Newbie to RSSC

[ducklite]

Hi all.

 

My DH and myself (mid-40's) have cruised on DCL and RCCL in the past. We enjoyed DCL (had a 1 BR suite), except would rather not have as many kidlets around. On RCCL we had the Royal Suite and were less than impressed, in fact my husband says he'll never cruise again and referred to it as a week long fiasco.

 

We had been thinking about booking X for a 14 day HI sailing, but are washing our hands of RCCL on a corporate level, period.

 

So I'm looking at RSSC, but have many, many questions. I do not want to make a bad choice like we just did with RCCL ever again, too much vacation time and money wasted. I'd like some feedback to help us decide if RSSC is right for us.

 

A little more about us. We enjoy high levels of service, good food, good wine. We are not "party-ers". On sea days we like to rise in the morning, have a relaxing breakfast in our cabin or on our verandah, weather permitting, and start our day slowly. We are interested in history, geography, culture, and music. I appreciate art more so than my husband. He plays golf, I spa. We generally catch one, maybe two shows on a seven day cruise. We like peace and quiet. We don't care for loud and obnoxious deck parties, and don't find the need for blaring music and drinking until we are stumling to enjoy ourselves.

 

My husband would rather not have formal night, but owns a tux--so he does comply, if only to make me happy :) (He's well trained in other respects as well LOL!) He's quite content in resort casual, slacks and a polo, or even a sport coat.

 

He is a marathoner, and running on deck at least every other day is important to him--and a treadmill is not an option. He has no problem getting up at 4:00 am to run.

 

We don't smoke, and prefer a smokefree atmosphere. We adore well behaved children, unfortunately have found them far and few between. (And our now adult son wasn't an angel by any means!)

 

When we travel we prefer four and five star accomodations. We aren't terribly demanding, just want a very clean and issue free room or suite, and freindly, efficient, hassle free service.

 

We have no problem seperating to enjoy activities independently, even shore excursions.

 

That said, talk to me about RSSC. I'm greatful for any insight you'd like to provide.

 

Anne

[Daw6id]

You sound like you could be a match for RSSC - there's not a lot of emphasis on formality - none at all on Alaska and Tahiti cruises, the food and service are all 'four to five star', the room is clean and comfortable - and as roomy as a suite on RCCL, children are not obtrusive, there's a deck to run on and I personally have not witnessed excessive drinking in any of the venues - even with the unemptyable glasses of wine at dinner. But fourteen days is a long time for a golfer to be at sea!

 

David

[see sic]

While I am hardly the most seasoned and experienced cruiser among

this crowd who frequent this site, I have been on my share of the

mass-market lines and I have sailed RSSC 3 times in the last 3 years--and

will go on my fourth cruise with them this December.

 

You and your spouse seem to be the 'poster children' for this cruise

line and I think it fits pretty much ALL the needs you posted, and then

some.

 

I know RSSC is a little bit pricier than most cruise lines out there, but

I have become a great fan of this cruise line, and now my motto is,

"IF RSSC DOES NOT GO WHEN AND WHERE I WANT TO GO, THEN I AM

JUST NOT GOING TO GO AT ALL!"

 

Book your trip and ENJOY!!:) :)

 

thank you, see sic

[Iamboatman]

I think you have a number of good options and Radisson is certainly one of them. Everything you have said you want, you can have on Radisson.

 

Because they are smaller ships and have much higher staff to passenger and passenger to space ratios you will find superior service and plenty of quiet spaces. You will also find the food is markedly better. Also you will find that sometimes the ports are a bit more interesting or you do not have to tender because access is better.

 

You might also want to consider Seabourn and, possibly, Silversea; though I have a bent towards Seabourn. I don't believe either has the itinerary you are looking for.

 

One other possibility is Celebrity, but as it is part of RCCL that may well be out for you.

[Pam]

Hi Anne! I feel like I've known you for years, around the various and sundry travel boards; most lately the DIS boards.

 

My family also had an experience with RCCL that caused us to vow never to cruise again. My travel agent promised me that we would love RSSC, so we signed up for Alaska on the Mariner in June of 2001. We've been on three RSSC cruises, with two more booked; there's just nothing like it. We've found our cruise home with RSSC.

[NCCruzQueen]

Hi Anne,

 

Radisson is a very good line. I've been on all the ships (13 cruises total and Alaska scheduled for July) with the exception of the Paul Gaughin and loved them all. As others have already mentioned, Radisson should suit your cruising needs. For fewer childre onboard, I would recommend selecting a time when school is in session. Over the years, I have seen more and more children on Radisson ships.

 

For more of a country club attire, I suggest the Paul Gaughin, Alaska or the Caribbean. The dress code is more relaxed at night.

 

Hope you find that Radisson is your home away from home, Beth

[ducklite]

Thanks for the info everyone!

 

::::Waves:::: Hi Pam!

 

I've been reminding my husband about the great time we had on DCL, and he's wavering a bit about cruising again. I showed him the itinerary for the 12/4/06 sailing out of Fort Lauderdale doing Eastern Caribbean, with mostly different ports of call than we had on DCL, and he's intrigued. No formal night really perked him up LOL! He also liked the sale price they've got right now. :)

 

I've got some questions though...

 

I understand that there's no tipping at all onboard, although you are welcome to make a donation to the crew welfare fund. What about in the spa? Is it difficult to get spa appointments?

 

The dining rooms are all open seating? How exactly does that work? Do you reserve in advance, or just show up?

 

Has anyone sailed in a Penthouse Suite? how about a Seven Seas Suite? These are the two we're looking at.

 

Tell me about any included alcohol. Wine with dinner? Is there a choice? Is it good quality? Anything provided in the suite? Alcohol? Soda? Bottled water?

 

Do they provide robes? Slippers? Fresh Flowers?

 

Can you get full breakfast in your suite? Is it limited? The million dollar question--can I get french toast in my cabin? (You'll get the dark humour if you've read my RCCL tale of woe on the RCCL board)

 

Anything else anyone would like to add is welcome!

 

Anne

[Pam]

Oh, I'm so glad I learned how to open separate windows!

 

The spa is separately owned, so yes, they do encourage tipping. I haven't tried the spa services since the new company took over, so I don't know if they are agressive about it, but I can't imagine that they are. You are encouraged to make your spa appointments as soon as you board the ship, if you are really fixed on when you want something done, as some of the more desirable time slots get taken pretty fast.

 

Compass Rose is the main dining room, and you just show up. They'll ask if you want to dine alone or join others, then you are seated accordingly. Signatures and Latitudes are only open for dinner and are reservation-only but no extra fee. La Verandah is casual dining with Mediterranean (sp?) cuisine in the evening and buffet for breakfast and lunch. They also have a pool grill that serves hamburgers, steak sandwiches, and on certain days will have specialty lunches (like fresh fish, or Mexican).

 

We absolutely LOVED the Seven Seas Aft suite on Mariner!! On Voyager, we'd want the Seven Seas Forward suite because the aft suite on that ship doesn't have the extra half bath or the totally separate sleeping quarters.

 

Wine is poured freely at dinner, your glass is never allowed to be empty. I know they have a "premium wine list" if you want something extra special, and I think there is a charge for that, but if I remember right, there are also alternate wines that are no charge. Also, AT THE DINNER TABLE ONLY, all mixed drinks are free. Anywhere, any time, all bottle water and soft drinks are included. As you get off the ship at ports, there will be a big table full of chilled bottles of water, for your to help yourself. In your suite the refrigerater is kept fully stocked with the cold drinks of your choice plus bottled water. There will be a couple of cans of beer at first, those aren't restocked without charge. You also get two bottles of liquor, your choice, in your stateroom. There is a bowl of fresh fruit that's kept stocked.

 

Robes and slippers, yes. We've always had fresh flowers in our suite, I don't know for sure if that's an absolute thing or if we just got lucky.

 

You can have anything you want in your suite for breakfast, if it's something extremely exotic (like crab eggs benedict) they have to have 24 hours notice. Otherwise, I've always gotten exactly what I wanted. There's the regular card to hang on your door clip the night before, but I always just wait and call when I want it because I never know exactly what time I'm going to want to eat. You can also have a full dinner during dining hours, served in courses. I personally haven't tried that, but I've never heard complaints about it.

 

Email me (pamlur at aol.com) if you want more fun details. You'll love RSSC!

[cwc]

I understand that there's no tipping at all onboard, although you are welcome to make a donation to the crew welfare fund. What about in the spa? Is it difficult to get spa appointments?

The spa doesn't belonge to RSSC, so you can tip and they don't push their product as hard as other cruiseline does. Always go as soon as you aboard to make the appointment for the time you want.

The dining rooms are all open seating? How exactly does that work? Do you reserve in advance, or just show up?

Open seat means you can show up any time you want, and have any table you want (expect the captain table of course). If you have a special table/waiter you want to sit at/with, you can reservate that table.

anyone sailed in a Penthouse Suite? how about a Seven Seas Suite? These are the two we're looking at.

Sorry... never been in either

Tell me about any included alcohol. Wine with dinner? Is there a choice? Is it good quality? Anything provided in the suite? Alcohol? Soda? Bottled water?

All softdrinks & bottle water are free all the time everywhere on the ship (even on ship sponser excursion). There are two bottles of alcohol inside your room per cabin per cruise. Wine (both red & white each night) for dinner and sometime lunch (I saw some beer during lunch&dinner too).

Do they provide robes? Slippers? Fresh Flowers?

Yes, yes & yes.

Can you get full breakfast in your suite? Is it limited? The million dollar question--can I get french toast in my cabin?

Yes, you can even get lampchop, egg benedict & other stuff you wants.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

You should look into which ships have jogging tracks. The Paul Gauguin, which happens to be my favourite ship (so far), has none, for example, but I believe the bigger ships do. If that's vitally important, then the PG is not for you, unless your husband wouldn't mind jogging on land (since the PG, on its usual 7-day itinerary has no sea days, as such.)

 

Other than that, I think you would love the line, sounds perfect for you.

[DoctorTom]

Anne,

 

I agree with everyone else that Radisson is a wonderful line, and you sound like you would enjoy it. We did our first Radisson cruise on the Mariner in Alaska in June, and are booked on the Voyager out of Ft Lauderdale in 7 weeks. :) You may want to look a little more closely into the formal night, if that is important to you. Although there are no formal nights on Alaskan cruises, the Radisson website has one formal night and two informal nights listed for our Caribbean cruise in December.

 

Tom

[ducklite]

You should look into which ships have jogging tracks. The Paul Gauguin, which happens to be my favourite ship (so far), has none, for example, but I believe the bigger ships do. If that's vitally important, then the PG is not for you, unless your husband wouldn't mind jogging on land (since the PG, on its usual 7-day itinerary has no sea days, as such.)

 

Other than that, I think you would love the line, sounds perfect for you.

Wendy,

 

I don't think the PG is for us anyhow, but thanks for the advice. We're looking at the Voyager, which seems to have a great joggong track for my husband.

 

Anne

[ducklite]

Anne,

 

I agree with everyone else that Radisson is a wonderful line, and you sound like you would enjoy it. We did our first Radisson cruise on the Mariner in Alaska in June, and are booked on the Voyager out of Ft Lauderdale in 7 weeks. :) You may want to look a little more closely into the formal night, if that is important to you. Although there are no formal nights on Alaskan cruises, the Radisson website has one formal night and two informal nights listed for our Caribbean cruise in December.

 

Tom

 

Tom,

 

No formal nights on the cruise we are looking at. As I said, he'll do the "formal thing" but having casual/smart casual is preferable. And easier to pack for, too!

 

Anne

[ducklite]

Pam and cwc,

 

Thanks for all the info. Pam, I'm pretty sure he's wavering, I know he spent a good hour looking at the site last night, and he's not one to "surf" for the heck of it. I'll definitely e-mail you as I have more questions down the line!

 

Anne

[Pam]

If there's a formal night, you can always have dinner in La Verandah, which is always casual, or you can have dinner in your suite. The last cruise we were on, we didn't take formal wear and had dinner in our suite that night.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

We started on the PG for two reasons: long-time desire to see the South Pacific, and because the ship is completely country-club casual. At the time my husband did not own a suit, nor wanted to own one. Since then, we did the Diamond, in 2004, and for that, he broke down and bought a dark blue suit, with an extra pair of gray pants. That means he can cover off both formal and informal nights, and he doesn't seem to mind too much. Although he would always prefer casual itineraries, we will have two formal nights on Voyager next June, and he will get into the spirit of it, and enjoy himself, I'm sure.

[Jim B]

I personally hate formal nights.

They just don't make sense to me.

You go on vacation to relax and these formal nights

always seem to put everyone in a panic.

It also does not help when you have weight restrictions on the

airlines. (50 lbs per bag & 2 bags per person).

Now that said I have been on Norwegian Dream, Mariner, and Diamond and soon to be on Voyager where they have formal nights. I will wear a dark

navy blue suit and not a actual tux. That is more common than seeing tuxes

anymore.

 

03/22/80 Commodore MS Caribe

02/15/03 Radisson Paul Gauguin

02/22/04 Norwegian Dream (ick)

11/12/04 Radisson Mariner "MINT"

02/15/05 Radisson Diamond "ADRIFT"

12/27/05 Radison Voyager "PARTY"

[dougburns]

I noticed one question didn't get answered- the one about the penthouse suites. It really depends on the ship. Aboard Mariner the penthouse Cat C is our favorite. No butler in Cat C, but the same space as the Cat A and B at a comfortable 376 sqft interior and 73 sqft balcony, compared to the standard suite of 252 and 49. Aboard Voyager it's not worth it to do the penthouse, because the standard suite is 306 and 50, whereas the penthouse is only 320 and 50; just a different layout. Aboard Navigator definitely not, because the standard balcony and the penthouse are exactly the same; just a higher deck and a butler.

[ducklite]

dougburns,

 

Actually we prefer higher decks, and want the Butler, so that's why we are considering the suites we are. We also prefer a "square" as opposed to an "elongated" cabin, which is another reason these two look like they would work well for us.

 

 

The ship we are looking at is the Voyager. The PG is definitely not for us.

 

Thanks for the comments, keep them coming!

 

Anne

[dougburns]

Different strokes for different folks. We've cruised in both Cat A and Cat E aboard Voyager ( 3 different cruises ). The stateroom service is so great aboard Voyager that we see no need for a butler. The square config of the penthouses aboard Voyager is nice, but so is the standard stateroom config. In the penthouse the closet is slightly larger and you get 4 bottles of booze instead of 2. Not worth the huge price difference IMHO. The only RSSC ship that gives real value for the price difference is Mariner. We only cruise RSSC and have cruised aboard all of their ships multiple times; mostly longer cruises with lots of sea days.

[Iamboatman]

I have to agree that generally the cost of the butler is just not worth it. There is very little that the butler can do that the room stewardess or a quick phone call can't be done equally if not more efficiently.

 

Space, however, is another thing.

[ducklite]

We also like space :) I get very claustrophobic. We tend to spend a lot of time in our cabin, so the extra space is important to us. We also prefer a seperate bedroom from the rest of the cabin.

 

Anne

[hrprof]

We value space and a separate sleeping area as well. The Grand suite on the Mariner is one of the finest in the fleet, in my opinion. The forward facing windows are wonderful. The master suites in both Voyager and Mariner have a second bedroom that is wasted unless you travel with another couple. The Navigator has one bedroom Master suites - we liked 1000 which had a wrap around forward facing balcony. On the Voyager we picked 700, because it had a smaller second bedroom! Be warned - a heavy premium accompanies getting the added space. We do spend more time in the suite than most, so feel that it is worth it.

[Leejnd4]

Hi,

 

It seems that you and your husband and I have quite a bit in common, including running marathons (me). I'm 45, I have very similar desires from cruising, and similar less-than-satisfactory experiences on other lines. I took my first RSSC cruise in May, on the Voyager in the Med, and have another one (PG) schedule for 2006. Allow me to assure you that you will LOVE this line, and this ship!

 

Please tell your husband that the jogging track on the Voyager is perfectly adequate, although it certainly helps if you are cruising somewhere with a view, rather than far out at sea, otherwise the scene doesn't change much and the around-and-around can get rather monotonous. During my 12-day cruise I ran 6 or 7 times. My longest run was 8 miles, while cruising along the Costa Del Sol (lovely views). The track is 1/7 mile, so I ran 56 laps! The good thing about the track is that it's not clogged with chaise lounges, and while there is usually some foot traffic on there (especially on nice sea days) it's plenty wide enough to allow for comfortable sharing. Oh, also, another good thing about this track is that it's not directly over cabins, so I don't believe there are any time limits -- you can jog on it early in the morning w/o waking people beneath you.

 

As for your other criteria, as others in here have already detailed, it appears that it meets all of your needs. Specific to your questions, here are some differences that you will note:

 

1. Room service is NOT a limited menu, you can have pretty much anything you want, for all meals. There is a b-fast menu card to hang on your door that lists mainly the basic b-fast stuff, but you can write in virtually anything. I wrote in a number of different items, including a salmon/cream cheese omelet, and it came exactly as I described it.

 

Oh, and you'll be pleased to see that all of your room service meals are set up for you on your table with linen and china! No dumping a tray on ya -- especially if you have a butler. It will be first-class service in your room.

 

2. Accomodations/decor -- it sounds like it will be perfect for you. Elegant but understated, lovely w/o being flashy. No neon or faux-antique or frou-frou, just clean lines, muted colors, fresh flowers.

 

3. Activities -- no belly-flop contests. Lecturers, pianists, jazz quartets, and lovely entertainment. No announcements blaring over the PA. No loud mariachi bands on the pool deck. No drinking contests. The shows are surprisingly well-done for such a small ship. There were some fun evening activities in the lounges, such as something they call the "Liar's Club" which is like Balderdash for a crowd. It was well-done and a lot of fun, without being raucous.

 

4. Dining -- don't think of it as the cruise-ship dining you experienced on RCCL. Think of it as a high-end elegant restaurant where you don't need reservations. We were on a sold-out cruise and never had to wait more than 5 minutes for a table. The wine was surprisingly good, although (being notoriously picky about wine) I often asked for something other than what they were pouring that night. They always had something that I enjoyed, and not once did I have to go to the premium wine list to buy something. And while food itself is of course a very subjective topic, it is undeniably far superior than anything you will find on the mass-market lines. I consider myself a "foodie" and I LOVED it!

 

As someone stated above, you actually do sound like the poster-children for RSSC!

 

LeeAnne

[Jim B]

LeeAnne

You have done a wonderful job of explaining RSSC.

I agree it sounds perfect for Anne.