Arkiepig

Enjoy❤️

Please  post your experience after your ride.   Husband and I have it booked in August. Interested to hear your thoughts!

Someone in another board posted they had to cancel their cruise/land tour due to health reasons and rebook for 2025.  Price had almost doubled.   I checked my same booking (August 2024). For the same week in August 2025.   It was significantly more.    Planning on enjoying this cruise😊It may be my last for a while!

Good Catch!    That mistake is soooo easy to make.    Anxiously awaiting your trip report.   

Avis has a location downtown.  We are booking with them- but only for a day trip out of Anchorage

Denali |Talkeetna
Experience the untamed beauty of Denali on the Denali Natural History Tour, scouting the tundra and forest for wildlife with a park ranger. In the afternoon, board
your deluxe motor coach for a scenic drive to Talkeetna. From 5:30 p.m., your time is your own in this funky village of lively brew pubs, roadhouse restaurants, welcoming cafes, and unique shops. Overnight at the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge.

We are on the 3 day tour from Royal Caribbean in August.  This is the the day 2 itinerary supplied by my travel agent.

Thanks for taking the time to advise.  In your experience, is one full day enough for Anchorage?  Current plans are to arrive late evening, spend the next day exploring Anchorage.  The next morning we leave for a quick trip to Denali for a couple of days before heading to Seward for the cruise.

We have not booked our flights yet, so I could possible add another day in Anchorage.  Incidentally  I never  saw the Alps in Interlaken either, but I was fortunate enough to see them in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Hoping for a glimpse of Denali, but realize odds are not in my favor.

I was not considering the Hubbard Excursion due to the high cost for our August RCI cruise.   But, around Veterans Day it dropped to $297/ person so I grabbed it.   
 

Still inwardly debating if I want to keep the Hubbard Excursion and the Glacier Winds whale watching excursion in Icy Point.     Decisions, Decisions.    
 

Thanks for the reminder!   What about bike rentals— we are planning on renting bikes in 2 different pre-cruise towns  we are visiting?    Part of me doesn’t want to pay the money this far in advance (August 2024)in case they were to close or go out of business.  But, I don’t want to miss out on the opportunity.    Thoughts?

I have been looking into the same tour for our 2024 trip.  I believe the vendor is Cycle Alaska. You might check directly with them for further information.  

My cruise is booked for August 2024 and I have cancelled my cruisetour in favor of DYI tour.  This forum has been a tremendous help!   We are doing a combination of rental car and Alaskan Railroad to get from place to place.   I feel like we now have an itinerary planned more to our taste.  Plus, I was able to add a couple of days to the trip for the same amount of $$.

4 hours ago, no1racefan1 said:

oh.my.goodness. I can't wait to read all about it!!

Same!  Have a great time!

That’s sounds perfect!   Adding to notes.   Thanks👍🏽

cmmaxwell03

Please post your experiences with the Dogsledding tour  out  of Anchorage.  Until my airline tickets are booked-I can add another day at the beginning of my trip.    I have waffled between doing that several times. Sigh!  It’s the Knik  glacier, right?   

No1Racefan1–
Thanks for the lunch recommendation. I am in need of some cheaper eats recommendations to mix in with nicer sit down restaurants. I definitely learned about the Lodge at Resurrection Bay here😘.  After seeing the website, I was sold! —-will look into Adventure 360 North .  Thanks!

Here’s my August 2024 plans.This will give something for  cmmaxwell03 to look at! Thanks for all the help from this board. I am much more excited about this than the RCI land tour I originally booked😊

Saturday- Evening arrival in Anchorage. Stay at Anchorage Hilton

Sunday-Pick up rental in the morning. (Already Booked) Drive to Alaska Wildlife Center. Return to Anchorage in time for late afternoon bike ride on Tony Knowles Bike trail. Where to eat?

Monday Morning Train to Talkeetna. Adventure class. 2 night stay at Susitna River Lodge cabin. Note: Hosts will provide transfers upon arrival and departure. Afternoon flight seeing trip if weather cooperates. Maybe rent bikes?

Tuesday- Back up day for flight seeing if weather did not cooperate . If not, choose from Jet boat river trip, a guided river raft trip or ride bikes (if we have rented bikes.)

Wednesday- Late morning bus to Anchorage. 1.5 hour lunch break near Convention Center. Where to eat?? Continue bus to Seward. 2 nights at Lodge at Resurrection Bay.

Thursday. Explore Seward. (Have 1 day car rental booked from Lodge) Maybe Drive to Exit Glacier, Dog sledding tour. Maybe Sealife Center. Dreaming of doing another flight seeing tour.

Friday; Morning small hike around grounds. 1130 -5:30 Kenai Resurrection Bay Tour. Quick to Board Cruise ship for 8pm departure. 

Radiance of the Sea : Just listing stops/Excursions

Juneau- Bike Tour

Skagway- Train and bike tour

Haines (night)- Wildlife Safari and Bear Viewing 

Icy Point- No excursion, walk around town, maybe lunch

Ketchikan- Wilderness Fishing / Dining with Baronoff

Vancouver- Disembark in A.M. Sightsee. Maybe rent bikes for Stanly Park, Nice dinner. Stay at Blue Horizon or Hampton Inn. Leave early next morning for return flight.

On 8/9/2023 at 9:00 AM, quack2 said:

After checking your bags at the depot, take the 6:45 a.m. train from Anchorage the morning of your cruise.  After arriving in Seward around 11:00 a.m., immediately board the Kenai Fjords or Marine Major 6 hour boat tour of the Kenai.  It returns to Seward around 5:00 p.m., in plenty of time to board your cruise ship.  The Kenai may be the best "excursion" you do in all of Alaska.  The bags you checked in Anchorage will be waiting for you in your stateroom.

 

It really couldn't be easier.

How far us the walk from tour boat to Cruise ship?  My itinerary shows the Radiance of the Sea departing at 7.    

Thanks for the great advice!  Planning trips brings me joy.   I would be embarrassed to admit how many hours I have spent on various Alaska sites since we booked last year.  And our trip is not until 2024😉   It's like a jigsaw puzzle with moving pieces and a budget.  Splurge here, scrimp here.  My husband insisted on not renting a car.  So lodging  and restaurants locations matter along with bus and train routes, and shuttle times.  I think I have it all put together, then I consider other choices.  It has been fun. It is winding down now--I have the lodging book.  So no more big changes!

Enjoy your trip.  I will look for your trip report!

Not overkill- I did the same😇  I scheduled an excursion when the port was full, so that afterward I could (hopefully) explore a less crowded port.

Thanks for the information, much appreciated.  My husband and I are booked on a Royal Caribbean precruise tour next August and are having serious doubts about the keeping the tour.  The  unknowns about the excursions is the main issue.  Did you tour Denali?  If so, were you offered a flight seeing tour?  I am a planner; so the the lack of information is driving me nuts.

 Glad you liked your tour  well enough you would do it again.  That's encouraging.    

Bug wipes--adding those to my list.😀  Thanks for the tip

Did you book the Ketchikan excursion thru the cruise ship or vendor? So far   It’s the only excursion for 2024 I have been able to book directly.

I am starting my research.  I am liking the idea of adding an extra night in Denali and  a night in Seward so we can do a boat tour of Kenai Fjords.  

Thanks for the information-I appreciate it!

7 hours ago, ngrund said:

what details do you need that aren't here?

 

https://www.royalcaribbeancruisetours.com/cruisetours/alaska/#2024_1A

That’s all the information we have until we check into the hotel at Anchorage.   No arrival/departure times, no information or pricing for optional excursions.   I want to be able to budget for the excursions and know what they are.   What excursions I do in Denali and Talkeetna will impact the excursions I plan during the cruise.  
 

I just don’t understand the lack of transparency with the cruisetour.   Very different than the cruise.