Is Carnival Radiance the worst ship in the fleet?

[mz-s]

On 12/19/2022 at 6:05 PM, jsglow said:

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

 

I get casino rates so I may not be the best person to ask, but every time I log in to Carnival's site Radiance cruises are among the cheapest available - often even cheaper than the Conquest booze cruises out of Miami.

[Itried4498]

1 hour ago, jimbo5544 said:

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

 

The Panorama is doing an increasing number of 6-night itineraries that feature an overnight at Cabo and stop at Ensenada.  My guess is that there's strong demand to Cabo, and the classic 7-night Mexican Rivera itinerary gives just a sample (you get off the ship between 7AM-9AM, and have to be back on by 1:30PM), due to the distance back to Los Angeles.  Makes more sense - time wise - to stop at Cabo first (instead of last), but the winds are brutal so the preference is the two sea days are on the way, not way back.

 

The two-week itineraries are Hawaii.  Carnival is scheduling more trips there, and identified Hawaii (pre-Covid) as an area it'd like to expand in.  Carnival Crop-owned Princess is making less trips to Hawaii than it did pre-Covid, so they may be shifting demand to the budget line...

[Itried4498]

7 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

I get casino rates so I may not be the best person to ask, but every time I log in to Carnival's site Radiance cruises are among the cheapest available - often even cheaper than the Conquest booze cruises out of Miami.

 

RCL re-entered the weekend cruise market from Los Angeles after a decade long absence, and it's sparked a fare ware between the two.  That said, only a handful of Radiance cruises are deeply discounted these days...

[CrzRani]

I like, not love the Radiance and did sail it when it was the Victory.  Not the worst, but it came to light this weekend how hard the chopped up lay out was with  my 87 year old mom on her first cruise, and on an electric scooter.  She was flipping her lid every time I told her that we had to catch a new elevator mid ship or aft because they didn't go through.  Needless to say,  I needed several drinks to keep myself sane with her gripes!

Edited December 21, 2022 by CrzRani

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

Our cancelled 2020 cruise would have been on the Radiance, while it would have been sailing out of NYC.

 

9 days Journey cruise, going to Bermuda (overnight) and then Nassau and HMC. Unless she comes back east, I doubt we'll experience her first hand.

 

Funds from that cruise were used to pay for our upcoming Horizon cruise (difference is less than $175). 8 days, Aruba, Curacao, La Romana, and Amber Cove.

 

Radiance was 2 cabins, balcony and interior.  Horizon is a family harbor suite with a cove balcony.

 

Just wondering: do you think we got an upgrade or a downgrade? 

 

 

Edited December 21, 2022 by PrincessArlena'sDad

[jsglow]

2 hours ago, mz-s said:

 

I get casino rates so I may not be the best person to ask, but every time I log in to Carnival's site Radiance cruises are among the cheapest available - often even cheaper than the Conquest booze cruises out of Miami.

Of course.  But that's about the assigned route.  Ensenada and Catalina in the cold Pacific in the winter just isn't 'destination' cruising whatsoever. It's why Los Angeles will never be more than a tertiary cruiseport.

[LaRue1975]

12 hours ago, jsglow said:

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'. 😉

You are welcome! I saw a post on a Facebook group about the Panorama NYE 2004 cruise so I checked for the Hawaii cruises and bam! Our BFFs and the hubby and I scored apposing bowling alley balconies on the 6th deck. Our last cruise together was to Alaska many years ago on the Spirit, we had the corner wrap suites on the 7th deck, amazing! We picked this week because they will be celebrating their 50th anniversary, ours isn’t until 2026 and yes, we attended each other’s weddings, when I say BFF I mean it. Sorry, I’m a little excited, only 26 months to go, lol! I board the worst ship in the fleet for the first time in 20 days, can’t wait! 

[LaRue1975]

11 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. 

 

 

 

Living 60 miles from Long Beach that sounds great! I was curious so started a cruise search and it looks like the Radiance is sailing the 6 night and 4 night cruises to Mexico between the 14 day Hawaii cruises, along with the Panorama sailing 6, 7 and 8 day cruises in early 2025. I wonder if the Firenze will do the 3 and 4 day cruises the Radiance is doing now, we used to have the two ships doing that route. Whatever they decide it will be an upgrade for us, I was thrilled we finally got a ship with balconies for the short cruises. 

[jsglow]

7 hours ago, LaRue1975 said:

You are welcome! Our BFFs and the hubby and I scored apposing bowling alley balconies on the 6th deck.

Congrats!  My wife and I had a Deck 8 bowling alley for our 35th on Pride in Europe this fall. 

 

So do I understand you are about to take a quickie on Radiance shortly?  I really enjoyed my first time on the ship and am a big fan of Sunrise. They did a nice job on the retrofits. We 'winter' in the desert SW so can be at the port in a few hours by car and routinely keep an eye on prices for all the LA boats. When we went in December I think we paid about $125pp base for an OV.  What's not to like about having your supper prepared and your bed made?

Edited December 21, 2022 by jsglow

[jsglow]

14 hours ago, Itried4498 said:

 

The Panorama is doing an increasing number of 6-night itineraries that feature an overnight at Cabo and stop at Ensenada.  My guess is that there's strong demand to Cabo, and the classic 7-night Mexican Rivera itinerary gives just a sample (you get off the ship between 7AM-9AM, and have to be back on by 1:30PM), due to the distance back to Los Angeles.  Makes more sense - time wise - to stop at Cabo first (instead of last), but the winds are brutal so the preference is the two sea days are on the way, not way back.

 

The two-week itineraries are Hawaii.  Carnival is scheduling more trips there, and identified Hawaii (pre-Covid) as an area it'd like to expand in.  Carnival Crop-owned Princess is making less trips to Hawaii than it did pre-Covid, so they may be shifting demand to the budget line...

Makes sense.  Carnival is getting pretty good money for the Miracle 5-nighters to Cabo.

 

Try this on for size.....  Rotate Panorama 6, 8 (include La Paz). That opens up every other Saturday that can be used for a 5/5/4 ship (perhaps Firenza) that can make Cabo/Ensenada married up with Catalina/Ensenada. I know our Hawaii run starts on a Sunday on Radiance so I can envision 'one-offs' to get her back to a Friday/Monday routine. And, if there is enough demand, Miracle can do traditional 7 nights from San Diego.

 

Edit: I just looked at the schedule.  That's essentially what they are doing. 6/8 about once every 6 weeks with 7-nighters in between beginning next fall. So they have an open pier on Saturday slightly less than once a month.  I like the creativity.

Edited December 21, 2022 by jsglow

[LaRue1975]

2 hours ago, jsglow said:

Congrats!  My wife and I had a Deck 8 bowling alley for our 35th on Pride in Europe this fall. 

 

So do I understand you are about to take a quickie on Radiance shortly?  I really enjoyed my first time on the ship and am a big fan of Sunrise. They did a nice job on the retrofits. We 'winter' in the desert SW so can be at the port in a few hours by car and routinely keep an eye on prices for all the LA boats. When we went in December I think we paid about $125pp base for an OV.  What's not to like about having your supper prepared and your bed made?

I am excited to try Radiance, I’ve had this one booked for awhile, it’s a casino Getaway cruise and I scored an ocean suite for $900 which I think is a good rate. Heck we pay $700 for 4 mid week nights in a nice RV Park near the beach out here, it’s cheaper to cruise! We’re excited about Catalina as we used to take the kids there but that was decades ago, I bet it hasn’t changed much which is a good thing!

 

We are doing the 14 day round trip to Alaska in September on Miracle with our BFFs. We were late to the party but I kept searching and we were able to get extended balconies near each other. I continued to search daily and when a bowling alley extended balcony popped up I grabbed it and switched, super score! Thank you to whomever cancelled that cabin!  So you are a snow birds? That’s nice as you can winter in different places every year if you like, I’d like that! Hope you find another cruise deal this winter, happy cruising! 

[jsglow]

@LaRue1975, yes, we snowbird.  And thank goodness this year! Look at that storm.

[Itried4498]

17 hours ago, jsglow said:

Of course.  But that's about the assigned route.  Ensenada and Catalina in the cold Pacific in the winter just isn't 'destination' cruising whatsoever. It's why Los Angeles will never be more than a tertiary cruiseport.

 

I don't entirely disagree with you -- put simply, Miami is the gold standard that people associate with cruising (warm weather, beautiful & calm water, proximity to exotic islands, etc.) -- but Los Angeles has long been an underdeveloped cruise market.  No, the weather and waters aren't ideal, but the biggest challenges have been proximity to places people would like to go to (Cabo requires 5 days, PV 7 days, Southern Mexican Rivera 9 days, Alaska 11, Hawaii 14, etc.), and the safety perception of Mexico (which killed the market in the early 2010s).  

 

That said, the market has grown rapidly in recent years to the point San Pedro is building out two additional berths (already temporarily there).  Too bad Long Beach won't get rid of the Queen Mary and allow Carnival to have two berths...

[cruisingguy007]

2 hours ago, Itried4498 said:

 

I don't entirely disagree with you -- put simply, Miami is the gold standard that people associate with cruising (warm weather, beautiful & calm water, proximity to exotic islands, etc.) -- but Los Angeles has long been an underdeveloped cruise market.  No, the weather and waters aren't ideal, but the biggest challenges have been proximity to places people would like to go to (Cabo requires 5 days, PV 7 days, Southern Mexican Rivera 9 days, Alaska 11, Hawaii 14, etc.), and the safety perception of Mexico (which killed the market in the early 2010s).  

 

That said, the market has grown rapidly in recent years to the point San Pedro is building out two additional berths (already temporarily there).  Too bad Long Beach won't get rid of the Queen Mary and allow Carnival to have two berths...

 

Mexico in the winter is awesome and California is a up and coming market. There are a crap-ton of folks who have no idea about cruising besides it's something old people do in Florida. Heck, I didn't take my first cruise until my late 30's because I just hadn't considered it. I've seen cruise ships on other vacations (like AI in Mex) and thought it looked like fun and looked cool but still just didn't know how everything worked and what it would be like. Many of the lines booking engines suck as well so that is a huge turn off to tech-savvy folks who view travel agents as an ancient artifact and want to book their own vacations. There is still so much untapped potential out west that the only place to go is up. Step up the advertising, show that it's not just a bunch of old people, show the fun and ease and excitement of what is essentially a floating all-inclusive and they will come.    

[jsglow]

3 hours ago, Itried4498 said:

 

I don't entirely disagree with you -- put simply, Miami is the gold standard that people associate with cruising (warm weather, beautiful & calm water, proximity to exotic islands, etc.) -- but Los Angeles has long been an underdeveloped cruise market.  No, the weather and waters aren't ideal, but the biggest challenges have been proximity to places people would like to go to (Cabo requires 5 days, PV 7 days, Southern Mexican Rivera 9 days, Alaska 11, Hawaii 14, etc.), and the safety perception of Mexico (which killed the market in the early 2010s).  

 

That said, the market has grown rapidly in recent years to the point San Pedro is building out two additional berths (already temporarily there).  Too bad Long Beach won't get rid of the Queen Mary and allow Carnival to have two berths...

It'll be interesting to see if Carnival ever pursues an Amber Cove type development along the Baja coast.  They have a history of building ports exactly where they need them.

[sanmarcosman]

1 hour ago, cruisingguy007 said:

Mexico in the winter is awesome and California is a up and coming market.

I first sailed Carnival from San Pedro in 1989 to the Mexican Riviera. Prior to that Princess sailed the " Love Boat " on the same itinerary from SP. The cruise lines have served the California market for decades. It's been so long in fact they offered skeet shooting from the fantail then so I think you missed the mark with "up and coming."

[cruisingguy007]

15 minutes ago, sanmarcosman said:

I first sailed Carnival from San Pedro in 1989 to the Mexican Riviera. Prior to that Princess sailed the " Love Boat " on the same itinerary from SP. The cruise lines have served the California market for decades. It's been so long in fact they offered skeet shooting from the fantail then so I think you missed the mark with "up and coming."

 

While that is a great story, I'm a native and been here  in California all my life and cruising just isn't a thing here in California like it is in other places like Florida, especially in Norcal. I've never known anyone who cruised as a vacation, it's the usual Tahoe, Reno, Vegas, Beach towns, Mexico etc. Cruising is still up and coming IMO, plenty of younger folks to market too.   

[sanmarcosman]

16 minutes ago, cruisingguy007 said:

 

While that is a great story, I'm a native and been here  in California all my life and cruising just isn't a thing here in California like it is in other places like Florida, especially in Norcal. I've never known anyone who cruised as a vacation, it's the usual Tahoe, Reno, Vegas, Beach towns, Mexico etc. Cruising is still up and coming IMO, plenty of younger folks to market too.   

Born and raised in San Diego County here. California will never reach the levels of Florida departures, we know this, no one said it would. You made it sound like the west coast was just beginning to offer cruise vacations. You should look up the Matson Line that was headquartered there in San Fran near you. They served the Hawaii market for nearly 50 years. That's another " great story " as you would put it. 

Edited December 22, 2022 by sanmarcosman

[cruisingguy007]

Just now, sanmarcosman said:

Born and raised in San Diego County here. California will never reach the levels of Florida departures, we know this, no one said it would. You made it sound like the west coast was just beginning to offer cruise vacations. You should look up the Matson Line that was headquartered there in San Fran near you. The served the Hawaii market for over nearly 50 years. That's another " great story " as you would put it. 

 

To people who never heard of cruises and are used to Yosemite, visiting lakes, camping, Disnyland, skiing and beach towns for vacations, it is. Lots of folks like that in California.    

 

[Itried4498]

1 minute ago, sanmarcosman said:

Born and raised in San Diego County here. California will never reach the levels of Florida departures, we know this, no one said it would. You made it sound like the west coast was just beginning to offer cruise vacations. You should look up the Matson Line that was headquartered there in San Fran near you. The served the Hawaii market for over nearly 50 years. That's another " great story " as you would put it. 

 

 

Yes, Los Angeles was one of Carnival’s original origination points, but he has a valid point: there’s a huge population base in the West and much of it is unaware that we have regularly scheduled cruises.  (Carnival did a billboard campaign earlier this year, but in general the cruise industry does not do much advertising here).  In contrast, most everyone is aware that Florida is the cruise capital of the world.  While there’s arguably overcapacity in Florida, the West has much stronger upside as service has historically been limited.  Consider the growth at Galveston in the past 15 years, driven almost entirely by a drive market (e.g. people seeking to avoid traveling to Florida).  Nobody predicted that!

 

It'd cost me $2K-$3K to fly my family to Florida (including Ubering to the airport on both ends, airfare and related costs, etc.) – money I’d much rather spend upgrading or taking another cruise.  Plus, I save two days’ travel on each end.

 

59 minutes ago, jsglow said:

It'll be interesting to see if Carnival ever pursues an Amber Cove type development along the Baja coast.  They have a history of building ports exactly where they need them.

 

Every few years Carnival issues a press release discussing the development of a “tropical paradise” near Ensenada (or turning Ensenada into a “tropical paradise.”)  This has went on since I was a kid in the 1990s and Ensenada is still… well, Ensenada.

[KarmaCruisers]

Living in California; we’ve had the opportunity to sail on all the CA ships (Inspiration, Imagination, Splendor, Miracle, Radiance, and Panorama)

IMHO; for the 3-4 night runs to Ensenada our little slab-sided girl (the two fantasy ships) were perfect! 
The Splendor was VERY roomy feeling overall (although odd Pink Donut decor haha)

The miracle is OK for 3-4 day runs..but on a 7-10 day on it, it just is too small (only dining choice is MDR, steakhouse or Lido deck)

The Radiance is a GREAT ship..honestly for even longer than the 3-4 day runs we have it for. 
The Panorama (again JMHO) is waaay too cramped to sail on 7 day voyages.

All of these ships we’ve been on with 100%+ capacity..the only one we FELT it on, was the panorama..it was just wall-to-wall people and the walkways were all maybe 3-across..throw a wheelchair in there or a scoter and forget it you’ve got a bottleneck.

I think carnival should swap around the California fleet

3-4 night LBC runs: Miracle  

4 night SF runs: Panorama

7+ night runs: Radiance

[jsglow]

54 minutes ago, KarmaCruisers said:

Living in California; we’ve had the opportunity to sail on all the CA ships (Inspiration, Imagination, Splendor, Miracle, Radiance, and Panorama)

The Radiance is a GREAT ship..honestly for even longer than the 3-4 day runs we have it for. 

I've been on all of the ships (sans Panorama but on her Sis Horizon).  I absolutely see your point.  We're very excited to be heading in '25 to Hawaii on Radiance.  She's a much better platform for all those days at sea, in my opinion..

[jimbo5544]

9 hours ago, KarmaCruisers said:

Living in California; we’ve had the opportunity to sail on all the CA ships (Inspiration, Imagination, Splendor, Miracle, Radiance, and Panorama)

IMHO; for the 3-4 night runs to Ensenada our little slab-sided girl (the two fantasy ships) were perfect! 
The Splendor was VERY roomy feeling overall (although odd Pink Donut decor haha)

The miracle is OK for 3-4 day runs..but on a 7-10 day on it, it just is too small (only dining choice is MDR, steakhouse or Lido deck)

The Radiance is a GREAT ship..honestly for even longer than the 3-4 day runs we have it for. 
The Panorama (again JMHO) is waaay too cramped to sail on 7 day voyages.

All of these ships we’ve been on with 100%+ capacity..the only one we FELT it on, was the panorama..it was just wall-to-wall people and the walkways were all maybe 3-across..throw a wheelchair in there or a scoter and forget it you’ve got a bottleneck.

I think carnival should swap around the California fleet

3-4 night LBC runs: Miracle  

4 night SF runs: Panorama

7+ night runs: Radiance

Anytime the west coast does not want the Panorama, send her east.

[Itried4498]

14 hours ago, KarmaCruisers said:

Living in California; we’ve had the opportunity to sail on all the CA ships (Inspiration, Imagination, Splendor, Miracle, Radiance, and Panorama)

IMHO; for the 3-4 night runs to Ensenada our little slab-sided girl (the two fantasy ships) were perfect! 
The Splendor was VERY roomy feeling overall (although odd Pink Donut decor haha)

The miracle is OK for 3-4 day runs..but on a 7-10 day on it, it just is too small (only dining choice is MDR, steakhouse or Lido deck)

The Radiance is a GREAT ship..honestly for even longer than the 3-4 day runs we have it for. 
The Panorama (again JMHO) is waaay too cramped to sail on 7 day voyages.

All of these ships we’ve been on with 100%+ capacity..the only one we FELT it on, was the panorama..it was just wall-to-wall people and the walkways were all maybe 3-across..throw a wheelchair in there or a scoter and forget it you’ve got a bottleneck.

I think carnival should swap around the California fleet

3-4 night LBC runs: Miracle  

4 night SF runs: Panorama

7+ night runs: Radiance

 

The Splendor was the perfect ship for Alaska/Hawaii.  I'm surprised Carnival is sending the Radiance there (presumably) given it lacks a covered deck.

[KarmaCruisers]

25 minutes ago, Itried4498 said:

 

The Splendor was the perfect ship for Alaska/Hawaii.  I'm surprised Carnival is sending the Radiance there (presumably) given it lacks a covered deck.

IS carnival sending Radiance to Alaska?? Damn if so, sign me up!