Just Back from Radiance of the Seas Alaska Northbound

[Never2MuchTravel]

Just back from a fabulous northbound inside passage cruise with RCI on Radiance of the Seas. After three weeks of torrential rain in the area, we caught an entire week of NO rain. Here's my complete review.

 

This was a great week and a great trip for us. We are not your usual cruisers and usually prefer to be on our own in a car to explore. Husband is a photographer and does not like to be held to someone else's agenda. This was an opportunity to see the Inside Passage and areas of Alaska that we could not see on our own in a car. We only had one week with limited funds to spend so we booked a great deal on the cruise with a balcony cabin. Our goal was to get the most out of our week without spending too much more money on all of the extras.

 

We started our week by flying from San Francisco to Vancouver on the day of departure. I know that many others have advised to fly in the day before in case of unexpected delays (don't want to miss the ship) but we didn't have that option as we were on a limited time frame. We arrived in Vancouver at 1:00 on Friday and used the US Direct Program with transfers to the ship. The entire process got us to our cabin on the ship by 2:30. I don't think it could have gone any quicker and it was so nice not to have to collect our checked bags and lug them to the pier. They appeared in our cabin some time before 5:00 so that we could unpack and get ready for dinner.

 

Dinner that first night in the Dining Room was nice. We were delighted to be in a private dining room on the port side at a table for 12 with huge windows for viewing. Our dining companions were all delightful people and at the end of our week, we felt that we had gained some great new friends. Our waiter, Joselito, and his assistant waiter, Vinnie, were fabulous as they got to know our desires and anticipated our every want each evening. Joselito also shared with us his beautiful voice when we discovered that he could sing.

 

As far as our dining experiences and the food goes, we ate all of our dinners in the Dining Room. We felt that gave us the best quality without paying anything more. The meals seemed to get better and better as the week progressed and we could order as few or as many "starters" or "entrees" or "desserts" as we wanted. Some dinners we chose two starters (soup and salad or appetizer and salad) and an entree while other nights we only chose one starter with our entree. The second formal night gave us a choice of lobster & shrimp or prime rib. We wanted both so we did just that. We got to sample both entrees after a salad starter. Others at the table ordered two of the lobster/shrimp entrees, as the serving size was not that big. The desserts were great. My favorites were the sugar free coconut cake and the key lime pie. Breakfasts were split between ordering room service, the Windjammer buffet, and eating in the dining room. All had their advantages and disadvantages depending on what we were doing that day. Room service was great for coffee and breakfast in your room, but the earliest you could get it was 7:00. The Windjammer was the most convenient for quick starts, but not as good quality unless you went to the omelet station for made-to-order. The dining room was the best quality, but took more time and wasn't available as early. Lunch in the dining room was the best if you had the time. There were lots of good choices and a great salad bar. If not, you could always grab something in the Windjammer, but buffet style is not always as fresh. The best choice (if open) was the Sea View Cafe on the 12th deck in the bow. You could get grill items that are made-to-order and the onion rings are great.

 

Our biggest challenge was what to do on the two sea days. We are not fond of sitting by the pool, playing games, gambling, or going to the spa. Nor did we want to spend any extra money. We should have been watching for whales on that first sea day. We bought a book in the gift shop on the last day (The Alaska Cruise Handbook by Joe Upton) that I wish we purchased on the first. It was a great guide for the ports and had a great map of the Inside Passage. It also told where the best wildlife viewing segments were. It turned out that we traveled through the best areas for Orca viewing on that first day and we didn't even know it. By the time we found the book, it was the end of the last sea day and we were out of the Inside Passage already. That last sea day was spent shopping (great bargains in the gift shop), seeing a movie, and napping.

 

One of the biggest and most pleasant surprises for us was the evening entertainment. We did not go to the first Welcome Night show as it wasn't until 10:45 and we were too tired. But we went to the rest of them and were amazed at the quality. Piano Man on the second night was fabulous! We also really enjoyed the comedian Jeff Harms, the Motown review from Spectrum, and the featured singers Matt Clark and Melissa McLaughlin.

 

Another not to miss feature for us was the destination lecture in the Aurora Theater most days. It was interesting and informative about the ports that we would be going to. The lecturer gave us information about the history of each area and what we would be seeing. It helped to give us background information for what we would see.

 

Sunday brought us to Ketchikan, a small cute tourist town with plenty of shopping opportunities. We purchased almost all of our gifts to bring home there. The coupon books we received from the cruise line at the beginning of our trip had some good souvenir items to purchase for very little. Also, as we were three weeks away from the end of the season, sales were abundant. The excursion to do (if you have the money) we were told was the floatplane over Misty Fjords. We had a partly cloudy turning to sunny day there and those that went on that excursion were amazed by the spectacular views.

 

We took the walking tour through the town (maps available at the visitor center) and got a good feel for both the commercial sections and the residential areas. It also gave us a chance to get some exercise. We finished our tour with lunch at a small seafood cafe at the very southern part of the shopping area. Some halibut fish and chips, a salmon sandwich, coleslaw and soft drinks cost us $26 and it wasn't worth it. They were not very tasty and very expensive. Since we had to be back on the ship by 2:30, we could have easily returned and had our lunch on board. It would have been cheaper and better tasting. We did get some good bargains - especially the jade which was 50% off.

 

We had wanted to take the bus to Totem Bight State Park to see the totem poles, but the buses weren't running there, as it was Sunday. By the time we learned that fact, it was too late to plan a visit to Saxman Village instead. You might want to consider what days you visit this port if that is a factor.

 

Juneau was the port on Monday and we were blessed with a cloudy morning that turned into a beautiful sunny 70-degree afternoon. We started our day again with a walking tour through town. A map was available at the visitor center but the town is also well marked with signs. The historic town of Juneau is on the side of a mountain so there are numerous stairs that are available to cut through many steep blocks. We walked past the government buildings downtown, the governor's mansion, St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, and ended at the Alaskan State Museum. We got there just in time to have a guided tour by Julie through the first floor - well worth the $5 admission fee. Then it was back to the ship for lunch.

 

The afternoon was spent taking the $14 round trip shuttle to Mendenhall Glacier. We would have preferred getting an early start in the morning to avoid the crowds (there were only two ships in port early), but husband is a photographer and wanted better light so we plowed through the crowds (with four ships in port) in the afternoon as we walked the short distance on the Photo Point trail. This was our first up front and personal visit to a glacier and well worth the trip. We then took the Trail of Time from the top of the visitor center through the woods back to the parking lot. Be sure to pick up a brochure from the Information Kiosk to explain the markers along the way. We had a quiet respite from the crowds as we walked and were rewarded with an up close view of the spawning salmon in a stream we crossed. We then took the Moraine Ecology trail from the parking lot for a little way until we reached a point where it was closed. Apparently there were bears feeding on the salmon on the trail and they wanted to leave them a portion where they could feed away from the crowds. Then it was back to the ship on the shuttle.

 

If it's Tuesday, it must be Skagway! We booked an all day (7.5 hour) trip with Chilkoot Charters. It started with 21 of us on a small tour bus driving up toward the Yukon. It was a very foggy morning and before too long we couldn't see much of anything. Our tour guide, BJ, joked with us about what we could have seen on the right and left as we climbed to the summit. The trip was supplemented by lots of interesting info about the area and history from our driver. Eventually we came to the top near Fraser and broke through the fog. Then we continued on to Emerald Lake (spectacular) for a photo stop and then to Carcross for lunch. This is the main stop for lunch for all the tours to the Yukon where you get a BBQ chicken lunch (very tasty), can tour the museum (owner is a taxidermist and quite talented) to see all of the local wildlife, see the sled dogs and puppies, and even take a ride with the dogs if you like. There are also some shops to buy trinkets and ice cream if you want. Then we traveled on to Caribou Crossing where we had a brief stop - enough time to go to the post office and get our passports stamped to show that we were in the Yukon. Hubby could have spent more time here photographing this quaint little town, but I guess we'll have to come back.

 

Then we got back on the bus to return to Fraser where we boarded the White Pass & Yukon Railroad. We were lucky enough to get a seat on the right hand side for spectacular views down the mountain. By this time the sun had emerged from the fog and we could see what we had missed driving up and MORE! Don't miss an opportunity to ride this train. We were given a brochure highlighting all of the interesting points as well as where the good photo opps would be. Hubby spent most of the trip trading off with other photographers for the outside viewing area for the best shots. I just stayed in my window seat and was in awe of what I was seeing: waterfalls, steep gorges, winding narrow tracks around the sides of the mountain, the narrow trail that the miners walked, and finally a view of our ship at port as we came to the bottom. We were also amazed at the color of the river. Apparently the grey green color (as opposed to a clear blue) comes from the glacier silt in the water. It's unlike any other rivers I've seen.

 

At the end or our trip, we walked through town and back to the ship taking pictures along the way. It was a full day and one that we wouldn't have missed.

 

Wednesday brought us to Icy Strait and the village of Hoonah. We had booked a whale watching tour with Glacier Wind Charters. We had wanted a smaller boat and group to do our wildlife viewing on, as it would be easier to get those photos that hubby wanted. It ended up that we were the only ones on this trip (he'll take up to 6) so we had Sean's undivided attention after his wife, Teresa, picked us up from the tender dock. The whales were not very active this day, but that didn't detract from the experience. We saw eagles, puffins, sea otters, and about a dozen whales. Sean said that while normally the whales are abundant in Icy Strait, there seemed to be more of them lately near Juneau. No matter. We had fun spotting the whales and racing after them as Sean directed us to either the right or left side of the boat. We were rewarded with some photo shots of the fins and then the final flip of the tail, as they would dive down. At one point on our trip, another tour guide (Floyd from FISHES) alerted us that there was a bear on the shore. Floyd and Sean work together via radio to help each other find the whales and other wildlife. We sped to the location and got some great shots of an adolescent brown bear turning over rocks on the shore looking for bugs to eat. At one time that morning we passed the huge boat crowded with the cruise ship excursion people all crowding around the rail looking for whales. We felt very grateful that we had our little boat to ourselves with Sean to guide us and help us get the best pictures.

 

When our four hours finally came to an end, we were hungry and ready for lunch. Teresa recommended that we grab a crab lunch at "The Office Bar" in town and drove us there. We split a whole crab and each had some chowder along with an Alaskan Amber while sitting at the window watching for more whales. Apparently they often come by in the afternoon. About an hour later Teresa came back for us and drove us back to the tender dock. We could have walked, but it was nice not to have to walk the half-mile back. I highly recommend tours by Glacier Wind. They give excellent personal service for either whale watching or fishing tours. The tender dock had more shops, restaurants, and the famous Zip Line to watch as those adventurous people paid their $99 to take the 45-minute ride up the mountain and then come down in 90 seconds. Then it was back to the ship for a well-deserved 2-hour nap. We had to catch up from all the activity in the last few days.

 

The highlight for us was a destination, but not a port. The morning that we spent at the Hubbard Glacier was extremely memorable. Words just don't convey the experience of being that close to that big of a glacier and then hearing the cracking followed by the calving of the glacier. It was awesome and we could have spent hours there. The captain dig a great job of turning the ship around so that people in their balconies on all sides could experience it.

 

We disembarked in Seward, but we had the day to explore before taking the 6:00 train to Anchorage. As soon as we got off the ship, we walked to the train station to check our bags in. It was a .6-mile walk and we were exhausted by the time we got there as we had all of our luggage. We could have taken a taxi, but there weren't any around in the 10 minutes we were waiting so we decided to walk. There is also a trolley (we found out later) that comes every 30 minutes on the hour and half hour that would have taken us there, but it would have been difficult with all of our bags.

 

As soon as we checked our bags in at the station, we went across the street to schedule our spot on the shuttle to Exit Glacier. For $10 a person, you could get shuttled 15 miles to the glacier and then back again in about 2.5 hours (longer if you wanted). We were there before most people figured it out (9:00) and got a spot on the 9:30 shuttle, returning at 12:00. The shuttle leaves on the half hour and returns on the hour and there is only room for about 15. We arrived at the glacier just in time to go on a guided walk to the "Edge of the Glacier". The ranger gave a very interesting talk about the evolution of the vegetation as the glaciers receded while we progressed up to within 20 feet of the glacier edge to feel the "breath of the glacier" on our faces.

 

When we returned, we started to walk the mile to the historic downtown Seward. We walked to the small boat harbor and didn't want to walk the rest of the way. We then discovered the trolley where you could get an All Day pass for $5 to take you around town in a half hour loop from the cruise ship pier to the Sea Life Center and every point in between. We stopped in the middle of downtown and had a great lunch at the Apollo Restaurant. After lunch we went to the local library and viewed two film clips of the 1964 earthquake for $3 each. It was very interesting and lasted about 45 minutes. We then walked around a shopped a bit before getting back on the trolley to return to the train station.

 

At 5:00 we boarded the Alaskan Railroad Coastal Classic train. Our preassigned seats were on the right (not as good viewing) and we requested a change. We were switched to the left side in the last car. It turned out that it was almost empty and very quiet. It was perfect for us as hubby got the outside viewing area to himself for photos and I got a great view on the left. It was also empty enough that we could switch sides back and forth whenever we wanted to see something on the other side. We had a buffalo chili dinner in the dining car ($8) but several others had brought their own food on board. Some even brought pizzas. The trip took 4.5 hours and we were given alerts from the staff when wildlife appeared. "Moose on the left" was a common message. They also let us know when spectacular views were coming up and which side to look on. Unfortunately, it got dark too soon for our ride, but we were told that Beluga whales would be seen on the left if it was light enough. People we met at Exit Glacier were on the morning train and told us about their experiences and seeing the whales. If you get the opportunity to ride the Alaskan Railway - especially this Seward to Anchorage route - you should do it. It was well worth it and one of the least expensive ways to get to Anchorage from Seward.

 

We arrived in Anchorage at 10:30 and were shuttled to the Clarion Suites. It was an excellent suite with a full free breakfast and free transportation to and from the train station and the airport. Our driver the next morning even went out of his way to show us some of the local sights in Anchorage when he learned that we hadn't had an opportunity to see any of his city. It only took about another 15 minutes and was very enjoyable. All too soon we were on our way back home after a great week.

[sunnydaysmile]

Nice review - thank you. We are sailing on Radiance next May and I can't wait!!!

[MsSoCalCruiser]

Great review! Thank you for posting it.

[Beach4me]

Excellent review! Thanks for taking the time to include all the details.

[AussieVisi2r]

Sensational report. Thankyou. Only problem is youhave made my wait intil July for my radiance trip even harder!!!!!!!!

Raina, Australia:):p:)

[MAZANDSTEVE]

Great report, thank you.:)

[Twibes]

I echo the statements of everyone else, great review! Everyone appreciates the time you took to detail the trip, and I'm jealous :).

[Tkaklita]

Love your very informative and precise review!! We are taking this trip next June and you have helped answer many off beat questions I was curious about (what to do with luggage in Seward #1).

 

Thanks for the great tips and I will definintly be adding them to my checklist that will be with me throughout the trip.

 

Thanks again,

Linda

[UCF_Knight]

Very nice review. I can't wait to try Alaska one day.

[cruisenfever]

Love your very informative and precise review!! We are taking this trip next June and you have helped answer many off beat questions I was curious about (what to do with luggage in Seward #1).

 

Thanks for the great tips and I will definintly be adding them to my checklist that will be with me throughout the trip.

 

Thanks again,

Linda

Very nice review. I can't wait to try Alaska one day.

This review was written back in September of 2009. A lot has happened to Radiance since she went in for her enhancements in 2011.

 

Here is the link to what was done to Radiance of the Seas

 

Luggage Valet is offered in Seward if you are disembarking there. Here is a description of the Luggage Valet program

[Ashland]

This review was written back in September of 2009. A lot has happened to Radiance since she went in for her enhancements in 2011.

 

Here is the link to what was done to Radiance of the Seas

 

Luggage Valet is offered in Seward if you are disembarking there. Here is a description of the Luggage Valet program

Yes..I saw the title and thought .."WHAT" I'm on the first of the season RCI Radiance northbound this Friday May 17th..Had me thinking there for a minute :eek::D

[Tkaklita]

This review was written back in September of 2009. A lot has happened to Radiance since she went in for her enhancements in 2011.

 

Here is the link to what was done to Radiance of the Seas

 

Luggage Valet is offered in Seward if you are disembarking there. Here is a description of the Luggage Valet program

 

Thanks for the help. I was trying to search for the answers before I asked a question that had already been asked. I think I went a bit too far. We are doing our own version of a cruisetour, for I am not a fan of buses, so unfortunately the Luggage Service will not work. Thx for the notice and I'll keep my searches more recent.

[drarill]

Great review!! Thanks for sharing! :)

[hollon]

Do you have any pictures of the ship and cabin, what cabin were you in?

[lovcruzing]

Yes..I saw the title and thought .."WHAT" I'm on the first of the season RCI Radiance northbound this Friday May 17th..Had me thinking there for a minute :eek::D

 

 

I was also looking for a recent review. Were leaving on May 24th. Please post your review from the 17th asap. Thanks

[DragonOfTheSeas]

I was also looking for a recent review. Were leaving on May 24th. Please post your review from the 17th asap. Thanks

 

This was the "Live" thread I did on the Radiance last August/Sept.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1697232

 

I included lots of pictures.

[lakelorain]

Enjoyed your review. The Radiance Alaska northbound was our very first cruise. I would love to do it again. Now we are hooked on cruising.

[Tkaklita]

This was the "Live" thread I did on the Radiance last August/Sept.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1697232

 

I included lots of pictures.

 

Again, excellent information and pictures.

 

There are six of us that are leaving the DH's at home and just going to have a "girls" week including a post Denali tour next June and we are reserving and planning like crazy. This is going to be a blast!!!