Embarkation went smoothly. We arrived around 12:30 and were on the ship and able to go to our cabin at almost exactly 1:00 p.m. We met our steward, who was very efficient. He did an excellent job all week, though we only had three towel animals the entire cruise. Since we had not been on RCCL previously, we spent the time before the muster drill exploring the ship and trying to find our way around. We made a stop at the dining room to see our table. It was in a good location and we had been assigned our requested seating. Since we are all big soft drink consumers we got soda cards, and began what turned out to be a great week.
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| Solarium Pool | The Rock Climbing Wall | The Atrium |
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| The Explorers Lounge | The Casino | Scoreboard Sports Bar |
A few comments about the ship and the crew are appropriate at this time.
Radiance is a wonderful ship. It is in good repair and rides the seas well. I
could probably nitpick and find a number of minor flaws and imperfections, but
none of them were serious enough to think once about much less twice. The crew
was very friendly and outgoing and was more than willing to chat about
themselves, their homes and families and the ship. The impression that we got
was that they were happy to work there, that it is a good working atmosphere and
that most of them would not hesitate to come back to the Radiance.
The captain, Rune Lokling, is one of, if not the most outgoing and funny ships
officers I have ever sailed with. If you ever get a chance to sail with him do
not miss the cake decorating that he performs. It will have you laughing so hard
that it is impossible to control yourself. Suffice it to say that icing and
other cake components were left all over the floor of the atrium.
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| The Captain | The Captain Clowning with the Passengers |
At dinner we met our wait staff and table mates. We ended up at a table for six,
but we only had two others join us all week so it became a table for four. Our
service team did a great job and bent over backwards in an effort to please us,
and they did a great job in that respect. If we needed anything all we had to do
was ask and it appeared, and by the end of the second day they had learned our
likes and dislikes and often had our drinks waiting on us when we arrived. We
had early seating which, turned out to be a good thing, as it gave us time to
enjoy the ship after dinner. It seems that with late dinners, in the past we
simply go to bed afterwards and missed out on a lot of activities.
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| Our Servers | Tablemates | Dining Room Staff |
The food throughout the entire cruise was tastily and creatively prepared. There
was something unique and unusual ever night. There were also the usual standard
steaks and salads available any evening. The food service certainly rates 3 and
½ stars, if not 4. I just cannot give food prepared for approximately 3000
people in two sittings 5 star. It was always good, sometimes better than good,
but never was it over the top spectacular. Having said that I had no complaints
and it was much better than I expected, but it is not the quality found in a
land based, 5 star establishment that servers 100 dinners in an evening.
Since this was the week before Easter the ship anticipated a lot of children.
Staff reported that there were approximately 650 children and teens on board. In
light of this the captain institute a 12:00 a.m.. curfew, for all persons under
the age of 17, unless they were in an organized activity or with a responsible
adult guardian. This was announced every day and ship’s security seemed to
enforce the rule, as I observed a number of children being escorted to cabins at
night.
This was a typical at sea day. There were BINGO
games, an art auction, the belly flop contest and formal portraits. This was
also the first formal night. The weather was sunny, but it was very windy and
the sea was a bit rough as we cruised toward our first port of call in San Juan.
The winds, plus the ships speed made it seem as if there was a gale blowing over
the deck, and was so strong that it was hard even to read because you could not
hold your pages open. Needless to say it was tough walking toward the bow. The
pool deck was crowded all afternoon, but I did not notice any chair hogs. Towels
were also plentiful and easily exchanged for fresh ones as needed.
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| Beautiful Wake on the Blue Sea | Caribbean Sky |
We ate in Chops for dinner on this night. The menu was excellent and the food was prepared as ordered. It is a very high quality establishment and well worth the extra $20 per person.
We arrived in San Juan around 2:00 p.m. The cruise in was uneventful, but still a bit rough, though the wind had died down. We were in San Juan from 2:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. This did not allow much time for sightseeing so we did a bit of shopping and then came back to the ship and sat in the sun. We were in port with a Silverseas ship and a Reagent ship, both of which are much smaller than Radiance, so town was not too crowded. We left San Juan around 8:00 and sailed toward St. Johns, Antigua. The seas had calmed down and we had a very smooth night.
This was my first visit to St. Johns. It
is an interesting island. We wanted to spend some time snorkeling so we did not
have time to take an island tour. The town itself was very small and typical of
most Caribbean towns that are visited by cruise ships. There was some shopping
there but not a large variety. The usual shops, Diamonds International,
Colombian Emeralds and Tanzanite all have a strong presence. We enjoyed a nice
snorkel cruise and hour at the beach before heading back to the ship and our
sail away. Docked next to us at St. Johns was Radiance’s sister ship, Serenade
of the Seas. With both ships in port it seemed crowded and was very hectic. We
sailed at 6:00 p.m. for St. Thomas.
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| St. Johns | Local Antigua Color | The Pilot |
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| Pier side | St. Johns Antigua | Local Casino |
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| Local Tug | Duty free | The Radiance of the Seas |
We arrived in St. Thomas after a very smooth overnight sail. Unfortunately it was drizzling and seemed like it was going to be a dreary day. We had the usual headache of clearing immigration since we had been out of the US, but it was very painless and took longer to walk to the Colony Club from our cabin on the 8th deck in the hump area, than it did to complete the check. We ended up spending the morning shopping in St. Thomas and by lunch time it had cleared up enough for an afternoon of snorkeling at Coki beach.
We sailed from St. Thomas at 6:00 p.m. headed for a surprise treat of an
unscheduled stop in St. Croix. The ship, it seems has been going to St. Croix to
take on fuel every other Thursday all season long. The people of St. Croix
really look forward to the ships visiting and open a craft market and have a
carnival whenever a ship stops. We got to explore parts of downtown, visit the
local fort and sample the rum punch, which freely flowed. It seems all of the
teenagers enjoyed the rum punch. This stop turned our five port of call cruise
into a six port of call cruise plus Ft. Lauderdale.
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| Views of St. Thomas Harbor | |||
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| Scene From St. Thomas Harbor | View of St. Thomas Harbor | ||
We arrived at Phillipsburg early after a brief
overnight sail from St. Croix. The weather was beautiful, hot and sunny. We
participated in the Pinel Island snorkel tour. This was one of the best snorkel
tours I have ever been on because the guide would stop and explain things as we
proceeded. Normally we snorkel alone and are usually pretty good at identifying
different types of fish, but the guide’s insight made this a very nice
excursion. After returning to the ship for lunch we spent the rest of the day
shopping prior to our scheduled 4:00 p.m. sail away. The sail away turned into a
5:00 p.m. sail away because three passengers were late getting back from an
excursion on their own, and surprisingly the captain waited on them. This was
the first time I had ever seen this happen on a mass market line, though it is a
common occurrence on the “luxury” lines. We ended up leaving St. Maarten at
approximately 5:00 p.m. head for Nassau.
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| Phillipsburg, St. Maarten | The Ship's Pool | Pier in Phillipsburg |
This was the second formal night. We noticed that the
dress was a bit more casual, but still fairly dressy. This was another
uneventful day, with the usual BINGO and other activities. The seas were smooth
as glass, and the day and evening were uneventful. It was worth noting that the
wind had calmed down and it was pleasant on deck the entire day.
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| The Entrance to the Schooner Bar - Portofino - Chops Grille | ||
We enjoyed Portofino’s for dinner tonight. The food was well prepared and
if you enjoy Italian food, it was quiet good. I think for my taste a second trip
to Chops would have been more enjoyable.
We arrived at Nassau at approximately noon.
The temperatures had dropped dramatically since we left St. Maarten. The high
was only 73 after a warm 88. Unless you are taking an excursion Nassau is
probably a place to stay on the ship.
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| Nassau Pilot | The Pool | Dock Mates | |
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| Light House and Atlantis | Nassau | ||
Debarkation went smoothly
though the first group was not called until 8:50 a.m. We were off the ship and
at the airport by 10:10 a.m. for a 12:30 flight. The only thing to note about
the journey from Nassau to Fort Lauderdale is to watch out for the Gulf Stream
about 3:00 a.m. It sent the lady into a rock and roll shiver until we docked.
We had a chance to enjoy the dining room for breakfast on four mornings. The
food was nicely prepared and it was a treat to have people wait on us first
thing in the morning. The food was similar to what was available in the
Windjammer. We ate at the Windjammer for lunch, since the main dining room was
not open at lunch time. There was plenty of food and it was well prepared and
very tasty.
The bars throughout the ship were well staffed and the bartenders freely poured.
The drink prices are similar to what is observed in a typical land based resort.
All in all it was a great way to spend spring break and I am already researching
where to go next year for break. I know for sure that it will be another trip on
board the beautiful Radiance of the Seas, with the “hurdy-gurdy” captain.