Radiance of the Seas – Royal Caribbean

In 2018, we were in cabin 9044, a balcony cabin on the port side. We chose the port side because we were sailing counter-clockwise and thought this would let us see land more often, but we actually sailed far enough away from land that we mostly saw water as we sailed. Sometimes we could see coastline in the distance.  Our balcony is mostly covered from the sun, so we only get early morning or late afternoon sun depending on our direction.

So, what is on this ship?

Lounge chairs on the Promenade deck for folks without balconies to sit in the shade. (Smoking is allowed on Starboard side only.)

A cinema with fairly recent movies playing. (These were recent as of early 2018)

Theater style seating in the cinema. But we had to arrive early to be assured of a seat. (at least 30 minutes prior to show time)

The game room is different on the Radiance than it was on the sister ship, Brilliance, in 2016. This game room is on deck 10 below the pool deck in the Centrum area, which means all of the music and lectures float up to the game players above.  Also, all of the tables are square.  Perfect for groups of 2- 4 playing cards but not conducive to larger groups or games. On this long voyage, there were many card players and cribbage players.  Most of the tables were usually filled.

The Cascades dining room is on two floors, and on sea days, they have a lunch menu and a large salad bar on the lower level. Guests choose their ingredients, and the waiter places the items in the bowl and chops the salad if desired.  I LOVE knowing that multiple guests have not touched the salad tongs.  I kind of have a thing about buffets and germs.

For dinner, they have early and late seating available, but they also offer a “my time dining” option.  Cruisers can appear at the dining room at the time of their choice and request a specific table size for their party or agree to share a table with others.  OR, which I learned after the fact, reservations can be made on embarkation day for the same table and time every night.  We like to eat early, so we appeared at opening time and requested a table for two. The tables for two are only about 4 inches apart, so we got to know the others at the next two tables pretty well.We really liked our servers and location so much that we asked for the same one every night.  The reservation clerk at the entrance said she could not guarantee because all of the 5:30 reservations for the cruise were already taken, but we could come again and, “They will see.”  Fortunately, the next night we requested the same server and the request was granted for the same table as well.  After two nights, they started sending a reservation card each evening to our stateroom. People with a reservation card bypass the line each evening. But when you like to eat early, there is not usually much of a line anyway.

For those who prefer a buffet, the Windjammer serves three meals a day. At breakfast, there is a made-to-order omelet station in the back of the Windjammer. At lunch and dinner, one can always find a deli station, hot food station, burgers/pizza, fruit, and desserts. There is also a “Dog House” area just outside the Windjammer which serves hotdogs and a variety of brats and sausages.  Our ship provided an outdoor bar-b-que on the lido deck during sea days when the weather permitted.Since we were sailing from Sydney, they even supplied Vegemite with the jams and jellies. Many ships have self-serve drink stations with ice and drink dispensers.  On this ship, drinks are pre-filled. At breakfast there is OJ, Water and Apple juice. At lunch and dinner there is water tea and lemonade. Coffee, hot chocolate, and tea are available at all meals. (For those who like self-service drink stations, there is one in the Solarium area, and fruit punch was an option there all day.)

There are a few specialty restaurants onboard: Samba’s Brazilian Steakhouse, Izumi Japanese, Sabatini’s Italian, and Chops Grill.  They also offer a Chef’s Table.  We did not use any specialty dining on this trip, but I have used Sabatini’s and Chops on other RC ships, and they are excellent.

This ship had a conference room. On our 16-day cruise, a couple was teaching watercolor painting each sea day.  They didn’t teach much technique, but they provided the tools and let us paint.  My sister-in-law would be great at this.  I need lots more practice to ever reach any kind of proficiency with water color. (and probably some good personal instruction) I took a quick photo of some of my work for the week.

There were helpful touch-screen information kiosks around the ship.Ship diagrams outside the mid-ship elevator banks at each floor.

Days of the week in the elevator floor so I can keep up with what day it is. (The two people in the elevator thought I was crazy taking a photo as soon as the elevator door opened.  A big thanks to my anonymous footwear models.)

Solarium and indoor pool area reserved for guests ages 16 and up. This area has a small complimentary café, fresh fruit, and a beverage station for tea, coffee and water.Outdoor pool area with a large movie screen for poolside movies. (Which, by the way, is not the best venue on the Radiance class ships due to too much noise at the pool bar in the back and the smoking area in the front starboard) Royal Caribbean has also started staffing lifeguards at the pools when they are open.Café Latte tudes: My favorite stop on deck 5 for a morning specialty coffee.  This ship offers a coffee card which gives a discounted price for 15 coffees and unlike all other beverage packages, this one can be shared if the purchaser orders the coffees.

Rock climbing wall (Pardon the foggy quality of some of my outdoor pictures. I didn’t realize until too late how badly my camera lens would fog up in the northern Australian humidity.)

mini golf

small basketball court

Dart board in the pub

The Colony Club. It is open to all unless there is an invitation-only event booked there. There are two pool tables which actually adjust for ship movement.

The colony club also has many chairs for small group socializing, trivia, bingo, art auctions and smaller stage shows.  We played progressive trivia there every sea day.  Marky Mark (Yes, that’s his name) was the host. He gave 15 general knowledge trivia questions every day.  The score is cumulative.  Our team was in next-to-last place by day 2.  We recruited our dinner partners, and our score greatly improved. (Thanks Rita, Helmut, Ryan, and Julie if you happen to read this post.)    I never expect to be a big winner, but it is a lot of fun, and I’ve actually learned some interesting facts.

I neglected to take photos of the spa and fitness center, but I enjoyed the treadmills.  They face the windows in the very front of the ship on deck 12. A view of the ocean is a nice change of pace from my usual view when I go walking.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the tour of the Royal Caribbean Radiance of the Seas. To see other ship reviews, go to Shirleysjourneys.com