For me a cruise vacation is like a rich desert; decadent and enjoyable but something I’d quickly grow sick off if I did it frequently. Indeed when we planned a fairly last minute cruise in early 2023 it had been five years since our last one. After our last experience I don’t think we will be waiting another five years - it was great!
The cruise we selected was on Royal Caribbean’s Radiance of the Seas for a 10 day sail from Galveston to Progreso to Columbia to Panama to Cozumel and back to Galveston. I’m not going to provide a complete review as (1) I haven’t been on enough cruises to compare or rate and (2) so much is up to individual tastes, but I’ll give some highlights from our trip.
Departure - We sailed out of Galveston which is ust under a four hour drive from our house. This made it super convenient as we were not required to fly or stay overnight before departure. It was getting colder and starting to rain (icy rain - more on that later) as we drove so the contrast of leaving cold and wet for the Caribbean was wonderful. We choose to do a parking lot less than a mile from the boat but many nearby hotels offer free parking if you pay for a night’s stay. We had planned on walking from the car but a friendly shuttle driver with a deep southern accent insisted we “Hop on in sweeties, I’ll give y’all a ride. It’s free”. Moments later we arrived at the terminal and, to my pleasant surprise, only a few minutes we were on the ship. It was so easy! We dropped off our bags with the pre-printed tags, scanned the bar code on the Royal Caribbean app that indicated we had tickets and had performed all the pre-cruise requirements (uploaded travel documents, performed a health screening, and done the 5 minute safety course). We went through the x-ray screener and walked on the boat. The final step was to find our lifeboat area to check-in. As luck would have it, it was right as we entered the boat and they scanned our app once more and we headed to our room. Our all important ship cards (access on & off the boat and drink ordering) were waiting for us. We left our bags and set to explore the ship and, of course, test the ship cards at the Champagne Bar on the 6th deck.
Packing - I read on someone’s review that the best way to pack for a cruise is to layout all the clothes you think you need then only pack half of them. Now that’s an exaggeration but, unless you like Beyoncé frequency on your outfit changes, you can probably get by with less clothes than you initially planned on. For example, we had two formal nights scheduled. For the sake of space I just packed one suit. I probably won’t run into anyone from the boat again and my wife was so surprised to see me dressed up, so it doesn’t matter that I wore the same suit twice in a week. However I do recommend that you pay attention to medicines, bathroom supplies, and sun lotion. These will be difficult and expensive to get on a cruise. I went into the cruise with an idea of getting cheaper prescriptions medicines in our first stop in Progreso. We walked into a beachside pharmacy where they offered all medicines cheap. I asked how much for insulin and showed them the details. The response was - “sorry we don’t have insulin but we do have viagra and Valium”. This would be probably be second worse combination only behind sleeping pills and laxatives.
Food & Drinks - The food on the boat was fantastic! Really well prepared! My recommendations would be to try the stuff that you usually don’t get at home and try the selections that are recommended. As with most cruises, if you do not like your choice, then they will bring you another plate. When on the boat we ate most of our breakfasts in the Windjammer buffet (due to their selection) and lunch & dinner in the main dinning area because the food was better and we enjoyed the sit down dining experience. Before the cruise we went back and forth whether to do “my time” dining that allows you to select a certain time. We finally decided to go with the traditional dining with a 5:30pm seating. We realized that this may create some tight timelines when we were coming back from shore (see more about that below) but the timing worked well with the rest of the evening’s schedule (e.g. shows and entertainment). We also realized that we would probably be seated with other people . . . that could be a gamble. Sure enough we were seated at a table with four others; a pair of sisters from Dallas & Chicago and a couple from Paris . . . . Paris, Missouri. These would not be people we would normally be hanging out with but they were fantastic! We enjoyed dining with them and chatting. It was one of the highlights of the cruise. Wisely we all avoided or defused topics regarding politics and religion (unfortunately those topics seem to be blending). We ended last dinner of the cruise with hugs and exchanging email addresses.
Although some drinks (such as water, coffee, & iced tea) are covered in the base price we realized we were going to want more than the basics such as a morning cappuccino, sparkling water, beer on the deck, wine with dinner (and sometime breakfast & lunch), and evening cocktails. These drinks can be expensive; ranging from ~$5 for a nice coffee to ~$15 for a cocktail (and then an added 18% gratuity). So we looked at the options for drink packages. These packages range from all inclusive down to just bottled water. The all inclusive was expensive; about the same price of the cruise. Also it’s required that all adults in the same cabin has to buy one. So my wife, who does not drink as much as me, could not opt for just the coffee package if I was getting the all inclusive. In the end we decided to get the all inclusive. The decision was made due to math and convenience. I created a much too complex spreadsheet to compare our different options based on our estimated consumption per person and the prices for various drinks. Geeky? Very, but it helped. It helped illustrate two things (1) the price for a la carte vs the all inclusive package was pretty similar for our projected consumption and (2) my wife drinks a lot less in spreadsheets than in reality. Given the similar costs we felt the convenience and enjoyment of not having to worry about it every time we ordered something made it worth it. A tip, if you decided to buy a drink package then do it online before the cruise to get a cheaper price. Also keep an eye on the prices as sometimes they offer sales. I saw a sale about a week before our cruise and canceled and re-ordered to knock ~$175 off the cost.
The drinks on board were very good and the bartenders were very friendly in customizing things for our tastes. “Old Fashion, not too sweet” became the mantra for my wife. Also the servers & bartenders started to learn our preferences so our preferred wine with dinner was delivered with just a nod and the after meal espresso came without asking.
Cabin - As I mentioned, we only started planning this trip 5-6 weeks before sailing. We had initially thought about getting a balcony room but the price was pretty high so we were not sure if the cruise was going to happen or not. Then two things happened at the end of December: Royal had a sale (a small discount but still) and they sold out of balcony rooms. The ocean view room was considerable cheaper and it made the idea of the cruise a lot more financially appealing. The room was fine. It was on the 4th deck (the same as the lobby and dining room) and had a large porthole. It had a bed, sofa, wardrobe, fridge, and enough space to meet our needs. We spoke to some people who said once you try a balcony room that it’s had to go back. Whereas others go for the cheapest room in order to get on the boat reasoning that the cabin is not the place where you spend that much time on the cruise. I think it’s really up to personal preference but I lean more towards spending money on excursions or drinks (see above) vs the cabin.
Crew - The crew was another highlight in an already bright situation! They were fantastic. They worked together to make it an enjoyable and memorable experience. This is includes the Captain with his dry sense of humor, the woman who greeted us with song at breakfast in the Windjammer, and everyone who said “hello” to us as we walked by. There were approximately 900 of them on board coming from 32 different countries. Near the end of the cruise they held a flag ceremony where many of the crew paraded the flags from their countries. It was a very cool and up beat display. I wish we could be more like that off the boat :)
Excursions - We had an excursion planned for each of the four stops. My wife is so much better at planning these than I am so she made all the arrangements. Typically planning a trip not associated with the boat provides a much better and cheaper experience. Indeed for Progreso and Cartagena it was just us and the tour guide. However for some stops - essentially where the time is short and/or our ability to get ourselves back to the boat on time would be limited we selected to the trips associated with the boat so we not be left behind. For example on this trip, the drive across Panama to the Pacific Ocean would put us far from the boat in case something happened so we joined a bus (actually several) of fellow passengers as visited the Panama Canal and then drove to Panama City. In Cozumel we went scuba driving and you know its difficult to find an Uber in the middle of the water so we went on a trip associated with the boat. Good thing! Our drive boat broke down and we were quite delayed getting back. Unlike previous shore visits when the Captain would call out by name the late passengers, this time, in his Polish accent, mentioned there were late passengers but it was not our fault. However some of the people from our dinner table cheered us on from the fifth deck as we jogged towards the gangplank.
Entertainment - We found plenty of different entertainment options on the ship. This ranged from classes on Mayan history, stand-up comics, musical shows, an olympic gymnast demonstration, so much karaoke multiple trivia games, and game shows with fellow passengers as contestants. All were well done! In addition to the shows there also several musicians playing at the many bars on board. This included a piano bar, jazz players, and, one of our regular favorites, the guitar player performing blues and rock classics in the British pub. There were many things we did not do - such as bingo, the casino, and the pool side shows (although my wife disagrees, I thought I might have a chance at the Most Sexiest Man contest). Overall I thought they did a great job of always offering something fun to do but without the feeling of being rushed from one event to another.
So back to my rich desert analogy (the one where I compared it to a cruise by saying “that was nice but I can wait a while before I do that again”), well this experience was so good that we are already looking at another serving!
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