DRLPP

Radiance class ships are my favorite, of which Jewel is one. Must say that I was very impressed with my cruise on Empress. Small ship but a wonderful staff and ended up a very relaxing cruise. Agree with other though that an 8 night will be harder to lift and shift.

Radiance class ships are my favorite, of which Jewel is one. Must say that I was very impressed with my cruise on Empress. Small ship but a wonderful staff and ended up a very relaxing cruise. Agree with other though that an 8 night will be harder to lift and shift.

Radiance class ships are my favorite, of which Jewel is one. Must say that I was very impressed with my cruise on Empress. Small ship but a wonderful staff and ended up a very relaxing cruise. Agree with other though that an 8 night will be harder to lift and shift.

Thank you for the great info and photos.

9256 is awesome, a great choice on this class of ship. Been there done that and would do it again repeatedly.
I have been in 9260 which is nice but I also love not having a cabin on one side with 9256.The pinched balcony may not be as large as some folks think but I thoroughly enjoyed it both times I have had it.

I'm in that same cabin but on Jewel of the Seas which is in the same class. I have been in an aft-cabin on the Jewel and the view is awesome. I do not regret it. Can't wait till Christmas and New Year's cruise this year on Jewel.

Need some feedback/advise on Spacious balcony choices on Brilliance. Was checking out future cruise options and saw a nice deal for an Aft balcony(very end of ship). There was a corner aft balcony, cabin #9256 that I placed a deposit on right away. Has always been a desire of mine to cruise on an aft balcony. My question is: also available was a number of center aft balcony, like #9260. Also a hump balcony that the deck plan seems to show an odd shape, extra space balcony, #9092. Looked at cruisedeckplans.com and am a bit confused. Should I expect #9256 to have two lounge chairs and regular chair, as seen on pictures? What of the other two choices?  I am leaning toward keeping the corner aft balcony but would consider a reassignment if persuaded for good reasons. Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks.

I understand the delay of refunds during these times. No issue there. I finally received a partial refund on both my March, 2020 Sydney, Australian 12 day B2B cruises. Sooooo confused.   Each cruise totaled 2508.76 of which taxes, fees and port charges came to $441.74. Refund was for $1358.76 for each. No other refunds listed separately. I did get refunded for shore excursions last month. After a looonnngg wait time was told by agent that he did not know and would refer to manager who was not in at the time. Any one else get a partial refund AND an explanation? Just wish they would give a breakdown on how they got to that figure and what else, if anything, would still be outstanding. Thanks for hearing my vent!!  Still love my RCL. 

Personally I don't like uncertainty especially when it comes to placing my health in other peoples hands who may have motive to compromise things for $. That being said, a lot would depend on your personal feelings about that. As for the actual cruise, I think it is probable that the cruise season is too much a mess for 2020 especially Europe. Maybe if it was a Caribbean cruise I would hold off cancelling. I am also assuming you are able to get refunds and/or credits. 

I've been lurking on this board since December,  after our family decided to take our 1st cruise.  But something similar happened to me so I created a profile to share my experience so far.  1st post! 
We were scheduled for Harmony on March 22nd from Port Canaveral.  We got the cancellation email on March 15th (I think)  I responded the next day for the 100% refund.  Called a couple of weeks ago and they said my request was processed on April 6th and could take up to 30 days.  We received our refund on Wednesday (so less than 30 calendar or business days),  but only for 86% of what we paid.  So I called them and the rep I spoke to put me on hold for about 10 minutes, then came back and said the remaining refund had already been approved/processed and may take another 7-10 days to post.  He had no idea why it was split in 2 like that.   The balance was a random number (no combination of port fees/taxes, prepaid gratuities or passenger fares equaled the missing amount).  Don't know the rhyme or reason,  but glad to get back what we have so far and I'm sure we'll get the rest.  Good luck to you!

I understand the delay of refunds during these times. No issue there. I finally received a partial refund on both my March, 2020 Sydney, Australian 12 day B2B cruises. Sooooo confused.   Each cruise totaled 2508.76 of which taxes, fees and port charges came to $441.74. Refund was for $1358.76 for each. No other refunds listed separately. I did get refunded for shore excursions last month. After a looonnngg wait time was told by agent that he did not know and would refer to manager who was not in at the time. Any one else get a partial refund AND an explanation? Just wish they would give a breakdown on how they got to that figure and what else, if anything, would still be outstanding. Thanks for hearing my vent!!  Still love my RCL. 

After all these years, my wife still thinks I'm sexy. Every time I walk by her she says, "What an ass!"
My wife tells me I have two major faults. I don't listen.......and something else.

A grasshopper hops into a bar and orders a beer.
The bartender's a bit taken aback. "A beer? Ya sure, pal? Y'know...we've got a drink named after you!"
"Oh, yeah?" the insect asks. "You've got a drink called 'Irving'?"

Did you know diarrhea is hereditary?
It runs through your genes lol 
 

An avid cruiser here. Wife and I were cancelled out of our Australian B2B 3/27 and 4/7. Thankfully we had enough time to realize things were going down hill and we had a refundable air ticket. Was originally going to take the 125% credits for both cruises or at least one for refund and the other as a credit. Looked ahead to see available bookings for 2020/2021. "Sticker shock" at seeing the prices for cruises to the Caribbean even in off season of September/November 2020 and 2021. Way higher especially for ocean view balconies. Soooo... have just sent in form for 100% refund for each cruise. Just priced out All Inclusive(4* resort) to Cancun/Playa de Carmen area, air included for under $2000. Sorry Royal, but Diamond + or not, we will be off to Mexico. A dollar is only going so far these days!! Back to shopping for the best value vacation deals. Never thought I would give up a cruise! " Bless me Father for I have sinned'.?

An avid cruiser here. Wife and I were cancelled out of our Australian B2B 3/27 and 4/7. Thankfully we had enough time to realize things were going down hill and we had a refundable air ticket. Was originally going to take the 125% credits for both cruises or at least one for refund and the other as a credit. Looked ahead to see available bookings for 2020/2021. "Sticker shock" at seeing the prices for cruises to the Caribbean even in off season of September/November 2020 and 2021. Way higher especially for ocean view balconies. Soooo... have just sent in form for 100% refund for each cruise. Just priced out All Inclusive(4* resort) to Cancun/Playa de Carmen area, air included for under $2000. Sorry Royal, but Diamond + or not, we will be off to Mexico. A dollar is only going so far these days!! Back to shopping for the best value vacation deals. Never thought I would give up a cruise! " Bless me Father for I have sinned'.?

An avid cruiser here. Wife and I were cancelled out of our Australian B2B 3/27 and 4/7. Thankfully we had enough time to realize things were going down hill and we had a refundable air ticket. Was originally going to take the 125% credits for both cruises or at least one for refund and the other as a credit. Looked ahead to see available bookings for 2020/2021. "Sticker shock" at seeing the prices for cruises to the Caribbean even in off season of September/November 2020 and 2021. Way higher especially for ocean view balconies. Soooo... have just sent in form for 100% refund for each cruise. Just priced out All Inclusive(4* resort) to Cancun/Playa de Carmen area, air included for under $2000. Sorry Royal, but Diamond + or not, we will be off to Mexico. A dollar is only going so far these days!! Back to shopping for the best value vacation deals. Never thought I would give up a cruise! " Bless me Father for I have sinned'.?

Watching all of this closely. Have B2B out of Sydney on Radiance 3/27 to 4/18 to NZ and SP. Hard part for me is wife is terrified by the news reports and I am immunosuppressed due to kidney transplant 20 years ago. I personally am not alarmed in the least just know to practice good hygiene. This is a lifetime dream trip but......

Just to add my two cents, for what it is worth especially for new cruisers or others shorter on funds. I have never been in any type of suite and never paid extra for a meal.  I have always enjoyed my cruises, the food I have eaten and especially the staff. The room stewards, MDR and WJ staff have always gone out of their way to help in any way possible.

Just to add my two cents, for what it is worth especially for new cruisers or others shorter on funds. I have never been in any type of suite and never paid extra for a meal.  I have always enjoyed my cruises, the food I have eaten and especially the staff. The room stewards, MDR and WJ staff have always gone out of their way to help in any way possible.

Day 1 continued - Pre-Cruise 
After packing completed, off to Auckland International Airport. With Premium Check-in it’s a fast transit through into the departure area. A great flight of just on 3 hours. A 3 course meal for dinner and managed to watch a movie. (Menu attached) 
 
Once in Sydney took the train to Central (Sydney has an excellent Airport Line!) then transferred to the new Light Rail Line to the hotel close to Circular Quay (Cruise terminal) Good weather and about 28 degrees celcius. 

My daughter and son, when they were in their early teens, would go to the clubs the first few nights, meet a few new friends and then just hang out with the newbies and not go to clubs from then on. A few times they would join up for windjammer for dinner and then head off as we went to MDR.

Will be following. Taking Radiance to SP islands in April so looking forward to your blog especially on the two island stops.

Some more pictures as I walked around with my backpack loaded with camera stuff and my valuables while I waited for my hotel room to be ready.
Did I mention it's hot here and with the sun rising higher in the sky it was getting hotter before noon when many of these pictures were taken.

I had a 4:35am bridge climb booked so I wanted to find the meeting place in the daylight today.

I had also learned you can walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge so I then set off to find that path.




Looking back and down to the Campbells Cove area I walked around before.



Great views of the Sydney Opera House from here.


If you look through the mesh of the fence you will some bridge climbers getting ready for their ascent.   I'm not sure I'd want to do the bridge climb in the heat of the day so make sure you plan your booking times carefully if you are thinking about doing this in the summer.





Constant ferry traffic into and out of Circular Quay.