Trip report - Radiance of the Seas July 22 - 29, plus pre-cruise land tour

We are home and had a great trip! Thanks to everyone who has posted information on this forum - it was invaluable. I'm going to try to keep my review semi-brief in hopes that I will finish it. Maybe I will add pictures, we'll see.

First, we left the DC area on Saturday evening prior to our cruise tour beginning on Monday. Used the Alaska Airlines companion fare promotion for our 4 person family (DD 13/DS 9). Loved Alaska Airlines! And they served Alaskan Amber so that was an added bonus since we can't get it on the east coast. Others in our family flew on Alaska w American points and that worked well too.

We arrived in Fairbanks at 2 am and got our bags right away. We called the Springhill Suites Marriott for the shuttle and it came very quickly. It was light enough out to help us stay awake. Also the mosquitoes were buzzing. Because of the rain (more on that to come) it really was the only time the bugs were out.

Our shuttle driver was extremely talkative which helped keep us awake. We got checked in quickly and were in our beds in no time. Everyone slept late fortunately. The next day (Sunday) the rain started and we layed low. We retrieved our rental cars, got KFC for lunch while the kids swam in the indoor pool. Afterward we hunted pokemons around the hotel - lots of pokestops. There are artistic pieces of the Alaska pipeline around downtown near the hotel and most of them are pokestops. The river was high and no one was out and about. We got to use our new rain coats :) The hotel is exactly what you would expect for a SpringHill Suites. Semi comfy beds and clean but not luxurious.

That evening we had bbq at Big Daddy's which was very close to the hotel. Dinner was fast and pretty good. Service wasn't the best but also wasn't the worst. We came back to the hotel lobby and enjoyed some Alaskan Amber.

The next day (Monday) we checked out and headed to the University of Alaska museum. It was a great activity and was enjoyed by all on another rainy day. I was nervous at first because it seemed really small and too artsy for kids, but then we found the exhibits in the back with lots of animals and things to touch and see. All four kids (nephews 12/10) as well as grandparents enjoyed it. We had lunch at the Cookie Jar. Decent food, fair service. Then headed to the Pikes Waterfront Lodge to check in for our cruise tour.

Pikes was ok. Older and very dark in the rooms. Decent but not great. That night we had dinner at the Chena Pump House. They gave our group of 10 a private room in the back, which was great so the kids could be more rowdy. And we saw a snippet of the sun when we came out after dinner! Our meals were good but not amazing. Service was good.

In my next installment, I'll discuss the cruise tour.

Continuing on with my review...

Once we arrived at Pikes, we got our room keys and were told to meet with our cruise director. The tour directors do meetings every hour on the hour so we had to wait a little while for ours to finish with his prior group. In that meeting, he gave us an overview of the schedule and provided a list of additional excursions we could do in Denali.

The next morning (Tuesday) we were up early and out the door to the bus for our gold panning excursion. I expected it to be hokey and was pleasantly surprised. We learned a lot about the history of the gold rush era as well as the technology that went into mining for gold. There's also a segment of the Alaska Pipeline there that is quite interesting to learn about. The actual panning experience was fun and my 9 year old got the hang of it quickly and helped all of us find gold. One thing I didn't understand beforehand was that the gold is yours to keep and has value, but you can't exchange it for money at the gift shop. Speaking of the gift shop, it was big with lots of variety and we had plenty of time for shopping. Weather started off very damp but wasn't a wash out.

For lunch we were taken to downtown - right by the SpringHill Suites. Was nice to see the river when it wasn't pouring. There was a fun military band playing and we even saw the sun! We walked across the bridge and found a diner for lunch. My parents ate at a vegetarian place that looked good but the kids wouldn't have been happy there.

Then it was onto Riverboat Discovery. Here again, I expected it to be hokey but ended up liking it. We enjoyed the boat ride, the sun came out and we learned alot about Alaska. It felt a little Disney-esque but we like Disney, so it was fun!

Back at Pikes for the evening, we were tired so ordered food delivered for dinner from Gambardella's (I think) and enjoyed a few Alaskan Ambers at the bar. We had an early departure the next morning for Denali.

The train ride was awesome. Food was terrific - and as all have reported, the blueberry pancakes are really fabulous. We didn't see much wildlife but were able to appreciate the landscape despite consistent rain all the way to Denali.

I was mildly panicked about what to do in the rain in Denali that afternoon (thanks for those who talked me off the ledge) but it ended up working out. We got to Denali, had a light lunch (very crowded cafeteria) and then then rain lightened up so some of us took a short hike and others went to the husky demo. The hiking trails are all well marked and easy to figure out. We set off on one and were turned around midway through by a park ranger and hikers who had encountered a moose w her calf. The moose was highly agitated and the park ranger was swiftly shepherding us all back the other way. We took another short walk and then checked out the visitors center. We had no problem entertaining ourselves even with the less than cooperative weather.

Our bus stopped at Glitter Gulch which is a long boardwalk of all the shops and restaurants. We had a quick beer at the pizza place to check out their menu and get their card so we could do call ahead seating later that night. Then we were dropped at Denali Park Village.

We decided against doing any add-on excursions in Denali once I realized that the only time to do them was Wednesday evening. My sister's family did the ATV excursion in the rain, got totally muddy but had fun.

The Denali Park Village also reminded me of a Disney hotel. Lots of Denali theme. The kids liked it. The rooms were adequate but not luxurious. There was some road noise that could have bothered our sleep if we weren't totally wiped out. Our tour group was at the far end of the complex away from the lobby. There was a little shop near our area that I didn't check out but the kids got ice cream there before dinner. There also was a fire pit, but we didn't check it out b/c of the rain.

The hotel ran a free shuttle that evening on the half hour back to Glitter Gulch. That was a nice touch. Also, people on the bus were a lot more chatty than our tour group so we enjoyed the ride and got to hear about others' experiences. Prospector's pizza was decent with good salads and good service. We brought a pizza back for my sister's family for dinner since their excursion ended after the hotel buffet closed.

I wore my hiking shoes all day - mostly to keep my feet warm and dry. There were lots of puddles around and I wouldn't have wanted regular shoes on. It reminded me of a ski town. I add this just because I've seen others post that they didn't need to bring their hiking shoes. I'm betting they had dry weather.

In my next installment - the Tundra Wilderness Tour...

We were up and out early on Thursday. The "school bus" picked our tour group up at the hotel lobby. It was crowded and chaotic in the lobby as everyone was getting their breakfast, lunches, coffee, etc before heading off for the day. Speaking of lunch, we bought food in Fairbanks and brought it for lunch and snacks. As aptly described here, the box provided on your seat was not interesting to the kids or some others btw. The bus driver had extra water on board but you should bring your own too. It's a long day.

Our bus driver was MJ - a young woman who was extremely enthusiastic about her Denali driving job. Her mood was somewhat infectious and helped distract from the driving rain. One good thing - we didn't have to worry about whether we might see the mountain. No chance. We saw lots of wildlife. Caribou v close to the bus, grizzly bears (w cubs!) down on the riverbeds, and lots of moose - one was right at the beginning of the morning. The stops were welcome to stretch our legs, get some fresh (wet) air, and try to appreciate the expanse of the park.

A few notes - this is a day to be on the bus first - our group was separated and one couple didn't even get to sit together. That cut down on our joint enjoyment of the day. Also, we sat in the back right under a speaker and MJ's voice was annoying to DH, but he isn't a fan of buses anyway so I think that was mostly it. People were mostly polite sharing views out their windows and helping close the kids' windows when we moved on.

The kids all did really well w the bus ride. MJ held their interest and they were good wildlife spotters and photographers. I think the electronics came out midway through the return trip but they were still looking out the window when we stopped to watch.

The bus temperature was comfortable - we wore fleece jackets plus raincoats, hiking shoes and warm clothes underneath. Some stops were cold when the wind picked up. But we were only off the bus for 10 minutes at a time.

MJ dropped off a few passengers at the visitors center on the way back to the hotel. We rested a bit then had an early dinner at the hotel buffet. Food was fair and I don't recall it being overly expensive. I think the kids were half price.

Forgot to mention that we did laundry on Wednesday night... To do laundry at Denali Park, you have to get on the laundry list at the front desk lobby and get the key to the laundry room. There are three washers and dryers and they are complimentary. Our tour director told us that Thursday night would have been very busy in the laundry room so it felt good to get ahead of it.

The next morning we had bags out by 6 and an early departure to Anchorage and then on to Seward for the cruise! We were all excited to be moving to the next phase of vacation. Still raining...

We had a long day on the tour bus. It was very rainy so our views were minimal. At certain points, we could tell we would have been seeing majestic beauty if the rain would have lifted slightly. Some parts of the road from Anchorage to Seward were still breathtaking even though we couldn't see much. Our tour bus stopped at two predetermined spots for bathroom breaks and snacks on the trip between Denali and Anchorage.

In Anchorage we had a little under two hours for lunch. We went to Humpy's and had excellent halibut and chips and salmon spread. We sat outside in the back under cover and were really warm b/c they had the heaters on. DH and I bought cool caps since we were getting heavy use out of the caps we brought. Also DS and I had fun finding pokemons around the tourist area.

While we were having lunch, our bags were transferred from the tour bus to another vehicle and went ahead of us down to Seward. They would be taken to our staterooms and hopefully there waiting for us when we arrived.

The drive bw Anchorage and Seward took a long time. There was traffic due to the rain and we ended up getting to the ship about an hour (maybe later) than expected.

Cruise ship check in was a little slow but not bad. We were all excited to board the Radiance of the Seas.

We found our connecting staterooms 9642 and 9644 - and we were all in a row w our other family members - that was nice. I especially liked that DH and I had our own stateroom but that the kids' room connected.

The room was nice and clean and had all bags but one. We found DS' bag at guest services the next morning b/c the tag had fallen off. We asked our stateroom attendant to separate the kids beds and bring us an extension cord for a cpap machine. That was the only time we saw him. And we never got the extension cord even though we asked several times via phone. In our experience, the stateroom attendants were more present and pleasant on our Carnival and Celebrity cruises.

Muster drill was easy and relatively quick and we got signed up for our drink packages and were underway before long. Dinner in WJ b/c we were late boarding and missed our early seating. Then we explored the ship!

Hi - I'm back! Betcha thought I wasn't going to finish...

The first day out of Seward is a day at sea where we cruised to the Hubbard Glacier. We arrived about 2 pm and stayed for a few hours so everyone on board could get plenty of pictures.

On the way to Hubbard, the skies cleared! We were so excited to have a little bit of sun. We toured the ship and found a good spot for viewing as we approached the glacier - up in the Stardust? lounge. Comfy seats, bar was open and we enjoyed a yummy roast beef sandwich from the Park Cafe. They really are that good. I also had them make grilled cheese for the kids. Kids in the lounge seem to be ok during the day even though it says 18 and over at the door.

When we got closer to the glacier, we put on our hats and gloves and ventured out to the deck. It was chilly but not cold. My husband had on shorts but didn't stay out as long as we did. Took tons of awesome pictures of the blue ice and calving waterfalls. It was crowded on the deck at first but after awhile people dispersed and we had a rail view.

We went back to the room a little later and saw the crew going out for a piece of the glacier ice - they definitely like performing for the crowd's cheers. DS and i put on our suits and headed for the hot tub. The glacier ice was on the pool deck when we got up there. Note to my fellow Radiance passengers, my apologies for all your photos that DS bombed from the swimming pool!

We arrived in Juneau to find pretty heavy rains. We got off the ship, found the sales booths for the blue and white buses and bought our RT tickets to Mendenhall. We chose white. I think it was around $90 for the four of us.

We rode over there and had an entertaining ride w good narration from the driver. And unfortunately when we got there, the glacier was not visible from the visitors center. Couldn't see anything across the lake. We watched the movie at the visitors center - pretty interesting and better than the movies at the Museum of the North. Then we decided we would walk around. I was hoping to hike to Nugget falls but the trail was flooded. We did a short walk but everyone was cranky so we decided to head out.

Fortunately the forest rangers had a little kid station set up. That was cool. We saw a block of ice from the glacier that was really old. When it first fell as snow it would have been when Thomas Jefferson was alive. That made an impression on all of us!

We were probably there about 90 minutes. Not really worth the money. If it's raining hard when you get off the boat, ask the driver before you buy the tickets if he knows whether the hike to Nugget Falls is open and also maybe if he knows if the glacier is visible. Or maybe ask people coming back off the bus... Back on the boat for a quick lunch and then salmon fishing!

We arrived in Juneau to find pretty heavy rains. We got off the ship, found the sales booths for the blue and white buses and bought our RT tickets to Mendenhall. We chose white. I think it was around $90 for the four of us.

 

We rode over there and had an entertaining ride w good narration from the driver. And unfortunately when we got there, the glacier was not visible from the visitors center. Couldn't see anything across the lake. We watched the movie at the visitors center - pretty interesting and better than the movies at the Museum of the North. Then we decided we would walk around. I was hoping to hike to Nugget falls but the trail was flooded. We did a short walk but everyone was cranky so we decided to head out.

 

Fortunately the forest rangers had a little kid station set up. That was cool. We saw a block of ice from the glacier that was really old. When it first fell as snow it would have been when Thomas Jefferson was alive. That made an impression on all of us!

 

We were probably there about 90 minutes. Not really worth the money. If it's raining hard when you get off the boat, ask the driver before you buy the tickets if he knows whether the hike to Nugget Falls is open and also maybe if he knows if the glacier is visible. Or maybe ask people coming back off the bus... Back on the boat for a quick lunch and then salmon fishing!

You had just about the opposite experience to what we had as far as weather. We were in Denali July 4th week and boarded Radiance from Seward July 8. It was dry in Denali and we had some rain as we pulled out of Skagway, other than that it was sunny or just overcast. We had packed for rain, but never needed any of it. What a difference 2 weeks makes. Either way, you're still on a cruise ship, so you make do and eat well :)

Continuing the review!

We booked two salmon fishing boats through Moore Family Charters for the afternoon. The owner of the company met us at the dock and was easily found. He let us stop by the grocery store to pick up a 12 pack of Alaskan Amber. Love that beer. Can't be purchased on the East Coast...

Anyway, the kids went w the grandparents on one boat and we were on the other boat. The kids boat was absolutely great. They had two female crew - captain and deckhand. Both were young, energetic and super kid-friendly. Fish came slow to their boat, so they pivoted and went whale watching instead. They saw a humpback whale do a full breach! Also saw eagles and other water animals. Then the fish came and they caught 5 salmon! The deckhand made sure each of the kids had a turn at the lines and provided lots of educational information as they went along.

Our captain, Luke, was a real fisherman. He sought out fish like crazy and earned his keep for sure. We caught 7 salmon! We had it all processed by the service on shore and it was shipped to our home after we got back. We chose for the lesser varieties to be smoked and the rest filleted. We did not fish for Kings.

It rained for much of the time we were out. Luke was drenched but we stayed relatively dry in the cabin except when we were reeling in fish or taking photos.

Two thumbs up on this excursion. Everyone had a great time!

The next day we were in Skagway where we had planned for a ziplining excursion to Grizzly Falls. What a great day! All 10 of us went and had so much fun. This excursion is worth every penny. We all felt 100 percent safe and the staff were absolutely terrific. There's a chance to see dogs in their pens b/c there is a dog sledding excursion at the same place. Also a small gift shop at the base of the ziplining operation. We got lots of great pictures on our phones and with go pro cameras. It was quite scenic as you zipped around - and bonus - it didn't rain!!! The driver offered to let folks off in town on the way back to the ship, we were all tired from our adrenaline-filled day so decided to head back instead.

The next day we were in Icy Strait. It was really nice to have a slow day with nothing planned. I got off the ship with my parents and we walked the path to Hoonah. It's very easy and mostly pretty walk. We were accompanied by a humpback the entire way. What do I mean? Well, the whale was in the water and we were on land but he was swimming at the same pace we were walking and we saw him come up for air many times along our walk. We saw an eagles nest and occupants across the street from the school. That was cool. There was also an eagle right as you came off the ship. DH thought it was fake bc it turned its head like clockwork every 5 mins! We took the shuttle back - you can buy one way tickets upon your return. I think they were maybe $3 each. Not costly.

Others have reviewed Icy Strait so I won't say much more but when the kids and DH came off the ship and met me, they had lots of fun beachcombing and seeing live starfish and octopus in the water. We waited in line for awhile at the crab shack b/c we hadn't had time for crabs in Juneau but it started drizzling and we decided we could get them on the ship. Very nice low key day.

Ketchikan was my most anticipated stop because it was the day my dad and I were going to Anan Creek. It did not disappoint. We used Island Wings and loved every bit of the tour. I felt extremely safe on the flight. Michelle is all business for a reason and I appreciated her competency. Once we were on the way to Anan, she narrated quite a bit. Our weather was overcast and a little drizzly but we could still see some very nice scenery. Tim was our armed guide to the bear observatory. He was super but also efficient about managing our group of 12 (?). There were two flights full. The walkway up to the observatory is slick but pretty even since it's mostly a boardwalk. Lots of evidence of the bears in residence - claw marks on the railings and scat on the ground. We did not see a bear while we were walking. Then we got there and soon after saw a bear coming hurrying down the hill and right into the river to fish. He caught one right away and then went behind a rock to eat. It was much faster than i anticipated! We saw black bears pretty much the entire time we were there. And had an eagle bonus. One bear caught his salmon and brought it under the deck to eat! We heard him munching and crunching from under our feet, saw his fur through the slats and definitely smelled him! The time down in the blind was also terrific. Don't miss that. We were there for several hours and the time flew by. This tour definitely lived up to my expectations.

The rest of our group took an expensive taxi to Totem Bight. They didn't seem all that impressed but since I wasn't there I don't know exactly why. They found the very inexpensive bus back to Ketchikan.

That's a good review!! Are there any pictures?

Thank you for your review.

We took the Radiance on May 27 and the 3 night RCCL cruisetour before the ship.

We were very fortunate with regards to weather. We enjoyed the ship and the land touir.

I agree about the box lunch on the Tundra Wilderness Tour. I ate only the cookies.

The report and pictures are at http://trips.westgp.us/RadianceOfTheSeas2016/index.html

Gordon