CruiseTour "Land Portion" Review RCCL CruiseTour #15

CAUTION: VERY LONG REVIEW!

I would highly suggest that you grab a cup of coffee, tea, beer or wine, since this review is very long. We hope that this review will help others to make their plans when traveling to/in/and around Alaska. I reviewed the cruisetour, in particular, because I haven’t really seen too many reviews given in detail.

I would also like to take a short minute to thank all of those folks who gave wonderful advice about traveling in Alaska, since they were the “pioneers” for us. It is a huge State with plenty to see and do. A return trip is a must, to see more of what you don’t see the first time around.

What I would like to say, from the very start, is that many folks would suggest that you build your own itineraries and do your own cruisetour either pre or post cruise. We considered and weighed all of our options, and were extremely happy for the choice we made to book a cruisetour with RCCL. Alaska is very big State, and to do it justice, return visits will definitely be in order. Since we booked early, our savings were huge.

We chose a CruiseTour, in large part, since we had never visited Alaska and had no idea what to expect. We booked Radiance of the Seas, Tour #15 Southbound, starting in Fairbanks and traveling to places south until we boarded the ship in Seward. Our land tour guide said #15 is the BEST tour based on her experience. The following is a log of our travels, and our observations.

FAIRBANKS:

Friday, June 9

On Friday morning, we took a flight from San Diego to Anchorage with a short stop in Vancouver, a change of planes in Anchorage and a short one-hour flight to Fairbanks from Anchorage.

We booked with Alaska Airlines with frequent flier miles from American Airlines. It was good that I checked often into the times for our flights, since many of them changed in the course of ten months. I chose these flights because I wanted as few possible changes of planes to avoid luggage problems. As for all well laid plans, our luggage did not arrive in Fairbanks, since they were carrying a baby bear in the belly of our plane and off-loaded 60 travelers luggage to accommodate said bear. Only in Alaska! We still laugh about that cute bear! Our luggage did arrive the next morning at our hotel, and we were glad we didn’t have to do the “insurance dance”! Score one for us.

We arrived in Fairbanks two-days ahead of our cruisetour, and I was able to book the extra days at Sophie Station Hotel months in advance with no problems. They even booked us in a room where we would not have to change rooms once the cruisetour began.

It took some doing to actually determine which hotel we were going to be assigned, but once RCCL gave us this info, we were able to book the additional nights before it sold out. I suggest booking those extra days early if you need them.

Sophie’s Station was a nice hotel. Each room is a suite with a full kitchen, living area and bedroom area. The restaurant is just “okay”, but serves its purpose well for those that are hungry and wish to remain on the hotel grounds. They have a computer in the lobby with free internet access. Like most of the hotels we went to on this trip, internet was free with a caveat to be kind to the next person in line (20 minute max when people are waiting). It worked fabulously. The hotel staff was more than accommodating and always very pleasant with plenty of smiles. We found this to be true all over Fairbanks. The people here are just wonderful.

Note: Fairbanks hotels should not be compared to large metropolitan hotels like Hilton, Hyatt, etc. Come prepared to expect quaint, easy-living, not too upscale, and you’ll be fine. About two blocks from the hotel is a Fred Myer store which sells virtually anything you want. This store was open until midnight and provided us with lots of things we forgot, some food for the room and underwear in case our luggage didn’t arrive! LOL!

They also have a shuttle from the hotel (nominal charge) which starts around 4:00 PM and takes you to many of the sights in Fairbanks. We were glad that we rented a car, since the distances can be long if you plan on going to Chena Hot Springs or the North Pole.

Saturday, Sunday – June 10 & 11 (Fairbanks)

Fairbanks is a very easy town to rent a car and drive all over the area. We took trips to Chena Hot Springs, Pump House Restaurant for dinner(we do not recommend this one), North Pole, and The Turtle Club (which I highly recommend for dinner). We also drove to the Museum of the North (part of University of Alaska, Fairbanks), Pioneer Park and a lovely place for breakfast behind the Ford Dealership called The Cookie Jar.

We also explored the downtown area including the Visitor’s Center that had free internet access with four or five computers. This was a very nice touch. Downtown is very small and you can look into many of the shops, eat lunch and be on your way in a matter of hours.

Fairbanks is a very interesting town, and in mid-June, the sun doesn’t set until well into the wee hours of the morning. It was very strange to see the sun at midnight! It took a bit of time to get used to the sun showing its head all day and night, but eventually, we became tired and went to sleep – although later than usual.

Note: Ladies, you know those hair clips that look like claws? I used them to keep the drapes solidly closed once we went to bed. I have light sensitivity, and needed the room pitch black. Worked like a charm. You’ll need several if this applies to you.

We were glad that we arrived in Fairbanks pre-cruisetour since it gave us time to become familiar with the town.

The RCCL tour guides were waiting in the airport and the hotel to greet those folks arriving on Sunday, June 11. We met them early in the day and had a lovely chat with them and introduced ourselves. They provided us with luggage tags that gave us the option to have certain bags tagged and never seen again until the cruise. We took advantage of this service.

Note: The more luggage you can tag with a “cruise only” tag the better. Everything that you ‘don’t’ tag will be delivered to your room every night which means you’ll have to pack these bags every night too!

Our guide was Missy and our bus driver was Will. These folks were so nice and extremely helpful. Our trip was actually enhanced by their knowledge and upbeat spirit. We also learned from them that many excursions were held back in case someone wished to book more of them once they arrived at the Hotel. We did book an extra excursion since we had more time to find out “timing” for our travels.

NOTE: This was the most difficult thing I encountered with the cruisetour. Planning was not really an option until we checked in with our tour guides. I would have preferred RCCL give us a much more detailed itinerary before we left home. As it was, we obtained the excursions we wanted with no problems at all. Booking independent tours is much trickier and times can/do change on the cruisetour.

Monday – June 12 (Fairbanks)

On Monday morning, we were asked to be in the Lobby at 7:55 AM for a bus tour which took us to the Riverboat Discovery, lunch in downtown Fairbanks (on our own) and the El Dorado Gold Mine Tour.

The Riverboat Discovery is a nice way to view the interior areas of Fairbanks, taking in the paddlewheeler, fresh air and meeting up with Susan Butcher’s home and an Alaskan village camp which we were given the opportunity to visit, see demonstrations, and hear about how they live, hunt and fish.

Bring mosquito repellent because the mosquitos are huge here! They don’t call them the “national bird of Alaska” for nothing. There were drinks available for sale onboard the Discovery and they provided free cookies when you boarded. Their gift shop was nice and had many items that we did not see the rest of the trip. If you see what you like, buy it!

Our next stop was lunch in downtown. This stop was very nice and gave us some time to have lunch, once more, at our favorite BBQ place, Big Daddy’s BBQ. We took a walk around the town (very small) and visited some shops, bought some ice cream, and then headed back to the bus for our afternoon activities.

Next, we headed over to see the Alaska Pipeline, which is really just a quick stop, take some pictures, and then head over to the Gold Mine. The El Dorado Gold Mine trip was really quite interesting, even if it is a touristy thing to do. They have a nice musician playing the violin and singing while you board the train.

The train then heads down to the mine area where several gentlemen give you a talk about how gold was/is mined today. They then take you to an area where they demonstrate how to pan for gold. This was tons of fun and really interesting to watch. We were then given a bag of “dirt/gold” and given a place to sit down and pan for our own gold. Patience is a must in this venture! LOL! My DH did extremely well with this task and garnered about $40 worth from his and my stash. Not bad. Of course, the real gold mine is in the gift shop where all the ladies have their gold placed in pendants/earrings as a souvenir of their trip.

We really enjoyed our day and had an opportunity to meet some of the folks we would be cruising with when we reached Seward.

Our tour bus was very comfortable, and the group we traveled with throughout the tour was exceptional in getting onboard quickly and responding to luggage calls, etc. Kudos to our group for their consideration of others.

We were on our own for dinner that evening, and decided to have a pizza delivered to the Hotel. It worked out perfectly, since we needed the sleep and time to pack, since luggage was to be out by 6:00 AM on Tuesday morning! Time to travel by train to Denali.

Tuesday – June 13 (Fairbanks to Denali)

We met in the lobby of the hotel at 7:30 AM. We were all excited to be traveling to the train station for our trip to Denali.

Note: When you are planning a cruisetour, put things that you want for the “CRUISE ONLY” into one or more bags. They will then tag them with a “cruise only” tag and keep it until you board the ship. The less you take on the cruisetour, the better! Anything you want throughout the land portion will follow you throughout the tour and will be placed into your room each night. The better you pack, the more apt you are to keep track of your belongings.

We settled into the bus/coach and took a short drive over to the train station to wait for the boarding of our domed-rail cars that were very nice indeed. The railcars for RCCL were first in line, then came Princess and Holland train cars.

We were not assigned seats, but rather given some information that we needed before we got on board. Each seat was large, made of leather, and gave excellent views to the outside. We had a bartender in the front of the car providing many different types of drinks, and even some that were made just for the ride to Denali. I tried the Moose Kiss and loved it! Now if only I would see a moose!

When the train pulled out of the station, we were told that everyone would have an opportunity to go downstairs and have breakfast. Breakfast was provided in groups, since the dining area is small and cannot hold the entire group.

Food on the train was very good and the prices were not too bad. Those that needed to eat first due to diet/health issues were asked if they needed to go first. Again, this part of the trip was handled extremely well.

While traveling in the train, we were able to get up, move around, and go out to the train platform (outdoors) to take pictures (this is where I spent my time, since I really enjoyed the cool breeze and photo opportunities). There are restrooms onboard that resemble those on the ship, just a little larger! Just make sure to lock the door! The doors slide easily. We had opportunities to see wildlife from the windows of the railcar and saw moose and bear.

We arrived in Denali around 12:30 PM, a little later than expected due to rail issues and fire issues near the track. We were given information about using the Visitor’s Center area to have a restroom break and have a bite of lunch before we boarded the Denali Tundra Wilderness Tour bus.

Note: Due to our “lack of time” at the Visitor’s Center before the tour, we were hard pressed to get some lunch, and opted, instead, to have a nice dinner once we got to the Grande Denali Lodge. The tour does provide a quick, small snack and a small bottle of water. I would highly suggest that you buy additional waters in Fairbanks and keep them with you for this tour, especially if it is hot in Denali!

The Tundra Wilderness Tour was interesting, however, if I had it to do over again, I would probably spend more time in the Park on my own. The school buses are an economical way for the park to shuttle people, however, they are not air-conditioned, they are very, very dusty, (even with the windows shut) and most of the kids were bored silly. Maybe in cooler months this would be a nice way to see the Park. We did see Mt. McKinley, moose, fox, bear, dall sheep, so the tour was worthwhile from a wildlife sighting point of view.

Note: I understand that there are now some “new” buses that shuttle folks around the Park, but it is based on hit or miss whether you get these new buses or the school bus.

The Tundra Wilderness Tour lasted close to nine hours and we were ready to go back to the hotel, freshen up, and have some dinner. The Grande Denali Lodge is high on a mountain ledge overlooking the valley. It was close to 9:30 PM when we reached the hotel, and we were plenty hungry. It is a very nice hotel and the restaurant was exceptional although very pricey. My DH and I had wonderful salmon dishes and salad along with a nice bottle of wine.

Note: Remember that with daylight lasting until almost 1:00 AM, we were definitely wide awake and ready for dinner, even though it was 9:30 PM. Of course, if you have a tour that is scheduled in late Sept, this may not apply at all. We did do this tour in mid-June.

After dinner, we took a small walk around the hotel and then headed to our room to sleep and get our luggage ready for the next day.

Wednesday, June 14 (Denali to Talkeetna)

On Wednesday morning, we had booked an excursion to go see Jeff King’s dog mushing home. We woke up fairly early, since we were being picked up at 8:00 AM for this excursion. Our luggage needed to be out at 9:30 AM on this day, but we put it out much earlier, since we were on the excursion. We grabbed some coffee and a pastry for breakfast in the main building of the hotel, and then went outside to meet the van for the excursion.

Jeff King’s dog mushing home is really wonderful. When you arrive at the home, they give you puppies to hold and everyone gets loads and loads of puppy kisses. The puppies were all ages, some of them as young as seven weeks old. They explained to everyone that this is part of their socialization process and the puppies really love it! If you have a chance to book this, do so, since Jeff and his workers are so nice and will answer all of your questions. They gave a wonderful demonstration and provided lots of interesting antidotes about their experiences. Jeff is the one who won the Iditarod this year (2006), which certainly is a nice touch to meet a celebrity!

After the excursion, and a tearful departure from the puppies, we headed to the hotel to pick up our tour bus and head back to the train station for our next train ride to Talkeetna.

On our way to the train, the bus stopped to allow folks to get out and take pictures of the Welcome to Denali sign and have a group photo taken.

Our train was late due to rail delays. We waited outside the train station, talking with some of the group and then decided to go into the train station and look around. We were glad we did! We found several pins, a patch, and a shirt that was very nice.

When the train finally arrived at the station , we boarded quickly and headed out to Talkeetna. Not too soon after we boarded the train, lunch service began. Again, we broke up into groups to proceed to the dining level. The train rides were wonderful! We saw lots of wildlife on this trip including moose, bear and beaver.

We arrived in Talkeetna around 5:15 PM and were bussed up to the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge for the evening stay. Many folks had McKinley flights that evening, however, we decided to take it easy and just have dinner near the hotel. This lodge is really beautiful although the staff was not very friendly, as I’ll explain later.

Note: Please note that the trains were late in both directions – Denali and Talkeetna. We were glad we did not book any independent tours here or we would have missed them.

We decided to go into “town” to have dinner with several other folks on our tour to try the West Rib Pub and Grill in Talkeetna which featured Ice Axe beer. It is a much stronger beer and one where there is a limit of only two per person. Although each of the “guys” tried to persuade the server to let them have more than two, it was definitely a “no go”! LOL! We had a nice dinner out on the patio and enjoyed our evening there. Prices were reasonable. We returned to the hotel via the hotel shuttle bus.

Do ask for a room overlooking Mt. McKinley. If it happens to show itself during the night, they will give you a courtesy call to let you know! Now, this can happen at any time, which it did, and they called us at 2:00 AM! I went in my PJ’s to the sitting area, met several others there as well, snapping pictures and then returned to my room for some well deserved sleep.

Note: At the beginning of the tour we asked the tour guide if she could upgrade us to a king bed in the hotels we were staying at, since my DH and I are tall. She did a great job of arranging this for us.

At the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge, however, we had a small issue. We were given a room that was right behind the reservation/ lobby area, which was very noisy, so we asked to be moved back to a “group RCCL room”. We were then told that we would be charged $50 to get a room in that wing, since they had nothing but “view” rooms available. We weren’t too happy, since we really had no choice except to pay the $50 for a good night’s sleep. We figured if this was all that happened, we’d be fine with it, although I certainly think the hotel was very arrogant about their policy.

Thursday, June 15 (Talkeetna to Anchorage)

We had to have our luggage out by 9:30 AM with a departure time of 11:30 AM. Our next stop was Anchorage.

We ate breakfast at the hotel, since the shuttle folks wouldn’t give us a definite answer if they would be able to pick us up and return us back to the hotel that morning. Breakfast food/service was not good. Prices were high and the service was very, very slow.

Note: There were two shuttle buses, one parked in the parking lot, the other doing its rounds. Interesting to note that they only had the one shuttle running in the morning, making sure to tell everyone they may not be able to get you back to the hotel due to their need to pick up rail passengers. What was the other shuttle bus doing? We all thought this was a nifty way for the hotel to have you stick around and eat breakfast there, rather than going into town. Again, this hotel was not our favorite due to these issues.

We highly recommend going into town early for breakfast at The Roadhouse, which has large breakfasts and yummy Cinnamon Rolls. We know this, because others that came back were raving about their food and service. Do go early, however, because the shuttle service is spotty from this location. Make sure to tell your guide you will be going into town. If you get stuck, the buses will pick you up at the shuttle stop in town! We rescued two couples.

We boarded our bus and departed for Anchorage on time. This part of the drive was basically on highway roads and not very scenic. We did make a stop at a small general store that had some ice cream, snacks and restroom facilities.

We arrived in Anchorage around 2:15 PM and had plenty of time on our own for lunch and shopping. The weather was much cooler and with a light rain. We actually decided to skip lunch and do shopping and visit the US Land Building which had some lovely exhibits of Alaskan culture and wildlife.

The shopping in Anchorage was wonderful, since they had lots of discount stores selling fleece vests, jackets, sweatshirts and just about anything else you wanted at very reasonable prices. The fleece vests were $14.99, and the fleece jackets were $19.99. This was a good place to buy those Alaskan souvenirs for the family!

We met back at the bus stop at 4:30 PM for departure to our hotel. We stayed at the lovely Anchorage Marriott and were very pleased with this hotel. This hotel had the most comfortable beds. We decided to go to dinner at the Glacier Brew House, which was very crowded for a Thursday evening. The food was good and we shared dinner with a very lovely couple we met on the tour. We had a great night’s sleep and were ready for the next day’s activities!

Friday, June 16 (Anchorage to Alyeska)

We woke up early this morning, so that our luggage would be put outside our room door by 8;30 AM and we could have a breakfast in the hotel before departure. We met in the lobby at 9:00 AM and departed Anchorage for the Alaska Native Heritage Center.

The Alaska Native Heritage Center was wonderful. Early in the morning, it looked like the rain would not let up, however, within an hour, it stopped and the sun came out.

This is one place not to miss. They had many interesting activities planned for the day. There were young folks demonstrating Alaskan games, a movie describing how Alaskans participate in the Alaska Games each year. There were demonstrations showing how they make jewelry, clothes, ulu knives and other Alaskan native crafts. We loved watching the artisans working on their crafts. Each one was unique and different. Many of the artisans had their crafts for sale.

Outdoors, they have a nice walk around a large water area, where they display different types of Alaskan villages. Each building is unique and has a special purpose. Many of the different locations have someone giving information about that particular area.

The gift shop here is very nice and we especially enjoyed meeting the author of several of the children’s books we had seen during our travels. We purchased a book for my granddaughter that was signed and personalized by the author.

We departed the ANHC for lunch in downtown Anchorage. We decided to try Humpy’s, a very “hot” lunch crowd bar and grill. We loved the food and service. Just be patient getting a table and your waiting will be rewarded!

At 2:00 PM we boarded our bus for the trip to Girdwood and the Alyeska Prince Resort. We arrived in Girdwood about 3:00 PM. We were handed the keys to our hotel room by our guide and proceeded to go to our room, freshen up, and then go back to the lobby for an excursion we had booked earlier for kayaking in Prince William Sound. We met our guide in the lobby and found, much to our surprise, that we were two of three people that had signed up for this excursion.

The ride to Whittier/Prince William Sound was a real bonus to the kayaking trip. We had an opportunity to go through the Whittier tunnel, a real engineering marvel.

Fifty miles southeast of Anchorage, near Portage Glacier, the tunnel connects the port city of Whittier on Prince William Sound to the Seward Highway and South Central Alaska. It opened to vehicle traffic on June 7, 2000 after an extensive conversion from a World War II railroad tunnel.

Landmark Accomplishments:

Longest highway tunnel in North America (13,300' or 2.5 miles)

Longest combined rail and highway use tunnel in North America

First U.S. tunnel with jet turbine and portal fan ventilation

First computerized regulation of both rail and highway traffic

First tunnel designed for -40° F. and 150 mph winds

Portal buildings designed to withstand avalanches

We arrived in Whittier on a very lovely day, with sun still out and no rain, which is unusual for Whittier. We met our guide, suited up for the trip, and were given a safety briefing before climbing into our kayaks. We took a trip that was breathtaking, quiet, serene, and simply amazing. We kayaked near the shore, taking in the rookery, waterfalls, salmon streams and got up close to some of the glaciers within the area. This was a great trip and one that we shall always remember. Highlight of our land tour!

We returned back to the hotel around 8:30 PM and decided to have dinner at the hotel. The restaurant in this hotel is okay, and we really wanted to go to Chair 5, however, we simply were too tired and opted, instead, for a quick dinner in the hotel.

We really enjoyed this hotel. It was a beautiful location, had plenty of room to stretch out and enjoy the public areas which were decorated very nicely. The Alyeska Prince Resort is a ski resort with a Tram that is nice to take, if you have the time. It gives you a lovely overview of the valley. We were each given a one time “free ticket” to ride the tram.

Saturday, June 17 (Alyeska to Seward)

Our luggage had to be out this day at 10:00 AM, with a departure at 1:30 PM to travel to the ship in Seward. You could tell that everyone was excited and ready to cruise!

We woke up early, in anticipation of the start of our cruise, and packed all of our bags and headed out to the lobby. We had a little extra time before the bus, and decided to ride the tram, which actually turned out to be a great time, since the valley was full of sun and you could see forever!

Final thoughts on land tour:

We loved this tour and give BIG kudos to RCCL for a job well done. We weren’t the only ones to feel this way, and glad that the land tour was part of our itinerary.

We did book the cruisetour early, taking advantage of great prices. There are all ages on these cruisetours. The kids on our cruisetour had loads of fun, and really enjoyed many facets of the trip. Don’t hesitate to book a cruisetour.

Part of the reason our cruisetour was so successful, is that we decided to do the long version of the tour, taking in as many places as possible, with at least two segments of the train. If you have the time, maximize the land tour portion of your trip.

If you have any questions about this part of the tour, please let me know. I'll post the "cruise portion" at a later date!

Thanks for the wonderful review!! We are doing a shorter land tour leaving next week and it was wonderful to hear about your trip.

I have one question. We will be traveling with our two kids and was wondering if they showed a movie on Alaskan airlines. It is about a 4 hour trip I think from Seattle to Fairbanks for us and was hoping they had something to help pass the time for them.

Thanks. I can't wait to hear about the cruise portion.

Jana

I will be taking the very same cruisetour starting August 6 and have been reading so many bad reviews about Royal Caribbean. It was a relief to read your review and hear how much you enjoyed it! I look forward to the cruise portion!

JermKY: Alaska isn't much into movies for short hauls. I would highly suggest bringing plenty of items for your kids to enjoy, both on the airplane and on portions of your cruisetour. The pilots for Alaska are very good with pointing out interesting sights from the air, so listen for them! Maybe bring a map (easy one) for your kids to make an X when they see something from the air).

Thank you for your kind words. Glad the review is helpful.

I will be taking the very same cruisetour starting August 6 and have been reading so many bad reviews about Royal Caribbean. It was a relief to read your review and hear how much you enjoyed it! I look forward to the cruise portion!

pasherri: Don't give those nay-sayers a second thought. I've learned through experience that RCCL is no better/no worse than any other cruiseline. Go with a very open mind and understand not all is perfect and you'll have a great time! You'll love this cruisetour. If you see Missy and Will, give them a big hello from me! They were great.:D

Celia - Thanks for your much anticipated review of CruiseTour #15. We chose it for next May for all the reasons you mentioned in the review. So happy to know we made a good choice. We haven't even gone yet and I have a feeling it won't be our last trip. The only thing about the tour I would have liked to change was an extra day in Seward. I have read so much about some great day trips from there. Oh well, that will have to be another time. Also being from San Diego, I was interested in your flights. We booked through RCL and I am thinking of checking out their Custom Air arrangements after we see our schedule. I think it is an extra $50/person to choose better connections.

Looking forward to your Cruise portion review. Glad you had a great time.

Thanks so much Celia for your great review! Last year we did tour #13 thru RoyalCelebrity and loved it as well! It looks as though you did your homework and chose a cruisetour that included good train options and one that fit your priorities as well. We did too, and I'm still glad for our first trip to Alaska we went that route. We're leaving in less than two weeks for our 8 night independent land tour then southbound on the Summit. So when we return I'm looking forward to comparing our experience, both idependent vs thru the cruise line. Bottom line; when planning, it doesn't matter if you choose indepenent or thru the cruise line: doing your homework is the important thing!

Thanks especially for the shopping info in Anchorage. We will start there and have time there before we start going inland. I'm especially interested in the fleece jackets. Where did you find them for $14.99? Did they have large sizes?

Thanks again for your review!

Celia,

great review.

we are traveling w/a 7yo. hope it will not be too boring. bringing the game boy, travel games and dvd just in case. but hopes he meets someone on the tour. we are doing pre cruise tour #1.

Q. how do you sep. clothes in luggage for land vs crusie? we don't want to bring 14 days worth of clothes? can you explain that to a newbee like me.

also heard the ROS is in bad shape? the beds are bad, service??? how is cabin 1100? it was nice...ok great when we were on the JOS..first cruise though..heard bad things too..ripped carpets , dust torn chairs?????

In fairbanks they have us at PIKES lodge? then MC Kinley village lodge???

in ANC is Marriott..can't be too bad..at least I've heard of it

soulds like you had a great time..can't wait for the cruise review of yours

thanks for the help

barry

Hi Barry:

Separating your clothes should be your first priority before you leave home, IMHO. Place all of your formal wear, special outfits for the ship for dining room use, etc. in one or two pieces of luggage. I even went so far as to separate the shoes, underwear, ect, into this bag. You'd be surprised how much stuff you can easily put into one or two bags for just the cruise. Believe me, when I say, to take just the essentials on the land portion of the tour. Fairbanks is very casual; so is Denali. No need to bring any "dress up clothes" for any portion of the tour. We wore shorts, jeans, camping pants to everything on the land tour. Keep it simple and you can't go wrong.

The biggest mistake most people make when they travel to Alaska, is to bring too many clothes. Even though the temps went down to 48 degrees, I was very comfortable with my long sleeved t-shirt, fleece vest and a long pair of pants. Obviously, kids get a little colder, so provide an all-weather jacket for him/her. You'll only be on the land portion for three days, so it should be even easier for you to accomplish the separation of the clothing.

I do notice that you won't be taking the train at all, which in my estimation, is a real bonus to the land tours. Is it possible to upgrade the land portion? It's still early enough to do so and I wouldn't put so much credence on a specific balcony cabin, since the weather can render the balcony useless. Alaska is much different than cruising the Caribbean. I, too, love Cabin 1100, but it may not be the highlight of this trip. Again, only you can decide.

The Radiance OTS is still looking wonderful. I don't know what you've heard, but believe me, the ship is great. The Captain is the best we have ever had, and we can't say enough about the Radiance crew. Some people just like to complain. Don't let their comments spoil your cruise.

On the land portion take:

Essential clothes for tour

All your toiletries for the trip

Games/toys for the kids

Binoculars

Camera

Backpacks/belly bags (one for each person)

Water/snacks

umbrellas

lightweight jackets

(just remember to layer your clothing) Lightweight layers is best with a windbreaker or rainjacket

Celia,

Thanks so much for your review. I'm very comfortable with the cruise portion of our trip, but it has been somewhat difficult for me to deal with not having a schedule for the land portion ahead of time, and knowing how they operate it. We are using Celebrity, but our land tour is very similar to yours, so it was helpful to hear how that part of it was handled.

celia,

thanks for your help. we are doing the dome train from ANC to seward. 4 hours on the wilderness express? is that the same train?

In fairbanks they have us at PIKES lodge? then MC Kinley village lodge???

in ANC is Marriott..can't be too bad..at least I've heard of it.

any feedback on these properties?

we are spending two days in fairbacks before the tour starts so we will have our clothes sep. for the rest of the land tour.

should we stay at Pikes as this is the cruise tour property or at another property? sophies station? not sure if we want to move once we get there. we are renting a car for the two days as well. any ideas of things to do?

Barry

For all of those curious about Pike's Waterfront Lodge, please know that you will be in a good hotel! Pike's is situated on the banks of the Chena River, right next to the Fairbanks Princess Hotel. If you want to do any sightseeing on your own from here, you'll need to rent a car, as Pike's isn't close to downtown.

Celia: May I ask what you didn't like about the Pump House? We enjoy dining there and usually have a very good meal. We especially like going in the late afternoon to have cocktails and appetizers on the deck.

Big Daddy's Barbecue is one of our favorite places! You just cannot say no to those pulled pork sandwiches!

The fiddle player you saw at the El Dorado Gold Mine is Earl Hughes. Earl has been a friend of ours for over 20 years and is a wonderfully talented musician!

I am so glad that you enjoyed your time in Fairbanks!

Taters

Hi Tatters! I can't say enough about Fairbanks or the people there. We just loved that small-town atmosphere.

We really didn't care for the food at the Pump House. In actuality, we got there fairly late, but they were gracious enough to seat us along with several others that came in, about 45 minutes before they closed the dining room.

The food was average, at best, and the prices were in line with what the Turtle Club charged for their dinners. Only difference was the Turtle Club did a great job of food and service. The mosquitos at the Pump House were also a problem for us. It may have been the day we went there, but personally, I'm not picky about my food, it just wasn't that good.

Yep, those pulled-pork sandwiches were yummy!

I'm sure you love Fairbanks, just as we did. There certainly are not many places like it in the "lower 48". LOL!

Barry, to answer your questions:

I'm not sure if the train you take from Anchorage to Seward is the same as we took. We took the Wilderness Explorer trains provided by the Cruiseline. There must be some way of checking.

Your kids may find the bus rides a little long, so bring plenty of treats and games for them, as well as drinks, including water.

I would definitely stay in the hotel where the cruisetour has you located. Just book additional nights NOW at that property for your additional days and let the front desk know that you will be joining an RCCL cruisetour (give them the day so they can make your stay seamless in one room).

I would highly suggest renting a car and taking your kids to Pioneer Park, North Pole, and the Museum of the North (nothing like a little education thrown in for them). You can also take them to the Large Animal Preserve at the University.

You may also wish to stop at the Fred Myers just up the street for a quick stroll through the store for snacks and stuff for the bus. That store has everything. I would also ask your kids to point out things in Fairbanks that are different than where they live! Fairbanks is definitely unlike most places you've been! Lots of differences. Have them make a list and then compare them. When was the last time they stayed up and saw light outside at 10:00 PM? (Example)

That was a great review!!! I'm learning that even among cruisetours, there are quite a few different itineraries.

Was the kayaking in PWS booked independently, or one of the options on your cruisetour?

celia,

great idea's. we have a reservation at all 4 of the properties that RCI uses in fairbanks..but I think you're right will spend the extra days at Pikes, less traveling for hotels. hope pikes is nice???

we will stock up on snacks and stuff for the bus and train ride. RCI states it's their train called the wilderness express? will do some of the educational stuff..also the state fair is going on the same time we are there so we will visit that too...get to meet and see some real alaska.

any good family friendly resturants? Hope the BBQ one is we love BBQ..the turtle club sounded good how are they w/kids? worth going w/Kids? getting tired of Mc Donalds

sour dough cafe? what's this? any good breakfest places? a big breakfest and out all day..early dinner works for us. soapy smith??? what's this? chatanika???? any info on gold dredge #8??? read it somewhere but forgot?

Thanks ..sorry if too amny Q. but these boards..really the great people on them.. are the best place for info on ports and ship...

of course we have the standard excusions planned..heli ride w/dog sled, whale watching and lumberjack show...

barry

Hey Barry, when are you going? We are also doing cruisetour #1 leaving next week. Maybe we are on the same cruise??

Jana

Jana,

wish it were so. but we start our land tour on 8/6 in fairbanks..sail 8/12 on ROS..can't wait.

enjoy your trip and post a review.

Barry

NancyIL: We booked the Kayak excursion directly with RCCL. I would definitely do this with the cruiseline if you are matching it up with a cruisetour, since times can/do change. We were with "Alaska Sea Kayakers" located in Whittier. Ask for Kelly! She is wonderful!:D

Have a great trip Barry. I know you'll just love Alaska!:D

Celia,

I do my best..sure it won't be hard..no cooking,cleaning, great views, great cabin 1100 :) NO WORK, yea...

look for my review when I get back.

Got to pray for those on the princess ship today..what a horror

barry

Hope this isn't a silly question, but I assume the school buses used for the Tundra Wilderness Tour do not have bathrooms. How frequently do they have rest stops. I'd hate to have to raise my hand to request a stop and then "oh no" out in the wilderness would you have to find a bush? I imagine they have this all figured out but was just wondering. :)

Not a funny question at all. LOL!

Actually, they had three stops on the way out, and two coming back.