Rhapsody vs Radiance to Alaska - HELP!

[InTheWASide]

Was wondering if anyone might be able to help out here.

 

As you can see from my signature, definitely not new to cruising by any stretch of the imagination.

 

We are looking at some options to Alaska on Radiance or Rhapsody (not the one way options if applicable but those that are Seattle roundtrip, Vancouver roundtrip or start in one of the two and end in the other (nearly roundtrip)

 

Having never cruised on Royal before, what is your opinion of which ship I should pick? The itineraries are near identical so it’s going to be more about the ship itself. Of the two choices which one is Royal’s “best food forward” of the two? Which ship will make this be a new cruise line love affair and not just a “one off” experience.

 

Appreciate any help you can provide! I know both have recently been renovated, but knowing minimal about the line, seeing a lot of new venues doesn’t tell me much… and they both have them…

 

Thanks!

[CRUISEFAN0001]

We were in the same situation as you a few months back - how to decide.

 

Here are things we considered:

 

1) The cost of travel to and from to different starting and ending ports really were substantial - this pointed us toward a roundtrip itinerary.

 

2) With Radiance having been "revitalized" in the recent past, and with it's features onboard...it seemed the more attractive.

 

3) Dates came into play in terms of prime times for whale-watching and glacier viewing. This helped narrow the choices somewhat as well.

 

4) The cabin selections on our final 2 ship/cruise option choices led us to a very nice Superior Balcony on Radiance.

 

Enjoy!

[Clarea]

You cannot go wrong with either ship. Radiance is a bit larger and newer and has more restaurants.

 

However, my understanding was that the itineraries were different. Unless something has changed, Rhapsody does a 7 day round trip from Seattle. Radiance does a 7 day alternating one-way trip between Vancouver and Seward, so Radiance does get farther north than Rhapsody.

Edited November 20, 2013 by clarea

[CRUISEFAN0001]

You cannot go wrong with either ship. Radiance is a bit larger and newer and has more restaurants.

 

However, my understanding was that the itineraries were different. Unless something has changed, Rhapsody does a 7 day round trip from Seattle. Radiance does a 7 day alternating one-way trip between Vancouver and Seward, so Radiance does get farther north than Rhapsody.

As usual...you are correct.

 

In our case...only Radiance offered the round trip route out of Vancouver.

[voyager89]

Go for Radiance. Newer and prettier. You can look out and see beautiful landscapes from pretty much anywhere on the ship.

 

Covered solarium is also a plus for Alaska itineraries.

[mr walker]

We are in the final planning stages for Alaska cruise Aug/Sept next year. We have sailed on both Rhapsody & Radiance and love both ships.

If the itinerary, pricing etc were equivalent we would choose Radiance - it is hard to pass up all that glass, the outside elevators & the extra room.

 

However, we had some other considerations, based on our wishlist. To fit with our next cruise B2B with the Alaska one, we had to take the last cruise of the season ie Aug 29 - our plan is to cruise from Vancouver, via Hawaii all the way home to Sydney.

 

Radiance in Alaska is one-way, so we would have to fly to Alaska to embark. Radiance is chartered for a week from 5 Sept, so no B2B available.

 

Rhapsody is roundtrip Seattle to Vancouver & we can then stay on board for the 2nd and 3rd legs. Rhapsody is significantly cheaper, and that comes into our calcs with 34 cruise nights B2B2B. Rhapsody itinerary for 2nd & 3rd leg is preferred, so that locks us in on 1st leg also.

 

So hard choice, but neither would let you down.

 

Happy cruising.

[Trekker954]

I don't believe the itineraries are identical at all so please review that again. As others state Rhapsody is r/t from Seattle (so that limits the ports and you will see different glaciers, however it does bring down the price quite a bit.

 

We selected Radiance when we did Alaska. Ketchikan is a port you must not miss. There are many excursions from this port (please look into private excursions) but we did our favorite bear excursions. We promised to go back in order to do other excursions from Ketchikan. Rhapsody doesn't always include Ketchikan.

 

We actually enjoyed the one way option as there were things we wanted to do out of Anchorage and Seward (you must go in a day early (or stay) and do a tour with Kanai Fjords in Seward. We did the nine hour tour and it was AMAZING.

 

The radiance is a gorgeous ship, lots of glass. I am sure you will be happy with her. Also, research the time of year to go. Prices are very tempting in the spring and fall, but Mid july is best for viewing bear and whales.

[JimAOk1945]

We have taken two Alaska cruises so far. Both times we were there in mid August. The first one in 2009 was a round trip from Seattle on the Star Princess. Our ports of call were Juneau, Ketchikan, and Skagway. We had a great time but wanted to go back again, which we did last summer.

We sailed on the Royal Caribbean Radiance of the Seas last August on the southbound route. We loved it! We had four ports of call, Juneau, Ketchikan, Skagway and Icy Strait Point located in the Alaskan town of Hoonah.

 

When we booked the cruise, we arranged to have transfers through RC and I'm glad we did. We didn't have any trouble at all.

 

When we flew into Anchorage, we asked for the RC representative. We were directed to a kiosk where the friendly RC staff checked us off their list, and then told us when the next bus was leaving for Seward. I think we had about a one hour wait.

 

We grabbed a quick bite to eat at the food court, then went back to the waiting area at the RC desk. When the bus arrived, we got in along with several other people and the driver loaded up all the baggage.

 

I'm not sure how long the drive was but it seemed to pass quickly. The scenery was fantastic and the driver gave information about what we were seeing from time to time.

 

Before we knew it, we had arrived at the Seward terminal. The Radiance was the only ship there! Check in at the terminal was a breeze. We walked right in, went up to the counter to check in, and went right on to the ship!

 

The quickest embarkation we have ever had.

 

The ship is fantastic and the cruise was the best we have ever had. The itinerary includes 4 ports of call. Icy Strait Point was and still is our favorite. We went on the Bear and Whale watch combo excursion through RC. We saw two bears catching Salmon and countless whales! It was absolutely breathtaking!

 

When we went through the Hubbard Glacier area, we witnessed numerous "calving" which is when great chunks of ice break off with loud cracking and rumbling then fall into the water.

 

I could go on and on. As you can see, even now I get excited just thinking about it and trying to describe what we saw.

 

We went in August and had beautiful weather all week, even in Ketchikan where it usually rains so much. We had sunny weather all day!

 

At the end of the cruise, going through the Vancouver terminal was no trouble at all. We also had a transfer through the cruise line that took us to the Vancouver airport.

 

You might be interested in seeing my wife's picture slideshows. Here is a link to the page where you will see slideshows about the different ports of call as well as the ship. The slideshow will start when you click on the link, but you can also go through the pictures if you want to by clicking on the thumbnails one at a time.

 

2012 RC Radiance of the Seas ~ Alaska Southbound

 

HAPPY SAILING! It's a great way to explore the world!

[CRUISEFAN0001]

Radiance in Alaska is one-way, so we would have to fly to Alaska to embark.

That of course depends on the dates...we have a roundtrip Alaska cruise booked on Radiance in May 2014.

[cruiserdudebobby8]

Rumor is a new ship will be going to Alaska so you may want to wait if they ship a new vessel there

[HoustonCruisers]

I've sailed on both Rhapsody and Radiance. Both are terrific ships. Rhapsody is smaller, but still very nice. we were on her twice out of Galveston. Radiance is a little bigger and I think much prettier. We sailed Radiance from Vancouver to Hawaii about 10 years ago and absolutely loved everything about the ship. Among other things, it has a solarium with a retractable roof so it doesn't matter how windy it is or if it's raining. The centrum elevators have a wall of glass looking out over the ocean.

 

So if it comes down to just the ship, I would choose Radiance over Rhapsody in a heart beat.