I know that one. What's different about this one?
Two hulls, field by field: what both records say the same way, where they part, and what only one of them carries. Computed by comparing the records rather than written down, so it cannot claim a difference the ships do not have.
Radiance of the Seas
Royal Caribbean · Radiance class · 2001
- Cabinverified
- Moneyverified
- Trapsverified
14 sources · checked 2026-08-19 · 12-deck stack on file
Vision of the Seas
Royal Caribbean · Vision class · 1998
- Cabinverified
- Moneyverified
- Trapsverified
16 sources · checked 2026-08-19 · 8-deck stack on file
7 of 14 recorded fields match. Same line, different classes: the line policy carries across and the ship-level calls largely do not.
Where they part
The part that does not transfer. Where two records share an opening and a closing, those are lifted out and shown once so what differs is what you read.
Where to bookdiffers by ship
- Radiance of the Seas
- Midship on decks 8 or 9. A deck is only a safe default if it has cabins above it AND cabins below it — plenty of cabins on the deck itself proves nothing. Here that lands on a narrow two-deck band and the working is worth knowing: cabins run 2 to 4 and then 7 to 10, so deck 7 fails BELOW — deck 6 under it is public space — and deck 10 fails ABOVE, with the pool, Solarium and Windjammer directly over it on 11. Everything in between is genuinely sandwiched. Every deck 10 cabin needs an overhead check rather than a blanket no: deck 11 above it is the pool, the Solarium and the Windjammer, so identify which venue actually sits over the specific cabin. For a light sleeper that's a strong negative. For someone who wants one deck's access to the pool and the buffet it can be a perfectly good trade. The aft end under the buffet is the most-complained-about spot, but that's passenger judgment rather than anything measured. The good news structurally is that the pool deck sits ABOVE the cabins rather than among them, which is the older and cleaner arrangement — below deck 10 you're between cabin decks the whole way.
- Vision of the Seas
- Midship on deck 3, and this one is going to feel wrong until you check it. A deck is only a safe default if it has cabins above it AND cabins below it — plenty of cabins on the deck itself proves nothing. There are five cabin decks here — 2, 3, 4, 7 and 8 — and running the test properly puts the answer at the BOTTOM of the ship, not the top. Deck 3 has cabins on 2 below it and 4 above it, so it passes cleanly. Deck 7 fails, because deck 6 underneath it is public space rather than cabins. Deck 8 fails the other way, with the pool, Solarium and Windjammer directly over it on 9. The instinct to put a client high on a small ship is the wrong instinct on these four hulls. Midship is doing real work in that sentence, so don't bless the whole of deck 3. Aft on 3 can sit under galley space on some of these hulls, which is a check rather than a rule. And at the extreme forward end the cabins are a different product: several are porthole rooms with two round windows rather than a rectangular one. I'd steer them off a porthole room — it's the cheapest category and they've felt small to me. Check the actual square footage for the specific cabin before you rule it in or out. Forward is also where the motion is, so that end of deck 3 wants both checks, not one. Deck 8 sits directly under the pool decking, the Solarium and the Windjammer, and the interiors up there are the ones reported worst. That's a strong negative for anyone noise-sensitive and a reasonable trade for someone who wants the pool and the buffet one flight up — ask which client you have rather than ruling the deck out. On this ship specifically, the most forward cabins on deck 7 sit over the theatre, and show and rehearsal noise is what gets reported there. Researched rather than confirmed.
Vibrationdiffers by ship
Both ships open with
Lower decks are generally better for motion, not worse — closer to the waterline. The catch is vibration: a low cabin at the back can still pick up the propulsion, so "go low" isn't automatically the right call for a sensitive traveller.
- Radiance of the Seas
- A fact and a claim about this class, and keep them apart. The fact: these are gas-turbine electric ships driving Azipod propulsion, which is unusual in the fleet. The claim: the builders marketed that as producing much less noise and vibration than conventional diesel machinery. That's manufacturer material, not a measured passenger outcome, so do NOT turn it into a placement rule — "book aft, this class doesn't vibrate" is exactly the leap to avoid. Apply the general rule and treat the propulsion as context.
- Vision of the Seas
- On these hulls there are credible reports of mechanical vibration and thruster noise low down and aft, worst around docking and manoeuvring — but treat that as a check on the specific cabin rather than a rule about deck 2. Low-deck mechanical noise turns up in other spots too, and the reports are experiential rather than measured.
Obstructed viewsdiffers by ship
- Radiance of the Seas
- Two mechanisms here and they call for opposite advice. The first is the deck 7 lifeboat roof on the indented sections — it takes the downward view and leaves the horizon, so it's a disclosure, not a veto. The second is genuinely blocking and it's specific: 9252 and 9652 are obstructed by the ship's window-washing platform, and that pair holds across all four hulls, which is unusual enough to be worth knowing by cabin number. Structural obstructions are the ship-specific part. On this ship 7170 and 7670 are identified as partially blocked by the ship's own structure. A much broader claim circulates that a long run of deck 7 cabins is lifeboat-obstructed; it comes from a low-quality source and it confuses the roof issue with a blocked horizon, so read the current plan rather than believing it.
- Vision of the Seas
- There is NO class-wide lifeboat band on these ships, and that's worth saying plainly because an earlier version of this record claimed deck 3 was one. Royal's own printable deck 3 plan calls out the forward PORTHOLE cabins — two round windows instead of a rectangular one — without marking the deck as obstructed, and deck 3 otherwise reads as ordinary cabin-sandwiched space. Don't warn a client off deck 3 on lifeboat grounds. What IS true is that Royal marks obstructed staterooms on its own deck plans for all four of these hulls, cabin by cabin, so that plan is the check. The obstructed cabins for this hull need reading off its current plan — don't inherit a sister's numbers. No mechanism is recorded here, because Royal marks a cabin obstructed without saying by what, and guessing at the cause would defeat the point of having the field.
Liftsdiffers by ship
- Radiance of the Seas
- The panoramic glass lifts are a genuine feature rather than transport — they run on the outside of the hull looking out over the ocean, and on an Alaska or Panama sailing riding them is part of the trip. Worth mentioning to a client who'd enjoy it. What I can't give you firmly is the count: nine is the figure that circulates and I couldn't confirm it against Royal's own material, so treat it as approximate. I'm also not telling you which side they're on — that's documented for one hull and I won't assume it holds for four.
- Vision of the Seas
- Nothing recorded for this hull — the other one carries a note here and this one does not.
Accessibilitydiffers by ship
- Radiance of the Seas
- A smaller hull with the pool deck cleanly above the cabins, so distances are short and nobody walks through a pool crowd to get home — that's a real advantage over the big ships for a slower traveller. The lift count is uncertain and I found nothing on how the banks are distributed, so check the deck plan for the specific cabin and confirm it against the accessible plan. And note the aft-balcony tradeoff above: on this class the best view and the shortest walk are usually not the same room.
- Vision of the Seas
- The saving grace of a small ship is that nothing is far away, and the pool deck sits cleanly above the cabins rather than among them. Against that, this class predates most modern accessible-design conventions. I'm not giving you a lift count or a bank layout: a figure repeated across secondary sources isn't a confirmed one, and a count without a layout gives you no usable advice anyway. Treat a mobility booking here as needing the accessible deck plan checked cabin by cabin rather than reasoned from a rule.
Height and age rulesdiffers by ship
Both ships open with
On this ship specifically: the rock wall is age 6 and up with a signed waiver, and 6 to 12 need supervision. Different rides, different numbers — clearing one does not clear the rest, so check the ride the child actually wants.
- Radiance of the Seas
- There's no FlowRider and there are no waterslides on this class, so most of the fleet's height rules simply don't come up here — which is worth saying to a parent up front rather than letting them discover it.
- Vision of the Seas
- Most of the fleet's height rules simply don't come up on this class — there's no FlowRider and there are no waterslides — so the rock wall's age minimum is the one that matters. Worth telling a parent up front rather than letting them find out.
and both close with
Adventure Ocean runs Aquanauts 3–5 (potty-trained only), Explorers 6–8 and Voyagers 9–12, with separate teen spaces for 12–14 and 15–17. The nursery covers 6 to 36 months but is not on every ship — check the specific hull rather than assuming. Adventure Ocean is free for 3 to 12 year-olds until 10pm, then the late-night party runs 10pm to 1am at $15 per hour per child. The nursery is $9 an hour between 9am and 6pm and $12 an hour from 6pm to midnight. All three went up in October 2025, so an older quote will be low.
Obstructed balconiesdiffers by ship
- Radiance of the Seas
- cabins 9252 and 9652 on every hull in the class, blocked by the window-washing platform — plus the deck 7 lifeboat roof, which is a downward-view issue rather than a blocked one
- Vision of the Seas
- whatever Royal's own current deck plan marks for the specific hull — not deck 3, which is not an obstructed band on this class
Money
Set by the line rather than the hull, which is why two ships on one line agree here and two ships on different lines rarely do.
What the package actually costs
Compare checkout prices, not sticker prices — one of these posts its service charge in the number and the other adds it at the till.
- Radiance of the Seas
- $88.50 per person, per day at checkout — posted at $75, plus 18% added at checkout.
- Vision of the Seas
- $88.50 per person, per day at checkout — posted at $75, plus 18% added at checkout.
The two come out level once the service charges are normalised.
The rates are fixed; the prices are not. Package pricing moves by ship and sailing, so run the arithmetic against the actual quote — what carries across every sailing is which line adds its charge at checkout, not the size of the gap.
What only one of them carries
Category notes and ship-specific traps recorded against one hull and not the other.
Only on the Radiance of the Seas — 7
Radiance of the Seas7 of its own
- Category notesThe deck 7 balconies have a quirk that's worth explaining rather than avoiding, and it's the thing most likely to be mis-sold on this class. On the indented sections, a metal roof covering the lifeboats extends roughly eight to ten feet outward from below the balcony. What that costs you is the view STRAIGHT DOWN at the water. What it does not cost you is the horizon — the outward sea view stays substantially open. So disclose it and let them decide. Don't turn "can't look straight down" into "obstructed balcony", which is what the blogs do; a client who wants to sit with the sea in front of them will be perfectly happy here, often at a lower price.
- Category notesAsk about the hump cabins rather than avoiding them. These sit on the outward bulge of the hull, which is where the deck 7 lifeboat-roof problem disappears and where the angled position gives better views both down and along the side of the ship. One thing not to promise: the balcony isn't necessarily bigger. Reports show hump cabins with ordinary-size balconies and excellent view geometry, which are different things. The specific hump cabin numbers for this hull need reading off its own plan — don't inherit another ship's.
- Category notesThis class is built for looking at things — three acres of glass, panoramic lifts on the outside of the hull, a two-level glass-walled dining room, a retractable roof over the Solarium. On an Alaska or Panama Canal itinerary that IS the product, and it beats the big ships outright. On a Caribbean sea-day run it doesn't.
- Category notesAft-facing balconies are a FIT question rather than a quality one. For a client on a scenic itinerary who wants wake views and long stretches of outdoor time, the view astern is the whole reason to be on this ship and the aft balcony is the cabin to push. For a client who's motion-sensitive, or slower on their feet, or who'll resent the corridor walk, it's the wrong room regardless of the view. Ask which one you have before you recommend it.
- Ship-specific trapsThis class is a SCENERY-FIRST Royal Caribbean product, not an attraction-first one, and that's the sentence to lead with rather than a list of what's missing. What's aboard: the rock wall, the nine-hole mini-golf course, the sports court, an arcade and Adventure Ocean. What isn't: FlowRider, ice rink, waterslides, bumper cars, North Star, Central Park or Boardwalk. A family who booked Royal Caribbean expecting the advertising will be disappointed by a ship that isn't trying to be that — so set the frame before they book, and sell the glass, the Solarium roof and the itinerary instead.
- Ship-specific trapsOn the right itinerary these ships beat the big ones outright — Alaska, the Panama Canal, Europe. On a Caribbean sea-day run they don't. That's the single best matching question on this class, and it's an itinerary question rather than a ship one.
- Ship-specific trapsDon't repeat the claim that a long run of deck 7 cabins here is lifeboat-obstructed. The real deck 7 issue is a roof that blocks the view downward while leaving the horizon open, which is a different thing and a much smaller problem. Being able to correct that is worth a booking.
Only on the Vision of the Seas — 4
Vision of the Seas4 of its own
- Category notesBalcony inventory here is materially more limited than on the newer Royal classes — that's an inventory and planning point rather than a fact about any particular cabin, and it's the reason to raise it early. On a modern ship a balcony is the default assumption; on these four it's the exception, and it runs out. If a balcony is genuinely a must-have for the client, price it and secure it at the start of the conversation rather than at the end. I'm deliberately not giving you a percentage: the figures that circulate conflict, and no decision turns on which is right.
- Category notesThe cabins here are genuinely smaller than a client will have seen on a newer ship, and that's the expectation to set — but set it with the actual number for their category rather than a class range. Even within one of these hulls the interior categories span a wide spread, so a class-wide figure would be false precision. Read the dimensions for the specific ship and category on the booking screen.
- Ship-specific trapsSell these as CLASSIC, SMALLER-SCALE Royal Caribbean, which is Royal's own framing — a more traditional cruise experience on a ship that's easy to navigate, where the itinerary carries more of the value than the hardware does. What that means concretely: there's a rock wall, a retractable-roof Solarium, an arcade and Adventure Ocean, and there is no FlowRider, no ice rink, no waterslides, no bumper cars, no North Star and none of the neighbourhood or Category 6 attractions. If the client's mental image came from an Icon advert, close that gap before deposit — but close it by describing what this is, not by apologising for what it isn't.
- Ship-specific trapsDon't promise mini-golf on this class as a given. It gets listed generically for these ships and Royal's current per-ship pages don't consistently show it — check the specific hull before you mention it. Facility lists copied across sister ships are how this record has been wrong before.
Where they agree
Recorded identically on both. Learn it once.
- Motion
- Push hard for midship. Extreme forward is the one to rule out; extreme aft is a negative when there's comparable midship inventory, and more so if vibration also matters to them.
- Minors
- No guest under 21 gets a stateroom without an adult 21 or older in that same room — the guardian minimum is 21 here, not 18. On sailings out of North America there's a waiver that's looser than Carnival's: the child can be in a stateroom that connects to the guardian's, or is adjacent to it, or is directly across the hall opening onto the same hallway. Connecting is not required, so don't over-restrict the inventory. Underage married couples and active-duty US or Canadian military are separate exceptions, both needing proof. Sailings originating in Europe, South America, Asia or Australia use different thresholds — check the departure region.
- Embarkation
- Check-in opens 45 days before sailing and arrival windows are picked then, in half-hour slots from about 10:30am to 2:30pm — first-come first-served, so the client who checks in on day 45 gets the early boarding and the one who waits gets 2pm. Turn up inside the window: early arrivals wait outside the terminal and late ones board with a later group. How hard it's enforced varies by port.
- Gratuities
- $18.50 per person, per day, added to the folio automatically.
- Drink package
- $75 per person, per day, plus 18% added at checkout — about $88.50 all-in.
- Before you price it
- Two things before you price this. The 18% gratuity is added at checkout rather than included, so the real daily cost is about a fifth above the headline — and if one adult in the stateroom buys the alcohol package, every guest of drinking age in that stateroom has to buy it too. For a couple where only one drinks, that doubles the bill. The non-alcoholic packages can be bought individually, so that's the way round it.
- Specialty dining
- Book it in the Cruise Planner before you sail — reservations close about two days out, and the dining-package holders all book their times onboard, so the 6:30 to 8:00 slots and the sea-day nights go first.
Deck geometry
Side by side rather than merged. Two stacks are two ships' arithmetic and averaging them would answer a question about a ship that does not exist.
Radiance of the Seas
| Deck | Cabins | Below | Above | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | — | public | — | No cabinsthe rock wall, mini-golf |
| 12 | — | public | public | No cabinsthe sports court |
| 11 | — | cabins | public | No cabinsthe pool, the Solarium, the Windjammer buffet |
| 10 | Yes | cabins | public | Check above |
| 9 | Yes | cabins | cabins | Quiet candidate |
| 8 | Yes | cabins | cabins | Quiet candidate |
| 7 | Yes | public | cabins | Check below |
| 6 | — | public | cabins | No cabinspublic space |
| 5 | — | cabins | public | No cabins |
| 4 | Yes | cabins | public | Check above |
| 3 | Yes | cabins | cabins | Quiet candidate |
| 2 | Yes | — | cabins | Not checked |
- DECK 10 Cabins below, public space directly above. Check what's overhead on the specific room.
- DECK 9 Cabins above and cabins below, nothing public sharing the deck. Passes the sandwich test.
- DECK 8 Cabins above and cabins below, nothing public sharing the deck. Passes the sandwich test.
- DECK 7 Cabins above, public space directly below. Check what's underneath on the specific room.
- DECK 4 Cabins below, public space directly above. Check what's overhead on the specific room.
- DECK 3 Cabins above and cabins below, nothing public sharing the deck. Passes the sandwich test.
- DECK 2 Can't call this one — the stack on file doesn't record what sits below it. Not a problem found; a gap.
Vision of the Seas
| Deck | Cabins | Below | Above | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | — | cabins | — | No cabinsthe pool, the Solarium, the Windjammer buffet |
| 8 | Yes | cabins | public | Check above |
| 7 | Yes | public | cabins | Check below |
| 6 | — | public | cabins | No cabinspublic space |
| 5 | — | cabins | public | No cabins |
| 4 | Yes | cabins | public | Check above |
| 3 | Yes | cabins | cabins | Quiet candidate |
| 2 | Yes | — | cabins | Not checked |
- DECK 8 Cabins below, public space directly above. Check what's overhead on the specific room.
- DECK 7 Cabins above, public space directly below. Check what's underneath on the specific room.
- DECK 4 Cabins below, public space directly above. Check what's overhead on the specific room.
- DECK 3 Cabins above and cabins below, nothing public sharing the deck. Passes the sandwich test.
- DECK 2 Can't call this one — the stack on file doesn't record what sits below it. Not a problem found; a gap.