of the Seas

 Class / Guest Capacity / Maiden Voyage:   / Ports: 

  • 1

Cabin Plusses and Minuses - location

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Crowded?  Kid Friendly?

  • a

Entertainment

  • Every ship has something for everyone.  As an older and smaller Radiance Class ship, fewer entertainment options were “must-see.”
  • There was a talented comedy juggler who was not as family-friendly as advertised, although some of those jokes must have gone over the heads of the pre-teen set.
  • A comedian was very funny, and we checked him out on a second and third time - his sets were repeated on all three legs.  We did not attend his adults-only option, as we often have an earlier bedtime.
  • Crazy Quest is presented on the penultimate night of most RC cruises.  We skipped the 3 opportunities on the Jewel (but stayed up late for the event on the Adventure, later in June 2025 - funny per usual, but hard to match the rip-roaring laughter elicited the first time we saw one - a decade ago).
  • Music - several very pleasant solo and duo artists, playing piano, violin, and guitar.  Surprisingly, very good available seating in the music venues.
  • Miscellaneous - game shows, Silent parties, Name that Tune, Belly Flop competitions, Karaoke, dance classes, onboard movies (a small cinema, and poolside), and more.  (I saw a relatively recent Captain America movie, in the cinema, which looks like it seats about 50.)

Dining (also, see Tips)

  • We enjoyed the Main Dining Room (MDR) for most dinners, scheduling the 5:00 seating (in advance).  The food was high quality, sufficiently varied for a 3-4 night cruise, and usually (90%) the correct temperature.
  • F
  • W
  • Drink orders are a little slow in the MDR.  Patience is in order…or, bring your own.  The price is the same, or free if you have casino drink privileges.
  • We enjoyed one specialty dining option - Chops.  We’ve had excellent service and tasty meals here - a few times.  
    • Pro-Tip:  Lunches at specialty restaurants are only available at select restaurants, but you can save big by opting for lunch vs. dinner.  Reserve in advance of your cruise to obtain 20-30% reduced prices; we’ve been paying $20-$23 each (+18% gratuity included), although I have not determined why the prices vary by ship.
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  • With dinner as our main meal, we varied breakfast and lunch times to mostly avoid the busiest rush.
    • It’s not hard to run into the WJ, grab a bowl of oatmeal and return to your cabin for a quiet meal.
  • Check your Ship App for up-to-date venue hours; breakfast or lunch times vary between port and sea days.

Vitality Fitness Center

  • Fortunately (for committed exercisers), not everyone hits the gym while aboard.  The gym is open early to late.
  • Compared to other ships I’ve cruised in 2025, ……..
    • First days aboard bring out the “resolution” folks, i.e., similar to January in your landed gym 
    • Busy-ness can vary, especially on port days, so one strategy is to time your exercise to the least popular times, if you can also alter your port visit times.
  • The hardest equipment to access was stationary bikes (too few, and not all were in good repair), and free weights (a common issue on ships, AND at my local fitness center)..

Ports

  • On this trip, we made 3 visits to Coco Cay, and 1 visit to Nassau.
  • Coco Cay - interesting that you will likely have a sister ship docked next to you (and not far away, you may see another cruise line which tenders its passengers to its own island)
    • You can pay a lot, or nothing - no charge for food; your drink packages are valid/active on the island
    •  Food is cooked aboard the ship and brought out to the island venues
    • There are activities and special beaches with service that are pretty expensive
    • We enjoy a brief frolic in the Oasis Lagoon pool, with a swim-up bar.
      • If the swim-up bar is overly crowded, you can walk around to the land-side of the bar and receive very quick service
  • Nassau - only the 4 day leg stopped here
    • RC plans a new Nassau experience in late 2025, maybe similar to Coco Cay
    • We’ve walked around Nassau a few times; it gets a little hectic once you leave the gated RC area
    • Some people swear by the bar experience just off the pier.  We’ll have to try it.  A few blocks away, we checked out a theme bar, but decided not to invest in what seemed to be overpriced libations
    • There is a market FULL of stalls with somewhat aggressive sales people.  There are dozens of stalls, each staffed by an individual, usually selling the same merchandise

Informed Cruisers Cost

  • We used “Instant Credit Rewards” from three separate cruises taken between December 2024 and May 2025.
    • Before completing your cruise, obtain a “Next Cruise” certificate - which is a $200 pre-payment that provides some bonus opportunities; the expiration period is lengthy, although the bonus period is shorter
  • While Casino investments rarely provide Free cruises, we recommend three strategies
    • Set a budget in advance, and stick to it
    • Limit your casino beverages, to maintain your sensibilities
    • Share one sea pass in the slot machines to concentrate spend (this is absolutely allowed; you can tap two machines with the same card, or obtain duplicate “white card” from the casino host to increase your chance to reach a milestone award)
  • Because our casino play was kept within our budget, the “not quite Free” awards were just nice bonuses.  Our cash outlay totaled …..

Will We Do It Again?

  • Maybe
  • We took advantage of just one car drive to
  • The food and service was highly rated; however, the entertainment was repetitive and not varied sufficiently for our tastes.