Radiance Alaska Northbound

[onefishtwofish]

We are looking at sailing on Radiance northbound Alaska next July.....anyone sailed her this season have any insights on the ship (it was recently refurbished correct?)? Our kids will be with us - 16 and 13 and they are really excited to go....they are true Floridians!! We have been to Alaska one time before on Rhapsody, but it was when my DS turned 1, so it has been a while!

 

Also - looking to do some touring on our own after the cruise taking the train and seeing Anchorage, Denali etc......suggestions on that appreciated as well!

 

THANKS!!:D

[Clarea]

We are looking at sailing on Radiance northbound Alaska next July.....anyone sailed her this season have any insights on the ship (it was recently refurbished correct?)? Our kids will be with us - 16 and 13 and they are really excited to go....they are true Floridians!! We have been to Alaska one time before on Rhapsody, but it was when my DS turned 1, so it has been a while!

 

Also - looking to do some touring on our own after the cruise taking the train and seeing Anchorage, Denali etc......suggestions on that appreciated as well!

 

THANKS!!:D

Radiance was refurbished over 2 years ago.

 

Also, check into the cruise tours you can add after the cruise. Royal has a variety to choose from.

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

We are looking at sailing on Radiance northbound Alaska next July.....anyone sailed her this season have any insights on the ship (it was recently refurbished correct?)? Our kids will be with us - 16 and 13 and they are really excited to go....they are true Floridians!! We have been to Alaska one time before on Rhapsody, but it was when my DS turned 1, so it has been a while!

 

Also - looking to do some touring on our own after the cruise taking the train and seeing Anchorage, Denali etc......suggestions on that appreciated as well!

 

THANKS!!:D

 

We sailed on the Radiance this past June, also on the Northbound itinerary. We are a family of three, which includes a 15 year old boy. Let me start by saying the trip was AMAZING.

 

The ship is is fine shape and she is beautiful, we loved everything about her. We loved the crew, they were simply great! Our waitstaff in the MDR were the best we've had since our first cruise in 03. We found the food in the MDR great, we ate there every night. Windjammer was also good. Production shows were so-so, but the comedians (probably useless to you since they will be different next year :rolleyes: ) were great.

 

Now onto Alaska:

 

We stayed the night before in Vancouver, at the Marriott Pinnacle, which was pricey but nice. The city was great.

 

In Ketchikan we did a Royal Excursion, Coastal Wildlife cruise I think. Pretty good. The town was also nice to simply walk around and explore.

 

Icy Strait Point, we did a whale watching tour with Hoonah Travel Adventures. Amazing, the captain was great too.

 

Juneau we did a kayak excursion. So-so. Wasn't a big fan of Juneau either.

 

Skagway we did a yukon tour with Frontier Excursions. Also amazing.

 

Hubbard Glacier was amazing, we observed from less than a half mile away.

 

Sorry for the long post, but as you can see, I can't really find any negatives about this trip!!

Edited November 3, 2014 by OfTheSeasCruiser

[onefishtwofish]

We sailed on the Radiance this past June, also on the Northbound itinerary. We are a family of three, which includes a 15 year old boy. Let me start by saying the trip was AMAZING.

 

The ship is is fine shape and she is beautiful, we loved everything about her. We loved the crew, they were simply great! Our waitstaff in the MDR were the best we've had since our first cruise in 03. We found the food in the MDR great, we ate there every night. Windjammer was also good. Production shows were so-so, but the comedians (probably useless to you since they will be different next year :rolleyes: ) were great.

 

Now onto Alaska:

 

We stayed the night before in Vancouver, at the Marriott Pinnacle, which was pricey but nice. The city was great.

 

In Ketchikan we did a Royal Excursion, Coastal Wildlife cruise I think. Pretty good. The town was also nice to simply walk around and explore.

 

Icy Strait Point, we did a whale watching tour with Hoonah Travel Adventures. Amazing, the captain was great too.

 

Juneau we did a kayak excursion. So-so. Wasn't a big fan of Juneau either.

 

Skagway we did a yukon tour with Frontier Excursions. Also amazing.

 

Hubbard Glacier was amazing, we observed from less than a half mile away.

 

Sorry for the long post, but as you can see, I can't really find any negatives about this trip!!

 

Thanks for the great info! We are really looking forward to taking the kids!!

[Ashland]

We've done the last two seasons on the Radiance northbound both times end of May...

 

Your kids might like the Bering Sea Crab Tour in Ketchikan.

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

We've done the last two seasons on the Radiance northbound both times end of May...

 

Your kids might like the Bering Sea Crab Tour in Ketchikan.

 

Were you on the May 30th sailing? That's the one we were on.

[epixx]

We sailed twice with active teenagers (ages 16 and 12 and then 2 years later ages 18 and 14).

 

In Juneau, I highly recommend this:

http://beyondak.com/trips/mendenhall-glacier-trek/

 

In Ketchikan, the teens enjoyed this:

http://www.kayakketchikan.com/guidedtrips

 

In ISP we loved the whale watching with Hoonah Travel Adventures.

 

Make sure you have at least 2 nights in at Denali, so you can take the NPS shuttle into the Park (kids 14 and younger no charge).

 

Have a great trip!

[Ashland]

Were you on the May 30th sailing? That's the one we were on.

Hello....Yes we were..My DH, DD, DSIL & 18 month old grandson.

[critterchick]

You might also check out the Alaska threads in the Ports of Call section.:)