We will be on Radiance for the first Alaska cruise of 2018!

Hi All,

We are sailing the northbound Alaska route, leaving on May 18. We sailed the southbound last year with friends and this year we are bringing the family. It wouldn't be my first choice to sail northbound, but needed to make sure we went early so youngest son would be available for an internship in the summer. It does happen that he will turn 21 during the cruise.

I will save the Compasses and try to remember to take photos of the MDR menus. We are eating at Samba one night, but hopefully I will remember to look at the menu in our stateroom or the Concierge lounge. If you want me to check on anything I will try my best to remember.

~Jennifer

We will be on the SB Route leaving on May 25th! Why do you prefer SB over NB? Our first Alaskan Cruise so I don' know much.

Leave her in good shape for us!

We will be on the SB Route leaving on May 25th! Why do you prefer SB over NB? Our first Alaskan Cruise so I don' know much.

 

Leave her in good shape for us!

I'd like to do the land portion and long plane flight first, so I can relax more on the Southbound cruise.

We are leaving on the June 29th Northbound. This is our first Alaskan cruise. Any information you can pass on would be much appreciated.

Our first cruise ever was Radiance of the Seas in Alaska for its first Alaska sailing in 2001. We had Captain Bill Wright who was awesome and so welcoming. By far it has remained our favorite cruise and our favorite ship. Enjoy!!!

We are on the Radiance Northbound June 1st. Would love any details you can share!

I have to wait until 2019 for this cruise... will live vicariously through your review!! ; ) Happy travels!

Bob has it right. We get off the ship on May 25, but our flight from Anchorage is not until 9:30pm. We won't get home until 10:30 am central time on the 26th. There are seven of us, so I hired a private driver for the day which was actually a little cheaper than booking the bus through Royal Caribbean. Also, the time cruising the Hubbard Glacier is not as long as the southbound.

Sail June 8th so appreciate any info you can share! Have a great cruise.

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For those looking for information there are a number of reviews that might be helpful. We did the SB land tour cruise last summer so my review is here, if you're interested. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2512132

The review that helped me plan my trip the most was this one - https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2246535&highlight=alaska+review

Erika

Have a great trip!

For those looking for information there are a number of reviews that might be helpful. We did the SB land tour cruise last summer so my review is here, if you're interested. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2512132

 

The review that helped me plan my trip the most was this one - https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2246535&highlight=alaska+review

 

Erika

We're planning Alaska with a land tour for 2020 so I'm reading all pertinent threads. Erika, the second link in your post ... when I go there, all the photos are not showing. It's a Photo Bucket error. Is anybody else seeing that problem too? It's a shame because it looks like that review is outstanding and I'd love to see the pics. The last post in that thread is from 2017.

I'm going to look at your review now.

I'd like to do the land portion and long plane flight first, so I can relax more on the Southbound cruise.

This is what we chose and it was a wonderful trip. We did 6 nights on land thru RCI but came in a day earlier on our own.

The train is great. Never having to touch your luggage is even better.

The cruise is still busy but at least you have some down days to relax plus a night or two afterwards to explore Vancouver.

We’re doing just the Southbound cruise in 5 weeks with 16 cabins of friends & family that we’ve been raving about Alaska to.

This will be our 3rd Alaska cruise and I’m not one who likes to repeat itineraries but Alaska is unlike any other cruise.

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We're planning Alaska with a land tour for 2020 so I'm reading all pertinent threads. Erika, the second link in your post ... when I go there, all the photos are not showing. It's a Photo Bucket error. Is anybody else seeing that problem too? It's a shame because it looks like that review is outstanding and I'd love to see the pics. The last post in that thread is from 2017.

 

I'm going to look at your review now.

Yes, i have the same problem with those pics. BUT I don't know if it's because I'm at work and/or the browser I'm using. I do know last year they were still available. You could always clear your cache and/or try another broswer.

Erika

We'll be on Radiance Soutbound leaving 6/22 after 10 days on land (DIY with much assistance from an outside company).

Thanks for offering to take requests! In addition to compasses and MDR menus, I'd love your thoughts on the WJ and Park Cafe if you happen to eat there (or ask your youngest son since I'm guessing he'll need to snack, especially if he takes advantage of turning 21, lol). Also, you mentioned the CL, but if you happen to pop into the Diamond Lounge, I'd love to hear if the dress is a bit more relaxed. I'm used to wearing something like khakis/polo at night in the Caribbean but given that we're spending 10 days on land beforehand (obviously doing outdoor things in colder/wetter conditions), I was hoping to just go with a decent pair of jeans and shirt. We stopped going to the MDR for dinner so that's really the only place I'm concerned with looking slightly nicer for. Mostly trying to keep the packing for an 18-day trip as manageable as possible.

Have a great trip, thanks again for offering to check out stuff for the rest of us, and looking forward to everything you have to share!

We are doing the Southbound June 8 sailing with the land portion first. Any information you could provide, regarding the ship, food and entertainment would be great. Looking forward to hearing all about it.

I will be on Radiance on May 18th as well! I'm so excited!! I've been planning this cruise for over a year now and I can't believe it is almost here.

We will be staying in Vancouver one night before the cruise and then plan on staying in Alaska until Tuesday after the cruise. We are going to head to Denali after we take the morning train from Seward to Anchorage.

Part of me wishes that we would have picked the southbound cruise because of the long journey home, but I'm just happy to be going to Alaska. If we like it, maybe we will try southbound next time.:D:D

I too will have the cruise compasses and menus, as well as anything else we receive and plan on posting them. I'm seriously thinking about doing a review for this cruise. I haven't done one yet on any of my other cruises, but always wanted to. There was so much information to gather for Alaska that it was kind of overwhelming. I have learned a lot on these boards and I would love to be able to share it with everyone and help other future Alaska cruisers.

Our first cruise ever was Radiance of the Seas in Alaska for its first Alaska sailing in 2001. We had Captain Bill Wright who was awesome and so welcoming. By far it has remained our favorite cruise and our favorite ship. Enjoy!!!

I was on that same cruises - what an awesome time it was! It is also my favorite ship.. There's chatter of a possible Alaska cruise next spring, so here's hoping we get to go on Radiance again!

I too will have the cruise compasses and menus, as well as anything else we receive and plan on posting them. I'm seriously thinking about doing a review for this cruise. I haven't done one yet on any of my other cruises, but always wanted to.

Please do!

Photobucket started charging so all of those previously-posted pictures don't show up. :mad:

We will be on Radiance Southbound June 22 after 5 days pre-cruise land tour. I’d enjoy reading your comments and seeing the menus! I would also like to know who your cruise director is, if you think of it. While a cruise director doesn’t make or break my cruise, some are definitely better than others! I believe there is to be a change of CD’s for Radiance, but don’t know when exactly that will happen.

We are headed southbound on Radiance on July 20th. We are doing a three day precruise as well. I will be a bit late to help you guys with tips, but I will be doing a live review on CC. If you have post Alaska depression I might be able to help you out.

The links you all posted have been great. I read the one review from to back, and even with no pics thanks to photo bucket, it was great and informative.

Hi All,

 

We are sailing the northbound Alaska route, leaving on May 18. We sailed the southbound last year with friends and this year we are bringing the family. It wouldn't be my first choice to sail northbound, but needed to make sure we went early so youngest son would be available for an internship in the summer. It does happen that he will turn 21 during the cruise.

 

I will save the Compasses and try to remember to take photos of the MDR menus. We are eating at Samba one night, but hopefully I will remember to look at the menu in our stateroom or the Concierge lounge. If you want me to check on anything I will try my best to remember.

 

~Jennifer

Say “hi” to Bill the bartender for us!

Hi All,

 

We are sailing the northbound Alaska route, leaving on May 18. We sailed the southbound last year with friends and this year we are bringing the family. It wouldn't be my first choice to sail northbound, but needed to make sure we went early so youngest son would be available for an internship in the summer. It does happen that he will turn 21 during the cruise.

 

I will save the Compasses and try to remember to take photos of the MDR menus. We are eating at Samba one night, but hopefully I will remember to look at the menu in our stateroom or the Concierge lounge. If you want me to check on anything I will try my best to remember.

 

~Jennifer

I would be interested in the teen or kids specific Compasses if they have them for the cruise. Thank you!

We absolutely loved Samba! I wish it was on more RCI ships (only 2)