Radiance of the Seas ?s

[kimbtech]

my husband and i are cruising this saturday aboard this ship. never been on her before. does anyone have and little tips or secrets to share. does any know that the soda card costs for a six night cruise? is there one formal night? what are your overall impressions of this ship. we've been on the serenade and she was fantastic! thanks for any info.

[Shar27]

Did the six nighter in November.

 

There were two formal nights. One after Key West and one on the sea day.

 

The soda card was around $42 including tip. ($6 per day).

 

The ship is absolutely beautiful. The amount of glass is incredible and I really love the glass elevators.

 

Have a great time.

[cruisenfever]

You are sailing on our most favorite ship. Have sailed on her 6 times already and have two planned for this year and one for next year. Make sure to check out the SeaView Cafe. Best kept secret on the ship. It is on Deck 11 just above the Windjammer. Also, Chops and Portifino's.....both are wonderful. If you don't want to get all glitzy on formal night, go to one of the Speciality Restaurants.......they are always smart casual...........but guys do not have to wear a tie and jacket, if they don't want to.

 

The staff and crew are the friendliest we have encountered. I think that you will really enjoy this beautiful ship.

 

Have a great time.

[Pitbull1130]

I agree Seaview is Great..........I soon will be back on the Radiance..

[nanfromatlanta]

my husband and i are cruising this saturday aboard this ship. never been on her before. does anyone have and little tips or secrets to share. does any know that the soda card costs for a six night cruise? is there one formal night? what are your overall impressions of this ship. we've been on the serenade and she was fantastic! thanks for any info.

We were on the Radiance for the Christmas cruise. This was our third time on this wonderful ship. When you get to your cabin, a copy of the daily Compass will be on your bed. On the back of the Compass there will be a listing of all of the daily highlights, by day for the duration of the cruise. We always use that as a guideline for all of the daily events and formal nights. We then go to Portofinos, on Deck 6, just aft of the Schooner Bar and make our reservation. The food is top notch.

 

If you liked the Serenade, you will also like the Radiance, since they are sister ships.

 

Say Hi to Simon, the Assistant Cruise Director, from Nan from Atlanta.

[nanfromatlanta]

my husband and i are cruising this saturday aboard this ship. never been on her before. does anyone have and little tips or secrets to share. does any know that the soda card costs for a six night cruise? is there one formal night? what are your overall impressions of this ship. we've been on the serenade and she was fantastic! thanks for any info.

We were on the Radiance for the Christmas cruise. This was our third time on this wonderful ship. When you get to your cabin, a copy of the daily Compass will be on your bed. On the back of the Compass there will be a listing of all of the daily highlights, by day for the duration of the cruise. We always use that as a guideline for all of the daily events and formal nights. We then go to Portofinos, on Deck 6, just aft of the Schooner Bar and make our reservation. The food is top notch.

 

If you liked the Serenade, you will also like the Radiance, since they are sister ships.

[Swarmmarketing]

I am on Radiance leaving on Sunday January 14th , do you mean you are leaving for the cruise on Saturday ?

[kimbtech]

we are sailing on the january 14th cruise, sunday. we arrive from toronto the same day and are flying home on the 20th, although our plane doesn't leave till 8:10 p.m. we'll be taking a tour from the ship to help kill the time.

we are very much looking forward to this cruise. it'll be our 4th rccl.

 

Explorer

Monarch

Serenade

[encoresue2]

We were on the New Year's sailing....6-day Western and it was wonderful. One of our BEST cruises!!!

Ship is absolutely beautiful and found the greatest staff ever.....even compared to plenty of Celebrity cruises. We had aft cabin 8168 with the large balcony and the BEST cabin stewardess (Clarion from Trinidad and Tobago). She is sooo cheerful and always helpful, got us the lounge chairs (she claims with a ninja raid on pool deck at night). Boozie, the bar guy in the 5th floor dining room, is a HOOT! CD, Simon, is great fun and the new captain was also VERY good. You will LOVE this ship. Itinerary for us was slightly different as we skipped Key West for a sea day (fine with me).

We liked Costa Maya as everything is right there. Go watch the guy who does "spray painting art" right in the center of the shopping area. For $20, his work is amazing. Take cash if you want to shop.....although they will take credit cards.....smaller shops charge $10 fees and unless you have checked the exchange rate (peso/dollar), you cannot verify the amount on the credit card receipt. And always haggle. We got some beautiful handpainted glasses for nearly 1/2 the original asking price. (There are NO prices on most of the goods...so you know it is negotiable)

 

Found Montego Bay to be better than represented here on the boards. Wasn't accosted once in town and we went to both a shopping area and the craft bazarre (close to the "approved" downtown shops). GC was great but crowded with 8 ships in port that day. We did the RRR tour with Nativeway and had a super time.

 

The only downside to the whole cruise was returning to FLL on Sat. There were 11 ships returning, not enough immigration officers, and a VERY VERY slow departure from the ship. Worst in 12+ cruises. Felt very sorry for the foreigners as their lines were MUCH worse than US citizens. Not sure I will choose FLL again...parking garage is NOWHERE near where you board the ship...and the shuttle is a pain with everyone trying to haul luggage. Miami and Port Canaveral are much easier.

 

Food was good, although the desserts were uninspiring. Saved a few pounds there....ha ha. Cold, fruit soups were excellent. This is a very non-smoker friendly ship as they do not allow smoking inside anywhere except the casino. (I am a smoker but found plenty of outdoor spaces to do my ugly thing.) I must say the Windjammer was better than most RCL cruises we have been on.....they had staff refilling coffee and quickly cleaning tables and everyone ALWAYS had a smile. This ship must have great moral to have such a happy crew.

ENJOY...we do plan to sail her again.:D :D

[Shar27]

This is a very non-smoker friendly ship as they do not allow smoking inside anywhere except the casino. (I am a smoker but found plenty of outdoor spaces to do my ugly thing.)

 

You can smoke in the Colony club as well. (Unfortunately):p

[ckrobyn]

You can smoke in the Colony club as well. (Unfortunately):p

 

Cough. Cough, choke, choke......bingo anyone?? LOL ;) (inside joke to those who are wondering)

[ckrobyn]

You can smoke in the Colony club as well. (Unfortunately):p

 

Double post :(

[ckrobyn]

You can smoke in the Colony club as well. (Unfortunately):p

 

ARGH! Double post again :(

[barbarah33]

ENJOY IT! Of all the ships I have been fortunate enough to sail on the Radiance is also my favorite - all that glass makes for some wonderful views and I find her to be a perfect size. I spent 15-days sailing through Canal on her and am looking to do it again. Everyone is correct; the Seaview Café is great and went almost empty for the first 10-days of our cruise as very few people seemed to have discovered it. We went to both specialty restaurants and preferred Chops but had a wonderful time at both.

 

I'm jealous! :D

[BobBeaSea]

You can smoke in the Colony club as well. (Unfortunately):p

 

Yes, the lovely bar at the very rear of the Colony Club has a smoking area. It is very nice back there :D

[CL-JW]

As previously stated, the Seaview is great (we liked eating outside). For folks who are fans of old Sci-Fi, there is a model of the Seaview Submarine (from Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea) in the Seaview Cafe just to the left of the drink station.

 

Another nice place is the open eating behind Windjammer overlooking the stern. We ate breakfast there many mornings.

 

Lastly, for a great view of the Centrum, go to the Loyalty Ambassador's office and look through the coffee table/window.

[CL-JW]

Double Post.

[bubbie617]

A quick correction (with all due respect). Seaview is on deck 12, not deck 11. Wouldn't want you wandering all over the ship to find it - and it is worth finding.

 

We'll be on Radiance for the 8 night on 1/20, so take good care of her for us. :rolleyes:

[kimbtech]

thank-you! everyone for their great input. i'm so looking forward to this cruise. we'll definitely try the seaview cafe, sounds great. i looked at those beautiful pictures and all i can say is WOW! thanks again to all who posted their thoughts and comments.