Radiance of the Seas Review

4.0 / 5.0
1,235 reviews

11 days on the Mexican Riviera w/ 3 teen boys!

Review for the Mexican Riviera Cruise on Radiance of the Seas
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sailorvic
First Time Cruiser • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Mar 2010
Cabin: Superior Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony
Traveled with children

With my oldest son growing up and setting off in the world, I felt that we needed one last big adventure together before they all grew up and left me. We were able to find this fabulous 11-day, 6 port Mexican Riviera cruise for a wonderful family vacation. My boys were seasoned cruisers with 4 prior cruises under their belt but none over 5-days long. This 11-days along with a Deluxe Balcony was suppose to be our ultimate vacation, which it was, but it also hooked us on cruising for life!

The Radiance of the Sea is a beautiful ship. Common areas are in very good repair. Maintenance defiantly keeps up with the daily wear 'n tear common to cruise ships. The public area restrooms are very beautifully decorated and maintained.

Dining We had main seating dining at 6:00PM. We never had to wait in line. In fact, once we were shown our table the first day, we were able to seat ourselves just as soon as the doors were opened. I know there are a lot of people signing up for My Time Dining and some may like it but all I saw was people waiting in line to make reservations and them later standing in line to be seated for their reservations. With main seating we were in a smaller, less noisy dining room on the side of the MDR. We had the same table and the same wait staff each night, which we loved. They knew from the first day what we liked such as lemons on our water or jam with our rolls, and had those things ready for us every night after. Eating that early was closer to our normal dinner time at home and gave my teens time to work up an appetite for a 2nd desert at the Windjammer before they closed for the night at 9:00PM. Also to note, if a table of people didn't show up for dinner because they had plans to eat somewhere else like Chops or Portofino's, their table was not filled with MTD reservations. It was left empty. Our dining room was only for main seating dining. On day 5, the other 3 tables in our section were empty and we had our wait staff all to ourselves. Not only did we have their undivided attention, we had time to really talk to them and get to know them. With MTD and different staff each night, that would not have happened. The head waiter was visible every night and not only to be seen but was actively refilling water glasses, clearing plates and being of "service" along with his staff. Dinner was always relatively quick, only about 1.5 hours each night. Food was great every night. There was always plenty of food with not too large of portions. Just the right amount for when you eat as often as we did in a day. Quality, flavor, presentation & temperature were just fine. I had no complaints with the food. All three sons were able to borrow tuxedos from the high school's drama wardrobe. They totally dressed up both formal nights and dresses per guidelines each additional night. I lost count of how many people stopped at our table complimenting how well they looked. I loved it and I think they did too.

Cabin Review

Superior Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony

Cabin D1

Our stateroom had plenty of room for 1 adult and 3 large teen boys. In fact, with the couch pulled all the way out to make a full bed and the pull down bed we could have slept 5 people in our cabin. I used the balcony everyday and it had plenty of legroom to lounge in the sun and relax. I especially enjoyed the glass balcony wall. It made viewing the sea easy from anywhere in our room. Standing at the balcony railing and looking straight down you did not look directly to the sea but to the roof of the promenade. Instead of being disappointed, I was a little comforted that if I fell from my balcony, something was between me and the sea. With 4 people and 9 suitcases we still had plenty of storage room for all our stuff. Only shortage was in hangers which I did bring extras of just in case. The bathroom curtain is the worst. If it's not sticking to you it's letting you flood your bathroom floor.

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