Review - Radiance - Hawaii to Vancouver (No Photos)

[PrincessStar]

Aloha!

 

Just finished our first cruise on Radiance - our first trip to Hawaii - our first meet and mingle.

 

This will also be my first review as a somewhat new member to CC!

 

We (my DH and I - in our mid 40's) along with my BIL and SIL flew to Honolulu one day prior to the start of our cruise. We flew in around 3pm Honolulu time - we checked into Outrigger Waikiki and headed out to the beach, stopped at the Duke statue and went back to Duke's restaurant to get something to eat. We called it an early nite due to the time change (we are 6 hours ahead).We also ate breakfast the next morning (I had pineapple/coconut pancakes with coconut syrup - YUM!) and headed for the ship!

 

Embarkation day - we took a taxi to the ship and got on quite quickly. We ate at the windjammer and got familiar with the ship, stopped in our cabin and then headed out to walk to Aloha Tower. Not much going on there, many of the shops were closed. We called it an early night. We stayed in port that night.

 

We booked our excurstions through Royal Caribbean (except our Luau) and here is what we did:

 

Honolulu - Pear Harbor (USS MIssouri & USS Arizona)

Kauai - Helicoptor tour in am - Ziplining in afternoon

Maui - Paddle Board surfing in am - Old Lahaina Luau in evening

Maui - Haleakala Crater

Kona - Snorkeling

Evening Sail - Mt. Kileaua - yes, we did see lava!

Hilo - Rainbow Falls, Lava Tube & Black Sand beach

 

5 days at sea on our way to Vancouver!

 

We had "My Time" dining - this was our second time using it and although the food was great/good - we did not care for the wait staff. They were not very good. We had to ask for everything and sometimes they did not show up for long periods of time. We did try two of the specialty restaurants and ate at the Windjammer one evening as well.

 

Samba Grill - loved it! 9 courses of meat - wow - I only ate 4 courses. Enjyed the appetizer buffet and the side dishes too!

 

Rita Cantina's - enjoyed it - margaritas were good! Food was good, not exactally what we get at home, but good for a cruise ship.

 

Park Cafe - loved it! Roast beef, salads, grilled cheese, cuban sandwiches, snacks and chips.

 

Dog House - enjoyed it - we are used to traditional coney dogs here.

 

Radiance of the Seas - we enjoyed the ship - the solarium was great!

 

Roll Call and Meet & Mingle - we had an amazing group of people in our Roll Call - they were so frlendly and so informative! They suggested and planned a large group to go to the Luau and it was so much fun! They also got together for breakfast, cards and at other times. We enjoyed our first meet and mingle - the only negative was that RCCL scheduled it on Kauai - a port day - at 5:15pm - not much time to get there and also right before dinner - we still had a large turnout - I think over 100 people and I really enjoyed meeting everyone.

 

Our disembarkation was easy as we selected to walk off with our luggage due to an early flight from Vancouver.

 

 

I'll be happy to try and answer any questions. :D

[LBumb]

nice review. what was it like having 5 straight sea days.

[PrincessStar]

nice review. what was it like having 5 straight sea days.

 

 

Thank you!

 

I loved the 5 straight sea days. Very relaxing after so many port days. It did get cooler as we arrived to Vancouver. There were some strong waves and it was windy which made the Solarium a very poplular place.

 

The captain also stopped for several hours for a repair in the middle of the ocearn - it was nice just sitting there in the sun for a few hours.

 

There were lots of things to do - slot/poker/blackjack tournaments, rock climbing wall, putt putt golf, movies, entertainment, bingo, etc.

[klingoncruiser]

Thanks for the nice review. 5 days at sea could be interesting....

[pspercy]

Maui - Paddle Board surfing in am - Old Lahaina Luau in evening

 

Good, so there was enough time for OLL, thanks. I think RCI offers the Sheraton's luau which wouldn't be as good.

 

Thinking of this one Sept 2013, Vancouver to Honolulu.

[PrincessStar]

Maui - Paddle Board surfing in am - Old Lahaina Luau in evening

 

Good, so there was enough time for OLL, thanks. I think RCI offers the Sheraton's luau which wouldn't be as good.

 

Thinking of this one Sept 2013, Vancouver to Honolulu.

 

Yes, you will have plenty of time during the day before the luau, we didn't have to be there until 5:30ish. The OLL was recommended over RCL, we enjoyed the food and the show, but this was our first luau and did not have anything to compare it to. :)

 

I will have to look at the Sept 13 Vancouver to Honolulu - I would love to go back and having the sea days first would be fun, not to mention assist with the time change - we found the 6 hour difference difficult.

 

Thank you!

[PrincessStar]

Thanks for the nice review. 5 days at sea could be interesting....

 

 

Thank you! I may try photos next review! :D

[terpfan101]

How was having five days at sea in a row? Did it get tiring and you feel as if you wanted to get off the ship? Also were the seas rougher than normal out in the middle of the ocean? Finally, were there a good amount of people under say 35 years old on board? I'd love to do a cruise like that in the future but worry about the seas being very rough and it being a much older crowd (I'm 26). Thanks and glad you enjoyed your cruise!

[critterchick]

What a nice review - thanks for sharing! What time of day did you adjust your clocks forward during the sea days? On Rhapsody last year, they did it at 11:00 am, which shortened up the lunch hour.:eek:;) It really slammed the MDR staff, I'm afraid.

 

Terpfan, the demographic on that cruise is older than you would see on a 7-night cruise. We had something like 27 kids on RH last year, and I would guess that most passengers were in the 55+ range. But there is still plenty to do in the ports and both Radiance and Rhapsody have gyms (Radiance's is better) and other active things to keep you busy. And not everybody your parent's age is more mature than you are (thinking of myself, for example:p). There were plenty of younger adult passengers in the the disco on the nights that we went up there, although we did have the dance floor to ourselves on the first couple of nights as people got acclimated to the time zone differences.

 

We were blessed with smooth sailing for 4 of our 5 sea days, but that's not normal for the Pacific from what the Captains (the ship's captain and my DH, who is retired Navy) said.

[Corgi Girl]

Princess Star - Great review! I will be sailing on Radiance in 2013.

 

What did you think of the ziplining? Have you ever tried it before?

[PrincessStar]

What a nice review - thanks for sharing! What time of day did you adjust your clocks forward during the sea days? On Rhapsody last year, they did it at 11:00 am, which shortened up the lunch hour.:eek:;) It really slammed the MDR staff, I'm afraid.

 

Terpfan, the demographic on that cruise is older than you would see on a 7-night cruise. We had something like 27 kids on RH last year, and I would guess that most passengers were in the 55+ range. But there is still plenty to do in the ports and both Radiance and Rhapsody have gyms (Radiance's is better) and other active things to keep you busy. And not everybody your parent's age is more mature than you are (thinking of myself, for example:p). There were plenty of younger adult passengers in the the disco on the nights that we went up there, although we did have the dance floor to ourselves on the first couple of nights as people got acclimated to the time zone differences.

 

We were blessed with smooth sailing for 4 of our 5 sea days, but that's not normal for the Pacific from what the Captains (the ship's captain and my DH, who is retired Navy) said.

 

 

Hi Critterchick

 

Thank you for your detailed response to Terpfan! :D Excellent response!

 

Our weather got cooler as we sailed and the waves and winds got a bit more aggressive from time to time. The outdoor pool was not used as much as the solarium, but many still used the chairs and hot tubs.

 

We adjusted the clocks at Noon on the first, third and fifth sea day.

As soon as the time hit 12:00, it was 1:00. Seemed to work well for everyone.

[jonbgd]

Thanks for the review as we board in 3 days:D

[PrincessStar]

Princess Star - Great review! I will be sailing on Radiance in 2013.

 

What did you think of the ziplining? Have you ever tried it before?

 

Hi Corgi Girl

 

This was our first time ziplining and we loved it! :D

 

The island of Kauai is quite lush, it was a 7-line zipline course, traversing the side of a mountain.

 

We will definately try it again some time! :D

[PrincessStar]

Thanks for the review as we board in 3 days:D

 

 

Have a great Hawaiin Cruise jonbgd!!!!!!!! :D

 

Hope you have a great time!

[julesbeara]

Hi PrincessStar,

 

I was on this cruise too, and found the time change very difficult. We arrived on Friday afternoon, and it took until Tuesday when we arrived in Kauai to starting feeling like I wasn't tired all the time. I too was surprised at the older age demographic on this cruise. It was like we had the ship to ourselves after 8:00 p.m. most nights. We only ate at the specialty restaurants (dining package), and never made a single reservation. I loved the sea days and enjoyed the down time after back to back ports. Maui was by far my favorite port, and it would be our choice to visit if we return to Hawaii.

 

Welcome Home!!!

[FreshOffTheBoat]

I am taking Rhapsody to Hawaii in September. Thanks for the review. Which island did you enjoy the most?

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

Long sea days...we love sea days so for us its just time to relax and enjoy the ship.

 

We've done 15 day Hawaii RT from SD 5 sea days each way!

Going each day got warmer, coming back each day got cooler.

We have done this cruise 3 years in a row, each time the seas were different, smooth as glass, choppy and ROUGH! (we loved the rough the best!) :eek: :D

 

The demographics on our cruises were mostly 55+ with very few kids,

The return days its fun to watch all the people sleeping on the pool deck, I guess they are just exhausted from all the port days. After the second sea day, their more awake!! :D

 

I sure wish RC would bring back the full RT Hawaii sailings from SD!!!!!

 

***

[PrincessStar]

Hi PrincessStar,

 

I was on this cruise too, and found the time change very difficult. We arrived on Friday afternoon, and it took until Tuesday when we arrived in Kauai to starting feeling like I wasn't tired all the time. I too was surprised at the older age demographic on this cruise. It was like we had the ship to ourselves after 8:00 p.m. most nights. We only ate at the specialty restaurants (dining package), and never made a single reservation. I loved the sea days and enjoyed the down time after back to back ports. Maui was by far my favorite port, and it would be our choice to visit if we return to Hawaii.

 

Welcome Home!!!

 

 

Aloha julesbeara! Welcome home too!

 

I'm sure we crossed paths once or twice!

 

Yes, the time change was DIFFICULT! :eek: We were in our cabin early the first couple of nights :)

 

We enjoyed Maui and Oahu and hope to get back to hawaii some day.

[PrincessStar]

I am taking Rhapsody to Hawaii in September. Thanks for the review. Which island did you enjoy the most?

 

We enjoyed Oahu and Maui the most - but the helicopter tour on Kauai was breathtaking!

[pspercy]

I will have to look at the Sept 13 Vancouver to Honolulu - I would love to go back and having the sea days first would be fun, not to mention assist with the time change - we found the 6 hour difference difficult. Thank you!

 

For us it's a 40th anniversary trip so after the cruise the plan is to go to our timeshare in Maui, then fly home:D :)

[Rocky252]

The captain also stopped for several hours for a repair in the middle of the ocean - it was nice just sitting there in the sun for a few hours.

So what broke? Anything critical? Did they keep you informed of the situation?

[Jdover]

Thanks for the review. We will be taking that ship back to Hawaii in September. I can't wait. Looking forward to the 5 days at sea before hitting the islands.

[waf125]

So what broke? Anything critical? Did they keep you informed of the situation?

 

I was also on this sailing and they said there was an oil leak in the propulsion system.

 

Yes, they kept us informed. The captain came on periodically and gave us updates. It was a beautiful day to be stranded! :D

[JAKE3337]

Yes, you will have plenty of time during the day before the luau, we didn't have to be there until 5:30ish. The OLL was recommended over RCL, we enjoyed the food and the show, but this was our first luau and did not have anything to compare it to. :)

 

I will have to look at the Sept 13 Vancouver to Honolulu - I would love to go back and having the sea days first would be fun, not to mention assist with the time change - we found the 6 hour difference difficult.

 

Thank you!

 

We were on this cruise as well. We have done the Vancouver - Honolulu one as well. We much prefer the Honolulu - Vancouver cruise and have done it twice. We found the first time that we had all the sea days to relax which was nice but then we had all the busy port days in Hawaii and were very busy. We spent 2 nights at Waikiki Beach at the end and were exhausted and didn't really do anything. Then we had the long 13 hour flight home, a 6 hour time change and back to work 2 days later. We felt like we needed a vacation again. We have found go 4 nights early and it gives you some nice time to walk around, go to the beach and get ready for the cruise. By the time the 5 sea days come around, we can relax and then we only have a 4 1/2 hour flight home. We feel nice and rested going back to work. We are in our 40's as well.

 

I'm already looking at booking the same cruise for 2014! Can't get enough of Hawaii.

 

Angela

[JAKE3337]

Hi PrincessStar,

 

I was on this cruise too, and found the time change very difficult. We arrived on Friday afternoon, and it took until Tuesday when we arrived in Kauai to starting feeling like I wasn't tired all the time. I too was surprised at the older age demographic on this cruise. It was like we had the ship to ourselves after 8:00 p.m. most nights. We only ate at the specialty restaurants (dining package), and never made a single reservation. I loved the sea days and enjoyed the down time after back to back ports. Maui was by far my favorite port, and it would be our choice to visit if we return to Hawaii.

 

Welcome Home!!!

 

We were the ones in bed at 8pm lol only kidding but it was 10-11pm during the port days and we are only in our 40's. We were up at 6am each day getting ready, breakfast and off the ship at 7 or 8 depending on the port. We always get a rental car at each port and plan things on our own. There is always different things to do and this was our third trip.

 

Angela