Radiance of the Seas Review
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We have wanted to do a cruise to Hawaii for a long time. We were last in the islands in 1982. The Radiance of the Seas cruise from Vancouver to Hawaii was a great chance to return with the added benefit of travelling with friends. It is a lovely ship with a few spots looking the worse for wear. We felt right at home since our 40 year old home also has a few of those! There did seem to be a very friendly, cheerful ambiance on the ship that I believe starts at the top.
Embarkation was very efficient--one of our best in 16 cruises. Disembarkation via express, carry your own luggage was very popular and maybe the large express group needs letters or numbers to be called in stages also.
Overall, dining was quite good. Mostly, we had breakfast and lunch in the Windjammer. I could find enough breakfast variety to eat for a month in this venue. Three times I had breakfast in the Park Cafe to avail myself of the lox and bagels and fixings I enjoy very much. We had lunch in the main dining room once. I had the Tutti salad I loved in the past. It was good but tuna fish was the protein of choice. I missed the shrimp and prosciutto I had enjoyed in the past. Do I detect a cut-back? Had some good Indian food in the WJ. Plenty of choices to not go hungry. Thought the desserts here were very weak and repetitive and many dishes could use a bit more spice.
Cabin Review
Interior
Overall, the cabin was quiet, efficient and we stowed our stuff just fine. My favorite cabin configuration is the one on Princess. We thought the bed was lumpy and hard--pillows were fine. Elmer was our room steward and did his very best. He tried to add a blanket under the sheets which helped a little. Temperature worked fine. He got us ice as needed. We had a little problem with the small (1 inch) tiles on our bathroom floor coming up and sticking to your bare feet as you traversed the bathroom. Elmer/maintenance worked on this but never really solved the problem. Kudos to maintenance when operator error (mine!) messed up the safe and I could not get in to it. They came promptly for a reset.