The standard cabins on Radiance of the Seas are just about the most perfect rooms imaginable. Adrie and Janneke occupy a standard inside cabin on deck 3, while Lucy, Ilona and myself are accommodated along the same corridor in cabin 3020, a grade H outside cabin.

Royal Caribbean is the first cruise line to tuck the upper bunks into the ceiling, which means they are completely out of sight when not in use. The decor of the cabin is somewhat different from the "pastel look" on the line's Vision and Voyager class ships. With darker colors and lots of wood paneling a more intimate atmosphere is created, complemented by excellent lighting - the bed lights are art objects in itself.

Compared to the Vision class ships, standard cabins on Radiance of the Seas offer a little less storage space, with shallower cupboards and tighter storage in between the beds. Of course the refrigerator takes up a lot of valuable storage space. But, with a full set of clothes for this 12-day cruise, the three of us manage wonderfully and even have room to spare. One amazing discovery is a retractable board that comfortably holds my laptop PC. The large TV swivels in all directions, and in-cabin TV programming is something that RCI does extremely well. With movies around the clock, a view from the bridge, CNN, and a music video channel, there is always something to watch. The interactive functions of the TV are very good, too. You can order your shore excursions, sign up for various activities, view your shipboard account, and more.

While extremely functional, it seems that our bathroom is even tinier than its counterparts on the Vision class ships, with a really small sink and shower stall. Also, the shower pressure is not something to write home about. But ... we do write home about our cabin stewardess Ana. She is simply great, and performs daily magical tricks with towels, which after a week turns our cabin into a towel animal zoo. I wish she would be able to perform magical tricks with the bed linen instead though, as the sheets strangely do not seem long enough for the lower beds, leaving part of the mattress uncovered.

As Radiance of the Seas is a gas turbine vessel, the cabins are extremely quiet, and indeed I have never stayed in a more peaceful cabin. Sound insulation is great, and when getting up in the morning I was often wondering if the ship was dead in the water, only to open the curtains and see us race through the water at 24 knots. UNBELIEVABLE!