Cruising from LA

[carohs]

Trying to decide on another cruise. Looks like from LA there's the Miracle, Panorama, and Radiance. What's the difference between the ships? Which do you like?

[ashkir]

Miracle is a smaller Spirit Class ship. Miracle has a lot of hidden things where you can relax, hide, and view the artwork. It was designed with a theme, and is absolutely gorgeous. 

Panorama and Radiance are basically the same. They're Vista ships with a little bit of everything. They're definately pretty crowded. Panorama usually does the 7 day trips and Radiance usually does 4 and 3 day trips. 

[spencercoop]

1 hour ago, ashkir said:

Miracle is a smaller Spirit Class ship. Miracle has a lot of hidden things where you can relax, hide, and view the artwork. It was designed with a theme, and is absolutely gorgeous. 

Panorama and Radiance are basically the same. They're Vista ships with a little bit of everything. They're definately pretty crowded. Panorama usually does the 7 day trips and Radiance usually does 4 and 3 day trips. 

The Radiance is actually a Sunshine class ship.  She used to be the Victory but recently received a $200 million renovation.

[ncovert]

I’ve sailed all three.  Size and age are the primary differences.  The Panorama is the largest with most onboard offerings of “different things to do”.  Radiance is the in between sized ship and from DW’s opinion the best “design wise.”  Miracle is the smallest and most ornate.  I loved all three ships and our next two cruises are booked aboard the Radiance and Panorama.  IMO, you can’t go wrong with any of the three.  
 

What types of things are you looking for in your cruise ship?  While all three sail from Long Beach, all three have a variety ports and length.  That detail is what I would consider.

 

If you are interested in the three ships I have vlogs/family videos linked in my signature about all three ships.  What ever decision you make, I hope you have a great cruise(s)

[Theosprey247]

An other difference is the Panorama sails mostly 7-8 day Mexican Riveria itineraries while the Radiance handles 3-4 day Ensenada hops. The Miracle isn’t a full time resident of LB and often does the Hawaii run. 
 

I prefer the Panorama. 

[havanadaydreaming]

Panorama has most of the bells snd whistles. 

 

Id consider the other two ships if they had better port time in Cabo than the Panorama.  Ours left Cabo 2pm whitch was a bit of a bummer.  

[sanmarcosman]

Miracle has dark interiors, particularly the Bacchus MDR and the Lido buffet with its heavy use of black glass. The Panorama and Radiance are light and bright with modern, sleek lines compared to the kitschy interiors of Miracle.

 

 

[nwcruiselover]

I have sailed all three ships and like them all. Panorama is one of my favorite ships in the fleet and I did 14 days on her in January (B2B) and thoroughly enjoyed the ship.  Although the ship was near capacity, it didn’t have a crowded feel, and there were always quiet areas around the ship.  Also, because Panorama only does 6-7 days cruises, it would always be my choice sailing from Long Beach.

[Are.we.there.yet?]

Hi,

 

Been on all three as well, a few times, and have some booked now.  Our preference is the Radiance.  DH will say it's because they have Shaq's chicken!  LOL!!!!  We prefer smaller ships but the Radiance is a happy medium and has a lot of food choices.  I agree about the Panorama doing the longer itineraries and that's a big plus but it has a much bigger feel.  The buffet on the Panorama is TINY and not good.  The Miracle is kinda funky with the comedy club and the dance club located on the lowest deck, along with the OV rooms.  You also have to walk through the smoky casino to get to the front on that deck.  We're gamblers so we're used to it but we didn't like it when we had our kids with us.

 

All of them have been good trips though.  We just prefer the Radiance.

 

Tina

[carohs]

I'm looking for a place to quietly read a book while watching the ocean pass by, preferably no where near smokers. Maybe something of a weekend getaway. I'm also most likely bringing my kids. 

[ncovert]

4 hours ago, carohs said:

I'm looking for a place to quietly read a book while watching the ocean pass by, preferably no where near smokers. Maybe something of a weekend getaway. I'm also most likely bringing my kids. 

All three ships have a serenity deck that will have views of the ocean and will give you a chance to watch the ocean as you a read a book.  However this is an adult only area and will only meet the needs of reading.

Panorama will have the most variety of the 3 for your kiddos.  In addition to the ropes course (which the Radiance has as well) it has a peddling sky course),  The Miracle has a more petite offering with the sports park and mini golf (which is on the Panorama and Radiance as well)

 

Camp Ocean was very large on the Panorama as was the Radiance (we loved the location on the Radiance which probably had a lot to do with our stateroom location), Miracle’s Camp Ocean (time stamp 1:09) is inconvenient to get to because you cannot access it without stairs or walking through a hall of staterooms) - it is not located within a more “public location.  

Radiances water park area was right in the middle of “the action”, very much integrated into the open air decks which made it easy for the whole family to enjoy.  

 

The Miracle has an indoor area far off the beaten path called “Gatsby’s Garden” (time stamp 2:01 for a time lapse walk through) that we never found on our five day cruise to Cabo, but when we went on our 10 day to Alaska we sought out.  It was widely unused and has window views of the ocean, definitely a place you could spend some time reading a book in.

 

Sorry it is not a straightforward answer.  I am sure there are other “positives” and “negatives” and if I think of more I’ll come back and post.  Hope whatever you choose, you have a great cruise.