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Pro's and Con's

Cabansail

By Cabansail,
in Royal Caribbean International

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Cabansail

Cabansail

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Posted

I am on my first organised cruise on Radiance of the Seas sailing from Fremantle to Sydney. Into the second day of sixteen now.

 

Some things are much better than I expected. Others are not so good.

 

Firstly the positives.

 

The cabin is really good. Could not ask for better. Plenty of room and a great balcony. The bed is very comfortable and the shower/bath is better than expected. Water is hot and good pressure. Furnishings are good quality and it's a nice space.

 

The staff are all friendly and obliging. Nothing is too much trouble. They seem to be very patient and kind. Even when we went to the Muster and they completely stuffed it up, they were still very polite.

 

The food we have tried so far has been of good quality considering the number of people that are being served. So far we have only eaten in WJ and the Doghouse. Cannot get into the MDR so do not know about that yet.

 

The free drinks are fine. Plenty of water, iced tea, lemonade, etc. So not wanting in that area either.

 

The ship seems well maintained and very clean. The decor is a bit kitsch but it's OK.

 

There are a few things which are a bit of a drag though.

 

The communications from RCI is really quite appalling. The bookings made before boarding seem to have gone. The itinerary on their website is gone. The details of the Dining Package I booked and paid in full has changed from what was offered when I booked it.

 

We were placed on the early sitting for the MDR which is too early, however the late is too late. As soon as I was aware of it I requested MTD but it seems that is not an option, even though it done early. Others who are more frequent guests were able to change on board.

 

The WJ food id fine but I do not like the concept of a buffet where you cannot serve yourself. Having to wait behind barriers and get staff to serve the food is slow and takes away from the whole idea of a buffet.

 

The thing that I really do not like is the amount of drunkeness, especially later at night. Now I have not seen anything anti-social but there are so many people around who have obviously had way too much to drink and keep getting served. Now I do not mind a drink myself but I am noy doing so on this holiday. I just do not like being around drunks but they are everywhere.

 

Anyway .... only a couple of days in. Will make the most of it but thinking it will be a one and only.

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Hailzmick

Hailzmick

Posted
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That's a super shame that you felt upset enough to post this on your second day!

Radiance is one of my very fave ships!

Usually you can serve yourself in the buffet- but I'd say maybe on the cruise before yours, there may have been an outbreak of sickness, (like a virus or stomach bug) & they've gone to the extreme of serving customers to protect another outbreak!

Have you spoken to anyone regarding your bookings that have vanished?

You should have received email confirmation that you can show guest services to rectify the situation. It will just be a mix up.

I really hope things improve!

& as for the drunks- the first few days are the worst! :-)

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Who Cares?

Who Cares?

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Not sure what you mean. In one sentence you say you can't get into the MDR (which I find odd) and then later on you say you have early seating. If you have early seating you can go to the MDR, you are just choosing not to, correct? Or am I missing something?

 

One is not allowed to serve themselves at the buffet in the WJ? That's an interesting concept. Granted, I haven't sailed on RCCL in years but it wasn't that way when I did sail RCCL nor has it been that way on other lines. I wonder why they do that, especially as it wastes manpower?

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cb at sea

cb at sea

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Yes..the OP was assigned a traditional dining time,...one is too late, the other, too early, so they've chosen not to go. Apparently, they were unable to change to MTD.

 

Hopefully, they brought a copy of what their pre-purchased dining plan included, as they say the ship hasn't a record of what they bought...and whatever is now included isn't what they paid for....

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Cabansail

Cabansail

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Caban, glad you made it. I am surprised you didn't look into modifying your dining arrangements prior to sailing. When did you realize 1st seating was to early?

 

 

I realised very soon after booking that the 1st seating was too early and second seating too late. It was at your suggestion that I contacted RCI to change to MTD. A few days later it was listed as "My Time Dining Wait Listed" and I thought it would be OK. It wasn't.

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John&LaLa "Live from...." Rare

John&LaLa

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I realised very soon after booking that the 1st seating was too early and second seating too late. It was at your suggestion that I contacted RCI to change to MTD. A few days later it was listed as "My Time Dining Wait Listed" and I thought it would be OK. It wasn't.

 

Bummer, hopefully the patterns will get sorted out and you can get into MDR. Cheers

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John&LaLa "Live from...." Rare

John&LaLa

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Went to Chef's Table tonight. All guests were Aussie, but it was still good.

 

Food & wine were excellent, even if they tried to charge me twice.

 

Did Chef's table on Legend last December, awesome is the only description that does it justice. Glad you enjoyed, to bad about accounting SNAFU

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poncho1973

poncho1973

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The WJ food id fine but I do not like the concept of a buffet where you cannot serve yourself. Having to wait behind barriers and get staff to serve the food is slow and takes away from the whole idea of a buffet.

 

The thing that I really do not like is the amount of drunkeness, especially later at night. Now I have not seen anything anti-social but there are so many people around who have obviously had way too much to drink and keep getting served. Now I do not mind a drink myself but I am noy doing so on this holiday. I just do not like being around drunks but they are everywhere.

 

If this is happening, you should be VERY happy. There is a reason.

 

It's a cruise in Oz, if movie/TV stereotypes are meant to be believed... HAHAHA

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sailaway2010

sailaway2010

Posted
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Went to Chef's Table tonight. All guests were Aussie, but it was still good.

 

Food & wine were excellent, even if they tried to charge me twice.

 

It seems you have issues with a lot of aspects of cruising. Maybe what you should look into is a smaller ship with less varied clientele and more personalized service.

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Cabansail

Cabansail

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Half way through now.

 

Finding the Pro's are outweighing the Con's.

 

Some things which I have read here are not correct, for this ship anyway.

 

The Casino seems to be completely Smoke Free with No Smoking stickers on every machine. There is not even a stale smell from it having only just changed.

 

The amount of people who are quite drunk is very high. Now they are not causing a problem but by the early evening many are very oiled. The drink packages seem to encourage this behaviour. To get the "value" from a package takes you beyond a safe intake level to where it can be called binge drinking. There are also no "alcohol free" days as recommended by health authorities. It would seem that the cruising lifestyle suits the functioning alcoholic quite well. I find myself avoiding those people but loud obnoxious drunks at nearby tables in the MDR can be unpleasant.

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brillohead "Live from...." Rare

brillohead

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Half way through now.

 

Finding the Pro's are outweighing the Con's.

 

I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying yourself. I know that you had a lot of misgivings about booking this cruise, and I'm happy to hear that you're enjoying the experience for the most part.

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John&LaLa "Live from...." Rare

John&LaLa

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Posted
Half way through now.

 

Finding the Pro's are outweighing the Con's.

 

Some things which I have read here are not correct, for this ship anyway.

 

The Casino seems to be completely Smoke Free with No Smoking stickers on every machine. There is not even a stale smell from it having only just changed.

 

The amount of people who are quite drunk is very high. Now they are not causing a problem but by the early evening many are very oiled. The drink packages seem to encourage this behaviour. To get the "value" from a package takes you beyond a safe intake level to where it can be called binge drinking. There are also no "alcohol free" days as recommended by health authorities. It would seem that the cruising lifestyle suits the functioning alcoholic quite well. I find myself avoiding those people but loud obnoxious drunks at nearby tables in the MDR can be unpleasant.

 

Good for you, how is the dining situation going

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