Alaska on Radiance

[A&L_Ont]

Hi there! We cruised Alaska in Aug of 2017. Here is a link to what my husband wrote and shared here on Cruise Critic. A blog from our ship Radiance! https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2613346. If I did not paste this right it is called Our Alaska Trip by W2N. We did pre-cruise and southbound cruise all thru Royal. All hotels were amazing and great tours. We were glad we did land tour first. By the time we got on the ship it was nice to relax the rest of the way. All the ports were great to. Have fun. Any questions feel free to ask.

 

I love the quote, “what’s in the beef stew.... beef.”

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Are there excursions that can be booked for Day 1 in Seward where you can dump all your luggage with RCCL and then go on the excursion and then just board the ship and begin your 7 day southbound cruise??

 

I don't know, but honestly Seward is a good distance from Anchorage. When I cruised the Radiance Southbound, the group I was with divided between bus and rail. There were enough of us we had our own bus. We got there, checked-in at the port, boarded the ship, and explored. Got to dinner and our train people were NOT there yet. They came in a little later.

 

Turns out that there was an accident that totally shut down the ONE road between Anchorage and Seward for HOURS (helicopter evacuation of at least 3 people, possibly one fatality). (NOT involving an RCCL bus though. They just got stuck in the closure.)

 

RCCL had the train stop and put as many people as they could from the buses stuck behind the accident onto the train. But there were still buses to come.

 

We went ahead with the Muster Drill as scheduled - the captain elected to have it as scheduled and then once the remaining buses arrived he had all those who had NOT been on board to go to a modified Muster in the theater. He would have been well within his rights to hold off on drill until all were aboard, so we were super thankful he made the decision he did. Final bus got there at around 3:30am.

 

We had to skip Hubbard Glacier because of the delay, but compared to people being that seriously injured (and possibly killed), that was minor.

 

Incidentally, this was proof positive for me to definitely use cruise line transportation day-of when a big distance is involved. In Icy Strait Point (ew - but that's another subject) I met a couple who had taken private transportation to the port and were directly in front of the FINAL RCCL bus. They said that the port guards closed the gates the second the final bus got into the lot - and they could see private transport behind them who were not allowed in.

[Lvscruzn]

I love the quote, “what’s in the beef stew.... beef.”

 

 

To my defense I just wanted to make sure it was not reindeer! One man's beef might not be the same as another!

 

Have a great trip!

[A&L_Ont]

To my defense I just wanted to make sure it was not reindeer! One man's beef might not be the same as another!

 

Have a great trip!

 

LOL, I have had elk stake and deer sausage but I’m not sold on Rudolph byproducts. Don’t think Santa would be happy with me.

 

I just finished the review and your husband did and awesome job. We are doing a different precruise tour than you but are staying at 3 of the same hotels. It’s nice to read about your experiences, as it gives us an idea of what to expect.

 

I loved your references to Northern Exposure as it was a show that I watched back in high school. Parts of Alaska also makes me think of Twin Peaks, more because of the landscape as it was based in Oregan. That being said they were integral parts of my teen years, and both shows were interesting and had good writing.

 

If you want to relive your trip watch the RC boards in mid-July as I will be doing a live review. I have actually started working on the preamble and there are references to both shows in it.

 

Thanks again for sharing.

[LizzieBee]

The date for this itinerary fit our schedule better anyway, so I bit the bullet and booked! This is my graduation gift/reward for finishing nurse practitioner school, which ends the day we leave. Now I just have to focus and get through. Grad school is now gonna get in the way of my Alaska planning :) Can't wait to book excursions! Since you have done this before, do you have any recommendations on where to stay for a few days once we disembark in Seward? Should we stay there or go to a different city?

 

We just book the July 2019 cruise southbound, too (actually 2 weeks ago). We were already permitted to book our shore excursions, so at least that is done. Nothing else really opens up for almost another year. And, trying to book hotels this far out, at least online, is not possible (dates are grayed out). I wonder if calling the hotel directly. Also, planning on taking the train to Seward from ANC. Also, don't forget cruise insurance. Depending on your chosen insurance company, buying sooner than later is better in case you do need to make a claim.

[A&L_Ont]

Anyone sailing Alaska this summer, just a heads up. We just repriced our excursions and saved $250. Check your excursions everyone.

[lmwallace22]

We are also signed up for the land cruise and July 6th sailing. Initially, we were tempted to add a few days to explore Vancouver. I agree, though, it will be time to get home even though we'll arrive late in the evening.

 

 

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[California Traveler]

We just book the July 2019 cruise southbound, too (actually 2 weeks ago). We were already permitted to book our shore excursions, so at least that is done. Nothing else really opens up for almost another year. And, trying to book hotels this far out, at least online, is not possible (dates are grayed out). I wonder if calling the hotel directly. Also, planning on taking the train to Seward from ANC. Also, don't forget cruise insurance. Depending on your chosen insurance company, buying sooner than later is better in case you do need to make a claim.

 

We are booked on the July 19, 2019 southbound Radiance. Also doing the train from Anchorage to Seward. I didn't see it on the RCL list of excursions, do they offer this? If not we will book direct through the train ourselves.

[little britain]

Perhaps you missed seeing our review from a few weeks back

 

 

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2645176

 

We did DIY in Alaska up to Denali and then booked the train down to Seward.

All details and compasses are in my review (and costs!).

Any questions please ask!

 

 

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[ken_nyc]

We just booked the Radiance for June 14th 2019 the northbound. Our friends that we are going with want to take the train up to Anchorage for our flights home, what are the thoughts of all of you that have been there before? Thank you in advance!

[Clarea]

We just booked the Radiance for June 14th 2019 the northbound. Our friends that we are going with want to take the train up to Anchorage for our flights home, what are the thoughts of all of you that have been there before? Thank you in advance!

You might also want to ask this on the Alaska forum: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55

[ken_nyc]

you might also want to ask this on the alaska forum: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55

thank you very much!! :d

[alaska_planner]

we cruised the radiance southbound out of seward..

we wanted to do the land part of our trip before the cruise...

 

we did a DIY (do it yourself) land tour in alaska and had a great time!!

 

we only did a few days as i had my 88 year old mother with us...otherwise i would have preferred to do a longer land portion...

 

we flew into anchorage on a monday (stayed concierge at the hilton - highly recommended)..

 

the next morning (tuesday) we were up at the crack of dawn for the train to whittier where we did the major marine Surprise Glacier cruise - FANTASTIC and highly recommended cruise.....really well done and enjoyable..

 

the next day, wednesday, we were again up at the crack of dawn for the glass dome train to seward...

when we checked our luggage into the train, it was checked straight to our hotel - so we didn't have to deal with it upon arrival in seward..

 

when we got to seward, we walked from the train to our hotel and checked in...

 

then we headed to the sea life center on the other side of town, using the free shuttle...

at the sea life center we'd signed up on the internet for an octopus encounter (loved it!!!)....

 

on thursday, we did the seavey's ididaride tour - they picked us up from our hotel....we loved this as well!! we enjoyed learning about the ididarod, loved meeting the puppies and dogs...and really enjoyed the sled dog ride through a beautiful area!!

 

on thursday afternoon, we did another cruise - this time with kenai fjords - the resurrection bay cruise with fox island

 

on friday morning, we gave our luggage to the hotel to transfer to the radiance for us...

then we headed to Exit Glacier using the shuttle (can't remember how much it cost but it wasn't bad - maybe $10 round trip?)

at Exit Glacier, we walked along the paved path first...

we parked my mom in her wheelchair at the observation point (together with my son in law who doens't like to hike) and my daughter and i headed off on a wonderful hike that we enjoyed immensely..

when we got back to my mom, the ranger walk had caught up with them....when we walked up my mom was just asking the ranger a question, so she was a really happy camper since she'd effectively been on the ranger walk...had heard his explanations etc...

 

we went back to the hotel to get our carry ons (that had been stored in their luggage room) and walked to the cruise terminal -about a 10 minute walk - easily done since we only had our carry ons..

it was 1 pm and the terminal was completely empty....we were checked in and heading for the ship within 5 minutes...

 

since it was 1 pm, we knew the rooms would be open so we headed straight to our staterooms, got rid of our carryons and headed to the windjammer for lunch....we sat outside as it was sunny and seward is just gorgeous so we wanted to have the view as we ate..

 

i forgot to say how much we LOVED seward and i would happily have spent even more time there..

 

as i said, if i have the opportunity to do it all again, i would probably spend 2 weeks on land before the cruise..

and i would again do it DIY.....i like to be in charge of my own time and plans...

 

.

[ken_nyc]

we cruised the radiance southbound out of seward..

we wanted to do the land part of our trip before the cruise...

 

we did a DIY (do it yourself) land tour in alaska and had a great time!!

 

we only did a few days as i had my 88 year old mother with us...otherwise i would have preferred to do a longer land portion...

 

we flew into anchorage on a monday (stayed concierge at the hilton - highly recommended)..

 

the next morning (tuesday) we were up at the crack of dawn for the train to whittier where we did the major marine Surprise Glacier cruise - FANTASTIC and highly recommended cruise.....really well done and enjoyable..

 

the next day, wednesday, we were again up at the crack of dawn for the glass dome train to seward...

when we checked our luggage into the train, it was checked straight to our hotel - so we didn't have to deal with it upon arrival in seward..

 

when we got to seward, we walked from the train to our hotel and checked in...

 

then we headed to the sea life center on the other side of town, using the free shuttle...

at the sea life center we'd signed up on the internet for an octopus encounter (loved it!!!)....

 

on thursday, we did the seavey's ididaride tour - they picked us up from our hotel....we loved this as well!! we enjoyed learning about the ididarod, loved meeting the puppies and dogs...and really enjoyed the sled dog ride through a beautiful area!!

 

on thursday afternoon, we did another cruise - this time with kenai fjords - the resurrection bay cruise with fox island

 

on friday morning, we gave our luggage to the hotel to transfer to the radiance for us...

then we headed to Exit Glacier using the shuttle (can't remember how much it cost but it wasn't bad - maybe $10 round trip?)

at Exit Glacier, we walked along the paved path first...

we parked my mom in her wheelchair at the observation point (together with my son in law who doens't like to hike) and my daughter and i headed off on a wonderful hike that we enjoyed immensely..

when we got back to my mom, the ranger walk had caught up with them....when we walked up my mom was just asking the ranger a question, so she was a really happy camper since she'd effectively been on the ranger walk...had heard his explanations etc...

 

we went back to the hotel to get our carry ons (that had been stored in their luggage room) and walked to the cruise terminal -about a 10 minute walk - easily done since we only had our carry ons..

it was 1 pm and the terminal was completely empty....we were checked in and heading for the ship within 5 minutes...

 

since it was 1 pm, we knew the rooms would be open so we headed straight to our staterooms, got rid of our carryons and headed to the windjammer for lunch....we sat outside as it was sunny and seward is just gorgeous so we wanted to have the view as we ate..

 

i forgot to say how much we LOVED seward and i would happily have spent even more time there..

 

as i said, if i have the opportunity to do it all again, i would probably spend 2 weeks on land before the cruise..

and i would again do it DIY.....i like to be in charge of my own time and plans...

 

.

Thank you!