This was my fifth cruise, and my first with RCI. It was probably also the first time I have left a cruise feeling less than very satisfied. We love cruising and very rarely notice the issues that bug other people. In many ways the problems at the Radiance are typical of most other cruise lines at present, but I think this time they mounted up to be just too notable to ignore.

The Radiance is a nice ship. We had a Junior Suite which was spacious, good value for the extra money and very nicely decorated. The balcony is excellent, although there was no footrest which is a shame for a space that large. The public areas of the ship are a mixed bunch - the Schooner Bar and Colony Club are great, as are the specialty restaurants. The main atrium is starting to look a bit dated. The flow of the ship has been messed about a bit with the retrofits, with a great area at the stern (which is part of the Windjammer) now deserted because you have to walk through the new restaurants with your trays to access it. The pool decks are a little too small and the solarium is always packed - there just seems too much space lost on deck to the kids pool at the rear. The ship overall had quite a lot of maintenance requirements - there is a fair bit of rust around and a lot of the woodwork needs attention. It was probably the least well-maintained ship I have travelled on and I was quite surprised.

Service was good, with an excellent stateroom attendant and generally friendly and efficient restaurant/bar staff. However, there was just the slow drip of obvious cost cutting and lack of attention to detail that eventually wore down on us: Read more