Radiance 1-30 to 2-6 review

[MichRN]

Hi everyone, just off the Radiance yesterday. She really is a beautiful ship. Service was excellent. Our waiter Anthony was fabulous. We had cabin 9522. This was our first time having a balcony and we loved it. The weather was a mix of good and bad. Good from the standpoint that this is the first time in two months that they were able to go to Coco Cay. We had a great beach day there. Love the coco locos! The captain had mentioned that the caribbean was experiencing some cold fronts. The weather in St. Thomas and St. Martin was beautiful, the locals were saying that it was a bit cooler than normal, especially at night. We had a few days that it was very windy. In fact, our last day at sea, it was so windy and cool, there was hardly anyone swimming or sunning themselves (except for a few die hards!). One evening, the boat was rocking pretty good and there were a lot of people going to Guest Relations for sea sick medication.

The food was pretty good. I am not too fussy about food. Any day that I am not having to cook is a good day. I do have to say that the steaks could have been a little better. I guess I am comparing them to the ones that we had on the Century last January that were some of the best that I have ever eaten. My husband says that they probably save their best steaks for Chops. (We did not do any of the alternative dining). They weren't terrible, just could have been a bit better. The onion rings in the Sea View cafe on deck 12 were very good. Menu choices in the main dining room seemed more limited than before. I don't know if I am correct in this or not. Still, there was usually a chicken, beef, fish/vegetarian choice available as well as the alternative choices listed that were usually the same every day. The desserts were very good. And the cookies were excellent. A few times, our waiter brought some cookies for dessert for my daughter and they were still warm. Yum. Children's menu was the same for the whole cruise. It had the usual hamberger, hot dog, mac and cheese, pizza, fish sticks, peanut butter and jelly and chicken fingers that most children's menu's have. They were especially good at bringing out the children's food before the adults entrees.

Cruise director Keith was o.k. not the best that I have seen and not the worst. The production shows were very good. Strong singers. There were also two magician/comedian shows that I did not attend. One singer/entertainer that used to open for Bill Cosby years ago in Vegas. I didn't care too much for him. It seemed like he was name dropping all of the time about how he knew all of these famous people etc. also, the songs that he sung were not my kind of music, but to each his own.

Captain Darin was the youngest captian that I have seen so far. He seemed very nice and even held a question and answer session one morning.

Overall, had a great time. Our children didn't spend any time in the children's program because we had grandparents and aunts on board and they had fun spending time with the family and were not board. My kids both loved the Adventure Ocean pool area with the water slide and the shallow pool.

As a side note, we did not leave Miami on the 30th at the scheduled time. It looked like there was some kind of bomb scare. There were about 8 police cars in the pier area along the Radiance and the police were not letting people board. People got out of their taxis and were told to go to the other side of the street. They also were not letting cars pass in front of the ship. This lasted for about an hour or so. We were about an hour late leaving. Nothing was ever said about what had happened. If anyone has any questions, I will try and be of some help. I have gotten so much from these boards myself.

[ckrobyn]

Thanks for your review, greatly appreciated!

 

We sail on the Radiance this Sunday and it's my first cruise so we are all a little excited! You said the weather was good and bad, was it at least sunny and hot at the Ports of Call? Glad you got to Coco Cay, sounds like an awesome day! :)

What time did you actually board the ship? Aside from the bomb scare :( was embarkation smooth?

I'm not looking forward to rough seas......bonine is packed and ready to go!

Thanks again for the review, glad you had a good time!

[MichRN]

The weather was great in Coco Cay, St. Thomas and St. Martin. It was a bit cool on our sail back to Miami the last two at-sea days. As well as windy. The water in Coco Cay was a bit too cold for me to go swimming but my children had no problem. The water when we went snorkeling in St. Thomas was a bit warmer but on the cool side as well. When the sun was out, it was perfect but when it went behind a cloud, it was a bit cool. Definitely shorts weather though. Have fun.

[sailor moon]

Great review! Glad you had a wonderful time. We did the Eastern on the Mariner last September between 2 hurricanes! I can't wait to try the Radiance in June for Alaska.

[CassieG2002]

I was also on this sailing. I ended up talking with one of the idividuals that where told to get across the street. The supposed "bomb" turned out to be a bottle of Purfume so nothin to worry about!

~Cassie

[skiiergirl]

Capt. Darin is a nice guy. Any idea how long he is on for? Did he mention When is Capt. Kent coming back? (I understand Capt. Kent is retiring soon so he should be coming back soon to start his final runs....or so I hear.) What about the CD? Did he mention how long he is on for, etc? Thanks.

[MichRN]

I did not hear any mention on either Captain Darin or CD Keiths time left on Radiance. Sorry I can't help you there.

[cruisenfever]

MichRN.....We are sailing on Radiance April 17. You mentioned that waiter was Anthony. Was your assistant waiter named Karyn? Just checking. We were on Radiance last March for a B2B and had Anthony and Karyn and they were fabulous. Sounds like it's the same folks. Thanks and glad you had a great trip. Your review was very interesting.

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[jrm9999]

Apparaently the 1/30 cruise was CD Keiths last. Gordan Whatman got on for the 2/6 cruise.