Jill

I posted a pic of the pb&j above.

I’ve been told yes. Radiance has an enclosed solarium (retractable roof) that has “family hours.” Ovation has retractable roof too. I’m being optimistic that we’ll get one of those rare 80 degree days and packing a bathing suit!

Here’s the Halibut Hunt in Ketchikan from my cruise planner. FYI the lumberjack shows are in Ketchikan too

Caipirinha’s by the pool are my go to but not every bartender makes them right. Strawberry Blondes are pretty good We we’re on Wonder last week and I have to say the BEST drinks on the whole ship were at Mason Jar. I don’t even like bourbon but man those bourbon craft cocktails were the bomb! Every one of them! Best bartender we’ve ever had on any ship was Malcolm at Mason Jar. This guy really has a deep understanding of all things alcohol. He made my friend her own drink: Sandi Special. It was awesome! We drank many! He also makes an excellent chocolate martini. Have to have one before bed! Schooner bar also made great chocolate martinis.

I second getting cruise director involved. If you don’t want a big spectacle, there is a tiny sitting area in Central Park that is kind of hidden by a trellis type thing with greenery growing on it. It’s right off the walkway. The problem with doing it near the living wall is that the Trellis Bar is right there. Go watch a gazillion YouTube videos of Central Park and scope it out. I spend every evening in the park on multiple sailings and I can’t tell you exactly where the good spots are. I need to pay more attention! Good luck! Can’t wait to hear how it all turns out! Have you joined the roll call for that sailing? I’m sure you could find some accomplices to help! @PPPJJ-GCVABmight like to help!

Yep! I made a point of checking that last week when we were on.

Agree! So nice to have your reservations etc in the App and those reminders that pop up

It is live now for my Alaska in May. Just came on today

Maybe since El Loco Fresh has been a smashing success, Rita’s is staying?

I had heard that Rita’s Cantina was no longer but it’s on the app so I’m assuming it’s still there.

So since we're talking about getting into Canada.....................here's more ridiculousness: We disembark Radiance in Vancouver. I read last week in an Alaska facebook group that you can be denied entry into Canada if you have been convicted of a DUI/DWI/Reckless driving. Apparently it doesn't matter how long ago it was. So dear hubby had a DUI in college over 35 years ago. Has anyone been through the process of applying for a temporary resident permit? That is what I'm being told needs to be done. I've never heard of this stupidity and thank goodness I'm in that facebook group because I would have never known. We sail end of May.

Symphony who? Seriously though, Wonder's Solarium blows Symphony's away. The new Vue bar is an awesome addition and I can't say enough good things about Mason Jar. Well except for the food, not exactly real "southern" food. My fried chicken was awful. Publix has much better fried chicken. The bar is awesome with one of the very best bartenders we've ever had (Malcolm). If you like Bourbon, this is your bar!

We were docked next to her last week in St Maarten. You can tell she missed her make over. Not that she looks awful, just in need of a little TLC. We also were docked with Mariner at CocoCay and she looked much “fresher.”

Radiance is now in Port Everglades! Let’s hope she’s getting updated to the App!

The rep I spoke too absolutely wouldn’t let me get the refreshment package and DH the Deluxe. I told her my 4 Diamond drinks were enough and she still said no. I should’ve hung up and called back

I’ve been off Wonder for about 36 hours. Just booked her for May 2023. Same eastern Caribbean itinerary we’ve done a dozen times but we loved the ship and the port is only 2 hours away.

We sailed Monarch in her inaugural year. She was HUGE compared to Song of America.

Keep your fingers crossed that there will be no shows at the pier. As soon as you board, go to the excursion kiosk (pretty sure to the right when you board near bionic bar) and check there. Ask someone on excursion staff too.

Well we chose Radiance for this May simply because we wanted to add a 3 night land tour to Denali before the cruise. Can’t do that with the closed loop cruise. Radiance gives you an extra port AND she spends more hours in port because she doesn’t have to circle back to the original port. We expect to be off the ship most of the time and expect to be TIRED when we get back onboard. I’ll report back in June if we didn’t like the ship but we’ve sailed RC small ships before (Song of America, Monarch and Sovereign) so actually looking forward to going “back in time” to how cruising used to be before the mega ships.

There was a parade on Wonder this past week but no 70’s/80’s. Sail Away also took place

That’s through Heathrow.

Main cabin to Scotland in July is running us $3400 round trip for 2.

I’m a stage 4b cancer survivor (5 1/2 years cancer free) and we didn’t travel often because we live on a horse farm. Hard to find farm sitters etc. Since my diagnosis though, we are making a big effort to get out there and see the world. Luckily I’ve found a great farm sitter so much easier to leave

Just got off Wonder this morning. Next is Alaska with land tour on Radiance in May. Super excited! In the fall we have a 12 night Holy Land/Greece on Odyssey. Getting some of those bucket list cruises checked off!

This was posted in my May 27th Facebook group: Just a few updates (or not) from Royal Caribbean that I got tonight, March 22. 1.) The Royal app is still not supported on Radiance of the Seas. Although they intend to have all of their fleet supported on the app, Radiance is still not set up. There is no word to if it will be ready before our sailing and suggest we call back when within 30 days of sailing as they should know more by then. 2.) Coca-Cola Freestyle soft drink machines are not available on Radiance as of now, although it is advertised throughout Royal Caribbean as such. That was one of the reasons I opted to get the classic soda package. Like above, they suggest to call back within 30 days of sailing and they should know more by then.