Pictured right, Royal Carribean’s Radiance of the Seas.
The morning sun emerges through the orange-peel roof of the Opera house, promising a beautiful warm day in Sydney ahead.
There the ship stands, majestically tall, dwarfing the grand green ferry dames chugging around the Sydney Harbour.
As Radiance of the Seas hides her bottom in the clear blue waters, the spotless white exterior casts a faint shadow on this beautiful waterfront.
Sydney’s Circular Quay is just staring to bustle with curious onlookers keen to snap her beauty on phones and cameras. She has drawn quite a crowd.
The clear glass all the way around her grand exterior is significant in this super cruiser.
Radiance of the Seas (293m long and 32.2m wide) is not the largest vessel of the Royal Caribbean International company fleet.
That accolade goes to the sisters:
Allure of the Seas (363m L 60.5m B) (maiden voyage in 2010)
Oasis of the Seas (361.6m L 60.5m B) (maiden voyage in 2009)
These two sisters were the largest cruising vessels in the world at the time of their maiden voyage.
The 10-year-old Radiance is ready to set sail along the Australian coastline to Far North Queensland and back.
As we waited for the set time to board, the luggage was being tagged on the pier and efficiently stacked alongside, ready to be loaded by the ship’s crew. Being first time cruisers, we cautiously found the way through a well sign posted thoroughfare to the ship, guided by welcoming crew members and security officers.
The sea passes are handed over – the magnetic stripped plastics wonders that give access to the cabins and decks . They will be used like a credit card for the rest of the time on board. The Cabins are allocated and ready. We are ready for the time of our lives.
Sailing time is not until 6pm, a few hours away. We have a quick peek into the cabin then check out the amenities and the view. We have not taken a balcony unit, preferring the true ship sailing experience of a cabin close to the sea. The large port hole behind the bed shows a full view of into the Sydney Opera House at eye level, the blue water just visible below the glass.
We could see the Sydney harbour ferries chugging up and down at touching distances from the large divided glass.
Our bags are delivered to the cabin later in the evening so there is much time to wander around before settling in. The Cannon EOS 500 captures the magnificent views of the famous Sydney Harbour from deck 13, at the top.
The Sydney Opera House is on the port side bow and the Harbour Bridge on the aft. It is a photographer’s paradise. If there is a decent camera like the Canon with a good lens handy, it is addictive clicking away from all angles and sides of the ship.
At about 6pm, the Captain blew his mighty horn and we were away in to the sunset heading past the Sydney heads and towards the north.
Destination ports are Brisbane, Arlie Beach and Yorkeys Knob (Cairns) then returning south to Newcastle on the way home. It’s a Christmas cruise, so on Christmas Day we are to drop anchor at Willis Island then raise it again, to tick the box that we have travelled outside Australian waters so we will become elligible for duty free shopping.
First glance of the facilities
The are 13 decks, with decks 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 set aside for passenger cabins, called state rooms.
Also on decks 5, 6, 7 are some of the restaurants, theatres and bars. Deck 12 is the gymnasium and the basketball and mini soccer. The rock climbing wall and mini golf is on deck 13.
Deck 11 houses the two swimming pools and Windjammer, the buffet restaurant. The Park Café and the Dog House (hot dog stand) is another feature on deck 11 as well as an indulgent spa area where you can be primped and poked into looking younger or feeling more relaxed, although our wallet may also feel a lot lighter.
In addition to the free dining in restaurants Cascades and Windjammer, there are five specialty restaurants which charge fees ranging from $4 to $100 to indulge your taste buds.
The List of paying restaurants on board:
Rita’s Canteen Mexican flavour
Chops Grille, for steaks and grills
Giovanni’s Italian Cuisine
Chef’s Table
Izumi Asian Restaurant
Samba Grill Brazilian Steakhouse
The spar area, also known as the solarium and the ship shape centre, is one of the first places we checked out. Having inspected the various massage and treatment rooms with elaborate treatments which promise to make you 10 years younger , we avoided the hard sell offering immortality and moved on to explore the rest of the facilities available to us for the next 10 fun filled days.
We also wandered around discovering the Casino Royale for the gamblers of the world. The ship sshopping centre offered duty free goods and other bargains when business opened while the ship was at sea. There were often specials of the day which made the usually expensive tagged items quite reasonable.
The Atrium, a little piano bar with a small, circular dance floor, surrounded by lounge seating on deck 4, is visible all the way up from deck 12. As you look down through the colourful balconies of each deck we could hear the music and watch the couples embrace in a slow dance.
There are many watering holes around the ship if you want to sit and consume copious quantities of amber liquids, exotic cocktails and other spirit drinks. One of the bars was equipped for karaoke each night. The other bars had light music with different bands moving around the traps. An top deck nightclub came alive quite late and through the date was used as an art auction site.
First night
Later on the first night, the passengers were given an opportunity to shake hands with the captain. The large Captain Sindre Borsheim, who later hosted the passengers for come champagne without the caviar.
The gathering at the Colony Club bar was introduced to the key crew members who headed the various departments such as the engine room, catering, housekeeping, activities and entertainment.
Captain Sindre, the master of the ship, was Norwegian by birth but lived in Spain, and with his quick wit, called up the top 10 nationalities of the passengers by numbers. Malaysians to Aussies accounted for almost half the ship’s passengers. There were loud cheers when the name of a country was called up. Not even the captain’s Spanish could flush out the Mexicans, whereever they might have been hiding.
I had a chance of meeting the Croatian Chief Engineer who gave me a run down of the nuts and botls of the engine room department.
We also learnt that the ships crew were of many different nationalities. Most catering and housekeeping staff were from the Philippines and India . There were also many Indonesians among them, particularly from the island of Bali, where tourism is so strong.
Others were Indians, West Indians, and there were a few eastern Europeans in the mix.
The entertainment and activity staff consisted of Americans, English and West Indians.
Dinner was at Cascades where we had meal each night for 10 days, preferring to stay with the free oppulence and singing waiters than pay extra for the more upmarket dining outlets.
From the first night we were hooked on this fine dining restaurant with exceptional service and its service staff who buzzed around to cater for all our needs. There were plenty of staff – 80 in all, we were informed. A receptionist, a maître d, one head waiter, two waiters per table and a wine waiter as well to serve us.
Around the dinner table were four couples with whom we kept in touch for the rest of the 10 days.
Jane and Louis from the Sunshine Coast had purchased the wine package. She was on a bottle of white and he was on red. They had no recollection of that first night at all. We named them the king and queen of the Sky Bar due to the strategic position they seem to assume every afternoon sitting on the bar stools just above the pool deck, consuming the rest of the wine package.
The honeymooning couple sat next to me, a naturalised young Russian with his stunning new Russian bride. We called them “the Russians” from there on. The slender blond was in the process of learning English. The different accents of the fellow passengers and crew created a daunting task for her.
The New Zealand dairy farmers were the easiest to talk with and friendliest of the lot.
After dinner we wandered around the ship looking for some music to shake a leg.
Although we found a few places like Colony Club bar with a decent dance floor and a four piece band, and the Atrium bar hosted by a duo, the music stopped at midnight and we were forced to enter the disco on the 12th floor.
It was unpatronised and unloved, needless to say that the DJ had no idea about music and pleasing a crowd. It turns out the usual DJ had been sacked under some controversial situation (we didn’t hear what) and the current DJ had stepped boldly, but badly, into his shoes.
The revolving bar was an impressive feature though. Not satisfied with the quality of entertainment, we proceed to the Park Café for a snack and drink which became a feature for the rest of the cruise from 1pm to late hours of the morning.
That was day one.
Mahesa Abeynayake 