Radiance of the Seas Review
Avoid summer cyclone season and school holidays
Rating by category
Additional details
Boarding was easy and painless. Our bags arrived about three hours after we'd boarded and we were able to access the cabins from 1pm.
There was a cyclone heading towards Noumea - 2000km away - so rather than leave Sydney where the majority of passengers lived, the ships stayed in Sydney harbour for 3 days. The ship could easily have left port and stopped off Byron Bay or Newcastle and waited for the cyclone to pass (as it did). But instead the Captain and crew (not from Sydney) decided to stay in the harbour.
That decision meant we lost 2 entire days of sailing, missed two ports and basically spent almost the entire cruise at sea. Moral of the story: don't sail from Sydney during cyclone season (November - February). Of course it worked out conveniently for the crew who got to see the Sydney fireworks.
Cabin Review
Superior Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony
Plenty of room for 2 people, balcony was good, noise from kids running around in the suites upstairs. Really there's little benefit being on a higher deck other than the initial boarding.