Is Carnival Radiance the worst ship in the fleet?

[jsglow]

Look, I'm glad that they have it stuffed to the gills this week at premium pricing!  There's bills to pay!

[john91498]

is Radiance the worst ship in the fleet? nope, not even close...

[sanmarcosman]

18 minutes ago, mz-s said:

2984 is obviously not the absolute maximum capacity for the ship. Even if all berths are filled there are still sofas in most of the balcony rooms, trundles, cribs, that can be sold.

TOTAL GUEST CAPACITY: (Including Uppers):
3,873

[mz-s]

9 minutes ago, sanmarcosman said:

TOTAL GUEST CAPACITY: (Including Uppers):
3,873

 

They found 32 pallets or cribs apparently because she's sailing today with 3905 guests, assuming Heald's figures on Facebook are accurate.

[staceyglow]

1 hour ago, sanmarcosman said:

 

 

Also, the 4 day cruises depart on Monday so this is not a 3 day cruise. Still 1,129 guests under the age of 21 some of whom are playing hooky 😉 

Probably not too many.  This is winter break for most students.

[sanmarcosman]

31 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

They found 32 pallets or cribs apparently because she's sailing today with 3905 guests, assuming Heald's figures on Facebook are accurate.

The USCG may want to know of this for it is the authority that establishes maximum capacity based on available seats in lifeboats.

Chengkp75 may be by soon to weigh in 😉 

Edited December 20, 2022 by sanmarcosman

[glrounds]

I anticipated posts like these when first learning about Carnival increasing the number of cabins at the expense of public space. Naval architecture is not a hobby.

[mz-s]

36 minutes ago, sanmarcosman said:

The USCG may want to know of this for it is the authority that establishes maximum capacity based on available seats in lifeboats.

Chengkp75 may be by soon to weigh in 😉 

 

Maybe they fired 32 stewards and added more trundles to make up for the difference?

[sanmarcosman]

1 minute ago, mz-s said:

 

Maybe they fired 32 stewards and added more trundles to make up for the difference?

You jest but the capacity figures shown are guests only and do not include crew.

[mz-s]

10 minutes ago, sanmarcosman said:

You jest but the capacity figures shown are guests only and do not include crew.

 

I don't know - either the capacity figure on GoCCL is wrong or Heald posted wrong figures. Either way, the folks on Radiance right now are seeing what it's like to be on a very full cruise ship!

[sanmarcosman]

13 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

I don't know - either the capacity figure on GoCCL is wrong or Heald posted wrong figures. Either way, the folks on Radiance right now are seeing what it's like to be on a very full cruise ship!

Before posting the figures from Carnival's fact sheet earlier I checked the sheet for a clue to how recently it had been updated. Shaq's Big Chicken was listed there so we know it had to have been updated since the $200 million overhaul when more cabins were added to the ship. 

Edited December 20, 2022 by sanmarcosman

[Itried4498]

4 hours ago, sanmarcosman said:

From Carnival website fact sheet for Radiance:

 

CRUISE CAPACITY (2 per cabin):
2,984
TOTAL GUEST CAPACITY: (Including Uppers):
3,873

Where are the 32 persons over the max capacity going to sleep? Really 30 persons as JH listed 2 guests from Cleveland. 

 

Also, the 4 day cruises depart on Monday so this is not a 3 day cruise. Still 1,129 guests under the age of 21 some of whom are playing hooky 😉 

 

It's a three day cruise.  This week and next, the three day cruise is Mon-Thur and the four day Thurs-Mon.  The weekend cruises include the Holidays and were always priced at a premium.

[CruiseHealing]

The fact that the ship is this full due to the Christmas Break is supported by the lack of loyalty guests. 

 

Total Guests: 3905

Gold Card: 232
Platinum Card: 44
Diamond Card: 8

 

I am glad I’m not sailing on this cruise.

[Itried4498]

No, it’s not. 

 

The Radiance is a high-capacity weekend cruise ship.  Its itineraries are typically amongst the lowest priced within the Carnival network.  Los Angeles -> Ensenada isn’t the classic “Fun In The Sun” cruise; most everybody is looking to have a good time, and the renovations make this ship a great fit for that crowd.

 

The Miracle has a unique – but dated – interior that Carnival’s moved away from.  It (and the Spirit Class) has among the most space per passenger of any active cruise ship.  There’s always ample space to lounge around; the seating area in front of the third deck is nearly always vacant.  This makes for a nice cruise, but it’s also a model the cruise industry is moving away from.  For example, on the Miracle, the shops, spa, etc. are subtly placed but on the new/renovated ships, they’re intentionally designed around highly trafficked space.   And all that excess space – the oversized theater and lounges, etc. – has disappeared from modern ships.

[LaRue1975]

The Radiance will start doing the Hawaii 14 day round trip from Long Beach in October 2024. I went ahead and booked the February 2025 cruise as I had been waiting for them to be released but was surprised it was the Radiance and not Miracle. There are very few cabins left if any for the 2023 and 2024 Miracle sailings so they appear to be popular. 

[ray98]

12 hours ago, sanmarcosman said:

The USCG may want to know of this for it is the authority that establishes maximum capacity based on available seats in lifeboats.

Chengkp75 may be by soon to weigh in 😉 

They are no where near that number.  Fully staffed is 1108 crew and I doubt they are close to that.  Even if they have 3905 passengers that totals 5013.

 

Life Saving Equipment
Grand Total Life Saving Capacity: 5725

• 22 Life Boats (occupancy each: 150 / total occupancy: 3300)
• 2 Rescue / Water Shuttle Boats (occupancy each: 60 / total occupancy: 120)
• 30 Launchable Life Rafts (occupancy each: 35 / total occupancy: 1050)
• 4 Launchable Life Rafts (occupancy each: 25 / total occupancy: 100)
• 33 Life Rafts (occupancy each: 35 / total occupancy: 1155)

[mz-s]

53 minutes ago, ray98 said:

They are no where near that number.  Fully staffed is 1108 crew and I doubt they are close to that.  Even if they have 3905 passengers that totals 5013.

 

Life Saving Equipment
Grand Total Life Saving Capacity: 5725

• 22 Life Boats (occupancy each: 150 / total occupancy: 3300)
• 2 Rescue / Water Shuttle Boats (occupancy each: 60 / total occupancy: 120)
• 30 Launchable Life Rafts (occupancy each: 35 / total occupancy: 1050)
• 4 Launchable Life Rafts (occupancy each: 25 / total occupancy: 100)
• 33 Life Rafts (occupancy each: 35 / total occupancy: 1155)

 

The way I read that, there is only room for 3300 in the life boats (and that's assuming 150 King-size Americans can actually fit in them!). Would you want to trust a dinghy with your life in the unlikely event of an abandon ship order?

[ray98]

2 hours ago, mz-s said:

 

The way I read that, there is only room for 3300 in the life boats (and that's assuming 150 King-size Americans can actually fit in them!). Would you want to trust a dinghy with your life in the unlikely event of an abandon ship order?

If it floats it floats.

[AHS123]

26 minutes ago, ray98 said:

If it floats it floats.

Even a movie director knows this 🙂

[jsglow]

13 hours ago, LaRue1975 said:

The Radiance will start doing the Hawaii 14 day round trip from Long Beach in October 2024. I went ahead and booked the February 2025 cruise as I had been waiting for them to be released but was surprised it was the Radiance and not Miracle. There are very few cabins left if any for the 2023 and 2024 Miracle sailings so they appear to be popular. 

Locked and loaded for March 2025 in a prized King Porthole.  TY for the heads up.  Looking forward to again boarding the 'worst ship in the fleet'. 😉

[Itried4498]

20 hours ago, jsglow said:

Look, I'm glad that they have it stuffed to the gills this week at premium pricing!  There's bills to pay!

 

The Holiday cruises have been priced at a premium, but this specific 3-day cruise has been priced low for quite awhile.  It was briefly $69pp during the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale.  Like elsewhere in the nation, most schools and white collar businesses are closed this week in SoCal, so I'm not surprised by the number of families that choose to take advantage of the low pricing especially given how expensive land-based vacations have gotten.

[Itried4498]

15 hours ago, LaRue1975 said:

The Radiance will start doing the Hawaii 14 day round trip from Long Beach in October 2024. I went ahead and booked the February 2025 cruise as I had been waiting for them to be released but was surprised it was the Radiance and not Miracle. There are very few cabins left if any for the 2023 and 2024 Miracle sailings so they appear to be popular. 

 

As we know, Long Beach can handle only one ship.  The Panorama is Sat. - Sat. and the Radiance is Fri. - Mon. / Mon. - Fri.  This generally means the Miracle does a lot of crappy itineraries, Tues. - Sun. and Sun. - Tues., for example.

 

It's looking like:

a) the Costa Firenza will replace the Miracle,

b) the Costa Firenza and Radiance will split the weekend Ensenada runs,

c) the Panorama is doing a lot more 6-day runs, opening up Saturdays,

d) this opens up a lot of Sat. and Sun. for the Firenza and Radiance to do one- and two- week itineraries that are more appealing to non-locals. 

 

 

 

Edited December 20, 2022 by Itried4498

[jimbo5544]

On 12/18/2022 at 7:47 AM, sanmarcosman said:

For a ship doing only 3-4 day cruises I think Radiance is a good fit for Long Beach. She has taken over for the Inspiration and the Imagination on this route.

 

I like the sleek public room interiors after the $200 million overhaul of Radiance. The two story main dining room and the lido dining room are bright and inviting while the same spaces, Bacchus MDR and lido dining room on Miracle are bat cave dark. 

 

Here Carnival Radiance is seen from the bluff overlooking the town of Avalon on Catalina Island.

Totally agree, the retrofit fits shorter cruises.

[jimbo5544]

3 hours ago, Itried4498 said:

 

As we know, Long Beach can handle only one ship.  The Panorama is Sat. - Sat. and the Radiance is Fri. - Mon. / Mon. - Fri.  This generally means the Miracle does a lot of crappy itineraries, Tues. - Sun. and Sun. - Tues., for example.

 

It's looking like:

a) the Costa Firenza will replace the Miracle,

b) the Costa Firenza and Radiance will split the weekend Ensenada runs,

c) the Panorama is doing a lot more 6-day runs, opening up Saturdays,

d) this opens up a lot of Sat. and Sun. for the Firenza and Radiance to do one- and two- week itineraries that are more appealing to non-locals. 

 

 

 

Love to know the reference or logic behind Panorama doing shorter and also which two week cruises are you referring to?

[jimbo5544]

On 12/18/2022 at 7:22 AM, Jamman54 said:

You can throw the Sunrise in there as well, as these three conversions have the worst Passenger Space Ratio (PSR) in the fleet. We enjoyed our cruises on the Sunrise and Sunshine, but we sailed on them during off peak times. We would never book them during peak times. 😎

And it shows, especially on lido.