Live from Radiance Pacific Coastal 9/16/06

[cruisenfever]

Niles, thanks for your great reports. We will be boarding Radiance this Saturday for our b2b cruises. Keep the ship healthy for us coming on. So glad that you are all have such a great time.

[ladylawyer]

How was dinner at Chops?

 

Chops was fabulous, as always. Well worth the cover charge ($20). Warning: the T-bone is HUGE! :eek: The petite filet was perfect and just melted in your mouth! Unfortunately, we missed dessert because we didn't want to miss Quest. I urge you to try it, if you have the chance. ~ L

[CulverCityCruisers]

Hi There!

This is Marsha from the 3/16/07 Murder Mystery Cruise with Lorna!! Say "Hi" for me. How fun to read your information. Please, do say more about the corkage fee. Also, were you able to walk on with wine bottles without any trouble? How was Quest? (One of my favorites!)

Marsha

[tinkerme1]

Hi Lorna! Sounds like you're having a great time! We're meeting up with Elle and Peder at Disneyland for the full weekend. Sorry we'll miss you at the pier. Please give a special hello to Ally too! Oh, and Congrats on the Quest.

 

Lorna, please send info on the Murder Mystery on Monarch to me! I'm very interested.

 

:D

[wrp96]

I was on Dan's Quest team ... it was my first win at Quest. Kudos to Jim Morrison and Ally for their participation. Especially Ally, who did the worm freshly out of Chops. Personally, I would have left most of my dinner on the floor, had I been assigned to that task. I did contribute a piece of clothing but I am happy to report that it was not a "foundation garment."

 

I've won Quest before myself. Where is the photo proof though of the win? I need pictures.:D

 

I hope all is well. Wrona, I wish you and Carol were here. This has been so much fun. ~ Lorna

Believe me, I'm pretty sure Carol is with me when I say we wish we were there with you too.

[beachlovergirl]

IMNILES -

 

What type of cabin do you have?

 

Have you met your cabin steward yet? I've never been on a cruise where the cabin steward hasn't introduced themselves within the first hour or so of our coming aboard.

 

Any additional comments on Pierce, the CD would be helpful. Have you been to any of the shows?

 

Thanks!

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

Niles, thank you for your review of Radiance. We will be sailing on Radiance in November. I wasn't aware of the Norovirus outbreak and hope that is all resolved before we sail, but I am sorry you have to endure the inconvenience.

 

We have sailed on Brilliance and Jewel of the Seas and do know that the ships are very comfortable and elegant. This will be our first cruise on Radiance.

 

Keep us informed how things are going and I hope the rest of your cruise is great fun and relaxing.

[KathieKata]

Attn LADYLAWYER posted:

I still haven't met Tony (San).

Negc then posted:

Check out the concierge lounge, I'm sure that they know him quite well in there.

Too funny Negc!! She should look on the floor next the stool by the bar. He spends so much time in there throwing back all those FREE DRINKS that he most likely FELL OFF THE STOOL!! :D

[PH8]

No bar stools in the CLs.....just comfy leather chairs.......

[kc320]

Another friend of Tony/San here, gee sounds like a support group doesn't it?!

To bad you aren't on the Serenade, he'd be easy to find there, he has a chair in the CC lounge with his name on it!!:D

 

Sounds like you are all having a wonderful trip, I may just have to put this cruise on my "to do" list also!

[Grandmom]

Hi everyone......another friend of San's here. If anyone sees him, tell him I wish him a wonderful cruise, or the rest of it.

[KathieKata]

If anyone see's our "friend" Tony/San........tell him to stay away from the railings when walking back to his cabin!! Oh by the way, He's most likely walking around with a hat on him that say's "I'm in a Owners Suite" !! :D

Have a fun cruise!

[Michelle!]

As I have come to expect from Royal Caribbean ships, Radiance is very clean, and everything seems to be in good condition, with no obvious wear. The current cruise director is Pierce, and the Captain is Rune Lokling (not sure of the spelling there).

 

Cheers!

 

Pierce is a CD? Not that he remembers, but I have sailed with him three times. I remember when he was bingo boy Pierce! lol How is he? I'm not sure I can see him as a CD.

[kyriecat]

He was actually a lot of fun a couple of weeks ago. He was dancing with several women on disco night. One of them grabbed his butt and hung on. The expression on his face was priceless!

[bchbms]

Thanks for keeping us informed on your Radiance cruise! My best friend and her Mom (Irene & Greta... in case you run into them, tell them Mary said hi!) are on this cruise, so I feel like I am travelling vicariously with them! Also, my daughter is in San Francisco today on a business trip, so I told her to keep an eye out for alot of happy cruisers wandering the streets. :D

 

So glad you are having a good time!

[isujim]

Thank you so much for the up to date reviews.........will be boarding this ship myself in 2 weeks for a transcanal 15 night cruise.........glad to hear the ship is getting back to normal and things are going smoothly.

[IMNiles]

Pierce is a CD? Not that he remembers, but I have sailed with him three times. I remember when he was bingo boy Pierce! lol How is he? I'm not sure I can see him as a CD.

 

Yup, he's moving up in the world! I met him when he was activities director on Vision, and as I was sailing alone, I always appreciated that he would stop by and chat - he's very accessible. That hasn't changed on this sailing - he's the same Pierce. Always engaging, very friendly. Definitely quieter and not as outrageous as some CDs are so I guess it depends on your taste. Don't think he'd fit well, necessarily, on a booze cruise. Anyway, he's not here long. He's apparently floating from ship to ship until he gets a more permanent assignment. He's going to end up on Rhapsody for awhile if memory serves (he rattled off several ships, and I'm afraid I don't remember them now).

[IMNiles]

IMNILES -

 

What type of cabin do you have?

 

Have you met your cabin steward yet? I've never been on a cruise where the cabin steward hasn't introduced themselves within the first hour or so of our coming aboard.

 

Any additional comments on Pierce, the CD would be helpful. Have you been to any of the shows?

 

Thanks!

 

I'm in a "larger oceanview" on deck 3. I have run into my cabin steward several times now. She's very nice and addresses me by name when she sees me in the hallway (it took me awhile to figure out that she was saying "hello, Mr. Daniel" when I walked by, and not a more generic greeting). She never did actually formally introduce herself though, which is just a little odd. Perhaps she just forgot. It only stuck out because on every previous cruise my steward made a point of stopping in and introducing him or herself. Certainly not a PROBLEM, just something I noticed.

 

I made some comments on Pierce a few messages up. I met him on another cruise, and he is extremely engaging and approachable. He's quite low-key compared to many other CDs I've met, and I guess depending on what you want that may or may not be a good thing. On the plus side, I find him to be less grating than some of the really over-the-top CDs, but at the same time it does lend some of the more risque shows (quest, love and marriage) a more subdued feel.

 

The only shows I went to were the "visual humor" of some russian guy, which I found to be dull so I left, Love&Marriage, which was ok but quieter than usual, and the Quest which was great fun (especially since "we" won), but short. I heard that the singer on the first day was really, really good.

 

I've really enjoyed the classical guitarist and other music in the centrum, and have not particularly enjoyed the pianist in the Schooner Bar.

 

Gosh, here I go again sounding all negative. I swear everything is generally great and the ship is lovely as usual. These repo cruises are always a little weird, because there is staff turnover and general confusion over what's supposed to happen when - it throws everybody's routine off. Also, I think the staff was spread a little thin with all the extra helpers in the buffet the first few days (glad that's over!). I've enjoyed the company of Marwin and Mark in the centrum/lobby bar, and our dining room staff have been great (although the dining room seems much less full this trip than usual, which is bad for them). Oddly, they also have pretty much never opened the back part of the windjammer the whole trip (the part that's mostly "outside" aft). I think they said there were 2044 passengers aboard, which I'm pretty sure is short of capacity - there was a big sale on singles so I think perhaps this cruise was not a hot seller.

 

Lorna (LadyLawer), Ally, Cindy (Bella) and I went to the karaoke idol competition again last night. No doubt because of conflicts with Love&Marriage and the midnight buffet, competition was light so both Ally and I are in the final! :)

 

That's it for now. It is a GORGEOUS day in San Francisco right now. I'm enjoying a beer in the Cafe Flore on Market and just having a lovely time.

[isujim]

Keep the reports coming............I'll be on the Radiance in 2 weeks......enjoying your reports.

 

Jim

[ERJ145]

I was on the ship when the virus occured. About 100 people were sick. We were fortunate not to get sick!

[IMNiles]

was on the ship when the virus occured. About 100 people were sick. We were fortunate not to get sick!

 

According to the cdc, it was >200 on the 9/2 sailing, so were you on the week following that when it declined a bit? The staff said it was about 100 the following week, and back to normal levels now for our cruise, so code red is over.

[IMNiles]

I keep going back and reading this thread and realizing that I keep harping on the negative things that have happened, when in fact the vast majority of experiences have been very positive.

 

I want to make abundantly clear that aside from a few minor snafus everyone on this ship has been fabulous. Pierce, the CD, has been very personable and accessible, and I really appreciate the feeling (true or not) that he actually remembers me personally and cares how I feel. My favorite bartenders, Marwin and Mark in the centrum, have been great, and a source of a great deal of interesting conversation and great service. Though we disagreed on several key points, the purser's staff has always been polite and as helpful as they can be within the constraints of their rules. The dining room service has been excellent, particularly Abel our waiter, and our assistant waiter whose name I'm afraid escapes me at the moment (it was hard to pronounce), Ernesto the headwaiter, and the Sommelier whose name I regretfully also forget right at this moment (I'll make an effort to find out tonight, I'm HORRIBLE with names)..

 

My cabin steward has always been friendly in what little contact we've had, and has never failed to say hello when I pass her in the hall. Aside from the cookie **** at lattetudes, everyone has been very, very nice.

 

I think many of the minor snafus I have encountered all have a whiff of cost cutting and nickel-and-diming to them, but I'm certainly not about to let it ruin my time on the ship or go off on some kind of half-cocked rant. Life's too short. :)

[PH8]

Sommelier?? I thought they were a thing of the past on RCCL ships.......:confused:

[Fran Harp]

Sommelier?? I thought they were a thing of the past on RCCL ships.......:confused:

 

Nope, there was one on Brilliance, who tried to convince us that the wines we tasted were super good.:p

 

Fran in TO

[kyriecat]

Nope, there was one on Brilliance, who tried to convince us that the wines we tasted were super good.:p

 

If there is one on the Radiance sailing now, it is something new. My uncle asked to speak with the sommelier on the Radiance 9/2 cruise and ended up with the normal bar waitress. He was disappointed in the selection of wines. I think that is a common complaint. I thought RC got rid of the sommeliers a couple of years ago.

 

I don't remember one on Brilliance last Oct. Maybe RC is bringing them back.