Radiance of the Seas Review

The perfect passenger mix on a beautiful ship!

Review for South America Cruise on Radiance of the Seas
User Avatar
mike@sea
First Time Cruiser • Age 60s

Rating by category

Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
Fitness & Recreation
Service
Cabin

Additional details

Sail Date: Dec 2008
Cabin: Junior Suite

This was a second time I sailed on the Radiance. The ship was in excellent condition everywhere, it still looked as if it was rather new, a nice contrast to the tired looking Voyager class vessels. Our aft JS was as great as expected and experienced on other Radiance class ships. Marsha our room steward a jewel, could not have been better.

The trip started in Buenos Aires. Boarding at 2:30 p.m. ( we did not sail till 9:00p.m.) was a bit lengthy this time due to local regulations, customs etc. RCCL did their best but could not change the situation. Overall boarding maybe took 1 hour which was still tolerable. Our bags were waiting for us when we reached the cabin, that was a first and much appreciated. The ship was only booked by about 1500 passengers, coming from over 50 countries! What a great experience that was. We had 375 US Americans, followed by 356 Brazilians, 153 Argentineans and 127 Germans, 96 Canadians, 43 Turkish and 47 French passengers just to name the biggest groups. Overall the passenger were surprisingly young, with the average of being mid 40s to mid 50s, nothing of what I would have expected. A few kids were on board, mainly from South America, out and visible 24 hours but usually well behaved. Overall passenger seemed very relaxed and friendly, I never saw grumpy passengers. The South Americans, though a bit harder to please in the ship´s theatre, seemed happy as long as they could listen and dance to music. The ship´s centrum was extremely lively every night with people dancing and having a good time. Numerous activities took place daily, many of which we did not attend. All announcements were made in English, Spanish, Portuguese and German. Newspapers, menu cards and cruise compass came in many languages. Guest relation which was very helpful and friendly was always busy despite not being a full ship. The had English, French, Italian, German, Spanish and of course Portuguese speaking staff available 24hours and always helped with a smile. We had an issue with kitchen smell in most aft cabins on deck 10 for about 5 days ( nothing too bad and definitely tolerable to us! ) and guest relations dealt with it in a very helpful and professional way. Very good customer service here. The concierge Juan Diego was great. Very accommodating, friendly and easy going. Food in the lounge the best we ever had, daily changing and extremely tasteful.

Food in the dining room ( 2nd seating @ 9.p.m.) was mostly good, if you picked the right dish. Variety was very good, food was never bland. No real complaints. Wine prices went up a bit and it is a shame that the overworked waiters have to deal with wine service. Neither good for the passenger nor good for RCCL which could make more money if they had decent sommeliers and thus someone pushing wine sales. Out waiter from the Philippines was not to my liking, however service much approved after talking to the head waiter Alena which did a fantastic job at all of her tables. We tried Portofino's twice and will not go there again unless RCCL comes out with new menus. Service was good, not spectacular, food was boring and not too tasty, especially not the main courses. The main restaurants were mostly empty. Windjammer food was OK. Did not go often because we are no friends of buffet style food. Lunch in dining room was good.Entertainment was just OK. It sure is difficult to entertain people from over 50 nations that all have different tastes. The cruise director, although absolutely not to my liking, tried his best. He was a bit too young in my opinion and after 4 days one was a bit tired of hearing the same phrases in 3 different languages every night. The DJ was the absolute worst I ever had. A shame that RCCL seems to mostly hire people that have no clue about music. Our last cruise on the Navigator in the Med was the opposite and dancing the night away in the ship´s disco was so much fun ( and sure good money making for RCCL! ). Not this time. Oh well, there as that fantastic South American band playing live music which kept us dancing in the end. The gym was always packed and so was the sauna. I had my first ever hot stone massage and first massage ever on a ship. It was unbelievably good and worth the money. Spa staff was super friendly, no matter whether you spent money there or not. Everything was kept clean and was in good condition, they never went out of towels ( as experienced in the free sauna on most other cruises ). They just cared, in line with everyone else on the ship, including the captain himself who was very outgoing and entertaining! Overall another fantastic cruise where RCCL once again proved that they do most things right! We booked a ship´s shore excursion, the Montevideo Highlights tour.

Cabin Review

Junior Suite

Cabin JS
previous reviewnext review

Find a Radiance of the Seas Cruise from $299

Any Month

Get special cruise deals, expert advice, insider tips and more.By proceeding, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

© 1995—2024, The Independent Traveler, Inc.