Haysiedaze

Does anyone know if the bed in the master bedroom can be separated into 2 twins?

Thanks

Do you know if the bed in the Master bedroom can be made into 2 twins?

Thanks

I get freaked out everytime I sail when they make me get off the ship at the end of the cruise..........................

We stayed in 16128 on the Getaway June 26th. The room itself is huge. Very open for wheel chairs but the Balcony is narrow. I believe if you remove one of the 2 chairs on the balcony though you should be able to get the wheel chair on it.

I have pictures of the room but not the balcony. If interested email me

at My CC Username@ComcastDOTnet

Steve

Looking forward to your review. We are in Haven a week from Sunday on the Getaway!

Geocaching is new to me too. I was walking around our local mall recently and there was a kiosk that was advertising geocaching cruises. After talking to them I went home and googled geocaching and found out there were actually sites right around my house. Going to go check one out with my son.

Hi All,

 

I have only taken 2 cruises in my life (both on Carnival - one in my teens and one about 8 years ago). We are looking at an Alaska cruise on July 30 from Seattle and it looks like the Norwegian Jewel is the best option. Cruising will be me, my husband, my 17 year old son and one of his friends (probably will be either 17 or 18 at the time of the cruise). I have heard that Alaska cruises aren't usually the choice for families with kids, but my son is very outdoorsy and excited about Alaska. He doesn't want to do another beach vacation this year. Is this a good ship for teens? Anything we should know? We will be booking two rooms - a balcony room for my husband and me and I haven't decided on the boys yet (feeling guilty about an inside room for them, but thinking we could cover the cost of our excursions if we book that room for them rather than a balcony). It looks like there "might" be a couple of perks or add-ons that we can get if we book very soon. Is there anything we should look for? Also, I read a few posts that mentioned an upgrade number. What is the deal with that?

 

Oh - the only other options that will work with our dates are HAL Westerdam, Crown Princess, and the Norwegian Pearl.

 

Any help you could offer would be GREATLY appreciated!

 

Thanks!

 

 

Kim

We took our 2 teens to Alaska last July (trip report link below). While we were on RCL and left out of Seward I will report that they loved it. Cruising in July is so different then cruising the Caribbean in the winter months. Many more families travel that time of year. A highlight for the kids was sitting in a hot tub with other teens as we cruised Hubbard Glacier. Go and enjoy. It's a great vacation for the whole family.

Steve

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2239436

Thanks so much for the detail and pictures you posted on this review. You have some wonderful pictures of your trip. I enjoyed learning about the different ports and land tours you did independently. Great, great review!

Thank you.

Saw your signature. We only saw 2 moose (meese?) in Alaska.........I hope you have better luck!

I'd love to be sailing with you on the Radiance next year. It's a great itinerary.

Steve

Thank you for taking the time to post this great review :)

Thanks for the kind words. Alaska is one great vacation!

Really enjoyed your review sir. I'm planning my honeymoon Alaska cruise next year! Can't wait. Right now, I'm almost reading everything on cruise critic that has Alaska cruise in it. Hahaaa :):D

I read everything for almost 2 years before our trip, I know how addicting it is!

May you enjoy married life. Going to Alaska for a honeymoon, priceless!

Thanks for the kind words.

Steve

Thanks for posting the wonderful review and advise

So glad you and your family had a great vacation

Sorry for the duplicate post

Thanks for posting the wonderful review and advise

So glad you and your family had a great vacation

Thank you :)

Thanks for sharing your honest review- it looks like overall it was a great trip!

It truly was a great trip. Thanks for reading it.

I forgot to post the picture of Deck 11 at Hubbard Glacier to show how "crowded it was back there" :D

Here is the link

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2239436

but here is my summary:

In the end this was one great vacation. I do wonder what we would have thought of it if we sailed Vancouver to Seward and then the land tour to Fairbanks. By going Fairbanks to Seward to Vancouver, each day got better and better.

Lessons learned:

1. If at Anan Creek check to make sure people only sign up for 1 of the alloted times in the blind.

2. Do not do a cruise tour ever again. They may be right for some but not for us.

3. If I ever get the privelage to go back to Alaska fly to Anchorage.

a. Do a flight seeing tour over Denali. Do not ever take a bus of any type into it again.

b. Rent a car and spend the extra week on the Kenai Penninsula

c. Insure 1 or 2 days in Seward

d. Do not consider starting in Fairbanks, it is not spectacular like the Kenai and South.

4. Rent inside cabins again and spend the money on excursions.

5. Take my kids, they loved Alaska.

6. Take a photography course and either rent or buy a better camera (although now that I have started editing the photos the quality has become much better). Sorry for posting the unedited ones.

7. Bring bathing suits. Kids do use the pools on Radiance they are heated. We had cool weather and they were used often in spite of it. Hot tubs while watching glaciers? You bet!

8. Request a window table in the main dining room prior to sailing. It was nice to look out as we ate.

9. Stay out back on deck 11 on the Glacier Day. Here is a picture of me. Notice no one is even close (I had showered that day). It was so nice to be able to witness Hubbard Glacier without a crowd around.

10. Do another excursion with Glacier Wind and Island Wings. They were incredible experiances.

11. I don't talk much about the ship as this vacation was all about the itinerary. The ship was just a vehicle to get us to where we were going.

One last random thought.

My wife and 16 year old daughter were way out of their comfort zones as I planned the trip. They feared whale watching on a small boat. They were petrified of the idea of flying on a small plane, especially one that took off and landed on water. Being close to bears, no way! In the end they both fought through those fears and joined Eric and I on all the excursions. Now they can’t stop talking about how great our time in Alaska was. If you are nervous, don’t be. It is the vacation of a lifetime; at least it was for us. I have more pictures of everyone in our family smiling on this cruise than on any other vacation.

I have been blessed with a great wife, son and daughter. Alaska is a true wonder it is SPECTACULAR. Make the time to see it.

So our last excursion ended and we now were left with a day of sailing the inside passage. It was a very relaxing day after our previous 12. I spent some time walking around deck 11 trying to get some exercise. Judy sat on deck 5 or 6 reading until the smoke from the casino drove her out. We also started the dreaded packing for our flight home. Bags had to be out by 11 pm.

The kids spent time with their new friends. It was Eric’s 17th birthday. Starting at midnight on the 22nd he was serenated with Happy Birthday by the group. This occurred around 20 times over the course of the day according to him. I will say that this group of 10-12 kids got along great and were well behaved. Several were up at 5:00 am on Friday to say their goodbyes. They are still in touch over Skype.

We did see orcas in the passage but it was a dorsal fin or a spout. I did not see any close enough to see their bodies. The scenery is beautiful and it was a nice end to a great trip.

We booked Samba Grill for Eric's birthday dinner. We really enjoyed the food and service there. It was a new restaurant experience for us and it was fun. It ended with a desert with a candle and one last round of Happy Birthday. It kind of wrapped things up in a nice way.

We had a 12:40 pm flight out of Vancouver on Friday. We were in a group scheduled to leave the ship at 8:45 am. It was closer to 9 when we left but not by much. Getting through Canadians customs was a breeze. The Radiance was the only ship in port so we were able to quickly get a van to the airport (cost around $34). Once there we got through check in, luggage drop off and US Customs by 10:45. We were never rushed and the 12:40 time worked great.

In the end this was one great vacation. I do wonder what we would have thought of it if we sailed Vancouver to Seward and then the land tour to Fairbanks. By going Fairbanks to Seward to Vancouver, each day got better and better.

Lessons learned:

1. If at Anan Creek check to make sure people only sign up for 1 of the alloted times in the blind.

2. Do not do a cruise tour ever again. They may be right for some but not for us.

3. If I ever get the privelage to go back to Alaska fly to Anchorage.

a. Do a flight seeing tour over Denali. Do not ever take a bus of any type into it again.

b. Rent a car and spend the extra week on the Kenai Penninsula

c. Insure 1 or 2 days in Seward

d. Do not consider starting in Fairbanks, it is not spectacular like the Kenai and South.

4. Rent inside cabins again and spend the money on excursions.

5. Take my kids, they loved Alaska.

6. Take a photography course and either rent or buy a better camera (although now that I have started editing the photos the quality has become much better). Sorry for posting the unedited ones.

7. Bring bathing suits. Kids do use the pools on Radiance they are heated. We had cool weather and they were used often in spite of it. Hot tubs while watching glaciers? You bet!

8. Request a window table in the main dining room prior to sailing. It was nice to look out as we ate.

9. Stay out back on deck 11 on the Glacier Day. Here is a picture of me. Notice no one is even close (I had showered that day). It was so nice to be able to witness Hubbard Glacier without a crowd around.

10. Do another excursion with Glacier Wind and Island Wings. They were incredible experiances.

11. I don't talk much about the ship as this vacation was all about the itinerary. The ship was just a vehicle to get us to where we were going.

One last random thought.

My wife and 16 year old daughter were way out of their comfort zones as I planned the trip. They feared whale watching on a small boat. They were petrified of the idea of flying on a small plane, especially one that took off and landed on water. Being close to bears, no way! In the end they both fought through those fears and joined Eric and I on all the excursions. Now they can’t stop talking about how great our time in Alaska was. If you are nervous, don’t be. It is the vacation of a lifetime; at least it was for us. I have more pictures of everyone in our family smiling on this cruise than on any other vacation.

I have been blessed with a great wife, son and daughter. Alaska is a true wonder it is SPECTACULAR. Make the time to see it.

For this family!

I’d be happy to answer questions and thanks for reading along.

Steve

So you are saying, not all of your group got to the blinds?? You've got to be kidding. I've been there 3 times, and always, it was made sure you got to the blinds. (which is a significant element of this viewing. You signed up for your time through the guide and rangers, instructions, right when you got there.

Yes we went immediately to the sign up sheet when we got there. It was hangng on a post. The rangers nor the guide were supervising it.

When our group of 10 (my family of 4 and the other CC Roll Group of 6) got there, there were 10-12 others there. Many were young kids and they were scribbling their names on the sheet (unsupervised) and laughing when we got there. They had signed up for all but 2 single openings. I took one of the available ones (my family knew this was my passion and I love them for letting me have the spot usually Dad gives up things, this time I didn't) and the other group took the other single spot. So only 2 of the 10 of us got to go to the blind.

We did not think to see if the others had signed up for multiple times. Michelle from Island Wings is certain they had. Michelle was not happy with the bear guide she hired (Tim) for not checking. I am not happy now that I look back. I wish I had been warned. So it's a lesson learned to pass onto others in Cruise Critic.

Steve

Soooo excited! I will be in Anan on Sunday. I hope I have of good luck as you. Thank you for the tip about the sign ups. I will definitely speak up if I do t get a time. I didn't pay all that money not to get my turn.we are also doing a whale watch at ICP although we are with FiISHES but it sounds like they get close too.

Enjoy and may you be blessed with good weather, lots of whales and bears!

I wish I had known about the double sign ups, my whole family and the other people in our group might have had the thrill of the blind.

Steve

We saw 2-3 brown (grizzly) bears. After 2 years with mom one was out on his own for the first year. He was in the learning mode for catching salmon. We got quite a kick out of the antics. Diving, jumping, clawing and sitting as it chased dinner. Finally it was rewarded.

I saw a salmon here, where did it go?

I give up

Finally Success

I need my nails done or don't mess with me check out my claws

One brown bear walked from the river up towards the platform. It got within 30 feet or so before turning and disappearing into the brush. Wow! No zoom needed!

I almost forgot one very important thing at Anan. When you arrive at the platform you can sign up to go down into the blind that is at river level. When we got there there were already 10 or so people at the platform. They had signed up for all but 2 individual times. I got one of the two and the other went to one of the 6 in our other roll call group. When I mentioned this to Michelle on the way back she guessed the others in front of us signed up for more than one 30 minute time. She was not happy and told Tim to check for this in the future. You are only allowed 1 30 minute time and there are 5 in the blind at the same time. If you see people signing up for more than one time bring it to the attention of the rangers at the platform. I got to go and was with in 30 feet of a huge black bear, it was incredible. Don't let greedy people spoil your chance!

We saw black bears (6-7 different ones according to Tim)

Bears show up from the cliff above

and from the many caves in the river bank

they are intense

they are successful

We also saw a few (dozen) Eagles

I am down to the review of our last excursion. I have noticed that many have read this so I hope it gave you some insight into this cruise and cruise tour. Thanks for reading along. As the planner for this family trip, I’d love to say I planned on saving the best for last but no it just ended up that way. I booked Anan Creek Bear Viewing with Island Wings in May of 2014 for our July of 2015 cruise. I did this based on the information provided by many in this forum. All I can say is THANK YOU! I mean it THANK YOU.

Within a week or so of my booking someone in our roll call also booked it for his group of 6. After that someone else reported on the roll call that it was sold out. We booked the inside cabins to allow us to spend the money on this excursion. That was so worthwhile. I can cruise on a balcony in the Caribbean but I could never witness nature in its most incredible form as I did with Anan Creek without saving on the cabins.

As for Island Wings, Shona replied within a day of my request for booking. She kept us informed right through the October lottery for passes at Anan. The owner pilot, Michelle, was fantastic. What an adventurous life she has had. She has flown enough hours to have been off the ground for over 3 full years of her life. My wife and daughter were not thrilled with me for booking a float plane excursion (never mind 2 but Juneau was cancelled) but in the end loved it. Island Wings is a great company.

By the way they only take 5 passengers plus your assigned bear guide on The Lady Ester, Michelle’s plane. Five of the other roll call group, were flown by a pilot that leases dock space from Michelle. He is the only pilot she will work with because she trusts his piloting skills. That is a pretty high recommendation in my book.

After an incredibly smooth landing at Anan we got out at a ranger outpost. Here we turned over any food to the bear guide, Tim. He only will carry food for someone with a medical problem to the bear viewing area. We were told to use the outhouse at the beach as the one at the platform can be an adventure. If a bear brings their salmon to eat up near the outhouse you are stuck in it until the bear leaves. Believe me if it is as aromatic as the one on the beach I’d take my chance with wrestling the bear to get out of it!

After a fairly easy hike from the beach we arrived at the bear platform. On the way the path is covered with bear skat. There are numerous places where bears had dug for food too. It makes you appreciate having an armed (large caliber pistol and bear spray) guide with you.

So without further words here is what we saw at Anan Creek

Michelle, Tim and her plane

Scenery

The path in

Juvenile Eagles

We saw tails

and then we saw 3 whales breach!!!! One I managed to get a quick shot of. SPECTACULAR!

Next up Ketchikan - Anan Creek

No words can describe the beauty of the whales we saw. It was only about 10 minutes from the dock before we saw some. Shawn had had one previous tour that day and that tour got to see a pod of Orcas. They move fast and we did not get to see them. One other highlight of Glacier Wind is that Shawn put a hydrophone into the water and we got to hear the whales! He also shows a tremendous respect for them and always tries to keep a safe distance away. He also leaves his motor running when we drifted so the whales knew where the boat was.

So what did we see?

Spouting

We saw a headstand, the whale goes straight up and slides back into the water. I know this picture is fuzzy but it is so unexpected as to what and when the whales appear that I was lucky to get it.

A "Fluke Wave" from a distance

We arrived at Icy Straight early on Tuesday of our cruise. This is a tendor port but we had no issue departing around 9:00 am for our 10:00 am Whale Watching Excursion with Glacier Wind Charters.

Theresa picked us up just outside the cruise port right on time. She was friendly and engaging, a very customer savy business owner. She gave us the brief tour of Hoonah (it is a very tiny community) and then took us to the dock to meet Captain Shawn.

Shawn too made us very comfortable from the outset. His boat, the Kohola, is a catamaran style outboard with twin outboards. We were blessed with a beautifully calm day and bright sunshine. On the boat with our family of four were 2 people from our roll call. We had already met Becca at the Meet and Greet on board the Radiance so it was nice to be with new friends. The ride was very comfortable and there was plenty of room in the cabin for all 6 of us. Soda, water, coffee, chips and salmon dip with crackers were provided. There is room to walk completely around the deck outside and you can get incredible views without being crammed together. Glacier Wind is an exceptional excursion and well worth booking way in advance.

As for this excursion – SPECTACULAR sums it up. While waiting for the tender for our ride back to the ship after the cruise, we got to compare notes with people that took F.I.S.H.E.S (another small boat company) and also from one of the RCL “big boats”. The people from F.I.S.H.E.S were watching the same group of whales we were and were actually closer to the breaches we saw and also said their excursion was SPECTACULAR. The person that was on the RCL excursion saw us looking at pictures with the group from the other small boat and couldn’t believe it. They saw the back of one whale. They said they cruised in circles without sighting any other whales. They were not happy. Again it is wildlife and that was our lucky day, not so much for them.

So here are pictures of the big boat and Icy Straight Point/Hoonah. My next post will be from our Glacier Wind Charter.

Hoonah Harbor

Spectacular views from Glacier Wind Charter even without whales

"Big Boat"