OCD Planner's Live ALASKA Photo Trip Report 16 day Cruise Tour aboard Radiance

[bound4sea]

Thank you so much for the comments. It lets me know that all the time & effort that I'm putting in to this is helping someone.

 

Yes! thanks so much for sharing your travels!!

We've been to Alaska a couple years ago, but we're doing our first cruisetour (#12) beginning July 28 leaving from Anchorage.. and haven't seen any information from RCI about the tour part. And I started a roll-call, which no one has joined.. so i was beginning to wonder if we were the only ones going :confused:.

I also am OCD about planning, I've been getting ready for the past year.. or it feels like it! haha

I was wondering, when did you get your travel documents and did you ever anything from RCI about the tour part? like hotels, arrival/departure times? You're provided such wonderful information, I think you've already covered any other questions.

Safe travels!

Linda & Don

[SandySetsSail]

Ok. I admit it. I'm addicted to this review. My DH and I will be on the June 28 sailing, and I'm enjoying following along with you on your amazing trip. Thank you!

[Seagalpat]

I woke up this morning to realize I had not thought of them. Since we really have been on "simple"cruises/trips before we haven't gotten the special TSA locks. Is that what your using?

 

Have I told you how much I enjoy your trip. A million thanks.

[BecciBoo]

Cindy, this is so much fun....keep up the good work...but remember to enjoy yourself. I'm much too selfish to do what you're doing.

Remember when they did the painted Longhorns here in Texas?

They were everywhere too! The moose are Too cute!

The Caribou sounds so tasty. We love Elk meat dishes and of course we eat our local venison all year. But I love Elk Stew so the Caribou chili sounds yummy!

Happy travels ya'll.

[ace1zoe2]

Yes! thanks so much for sharing your travels!!

We've been to Alaska a couple years ago, but we're doing our first cruisetour (#12) beginning July 28 leaving from Anchorage.. and haven't seen any information from RCI about the tour part. And I started a roll-call, which no one has joined.. so i was beginning to wonder if we were the only ones going :confused:.

I also am OCD about planning, I've been getting ready for the past year.. or it feels like it! haha

I was wondering, when did you get your travel documents and did you ever anything from RCI about the tour part? like hotels, arrival/departure times? You're provided such wonderful information, I think you've already covered any other questions.

Safe travels!

Linda & Don

 

Linda (and Don),

 

I wish RCI did a better job explaining how the tour portion worked. In the past you could pre-book excursion. However, this year forward you can't book them until you actually arrive in Alaska.

 

My roll call for this cruise was also almost non-existent other than a few early posts only 2-3 people ever commented again. Glad to hear it wasn't just ours. But then there were other RC that had pages and pages and pages of comments. I guess that you just never know. I just think that fewer people traveling to Alaska (more older than younger) don't even know what CC is, at least that's what I'm chalking it up to.

 

The only "travel documents" you will receive is your "guest documents" that you will print out at home before you leave (unless you paid $35 to have them mailed to you).

If you received a booking confirmation when you reserved your cruise, it too will have the hotels on it. If you didn't get one, just call and ask them to email it to you. You will receive absolutely nothing with any times for the land portion. Once you get to Alaska you will get a single piece of paper (I posted pictures earlier) that has your daily times to have your luggage out and what your doing that day. You will get another single sheet of paper with the excursion options. That's it.

 

They want to take care of everything for you and for you to just sit back and relax. They pick up your bags, load them on the coach/train and you don't see them again until you walk in your hotel room door and there they are magically waiting for you. When your on the coach/train your tour director will tell you what time to put your bags out the next morning & where to meet (which is 99% of the time the exact place that you got dropped off). As you are getting off the coach at the hotel, your tour director hands you an envelope with your room key and you just go straight to your room. No check in needed... it's all done for you. Then you are free to enjoy yourself until the next day, whether that's hanging at the hotel/resort, going on an excursion, going out to dinner, etc.

 

I hope this gives you a better idea on how it works. I know going in, I didn't have a clue and none of the reviews I looked at even touched on how it works.

 

 

 

 

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[ace1zoe2]

Ok. I admit it. I'm addicted to this review. My DH and I will be on the June 28 sailing, and I'm enjoying following along with you on your amazing trip. Thank you!

 

Thanks for commenting. You will have a fabulous time in Alaska. The interior is so different from the inside passage in terms of what you will see. Have fun!

 

 

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[ace1zoe2]

I woke up this morning to realize I had not thought of them. Since we really have been on "simple"cruises/trips before we haven't gotten the special TSA locks. Is that what your using?

 

Have I told you how much I enjoy your trip. A million thanks.

 

We did not use any type of locks on our luggage, however we did carry-ons only (which they ended up checking for free) and we've had no problems. If they want in your luggage bad enough they will get in it. Besides, anything of value (ipads, photo equip etc we had in backpacks with us at all times.)

 

 

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[texas.travelers]

Yum...banana pudding ice cream... my favorite. Kynlee has been "talking to Poppy" on her phone a lot lately. I told the girls about you guys seeing the bears and the momma and baby moose. Oh, and riding the train. Sounds like y'all are having a great trip. Wish I was there with you guys. Can't wait for our European cruise next year.

[sr4mjc]

What did the Caribou taste like? Venison?

Edited June 6, 2013 by sr4mjc

[ace1zoe2]

Yum...banana pudding ice cream... my favorite. Kynlee has been "talking to Poppy" on her phone a lot lately. I told the girls about you guys seeing the bears and the momma and baby moose. Oh, and riding the train. Sounds like y'all are having a great trip. Wish I was there with you guys. Can't wait for our European cruise next year.

 

Missing everyone! Can't wait until our next family cruise! We went to a wildlife sanctuary today and saw tons of animals. I'll post pics later. Love to all.

[ace1zoe2]

What did the Caribou taste like? Venison?

 

The caribou was very good. It is not gamey at all. I do not like venison but really enjoyed the caribou tacos.

 

We had a reindeer hot dog today for lunch and it reminded me of a hot link.

 

The only difference in caribou and reindeer is that one is wild and the other is not, according to our tour director.

[ace1zoe2]

Cindy, this is so much fun....keep up the good work...but remember to enjoy yourself. I'm much too selfish to do what you're doing.

Remember when they did the painted Longhorns here in Texas?

They were everywhere too! The moose are Too cute!

The Caribou sounds so tasty. We love Elk meat dishes and of course we eat our local venison all year. But I love Elk Stew so the Caribou chili sounds yummy!

Happy travels ya'll.

 

Thanks Becci!

 

I'm only journaling at night or when we're waiting to board a train or bus. It keeps me busy & enjoy it.

 

 

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[BecciBoo]

The current time and date right now in Alaska, United States is

6:14 AM

Thursday, June 06, 2013

 

It is 10:14 in Texas....wakey wakey ya'll. Time to get rollin for another great day of fun!!:D;)

[secret1122]

The current time and date right now in Alaska, United States is

6:14 AM

Thursday, June 06, 2013

 

 

It is 10:14 in Texas....wakey wakey ya'll. Time to get rollin for another great day of fun!!:D;)

Your town must not observe DST. I was initially confused since I'm in GA and the time here was the same as you posted. I chalked it up to you possibly not observing DST? I can't see how else we are seeing the same time on our clocks.

[BecciBoo]

Yes, we do. It is exactly 11:03 here now. My last post had a time mark of 9:16 which showed on the top of the post. This one has the correct 11:04 time.\

 

http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/time-zone/usa/texas/time/

 

Does Texas observe Daylight Saving Time?

 

Daylight Saving Time is observed through a large part of Texas , where the time is shifted forward by 1 hour, resulting in a 5 hours and 6 hours difference behind GMT for the Eastern and Western part of Texas respectively.

 

After the Summer months the time in Texas is shifted back by 1 hour to standard time.

Edited June 6, 2013 by BecciBoo

[ace1zoe2]

Here are couple more photos from Talkeetna:

 

 

 

 

 

The Talkeetna Depot & Service Schedule:

 

 

 

 

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[ace1zoe2]

We left Talkeetna at 4:55 and as soon as everyone was on the train and it had pulled away from the station they started dinner service downstairs. Since we wouldn't be to Anchorage until 8pm we decided to go ahead and eat on the train. Here are the dinner menus and what we had:

 

 

 

 

 

 

We share the shrimp cocktail and the prime rib which came with veggies and potatoes. We asked to sub the wild rice for the garlic mashed potatoes and they had no problem with us doing this. Again it was a lot of food and we didn't go away hungry. We even turned down dessert because we couldn't take another bite!

 

 

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[ace1zoe2]

We arrived in Anchorage at 8pm, transferred to our motor coach and were at the Downtown Marriott by 8:20.

 

 

 

 

Cam handed us our room keys as we got off the coach and we went up and dropped out backpacks before heading out to see the city. Downtown is very compact and walkable. We ended up walking back to the train station to take pictures of the very first steam engine that the Alaska Rail Road operated in Alaska.

 

 

After the walked around some of the souvenir shops and I purchased my Christmas ornament that was hand-made by an Alaskan (not imported from China :))

 

Finally around 10:00 we headed back to the hotel. Hubby made us reservation at the Snow City Cafe for breakfast (yes, reservations for breakfast). It's a super busy place downtown that everyone recommended. Since that's hubby's favorite meal of the day, that's where we're going.

 

Bags are supposed to be out at 10:30am in the morning and we leave at 12:00 for Girdwood. Girdwood is the name of the actual town we will be staying in, however it's called Alyeska, because that is the mountain where the ski resort is.

 

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[sr4mjc]

oh, quick question for when you board the ship. I need to ask before I forget. Can you let us know how the temperature is of the public areas? DH swears it was very warm inside when we cruised Alaska in 2007 and wants to pack short sleeve shirts for the dining room, Chops and Portofino. :rolleyes: My theory is anything seems warm after being outside next to a glacier!

Edited June 6, 2013 by sr4mjc

[ace1zoe2]

Day 6 - Wednesday - Anchorage to Alyeska

 

We were up at 6:15am this morning, dressed and headed out for our 7 minute walk to the Snow City Cafe for breakfast.

 

 

 

 

Hubby had the Polar Bear breakfast and he chose the giant pancake and bacon:

 

 

and I had the breakfast burrito smothered in cheese and green chili sauce. It was ginormous and I barely at half of it. It was an actual burrito sized tortilla filled with eggs, chorizo, onions, tomatoes, hashbrowns, sour cream ranchero sauce & cheese:

 

 

This was a very good place for breakfast. The burrito was awesome and again we could have easily shared but we don't eat the same types of food for breakfast. They

keep 25% of the tables available by reservation, or you can just show up & wait. Since we were on a schedule we made reservations. We had a Segway tour booked at 9am so we needed to make sure we got in & out. They were very friendly and we had a terrific server. I would highly recommend Snow City Cafe if you visit Anchorage.

 

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[ace1zoe2]

After breakfast we headed over couple of blocks to the meeting place for our Segway tour. We were a little early so we looked around for a little bit in a souvenir shop across the street until 8:50. There were only 4 total on the Segway tour and after a short video and signing the required release forms we were ready to go. Everyone went out back and practiced in area away from traffic. We had done seg tours already in Ft Worth twice and in San Juan, so it was just like riding a bicycle. It takes about 1-2 minutes and it feels like an old habit.

 

Some of the sites we saw on our tour were a huge beaver dam:

 

 

The history of Anchorage which is painted on the side of a downtown building:

 

 

I just like this shot that I took near Ship Creek and the fish ladders:

 

 

 

 

Yours truly on our seg tour:

 

 

We had a fun time on our tour. It allowed us to see a lot of the downtown area in a short amount of time, learn about the history of Anchorage and mostly have some fun!

 

The Segway seems on first glance to be intimidating - how am I going to balance? Will I fall over? Where is the brake? Will I look stupid in the helmet? - but it is so simple and easy to get the hang of. After about 10-15 minutes of practice you will feel like you've been riding one your entire life! And it's just like a bike, once you've done it, it is super simple the next time. You can find more information or book tours here: http://segtours.net

 

The tour include stops to view King and Silver Salmon returning from the ocean to spawn at Ship Creek; a view of Cook Inlet, the Alaska Range, Mt McKinley and Mount Susitna at Resolution Park; the Alaska Statehood Monument with views of Anchorage’s original town site and the historic Alaska Railroad terminal and Town Square in the heart of downtown with its fabulous wildflower displays. The tours last 2 hours including a 20 minute orientation. Helmet are required to be worn.

 

 

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Edited June 6, 2013 by ace1zoe2

[ace1zoe2]

I forgot to mention that while we were on the seg tour that we met a Native Alaskan Eskimo who spoke to us in his native language then interpreted it for us.

 

And on the ride from Talkeetna to Anchorage we saw moose and a black bear from the train.

 

We left the hotel at noon by motor coach headed to Alyeska (Girdwood) driving down around the Turnigan Arm. The drive was very scenic! It's cold out and there were about 10 or so people kite surfing!

 

 

 

We saw damage from the earthquake of 1964. Houses swallowed by the earth and trees that are petrified that are so hard that can't be cut down:

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Edited June 6, 2013 by ace1zoe2

[Seagalpat]

Okay, so my husband is now glued to your travels as well and has a couple of ???

1. What is it like regarding the length of daylight? Have either of you had any problems adjusting?

2 Mosquitoes - are all over the place, just in the rural area, around water, require the constant bug spray??????? That's my question.:confused:

[Fluffy Terry]

Thank you for your effort as well - we booked this over a year ago and I am like yourself - obsessed with reading everything I can and having everything in place before we go and yes I have the little binder with all the dividers, with everything we want to see and do each stop - but like the same found it very hard to find information on the land portion - did the cruise in 2002 but this is the first time doing the land and really appreciate the information. We depart July 12 on a Friday just like you in order to spend an extra day in Fairbanks and also have booked #13 so am drooling just thinking about reading this thread.

 

Thanks again

[BecciBoo]

Fantastic mountain photos Cindy...just beautiful!! Like out of a magazine!:D

Food looked soooo yummy...I am also a breakfast aficionado.

Once in Silverthorn Colo. I ordered blueberry pancakes and expected the usual, but they were really "cakes"...2 inches high...they had baked the batter! Your Hubby's looked so delectable.