Western Caribbean Cruise - A Royal Caribbean
Review
by: Clint Leung
We were on the Radiance of the Seas for the western Caribbean cruise
on November 28, 2004. This was our second cruise with Royal Caribbean
with our first last year on the larger Adventure of the Seas. After
one cruise with RCI, I expected roughly the same standards with the
Radiance and in general, I wasn't disappointed.
Staterooms:
Our stateroom was an inside aft cabin and we were not disappointed.
It was roomy enough and the lighting was adequate. Closet space and
drawers were also sufficient for our use. We noticed that the double
beds here were actually a bit better than the one we had on the Adventure
since we couldn't really feel the split between the two separate beds
like we did last time. If there's one thing that can be improved is
the shower curtain. The one installed was not adequate in keeping in
all the water from the shower. The shower on the Adventure utilized
a double glass door system which was far superior. Otherwise, the cabin
was nice and dark for sleeping at night. Although we heard a little
noise from the cabins next to us, it was minimal. We didn't miss having
any window or balcony at all since we were hardly ever in our stateroom.
We were either at port or elsewhere on the ship and went back to our
cabins just to relax or sleep. We would definitely book an inside cabin
again with RCI unless we had a free upgrade.
Service:
The service by the stateroom attendants and dining room staff was top
notch as expected.
Dining:
The main Cascades dining room was nice and meals were good. Breakfasts
had the same menu every morning. Lunch at the dining room was okay.
The dinners were good but not every meal item was a winner. There was
the odd appetizer and dessert that was not up to par. One thing that
my partner noticed was that the portions of the main courses seemed
to be smaller than those served on the Adventure. We usually went upstairs
to the Windjammer to get more food after dining at the Cascades. In
some parts of the Cascades room, the tables were placed too cramp so
walking to out own table was tricky at times. The self serve Windjammer
was good. It usually had more variety of food than served downstairs
at the Cascades. Breakfast and lunch were busy at the Windjammer but
during evenings, most people chose to dine at the Cascades. The two
other optional restaurants onboard Portafino and Choppe House were available
at $20 US per person but we never tried them since the meals already
included at the Cascades and Windjammer were fine by us. Other passengers
who did go to these optional rooms told us that they were nothing special.
There was another cafe available during late evenings called the Seaview
and they provided fare such as sandwiches, salads and burgers. This
was a nice feature. One thing we did object to was that they charged
for the coffee and tea there. There was also a specialty coffee place
on the main centrum of the ship and they also charged. We had more availability
of free beverages on the Adventure.
Amenities:
Although smaller than the Adventure, the Radiance had fine amenities
including the gym/spa, mini golf, pools and the shops. There was internet
access but at 50 cents per minute, the service is a bit steep. There
were things to do during the days at sea such as art auctions, cooking
demos and dance classes. However, we felt that there was more offered
on the Adventure. As for embarking and disembarking, there was no problem
on the Radiance. The 6th level contained the casino and for non-smokers,
this was a problem. The ventilation in the casino was not great and
as a result, cigarette smoke travelled to adjacent areas near the casino.
My partner wanted to avoid going on the 6th level whenever possible.
Entertainment:
The evening shows at the Aurora Theatre were a mix of the ship's own
crew of dancers and singers plus some outside comics and singers. In
general, the shows were quite good. We would have liked them to mix
up the entertainment each night rather than allocate music, comedy and
magic into different evenings. Rather than an entire show of magic,
we would have preferred each night featuring a variety of entertainment.
Live music around the ship was a nice added touch.
In summary, we enjoyed our cruise on the Radiance of the Seas. However,
comparing it to the larger Adventure of the Seas, we would rate the
larger ship a bit higher. We liked the huge promenade on the Adventure
which was not available on a smaller ship like the Radiance. Given a
choice in the future, we would opt for the larger ship. For first time
cruisers, the Radiance would still be a good ship to vacation on. This
is simply the case of where veteran cruisers would expect more especially
if they have been on higher end ships.
About The Author - Clint Leung is owner of Free Spirit
Gallery (http://www.FreeSpiritGallery.ca),
an online gallery specializing in Inuit and Northwest Native art including
carvings, sculpture and prints. Free Spirit Gallery has numerous information
resource articles with photos of authentic Inuit and Native art as well
as free eCards.
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