Radiance of the Seas Review
Rating by category
Additional details
This was our 7th cruise (2nd on Royal) and what a fantastic experience this was. Alaska is a place I've always wanted to go see and I'm so glad we finally got to go.
We started with three days in Vancouver before our cruise departed. We stayed at the Pan Pacific right at Canada Place which is where the cruise ships dock. This was a super convenient location. The hotel was a bit pricey but considering the luxury of the hotel and the amenities I thought it was worth it. We were in the center of everything and if you haven't been to Vancouver before (we hadn't) I highly recommend it. Beautiful city, clean, totally walkable and very interesting. We went to Granville Island, Stanley Park, took a Harbor tour and did the hop on/hop off trolley which gave us a great overview of the city. At Canada Place is a ride called Fly Over Canada - must do! If you've been on Soarin' at Epcot in Disney World, you know what to expect. Really spectacular. We did it twice.
As for food in Vancouver, the diversity is amazing and you can probably find just about anything. If you like sushi - check out Miku next door to Canada Place. Great views of the Harbor and phenomenal sushi. Pricey. On the other end of the spectrum, Vancouver has a bustling food truck scene - they were fun to check out for a quick meal while sitting on a bench and watching the people go by.
Cabin Review
Grand Suite
The cabin (#1600) was excellent. It's a grand suite at the aft end of the ship (starboard side). Really amazing. Large cabin space to walk around. Excellent facilities including full shower. The balcony is good because it wraps around but too much furniture. They had two chairs, a big table, two lounge chairs and a side table. Too much and it felt crowded because of it. I moved some of the stuff around to make more open space for us and it worked better. At first we weren't thrilled with being all the way at the back of the boat (long walk to every venue on the ship) but when we got to Hubbard Glacier on Day 6, it became obvious why our travel agent recommended this cabin. Our cabin attendant was average. We've had much better on Royal and other cruise lines. I won't bash him, but he really didn't do anything above and beyond. He did just enough. We weren't impressed with him.
This Grand Suite is under the pool deck. Since it was rainy and cool, not a lot of activity up there, so it was pretty quiet. On the Grandeur of the Seas, our Owner's Suite was under the Windjammer buffet. This was as you can imagine, a loud room. They moved racks of dishes at night and lots of foot traffic during the day. Weird that a cruise line would choose to put their best cabins under such high traffic areas.
Port Reviews
Vancouver
Great city. Very walkable. Go check out Granville Island, Stanley Park and the Gaslight District.
Icy Strait
Nice little port. Walked along the beach and the nature trail. Visited the museum and gift shop (of course) and had the obligatory Crabby Bloody Mary.