Carnival's fleet more like Radiance or more like Miracle, as those are the only two I have been on. One is a great ship, and one stunk to high heaven.

Edited December 18, 2022 by wallyboag

[DallasGuy75219]

48 minutes ago, wallyboag said:

My real question and point of the post was are the other ships in Carnival's fleet more like Radiance or more like Miracle, as those are the only two I have been on. One is a great ship, and one stunk to high heaven.

Ships in Carnival's other classes are in the middle. You've experienced both extremes in terms of space:passenger ratios... Spirit class ships have some of the highest space:passenger ratios because of the type of cruising they were built for.  Sushine, Sunrise, and Radiance have some of the lowest space:passenger ratios because they were "reimagined" and had public spaces in the original design converted to cabins and/or additional decks or partial decks added with more cabins.

[crazycatlady82]

18 hours ago, ZoeyVictoria said:

I think there is something to the “aged out” theory.  I have been on a Fantasy-class ship eight times, but after the Paradise in May, we decided we are done with that class. There was something just not right, as you stated.  The biggest issue for us was the volume. The ship was just plain loud and noisy and we could find nowhere to go for a peaceful and relaxing time.  We think we have just outgrown that type of cruise. 

Funny, I was also on the Paradise in May. I actually think that cruise was more relaxing for me due to the weather and being able to sit outside most of the time. I definitely would not book a cruise out of California this time of the year again--when the weather isn't the greatest, there is just no quiet place to sit. (I did find a nice, quiet, comfy chair to sit in and read while overlooking the ocean across from the red frog rum pub, but then they set up bingo sales right next to me....) 

 

 

[mz-s]

Heald posted today the Radiance is leaving out on a 3-day cruise with 3905 guests. Obscene to have nearly 4,000 guests on a ship that size.

[sanmarcosman]

17 minutes ago, mz-s said:

Heald posted today the Radiance is leaving out on a 3-day cruise with 3905 guests. Obscene to have nearly 4,000 guests on a ship that size.

2,432 Blue cards won't notice a difference 🙂 

[sanmarcosman]

From Carnival website fact sheet for Radiance:

 

CRUISE CAPACITY (2 per cabin):
2,984
TOTAL GUEST CAPACITY: (Including Uppers):
3,873

Where are the 32 persons over the max capacity going to sleep? Really 30 persons as JH listed 2 guests from Cleveland. 

 

Also, the 4 day cruises depart on Monday so this is not a 3 day cruise. Still 1,129 guests under the age of 21 some of whom are playing hooky 😉 

Edited December 19, 2022 by sanmarcosman

[jsglow]

In my view more of a reflection on exactly why I would never cruise over the holidays rather than any reflection on the ship.  I actually really like Sunrise and Radiance; but only with 'off peak' occupancy. And as it's Monday, she's setting sail on her Catalina/Ensenada 4 nighter. 

[mz-s]

25 minutes ago, sanmarcosman said:

From Carnival website fact sheet for Radiance:

 

CRUISE CAPACITY (2 per cabin):
2,984
TOTAL GUEST CAPACITY: (Including Uppers):
3,873

Where are the 32 persons over the max capacity going to sleep? Really 30 persons as JH listed 2 guests from Cleveland. 

 

Also, the 4 day cruises depart on Monday so this is not a 3 day cruise. Still 1,129 guests under the age of 21 some of whom are playing hooky 😉 

 

I think it's mostly that Carnival has gotten better at encouraging guarantee rates, and have been good about not putting couples in rooms that have upper berths. 2984 is obviously not the absolute maximum capacity for the ship. Even if all berths are filled there are still sofas in most of the balcony rooms, trundles, cribs, that can be sold.