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Radiance vs. Rhapsody -- having difficult time choosing

hucifer

By hucifer,
in Royal Caribbean International

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hucifer

hucifer

Posted
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My husband and I are taking our 4yo son on a cruise to Hawaii in September 2011 (he will be 4yo at the time of sailing). RCI has the best Hawaiian itinerary for us, but they do not have a plethera of choices. I see that just the Radiance and Rhapsody are sailing to Hawaii.

 

I've researched both, but now it comes down to personal experience and choices. Which one would you choose and why? Which ship would be better for a little one? I really value opinions on this.

 

Thanks so much!

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critterchick

critterchick

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We love both ships. We're sailing Rhapsody from Honolulu to Vancouver next year, and will see how we like all 5 days at sea in a row on a Vision class ship. Her crew is the best we've sailed with, the food was the best we've had recently on RCI (which is kind of damning with faint praise, but it really was very good) and we like the layout of the ship.

 

Radiance is prettier and offers more things to do in her larger square footage - specialty restaurants, Concierge Lounge, etc. We're sailing her from Sydney to Honolulu in 2012. There are 9 or 10 sea days on that itinerary, and I think we'll want to have the greater range of activities.

 

Can't help you with the kids' activities, but on a cruise of almost 2 weeks, I don't think you'll see a lot of kids onboard, so your won will get lots of attention from the Adventure Ocean staff on either ship:).

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hucifer

hucifer

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Thanks for the replies, everyone! I do appreciate every opinion.

 

When you have a few minutes, you may want to check out this thread....

 

Radiance of the Seas.....Past - Present - Future (multipage.gif1 2 3 ... Last Page)

I have actually opened that thread. But it's so long, it's overwhelming, lol.

 

 

We love both ships. We're sailing Rhapsody from Honolulu to Vancouver next year, and will see how we like all 5 days at sea in a row on a Vision class ship. Her crew is the best we've sailed with, the food was the best we've had recently on RCI (which is kind of damning with faint praise, but it really was very good) and we like the layout of the ship.

 

Radiance is prettier and offers more things to do in her larger square footage - specialty restaurants, Concierge Lounge, etc. We're sailing her from Sydney to Honolulu in 2012. There are 9 or 10 sea days on that itinerary, and I think we'll want to have the greater range of activities.

 

Can't help you with the kids' activities, but on a cruise of almost 2 weeks, I don't think you'll see a lot of kids onboard, so your won will get lots of attention from the Adventure Ocean staff on either ship:).

 

Thanks for replying! I like that Rhapsody has an extra day in Hawaii, but I really liked that Radiance had Adventure Beach. The newer ship appeals to me, but we've been on an older ship before (on Norwegian, back in the pre-Freestyle Cruising days), and it was perfectly fine.

 

I actually considered that there probably won't be a ton of kids on a 11- or 12-night cruise in the middle of September. In the family section of this site, not too many of them are talking about Hawaii. I love the idea of my son getting extra attention, if they're staffed for it. :)

 

I was beginning to lean toward Radiance, but your post makes me go back toward Rhapsody. One more day in Hawaii or a bigger ship with more kid activities? Arrrgggh! I'm so confused.

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critterchick

critterchick

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Thanks for replying! I like that Rhapsody has an extra day in Hawaii, but I really liked that Radiance had Adventure Beach. The newer ship appeals to me, but we've been on an older ship before (on Norwegian, back in the pre-Freestyle Cruising days), and it was perfectly fine.

 

I actually considered that there probably won't be a ton of kids on a 11- or 12-night cruise in the middle of September. In the family section of this site, not too many of them are talking about Hawaii. I love the idea of my son getting extra attention, if they're staffed for it. :)

 

I was beginning to lean toward Radiance, but your post makes me go back toward Rhapsody. One more day in Hawaii or a bigger ship with more kid activities? Arrrgggh! I'm so confused.

 

I think I would stick with Radiance - you can always fly in a day earlier if you want one more day in Hawaii. :D

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concour

concour

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We have sailed both ships and enjoyed both of them. We generally book sailing based on the itinerary but if you have no preference in the itinerary then I would say hands down the Radiance for all the reasons that have been stated above.

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aloha of the seas

aloha of the seas

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The Radiance is in the process of being repositioned to Austrailia. If you could do the B2B, which includes stops in French Polynesia and New Zealand, it will be the vacation of a lifetime. In any case, take the Radiance, but don't think you will not have a great time on the Rhapsody. Best service I ever experienced.

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NancyNM

NancyNM

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I've only been on two RCI cruises, but it happens they were on the Radiance and the Rhapsody (just got off the Rhapsody today).

 

I really enjoyed the Rhapsody and wouldn't hesitate to sail on her again, but if I was choosing between the two on essentially equivalent itineraries I would choose the Radiance.

 

Radiance has the two specialty restaurants, a better Windjammer, and a bigger casino, to name a few things that specifically make a difference to me.

 

I thought the crew on the Rhapsody was great, though!

 

- Nancy

 

P.S. BTW the casino on Rhapsody was no-smoking, which was a pleasant surprise to me. Is that how it is on all RCI ships now (it was not that way on Radiance last September), or just a quirk of Rhapsody?

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critterchick

critterchick

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P.S. BTW the casino on Rhapsody was no-smoking, which was a pleasant surprise to me. Is that how it is on all RCI ships now (it was not that way on Radiance last September), or just a quirk of Rhapsody?

 

I think it's just Rhapsody - we were thrilled to find out that the casino was nonsmoking, but thought it was just because of the Down Under itineraries. Radiance had a small nonsmoking section in the casino, but it wasn't effective - it was in the dollar slots section and the smoke drifted all over so it didn't make any difference.:mad:

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Oxymoron

Oxymoron

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Sorry can't help you in time. I did a B2B Rhapsody this year, but wont see the Radiance until October next year, so you will have cruised on one of them by then.

 

I did love the Rhapsody, but am looking forward to the Radiance.

Either one will be a good choice.

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hucifer

hucifer

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OMG, the "Radiance" votes are overwhelming! The ONLY thing that disappointed me about Radiance was having one day less in Hawaii. But it's that one thing that puts Rhapsody ahead for us. Yes, we can stay an extra night on our own, but having to unpack and pack with a 4yo for one night doesn't seem worth the aggravation (If it was just the two of us, I would consider staying an extra day on the islands). Also, the cost between the two ships wasn't much different (for balcony), despite the fact that Rhapsody has one more day.

 

My husband and I are really leaning toward Rhapsody because of the extra day, but you people are making this decision harder to make, lol. I am really taken aback by how much you guys love Radiance.

 

Thanks so much for all of your replies! I really appreciate them. I guess I have more considering to do. :D

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SamInWa

SamInWa

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I've been looking at these two itineraries as well trying to decide for a 2011 trip.

 

One other difference is that Rhapsody includes an evening sail to Mount Kilauea that Radiance does not. What are people’s opinions about that factor in choosing?

 

As a side note and question I was on Rhapsody in 2007 for an Australia/New Zealand cruise. We had a great time. This was just before it headed to the Asian market, so they had just turned over a large amount of the crew tooling up for that.

 

I'm wondering if since it has left the market if they changed the makeup of the crew again.

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hucifer

hucifer

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My husband and I kept leaning toward Rhapsody because of the one day difference.

 

Then I showed him this thread and without hesitation said, "Book Radiance."

 

Thanks again for all of your replies!

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