Alaska Cruise Tour & Cruise on the Radiance of the Seas Review 7/25/15 – 8/7/15

[Bmorecruiser021]

Ali and I try to do one new speciality restaurant a cruise. Just to try something different. So after our nap, we made our way up to Samba and ran into our friends Mark, Virginia, Louise, and Helen that we had met the previous week on the cruise tour. They asked us to sit with them and we graciously accepted. A little side note about Samba, the food is INCREDIBLE! So good I forgot to take pictures. But I highly recommend you go hungry. Ali and I were still full from our crab feast and while we tried the chicken, lamb, pork, and two cuts of steak, we had no room for seconds and I wish we did. So please lake my advice and go hungry. It's well worth it if you decide to go!

 

 

Mark invited us to come by his room and watch the sunset. We eagerly accepted. Mark had a corner aft balcony cabin on deck 7. The view was spectacular. We even saw whales while we were out there.

 

 

 

 

 

We talked until the sun went down then headed back to our cabin and to bed. Sheryl left us one last surprise. Perfect way to end an amazing day!

 

[DKNYC]

Yes Samba probably not the best choice after the big lunch you had. I have been there and agree that it is best to go hungry.

Denise

 

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[bdpatrick]

Thank you very much for the review so far.

 

Alaska is on our bucket list and I've always been curious about how the Cruise tours work.

 

We will be sailing on the Radiance next year in Australia/New Zealand and love finding any and all info available on this ship. She is a beautiful one. Can't wait to sail upon her.

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review.

[Bmorecruiser021]

Thursday ~ August 6 2015 ~ Cruising

 

Today was our relaxing day. We walked around, took pictures, and just tried to take in as much of the ship as possible. It being our last full day and all.

 

 

 

One thing we did do is enter the poker tournament, yes both of us. And wouldn't you know it Ali won! First I'm beat by my cousin then my wife. The final table was going to be interesting.:eek:

 

 

Well the family came out on top with Ali coming in second and Joey coming in first. Joey took home around $800 and Ali got $450. Not bad at all:D

 

[DKNYC]

Ooh the last day. I call it "Depressed day". Usually save at least a half bottle of wine for DWP. That's drinking while packing.

Denise

 

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[Bmorecruiser021]

We relaxed some more. Took a nap. Then met up with the family for our last dinner. On a side note, all this relaxing was very necessary today. This had been a very busy vacation. From sleeping in a new hotel room and doing multiple excursion every day at first, to all the extended family that wanted to spend time together, this was the perfect way to end the cruise and vacation!

 

Dinner was great! We got the anti pasta and scallops to start and Ali got the lamb while I got the seafood mash for dinner. The seafood mash was ok, but the lamb was delicious!

 

 

 

 

 

We celebrated Ella's tonight. She loved all the attention!

 

 

After dinner I played some darts at the pub with my dad and brother while my mother watched and Ali packed.

 

[Bmorecruiser021]

Ooh the last day. I call it "Depressed day". Usually save at least a half bottle of wine for DWP. That's drinking while packing.

Denise

 

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

SO TRUE! Ali kicked me out of the cabin so she could pack in piece:rolleyes: This was actually our shortest cruise to date, we've only ever been on 8 and 9 day cruises. I can definitely say a 7 day cruise is too short! :cool:

[Bmorecruiser021]

We got some pictures on the balcony before it got too dark.

 

 

 

 

Then put our bags out in the hallway, very sad.

 

 

We walked down to the centrum and met Joey at his favorite bar with our favorite bartender!

 

 

We sat and talked for a while before walking around and saying goodbye to friends we had made over the past 2 weeks. It was such an amazing vacation and experience as a whole. One we will never forget. One last picture of the centrum before bed. Beautiful!

 

[DKNYC]

SO TRUE! Ali kicked me out of the cabin so she could pack in piece:rolleyes: This was actually our shortest cruise to date, we've only ever been on 8 and 9 day cruises. I can definitely say a 7 day cruise is too short! :cool:

I agree I hardly ever do 7 day cruises. Did a few Cunard crossings some of those were even less than 7 nts. I have done several really long ones like 14nts and more. Those are really nice especially the sea days. Good if they are spaced in nicely with the port days.[emoji7]

Denise

 

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[Bmorecruiser021]

Friday ~ August 7 2015 ~ Vancouver to Home

 

The sun rose on our last morning without a cloud in the sky. Absolutely breathtaking. We pulled into Vancouver's harbor and prepared to dock. It hit us that our adventure was coming to a close.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My parents and brother were going to be one of the first groups off the ship so we said bye to them the previous night. But we still had to say bye to Ali's family. We made our way up to the windjammer to eat breakfast and say goodbye. It was very sad. We only get to see them once every few years due to distance and our busy lives. One last picture, then we headed to our disembarking spot.

 

[Bmorecruiser021]

I agree I hardly ever do 7 day cruises. Did a few Cunard crossings some of those were even less than 7 nts. I have done several really long ones like 14nts and more. Those are really nice especially the sea days. Good if they are spaced in nicely with the port days.[emoji7]

Denise

 

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

Completely agree! Ali and I have an 8 nighter, 13 nighter, and 12 nighter booked within the next 2 years. All with 3 or more sea days. Very important, as those are great days to relax and rejuvenate :D I know not everyone likes sea days but Ali and I love them!

Edited August 21, 2015 by Bmorecruiser021

[Bmorecruiser021]

We did one last check in our cabin to make sure we didn't forget anything then headed to our meeting spot.

 

 

 

Our disembarkation spot was the theatre.

 

 

We waited, not long, for our number to be called. We gathered our things and headed off the ship.

 

 

 

Canadian customs was very easy. We just handed them our paperwork and walked on through. Catching the bus to the airport, on the other hand, was not so easy. Very unorganized, and one staff member was not talking to the other. They had us stand in lines for a cab or bus transfer, but one staff member would pull from one end of the line and the other would pull people from the other end. This made it so the people in the middle never got a taxi or bus and the people at the ends were seen right away. Made us very nervous as time was ticking away for our 12:30 flight.

[Bmorecruiser021]

Well we finally caught a bus and made the 45 minute drive to the airport. Arriving a little after 11am. Plenty of time, or so we thought.

 

 

The line to check in our bags and get our boarding passes took a good half hour. All clear to the gate we assumed, just had to go through security. We were wrong. After passing through airport security, we found out that if your plane was going directly back to a U.S. stop, you had to pass through U.S. customs right then and there. And since our connection to Washington DC was through San Francisco we had to go through customs. Well that took another half hour. But once we finished, we walked through big doors that said "Welcome to the United States" It was very interesting how they did that. But finally no more hoops to go through. We ran to the gate and were the last passengers to board the plane. Just in time!

 

 

We took off without incident and headed for San Francisco.

 

 

 

The flight was an uneventful 2 and a half hours. We landed in San Francisco, and had a short 90 minute layover. We boarded the plane and headed home.

 

 

Another uneventful flight. About 5 and a half hours long. We landed at Dulles around 1am.

 

We grabbed our bags, the van, and drove on home. What an excellent cruise vacation. Cant wait to do it again!

 

I want to thank you all who followed along and enjoyed the review. It has been wonderful sharing my families experiences with you. I hope I didn't do too bad my first time writing a review. If anyone has specific comments or questions, I'll be more then happy to answer what I know. I also have all the cruise compasses and plenty more picture if anybody want anything specific like room configurations or Latte-Tude prices. Any and all help I can be to the CC community that has helped me and my family SO MUCH, I will definitely try my best to oblige. Thank you all, and goodnight

[chawkjewel]

Thank you for the great review. We leave tomorrow to begin a similar trip. Only difference is we are doing the land portion on our own. I'm not expecting any sun so it was good to see your pictures. Thank you again.

[Keith1010]

Enjoyed your photos and narrative.

Keith

[Havin'fun]

Kraig.

 

Bob and I loved the review and photos!

 

This was by far the best vacation we have done, even though we did this same cruise 5 years ago. Yes a 7 night cruise was too short but overall it was spectacular. I still find myself remembering little things out of the blue - like in staff meetings a work!

 

All the best to you and Ali and wishing you blue skies and calm waters on future sailings.

 

Thanks for starting the roll call. It was a pleasure running in to you daily! :)

 

Diane and Bob

[DKNYC]

Kraig that was a great review. Thanks for doing the work for us. Learned a lot of good info. We are doing a Princess cruise + tour northbound then doing Radiance back to Vancouver next may. An interesting adventure for a couple of middle aged friends. We will definitely remember to budget extra for food. And book the Alaska railroad now.

Denise

 

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[xlxo]

Well we finally caught a bus and made the 45 minute drive to the airport. Arriving a little after 11am. Plenty of time, or so we thought.

 

The line to check in our bags and get our boarding passes took a good half hour. All clear to the gate we assumed, just had to go through security. We were wrong. After passing through airport security, we found out that if your plane was going directly back to a U.S. stop, you had to pass through U.S. customs right then and there. And since our connection to Washington DC was through San Francisco we had to go through customs. Well that took another half hour. But once we finished, we walked through big doors that said "Welcome to the United States" It was very interesting how they did that. But finally no more hoops to go through. We ran to the gate and were the last passengers to board the plane. Just in time!

 

We grabbed our bags, the van, and drove on home. What an excellent cruise vacation. Cant wait to do it again!

Sounds like you didn't spend much time in that bonus port of Vancouver.... Need to budget a few extra days next time to enjoy it better.

 

That post check-in/US customs procedure is US requirement. They do this to screen trouble makers before they get a chance to board a plane and get into the states. If you took a cruise to Alaska from Vancouver... you'll see the same lengthy procedure as they pre-screen for trouble makers before getting on the ship.

 

Yep, there is so much to do... many of us make multiple repeat trips to enjoy it all.

[nacdcruiser]

Great review! Thanks so much for the time & effort - really enjoyed following along.

 

John

[cruzinlady1947]

Great review and photos. Thanks for taking the time to do it. This trip is on my bucket list.....maybe one day I will be able to put it on the top of the list.

 

You have a lovely family. Glad you could all experience this at the same time.

 

 

Gwen :)

[LABCHICK]

Loved your review. We will be doing the same cruise next June Got a lot of great info . Thanks

[Bmorecruiser021]

Thanks for all the positive feedback everyone! Glad I could help and entertain!:D

 

Sounds like you didn't spend much time in that bonus port of Vancouver.... Need to budget a few extra days next time to enjoy it better.

 

That post check-in/US customs procedure is US requirement. They do this to screen trouble makers before they get a chance to board a plane and get into the states. If you took a cruise to Alaska from Vancouver... you'll see the same lengthy procedure as they pre-screen for trouble makers before getting on the ship.

 

Yep, there is so much to do... many of us make multiple repeat trips to enjoy it all.

 

 

I know. Ali and I wish we could have made a weekend out of Vancouver. Unfortunately it was not to be. Beside our day jobs, Ali and I have a small horse farm in Maryland. It is hard finding care for the horses (and other animals) for extended periods of time. Our care giver could only watch the property till the 7th so we had to head home. O Well, next time for sure!

[Bmorecruiser021]

Kraig.

 

Bob and I loved the review and photos!

 

This was by far the best vacation we have done' date=' even though we did this same cruise 5 years ago. Yes a 7 night cruise was too short but overall it was spectacular. I still find myself remembering little things out of the blue - like in staff meetings a work!

 

All the best to you and Ali and wishing you blue skies and calm waters on future sailings.

 

Thanks for starting the roll call. It was a pleasure running in to you daily! :)

 

Diane and Bob[/quote']

 

The pleasure was all ours Diane! Hope to see you again someday on another cruise :D

Edited August 21, 2015 by Bmorecruiser021

[SLSL]

You wrote an excellent review that will help so many people. We did the 8B (in June 2015) land tour which is very similar to the land tour you did. However, we stayed in a couple of different hotels... Fairbanks - we were in Sophie Station; Denali - we were in Grand Denali Lodge; Talkeetna (the same) Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge; Anchorage - Downtown Marriott; we didn't stay overnight in Seward. We rode on the Alaskan RR 3 different times: From Fairbanks to Denali (we enjoyed a delicious breakfast in the dining car on the train); from Denali to Talkeetna (lunch on the train); and Talkeetna to Anchorage (dinner on the train). The bus took us to different areas and from Anchorage to Seward, but a bulk of our travel was on the train which was wonderful. We found it amazing that RCCL has so many different land tour options, and as you said, within the same land tour there may be multiple groups. Also, the land tour excursion options was something we tried to research ahead of time and was very frustrated not knowing what options would be. But now I understand - those land excursions vary from week to week; what you posted was not what we had as our land excursion options. RCCL themselves do not know until the week or so before what exactly they will be offering to the group so that's why it's so hard to get information from them.

Thanks for writing such a great review - I enjoyed reliving my Alaskan Adventure!

[edjny]

Well we finally caught a bus and made the 45 minute drive to the airport. Arriving a little after 11am. Plenty of time, or so we thought.

 

 

 

The line to check in our bags and get our boarding passes took a good half hour. All clear to the gate we assumed, just had to go through security. We were wrong. After passing through airport security, we found out that if your plane was going directly back to a U.S. stop, you had to pass through U.S. customs right then and there. And since our connection to Washington DC was through San Francisco we had to go through customs. Well that took another half hour. But once we finished, we walked through big doors that said "Welcome to the United States" It was very interesting how they did that. But finally no more hoops to go through. We ran to the gate and were the last passengers to board the plane. Just in time!

 

 

We stayed over in Vancouver/Victoria for 5 days after getting off the ship. We had a 8:45AM flight back home on the following Wednesday. We dropped off the rental car at 6:00AM and took their shuttle to the airport. There were relatively few people there at that hour, but it still took us a bit more than an hour to get to the boarding gate.

 

Whenever people ask "Can I make this flight?", I always tell them to stay over in town until the following day. There are SO many different ways that one can get delayed and not get to the plane on time. When we are flying, we always fly in the day before the cruise leaves and fly out the day after the ship gets into port. These are the minimum since sometimes we stay longer to do sight-seeing.

 

Usually, one can make a flight leaving around 11am or later depending on the port. But, if the delays (ship arrival, customs, transportation, check-in, security, etc) add up, you can not get to the airport in time. The cost of an extra night in the hotel is cheap compared to the hassle of missing the plane.

Edited August 22, 2015 by edjny