Voyager and Radiance

[poider]

G'day Just curious if anybody has been on the radiance and the voyager,

I was on the radiance in Feb 2015 and so were 2200 others but we found that we had plenty of room to move without running into people, will the same be so on the voyager?

Peter

[WhiteSoxFan]

We have sailed the Explorer, the Voyager's sister ship, when it was spring break and fully loaded with 3600 passengers.  Of course the pool is crazy on sea days but the only other time remember it being really crowded was during the parades on the promenade.

[WAAAYTOOO]

I love the radiance class ships. It's been a while since I was on one (I think it was the Jewel, Christmas 2012) and I have never sailed on Voyager but like WhiteSoxFan, I have been on a couple of the other Voyager class ships. The truth is, I have never found ANY of the ships to be overwhelmingly crowded. They certainly have worse times than others (disembarking and getting onto tenders are 2 that come to mind...and of course, the pool area on sea days) but mostly I find that everyone seems to spread out and find something different to do and you never really feel crowded.

 

I have friends with whom I cruise frequently that simply refuse to sail on the Oasis class ships b/c they are certain that, with that many people in one place, they are sure to be crowded. I have tried and tried to convince them that you can actually feel quite ALONE sometimes on the Oasis class ships, i.e., in Central Park in the late evenings...but alas, they don't believe me so I don't know if I will ever get them to come with us on an Oasis ship or not. I'm still trying !

 

To me, there is virtually no difference between the Voyager and Freedom class ships...especially now that they are adding some additional dining options to the Voyagers and they are even adding flow riders to them ! Soon there really won't be ANY difference. Of course, there is a BIG difference between the Voyager class and the Radiance class which is what you originally asked about. Since the Voyager ships are SO much bigger than the Radiance class there are, quite naturally, more people, but proportionally, I think it's probably about the same.

 

Some of the old-timers are convinced that the smaller ships are better. Who am I to disagree with them ? You like what you like. Personally, the bigger the better. I LOVE the big ships and to give the smaller ships their due, they are truly more elegant. It really comes down to what you want to do. Bigger ships....more to do. Smaller ships, more intimate (I guess..) and more traditional cruising options.

 

Bottom line...there are no BAD ships in the Royal Caribbean fleet. Many options but none of them, bad.

[DocLC]

Other than embarking/disembarking, I personally don't think the size of the ship matters all that much and even then they compensate for the larger ships by having two gangways instead of one.  Now granted, I haven't sailed anything larger than 130,000 GRT yet, but I haven't noticed any more crowds on them than on some of the smaller ships (40,000 and 55,000 GRT) I've sailed on.  In fact, the larger ships often felt less crowded than many of the smaller ships because the crowds were diffused more.

 

What I find matters more is WHEN you sail rather than which ship you sail.  I sailed the same ship just to Alaska during shoulder season and then again to Mexico over New Years.  That made all the difference in the world.  With 3rd and 4th berths full, the pool was more crowded, much of the night time entertainment was standing room only, and flexible dining was by reservation only to handle the crowds.

[jticarruthers]

We have sailed Jewel (Radiance) and Navigator (Voyager),

 

Did not really feel a difference in the crowds between the two classes.

 

Layout/feel of the ship is different though.

 

Jewel felt more "old fashioned/elegant" with Navigator being more "modern and activity driven".

 

Both have the pool/activity decks on top, Jewel is centered around the Centrum and the lounges on deck 6(?), Navigator more around the promenade deck.

 

Kind of a coin flip for us between the Radiance and Freedom classes for our favorite (we don't see a lot of the Voyager class in FL, but Freedom and Voyager are almost identical especially with the upgrades).

 

Vision class was a little too small for our taste, not enough activity options to keep us going.

 

Oasis class had plenty to do but felt like being at a hotel at home with a lot of poor attitudes and didn't really wow us.

 

Crowding really hasn't been an issue on any of them for us though,