Anyone back from Radiance Alaska Cruisetour #1

[cruiserdru]

Looking for info on the schedule you followed for the tour part of the trip. Royal will not give out any info on this (even to a TA), saying that too many variables can impact departure/arrival on each day.

 

However, they must be working to some schedule guidelines or they would never get us anywhere. Plus, the tour includes excursions in Fairbanks, a TWT and a train ride all of which are scheduled events.

 

Looking for any info anyone has.

 

Thanks.

[cruiserdru]

Anyone back yet?

[CraftyDD]

We are doing land tour after northbound cruise next year but not thru RCCL. We are booking with GrayLine of Alaska. It's a 4 day land tour. Just another option.

[Micki Dee]

Looking for info on the schedule you followed for the tour part of the trip. Royal will not give out any info on this (even to a TA), saying that too many variables can impact departure/arrival on each day.

 

However, they must be working to some schedule guidelines or they would never get us anywhere. Plus, the tour includes excursions in Fairbanks, a TWT and a train ride all of which are scheduled events.

 

Looking for any info anyone has.

 

Thanks.

 

Just back from land tour number 2 and they told me the same thing they are telling you before we left. That should have been our clue that the land portion was not going to be what we wanted.

 

They can't give you specific times because besides the train departures, and tour times, everything else is approximate. Everyday is a different schedule. Get up, luggage out, meet the bus, get on the bus, get off the bus, eat lunch now, get back on the bus, OK get off bus now, get to hotels late in the afternoon or evening so you can't enjoy the facilities. The whole tour was just too much for me. Too much wasted time at stupid stops (3 hours for lunch?) and then being rushed to get ready for excursions. I'll never do a land tour again.

 

One bright spot is that the tour directors and drivers are fantastic! If it wasn't for Matt, our TD and Tiffany, our driver, we wouldn't have been able to endure much of the land portion.

 

Of course, we rolled with it...Afterall, we were still in Alaska and on vacation, and still had a fantastic time at every stop, but we learned our lesson. NO LAND TOURS!

 

One tip, the TWT does not get you far enough into the park to see Mt. Mckinley. You need to at least take the Eielson shuttle. If the tour is included in your package, then go ahead and take it. If not, I'd cancel it and rebook at least the Eielson shuttle and get farther into the park.

 

Good luck and hope your tour runs better than ours...

[captjaneway]

Just back from land tour number 2 and they told me the same thing they are telling you before we left. That should have been our clue that the land portion was not going to be what we wanted.

 

They can't give you specific times because besides the train departures, and tour times, everything else is approximate. Everyday is a different schedule. Get up, luggage out, meet the bus, get on the bus, get off the bus, eat lunch now, get back on the bus, OK get off bus now, get to hotels late in the afternoon or evening so you can't enjoy the facilities. The whole tour was just too much for me. Too much wasted time at stupid stops (3 hours for lunch?) and then being rushed to get ready for excursions. I'll never do a land tour again.

 

One bright spot is that the tour directors and drivers are fantastic! If it wasn't for Matt, our TD and Tiffany, our driver, we wouldn't have been able to endure much of the land portion.

 

Of course, we rolled with it...Afterall, we were still in Alaska and on vacation, and still had a fantastic time at every stop, but we learned our lesson. NO LAND TOURS!

 

One tip, the TWT does not get you far enough into the park to see Mt. Mckinley. You need to at least take the Eielson shuttle. If the tour is included in your package, then go ahead and take it. If not, I'd cancel it and rebook at least the Eielson shuttle and get farther into the park.

 

Good luck and hope your tour runs better than ours...

Micki Dee,

I am very sorry to hear that your land tour was a dissappointment to you. Especially since I have this same tour booked for this Aug. I would really appriciate it if you could give me some more insite. If I am prepared hopefully I will not be dissappointed too. Some questions that I have:

 

On disembarq the tour rep. will I assume take my luggage ahead to the hotel. Do I collect it at the ship myself and take it to the waiting transport?

 

How was the Resurrection Bay Wildlife Cruise?

 

The Hotel Alyeska looks amazing. I assume we will get there late. Should we make a dinner reservation at the hotel?

 

Is it possible to just skip the included Denali tour? I already have a reservation for the bus to Eilson the following day.

 

We have a late (10pm) flight out of Fairbanks, anny suggestions on how to spend our day there?

 

Anything else you can tell me that will help? Thank you for posting and as you said It is afterall an Alaska Vacation. a once in a life time experience.

[Loyal2RCCL]

I guess it really depends on which Cruise Tour you book. We were on CT # 12 in 2007 and it was perfect in every way. We got to the hotels mid afternoon which gave us plenty of time to book optional excursions or enjoy the facilities. The only hotel(s) we got to later in the day were in Denali, but that was because there was a mud slide in Denali Park while we were on the Tundra Wilderness Tour and we had to wait until they could send out bulldozers to clear the road. To RCCL's credit, our guides were called and advised of our late arrival and they arranged for the hotel to keep some restaurant/bar staff and had them set up a FREE buffet dinner for all of us. The other hotel was the Anchorage Marriott where we arrived around 7pm as we had taken the dinner train from Talkeetna.

 

Our guide and driver were VERY flexible with our timing allowing us extra time in some places where the schedule allowed. They also made impromptu side trips as we went along-- one of which was to a scenic overlook on the side of the highway so we could admire Mt. McKinley which was out in full force that afternoon.

 

The entire 7 day land portion was flawless and if you get Spiff as your driver and Cole as your guide you are very lucky.. they were fantastic and went way above and beyond from what we witnessed the other drivers and guides did for their groups.