Rydain

I had an excellent experience seeing Totem Bight and the Lunch Creek Trail with Wild Wolf Tours in 2016. Tracy is informative, friendly, and just a joy to travel around with, and she worked with me and her other bookings to get me onto her schedule.

I booked an inside for our 2016 Alaska cruise on Radiance to save money for adventure excursions. I only ever used the cabin for sleeping and assorted quiet time, I found it cozy and blissfully dark at night without any unfortunate funereal implications, and the ship's public areas had more than enough views of the scenery and seating to relax and enjoy it. Unless I luck into some great deal or upgrade, I will happily go inside for any future cruises.

Spousal Unit and I very much enjoyed our Rainforest Walk and Totem Park tour with Wild Wolf Tours two years back. Tracy was informative and entertaining for all ages and responsive and flexible when it came to scheduling.

I'd much rather spend that money on a must-do excursion, especially because you can get a good view of outside from so many public areas of the Radiance. Spousal Unit and I went with an interior cabin and didn't feel like we missed out at all.

As described in my June 2016 trip report, I enjoyed a hike, bike, and float with Sockeye Cycling and Skagway Float Tours, followed by a tour of the Red Onion and a hike up to Lower Dewey Lake.

Spousal Unit and I did an extended glacier trek via helicopter in Juneau. If you're interested in an exploratory and active excursion, I'd highly recommend it.

Spousal Unit and I enjoyed our extended glacier trek in Juneau and hike, bike, and float in Skagway. Skagway also has a fun steep trail system, which I took up to Lower Dewey Lake. My trip report has pictures and more specifics on all of these activities.

My family and I took a southbound Alaska cruise on the Radiance in June 2016 with post-cruise touring of Vancouver and Seattle. I enjoyed the itinerary and the ship (though I was more interested in it as a floating hotel than a comprehensive entertainment center) - especially with how visible the scenery was from many of the public areas - and would definitely go again. We booked our excursions independently, but saw that at least one of our must dos (extended glacier trek via helicopter) was also available through RC.

Spousal Unit and I loved our visit to Totem Bight Park and the Lunch Creek Trail with Wild Wolf Tours. Tracy is friendly, informative, and great with kids, both in terms of tour guidance and activities. We were in a small group with a family of three, including a son around the age of your young ones, and he was having a blast with the scavenger hunt worksheet she gave him with plants and such to look out for.

My first cruise was that same itinerary on the Fantasy in October 1991, way back when I was twelve. I played piano in the talent show, ate all the desserts at the midnight buffet, ran around with my cousin of same age and a bunch of other boys from the kids' club, and got made fun of by said cousin for my formal night dress. Shore excursion-wise, we went parasailing and had some sort of beach break. I had never seen water so blue.

Thanks for sharing this blast from the past!

Our large group of friends and family chose a one-way Royal Caribbean cruise for various factors outside my control, so we didn't see Glacier Bay. I was mainly along for outdoor adventures in port - including trekking on Mendenhall Glacier - and happy enough with the ship's view of Hubbard Glacier, which I saw as a bonus. I accomplished everything I wanted to and had a more than satisfying trip.

The tours that I was interested in were:

-Whale Watching and Mendenhall Glacier (Juneau)

-Glacier Point Wilderness Safari (Skagway)

-Some sort of forest walk and boat ride (Skagway)

The last one sounds like the Chilkoot Trail Hike and Float run by Skagway Float Tours. I did this as part of a Triple Adventure Tour including a bike ride with Sockeye Cycling. Great experience, would absolutely recommend.

I stayed on deck 3 on Radiance and loved it. Our room was dark and quiet and convenient to the gangway, and I liked being a nice long stair climb away from most points of interest. :)

I enjoyed the Triple Adventure Tour (hike, bike, and float) run by Sockeye Cycling and Skagway Float Tours, a trip to the Red Onion Saloon, and a hike up to Lower Dewey Lake. Pictures and recap here, if you're interested.

I booked an inside cabin to save money for adventure excursions and would do so again in the future unless I got some fantastic deal on a room with a view. I liked that my room was dark whenever I needed to sleep, and I was happy enough going elsewhere on the ship to enjoy the scenery passing by.

Spousal Unit and I are light packers and casual as a rule unless we're attending an event focused on a fancy party, so we noped out of formal nights on our 2016 Alaska cruise on Radiance. We do like to dress polished casual (e.g. khakis or nice jeans and a button-down) to look well assembled in photos while staying comfortable - we're just not that into formal wear.

You're very welcome! :) I'm guessing we were 40 feet off the ground at most. Difficulty-wise, as someone who strenuously works out on the regular (heavy weight lifting and some interval cardio), I thought the whole experience was pretty manageable. Trekking involves lots of deliberate stepping, putting weight on heels, pulling cleats back out of the ice, which does add up over time. Ice climbing is mostly about technique, though there is that effort (which, again, does add up) of repeatedly striking your cleats and hammers into the wall and pulling them back out again. Spousal Unit doesn't share my gym habits, though he's in good enough shape for impromptu fast multiple mile bike rides, and he was fine with all of this.

I did this last year and loved it - you can see details and some photos in my trip report. One of the folks in my group had a GoPro, but I can't remember where/how it was mounted. Northstar Trekking runs this tour, so I'd suggest contacting them directly to ask about the helmet situation.

With regard to not being a cruise lover and the question about inside cabins -

My Alaska cruise last year on Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas was the first I'd taken apart from a childhood family vacation. I went because a critical mass of family and friends were going and there seemed to be enough I'd want to do. I had a great time because the ship was an efficient and pleasant route between ports with my choice of must-do activities - outdoor adventures and learning about local history and First Nations culture. When going between points of interest, I'd rather be on a boat with my choice of spaces to hang out in than in a train or vehicle.

I booked an inside cabin to save money for excursions, and I would absolutely do the same in the future. I loved the total darkness during 4 a.m. sunrise, and I got my fill of scenic viewing elsewhere on the ship.

When I booked the extended glacier trek, the suggested fitness guideline was being able to hike five miles over mixed terrain. This is meant to approximate the overall workload of the experience - lots of semi-crouched walking, firm and deliberate stepping to anchor your crampons into ice, pulling the crampons back out. You don't go that far from base camp, but moving requires extra effort that adds up. There's also the option to climb an ice wall, which is more about coordination and leaning your weight forward than physical strength or endurance.

I'm into heavy lifting and some cardio, and I found it enjoyably strenuous - not too difficult but I was tired afterward. Spousal Unit doesn't do any dedicated exercise, but is in reasonable casual shape (can ride his bike around town for a few miles and uphill at a strenuous pace), and he got along fine as well.

Spousal Unit and I enjoyed the Level 3 Extended Glacier Trek with Northstar Trekking (Juneau) and the Triple Adventure Tour (hike, bike, and float) with Sockeye Cycling and Skagway Float Tours (Skagway). Check out my review and photos if you wish. :)

Thanks for the link! That looks like a great trail for our group. The website says there's a steep switchback for the first 500ft, do you think it's still easy enough for a preschooler (and those of us who are REALLY out of shape) to walk? :D

That switchback is pretty steep - rather like walking up a long flight of stairs. It should be OK if you can handle a staircase of similar length. If not, hopefully one of the other trails mentioned above will be a better fit for the whole group. :)

I had a nice hike on the Lower Dewey Lake trail, which is just off the main stretch of downtown.

Spousal Unit and I booked an inside cabin to save money for excursions. Since the Radiance of the Seas has so many windows, we easily found spots around the ship to enjoy the scenery, including an uncrowded lower deck for Hubbard Glacier viewing. We don't feel that we missed anything - if I were to go on another Alaska cruise, I would stick with the cheapo cabin unless I lucked into some fantastic deal.

I was mainly interested in outdoor activities, history, and culture (especially the chance to chat with local folks at length), and I would consider all of my choices to be potential "musts" for anyone with similar tastes. I booked Wild Wolf Tours directly and everything else through a third party agent. Feel free to check out my trip report for more details and photos.

Ketchikan - Totem Bight Park and Lunch Creek Trail with Wild Wolf Tours, Dolly's House

Juneau - Level 3 Extended Glacier Trek via Helicopter with Northstar Trekking

Skagway - Triple Adventure Tour (Hike, Bike, Float) with Sockeye Cycling and Skagway Float Tours, Red Onion Saloon tour, hike on my own to Lower Dewey Lake