Alaska Live, July 17th - 27th. Just the tip of the iceberg.

[A&L_Ont]

From the first full day of the land tour and the chopper ride with glacier landing.

 

 

 

 

Do you see anything?

 

 

 

How about now, do you see a plane wreck? It took the chopper pilot one large 360 to spot it, but we found it. It was a Cessna that went down in the mid 80s. The trees have really grown in around with time.

 

 

 

Our pilot climbed up to 10,000 feet and you could see Denali in the distance. Amazing it’s size. They say it is a 30% Mountain, people see it 30% of the time. We saw it every day, over three days. We were exceptionally fortunate.

 

 

 

This is what people look like on a land tour half way through day 2. I never joined the sleepers, but I should have.

 

[A&L_Ont]

Now from the ship... the pilot joining us before sailing into Hubbard.

 

 

 

It isn’t Caribbean Blue, but it is deceivingly beautiful. For people from the Canada and the Northern States it was an amazing day. The people from the south could be seen shivering, while holding hot coco, and wearing their toques and gloves. That’s before they went to the open decks.

 

 

 

Our steward Mohan was amazing, like some sort of Houdini. The cabin was clean are we rarely saw him. He surprised us with this.

 

 

[A&L_Ont]

A few from dog sledding in Juneau. The bus sleepers must have been here before us.

 

 

 

Lisa said I should make this my FB profile pic. Wouldn’t work, have 8 friends on FB. That’s OK by me.

 

 

 

Sailing into Ketchikan reminded me a bit or sailing into St Thomas. Yes, a few degrees cooler and no palm trees but there were beached boats.

 

 

And here they took it a bit further with some abandoned houses, for the extra points.

 

 

Love the colours from this one, in Ketchikan as well.

 

 

I have never been in the WJ when the cake has come out. It looks better than it tastes, but somehow I ate 2 pieces.

 

[A&L_Ont]

Love this pic of Owen at Icy Strait right before they open the door.

 

 

 

Sailing into Vancouver. Many years ago it was told these ships waiting outside the port area were waiting to be off loaded. There are many of them.

 

 

 

 

 

I snapped this picture on the way to the airport. Anyone who watched the old Canadian classic, The Beachcombers, this would strike a memory from the past. Nick and Relic were licking their chops for breakaway logs from booms like this. Logs are still moved in the same method, to the mills, from many decades ago.

 

Edited July 31, 2018 by A&L_Ont

[A&L_Ont]

Final thoughts to come, hopefully tomorrow. Brain in numb from real work. ;)

[A&L_Ont]

RC is starting a new on board ship excursion. The window cleaning zip line tour, code ZIPIT. The inside ship tour is cheaper than the exterior window tour.

 

[accio_7]

I did a reverse image search on the tower photo you posted, Andrew, and discovered that it is called Goose Creek Tower. Seems like quite the unique architectural display!

 

Thanks for posting the rest of your photos, looking forward to reading your final thoughts :) When is your family's next cruise?

[molsonschooner]

great job Andrew. I really enjoyed following along.

[perfect match]

Thanks for posting the rest of the pics and video! I've enjoyed the journey! :cool:

[A&L_Ont]

I forgot to share one thing about this cruise. It was our “cruise anniversary”. Our honeymoon was our first cruise, and that was 14 years ago. A few shots from back in the day.

 

We may have started with Princess but we found RC and never looked back.

 

 

 

[A&L_Ont]

And now it’s time for my final thoughts. It’s taken me a bit longer to get them together, it has been a busy week. I will assemble them in no particular order, but hopefully they will make sense. Please remember, none of these comments affected our cruise pleasure metre. They are more observations that we took note of over the pre-cruise tour and during the cruise.

 

 

Land tour.

 

It was amazing but exhausting. The weather was abnormally great. The bus was broken out into good segments, but 7-10 hours a day is exhausting. The Denali tour into the National Park didn’t give “the return” on time invested. We covered 58 miles round trip over four hours. That being said those who left on the extended 8 hour tour, which left at 4am, saw more but they were gone twice as long as us. All that being said, animals can’t just appear like at Disneyland and you can’t move the cities closer together. Just be forewarned, it is amazing but exhausting at the same time.

 

If anyone ever asks me about a one way Alaskan cruise, I will always recommend sailing south. You go from the wild, to the wild of the civiliazation when you sail south. You also have less distance to fly home at the end of the cruise, and lets be honest, you always have more energy at the beginning of your vacation, than the end.

 

Hotels for the land tour were great. As I mentioned previously, our tour host and driver were great. I didn’t mention that you should bring cash for meals and shops. Things are pricer in Alaska, but they do take plastic as well. Just don’t try to barter a chicken or goat for payment, that won’t fly. I almost had Sharon sold though. Owen put a stop to it. :)

[A&L_Ont]

The Ship.

 

Radiance of the Seas is a grand ship and was launched in June of 2000. We found her to be quaint, easy to navigate, and very familiar as we sailed on her in 2005.

 

That all being said, she also has traits of a ship built in 1998. However, let’s be honest, back then gold bathroom faucets and pillars in the cabin matched what was appropriate for the time. The cabin decor, albeit somewhat dated, matched the age of ship and there is nothing wrong with that.

 

Yes, there were a few screw heads showing in cabinetry trim, the replaced bedroom carpet so plush that it rubbed on the bottom of the bedroom closet doors making them difficult to open and close, and then there were the light switches that took a few days to figure out. They did make us laugh at bedtime though, when the “guess what switch does what” game took place.

 

I always laughed at the one sink in the bathroom. Are my hands that large or is the sink small? I go with large hands, as you know what they say about the size of the hand.

 

 

 

Yet the other two sinks were slightly larger and much easier to use.

 

As for the condition of the ship, it looked great. Yes, there was some exterior rust, but my understanding is the Australian sea air can be tough. The crew was busy painting while in port, and interior maintenance such as staining was going on daily as well as window washing etc. Other than a few inconsiderate guests who left plates in the hallways, there was never debris laying around that we saw.

 

We also didn’t see any comfort dogs. I guess dragging them to Alaska and into Canada is harder than taking them to a kennel or dog spa. ;)

 

You know how they say a dog ages 7 years in 1 actual year. I think there must be a ratio similar for cruise ships as well. With the over 800 sailings she has made with millions of guests she has carried, there has to be a toll. So Yorkvillain, with that being said, we would return to her class again just not in January of next year out of Tampa.

Edited August 3, 2018 by A&L_Ont

[A&L_Ont]

General Ship Activities.

 

Kids pool was open limited hours and slides were only open from 5-6 everyday. Right during our early dinner. Yes, I know… no big deal. It was the water slides that Owen was specifically looking for, even though the Solarium pool was available for set hours for the kiddies.

 

He did however make great use of the climbing wall and mini golf. He went to kids club and was very excited that he was the only one there for 20 minutes on the one visit. It meant 20 minutes of single player Nintendo Switch action. He went one other time and found it to be just as quiet. There were some kids on board, but they weren’t teaming like the salmon run at high season.

 

 

The Shows.

 

The Shows on the Oasis Class will spoil you. We only made it to a couple of them on Radiance, the headliner and family friendly comedy show as we were tired at the end of everyday. Judging by the crowds, a lot of the ship’s guests were also tired. The shows we saw were OK, but like I said Oasis Class has spoiled us in regards to entertainment. I think if it was your first cruise, you would have found them to be rather decent.

[A&L_Ont]

Food.

 

MDR overall was excellent. Ragu and Glenn took great care of us. Over 5 nights we had only one small hick-up, where one entree was cold. Grandma sent it back and Ragu appeared within minutes with another at the right temperature and with many apologies. We let him know, not to worry as we totally understand that things happen. The head waiter had visited us a few times during the cruise, as well as the tables around us, and we felt no need to bring this to his attention. It really was no big deal.

 

Specialty dining was great at both Chops and Giovanni’s. I miss Giovanni’s VS Jamie’s. Jamie’s is good too, just not the same. The steak at Chops was perfection. We were fortunate enough to have daily suite breakfast in Giovanni’s and the suite brunch one day at Chops and both were top shelf. As I had mentioned earlier, the Food and Beverage Manager personally got Owen a virgin daiquiri, and Owen didn’t even have the sticker. Our overall experience was that the entire crew were happy to help and happy to be there no matter where you where on the ship. To us the crew moral seemed great and both Sharon and Owen loved the attention along the way.

 

The Windy 500 as Simeon calls it, also known as the Wind Jammer was without flaws as well. To quote my mother in-law, “they had good options, it was hot and tasty and had plenty of seating”. She also noted that they cleaned the plates quickly and offered drink service from water to wine. Sharon is not a buffet fan, so that is quite the compliment.

 

Room service was ordered once for breakfast and for two mid afternoon snacks. Not dying who had a couple of orders of wings, but they are tasty. ;) It was hot and delivered right on time. As for Park Cafe and the Dog House, we were not as lucky. The hours were not conducive to our schedule for breakfast or lunch, but it is not like we were starving. Well, maybe I was. LOL.

[A&L_Ont]

Shore Excursions.

 

While on the ship, we did all excursions through RC. I am fairly certain you can do them on your own, but we just booked them with ease from the comfort of our home. We also got to pay for them in advance in Canadian dollars, so it eased some pain well before we sailed.

 

RC also had a few excursion sales that we took advantage of, and when we added up all the savings they were close to $900. We almost always do our excursions on our own and have not booked any with RC over the last 8 years or so. That being said, I doubt we will book more of them with RC for a while.

 

They were all very well done, entertaining, informative and most importantly my “safety radar” never went off. Unlike riding in some of the old taxi trucks in St Thomas, up and down the steep hills with the smell of burning clutch, mixed with fading brakes, and a slight whiff of gaunge coming from the driver. How fast can I tuck and roll.

[A&L_Ont]

We didn’t visit the Suite Lounge but we stopped in twice for a quick visit to say hello to the Concierge, who was Ricky. I had a small favour to ask and he helped fulfill it. I provided a model of Radiance and he was able to get it signed by the Captain Trym.

 

Thank-you Captain.

 

 

 

Ricky also helped to organize the bridge tour for suite guests. Captain Trym appeared briefly, but I didn’t get a chance to say thanks in person.

 

Cruise Life Rick, Lisa says “look what you started”.

 

As most of you most likely figured out, I am a chatter. On our last day we met one individual, as we were finishing breakfast in Giovanni’s. He was from RC shore side staff. He was in charge of the dining experience for guests across the fleet, that is if I understood correctly. We chatted for maybe 5-10 minutes and he was asking about our experiences. We shared with him and then discussed briefly his position.

 

He had joined the ship in Ketchikan, the day previous. He was staying on board for the last sea day, and the following week as the ship headed northbound. Just three days earlier he disembarked Harmony in Falmouth and then flew all the way to Ketchikan. That would be quite the journey.

Edited August 3, 2018 by A&L_Ont

[A&L_Ont]

As for quite the long journey, this review has one more day left in it. Come on back tomorrow to find out our final thoughts and cruise score. Will there be a happy ending?

 

[John&LaLa]

The Ship.

 

Radiance of the Seas is a grand ship and was launched in June of 2000. We found her to be quaint, easy to navigate, and very familiar as we sailed on her in 2005.

 

That all being said, she also has traits of a ship built in 1998. However, let’s be honest, back then gold bathroom faucets and pillars in the cabin matched what was appropriate for the time. The cabin decor, albeit somewhat dated, matched the age of ship and there is nothing wrong with that.

 

Yes, there were a few screw heads showing in cabinetry trim, the replaced bedroom carpet so plush that it rubbed on the bottom of the bedroom closet doors making them difficult to open and close, and then there were the light switches that took a few days to figure out. They did make us laugh at bedtime though, when the “guess what switch does what” game took place.

 

I always laughed at the one sink in the bathroom. Are my hands that large or is the sink small? I go with large hands, as you know what they say about the size of the hand.

 

 

 

Yet the other two sinks were slightly larger and much easier to use.

 

As for the condition of the ship, it looked great. Yes, there was some exterior rust, but my understanding is the Australian sea air can be tough. The crew was busy painting while in port, and interior maintenance such as staining was going on daily as well as window washing etc. Other than a few inconsiderate guests who left plates in the hallways, there was never debris laying around that we saw.

 

We also didn’t see any comfort dogs. I guess dragging them to Alaska and into Canada is harder than taking them to a kennel or dog spa. ;)

 

You know how they say a dog ages 7 years in 1 actual year. I think there must be a ratio similar for cruise ships as well. With the over 800 sailings she has made with millions of guests she has carried, there has to be a toll. So Yorkvillain, with that being said, we would return to her class again just not in January of next year out of Tampa.

We played the light switch game on Serenade RS last March. Had yours been changed to digital switches? I heard Serenade was changing them out last fall

 

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

[A&L_Ont]

We played the light switch game on Serenade RS last March. Had yours been changed to digital switches? I heard Serenade was changing them out last fall

 

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

John, if you mean like on Oasis Class ships they hadn’t been yet. There was a master switch for the living area and the bedroom was controlled separately. There were no level lighting buttons, from 1-5 for brightness. We typically left the under bar lighting on at night as it gave just enough lighting for Sharon to see her away around.

 

We missed the low level ceiling night light found in the Oasis class bathrooms. In the middle of the night it was either all or no light in the washroom. The electric curtain switches worked perfect. We have seen a few of them over the years that weren’t. We never found the balcony light switches but when the sun is setting at 10pm we never went looking for them. The bar fridge worked amazing, ice cold.

[Tommy3putts]

Thanks for the great live blog and review. Very helpful. I did my first cruise on Rhapsody in Alaska back in 1997. Your trip brings back many great memories.

 

Cheers

 

Tom

[A&L_Ont]

Someone asked earlier if Lucy gets to come into the house. The answer is no.

 

She was born at a neighbour’s farm, and her mother was a great mouser. The father, who knows.... There were lots of grandkids there so she was practically forced to be people friendly unlike many farm cats. We got her when she was around 6 months. After surviving at our place for a few months we took her to the vet to make sure there were no more kittens.

 

A couple of years ago we were doing renovations on our house and we had to go away for the night. The contractors knew she wasn’t a house cat. When we came home the next day at 11am we open the door to the house and she ran out. Somehow she snuck in during the winters day and stayed indoors overnight. We check the entire house and she left us no surprises.

 

She disappears every once in a while, but she normally just heads to her place of birth. Her longest road trip was three weeks, and she reappeared at my mom’s house about half a mile away. I don’t normally like cats but she is the exception.

 

How can you not like her. She doesn’t starve for attention, but she tends to ham it up once in a while.

 

[John&LaLa]

John, if you mean like on Oasis Class ships they hadn’t been yet. There was a master switch for the living area and the bedroom was controlled separately. There were no level lighting buttons, from 1-5 for brightness. We typically left the under bar lighting on at night as it gave just enough lighting for Sharon to see her away around.

 

We missed the low level ceiling night light found in the Oasis class bathrooms. In the middle of the night it was either all or no light in the washroom. The electric curtain switches worked perfect. We have seen a few of them over the years that weren’t. We never found the balcony light switches but when the sun is setting at 10pm we never went looking for them. The bar fridge worked amazing, ice cold.

Never seen the Oasis switches, but probably. What serenade had was a bank of 10 or so push buttons in the bar that controlled most everything. Smaller bank in the bedroom.

 

Also I could never tell if steam shower was on or off since it took so long to start up. Came back one afternoon to find a huge cloud in the shower

 

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

[sellwingri]

We were on b2b cruises in March. They were replacing the carpet on shore days. It was great to leave the ship on a tour and to return with new carpet.

 

Absolutely love Radiance and her sister ships. Will be on Jewel in November and February.

[A&L_Ont]

We were on b2b cruises in March. They were replacing the carpet on shore days. It was great to leave the ship on a tour and to return with new carpet.

 

Absolutely love Radiance and her sister ships. Will be on Jewel in November and February.

 

We will return one day to the Radiance Class, but it will be sailing specific. I am much happier that we went with her over Explorer or waiting next year for Quantum. If Quantum went south/north bound would have been a different story but I doubt that will ever happen.

 

Never seen the Oasis switches, but probably. What serenade had was a bank of 10 or so push buttons in the bar that controlled most everything. Smaller bank in the bedroom.

 

Also I could never tell if steam shower was on or off since it took so long to start up. Came back one afternoon to find a huge cloud in the shower

 

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

What you described for Serenade is not what we had, but sounds very comparable to light switches we have had on Oasis Class. We never figured out the steam shower, but my next post will describe our issues with the regular shower.

[A&L_Ont]

Now with all the positives that we noted above, we did require some help with a couple issues which were small, in the grand scheme of things.

 

We did have an issue with our shower for the first three days. On the first day, after we had all showered, we discovered that we all had a luke warm (my standard) or cold shower (the ladies standard). The taps and tub ran burning hot to the touch within seconds. There was also very little pressure from the two rain heads, while the hand wand had pressure but no heat.

 

Once we realized that we all had the same issue, I called maintenance and they were to our cabin very quickly. I relayed our concern to the gentleman about the lacking pressure and temperature and as we were off to early dinner we asked him to let our steward know what the resolve was. After dinner we returned and we did have hot water on the wand, but not the two separate shower heads. One for two was decent. Our steward relayed to us that the temperature was fixed. Sadly the pressure was still not what it should have been.

 

The first port day in Juneau while returning to the ship, we struck up on a conversation with the gentleman on Hand Sanitizer Duty a few yards away from security. Just general stuff, you know... how was the cruise etc. From reading his name tag, I saw that he was the head of housekeeping. I let him know that Mohan, our steward, was taking great care of us. He tasked what cabin and we were in. He asked if we had any concerns and we let him know about the resolved water temperature but still lacking pressure. He said he would double check and let maintenance know that the pressure was still very low. We didn’t think anything more of it as we were shortly off to the MDR.

 

That night in the cabin there was a short survey on our cruise experience so far. We filled it out and again noted the shower. The next day after we returned to the ship I happily discovered that the shower heads were functioning at full pressure and temperature. I kept it quiet and let the ladies find out when they jumped in. Our small shower issue had been resolved!