Alaska Cruise Tour & Cruise on the Radiance of the Seas Review 7/25/15 – 8/7/15

[Bmorecruiser021]

Thank you for the kind words everyone! Our anniversary was great! Man I don't know where the time went.

 

Ed, you are completely right, prices and itineraries change daily, even for the same cruise tour number. What was offered 2 weeks ago on 7B for us, might not be offered for anyone on this week's 7B land tour. It all depends on the variables. But one thing I do like is giving a rough estimate of the budget. Lucky I had found a review from a woman who had done a cruise tour several years ago. Through that I learned about the flight seeing and glacier landing. I knew that was something we wanted to do. So seeing the price was about $400, I over estimated and budgeted $500 a person for it. Its a good thing too, If i hadn't seen her review i would have guessed the price would have been around $200 since that is what we paid for flight seeing at the grand canyon. So I hope this review helps others make informed decisions like the review I read did for me :)

 

Now back to the review:D

[Bmorecruiser021]

Monday ~ August 3 2015 ~ Skagway

 

We awoke to a beautiful sunny morning!

 

 

 

 

 

Grabbed our favorite breakfast from the park cafe.

 

 

Then headed down to the pier to meet my parent for our excursion.

 

 

The Jewel was in port with us again today

Edited August 18, 2015 by Bmorecruiser021

[Bmorecruiser021]

Ali and I, along with my parents, were visiting another mushers camp. And today we would be going on a dog sled ride! Ali and I took a quick picture by the entrance to the harbor, before boarding the shuttle that would take us the 45 min drive to the mushers camp.

 

 

We arrived at the base of the camp and were told we would have to walk about 100 yards to another vehicle that would take us up the mountain to the training camp. The view was breath taking and as we crossed a stream we saw hundreds of salmon spawning.

 

 

 

 

The staff told us to load up in the Unimog, and a driver was going to take us the 20 min ride up the mountain.

 

 

 

The views going up were scary (right on the edge) but spectacular!

[Bmorecruiser021]

As we got to the top of the mountain, we saw the dogs and the sleds.

 

 

 

The mushers explained that pulling us was the dogs summer weight training program. Most of the dogs involved with the excursion would be running in the Iditarod later in the year. We sat in the sled and the dogs pulled us along a mile long corse through the woods.

 

 

 

 

After running the course, we got to meet and play with the dogs.

 

[Bmorecruiser021]

After playing with the dogs for a while we loaded back up in the Unimog and headed back down the hill. We stopped at an overlook and got some great pictures. We could even see the Jewel in the distance.

 

 

 

 

We got to the bottom and learned more about the race.

 

 

 

[cruisinconniebean]

was that the mushers camp excursion through Royal?

Edited August 18, 2015 by cruisinconniebean

[Bmorecruiser021]

Then it was puppy time!

 

 

 

 

But puppy time had to end. So we loaded back up in the shuttle and made our way back to Skagway. We dropped our stuff off in our cabin then headed out to explore the town.

 

 

 

 

We did a little shopping then watched as the trains went by.

[Bmorecruiser021]

was that the mushers camp excursion through Royal?

 

Yes. Unfortunately, it's the only ticket I forgot to take a photo of. But I have the excursion title. Its: Musher's Camp & Sled Dog Experience in Skagway.

[cruisinconniebean]

Yes. Unfortunately, it's the only ticket I forgot to take a photo of. But I have the excursion title. Its: Musher's Camp & Sled Dog Experience in Skagway.

 

Yep, that's the one I'm signed up for in the next couple of weeks. I can't wait to show your photos to my DD!

[Bmorecruiser021]

It was getting close to dinner time so we headed back to the ship.

 

 

We watched as the Jewel pulled out of port, then headed down to dinner.

 

 

Dinner was great, as always. We started with Meatballs and the Salmon Filet, then Ali had the New York Strip and I had the Sea Bass.

 

 

 

 

 

Everything was wonderful!

[Bmorecruiser021]

After dinner we got the family to go to the love and marriage game show (one of our favorites!) We convinced Ali's cousin Ann and her husband Joey to audition for the middle couple (it was their 11th anniversary on the cruise). Wouldn't you know it, they got picked!

 

 

 

 

And Won!

 

 

 

They got some great prizes. We stayed up and talked for a while before calling it a night.

[Bmorecruiser021]

Tuesday ~ August 4 2015 ~ Icy Strait (Hoonah)

 

So a little information on Icy Strait before I begin my review of the day. I was under the impression that Icy Strait was Royal's private port, kind of like Labadee. Boy was I wrong! Icy strait, or Hoonah (all the locals call it by it's town name, not port name) is solely owned and operated by its citizens. You won't find any Diamonds International here. There are some restaurants and bars, and a gift shop. But there is also a museum and all employees are residents of the town. Unlike the other ports, there are no seasonal workers in Hoonah. Even their excursion operators are all locals, which made doing excursions here really fun and informative, because they all talk about their native culture and customs. It made the whole experience very unique.

 

We woke to a third amazing day of whether in a row. We could see the port building the new dock, which should be completed next year for the Explorer.

 

 

 

Ali and I were doing 2 excursions today, the Ziprider and the ATV!

 

 

 

We got our favorite breakfast then caught the tender to the dock. Catching the tender was really easy, they were on 15 minute rotations at the time.

 

 

[Bmorecruiser021]

We weighed in, got our wrist bands, then waited a short while to be called by the bus driver. It wasn't long before we were called and we walked to the bus to be driven the 40 min drive up the mountain to the top of the Ziprider. (Kind of scary to think, 40 minute drive up, 90 second ride down:eek:)

 

 

 

During the ride up, the bus driver told us all about the town, the history, and his personal history. He also stopped a few times for us to take in the sights. Absolutely spectacular!

 

 

 

[Bmorecruiser021]

The bus driver dropped us off at the top of the mountain, we thanked him, then walked a little over a hundred yards down the mountain to the launching platform.

 

 

 

The staff gave us a safety briefing then led us out to the platform. They had goggle for anyone who wanted them (and made Ali wear them because she wears contacts).

 

 

 

 

It was our turn, they strapped us in, we put our feet on the door and…….

 

 

After not breathing for the first 5 seconds, you realize you are alive and enjoy the ride!

[Bmorecruiser021]

The ride was about 90 seconds.

 

 

Stopping was not bad at all. No whiplash

 

 

 

We were alive and happy!

 

 

Ali and I grabbed a picture with the Radiance in the background then caught the tender back to the ship to grab lunch, before coming back for the ATV excursion.

 

 

 

Thats it for today everyone. Tell you all about the ATV tomorrow! Good night.

[bluebeard39]

I have been following along since you started. You have made my wife and I so excited to go next year. Glad to hear that you guys had a wonderful time.:D

[Bmorecruiser021]

I have been following along since you started. You have made my wife and I so excited to go next year. Glad to hear that you guys had a wonderful time.:D

 

Thanks for the compliment! The year goes by before you know it. When we booked the countdown clock had 450 days left, then before we knew it, it was time. Hope you both have a great time!

[Bmorecruiser021]

After lunch we caught the tender back to the dock, and found my dad and brother waiting for the excursion to start as well.

 

 

We boarded the bus and head up to the staging area for the ATV's. Our guide was another local and he told us all about his life and culture. When we got to the staging area they gave us a quick safety briefing and had us pair up for driving.

 

 

The vehicles were more Gators then ATV's but it was still fun, just not what we expected. Ali wanted to drive first, so I sat shotgun taking pictures.

 

 

 

 

We got to see the Celebrity ship entering the fjord. Such great views. We stopped and our guide told us about the local vegetation and area.

 

[Bmorecruiser021]

We drove a little further, to an overlook and stopped for pictures.

 

 

 

We switched and I got to drive back, then we hopped back on the shuttle and made our way back to the dock. I got a good picture of the two amazing ships before we caught the tender back to the Radiance.

 

 

We grabbed a quick snack at the Dog House and watched the crew bring up the tender boats.

 

 

 

[Bmorecruiser021]

As we raised anchor I got some parting shots of Hoonah.

 

 

 

Ali and I got dressed and met our family for the second formal night, Lobster night our favorite! Ali got the soup and a mushroom pastry as a starter while I got the crab salad, then we both had the lobster. YUM!

 

 

 

 

 

After dinner we changed and went to the QUEST (another one of our favorite activities) but sorry no pictures. Then we called it a night and went to bed.

[Bmorecruiser021]

Wednesday ~ August 5 2015 ~ Ketchikan

 

It was a little cloudy this morning, and would stay that way periodically throughout the day. But no rain so we where happy!

 

 

 

 

We got our usual breakfast then met up with the rest of the family on the pier. We were going on a rainforest hike followed by an all you can eat crab feast. We were all very excited!

 

 

We loaded up on the bus and headed out, to the rainforest.

 

 

Got a great picture of the NCL ship on the way out.

 

[Bmorecruiser021]

The drive to the rainforest was gorgeous.

 

 

We got to the sanctuary and split into 2 groups. We walked along the trail looking for wildlife and learning about the ecology from our guide.

 

 

 

 

As we walked out of the trees we came upon a raised board walk over a marsh. There was a salmon hatchery we learned about from our guide.

 

 

[Bmorecruiser021]

As we continued along the boardwalk we came to a lumber mill.

 

 

The guide told us all about the different types of trees they had in Alaska and what and how they use them for native totems.

 

 

Next we entered the raptor sanctuary and got to see an injured bald eagle up close.

 

 

 

We then got to meet and observe as a master totem carpenter was building an actual totem. Very fascinating.

 

 

[Bmorecruiser021]

We then got back on the bus and headed to the restaurant for our crab feast!

 

 

 

 

 

All you could eat Dungeons Crabs! Being from Maryland I know crabs, and I got to say, I was very impressed! Delicious!

 

 

After eating our fill, they still had cheesecake topped with blueberries for dessert. We were stuffed!

 

[Bmorecruiser021]

The bus picked us up again and we headed back to the ship. Ali and I decided we needed do a little walking, and walk off some of that crab feast. So we explored downtown Ketchikan.

 

 

 

 

 

It was getting late and we had reservation at Samba later that evening, but we wanted to take a nap first. We were tired! So we headed back to the cabin for some rest.