Live Trip Review - Radiance B2B 6 Jan 17 to 28 Jan 17

Following your review :D we have been told that we can't bring on champagne or wine. Is this new? Glad you got to have your bubbly!

Following your review :D we have been told that we can't bring on champagne or wine. Is this new? Glad you got to have your bubbly!

Thank you, more will be coming soon - promise.

As far as I know, you can still bring on your two bottles of 750ml wine or champagne per cabin [emoji4]

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Thank you for sharing. We sail on Radiance in November to New Zealand, and really appreciate your posts. We look forward to the rest of your review.

Did you have tea and coffee making facilities in the owners suite?

Did you have tea and coffee making facilities in the owners suite?

Sorry! I only just saw this. Yes, we had a kettle and a coffee maker (with that round drip-style coffee pad-like thing). I also took tea bags from the concierge club to make in the room, as the selection up there was much better.

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Hi everyone! So my live review didn't quite turn out the way I intended it to, in that I didn't do it, but here is my post-cruise review for your reading pleasure. If you have any queries, let me know. I didn't keep any copies of the daily Compass newsletters, apologies in advance as I know some of you love having a look through them before your big trip!

So my partner and I completed our first ever B2B, commencing with the 6 January 14 night cruise to NZ round trip from Sydney, and continuing with an 8 night cruise to a few southern Australia destinations, also round trip from Sydney.

I will be providing some commentary and images on most aspects, without going into too much detail. If there's anything specific anyone wants to know, please don't hesitate to comment and I will review and get back to you.

PRE CRUISE HOTEL

Prior to the cruise, we stayed at the Four Seasons in Sydney, which is one of the premier accommodation locations when you're departing on a cruise from our beautiful city. A stone's throw from the Overseas Passenger Terminal and with views to die for.

I did post a video of our room earlier in the thread. It was large and spacious, with a decent bathroom and a very comfortable (read: soft) bed. You kind of just sunk into it.

I had a standard room with a harbour view booked for a couple of months, but kept checking prices as the day came closer. A couple of days before our trip, I noticed that a Premier harbour view room was available for a fraction more, along with using some Expedia points that I had it was a no brainer price wise and we're so glad we upgraded, it just made the start of the trip that little bit more special.

BOARDING DAY

Boarding day arrived, and we awoke early to watch Radiance of the Seas glide into port. I did film a timelapse video to mark the occasion - half an hour of filming condensed into 30 seconds or so!

https://vimeo.com/201802159

We went out for an early morning walk, with the intention of continuing our daily exercise ritual throughout the holiday (I'll let you know if we managed or not later on) and managed to snap a few pictures of our favourite ship. It ended up being less a walk and more a photo session.

We made it back to the Four Seasons and shot through to breakfast at the buffet. A lovely setup greeted us, and I must say that all staff at the Four Seasons are really wonderfully pleasant and professional.

After breakfast, we dashed upstairs to shower and get ready for the best part of a cruise (well one of them), boarding!

We got ready, packed everything we had removed from our already tightly arranged suitcases, and raced out the door full of excitement. A quick check out, and then a walk across the road onto the Circular Quay pavement. The weather was a little unfortunate at this stage, wet and humid, but we were all smiles.

A brisk walk saw us at luggage drop off in about 5 minutes, where we dumped the bags we had previously tagged ourselves, and proceeded through to the upper levels for check in, set sails and passports in hand.

Into the line, a short wait, and then the terrific service of the great check in agent. Cruise cards in our possession, we proceeded up another level and through customs, then security, and then the moment we were waiting for was about to be upon us!

And that's when our 4 bottles of Moët saw us stop short of boarding in as swift a manner as we had hoped. Doing a B2B we were aware we could bring on 4 bottles of wine/champagne for the trip and we had our second cruise set sail passes ready if needed. Instead, security were confused and didn't understand the B2B idea, and directed us to an RCI employee who confiscated our additional bottles and provided us with a receipt as proof they had been taken from us (only after we insisted). The employee was unable to tell us when we would see them again, but I figured it would be at the end of the first cruise - spoiler alert: they arrived in our cabin on the last sea day prior to the conclusion of the first cruise.

It was finally boarding time!

https://vimeo.com/201802426

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Thanks for answering the kettle/coffee maker question. Excited to read your review and will be first thing I check each morning for further updates. We board our first ever RCL cruise and Radiance of the Seas in April.

I don't want to interrupt your review, or give away too much for the 8 day second part of your cruise, but my family and I were on part 2 of your back to back. All I will say at the moment is Boarding for the 8 day cruise was almost too easy, I thought I must have missed something. Since it was all in Australian waters, there was no need for immigration. We stayed overnight at the Mantra on Bond Street. Not as good as the four seasons, but also a really nice place to stay, just a bit further from port (10 minutes walk as opposed to 5 minute walk!).

After we checked out of the Mantra at 10am, we made our way to the port, dropped off the bags, took a few photos, then decided to have a look inside the terminal by about 10.20am (knowing we were super early, and not expecting anything). Check in was already open as the ship had been cleared already. By 10.30am we were on Radiance looking around. I've never been on board so early - we didn't know what to do next.

All I can say is the entire family had a great time, the crew were absolutely fabulous, the ship is in good condition (don't expect a brand new ship) for its age (some minor wear and tear but nothing too obvious) and would sail on Radiance again in a heart beat.

I'll let Tazza finish their review and not give anything away.

I don't want to interrupt your review, or give away too much for the 8 day second part of your cruise, but my family and I were on part 2 of your back to back. All I will say at the moment is Boarding for the 8 day cruise was almost too easy, I thought I must have missed something. Since it was all in Australian waters, there was no need for immigration. We stayed overnight at the Mantra on Bond Street. Not as good as the four seasons, but also a really nice place to stay, just a bit further from port (10 minutes walk as opposed to 5 minute walk!).

 

 

 

After we checked out of the Mantra at 10am, we made our way to the port, dropped off the bags, took a few photos, then decided to have a look inside the terminal by about 10.20am (knowing we were super early, and not expecting anything). Check in was already open as the ship had been cleared already. By 10.30am we were on Radiance looking around. I've never been on board so early - we didn't know what to do next.

 

 

 

All I can say is the entire family had a great time, the crew were absolutely fabulous, the ship is in good condition (don't expect a brand new ship) for its age (some minor wear and tear but nothing too obvious) and would sail on Radiance again in a heart beat.

 

 

 

I'll let Tazza finish their review and not give anything away.

Please feel free to contribute [emoji16] it was a terrific holiday.

You certainly got on early! We elected to get off the ship on the morning of the B2B and met a friend for breakfast at Circular Quay, arriving back to the ship after 11:30.

Radiance is a beautiful ship, but she is also 16-17 years old and it does show in some places. Still, I think she's the perfect size and I love the outward views from her public areas.

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ON THE SHIP

Radiance holds a special place for us, we love the ship, it's layout and design and the crew have always been top notch. Our last trip on Radiance was an 18 night Honolulu to Sydney transpacific in 2014, a wonderful holiday that we remember fondly.

So walking back onto Deck 5 felt like going home. We scooted through the dinger, got our pictures taken for our sea pass card, and walked on over to the photographers. Normally I bypass the photo part, but was in a pretty good mood so decided to give it a whirl.

Photo taken, we walked in to the Centrum, to hit a backlog of people. It seems that you're forced to walk through a series of booths and tables, each selling dining packages, drinks packages, spa services, lanyards, future cruise deals...etc etc all the way around to the lifts. Quite annoying actually, especially as I had pre arranged everything I wanted online prior to the cruise. We made our way bumping through the hoards over to the lifts.

We normally take the stairs, but with a couple of bags we didn't feel like walking up to deck 11. Our first stop was the pool bar, it was time for a frozen mojito!

The lifts were busy as always, so here's a tip, get in one that's going down. No one seems to be going down on boarding day, especially before the cabins are open. Once it reaches its lower level, just hit your desired upper floor and you've now beat the fight to get in on Deck 5 [emoji16]

https://vimeo.com/201938655

Up to the pool deck, we made a bee line for the bar. No other passengers were there, it was about 11am from memory. (12:00 somewhere right?)

https://vimeo.com/201938792

The sun came out, and we truly felt like we were on holidays.

We whiled away the time at the bar until the rooms were ready, and just before 1pm we grabbed our bags and walked down to deck 10...home sweet home for the next 22 nights!

As we emerged onto the deck 10 landing, an announcement indicated that staterooms were ready. The large door to the hall was still closed however, and a crowd had begun to form, all eager to get to their rooms. Having read on CC that these doors can be pulled open, I stepped forward and yanked it and opened it right up. I think I even got a cheer lol.

Excitedly, we walked down the hall searching for 1566, the Sir Francis Drake Suite. We couldn't wait to open up the door!

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Nice video snap shots. Following along.

Excitedly, we walked down the hall searching for 1566, the Sir Francis Drake Suite. We couldn't wait to open up the door!

Do you have any menu pictures? I'm wondering if the menu's have different items than the Alaska cruises.

Thanks,

Tim

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Can you tell me what suite perks were available on Radiance? I have searched and searched and have found that apparently the suite perks vary by ship. I am considering a grand suite in May 2018 in Alaska. Was there a specialty restaurant where you could eat breakfast and/or lunch? Any information would be greatly appreciated. TIA!

Enjoying the review, especially since we are doing b2 b over Christmas and new year.

Good to know you got your extra wine back. I was thinking of taking mine on in 2 lots but may re think that. Also had a cheeky idea about buying some drinks from the duty free shop during first cruise then using them during the second. Do you think they would check closely enough to spot that sneaky deal?

Annoyingly my iPad won't show the videos, but enjoying your written words.

Keep it coming please[emoji3][emoji106]

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Can you tell me what suite perks were available on Radiance? I have searched and searched and have found that apparently the suite perks vary by ship. I am considering a grand suite in May 2018 in Alaska. Was there a specialty restaurant where you could eat breakfast and/or lunch? Any information would be greatly appreciated. TIA!

Hi there.

From 2014 (transpacific cruise we did in a GS) to 2017 the suite perks on Radiance changed, so between now and next year they may change again.

This year we did get a suite breakfast daily in Chops (wasn't an option in 2014).

The other perks were quite standard, CL access with cocktail hours 4:30pm - 8pm. Concierge for onboard reservations etc. Reserved seating in the main theatre. Priority tendering...

I think that was about it. Hope that helps!

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Enjoying the review, especially since we are doing b2 b over Christmas and new year.

Good to know you got your extra wine back. I was thinking of taking mine on in 2 lots but may re think that. Also had a cheeky idea about buying some drinks from the duty free shop during first cruise then using them during the second. Do you think they would check closely enough to spot that sneaky deal?

Annoyingly my iPad won't show the videos, but enjoying your written words.

Keep it coming please[emoji3][emoji106]

 

 

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Thanks for your feedback. I've been so super slack with my "live" trip report - terrible!

I believe that if you purchase alcohol through the onboard shop on the last night of your first cruise, they allow you to take it back to your cabin. I could be wrong, but this was my belief. I stopped short of doing this myself, as we just kept our drinking to the concierge lounge most of the time.

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That does help! I'm sure something will change between now and next year :). When it comes to suite perks they are apparently different on each ship so it's difficult to determine what is available from the standard list of suite perks and there isn't much posted about Radiance specific perks. Thank you so much for the info!

Thanks for the review.

That does help! I'm sure something will change between now and next year :). When it comes to suite perks they are apparently different on each ship so it's difficult to determine what is available from the standard list of suite perks and there isn't much posted about Radiance specific perks. Thank you so much for the info!

Suite perks can vary based upon what suite you booked. We were in a GS and had all the perks listed: concierge lounge with continental breakfast, appetizers at lunch and dinner, "open" bar 4:30 - 8:00 PM (I put open in quotes because the drink selection was not as full as at the pay bars - but plentiful), a new benefit for Radiance - breakfast in Chops for GS, owner, and royal suite guests and pinnacle C&A (a nice small setting with personalized service), concierge to answer questions, make and change reservations for dinner, tours, etc., reserved balcony seating at the shows in the Aqua Theater until 15 min prior to the show (there was actually a member of the crew to check your sea pass card to ensure you were authorized to sit there), priority/head of the line boarding for tenders when leaving the ship, debarkation lounge prior to final debarkation at any time you desired (escorted off by the concierge), and a free tour of the bridge on a sea day. There may have been more, but those are the ones that stick out in my mind.