My review of our 3-day cruise on Radiance March 11 - 14, 2022

[jerseygirlinAZ]

I've never done a review before, and I suspect this one will be short as 1. it was a short cruise, and 2.  I didn't take as many pictures as I should have.  Still, I promised myself I would do a little review since I didn't see a lot here on the Radiance.  I traveled with my husband (we're both 50), our daughter (6), and my parents (both 69).

 

We flew in from Phoenix to Long Beach the morning of the cruise, Friday March 11.  Really loved the Long Beach airport and would pay more to fly there than LAX every time.  We called for an uber xl, which was about $60.  The only airport snafu is that we couldn't find my daughter's booster seat at baggage claim.  I asked if it would be on the carousel and was told yes, but, alas, it was not.  Our uber had arrived and I still didn't have the car seat.  Finally, as I was heading to the uber sans car seat, I saw that it had been pulled from the carousel and placed on the side.  Whew!  So, I grabbed it and headed to transportation.  Funny story ... we almost got our ubers confused as my husband, Chris, was waiting for a white van as was another family whose dad just also happened to be named Chris!  It all worked out and we laughed about it.  We saw those people on the ship later.

 

We got to the terminal at about 10:40 a.m., which was good since our check in time was 10:30 - 11.  We pretty much walked right in with no line.  Our documents were checked and we were cleared.  (We did our tests at Walgreens, which I highly recommend.)  We waited a bit and then were let in with the A03 group.  Here's a pic of us in the waiting area...

 

[jerseygirlinAZ]

We walked around once we were onboard.  We decided to get the cheers package since we had a lot of onboard credit.  Had our first drink at the Red Frog on the lido deck.  

 

Our room was ready by 1:30 p.m.  We hung up my daughter's first cruise sign, got her changed for Water Works, and left her with the grandparents as hubby and I checked out Serenity and the spa.  I asked about how many people were on board and was told about 2K.  Other people said it felt like there were more than that, but I thought it was just about right.  

 

Daughter was up and down the water slides dozens of times.  God bless my father who just kept going with her.  He lives in Florida so they don't get to hang out all the time.  

 

Following are pics of the harbor from the ship and my freezing kiddo...

[jerseygirlinAZ]

Hubby and I headed to the spa for the raffle during the sail away party, which was fun.  I thought the music was great, but hubby said it was a little too loud.  (I told him he's getting old!)  We had no luck with the spa raffle.  So, we headed up to the room to get ready for dinner.  We booked the steakhouse for the first night.  

 

I'm a vegetarian, but this was one of the best meals I had on the ship.  I had the stuffed mushrooms along with a pasta created by the chef.  Both were fabulous!  My dad had shrimp cocktail, which he enjoyed.  Husband, I believe, had the tuna tartare.  Mom just had a salad.  My kiddo had the mac and cheese, which she didn't eat, but we did!  She also got fries and chicken, both of which were good.  For the main course, the adults all got steak.  My husband felt his was overcooked, but he had booked a spa treatment for that evening on a special first-day deal, so he had to leave dinner early.  Following are some pics from the steakhouse ...

[jerseygirlinAZ]

After dinner, my daughter wanted to check out Club Ocean.  There were a decent amount of kids on this cruise.  I dropped her off and, as hubby was still at the spa, I decided to make my donation to Carnival via the casino.  Now, in the past, I have done pretty okay in the casino.  Not this trip, lol.  Ugh.  I heard machines pinging all over the place.  Saw a few people hit for $3k.  Good for them, lol.  This was just not my trip.  Hung at the casino, which was pretty crowded, for about an hour and then picked up hubby and the kiddo.  Started to watch Addams Family Values in the room with the kiddo while hubby went to the casino.  Didn't get too far into the movie before she fell asleep.  Hubby did well in the casino, which I guess balances things out.  

[jerseygirlinAZ]

DAY TWO:  Fun day at sea

 

The bed was very comfy.  We were in a balcony room 7337.  We slept well except we were close to the elevator and two floors above the casino, so we could hear the rowdies occasionally throughout the night.  (Not complaining.  Hell, I used to be a rowdy in my younger days, lol.)  From our balcony we could see dolphins jumping, which was a treat.  

 

Headed down to get coffee.  Met some of the crew, which was nice.  Daughter searched for ducks.  Hubby had another spa treatment booked, so off he went.  My parents, daughter, and I headed to sea day brunch.  It was good.  Had a nice table by the window so we could see the ocean.  

 

I had a spa appointment before lunch so off I went.  Daughter headed to the water works again to torture my father, lol.  Daughter and parents did the Groove for St. Jude and had lunch on the lido deck.  The sandwich station was by far our favorite place to grab lunch.  We preferred the fries there to the ones at Shaq's or Guy's.

 

Hubby and I stopped by to listen to some music at the lobby bar (not sure that's what it's called) before dinner.  We enjoyed the violin trio and the other musical acts on board.  Didn't get to any of the shows though.  Stopped into the casino and hubby won again, though his machine malfunctioned so he couldn't get his winnings until 8 p.m. that night.  This night was elegant night, so we went up to get ready for the evening.

 

Had dinner in the MDR.  Casinos sent a bottle of wine and a steakhouse selection for hubs.  The wine was good, but the steak was not.  He was given a regular steak, not one from the steakhouse.  So, they brought him another one, but it was rare not medium.  My father, who ordered a steak from the MDR, was not happy with his meal.  As a vegetarian, I was disappointed with the lack of options for me.  I ordered the vegetable lasagna, which I found to be gummy.  I didn't eat it.  Kiddo had the nuggets and fries and liked them well enough.  My mom had the chicken quesadilla and enjoyed it.  She and I also had the tiramisu for dessert, which oddly contained coconut.  That night we decided that we would eat the next evening at the Italian restaurant.  Hubby did say that the strawberry soup was good.  

 

After dinner, daughter headed to Club Ocean and we headed to the casino.  Hubby kept winning.  I kept losing.  And daughter wanted to stay at Club Ocean til they closed.  So, hubby and I made our way over to the piano bar, which was a lot of fun.  Picked up the kiddo and she won at bingo!  She was so happy to get her ship.  Here are some pics of the day/evening.  

[jerseygirlinAZ]

DAY THREE: Ensenada

 

We originally booked a whale watching tour in Ensenada, but there was a question about the daylight savings time change and ship time versus Ensenada time.  Plus, kiddo wanted to stay on the ship with the grandparents, so we decided to skip it.  

 

Headed out to breakfast and saw the towel animals had invaded the lido deck.  Daughter loved it.  I had a cheese omelet from Shaq's, which was good.  Hubby had an omelet from the omelet station.  There were no jalapenos on the ship, which was a little bit of a bummer for him.  There was also no bacon for breakfast today.  

 

I decided I wanted to go ashore.  Hubby and my mom didn't want me to go alone (sigh), so hubby came with me.  Grandparents and the kiddo stayed on board.  We were told to bring our Sign and Sail cards, covid vaccine cards, and ID.  So we grabbed our stuff, stopped in the lobby bar for a breakfast cocktail, and then headed out.  There were small busses that would take you into town for $4, which we took advantage of.

 

We had fun shopping and looking around.  Yes, there were people tryin to get us to buy their stuff, but I didn't find them too aggressive or anything.  We had a drink or two and then headed back to the ship.  I think we were probably ashore for about three hours.  Headed to the Red Frog on Lido for lunch and drinks.  Of course, I had to get the puffer fish cup!

 

No water works today, lol.  Daughter did Build-A-Bear thanks to grandpop.  

[jerseygirlinAZ]

DAY THREE CONTINUED ...

 

We left port about an hour later than planned due to harbor traffic.

 

We headed to the Italian restaurant for dinner.  We had Caesar salad, arancini, and burrata as appetizers.  The arancini was great.  The burrata was okay, but I felt the texture was a little off.  The bread they brought us was fabulous and everyone loved it.  For main course,  I had the eggplant parmigiana, which was excellent.  Hubby had the porkchop, which he said was the best thing he had eaten on the ship.  Daughter had spaghetti and fries and both were very good. Mom had chicken parm, which she felt was okay.  I can't remember what my father had, but he ate it all, lol.  We also had the gnocchi, which I didn't care for, but hubby enjoyed.  The tiramisu here was very good.  We will definitely eat here again on our next ship.  

 

After dinner, kiddo went to kids club for the farewell party.  We couldn't get her out of there, lol, and she stayed till the end.  They made posters and she was blue almost from head to toe, which made traveling the next day interesting.  (It was too late and she was too exhausted to get in the shower that night, and we let her sleep in a bit the next morning.)  After dinner, hubby and I watched a bit of the Suns game in the casino.  I didn't play anymore cause I was tapped out.  I went back to the room and hubby played a bit more.  

 

At 2 a.m. we heard some drunk girl yelling all throughout the deck about how she couldn't find her room.  And other drunk, loud people came through all night/morning long.  It was tough to sleep.  Plus, the ship was a bit rocky.  

 

 

[jerseygirlinAZ]

BACK AT PORT

 

Got up and finished packing.  Didn't go grab breakfast or anything on the ship today, though the grandparents did.  Carried our luggage off, no issues.  It was an easy process.  Called our uber and headed to the airport.  Security was a little long because one of the x-ray machines broke.  Our flight was a bit delayed though so it didn't really matter.  Grabbed a little something to eat there and that was that.  Got back to AZ and, sadly, I headed to work.  

 

We'll be cruising again out of Long Beach in May on the Panorama!

[pblack]

Thanks for the review! I just booked this cruise for a weekend in May and I've not been on this ship before. We also haven't done a 3-day cruise before so I've been trying to read as many reviews as I can. Can't wait to be on the ship relaxing in the sun!!

[cruisingguy007]

Great review! Thanks for taking the time to share your experience. Tell your pops I dig his cross necklace, looks pretty sweet and I may need to get one like it.

[Aosborn]

How late was the kids club open at night and did they offer the night owls for a fee for late night?

  

[Californian]

Really enjoyed your review and your pictures.  Sounds like we should try the Italian place!  

[jimbri]

Enjoyed your review!

[famof4togo]

12 hours ago, Aosborn said:

How late was the kids club open at night and did they offer the night owls for a fee for late night?

  

Night owls currently not being offered.

[jerseygirlinAZ]

12 hours ago, Aosborn said:

How late was the kids club open at night and did they offer the night owls for a fee for late night?

  

 I think the latest they were open was 10 p.m.  At least they were open til 10 p.m. the last night.

[jerseygirlinAZ]

9 hours ago, Californian said:

Really enjoyed your review and your pictures.  Sounds like we should try the Italian place!  

It was really good and worth the $15 pp.

[Linda the Book Lover]

Thanks for the review! We will be sailing on the Radiance in March and the Panorama in July and September. We are just happy to be sailing from Long Beach once again.

 

[jerseygirlinAZ]

1 hour ago, Linda the Book Lover said:

Thanks for the review! We will be sailing on the Radiance in March and the Panorama in July and September. We are just happy to be sailing from Long Beach once again.

 

We're sailing the Panorama in May!

[Sale Away]

Thanks for the review! I’m hopping on the 3 day this week and am booked on the Panorama in June. Gotta say, the Radiance looks so much better than what they used to sail out of Long Beach!