Mommabear5202

Thank you for the trip report - I loved all the detail! We are doing the same trip next year (except on Millennium) and you gave me so much useful information. Quick question for you: what were your best meals of the trip (not on the ship!)?

Here are the restaurants we enjoyed while in Alaska:

Anchorage: Snow City Cafe (excellent breakfast - make reservations), Glacier Brewhouse, Simon & Seaforts (expensive - great halibut cheeks)

Seward: Ray's Waterfront, Chinook's. We went to The Cookery, which was highly recommended, but it was a bit too eclectic for us. We had a good breakfast at the Breeze Inn and an awful breakfast at the Lighthouse Restaurant and Bakery.

Juneau - Tracy's King Crab Shack, Red Dog Saloon (interesting and fun atmosphere and entertainment, but so-so food)

Skagway - Skagway Brewing Company

Loved your review! We were on the same cruise with you so it was fun to follow along with your review. Like you, I had a very extensive spreadsheet and enjoyed the research almost as much as the trip. We had 3 generations in our group, too, and everyone had a fantastic time.

We chose to do the southbound route so we could do our land excursions first as they were our highest priority and we wanted to be fresh for those and have backup opportunities if anything was cancelled due to weather. Luckily, everything went exactly as planned. We approached this as a once in a lifetime trip and did everything we wanted to do.

We flew to Anchorage on 6/20, took the train to Seward on 6/22 and boarded the ship on 6/24. Prior to the cruise, we did a Flightseeing trip over Denali from Anchorage (Rust's), a helicopter ride to the Godwin Glacier for dog sledding from Seward (Seward Helicopters/Turning Heads Kennel), and the Kenai Fjords National Park Tour from Seward. We also hiked Exit Glacier and went to the Alaska Sealife Center in Seward. During the cruise, we went to the Mendenhall Glacier and Mt Roberts in Juneau (2 did kayaking at Mendenhall Glacier with Above and Beyond Alaska). We did the Chilkoot Tours' White Pass and Yukon Railway tour in Skagway, but just the 3 hour one, which was more than sufficient for us. We went whale watching in Hoonah/ISP (Misty Bay Lodge) and halibut fishing in Ketchikan (Oasis). We also went to the Great American Lumberjack Show in Ketchikan. Everything was excellent and I would highly recommend each of these vendors.

I was pleasantly surprised by the Radiance of the Seas as it had some less than favorable reviews on here. Everything was very nice. Compared to other Royal Caribbean cruises we have been on, we were less impressed with the MDR food and service, but it was still good.

All in all, we had a spectacular time and enjoyed every minute of the trip.

A few things we learned:

1. We definitely over packed and could have left one-third of our clothes home. We packed for 4 seasons. Think spring! Didn't need rain pants, hiking boots, swim suit (although some people were in the pool which was heated, it was too cold with the wind for us - although you could use the indoor pool, we never did). Never wore winter coat. Fleece jacket and waterproof rain jacket are essential.

2. People were definitely dressed up on the formal nights, which we enjoy doing. Other nights were very casual.

3. Seafood is outstanding in Alaska! Be sure to eat at restaurants in ports if you can;seafood on the ship is not as outstanding.

4. We did not use binoculars as much as we thought we would. Glad we only bought one new pair.

5. I wish we had gone a few weeks later in the season to see the Bears.

6. It NEVER got dark in Alaska while we were there, especially farther north. Even at 2am, it was still somewhat light outside. There were room darkening curtains on the ship and in our 2 hotels so it wasn't a problem.

7. If you want to drink wine on the ship, definitely go to the Safeway in Seward to buy 2 bottles per cabin. We went to 2 other stores first, but Safeway has the best selection. It's on the highway, but it's a short walk from the small boat harbor or a quick $5 cab ride (if you don't want to haul your wine down the busy highway).

8. Bring a great camera as everything is just beautiful, majestic, stunning!! I took about 1500 pictures over 12 days.

Lastly, I am sorry to hear about your experience with the Best Western. We had rooms reserved there, but switched to the Harbir 360 once they started taking reservations. While it was an older hotel, it was being refurbished and the people couldn't have been nicer. I would highly recommend it. They offer a complimentary breakfast, but we didn't eat there so I cannot comment on that.