September 26, 2025 – Friday/Day 1 – Departure Day From Vancouver, BC
Here we go on another cruise adventure with our favorite travel companions – Mom and Dad! After a wonderful two week stay with mom & dad in Mukilteo (including a week with Adam) to visit with family, we hit the road. We rented a car to drive to our departure port of Vancouver, BC, about 3 hours away. Everything went smoothly with no waits anywhere from crossing the border, returning the rental car, catching a taxi to the port, going through all the pre-bordering stuff, and boarding the Radiance of the Seas. Once on board, we headed up to Windjammer which did have about a 5 minute wait before they opened the doors, but we were one of the first ones through the door. Our lunch was delicious. Laurie took care of making some specialty restaurant reservations. After a short wait we able to get into our cabins and start to get set up and settled in. Mid-afternoon we did a bit of walking visiting our different muster stations and checking out our dining room table location, which is by a window as requested by Laurie, and not too far back in the room. We rested up in our staterooms, with the ship departing a little early at 3:45. Next up was Happy Hour which we spent at Quill & Compass, a British-style pub. 
Then on to the dining room where our waiter is Karen and the assistant waiter is Edmark. They both were very good and we had a delicious dinner. On the way to our rooms we stopped by the Centrum to enjoy a singer who sounded like Adelle for a few songs. Back in our rooms we turned in about 9:00 after a long day.
September 27, 2025 – Saturday/Day 2 – Astoria, OR
We started our usual routine of Laurie going to the Crown Lounge for coffee and reading very early, with Pat following about 6:15. The lounge is on deck 13 and overlooks the pool area and provides a great view. We headed back to the room early so Laurie could work on some technical stuff. On the way Pat happened to look out a window at just the right time to glimpse two Orcas, seeing the black and white head and spouting back of one and the tail of another going into the water. After meeting up with M&D at 8:00, we went up to Windjammer for a delicious breakfast. Afterwards we settled on lounge chairs in the Solarium to rest, nap, and read. While resting on the lounge chairs, the ship suddenly went through a rough patch of seas when we entered the Columbia River heading to Astoria which sent about a 1-1/2 foot wave of water gushing out of the pool and onto the deck. It was strong and deep enough to sweep away everything loose on the deck, including Pat’s purse and sandals. They both were soaked and her phone had gotten dislodged from her purse so Laurie had to hunt that down. Her pants also got wet, as did Mom’s shoes which were on her feet! This happened several times before we moved on to calmer water. A little adventure within our big adventure! After drying off in our cabins, we sat in the Centrum watching all the people getting ready to get off the ship in Astoria about noon. It took a long time to get everyone off. We went out on deck four to check out the surrounding area, taking pictures of the Astoria Bridge, but otherwise it didn’t look worth going ashore. Instead we hit Windjammer again for a light lunch before returning to our rooms to rest. The Schooner Bar was our spot for Happy Hour today before going to Izumi for a delicious sushi dinner. As we left Izumi the ship was headed back out into the ocean from the Columbia River and we went through that rough patch again so it was interesting walking back to our rooms to turn in for the night.
September 28, 2025 – Sunday/Day 3 – At Sea
Our morning was a repeat of yesterday: early coffee, breakfast in Windjammer, and resting/reading in the Solarium – without the water works! Then we checked out the shops before returning to our cabins for the afternoon. Using our $6.00 slot machine credit provided by RC, we had a little fun in the casino. Dad was the only one to walk away several dollars ahead. We returned to the Schooner Bar prior to our dinner in the dining room. It was a “Dress Your Best” night and they served some delicious beef tenderloin.
September 29-30, 2025 – Monday-Tuesday/Days 4-5 – San Francisco, CA
We finished up our early coffee and picked M&D up for breakfast at 8:00. Today we decided to give the dining room a try for breakfast which was very good and much quieter than Windjammer, although there was a much smaller selection on the menu. As we ate we went under the Golden Gate Bridge and passed by Alcatraz on the way to our docking spot. From our table we can look one way and see the Golden Gate Bridge, and look the opposite way and see the Oakland Bay Bridge. There are lots of birds in the area, especially pelicans, as well as they said there were dolphins around. Before settling into the mostly empty Solarium to rest and read, we stopped in M&D’s cabin to call Adam and Greg, who were both doing well. Shortly after noon, M&D had a nosh at Windjammer and we headed out to Fisherman’s Wharf/Pier 39. We were docked at Pier 27 and it was about a 15 minute walk to get to the start of Pier 39. It was a very busy, colorful area with some unique shops, tons of restaurants which gave off a multitude of scents, and wonderful views from various points. We saw the famous sea lions that hang out there swimming around, resting on the piers, and often doing a lot of barking. Sights included the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, and the Oakland Bay Bridge. We also watched a magician (Big Al Catras) who wasn’t very good and begged for applause and tips. After covering about four miles we returned to the ship, going straight up to Windjammer for a snack and some iced tea before going to our cabin to rest. We were in the Schooner Bar prior to dinner in the dining room again for some good conversation and food.
Tuesday we had a Windjammer breakfast, lazed in the Solarium, and relaxed in our cabins in the afternoon. There wasn’t anything else we were interested in seeing after going ashore yesterday. We ended up in the Schooner Bar and the main dining room again.
October 1-2, 2025 – Wednesday-Thursday/Days 6-7 – At Sea (Yom Kippur)
Our usual start to the day. The Solarium filled up earlier because it was a sea day and everyone was looking for somewhere to park themselves for the morning and afternoon. M&D went off on their own for a bit to try their luck at the casino, check out photos we had taken onboard, and a little nosh. Yom Kippur starts at sundown today so we decided to skip Happy Hour and were at Windjammer when it opened at 5:30 for an early dinner. We had some delicious Italian food and desserts before sundown. Then we turned in early for the evening.
As Yom Kippur continued into Thursday, we didn’t have our usual early coffee and breakfast. We were up in the Solarium early when it was still cool and dark out. A couple hours later M&D joined us to relax, snooze, and read. Before returning to our cabins for the afternoon we stopped in the photo gallery so Mom could order a photo. There was lobster for dinner tonight although it was pretty small and a bit dry. Karen and Edmark were good all week, but we found Savio, a maitre’d, was especially attentive and great to talk to. After dinner we turned in for the night. About midnight we discovered our toilet had stopped flushing. We called and about 45 minutes later maintenance came and got it working from out in the hall. Not fun but just a small blip on a wonderful cruise.
October 3, 2025 – Friday/Day 8 – Catalina Island, CA
Back to our regular schedule of the two of us having early coffee in the Crown Lounge, then picking up M&D at 8:00 for breakfast in the Windjammer. Catalina is a tendered port and we thought rather than wait in line to get tender tickets we’d see if wanted to go ashore a little later. Unfortunately, it took them over 4 hours to call the tickets which put it at 1:00 before they opened the tenders to everyone! We felt we’d barely get ashore when we’d have to get in line for the last tender back at 4:30. Oh well. It was a beautiful, warm day and we enjoyed our time in the Solarium with M&D and then started packing up in the afternoon (we need to change to different cabins for the next cruise). We had dinner at Chops where we had delicious steaks and salmon with appetizers, all the side dishes, and dessert. Our waiter was Vinit from India and he was excellent.
October 4, 2025 – Saturday/Day 9 – Arrive San Diego, CA Turnaround Day!
The two of us had our early coffee in the Crown Lounge, dropped coffee off for M&D, and finished up our packing. We had to pack everything into our cases but could leave clothes on hangars. Since we had to vacate our rooms about 8:30, we headed up to the Solarium until 9:30 when it was time for consecutive cruisers to meet up in the dining room to check out of the cruise and check into our new cruise.
More to come (including pictures!)…