Radiance of the Seas Review
Review of Radiance of the Seas - Loads of Info!
Rating by category
Additional details
It's hard to believe that it's been almost a week since we took the sad, sad walk off of the Radiance of the Seas. My husband and I have cruised several times, once before on a Royal Caribbean ship. We've also cruised the Mexican Riviera before, though did so on a different cruise line last year. We live in San Diego, and were looking for a cruise that would allow us to relax and have some fun before officially beginning the new year. All in all, I'm happy to say that this trip did not disappoint. This ship itself is really quite beautiful, and the service from all crew we encountered was anywhere from good to outstanding. In the end, like everything else in this world that isn't perfect, so much of the experience became what we made of it.
Embarkation: Getting on the ship proved to be a tad tricky. The lines to embark were particularly long, and we heard this was because passengers from the previous cruise disembarked later than anticipated. For those who just couldn't wait to get on the ship and were willing shell out about $10, they chose to take a pedicab (those bikes with carriages in the back) into the cruise embarkation area, where they could skip the longest portions of the line. Having cruised out of San Diego before, the longer wait was definitely not the norm, and once we got through the initial line things moved very quickly.
Once onboard we made our way up to the buffet to get started immediately on the eating frenzy and gluttony that overtakes many cruise ship passengers. We then explored the ship, which was a bit smaller than we were thinking it would be, and made our way to our cabin on the 10th deck, where we were pleased to see our bags had arrived. We found the room to have more than sufficient storage for the many items we brought on board. We had a balcony room and truly love that experience. The bed was comfortable and our attendant was great. When we got to our room she introduced herself, and met every question or request with friendliness and ease. The primary thing we requested was for her to empty out the fridge so we could store our water and a few other items (we would've done this ourselves, but if you move the items in there you get charged for them).
Cabin Review
Deluxe Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony
We were cabin #1516, an E1 balcony. Overall the space was sufficient, though the shower setup and size were a bit small and uncomfortable. We would have prefered to store our luggage under the bed, but there was not sufficient height. The location, just forward of the front stairs, was great...very quiet and fairly convenient. The fridge didn't have enough space, and for those who didn't realize they could ask their attendant to move some of the items out and they wouldn't get charged, it would have been useless.