Absolutely a trip of a lifetime. Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas really made our dream vacation a reality. This was our first ever cruise, which I booked myself online. Was lucky enough to snag room 1100, the Junior Suite on the aft of the ship. It was a HUGE room with a spectacular view and spacious balcony. When we came into port, we had a full view of the town since we usually tied up on the "port side". Also, any rooms on the aft give you a full view of both sides of the inside passage at the same time. We didn't hear the engines at all if you were wondering. We arrived in Vancouver the night before and had Royal Caribbean book us into the Downtown Sheraton Wall Centre. The room was huge and well appointed. FOOD was EXPENSIVE at the hotel. Breakfast was ridiculous. An simple egg omelet was priced at $14.00 and 2 cups of coffee was $6.00. We ate dinner that night at a local restaurant called A KETTLE OF FISH, which was about 6 blocks away. We had a very good meal there.

The next day, we boarded the bus for the short ride to the ship. We were given priority boarding and it took less than 20 minutes to go through security and get onto the ship. The ship itself was absolutely beautiful and bright. Glass everywhere and spotless. We found a seat in one of the lounges to wait for the room to be ready. When it was, our luggage was waiting for us.

Our room was magnificent. Comfortable and spotless. We had plenty of room to hang our clothes and store our luggage. Granted it was a long walk from the elevators all the way aft, but it was a nice stroll after dinner. We never heard our next door neighbor either. We had one minor incident with a toilet that wouldn't flush, but one call to maintenance and they had it fixed within 1 hour. Room service was quick too, although they wouldn't bring up a pitcher of Iced Tea. You had to order it by the glass. We were worried about "formal night" as we just don't do formal. On our 13 night cruise ( they list it as cruisetour #17), FORMAL NIGHTS were on Saturday and Wednesday. Well, guess what, not very many people dressed up. What a relief. There were people in tuxedo's and full length gowns and others in a nice pair of slacks and a shirt or top. The fold was fabulous, and our waiters were excellent. We asked for and were allowed a table for two. We don't like group activities or eating with strangers, and Royal Caribbean accommodated us. Read more