Review on our Alaska Cruise aboard the Radiance

[jennat]

The day I am about to tell you about was wonderful. Get excited but even more than that, tonight was BOWZER! Now don't get all excited and start screaming and throwing your underwear at the computer screen, I'm just sayin'

The time is almost here. Bow bow bow bow!

 

Today we awoke to a gorgeous Alaska day. Seriously gorgeous. We had booked an excursion with Dyea Dave and headed out early (I know!) to meet up with him. Dyea Dave offers a tour and drive up into the Yukon to Emerald Lake. It was great. You can ride the train one way and meet up with him if you want.....I didn't want. It is around $69 pp for a full day.

The water was an incredible color of green (and this is not a trick of the light)

This is Princess but thought it was pretty with the backdrop.

He told us to walk to the end of the dock. We finally found him a little ways further down by the small boat harbor. It could be that we were early and he hadn't made it back to where we were yet but just in case, keep walking until you see him. He is hard to miss.

This is actually our driver, Barry, but you get the idea.

We started driving (there were 16 of us onboard) around town and he gave interesting information on the different buildings and the history of the town. He said that Skagway was a place where they "mined the miners" and they are still doing that today. Hey! I think that comment was addressed to us!

 

 

Here is the train you would be on if you took the train.

 

 

See Skagway in the distance.

 

 

He continued through town sharing with us that there are four churches in town and each is painted a different color. He goes to the white one....because they have the best breakfast....and it is the most important meal of the day.

 

Passports in hand, we headed out of town into the Yukon and Canada (is that redundant?)

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

Love all your pictures, they are amazing!!!

 

***

[rascalious]

At the rate we are going here, you won't be hot or humid in Vancouver!! Been cooler than normal so far............ We can't get above 20C or about 70F but it is pleasant and no humidity and you should love it!!!

 

We have 3 companies in town that do hop on hop off tours, a good way to see the city!!

Enjoy your cooler holiday to come...........:D

That is very welcome information. We are in a severe drought. 1/10 of an inch of rain since last September. Watering restrictions are now in place and being enforced. We have had about two straight months of temps above 100 degrees. Several days in a row hovering around 110. I know we are in West Texas, but this is a really atypical and unbearable heat. We are so looking forward to the cooler climes of Alaska and Vancouver!

[Rockfordcruiser]

More! More! More!.....feed the addiction please...:D 44 more days...

[jennat]

This seriously was an amazing drive. He instructed us to yell STOP if we saw any wildlife....not bear, or there is a bear or look, look but STOP! That was the only rule, and we were off! One of the most amazing things to me about Alaska is the color of the water. It is a Caribbean shade of turquoise. Supposeably, (and someone more knowledgeable than me can chime in here) whatever makes the iceberg blue (that is the only color it doesn't reflect) is the same thing that makes the water blue (just melted)

 

Classroom time: Pay attention now.

As with water, this color is caused by the absorption of both red and yellow light (leaving light at the blue end of the visible light spectrum). The absorption spectrum of ice is similar to that of water, except that hydrogen bonding causes all peaks to shift to lower energy - making the color greener. This effect is augmented by scattering within snow, which causes the light to travel an indirect path, providing more opportunity for absorption.

 

From the surface, snow and ice present a uniformly white face. This is because almost all of the visible light striking the snow or ice surface is reflected back, without any preference for a single color within the visible spectrum.

 

So anyway, the water is a gorgeous color of blue. The road paralleled the train tracks but since the train can't go at a very steep grade it travels around a bit more.

 

 

This bridge is only attached on one side because it traverses a fault line so it it just suspended and wouldn't fall during an earthquake. I will just take their word for it, how about you?

 

at the summit

 

[jennat]

BEAR!

Add in screeching brakes (from 50 to 0 in 3 seconds) and sliding.....a little terrifying....which actually reminds me of another rule he had....don't stand because if he has to stop quickly you will go flying. Note to self....DON"T STAND!

 

 

Right next to the road.....how exciting!

 

 

 

 

Remember, almost all of these photos were taken through the bus window...and they are still that good. Gorgeous!

[jmf123]

One of the most amazing things to me about Alaska is the color of the water. It is a Caribbean shade of turquoise.

 

And are you aware that you can snorkel in Alaskan waters?! (Wetsuits are worn, of course). Jen, I love these beautiful photos and those bears are too cute!

[travelgoddess1]

BEAR!

Add in screeching brakes (from 50 to 0 in 3 seconds) and sliding.....a little terrifying....which actually reminds me of another rule he had....don't stand because if he has to stop quickly you will go flying. Note to self....DON"T STAND!

 

ROTFL -- literally!

[jennat]

Bear!

 

This one was right on the heels of the other one.....thankfully we saw this one because of cars pulled to the side of the road so we didn't have to risk death to stop! He was right on the side of the road and walked right toward our bus.

 

 

 

 

 

We passed through Customs and into Canada. It was really easy. Someone from border patrol came on the van and looked at all our passports. They were all American and apparently that made things easier.

 

 

 

 

 

Are you kidding me? Can you believe how beautiful this is??? And look at the scenery too (hahaha)

[jennat]

 

We continued up way past where the train stops to Carcross....an unappealing little town (oh, did I say that outloud?), a sweet little town nestled in the Canadian Rockies.

 

 

 

 

 

Let's just say, even the dogs were bored and wanting out of this town.

Literally, the only thing to do was to go in the Merchantile and ice cream stop. We had 20 minutes which was about 19 minutes too long. On the bright side we could get our passports stamped....Yippee!

[jennat]

And are you aware that you can snorkel in Alaskan waters?! (Wetsuits are worn, of course). Jen, I love these beautiful photos and those bears are too cute!

 

I am aware of this....I am also aware that you can walk on hot coals and swallow swords but why on earth would you want to?

I would have to channel my inner sea otter to do that. I have worn wet suits in Colorado Rivers and let me tell you....still cold!

 

Actually that sounds super cool. I bet it would be amazing and I would be totally up for it.

[jmf123]

 

We continued up way past where the train stops to Carcross....an unappealing little town (oh, did I say that outloud?), a sweet little town nestled in the Canadian Rockies.

 

Let's just say, even the dogs were bored and wanting out of this town.

 

Literally, the only thing to do was to go in the Merchantile and ice cream stop. We had 20 minutes which was about 19 minutes too long.

 

LOL, you crack me up! :D

[jennat]

Thanks for the great reviews Jen

 

We hope to take the Radiance soon, when we can afford it. We've always wanted to sail in Alaska- We've been on 5 previous RC cruises to either Eastern or Western Caribbean and once to the Mexican Riveria.

 

I will miss the Promenade and the sports bar though but look forward to the specialty restaurants.

 

We may have to postpone it until next years as my wife and I lost our jobs earlier in the year so we will be without incomes-hopefully for a short time.

 

If we wouldn't have lost them-we would definitely been going on a cruise in Alaska this year. I got laid off in February and my wife got laid off two months ago,

 

Times are tough down here in South Texas and hard to find jobs where we live in small towns

 

 

Such a bummer, I hope you both find work that you love soon!

[jennat]

Thanks for taking the time to write this wonderful review!! We are leaving on July 24 and will board the Radiance on the 29th. I am so happy that you had a great experience with Hope at Misty Bay Lodge. We are meeting her after our whale watching trip and going to look for bears. I had previously booked a whale watching trip before I found her website or we would have done both with her.

 

What night was the second formal night? Looks like you had a great trip!!

 

Day 2 and Day 6....so I guess that would be cruising inside passage and Skagway.

[jennat]

I have just sat here and read all 10 pages of your review and looked at every picture! We are on the july 8 sailing of Radiance and I am so excited to be reading about your cruise. Can't wait for the rest of it. We are doing a small boat whale watching tour in Icy Straights with Gulf winds I think it is, 6 people only. They say we are likely to see bears too, and I see you did. We are doing the Taku lodge float plane trip in Juneau, which I expect will be similar to your trip in Misty Fijords, which looked beautiful. I am loving your review and your writing style. Thank you for making it sound like we are there with you. Can't wait to experience it soon for ourselves! :)

 

Thanks, have an awesome time. Sounds wonderful!

[Bridge Maven]

Day 2 and Day 6....so I guess that would be cruising inside passage and Skagway.

 

On the June 17 southbound cruise formal nights were the days we did Hubbard Glacier and Icy Strait Point.

Edited June 28, 2011 by Bridge Maven

[jennat]

Thanks so much for reviewing!!! And especially for the pictures. :)

 

Any info on what people wore for casual/smart casual/formal in the MDR? Trying to figure out what to pack when we follow in your footsteps in a few weeks.

 

That is such a hard one. First of all, I only ate in the MDR twice, neither of which were on formal night but I did notice what people were wearing on the ship.

 

People did dress for formal night more than I expected but also dressed down more than I expected.....there were the crazy people, strutting their white pasty legs, tons of people in jeans and really casual with tennis shoes and people dressed to the nines. I would really say, dress how you want. What makes you feel comfortable. I know for me, after 11 cruises, I'm okay not dressing up and with all the baggage, I didn't want to deal with it. So I just wore black slacks and this

but if you notice the crowd here

you can see (this is formal night) that there was all kinds of attire.

I have said it before and I will say it until I die, "I am not a tennis shoe wearing kind" but I probably wore my tennis shoes more on this cruise than I have outside of the gym for the past year. I also wore jeans a ton. I don't normally even take jeans on a cruise.

 

Look at the crowd here

crappy picture, I know

 

I would say, Alaska is as dressy or as casual as you want it to be. I think the rule in the dining room is no shorts or swim suits, I THINK our waitress said you could wear jeans.

 

If you enjoy dressing up, you will not be the only one by far, if you don't, you won't feel self conscious.

 

Anyone else want to chime in?

 

 

Also, look at the social pics I post (at the crowd) and see if that helps. I am normally always dressed up (not a ball gown, that would be silly) but in slacks or capris. I dressed down on this cruise.

 

Hope that helps

[jennat]

It was time to eat and Barry took us to Spirit Lake Wilderness Resort....a restaurant run by a couple from Holland. The offered sandwiches, soup, pie (dutch apple of course) and drinks. He told us if we got all of it, it would be $36. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

The line was long, due to Dave's other charter so we headed on to Emerald Lake deciding on a stop on the way back.

Emerald Lake....Wanna know why it is named that?

 

 

 

 

 

Nuff said! we were allowed out of the car for roughly 3 minutes.....pause for dramatic effect. Actually, not sure if it was Barry that hurried us or the fact that the whole van was loaded back in and waiting for us, hankering for some $15 apple pie....either way, now you see it, now you don't and we are off.

 

We pull into where ever and low and behold there are several choices of sandwiches, turkey, ham, pbj all on white rainbow bread corner cut and wrapped nicely in seran wrap. REALLY? REALLY? It is a restaurant that only serves sandwiches and they are what I send with my kids to school. $56 please. we decided to forgo the highway robbery and settled for a drink. Our friends got all four fancy items and it was only $18 for all of it so Barry must have said/insinuated/thought that is was $36 for two people. A little better but REALLY?

Mike and I was desperately wanting to get back to town so we would have time to see the Red Onion(yes Onion) Salon as seen on the travel channel (because we are "those people") but thought it probably wasn't going to happen because our ship left at 4:30 and Barry was booking it to get us back by 4 at the latest. He did build in some time in case there was a problem getting through customs (an additional 30 minutes) because he is an awesome guide.

 

By the way, something i didn't mention but that is important. The entire way up (3 hours or so) Barry regaled us with interesting facts about the history of the area. Seriously, the whole way. He was awesome. He was more quiet on the way back.

[jennat]

 

Right around Carcross there is a desert....like the world's smallest desert.

 

Pay attention Class:

Carcross Desert, located outside Carcross, Yukon, Canada , is often considered the smallest desert in the world. However, the Desert of Maine, another similar false "desert", has an area of 40 acres. The Carcoss Desert measures approximately 1 square mile .

 

Carcross Desert is commonly referred to as a desert, but is actually a series of northern sand dunes. The area's climate is too humid to be considered a true desert. The sand was formed during the last ice age, when large glacial lakes formed and deposited silt. When the lakes dried, the dunes were left behind. Today, sand comes mainly from nearby Bennett Lake, carried by wind. The dunes contain a wide variety of plants, including unusual varieties such as Baikal sedge and Yukon lupine, among others.

 

It really was beautiful no matter what it's official title is.

 

 

 

 

 

[jennat]

 

Here is a photography trick I learned. We are probably standing 10 ft in front of this sign. we were right by it and he told us we would look very small (which is generally a look I go for) but he told us to move out. Cute, huh? Now I know and so do you!

 

 

 

we stop by a beach.....

 

[jennat]

STOP

 

 

 

 

Three bears today, what luck....I wonder if we will see Goldilocks soon.

 

 

We head back through customs.....will it take a long time???? Nope, flagged right through.....how's that for homeland security. I think it is because they knew Barry.....

[jennat]

Now we are booking. Will we make it back in time to visit the brothel? I hope, I hope. When we get into town, it is looking good.....Barry goes to collect the cash or checks that everyone brought to pay for the excursion. EVERYONE BUT ME! Loser that I am , I had forgotten that I hadn't prepaid and all I had was my useless credit card. I am thinking, crap, now I am going to have to go back onto the ship in my remaining time instead of seeing girls in the house of ill repute. I start eyeing my friends check book, quivering my chin and putting on my most pathetic desperate face. I would like to say two things here, when I say friend, we had just met in Icy Point and I am asking her to write a check for $160 with a promise to pay her back (famous last words) and b) my pathetic face is sadly close to my regular one. I will have to work on that.

Luckily, my friend is a trusting one (or a gambling girl), she paid, WE TIPPED (HELLO! the guy had lost his voice from all the narrating, people!) and we headed into town.

She saved the day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

we found our ornament and headed to, you guessed it, your favorite bordello and mine, the Red Onion!

[jennat]

We walk into a "bust"ling place. The hostess tells us it is about to clear our because a bunch of people are trying to catch their ship that is about to leave.

Ummmmmmm! Yeah, that would be our ship but dag gummit we are having a beer here.

 

 

 

 

Get that smile off of your face.

 

 

The madam came out announcing the tour was about to start. She sure made a rated G tour sound pretty rated R. Unfortunately, we had to slam the beers and head back to the ship. It was probably3/4 of a mile from where we were docked. At least we made it! we were really glad.

 

And yes, the very first thing I did on board was to get some cash and pay back my friend. Thank you friend for trusting and helping me.

[jennat]

On the June 17 southbound cruise formal nights were the days we did Hubbard Glacier and Icy Strait Point.

 

I just double checked the cruise compass....for some reason on ours it was Skagway, not Hubbard....maybe they change?

[micki84]

have a lovely photo of Radiance sailing under the Lions gate bridge in Vancouver... about a week after you guys left on your trip.

Thanks so very much for all your time and the wonderful review, and thanks also to your husband for posing so nicely !

When do you sleep ?? !!

being new to all this, I am hoping to figure out how to get this lovely photo to you... wish me luck !

 

here I go trying... sorry If I screw this up. If so I will try again.

looking forward to more from you... keep on posting...we are loving it.