Radiance advice for first timers

It seems like I've been planning my Alaskan cruise for so long...and now it's almost here! This is our first cruise (husband, 10yr old, 7 yr old) and I'm sure there is a list of "must do" items while on the ship? I'd also love any insight/advice on the dining options - MDR vs. other? These boards were so helpful throughout my port/excursion planning process, I know they'll help me now too!

Thanks!

Good morning, my husband & I have always done the MDR for dinner. Have you joined the Roll Call for your cruise, there you can meet others from CC who will be going also and depending on how active a Roll Call they have, will plan group activities. Look under the Roll Call section ( Royal Caribbean ) then scroll down to the Radiance and when the page loads, look for your dates. If you see your cruise listed, make sure you select the Last Page link to bring you to the currant posts for today and introduce yourselves. Have a terrific cruise.

We did a cruisetour in Alaska with RCI two years ago and sailed on the Radiance before it was totally 'revitalized' last Spring. We were part of a large group and found that MTD worked quite well for us especially when we elected to eat in one of the specialty restaurants a night or two. The ship is beautiful and a great way to view the terrific Alaskan scenery. The climate-controlled Solarium will permit you to swim and relax without forfeiting the opportunity to view that great scenery. Your family might enjoy the self-leveling pool tables on Deck 6. Remember to dress in layers because the temperatures and weather conditions can vary considerably from hour to hour and day to day.

Bill

Hi

We were on Radiance in April/May of this year. We normally eat in the dining room, but because this ship had so many specialty restaurants, we did try a few.

We loved Samba Grill (cover charge) - you will not walk away hungry - an appetizer buffet, 9 courses of meat along with some delish rolls, grilled veggies and potatoes and desert too. :D

We loved the Park Cafe (no charge) in the solarium - yougurt parfaits and egg burritos, sandwiches, salads, pizza later in the evening, cookies and deserts - very tasty! :D

We tried the Dog House (no charge) for hot dogs and those were good (we love our chili dogs here in Michigan - which they did not have on the ship).

We also went to Rita Cantina's (sm cover charge and low ala carte prices) - margarita's were very good. Food was good and large portions. We do like our mexican restaurants here at home, but that did not stop us from eating there twice. :D

FYI - the Solarium is an Adult Only pool. If the weather is bad, they will open it up to children and post the times.

Enjoy your Alaskan cruise on Radiance! The scenery is breathtaking!

Our last cruise on the Radiance was in 2008 and looking forward to sailing on her again in 2014 for our Australia cruise and April cruise in 2014. It will be espeically nice to see the new additions.

You are in for a treat next month, exploring amazing Alaska on the beautiful Radiance. Glass elevators facing the sea and views everywhere. MTD worked out great for us on our last Radiance cruise. (We sailed 'pre-renovation' so haven't experienced the new dining options). You may want to check out Royal Caribbean's Adventure Ocean Youth Program early on, your children can participate in the activities and meet new friends. The Schooner Bar is a great area on board and trivia games are hosted there- and the billiard tables are nearby. See your Compass (in your stateroom each evening) for daily activities, dining hours, nightly show information, etc. Consider enjoying breakfast or lunch in the MDR sometime, ordering off the menu and being waited on, if you'd like a change from the Windjammer. And your family may like a game of mini golf on board. Have fun exploring the ship and enjoying the ports of call. Here is a link to a great Radiance review from a CC member that I think you would enjoy: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1434211&highlight=radiance+alaska+jennat. Bon Voyage! :)

It seems like I've been planning my Alaskan cruise for so long...and now it's almost here! This is our first cruise (husband, 10yr old, 7 yr old) and I'm sure there is a list of "must do" items while on the ship? I'd also love any insight/advice on the dining options - MDR vs. other? These boards were so helpful throughout my port/excursion planning process, I know they'll help me now too!

 

Thanks!

When are your cruising? I will be on the SB Alaskan cruise July 13th :)

When are your cruising? I will be on the SB Alaskan cruise July 13th :)

We will be on The Radiance SB on July 27th .. WOO - HOO !!! ;)

There are a couple of dining options I would consider if I were you. First of all, there is something called Family Time Dining. Here's the description from the RCI webpage:

My Family Time Dining is offered for the first seating time in our main dining room, for children ages three to 11. Kids enjoy their meal within 40 minutes of seating, before heading to the evening's Adventure Ocean activities. The program starts the second evening you're onboard. After that, you can use it each evening or whenever you wish.

Secondly, I have found that if we do My Time Dining (in lieu of one of the traditional seating times) that the dinner process does take less time. Your family could reserve a table for four and enjoy a meal together.

We will be on The Radiance SB on July 27th .. WOO - HOO !!! ;)

I shall do my best to post on my cruise for you :)

I knew I could count on you all...great advice. We are on the northbound July 6th trip! Looks like I'll be getting off and Anne Marie will be getting on!

So, I have already reserved a traditional 6pm dinner option because I was nervous about MTD and not being able to get dinner before 8pm. If I want to change it once on board, is that allowed?

oh you're gong to love the Radiance! The Samba Grill was incredible and we were not prepared for the vast quantities of food. I only wished I had not eaten the entire day before going there! Also, loved Rita's Cantina. Enjoy!

I knew I could count on you all...great advice. We are on the northbound July 6th trip! Looks like I'll be getting off and Anne Marie will be getting on!

 

So, I have already reserved a traditional 6pm dinner option because I was nervous about MTD and not being able to get dinner before 8pm. If I want to change it once on board, is that allowed?

Absolutely. As soon as you have boarded the ship, go to Deck 5, upper level of Cascades Dining Room, and you can speak to one of the MTD coordinators who will be happy to see if they can switch you to MTD. Just be aware that if they do change you to MTD, they will add the gratuities to your SeaPass Account as they must be prepaid when doing MTD.

MTD on the Alaska itineraries on Radiance begins at 5:30.

We loved Samba Grill (cover charge) - you will not walk away hungry - an appetizer buffet, 9 courses of meat along with some delish rolls, grilled veggies and potatoes and desert too. :D

We loved the Park Cafe (no charge) in the solarium - yougurt parfaits and egg burritos, sandwiches, salads, pizza later in the evening, cookies and deserts - very tasty! :D

We tried the Dog House (no charge) for hot dogs and those were good (we love our chili dogs here in Michigan - which they did not have on the ship).

We also went to Rita Cantina's (sm cover charge and low ala carte prices) - margarita's were very good. Food was good and large portions. We do like our mexican restaurants here at home, but that did not stop us from eating there twice. :D

 

FYI - the Solarium is an Adult Only pool. If the weather is bad, they will open it up to children and post the times.

Thank you! I could not figure out from looking at deck plans where the Park Café is.

Did you try Café Latte-tudes? Does anyone know if it only has a charge for specialty coffees or everything they serve?

Yes you pay for the coffees, latte, flat whites etc, but pastries are free :)

We enjoyed having her here for a season in Australia.

Yes you pay for the coffees, latte, flat whites etc, but pastries are free

Do'h! I kept well away from the place (I'm not a coffee or tea drinker) and assumed the cakes and things were also an upcharge on the 2012 Tasmania cruise. Oops... :o

Hi

Yes, as Wildweston said, you do pay for the coffees but the pastries are free. :D

They do have a coffee punch card, buy six and seventh is free (I think it was six).

We are platimun with RCCL and they did include BOGO (buy one get one) coupon in each of our coupon booklets.

:D

Thanks for the info!

The reason I was checking is because Café Latte-tudes is listed on the (RCI website) Complimentary Dining tab with this description, so I figured I'd double check :)

DH loves his coffee, so I will be sure to ask about the punch card. :D

Thanks for the info!

 

The reason I was checking is because Café Latte-tudes is listed on the (RCI website) Complimentary Dining tab with this description, so I figured I'd double check :)

Café Latte-tudes

Caffeine fix, coffee break, or after-dinner cappuccino – drop by this café for sweets, people watching and specialty coffee beverages (additional cost applies).

DH loves his coffee, so I will be sure to ask about the punch card. :D

Cafe Lattetudes serves Starbucks coffee at Starbucks prices. The pastries were free and they were the best on the ship.

Park Cafe has really good roast beef sandwiches (actually, I think, like most of the protein across the ship, it was prepared sous vide). Most of the time, I just ordered the beef with gravy!

Take advantage of their dining deal! For $55, you get to dine at Chops, Giovanni's, and Samba. When you embark, you will see a table or two of people selling the package. They are well worth the money! I would have paid that much for Chops alone.

The Apple Dog at the Doghouse was my favorite.

To get to the helipad, you need to go to deck 5. It took me forever to figure that out for some reason. When the ship is moving, it is really windy up there, but if you take the stairs down from the helipad, you can find a nice wind refuge and still have great views.

On one of the port days, they have BBQ on deck. Our day was in Skagway.

Seats by the windows fill up quickly in the Windjammer, but in the mornings, you can sit in Izumi.

The sauna in the spa is free.

Have Fun!

Hi

I have been to Alaska 4 times I always take a torque or warm head band and gloves or mittens. There is ice in the water at the glacier and even on a blue sky day it is cold. You will enjoy the outdoors way more dressed warm. I also buy. The tiny fold up rain ponchos,they are like a plastic bag fabric, you can find them at dollar stores or drug stores they usually are only a couple of dollars easy to carry off the ship and guaranteed to be needed in Alasaka. They also make a wonderful windbreak and keep you warm.

In Ketchkan we walked up to Creek Street and then followed the walking trail on the right hand side of the creek up to the bridge and continued along the creek and onto the fish hatchery. It is a lovely afternoon or morning walk and you will learn and see so much. Check this oort on a walking map.

Have a great holiday you will want to go back it is so pristine.

To the OP for asking the questions and to those that have replied!

We were on Serenade a couple years ago and LOVED the pool tables. I know that Radiance is her sister ship so I am looking forward to all the glass!

I can't wait to see the upgrades! Thanks again!!

Do'h! I kept well away from the place (I'm not a coffee or tea drinker) and assumed the cakes and things were also an upcharge on the 2012 Tasmania cruise. Oops... :o

Nooooo oh well I can tell you they were yummy :) I was also on the Tasmanian cruise

To the OP for asking the questions and to those that have replied!

 

We were on Serenade a couple years ago and LOVED the pool tables. I know that Radiance is her sister ship so I am looking forward to all the glass!

 

I can't wait to see the upgrades! Thanks again!!

Same here, don't normally play pool but on Radiance we were addicted to those tables :D

We just got off the Radiance a week ago today. It was our first trip to Alaska but definitely won't be our last. We loved everything about it - Radiance is lovely, scenery breathtaking, itinerary and ports fantastic. We had MTD and made our reservations online prior to the cruise - worked out great. If you do happen to change your reservation to MTD, be sure to request Rainer as your server - he was a hoot! We were able to get him most times we ate in the dining room and had a blast. We also ate at both Chops and Giovanni's - both wonderful, although I'd probably give the edge to Giovanni's if you were only going to choose one. Haven't tried Samba yet but it sounds great. We also loved Kelly Goodrich at the Piano Bar in the Schooner Bar - so fun! You're going to love the Radiance and Alaska!!

If you are scheduled to be in port (for example) from 7 am to 4 pm, how much time do you actually have on shore?

In other words, how soon can you leave a ship after it docks, and how late can you return to the ship? (not that I plan to be the passenger that is last to run up the gangplank before it is pulled up. :p)

PS. If anyone has seen the SB cruise compass posted recently for Alaska, please point me in the right direction!

Thanks!