As we'd never cruised before I did a considerable amount of research before booking a seven day cruise to Alaska on Radiance of the Seas. Our friends in Vancouver had recommended the Alaska trip to us, and they had previously made it twice with ships from the Princess fleet, but my enquiries revealed that Royal Caribbean seemed a good bet for a value for money experience, and I was happy with the deal I received by booking direct with RCI. After flying out to Vancouver from Manchester, UK, on September 1, we stayed with our friends outside the city for six days and they then dropped us off at the port at 1.30pm on September 7. Our check-in experience wasn't the best, as we found a long line of people already waiting and it took about 20 minutes to reach the head of the queue. The check in staff were then unable to find the key for our cabin, which meant we had to wait while a replacement was processed, adding another 10 minutes onto the waiting time. We proceeded upstairs hoping to be able to embark fairly swiftly, but found ourselves standing in another lengthy line to await the attentions of the extremely rigorous US immigration process - so it was eventually 3.30pm before we actually boarded the ship. However, we were able to go straight to our balcony cabin where our luggage was waiting and we were almost immediately greeted by our cheery cabin steward Mattis who gave us a rundown on the services available and highlighted that we needed to leave the cabin at 4.15pm for lifeboat drill, which meant we didn't have much time to unpack and start settling in. We were a little disappointed in the size of the cabin, which wasn't much bigger than those we've had on ferries from the UK to Spain, but it was well appointed, and turned out to have ample storage space. Our first impressions of Radiance were that she was a beautifully designed ship, with quality fittings and furnishings and spotlessly clean. Just after 5pm we made our way to the champagne bar, where we sat at one of the window tables, sipping Kir Royales as the vessel sailed away in brilliant sunshine. It was an ideal way to relax and enjoy the spectacular views. We had opted for second sitting dining, as 6pm would have been far too early for us, and In European fashion changed into what we regarded as smart casual clothes - ie a smart top and black trousers for me, and a long sleeved shirt and dark trousers for my husband. So we were a bit taken aback to find many of our fellow diners wearing jeans, t-shirts, and even baseball caps. It seems Europeans and North Americans have entirely different definitions of "smart" casual. On our table of ten though, t-shirts were very much in the minority and we quite quickly bonded with our table companions, three lovely Canadian couples, and a charming American pair. As first time cruisers our first couple of days at sea were spent finding our way around the ship, and getting accustomed to the announcements from the entertainments director who was trying to chivvy us into a wide variety of activities - my first impressions were that we'd landed at an up market Butlin's ( a British holiday camp) at sea! But by the time got to our first port Ketchikan and took a brilliant floatplane trip to Neets Bay, where my husband achieved a lifetime ambition of seeing a bear in the wild, we were beginning to appreciate the joys of cruising. We loved the food in Cascades, the main dining room on Radiance, perhaps because it is quite European in style with four beautifully presented nouvelle cuisine influenced courses at dinner and two at lunch. We also ate breakfast and lunch a couple of times in the Windjammer cafe the food was fine, but self service isn't really our thing - shades of Butlin's again! We also had one lunch at the Seaview Cafe which was delicious, but we felt rather rushed to eat and move on as there was quite a demand for tables there that day. Our other ports of call Skagway, where we took a five mile nature hike and a ride on the railway, Sitka where we visited the raptor center, and of course the Hubbard Glacier all came up to expectations and we were privileged at Sitka to see a pod of humpback whales swimming close to the ship as she left port on a gloriously sunny evening. I've noticed that not many previous reviewers have mentioned the Schooner Bar and the brilliant pianist/entertainer David Curtis. We went to one show in the ship's theatre, but didn't find it particularly enthralling, and the entertainment in the Colony Club, which seemed to consist of raucous party games didn't appeal, so we gravitated with our dining companions each evening to the Schooner where we sat enthralled by Mr Curtis. Most evenings he was joined after 11pm by others from the entertainment staff including two talented singers Melodie and Nathan, and between them, they seemed to be able to sing any request thrown at them. All in all we had a great cruise on Radiance. We couldn't fault the attention of the staff, the design and decor of the ship, or the quality of the food, and it has wetted our appetites for more cruising. The final finishing touch was that our disembarkation went smoothly and speedily.