Radiance of the Seas Cruise Reviews - Reviews

This was my first cruise and after reading many reviews on this website, I decided to book the 7-night Alaskan cruise from Radiance of the Seas.

The overall experience was very positive for me. We splurged a little and booked the balcony which was quite worth it. Imagine watching snow mountains and glaciers out of your window 24/7! Plus the days are so long in Alaska (the sun sets at 11pm in Seward) you want to be able to have at least a window to look outside. 

By day 1, all the servers remembered our names and were able to recall our names for the rest of the cruise, which was pretty darn impressive given that there were some 2500 passengers. Speaking of which, the crowd is not what I had imagined at all: mostly retirees and very few families with kids. I'd say the average age on the cruise was 50. However, there still was lots of entertainment on the ship. Amy, the cruise director was amazing. So were the orchestra, the singers and dancers, and all the headline shows. They threw a 70s disco party in the Centrum which was the BEST party I have ever had. It was seriously a great time. Food was amazing. Not the most luxurious food I've ever had. But hey, this is a cruise! I had tiger shrimps, Alaskan salmon, lamb shank, king crabs etc. And they were all done to perfection. Speaking of food, we were very pleased with their My-Time(TM) dining, which allows you to dine at a different time everyday (at your request). The flexibility was AMAZING.

The weather was seriously fabulous. We did not have a single day of rain, which is quite rare from what I hear of Alaska. Even Ketchikan, the wettest town in the country (with 300+ days of rain a year) was sunny and bright with beautiful blue skies. As a result, we did not get to use any of the heavy rain coats, or water-proof hiking boots that we brought (boy were they heavy!). The ports of call were BEAUTIFUL. However, the excursions were EXPENSIVE. I mean like 500/person/2-hour excursion expensive. We easily burned through $5000+ for the whole trip (and that's not including flights!). But they were so worth it. I will give a detailed port-by-port list below, but in general, things you want to do in Alaska are: whale watching, glacier watching, (snow) mountain hiking, rain-forest hiking, wild-life (bears) watching, and TRAINS (who would have thought)! The trains were seriously the highlights of the ENTIRE trip. Then there were small ports with essentially nothing to do (Icy strait point, AKA Hoonah). That's where you do the world's longest zip line (which was SO MUCH fun).

I am usually a Caribbean or warm cruiser - there is nothing quite like the feeling of a warm sun glowing down on your skin while you sip a pina colada on the lido deck! So I was quite skeptical when my spouse suggested that we take an Alaskan cruise. What's fun about wearing your coat all week in May? Yech! Thankfully, I turned out to be quite wrong in my apprehensions. The weather was mild all week, so jeans and sweatshirts sufficed for clothes (or tights/skirts and long sleeved blouses with a light jacket if you wanted to dress it up) and it was quite invigorating to cuddle close on the deck with my sweetie, holding a hot cocoa and watching as we sailed quite close to some breathtaking glaciers. The ports of call were thick with Native American culture instead of the usual islander, and rather than dolphins and sting rays, we spied bald eagles, whales, and moose. 

Oh, and the Solarium was open 24 hours a day too, so I managed to catch a few rays too!

Do the 3 day land portion first, alot of 3 and 4 hr traveling on bus and train..then you can relax on the cruise portion. We had no rain, weather was perfect, mostly averaged in low 60's. Coldest in icy strait in low 50's. Pay the extra money to take the Denali Park Tundra excursion instead of the free Royal Caribbean bus ride through the park, well worth the money! we saw every animal except wolves! The zipline in Juneau was excellent and beautiful, make sure you get the one that includes the Mendenhall Glacier it is gorgeous! We woke up to a rare scene of the full scale of Mt. Mckinley at the Talkeetna Lodge, what a view! I took my winter coat, but didn't use it, just a little layering and and nice light jacket that stops the wind. Radiance is a nice small ship and service is wonderful. One problem I had with the ship is that I paid for a full window so I could look out but it was so dirty I couldn't see much and forget about taking any pic's from the cabin..Very disappointed with that especially if you happen to be in your cabin and spot a whale!! One suggestion for Royal is that I wished they had a Botanist lecture onboard so that I knew what all the gorgeous flowers were. All in all, a great trip!

Our cruise started with finding out we were arriving a day earlier than we had originally expected. Our itinerary given to us online stated our arrival as May 7th but when getting on shipboard we found out that our arrival was May 6th. This ended up costing us an additional $500.

The waters were rough but that wasn't really a problem. The New Zealand stops were good but not great. The 3 French Polynesian ports were great. Loved Bora Bora!! To many days at sea. The Cruise Director was terrible. He did not plan the onboard entertainment well, as far as the music around the ship or the timing of many of the programs. Such as planning a Main Show at 7:45, which meant the 8pm diners could not see the show at all. He planned the Mega-cruisers (emerald,diamond,etc members) event at 7:45pm which was also the same time as one of his 7:45 shows. So we had so skip a good show to go to this. We went and the entertainment was just one of his regular groups that you can see around the ship. A couple of officers came around to meet a few of us. The said hello and chatted a bit. They didn't introduce themselves or ask our names (RUDE). The captain came out, said hello, introduced a crew member who had served 20 yrs and another who had served 5 yrs. He didn't introduce their supervisors who were standing with (RUDE). Then he left. There were drinks and a few snacks. The drinks and snacks were served as you arrived but not brought around after you were seated (NOT GOOD). I have been to others on other Royal Caribbean ships which were much much nicer and had special entertainment such as ballet dancers and they were in the daytime so that you didn't miss any nighttime entertainment. VERY POORLY PLANNED AND EXECUTED!!

Food was good but to many curry dishes and in the buffet it was often the same everyday.

Service was outstanding!!

Room Steward was terrific in every way possible. Always smiling and helpful.

Main Dining Room was wonderful and the staff was Awesome!! Food there was great!!

We will never go on another 18 day cruise because it is simply to long and to many days at sea for us.

We left Sydney, and had 11 days on the ship, before getting off in Bora Bora.  (the cruise continued another 7 days to Hawaii).  The weather wasn't good, which couldn't be helped. The food was very good and we made friends with some really nice people.  The staff was wonderful, but there wasn't enough to do on the ship.  There is a theater which held a couple of hundred, but there are 2500 people on the ship, so you couldn't get in.  They would have a dance party that would end in 30 minutes, just when everyone was having fun. It seemed most activities were centered around selling you something. We felt nickled and dimed constantly. One other thing...We were sold adjoining balconies with our friends.... Bait and switch.  Our rooms were next door, but didn't receive the balconies we were promised upon purchasing.  Our friends had an obstruction right in their balcony view, which we had made sure none of us would have before booking....again bait and switch!!  All the cruise line could say is "I'm sorry".  Bottom line, "I'm sorry"...we will not be cruising on this cruise line again. 

While I do like to cruise, I will be more discerning on our next cruise. The ship was fine, the crew were great, the captain was a true professional and did an excellent job keeping us out of Cyclone alley. Where the problem lay was the 'extras.'  Used to be that when you cruised a 'small' upcharge could grant you access to the special dining rooms, now that charge is substantial. In addition, if you did pre-book the special dining, it is quite irritating to see the dining packages 'discounted' onboard. One dining venue was a la carte - after you were seated you got to see the prices (but they do not tell you this when you book it online.) Drink packages were obscenely overpriced, but then so were the drinks. We drank lots of water. We noticed that the once filled lounges were sparsely visited and the casino was empty most of the time. Many other passengers on our cruise said they abhorred the nickel and diming and in protest did not buy drinks or gamble - it showed. There was lots of confusion over the Wine packages, which were unavailable just weeks prior to the cruise suddenly and then being sold at check in. We are not big drinkers, but we just could not see spending that kind of money on drinks we could never drink in a day. The people I really felt sorry for were the wait staff, it was not their fault a glass of wine was $12-19 per glass, but they bore the brunt of the non-drinking because as a result they got no tips.

Trivia games were popular as were the cultural talks and the art classes. Many of the 'games' were not geared to our group's age and the music, oh and sometimes the music drove us to our rooms - again probably an age thing, but most of us would have much preferred classical, country or what is now referred to a classical rock. We hated the rap and other 90's noise. We did find good music sometimes, but you never knew. We did have some fun, we met some wonderful new friends onboard. The Chef's Table was a great experience; the food and wines were wonderful.

The odd choice of stopping in an industrial port was interesting - if you wanted to see ore dug from the ground I guess it was OK. Most of the ship seemed to be Australians which was fine by us. With the political unrest and recent troubles in Indonesia we chose not to disembark at Bali, where the ocean waters were filthy with trash. The highlights were the stops at Airlie Beach, Brisbane, Darwin, Port Geraldton, and Perth. More excursion choices would have been nice.

I wonder if too many passengers knew that the room stewards gets paid ONLY the gratuities per room - no hourly wage and they share that with all the other non-seen crew. Our room steward told us that they work every day for seven months with no day off.  I left with a bad taste in my mouth for Royal Caribbean. If you knew that you will be spending an extra $2000 or so onboard maybe it would have helped me in my planning.

Well I'm going to give Radiance 5 stars due to being our first ever cruise in 2015. The staff were amazing along with the food. A decent holiday for everyone to enjoy. Because of this cruise in specific we couldn't go with another cruise line until we've tried them all well the different classes. Quantum 👍Voyager👍radiance👍our next one will be oasis class (symphony) booked for December cannot wait.

This was our second cruise, our first cruise was on the same ship in the same cabin. We were so impressed with the first cruise which was a 12 night New Zealand cruise, that we decided that we wanted to have the same experience only longer. 18 nights on the same ship sounded great and started out great, but the 6 days at sea from Honolulu to Morea would have been much better if we had something to do. The entertainment that we enjoyed on the first cruise just wasn't there. Even the kids were bored. The teenagers abandoned Kids Club and took to sitting on the stairs in groups. The 5 sea days to Wellington was as bad. We were so disappointed our third cruise is on the Golden Princess. No more Royal Caribbean for us.

We had a great time. Not only is the ship clean and everything working but the staff and officers are the best. The cruise was relatively smooth and the ports of call were an excellent experience. Time in each port was ample and offered excursions were plentiful and varied. Food was good to excellent and the service superb. We will see this ship again and recommend it to all we know . Thank you RCCL

The radiance was our first cruise. We absolutely fell in love with cruising on this ship! Our favourite places were the thermal spa and the solarium. The service was great and the food was amazing.

I took this cruise thinking it would have some Hawaiian entertainment, music, food, etc. Nothing. There wasn't even any Hawaiian items in the onboard shops to purchase. When I asked why, they told me that they only go to Hawaii twice a year. This was my first and probably last trip to Hawaii.

The entertainment was the worst of any of the 7 cruises we have taken. The evening entertainment for one of the at sea days was a movie that was on HBO last year. Anything worth watching on TV was pay preview.

The food was mediocre at best.

The balcony cabin we had was the smallest of any cabin we've ever had, including the one interior. The balcony was covered in salt, which was never cleaned, and got all over our clothing. The balcony glass was never cleaned even after we asked. The balcony had an obstructed view. There was a roof in front of the balcony. We couldn't see the ocean except at a distance.

The Windjammer café was crowded most of the time. Typically, we made at least two round trips looking for a table.

The best part of the cruise was the dining room staff. They were efficient and friendly.

Really enjoyed seeing Hawaii. Very interesting.

I think the Radiance of the seas should be avoided. The cabins are small. There is not enough room in the Dining areas. Their seem to want to force people to use the many specialty restaurants. I was told they took out public seating in order to install more room in the specialty restaurants.

My first and probably last cruise with Royal Caribbean.

Awesome first cruise! From the beginning to the end of the cruise was a great time.

We booked the northbound cruise with pre and post tour! The Canadian Rockies are amazing, there's lots of glaciers and tours along the way. The cruise is as expected of Royal. Post cruise Alaska tour ends at Fairbanks. Denali national park is a must go! We extended our tour to visit the Artic circle and stayed a night at coldfoot for the northern lights!

On-board food, room cleanup, shows, etc. were great. Bus from Anchorage to Seward (where cruise ship left) was an experience to forget. Not the ride or the driver, but the arrangements.

When my travel agent made the arrangement, I was told they would only pick me up at the hotel downtown. Twice later I asked me travel agent to call back and check to see if they could pick me up at the airport – turned down both times. When I got downtown they did not have my name on the reservation list, so I had to pay a second time for the bus ride (reimbursed on-board after three days). When I got on the bus, it immediately went to the airport and picked up eight riders.

In discussing my experience onboard with other passengers, I was told that if you push Guest Services, they find a way to “get even” so the final result is “evened out”. I believe it.

Ability to reply to Royal Caribbean directly expired 7 days from end of cruise (not end of my trip). Not long enough, since I had a few days in Vancouver, British Columbia planned. I sent an email to the address given to “If you need assistance with this survey” and it bounced back as “User does not exist.” Guess you can’t get help either.

I had a great time, and really no complaints that affected my satisfaction with the trip.  The ship was beautiful and very clean, I was very happy with the itinerary and the on-board services,and staff were very friendly. Specifically we had wonderful staff in the Cascades dining room (especially table #591 on 5th floor) and our room attendant, Salil  We decided to try taking Royal Caribbean to Alaska, which was a change since we usually use Carnival Cruise Lines.  I would say that, comparing the two, I prefer the overall atmosphere of Carnival over the Royal Caribbean ship we took.  The atmosphere for Royal Caribbean was more laid back, which is great for those people who want a more restful trip.  The activities offered on-board for the most part did not appeal to me or probably those in my age group and younger, which left me to spend an awful lot of time vegging (I'll let it be said many people want that from a vacation- so this is the cruise for them! I personally prefer to be entertained while cruising).  I would have liked to see a greater variety of live music and missed wait staff circulating in pool areas so guests could order drinks from their lounge chairs.  I do highly recommend the body sculpting boot camp with Matthew.  It was awesome and really kicked my butt.  The food was great.  For most of the trip, food in the buffet had to be served by staff due to a norovirus outbreak on the trip right before ours, but I was happy to see the measures they took to ensure a safe and healthy trip.  It created a lot of congestion in the buffet lines, but I felt it was necessary.  Embarkment was troublesome for this same reason (they were sanitizing the ship, so we had to wait an extra 2 hours to board when in Vancouver) but procedures for getting on and off in ports during the cruise and at the end in Seward were nicely handled except for the continuous changing of decks for disembarkment that occured at the last minute without notification to guests.  These things truly aren't complaints, but just a factual review of my trip.  the only real complaint I have is that you cannot sit alone (as a couple) in the Cascades dining room.  If you show up there with only two people, you are seated at a table with a bunch of other people you don't know, which can be very awkward.  It was nice to meet new people, but I also would have liked to be able to have dinner alone with my husband sometimes.   I would suggest this trip to those who want a more laid back and restful vacation. It just wasn't my favorite because I wanted a more upbeat environment but I also loved it.  I would take the trip again!

The ship was impressive, well kept and fun to explore.

Food was great, service was great (especially in the main dining room and at some of the lounges), cruise director and activities were also great, entertainment was good (especially the comedians).  And to top it all off, we were in Alaska, one of the most amazing cruise destinations!

Radiance of the Seas 5/30/2014 – 7-day Northbound Alaska with Hubbard Glacier

We sailed this ship several years ago, so we were looking forward to seeing how Royal Caribbean added some of the Oasis class features in the recent remodel.

Ship – Overall the public areas of the ship are in good shape, and it is a beautiful ship.  This class of ship is perfect for cruising Alaska with windows everywhere, including exterior glass elevators to enjoy the view!  Exterior of the ship’s hull definitely needed some Rustoleum and a new paint job.  The ship never felt crowded and wait times for elevators seemed less than on other cruises lately.

Cabin Appearance – We had cabin 7530 which is one of the “Sweet 16” (making it 1 of the 16 cabins that have an extended balcony) which was perfect for this itinerary.  The cabin had plenty of storage space and was well laid out.  The hidden storage areas above the desk/behind the mirrors are a nice surprise if you find them!  The cabin had a small refrigerator and a safe.  However, when you get to the details, we did notice some areas that needed work.  For instance, on the balcony the dividers were painted sloppily to cover areas that had worn off (allowing you to see to the next balcony) and the backside of the drapes were worn out and falling apart.  We were surprised to find that they removed the sliding doors of the shower “tube” and replaced it with a flimsy curtain that did absolutely nothing to keep the water in.  Our floor was flooded with every shower.  The curtain was too short and hung with basic wire hooks connected together.  

Entertainment – We elected not to attend most shows, but we did attend two.  One was a featured performer named Finis Henderson who was a combination singer/impersonator.  He was extremely talented and entertaining.  We cannot say the same about the production show – City of Dreams.  The singers and dancers were talented, but the selection of material and the choice of musical arrangement was bizarre.  Others in our group enjoyed the other production show, Piano Man, and the show featuring John Joseph & Johnny B. 

Activities – They offered plenty of trivia and other activities including Glacier Ice Carving from a piece of glacier ice that we watched crew members retrieve from the waters by Hubbard Glacier.  Bingo was popular as well as the gift shop Sale of the Day.  We appreciated that there were several onboard lectures pertinent to the itinerary but, for some reason, we missed them all.  They sounded really interesting though!  The Cinema of deck 6 is a real movie theater and showed some great movies throughout the week. 

Food, Dining Room – We always ate in the main dining room for dinner and had late seating.  Unlike other cruises, we never felt that we had to miss the entertainment due to late seating.  Some days our shows were before dinner and sometimes after.  Overall we would give the food a solid “B”.  Nothing fabulous, but nothing terrible.  Some of the best entrées were the Chicken Marsala and Carved Filet of Beef Tenderloin.  Lunch in the dining room was great with the Brasserie 30 concept.  The select-your-own Tutti Salad station was excellent and the best dessert was at lunch: Warm Cherry Custard Crepes!  Delicious!  Honestly, it beats Carnival’s Warm Chocolate Melting Cake – hands down! 

Food, Buffet/Other – The standard buffet was nothing special and Royal Caribbean has not changed its breakfast buffet fare in 20 years!  Fortunately, the Boardwalk Dog House offered delicious sausages and Park Café offered a great made-to-order salad bar and Roast Beef Sandwiches.  Breakfast was a good choice in Park Café as well, better than the main buffet. 

Room Service – Excellent service and quality.  We held a happy hour in our cabin and ordered fruit & cheese plates and cookies that were delivered promptly.  On Hubbard Glacier day, we ordered hot tea and pastries and were surprised to get Hot Cocoa as well. 

Bars/Lounges – Overall the bars and lounges were completely under-utilized and rarely staffed throughout the week.  The Quill & Compass pub was an awesome venue that had a guitar player some evenings, but the staffed hours were limited.  As always, the Schooner Bar was the main hangout along with the Centrum where they held many activities and musical acts.  The Champagne bar got some action before dinnertime, but mainly there were people sitting there throughout the day to enjoy the beautiful views. The dark-wooded Colony Club was rarely used except for Bingo and the Art Auctions along with the past guest party.  It is such a nice room; they should do more in there.  The self-leveling pool tables are awesome and were in play often.

Solarium/Spa/Gym/Pool – The Solarium was busy on sea days and in the afternoons after port.  It is a very nice, warm and relaxing area, so we understand the appeal.  The Spa offered the typical spa services and had a sauna and steam room in the locker rooms.  The Gym was well-equipped and pools and hot tubs were in use even though the weather was chilly on deck.

Service – We had exceptional service in the Diamond Lounge and very good service at the other bars throughout the ship.  Our dining team was efficient and friendly, but they did not go above and beyond.  Our cabin steward was above average, but we noticed that we only got 3 towel animals in the week – which seemed to be less than on previous Royal Caribbean cruises.  There were no chocolates on our pillows at night but we didn’t miss them and if it helps keep the prices down, then we’re okay with that. 

Officers – The Captain was very charismatic and the Cruise Director, Amy, did a very good job (don’t miss their cake building competition – very fun!).  Overall, we did not see much officer interaction except at the past guest parties and during occasional pre-programmed activities.

Itinerary –

We departed from Vancouver and visited the ports of Ketchikan, Icy Strait Point, Juneau and Skagway before ending in Seward/Anchorage.    We were fortunate to have beautiful weather in most ports and only light rain in Juneau.  This was our third visit to Alaska, so we have done a lot of the “big” excursions like Helicopter Glacier landings and Whale Watching on past trips.  This time we did things differently.

Vancouver – We had one night pre-cruise hotel at the Best Western Plus Downtown Vancouver on Drake Street.  The hotel was in excellent shape and overall the staff was fantastic!  We only had one evening to enjoy the city, so we took a taxi to the Gastown area to explore.  We ended up dining at SteamWorks right near the pier.  After exploring the area for a while, we decided to walk back to the hotel which took us about 15-20 minutes.  The hotel has a complimentary shuttle to the pier, but you had to reserve same day starting at 7am.  We were in the lobby at 6:45am to ensure we got the coveted 10:30am pier shuttle!  Even though the hotel had a White Spot restaurant in the lobby, we walked to Tim Horton’s for breakfast just a few blocks away for some yummy steeped hot tea and breakfast sandwiches. 

Ketchikan – Here we did the Ketchikan City Tour with Saxman Native Village.  The information was good and the totems were cool, but we had a really boring guide, so it wasn’t the best tour overall.  The tour ended at Creek Street which is always a fun place to walk around, and it included a visit to Dolly’s Museum.  We walked around town after that and found a local’s hangout called the Asylum to enjoy a beverage before heading back to the ship.

Icy Strait Point – We elected to walk to the town of Hoonah instead of taking a tour in Icy Strait.  There is a wonderful path along the water almost all the way to town or you can take a shuttle for $5 roundtrip.  At the recommendation of other guests on board, we found ourselves at a local establishment called The Office where we met the Town of Hoonah’s Vice Mayor and owner of The Office.  The view was awesome, and we saw lots of whales and eagles from here.  Plus we got to meet some of the locals who are very interesting people!  The local halibut fish and chips was excellent, too! 

Juneau – We walked downtown to the State Capital Building and took a free tour which was very interesting.  Then we visited a few of the many souvenir shops in town.  In the afternoon, we took the Mendenhall Glacier Express Shuttle $20pp roundtrip to Mendenhall Glacier.  Because we were on our own timetable, we walked several trails and hiked out to the waterfall.  This was a lot better than a rushed tour stop with 50 other people!! 

Skagway – Probably our favorite day of the trip.  We hiked a trail (a bit difficult uphill at first) out to Little Dewey Lake and were treated to some of the most beautiful views imaginable.  After the hike, we walked around town visiting the Moore Homestead and caught up with friends in the Bonzana Bar and the Red Onion before returning to the ship just in time!

Seward/Anchorage – We arranged a custom tour/transfer for our group from the ship to Anchorage that included a 90 minute stop at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.  Most of the tour/transfers stop here, but only for about 45 minutes.  The AWCC is so spread out, that you need more time than that to see all the animals.  Even with 90 minutes, it still wasn’t enough in our opinion. 

Anchorage – We stayed at the gorgeous Historic Anchorage Hotel on E Street (right next to the Hilton).  The hotel was one of the least expensive properties available in downtown, but it was wonderful.  They staff was extremely courteous and helpful, the rooms were well appointed with wonderful beds.  One of the coolest things about the hotel is that it is said to be haunted!  The City of Anchorage is easy to navigate with many restaurants and parks within a few blocks of this hotel.  Some of our top picks – SnowGoose for outside patio views of the water and mountains, Glacier Brewhouse for good food (a little pricey), Humpy’s for halibut tacos and their Bloody Mary bar, and Nene’s if you want to try some Russian dumplings!  Our visit to Anchorage included a taking a free shuttle the Alaska Native Heritage Center where we learned more about the history, people and culture of this great state. In addition, we enjoyed a free concert in the park along with the locals, and were fascinated by the Land of the Midnight Sun!  When it was time to head home, taxis to the airport are only about $20, and it takes about 15-20 minutes. 

For some, Alaska is a once in a lifetime experience, but for us it’s “When are we going back?”  This was truly a great cruise overall, on a beautiful ship perfect for this itinerary. 

The ship was clean and the personnel professional and friendly.

The rooms are a bit smaller than on other cruise lines. (matching balcony stateroom with balcony stateroom) The ship's layout was spacious and convenient. We loved the multi leveled Centrum design.