Cabin Review

Cabin 7024 is on the front port (left). I chose this cabin on Radiance of the Seas particularly because of its lovely balconies - glass all the way for me! Plus Deck 7 also have slightly extended balconies, so another plus!RCI states that we should board in accordance to our deck number so being on Deck 7 meant a 1:30pm boarding time, so we waited around a while at Sydney's Circular Quay, had a late breakfast then went to the (short) line about 2 hours before the time stated. The port personnel said to go on through, as the ship would be only TOO happy to have us on board asap, so we could start spending money on drinks! See my cruise review for other comments. In the OPT, we received our cruise-keycard (a combined door-entry and charge card) and a final photo check as we boarded the vessel (this is matched to your cruise card, so they can see who is coming and leaving using that card). I had deliberately booked early on this cruise, to get this specific cabin, #7024. I wanted the port side (as land would be on that side) and I wanted to try a balcony, so that I could enjoy proximity to the outdoors in the comfort of a cabin. I also wanted to be nearer the front, as I love to watch and hear the crashing waters against the hull of the ship. No disappointment in THAT respect! This was only my 3rd time cruising, once was working in the children's program as a young uni student (tiny inside cabin in the bowels of the ship) and a recent 7 day cruise from Fremantle to Broome (West Aust), in a window cabin. On arrival in our cabin, I was disappointed to find the bed made up as a double and not twins as requested when booking, Obviously there is someone in the chain that does not particularly care about their job, or was not able to read instructions... There was a standard note saying a request to the Room Attendant would see this rectified. (A waste of their time, which on the first day, must be very busy!) Our Cabin Attendant was a pleasant young fellow from Indonesia. He performed his duties to a level I would have expected, but not anything above that. He was always gracious, especially when we were in the room at the time he hoped to prepare it. During the departure, whilst taking photos of the Opera House & Harbour Bridge, my camera battery went flat. But when I raced back to my room, I found that my key-card would not work!!! Most distressing!! So, I missed some of the departure trying to get that rectified. Apparently ANY contact with ANYthing magnetised (like a credit card or camera) will demagnetise it, and it has to be replaced. I had to do that 2x over the cruise, and I bet 100s of others did, too! A simple instruction & warning when receiving the card could have prevented this annoyance. The cabin was just adequate, but I think represented value for money for 2 people. The carpet and decor is a little old but relatively clean. As you walk in, the bathroom (tiny) is to the left and the wardrobes to the right (partially behind the door.) Be careful when entering if it is likely there is someone on the other side of the door! There was a light smell of cleaning products. Natural light flows in from the opened curtains.The balcony seemed roomy, at about 2m(?) wide, with wonderful views out across the ocean landscape. It was lovely watching the sun setting from here. It has 2 comfortable strung chairs and a small round table that would not really be adequate for anything more than a book, and two cups of coffee. So don't plan to have breakfast on the balcony table unless you do it in courses! The full height cabin partitions came 2/3s along the floor to about 30cm from the railing, so that if you stood next to the railing, you could see along the railing to other cabin balconies. We could see up into the port side of the Bridge from here, and well back to the extended diagonal glassed area of the lifts to the Hot Dog eating area on Deck 11 and part of Deck 12 open area.The shower area is very small, and on several occasions water went onto the floor, as the lip of the shower is very low, and it is hard to keep the shower curtain contained inside the lip. There is no way a bulky person (110kgs+) would fit in the shower comfortably. The shower head is removable and slides to a position you want. We had no idea how to change to temperature due to markings being completely worn off the taps and not being the normal Australian set up. (Eventually found out in a discussion with the lady next door!) The right tap controls the amount of heat, and the left tap controls the amount of flow. The taps run in a horizontal position (not up & down) and would be very hard to turn by anyone with injured, weak or damaged hands as they only have small ripples to grasp (impossible with soapy fingers!). Cheap soaps and shampoos are supplied, along with a very weak hair-dryer, 2 water glasses (in the bathroom) and a box of tissues. There is a small (~50cm?) pull-out line that crosses the shower area. Wouldn't suggest hanging anything heavy from it! The toilet refused to flush on the morning of about Day 5, but a call to the Room Manager saw it fixed within the hour.Power points are both US & UK, so Aussies need to take some adaptors (didn't ask if they had any to borrow). We took one of each, but could have done with 2 of each, for the 4 plugs. US current is only 180 (?) volts, so it takes longer to charge 240V devices on these. We were constantly recharging phone and camera batteries. Hanging area for clothes was limited and only just adequate. Won't fit a fancy ball gown! We decided that one had the left side of all the cupboards, and the other the right. This really worked well! There is a mid-rail for hanging shorter items or folded trousers. There is a smaller area running across the top but we didn't use it. We placed our shoes in the smaller compartments right behind the main door. Life-jackets were stowed in the bottom of the wardrobe. (They weren't even needed for the safety talk at the start of the cruise.) We only had one dressing gown (free to use; no slippers in sight) & maybe could have asked for another, but it was rarely needed (except when I was crazy enough to be tempted to go outside in the pre-dawn to watch the ship come into Milford Sound and the other ports!). We brought some plastic 'over-the-door' hangers for towels when we did not want them exchanged (trying to be 'green') but when I got a cold in the last few days, I had them replaced each day for hygiene reasons.A small hard 2-seater couch (ignore the advertising images!) separated the sleeping area (which could could be curtained off) from the bathroom & cupboards and opposite was a small drawing table and mirrors, with two long tube lights at either side. You could get a good view of yourself with the side mirrors! There were long thin sectioned cupboards to each side of the lights which was good for small items like medications and makeup. We used this as the dressing area. In the middle of the dresser is a thin 'stationery' drawer containing a magazine all about RCI and its policies, as well as a laundry request bag and order sheet, and a magazine with other cruising info. There is a small pull-out table right of this to accommodate room-service meals (which always come with ill-fitting lids that tend to slip off - once one knocked my glass of (US$5) orange juice over, which smashed on the carpet and made an awful mess. Lucky the carpet was a dark mustard colour! I had to ask the Room Attendant to vacuum again more carefully the next day - he obviously has not been told about the accident from anyone else.There is a smallish TV that can be turned slightly depending on where you are sitting (although I cannot imagine being able to sit to relax on that couch!). Often TV stations were not available and even the constant re-runs of the "Morning Show" (hosted by Ken Jones our affable Cruise Director & his side-kick, the sweet Gordon) were sometimes not properly visible. There were some video re-runs of some popular TV shows done with foreign language voice-overs. Funny to watch the mouths not matching the speech! Think there was German, French & Japanese? Also kids channels as well as info about local sightseeing. You could catch the Cruise Director's repetitive 'Morning Show' should the mood take you. Quite humorous, and you can give shout-outs for special occasions, etc.. It was obviously filmed late the night before, as passengers would walk past and join in, in their lovely evening attire and drinks in hand!The TV also has a brilliant internal information system. We could hear the captain's announcements by clicking on Ch 40 (notified by the chimes) as well as check out everything you needed to plan your day. (Also received the evening "Cruise Compass" with all the days events and entertainments listed.) You can even do all your dining and salon bookings, buy services (movies, drinks packages) and do a host of other things with the interactive accounting system, including checking on your expense account.One of my favourite things was to look at the on-screen map of our location, which included sea depth, air & water temp, ship time and distance travelled. Above the TV was the cupboard containing our safety box. We were able to put in our own pin number. But I was surprised to find that a supervisor can override the pin anyway (happened when our pin wouldn't work, for some strange reason) so that does bring into question the absolute safety of your valuables. Would be interesting to see if there is a record of when pins are utilised? (I realise they have to have an over-ride for any hapless passengers who leave the safe locked at the end of a cruise...) Underneath that is a small bar fridge, with expensive options - US$3.50 for a small bottle of water; $7.50 for a small box of chocolates, cans of solt drink (soda) - can't remember the prices. We brought water back in a glass each day after meals although found out later that water & ice available at Park Cafe (in the Solarium) available at most times.Each bed side has its own small light and tiny reading spotlight, and tiny moveable bedside table with one drawer and a small open area at the bottom (good for books?). The room lights are not that strong but opening the curtains during the day allowed ample natural light. There are 2 curtains - sheer and heavy. I often tied the sheer one into a large knot so I could look out from my bed, although it was always untied at turn-down, with the heavy curtains shut and the curtain lighting on. The mattresses were adequate, if a little on the hard side, but we slept comfortably. There is room under the beds to put large suitcases. The double-bed manchester was also stored under there. I didn't check the base of the bed but they are set with 1"d silver pipe, and are not on wheels! We each had 2 firm but comfortable pillows but only need one to sleep. Only about 50cms between bed end and next wall!The room is air-conditioned and you can set the temp as desired, although it is recommended the balcony door be left shut as it supposedly can effect the running of the whole system. You are also requested to leave the setting on "neutral" when you leave the cabin. We often had the balcony door partly open on warmer days if we happened to be in the cabin, but it was generally cool enough to want the door closed. You did need a little muscle power to move the door handle around to open & properly close the door.The top floor the Aurora Theatre was practically underneath us but we were never disturbed by any sounds from the later shows. There were slight sounds that drifted along the deck from the Centrum performers but this was always easy listening music, and could hardly be heard with the door shut. On one night we could hear some bass sounds from the Compass & Quill pub (Deck 6, starboard) but again not unbearable. Being nearer the front of the ship there are very few people who pass by your door, which is great if you prefer peace & quiet. There was a family with happy kids further forward but they were well behaved and never were a problem. (This was not school holiday time, so there were only about 100 kids on board. We hardly ever saw any. Phew!)To get to the MDR (Deck 5 or 6) and buffet, I liked to walk to the lifts near our door, go to Deck 11 (or 12) and from there walk through the Solarium, and past the main pool to go to the buffet or lifts at the other end. It was a pleasant walk and not too far. Even though you are at the front of the ship, it was easy to get to the back using the lifts to Deck 11. As we were so fortunate to have gentle seas (and good stabilisers) I cannot comment about how travels would be in a rocky sea this far at the front of the ship. I made sure I was not disturbed by any "motion from the ocean" (as Captain Sindre would say) by taking ginger tablets (and chocolate-coated ginger!) a week before the trip, and taking Kwells on a few times..I would highly recommend this cabin to those who are well enough and who are wanting a balcony cabin at an affordable price.