Western Caribbean Cruise by: Clint Leung

We were on the Radiance of the Seas for the western Caribbean cruise on November 28/04. This was our second cruise with Royal Caribbean with our first last year on the greatest adventure of Wednesday after a cruise with RCI, I expected much the same standards with the brightness and, in general, I 'I was not disappointed.

Cabins:

Our cabin was an interior rear of the cabin and we were not disappointed. It is quite spacious and the lighting is adequate. Closet space and drawers were also sufficient for our use. We found that double beds are actually a little better than we had in the adventure because we could not really separates the two beds as we did last time. If there is one thing that can be improved is the shower curtain. One to installed has not been sufficient to maintain water in the shower. The shower Adventure use a dual glass door which was far superior. Otherwise, the cabin is nice and dark to sleep at night. Although we heard a small noise in the cabin next to us, it was minimal. We do not miss a window or balcony at all since we were hardly ever in our cabin. We were either in port or elsewhere on the ship and returned to our cabins just to relax or sleep. We would certainly book a cabin interior with RCI unless we had a free upgrade.

Restaurants:

The main Cascades dining room was very good and meals were good. The breakfasts have the same menu every morning. Lunch at the dining room was OK. The dinners were good, but not every meal was a winner. It was strange appetizer and dessert that was not through. One thing that my partner has been noticed that the portions of the main course appears to be smaller than those served in the adventure. We usually upstairs was the Windjammer to get more food to eat after the Cascades. In some parts of the Cascades room, the tables have been placed too cramp to walk on their own schedule has been difficult at times. The self-serve Windjammer was good. It generally has a greater variety of food served downstairs Cascades. Breakfast and lunch were held at the Windjammer but during the evenings, most people chose to dine at the Cascades. The other two restaurants captain optional Portafino Choppe and House were available at $ 20 U.S. per person, but we never tried since the meals already included in the Cascades and Windjammer were fine by us. Other passengers who visit these rooms optional told us that they are nothing special. There was another coffee available at the end of the evening asked overlooking the sea and they provided fare such as sandwiches, salads and hamburgers. It was a nice feature. One thing we did was to object that they charged for coffee and tea there. There was also a cafe on the main square centrum of the ship and they also charged. We had over the availability of free drinks in the adventure.

Service:

The service of the cabin by participants and staff of the dining room was the first plan as expected.

Entertainment:

Evening performances at the Theater of the Aurora were a mixture of the vessel own team of dancers and singers as well as from outside comics and singers. In general, the performances were very good. We would have liked to mix entertainment every night rather than allocate music, comedy and magic in different parties. Rather than an entire magic show, we would have preferred that each night with a variety of entertainment. Live music around the vessel was added a nice touch.

Infrastructure:

Although smaller than the adventure, the sparkle had quality including the gym / spa, mini golf, swimming pools and shops. It was Internet access but at 50 cents per minute, the service is a little steep. There were things to do during the day at sea as art auctions, cooking demonstrations and dance classes. However, we felt that there was no longer available to the adventure. As for boarding and disembarking, there was no problem on the Radiance. The 6th level in the casino and for non-smokers, this was a problem. The breakdown in the casino was not great and, therefore, cigarette smoke went to adjacent areas near the casino. My partner wanted to avoid going on the 6th level whenever possible.

In summary, we loved our cruise on the Radiance of the Seas. However, comparing to the greatest adventure of the sea, we would be the largest ship rates a little higher. We appreciated the great walk in the adventure that was not available on a smaller ship as shine. Given the choice in the future, we opt for the larger vessel. For the first time cruisers, the brightness would be a good boat on vacation. This is simply where veteran cruisers expect more especially if they were on high-end ships.

About the author


Clint Leung is owner of Free Spirit Gallery (http://www.FreeSpiritGallery.ca), an online gallery specializing in Inuit Northwest and art including sculptures, prints and sculptures. Free Spirit Gallery has numerous information resource articles with photos of authentic Inuit art and as well as postcards.