Since first cruising on Radiance of the Seas over five years ago in March of 2005, I've frequently called Radiance of the Seas my personal favorite cruise ship. A December of 2007 cruise on her twin sister Jewel of the Seas confirmed my thinking that this class of Royal Caribbean ships suits me perfectly.
Between my cruise on Jewel of the Seas and April of 2010, when Julie and I boarded Radiance of the Seas in San Diego for a Mexican Riviera cruise, I sampled several ships. How did Radiance stand up?
With five sea days on our extended Mexican Riviera itinerary, we needed Radiance of the Seas to be a truly great resort experience as well comfortable transportation between breathtaking ports, and I have to say she delivered big time.
I had decided to make this a spa cruise in which I would work out and start a new fitness program. I worked out in the health club a couple of times during the cruise, and we walked a lot of laps after meals, but it turned out to be more of a relaxing and reading onboard experience.
Moving between thickly padded teak lounge chairs in the enclosed, climate-controlled solarium, which is always one of my favorite places to spend time, and lounge chairs by the main outdoor pool or on a deck looking out at the ship's wake, I moved between the realities of living a life of luxury and escaping to the world of fiction found in a couple of good novels. Michael Crichton's "Pirate Latitudes" may not be one of his best, but it's a good cruise read. "The Amber Room," a book with a glowing recommendation by Dan Brown on the cover, delivered some interesting locales and characters, even if occasionally it veered into the implausible. In one Royal Caribbean ad from years ago, the voice over said something like, "Remember that book you've been meaning to read? Leave it at home." The implication is that you'll have too much to do to read, but actually, as many of us know, reading in luxury is itself a wonderful treat on a vacation.
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