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It's been fun Radiance, but we're done ...

csm5986142

By csm5986142,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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csm5986142

csm5986142

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2 hours ago, tytanbri said:

Can you tell me if the FTTF folks were permitted in the priority line? We are headed out in June. We have one cabin with Platinum passengers and got FTTF for the other rooms so they could stay together on embarkation and debarkation. Someone on this forum reported the FTTF were directed to the regular line instead of the priority line. Just trying to get a game plan. 

 

This is a good question and I'm not  sure.  We cruise from Long Beach frequently, and I was surprised when we arrived (10 - 10:30 arrival appt) and it was fairly quiet at the port (that's unusual).  Carnival staff were yelling out that any appointment time could enter the terminal, no separate lines (talking with staff I got the impression they were bracing for the huge number of people expected that day and trying to be proactive).  Once inside and through check-in/security they were very strict about allowing just suite passengers/diamond/platinum into the captains lounge area.  Then before announcements were made they quietly gathered us up for boarding.  If there were FTTF people in with us, I didn't realize it (they weren't mentioned).  On such a short sailing, there were very few diamonds (I think only one couple) and not that many platinum, so it was a quick process.  If I were you, and they do separate you, I would just stay with your FTTF friends/family and sit just on the other side of the wall from the Captain's lounge (which is kind of in front of the boarding area).  

 

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tytanbri

tytanbri

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1 hour ago, csm5986142 said:

 

This is a good question and I'm not  sure.  We cruise from Long Beach frequently, and I was surprised when we arrived (10 - 10:30 arrival appt) and it was fairly quiet at the port (that's unusual).  Carnival staff were yelling out that any appointment time could enter the terminal, no separate lines (talking with staff I got the impression they were bracing for the huge number of people expected that day and trying to be proactive).  Once inside and through check-in/security they were very strict about allowing just suite passengers/diamond/platinum into the captains lounge area.  Then before announcements were made they quietly gathered us up for boarding.  If there were FTTF people in with us, I didn't realize it (they weren't mentioned).  On such a short sailing, there were very few diamonds (I think only one couple) and not that many platinum, so it was a quick process.  If I were you, and they do separate you, I would just stay with your FTTF friends/family and sit just on the other side of the wall from the Captain's lounge (which is kind of in front of the boarding area).  

 

That is what I will plan for. Just in case. 

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crazycatlady82

crazycatlady82

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I was on a M-F, 4 day Radiance cruise in December. I booked a cheap, interior room with a porthole…basically cheapest I could find due to traveling solo. My goal when I travel solo is to read, relax, eat and drink. It was my fault for not researching the weather in Southern California in December…but it was too cold for me to sit on the deck and read all day. I eventually found a nice spot to read, comfy chair, outside of the casino…but then they set up for bingo sales. I spent majority of the sea day, in my room, reading, as I couldn’t find another quiet(ish) spot inside. 
 

Buffet was bad. I did blue iguana, guys and the deli. Room service pizza was good. The pizza Pirate was not the greatest experience-I stool outside, waiting for several minutes a couple times before another lady told me that he hides back there and you have to yell for him. Fun times stated that Blue Iguana opened at 7; they said no, we open at 7:30 and turned me away. Eggs were also cold due to the weather-couldn’t keep them warm for the burritos. 
 

Huge lines for anything on the sea day. I ended up going to the coffee bar for drinks, as they have some alcoholic beverages and the line wasn’t too bad after the early morning hours. 
 

I told my husband this solo cruise didn’t count, as I wasn’t able to fully relax…if the goal is to just get away, it’s great for that. 

 

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n6uqqq

n6uqqq

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4 hours ago, crazycatlady82 said:

I was on a M-F, 4 day Radiance cruise in December. I booked a cheap, interior room with a porthole…basically cheapest I could find due to traveling solo. My goal when I travel solo is to read, relax, eat and drink. It was my fault for not researching the weather in Southern California in December…but it was too cold for me to sit on the deck and read all day. I eventually found a nice spot to read, comfy chair, outside of the casino…but then they set up for bingo sales. I spent majority of the sea day, in my room, reading, as I couldn’t find another quiet(ish) spot inside. 
 

Buffet was bad. I did blue iguana, guys and the deli. Room service pizza was good. The pizza Pirate was not the greatest experience-I stool outside, waiting for several minutes a couple times before another lady told me that he hides back there and you have to yell for him. Fun times stated that Blue Iguana opened at 7; they said no, we open at 7:30 and turned me away. Eggs were also cold due to the weather-couldn’t keep them warm for the burritos. 
 

Huge lines for anything on the sea day. I ended up going to the coffee bar for drinks, as they have some alcoholic beverages and the line wasn’t too bad after the early morning hours. 
 

I told my husband this solo cruise didn’t count, as I wasn’t able to fully relax…if the goal is to just get away, it’s great for that. 

 

If you want quiet places to read, the Miracle is your baby! Interior promenade on deck 3 front is a ghost town for the most part.

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csm5986142

csm5986142

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6 hours ago, n6uqqq said:

If you want quiet places to read, the Miracle is your baby! Interior promenade on deck 3 front is a ghost town for the most part.

 

Totally agree - the Miracle (actually all the Spirit class ships in general) have way more quiet comfortable places to relax inside by a window or read. We loved Miracle out of San Francisco (even the shorter cruises were great).

I have read that Spirit Class has best space to guest ratio in the Carnival fleet.

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Illbcruzn4life Great Review Rare

Illbcruzn4life

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On 3/15/2023 at 4:41 PM, mz-s said:

 

Definitely going to try that one day. So far I haven't been on a ship so equipped.

 

I search them out first. While the Celebration Havana area isn't like the Vista class ships Havana area we will be giving it a try next month. 

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jimbo5544 "Live from...." Rare

jimbo5544

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7 hours ago, Stick93 said:

SUNSHINED ships are too crowded and overloaded. In general I have found  the behavior on Carnival has deteriorated over the time we have cruised with carnival. Nothing the OP noted surprised me. 

So….the entire line is going down, ALL Sunshine ships are overcrowded (got the caps thing as well) and the behavior (all CCL ships or just the Sunshine’d ones is bad as well.  I am in shock, with you being a CCL cheerleader and all.  Have you sailed all the Sunshine’s ships?

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Stick93

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1 hour ago, jimbo5544 said:

So….the entire line is going down, ALL Sunshine ships are overcrowded (got the caps thing as well) and the behavior (all CCL ships or just the Sunshine’d ones is bad as well.  I am in shock, with you being a CCL cheerleader and all.  Have you sailed all the Sunshine’s ships?

I didn’t write the whole line is going down. You may have read that and someone (not necessarily you) who is sensitive to carnival can infer over negativity with any criticism.  


Yes I was on sunshine and sunrise. I was a cheerleader until one of their prized customers threatened my life on the then overcrowded ship and security and the ship did nothing to help. But that’s okay!
 

The sunshined ships are terrible, the clientele on the ships is getting worse and carnival seems to not care about its loyal customers. It’s okay but as a person with almost 100 days and over 15 cruises on carnival I can have AN opinion even if it goes against people who truly love the cruise line and will defend it no matter what they do. 

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jimbo5544 "Live from...." Rare

jimbo5544

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19 minutes ago, Stick93 said:

I didn’t write the whole line is going down. You may have read that and someone (not necessarily you) who is sensitive to carnival can infer over negativity with any criticism.  


Yes I was on sunshine and sunrise. I was a cheerleader until one of their prized customers threatened my life on the then overcrowded ship and security and the ship did nothing to help. But that’s okay!
 

The sunshined ships are terrible, the clientele on the ships is getting worse and carnival seems to not care about its loyal customers. It’s okay but as a person with almost 100 days and over 15 cruises on carnival I can have AN opinion even if it goes against people who truly love the cruise line and will defend it no matter what they do. 

All opinions count, yours and mine. I agree that the the redone ships can be crowded, especially in the Lido area. From my view, Sunshine is better than both Sunrise and Radiance.  Not sure about the clientele piece, but we found that to be more of a geographic port thing rather then ship specific.  

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Stick93

Stick93

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7 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

All opinions count, yours and mine. I agree that the the redone ships can be crowded, especially in the Lido area. From my view, Sunshine is better than both Sunrise and Radiance.  Not sure about the clientele piece, but we found that to be more of a geographic port thing rather then ship specific.  

Sunshine is better - I agree. 
 

“We have found” - do you work for carnival? 

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Lil2Angelic

Lil2Angelic

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We sailed for 2 weeks on the Radiance to Hawaii in last October. After 19 cruises, we felt the Radiance crew is one of the best we've experienced. We also thought the food was great, and the ship was beautiful, especially for her age. Quite a few of the public areas did seem cramped, but we would still sail her again. It was a great cruise. 

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pc_load_letter

pc_load_letter

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19 hours ago, VentureMan_2000 said:

I've always heard that 3-day and 4-day cruises were known more informally as booze cruises and tended to have more of a loud party atmosphere.  I don't think I would expect anything less regarding noise. 

 

Depends on time of year. Spring break, summer, yes. Around the fall, holidays, no.

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jimbo5544 "Live from...." Rare

jimbo5544

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26 minutes ago, crazycatlady82 said:

Jimbo, this is totally off topic but I just looked at your list of upcoming cruises…and can I stow along?? You’ve got some wonderful cruises coming up!

Thanks, we try to keep busy and like everyone else we lost a couple years of cruising that we need to make up.  

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DANCING GRANDMOMMY

DANCING GRANDMOMMY

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My husband and I had to be in California on the return date, so we booked a 4 day on the Radiance. We will also never cruise on that ship again. I have never experienced the crowding that was on this ship. The bump out in the Buffet area for the deli and I forget what was on the other side just added to the crowded walkway. It was impossible to get through. I love to cruise and I love Carnival, but we will never sail on that ship again. I did not realize it was a sister ship to others. That being the case, I would not sail on any of them. Looking forward to my 4th Panorama cruise in April. Especially excited to be in a Havana Cabana cabin. 

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mz-s

mz-s

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4 minutes ago, DANCING GRANDMOMMY said:

My husband and I had to be in California on the return date, so we booked a 4 day on the Radiance. We will also never cruise on that ship again. I have never experienced the crowding that was on this ship. The bump out in the Buffet area for the deli and I forget what was on the other side just added to the crowded walkway. It was impossible to get through. I love to cruise and I love Carnival, but we will never sail on that ship again. I did not realize it was a sister ship to others. That being the case, I would not sail on any of them. Looking forward to my 4th Panorama cruise in April. Especially excited to be in a Havana Cabana cabin. 

 

A lot of Carnival ships have a very narrow walkway in that area. It's not unique to the Radiance. I noticed it on Freedom, which is Conquest class.

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