Dean Pierce
Age: 57
Occupation:retired mental health therapist
Number of Cruises: 5
Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean
Ship: Radiance of the Seas
Sailing Date: June 16th, 2001
Itinerary: Alaska
Having been on Rhapsody (Alaska) and it's sister ship for a 2-week Panama Canal cruise, I was looking forward to Radiance. Overall, I was not disappointed. The placement of the elevators was a pleasant change, affording sea views in many instances. The dining room was beautiful and more elegant than on the other ships, and the service was superb. The alternative dining options, Chopps Grill and Portofino, were excellent! The negatives we noticed were: noise (we could hear conversation in the cabins on either side of ours); we could hear people walking above our cabin and pulling deck chairs from one spot to another; the corridors were not wide enough to accommodate a utility cart and a wheelchair at the same time; when someone leaned up against the wall in the cabin next door, our wall moved. All this said, we still had a great cruise and wouldn't hesitate to sail Radiance again. Embarkation and disembarkation went smoothly and in a timely way. We noticed the balconies appeared smaller than we had had on other cruises, and did not afford the privacy that we had become accustomed to.
Overall, we still prefer the smaller ships. But the standard of customer service is outstanding, and we will continue to look to Royal Caribbean and its sister company, Celebrity, for our future cruising experiences.