Radiance North Bound Alaska Compass and CruiseTour 6A

[instaGator]

We just returned from a great trip to Alaska, and I wanted to share the Cruise Compasses with anyone who will be going soon:

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B26OoFJ2XUaHeTR5QVQwbk9WSXc/view?usp=sharing

 

The outline for CruiseTour 6A is here:

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B26OoFJ2XUaHcm8tQnlZWGxGblE/view?usp=sharing

 

Enjoy your trip to Alaska!

[EMED2010]

Thank you! This was very helpful!

[mjmagee]

I would love to hear your review of the land tour portion of your trip. We will be on the southbound version later in August. Marilyn

[molsonschooner]

On another thread we were discussing whether Radiance had shower curtains or doors. Can you help us out

[sailingwithfriends]

We were on Radiance in June. There are shower curtains.

[instaGator]

I would love to hear your review of the land tour portion of your trip. We will be on the southbound version later in August. Marilyn

 

Marilyn,

Since you are in Largo and I am in Clearwater, I will private message you my contact info and you can give me a call.

Mike

[instaGator]

Sorry Marilyn but I didn't realize that private messages can only come from the administrator of Cruise Critic. I will put together a short review of the land portion and post it as soon as I can.

Edited July 22, 2015 by instagator

[instaGator]

This is 6A in reverse, so I hope that it approximates 6B:

 

In Fairbanks, the hotel was the Sophie Station Suites. It is a bit dated, but it is at the higher end of the hotels in Fairbanks. They had a free shuttle that did a loop around the area which was very convenient. If you have time at the beginning of your trip, go downtown to the Morris Thompson Visitor Center. It is free and they have tons of information that will help you more fully appreciate Alaska. Soapy Smith's downtown is a local restaurant that was great for lunch. Lavelle's Bistro (also downtown) was nice for dinner.

 

In Denali, the hotel was the Denali Park Village Lodge. It was rustic but nice. I wish we would have had another day here. Denali is great. I hope that you have a clear day so that you can see lots of the natural "attractions" in the national park.

 

In Anchorage, the hotel was the downtown Marriott. A standard Marriott within walking distance of most everything in downtown. You don't have much free time in Anchorage, which was OK with me.

 

In Seward, the hotel was the Seward Windsong Lodge. It was also rustic but nice. The Alaska SeaLife Center was interesting and depending on which excursions you take during your cruise, the SeaLife Center may help prepare you for viewing wildlife.

 

Please ask any questions that you may have and I will do my best to answer them.

[mjmagee]

Hi Mike. There area couple of places in our 6B tour where the description says you have free time and can book an optional excursion with the tour director. For instance it states we have a free afternoon in Fairbanks and also Anchorage. Did you have this and did you book anything? If so I would love to know what was available and what you did. Also did you do the Tundra Wilderness tour and did you enjoy it? And finally, what did you do with your free evening in Seward, if you had one? Thanks for all you help. Marilyn

[instaGator]

Hi Mike. There area couple of places in our 6B tour where the description says you have free time and can book an optional excursion with the tour director. For instance it states we have a free afternoon in Fairbanks and also Anchorage. Did you have this and did you book anything? If so I would love to know what was available and what you did. Also did you do the Tundra Wilderness tour and did you enjoy it? And finally, what did you do with your free evening in Seward, if you had one? Thanks for all you help. Marilyn

Marilyn,

Yes, you will have free time for optional excursions, but exactly how much time depends on the tour director and the weather, etc. We did a whitewater rafting excursion near Denali that was great. Not too difficult (Class 3) but being in the glacier water and rafting through the canyons was very fun. In Fairbanks, we had planned to go on an optional flight seeing excursion to the far north of Alaska, above the arctic circle, but the pilot cancelled it at the last minute because of all of the smoke from the fires. There were over 300 wildfires burning in Alaska when we were there. The smoke was only bad in Fairbanks. Many people on our trip went to a dinner show in Fairbanks. They said it was fun but touristy. We had an evening free in Anchorage, but we opted to explore the downtown and have a nice dinner instead of going on one of the optional excursions. There were several to choose from in Anchorage. The Tundra Wilderness tour in Denali was awesome. It was a long day on a bus, but there were many stops for bathroom breaks and to walk around. We saw caribou, moose, bears, and we also got lucky and had a wonderful complete view of Mt. McKinley (which is rare because of the typical cloud cover). In Seward, we went on a short hike to see Exit Glacier. I would advise you to skip it, because it is nothing compared to Hubbard Glacier and Mendenhall Glacier. The restaurant at the Seward Windsong Lodge is very nice, and you can walk in the river (between the flowing water) across the street from the lodge. Your tour guide will give you a form with all of the optional excursions on it and they will use it as a tally sheet and you can pay for whatever you do at the end of the tour. I didn't have a chance to keep the excursion sheet.

Let me know if you have more questions.

Mike

[melody-s]

Thanks for sharing. I will be on Radiance next month and reading the Compass gives me a chance to daydream about it. :)

[zenathon]

Mike,

Im also taking the 6B cruisetour starting 8/23..did anyone you know of play golf in Fairbanks at North Star GC during the free afternoon? Hoping my bro & I can get in a round while the ladies go shoppin' :)

 

Mark

[mjmagee]

Mike thanks for the prompt reply and great info! Marilyn