Year 3 Day 4 – “Living the Dream”. Saturday, 5/06/2023. Day 22 (Disembarking in Los Angeles, California) of 21-night Radiance of the Seas Galveston TX to Los Angeles, CA cruise.
Last night was bittersweet. It was our last night of dinner with new friends. We had a great time with these two couples. Hope to see them on future cruises.
Here’s a review of the Radiance of the Seas Main Dining Room food that I ate during our 15-night Panama Canal Cruise and also the ship itself. The Main Dining Room is only open for lunch on sea days. The food on this cruise is the best we have had in years. I’m not sure why. The food on the prior six-day cruise was not very good. Why??? I think there is a different cook for the 4th floor dining room. Last cruise we were on the fifth-floor dining room. The second cruise the food was exceptionally good in the fourth-floor dining room. Day 1 – Departing Galveston, Texas – Lunch: (Back-to-back Lunch): Caesar salad – The taste was excellent except it was overloaded with dressing. The Chops dry aged Steak Burger was okay, but I would not go out of my way to get it again. The French fries were old and yucky. The server was actually rude. Told me I could not have coffee at the beginning of my meal and then never brought it to me at the end. The New York Cheesecake was not good at all. It was a very creamy consistency not a firm cheesecake and had a tart taste to it. This was The Key menu. I would be upset if I was served this and was paying extra for the Key. Welcome to bad food and service on your first day. – Dinner: “Welcome Aboard” The Spaghetti Bolognese was very good, and I would order it again. It was loaded with meat. Actually, would be better with less meat. I had the Southern Fried Chicken last week. It was also very good, and I would order again.
Day 2 – Day 1 at sea traveling to George Town, Grand Cayman – Lunch: Butternut Squash Risotto – This is always an excellent choice on all Royal Caribbean cruise ships. Creamy lovely taste. Last week I had the BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich. It is good, but sweet. – Dinner “A Taste of France ” The Chicken Cordon Blue was excellent and is a good choice. I had the Braised Lamb last week and it was terrible. I would not order that again.
Day 3 – Day 2 at sea traveling to George Town, Grand Cayman – Lunch: Grilled Beef Quesadilla – It was fantastic. – Dinner: “A Taste of Italy” I had Chicken Parmesan with spaghetti – The sauce was a bit tangy. Chicken was very tender with a good taste. Of course, I ate it all. Last week I had the Lasagna al Forna. I did eat it all as well but would not recommend it. Something you should know about me is I love Italian food. My grandparents on my mom’s side came from Italy. Yes, my mom was pure Italian, and she could make some mean sauces. Love to wake up in bed smelling the sauce cooking. She cooked that sauce all day.
Day 4 – Grand Cayman – Lunch: Main dining room closed – Dinner: “A Taste of the Classics” The Grilled Chicken Breast was tender. I think it was soaked in Brine and therefore was not that good tasting. Actually, tasted pretty salty. I ate half of the Breast, but it was huge. The roasted potatoes were cut like wedges and were delicious.
Day 5 – At sea traveling to Cartegena, Columbia – Lunch: The Royal Burger is the absolute best burger. We always go to the Main Dining Room for lunch on all the Royal Caribbean ships when they serve the Royal Burger – Dinner: “A Taste of the UK” The Fettuccine Alfredo was excellent. It was creamy, cheesy, and the noodles were cooked perfect.
Day 6 – Cartegena, Columbia – Lunch: Main dining room closed – Dinner: “A Taste of the Mediterranean ” The Chicken Piccata was excellent. It was coated just perfect with egg. Each bite was a tender moist delight with a light excellent tasting sauce. The mashed potatoes were creamy and good tasting. Of course, the Asparagus is always wonderful.
Day 7 – Colon, Panama – Lunch: Main dining room closed – Dinner: “A Taste of the Caribbean ” The Jerk Seasoned Pork Chop was tasty, but very spicy. The Jamaican fried Dumpling was excellent. It was like a mild Churro tasting roll.
Day 8 – Panama Canal – Lunch: The Truffle Grilled Cheese was very tasty with soft bread. Not your traditional Grilled cheese. It was light and savory. A delightful, pleasant surprise to my taste buds. – Dinner: “A Taste of the World” The Steak Diane was fantastic. The food just keeps getting better. The baked potato was cooked perfect. The Asparagus was baby Asparagus and so very tender.
Day 9 – At Sea – Lunch: The Turkey Club was excellent – Dinner: ” A Taste of Royal History” I had the Conchiglioni Pasta. This was four large stuffed pasta shells. They were outrageously good. I could have eaten more.
Day 10 – At Sea – Lunch: “Cheers with an Officer” The Char Grilled Fillet Steak was so tender and delicious. I am not a meat eater, but this was absolutely delicious. The Fondant Potato was great also. – Dinner: “A Taste of Asia” The Kung Pao Chicken was edible but would not order again. I didn’t eat it all. That in itself speaks for how it was. I always clean my plate. On the last cruise I had the Sweet and Sour Pork from this menu. That was much better.
Day 11 – Huatulco, Mexico – Lunch: The main Dining room was closed – Dinner: “A Taste of Mexico ” The Pulled Pork Enchilada was horrible. A ton of stringy meat. The rice and beans were great.
Day 12 – At Sea traveling to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico – Lunch: The main dining room was open, but we elected to go to the Windjammer. – Dinner: “A Taste of Italy” The chicken Parmesan was excellent tonight. It was cooked perfect. Very moist and tender with the perfect amount of cheese and sauce. The spaghetti was delicious also. Last time I had this on this cruise, the sauce was too tangy. This time the sauce was excellent. Not much consistency in the taste of the same food from meal to meal.
Day 13 – Puerto Vallarta, Mexico – Lunch: Grilled Sweetcorn Cake – There were two 2 1/2-inch round pancakes with corn inside. Served with sour cream and spicy salsa. They were delicious. The grilled zucchini and squash were fantastic also. The Royal Burger as I have stated before is always fantastic. Juicy and the roll is soft and good. TheFloating Island for desert was way too sweet. Kind of gross and I couldn’t even eat it. – Dinner: “A Taste of the USA” We didn’t get back to the ship in time, so we went to the Windjammer and sat at the back of the ship outside and ate.
Day 14 – At Sea – Lunch: The main dining room was open, but we elected to go to the Windjammer. – Dinner: “The Royal Night” The Cheese Tortillini Pasta was yummy.
Day 15 – At Sea traveling to Los Angeles, California – Lunch: The main dining room was open, but we elected to go to the Windjammer. We enjoy sitting outside and eating in the back of the Windjammer – Dinner: “Bon Voyage” The Pan Seared Asparagus was just okay. The Spaghetti Bolognese was gross with just way too much meat. Not a very good meal for the last night. That last night is something you remember. It left a bad taste in my mouth.
Radiance of the Seas review after 21 days on the ship. 1) Internet: Expensive and slow slow slow in our room. 2) Casino: Very bad payouts, but still fun. Just play with what you feel comfortable losing. Hey – You never know, maybe that $11,763.96 can be yours on your next cruise. Also, it is worthwhile to go to the casino just for bar service. They are the best there.
3) Excellent food in the main dining room both for lunch and dinner. Never had breakfast there. Breakfast was good in the Windjammer, except for the pre-made omelets were always hard and dried out. Lunch in the Windjammer was good. The Salad was always good, and the egg salad was delicious. It was nice that they had olives to add to your salad. Behind the Windjammer is a really nice place to eat outside. The captain and other officers ate lunch there every day. Very pleasant atmosphere and you get the best views. Most of it has a roof overhead protecting you from the sun and rain. This area is one of my most favorite places to hang out on this ship.
4) Employees were so pleasant. I think it is because the captain appears to really appreciate the employees on this ship. They have a good model in the captain. 5) Captain should be praised for his communication to the passengers. 6) Diamond Lounge concierge was excellent. Friendly and helpful. 7) The ship is very clean. The only bad thing was that on some mornings the floor was very slippery in the Windjammer at breakfast time due to them washing the floor with dirty mop/water. 8) The ship is old – needs a total makeover 9) Shower curtains – yuk 10) Not much to do. 11) Maintenance is prompt and efficient when called. We had to call three times. Safe needed new batteries, light bulb needed to be replaced in bathroom, and toilet would not flush. 12) Excursions – Royal Caribbean needs to check them out more to ensure its passengers are being provided a good experience. Secret travelers should take the excursions. Some are excellent and others a waste of time. 13) Embarkation and Disembarkation was excellent and quick. 14) Beds and pillows in both our cabins were so comfortable. Bed was firm and there were four pillows which was nice.
Today we were off the ship at 8am.
Had an Uber and were in Downtown Los Angeles, California by 9am picking up our rental car.
As we approached the city, the view of the city and the mountains behind it was so pretty. Now that I look at the picture though, I wonder if that is smog.
We passed tents on the sidewalks in the city.
The traffic is not as bad as we expected. The weather is nice, and the people are very nice. We are staying in Montebello tonight at a Hilton Garden Inn. The views of the mountains from our hotel are fantastic.
We visited the local mall today. It was real shopping, not tourist junk like the shopping we have seen for the past 21 days. The mall was crowded.
The houses are close together in this area and there is a lot of Spanish type architectural designs. Montebello has some really nice homes, and the area is very clean and nice. We used my phone for navigation today and the battery was dead by 1pm. So, there are only a few pictures. We saw some oil rig pumpjacks today pumping away across from the mall. We were unaware that there was oil in the Los Angeles area. In fact, there are 26 oil and gas fields and more than 5,000 active and idle wells in LA. 2.5 million barrels of oil was produced by the city last year. The U.S. now produces over 12 million barrels per day. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed an ordinance in January 2023 to ban new oil wells and phase out drilling over the next 20 years.
OMG we had to buy lunch, dinner, and an afternoon beverage. What a shock. One last story of the day. We got the key to our room, and I opened the door and there was a man sleeping in our bed. I guess I kind of screamed and closed the door. The man just rolled over and went back to sleep. There was a woman cleaning rooms, and she made a few calls. A bunch of people came including security. They knocked on the room door. He answered and said he had checked in and it was his room. He thought someone had come into his room, but he was so exhausted he rolled over and went back to sleep. What a freaky thing. The hotel was kind of freaking out they had no idea who he was. They asked for my ID three times. Finally, I said Hey you have asked for my ID three times maybe you need to go back up and ask for his ID if you don’t know who he is. I have no idea what happened with him, but they gave us keys to another room and paid for our dinner. That’s a new one for us.
I have been seeing a lot of warning signs today like the one below. This one is in the Hilton Garden Inn Restaurant. I have never seen these kind of warning signs anywhere else. It must be a California thing.
Today’s product recommendations are for keeping your skin looking its best at sea and in the sun. My favorite skin care products are made by Elemis. Although I do sometimes try a new product here and there. I actually find myself going back to Elemis. 1) I start my morning in the shower with a face wash. Currently I am using ELEMIS Dynamic Resurfacing Facial Wash https://amzn.to/3qZkwqC 2) After showering I am currently using ELEMIS Superfood Facial Oil https://amzn.to/3XvfUVu 3) Then the Elemis Pro-Collagen Maine Cream with spf30 gets applied. It is the best. It costs a little more than the drug store creams but wow it works. Whenever I decide I want to buy another less expensive brand I am sorry and head right back to this cream. https://amzn.to/46sJZsH 4) Steve also uses an Elemis product. He tends to break out when he uses sunscreen often. He finds the ELEMIS Dynamic Resurfacing Facial Pads excellent to use. It cleans that sunscreen out of his pores. When he uses these pads to cleanse his face he does not break out. https://amzn.to/3px1oQn
To see more about Radiance of the Seas, click here: Radiance of the Seas – Deestimes – Make every step of the journey count
To view the complete daily diary, click here: Living the Dream – Deestimes – Make every step of the journey count