GTS ''Radiance of the Seas'' is a

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as ...

owned and operated by

Royal Caribbean International Royal Caribbean International (RCI), also formerly known as Royal Caribbean Cruise Line (RCCL), is a cruise line brand founded in 1968 in Norway and organised as a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Group since 1997. Based in Miami, Flo ...

. She is the lead ship of the , which includes , and . All of the ''Radiance''-class ships have a

gas turbine A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directio ...

powertrain, which produces higher efficient speeds than other cruise ships, and

emissions Emission may refer to: Chemical products * Emission of air pollutants, notably: **Flue gas, gas exiting to the atmosphere via a flue ** Exhaust gas, flue gas generated by fuel combustion ** Emission of greenhouse gases, which absorb and emit rad ...

to the air are much lower than cruise ships powered by

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...

Construction and career

Built in 2001, the ship cost Royal Caribbean International about 338 million dollars to build. The ship is considered to be one of the more environmentally-friendly but less fuel-efficient. As one of the ''Radiance''-class ships it contained more glass than any other Royal Caribbean ship when it was launched. It has over 700 balcony staterooms, a two-level main dining room and a retractable glass roof over the solarium (adults-only) pool. ''Radiance of the Seas'' was designed in Germany by

Meyer Werft Meyer Werft is one of the major German shipyards, headquartered in Papenburg at the river Ems. Founded in 1795 and starting with small wooden vessels, today Meyer Werft is a builder of luxury passenger ships. 700 ships of different types have be ...

to cruise varied climates. The ship is faster than most cruise ships and has the ability to maneuver with the combination of the

Azipod Azipod is a trademark azimuth thruster pod design, a marine propulsion unit consisting of a fixed pitch propeller mounted on a steerable gondola ("pod") containing the electric motor driving the propeller, allowing ships to be more maneuverabl ...

propulsion system, the

bow thruster Manoeuvering thruster (bow thruster or stern thruster) is a transversal propulsion device built into, or mounted to, either the bow or stern, of a ship or boat to make it more manoeuvrable. Bow thrusters make docking easier, since they allow th ...

s, and the dynamic positioning system. The ship is economically efficient through the design of the power plant consisting of two

s and one steam turbine. The waste heat from each gas turbine is fed through a heat recovery steam generator, thus using the steam to power the steam turbine. Once electricity is generated from this power plant it then powers the external propulsion pods and thrusters. The ship's features include a $6 million art collection and gyroscopically-stabilized pool tables. Royal Caribbean ships all include art in passenger areas; ''Radiance of the Seas'' has displayed art from over 100 artists around the world. ''Radiance of the Seas'' is the first cruise ship to feature

pool tables A billiard table or billiards table is a bounded table on which cue sports are played. In the modern era, all billiards tables (whether for carom billiards, pool, pyramid or snooker) provide a flat surface usually made of quarried slate, that ...

that are stabilized by a computer-controlled gyroscope. They adjust with the motion of the ship to keep the table-top level with the horizon. The vessel has the most glass of any Royal Caribbean ship. She has 10 dining choices, a rock-climbing wall, a mini-golf course, pools, and a water slide.

Itinerary

During the northern summer season, ''Radiance of the Seas'' operates in

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

. When the ship is cruising in Alaska, guests are able to stand on the helipad to view the glaciers passed by the ship. In spring and fall, she visits the

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

an Islands, and in the winter season, the southern summer, she visits Australia and New Zealand. The inaugural Australian cruise of the performing arts on the ''Radiance of the Seas'' in November 2014 included, among others,

Cheryl Barker Cheryl Ruth Barker (born 22 April 1960, Sydney) is an Australian operatic soprano who has had an active international career since the late 1980s. She has sung on several complete opera recordings with Chandos Records, including the title role ...

, David Hobson,

Teddy Tahu Rhodes Teddy Tahu Rhodes (born 30 August 1966) is a New Zealand operatic baritone. Early life Rhodes was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 30 August 1966, to a British mother, Joyce, and a New Zealand father, Terrence Tahu Gravenor Rhodes. The Mao ...

Simon Tedeschi Simon Tedeschi (born 1 May 1981) is an Australian classical pianist and writer. Early life Tedeschi was born in Gosford to Mark Tedeschi QC, Senior Crown Prosecutor for New South Wales, and doctor Vivienne Tedeschi, the daughter of a Polis ...

Elaine Paige Elaine Jill Paige (née Bickerstaff; born 5 March 1948) is an English singer and actress, best known for her work in musical theatre. Raised in Barnet, Hertfordshire, Paige attended the Aida Foster Theatre School, making her first professiona ...

Marina Prior Marina Prior (born 18 October 1963) is an Australian soprano and actress with a career mainly in musical theatre. From 1990 to 1993, she starred as the original Christine Daaé in the Australian premiere of ''The Phantom of the Opera'', opposit ...

, and

John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, writer, actor, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including '' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), '' Pink Flamingos'' (1972) and '' Fe ...

COVID-19 pandemic

The ship was ordered to leave Sydney by the

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

police under "Operation Nemesis" due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. It was provisioned in Sydney on 3 April and left port without passengers on 4 April towards

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

. She proceeded to

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

and was in hot lay up in the Bay of Limassol from early 2020.

References

External links

*
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Radiance Of The Seas Ships of Royal Caribbean International Ships built in Papenburg Panamax cruise ships 2000 ships