OCD Planner's Live ALASKA Photo Trip Report 16 day Cruise Tour aboard Radiance

[Marylandteachergirl]

This has been an amazing and incredibly informative trip report journey. Thank you so much for all the time you have dedicated to journaling and documenting your trip. Your experiences and several others here on CC have changed my mind about Alaska.

 

Train man, I can't wait to read your review next year!

[Cshgrand]

Thank you so much for this amazing review.

We are looking to make Alaska our main holiday for 2015 and will try to make a 3 week trip of it with some time in CA maybe too.

Our son will then be 7, do you think an active young chap would cope well with the hiking trails?

[mapleleaves]

Thank you so much for this amazing review.

We are looking to make Alaska our main holiday for 2015 and will try to make a 3 week trip of it with some time in CA maybe too.

Our son will then be 7, do you think an active young chap would cope well with the hiking trails?

 

You might enjoy reading some 2012 trip reports on the Alaska forum of tripadvisor. There are quite a few reports from families who did a cruise plus 3-15 days on a DIY land trip either by car or RV. There's only 1 report so far for 2013 ... a family with a 6 yr old girl. Enjoy!

[ace1zoe2]

Woohoo, you're moving! Bon Voyage!:D

 

Thanks Becci!

 

We've been at sea the last couple of days & I'm not paying for an internet package. We're pulling in to Juneau as I write and are due to arrive at 9am. I checked and they've already turned off "Cellular at Sea" so I'm back on AT&T so I turned my data plan on to catch up while we wait to clear for debarkation.

 

Hope to post more pictures this afternoon.

 

 

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[ace1zoe2]

Thanks for the great reports, reading all and taking many notes:)

 

Thanks for taking time to comment. We're having a fabulous time!

 

 

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[ace1zoe2]

Just finished reading about your trip....WOW! Your photos are amazing.... Reading your posts, whether Alaska or the C/NE is like you are right next to me and we are both experiencing at the same time.. Thank you for sharing all of this.

Oh yes, we will book NE next while we are doing Alaska in Aug.

 

You are one special person. :D

 

Thank you so much for the kind words! I can't tell a story as well as Middle Aged Drama Queen but I do enjoy keeping a journal of my travels. You will love NE & Alaska.

 

 

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[ace1zoe2]

got off the Radiance just as you were getting on. lovely ship! have a great week

 

Thanks kruzinkel. So far the weather has been wonderful... as a matter of fact its 8:26 am and I've been out on the balcony for about an hour in long pants and a long sleeve shirt, finally had to come in to the A/C as it was getting TOO HOT!

 

 

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[ace1zoe2]

Your journey has been spetacular and amazing so far. The photos, info and narrative have been such a joy to follow and of course so very helpful. Thanks for bringing us along. It will be interesting to see what you tell and show us about the Radiance.

 

 

Loving the journey so far and thank you for the wonderful trip!!

 

Thanks for following along. I have so many pictures but will have to wait until we get home to post most of the them. I probably have 100+ just of the ship interior.

 

 

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[ace1zoe2]

ace1zoe2,

 

WOW! A Fantastic Live Report and Review!

 

We just booked this tour/Cruise for August 2014 so we will be following along with you.

 

Trainman-2 & Judith

 

WOW, TRAINMAN! I feel honored to have you read my blog. You and Judith will LOVE Alaska. Thanks for following along and taking time to comment :)

 

 

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[ace1zoe2]

This has been an amazing and incredibly informative trip report journey. Thank you so much for all the time you have dedicated to journaling and documenting your trip. Your experiences and several others here on CC have changed my mind about Alaska.

 

Train man, I can't wait to read your review next year!

 

Alaska is spectacular. There is no sand but the sun is warm and you cannot beat the scenery. Wildlife is amazing and there is just no way to compare it to the same-old-same-old Caribbean that most of us do time & again. You will love Alaska!

 

 

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[ace1zoe2]

Thank you so much for this amazing review.

We are looking to make Alaska our main holiday for 2015 and will try to make a 3 week trip of it with some time in CA maybe too.

Our son will then be 7, do you think an active young chap would cope well with the hiking trails?

 

The hiking trails that we have done so far have been fairly easy. You might have a hard time keep up with the 7 year old! He'll probably be racing you to the top :)

 

 

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[narsibvl]

Thanks Becci!

 

We've been at sea the last couple of days & I'm not paying for an internet package. We're pulling in to Juneau as I write and are due to arrive at 9am. I checked and they've already turned off "Cellular at Sea" so I'm back on AT&T so I turned my data plan on to catch up while we wait to clear for debarkation.

 

Hope to post more pictures this afternoon.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

 

Looks to be a fabulous day in Juneau....been watching the cams for a while now and as far as I know..you guys chose the best of the juneau days to be out there.

[CFXTBB]

Thank you for your wonderful review and pictures! We want to plan a cruise and tour for the future and this is so helpful! Thank you for all the details :)

[BecciBoo]

Cindy: wonder where you are right now? With both feet planted on a glacier or on a boat somewhere filming whale tails!:p:D

Watching the aft of Radiance as she patiently awaits your return from the days revelries! Will be missing those images but understand about the downloading capabilities...or lack of!

But don't want the week to end either. Talk later!

[Hockey Nut Steve]

Charlie and Cindy,

 

Thank you for sharing your Alaska journey. The pictures are beautiful and I enjoy your detailed narratives.

 

We'll be boarding the Radiance this Friday when you debark. The week can't go quick enough for our vacation to begin :D - but I know you want the week to go slow for this great vacation of yours not to come to an end. ;). We'll be going to many of the same places for our after cruise land excursion. Your descriptive information gave us good insite on what to expect. Thanks!

 

Can you post some of the Radiance menus like as you did for the meals on your land excursion. Have they switched over to the new menus.

[Marylandteachergirl]

ace1zoe2,

 

We are considering an 11 night southbound cruisetour with the land portion first. I am guessing we would arrive in Seward similar to you - around noon. We would like to do a 3 hour tour on Major Marine - which runs 2-5pm. Do you think this is do-able, or cutting it too close?

[ace1zoe2]

Looks to be a fabulous day in Juneau....been watching the cams for a while now and as far as I know..you guys chose the best of the juneau days to be out there.

 

The day has been absolutely beautiful! Can't wait to post pictures!

[ace1zoe2]

Thank you for your wonderful review and pictures! We want to plan a cruise and tour for the future and this is so helpful! Thank you for all the details :)

 

Thanks for taking time to comments. Lots more to come!

[ace1zoe2]

Cindy: wonder where you are right now? With both feet planted on a glacier or on a boat somewhere filming whale tails!:p:D

Watching the aft of Radiance as she patiently awaits your return from the days revelries! Will be missing those images but understand about the downloading capabilities...or lack of!

But don't want the week to end either. Talk later!

 

We've been busy! Been to the glacier & waterfalls, gardens & more! I'll fill you all in on it later :)

[ace1zoe2]

Charlie and Cindy,

 

Thank you for sharing your Alaska journey. The pictures are beautiful and I enjoy your detailed narratives.

 

We'll be boarding the Radiance this Friday when you debark. The week can't go quick enough for our vacation to begin :D - but I know you want the week to go slow for this great vacation of yours not to come to an end. ;). We'll be going to many of the same places for our after cruise land excursion. Your descriptive information gave us good insite on what to expect. Thanks!

 

Can you post some of the Radiance menus like as you did for the meals on your land excursion. Have they switched over to the new menus.

 

Yes, I've been trying to take menu pics which I will post later.

[ace1zoe2]

Charlie and Cindy,

 

Thank you for sharing your Alaska journey. The pictures are beautiful and I enjoy your detailed narratives.

 

We'll be boarding the Radiance this Friday when you debark. The week can't go quick enough for our vacation to begin :D - but I know you want the week to go slow for this great vacation of yours not to come to an end. ;). We'll be going to many of the same places for our after cruise land excursion. Your descriptive information gave us good insite on what to expect. Thanks!

 

Can you post some of the Radiance menus like as you did for the meals on your land excursion. Have they switched over to the new menus.

 

Yes, I've been trying to take menu pics which I will post later. Hopefully before you leave. And yes they have switched to the new menus.

[ace1zoe2]

Day 8 Seward transfer to Radiance of the Seas!

 

Up early again this morning... this is getting to be a habit! We packed our daypacks withanything we might need between now and boarding the ship (meds, passports, Set Sail pass, etc). Then our one carry-on bag each was transferred from the hotel to the ship and will hopefully be waiting at our cabin door when we arrive.

 

Again this morning we just had a package of cheese crackers in the room before heading to the lobby to meet for our pre-scheduled 2 hour hike to Exit Glacier. We took a short shuttle ride from the hotel to the Kenai Fjords National Park Exit Glacier Nature Center.

 

We stopped along the way to get a view of where we were going:

 

 

We hiked in in a group of 6 lead by a naturalist who was very informative and we learned a lot about the life of Glaciers. We were able to hike right up to the face of the Glacier and it was amazing how cold and windy it got as you approached the face.

Glacier site and then hiked a mile up the trail to the face of the Glacier.

 

 

 

Woo-hoo! We made it! Next to Exit Glacier:

 

 

After the hike we were transported taken back to the Windsong Lodge to meet up with our tour group for transport tot he port at 11:15. Our friends that I mentioned earlier, all flew in to Anchorage yesterday and spent the night there. This morning they took the train at 6:45am to Seward and will arrive at 11:05. We should all end up on the Radiance of the Seas about the same time.

 

This was our wildlife spotting for the day, an Eagle's Nest that our tour bus driver Jim spotted on the way from the hotel to the ship. I can't tell for sure but it almost looks like there is bird in the next and one on the limb:

 

 

We left the hotel at 11:15 and were at the port after a short 10 minute drive. There were probably about 50 people in line for check in when we arrived. Since we were staying in Jr Suite this time, we were allowed to go to the Suite check in line and there was only 1 couple in front of us. Check-in was quick and painless. Upon boarding the ship we grabbed a quick lunch in the windjammer. The next thing I did was set off on my picture-taking mission. This is my deal, I always try to get pictures first thing before the ship becomes too crowded and I end up with all those unknown people in my pictures, or even worse - the photo bombers! If it gets too crowded then I'll get up extra early one morning and take a photo tour of the ship then while everyone is sleeping. Luckily I was able to get from the top deck to deck 4 (the last of the public areas) before too many people had boarded.

 

So next up is the ship tour!

Edited June 10, 2013 by ace1zoe2

[texas.travelers]

Today I got caught up on y'all's last two days. Now I'm left hanging, waiting to see Radiance. Glad y'all are having a great time. Loving all of the pictures. Kynlee and Jordyn love all the ones of the animals. They also thought that Poppy's huge pancake was funny. Enjoy your cruise and looking forward to reading/seeing more. Love y'all.

 

Ps... Thanks for the tickets to see Sister Act. Michelle and I enjoyed the show this afternoon. Sorry y'all couldn't use the tickets but I'm sure that Alaska is much more fun.

[ace1zoe2]

Today I got caught up on y'all's last two days. Now I'm left hanging, waiting to see Radiance. Glad y'all are having a great time. Loving all of the pictures. Kynlee and Jordyn love all the ones of the animals. They also thought that Poppy's huge pancake was funny. Enjoy your cruise and looking forward to reading/seeing more. Love y'all.

 

Ps... Thanks for the tickets to see Sister Act. Michelle and I enjoyed the show this afternoon. Sorry y'all couldn't use the tickets but I'm sure that Alaska is much more fun.

 

Yes, Alaska absolutely beats seeing the musical Sister Act. Give the girls a hug & kiss from YaYa & Poppy and tell them I'll bring them a surprise. My iPad just died & I'm waiting for it to charge enough to upload more pics!

[ace1zoe2]

This is our first time on Radiance of the Seas but we've been on Brilliance of the Seas (her sister ship) in Canada/New England this past Oct/Nov. However, Brilliance had not yet been thru her dry dock so this ship has a lot of added upgrades that we've never seen! We are really looking forward to all the restaurants available. We have purchased the Royal Dining Package that allows you to go to 4 different restaurants for a discounted price.

 

Also, as I mentioned before, this is our first ever Junior Suite! aft balcony. It's not a corner aft but it does have the oversized balcony with loungers and table & chairs. I think I may have created a MONSTER! Hubby & I were perfectly happy in a regular balcony, UNTIL he walked in our room today. Now he's already said this is the way to go! Luckily we upgraded with RCI Credit Card points for this trip.

 

Here are some pics of the cabin and balcony:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 10, 2013 by ace1zoe2