Review Rhapsody to Alaska 8/20-27

[alohanails]

Hi all....first trip to Seattle...what a wonderful City! We flew in Weds the 18th nonstop out of Austin Tx....we arrived at the Marriott Harborside at 9pm Seattle time. We had the entire next day to tour the city....we did Pikes Market and the space needle, we also toured the "MPE" (Music Project Experiment) and the Science Fiction Museum....we also "Rode the Duck"! It was a lot of fun....this bus like amphibian vehicle gives a hilarious tour of the city with the highlight being driven into the sound....there you get a great view at million dollar homes....and the "Sleepless in Seattle" house as well...we had a late lunch at the Seattle Hard Rock (my husband loves to visit and look at the memorabilia) and called it a day....we lucked out....cool and cloudy in the morning and sun in the afternoon...no rain in Seattle!

 

Friday morning we had breakfast in the concierge lounge at the hotel....we used "points" to stay there.....to bad Royal Caribbean uses pier 91 instead of 66....66 is right in front of the hotel....there was a celebrity ship there.....looked like a nice ship....we took a shuttle with 4 other couples from the hotel to pier 91....our pick up time was 11:20....we were on the ship by 12:00.....couldn't find a porter but was really no problem....brought our luggage to the xray ourselves.....they arrived in our cabin by 6pm.

 

We wandered around the ship a bit then went to the wind jammer...usual fare....we always find something we like. Getting a table was tricky....you had to have an eagle eye and move quickly to get a table....at 1pm we went and checked out our stateroom....we were excited to see the balcony as we lucked out and got cabin JS 8088! With the "true wrap around balcony"! It was better than I had imagined.....no loungers but it it did have a decent size table to eat on if you wanted and 2 nice deck chairs. We hung out there for a bit....met our cabin girl Joan-who was great- and then checked out the ship a bit more. Before we knew it we were mustering (no lifejackets) and then we were on our way!

 

We had early seating at a table for 6.....had nice tablemates.....one couple was on the shuttle with us from the hotel to the pier....our waiter and assistant were very good....by the second night they knew who needed a bartender....who got coffee....etc....the food was very good....not 5 star but we always ate something we enjoyed. We gained no weight on this cruise....we skipped deserts a few times....we were just too full from dinner.

 

In Juneau we did the Mendenhall Glacier Float trip....we were on a raft that held 13 people including the guide....he did ALL the paddling....they are skilled to say the least.....we got pretty close to the glacier and "bumped" into an iceberg....there was a couple of portions of rapids...it was really fun, but be prepared to sit on a board with no back support for 2 hours....luckily it didn't rain. After that we took the shuttle into Juneau and did a little souvenir shopping...then came the rain...back to the ship...

 

Arrived in Skagway to drizzly conditions...but at least it wasn't a downpour....here we did the summer dogsled camp....also fun and we got to interact with the puppies....what I didn't like was the drive to the camp.....the road was winding and had "dropoffs"....YIKES! After the camp we walked around Skagway....found the Sarah Palin Store....funny! We stopped for a drink and some chips at the Red Onion Saloon and then it was back to the ship....

 

Tracy Arm Fjord is too beautiful for words! The ship got so close to the glacier and did a 360 so the entire ship had "the view"....and the weather was great too....sunny but a bit windy....55 degrees. They were serving Hot Chocolate on the top deck but you could still get it and make it for free in the windjammer....the pay for one I was told was made with milk cinnimon and chocolate shavings....

 

Victoria BC.....Beautiful Sunny day......but WINDY beyond belief! We were actually the only cruise ship that was able to dock that day....the 2 other ships had a sea day instead....just too windy. We did the horsedrawn Trolley tour...it was ok....felt much colder than 55 due to the wind....the guide said it windy there much of the time...we decided to go back to the ship and take a nap after the tour....we were up late the night before....by the time we got back up it was too late to head into town....no big deal....we did see alot on the tour....

 

The ship....yes she is older and doesn't have all the bells and whistles but we found the ship to be a lot of fun! I think the Radiance class is still my favorite class but we feel we got a lotta "bang for our buck" on the Rhapsody. We are diamond members and did make use of the Diamond event that was held nightly in the Viking Crown Lounge from 5:30-8:30. We would go before dinner and then once again after....Alex was superb and knew exactly what our order was after the 1st night...we met a lot of nice people there....if you are eligible to go to the event nightly I recommend you do....it's a very nice atmosphere....and 25% off well drinks is better than nothing!

 

Disembarking-don't do what I did! I packed my seapass! If you do no worries....they manually scan you off the ship....darn....I was hoping to have to stay! But seriously, getting off the ship was a breeze....we found our luggage in no time and we were off to Budget rent a car where we had reservations for the day....had to go tour the Jimi Hendrix memorial in Renton Wa....right outside Seattle. For dinner we went to "Paragon" off of Queene Anne street....the food was great and we had dinner with a couple we met 2 years earlier when we went on our Med. cruise....Ian and Angel drove us all around the city for the best views...we actually saw a proposal done at sunset with Seattle skyline in the background....

 

 

When all is said and done we would cruise Alaska again but do prefer "warm weather" vacations. We are already booked on the Allure for January....should be quite a difference!

[PantherFan]

Nice to hear you had a good time. We are going on this same cruise next June and will be staying in JS 8088 as well. We actually have all the JS on the back plus all but 4 of the D1's on deck seven as well. All friends and family members.

 

Any pictures?

[alohanails]

Pantherfan.....pictures do not do it justice! It was hard to get a shot of the true size of the balcony....you will NOT be disappointed!!

[LBumb]

great review, sounds like you had a great time.

[klingoncruiser]

Thanks for the nice review. Still miss that ship out of Galveston.

[elcydcruiser]

We're on the Aug 5th, 2011 cruise. I'm glad you did the dogsled camp...I'm interested in that, too. This will be the 2nd time to cruise Alaska; first time to Seattle and Victoria. Looking forward to it. Thanks for the review.

[Italy52]

Thank you for posting your review, I appreciate it.

 

Question for you: We have been to Alaska many times and next year will be our last. We are trying to find new excursions and talked about the Mendenhall Float. I have heard many stories about the water craft not getting close to the glacier and the excursion wasn't worth the money --- looking back, would you say the excursion was worth the money? We will be going the latter part of May and 1st week of June.

 

Many thanks for your help.

[LBumb]

we have thought about alaska many times but hard to get out of warm climate thought process when selecting cruises.