Legend VS Radiance..but what about Voyager? Help.

[melb1988]

Hi all!!

 

I guess the title gives it away.. But I am trying to decide between a 8 night south pacific cruise on Radiance or Legend in Feb? Both have basically the same prices for a Grand Suite (which we would be looking to book). Legend is about $200 cheaper per person.

Some background info on me, 27 male from Melbourne Australia and I would be travelling with my partner, same stats as me. We are not new to cruising and have sailed on Royal Caribbean once before (our first cruise together) out to the south pacific on Rhapsody just before her big refit. We really enjoyed that trip. Since then we have travelled with Cunard the mostly, but we're after a "real cruise" again.. just something not so serious, relaxed fun in the sun! Hence why we a coming back to Royal Caribbean.

I do have us booked on a 4 night trip Sydney to Hobart and back on Explorer in March as it was a fantastic price and we are looking foreword to seeing what this class of ship is really like but thats just more of a sample trip rather than "holiday".

 

We liked Rhapsody as we just found it enjoyably casual, great pools/whirlpools (we loved the solarium), we loved the on deck BBQ"s, the staff were fantastic.. I must admit how surprised we really were as we didn't have our hopes up as she was an "older ship" and smaller than what I had previously been on (Diamond Princess) but like a said, we loved it!

So would we enjoy Legend just as much or is her time truly passed now? Although her 2013 refit seems to have done wonders for her interior decor!

 

With Radiance, she's always interested me.. She looks great on the outside and interesting inside (although I find her 2011 refit to be very dated decor wise which is a let down), I love the look of her Solarium, it looks amazing!! A browse of her deck plans reveal how much more she has to offer than Legend.

 

Do we stick with what we know (Legend) or give something different a try (Radiance)?

 

Just any opinions would be great!

 

PS: We could also do the same trip on Voyager.. she also has roughly the same pricing yet just a tad more expensive, but I would then look at cancelling our explorer trip for March.

 

Cheers all :)

[KAYTWO]

Hi, having been on all four ships, albeit Legend was back in2008, I must say our favourite is definitely Radiance. A beautiful ship without being too big and so have found it easier to get to know the staff than on Voyager. Also, if you have inclement weather, the solarium on Voyager does not have a roof, so really can't be used. There are pros and cons for all, so really is a matter of what you want on your trip. Voyager does have the Flo-Rider if that interests you, Schooner bar has tons more atmosphere on Radiance. What sort of things interest you most?

[melb1988]

Hi, having been on all four ships, albeit Legend was back in2008, I must say our favourite is definitely Radiance. A beautiful ship without being too big and so have found it easier to get to know the staff than on Voyager. Also, if you have inclement weather, the solarium on Voyager does not have a roof, so really can't be used. There are pros and cons for all, so really is a matter of what you want on your trip. Voyager does have the Flo-Rider if that interests you, Schooner bar has tons more atmosphere on Radiance. What sort of things interest you most?

 

Thanks for your reply!

 

Flow rider is interesting but not really a make or break as I suppose we would only use it like once? (Especially if there massive lines for it) I guess what turns me off voyager is the idea of mass crowds that I keep reading about in reviews on this site! Hence why I've only booked a small sample cruise on explorer in March just so I can really see what it's all about. I must admit we did like the size of rhapsody where as before boarding I was worried about it being small! It actually gave it a better atmosphere in our opinion!

I do read a lot that radiance is 'the best of both worlds' size wise especially!

 

I guess we really would just be looking for days spent by the pools, nights spent in the jacuzzis, drinks on deck, buffet food (we like eating outside) and then some nice bars to have a drink in at night. We're not really into the shows etc. radiance does have better bars and lounges by the looks of things?

 

I agree with what you said about the solarium on voyager! I've always wondered why it doesn't have a roof? It's not even a solarium to be honest! Lol

 

Cheers

[KAYTWO]

Whichever you choose I am sure you will have a fantastic time.

[Hailzmick]

We had our honeymoon on Radiance & completely fell in love with it. Not too big, not too small. Perfect.

Staff were AMAZING too!

It's small enough to bump into the same people but big enough to get a bit lost & explore!

We did Splendour out of Venice recently, & are booked in to do Legend, (sister ship) in Jan & April but I've just done a sneaky booking for Voyager in March too. I'm hoping it's not too big for us- but how do you know if you don't try hey!!!

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

I have only been on Radiance (to Alaska this past summer) after cruising Disney exclusively. I really loved almost everything about Radiance (to me the casino just takes up space where something else could be - and serves as a smoke trap which leaks its poison a bit outside its bounds) - enough that I booked a 12-night cruise to Italy this coming summer on her sister Brilliance.

 

If you don't care about the bells and whistles like the FlowRider (I'm with you... not interested in it), I say go with Radiance.

[blackshirt]

We've been on Radiance (twice), Legend and Adventure (Voyager class) and by far our favorite has been the Radiance class, so much so we've been on 3 of the 4 Radiance class ships. I'd gladly sail Legend again or any of the other Legend class ships but given a choice between Legend and Radiance, definitely Radiance.

[impatientlywaiting]

We've been on Legend twice and love her. We have a 30 day cruise booked in 2016 on Radiance (Vancouver B.C. to Sydney via Honolulu) and can't wait. We've heard so many great things about her. We love the "smaller" ships and don't need all the mobs of people or all the new fangled stuff that brings all the mobs of people!

[tazza_0712]

Spent an amazing 19 nights sailing Hawaii to Sydney on Radiance in a GS last year with my partner. Radiance is by far my favourite ship out of the RC fleet.

 

I've sailed on both Legend and Rhapsody in the past, and Radiance bests them, although, like you said, I would still happily travel on a Vision Class ship.

 

As for Voyager Class, I did a three night cruise in January of this year on Voyager and was disappointed. In contrast to Radiance, I found it overly crowded, too large and kind of confusing to navigate, though more time would have helped that.

 

So, all in all, Radiance over Legend, and in fact over any of the others haha. Enjoy whichever cruise you pick!

 

 

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[Desert Cruizers]

March 2014, we sailed the Radiance out of Sydney for a 13 day NZ, followed by the 18 day Transpacific and 12 day Hawaii to Vancouver, the opposite of Anita's planned 2016 sailing which doesn't include the additional cruise we did and totally enjoyed all 48 days on board her.

[Krazykj17]

We have just disembarked Legend today after an 18nt voyage from Hong Kong to Brisbane. Our first cruise was on Radiance to New Zealand in 2012. Both were great cruises but Radiance still remains our favourite ship. She is just beautiful and travelling on her is a breeze, no issues and the staff seemed happier than on Legend. Given the choice, we would choose Radiance over Legend on another cruise. Radiance has more to offer and with Legend being an older ship, we experienced awful vibrations on her when the Captain pushed her over 18 knots. Radiance had a smooth ride, better selection of restaurants and better facilities in my opinion. Nothing is wrong with Legend, she's a great smaller ship and you will probably get a good price on her itineraries. No matter what you choose though, I'm sure you will have a great time. After all, you are on a cruise! :)

[Cabansail]

Have just got off Radiance. My feelings are mixed. We did enjoy it and the crew seemed very friendly. Did not feel crowded at all and from a distance it looks fine. It is, however, looking quite tired though well maintained. In the solarium many of the plastic plants have faded to quite weird colours, which make them a bit of a grotesque mocking of nature. The Centrum is a bit gawdy, as is the decorations leading up to the Schooner Bar. Then in other places they have some very tasteful areas. Just loved the old sepia tone photo's in a few areas. The large areas of glass were also nice. As for beautiful I would need to compare it with something else but it's not the adjective which first springs to mind.

 

Dining on the rear deck at the back of the Windjammer is really nice when the weather is fine. The Cabins were nice places to spend some time (we had a JS) and watching the world drift by from the Helipad was also very pleasant.