RCI Radience class vs Voyager class?

I am looking for opinions from those who have sailed both classes of ships.
I have been on several voyager class ships and we like them a lot but want
to try something new and are considering Radiance for the eastern carribean
in Jan 2005. We like a lot to do on the ship. We are not big bar people, but
like shows, music and activities. If you have been on both, I am interested
in hearing what you think about them both.

Also, do you feel that the average age is different between each one? We are
in our thirties, so we don't really want a predominantly older crowd. We
have found the mix on Voyager class pretty good when school is in session.

Thanks,

Jeff

Out of 14 cruises, Brilliance, a Radiance clas, is by far the prettiest ship
I've seen.
Navigator, Voyager class, is an amazing ship but when I got home felt like I
had spent the week at Mall of America. Radiance has so many walls of glass
that you are always aware of being at sea.

>Out of 14 cruises, Brilliance, a Radiance clas, is by far the prettiest ship
>I've seen.
>Navigator, Voyager class, is an amazing ship but when I got home felt like I
>had spent the week at Mall of America. Radiance has so many walls of glass
>that you are always aware of being at sea.
>

Exchange *Radiance* for Brilliance, and *Explorer* for Navigator, and I would
say exactly the same thing as John...

Pam

calprospectm (Csquared) wrote:

>You may not care about these things but you might also miss the Johnny
>Rockets restaurant, the full-court basketball (with fiberglass
>backboards), and the roller- blading rink in addition to the
>aforementioned royal promenade and ice skating rink on the Voyager
>class ships.

I think it's terrific to have sports courts on ships, but only if the sound of
those activities is well away from the areas where people relax. Ideally, the
ball-bouncing, ping-pong, etc. is isolated away from the quieter swimming pool
area.
Is that the case on the Radiance Class ships? The Voyager Class ships?

On Voyager class ships, the sound is pretty well isolated. The sports court
is near the back. If you are one deck below, you can hear the ball bouncing
a lot. But, they conveniently put Adventure Ocean kids program under the
sports area so they are the primary ones to deal with it. The only other
area effected is Johnny Rockets. I have been in there before late at night
and heard the ball fairly loudly.

- Jeff

"RTCReferee" <rtcreferee@mando> wrote in message
news:20040914115043.05810.00003163@mb-m27....
> calprospectm (Csquared) wrote:
>
> >You may not care about these things but you might also miss the Johnny
> >Rockets restaurant, the full-court basketball (with fiberglass
> >backboards), and the roller- blading rink in addition to the
> >aforementioned royal promenade and ice skating rink on the Voyager
> >class ships.
>
> I think it's terrific to have sports courts on ships, but only if the
sound of
> those activities is well away from the areas where people relax. Ideally,
the
> ball-bouncing, ping-pong, etc. is isolated away from the quieter swimming
pool
> area.
> Is that the case on the Radiance Class ships? The Voyager Class ships?

Did you ever try that thing? When we were on the Explorer in 00, our son,
then 9, went blading several times. This winter, on the Mariner, it held his
12-year-old interest for, oh, about 10 minutes. The track is itty-bitty. But
a cool novelty, I agree.

Diana


"Csquared" <calprospectm> wrote in message
news:9edb356d.0409131931.3a9d879f@c om...

> You may not care about these things but you might also miss ... the
> roller-blading rink

D Ball wrote:
> I've decided, the
> perfect mass market cruise would be a Radiance-class (most beautiful
> hardware I've seen yet) with Celebrity dining room food + RCI buffet food
> with Princess service (yes, we've had the best service on Princess) with RCI
> entertainment. How's that for a tall order??!
>
>

Diana,

A lot of people agree with you that the Radiance ships are some of the
most beautiful afloat. I don't really share this though I've not been on
one and sailed the Explorer (seemed pretty typical RCI, liked the
Vault-disco area best). I've seen Bart de Boer's excellent pics of them
and I have a book of high quality pics of RCI's interiors along with
Celebrity's (Elegance at Sea). What is it that you like so much? Is it
the colors, the ceiling treatments, the brightwork, lighting effects?

I like Celebrity's Century class ships and Galaxy most; Crystal
Symphony, Oriana, QM2 looks pretty impressive in some areas, also. I
like a lot what I've seen from the Radisson Seven Seas Navigator in
pictures, I'll be touring her soon. The RCI ships always struck me as
being tropical in appearance and remind me of malls and tropical resort
hotels, certainly pretty, but not stunning and drop-dead gorgeous as
many find them. And I do find some areas a bit chintzy. I guess I also
find them a bit busy in some ways in some areas (atrium art, ceiling
treatments, and I don't always care for gold-colored brightwork, which
many of them feature). There are also a fair amount of reflective
surfaces, something that I think is best used sparingly and RCI's use
isn't as spare as I prefer. They also feature themed areas that remind
me of themed areas in Atlantic City hotel/casinos. The woodier areas
don't have the richness of Celebrity's best lounges/restaurants, IMO, or
even those in NCL ships. Since you are great with words and
descriptions, can you describe what you find so attractive about them?

My all-time favorite ship remains Rotterdam V (Ambassador lounge still
wows me). Next may be Galaxy. But I can't say either one is "beautiful",
but both are characterful. One is the spirit of her time, one evokes a
spirit of earlier times in some areas (Galaxy's Savoy lounge, Rendezvous
lounge and chic Michael's Club). There is a simplicity with these ships
with specific focal points so that their vibrant aspects are truly
striking, and this is what I find most effective in design.

Ben

Hi, Ben,

You just wrote a visually stimulating essay, and I can barely put together a
paragraph on this topic! I am very poor at articulating interior design and
decor. It's just not my thing. I have a fairly strong instant response when
I go somewhere--I either like a space or I don't. But I couldn't really tell
you why I thought the Serenade was gorgeous, except that I have an overall
mental impression of classic and understated decor, inviting and comfortable
spaces, good use of light, traditional color palettes, warmth without too
much fussy detail...I realize that's not descriptive at all! To be perfectly
honest, I don't care about my surroundings as much as other people do. I
have some blank walls in my home. It doesn't bother me a bit. Instead of
surroundings, I am always going to be focused on you and the conversation
and the refreshments on the table and their presentation--I do notice looks
when it comes to food!

I can only say that once you are aboard, I think you, too, will view the
Radiance class quite a different animal the usual RCI ship. The
Voyager-class ships are fun and loud and every bit of what you described.
But not the Radiance class.

I will throw you for a complete loop and say that I think the two
Voyager-class ships I've tried (Explorer & Mariner) are far better looking
than the one Celebrity ship I've done, Milquetoast Millie. Although the
Explorer and Mariner are way over the top for my personal tastes, at least
they feature theming and well-executed design concepts. With the exception
of the Olympic specialty restaurant--which was an impressive space--Millie
was generally uninspired and felt very disjointed. I didn't find it
"stylish" at all. (Extensive wear and tear no doubt influenced my
impression. She's in desparate need of a dry dock.) And the X 'art' everyone
raves about simply didn't make it to that ship. I cringed several times
daily as I walked by the stairwell art piece on our floor. It was a colored
resin-like sculpture of a slouching, overweight, middle-aged guy wearing a
tank style undershirt and droopy trousers with suspenders, sporting scruffy
hair and unshaved face...if animate, he couldn't have boarded a Celebrity
ship, so I don't get why they thought X clientele would enjoy looking at
this guy. Don't get me started. ;)

I realize the non-M class Celebrity ships you described are a different
breed, and I look forward to trying them.

You have such a breadth of ship experience, Ben. I like hearing all of the
details and envisioning the spaces you describe. Your memory is incredible.
I am sure there is no comparison to what I perceived as "drop dead gorgeous"
in the mass market context to what you've enjoyed on the non-mass market
ships.

I cannot wait to hear your Radisson impressions. I have convinced myself
that Radisson is a good fit for me. That's a recipe for disappointment,
isn't it?! Oh well. I think I could happily stretch out the pursuit of the
"the perfect ship" for years!

Diana

Regarding "Adventure of the Seas": Did it start out as "Adventurer of the
Seas"? The reason I ask is because all of RCI's ships in that class are a VERB,
e.g. VoyagER,
ExplorER, NavigatOR, MarinER. It makes sense to keep it the same.

Lindsay

linsifer@ (Linsifer) wrote:

>Regarding "Adventure of the Seas": Did it start out as "Adventurer of the
>Seas"? The reason I ask is because all of RCI's ships in that class are
>a VERB,
>e.g. VoyagER,
>ExplorER, NavigatOR, MarinER. It makes sense to keep it the same.

Kinda like LinsifER of the Seas? ;-)