Loved the Hawaii portion of the itinerary. After a great time in the islands, we headed out for 5 days of cold, cloudy weather. Not the fault of RC, but just the same, plans for swimming and sunning were dead on arrival. All of that aside, no one on board seemed to know the schedule. I asked what night is formal night, no one knew, not even the customer service desk! This was was our first cruise in 30 years and RC didn't win any awards for helping us understand the process. Would we go again? NO WAY. We would fly to Hawaii, do inter-island air and skip the cruise. You are in port for a short time, so it is no way to see Hawaii. Other downers: Constant upselling of drink and internet packages. We figured out that bottles of wine were discounted 40% in the specialty dining venues. So we would buy wine then and have it delivered to the main dining room. The shower in the cabin (balcony) was so tiny and poorly constructed it was a joke. Dining was actually fine. Read Less

We arrived in Honolulu the evening before our cruise and had a hotel a short distance from the cruise port. From the time we check our bags with a porter, through security and check-in, we were on the ship in less than 30 minutes. We have been on the Radiance of the Seas several times before, but found the ship in need of a makeover. The ship looks "tired". Compared to newer, more modern ships, it's furnishings look old and need of replacement. Our balcony cabin (#9208) was clean, but it had torn drapes and sheer panels. The sofa was well worn. While out on the balcony, rust could be seen in several locations. We had My Time Dining in the Cascades Dining Room seven of our 12 nights and found the food to be good. Three nights we went to the Windjammer and enjoyed the buffet. Two of the nights, Prime Rib roast was served. Two nights, Chops was our choice. Chops has never disappointed. The Windjammer breakfast buffet was also good. We chose to only go to the Aurora Theatre twice. I found the entertainment there to be not that rewarding. Throughout the cruise, we enjoyed the various singers, instrumentals and and violinists in the Centrum and Colony Club. This cruise had many Diamond, Diamond + and Pinnacle C&A members. The Concierge Lounge was only for use by Suite guests and Pinnacle level. The Diamond Lounge on the Radiance is small and only holds about 25-30 people. They had to open up the Starquest Lounge next door to accommodate all of the Diamond and Diamond + folks. The nightly happy hour was always crowded. We would wait until after 5:30 (when early dining started) to go there. All crew members we encountered would greet you with a smile and a greeting. Our Cabin Attendant, Lega, would call us by name after meeting us on the first day. Read Less

We chose this cruise mainly for the itinerary and knew the ship was old and smaller than others. We like the smaller size ship and wish cruise lines would stop making them bigger and bigger. The itinerary was nice (Honolulu -> Vancouver). The ports were very nice. The cabin was tight but who spends time in their cabin anyway :). The main dining room food was very good compared with other cruise lines. We did not do any of the extra dining rooms and felt quite satisfied with the outstanding main dining room service and food. My biggest regret was purchasing the alcohol package which is quite expensive and you almost have to work at getting your money's worth but the drinks we had and bartenders were awesome just overpriced alcohol package. We could not get on the shore excursion to Pearl Harbor in Honolulu since it booked up fast and there was no room so we booked a private tour that was quite good - a small group and excellent service. (Royal Hawaiian Tours). Very professional service. Stay away from Alex Tours. He approached us in the cruise terminal and told us his tours were less expensive than the shop tours. He did not ask for money up front but told us if he had our name we would have a spot on his bus if we got that at his assigned time/ We arrived at his bus 2o minutes early to find it was full already and he had no other buses. The driver looked very old as did the bus that had the Alex Tours painted over the First Baptist Church Logo. Come to find out from passengers that did get on that bus - the bus broke down 2 hours away from the ship and they almost missed getting back in time as well as missing parts of the tour since they had to wait for a replacement bus. Very sketchy so stay away. The other shore excursions we booked through the ship and I must say that they were worth the money, well organized and interesting. The only excursion that disappointed us was the Luau in Mauwi. It was at a large hotel and the hotel crammed in as many guests as they could. The food was only mediocre and the entertainment was pretty spread out timewise. It seemed that the cruise passengers got the tables in the back and believe me they were distant from the stage! Some of the tables were off to the side of the stage which made it difficult to see. The hotel also managed to squeeze in a "fashion show" of Hawaiian wear that you could purchase in the gift shop which I felt was unnecessary. The vendors that were selling their crafts were not that exciting either. The islands were very good and most of t he entertainment during the Island part of the cruise was pretty good. The trans-Pacific part of the cruise the entertainment and things to do on the ship were fairly boring. The lecture series for 5 days was about the Canadian Mounties - I would have liked something more interesting, educational, and useful. They had plenty of movies except their "Cinema" was usually full and during the Pacific crossing the outdoor movie screen by the pool was pretty useless. The shows at night were not exceptional but most were entertaining except for 1 very boring comedian. 5 days at sea needs much more happening on the ship. That was my biggest disappointment. Everything went smoothly. I was hesitant about crossing the Pacific in May but as it turned out the seas were smooth (no seasickness) although the temperatures were too cold and windy to do much on the decks. Read Less

I haven't been on a Royal Caribbean cruise for a while (5 years) and was disappointed with this service. I wanted to "fly" and was super excited to go on the iFLY attraction - which was why we chose this ship. This allowed me to float in a wind tunnel, which was a great experience. However be advised that you need to book this attraction ASAP or else risk not being able to try it at all. You also can only go once per trip. So if you want to take your own photo, have someone stand outside (don't book all family/friends at the same timeslot). The best part of the cruise was the activities and entertainment. The dancing excerise class was good (and packed), the music was good (they actually have hit music in Windjammer). The pool was fun when it was rocky (but can be crowded with people just standing around - so I like to do laps in the morning). The gym was decent sized, some classes (stretch, abs) were free but yoga and TRX would cost money. This ship doesn't have shower facilities by the gym so prepare to walk around in your swim suit if you want to go swimming/hot tub. This was kinda annoying because I had no where to put my room card. I also liked the washrooms. This ship had good flushing toilets. I've been to other cruises which... had weaker toilets and things don't quite flush properly. HVAC system in the showers were good. Doesn't take long for the humidity to go down (or smell to go away). The bad parts: food. The (formal) main dining room was slow so food was constantly cold. The bread was soggy. The menu didn't have a lot of variety either. Typically this venue is supposed to have the best tasting cuisine, but I found it lacking. However mid cruise it got better. The food was hotter (could be as a result of the mid cruise survey). So we mostly ate buffet (Windjammer). The food was warmer, had more variety and the servers were faster (cleaning and giving drinks). I stayed away from the meat (which were often over cooked/dry). Steamed fish was good. Salads were good. Pastries were so dry - I'd rather eat from a grocery store. The best food on the cruise was the pizza. Food quality increased mid cruise but I still find it disappointing. Also if you have a wheel chair be prepared to wait. We met people that had to wait for 2 hours to get on board because they didn't have enough wheelchair or staff. This was on a day when we were docked the whole day and had a large window to check in - so it was poorly organized. Tendering in Maui was a nightmare. The rough seas, limited ports (with competing and sheer quantities of passengers made the waits very long. We docked in Maui overnight and the 2nd day lined up to leave the boat at 8:30 am. They didn't begin to issue tender tickets until after 9am so the waiting area was over crowded... we stood in line for 1.5 hours. The day before we barely waited because they warned us about the shore excursions (who have tendering priorty) and the rough ocean... and we waited 2 hours before lining up. Returning to the ship 5 hours prior to departure was a good idea. People had to wait for 2 hours outside in the heat, waiting for the tender. I think I'd have to find a really good deal or itinerary to go on another Royal Caribbean Cruise. Read Less

From the time ROyal Caribbean changed the itinerary conveniently 59 days before sailing, to the chaos created in baggage claim at disembarking, the most common words from ships staff was “We apologize”. The ship board staff constantly had to make excuses and apologize for numerous situations they had difficulty dealing with. AVOID this ship......while the ship itself is marvelous and a great asset, poor management both in Miami and on board make this ship one to avoid. Guest after guest had unfavorable comments......we just had difficulty grasping why all the problems occurred. The ship board officer crew were a lot of talk but offered few solutions to correct and overcome problems. The entertainment staff couldn’t start many of their activities on time because they didn’t have watches. The buffet management staff daily made “sales pitches” how wonderful everything is in the Windjammer market......while at the same time telling you to hurry and get out. Disembarking for tenders required Hour plus long waits. The evening dinners in the main dining room were interrupted nightly with a wait staff member singing. The disembarking procedure was a most painful experience.....utter chaos. Read Less

We have cruised on RCI before and have had very few problems. This one however was a nightmare. Booked day 1 Honolulu depart at 11:00pm 2 Kailua Kona 9am to 6pm 3 Kilaeua Volcano 12:01 to 1:00am 3Napoli coast 12:00pm to 4:00pm day 4&5 Maui 9am to 5pm next days 6-10 cruising day 11 Victoria BC 9:00am to 8:00pm 12 Vancouver 6:00am. What we got Days 1&2 Honolulu (left Honolulu at 5:00pm on 2nd day day 3 Napali coast 4&5 Maui 6-10 cruising Day 11 Victoria BC 7:00am to 2:00pm (Left 6 hours early arrived in Vancouver at 8pm on day 11 Day 12 Vancouver disembark. Did not see the volcano and did do see the big island. We feel we were ripped off by RCI. You plan for a once in lifetime trip to Hawaii and get cheated out of half the stops. RCI did refund one day, Big deal. Embarkation, late but went smooth. Ports of Call, In Maui the water was too rough for the tenders for most of the first day, on the second day we went ashore, be back time was at 7:00pm we got in line to board the tenders at 4:00pm and it took us over an hour to get back, those that stayed later took from 2-2 1/2 hours to get back on the boat. Dining- Windjammer food was basically good but always very crowded, no place to sit, long lines to get food, lines for the omelets and pasta were always in the way of others. Hamburger line was messed up people were always coming from two directions. Drinks were often empty. Dining- Main dining, food was often cold, stale or misstated. Seafood often smelled, steak was tough or dry, bread was sometimes hard or stale, coffee was occasionally cold, Etc. Dining-Service was excellent Entertainment-shows were good for the most part. There were a number of things to do on the boat and the staff was good at helping you find where things were. Public areas-CROWDED. Hard to get an elevator, other public areas crowded when something was going on. Disembarkation- NIGHTMARE. We arrived in Vancouver the night before the cruise ended so the Ovation of the seas was basically a hotel parked on the water. Some people got off every but most elected to disembark the regular way, ie tag luggage and put outside cabin before 10:00pm the night before disembarking, pick up luggage after it is removed from the ship. BIG MISTAKE. We had luggage tag number 14 with an estimated departure time of 8:20am. At 9:00am, almost nobody had been allowed to leave the boat(at this time we had been docked for 13 hours). A little after 9 they started to allow the Express Departures to leave, we weren't Express but we jumped in line anyway. When we got off of the boat and went to pick up our luggage it was not lined up by number as it usually was but all the numbers were thrown together. RCI was just bringing it out and dumping it on the floor. What RCI didn't tell us was that there was another luggage drop area about 100 yards away and around the corner where they were doing the same thing, just dumping the luggage. I heard someone say something and followed them over. There was approximately 10 people here looking for luggage and at the first area there were hundreds and more getting off the boat all the time. We were lucky to find ours and make our 12:20pm departure time to DEN. While waiting we were talking to other couples who had been on the Ovation and they said that when we got on the plane to Denver, there were people still on the Ovation who had not been able to get off. We have cruised about a dozen times and I have never seen such a mess. Read Less

We wanted to go back to Hawaii to visit the Arizona Memorial and visit the islands again. However, before this cruise even started there were problems. The Arizona Memorial is closed and will be for some an undisclosed amount of time. They are doing construction around the memorial that will keep it closed for awhile. But that wasn't the main reason for this review. This was our 35th cruise and the most disappointing one. We started getting e-mails from RCCL that because of "Coast Guard inspections that had to be done", there was a change in the itinerary that will cause the ship to remain in Honolulu for two days. Then one of the island would be bypassed and we would spend two days in Maui. So that meant we would only visit two islands. We tried to cancel the cruise but e-mails started to come AFTER the 90 day period for getting a full refund. This is unacceptable. You can't tell us that they didn't know about these inspections before hand. I guess RCCL feared people would cancel the cruise. They did refund the passengers one full day to make up for the island that was missed. Then we received another e-mail stating that because the ship had to pass under the "Lions Gate Bridge" as a certain time we had to arrive and leave Victoria BC because the ship was the largest to sail under the bridge and had to pass under it at a certain time. Again, you mean to tell the passengers you didn't know about that ahead of time ? We arrived in Vancouver a day earlier. There were a lot of passengers who got off the ship either because they lived there or made travel plan changes. Most felt they rather be home then to spend another night on the ship. EMBARKATION: The problem started before we even got to the ship. The person who greeted us in the airport terminal had no clue what was going on. She said to wait outside for our bus to arrive but what she didn't know was that there was confusion because there were other passengers waiting for buses and there didn't seem to be any logical order. We waited for over an hour for the bus to arrive. In addition, because certain areas needed to be shut down, we couldn't board the ship until after 2:00 PM. There was no food service available until dinner time. RCCL refunded you $30 per person for a food allowance. This was not comforting especially traveling for over 12 hours and the airlines don't provide food service. Once we arrived, picture thousands of passengers trying to get thru security. I must say that if you checked in on-line the process went very smooth. After you passed thru security a RCCL person took your picture on a tablet and as long as you printed your boarding pass ahead of time you boarded the ship. Your Seapass card was waiting at your cabin. Disembarkation: As for disembarking, what a nightmare that was. The baggage was scattered all over the terminal. The areas were completely screwed up as far as numbering. None of the areas were next to each other, # 7 baggage was completely on the opposite end of the terminal then #8, and the other numbers were just as bad. A lot of tempers were flaring. We had a late tour of Vancouver but we were over an hour late boarding the buses because of the luggage situation. Entertainment: As for the North Star, Ripcord, SeaPlex, Waverider and especially "Pixlas" they provided the most interesting entertainment. Pixals was very innovative. As for the shows, they were boring at best. A very interesting one was they had a professional pickpocket that was funny but very informative on how easy it was for him and the professionals to lift your valuables. It was funny how people started to watch their wallets after the show. There was an indoor pool area that came in handy when the weather started to cool down. For four days you could sit outside. In addition, it got quite noisy with all the children running around. Food: At best, average. We ate at Chops Grille and had to send back the Rib Eye steak because it had more fat than meat. We never had this problem before with Chops Grille. This also happened in the Silk dining room when we order a beef related meal. I ordered roast beef dish in the dining room and it only came with ONE slice of meat. I said to the waiter "are you kidding me ?". If you order coffee with your dessert, they gave you a half a cup of coffee. You would think they were rationing the food and drinks. The Windjammer was very crowed as usual and at times you couldn't find a table. There was an outdoor section behind the Windjammer but after we left Hawaii, the temperatures starting dropping into the 50's and it was very windy and cold to sit outside. If you drink an non-diary creamer with your coffee, you waited three days for them to make it available. This was after people were complaining that there were none available. They had three omelette stations and one in the back of the Windjammer which they only opened once. For Mother's Day they had a very nice variety of cakes to choose from. Cabins: We had a balcony cabin that had plenty of storage space so you should run out of space to store your clothing. The cabin was very clean and pleasant. Service: Spotty at times depending on the waiter you had. We had My Time dining so we were seated at different tables. One waiter even forgot to bring our salads. We requested several times that we wanted a table by the window. Despite our requests, we were seated at a table next to a window table even thought the window table was unoccupied. One night the Head Waiter heard our complaints, apologized and said he would take care of the problem. The next night, we encountered the same problem with the person who assigns the seating. This time a manager came over to apologize. We noticed a pattern that they would seat people not next to the window but to the tables next to them. I don't know what the person assigning the tables had against people sitting at a table next to the window. Excursions: Because of rough seas in Maui, all excursions before 4:30pm had to be cancelled. We heard that it took over 1 1/2 hours for people to get with the tender service for those who decided to go ashore. If you have a late night flight, we would recommend the tour of Vancouver and a visit the water fall and Gondala ride. Overall remarks: We have noticed that over the past couple of years, parents don't seem to be using the Adventure Ocean program for their children. This became apparent in the indoor pool area, It seems the foreign passengers are the ones that either don't know about the program or don't use it. The Ovation is a very nice ship and kept clean but they could have improved on the design. One area in particular is getting in/out of the theater. They is only one passage way on deck four and when there are at least a thousand passengers getting out, it makes for a very slow process. The other side was blocked by a shop, the Music Hall and a bar. I would not recommend a Hawaii cruise if you have to sail back from Hawaii. This was our second Hawaiian cruise where we experienced less than desirable weather for four days which forced you inside the ship. Read Less

Chose this cruise because of the itinerary but that didn’t work out so well. Bad planning on behalf of RCI resulted in multiple itinerary changes and just too much confusion for passengers and crew alike. We haven’t cruised with RCI for probably ten years during which we have favoured Princess and after this cruise with RCI I believe we made the right decision. We are not fussy eaters nor do we base our cruise experience on the quality of the food but it must be said that the eating experience on this ship was extremely disappointing and the quality poor. Apart from our wait staff in the dining room (Chic), I found the staff attitude to be less than attentive and pleasurable. The headliner entertainment was, for the most part, good although Pixels and the production shows were just o.k. In general I felt that the ship lacked a feeling of warmth - hard to put into words but I just didn’t feel like I was being pampered and well taken care of the way I feel when cruising with Princess. Also disliked all the extra charges which showed up way too often. The nicest place to sit during the day (when weather drove us inside) was the 270 lounge but we were often driven out by the daily Bingo session. The smoking areas were too close to the non-smoking areas - they need to be isolated more or eliminated entirely! On the plus side, the cabin was excellent with tons of storage, well laid out and the kettle and tea supplies in the room were a very pleasant surprise. Finally, a big shout out to the Captain who was extremely informative. Read Less

The other reviewers of this cruise have basically said it all. The itinerary change was super disappointing. We were so looking forward to going to the big island and seeing the volcano. Then RCI just axed the stop completely. At the Lahaina, Maui stop, tendering was delayed due to rough sea. Everybody got up early wanted to get off the ship but was not able to so that's why all the public area, especially the buffet, was packed with people waiting for the captain's ok. When the captain finally gave the ok, they wanted us to go to a bar on deck 5 to get tender tickets so everybody just literally ran there to get tickets. It was chaos. I was lucky as I was already on deck 5 at the time so we got to get off "early". We origianlly planned on getting off at around 9 but still didn't get off until noon. The tender was just one of their bigger lifeboats which was very uncomfortable even if the sea was calm. We got back to the port at 9:50pm. They only had one tender running. At least if was a big local boat. Not their own lifeboat. When we got back, the line was very long. The tender left at 10pm. The line kept growing. At 10:30pm, I could still see the tender was still unloading people to the cruise ship. They finally deployed another tender which was the same lifeboat. We finally got back to the cruise ship at 11pm. Most people were hungry and the only restaurant still open was the pizza place and a cafe which only serves dessert and some basic sandwiches. It was packed with hungry people. Since everybody got off the ship late, we all got back late. However, their restaurants and buffet still closed at 9pm. To me, that is WAY too early. Not much food option after 9pm. A lot of people eat late especially with an Hawaii cruise. Lots of people are from the mainland which is several hours ahead. Should've at least open the buffet until 10pm or something. Food in the main dining room is terrible. Service is not good either. We always spend more than an hour in a dining room with 45 minutes of it waiting for our food. Buffet surprising has better tasting food and service was good. RCI wanted to do freestyle dining like Norwegian but RCI is not doing it well. Still always try to make us to share table with strangers. Food and service in specialty restaurants are good. We tried the Chops Grill steak house and Wonderland's. Both good. However, I still think Norwegian does dining much better. Disbarkation was a nightmare. We were an hour late than the origin set time. There was no signage to point you to where your luggage is. Everybody was running around the terminal like crazy trying to find their luggage. The ship itself is beautiful and I love it. Stateroom attendant was attentive. But there's not much show to watch. I do like that they have a smokeless casino. I find it very annoying when a cruise line put the casino in the very middle of the ship and allow smoking. My 4-year-old went to their kids club a lot. While there wasn't any issue, I do feel that the staffs there are not as warm as those on my Norwegian cruises. This poor expericnece is more about the sudden itinerary change and the management. I think I'll still cruise with RCI again but might just go with a shorter cruise with a more ordinary route. Read Less

This was meant to be an aniversary present for my husband. We expected to see some of Hawaii but the itinary was changed several times before the sailing. We sat in Oahu for a survey instead of cruising. They cancelled all our prebooked shore excursions leaving us with a breif stop in Maui. If you wanted to shop great if not disapointing. It was just a really long boat trip from Hawaii to Vancouvre via Maui. Our time in Victoria was cut short due to the tide. We sat in Vancouvre overnight in port. Dissembarkation was a nightmare. Locating bags was like a really sick idea of a scavenger hunt. Close to 3 hours to get off, find your bag and wait in the longest line ever for a taxi. Of course the taxis were busy bringing people for embarkation so it was a mess. We were told when we complained that everyone received the same compensation. We received refunds for our shore excursions and refunds for 2 nights we spent in port instead of cruising. We received a credit to buy lunch because they couldnt one day. That certainly is not compensation its reimbursment! Royal Caribean do not care. They changed everything about our holiday, we did not get what we paid for or what we expected. If we had wanted to do a long boat ride from Hawaii to Vancouvre then we would have booked one. We didnt but thats what we got. Wouldnt travel with them again. The cruise was a comedy of errors and changes. Appauling customer service. MSC gave us a better cruising experience at a far better price. The activities onboard were sometimes hard to get onto and into. You certainly needed to be everywhere very early and not mind waiting in line at times. The artists were of a high standard. The food was nice in the restaurant but it did get a little boring after 10 Days as several meals were repeated. The buffet had a large range but again the choices got boring as they seemed to be the same each day. We dinned at Wonderland on one occasion and really enjoyed the quirky nature of the food. It was fun and a nice break from the main eating areas. The robot bar is fun the first time but the novelty soon wears off. Unfortunatley there were a large amount of people who had very small children in the bars even as late as midnight. We had the drinks package and found it was a good idea as the prices on board were expensive. There were multiple shopping events. Its such a shame that this cruise was spoilt by poor planning. We complained to our travel agent who passed our concerns onto Royal guest services who said that all passengers were given the same compensation. We were refunded the cost of shore excursions and 2 nights that we sat in port as well as the cost of lunch on a day they could not provide it. That certainly does not qualify as compensation. Perhaps they need a dictionary to understand the difference. At the end of the day they just did not care about our experience it was all about the money. Read Less

had previously cruises NZ with Radiance and found the cabin clean, food great and entertainment sufficiently good to balance out the cruise. We had any time dining but found the windjammer food different menus good to suit our taste and we had the drinks package so good morning coffee, fresh juice and cocktails by the pool were all good. The ship was late leaving Hawaii but the sailing was smooth virtually all the way until we reached Sydney. The pick of the shore excursions was bora bora although Moreau was also very cool and we swam amongst the rays and small sharks. The entertainment was mixed and I guess I was not a fan of the ships host (and hostess) forgotten their names but they seemed to not be very genuine or funny - they did their jobs but that was about it. Overall the variety of entertainers was good. overall a great cruise. Read Less

This cruise was a long time in the planning and didn't disappoint. After spending 2 weeks in Canada and 5 nights in Hawaii, this was the perfect way to return home to Sydney calling at Pappete, Moorea, Bora Bora, Wellington and Picton. Arrived at the Honolulu cruise terminal around 11.00am and although departure wasn't due until 10.00pm (actual 2.00am) we were immediately allowed to board and as usual cabins were available around 1pm. Signs indicated that the ship was full for this cruise so no cabin upgrades were available. We loved the size of Radiance of the Seas and found it to be the perfect size ship for this type of journey. Loved the central atrium area and the fantastic views from the Schooner Bar and Champagne Bar (our favourite and regular haunt for this trip). Food in all of the restaurants were of a high quality and variety. Highly recommend Chefs Table and Chops Grill. Entertainment was your typical fare with a number of theme nights and 3 formal nights. The crossing equator ceremony on the main pool deck was also great fun as was the atmosphere in the pub when we watched the live broadcast of the AFL grand final. The only downer was the cruse director and his wife (activities manager) who were very "American" and as a result his attempt at humour and interaction with the majority of the Australian guests on board didn't quite work. The highlight of the trip was the ship excursion we did in Moorea (motu picnic tour) where we got to snorkel and swim with reef sharks and rays and provided with a fantastic lunch including drinks on a private island overlooking the lagoon. The other highlight would be when we hired an electric buggy and drove around the island of Bora Bora. Would definitely do this cruise again. Read Less

We spent one week in Waikiki before our cruise back to Australia. We had a great time. Boarding the ship was super easy. Never been easier in fact. I’m a celiac so I was worried about my food choices but the dining room team looked after me. I don’t think there were as many choices in the windjammers. Coffee has improved a little. Room attendant was amazing as always. I don’t think there was as many activities to do on board unless you were prepared to pay. The shore excursions were overall good though expensive. The interior of the ship was nice everything easy to find. The digital cruise compass near the lifts was good if you forgot the paper compass. I think there was too much paperwork left in our cabin most of it is very wasteful. The beds could do with new mattresses. At the end of the day I love cruising and it’s hard to find complaints. Read Less

We are a couple in our early 60's, newly retired. We have done this itinerary twice before. Each time the cost is higher, but the # days is shortened. This was a B2B cruise for us, since we boarded the ship in Sydney Australia for the TransPacific repositioning. We stayed in the same cabin (9616), and had the same fabulous cabin steward (Boren Franover), so we were very happy with the stateroom. The service on the ship was great, as usual. Most of the staff goes out of their way to be friendly, answer questions, and to provide a wonderful experience. Instead of our usual Early Dining, we opted to try My Time Dining this cruise, in order to free up time to watch sunsets and sailaways. We made reservations for dinner times in the MDR, but didn't have great experiences with that. The first night, we were seated at a table with others who had reservations for a 1/2 hour before us, and had to wait until we arrived in order for the table to be full enough to order. The second night didn't go much better, so we opted to eat in the Windjammer Buffet after that, except for one night in Chops Grille. The buffet, Park Cafe and steakhouse were excellent food, and the sunset views on the aft deck were an added bonus. The first 4 days were port days (Honolulu, Lahaina, Kona and Kauai), so the Meet & Mingle was held on day 6. It was not well attended, and very little mingling happened -- a real disappointment after the previous cruise from Sydney. The port day in Hilo was cancelled after the volcano erupted and the earthquake happened. RCI substituted a day in Victoria instead at the end of the cruise. Victoria is a great city and we had a lovely day, but we would rather have had another day in any other Hawaiian port. We live in Greater Vancouver, and having paid a premium price for a Hawaiian cruise, we weren't thrilled with the substitution. Entertainment on this segment was mostly a repeat of the previous cruise, so we didn't attend many of the shows. Instead we saw more of the game shows in the Colony Club, and played pool on the self-levelling pool tables. We also spent more time trying to improve our mini-golf skills, doing puzzles and working out in the gym. The weather from Kauai to Victoria was cooler and rocky the first few days, making poolside lounging unappealing. Due to a medical emergency, we picked up speed and arrived in Victoria the evening before planned ETA. The one bonus to stopping in Victoria was that we were able to clear Customs in Victoria and avoid the Customs lineups in Vancouver, where 3 other ships were also docked at the same time. Kudos to Alex (Activities Director) and Sophie (Activities staff) for their tireless enthusiasm in running activities, contests and games to keep us entertained. I would consider doing this cruise again, but only if the duration is restored to 12 or 13 days, and if our favourite Hawaiian port of Hilo is restored. That last part, of course, is up to Mother Nature, and beyond RCI's control. Read Less

We would highly recommend Royal Caribbean to anyone. Their staff are highly trained and see to your comfort and individual needs above all else. Always friendly and courteous no matter how long of a day they have had. They make you feel a part of the family! Always something to do on and off the ship, always helpful in Guest Services and just overall a great company to take a cruise with! Food well prepared in an excellent and clean environment! Everyone went out of their way to make sure we had the best experience ever and we did! Keep you informed of everything going on and changes that are made when necessary. We felt very pampered. The games were funny and there was always something for everyone to do. Had to make time to rest - there was so much to do and see. Cruise tours were the best! We can not say enough about our great experience! Read Less

We booked this cruise while we were sailing on Empress of the Seas to Cuba. We have sailed with this line several times before, with Celebrity and RCL ships. In every instance except for this one, the cruises have been excellent. NOT this one. Cruise was from Hawaii, around the islands, ending in Vancouver, BC. 10 days. We had been to the islands 35 years ago and wanted to get back to see the changes. Sailing dates were May 3-13, we flew in a day early to catch up on Honolulu sights which was a good thing, should have come in two days early or more. Pearl Harbor was outstanding(not a RCL feature) We were scheduled to board at 12:30, got to pier at 12:15, checked luggage and then lines started. Did not get to cabin until 2:30 at which point we were told that cabin was not ready and would not be ready until 3:30-4pm. That was the first clue. Finally got to cabin at 4, luggage arrived at 7pm. we had dinner at 5:30. Ship was full, 2500 guests, wait staff was stretched. We had a table for 4, but our waiters also were serving three other tables, 2 tables of 10 and one table of six. Guess who came in 4th. Seriously understaffed in Dining room. This was true for entire cruise. Maui was next day, Tenders in, very small harbor, we were fortunate, to get out early, later passengers were not able to get off the ship due to congestion in the harbor. It got worse later when all the tours that had gotten out came back at the same time. The line for the tenders was 90 minutes in the heat, and 500 yards long. Oh and it was formal night, we did not get back to ship until 5:15 pm, not a lot of time for changing and cleanup. Big Island was day 3, Tenders again, I had an accident getting into the tender-what a fiasco, nothing from RCL, Sitting in the tender bleeding from the knees, and the only comment from staff was to ask what was my cabin number. Went to infirmary to get it checked out, Medical staff was great-but as I walked out of infirmary, I was accosted by one of the security staff who proceeded to interrogate me and tried to criminalize the incident. By the way, he had a body camera on him and was filming the entire interrogation., When I complained to the desk, the response was "we apologise for the inconvenience" Next stop Kauaii, that was on a pier and the visit was excellent. However at Kauaii and also in Victoria, BC, I was now subject to "special attention" whenever I reboarded the ship. I wear an external brace on my knee, so I got "wanded and patted down" each time back to the ship. I did bring this up to RCL on two occasions, first on board the ship where there was no response. Second directly to RCL via the website, there has been no response to date. I am completely baffled by this indifferent or even vindictive response by the staff to a guest. Read Less

hi, We decided on this cruise as we have done the reverse cruise in 2013 on Rhapsody of the Seas and loved it. We had a good time on Radiance but found a few things that in our opinion could be improved. First the good bits. Embarkation was smooth although lengthy. Prob around 1 hour before we actually saw the ship. Our stateroom was very spacious and had lots of hanging space and shelves to store things. The food was great as usual. Never have a problem with RCI. Some of the entertainment was great and others so so but that is to be expected and according to taste. The usual problem with cruise ships in that we always had to fight for a seat in the Centrum or anywhere for that matter. We retired early on quite a few nights as we were not happy to stand all night. On most of our cruises we had wait staff fighting for our patrionage but on Radiance we had to on most occasions go to the bar ourselves. The daily activities were very repetative although i did join the guest choir which was performed on stage and was lots of fun. The variety in the shops was very unexciting and sales touted as huge were actually reduced by the same amount at the beginning of the cruise. Eg Invicta watches were 75% off the whole cruise but was made to be a big one day sale. No daily fragrance sale which has been on all our other cruises with RCI Cant fault our dining room Waiters and our cabin man They were fantastic. We purchased 2 ship based cruises which were great and did our own thing in other ports. All in all we thoroughly enjoyed our trip and would most likely sail on her again if the occasion arose Read Less

We flew from Newark NJ to Honolulu on United. We were in First Class and had the lie down flat seats. They were the most comfortable seats I have ever experienced! Crew was really nice! Speedi Shuttle not a good company. They are rude, disorganized. Hawaiian Hilton Village. We loved this hotel, and returned for our post cruise! Perfect location... but be prepared for high prices! Newly retired and could travel this time of year! This was my 37 th cruise, and multiple cruises on Royal Caribbean. I saw a lot of negative reviews before and after I had booked this cruise... and just like all the other reviews on every ship I have ever sailed on, I used the negative as a heads up, but not a deal breaker! The facts! Embarkation in Honolulu was one of the worst we have ever experienced! The good news was, once we got on board after the long wait (Suite line) the cabins were open. Our cabin was a JR Suite on the 10th deck, midship, perfect location! There was more than enough storage for our 18 day cruise.. except the suitcases did not fit under the bed! There was a coffee maker and Kettle.. and the cabin was a great size! Loved finding a padded lounge chair on our balcony! Walk in closet... bathroom shower/tub.. The cabin was spotless, and the bed was comfortable! We had a great cabin Steward! The ship... it has definitely aged better in some places than others.. It was clean though, and although there were no real bells and whistles like the other classes, we didn’t miss it that much! The only real downfall was the cabin tv.. one of the worst programming we have ever seen... a big complaint on the ship! We are Diamond, and took advantage of the lounge which had a continental breakfast, small sandwiches at lunch, and cocktail food and drinks before dinner. The lounge was a little small, but in the evening they opened the doors to a connecting lounge. We enjoyed the special lunch and other events they had for Diamond level! The food.. these are my facts keep in mind there are always different interpretations when it comes to this category! The Wind Jammer was the worst we have ever experienced! The choices were much more limited, the pizza tasted like the worst version of a frozen pizza, and the cold cuts barely changed every day! The lay out was screwy, and did not flow well. For example to find tomato and onion for my salad, I had to go to the hamburger line.. The food was not very good! This is the first time we have ever had this complaint! Lunch in the dining room was good, and loved the salad bar, but even that needed more choices. Dinner was hit or miss! There were menus that no one at our table enjoyed, and more often than not people ordered steak instead. Filet Mignon was never an option unless you paid for it.. The king Crab was not King Crab, it was Stone Crab.. Our waiter was terrific, our head waiter not so much! There were two of us that needed to order the night before because of food allergies, and the head waiter made us feel like we were a bother! He did nothing to give us more choices, and made everything a big deal! On my last RCCL cruise the head waiter was amazing and I never had to eat the same thing twice! The lunch head waiter on this cruise was fantastic! I liked The Park at the Solarium Pool for salads, and my husband liked the Dog House the few times they had Bratworst. We did not go to any of the Speciality restaraunts but people were raving about Giovannis. Room service: We only got Continental breakfast, never had the breakfast or other food you have to pay for. It was on time, and fine.. Many days at sea, but I was never bored. I did not go to the pool at all, but could see lounges when we walked through. The Solarium was packed all the time! The poor life guards even in the worst weather had to stand out there, even with no one in the pool.. It was inhumane sometimes! The shows were good, the production shows ok, except the new Tango show which was amazing. We didn’t get some of the humor, since almost all the shows were Australian performers. (There were 1800 Aussies) on the ship. There were some good lectures, and some demonstrations. I did the cupcake decorating which was fun! There was a four year old whose cupcake came out better than mine lol The photographers were out each and every night, but they were not that intrusive... I didn’t find the hard sells that annoying on the sailing.. There was not as much junk in our door.. Internet... Voom, spotty, frustrating, unreliable! CD... not my cup of tea, but I am not going to do a character assasination. Let’s just say I have had 36 better ones! Cruise Activity Staff very nice and fun to be around! Crew on ship.. The only rude person we encountered on the whole ship was at the Excursion Desk.. the crew was over the top friendly, and helpful! We would do this cruise again! Even with a crazy amount of sea days! Read Less

This was a very enjoyable cruise, we chose it so we could spend some time in Hawaii before the cruise and also see some of Tahiti, however the long sea day stints were a bit too long with nothing much to do on board those days. The food was good in both the Dining Room and Windjammers and seemed to be even better the last few days. We booked the First Night done Right where they choose a specialty restaurant and give you a note in your cabin to let you know which one to go to on the very first night. We received this information on the 3rd day so we found this out on our own by accident , however when I booked this online I was told you could change the restaurant but when I asked to change they wouldnt do it, I was very disappointed as I didn't eat what was served, so I found that was a waste of money and we didn't book another specialty restaurant. Very little activities during the day. Could not get a deck chair if our life depended on it, the same people had the chairs from dawn til dusk so no one else had a chance, especially in the solarium. Read Less

Overall this was a good Cruise. Some adjustments need to made by Royal Caribbean to enhance the Cruising of future patrons. 1. Bands were in the Centrum. This was somewhat disappointing, no area to Dance & not enough seating. Should have been in the Colony Club, where there was plenty of seating & a large dance floor. It remained empty on most nights. 2.The Dog House was a waste of space. Hot dogs were able to be obtained from the Windjammer. I noticed that it was not patronised very often. Only a suggestion, why not convert to say a "Johnny Rockets" or something similar. Maybe dress it up a bit. 3. Children (unsurpervised ) were allowed to play on the pool tables as young as 8, when a sign clearly states minimum age 18. This was every day. I am happy for them change the age limit, however some children do need supervision as tables can easily be ripped or damaged. Read Less

We chose this cruise as a way to get to Australia in a relaxing way without jet lag. This was our 7th cruise and 5th with RCL. We enjoyed the cruise but did find both stretches of 5 sea days a little challenging. The staff were excellent Raj and Mohammed in Windstar outstanding, also our stateroom attendant Eko. We ate in Chops Grille once, not the best service but steaks were good. Giovanni’s twice, it was excellent and we had a wonderful waiter but have unfortunately forgotten his name. Staff all knew you by name, no idea how they do that. Food in main dining and Windjammer was good and my standby of salmon was always good if I didn’t like the menu. The shows were, for the most part, pretty good. We had an Aussie comic who surprised us as we didn’t think we would get his humour but he was great. Entertainment in the bars was good and varied. Only negative was RCL bumped up all prices of drinks etc. That was a bit disappointing. Read Less

OH MY. We have been on many many cruises with Royal Caribbean before, and this is BY FAR THE WORST ONE. (A bit of context: we have been on the Jewel of the Seas, and Oasis of the Seas, for example. So writing this review, it's based on our prior experiences.) We sailed from Honolulu to Vancouver, as a repositioning cruise, but I don't understand why the embarkation was 3+ HOURS! (photos showed how long the lineup was!) They didn't even explain (before or after) why it was taking so long, I felt they owed everyone an apology! Especially the elderly who had to wait that long, with no A/C, hot, and someone fainted!!! After that terrible first day, we barely got on the ship to partake on the mandatory life boat safety drill! Dining was a disaster. DO NOT DO "MY TIME". It's not YOUR time, it's the SHIPS' time. Cascades, deck 4 was terrible. The hostess told us the wrong time for our dinner reservations, so when we showed up at the time she told us, our table was given away! We had selected 5:30pm online before we went on board, and they said the "shore didn't communicate with the ship", so we didn't have a spot. Had to wait over 30 minutes in line for the first three nights just to get seated, and this was during the second seating! We just went to the Jewel of the Seas (same class of ship) in November, and we recognized the same menus, but the food was so much better on the Jewel! The food sucked in the dining room (exception: key lime pie), things tasted as if they were just defrosted and then cooked right away (especially the seafood! how disappointing!). This is the first time I think the windjammer food surpassed the dining room's food! On one of the nights, a party had booked a wedding function late in the night, and our room unfortunately was right underneath the quill and compass bar on deck 6. Our room thudded, you could hear exactly what song was being played! And they didn't do anything about it, since it was booked for a function. So we couldn't sleep past 2am, wasting our last day in Maui. The ship is showing it's age. The chairs' upholstery at windjammer was ripping or scratched, showing the cushion underneath. Bars and rails around the ship were rusting (especially Windjammer) and just needs a fresh coat of paint. Our interior cabin's washrooms were dated, but at least clean. The only good things were: -our servers, very friendly -our stateroom assistant - so neat, and best towel animals! -Cruise itinerary, great 7 days in Hawaii, and 5 days for rest. However, it gets cold as soon as you leave Hawaii, so it's too cold to swim outside for the 5 days, leaving the solarium crowded. We made more friends from the terrible experiences that the positive ones. Honestly, it left such a bad taste in our mouth, that we may not ever sail with Royal Caribbean again. We called customer service, and met with the guest relations staff onboard, and nothing was done to keep our business. That's just too bad. Read Less

We have sailed on many different ship companies and this particular ship was ok. Ship shows its age the food was ok a lot of the employees have little understanding of English. The Hawaii Islands were fantastic that's the only reason we picked this itinerary because of the islands. cabin had a lot of dust in it was really surprised Upon getting to the port in Waikiki it was chaos they were so many people waiting and there were no lines people were going everywhere and getting angry. We have never had an embarkation day like that one it was awful and a nightmare. The food at the windjammer was really awful and dining room was ok nothing like other cruise lines...very disappointed. The shops in duty free were small and did not have a lot of choice. This was our third time with RCCL and it was the worst. Read Less

The ship overall was pretty clean and had nice amenities. The cabin was comfortable and kept extremely clean by the stateroom attendant. We ate at all the restaurants on board and the service at all of them were amazing. The pool, sports court and mini golf were great activities to kill sea days. The entertainers for the shows were spectacular. What really surprised me is how nice they were genuinely interested in getting to know you. I loved how the ship stayed overnight in Maui and Kauai. The Lu'au is a must see for anyone who goes. One of the best experiences in my travels. The spa was amazing an my masseuse who was Japanese was also an amazing Hawaiian dancer. Best massage I've had to date.The one thing that was not in doubt was the service. Some of the things I did not like were that the ship seemed understaffed and things like the gym and windjammer opened late. Cascades wasn't open long enough and you could really feel it on sea days because Winjammers just became Windjammed. The ship also did not have great size selection for merchandise in the shops or spa. Embarkation went well for some but not so well for most due some issues in Honolulu. Disembarkation took longer than anticipated and the tour buses were scarce so I had to cancel a tour or I would have missed my flight. There were numerous people who missed their flight and intercruises weren't much help. Read Less

This was our 13th cruise with RC and our second on the Radiance. The ship was in good condition (NOT a rust bucket as one person described it). The cruise can be divided into three phases. #1 Getting on the ship in Hawaii was very stressful after flying over from the east coast but it was not RC's or the ships fault. Boarding was delayed by our wonderful Govt. agencies that wanted to assert their power. Getting off the ship in Vancouver was a disaster as there were three ships in port and the facility could not handle 15,000 passengers trying to get on and off the three ships at the same time. We hope you never have to experience a situation like this. #2 The port visits (Tours) were very nice, weather was great and the tenders were very efficient. #3 Cruising from Hawaii to Vancouver wasn't great, very cool and the seas were a little choppy. The service on the ship was great, the crew did a very good job. Food in the main dinning room was ok I would say average nothing to right home about. The Windjammer food was typical of every ship we have been on with RC, good with a large variety to choose from. Staff in the Windjammer were very attentive. Our waiter and asst. waiter in the main dining room did a fantastic job We stayed in a GS, the cabin was in great condition and our attendant took very good care of us. Cabin #1534 We did not take in a lot of the shows but the ones we did see were very good. Read Less