Radiance of the Seas Down Under (2/14/14-3/3/14) Sydney to Perth - Review with Photos

[kccrzr]

EMBARKATION DAY:

 

The weather forecast called for rain all morning and early afternoon. We woke to gray, dreary skies and cool temperatures but NO rain - so all was good.:)

 

The Marriott offers a great breakfast in the Executive Lounge with pastries, fruit, cold cuts, cheese, eggs, English muffins, porridge and more; just a really good combination of typically European and North American breakfast items.

 

I thought the honeycomb was especially interesting and I hadn't seen one presented like this before:

 

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The Marriott also had a cappuccino/coffee/hot chocolate machine like the one in the Concierge and Diamond Lounges on RCI ships.

 

Being able to go to the Executive Lounge for breakfast also saved us quite a bit of money because the breakfast buffet at the hotel cost $38 AUD per person - OUCH.

 

But, this morning, we were more interested in the sights outside the window. (Pardon the quality of many of the photos on this review - they were taken with our phones looking out through windows and do not do justice to the sights):

 

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The iconic Opera House:

 

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And most importantly, peeks of the Radiance which was waiting for us to board in a few short hours:

 

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Being able to see a bit of the Radiance just ratcheted up the anticipation that much more of being able to see her in all her glory.

[BillOh]

Thanks! I doubt, I'll ever make this trip, but it is fascinating so far.

[kccrzr]

Thanks! I doubt, I'll ever make this trip, but it is fascinating so far.

 

Thanks for the kind words - glad you are enjoying the review.

[kccrzr]

EMBARKATION:

 

After finishing packing up, we decided to take advantage of the free wifi at the Marriott to send off some emails to the "kids", respond to work emails and to check into Cruise Critic for the first time in several days. There were several posts about new itineraries which had been added recently to royalcaribbean.com which sounded very interesting to us. Because it was close to check-out time by now, I jotted down the ships and itineraries and sail dates and determined to check with the Loyalty Ambassador onboard for pricing.

 

Luckily, the rain had held off so we gathered up our luggage and made the short walk to the terminal. This was only the second time we have been able to walk to port - we did in New Orleans, as well, but the walk here was much shorter. It was such an enjoyable, laid back way to get to the port.

 

Within no time we were there. The white tent in the background is where the porters were collecting luggage:

 

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I tried to give the porter a tip two or three times before it finally got through to me that he either did not want, or could not accept, a tip for taking our luggage. You gotta love Australia.

 

There were two lines going into the building and security line, then the usual priority check-in lines for suite guests, certain C&A members, etc. It was a few minutes before 11 when we left the hotel. After stopping for some personal photos at Circular Quay, dropping off our luggage, going through security, filling out the medical questionnaire, checking-in, filling out one form each for Australian customs and stopping for the obligatory ship embarkation photo, we were still on board by 11:25 am or so. It was a very efficient process.

[kccrzr]

Our first stop onboard was at the Specialty Dining table to try to make reservations for Chops that evening in order to use our BOGO free offer. We were given a phone number and told we would have to call to make a reservation. This is the first time we have not been able to make a reservation right at the information table. So, we went around the corner to find a house phone and promptly made reservations for that evening.

 

It was Valentine's Day and the Radiance was very festive with the Centrum decorated with many red and white balloons - what a beautiful sight!

 

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The next order of business was to check out our table assignment in the MDR. And were we glad we did. We were very surprised to find that we had been assigned to a small interior table for 4 because we always ask for late seating and a large table since we do not want to rush back from port to eat and we enjoy meeting others, learning about them and talking about experiences onboard and at ports. So, we hailed a passing officer who kindly changed our table assignment to a large table by a window. He was very helpful and gracious, especially since in hindsight, I suspect it was not really his responsibility to be revising table assignments. We later found out that one of the other couples at our table had also requested a large table but been assigned to a small one. By the 2nd or 3rd meal in the MDR, it became very clear that late dining was unpopular on this particular sailing. There were many empty tables and I surmised that they were assigning people to tables without taking into account preferences in an attempt to equalize the work (and hence, the tips) amongst the wait staff.

 

Business completed, it was time to explore a bit. First stop: DRINKS on the pool deck. There were very few people on the pool deck, both because it was early and because it was gray and overcast. But we so enjoyed sitting outside on the top deck, looking at the Opera House and making a few last minute calls home before losing phone access for a few days. (Note that this photo was not taken on embarkation day, but I am including it in this post as I'm showing several other photos of the ship):

 

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After making our calls and having a few drinks, we headed to the beautiful Solarium for lunch. We never saw the Solarium this empty again:

 

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DH had the famous Kummelweck sandwich - the first of several. I intended to get a Kummelweck also but was tempted at the last second by the Cuban pork wrap because it sounded like it would be flavorful and spicy. It was quite the disappointment. I should have stayed loyal to the Kummelweck.

 

After lunch we checked out the Concierge Lounge. Just like the Solarium, we never saw it this empty again:

 

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Because I didn't eat much of the Cuban pork wrap, we then decided to head down to the Windjammer for a bit of honey stung chicken. Because the staterooms were already open, we had no trouble finding a nice window table to enjoy our second lunch.

[jennyau]

As we were disembarking they were blowing up the red and white balloons for the Centrum decorations.

 

Sent from my GT-I9100T using Forums mobile app

[kccrzr]

As we were disembarking they were blowing up the red and white balloons for the Centrum decorations.

 

Sent from my GT-I9100T using Forums mobile app

 

I love the Centrum on Radiance even without the decorations - it is so vibrant with all of the colors and the lighting system. But I was impressed with the effort they put into decorating with all of those balloons, especially given the short turn around time. It made an already special embarkation day that much more special.

 

The crew also did a nice job of planning themed activities in celebration of Valentine's Day:

 

Movie love tunes trivia;

"Valentine's Day" movie showing; and

Valentine's Day cake cutting.

[kccrzr]

Junior Suite Aft Cabin 1100:

 

When we opened the door to this cabin we fell in love with it.

 

We've been in quite a few junior suites, but this one took the cake.

 

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Especially, in Sydney, where a room with a view:

 

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Just got better:

 

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and better:

 

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This was really the perfect cabin to have for such a long cruise, with great indoor and outdoor spaces for any kind of weather.

[kccrzr]

And, as if the cabin were not enough, our D+ amenities were waiting for us, as was confirmation of our meet and mingle and the generous OBC from our warehouse club, through which we booked the cruise:

 

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We enjoyed all of the amenities. But what is up with these coffee packets which have way too much coffee for the coffee maker provided in the room, which only makes one cup at a time?

 

 

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This was DH's first cruise as a D+. We were also surprised to find this:

 

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He may not be a card carrying member but now he can be a pin wearing member. I'm not sure why the mode of presentation differs but DD and I received our pins in the mail - perhaps because we were on a short cruise???

 

Because this was such a long cruise, we also reached the next points amount where we should have received a glass block, not that I would have wanted to find room to carry it home on an international flight. I have been waiting for the 3rd and 4th person free offer to end and the wait times at RCI to ease before calling to have a block mailed to us. It will be a great memento of this special cruise.

[jensue1]

Gosh your cabin looks lovely!

[ksav]

Loving the review so far, we are on Radiance next week, Sydney to Hawaii....can't wait

[kccrzr]

Gosh your cabin looks lovely!

 

It really was. I'd reserve it again in a heartbeat.

[kccrzr]

Cabin 1100 continued:

 

One of the things I really appreciate about cruising is being able to travel to multiple places without having to pack and unpack over and over or live out of a suitcase. This cabin has great storage space, including a walk in closet. (When our daughters were younger and we had a closet like this they would sometimes change in it or "hide out" for a minute if room service came while they were still in their pajamas). One of our suitcases was waiting for us in the hall when we first arrived at the cabin and after enjoying the balcony for a few minutes, I started unpacking before realizing I intended to take some photos first, sorry about that.

 

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The hanging hooks on the wall were very convenient:

 

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The bathroom was spacious also. It was nice to have a tub and the long clothes line for hanging wet clothing:

 

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Edited April 3, 2014 by kccrzr

[cruisinconniebean]

I've been waiting to see those cabin pics. We have 1100 booked for Alaska next summer!

[kccrzr]

I've been waiting to see those cabin pics. We have 1100 booked for Alaska next summer!

 

You will not be disappointed.

[kccrzr]

Loving the review so far, we are on Radiance next week, Sydney to Hawaii....can't wait

 

Hope you have time to post a review on your return - I'd love to hear about your trip.

[kccrzr]

Muster Drill:

 

Muster Drill was scheduled for 5:15 pm. We had not been on a cruise previously where an announcement was made during Muster Drill about norovirus. The CD said several people disembarking that day as well as others boarding that day had reported symptoms of norovirus. She reminded everyone to use hand sanitizer and take appropriate precautions. Just wish they had made this announcement before we went to the Windjammer for that honey stung chicken.:eek: As it turned out, we had no problems, but I would have liked to have known earlier that there was an issue.

 

During the muster, an Alpha, Alpha, Alpha announcement was made regarding an incident on the other side of the ship. I heard later that the person was taken off in a stretcher. I hope everything turned out ok but what a disappointment that would be to miss the cruise.

 

Photo taken before sailaway:

 

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The hotel at the end of the point hosted an outdoors wedding in the greenspace. It was quite lovely.

 

Concierge Lounge:

 

As soon as the Muster Drill was over we headed up to the Concierge Lounge. Ordinarily we would have been up on the pool deck for sail away but the weather was not cooperating and there was no pool band on this cruise - a definite disappointment for me.

 

As it turned out we were so glad we went to the CL. The concierge, Juan Diego Miranda-Allen ("JD") was a fount of information. He clearly laid out his expectations and stance on various "rules."

1. Always use hand sanitizer on entering the lounge;

2. Occasional removal of drinks from the CL was acceptable as long as you weren't running up from dinner to get a glass of wine to take back down or making a habit of asking that your drink be topped off right before leaving the lounge;

3. He takes a more lenient view of the dress policy than do some other concierges;

4. At tender ports, he will escort anyone in the lounge down to the tenders. (This was a huge benefit for us as we were able to get on the first tender at each of our two tender ports).

 

JD told us that several people had actually been denied boarding that day because they exhibited the symptoms of norovirus.

 

JD was really an excellent concierge. He was personable, helpful and planned several fun events throughout the cruise.

 

JD:

 

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JD promised that Rosario, the bartender, would know everyone's name and favorite drink by the end of the evening. And he did! Rosario was quite amazing. He was uber efficient regardless of how many people were in the lounge. There were very few times we had to ask for a refill - he almost always brought us another drink before we even thought to ask for one. Sometimes, he was so quick we got our "regular" drink before we had a chance to order something different. Rosario and JD made our time in the CL so much more pleasant than some other experiences we have had where we have waited quite a while for lackluster service.

 

At the very tail end of the cruise we learned by accident that Rosario was also working other bars during the day. On sea days he was at the Sky Bar. I wish we would have thought to ask him at the beginning of the cruise if we was working elsewhere because we definitely would have ordered our drinks from him during the day as well.

 

Rosario:

 

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After happy hours in the CL, we headed to Chops to use our BOGO offer. The food and the service was excellent as always but of course, way too much food! I did not think to take any photos.

 

We went to many of the specialty restaurants during this cruise because I had pre-booked the Chef's Table package. We were surprised how empty all of the specialty restaurants were. I have wondered if it is an unusual occurrence due to the length and demographics of this cruise or if that is fairly common. It did seem like a lot of space and crew were dedicated to under performing revenue generating restaurants.

 

I'm not sure if the photos I have taken of the Embarkation information sheet or the Cruise Compass will be legible but I'm giving it a whirl:

 

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[kccrzr]

Day 2 At Sea

 

Clocks were turned forward one hour at 2:00am, so breakfast came a bit earlier than we would have liked. But the ship offered extended breakfast hours in the dining room: 7:00am-11:00 am

 

Breakfast in MDR: we went to the MDR for breakfast 4 or 5 times on this cruise. The company was always good as was the food (but for one time when I ordered Eggs Benedict and rather than preparing it with an English Muffin it was on a thinner, much denser biscuit).

 

This day DH and I both had French toast and a side of hash browns. It was excellent.

 

Unsurprising, since the weather was overcast and chilly again today, the Solarium was full when we walked through around 9:45am.

 

Movies: A good variety of movie genres were shown during our cruise, including:

 

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs II

Monsters University

Skyfall

Valentine's Day

White House Down

Man of Steel

50 First Dates

The Lone Ranger

Lee Daniels: The Butler

The Hunger Games (I)

Hunger Games: Catching Fire

The Sound of Music Live

SuperBuddies

Red2

The Artist

 

We tried to go to the 10:00 am showing of White House Down but the theatre was full when we got there. We heard many complaints during the cruise that the vast majority of movie showings were planned for the Cinema rather than a larger venue. The Cinema only seats 48 people plus some room for wheel chairs/scooters at the top walk-in level. I expect that on many cruises the Cinema is not well attended but between the demographics and the poor weather, demand often outstripped supply on this cruise.

 

We went to the 4:00 pm showing instead. The Cinema was full by 3:40 or 3:45.

 

Free Slot Pull: A bit at loose ends, we poked around the ship a bit before deciding to use our free slot pulls - we won one of the ubiquitous key chains.

 

Boardwalk Dog House: By the time we were ready for lunch the MDR was closed and I don't like to go to the Windjammer all that much, so we had brats at the Boardwalk Dog House. I had the Apple bratwurst and thought it was quite good. DH had two other kinds. We also had a little container of potato salad - it was ok - just a bit bland and not as cold as I prefer.

 

Dinner in the MDR: after drinks in the CL, we went down to our late dinner seating in the MDR and met our tablemates; we enjoyed our meals together with them throughout the cruise. I had escargot (the first of several times) and Beef Tenderloin. It was excellent.

 

The only disappointment was that several of us wanted lemon meringue pie for dessert but it was all gone. Our waiter obviously reported our disappointment to the kitchen staff because shortly afterwards, the head waiter came to our table and told us the chef had promised to make a special lemon meringue pie for us the next night. So, our disappointment was short-lived but our appreciation for the service we experienced on board was heightened.

 

We had fantastic service throughout the cruise from both our waiter and assistant waiter. We will be on Quantum later this year and are keeping an open mind about Dynamic Dining but think we will miss the camaraderie and consistency of service we have come to to forward to and rely on in the MDR.

[kccrzr]

DH has been holding out on me! :eek: He had a thumb drive with additional photos from our Nikon, so before I get any further along, I am going to back track a bit and add some photos from our day in Manly:

 

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Bandstand for Australian Open of Surfing:

 

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Surfing class:

 

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Fishmongers meal at Manly with local 4 Pines beer:

 

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[kccrzr]

And just a few photos from the top deck of the Radiance while we were still at the Overseas Passenger Terminal in Circular Quay (it was beautiful despite the overcast sky):

 

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The first drink of the cruise:

 

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Now on with the show...

 

Day 3, At Sea:

 

Solarium: Got up early enough today to snag some seats in the Solarium in the second row: 8:15 am. We had so many cold, windy, overcast days on this cruise that the Solarium filled up earlier and earlier each day. Demand for loungers well outstripped supply.

 

Meet & Mingle: The meet & mingle was scheduled in the Quill & Compass Lounge this morning. We arrived a few minutes late because we didn't want to leave our loungers for long. There was a very good turnout for M&M. However, it was unlike any I had attended before. IMHO, an inordinate amount of time seemed to be taken up publicly discussing issues relevant to a subset of people, which could have been dealt with "off-line", so to speak. There were quite a few gifts raffled out, including some wine and a jewelry set. I won a RCI messenger bag (which is a bit worse for wear after being stuffed in my suitcase):

 

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Tango Buenos Aires: In the evening we went to the performance of Tango Buenos Aires. It was pretty good but not as great as the Argentinian Gauchos we have seen perform before.

 

Loyalty Ambassader: Both folks in the LA lounge were fairly unhelpful on this cruise. I went in to enquire about pricing for the itineraries I had seen online through links provided on Cruise Critic the morning we embarked but was told those sailings hadn't been released yet by headquarters. Several days later J.D. sent an email for me enquiring again, and I received the same response that the two cruises I was interested in were not available but tried to interest me in the Oasis Europe cruises which had been out for awhile. Very curious! I finally ended up purchasing 2 next cruise certificates but even that was not without its hassle because they forgot to send the form waiving issuance in the name of the TA I used for this cruise and they wouldn't issue it without that form even though I wrote on the order form that I wanted it issued in the name of RCI. I also had to follow up on the certificates.

 

MDR: Service here could not have been better! The pastry chef had made lemon meringue pie especially for our table as promised. :D It was delicious and well worth the wait.

[kccrzr]

Day 4, Picton, New Zealand:

 

We were not scheduled to arrive at Picton until 1:00pm, so we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast in the MDR. The only thing better than the Eggs Benedict (made with an English Muffin this morning) was the excellent company we enjoyed at the breakfast table. It's always so fun to meet new people and find out what they have planned for the day.

 

Because Picton is a working port, we were told no one would be allowed to walk off the ship and through port to town. Complimentary shuttle bus tickets were scheduled to be handed out in the Dining Room on Deck 5 at 1:00pm for all those not on a ship's tour. What a chaotic fiasco that was.

 

People started lining up well before 1:00 pm. We got down there around 12:30 and there were probably 100 people in front of us. There was not a single crew member organizing the line which stretched past the stairs to the locked doors to the dining room on the other side of the ship and then snaked back on itself to the doors where the tickets would eventually be handed out. Well, you guessed it. As soon as the doors were opened the people who had just shown up and were in the very back of the line merely turned around and walked right in, ahead of all of the people who had been waiting much longer. We were actually in the first 25% of the line but ended up with shuttle ticket 12 due to all of the people who did not wait their turn. But the people who really got treated unfairly were those who were at the midpoint but ended up at the back of the line. It was amazing how many people felt they were "entitled" to move to the front of the line.

 

The port authorities cleared the ship at 1:15pm and then there was a crush of people waiting in the halls and on the stairs for their shuttle number to be called. Once our number was called and we made it outside, we were instructed by a crew member to go to the wrong bus where another crew member asked what we were doing there. So then the two crew members got in a bit of a tiff. It really was not a good way to start our visit.

 

One nice touch was the local people who were at the port handing out little flowers and pins.

 

The ride to town took about 8-9 minutes. We were dropped off in front of a small museum. The bay was quite lovely and there was a craft market set up in a small park just past Wellington street. After looking, but not buying anything at the craft market, we made our way up Wellington and then cut across to High Street to find the Post Office. DH had used his watercolors and new postcard paper to paint some postcards for our DDs and his parents. We had placed the postcards in some envelopes J.D. was kind enough to give us, so they did not get ruined on the long trip to the U.S. The postal clerk was very friendly and helpful. It cost us $7.80 - which I thought was quite reasonable.

 

We were told the population of Picton is around 4,000 and that many people retire there. But, the town is really quite small.

 

The Flying Haggis Scottish Ale House: we went by a few cafes I had read about on tripadvisor. One was not open and the other did not strike our fancy, so we walked down High Street toward the bay until we happened upon The Flying Haggis Scottish Ale House. It was a quaint little restaurant/bar where you ordered at the bar and then your meal was served to you. I had Bangers & Mash which were fine and DH ordered Hamsteak. It was definitely not the best of meals but it was adequate and nice to be able to go to a locally owned establishment. We had 3 pints of beer between us before deciding to head on down High Street.

 

Shopping: Although there were numerous souvenir shops for the size of the town, some of the product was pretty schlocky and after seeing a few shops, I felt I had seen them all. There were some nice wooden crafts at one or two of the shops on High Street. I picked up a few tea towels for some people at work and got a pretty Maori design necklace for my youngest daughter for $23. I was tempted by a fairly pretty salad fork and spoon set inlaid with puau shell. But after thinking about it for a few minutes, I decided not to get it.

 

Even though we were only in port for about 3 hours total, we had plenty of time left after doing our bit of shopping, so we headed back down London Quay past the park where the craft market was set up and crossed a nice footbridge over a small boat marina.

 

Seamus's Irish Pub on Wellington: After taking some photos we decided to walk a few block ups Wellington street to check out an Irish pub called Seamus's we had seen earlier. We each had a pint of beer and DH had an Irish Whisky while we chatted a bit with the bartender (who was on her first day at the job) and a backpacker.

 

On the way back to the shuttle stop we saw quite a few of the crew members including some of the entertainers and J.D., the concierge, sitting outside on the patio at a café on the corner of High Street and London Quay.

 

In hindsight, we agreed it would have been better to take a short tour for 3 hours or so - like to some of the nearby wineries - and then spend a bit of time in Picton, particularly since it was our first port after two sea days. We could have used a bit more action.

 

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Photo from the footbridge:

 

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A park at the foreshore

 

 

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Seamus's Irish Bar; love the "Drinking Consultants" sign:

 

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The corner of High Street and London Quay. You can just see the edge of the patio of the café where the crew members were hanging out on the far right side of the photo.

 

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[kccrzr]

Wellington, NZ, Day 5:

 

Room Service Breakfast: We were scheduled to arrive in Wellington at 8:00am so we ordered room service for breakfast hoping to enjoy it on the balcony. Unfortunately, we woke to another cold, overcast and very windy day. It had been several years since we had ordered room service breakfast and I was surprised at how small the serving portions were for the scrambled eggs and hash browns. The coffee was great though, and the food was brought right on time.

 

The sail in to Wellington was lovely:

 

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DH is a sports architect and was happy to see the cruise port was right across the street from the Westpac Stadium, so we ran up to the top pool deck to take some photos before heading out:

 

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Wellington Visitor Information site: Prior to the trip I spent quite a bit of time reviewing the excellent and well-organized Wellington Visitor information site online (http://www.wellingtonnz.com/visitor-information). I printed out a map and some of the itinerary ideas. When we arrived in port, there was someone handing out full size maps so we picked one of those up as well.

 

There were also New Zealand Quarantine Officers at the port checking bags and backpacks for food.

 

Cable Car: We got off the ship around 8:15 am and decided to walk to the cable car ticket office on Lambton Quay (http://www.wellingtoncablecar.co.nz/). It was a bit of a longer walk than we thought it would be but that was probably because we were looking around, taking photos and were not familiar with our surroundings. We walked past the beautiful train station and many stores and restaurants on the way to Lambton Quay.

 

Two one-way tickets to the top of the hill cost $8 NZD. It took us a minute or so to figure out how to scan the card in order to get through the gates. If I ever get around to doing a scrapbook, the cable car ticket will be a colorful memento of our day in Wellington:

 

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Once in the station, we were able to walk right on a waiting car. There were quite a few students onboard headed to the university.

 

We rode up to the top terminus and were greeted with beautiful views of downtown Wellington. If we looked to the left, we were able to see the Radiance in the distance.

 

 

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There was a free Cable Car Museum at the top of the hill which looked very nice. But we arrived before it had opened for the day so we did not see any of the exhibits:

 

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Some public restrooms and a café was also located at the Cable Car terminus.

[kccrzr]

Wellington Botanic Garden:

 

The Garden (http://wellington.govt.nz/recreation/gardens/botanic-garden/visitor-information) is very nice and admission was free. We followed the well marked paths past the Carter Observatory and Dominion Observatory and then started snaking down hill towards town. However, if you have any mobility issues at all you shouldn't attempt the walk to town, the paths are quite steep and it is a bit of a hike as you can see from the photos taken at the top.

 

The garden was lovely, peaceful and surprisingly empty. There were facilities along the way and many different gardens, including a large rose garden:

 

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The path also takes you past the very interesting Bolton Street Memorial Park (http://wellington.govt.nz/recreation/gardens/bolton-street-memorial-park), the oldest cemetery in Wellington with separate Jewish, Anglican and Catholic sections. There were informative plaques along the way and fascinating headstones.

 

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[tiger5687]

Can't wait to read more, we are from near Manly and going on Radiance next year so this is a great read for us! Thankyou!

[kccrzr]

Can't wait to read more, we are from near Manly and going on Radiance next year so this is a great read for us! Thankyou!

 

I'm so glad you are enjoying the review. I've learned so much from the Cruise Critic boards - I hope others can benefit from our experience.

 

I envy you being so close to such a fantastic port.