Just back from the Radiance of the sea

This is the first time I was on a RCL ship, I have cruised before so was interested on how this was going to compare to my other cruises.

I arrived at the Port of Miami at 11:00 was checked in quickly could not find a baggage handler so took my luggage with me. Was on board at 12:30. My first impression of the ship was amazing I was awed by how beautiful the Radiance Atrium was. One of the personel directed us to a place for us to store our luggage. I was very happy with that since we could not get into our staterooms until 1. So went up to the Windjammer for lunch. I read so many thumbs up and down about the food and the Windjammer. I am one of those foodies so was leary but to be honest with you I thought the food on the Windjammer was good, also thought it was layed out nicely never a line at any of the food stations. The food in the Windjammer continue to be good for breakfast and lunch throughout the week.

Went to our cabin we were in 9018 forward side of the ship. I found the cabin to be nice and plenty of storage. The was the first time we had a balcony cabin and if you are a first timer I would reccomend getting a balcony cabin. We were always on it for morning coffee and mid afternoons. I would never book a inside room or ocean view again. For us this is a must have. We really enjoyed it. By the way we felt no motion from the ship by being in the front at all. I also liked that we were close to the elevator. We met our stateroom attendant Maria while we were unpacking. She was a gem. I never saw an attendant on any other cruise ship as I did on RCL. I saw Maria at least twice a day throughout the trip.

So now to explore the ship. We found the dining room, which was also very nice, for some reason our set sail card did not have our table number on it. So when we check in with the Maitre D he quickly assigned us a table on the second level. We had great tablemates. We also made reservations at Chops again I read so many negative posts about the food and read so many good comments about Chops decided if the food was going to be medicore at least we would have a good meal there.

Found the Schooner bar complex. It was very nice and we enjoyed our time there throughout the week.

We explored the rest of the Radiance, The Solorium was beautiful and peaceful, the pool was small but nice.

We went to RCL private island which was fun,

Casa Maya again by reading quite a bit of the posts I almost decided to stay on the ship but found a dolphin excrusion that we wanted to take. I am glad we did. The port of Casa Maya is not much but where our excursion went was great. It was part of the beach blast package which we did not know. We thought we were going to swim with the dolphins and then come back. But part of the package consisted of the beach time, free drinks(great Pina Coladas) free paddle boats and kayaks. So we were excited about all the extras. The dolphin swim was awesome, the beach was great and we had a blast.

We went to Grand Cayman, we had done Grand Cayman before so went to Senor Frog and just window shopped.

The shows were good. They had this comedian the first evening who was awful. The second night was the RCL Piano man show which was very good. Another comedian the third night who was good, another production show the 4th night which they will be retiring and bringing on a new production show. 5th night a comedy duo who were a blast. The last night was a magician who nearly put me to sleep.

The food on the Radiance was good. Our waiter was Vaz and he was great. He saw us at the Windjammer one afternoon and we were eating indian food and he asked us if we like it and we did so for one of our dinners he prepared us an indian dinner. We were both knocked out by that.

Chops was very good as well, we liked it so much we booked a second night. Baris was our waiter and he was excellent. Save room for the mud pie it is a meal in itself.

The one thing that made this cruise so special and the one thing I will not forget about the Radiance was the service and I mean service throughout our stay. It was outstanding everywhere we went on the ship. The staff were always smiling and very helpful. I never remember being on a cruise where I could say that. We also saw alot of the captain through out the week and he is a character to say the least. Very funny man.

So how did this compare to my other cruises? hands down the Radiance of the sea was the best cruise ship I have ever been on and I would do her again and probaly will.

Glad you had a wonderful time - we will be on the Radiance in October and really looking forward to it - everyone says that she is beautiful! Jan

Happy to hear of your "thumbs up" about the Radiance. Just what I needed to hear, as we are sailing her in September. So far I've not heard many negatives about the ship. Looking for to it! I love RCL ships and have yet to be disappointed in any of them.

Thanks for the comments. Glad you had a good time.:)

I am soooo glad to hear that you liked and had a wonderful time on the Radiance. We sailed her on 12/24 for the Christmas/Hanukah/New Years cruise, and this was our best cruise ever. This was our second time on her, the first in March, 2002. This is our favorite class of RCCL's ships. We have always found many of the offerings in the Windjammer to be good to excellent. There is such a wide selection to choose from, that one can usually find something to their liking. The food in the dining room did not bowl us over, but was always edible. We are not crazy about the new menus. The old ones were much better. Hope you had the chance to visit the Seaview Grill on deck 12... great Reuben sandwiches.

Although the Solaruim pool is relatively small, I spent lots of time there, since it is an adults ONLY area (no kids in the hot tub or pool). This was the most relaxing area on the ship.

Nan

yes, I did enjoy the seaview cafe it was great having something open late at night to grab a sandwich. I also enjoyed the Solarium as well. I cannot wait to go on another cruise. The Radiance has all the upsides of a big ship without having the negatives

Last time we were on the Voyager and they had a small cafe on the promenade deck where dh was able to get all the coffee he desired - I know that Radiance has coffee & books, but I believe the coffee is the specialty coffee (with cost associated) - is there free coffee there or at the Seaview cafe?

yes there was free coffee at the seaview cafe.

went on the radiance last april and agree that everything was great We loved Chops and thought it was a great addition to the meals. Loved the kids program as well

Thanks for your review on the Radiance, and happy to hear that you enjoyed it...We will be sailing on her next Sun.the 15th,,,really looking forward to it as it is our first RCC, having been avid Celebrity cruisers we thought it was time for a change;) ..Just one question tho,,,bathroom storage,,are there shelves,cabinet space,,,always bring too much stuff:D ..

We also love the balcony rooms, nothing like having your wake up coffee out there and just relaxing..:cool:

There is a mirror cabinet that opens that has four shelves. I also bought an inexpensive plastic show holder for $1 that I hung on the back door of the bathroom. I really did not need it but it did free up much space.

By the way this came as a tip from many of the posts. I brought along a bag clip that was good for the bottom on the shower curtain since it is flimsy it helped alot.

dfishner, thanks for your review. We sailed on the beautiful Radiance last year to Hawaii and happily, we'll be on her again in April to go through the Panama Canal. I agree that her staff are the finest at sea. Can't wait to go again. Glad you enjoyed your cruise so much.

Sue

There is a mirror cabinet that opens that has four shelves. I also bought an inexpensive plastic show holder for $1 that I hung on the back door of the bathroom. I really did not need it but it did free up much space.

By the way this came as a tip from many of the posts. I brought along a bag clip that was good for the bottom on the shower curtain since it is flimsy it helped alot.

Thanks for your review.

Will sail her in 2 weeks. And having sailed her already three times I have to say that the crew on Radiance is by far the most friendly and helpful on all Royal Caribbean ships.

So don’t be disappointed when you cruise with another ship<img>

Thanks so much for taking the time to post your review!! Our family will be sailing on the Radiance March 12 and I'm going crazy with anticipation!!! It's so great to come on these boards and find reviews like yours. (Am I the only one who finds these boards rather addictive?) Thanks again - I'm glad you had a fantastic vacation.

Susie

We sailed her in Dec. B2B and repeating the sailing next Dec. Loved the ship and am looking forward to seeing her after dry dock in Feb. Captain was a hoot and staff so friendly.

We were on her for Alaska last June and fell in love with this class of ship and the crew. We look forward to being on her again over Spring Break!