Max'smom & Dad Cruise on the Radiance: My Diary w/ pictures

[ANewCruiser]

Jane,

Great pictures... we did have so much fun...many, many thanks for posting these.

Give my best to John.

Sue

p.s. We go back to work Tuesday:(!

[lrn2cruise]

I thought the exact same thing! You look formal enough for me and you look beautiful by the way!

 

Enjoying your review. It is fun seeing another ship. Cant say we will ever get to the CL or the special Bfast area, so it is fun to see it through others!

[bionicman97]

Enjoying the review :)

[Texas Teen]

Nice pictures. Keep them coming! :D

[RevSmith]

Jane, I'm loving your review, as usual, great job.

Rev

[Familygoboston]

Thanks for the review and pics! It's great to see the cabin crawl and ship photos. I've never been on Radiance class and have Jewel booked ( one of those humps!) so we are excited to get a look!

Looking forward to your next port-

[suzyluvs2cruise]

Thanks for the great review. We love Radiance and will on her April 30. :)

 

In the pics of the cabin crawl you show pictures of a D2 corner aft. Might it be 9256? Sure hope so as that's our cabin on our upcoming cruise.

[The Big Booper]

H Jane! Cant wait for more of your diary! Thanks for sharing. Counting the days until Oasis.

 

Dave- I cant find any information on Port Authority taking over Cape Liberty, any help? Share a link to?

 

Good to see you both posting! Jane, glad you enjoyed being back on a Radiance class! Im dying to get on one! :D

 

Stacey - Here is a link to an article that appeared last June. Maybe, with no more references, the deal fell through. I doubt it since the PA usually gets what it wants. The link originally appeared in a discussion on the Celebrity boards about the future of Celebrity in the NY area (same issues that RCI is having).

 

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/06/bayonne_officials_approve_port.html

 

 

Jane - glad you waited until after the bad part of tax season is over to post this thread, always like your photo essays. Sorry for the minor sidestep, now on with the beach and beer-bottle pictures. :D

[ridgecrest]

Great review. Thanks for sharing your cruise with us. I'm looking forward to your next post.

[Apila]

Lovely photos! Takes me back to last summer when we met on Serenade. We just booked a cruise on the Mediterranean, can't wait until October! :D

[Sugar*Magnolia]

Jane, love the pictures of Nachi Cocum. Can you tell me, was it rocky under your feet walking into the ocean or smooth sand all the way? We have only been to Mex once, not my fave place at all- and I have been searching on what to do when we stop there in June. Your pictures just sent NC to the top of the list [hoping the walk into the ocean is smooth!] Also, how far was the taxi drive from the pier? And, when you said entrance fee includes drinks, is that cocktails or....something else like fruit punch?

 

Dave- Thanks for the reply and link! I searched and couldnt find it and I thought it was new news. You're right, who knows!? Jane, sorry, didnt mean to hijack the thread, just had to ask Dave!!

 

Cant wait to see more pics! Thanks for taking the time, Jane!

[maxs mom]

I'm back!

Thanks, everyone for the nice comments. I love sharing our cruise with everyone!

Suzy.....Yes....that corner aft is 9256.....great cabin and balcony. you'll love it.

Stacey.......The sand and out into the water is very smooth.....almost perfect. The AI includes all drinks...alcoholic and non alcoholic. The cab ride is no longer than 10 minutes....$15 for the taxi. You will love this place. I wouldn't go anywhere else in Coz. Stop researching!!

[maxs mom]

4-18-11......Continued

Once back to the ship.....we got our ice cream, shower, and a nap. A little hard to wake up from that nap, but we managed and made it to the CL on time. Another great evening visiting with new friends.

On to the MDR for dinner. Tonight they were trying out some new items on the menu and they all looked very good. There was a beef stroganoff, a new pork loin entree, and sole. Tonight I had the crabcake appetizer, Caesar salad, and the sole. It was very good. I tried a new dessert tonight.....a lemon meringue tart. It was great.

Not much going on around the ship tonight. We wandered around a bit. Stopped in the Schooner Bar for a bit. The piano guy in there.....Kelley.....was fabulous. Tonight he was doing an Elvis tribute. He was so good and everyone was singing along. Don't miss this guy.

We made another sizable donation (drat) at the casino. ( note to slots: All I want to do is be entertained for a while.....you don't have to suck everything down in about 2 minutes!) Actually I did win $1700 on a quarter slot on one of our earlier cruises....but that was a long time ago!

Time for bed.....another early day tomorrow.

[Sugar*Magnolia]

I'm back!

 

Thanks' date=' everyone for the nice comments. I love sharing our cruise with everyone![/size']

 

Suzy.....Yes....that corner aft is 9256.....great cabin and balcony. you'll love it.

 

Stacey.......The sand and out into the water is very smooth.....almost perfect. The AI includes all drinks...alcoholic and non alcoholic. The cab ride is no longer than 10 minutes....$15 for the taxi. You will love this place. I wouldn't go anywhere else in Coz. Stop researching!!

 

 

Thanks, Jane! Im so confused, b/c I just read on the Cozumel boards that it is rocky. I wonder if it matters which part of the beach you settle at?

[maxs mom]

4-19-11......Tuesday......Costa Maya

Up early again today....same routine.

This is our first time to Costa Maya and we loved it! Hope to come back real soon. We got here very early and then the Carnival Glory joined us, later followed by the NCL Spirit.

The walk down the pier was a long one, but there is a trolley there to take you to the end of the pier.

There is a very nice shopping area, pool, bar, restaruants right there. Looked very nice, but we were on a mission to get to another AI that we learned about here on CC. As soon as you walk out of the shopping area, there is a taxi stand. You tell them where you want to go, pay them right there and you're on the way. Today we were going to Nohoch Kay (pronounced No-hosh Ki with a long i). We got tickets for $3pp and took a nice air-conditioned bus out to the very end of the town and beach.....maybe about 10 minutes. We had to walk the last block and we walked right into the place. It's right past Pez Quadro.

Nohoch Kay is a small AI onwed by Jaime. He personally met us as we came up and knew who we were. He escorted us out to the beach so we could pick our spot for the day. They only allow 40 people in for the day. Here is our little spot:

The weather was just perfect again.....except for the wind. Lots of wind. I understand it is almost always very windy in Costa Maya. It wasn't too bad, though.

[maxs mom]

Thanks, Jane! Im so confused, b/c I just read on the Cozumel boards that it is rocky. I wonder if it matters which part of the beach you settle at?

 

Could be......but we had no problems at all, and I have very sensitive feet.

[maxs mom]

Here is Jaime, the owner. He is so personable and wants to make sure you have a good time. He is also the chef in the reataurant and prepares a wonderful lunch for everyone.

We met our servers .....Paul and Betty......cute young folks who happily took care of us all day long.

There is a restaurant right there and you could go there to eat your lunch or you could eat right there at your chair. That's what we prefer to do. The restaurant is right behind the beach area.

The restrooms are very clean and there is neatest place to wach your hands. The water comes out of a big conch shell. It was so cool!

[jakenashleysmom]

Not sure if you remember me, we cruised together on Enchantment in 08? I believe.(black polkadot purse!) Great review so far, thanks for taking us along for the ride! The girls and I are at it again, looking into Navigator January 2012 for my 50th birthday celebration!

 

In the mean time, the we have booked a NCL :confused: cruise with the kids for April 2012 and would love information on Nahoch Kay. How much is the all inclusive, and what did it include? Good for kids? Not familiar with Costa Maya at all, but looks pretty!

[maxs mom]

There were kayaks and Hobie Cats available.

You can walk out into the water for a very long way and it was never higher than you knees. Everyone was really enjoying the water. There were lots of seasgrasses out in the water, but it wasn't all over.

John got a massage for $25....for thirty minutes....but his massage was actually around 45 minutes. He really enjoyed that!

Lunch was really good. I had the shrimp and fish tacos with Jaime's special sauce. They were delicious. I got some refried beans to go with that. John, of course, had a hamburger. It was huge! They couldn't understand why he came all the way to Mexico to have a hamburger!

[maxs mom]

Bonnie!!!! Yes I remember you! That was another fun, but short cruise!

I highly recommend Nohoch Kay! It is great for kids and adults alike. The cost is $40 pp and we booked through Island marketing. It is Beach Break #1. It includes all your food and drink. I'm pretty sure the kayaks were included. Not sure about the Hobie Cats.

Great hearing from you!

[maxs mom]

We had to be back on board at 3:30, so we had to leave this little bit of paradise around 2:45. We settled up with Jaime and he called a taxi for us. We asked about tipping our servers and they said there was a tip jar on the counter and they all shared the tips.

This was a wonderful beach day and one I hope to repeat often! Some parting shots of Nohoch Kay:

Waiting on our taxi and chatting with Jaime.

[maxs mom]

The taxi was there promptly and we were dropped off back at the pier for $2 pp. The pier area at Costa Maya looked like a lot of fun, but I don't like crowds and loud music at the beach. I prefer a quiet laid back place, so that's why we opt for places like Nohoch Kay. Here are some pictures of the port area:

[maxs mom]

Back to the ship and our regular afternoon routine of ice cream, showers, and a nap! CL at 7 and dinner in the MDR. Another good dinner there. The pumpkin soup was amazing! We finished dinner in record time, which was good, because it was time for the Quest at 10:15.

We hooked up with the amazing Gloria and others from our roll call, and a few unsuspecting victims for the Quest. We've won many, many times over the years, but it was not to be tonight. We had loads of fun anyway.

[maxs mom]

The night was not over after the Quest. It was on the the Centrum for the 70's party and all that goes with it.....Big Hair, The Village People, lots of singing and dancing. This was a fun party. The 70's party on a Radiance Class ship is far superior to the parties on the bigger ships. Of course the famous Gloria from our roll call was the star of the show! At one point she got in the elevator with the Village People and rode up and down on the elevator to the delight of everyone. Don't miss the 70's party!!

[jameybano]

Enjoying your review! Looking forward to meeting you in June! Would love to do a cabin crawl, DH is curious about other cabin configurations, but I have a feeling that we are going to be too spoiled after this cruise!