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Ship Report
ssc Radisson Diamond
May 17-24, 2003
Fort Lauderdale-Key West-Grand Cayman-Cozumel-Fort Lauderdale
What a relief! After six years with Worldwide we had not had an
opportunity to cruise on one of my alma maters, the 350-passenger ssc
Radisson Diamond. It is still a wonderful experience and the food and
beverage are every bit as good as was six years ago. In our opinion,
Radisson Seven Seas Cruises has the best food and service of any
luxury cruise line.
When the ssc Radisson Diamond was introduced in 1992 she was the most
radical and advanced cruise ship ever built. With her SWATH hull design
and her very advanced technological innovations she was the most expensive
small ship ever built and remains so today. I must admit some of the
innovations were a bit over the top, such as the under water viewing area,
but all in all a luxury cruise ship carrying only 350 passengers in all
outside suites (75% have balconies) in 1992 was truly a vision. The vision
also included a conference center for 200 passengers, which can be divided
into four sections, a water sports platform for Caribbean ports where an
anchorage is possible and an alternative restaurant where the waiters sing
for your supper.
On this cruise, the ship was a little more than 50% full so I must admit
the service should have been fantastic, but it was more than having a
crew/passenger ratio of one to one. The crew actually enjoyed their jobs
and prided themselves in remembering your favorite beverage at different
times of the day and, of course your name. This cruise was marketed to
Society members (past Radisson Cruisers) and Classical Music lovers. The
entertainment was geared to classical music enthusiasts on several
evenings that were outstanding presentations. In addition, the normal show
time entertainment intermixed with the lecturers, the bingo sessions and
the lunchtime trio on the pool-deck each day. New in the Club was a group
from Don Vito's Ristorante who came right from their duties in the dining
room to the lounge. The trio was an excellent addition to what used to be
a cold Piano Bar with a few patrons lingering over an after dinner cordial
or coffee.
We cannot say enough about the quality, the preparation and the
presentation of the food on board. Service aside, the food was of the
highest quality, imaginably prepared and presented with an artistic flair.
Dinners are the Grand Dining room were to die for and Don Vito's is truly
an event not to be missed. Breakfast and lunch were served either in the
Grand Dining Room or a combination buffet and limited a la carte
selections at the Grill on Deck 10. You can choose from indoor or out
seating at the Grill and each day featured a different theme lunch such as
French, Asian, Italian or Spanish. Freshly grilled items were always
available from the outdoor chef at the Grill during lunchtime.
Room service for meals served during dining room hours are selected from
the dining room menu. A nice touch! You can even request each dinner
course is served one at a time. The waiter appears t stand outside your
suite door waiting to bring you the next course, but you never have to
ask. We are really not sure how they do this, but it is fantastic. We had
room service on our first night on board and it was a delightful
experience, sitting on our balcony as the coast of South Florida lighted
the background.
The ssc Radisson Diamond was built as a meeting destination ship with the
influence of Carlson Companies and Radisson Hotel Group. While this
concept really never took off due to tax regulations and the corporate
meeting market the ship has so much extra space for groups it is an
extremely versatile vessel. The design gives a very wide and expansive
pool deck and aft deck area, either of which can be used for large group
or full ship cocktail parties. The Conference Center can be used for
meetings up to 200 persons theater style and also doubles as an
all-purpose room for seminars on board, art auctions and other events
planned for the social guests on board. On the pool deck you can have the
pool covered and do an extravaganza using the bandstand, the pool areas
and the pool bar. On a full ship charter all 350 of the attendees can be
seated comfortably around the main stage area for a memorable evening
under the stars.
Of course, all ships in the luxury category have their best attributes.
The ssc Radisson Diamond soars above all of the other vessels in the one
thing we feel is the most important single issue on a cruise ship. Food,
service and the belief of senior management that incentive and group
business are the key to the overall success of the Diamond. It has been
proven over and over and in our opinion the ssc Radisson Diamond still
outshines the competition….
Contributed by Jim Huff - May
2003. This report solely reflect the
opinion of the author and not necessarily those of WWTCA. |
