am-mc

Oh - I know already I am going to read every bit of this review and enjoy it. I grew up in Southern California and went to Disneyland at least 3 times a year if not more. Now that I live 1500 miles away I rarely get to Disneyland anymore. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do when I finally get to go back on those rare occasions.

We are on the Radiance in July Southbound so the review will be great too.

Good to know about the happy hour - being from Texas also I am not excited about their food - but I will find a Margarita or two with my mom. If I cant take her to real Tex-Mex at her fav place Chuy's here in Austin - then we can pretend with the margaritas and eat something else.

I just have to say that I am addicted - I cant wait for your next post - I feel like we are with you on your vacation - but I really thank you for it - it is amazing how much information I am getting out of this review. I wish that there was more info from RCCL - I feel left in the dark by them about the cruisetour.

Thank you for sharing.

Thank you - I am so enjoying this - we are on a cruise tour out of Fairbanks on July 15th - and staying at the same hotel. I am looking forward to more info.

Can you tell me what flights you have booked for your cruise - which airline and price per passenger?

 

We have a 2014 southbound booked and I'm curious about our flight options. I'm in central TX and can fly out of Houston, Austin, or DFW.

We are going in July from Austin - Austin not being a main hub means you will have to go through another airport like DFW or Houston. We have a cruise tour that starts in Fairbanks so our flight is - Austin to Dallas, Dallas to Seattle, Seattle to Fairbanks - we booked that 5 months out and it was very expensive ($900 per person). But we wanted to get there early and have time to settle so we leave at like 6 am and get to Fairbanks at 4pm. We could have done a flight that arrives at night - after midnight - then we could get it much less.

Flying into Anchorage for just the cruise will be much better - but be sure to check out the option of Southwest to Seattle and then Seattle to Anchorage (on another airline). I found that was a cheap option too.

I know that isnt 100% what you asked - but thought I would share my little bit of research and experience. :D

Thank you so much for writing this - I will be reading with baited breath. We are on the cruisetour #1 in July with RCCL and have several D1 balcony cabins southbound. I booked this in June 2012 - after researching for a while. My parents 50th anniversary is this year and I am taking them to celebrate - and my boyfriend is taking his mom and her boyfriend because they are the best. I have planned - booked - and paid for it all throughout the year and I am excited to know what info you can provide before we go. Thank you so much for anything that you can share.

If you could post te Cruise compass that would be great - I like to see what they had planned and general times.

L.J.

So now that we are within 5 months of our trip - I am getting to specifics. Do you remember what nights were formal for the Southbound cruise. I want to make a reservation for my parents 50th anniversary dinner one night and want to do it the same night as the formal night since we dont really go tot he formal nights.

Thanks,

Andrea

am-mc,

 

I happy for you and jealous:D. Will this be your first Alaska trip, or are you returning? Barring a lottery win, we likely won't be back until 2015, but I'm already planning...;).

 

L.J.

Been a while since I have been on been dealing with the details of the cruise - we are all going for the first time - we are up to 7 people in the group. I finally have the flights - hotels and rental cars for before our Cruise tour in Fairbanks done. We are flying to the Arctic cirlce one day - my Dad always wanted to go just to say he did it.

Thank you for all the info - we are all so excited and reading your posts just makes me more excited.

You have such amazing pictures - I am so impressed. We have six months and then we are there - I cant wait.

LJ - you are amazing. I have always been a nature lover and whale/dolphin lover the most - and when we had the chance to go whale watching in Hawaii - we had people get mad that they couldnt get closer to the whales - they didnt know that some of those marking on the animals are from boats - they just dont understand. People dont get it - these are wild animals - they arent tame - we are in their world - we have to respect them. If you dont do that - these animals wont be around - either by choice or not - for others to enjoy. Ok will get off my soap box now.

Thank you so much for your review - I have enjoyed it so much and look forward to more. You have been the most informative of all I have read.

Dragon

 

Thank you for the post. We are doing the southbound sailing on Radiance next Summer with 40 of my closest friends and family. Love the pictures. It is making me more excited about the trip and it is 10 months away. One question, is the elevator to the Viking Crwn Lounge, forward, Aft or mid ship? I heard there was only one elevator that gets you there. Any idea on this?

Which sailing are you on next summer? We are on the July 19th southbound trip. We onlyhave 6 so far - but the number seems to grow by the day.

We are in 9094 and 9096 so we are the first hump on the Port side on the aft side of the hump. So we are kitty corner of where you were. Glad to know that the noise wasnt bad. i worried that we would have an issue. I am looking forward to the larger balcony on our room.

LJ - what room were you in? We have rooms on Deck 9 - near the centirum and I am curious how much noise there is by the outside glass elevators at night.

Thanks for letting me know the cabin number - we are actually in 9094 and 9096 so just two floors up and I am so excited to hear that you didnt have any problems with that room. Yeah - ok I feel better about our choice. My pessimistic boyfriend kept asking why it was still open if it is supposed to be such a great spot. I kept saying that it was just our luck that it was opne - and booking over 1 year in adavance helps too.

Do you by chance have any pictures of the ship. I am surprising my parents with this trip and was putting together a collage of the ship and would love any that you could share.

Thank you so much for the review. We are on the Radiance next July 2013 and I am excited to read all of the reviews as people are getting off the chips. We are also doing an RC cruisetour #1 which will follow most of the same route just different parts with the train vs motor coach.

We have 3 couples going, myself and boyfriend, my parents and his parents - and I have worried about getting all the excursions planned for all - glad to hear your group did different things and shared details at night - I am hoping that will work for us too.

One question - what area of the ship was your room, What deck and cabin number? We are mid-ship near the centirum on Deck 9 - and I have been worried about the location - just curious where you were and what you thought of the area?

Thanks again for the great review and pictures.

Thanks for the review of the Sealife center - we are going there as part of our Cruisetour and was afraid it wouldnt be that exciting. I think I choose the right tour now - we will have fun before boardian the Radiance.

Your reviews are so great - I cant wait until you are on the ship - I am excited to see your pictures and your reviews of the Radiance.

I have to agree with the last few posters - This is the most amazing review i have ever seen - it makes me feel like we are right there. Gives me something to think about before we go on our trip. Maybe I should try to blog our trip for my family to see and enjoy - or maybe my dad wants to tell the stories....I dont know - but your review is giving me so many ideas.

Cant wait until you get to the cruise section!!!

WOW - that is all I can say - I hope I can find an excursion in one of the ports that sees half as many bears as you did. You wouldnt know of a good bear viewing in one of the ports - do you?

All of your pictures are amazing - keep them coming!!!!!

THAT'LL be a big moment - very cool!!!

 

L.J.

 

 

We are surpirsing my parents for their 50th wedding anniversary and my BF's mom just because she is a great mom.

 

We are going on the Radiance of the Sea so I am really excited to see the info about the ship and see if you might have any cool pictures of the ship/rooms/other areas on board. My surprise idea right now is a photo collage with pictures from the areas we are going to on the cruise and cruisetour, wildlife we might see and the ship - to make a puzzle that should help them know that we are going on an alaskan cruise. So any info you can share about the ship would be great. :D

Thanks for the info on cameras. We are going in July 2013 so I have plenty of time to do my research. I just need to find something I am comfortable using and that has image stabilization as I get a bit shaky with some of the meds I take.

I am so jealous of your trip - we are taking the cruisetour through Denali and then the Radiance southbound. I am so excited!!! My parents and my boyfriends mom will be so excited too when we finally tell them they are going with us.

Keep the pictures coming - they are inspiring me so much.

I am so enjoying your review and the pictures are amazing. Do you have a point and shoot camera too - or just the big Canon? My mom has a bigger DLSR so I just want to get a smaller one that I can throw in pocket and not lug around too large cameras - any ideas of something that would be good for that - or what I should look for?

Cant wait for the next post.