Back on Carnival Radiance After 2 Years… Has It Changed?

It had been close to two years since we last sailed the Carnival Radiance, and we came back for a four day Catalina and Ensenada run out of Long Beach. We were told to expect off site parking. We were told to expect crowds. We got neither, and the whole embarkation day went about as smoothly as one can.

What did change is smaller and more specific, and if you have sailed this ship before you will notice it: the fries at Shaq’s Big Chicken, the size of a Bonsai Sushi roll, and the price attached to it. Here is the full embarkation day, from the parking garage to our last drink at the Alchemy Bar.

Parking at Long Beach: Better Than We Were Told

We arrived around 11:00 a.m. having been notified that morning that we would probably be parking off site. We were not. There was a ton of space in the parking garage.

The first few floors were full from the Firenze and the Panorama, but level four was completely empty and there was another full level on the roof above that, also empty. So if you get that off site warning email, it is worth driving to the garage first and looking.

From up on four you get a good view of the whole setup: the dome, the Radiance sitting to the right of it, the Queen Mary just beyond, and the Maverick Helicopters landing pad. That last one is worth knowing about. You can take a helicopter from right there to Catalina in about fifteen minutes if you ever want the very quick way across.

Our check in time had been 10:30, so we were legal to board. Where there is normally a big line of people waiting to walk over to the dome, there was nobody. There were dogs working the entrance and no queue at all. A Thursday at the end of April, on a four day sailing, turned out to be a quiet boarding day.

On Board and Straight to Shaq’s

We were on Deck 7 heading to the cabin with drinks already in hand, because there was a welcome drink just inside the door and we had no choice in the matter. It came with an Operation Homefront Heroes Bar glass, which is a nicer souvenir than most.

Rooms were not ready yet, as you could tell from all the open doors, but as Diamond members we were allowed to drop our bags in the cabin. That is a small perk that makes the first two hours of a cruise considerably more comfortable.

Our cabin was 7430, an aft balcony. We will be honest about it: it is a nice aft cabin with a good size balcony and a great wake view, and it is in no way private. If privacy on a balcony is what you are after, this is not your room. If you want sun, aft views, and that wake, it will suit you very well. We have a full walkthrough and Great Cabin Checklist score for 7430 in its own video and post.

Then up to the Lido deck, where Shaq’s Big Chicken is the place to be on embarkation day. The Radiance is the only smaller ship, outside the Excel class, that has one, which is part of why we were excited to come back.

The insider order, for the record, is Uncle Jerome’s with pepper jack and a side of chicken strips. Tony also got the Shaq’s big ranch sauce, April went for the Big Aristotle and a Bahama Mama to start the cruise, and there was a side of fries in there too.

The Fries Situation

Here is the change that stopped us. The fries at Shaq’s are different.

They used to be those flat potato slices. On this sailing they were standard crinkle cut. They are still good fries, to be clear. But Christina loved those flat potato fries specifically, and made the entirely fair point that she can make crinkle cut at home out of a bag from Ore-Ida, while she cannot make the flat ones.

Tony was less personally wounded, though he did commit to investigative journalism on the matter for the rest of the sailing. We still do not know whether this is a change across all Shaq’s locations, something specific to this ship, or just embarkation day. If you know, tell us in the comments, because Christina would very much like those fries back.

There was no line at Pizza del Capitano, so Tony grabbed a couple of pepperoni slices as well, on the entirely sound reasoning that pepperoni pizza is also always amazing.

Carnival Pizza vs MSC Pizza, Settled

We had just come off the MSC World America, which is supposed to have the best pizza at sea, so this was a genuine head to head for us.

Tony’s verdict: Carnival pizza is tastier straight out of the box. MSC’s is cheesier and the dough is much better, but the Carnival version simply has more flavor. Put some parmesan and red chili flakes on the MSC pizza and it gets really good.

But MSC wins on something that is not about taste at all. Their pizza is always ready to go, in multiple locations, up by the pool deck, down in the promenade, and in the buffet, and you take as much as you want. On Carnival, the lines get outrageously long and you get two small slices. That is a real advantage to MSC that we had not fully weighed until we were standing in the Carnival line again.

Honestly, we would happily eat either.

The Old Muster Drill Is Still Out There

We had been notified earlier in the week that we were selected for the traditional in person muster drill, the pre-COVID kind where you physically assemble. Tony had been quietly hoping they would change their mind. They did not.

It is not the end of the world. You have a few drinks, you have some food, you go and do it, and it is a blip. But it is worth knowing that this still happens on some sailings, because most cruisers have not done one in years and it is a genuine surprise if you are not expecting it.

Sail Away and the Lido Deck Scramble

Sail away happened on a flawless afternoon: no cloud in the sky, about 75 degrees, having been forecast as partly cloudy and 60. Tony had packed a light jacket he never wears, out of genuine concern, and did not need it.

We headed up to the Serenity deck to try to get a drink, because every other bar on the ship was absolutely packed. Once we cleared San Pedro and Long Beach we were properly at sea, up on Deck 10 with Palos Verdes off to one side, on our way to Catalina.

Which, if you know the geography, is funny. Catalina is right there. You can see it from the deck. We were not due to arrive until 8:30 the next morning and it was 4:30 in the afternoon. So the ship goes out, gets far enough offshore for the casino and shops to open legally, and then essentially does slow circles all night before drifting into the Bay of Avalon in the morning.

The late afternoon food situation was a bit of a scramble. Everything except the deli was closed or had a huge line, because the buffet does not open until 6:00. Tony had a buffalo chicken sandwich and fries from the deli, April had a hot dog under a fairly heroic amount of ketchup, and Cucina del Capitano upstairs was closed too. If you board late and want a real meal, plan around that 6:00 opening.

Scoping the Casino

We always walk the casino on embarkation day even though nothing is switched on in port, because it is worth seeing what is there before everybody else claims it.

Tony likes Huff N’ Puff. Christina’s approach is more intuitive: she finds the machines that call to her, which is important. The real risk, as she pointed out, is that somebody camps on a machine for four straight days, and then you never get near the one you wanted.

For the record, our usual pattern is that Tony loses money and Christina wins it back, so we break roughly even. Somebody has suggested the obvious optimisation of simply having Christina play and Tony not. We may try that.

Dinner at Bonsai Sushi, and Some Shrinkflation

Bonsai Sushi was oddly, completely empty. There was a loud band going at the RedFrog Pub across the way and the Alchemy Bar was busy, and we had walked past Bonsai several times that day without seeing a single person in it, which we found genuinely surprising because Bonsai Sushi is excellent.

Tony had a tempura roll, Christina had one without avocado, and April had one with plus edamame.

Two things we noticed immediately. The rolls are visibly smaller than they used to be. And the price went from $8 to $10.

They were still delicious. The flavors were all there, and we would order them again. But smaller and more expensive at the same time is worth saying out loud, because it is the same pattern as the bagels and the fries, and nobody is announcing these changes.

Nightcap at the Alchemy Bar

We wrapped up at the Alchemy Bar around 10:00. The menus there are lit up, which is a small detail we always enjoy. Tony had his old standby. Christina tried the French Kiss: vanilla vodka, Chambord, sparkling wine, and a touch of fresh lime.

Her verdict was quick and unsentimental. She would not order it again, she would finish it, and her objection was the lime. “I don’t know why they keep adding lime to everything. Not everything needs lime.” Duly noted, Alchemy Bar.

Asked how she was finding the Radiance so far, Christina said it is exactly what she expects from an older Carnival ship: small, cozy, live music everywhere, good food in a lot of different places, shops to walk, bars to stop at. It takes a little getting used to after the last few much larger ships we have sailed, but she still likes her older Carnival ships.

There was a comedy show at 11:15 and neither of us was staying up for it. April had already gone to bed. We had an 8:00 to 9:00 dining room window the next morning for priority tender to Catalina, where we had a golf cart booked, and Tony wanted to be up early to film the ship tour.

So Has the Radiance Changed?

Not fundamentally. She is still a small, comfortable, genuinely fun ship with live music everywhere and the only Shaq’s Big Chicken outside the Excel class. Embarkation out of Long Beach was easier than we were promised it would be.

What has changed is at the margins, and it all points the same direction: the fries, the roll size, the price of that roll. None of it ruins a cruise. All of it is noticeable if you have sailed her before, and we would rather tell you than pretend we did not see it.