Radiance Cruise - 6/10/11 to 6/17/11

[BadgerFBfan]

Just got back from the Radiance after her revitalization, and thought I’d post a quick review since I don’t see any out here yet. A little background first: we (me, 49; wife, 48; son, 13) are experienced cruisers, and are Diamond members. Wife has done 13 cruises (12 with RCCL), I’ve done 11 (10 with RCCL – see signature), son with us on 4. We’re both professionals, and enjoy our vacations.

Flew out of Milwaukee Wednesday to Vancouver (through Minneapolis). Since we were staying at Canada Place at the Pan Pacific (we got a great deal by pre-paying), we took the Canada Line right from the airport to the Waterfront Station, about 2 blocks from the hotel. If you are at all mobile (can walk a couple of blocks with roller suitcases), I recommend this. About $25 for the 3 of us to get from the airport. Talked to a local on the train who was very helpful and friendly (a trend we ran into while we were there).

Rest of first day spent exploring downtown Vancouver, Gastown, restaurants, and getting into the vibe of the city. With Vancouver in the Stanley Cup finals, it was impossible not to become a hockey fan (which we weren’t). Second day (Thursday), we went to the Capilano Suspension Bridge. Very cool, as long as you can get over the swaying bridge and any fear of heights you may have. They have a Treetops Adventure, where you can walk among the treetops via smaller suspension bridges between the trees. They also have a new Cliffwalk, a plexiglass walkway bolded into the sides of sheer rock walls. Also very cool!

Friday, we awoke to see the Radiance pulling into port at 5:30am. We quickly got dressed, grabbed our camera, and went down to welcome an old friend (we had been on her twice before – again, see signature below). Boarded at about 1:30pm, went to room, dropped our carry-on stuff off, and grabbed a bite to eat and some “beverages”.

Before continuing, here are a couple of my observations about the revitalization:

Pros – addition of Samba (GREAT food, GREAT service – worth the upcharge – see interesting side note at end about our experience near the end of this review); Park Café (everyone who wrote about this previously was right – fantastic sandwiches); the big screen TV (mounted beneath what used to be called the Viking Crown lounge); flatscreen TVs in the rooms.

Cons – certain areas (like some hallways in the cabin levels) had a funky, almost “sewage/mold” smell; Rita’s Cantina (IMHO, not worth an upcharge); the Dog House (ICK – dogs were overdone, buns were stale, and no real condiments other than ketchup, mustard, onions, kraut (some chili and cheese might have been nice); deck 5 dining room is now only My Time Dining (making it next to impossible to switch from late to early seating or vice versa).

No opinion – Chef’s Table, Izumi and Giovanni’s (didn’t eat at).

OK – continuing on, first full day was spent cruising inside passage. Awesome sights, smooth waters. Third day was in Ketchican. We chose to do the Kart Adventure (probably my favorite excursion). These are like go karts on steroids. The Israeli military uses similar vehicles with machine guns mounted on the back and can reach speeds to 120 mph. Of course, no machine guns and governor limiting speed to 35 mph. Still, on twisting, turning mountain logging rough roads, with drop-offs and ditches, it was still a blast. One person ran off the road and got the kart stuck (they hopped in the group leader/follower cart) and another duo (they put us two to a cart) wrecked (and I do mean WRECKED – a wheel is not supposed to turn that way!). But HIGHLY recommend this for anyone who likes adventure.

Day 4 (Monday) was Icy Straits Point. We chose the bike trip and zipline. Had a great local guide who took us on an 8 mile bike trip. Saw some of the major points in Hoonah (airport, ferry port, etc.) and told us some stories about when he was younger growing up in the area. Then it was up the hill to the zipline. You may want to go onto YouTube and search for Hoonah Zip Line to get an idea of how cool this was – over a mile long, with beautiful views.

Day 5 (Tuesday) was Juneau. Rained pretty hard, off and on, all day. We did the glacial float trip at the Mendenhall Glacier. Got full rain gear. Our guide did all of the paddling (but you could be in a raft with others who wanted to paddle, if you wanted). A few mild rapids (nothing like the Colorado River, but good for families with younger kids to get a thrill). By the last 15 minutes of the trip, we were cold and ready to get off. The warm apple cider, salmon dip, and reindeer sausage helped warm our feelings about the trip.

Day 6 (Wednesday) was Skagway. Son and I wanted to do the glassblowing experience; wife, not so much. It was pretty awesome, though, creating your own glass blown ornament (or paperweight). They do most of the work, but you get to help at key points along the way. And they ship them back home for you (mostly, because they take 2 days to properly cool down).

Day 7 (Thursday) was Hubbard Glacier. Ten years ago, they couldn’t get the ship very close due to ice in the water. This time, they got the ship to within 500 yards, the closest our cruise director could ever remember getting to the glacier. Saw the glacier calve several times, and got some great pictures.

We had an interesting experience in Samba. In redesigning the old Seaview Café, they created what could best be described as a ‘C’ made of wood paneling, with a round table at each of the top and bottom of the ‘C’. In the middle of the ‘C’ was a table for two, at which was seated two members of the crew (guessing they were higher-ranking, based on their “dress” uniform). We were seated at one of the round tables (at the bottom of the ‘C’), with my wife at the very bottom of the ‘C’. Throughout dinner, my wife was hearing a discussion (from somewhere – she didn’t know where) about something that passengers should clearly not be hearing. She initially thought it was coming from behind her (possibly a kitchen behind us?), since there was some “salty” language being used about certain personnel performance issues (basically, something about someone not doing their job as well as they needed to). So my wife decided to go to the manager of Samba, more to let them know that she was hearing things a passenger shouldn’t be hearing (she’s in human resources, and really just wanted to let the manager know about an issue to be looked into more than anything). Just to make it clear, neither my son nor I could hear this conversation AT ALL (was she going crazy? She’s hearing voices we’re not hearing!). Even when the manager came over (who was very apologetic and offered us a different table), the manager didn’t hear the conversation. We told her we didn’t need or want another table, and weren’t looking for anything. We just wanted to let a manager know of an issue that probably should be addressed, as other passengers might be offended based on the situation. After the manager left, my wife (crazy or not) kept hearing the conversation. Then, I said, “Do you think it might be the crew members at the next table?”. She watched, and suddenly the voices were matching the visual! Turns out, my wife was at the perfect spot in that ‘C’ wall where all of the sound between the ‘C’ became focused to where she was sitting. Think of science museums with the “whisper” things that we’ve all done, where you speak quietly against a curved wall and can hear the other person across the room. Once she realized this, she let the manager know. I have to say, the manager at Samba was great about the way she handled this whole situation, and thanked us profusely for bringing it to their attention. Our head waiter even had heard about this incident, and personally came up to us on another night in the dining room and said they’ve already changed their internal policies about discussing things when among passengers. But funny how a design change to a room could have that effect!

Overall, it was a great vacation. This was our third time on our favorite ship. While she’s held up pretty well, she’s still 10 years old and she has a little bit of wear. Nothing major, but not a “brand spanking new” ship like some others out there. Plus, there were some inconsistent answers given by Guest Relations to various issues/questions we had. But that’s likely related to this being the first cruise since the revitalization. Still, a great trip and a great time.

[Oscar_the_Grouch's_Sis]

Let me be the first to thank you!! I have been waiting for a review!!!!

 

:D:D:D

 

As far as the hockey vibe ... glad you got to see Vancouver before the riot!! :eek: (I have been to Vancouver 4 times ... I LOVE that city .... I was so disgusted by what I saw on the news)

[Kartgv]

Thanks for the review - many of us have been waiting, not so patiently! It sounds like you had a great cruise overall. We're glad you covered the pros and cons, sounds like you've done a very fair assessment. The only bad point for us is the one we were hoping NOT to see - the comment about the sewage smell. We're planning on being on the Radiance for almost 35 days in Feb/March 2012, so the odor issue becomes a little more important. Was the odor only in corridors on certain floors? Were there any plumbing/odor problems in your cabin or others that you heard of? We still have time to change our plans before final payment is due, so would appreciate your input.

[klingoncruiser]

Thanks for the nice review!

[mommabean]

Yes, I've experienced the whisper sound in Washington DC. Someone whispered to come over there if anyone could hear. Apparently I was the only one in a group of 30+ who could hear it.

 

Sounds like Lilla is doing a great job in Samba.

 

Too bad about the hotdogs. :(

 

I hope someone comes along to tell us about the other new restaurants.

 

Gina

[digital_curator]

Thank you for your review! I too have been waiting, not so patiently, to hear about how the new venues work on the Radiance-class ships.

 

Do you have pictures you would like to share?

 

Cheers,

[Cheryl H]

Yay! Glad to hear your review.

 

Can I ask what time did they let you off in Seward?

 

And could you share any more details about Samba? What sort of things did they have on the salad bar? dessert? Did you have any troubles getting a reservation? We're waiting until we board to set our Chops and Samba's reservations.

 

And the Viking Crown lounge is no longer called the Viking Crown?

 

So Rita's was a disappointment? Bummer. I was hoping for some good nachos and fahitas.

 

I'm not sure that I care about the hot dogs either. Wish they would have installed a cupcake place too. Did you see any cupcakes anywhere? :-)

[JAKcruiser]

Thank you for your great review. I've been to museums with that "C" configuration and understand what you're talking about.

 

I'll be on the Radiance next Friday, along with Cheryl, and am in the process of packing. Could you answer a few more questions?

 

When were the formal nights?

 

How were people dressed most nights in the dining room?

 

Did you book your Juneau excursion through the ship? It sounds fun. We're booked on a helicopter tour but if its cancelled, sounds like a good backup.

 

Thanks so much and glad you had a good time.

[Oscar_the_Grouch's_Sis]

 

Too bad about the hotdogs. :(

 

 

Maybe they will get better ... I am hopeful. Maybe they just need to get the hang of it - I was expecting a few "cons" with the first cruise out! So glad to hear there were mostly positives :D

[BadgerFBfan]

In response to some of the above questions:

 

We really only noticed the smells in the corridors to the cabins (we were on the 9th deck, cabin 9613). We only had one instance when the toilet would not flush. I'm familiar with this, as many times when they are working on plumbing issues, they seem to need to shut down segments (i.e., blocks of rooms or venues) in order to resolve the issue. This lasted only a short period of time. No smells in our cabin, but we heard of a few people that had more significant issues. RCCL was offering anywhere from 30% to 50% off a future cruise to those few that had these issues as compensation.

 

I'll try to post some pictures somewhere as soon as possible (maybe tonight, time permitting).

 

Since we had a late flight out of Anchorage (9:40pm), and we weren't taking the train (those people were off the ship by 6:00am), we were off by 8:30am and booked the bus transfer to Anchorage. They let you off at the Marriott in downtown Anchorage, where your bags arrive separately (they pack them into trucks). You can also check your carry-on bags in a secure area, no charge (which we did so we could explore Anchorage). Went to a nice brewhouse for lunch, then to the Anchorage Museum to kill some time (nice museum - worth your time if you have some extra on your hands). We boarded the free shuttle to the airport at 5:30pm (I think we were the last ones - the last shuttle supposedly runs at 6:00pm, every 30 minutes, but we didn't want to push it too close).

 

Regarding Samba, we actually had to go through Guest Relations to get reservations, since nobody was picking up at the number listed for Samba. Again, I attribute this to being the first cruise. We tried to get reservations on the first day (Friday) for Monday, and once we received help from Guest Relations, we got our desired reservation time (6:30pm on Monday) no problem. Salad bar had various fruits and better pastas, etc. but can't remember specifics. The meats, though, were FABULOUS! So much so that nobody could even look at desserts. Sorry.

 

Viking Crown is now split into Starquest disco and the Diamond Club (for Diamond members, which as mentioned previously we are). They had free basic mixed rail drinks (think gin and tonic), wine (red/white house), and soda, plus appetizers. One caution: I thought I'd take my 13 year old son up for a pre-dinner drink (me: adult beverage, son: soda, of course!), but was very politely informed that minors weren't allowed, mainly due to the free alchohol. I understood this policy, and had no problems with it. I think my son felt worse about it than I did.

 

Formal nights were Saturday and (I think) Wednesday. Booked our excursions before boarding through RCCL's site. We prefer to book through RCCL (even though they are more expensive in many cases), since they tend to be better organized, more professional organizations, and have higher standards. Also, if the excursion is running a little late, they will tend to hold the ship for those on that excursion (happened to me in Mexico on a golf excursion when our bus broke down).

 

No cupcake specific places, although they do still have Latte-tudes (their specialty coffee and bakery place).

 

I think that covers everything so far. Any other questions, let me know.

[mommabean]

Yay! Glad to hear your review.

 

Can I ask what time did they let you off in Seward?

 

And could you share any more details about Samba? What sort of things did they have on the salad bar? dessert? Did you have any troubles getting a reservation? We're waiting until we board to set our Chops and Samba's reservations.

 

And the Viking Crown lounge is no longer called the Viking Crown?

So Rita's was a disappointment? Bummer. I was hoping for some good nachos and fahitas.

 

I'm not sure that I care about the hot dogs either. Wish they would have installed a cupcake place too. Did you see any cupcakes anywhere? :-)

 

The Viking Crown Lounge has always been called Starquest on Radiance. Each section of the viking crown lounge on RD has a different name.

 

Gina

[Oscar_the_Grouch's_Sis]

Did you try the new television system for making specialty restaurant reservations before you went to customer relations? ... I was anxious to find out how that worked.

[hollon]

have you or anyone been on the diamond princess since new improvements, did you like the new radiance better?

[cruisenfever]

Thanks for the review.

[Cheryl H]

The Viking Crown Lounge has always been called Starquest on Radiance. Each section of the viking crown lounge on RD has a different name.

 

Gina

 

Oh. We used to go to the Fisher Price things in Viking Crown or Starquest with our son. I noticed that the bar was closed and there were people sitting around taking advantage of the gorgeous view and sitting reading and such. We were hoping to take advantage of the view also. I hope they have Starquest's area open during the daytime for just that. We don't hit diamond until after we complete this cruise.

 

Thank you Badger for all the great info.

[mommabean]

Oh. We used to go to the Fisher Price things in Viking Crown or Starquest with our son. I noticed that the bar was closed and there were people sitting around taking advantage of the gorgeous view and sitting reading and such. We were hoping to take advantage of the view also. I hope they have Starquest's area open during the daytime for just that. We don't hit diamond until after we complete this cruise.

 

Thank you Badger for all the great info.

 

You can still go there. In fact, now you will be able to go in the day and evening since the diamond lounge has been made into a separate area from Starquest.

 

Gina

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

Nice review, we will be anxiously awaiting your pictures!!!

 

Sorry the hot dogs were not good. My DH was very disappointed to learn this!

 

Funny about the C is Samba, I have also experienced this, it was on the Vision in the Casino, in a small curved slot area.

 

Who was the CD?

 

Did the cabins have new drapes or carpeting?

 

***

[cruisenfever]

You can still go there. In fact, now you will be able to go in the day and evening since the diamond lounge has been made into a separate area from Starquest.

 

Gina

I thought that the space needed to make the DL was taken from the VCL on the left as you walked in and that Starquest was not touched. The Hollywood Odyssey is now the new CL.

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

I thought that the space needed to make the DL was taken from the VCL on the left as you walked in and that Starquest was not touched. The Hollywood Odyssey is now the new CL.

 

 

Now I am confused! :confused: :D But it doesn't take much lately for that!!! :eek: Must be the AZ heat!

 

***

[mommabean]

I thought that the space needed to make the DL was taken from the VCL on the left as you walked in and that Starquest was not touched. The Hollywood Odyssey is now the new CL.

 

That's right....A chunk of Starquest is now the DL - That area on the left as you walked in from the elevators. The dance floor and revolving bar appear to still be intact from the floor plan. Starquest was the entire large room. It's just a bit smaller now due to the DL being chopped off of it. Or so it appears to me.

 

I think originally we all thought (most of us) it would be the other side of starquest that would be truncated for the DL - the side over by the doors leading out to the rest rooms. Or that's what I had thought.

 

I would assume they left the little sparkly lights in the ceiling that were part of the "starquest" theme. But I don't know that.

 

I wonder if Marilyn Monroe remains.

 

Maybe we all have the same visual but the words aren't coming out right. Was there every a sign anywhere on that deck that read "Viking Crown Lounge"? I only remember seeing the large sign reading "Starquest" but we all knew what it really was since it's on all ships...no matter what they call it. The big top floor with the bar and the windows all around is called the VCL...or so I believe. :)

 

And I believe Starquest will still be available to all at all times though the doors on the other side - to the right after you walk up the stairs - unless they made a new door in the middle somewhere. No telling.

 

Gina

[LBumb]

nice job

[CoronaCRZR]

Just curious.... were there still a number of workers cleaning up from the 21 day drydock on board (finishing up) ??

 

Ted

[MJN]

Thanks for the review, I was one of those wondering too. We board in Vancouver on July 8th, about 2 1/2 weeks for our first Alaska cruise and first time on Radiance. Since you have been on her before would you say the overall look of Radiance is different or just those venues that had major revamping? How about the new Quill lounge that use to be a sports bar, I believe on deck 6? Does it have windows? Did the windjammer itself have any changes or just the outside seating? Did they use the outside TV screen all day or just in the evening....was it for movies or other events also? All your info is appreciated! Thanks, MJN

[dramaqueen4lyfe]

Thank you for your review. We've all been waiting patiently for the first one.:)

[BadgerFBfan]

Some further clarification and stuff...

 

Mommabean (and other posters) are correct. A portion of the Staquest was sectioned off for the Diamond Lounge. I's old school, and remember the old "Viking Crown Lounge", so that's what I was calling it (obviously, incorrectly).

 

The interactive TV did not have the ability when we were onboard to make reservations for the specialty restaurants. In fact, the channel with the map showing the ships position was not functional until the 3rd or 4th day.

 

There were some contractors on board (installing some new flat screens in some of the common areas), but that's a regular occurence on many ships. Speaking of flat screens, they have touch flat screens on each floor, with interactive maps, what to do right now, menus for restaurants, etc. Pretty cool!

 

Mostly, the venues were the only new things. Carpet, drapes, etc. in the cabins were not changed (except the new flat screens in the cabins). But nothing was really worn down.

 

The new Quill & Compass (where the old Scoreboard sports bar was) is now a dark wood English pub. One annoyance to a non-smoker: they allowed smoking in this lounge (at least while we were there). Left after one drink.

 

The outdoor TV was running all the time - sometimes with a "screen-saver" type pattern, other times with music videos. There are speakers on either side of the screen (I'd guess it's 25 feet by 15 feet or so, LED technology). But it was fun watching the Stanley Cup Finals poolside. There were a few movies, but I didn't go watch them - I went to see the events mostly.

 

Pictures are here, and include some stuff from Vancouver: http://badgerfbfantravelpics.shutterfly.com/