Radiance of the Seas - 3/28/11 to 4/2/11 Long review

Well it is time for the review. Just off Radiance and the 3/28 sailing to Costa Maya and Cozumel. This was the first family cruise (my fourth and DW’s 5th)– myself, DW and DD’s (9 and 6). I am going to trickle out the review because I have so much backed up work and I expect the review to be long. I also hope to post pics (camera battery ran out last day and I failed to get many interior shots I had hoped for – Duh!) as well as compasses, Adventure Ocean program material (Ad Ocean was unbelievable by the way! – kudos to the staff), embarkation material, disembarkation material, and other various and sundry things including an item I have never seen posted before. An orange card called a “Prohibited Item Seizure Form”!!! Oh Oh! But the funny thing is that they didn’t seize anything! More on that later. I also will rate food in MDR (we did MTD), other food venues (some that will shortly cease to exist), entertainment, housing and housekeeping (we were center hump 9584 superior oceanview w/ balcony I think it was termed – a great location), bars/nightclubs/lounges, excursions and ports of call, ship personnel to the extent we had contact, and anything else that comes to mind. I will happily answer any questions to the best of my ability.

I researched the boat (thanks to the great help of many posters on Cruise Critic! - Love it!) from well before the time of reservation on December 28 right up until the cruise on March 28. I learned a great many things that enhanced the cruise experience from these boards so thanks to the many that take the time and effort to post. I am trying to return the favor.

I always want to be at the port city well in advance because I am neurotic like that so we did the slow drive from Cincinnati leaving on Friday afternoon (cruise didn’t depart until Monday eve) and made a few stops on the way. Once in Tampa we had great weather on Sunday the 27th but woke up to lousy weather on sailaway day! Lots and lots of rain. We stayed at a Residence Inn in Brandon and it was a 20 minute very easy drive to the port. Got to port around 11:15 am. The port was busy but not crowded and we ultimately decided to valet the van for $85.00. The first great decision. Unloaded the luggage to the porter, gave the keys to the valet guy and grabbed our carryons. Elapsed time – 10 minutes at most. Very short security line and I had all docs ready – setsail pass, credit card for seapass charges and passports. Boom, boom, boom – through security and metal detectors and on to fill out health information cards. The rep at the desk where they issue the seapass cards took a few minutes to go over stuff in a little more detail because of the kids and that took around 20 minutes. Then right on to the gangway and on the ship by roughly 1145am! Adventure Ocean had a table set up on the deck as we boarded so we spent a few minutes going over stuff with those folks and they were great and excited to have the girls onboard. The next post will have info about sailaway and first evening onboard.

That's a pretty short long review. :)

Haha! As I mentioned it will trickle out and the last line will indicate the topic of the next post! I just can't write that much at once! I know you can't wait!

Glad you had fun , we Flying down to tampa wendsday to get on the ship thursday. Heard all good things about the ship except for some of the sewage smells around the ship . Looking for a good time!

Steve

It continued to rain so the sailaway party was moved to the centrum. Kinda took away some of the fun so we stayed on the balcony – the first time we have had a balcony. Two chairs (I have the same chairs on my deck at home) and a small table. We had the great unobstructed view that the hump provides. Balcony dividers did not open. It continued to rain like a monsoon so it was difficult to see Tampa as we sailed away and roughly two hours later at approx. 715pm we passed under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. It was an impressive sight and I got many pics. The rain had slackened and visibility was better. We took the kids to Adventure Ocean and then visited a few of the drinking holes and the next great bit of advice I got from CC was to find a bartender and tip well right off the bat. So I found my barkeep and tipped 3 bucks a round for the first few rounds. That evening was the last time I paid anything for a drink in that specific bar. I didn’t go there all the time but when I passed by the bartender always waved me over and gave me a drink. Once I tried to use my gold coupon for the B1G1 free drink. He gave me both drinks, didn’t charge me and gave me the coupon back, smiled and said “use it tomorrow”. At the end of the cruise he got a great big green thank you from me. He shall remain nameless to protect his job but thank to CC again for the tip. Went to the opening show –comedy with Al Romas (look him up on YouTube. His exact show is out there and he was hilarious). Got the kids and ate in Seaview café and thought it was pretty good. Fresh burgers, wings and chicken tenders were good. Fish and chips were just ok. Brownie was great. Seaview is tucked behind the kids pool area but was usually busy but we always got a table inside. Outside tables were subject to a pretty strong wind for the majority of the cruise. One note – flavored water was available – first night it was kiwi strawberry, third night it was lemon lime, fourth night back to kiwi strawberry. Second night just lemonade. Flavored water was very good and a nice addition. Hit the Starquest in the Viking Crown later that eve and realized that the round seating area around the bar revolves but the bartenders don’t. I just thought it was the drinks doing that to me! Went over to Hollywood Odyssey (the cigar lounge) across from Starquest where some members of the Radiance orchestra were doing a jazz set and I thought that was one of the highlights of the cruise. Those guys and gals were great! Finally back to the room which had a sofa bed and that was probably the most comfortable sofa bed I have ever slept on. It was a futon but had a great mattress, not thick but worked out great. A great first day. Day 2 tomorrow! Thanks for reading!

We're in a center hump cabin for our upcoming Alaska cruise (8594). Cant wait for the cabin comments and pictures.

We're going on Radiance April 16, for 5 nights. Can't wait. It will be our first cruise, and we're bringing our two boys 4 and 8. I can't wait to hear more about Adventure Ocean. Did you share a room with the kids? We have an E1 balcony room, but still thing we'll be cramped.:p What was your experience? Thanks for your review!!

We leave tomorrow for Tampa for our cruise on Thursday. Going to have to find a computer at our hotel so I can read more of your review. Thanks for sharing.

so far so good

We are hitting the radiance soon as well. Review was great. terrific suggestion about the bar keeper. will try it as well. :cool:

That's a pretty short long review. :)

That's what I was thinking as well.

We're going on Radiance April 16, for 5 nights. Can't wait. It will be our first cruise, and we're bringing our two boys 4 and 8. I can't wait to hear more about Adventure Ocean. Did you share a room with the kids? We have an E1 balcony room, but still thing we'll be cramped.:p What was your experience? Thanks for your review!!

Iluvu2 - We had I believe a D1 Superior Oceanview balcony and we all stayed in the same room. The room was larger than I expected and had a King size bed and a double sofa pull out. I have 2 DD's (9 and 6) and a DW who dominated the closet but it was large enough for my stuff as well. There was storage above the desk (although the desk was small) in the form of 2 shelves and 2 shelves to the below left of the desk as well as 2 cabinets with doors on either side of the mirror above the desk. 3 drawers to the right of the desk and 2 more cabinets above the TV (not flat screen) - one shelf contained the safe. Below the tv was the cabinet containing the "cooler" stocked with Evian water, coke, sprite, red bull and M&M's. An odd combo if you ask me. No brew doggone it! A curtain seperated the "living area" from the "sleeping area/bedroom". Balcony was next to bed. All in all very satisfied with room, closet space and layout.

As far as Adventure Ocean, they simply made the cruise. We couldn't get the kids away from the place to even get dinner so we had to bribe them with the Seaview cafe right aroud the corner and then right back to AO. Age groups divided as 3-5, 6-8, 9-11 and 12-17. 12-17 had their own joint across the hall. AO is located on Deck 12 aft and is accessed through the arcade. Strict sign in and sign out procedures are enforced. Best of all it is absolutely free until 10pm when a $6/hr rate kicks in until 2am! Yep - 2am! Our oldest made it to midnight one night. They have Wii, Xbox, tv movies and many other games and activities. It is open from I believe 9am -noon, 2-5, and 645-10. They have an option where you can eat dinner in the MDR at 6 and AO will come and pick up the kids at Guest Relations on deck 4 at 645. They will also keep them for lunch from 12-2 but a fee applies. Some people kept their kids at AO while they went on excursions. I didnt want to do that. I have AO info to scan in at some point. Hope to have it in before you leave. You will love the Radiance and AO!

Below I have scanned in the "Prohibited Item Seizure Form" that was left in our checked baggage when delivered to stateroom. I brought a 6 pack of Dasani water, various snacks and (oh, oh!) 6 airplane bottles of Tanqueray Gin! Delicious! The below form was not left with the liquor however but in the bag with the water. The liquor was packed with my toiletries just like I learned from these wonderful boards! And in the end nothing was seized! Go figure!

Uh oh! Can somebody tell me how to upload a jpeg file? I scanned in the doc but cant seem to figure out how to get it to show. Thanks!

Thought I had it but only got a thumbnail. Still working on it!

I was in an E1 balcony room...I had adjoining cabins 7516 and 7518 for myself, my husband, and my 4 kids ranging in age from 11-17. There was plenty of space for 3 of us in each cabin--we had a pullman over our king bed and the other room had a pullman and 2 twins. Plenty of closet space and drawer/storage space to satisfy my girls, so that means there was plenty of space! We had an absolute blast and miss it after only being off the ship for a few days. I am sad that the Radiance is leaving Tampa..I would have loved to sail her again.

Can't wait to read more and see pictures!! 10 more days until we go!

Day 2 was the first of 2 at sea days. Slept in and went to the Windjammer. Typical breakfast fare at WJ but I always though breakfast there was pretty good. There have been complaints about the scrambled eggs but they seemed just fine to me. As you walk into the WJ there is a strange machine used to squeeze the oranges for the OJ. Skip it. The OJ at the drink station was just fine. They also had other juices available and I must say RC made an upgrade to their coffee. Much better. Close inspection of the coffee machine reveals a sticker stating that they are using a special blend from Seattles Best. The same coffee they are charging for at Lattitudes. Don’t pay for regular coffee!

It was an overcast day and very windy and few chairs remained by 11am. Chair hogs out in full force! Dan Whitney aka “Dan, Dan the Party Man” was the cruise director and he did a few things on the pool deck. Kids went to AO and the usual sea day activities ensued such as bingo, trivia, jewelry making, etc. but I just hung by the pool. It got a little sunnier as the day wore on. Dinner in WJ with kids and they went back to AO (It was formal night so DW and I were waiting to go to MDR). DW and I went to the 7pm RC Singers and Dancers production show “City of Dreams”. It was a bizarre show. Couldn’t figure out how to tie it all together but they cast was talented. None of the songs seemed to fit together and I had no idea how it tied to the City of Dreams theme which was about Atlantis. The lost city not the Nassau casino!! Haha! Skipped the Captains welcome aboard reception held in the Colony club from 5 to 6. The Colony Club is another awesome space. I will save details about that for my review of the lounges and clubs. Col Club is also where they held Quest. After show went to MDR and the MTD line stretched a long ways. We had MTD at 7pm and prepaid gratuities so I now was wondering why I did that since we bailed on the MDR. It all worked out in the end since we went to the MDR the last 3 nights. Since it was packed in the MDR we strolled over to Portofino and walked right in and were immediately seated. It turned out to be an awesome idea. Dinner was fabulous. The bread selection was great and they brought a 3 compartment dish with olive tapenade, a mushroom mixture and tomato/onion relish along with olive oil for bread dipping and garnishing. Ordered a few apps including beef carpaccio (never had it. very good). DW had Risotto app. Again very good. DW had Spiedino Di Mare for entre and that was quite a sight. A long skewer with a small lobster tail, gamberoni, scallops, and salmon looked and tasted delicious. Nearly everyone in the room was getting that dish as the waiters brought skewer after skewer to people. I had the Filetto di Manzo. Again very good. After dinner the waiter brought a plate with 4 choc covered strawberries and a few choc cookies and took pains to say that this was not dessert! Wow! Btw, service was outstanding. I had the tiramisu and DW had the Tartufo Al Cioccolato ( a very rich choc mousse concoction) for the actual dessert. As if we needed anything else. In the end I would rate that dinner a highlight and would give Portofino an overall grade of A. We were wiped out and grabbed the kids from AO and hit the sack. First towel animal and it was an alligator. Again pics will follow at some point! Day 3 tomorrow! Thanks for reading!

Thanks so much for the AO info. I can't wait to see the activities pages when u get a chance. It's getting closer- can't wait for the cruise! Thanks also to the person that posted the E1 info. I think we'll be fine- the kids don't take up much room, right? :p

coffee machine reveals a sticker stating that they are using a special blend from Seattles Best. The same coffee they are charging for at Lattitudes. Don’t pay for regular coffee!

:confused:

Are you sure they were charging for "regular coffee"? I always thought you could go in to one of the coffee shops and get the coffee for no charge ... just pay for the "specialty drinks"

I mean, who would pay? - They serve Seattle's Best in the MDR too.

:confused:

 

Are you sure they were charging for "regular coffee"? I always thought you could go in to one of the coffee shops and get the coffee for no charge ... just pay for the "specialty drinks"

 

I mean' date=' who would pay? - They serve Seattle's Best in the MDR too.[/quote']

 

 

Interesting. I never thought to go right to lattitudes and request a reg coffee. maybe someone could check it out. You are correct that reg coffee is never charged for at any dining option, at least the ones I visited.

Day 3 was Costa Maya. We booked a beach day through Island Marketing. Island Marketing’s website lists an All Inclusive Beach Break #1 and All Inclusive Beach Break #2. People on the boards commented on having difficulty figuring out exactly which Beach Club 1 and 2 are. My research (I searched Costa Maya excursions and started a thread asking for Costa Maya beach experiences) directed me to a Beach called Nohoch Key (pronounced know-hosh cai meaning “big fish” in the Mayan language). Upon CC recommendation walked a little bit through the marketplace past the sales people through a parking lot, out the security gate to the taxi stand right next to the Hard Rock Restaurant. $2 pp there and back. Short 5 min cab ride. Jaime is the proprietor and is your best friend the minute you get there. Service is simply unbelievable. It is as if they are reading your mind! They have a menu but you can order whatever you wish. Daily reservations cost $40/adult and $10/child (over 6). Children 6 and under are free. Our total bill for the day was $100. That included seats in the bar/restaurant (all open air of course), reserved beach chairs, use of snorkeling equipment and all you can eat and drink to your heart’s content which I made very good use of! The food is outstanding. Think authentic mexican to americanized mexican (including burgers and fries if you wish). We were recommended by CC and Jaime himself the ceviche. Best I ever had. Fresh shrimp and large red snapper (caught that morning by Jaime’s crew) with onion, salt, pepper and lemon and lime juices. It was a heaping serving. Kids had plain nachos and I also had to try the recommended shrimp tacos, good but I liked the chicken tacos much better. And the food kept coming. As did the margaritas, pina coladas, beer, daquiris including virgin drinks for the kids. It was a very hot and sunny day and we waited until the last second to leave. Truly one of the most relaxing days we have had. One additional note –I believe they use purified water. They did serve water in bottles but we had ice in the cokes and frozen drinks and no problems whatsoever. Once on the ship kids of course demanded to go to AO for an hour before dinner. I hung out on the balcony and took pics of Liberty OTS, joining us in Costa Maya and Day 4 in Cozumel. That is a big ship! Kids then refused to eat dinner (must not be my kids) and just wanted to go back to AO. We grudgingly obliged and went to MDR for the first time. MTD was accommodated quickly and seated at a table for 10. Dinner was pretty good but ate light since this evening was the midnight Mexican fiesta. As if I didn’t have enough mexican food that day! Food would get better in the MDR as the cruise continued. Unfortunately I did not get pics of any MDR menus. Sorry! Skipped the show. It was the comedy juggler dude. Hit the bar to visit my best friend bartender. The older DD and I attended the Fiesta which was set up on either side of the pool deck. Got lots of pics. Maybe I’ll get them uploaded someday! One side had bread, cold cuts, wraps and a few entrees such as Fish Veracruz. The other side had the taco bar, desserts and fruit. After the fiesta it was time for a siesta so I called it a night. Day 4 tomorrow is Cozumel. Thanks for reading!

A few general comments before getting to Day 4 in Cozumel later tonight.

1)The food in the MDR and WJ was much better than I had expected. Reading the many negative reviews tempered my enthusiasm for both venues but I was pleasantly surprised. I like the island setup in WJ. There are some near misses but it was never so crowded that it made it difficult to get what I wanted. The was a wait in the am for the omlette line and in the eve for the mongolian bbq line but I never used so I cant comment on the length of the wait. Drink stations are easily accesible and almost always well stocked. A few time the waitstaff fell behind in filling the ice tea, lemonade and flavored water trays but never more than a minute.

The outdoor seating area directly behind the WJ is a gem. It is never crowded (with the exceptions being embarkation day and disembarkation morning) and very quiet. It is a bit of a walk from the food islands in the WJ but I needed the exercise!

For the first time ever I thought the fruit was great. Usually it is terrible and not ripe but not so this time.

Desserts had their own island to the rear on each side of the WJ and they were very good as well.

2)MDR was the biggest surprise foodwise. Not as many selections as in the past but quality was good. And they had a lobster on a 5 night cruise which I thought RC did away with on just about every cruise. Some people complainted about the lobster but I rarely eat it so it was great to me!

Really liked the MTD. We signed up for the 7pm reservation but never went at that time and usually just walked up and were seated at a table for 2 the last 2 nights. Night 3 we were at a table for 10. Night 2 we skipped due to formal night and the large crowd coming right from the early show (we did Portofino that night).

More general observations later!

Love your review. We will be sailing on her in two weeks:D

Enjoying your review. Glad to see that you enjoyed Nohoch Kay. We are booked there week after next. Looking forward to it.

Enjoying your review. Glad to see that you enjoyed Nohoch Kay. We are booked there week after next. Looking forward to it.

Max'smon - So jealous. You will love it. So relaxing. Tell Jaime you read about him on CC. He took a pic w the family and i will try to have pics on here beginning tomorrow night and over the weekend. I think I can get pics in but still wondering how to get full size scanned in jpeg docs to show full size.