The first thing that struck us as we boarded the ship is that there was nothing or no-one there to tell you how to get about the ship, where you need to go, what you need to do and what facilities were available on board. You just kind of had to find your own way to your cabin and work out what was on board either by reading your daily Cruise Compass or watching the RC channel on the TV. We were cruising in Alaska and really didn't want to spend time in our cabin watching TV. On our 2nd last day we found the ships directory in one of the drawers in our cabin. Would have been nice if that was left out for new arrivals to peruse. Guest services were helpful when we needed to consult them but very brisk and much more attentive if you were enquiring about extra cost items.

Being intrepid travellers, we made our way to the bar and worked out where we needed to go for dinner on the first night. Extremely helpful staff in the bar & dining room helped us out a lot with ships protocol. Our stateroom seemed nice enough - quite compact and we were glad to have the verandah - particularly on this cruise with such magnificent scenery. The sofa was small & hard so we just used it to store a suitcase. Would not have like to have our son sharing with us as it would have been a tight squeeze with the sofa bed out. Bed & pillows weren't that comfortable and shower was minute. Wouldn't like to be a large person trying to fit in there. Our cabin steward Rolly (as with all staff on the ship) was just lovely.

As our first day was spent at sea, we used the time to explore the ship deck by deck. Radiance is quite large so we certainly got our exercise for the day. In the afternoon we were treated to close up time at Hubbard Glacier. What an experience and we were so lucky to get within 1/3 of a mile & witness some massive calvings. The onboard commentary is really terrific and anyone on the ship that day will never forget the experience. Read more