Celebrity Solstice or RCCL Radiance of the Seas from Honolulu

[Therobielyn's]

Good afternoon everyone.

 

Getting ready to book our 10+ day cruise from Honolulu to Vancouver (including the Hawaiian islands, of course) and lloking for advice from those who have sailed both Radiance class vessels and Solstice class vessels.

We are travelling with two 18 year olds and are wondering which ship would be better and why? My wife and I are hopeless romantics too, so we need to look after "us" too.

Any advice would be so appreciated.

[mtn_couple]

I have done Solstice, and while not Radiance I have done Voyager (both RCL operated out of Australia) and I'd choose Solstice hands down for you as romantics. RCL may suit your 18 year olds better with more activities, depending on their personality. I find RCL ships over crowded and noisy with no place to escape the crowds. Solstice is overall calmer, quieter, peaceful.

[Cruzaholic41]

Good afternoon everyone.

 

Getting ready to book our 10+ day cruise from Honolulu to Vancouver (including the Hawaiian islands' date=' of course) and lloking for advice from those who have sailed both Radiance class vessels and Solstice class vessels.

We are travelling with two 18 year olds and are wondering which ship would be better and why? My wife and I are hopeless romantics too, so we need to look after "us" too.

Any advice would be so appreciated.[/quote']

 

I have cruised both ships and both ship classes numerous times. Both ships are gorgeous and both are excellent for romantics. But in the romantic category and in the food category, Solstice is the better choice - not by much though.

 

However, your 18 year olds will definitely like RCI better for the activities.

 

Both are a great choice, so good luck.

 

I have done Solstice, and while not Radiance I have done Voyager (both RCL operated out of Australia) and I'd choose Solstice hands down for you as romantics. RCL may suit your 18 year olds better with more activities, depending on their personality. I find RCL ships over crowded and noisy with no place to escape the crowds. Solstice is overall calmer, quieter, peaceful.

 

Radiance and Voyager are very different ship classes. The thing with RCI is, you cannot judge the whole line and all their ship classes from 1 cruise. Radiance has more the spaciousness and similar crowds (or lack thereof) as Millennium Class - but Radiance is far more beautiful than Millennium.

Edited April 2, 2015 by Cruzaholic41

[louieboy]

We will be leaving in two weeks on the Solstice doing the Hawaii to Vancouver cruise and very much look forward to sailing on the Solstice (we have only ever been on the Summit and Mercury with Celebrity) but i have to say that the Radiance class of ships on RCCL is completely different from the Voyager class (we have sailed on the Explorer 6+ out of Bayonne). The Radiance Class is by far, our most favorite ship size overall (we are D+ and have sailed 30+ times on different class RCCL ships). I agree, the Voyager class ships always feel crowded, noisy and more like a city than a quaint town which is how i feel on the Radiance class. We only sailed as many times on the Explorer because of the ease to drive to the port. The Radiance offers two upscale dining options, the billiard tables (which are fun to watch if nothing else), smaller venues with all types of music, temperature controlled covered Solarium (Voyager class roof open and can get really hot or cold depending on your itinerary) and i think my favorite thing is, no matter where you are on the Radiance, you can look out and see the ocean (even the elevators). The Voyager class has most of their venues interior to the ship so it has more of a hotel feel rather than a cruise ship. Radiance just an overall feeling of Romance and that cruise ship picture i have it my head..... but, this is just my opinion.

[upwarduk]

Which ship visits more islands?

If possible I would choose the cruise which visits Kauai, so that you could visit the Grand Canyon of the Pacific- Waimea Canyon and the Fern Grotto ( made famous by Elvis Presley)

 

Oahu is a must, so that you can visit Pearl Harbour.

Maui is beautiful, especially for whale watching and the Big Island is volcanic and wet, unless you are lucky.

[FunCruiser56]

We have sailed on several Solstice class ships and the Brilliance of the Seas also. We love all of these ships. 2 years ago we sailed the Solstice from Hawaii and had a wonderful cruise, we loved it so much we booked the same cruise for next April. It would be hard to choose between the two, we prefer Celebrity. The Radiance class ships are different from other RCI ships- no big mall type area down the center of the ship. Your teens will enjoy either ship, if your looking for a more adult cruise then Solstice! The Hot Glass Show is amazing!!

The crew on both is wonderful. As a previous poster mentioned pick the ship for the islands it visits, of course price factors in also :)

Bev

[pspercy]

I think Solstice is too big for Kauai.

 

We did Vancouver to Honolulu on Radiance last September, it was a great trip

[upwarduk]

I think Solstice is too big for Kauai

 

You are probably right for Solstice being too big to be docked in Kauai; we were on Century.

We did however tender in Lahania, Maui, but recently QV was docked in Kahului, so I'm sure there would be room for Solstice.

Edited April 2, 2015 by upwarduk

[pspercy]

I'd sooner be anchored off Lahaina than docked in Kahului but the latter would be better for excursions to Hana or going up-country, Haleakala etc.

[chemmo]

As cruisers who almost invariably travel with young adult family I would get your 18yr olds to be involved in some of the research. We have travelled on both ship classes. The advertising for RC can be misleading unless you do your research. We met up with families when we were on Splendour of the Seas who expected it to have far more facilities as they had seen the general tv ad. They had failed to appreciate items shown were not on all ships. If you were looking at a freedom or oasis ship I would say RC may win for your 18yr olds in terms of flow riders, ice rinks......however, there is a limit to the novelty of billiard tables!!!

 

Our son now in his twenties now prefers celebrity. He will enjoy fine dining, wine tasting....at 18 what do your young adults want? They may be happy with any cruise with good itineraries for sports, adventure activities in port.

 

To make your final choice I would really suggest it is a whole family decision.

 

Whatever ship you choose I am sure you will have a great time!

[LuckiePuris]

Just off solstice today. We are a young couple and previously radiance was our favourite and royal Caribbean. But wow - celebrity really takes cruising to another level.

 

All the little touches are amazing, as is the food and beverage selection.

 

However celebrity generally does tend to attract an older demographic due to the sometimes higher priced voyages, facilities onboard, and events at sea - etc wine tasting, seminars.

 

For couples I'd definitely recommend celebrity. However with two teens, they will hopefully have more passengers their age and more entertainment / activities for them on Royal.

 

I'm hoping to post a review of the Solstice cruise I just came off today, should hopefully be on the Celebrity forum later this week!

Edited April 3, 2015 by LuckiePuris

[phoenix_dream]

Have sailed both ships. IMHO, while in general RCCI ships have some more activities and a younger crowd, Radiance is not all that dissimilar than a Celebrity M class ship. They really do not have all that many more facilities per se like the bigger RCCI ships. So as far as activities, I think it is pretty much a wash, although there will be more kids their age on Radiance.

 

I think with a sailing with that many days at sea, one also needs to consider size and stability. The Celebrity ship is definitely bigger. It also rides very well in rough waters - considerably better than the Radiance or Celebrity M class sized ships. This can make a BIG difference if the seas are bad and you suffer from seasickness as I am inclined to. The larger size also provides more venues and places to spread out.

 

Overall I prefer Celebrity regardless, but for the reasons above I would pick that line for this particular cruise.