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Live! Radiance of the Seas - Panama Canal cruise - April 8, 2024

Teeara
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Teeara "Live from...." Rare

Teeara

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And we’re off!  My roommate Pam and I are sailing on our first Panama Canal cruise and our first time on Radiance.  This will be more of a photo journal of our cruise.

 

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We are NOT light packers!  😉😁😂. Yes, we each have 3 suitcases and a backpack for this cruise.

 

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We flew JetBlue from Boston to Tampa today (Saturday, April 6).  The flight was fine and only slightly bumpy.

 

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We lucked out and were able to check into our hotel room at Hyatt Place Tampa Downtown and oh my, the room is huge!  And Pam is waving hello! to all of you (I was shooting a room tour video for my YT channel).

 

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And here’s one of our views!

 

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We did the upper portion of the Riverwalk and we really enjoyed it.  There were plenty of places to sit, lots of restaurants and activities, too.  We also liked the way the integrated art into the walkway.

 

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We had lunch at Ulele and it was fantastic.  I had the Native Sauté with pan-seared zucchini, squash, carrots, onion, baby spinach, portobello mushrooms, and green beans with a soy ginger reduction over wild rice pilaf.  
 

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After lunch we took the Pirate Water Taxi and the Island Tour.  One of the stops was next to the American Victory ship.  You can tour it.

 

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The stop is also next to the RCI terminal and we were able to get up close and personal with Enchantment right before her sailaway.

 

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We also passed by a pirate ship!

 

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Then it was time for a leisurely walk back to the hotel.  We love all the lush greenery here in Tampa (and the blue skies).  We haven’t had much of that lately in Boston. 😉😁

 

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So if you haven’t cruised out of Tampa before, you should definitely do so and make sure you stay a few days before or after your cruise.  

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njkruzer

njkruzer

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Enjoy your trip. We sailed her through the canal in October.   Missed our Mexico stop because o. f 3 hurricanes!  Captain avoided them so it was smooth sailing. We love that class of ships.

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perfect match Holiday Sharing Rare

perfect match

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I’d love to do this cruise! I need to pay more attention to what itineraries are sailing out of Tampa. I haven’t looked ther very often recently. That apparently needs to change!

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FionaMG "Live from...." Rare

FionaMG

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Bucket list for me too but will likely have to wait a few more years. That native saute looks wonderful.

Have an amazing time!

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island lady "Live from...." Rare

island lady

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Bon Voyage my friend!  Hope you and Pam have a great time on one of my favorite ships!  

 

We won't be aboard Radiance again until Alaska next year doing one of our favorite B2B cruises from Seward to Vancouver and back next year. 

 

But we will cruising out of Tampa again on "Enstretchment" for a B2B in Oct., and then again in December on Celebrity "Connie".   

 

Be sure to catch the Sunshine Skyway bridge sight as you pass under tomorrow!  🙂 

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Teeara "Live from...." Rare

Teeara

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11 hours ago, cruiselover04 said:

We’re all packed and flying down to Tampa tomorrow morning from Toronto. See you on board! 
 

Jenni

Will you be at Hattricks for dinner tonight?

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Teeara "Live from...." Rare

Teeara

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2 hours ago, FionaMG said:

Bucket list for me too but will likely have to wait a few more years. That native saute looks wonderful.

Have an amazing time!

That Native Sauté was so incredibly good!  I’m going to try to recreate it when I get home.

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Teeara "Live from...." Rare

Teeara

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33 minutes ago, island lady said:

Bon Voyage my friend!  Hope you and Pam have a great time on one of my favorite ships!  

 

We won't be aboard Radiance again until Alaska next year doing one of our favorite B2B cruises from Seward to Vancouver and back next year. 

 

But we will cruising out of Tampa again on "Enstretchment" for a B2B in Oct., and then again in December on Celebrity "Connie".   

 

Be sure to catch the Sunshine Skyway bridge sight as you pass under tomorrow!  🙂 

I’ll be missing you!  But you’ve got Alaska and that is always a fun cruise.

 

We’ll try.  How long does it take to get to it once we leave port?  We have 5:30 dinner reservations in the MDR.

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island lady "Live from...." Rare

island lady

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4 minutes ago, Teeara said:

I’ll be missing you!  But you’ve got Alaska and that is always a fun cruise.

 

We’ll try.  How long does it take to get to it once we leave port?  We have 5:30 dinner reservations in the MDR.

 

Unfortunately, unless you leave late for some reason...it is indeed around your dinner time.  Sometimes we simply do the WJ for dinner, so we won't miss it.  The captain will announce approximately what time you will be passing under it.  Enjoy!  Always a thrill, no matter how many times we have done so.  🙂 

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HxFx

HxFx

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Looking forward to the review, I am on Radiance in November! I've been wanting to take a cruise from my hometown for a while 🙂 

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Another_Critic

Another_Critic

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I sailed Radiance 23 years ago (March 26-29, 2001) on her first revenue cruise.  She had that new ship smell.  🙂  Was scheduled to cruise on her again 20 years later to Alaska, but that didn't happen (COVID canceled cruise #3).

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SilkySal

SilkySal

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Hubs and I will be cruising on Radiance in September from Vancouver to LA, and staying on ship from LA in October through the Panama Canal to Tampa. Can't wait for this cruise! Thanks for doing a picture review!

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njkruzer

njkruzer

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3 minutes ago, SilkySal said:

Hubs and I will be cruising on Radiance in September from Vancouver to LA, and staying on ship from LA in October through the Panama Canal to Tampa. Can't wait for this cruise! Thanks for doing a picture review!

Pretty much what we did this past October.  Enjoy. 

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FionaMG "Live from...." Rare

FionaMG

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3 hours ago, island lady said:

Bon Voyage my friend!  Hope you and Pam have a great time on one of my favorite ships!  

 

We won't be aboard Radiance again until Alaska next year doing one of our favorite B2B cruises from Seward to Vancouver and back next year. 

 

But we will cruising out of Tampa again on "Enstretchment" for a B2B in Oct., and then again in December on Celebrity "Connie".   

 

Be sure to catch the Sunshine Skyway bridge sight as you pass under tomorrow!  🙂 

Enstretchment! Love it! 😂😂😂

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island lady "Live from...." Rare

island lady

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2 hours ago, Another_Critic said:

I sailed Radiance 23 years ago (March 26-29, 2001) on her first revenue cruise.  She had that new ship smell.  🙂  Was scheduled to cruise on her again 20 years later to Alaska, but that didn't happen (COVID canceled cruise #3).

 

Same thing happened to me.  😞    We still went up to Alaska, but subbed a VRBO rental in Homer for that 2 weeks.  Happy to rebook it again, and so happy to be back on board Radiance again.  Teeara will love it!  

 

Looking forward to her review as well.  🥰

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Teeara "Live from...." Rare

Teeara

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4 hours ago, Another_Critic said:

I sailed Radiance 23 years ago (March 26-29, 2001) on her first revenue cruise.  She had that new ship smell.  🙂  Was scheduled to cruise on her again 20 years later to Alaska, but that didn't happen (COVID canceled cruise #3).

She just went through a 3 week drydock, so we’re hoping for some new ship smell, too.  Some work was done inside the ship as well as outside.

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Teeara "Live from...." Rare

Teeara

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1 hour ago, island lady said:

 

Same thing happened to me.  😞    We still went up to Alaska, but subbed a VRBO rental in Homer for that 2 weeks.  Happy to rebook it again, and so happy to be back on board Radiance again.  Teeara will love it!  

 

Looking forward to her review as well.  🥰

I’ll be doing a full video series like I did for the Wonder TA.

 

As for Alaska, my mom and I went during Covid in 2021, rented a car in Anchorage and did a 6 day road trip up to Fairbanks.  It was fantastic.  

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island lady "Live from...." Rare

island lady

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1 minute ago, Teeara said:

I’ll be doing a full video series like I did for the Wonder TA.

 

As for Alaska, my mom and I went during Covid in 2021, rented a car in Anchorage and did a 6 day road trip up to Fairbanks.  It was fantastic.  

 

Oh that's right.  I remember you telling me about that.  Great time for a mother daughter trip!  

We did the Fairbanks thing as well during our road trip at different B&Bs.  Sad seeing the resorts and area around Denali all closed up.  😞 

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ONECRUISER

ONECRUISER

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17 hours ago, njkruzer said:

Enjoy your trip. We sailed her through the canal in October.   Missed our Mexico stop because o. f 3 hurricanes!  Captain avoided them so it was smooth sailing. We love that class of ships.

Yeah was wondering if we were going have any stops, thought we might end up with a 16nite Cruise to nowhere. Going around the Hurricane looked at times we were half way to Hawaii

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