7 days DIY on land then Radiance southbound. 6/2/17 - 6/17/17

I LOVED reading your trip report! We did a similar trip in 2012 but it was a DIY land tour after our Princess cruise. You went to many of the places we did and experienced many of the tours that we did. Loved the Northern Lights book! Its always fun to travel in numbers as long as you all have the same travel styles when it comes to the land portion, especially! When traveling with others we always agree ahead of time that everyone can do what they want during the day with no obligation to do what everyone else if doing, then end the day together for dinner and discuss each others experiences.

Thanks again for posting this review. We are planning to cruise back to Alaska in 2019 , but seeing ports we did not see in 2012. Now I am getting excited to go.

Joan

I LOVED reading your trip report! We did a similar trip in 2012 but it was a DIY land tour after our Princess cruise. You went to many of the places we did and experienced many of the tours that we did. Loved the Northern Lights book! Its always fun to travel in numbers as long as you all have the same travel styles when it comes to the land portion, especially! When traveling with others we always agree ahead of time that everyone can do what they want during the day with no obligation to do what everyone else if doing, then end the day together for dinner and discuss each others experiences.

 

Thanks again for posting this review. We are planning to cruise back to Alaska in 2019 , but seeing ports we did not see in 2012. Now I am getting excited to go.

 

Joan

We almost always cruise with friends. We all do our own thing during the day and then have dinner together at night to talk about what we all did during the day.

Thank you for posting such an amazing trip. We’re set to sail on August 4, 2018 and still so much to read and plan for. Your flightseeing tour of Denali looks breathtaking and I want to add that onto our land diy. There’s 8 of us so I’m gonna look into the Northern Lights coupon book. Can I ask which website you used to purchase the books? Thank you!

Thanks for posting such a detailed and amazing trip report! It has been helpful in my planning for our crusie/DIY land tour this July!

Thank you for posting such an amazing trip. We’re set to sail on August 4, 2018 and still so much to read and plan for. Your flightseeing tour of Denali looks breathtaking and I want to add that onto our land diy. There’s 8 of us so I’m gonna look into the Northern Lights coupon book. Can I ask which website you used to purchase the books? Thank you!

I purchased the book from here.

Thanks Ken! Thanks to your blogging and pictures (amazing by the way!), we're going to do the flightseeing tour with glacier landing.

Thanks Ken! Thanks to your blogging and pictures (amazing by the way!), we're going to do the flightseeing tour with glacier landing.

It was, without a doubt, the highlight of our trip.

I just had a thought about our flightseeing trip to Denali and wanted to mention it since so many people are planning to do the trip. Landing at basecamp was not preplanned as part of the original itinerary. The tour included a glacier landing, it did not say where the landing would be. Our pilot decided that day that that was where we would be landing. If you really would like to land at base camp, I would suggest discussing this with your pilot before leaving.

Thank you Ken for a great review! I definitely jotted down some notes as I read through your journey.

We spent a lot of time thinking about this before we booked. We decided we wanted to be on the port side because we would be heading southbound so there would always be land on our side of the ship. We normally don't get balcony cabins but we did for this cruise because we figured we'd be spending a lot of time out there looking at scenery. As it turned out, we hardly spent any time out there. When there was something to look at, we wanted to be on one of the upper decks where we could walk from side to side. If we weren't outside, we were in the Viking Crown Lounge. Bottom line, I now think it doesn't matter where your cabin is. For me at least, I wanted to be out and about so I could see everything.

I’m so happy to read this! We are taking our dream trip to Alaska in 80 days! A little FYI land exploring on our own to Denali, Talkeetna, Anchorage and Seward before boarding the ship. We are celebrating our 15th anniversary and my husband’s 40th birthday with our daughter (11). This is not a cheap trip for us and we decided that we’d rather have money to “do stuff” than a room with a view, so we booked an interior cabin. My sister took this same cruise about 20 years ago and told us that we’d be fine. That she spent a lot of time on deck and not in the cabin but it seems like most on here think that the balconies are the only way to go.

Voyager of the Seas 11/03

Enchantment of the Seas 3/17

Radiance of the Seas 6/18

I’m so happy to read this! We are taking our dream trip to Alaska in 80 days! A little FYI land exploring on our own to Denali, Talkeetna, Anchorage and Seward before boarding the ship. We are celebrating our 15th anniversary and my husband’s 40th birthday with our daughter (11). This is not a cheap trip for us and we decided that we’d rather have money to “do stuff” than a room with a view, so we booked an interior cabin. My sister took this same cruise about 20 years ago and told us that we’d be fine. That she spent a lot of time on deck and not in the cabin but it seems like most on here think that the balconies are the only way to go.

 

 

Voyager of the Seas 11/03

Enchantment of the Seas 3/17

Radiance of the Seas 6/18

We also chose the balcony because we thought it was a must for Alaska. I did use it from time to time but not nearly as often as I had expected. Again, if there were things to see, I wanted to be up on the deck where I could see more.

We also chose the balcony because we thought it was a must for Alaska. I did use it from time to time but not nearly as often as I had expected. Again, if there were things to see, I wanted to be up on the deck where I could see more.

I did an Alaska cruise last summer and had a balcony as well. Didn't use it as much as I thought I would because I loved the view from higher up, and the people watching was better there too! Hardly spent any time on the balcony, or in my room for that matter.

For those of you who did not use your balcony, do you think you would have used them more if you had younger children with you? We are bringing DDs 9 and 4, so I was thinking a balcony might be nice so we could enjoy views later due to girls earlier bed times. Any thoughts appreciated!!

For those of you who did not use your balcony, do you think you would have used them more if you had younger children with you? We are bringing DDs 9 and 4, so I was thinking a balcony might be nice so we could enjoy views later due to girls earlier bed times. Any thoughts appreciated!!

I think you would probably use the balcony more with kids for a couple reasons. One, the kids' bed times and sleeping schedules. You can't be (or at least I wouldn't be) wandering around the ship while the kids are in bed in the cabin. And two, I don't think the kids will want to be wandering around the ship looking for the best view, they will be content seeing things from their balcony.

We are planning to book an aft balcony on a high deck. Do you think we’ll use it? Or still think it’s better to be up on deck for viewing?

We are planning to book an aft balcony on a high deck. Do you think we’ll use it? Or still think it’s better to be up on deck for viewing?

The problem with the balcony is that it only faces one side if the ship. Depending on where you are, or where you're headed, there will be things to see on the other side(s) of the ship that you won't be able to see from your balcony. I'm sure you will have a lot of great views from your balcony. If you use that as your only viewing point however, you will miss out on some things.

I'm not trying to talk people out of getting a balcony cabin. Some people love them for privacy to read a book or whatever. I just want people to know that your balcony shouldn't be the only place to try to see the views.

We are taking our dream trip to Alaska in 80 days! A little FYI land exploring on our own to Denali, Talkeetna, Anchorage and Seward before boarding the ship.

My DW and I are also headed on our (her) dream Alaska vacation. She planned a DIY land trip from Fairbanks June 12 to Departure on the Radiance on a June 22nd. We are also going for both of our 40th Birthday celebrations.

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I enjoyed your review and photos very much! Alaska is our dream trip! We always said we’d do it for our 20th Anniversary. This November we’ll be married for 33 years. I think we’re a bit behind. Hmmm..maybe 2020 for our 35th Anniversary?! Thanks again for all the information!

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Cindsue- oooo, if you go in 2020, RCI with be having a Quantum class going there!

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What a great review. I will definitely use this as a guide when planning our 2019 Alaska trip.

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birdylady and cruiseguy1016 in the same thread, it's like worlds colliding as we're deciding between DIY and the RC pretour (although we'd be doing 7B) and have sought info/advice from both of you. Thanks again btw.

 

That said, DW is doing so much research (sometimes I think she keeps forgetting we'll be on Oasis next week) that she found a 3rd option... She's been in contact with a company that arranges more all-inclusive pretours (basically, a DIY by letting them help plan a somewhat custom personalized pretour). This seems like a potentially good alternative for us since I'm not totally comfortable with a full DIY like cruiseguy but DW would like to do a few more things than RC offers.

 

Hopefully this company will come up with an affordable pretour that provides the best of both worlds for us.

Hi OCSC Mike

Do you mind providing the name of the conpany that your wife is working with for a pre-tour package as well as her experience with them so far?

I am going to be in Alaska a few days before my cruise and am getting overwhelmed with all of the options. Your wife’s option to work with a tour company seems like a good one!

Thank you!

Hi OCSC Mike

 

Do you mind providing the name of the conpany that your wife is working with for a pre-tour package as well as her experience with them so far?

 

I am going to be in Alaska a few days before my cruise and am getting overwhelmed with all of the options. Your wife’s option to work with a tour company seems like a good one!

 

Thank you!

It's the "Alaska Collection" (you can find their website, not sure if it's OK to post links). Our consultant, Sharilyn, has been incredibly helpful in all aspects of the land trip. She has booked hotels, train tix, excursions, etc. for us. Some stuff you can book on your own of course (and we have a few times) but in the early stages, my wife told her what she wanted to do and Sharilyn put together a logistical itinerary based on those requests. We've then tweaked it over time with her assistance. She's even been kind enough to help with more random questions that don't necessarily make the company any money. The somewhat unique part of working with them is staying in the Backcountry Lodge that they run 92 miles into the Denali National Park, which is much farther into the park than the basic bus tours from the entrance take you. However, this part is quite expensive. We'll also be taking a flight tour of Mt. McKinley that leaves from the closest airport to the mountain which is back near the Lodge.

Short version, our experience thus far has been extremely positive. The cost... well, positive may not be the best word, but it's mostly beyond my control, lol.

Hope this helps.

Thank you so much, very helpful! Probably best that you not know the cost haha.

I love all of these posts and how helpful everyone is but I’ve read so much, I am on info overload. I’m a first time cruiser so I’m trying absorb all of that info as well. I know I can plan my own but am at the point I need guidance. Thanks again!

Thank you so much, very helpful! Probably best that you not know the cost haha.

 

I love all of these posts and how helpful everyone is but I’ve read so much, I am on info overload. I’m a first time cruiser so I’m trying absorb all of that info as well. I know I can plan my own but am at the point I need guidance. Thanks again!

You're very welcome. As I mentioned, my wife planned this trip b/c it was her idea so I let her take the lead. I thought I knew the cost when we initially booked the cruise with a 6-day pre-tour through RCI included. It was only after research led her to determine that 6 days and what RCI offered wasn't enough for her since this will likely be a once in a lifetime trip for us that the length, cost, and preparation all increased significantly. If we love it I could see doing another Alaska cruise someday, but I doubt we'd re-do a lot of the land stuff.

I can only imagine how overwhelmed you might be if this is your first cruise. The cruise part is 2nd nature to us since we've done 8 RCI cruises since getting married (and my wife had done several growing up), although they have all been to the Caribbean and Bahamas and all but one out of a port an hour's drive from our house. It's the multiple flights, multiple hotels, multiple train rides, to get through multiple cities that would have been overwhelming to me. Fortunately my wife is the adventurous one and less stressed about planning stuff like that. It might be b/c she spent two weeks in Hong Kong and Japan with friends a few years ago. She keeps telling me if she found her way around Asia, Alaska will be a piece of cake. The companies she's worked with helped a bunch too. By the time we get on the boat, I'll be ready for my usual cruise routine... it will just be a lot colder and the scenery will be a lot more interesting.

GL with your planning!

Thanks again OCSC Mike and everyone else who posts about their trips. Sharilyn from Alaska Connections is awesome and put together a perfect itinerary for my days on land prior to the cruise. I’m getting very excited for this trip of a lifetime!