RCI Southbound Report and video - an incredible vacation

This was only our fifth cruise but it was easily the best yet. We flew into Anchorage and then did a few days on land at Talkeetna, Denali, and Alyeska before departing Seward on the 4th of July on Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas. Other than packing too much for cold weather (we had warm weather and only one rainy day in twelve) everything exceeded our expectations. I'd repeat the trip in a heartbeat.

If you're contemplating doing this cruise, don't hesitate. Here's a recap.

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Thanks for sharing. I am taking a look right now.

Keith

Nice Video of your trip. Thanks for sharing.

Nice Video of your trip. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks. The

Here's a sampling of some of the content of the video.

That was a great video - thanks for taking the time to do this and sharing with us. We are on the Oosterdam (Holland Cruise Ship) in August and are really looking forward to seeing some of the things that you have posted in your video

It appears you did the 3B precruise tour which we are doing in a few weeks. Can you tell me the schedule you had for embarkation day going from Alyeska to Seward? Thank you

It appears you did the 3B precruise tour which we are doing in a few weeks. Can you tell me the schedule you had for embarkation day going from Alyeska to Seward? Thank you

As I recall, the bus picked us up around 8 am and we drove straight to Seward. The bus dropped us of at the Seaquarium where we toured and had lunch. That was an enjoyable stop. The bus then took us to the ship where we went through the boarding procedures. We had enough time to walk back into town before the ship departed.

Thanks, great video looking forward to our trip even more.

Thanks for posting your video.

We also enjoyed going on the same route on the Radiance in 2012! It was a fantastic experience.

Awesome. Thanks for sharing

Thanks for posting your trip review! great video and photos.

I'll post a link to the 2014 Trip Report List..

My speakers are broken so perhaps this info was noted on the video but if not, could you post which excursions/vendors you used in each location.

Thanks for posting your trip review! great video and photos.

I'll post a link to the 2014 Trip Report List..

 

My speakers are broken so perhaps this info was noted on the video but if not, could you post which excursions/vendors you used in each location.

In Juneau we went directly to the kiosks and booked the white bus to Mendenhall Glacier. I think the normal charge was $20 round trip but we had a large group so they charged us $15. We got there with plenty of time to hike to the waterfall. Before we departed we took the Roberts Tram. The cost was something like $30. I wish we had allotted more time up there to hike the trails as bald eagles are plentiful but we cut it too close.

In Skagway we booked Klondike Bike Tours through the ship and weren't disappointed. It's chilly at the top so dress accordingly. They did provide gloves.

At Ketchikan we booked directly ahead of time with the Duck Tour. They didn't lower the plexiglass windows and it was very hot on the tour. Other than that we enjoyed it. The best part of Ketchikan was a self guided walking tour of Creek Street. Very photogenic!

At Icy Strait Point we booked the walking tour through Royal Caribbean. Our guide, Jeff, is a retired local teacher who's grandfather was Scandinavian and his grandmother Tlingit. His knowledge was voluminous. The folks who did the Zipline were miserable in the rain. Hoonah is the least commercial of the stops on the cruise and despite the rain (the only rainy day of our 12 day vacation) we enjoyed it. There is an eagle's nest across the street from the high school.

In Juneau we went directly to the kiosks and booked the white bus to Mendenhall Glacier.

Where are the kiosks located?

Where are the kiosks located?

There's a line of them right where you get off the ship.

The wife and I had so much fun we're looking into another cruise in the not too distant future.

Here are a few more excerpts from the Alaska

Link to

Awesome pictures!

Nice video. Thanks for sharing!

I am interested in cruising to Alaska as well from Seattle. SO what is the weather like in July-Sept, are warm clothes needed or just summer clothes? Also what area is best for seeing wildlife like seals, dolphins eagles, bears etc? We have talked to several people that really enjoyed it. More info would be great. Great pics/video :)

Wow, remarkable trip!!! Job well done on the video! Enjoyed watching all of it. We are doing a cruise tour next summer, really looking forward to it!!! Thanks again for sharing your amazing vacation!

Forgot to mention that we were traveling with a group of 51 people. Half of them are members of our CT-based ski club and the rest were clients of our travel agent who is also a club member. Pretty much all of us did the Denali Tour but split up for the Inside Passage excursions.

We've cruised as just a couple and as part of a much larger group (see our

We enjoy both traveling as just a couple but prefer to be part of a large group. What's your preference?

Looking though the 2500+ photos we shot I came across this one taken at the SeaLife Center in Seward. It's in the

We are taking a similar land and cruise in June next year. How did you pack and what was the luggage situation when you went? Did you have a separate luggage for the land part and then the cruise part? Was all your luggage with you all of the time?

Thanks for the video!

Can you tell me about packing and how the luggage was handled? We are going in June of next year and of course it's early we're trying to figure out if we need to pack suitcases for the land part and some for the cruise and if the luggage will be with us the whole time. Can you please e-mail me at thewacky2@bellsouth.net. Thank you.

Can you tell me about packing and how the luggage was handled? We are going in June of next year and of course it's early we're trying to figure out if we need to pack suitcases for the land part and some for the cruise and if the luggage will be with us the whole time.

You might want to ask the moderators to delete your post ... having your email address on a public forum could create a spamming nightmare for you.

If gymnast doesn't reply to your request, there are a number of cruisetours posted in last yrs trip reports. The reports are very detailed so you will probably find an answer about packing for the land portion. Look in the STICKY above for 2013 Trip Reviews; start with reply #45 where the reports are sorted by cruiseline.