My family (2 adults & 2 children) took this cruise to introduce the children to international travel. We thought it would be a fairly relaxing and gentle introduction - and indeed, it was.

We boarded the Radiance of the Seas at the Sydney Overseas Passenger Terminal. We were surprised at how full the cruise was, given that it took place towards the end of Australian Summer school holidays. There were over 2200 passengers travelling - I understand that Radiance's capacity is approximately 2500. Regardless of the number of fellow passengers, the embarkation experience was very smooth and straight forward. We simply dropped our suitcases in a marquee near the terminal and then followed the instructions to board the ship. There were many very helpful Royal Caribbean staff to point us along in the right direction. From luggage drop off to stepping on the ship took approximately 35 minutes.

Lunch was served in the buffet Windjammers restaurant as soon as we boarded. And my goodness, it was busy! We could not go to our room for approximately an hour after boarding as the rooms were being cleaned - the Radiance had only arrived in Sydney that morning. So we found ourselves a nice table outside on the ship, as every table and chair in Windjammers appeared to be taken. It was a good way to acclimate to the vast number and range of people with whom we were to spend the next 2 weeks. I was surprised at how hungry fellow passengers seemed to be falling upon the buffet fare. They must have been starving! And unfortunately, the image of jostling pigs at the trough kept coming to mind. We especially enjoyed watching the local customs officers tuck into the buffet selection...it must have been the highlight of their day! Through all this however, Windjammer staff were courteous, productive and seemed eager to please. We particularly liked that the staff enforced use of the hand sanitisers available at the entrances - it contributed successfully to a gastro-free journey. I won't write any more about Windjammers as all our experiences there were similar - good hearty food which turned over quickly, enthusiastic and helpful staff, and seemingly starving fellow travellers who took on a zombie-like demeanor around food...must get to food...get out of my way! Read more