Your favorite RSSC ship?

[KeepCruizen]

I am looking at booking my first curise with RSSC and just wanted to get some opinions on favorite ships and why?

 

 

Would love some feed back!

Denise

[Jim B]

Boy that is a tough one:

I would like to answer that but it will have to be after February 2005 when I have been on at least 3 ships.

 

03/22/80 MS Caribe

02/15/03 Radisson Paul Gauguin

02/22/04 NCL Dream (ick)

11/12/04 Radisson Mariner "MINT" Cruise

02/15/05 Radisson Diamond "ADRIFT" Cruise.

[jhp]

I have been on all of them (since now the Song of Flower is no longer with us, although I toured this ship just before she left the fleet!) The Navigator and the Voyager have the best suites, for me. Separate shower and tub areas, and a few more square feet per cabin. Mariner, however, has all the nicer dining alternatives that are available on the Voyager but not the Navigator. Sounds confusing, but when I choose, it is for the itinerary instead of the ship, they are all so close! When you look back on your travels, it is more where you went than where you stayed, in my mind! You can never go wrong with a Radisson ship for "where you stayed". Concentrate instead on the itinerary.

[Dolphins]

We have only sailed on Navigator, our first Radisson experience and were so impressed that we booked it again next year. We especially like that she offers many round trip cruises out of New York. We would not hesitate to sail any Radisson ship out of New York.

[bettywh]

I have only sailed on the Diamond and the Voyager. The Voyager is fantastic, but I think I still prefer the Diamond. It carries half the # of people as the Voyager. The size does make it easier to meet more people. But you can't go worng with either!

[sandracruiser]

We have been on the P.G. , the Navigator and the Voyager. We will be sailing on the Voyager again this coming Jan. Our favorite ship is still the P.G., although the cabins are much smaller, I have to agree that it has alot to do with the itinary. We like the small number of passagers too.

Sandy

You can't go wrong with any of the Radisson ships.....

[yodooo2]

Hi. We have also been on several Radisson cruises. We went to S America in 03 on the Navigator and it was a great cruise. Loved the suites and alternative dining.

This year we went on the VOyager and it was terrific also. Alternative dining was a little nicer but both ships are great. I used to be a strong Crystal cruiser and still love them but RSSC is certainly on an even par. THe suites are much larger on RSSC but service, food etc are equal. You won't go wrong with any of them. Even Diamond is a fun ship. Enjoy!!!

[adrenn]

So far, all the RSSC ships are special. Each has its own personality. We prefer more port-intensive itineraries to sea days so tend to rank itinerary and price ahead of ship when we book a cruise. We've sailed voyager, mariner and diamond. We're booked on PG and navigator for 2005. I like voyager or mariner better than the diamond as the larger size gives me more choices of dining options and a larger group of passengers with whom to share the trip. I agree with bettywh that you can't go wrong with any of them and would certainly book the diamond again with the right price/itinerary combination. Cheers, Anne

[KeepCruizen]

Thanks everyone! I think it is going to be the navigator the date & departure fits us best it seems like you can't go wrong with any of the ships we will be going on Crystal for the first time during the Holiday glad to hear they are alot alike.

 

Thanks for all the help!

Denise

[Chat Kat]

We've sailed the Navigator and Mariner. We think they are pretty close in amenities and service. We like the public areas of the Mariner slightly more because their is a promenade and people pass through so you can run into people you know more often and we are social types, so we like that aspect. The Navigator is set up so that you can be on her and never run into people you know. She seems more spacious and private in the common areas.

[Dolebludger]

Carol and I have been on all the ships in Radisson's current fleet. While the Paul Gauguin is our favorite CRUISE, the Navigator is our favorite ship (itenerary not considered). It is close between the Navigator Mariner, and Voyager. The Voyager offers the best lowest cost suites, but this ship is just a bit too large for our tastes, and she also has a bit of a vibration problem all above the stern (or did last April when we were aboard her.) But with her, you always get a large suite and a balcony. The Mariner has balconies on all suites, but they are a bit smaller, and the shower/tub combination affords only a bit over 6' of headroom. A problem for taller people. And she too is a bit large for us. The Navigator, while requiring a few upgrades to get the equal of the base suite on the Voyager, carries about 200 fewer guests at maximum capacity. This is something some people like, as not even the "hint" of a crowd or line is present. Yes, the Navigator vibrates a bit --- mainly low and toward the stern. And the show lounge (which is both) is often subject to vibrations that can be felt AND heard. But in most all suites, there is no problem, and the Navigator's smaller size puts her in the lead with us.

 

Thanks,

Richard

[JPR]

Mariner is the best.

 

Voyager should be (combines new amenities of Mariner with larger basic suites/separate tub and shower of Navigator) but has had some vibration problems.

 

Paul Gauguin is a great little ship. Diamond is a good bet for people who can't stand sea motion--the most stable due to its catamaran-like SWATH shape/technology.

[Dolebludger]

Well, when it all boils down, they all are good!

 

Here's just a little hint about the Voyager vibration, from our cruise last April. If you book a suit forward of the laundry location on each deck, I'm pretty sure there will be no vibration problem. Zero. Not all suites to the aft of that will have a problem --- but some could and I don't know how to tell you which ones might vibrate. I know that stern cabin 784 and the corner suite on deck 9 above it shook like the dickens above 20 knots. Both on the port side of the ship. But some of the stern cabins more toward the starboard side weren't bad. I could feel the vibration gradually decrease as I walked in the halls toward the laundry rooms on each deck. By the time I got to the laundry, vibration was gone. Sure hope they get that fixed!

 

Hope this helps,

Richard

[Leejnd4]

Hi,

 

I just booked a class-H guarantee on Voyager, and now I'm just a bit concerned that we might get one of the vibrating cabins. Not that a little vibration is going to spoil our vacation-of-a-lifetime, but with all the free-flowing wine it might result in somewhat of a nausea factor! Can anyone tell me how bad it really is?

 

LeeAnne

[Dolebludger]

While I can't say how bad it IS, I can discuss how bad it WAS in April, '04. We had an "H" guarantee too, and were initially very happy to be assigned to a "C" horizon suite, cabin 784, right on the stern above the port side pod. We had been on the "famous vibrating Navigator" twice and felt there was not really much of a problem there. So we discounted reports of vibrations on some parts of the Voyager. But we found that the vibration was really pretty bad IN OUR SUITE when the ship exceeded about 20 knots. At about 21.5 knots, the vibration became a shaking motion from side to side. My wife became ill -- the first time in 15 cruises. A couple of our friends whose suite was directly above ours on deck 9 had much the same problem. HOWEVER, other friends who were in those stern suites more toward the starboard side of the ship found little problem.

 

The story on this problem, if it is true, is that the Voyager initially had no vibration problems anywhere, until it was accidently backed into a pier or something well before our cruise. Also before our cruise, this ship had repairs made to the starboard pod, which may account for the lack of serious problems more to the starboard on her stern area.

 

As we will be wanting to cruise the Voyager again, and as we otherwise really liked the horizon suites, I hope that some corrective measures have been undertaken as to the port pod by now, as it was apparent that this was the source of the vibration.

 

Perhaps someone who has cruised this ship since last April can fill us in as to whether the stern vibration problem has been fixed.

 

Thanks,

Richard

[Leejnd4]

I wonder, if it's not a sold-out cruise, do you think they be willing to move you to another cabin if the vibration issue was a problem for you?

 

Just curious...

 

LeeAnne

[Dolebludger]

LeeAnne:

 

I can't answer your question, as our cruise WAS sold out, and I've never had occasion to want to be relocated on our other six Radisson cruises. But let's keep this in perspective. The only vibration problems that were reported or experienced on our cruise were confined to just SOME (but not all) of the suites aft of the laundry rooms on each deck, and the outdoor dining area right above the stern. This is a very small percent of the total suite and public area space on this ship. And we found all other areas of this ship to be totally vibration free.

 

All I can say is this. If I were booking the Voyager today and if I had no updated info, I would talk to my TA and find some way to insure that our suite would not be aft of the laundry rooms on any deck. This would be out of an abundance of caution, as many (or most) of the suites I would be ruling out reportedly didn't have a serious vibration problem on our cruise. What I do know for sure is that suite 784 DID have a serious problem on our cruise, and I did attempt to locate the point toward the bow where the vibration in the hall floors completely stopped. And that point was the laundry rooms.

 

Thanks,

Richard

[JoAnne B]

I had a D cabin on deck 9 on the transatlantic and had no vibration at all. I think that if there are alternative cabins available they will move you. On the Diamond last year, one couple was bothered by "creaking noise" that kept them awake at night....they were promptly moved to a more midship location. Of course, the ship was nearly empty, so availability was not an issue.

[Dolebludger]

JoAnne:

 

For my information for future cruises, what was the number of the suite you occupied? I certainly liked this ship, and will want to cruise on her again. We would just like to avoid the vibration and shaking we experienced before in cabin 784, and we KNOW the majority of the ship did not have this problem.

 

Thanks,

Richard:) :) :)

[Leejnd4]

Thanks for all the info! I've got a guarantee, so I guess we won't find out what cabin we have until we get there. That's why I'm just a tad worried about getting one of the vibrating ones, because I'm thinking that maybe they give the less-desirable cabins to the guarantee passengers. Honestly, though, this is not an issue that's keeping me up at night, because I'm so excited about this cruise, and everything will be so fantastic, that a few wrinkles will have little impact on our overall enjoyment. :)

 

LeeAnne