Just Off Radiance Eastern Caribbean - Questions?

[BuyReallyLow]

Here’s a quick sampling of the menu:

Antipasti

-Risotto – Tiger Shrimp sautéed with fresh herbs.

-Carpaccio – Thinly sliced tenderloin with shaved fennel, arugula and sun dried tomatoes.

-Goat Cheese Souffle

-Insalata Caprese – Vine ripened red and yellow teardro tomatoes with baby bocconcini.

Soup

-Cream of asparagus with smoked river trout

-Chilled plum tomato and pepper soup with seared scallops and avocado

Salads

-Insalata Gordonzola – Mesclun greens, Gorzonzola cheese, pear, walnuts and house dressing.

-Cesare – Romaine lettuce with shaved Parmesean and herb croutons, tossed with Caesar dressing.

Pasta

-Spaghettini All’aragosta – Chunks of lobster and shrimp with a piquant lobster basil sauce.

-Penne Pasta – with vine ripened plum tomatoes and proscuitto.

-Parpadelle – Ribbon pasta with roasted mushrooms in a mascarpone cream sauce.

Entrée’

-Tiger Shrimp – With roasted garlic and fresh herbs, served on a bed of grilled asparagus.

-Saltimbocca – Thinly sliced veal wrapped with fresh sage and proscuitto.

-Filet Mignon – Grilled North American Beef on creamy truffle mashed potatoes.

-Grilled Lemon Tuna Steak.

-Baked Chicken- with eggplant and mozzarella

-Atlantic Halibut – A Grilled fillet served with lobster ravioli.

Italian Desserts

-Flourless gianduia chocolate cake

-Roasted hazelnut meringue on mixed forest berries with Frangelico.

-Buttermilk panna cotta.

-White Chocolate truffle cake with vintage balsamic vinegar tossed strawberries.

-Tiramisu’ Alla Portofino.

Café

-Royal Caribbean proudly features Seattle’s Best Fresh Roasted Coffee Blends.

BOLD = sampled by yours truly!!!

All joined by a Robert Mondavi Private Selection Merlot. Ahhhhhhh – it was close to Heaven!!

Our server was a delightful young lady from Turkey. I had the honor of visiting Turkey two years ago, and have never met such friendly, wonderful people!

After finishing this fantastic meal, we waddled down to the Aurora theater to take in the evening entertainment – the Coasters! They had a few songs that we recognized, but maybe I am just a wee bit too young!

it was a very good show. Excellent sound quality and performance. It lasted for just a shade over an hour, which puts us back for final drinks and goodbyes at around midnight – and it was time to put a close on this fine, full day to prepare for our 2nd day at Sea!

To be continued…..

[isdoo]

Hi,

 

Considering the Radiance for a cruise in April.

 

A couple of questions :)

 

Was the radiance not extended a year or two ago - or am I thinking of a different ship? What is the condition of her like?

 

Does each stateroom have internet?

 

Any idea on whether it is a good ship for families?

 

Thanks in advance, if you can help me with any of the above.

[BuyReallyLow]

Hi,

 

Considering the Radiance for a cruise in April.

 

A couple of questions :)

 

Was the radiance not extended a year or two ago - or am I thinking of a different ship? What is the condition of her like?

 

Does each stateroom have internet?

 

Any idea on whether it is a good ship for families?

 

Thanks in advance, if you can help me with any of the above.

 

You are thinking about another ship (Enchantment?). Radiance, nor any of her sisters, has been extended. It is a class of ship all to herself.

 

Each Stateroom has the abiltity to have Internet on your laptop, for an additional cost.

 

We saw quite a few families - it has Adventure Ocean and all the facilities for little ones all the way to teenagers. Not knowing how old your kids are - I think they would have a great time!!

 

Hope this helps! She's a beautiful ship with a fantastic staff (voted the best in the fleet two years in a row!):)

[SusieC]

Thanks for taking the time to write this review. We will be on the Radiance March 12 and I couldn't be more excited! I am anxiously awaiting the continuation of your review - excellent job!

[BuyReallyLow]

Thanks for taking the time to write this review. We will be on the Radiance March 12 and I couldn't be more excited! I am anxiously awaiting the continuation of your review - excellent job!

 

Thanks Susie - make sure to see mcscott's thread for some additional thoughts and answers to questions.

[BuyReallyLow]

Day 3 – At Sea – Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Temp – Upper 70s – low 80s

Ah, another morning…. But this one feels different somehow….. Now I remember – it’s my Birthday! My 40th! And my head is a bit stuffy…. Is it the drinks from the day before…. Am I beginning to slip already?…… The knock on the door at 7:30 A.M. announces my coffee, juice, cereal, and assorted pasteries. When I open the door, streamers hit my face from the wind tunnel between our open balcony door and the library centrium! Seems like our traveling companions have found it “necessary” to decorate my door to tell the world of entry into middle age! Oh well…. (Thanks MCSScott and his first mate – Amy! J ).

First off, it was up for the Walk-A-Mile at 8:00 AM for my Shipshape Dollar! Six laps = 1 mile. After resting, it was time to get to the Dart Touney at 9:00 AM. A rugged game of 201 resulted in a third place finish! Good enough for a few extra Shipshape Dollars and a Bronze Medal! Maybe I’ll head for Mark Spitz record! About 10 people competed – again some of the same faces from soon-becoming friends Tom and his friends from Boston! Not that this was too physically taxing – I need to save up my energies for the 10:00 AM activity – Adult Basketball 3 on 3!

The husband of our traveling companions – MCSScott – and I have now played together for three consecutive cruises – and we’ve competed each time! This is incredible – since none of us play basketball on a regular basis – for me the last time picking up a ball was the cruise in March! I think the same thing can be said for Scott! But each time, we seemed to be blessed with a partner who can play a little – and this year we got to meet Glen and his beautiful wife! They are from the Connecticut area – and thank G _ D that Glen plays on a regular basis! In his early 50’s, he certainly can still play! Our team – the 40’s, took on all comers – both younger and older (one team called themselves the 50’s!! J ) and ended up….. winning! Two trips in a row for us! Now we were able to collect additional Shipshape Dollars (quite a stack by now!) and a GOLD Metal for our efforts. Of course our mates were not there to witness this feat of Athletic Ability – they were too busy sunning themselves! A word of caution – you are in the sun and wind, and this game goes on for a while – make sure you drink enough and pace yourself – this game can knock you down for a while! But I certainly felt wonderful on my birthday winning a game that I loved to play when I was young!! (ha).

After a recouperative lunch, we spend the rest of the early afternoon relaxing around the pool area. We went back towards our Cabin around 3:30 – to relax and to avoid a quick passing shower that became common the rest of the trip. The weather was very good – and the showers were a nuisance more than an event. But that fuzzy head I felt when I woke up was becoming more of a head cold, so I went back to the Cabin to catch a nap before dinner at 7 PM at Chops!

Chops Grille markets itself as the “Experience that sizzles!” It certainly lives up to its billing! (so much so that we ate there the next evening also!!) After meeting Scott and Amy for drinks in the Schooner Bar (where I was presented another “medal” – this one announcing the fact to the world that I was 40!), we entered Chops to settle down for what was sure to be a fantastic meal.

Our server was another fantastic citizen of Turkey, this time a delightful young man! He was so good we requested him the following night! Here is a sample of the Menu:

Appetizers

- Shrimp Cocktail (make that 2!)

- Dungeness Crab and Shrimp Cake (wife and Amy SWEAR by these!!)

- Avocado and Yellowfin Tuna Tartar

- Char-Grilled Portbella Caps and Asparagus

- Oakwood Smoked Salmon

Soups

- Lobster Bisque

- Cheese N’Onion Soup

Salads

- Chop’s Grille Salad

- Not so Traditional Caesar Salad

- Beefstake Tomato and Purple Onions

Followed By:

- Grilled Alaskan Halibut

- Seared Diver Scallops and Chorizo

- Filet Mignon

- Petite Filet Mignon

- New York Sirloin Steak

- Veal Chop

- Grilled Lamb Loin

- T-Bone Steak

- Royal Pork Shanks

- Free-Range Chicken Breast

Sides and Vegetables

- Rock Salt Baked Idaho Potato (The size of a football!)

- Home Fried Potatoes with Sauteed Onions

- Double Whipped Mashed Potato

- Sauteed Wild Mushrooms

- Creamed Spinach

- Steamed Asparagus

- Spiced Sweet Corn and Snow Peas

(These were all so good that we brought one of everything for the table of four and 2x on the Mushrooms!)

To End The Feast

- Chocolate Mud Pie

- Croissant Pudding Pie

- Mochaccino Cheese Brulee

- Passion Berry Duo

My goodness – they almost literally had to roll us out of there! All for $20 a person – money VERY well spent! Bold = had by (and appreciated by!) yours truly!

[BuyReallyLow]

I was ready for Bed! But wait, there was a show we wanted to see tonight – The Royal Caribbean Singers & Dancers, along with the Radiance of the Seas Orchestra, presented Piano Man, a tribute to the music of Elton John, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder and Barry Manilow. If you could not find something during this show to tap your toes to, you were either sleeping or dead! It was very well done – there were a few songs in the middle that even us middle agers were looking at each other and saying “what is this?”, but it was very well done. There are some very talented performers on these ships!

The performance lasted about 1 ½ hours – so by the time it was done, those pounds of cow were sitting VERY well – and making me very sleepy. Also my head cold, the meds I was taking, and the bottle of Footprint Shiraz I had with dinner weren’t helping. So my lovely wife took me by the hand and let me back to our Cabin for an early (10:30- 11:00) bed time! But getting to bed was a good thing – our ship was going to visit St. Thomas tomorrow!:D

To be continued……

[zotzer]

BuyREALLYLow,

(I wish you would sign off with a name, as I feel silly calling you that ... :))

 

Are you sure you don't want to bump up your Freedom cruise to June? You and your wife sure sound like you know how to enjoy yourselves and appreciate life. It would be a real pleasure to cruise with you guys.

 

Keep it coming! I am logging in and waiting through tremendous website delays just so I can read your accounts of your time on the Radiance.

 

Kudos!

Tracy

[pacthepuppies]

BRL-

My head is tingling just reading your blog-

we are on ROS 4/16 west carib- and I CAN"T wait!!!!

Thank you for the menus- we will do Chops for sure now that you reccommend it!

Do you remmeber which nite was lobster?

Lisa

[BuyReallyLow]

BRL-

My head is tingling just reading your blog-

we are on ROS 4/16 west carib- and I CAN"T wait!!!!

Thank you for the menus- we will do Chops for sure now that you reccommend it!

Do you remmeber which nite was lobster?

Lisa

 

Lobster comes on the last formal night - which is Friday (Pretty Sure - don't have all my info infront of me here at the office!:) ) But I do know it is the last formal night!

 

BRL

[benjidog]

BRL-

My head is tingling just reading your blog-

we are on ROS 4/16 west carib- and I CAN"T wait!!!!

Thank you for the menus- we will do Chops for sure now that you reccommend it!

Do you remmeber which nite was lobster?

Lisa

 

We just did west carb and it was Thursday which was our second formal night. We were also on the Radiance.

[BuyReallyLow]

We just did west carb and it was Thursday which was our second formal night. We were also on the Radiance.

 

My mistake - I didn't read carefully to see "western" versus the "eastern" we were on. Thanks for catching this.

[BuyReallyLow]

Day 4 – St. Thomas U.S.V.I. – Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Temps – low 80’s

Oh, how we have been looking forward to this day! We chose this Eastern Caribbean cruise due to the fact that we had more days at Sea so we could RELAX…. But after losing the first port due to Wind/Medical Emergency, we were excited about getting on terra-firma for at least a little while!

This was our third visit to St. Thomas, and in the past we’ve done the normal things – shopping (oh yes shopping!), Meagans Bay, a tour of the island, etc….. but this time we were looking forward to going back to one of our favorite places in the Caribbean – Trunk Bay on St. John! We were off the ship early (after of course Breakfast – this time in the Windjammer instead of the room) at about 8:30. With our friends along for the adventure, we caught a cab for our ride to Red Hook at the end of the island so we could catch the 9 AM ferry. No troubles there – the road has its ups and downs, lefts and rights, but after about :20 minutes we arrived at the dock for Red Hook. There we purchased our ferry tickets ($6.00 per person one way) for the quick :10 minute ride to St. John! Once in St. John (Cruz Bay), we caught another taxi ($6.00 per person) to take our quick ride to Trunk Bay!

When my wife and I close our eyes and think Caribbean, we see Trunk Bay. We first visited this past March, and had one of those picture perfect days that one thinks of – wonderful warm sunshine, slight breeze, plenty of uncluttered beach, fantastic snorkeling right off shore…. It doesn’t get better than this! Add facilities like showers, a cantina for food & drink… see how perfect life can be? So we were so excited to bring our good friends with us to relive this perfect day!

When we arrived at Trunk, on a beautiful partly cloudy day – the first sign that things were going to be a “bit” different was the fact that the lady at this national beach (usual charge - $7 per person) would NOT take our money! She said that due to the wind and wave action, that there was not much beach to utilize – that the snorkeling was poor, and it was dangerous to go into the surf. But she allowed us to go down to the beach to check it out – she was sure that we would be back to catch a cab and go to the other side of St. John.

Well, she was right – at least in the idea that the surf was high! The beach that last year (9 months earlier) was 25 feet – was 6 feet! The surf was crashing, and the tranquil scene from March was a boiling sea! I could certainly see that Snorkeling was out of the question. But we Midwesterners know how to turn our lemons into lemonade – and to us….. it looked like great body surfing! Oh boy, was it! We found a little bit of wonderful beach – and into the water we went! Near shore you were thrown around a little, but once you got out 6-10 feet, you got into the outflow and trough enough to have some fantastic crashers!

All in all, it was a fantastic day in St. John! We had a couple of passing showers, but they were very brief and created fantastic rainbows! Sometimes your expectations are low – it had "POURED” rain that morning at around 7 AM – but by the time we got to the beach – I could not have asked for a better day. Now I have experienced Trunk Bay in conditions great for snorkeling… and conditions great for playing!

A bit after noon, tired out from all the frolicking in the surf, we showered and cleaned up and caught the taxi back to Cruz Bay. There we had lunch at CJ’s Texas Café – food was pretty good – certainly satisfying for four people who had expended quite a few calories! After a leisurely lunch, we caught the ferry back to Charlotte Amalie (sp?). This is a bit of a longer ferry, but drops you off right downtown, right in the middle of the ……. SHOPPING! (Ferry price - $8 per person one way- pretty sure) We wandered about the shops for an hour or so – then caught a taxi back to the ship, back in plenty of time for the 4:30 departure. There we napped and caught our breathe after our unbelievable day at the beach before dinner at 7:00 PM again that night in CHOPS (again!). But first, we stopped in the Champaign Bar for drinks. It was very good – but we felt more comfortable in the Schooner Bar area.

We won’t bore you with the details of Chops, since we did that in the last review from Day 3. Needless to say we had the same fantastic server from the night before – the staff was thrilled to see us back, and we avoided Caribbean Night in the main dining room! (Not one of our favorite nights!). The only downer was that I was still feeling some effects from my head cold, so after dinner, we called it an early night – I think we were back in our room by 10:30!!

Of note: The ship made a scheduled stop in St. Croix to take on fuel. Although this stop is not part of the scheduled itinerary, passengers are welcomed to take advantage of the stop and visit the town. Royal Caribbean reminded everyone to use common sense and normal precautions – the staff in the Schooner told me that St. Croix used to be a more common stop, but crime caused many cruiselines to stop visiting. The ship docked late (after 9:30 PM), so most (if not all) shops were closed in the town. We did not leave the ship, but those that did speak of a pretty little town, with a couple of bars open for visiting. A small band was there to welcome visitors. After a couple of hours, the ship had its fill of fuel and pulled away, heading for our next Port-of-Call, St. Maarten! More on this tomorrow……

To be continued…..

[roe2ship]

Café

-Royal Caribbean proudly features Seattle’s Best Fresh Roasted Coffee Blends.

We are big coffee drinkers, is this coffee served in the dining rooms, windjammer, room service, etc without a charge?

 

Those sample menus from Chops and Portofinos certainly look inviting. Now I am more confused on which one we should go to. DH wants to try Chops, (I already agreed) but I'll take Italian anyday. Did you find the atmosphere a little better at either one?

[meadcher]

Do you have the menu for chops? It was posted once but I can't find it now.

[mcsscott]

Do you have the menu for chops? It was posted once but I can't find it now.

 

BRL posted the complete menu for Chops in his text a few posts up.

[meadcher]

Sorry I should have read all of your post before I asked for a menu it was already there.

[Sunwhorshipper]

Hi..thank you for the detailed account of your trip..we sail on the Radiance on Sun...

I read a post that the Radiance no longer offers liquor for sale in the shops (that you can take to your room.) Older posts indicated you could do this an pay a corking fee of $9.50..Saw some posts with pictures of the booze and prices...Do you have any updates on this?

I hope the weather is good and we can go to the private Island...

How many shipshape $$ did you end up with and what did you buy with them...

[Caesar]

Somewhere in your ticket folder, it advises that liquor purchased will be kept by RCCL until the last day.

[BuyReallyLow]

Somewhere in your ticket folder, it advises that liquor purchased will be kept by RCCL until the last day.

 

I did not buy any alcohol on board to consume. But I did buy some in St. Thomas that I had delivered to the boat - and they did not deliver it until the final night for packing - maybe it is part of the same rule.

[BuyReallyLow]

Hi..thank you for the detailed account of your trip..we sail on the Radiance on Sun...

How many shipshape $$ did you end up with and what did you buy with them...

 

Not nearly as many as MCSScott and his mate. I think I ended up around $20 - normally I will get a T-Shirt and some other chotkies, but this time I didn't even turn them in. Now my 6 year old has more monopoly money!:)

[BuyReallyLow]

 

We are big coffee drinkers, is this coffee served in the dining rooms, windjammer, room service, etc without a charge?

 

Those sample menus from Chops and Portofinos certainly look inviting. Now I am more confused on which one we should go to. DH wants to try Chops, (I already agreed) but I'll take Italian anyday. Did you find the atmosphere a little better at either one?

 

Sorry - I am not really sure about Windjammer, room servce, etc. I would be really surprised - I know it is available (for a charge) in Lattitudes and at both specialty restaurants.

 

Regarding the atmosphere - they both get high marks. But our observation is that Portofinos was a bit less busy. Your DH will get his steak at Portofinos (see memu), so if that satisfied - try Portofinos if you can only go to one - then both will be happy!:)

 

Hope this helps!

[pacthepuppies]

We will make sure to be there that nite- that is what my DH lives for...

any other very imp tips??? what was the best/worst?

Thanks!:D

[wolfcathorse]

The Captain was Rune Lokling - VERY funny and engaging - the best we've had so far (only three times on RC) Captain Lokling will not be on Radiance for a while as he begins his Vacation beginning the 23rd and will not return for I believe 6 Weeks. He is scheduled to be back on Radiance again when it travels to Alaska (his words at the Captains Reception)

 

And then the poor guy got jerked to Explorer instead, or so someone else posted. They say Capt Zini is now master of Radiance and Capt Rune is master on Explorer., I got this from someone who posted a Radiance review that said the crew was surprised that they got Zini and not Bowland back from vacation.

[benjidog]

We will make sure to be there that nite- that is what my DH lives for...

any other very imp tips??? what was the best/worst?

Thanks!:D

 

Friends from the early seating each ate 6 lobster tails. We had late seating. They didn't bring out second lobster tails until pretty late into dinner. I guess they were afraid of running out. I think the most anyone at our table had was 3.

 

Since this was our first cruise, I don't have anything to compare to. Here are a few opinions:

-Don't buy the shopping book for $20. We got a few freebees out of it, but not worth the $20.

-Piano Man show was good. (day 2)

-John Joseph and Johnny B (comedians) were good and I don't like commedians (day 3)

-We heard the Coasters (day 6) were good, but we missed them because of our Elvis show.

-even if you don't eat at the midnight buffets, check them out for picture taking.

-I wish I had gotten more pictures on deck with the ports in the background. And those I got I wish I had friends or us in the pictures.

-read and mark your compass so you don't forget about things you really want to go to.

-try to eat some healthy things to counteract the bad stuff you'll eat. I enjoyed the cold fruit soups. This was the first time I had tried them.

 

That's all I can think of right now.