Questions about Alaskan Cruisetours

[NightRN]

Hi! I would like to take my family on an Alaskan Cruisetour in 2007. The 12-Night Escorted Alaska Cruisetour-Package #2 seemed pretty interesting because it has two nights in Denali. I also thought the Radiance of the Seas would be a good ship for us because it has something for everyone in my family. That's not an easy feat. Hope you guys don't mind answering a few questions.

 

Due to our family size, we need the Royal Family Suite. I was trying to figure out what side of the ship we needed to be on to see the coastline instead of the ocean, but when I looked at the Deck Plans on the website, the Royal Family Suites are only on one side of the ship. Unfortunately, I couldn't figure out which side was the front and which side was the back of the ship, so I don't know if the Royal Family Suites are on the left or right side. Does anyone know?

 

The Royal Family Suite's are only on Decks 7, 8 & 9. I was thinking that Deck 8 or 9 would be better since there are rooms above and below, instead of on Deck 7 which has common areas below it. Is this correct? Does anyone know if Deck 8 or 9 is better?

 

My mother-in-law is taking me on a cruise with Celebrity at the end of April. I was told that if I book this Alaskan cruise while I'm on that cruise I would get a $200 credit for the Alaskan cruise - even though it's a different cruise line. Can anyone confirm this? Should I just find a travel agent and tell him/her to book it for me instead?

 

Any other tips, tricks, ideas, info I need to know?

[elleluv]

We'll be doing the Southbound Alaskan cruise on Radiance this June and think it will be a fantastic ship for the trip.

 

The Royal Family suites are on the Starboard side of the ship. To be on the shore side of the ship, you need to be on the Starboard side of the ship for the Northbound cruises and the Port side of the ship for Southbound. There are some people who say it matters view wise which side of the ship you are on and others who say it doesn't.

 

If you are certain you want one of those cabins, you probably want to book the cruise as soon as that sailing is available for booking. There are only 3 of those rooms and I would bet they sell very quickly. The 2006 summer cruises came available in April/May of 2005, so I would guess 2007 would be available around April/May, 2006.

 

Celebrity is owned by RCCL and I understand you can get an onboard booking credit, but I thought it was $100.00 credit for a 7 night cruise... maybe it's a different credit for the cruise/tour?

 

I'm not very familiar with the structured land tours done by the cruiselines. We have traveled the state pretty extensively though and I wonder if you've considered the land tour on your own? If it were me, I'd rent an RV and create my own trip.

 

Whatever you do, have a great time! :)

[wolfcathorse]

When you're in the inside passage you'll have scenery on both sides. And when we entered the Gulf of Alaska after leaving Hubbard Glacier, it still didn't matter cuz we were so far out, the "scenery" was barely visible on the horizon.

[NightRN]

Thanks for the info. :)

[Mr_Cruise]

FYI: You won't be able to book an Alaskan Cruisetour for 2007 until roughly June of 2006.

 

Be aware that itineraries may change slightly, and until scheduled, even the ship that runs the north/south cruisetour route could change as well. (last year it was the Vision, this year the Radiance). It will likely remain a Radiance class ship though.