Radiance Class Aft Lounges (Deck Six)

[Fijalclarkski]

While fantasizing about my next potential cruise, I've been poring over the deck plans for the Radiance class of RCI ships. I'm puzzled a bit by the appeal/purpose of the aft lounges on Deck 6 of the Radiance class ships (Bombay Billiard Club, The Colony Club, etc.). They seem like large spaces that are broken in to several small ones, each with a different theme and purpose? I know there are billiards in at least some of them - what are the other spaces like? Are there scheduled events in any of these lounges? Are they a nice place to relax after dinner? Are they well-utilized? I'm just trying to get a sense of what might draw passengers to them. Tell me what you like and don't like about this area on the Radiance class of ships. If anyone has any photos, I'd appreciate it!

[eal]

I haven't been on the Radiance, but on The Jewel (sister ship) deck 6 aft is the Safari Lounge. It is one of my favorite places on the ship. (Yes, you do walked through the Schooner Bar and then the billard table area, with sofas and TV's, good for when there is a game.) In the lounge there are floor to ceiling sloped windows. You can sit there and watch the world go by, get mezmerized by the wake of the ship. And the chairs are the most comfortable compared to other lounges. They use the space for bingo, trivia, etc. But when nothing is scheduled the lounge is quiet. Good place to sip a drink, read, relax.

[Aquahound]

While fantasizing about my next potential cruise, I've been poring over the deck plans for the Radiance class of RCI ships. I'm puzzled a bit by the appeal/purpose of the aft lounges on Deck 6 of the Radiance class ships (Bombay Billiard Club, The Colony Club, etc.). They seem like large spaces that are broken in to several small ones, each with a different theme and purpose? I know there are billiards in at least some of them - what are the other spaces like? Are there scheduled events in any of these lounges? Are they a nice place to relax after dinner? Are they well-utilized? I'm just trying to get a sense of what might draw passengers to them. Tell me what you like and don't like about this area on the Radiance class of ships. If anyone has any photos, I'd appreciate it!

 

First, you walk through the Schooner Bar to get to the lounge. Once in the Colony Club, it isn't really split up like the deck plan appears. The pool tables are in the entryway to the lounge, and the card room is an area in one of the corners. The big square area in the middle is a step-down area leading to the dance floor. The whole lounge is very comfortable.

 

Colony Club:

 

 

 

[PSCruiser]

The whole complex is a very attractive space. When walking out of the Schooner Bar, the Bombay Club is actually more of a continuation of the Schooner, widening into the area with the 2 amazing billiard tables on the left. While the Colony Club is a great space, there are several small rooms like a card room knocked off, and for the passenger load its a bit small. For high-attendance events like Quest, the crowding in comparison to, say, Vision-class (which has similar lounges) is apparent.

[negc]

During the day, when other events are not usually scheduled for this area the very aft section of the Safari Lounge/Colony Club is a wonderfully quiet area with comfortable seating at huge windows looking out on the wake of the ship. It is one of our favorite lounges and is used for the Captain's Welcome Aboard reception and,frequently, for various audience participation activities such as trivia, game shows, and the Quest. Tables in one section of the room have inlaid checker/chess boards.:)

[windjamming]

They usually have dancing after dinner, and there's ample space for people to sit, have a drink, relax and watch the dancers. The piano playing at the Schooner Bar will provide a little noise but not enough to be distracting.

 

The entire area is darkened at night.

 

Personally, though, I've never been there after dinner, so why do I know this?

 

Apparently I had a doppelganger onboard once. I never saw her with my own eyes, but from all the compliments I received during the cruise, I can only gather that she was a fantastic ballroom dancer who spent the bulk of her time after dinner dancing. I also looked a long younger in the light!

[Sequim88]

Great area. We also found that late at night with ship underway the view from the spot in Paul's last picture above (with the slanty windows) is amazing (based on Brilliance being same as Serenade). This is directly aft and not too far above the water so that the prop "boil" from the azipods has the effect of looking over the crest of a great waterfall. Very hypnotizing. Then the wake trailing off into the distance. Especially late on moonlit evenings when things are quiet in the area. On Brilliance we were at full speed across Atlantic to Ireland due to medical emergency to the "boil" was maybe extra dramatic. Not sure about slower hops between islands in So. Carib. Would still be a great place to gaze at the wake though.

 

We did not spend as much time in the Bombay Lounge area as would would have liked because we always got hooked in the Schooner Lounge first (just ourside) watching Steve Green ("Man of a Thousand Songs") on the piano. A real treat to have him on that sailing.