back from Radiance 3/12-3/19 Eastern

[sailor moon]

:D Great ship, we had our first Owners Suite for 2 adults and 2 kids. Eastern intinerary. I would be glad to answer any questions.

[roe2ship]

Welcome back! I see you cruised with two kids.......what are their ages and did they enjoy the AO program? Do you know if AO is open on port days? I got two different answers from RCI (no and same as sea days)TIA

[PlumMad]

We are doing the same route on Radiance this coming Sunday. Please give us a quick overview of what you thought of the ship.

 

Did you make it to CocoCay?

 

What excursions did you do on the islands?

 

How was the weather?

 

Was formal night very formal?

 

How many kids and spring breakers were on? Any problems?

 

Sorry for all the questions, just very excited!

[megessey]

We'll be on the boat in less than a month! Doing th eastern itin also ...... Do you have the Compasses?

 

Who was the cruise director? I heard they were changing this month.

 

What movies did they show -- theatre and/or tv?

 

Was it really crowded due to spring break? Was the solarium crowded--age restriction being obeyed or were there kids running around?

 

Glad you had a good time!

[ckrobyn]

First cruise ever was on the Radiance - sailing on her again this coming November and I can't wait :) I'll be reading all the reviews between now and then!

[krewzin]

How was the OS? What were your impressions?

[pacthepuppies]

bump???

[cheropita]

Hi,

 

Our family (and 7 others) were also on this sailing. We all had a blast.

 

The new Cruise director is Kieron Buffery. It was his first week on the job. He was fabulous. He is originally from the UK but now lives in CA. He was with NCL for 15 years and decided he was ready for a change. He loves where Royal Caribbean is going and joined on. He was great to everyone in our group!! He said we made him feel very welcome for his first week on the job. We felt the same way. I think I scared him a little at The Quest but we knew we had to break him in. lol

 

Coco Cay is so beautiful. I went parasailing there. What great fun! We set ourselves up in a quiet spot far from everyone. In hind sight we shouldn't have as we had to walk far to get to the food and then the bar near us closed so we got thirsty just trying to get a drink. You have to get tendered over so that takes some time so calculate that in on your time. We began to get off the ship at 10 but should have started earlier. We were on the second to last tender, last one was at 3:30.

 

In st. Thomas we booked a day tour with Sunny Liston (on the web). I toured with him in October so I knew he was good and reliable. He picks you up at the ship takes you downtown for shopping picks you back up and takes you on a tour of the island and then takes you to a beach, we picked Sapphire beach (very nice) he picks you back up and has you to the ship usually around an hour before you need to be back. You can shop at the pier if you like. He gives you your 11th and 22nd person free. Lots of fun. If you book say hi from me please:)

 

In St. Martin we had a friend staying there so she booked a tour bus for our group for the day. Awesome day!! so beautiful there. We went to Orient beach (nude), quite the experience. Good drinks, one free with your beach chair rental. We went to Grand Case for a BBQ lunch, very yummy. Then we were off to Maho beach. This beach is right beside the airport so the planes fly literally over your head. The kids loved this. There is a great bar there too. Sunset beach bar. We ended our day with a couple of hours of shopping. Very near to the courthouse is a awesome jewellry store called The Place. My friend has had many pieces appraised from that shop and everything has come back way higher in value. I have picked up many pieces there too. You can e-mail them ahead of time and they will even send you pics and prices to help you out. theplacesxm@hotmail.com The beach right at the main street where you get off the water taxi is a great spot too.

 

Our weather was beyond great. We had lots of spring breakers but they all behaved themselves and were having good fun. We try to join in and enjoy their fun. The younger kids were fine too.

 

Most people dress up on formal nights. Nice suits and ladies in nice dresses, gowns and some pant suits. People were still pretty gussied up on the second formal night too.

 

I was told there were kids in the solarium hot tub but I didn't see this my self. I felt people of all ages were all well behaved on this cruise. I do have the compasses to check the movies but can't recall off hand what was playing. We didn't go to any. The entertainment was great.

 

We really enjoyed ourselves. I have already booked my next one while on the ship.

 

Any othere questions just let me know.

 

Vanessa

[flacruiser]

The Radiance is awesome. Sailed on her twice! Just off the Radiance January 15. There were children in the hot tub in the solarium. We told the pool attendants and they were kind enough to ask the family with the children to take them to the children's pool. Solarium is adults only. You'll enjoy every bit of it! Service awesome. Food great! Doesn't take much to make me happy...food, sun, drink, gorgeous ship!

 

Sailing on Jewel 4/30.

[sailor moon]

The cruise was great and we adored the Owners Suite as we had plenty of room for 2 adults and 2 teenagers (13 and 14). Our Steward was great (Mary Joy)

 

Willie is the Concierge and helped us with excusions. I also lived in the concierge lounge in front of the cappacino machine...

 

On COCOCay the kids did the waterpark and waterslide and had a blast.

On St Thomas we took the tram to the top of the island and then did shopping.

On St Martin we took the RCCL Land and Sea tour that included a bus tour of both parts of the island, an underwater tour in Marigot. and shopped in Marigot.

 

We used the gym but not the spa services. The movies on board were Million Dollar Baby, Coach Carter, Be Cool, Sahara, The interpreter and Kingdom of Heaven.

 

The ship never felt crowded and the kids behaved well. The music in the Centrum was absolutely wonderful by group called Rosario Strings.

 

DH and DS loved the Beatlemania and the Magician and the Pool expert.

 

Service all around the ship was great. Anything else?

[Mermaid Chic]

This would be classified under the worst cruise we have ever taken.

... :(

Have cruised for years on Celebrity and Carnival and had heard really

great things about RCCL.. so we booked- at a greater cost- on the

Radiance of the Seas Mar 12-19. Eastern Car.

 

The ship was lovely- and the cabin was lovely. The service was over

all excellant. The food was dreadful. Everywhere on the ship. At times

I had to force my self to actually pick something from choices which

were disugusting. From burnt bacon at breakfast in the Windjammer-

to green Muligtawny Soup at the Seaview.. and on.

 

I was sick on top of this. Couldn't get a bowl of chicken soup or

clear soup ANYWHERE on the ship for 2 days. Finally asked our

waiter who managed to find a clear OX TAIL soup for me.

no kidding.

 

Our travel agent sent us some champagne we never got plus our

liquor which we "checked"

on coming back from an excursion on shore "disappeared".

We heard later we were not the only ones on the ship which had this

problem !!

 

The ports of call were so -so. Felt Coco Cay was a total waste of

time. Would not even get off the ship there .Loved St. Thomas, the

beaches and the shopping. Also loved the beaches at St. Martin-

forget the shopping. Shop in St. Thomas !!!

 

Liked the leisure of the days at sea and the Solarium- as it was for

adults.

Think we will go back with Celebrity or Carnival next cruise.. we still plan on

cruising but were really disappointed with RCCL.

 

Missed Meet and Mingle as I was ill that day .. so was really sorry

about that !! That may have been the highlight of the cruise.

 

Thanks for sharing your cruise experiences !!!

Glad someone else had more fun.

[KingwoodKruisers]

The ports of call were so -so. Felt Coco Cay was a total waste of

time. Would not even get off the ship there .

 

Wow, I am so surprised to hear someone not like Coco Cay. I thought it was beautiful and a nice place to relax for a day! Never heard of one bad experience there.

 

Also, do you think that because you were not feeling well from the beginning is why the food was not appetizing?

[Ladylouwho]

I'm thinking maybe the reason this cruise was so bad for you was because you were ill. I have only heard good things about the Radiance and having sailed her younger sister, Jewel of the Seas, can attest to the beauty of the ship. No one has ever claimed that RCCL has the best food in the world, but it is not BAD. If you want 5 star food go on a 5 star cruiseline and pay 5 star prices. You obviously did not go to Chops because the food there is great and the service top notch. Sorry you had such a terrible cruise.

[jmayen]

Has anyone been on the Radiance with a 12 year old? I have a "young" 12 year old and I am concerned about him being in with the 13 and 14 year olds. I have read on the boards that they are in groups by 9-12 and then 13-15, but not according to basic information from RCI. Does anyone have first hand knowledge??? Please help

[ramidon1]

The age groups were 9-11 and 12-14. My daughter is a mature 11 and they moved here to the older group per her request. She felt more comfortable there. Sometimes they mixed the 9-11's w/ even younger kids....she thought it was for babies.

[jluc123]

We were on the same cruise 3/12 to 3/19 and had a great cruise. Service was excellent, ship is in great shape, coco cay was beautiful and food was above average. I guess this is what make the world go around. What one person thinks is terrible another 100 would think is great. Would reccomend the Radiance any time. By the way this was our 7th cruise and have the Mariner booked for March 07.

[sherrill17]

We were also on this fabulous ship the week of 3/12. The service was great, the entertainment was very good but I agree that the food was awful. We cruise 2-3 times a year and since RCCL changed their menus last year the choices have little to be desired. With that being said, the trip is what you make of it. The cruise director was great. We met him the first day at the welcome show since my parents were the ones that were married the longest in the audience. He remembered their names the entire week. If he didn't see them with the rest of us, he asked where they were. He was the most visible cruise director I have seen in a long time. The itinerary was nice especially if you were taking a vacation to relax, which is what we did (except when we were gambling!) I didn't see any children in the solarium area, and we spent most of our time there.

[jmayen]

Thank you ramidon1 for your answer. I am really worried because I have a very immature 12 year old so I might have to convince them to put him in the 9-11 group.

 

We sailed on the Mariner last July and the ship was awesome, but the food was horrible in the dining room. If they recently changed menus, then they need to change back. The food at Chops is awesome and the kids loved the pizza.

[trixie54]

Can you tell me more about the Owners Suite, & which one you had? I'm just off the Radiance (in a Grand Suite) & liked it so much I'm booking the repo cruise next Sept. (Vancouver to LA), considering an OS since the GS's near the wonderful Concierge Lounge are taken. 1062 is still open - just aft of centrum elevators, port side. Thanks!

[Treacher1]

I understand you had a brand new cruise director - how long will he be on this ship? We are sailing in July to Alaska - will he be following the ship to Alaska or move to another ship in the summer to stay in Caribbean.

[sailor moon]

We had the OS #1064. It was a good location - convenient to the cappacino machine in the Concierge lounge! My 2 kids (13 & 14) thought the 42 inch Plasma TV was the coolest. We told them the bidet in the bathroom was a foot washer...