We went on our own and used the public bus system (really a public minivan system) to visit Hell. The five minutes we spent there were plenty. It rained during much of the day (obviously not Grand Cayman's fault), so this limited what we chose to do. 
We really do wish they would build a pier. The tender boats from the ship have very poor ventilation, so they were uncomfortable to ride. 
In general, I like Grand Cayman (this was my second time there); and would certainly go back. But our experiences on this particular trip were only so-so; hence the middling rating. 



Grand Cayman (Georgetown)

We used Native Choice to visit the Chacchoben Mayan ruins. We had a female tour guide who was competent and knew her subject, but tended to ramble a bit. Plus, she could have been better at shepherding the people in the group. At one point, two people fell behind, and she would have walked off without them if I hadn't told her about it. The ruins themselves were very interesting. To me, they seemed very similar to Tulum, other than the fact that Tulum is on the coast. 
The tour ran long, so they dropped us off directly at the port instead of in Mahahual as they were supposed to. I was disappointed to miss seeing the town. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the tour and would recommend it. We liked the little shopping area at the port. It seemed to us that Costa Maya is poised for bigger and better things, and I really hope they can achieve it. 


Costa Maya

We took the ship's tour to the Lamanai Mayan ruins. It was an excellent experience from first to last. The bus ride was comfortable, and the boat ride along the New River was fun (if a bit long). Donna, our tour guide, was excellent. Lamanai was well worth seeing. The jungle setting lent a "Raiders of the Lost Ark" quality to it all. The structures are larger than the other ruins I've visited, and people were allowed to climb all the way to the top at these (not so at the others I've visited). No, I was too chicken to go all the way up; but I did make it part of the way. 
After visiting the ruins, they took us back up the river to where the bus was waiting. There we had a very tasty lunch in a thatched-roof, open-sided building overlooking the river. Great ambiance, good service from friendly people, and wonderful food; what more could you want? We made it back to Belize City with about an hour to spare before the last tender, so we had time to look around before returning to the ship. Oh, and the tenders are supplied by the port, and have open windows with good ventilation. 
Belize City itself seemed rather run-down and not especially appealing. Should we return there again, I imagine we would take another tour to somewhere else away from the city proper. 


Belize City

I had previously done the Tulum tour (highly recommended, by the way), so this time we chose to take it easy. We took a taxi into town (no problems getting a cab), and had a delicious meal at Pancho's Backyard. I definitely do recommend eating there. We browsed a few shops, but really, they all seemed to blend together after a while. So when we'd had our fill, we took a taxi back to the ship. (Again, no problem getting a cab whatsoever.) All in all, Cozumel struck us as a friendly, pleasant place; and we would be happy to return. 


Cozumel

Since the aft stairway (shown on the RCCL web site) is actually for crew use only, we had to hike a bit to get from our cabin to the public stairs in the Centrum.  The cabin was fine for two people, but probably too small for any more.

This became a theme of the cruise: good, but not as good as we'd had on the Grandeur.Summary:

It was a good cruise, and we had a lot of fun.

Radiance of the Seas Review

A good cruise. Not great, but good.

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Deluxe Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony

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