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Review of Cruise and Independent Land Tour with photos


Twinkd

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Hey there.

 

My DH and I (57 and 50) recently returned from our second trip to Alaska. We did a seven day Northbound cruise on Radiance of the Seas followed by a two week independent drive around. Lots and lots of planning and scanning these boards went into the trip and here is the review. Thanks to everyone for the advise and info.

 

Here goes (sorry its pretty long!!)

 

Left Auckland having been upgraded to First Class – lovely seats with footrests but an hour or so into the flight they had an electrical fault and the seats would not convert into beds and there were no cabin lights!! Are you kidding me?? We get an upgrade and then have to sit in the dark all the way?? That will teach me for bragging on Facebook about an upgrade!! The cabin crew had to manually change the seats which proved to be quite a mission and DH’s could not convert so he ended up having to lie out over the seat and footrest with rolled up blankets between the two – not the most comfortable. Thank God for my Kindle so I could still read!!

The meals were delicious – started with nuts, cheese, olives and capsicum snacks then Prawns and Salmon. I had a yummy chicken dish for my main course whilst DH had the beef dish. We both had the gourmet ice cream for dessert. I also consumed four glasses of champagne and thought that I would sleep well after this but not to be – did not sleep much at all during the flight which was pretty frustrating!!

After landing in San Francisco we headed down to the BART system and boarded the train to head down to the waterfront. We disembarked at the “Pier 39” stop but in reality we were still miles from there and it was quite a hike to reach it. The weather was divine – sunny and about 22 degrees. Having just left cold raining winter this was quite a treat!!

Once we reached Pier 39 (me all flushed and gasping for breath) we headed to Chowders Restaurant for a bread bowl of clam chowder – this was as delicious as we remembered from our previous visits.

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Eating yummy Clam Chowder in a Bread Bowl.

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San Francisco from Pier 39.

We had a wander around for a while – loads of people milling around but not as many street performers as there had been on prior visits. After what seemed like a very short time it was time to head back to the BART deport.

About half way back a Rikshaw rider stopped (bless him) and asked if we were interested in a ride – by this time I would have paid three times what he was asking so felt ecstatic to hand over the money and climb on board!! Gosh what a great way to get around – the breeze blowing through your hair and the sights and smells – so cool. Not to mention that my now throbbing feet will be forever grateful!!

Once back at the BART deport we climbed on board and headed back to the airport. Hopped on the plane – sadly not first class but it was only for a 2 hr flight so was okay – having been awake for 32 hours by this point I actually dozed off several times on this flight so the time went really quickly. We arrived in Vancouver to a beautiful sunset and a daughter who was very pleased to see us – although as is her usual “meet you at the airport” she was late and nearly knocked us over with her alcohol fumes!!

A quick trip on the skytrain and a short walk saw us very very happy to arrive at our final destination and our accommodation for the next few days – our daughter’s apartment on West Broadway. Ahh finally, after snacking on cheese and crackers we hopped into bed at about midnight and slept very soundly until 9am which is unheard of by us (although it was actually only 4am at home).

Today we headed down to Granville Island to wander around the market which is always a visual and sensual treat – we were not disappointed!! All the colours of the fruit, the cakes, pies, flowers and arts and crafts are truly a visual feast that I always LOVE!! After walking around here for about an hour we headed to the Sandbar Restaurant for a late lunch. This was nice but not exceptional. My hubby had a beef burger and I had the oyster sandwich whilst my daughter and her friend who had joined us shared a salmon burger and a plate of mussels which they said were really lovely.

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Massive Glasses at Granville Island.

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Gorgeous Fruit Flans at the Market.

Following lunch we walked back around the seawall which is always beautiful. By this stage my feet were begging me to take pity on them and they throbbed and protested about the job that had been thrust upon them and then my legs started the whinging as well!!

Both were extremely happy when we finally made it back to the apartment and they were able to be relieved of their hideous task. Spent the rest of the day (actually what little was left) lounging around watching the Olympics on TV. Had planned to go to the Fireworks display tonight but my pathetic feet and legs gave me their attitude and whinged and whined me into submission and we ended up staying in for the night.

Managed to sleep again until 9am – must still be on New Zealand time although we had not actually gone to bed until 2am!! Anyway awoke to my feet feeling okay but my legs just softly whispering in my ear to remind me of their distress!!

Once again it was a gorgeous Vancouver day with the sun shining and drawing us outside. Today was the day that we were hiring bikes to bike around Stanley Park – now let me just mention here that I am not the most physically vigorous person on this earth but for some reason I really enjoy being active and doing exciting things whilst on holiday (not sure why that is). So off we venture to the bike shop – not too far to walk but it was evident from the start that my legs weren’t too thrilled by the idea of being subjected to further torment!!

With bikes picked up we headed for Stanley Park – what a gorgeous ride right around the Seawall before you even get to Stanley Park – loads of people on bikes, skates and scooters!! Enjoyed the beautiful scenery, people watching and the general loveliness of this place.

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The Seawall

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The Seawall

The ride is very flat with only a few minimal gradients (my husband probably didn’t even notice them) and I mostly coped well although by the end of the ride I felt like Mr Grey’s nipple cramps were attached to my butt cheeks!!! My feet felt fine – minimal walking done but my legs and my butt were loud and clear in their protest!! After what ended up being a three hour bike ride we headed back to our daughter’s apartment with me collapsing in a heap on the bed and telling the others that if they were expecting me to join them for dinner then an ambulance should be called for transportation!! Of course they just mocked me and found inappropriate humour in my distress and gently explained that we would probably be going to dinner by cab!!

After a shower and general clean up we headed out – by cab – to Cardero’s Restaurant down by the waterfront. What an amazing place – fabulous venue, yummy food and awesome service – you can’t ask for better than that. There was a group of six of us and we shared starters of Raw Oysters, Deep Fried Crumbed Oysters, Ribs, and Crumbed Calamari – all DELICIOUS!! For mains I had Chicken and my hubby had Scallops. These were followed by shared desserts of Crème Brulee (the most delicious and smoothest I have ever tasted), Chocolate Brownie, and Lime Cheesecake – no complaints at all. After drinking way more alcohol than we are used too – we jumped in a cab and headed home to repack for the big day tomorrow – CRUISE DAY!!!

 

Well that's it for tonight - will post again soon. Any questions please feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer them.

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Woke earlier today – I guess the excitement for the day impacted. I did experience some difficulty in actually getting my legs to move as they touched the floor – I could see their shocked expression and hear them saying “Are you kidding us – you expect us to support you again today after you have treated us so badly for the last few days – we don’t think so!!”. But after much cajoulling and soft gentle coaxing they submitted and once again stepped up for the challenge.

Once we had repacked our bags – removing most of the summer clothes that probably won’t get a lot of wear in Alaska – we leapt in a cab as my legs wahooed and jumped for joy in appreciation, and headed to Canada Place for boarding. As the cab draw closer to the Pier I felt little butterflies in my tummy and hoped that it was anticipation and not the Chicken from the night before!!

Embarkation was amazing – 20 mins from dropping our bags off to being on board. Our documentation stated that boarding started at 1pm but we were at the Pier and onboard by 11.30am.

This being our second cruise on the Radiance of the Seas but first since the refit it was fun to trip around the ship and see the changes. Headed to the Windjammer for a quick burger for lunch – hubby had a beef burger and I scored some crumbed chicken and made a chicken burger. Both enjoyable but not memorable but filled a gap though.

We then headed to the Spa for a “guided tour”. The Spa facility is lovely and the tour also included a tour of the Gym and Exercise Room. As previously noted this is not really my forte’ as I am very selective with whom I sweat and the muscle bound “personal instructor” who bound towards me was definitely not one of them!! My Inner Exercise Demon momentarily raised her ugly head from her slumber but luckily I managed to shove her back down again – I am actually surprised that she has survived the years of suppression and neglect but there she was!! I was somewhat bemused when the muscle bound adonis started reeling off the exercise options for me – I hardly look like someone who frequents the gym and had to suppress my hysterical laughter but gently pointed out that he was probably wasting his breathe BUT – I would keep it in mind – at that point it was the turn of my Inner Exercise Demon to roll around laughing!!

Our room was ready by 1pm and we headed there to unpack – I hate hate hate living out of a suitcase so happily emptied mine into draws etc and immediately felt at home. Hubby moaned a little at the lack of space that was left for him but I gently reminded him that it was far more important that I look nice than he!! After reading through all the literature that we had collected and allowing my legs the treat of resting after doing so well for the rest of the day we headed out for more exploring and then onto the Sail Away Party. Good crowd, great music, a few cocktails, loads of photos (sorry family and friends but the mega photo take has begun – I can hear the collective groan from here you know!!), and we headed back to our cabin to relax on the balcony and catch up with this blog.

Tonight we headed to the main dining room Cascades for dinner. Now we had requested a 12 person table as we had really enjoyed our evening meals with our table mates on our previous cruise so were somewhat disappointed to be shown to a “romantic table for two”!! Now having been married for 30 years and a couple who frequently eat out this was not a treat for us – as much as we love one another’s company we would have preferred to share a dinner table with a few more people. Not too worry the food was delicious and the company not so bad!! We both had Vidaldi Onion Tart for the Starter, I had the Chicken dish for the main whilst dear hubby had Pork Medallions and these were followed by Strawberry Pavlova for me and Blueberry Crumble for DH. Headed back to our cabin and were in bed by 11.15pm.

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Welcome Aboard Watermelon!!

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The Atrium on the Radiance of the Seas - a truely beautiful ship!!

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The Radiance of the Seas

More tomorrow or perhaps later tonight if I get the chance.

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Thanks for all your kind posts - pleased that you are enjoying this. Just a short post tonight as having some internet issues!! GRRRR!!! Hopefully will have these sorted tomorrow.

 

Day 2 was a Sea Day and we did not do too much on this day – mostly just walked around the ship and relaxed. Earlier in the day I did find the walking track and much to my Inner Exercise Demon’s delight I walked around 4 times. I am thinking that each lap was a mile but I feel that I am probably a little deluded and they were probably more like a ¼ mile each!! As my Inner Exercise Demon jumped for joy my legs, whom I must say have remained very quiet for the last 24hrs started to whinge again!! You guessed it – the legs won over and after 4 laps I retired to our cabin to recover and my Exercise Demon curled up again feeling somewhat sated.

In the evening we headed down to the Centrum to listen to the singer there and people watch – oh such fun, people watching!! There seems to be more families (grandparents, parents and teens) on board compared to our last Alaskan cruise 3 years ago and this had me wishing that our family was here with us – probably not as much as they were wishing they were here though.

We also went to the Welcome On Board reception held in the Colony Club – free Champange so I was a starter!! Captain Clauss did a speel about the Ship etc – made way more interesting by the Champange I am sure!! The reception only lasted 45 mins and then it was off to the Cascades Dining Room for more gorging!! Another lovely dinner – we both had garlic scallops for starters (although I have to mention here that the scallops were the size of peas and we had to hunt around to find them) followed by a Seafood Gratin for main then we shared a Strawberry Cheesecake and a sugar free Coconut Cake. (I did wonder what the point of a sugar free cake was BUT it was actually very yummy.)

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For you foodies out there!!

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After this we headed back to the Colony Club for some dancing in a rather poor effort to work off the copious calories consumed during the day – my Inner Exercise Demon could not believe her luck – twice in one day – even she was probably exhausted by now?? After this we stayed and watched a game called “Finish the Lyrics” and you guessed it – we had to finish the lyrics of the songs. Now my husband has a particular hatred of “audience participation” games and he quietly cringed in the corner probably offering a silent prayer that the champagne had worn off enough to prevent me from lurching forth onto the stage to participate – well this was his lucky day – I stayed seated and enjoyed the show from afar!! Although I feel fairly certain that I could have beaten that young wee blonde thing in the tight wee dress who took the main prize – ahhh – one will never know – an opportunity lost!!

After a good night’s sleep we awoke to find that we had already docked in Ketchikan to overcast skies but not raining. We had nothing booked in Ketchikan so I had secretly planned to have a lazy lie in and a leisurely breakfast before heading into town. (My Exercise Demon just rolled her eyes and tut tutted at me). Well – not to be – for some reason we were both wide awake by 6.45 (in spite of the champagne from the night before) and unable to settle back to sleep. Headed to the Windjammer for brekkie then off the ship and into town. Wandered around the shops, (surely that must count as exercise) went to Creek Street, took the mandatory photos and were back on the ship for lunch. Had a nanny nap in the afternoon then sat at the back of the boat for sail away.

Have some photo's of Ketchikan but for some reason I am having issues uploading these tonight - will sort this tomorrow and upload them.

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Here are the photos of Ketchikan:

 

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Creek Street

 

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Our first peek of Alaskan Wildlife!!

 

Last time we visited Ketchikan we went out with Island Wings to view the Black Bears at Traitors Cove. It was awesome but this time we decided to give the Black Bears a miss and save ourselves for the GRIZZLIES - SOOOO glad we did - more to come on that one!!!

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Tonight we went to the Welcome Back Party in the Colony Club. This was fun – if only for the free champagne and yummy food – always a good way to start the evening!!! This was followed by dinner in the Main Dining Room.

After a good night’s sleep we awoke as we cruised into Icy Strait Point where we would be tendered to shore. The day was overcast and gloomy – boo!! The forecast was for cloudy with occasional rain – and that was fairly accurate. We had breakfast in Windjammer – a light brekkie today as we were both feeling the effects of excessive calorie intake vs energy expenditure – who put those stupid circus mirrors in our room anyway – you know the ones – they make you look really short and fat??

After brekkie we just strolled around the ship some more, had a coffee and headed into Hoonah by tender about midday. We had booked a Whale Watching excursion with F.I.S.H.E.S at 1.30pm - we had been out with them on a previous trip and it had been AMAZING!! We strolled around the Cannery and shops for a bit (not much more than a “bit” to do there) then headed over to the Zip Line for a quick look before heading to the parking lot to meet the others and go Whale Watching. F.I.S.H.E.S is a small operation run by husband and wife Floyd and Marjorie and their boat is small and only takes six passengers at a time so you get really up close and personal with the Whales – and each other to a certain degree!!

Well we left the pier and had not even gotten up beside the Radiance when we encountered our first pod of Whales – bubble net feeding in the harbor right alongside the Radiance!!

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Wow what an awesome sight and soo close to shore. There was a group of kayakers right beside where this was happening and the Whales must have gotten to within a couple of metres of these guys – they paddled away fairly quickly – my DH said “OMG look at those poor guys – that would be soo scary” and I was thinking “OMG how friggen awesome would that be!!” My DH and I differ a little in the way we see things – I am a “give anything a try once” kinda chick and he is a little more conservative stating that he knows his limits better than I. So we frequently agree to disagree on things we try out.

After watching these guys for a wee while we headed out to a bay about 45 mins away and came to a pod of about 6 – 7 huge humpback whales that were up and down and diving under lots – loads of tails, a few breaches and 400 photos. Yes family and friends how exciting is that going to be??? Headed back to Hoonah and tendered back to ship by 5.30 for 6pm departure. Fantastic day although the weather was not the best but I had managed to keep my Inner Exercise Demon quiet for the day – I think plying her with pastries and stuffing her back down worked really well!! Not a peep from her all day!!

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Day 4 was spent in Juneau. Here we rented a car from Alamo – they had emailed us to say that they were at the cruise ship dock and that we could pick up the car from there BUT they neglected to mention that the dock they were at was the one fartherest away from our ship!! Hmm quite a hike as we were to discover!! Well I managed to haul my butt up the hill and down the road to arrive at the depot red faced and gasping for breath!! I frantically looked around for the closest Portable Defibrilator should this be needed but luckily it was not!! After some quick instructions and directions (they had run out of maps – what car rental agency does that??) and we were off.

Had a lovely day driving around – out to Eagle Beach where there were so many eagles we lost count.

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Mendelhall Glacier was next after a quick flit into Fred Meyers to grab some snack foods. We walked out to the Nuggett Falls – my Inner Exercise Demon was peeking her head out with a snug smile on her face as we hiked the path. We were somewhat shocked to see how far the glacier had receded in the 3 years since we were last here. No wildlife to be seen today although we did hear later in the day that someone had seen a mum bear with two cubs earlier in the day!!

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After Mendelhall we took the drive out to the Last Chance Mine. We went over a really cool bridge that felt a little like we were taking our lives into our own hands and did produce a snivel of adrenaline!! The weather was drizzling on and off for most of the day but was still a lot of fun. It was good to get out of town on our own and away from the crowds for a while.

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This is the bridge that you go over on the way to the mine.

That night we once again ate in the main dining room – we both had Scallop and Crab Meat Gratin, with Chicken Schnitzel for main and DH had Berry Flapjack and I had Vanilla Cake with Maple Syrup for dessert.

After dinner as we strolled back to our cabin I suggested that we head to the Casino for a little play on the slot machines. We are not big gamblers but do enjoy a flit now and again. After an hour of fun we left 8 bucks up so we were happy with that. Although I have to mention here that had we left earlier we would have been 18 bucks up!! BUT a win is a win and we will take it!!

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Day 5

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Skagway - was a day that we were both really looking forward too – not to mention that the Inner Exercise Demon was doing back flips and cartwheels as well – we were in Skagway and we had booked the Whitecross Train trip and Bike Ride. This was a train ride up to the top of the Pass and a downhill ride on pushbikes from an elevation of 3500ft back down to town. We would pass through the American/Canadian Border on the way up and again on our pushbikes on the way down – so I can honestly say that I have push biked from America to Canada!!

It was an early start to the day and we were up at 6.15am and off to the Windjammer for a quick brekkie and down to the dock by 7.30am. After a short – in fact we could easily have walked (and this is me saying this remember!!) - van ride, we boarded the train and headed up to the top and into the Yukon.

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The scenery was fabulous and it was an enjoyable trip. At the top we disembarked and headed back into the vans to be taken to the start of the downhill leg. The Exercise Demon was almost wetting herself with excitement as I just glared at her in disgust!!

We all got geared up and familiarized with our bikes and we were off. Billy our guide was fantastic and made sure that everyone in our group, there were 11 of us, stayed together and remained safe. We stopped at several spots on the way down to take photos. Passing back through the American Boarder was exciting (not too many people can say that they have ridden a bike through customs) but non-eventful. They didn’t even ask to see our passports!! Although these had previously been sited on the train.

Before we knew it and before the Exercise Demon could really get her Mojo on, the trip was over!! Fastest 15 miles I have ever ridden and would do it again in a heartbeat.

After this we just wandered around town – the rain had started to fall but it was still quite warm so no problems there. We had planned to walk out to the old Cemetery but once we started to walk there we realized that it was actually several miles out of town so much to the Exercise Demon’s disgust, we turned around and walked back into town. The Exercise Demon just shook her head and slunk back into her corner!! I smiled smugly.

After several cocktails in the Colony Bar we once again headed to Cascades for dinner – more food to gorge upon and increase the size of my expanding waist line – not to mention all the other bits and pieces that appeared to be bulging out in all unwanted places!! For dinner tonight we had Mushrooms in a mushroom sauce on pastry, for main we both had Lobster and Prawns and for dessert DH had a Red Berry Flan and I had the Dessert Trio. All was very yummy and appeased the gluttons within us!!

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Sorry more train trip photos - I pushed submit before I had finished uploading the photos!!

 

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These are the bikes all lined up ready for us to ride back down into America - the train has taken us up into Canada.

 

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This is a bridge we rode over - it is only attached at one end so that when they have one of their many many earthquakes it can move with the earth!!!!

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After dinner we headed to the Casino for a quick flit – losing our profit from last night – then headed to the Windjammer where they had a Chocolate Extravaganza!! Now I must explain here – my friendships are such that I felt compelled to attend this if only to take photos for my Food Guru friends back home so I hope this is appreciated as sadly, I have to admit, with all the food that I have consumed over the last week, I was thinking that Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman would be turning up sometime soon for a second filming of Seven and I would be the glutton!!! Well that said – I did not eat a thing – just zipped around and took the mandatory photos!! (The last few photos above). Tomorrow we are headed to Hubbard Glacier - wahoo!!

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Day Seven of our cruise and we were up at 6.30am and heading into Hubbard Glacier.

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It was raining and cold but still took our breaths away. We dressed up in all our winter woollies and looked like a cross between the Michillen Man and Big Foot but at least we kept warm. Hubbard Glacier is the largest tidal glacier in the world – 6 miles wide and 26 miles long – that is one huge chunk of ice!!!

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We saw several calvings – where some of the ice falls from the face of the glacier and drops into the sea.

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We stayed here for about an hour and a half then we continued our journey towards Seward where we will leave the ship tomorrow and start the land part of our trip – am feeling quite excited about this and am looking forward to venturing out on our own.

Good news family and friends -1307 photos taken – bet you are nearly wetting yourselves with anticipation of Film Night!!

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