Carnival Radiance is back in Long Beach following a 15-day dry dock in Victoria, Canada, and while the ship didn't receive a massive transformation, guests returning to the ship will find several refreshed areas and a few updates.
Carnival Radiance welcomed guests back aboard on Sunday, October 3, following the work at the Seaspan shipyard. The dry dock included updates to both interior and open-deck guest areas, along with a renewed Effy jewelry boutique.
The ship also returned with a new addition to its bow: Carnival's “From Sea to Shining Sea” bow crest. The new design is part of Carnival's effort to highlight its American identity and its branding as “America's Cruise Line.”
For passengers, however, the biggest news may simply be that Carnival Radiance is back in Long Beach and ready to continue sailing its West Coast itineraries.
Carnival Radiance will continue offering year-round cruises from Long Beach, giving West Coast cruisers a variety of shorter cruise options without having to travel to Florida or another major cruise port.
The ship will operate four- and five-day cruises to destinations in Baja Mexico and the Mexican Riviera. Depending on the itinerary, guests can visit places such as Ensenada and Catalina Island, while select longer Carnival Journeys sailings will take passengers all the way to Hawaii.
That combination makes Carnival Radiance an interesting option for people looking for either a quick getaway or a longer cruise without having to fly across the country to get to their ship.
We Have a Soft Spot for Carnival Radiance. Carnival Radiance is a ship we have actually sailed on, and it's one that we really enjoyed.
One of the things that stood out to us was the overall size and layout of the ship. Carnival Radiance isn't one of Carnival's newest mega-ships, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. There is still plenty to do without the ship feeling quite as overwhelming as some of the newer, much larger vessels. And then there is one of our favorite reasons to sail on Carnival Radiance: Shaq's Big Chicken.
Big Chicken is one of those features that can be easy to overlook when you're comparing cruise ships, but we really enjoyed having it aboard. The restaurant serves chicken sandwiches, chicken tenders and sides, and for us it was one of the highlights of the ship. (CLICK HERE FOR OUR SHAQ'S BIG CHICKEN VIDEO)
It's also worth pointing out that Big Chicken isn't available on every Carnival ship, which makes Carnival Radiance a little more appealing for fans of the restaurant.
If you haven't seen our Carnival Radiance cruise videos yet, we've got videos from our sailing on the ship over on the Cruising Together Couple YouTube channel, where you can get a better look at the ship and see what our experience was actually like. (CLICK HERE FOR OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL)
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The work Carnival completed during this dry dock appears to be more of a refresh than a major ship transformation. Carnival says guest areas throughout the interior and open decks were refreshed, along with the Effy jewelry store.
That means passengers shouldn't board Carnival Radiance expecting to find an entirely different ship. Instead, the goal seems to have been keeping the ship looking fresh and maintaining the public areas as it continues its year-round schedule from Long Beach.
And honestly, sometimes that's exactly what a ship needs. Not every dry dock needs to result in a dozen new restaurants or major attractions. Keeping a popular ship in good shape can be just as important.
For Carnival Radiance, the ship is heading right back into the same role it has been filling for West Coast cruisers: providing shorter cruises to Mexico, longer options to Hawaii and a convenient homeport in Long Beach.
With Carnival Radiance back from dry dock, the ship is ready to continue its year-round schedule from Long Beach. The combination of four- and five-day cruises, Mexican destinations and occasional longer Carnival Journeys sailings gives the ship a pretty broad range of options.
And if you're like us and happen to be a fan of Shaq's Big Chicken, Carnival Radiance has another advantage that you won't find on every Carnival ship.
We've sailed on Radiance and really enjoyed our time aboard, so we're glad to see the ship back in service and refreshed for its next round of cruises.
If you're considering Carnival Radiance for a future cruise, we'd definitely recommend checking out some of our videos before you book. We've documented our experience on the ship so you can get a better idea of what it's actually like to cruise on Radiance. (CLICK HERE FOR OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL)
Have you sailed on Carnival Radiance? If so, what's your favorite thing about the ship and are you a fan of Shaq's Big Chicken?
We are Tim & Lori and are known as "The Cruising Together Couple"
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