LIVE from Radiance Apr. 21, 2023 - The Panama Canal - Canal au Niveau de la Mer

[njkruzer]

17 minutes ago, twangster said:

Not all Radiance class have stairs in the Centrum.  Only Radiance and...

 

Jewel has them. At least they did last April!

[Arzeena]

We saw Lou Gazarra on the Jewel in March and had seen him before too. He was fantastic. And what a personality! He is from Hammonton New Jersey, now in Vegas.

[twangster]

Radiance TV channel line up

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BillB48]

2 hours ago, twangster said:

 

Yikes.   It looks like the tug was able to slip over to the port side of the bulbous bow.   Hope they were okay other than needing to change their shorts.

 

The lock gate is another story.   Great example of why there are two gates.   I wonder if they closed that side for an inspection. 

They did not close for an immediate inspection, but they could have carried out an inspection some other time when it would not disrupt transits.  They of course could go ahead and operate with only the one gate at that end of the chamber if they had concerns.  They do configure the chamber using only one gate ahead of the ship and one gate astern.  This is usually done when the ship is at max length(1215') to give a little more room for the bow and stern tugs.

 

My contact at the Canal said the damage was limited to a bruised ego and a bent mast on the tug!  No doubt about some extra laundry expenses.

 

Your photo mystery about the staircases has now sent me on a fool's errand.  I have been on all 4 Radiance class ships to include the Serenade in January and I would have sworn they all had centrum stairs.  I am often reminded not to swear.  I now have dug up two previous cruises on those ships and of course, I don't have centrum pics in those batches!

[tpooleinjax]

On 4/30/2023 at 7:11 PM, twangster said:

 

The spa didn't have any ear piercing appointments.  Waiting for the engine department to change shifts hoping one of them has a drill. 

 

Head on over to medical.  They have some pretty nice needles over there.

[little britain]

16 hours ago, twangster said:

Samba Grill for dinner.   Seventeen of us present.  I think the early seating is more popular. 

Went to Samba a few days ago. Whilst most of the meat was good ( 2 of the cheaper steaks were ropey compared to the final filet) - we were very disappointed in the side offerings; rice, beans and some fried stuff. What really would have been nice to compliment the meat was a large crisp salad 🥗 imho. 
The small goats cheese and tomato started was delicious. 
 

This was the 2nd of our BOGO pre purchased for one person, before the cruise, and then the date moved several times on board. They didn’t bat an eyelid and we were presented with $0.00 bill as expected. 

Edited May 2, 2023 by little britain

[njkruzer]

Centrum stairs. My recollection is that Royal planned to remove those stairs but didn't complete the project. 

[twangster]

Last night at Samba I overheard the guests behind me telling the waiter they don't eat red meat or pork.   The bacon wrapped chicken was okay though.  

[twangster]

Captain's noon address.

 

3,543 nm traveled so far.

 

The winds we experienced the other night were a weather phenomenon from the Chivela Pass.

 

I never felt any ship movement but I did hear the cabin groaning in the night from where the walls meet the ceiling and such.  Apparently some guests felt a little motion and asked the Captain why.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chivela_Pass

 

"In extreme circumstances during the winter, truly cold, dense, air occasionally flows from the Bay of Campeche in the Gulf of Mexico through the Chivela Pass into the Gulf of Tehuantepec on the Pacific side. These winds can be strong enough to sandblast paint off ships in near-coastal waters."

 

We didn't get those type of extreme winds but the increased wind we had was the same phenomenon as we sailed across the Gulf of Tehuantepec on our way to Huatulco.

[Jimbo]

3 hours ago, twangster said:

 

No UDP on long cruises like this.   Saw Chops plus one, 3 night, 5 night and 10 night. 

Might depend on cruise or ship, but not sure but Jewel of the Seas on September 14, 2023 has the UDP on it's 14 night cruise. right now the price is currently $297 per person

[Jimbo]

6 minutes ago, twangster said:

Captain's noon address.

 

3,543 nm traveled so far.

 

The winds we experienced the other night were a weather phenomenon from the Chivela Pass.

 

I never felt any ship movement but I did hear the cabin groaning in the night from where the walls meet the ceiling and such.  Apparently some guests felt a little motion and asked the Captain why.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chivela_Pass

 

"In extreme circumstances during the winter, truly cold, dense, air occasionally flows from the Bay of Campeche in the Gulf of Mexico through the Chivela Pass into the Gulf of Tehuantepec on the Pacific side. These winds can be strong enough to sandblast paint off ships in near-coastal waters."

 

We didn't get those type of extreme winds but the increased wind we had was the same phenomenon as we sailed across the Gulf of Tehuantepec on our way to Huatulco.

You should get a paper document from Royal good for framing of your total traveled voyage on the last night of the cruise. Look for that, it is a pretty nice no cost souvenir of your vacation.

 

We have ours somewhere around this house. 🙂

Edited May 2, 2023 by Jimbo

[Seville2Cabo]

5 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Might depend on cruise or ship, but not sure but Jewel of the Seas on September 14, 2023 has the UDP on it's 14 night cruise. right now the price is currently $297 per person

We were told no UDP on cruises 15 nights and greater

[Jimbo]

2 minutes ago, Seville2Cabo said:

We were told no UDP on cruises 15 nights and greater

Guess we just made it  under the guidelines.

[twangster]

Just now, Jimbo said:

Guess we just made it  under the guidelines.

 It's Royal.   Rarely consistent.  I'm sure someone once had the UDP on a longer voyage, or will at some point.  

[twangster]

Chair Hog report

 

 

Apparently all tne chair hogs have ventured to the aft Windjammer outdoor seating where they play card, dominoes. read a book or snooze during meal times.  

 

The pool is setup for volleyball  crew vs. guests coming up shortly.

[twangster]

Pool is salt water and heated... by the sun.  

[twangster]

They lowered the water level so you can stand..

 

 

Captain Rumen representing team crew.

 

 

Wait, who is driving the ship?

 

Edited May 2, 2023 by twangster

[Kathscof]

3 hours ago, twangster said:

Not all Radiance class have stairs in the Centrum.  Only Radiance and...

 

Making me happy for 24 days from now 🙂

 

I like how the Centrum has varying degrees of "participation", front and center on the floor, chairs on the floor, fun people along the railings dancing right along and the farther up you get you have people that just wanna watch and not engage haha

[little britain]

1 hour ago, twangster said:

Chair Hog report

 

 

Apparently all tne chair hogs have ventured to the aft Windjammer outdoor seating where they play card, dominoes. read a book or snooze during meal times.  

 

The pool is setup for volleyball  crew vs. guests coming up shortly.

Oops you’ve got a pic of me again!!

 

You forgot all those who have been stuck in the deck 5 sweatshop the entire trip making a quilt or something!  Or those who have sat in the solarium playing cards all cruise 

[twangster]

Just now, little britain said:

Oops you’ve got a pic of me again!!

 

Could you be a little more specific?  🙂 

[bobmacliberty]

21 hours ago, twangster said:

 

It's a man bag.  And they said no. 

 

[ONECRUISER]

3 hours ago, njkruzer said:

Centrum stairs. My recollection is that Royal planned to remove those stairs but didn't complete the project. 

Yeah think on couple older Ships Royal removed them also. Ever since they use Centrum for things everyday they need the extra space

[twangster]

While I was up on deck 12 watching the crew vs. guest volleyball action I noticed some other action down at the water level.   

 

 

 

So I headed down to the helipad for a better view.

 

[twangster]

The Bird Show was in the Cruise Compass at 2pm...  not really, this was a random show put on by the wildlife of the Pacific.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[njkruzer]

Dh says they are Masked Booties.  If face is full brown then Brown Booty.  He also wants to know what setting your camera was set at.  Also GPS location?

Edited May 2, 2023 by njkruzer