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

[ace1zoe2]

I was scrolling through the page and wa-la. There is the link. I was going to try to find it. Your review is why I have scheduled our next cruise to NE/Canada.

 

Thanks for this review. Look forward to your adventure in Alaska.

 

Now off to re read your Canada/NE review and do my initial research.

Safe travels tomorrow.

 

luvscrusing,

 

Glad that I decided to post that link again. That was another trip that I couldn't find a lot of info on. It seems like the majority of the reviews are about Oasis & Allure... two ships which at this time I have no interest in. But I won't say never... maybe we'll do them one day when the grandbabies are a little older.

 

I added the link to my signature so I didn't have to search for it anymore :)

 

Thanks for following along on the Alaska trip. Hope you can pick up some additional info as you re-read that maybe you didn't catch the first time.

Edited May 31, 2013 by ace1zoe2

[jojoanddash]

Hello & thank you for sharing all of your info I do have a few quetions though... what is the deal with room 9256 & what catagory is it in? I will be on my first Royal cruise & my first Alaska cruise & we are doing a cruisetour in June 2014. I have been reading everything I can find and the DVR is stuck to the travel channels lol. Also I would love to hear more about these that you mentioned:

 

"I learned about the coupon books for Buy One Get One free excursion tour coupons (Northern Lights and ALASKA TOURSAVERS), I learned about the Alaska Airlines FREE COMPANION FARE with their credit card, I learned about the Shuttle to Eielson & the absolute minimum distance that I needed to get in to Denali, I found out about MURRAY'S GUIDE to the South Klondike Hwy."

 

Can't wait to read all about your journey. safe travels

[Clarea]

Hello & thank you for sharing all of your info I do have a few quetions though... what is the deal with room 9256 & what catagory is it in? ...

9256 is a D2 category balcony stateroom.

[irishgal432]

Hello & thank you for sharing all of your info I do have a few quetions though... what is the deal with room 9256 & what catagory is it in? I will be on my first Royal cruise & my first Alaska cruise & we are doing a cruisetour in June 2014. I have been reading everything I can find and the DVR is stuck to the travel channels lol. Also I would love to hear more about these that you mentioned:

 

"I learned about the coupon books for Buy One Get One free excursion tour coupons (Northern Lights and ALASKA TOURSAVERS), I learned about the Alaska Airlines FREE COMPANION FARE with their credit card, I learned about the Shuttle to Eielson & the absolute minimum distance that I needed to get in to Denali, I found out about MURRAY'S GUIDE to the South Klondike Hwy."

 

Can't wait to read all about your journey. safe travels

 

Room 9256 is a D2 which is a corner aft balcony, which provides a larger balcony with lounge chairs and a beautiful view of the aft.

 

It is two decks below the man in the blue shirt.

 

[cruiseguy1016]

Hello & thank you for sharing all of your info I do have a few quetions though... what is the deal with room 9256 & what catagory is it in? I will be on my first Royal cruise & my first Alaska cruise & we are doing a cruisetour in June 2014. I have been reading everything I can find and the DVR is stuck to the travel channels lol. Also I would love to hear more about these that you mentioned:

 

"I learned about the coupon books for Buy One Get One free excursion tour coupons (Northern Lights and ALASKA TOURSAVERS), I learned about the Alaska Airlines FREE COMPANION FARE with their credit card, I learned about the Shuttle to Eielson & the absolute minimum distance that I needed to get in to Denali, I found out about MURRAY'S GUIDE to the South Klondike Hwy."

 

Can't wait to read all about your journey. safe travels

 

9256 has one of the largest balconies on the ship for a non-suite cabin. Most balconies have 2 chairs and a small table. 9256 has 2 chairs, 2 loungers and a table. Also, it's on the corner of the ship. It allows you to look around the corner toward the front of the ship to see where you are going. You can't look directly down the side of the ship but you can see a lot of what's ahead of you.

[BecciBoo]

March is when they open Alaska cruises for the next season, I was one of the first to call RCCL the day it was released, I could have had any cabin on the ship the early morning I called, and was prepared to book one of the port side hump cabins which also have long large balconies, but on the advice of the folks on Cruise Critic I changed my mind, because of many reasons.

If you can't book a D category on the aft, then you should go for these cabins, like 9078. But if you want to avoid wind and get a spectacular view of the wake, then the D cats on the aft are the ones to book. Unless you can spring for a suite on the aft;):D

 

Good luck with that though, they are usually gone the first day!

Edited May 31, 2013 by BecciBoo

[sr4mjc]

What part of the country are you from? We're from the northeast and a toboggan is a type of snow sled. In other parts of the country, it's a knit hat. There's a long, funny story about how I learned this.

 

I'm in FL.. this is a foreign concept. LOL I thought it was a sled too! :D

[Amber Owens]

Have fun on your trip…I’m on the edge of my seat waiting to read about all of your adventures! ;)

[sr4mjc]

CROWN & ANCHOR MEMBERSHIP – this is RCI’s rewards program for repeat cruisers. You earn 1 point for each night you cruise. There are different levels of membership and each adds on a few more perks. The best perk being the BALCONY DISCOUNT when you reach platinum at 30 points. You get $150 off the price of a balcony stateroom for 7 nights. The discount goes up with each level you reach. THAT’S FREE MONEY towards the price of your cruise that you don’t have to pay! Also upon reaching Diamond you get free drinks & appetizers in the diamond lounge nightly thru the dinner hours. There are lots of perks you can read about on their website here: http://www.royalcaribbean.com/cas/aboutprogram.do?cS=NAVBAR&pnav=6&snav=3

 

Just wanted to make a quick correction to the $150 listed above for Platinum, the C&A balcony discounts are as follows:

 

 

Platinum Balcony Discount When Booking More Than 6 Months From Sailing Date:

$ 50* for sailings of 3-5 nights

$100* for sailings of 6-9 nights

$200* for sailings of 10-14 nights

$200* for sailings of 15+ nights

 

Emerald Balcony Discount When Booking More Than 6 Months From Sailing Date:

$ 75* for sailings of 3-5 nights

$125* for sailings of 6-9 nights

$225* for sailings of 10-14 nights

$225* for sailings of 15+ nights

 

Diamond Balcony Discount When Booking More Than 6 Months From Sailing Date:

$125* for sailings of 3-5 nights

$225* for sailings of 6-9 nights

$325* for sailings of 10-14 nights

$325* for sailings of 15+ nights

 

Diamond Plus & Pinnacle Balcony Discount When Booking More Than 6 Months From Sailing Date:

$150* for sailings of 3-5 nights

$250* for sailings of 6-9 nights

$350* for sailings of 10-14 nights

$350* for sailings of 15+ nights

 

We just made Diamond before our Alaska cruise, thanks RCCL for $225 off! I too try my best to use my RCCL Visa for OBC, Airline miles, etc. It really pays off!

[Tkaklita]

Tkaklita,

 

It sounds like you've got a great girl's trip planned... hope you have a great time!

 

Happy Sails :)

 

What is so funny is that orginally my aunt & I would have been on this cruise with you. I am actually happier now that we are going next year on the June 13th sailing so that now it is the "Girls" cruise and I get to benefit from your vast knowledge, experience and tips while you are on this cruise.

 

Have wonderful time yourself and thank you for everything you are doing to help the rest of us out in enjoying the best of our most magnificient 49th state!!

Edited May 31, 2013 by Tkaklita

[ace1zoe2]

Just wanted to make a quick correction to the $150 listed above for Platinum, the C&A balcony discounts are as follows:

 

 

Platinum Balcony Discount When Booking More Than 6 Months From Sailing Date:

$ 50* for sailings of 3-5 nights

$100* for sailings of 6-9 nights

$200* for sailings of 10-14 nights

$200* for sailings of 15+ nights

 

Emerald Balcony Discount When Booking More Than 6 Months From Sailing Date:

$ 75* for sailings of 3-5 nights

$125* for sailings of 6-9 nights

$225* for sailings of 10-14 nights

$225* for sailings of 15+ nights

 

Diamond Balcony Discount When Booking More Than 6 Months From Sailing Date:

$125* for sailings of 3-5 nights

$225* for sailings of 6-9 nights

$325* for sailings of 10-14 nights

$325* for sailings of 15+ nights

 

Diamond Plus & Pinnacle Balcony Discount When Booking More Than 6 Months From Sailing Date:

$150* for sailings of 3-5 nights

$250* for sailings of 6-9 nights

$350* for sailings of 10-14 nights

$350* for sailings of 15+ nights

 

We just made Diamond before our Alaska cruise, thanks RCCL for $225 off! I too try my best to use my RCCL Visa for OBC, Airline miles, etc. It really pays off!

 

Thanks so much for posting the correct info as i was typing from memory. This cruise will make us Diamond so when I get back ,I get to call RCI and get $325 off of of the balance I owe on our 2014 10 night European cruise!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[ace1zoe2]

What is so funny is that orginally my aunt & I would have been on this cruise with you. I am actually happier now that we are going next year on the June 13th sailing so that now it is the "Girls" cruise and I get to benefit from your vast knowledge, experience and tips while you are on this cruise.

 

Have wonderful time yourself and thank you for everything you are doing to help the rest of us out in enjoying the best of our most magnificient 49th state!!

 

I remember you being on our Roll Call for while :) I was disappointed that it was such slow roll call. Hopefully you will have a very active one for next year's trip.

 

Thanks for following our trip.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[ace1zoe2]

We're finally on the plane! The flight is completely full and they were begging for 25 or more people to check their bags to our final estination due to limited overhead storage. We finally gave in & checked to be able to board early since we are flying coach (that was the incentive they offered).

 

Hope when we get to Fairbanks our carry-ons are there :D because every piece of clothing we have, other than coats, is in them. At least it didn't cost me the $50 for the two bags like the bigger bags would have.

 

So far everything has gone with the plan. Traffic was light, quick lunch at the airport, on the plane early. We should arrive in Seattle at 4:45 ish and have a 3 hour layover which will give us time for dinner and a chance to stretch our legs. We arrive at Fairbanks at 10:30 ish (talking from memory).

 

Hope to have pictures to post next time. Catch you guys on the flip side :)

Edited May 31, 2013 by ace1zoe2

[Seagalpat]

OMG your on your way. I am beyond excited and on pins and needles for your next post. Than you AGAIN for your information and hints. Just read about the train schedule and of course the train company. You know we just may do Alaska on our own next time... Oh and I will have to check your link for the Canadian/NewEngland cruise which is also on our bucket list.

Have fun for all of us readers!! :D

[ace1zoe2]

Our flight to Seattle was pretty uneventful. The crew was very nice and outgoing. it was a little bumpy at one point as they were serving drinks. I overheard one of the flight attendants say to the other "I still don't understand how you ever danced and performed on a cruise ship while it was moving up & down, I can barely stand up". Thought that was kind of neat... guess she still gets to travel the world, just in a different way :)

 

I sat in the middle seat between hubby and a member of US Airforce headed to his first post at a base just north of Fairbanks. He was a very nice kid and was so excited to be going to Alaska.

 

We arrived in Seattle just before 4pm about 20 minutes ahead of schedule. I was a little off on my flight schedule I quoted before departure. All that we had to bring off the plane were our backpacks. Now we have around 3.5 hours to get dinner & move around a bit. The first leg was 4.5 hours. We leave Seattle at 7:55pm and after 2.5 more hours we will arrive in Fairbanks at 10:35pm. We have a car reserved with Budget for 24 hours at a cost of $38.75. We'll grab it then make the quick 3.5 mile drive over to Pike's Waterfront Lodge where we will be staying the next two nights. One night we're paying for & the second is included in our cruise tour.

 

Not much else happening on day one. It will feel strange to debark the plane at 10:30pm and it still be daylight outside :)

 

 

 

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[BecciBoo]

O Cindy! Just read the New England review and after the first page, I'm wiping away tears....so sorry for your loss.

I'm in almost the same boat except my Mom is healthy as a horse...Dad is in stage 4 of Alzheimer's.

Enough of that....your photography was amazing, we might just have to do New England one of these days! What colors!!!!!!!

[ace1zoe2]

Just wanted to say that we are really impressed with Sea-Tac Int'l airport. We flew in to Seattle for our last Alaska cruise but since we were staying in Seattle we just grabbed our bags and left & I guess we didn't really notice the airport.

 

Since we had a few hours this time we've explored a little. There are lots of really nice places to eat, Anthony's seafood, Wolfgang Puck express, Alaska Lodge, then the regular stuff like Wendy's, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, etc. We tried something that we have near our home, but have never tried... Qdoba. It was pretty tasty and we'll probably eat at the one back home now that we've tried it. We decided we should have only gotten one thing and shared. Hubby had a HUGE burrito and I had quesadilla and chips and we ended up throwing food away.

 

I got an iced tea at the Starbucks and they said if I hang on to my receipt that I can stop back by for a $0.55 refill :) I'll definitely be grabbing another unsweet tea before we get back on the plane!

 

The airport is very clean and very green. There's a huge atrium with an entire wall of windows looking out over the runway... you can sit there in rocking chairs with a front row view... it's pretty neat... live trees, hanging plants, sunshine! They have recycle bins for recyclables, food scraps and trash near the atrium & food court and a water bottle refill station. Very nice.

 

Excuse the quality of these first pictures... they were taken with my iphone:

 

 

OK, sorry, I'm having problems already with photobucket. I uploaded 2 photos which show to be in the correct orientation on PB but when I publish them thru Tapatalk, they are upside down so I've delete them for now. Will try again later.

Edited June 1, 2013 by ace1zoe2

[ace1zoe2]

ok, let's try this one more time... if they are upside down I'm going to delete them and give up :)

 

 

[/img]

 

ok I give up! I'm just going to leave them and maybe you can flip your phone, tablet or ipad around if you want to see them. :D

Edited June 1, 2013 by ace1zoe2

[BecciBoo]

Cindy: they are perfect! Neat place!

[kenandlaura06]

Following this great thread! Read through your awesome review of your Canada/New England cruise...it was wonderful! We live in New England and have been to Montreal, QC, and Portland (and Bar Harbor which you didn't make it to) and you gave me the urge to book a cruise with that itinerary some day.

 

Thank you for taking the time to report on your cruises!

[ucfalli]

Just read your Canadian cruise review and loved it! It's really hard to find trip reviews of non Caribbean cruises. So thanks for taking time to write it. Looking forward to reading about your Alaskan cruise. We got about a month ago from ours and I can't wait to go back, this time doing a NB or SB with our own cruise tour :D

[ace1zoe2]

Well unfortunately on the second leg we weren't as lucky... We had the seats behind a 6-8 month old screaming baby :D. I felt bad for her and her parents. Just wish we wouldn't have been quite so close. Don't get me wrong, I love kids, have 4 grandbabies of my own, 3 between 2 months & 19 months but there is a level of scream that just pierces your ears and wow! She cried off and on the entire flight and non-stop screaming for about the last 30 minutes. The guy across the row had his fingers in his ears it was so bad. Everyone one the plane was relieved to finally be off!

 

During the flight I sat between hubby & a sweet older lady from Louisiana. Hubby says that she & I had a gabfest. I enjoyed talking with her as it made the time pass more quickly. She was headed to North Pole to visit her daughter & Grandkids for 6 weeks.

 

The second leg was also longer than I posted earlier... I forgot to facture in the time change. So instead of 2.5 hours it was 3.5 hours. The pilot said it was 78 degrees in Fairbanks (80+ earlier today) and they expect lows in the 50 tonight.

 

We did arrive about 20 minutes early at 10:18 and went straight to baggage claim. Budget rental was right there next to the claim area not 20 feet away. So, while I watched for the bags hubby did the paperwork with Budget. We were out the door in less than 20 minutes - bags, car & all. We got a cute little Nissan Juke which is 4-door with navigation.

 

PIKE'S WATERFRONT LODGE ended up only being 1.4 miles from the airport so we arrived in no time. Check in was painless and we will be in the same room both nights. The lady advised that our tour directors will be in the lobby at 3pm tomorrow afternoon... so guess we'll swing back by in the middle of my really full of sight seeing so that we can try to get our white-water rafting tour booked before the spots are gone :)

 

 

The LODGE is comfortable, but is definitely a lodge look & feel. WiFi is included but breakfast is not. It is served from 6am-10am for $14.95 per person... we'll be getting something out on our way to the Riverboat Discovery tour in the morning.

Edited June 1, 2013 by ace1zoe2

[ace1zoe2]

 

 

 

The LODGE is comfortable, but is definitely a lodge look & feel. WiFi is included but breakfast is not. It is served from 6am-10am for $14.95 per person... we'll be getting something out on our way to the Riverboat Discovery tour in the morning.

 

 

 

This one is for my co-worker Marci, who requested a picture of a polar bear:

 

Edited June 1, 2013 by ace1zoe2

[ace1zoe2]

 

 

 

OK folks, that's it for tonight (I mean this morning). It's 12:48am local time, 3:48am Texas time, so i'm about to hit the hay. The internet here has been extremely slow uploading pictures... hopefully it will be better tomorrow.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[donnaman43]

I am so loving your review. Great pics.