Millenium or Radiance of the Seas?

[gmros]

Hi! We're planning an Alaska cruise and trying to decide between Millenium and Radiance of the Seas. Which would you prefer if booking an inside? Would being on Celebrity more in the past makes a difference? Thanks!

 

 

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[phoenix_dream]

Celebrity inside cabins are generally the same size as their exterior cabins (standard and standard balcony). I do not know about Radiance.

 

As to which ship - it really depends on what you want in a cruise. I have been on both ships and they are both nice. Honestly, if I were not a long-time Celebrity cruiser who gets some nice perks I would look first at itinerary and pick the one with the most ports, and just as important the longest time in port. If that is fairly equal, my preference is Celebrity. IMHO Celebrity is more 'elegant' without being stuffy or pretentious, has better service, better food, a more quiet and relaxing experience in general. That is what I personally prefer in a cruise. Radiance does have good food and service, more entertainment options, and a bit more of a 'party' atmosphere (but far from party ships like Carnival). Celebrity crowds trend a bit older, but there are people of all ages on both lines.

[gmros]

Celebrity inside cabins are generally the same size as their exterior cabins (standard and standard balcony). I do not know about Radiance.

 

As to which ship - it really depends on what you want in a cruise. I have been on both ships and they are both nice. Honestly, if I were not a long-time Celebrity cruiser who gets some nice perks I would look first at itinerary and pick the one with the most ports, and just as important the longest time in port. If that is fairly equal, my preference is Celebrity. IMHO Celebrity is more 'elegant' without being stuffy or pretentious, has better service, better food, a more quiet and relaxing experience in general. That is what I personally prefer in a cruise. Radiance does have good food and service, more entertainment options, and a bit more of a 'party' atmosphere (but far from party ships like Carnival). Celebrity crowds trend a bit older, but there are people of all ages on both lines.

 

Thank you for the response. They pretty much have the same itinerary. I love Celebrity. But I've been hearing problems with Millie and a lot are raving about Radiance. I also wanna know how the inside cabins compare between the 2 ships.

 

 

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[NorthCarolinaBelle]

The only thing separating Royal Caribbean and Celebrity for us is the smoking policies. Other than that, they are very similar in my humble opinion. After January 1st, neither RC or C will allow smoking on balconies, so that is a step in the right direction. However, RC will still allow smoking in the Casino, which means smoke will still be wafting out into the nearby areas. I am probably more sensitive than some people, but I don't like it and prefer Celebrity for this reason.

[The_Big_M]

I found pros to both insides. Millennium's seemed the most spacious because of the huge mirror at the end. Whereas Radiance's had more storage. In the end, I don't think either would influence my choice of line.

 

Regarding your original question, you said you were more on Celebrity, so I'd suggest going with them to build your status. Although it's transferrable, you have to start from scratch with the other line, so the new cruise doesn't actually help advance you. Assuming everything else didn't sway you one way or another.

[bighairtexan]

Millie went in for extensive dry dock where they replaced (not repaired) the propulsion pod that was the biggest problem and source of some very peeved (and rightly so) complaints.

The ship was in great shape last month and the crew was superlative.

[bigeagle12]

You would love Radiance.

[alcpa1]

I've also been on both ships.

When we sailed Radiance in Alaska we went from Seward to Vancouver. We were on the Summit from Vancouver up to Alaska and down to San Diego.

I can't comment on interior cabins but if you watch the rates you may end up in and OV if rates drop, as they might do. Because of that I would also recommend you look again at the itineraries.

Hubbard Glacier is fantastic but the ambient light is better later in the day with less fog than in the early morning.

You did not mention which month but don't forget that daylight should also be factored in. If you are sailing in June, July and early August you won't have a problem but the first and last cruises of the season will have "shorter" days. This is more important in Skagway and Juneau if you want to do a whale watch with Capt. Larry or one of the other great companies.

Just some things to think about.....wish we were sailing with you.

[chester32]

Price would be a factor to me I have always found the prices to be a lot higher on Radiance but iam comparing that to the Solstice one cruise we looked at same itinerary Radiance was $1200.00 dearer for a balcony cabin so I stick with Celebrity

[IMNiles]

You picked two ships that have quite a loyal following. This shouldn't be surprising, given that they share a basic hull, and seem to live in that middle-sized "sweet spot" between small and huge, but I think you'll find that the answer to your question is "it depends." Both are fantastic ships with generally happy crew, and you're likely to have good time on either one, unless you have some reason to prefer one line over the other already.

 

I agree with the poster that said you should stick with the line where the rest of your trips are, so long as there is not some other reason for you to switch. This way, at least, you'll accumulate credit towards the next loyalty tier.

 

I don't think anybody mentioned the "no announcements except at noon" policy on Celebrity. I didn't realize how much I appreciated this until I sailed a couple of other lines - all the "BINGO BINGO BINGO" and other announcements really grated on me after awhile.

 

I don't recall a huge difference in the inside cabins, but it's been awhile since I've been inside on one of these two ship classes.

 

For us personally, we sail both lines, but given a choice we would choose Celebrity.

[Italy52]

The only thing separating Royal Caribbean and Celebrity for us is the smoking policies. Other than that, they are very similar in my humble opinion. After January 1st, neither RC or C will allow smoking on balconies, so that is a step in the right direction. However, RC will still allow smoking in the Casino, which means smoke will still be wafting out into the nearby areas. I am probably more sensitive than some people, but I don't like it and prefer Celebrity for this reason.

 

We feel the same way.

[Waterlily777]

I have sailed on both ships. I preferred the Millennium over the Radiance, with the one exception that I would love it if the Millennium would have a real piano bar.

 

I found both the food in the dining room and the service everywhere to be better on Millennium. I found the food in the buffet on Radiance to be substandard, and after two attempts, we gave up. In general, we just do not enjoy the buffets on Royal.

[varoo]

We also sail both lines and also find the BINGO announcements annoying.

 

Additionally, we dislike RCI's policy of requiring passengers to check pool towels in and out. The way that others have expressed it, Celebrity treats their passengers as welcome guests, not as suspected thieves.

 

It is a matter of tradeoffs. Other things being equal we would pick Celebrity, but sometimes RCI has the itinerary we want at the time we want to go. We are fine with the food and service on both.

 

We recently went with Serenade of the Seas for the northern Europe/Baltic cruise because it had a slightly preferable itinerary and we could get a junior suite for less than the price of a regular balcony cabin on Celebrity at the time.

 

Celebrity offers lots of nice little touches that you don't get on RCI.

Sorry, I don't know anything about the inside cabins.

Another difference is that the Millennium has aft elevators and stairs for passengers, which the Radiance doesn't.

The Millennium has a thallasotherapy pool while the Radiance just has a nice, regular indoor pool, if those are features that would matter to you.

 

The biggest difference for us has been in their smoking policies, but RCI recently announced that they are going to a more a more restrictive smoking policy too, although still allowing smoking in the casino.

 

If you have been on Celebrity more in the past and care about building loyalty points with them, that could be a deciding factor if both ships are otherwise acceptable to you.

 

Edited November 18, 2013 by varoo

[Germancruiser]

I´ve been on both ships , love both- really do! With almost the same ports- I would choose Millenium- there are some part of Milli I like a little more- first and foremost the Speci. Restaurant- Olympic- my favorite! Then the towel policy RCI has introduced- show your cruise- card and get a towel ( same as the previous poster) ... ! I really really don´t like it, when one has almost to get down to ones knees in order to get towel!!!!!!

Maybe it was also due to the fact that behind this towel desk sat the most crumpy, unfriendly and unhappy staff member I ever ran into on board a ship. LOL!

So my recommadtion is MILLENIUM!!!!!

Edited November 19, 2013 by Germancruiser

[shipfriend_max]

Interesting question - I just can say that we have been on CELEBRITY SUMMIT in spring 2013 and we loved that ship - we will go on her again in 2014! :)

 

For me it's an important issue - we think about an Alaska cruise in 2015, and if CELEBRITY SUMMIT and RADIANCE OF THE SEAS return to Alaska in 2015 we also might decide between one of those two ships - or NORWEGIAN SUN! :)

[Germancruiser]

Celebrity Fan I wonder how you found the experience with Norwegian compared to X??? Foodwise and the ships in general? I have never been with them but thought about it lately. Thanks !

Michael

[lovemylab]

I've been on both classes, and would choose the Millenium for a lot of the same reasons as others:

 

- not having to check pool towels in and out (they didn't always have someone working the desk so we'd be stuck having to hold onto our dirty towel).

 

- Royal has a lot of annoying announcements - bingo, art auctions, inch of gold, etc.

 

- Royal has extremely pushy photographers. On our last cruise with them they were like the paparazzi (constantly in your face with a camera and they wouldn't take no for an answer).

 

- when reboarding the ship at each port both make you put bags through a scanner, however Celebrity tends to use more common sense when looking at the items. If they notice what appears to be a bottle of water or sunscreen, they let it go. On Royal we would have to open our bags to prove it wasn't alcohol.

 

- Celebrity had better food.

 

The Solarium on Royal is nicer as is the design of the buffet but these are not big enough reasons for me to choose the Radiance over Millenium.

 

We've had inside cabins on both and they're about the same.

Edited November 20, 2013 by lovemylab

[robtulipe]

Both Millennium and Radiance class ship share the same hull design thus both are just over 90,000 tons but the M class has 2158 passenger capacity while Radiance holds 2502 or 16% more passengers. Inside cabin on M class is slightly larger at 170 sq.ft. while the Radiance inside is 165 sq.ft. I always found the Radiance class ships we've been on to be more crowded but that was before addition cabins were added to M class deck 11 so the capacity then was around 2000 passengers then. IMO the service and meals are better on X. Also the Capt's Club benefits are much superior especially if one is Elite which doesn't appear to be the case for the OP.

As you can see from my signature we now cruise almost exclusively with X as it is our preferred cruiseline since we did our first cruise with them in late 2008. Our last cruise was on Voyager of the Seas, after three years not being on a RC ship, because it's Australia/NZ, Sydney to Perth itinerary was exactly what we wanted including the time frame. The service onboard was so so and especially bad from the service desk and onboard head booking agent who was also the C&A loyalty ambassador.:(

Edited November 20, 2013 by robtulipe

[gmros]

Thank you for everyone for all your help! We have booked the Millenium on 6/9/14 and very excited!

[shipfriend_max]

Celebrity Fan I wonder how you found the experience with Norwegian compared to X??? Foodwise and the ships in general? I have never been with them but thought about it lately. Thanks !

Michael

 

Mainly I compare them because of the route, and also of the price.

I know Celebrity's actual competitors are HAL and Princess, but both are clearly more expensive than X. ;)

 

The three lines we would consider for 2015 are Celebrity, RCI and NCL! :)

[Germancruiser]

Thanks Max- I see- I thought about giving HAL a try- but I absolutly don´t like their ships interiour. What I miss with X´s newes class of ships are the prommenade decks. Sadly all the view is now blocked with life boats! My upcomming cruise is on board the QM 2 - I have been there once- and aQM 2 is a stunning ship, not compareable to any other ship a float!

Grettings

Michael