Alaska on Radiance -- 27-Aug to 7-Sep

[2Long2NxtCrz]

This is a long overdue review, but I found it again in my documents and I thought it'd been worth posting since the Alaska itineraries for 2020 are recently out.  I'm about to leave on another cruise, so I won't be able to reply to any comments or questions until I return, but I will reply.  I've tried to be succinct while covering everything briefly.  I tend to be wordy, so sorry about that.  I'll break this into a few posts so it's not a wall of text.

 

The bottom line is that we loved Alaska, loved our cruisetour, and loved the Radiance.  It was a fabulous vacation!

[2Long2NxtCrz]

Getting there:

 

I selected this particular cruise for a variety of reasons, starting with even choosing Alaska as a destination.  My stepfather was in Alaska when he was in the Navy in the 50s and he always wanted to return.  It finally worked out that we could manage it.  So I wanted to see as much of Alaska and the ports as I could.

 

Because I was dealing with a first time cruiser (my brother) and two elderly people, I wanted everything to be as easy as possible so we chose to do a pre-cruise tour with Royal Caribbean (the 1B Wildlife Express).  And I'm not gonna lie, it was a great choice!  Everything ran smoothly, we had great weather, a wonderful guide and driver and there was nothing I could fault.  The accommodations were beautifully appointed.  

 

We started by arriving in Anchorage at 2am due to our flight leaving 2 hours late meaning we missed our connection.  Luckily, our hotel has a 24 hour shuttle and were there to pick us up in under ten minutes.  The ladies "driving" my parents' wheelchairs were wonderful!  They even helped us load the luggage into the shuttle!

 

The Lakeshore Inn & Suites is a good option and I'm glad we opted to stay there, especially as we were able to get 2 rooms for less than the cost of 1 at the Anchorage Marriott!

 

After a few hours of sleep and a small breakfast we were back at the airport and trying to figure out how to get to our cruisetour included hotel (the Anchorage Marriott).  There needed to be more communication regarding this part.  I never saw a RC staffer, but the local tour company that handles the other cruise lines (and possibly RC's?) took us to our hotel.

Really, everyone in Alaska was cheerful and gave us service with a smile.

 

The Marriott was a beautiful hotel in downtown Anchorage and within walking distance to pretty much everything, but wi-fi is not included and the options for food and drink are limited.  Luckily, so many options are within walking distance.  I do think there are better values to be found, especially if you opt for something outside of downtown.  I'm glad it was part of the package.

 

We ate a late lunch or early dinner at the 49th State Brewery.  We ate on the patio to enjoy the sunshine and the view.  It was a little chilly for my parents, but the food and drink were plentiful and very good.

 

After meeting our tour guide and getting the scoop on our land tour, my brother and I set about to have a pub crawl and we hit two nearby places, both of which were worth the stop.  Even though our Uber driver advised against stopping in at Humpy's Great Alaskan Alehouse, the Belgian flight special had a set of good tasty brews and the appetizers were tasty.  We then went across the street to Williwaw Social to sit on the top deck and watch the sun go down.

 

Not a bad start and the day more than made up for the late arrival the day (morning?) before.

[2Long2NxtCrz]

The land portion:

 

Then we boarded a large, chartered bus and set off.  I think there were about 20 of us altogether, so it didn't feel so much like being in a herd.  I'm really glad we started with the bus and then got to board the train in Talkeetna instead of the other way around.  The Wilderness Express train ride was a highlight with a bright sunny day.  It almost too warm in the upper deck with all that glass warmed by all that sun.  We deinitely we got to take the "better half" of the train ride, from Talkeetna to Denali instead of from Anchorage to Talkeetna.  And it was definitely gorgeous scenery.  Breathtaking.  And eating lunch on the train was a plus.

 

In Denali Park Village we were put up in the Miner's Village in relatively new rooms and I appreciated the location a lot.  My stepdad and I did an excursion to visit dog sled dogs' home.  The tour took us to Jeff King's place and it was informative and fun.  I had no clue about dog sledding, nor did I realize just how active these dogs are.  I have two large dogs (both bigger than the largest of the sled dogs) and even the most active one has nothing on these athletes.  We even got to hold puppies and watch them play.  It was great.

 

The next morning was the trip into Denali itself.  It was raining, but that didn't lesson our enjoyment of it, especially as it wasn't overly cold.  The half day tour was plenty since the Denali buses are pretty much basic school buses and my parents really didn't need to ride for eight hours on one of those.

 

Then we were back on our charter bus and on our way back down.  We stopped in Talkeetna to stay at the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge which was beautiful.  It's a wooden lodge with a huge indoor fireplace and large outdoor terrace with a breathtaking view.  The town of Talkeetna is tiny and unique.  We had one of the best meals I've ever eaten at Wildflower and I managed a very rapid shopping stop.  Then we enjoyed the rest of the evening watching the sunset from the lodge.  Wonderful!

 

The next day was a fairly long bus ride from Talkeetna all the way to Seward to embark on the ship, but it was broken up with an early lunch stop in Anchorage and then a visit to the Wildlife Conservation Center which was the only place we could see bears and moose up close.

[2Long2NxtCrz]

The sea portion:

 

Embarkation was smooth and quick.  Because it was already after 4pm, our rooms were ready and most of our bags had already arrived.  My parents were in a balcony while my brother and I were in an inside cabin.

 

Because I'd been on two of the Radiance's sister ships, I knew what to expect and nothing was jarring.  It did take my parents' steward a couple of nights to turn off the light in the pullman bunk above their bed and their balcony door was a bit hard to maneuver for them, but everything else was as it should be.

 

We had anytime dining, but requested the same table every night as the service and attention we received was outstanding.  I know everyone likes to complain about the quality of the MDR, but I did not have one issue.  Is it Wildflower, a tiny chef-owned restaurant?  No.  It cannot be.  But we all enjoyed every meal there.

 

I know the radiance class ships don't have all the "activities" that the larger ships do, but there's something about this class of ship that, to me, makes it damn near perfect.  It manages to be completely full yet never feels crowded or hemmed in.  It's definitely "sea" focused with most everything having views of the water.  And the service just seems to be that little bit friendlier and attentive.  Don't get me wrong the Harmony of the Seas is an incredible ship and our Central Park Balcony was one of the nicest rooms I've had so far, but the Radiance's itinerary and size made it perfect for Alaska.

 

And that leads me to the ports and why I am so pleased with this cruise.  We had nice long days at every port.  And I noticed that other cruise lines would be there and gone while we still had hours to explore.  That's why we came to Alaska and this itinerary really delivered.

 

We had an incredible day to see Hubbard Glacier.  It was sunny and relatively warm we were so very close to the glacier.  It was so cool to see it calving.

 

In Juneau we took a Harv & Marv's whale watching excursion and had a fabulous day on the water.  It was sunny and mild and it was a delight to see the whales and sea lions all while surrounded by mountains, sky, water, and even views of few glaciers.  Then my stepdad and I had to eat at Tracy's King Crab Shack!  (My mom is allergic to shellfish so she and my brother went back to the ship to eat.)  It was amazing and an experience worth standing in line for.  Since we still had a few hours, we took the tramway up the mountain to see the views.  All in all, Juneau was a great first stop, with twelve hours in port and incredible weather.

 

Skagway was the next stop and we did a Chilkoot Rail tour.  We opted to take the train down so had a "short bus" on the way up.  It was nice to be in a smaller group.  We could stop more often and didn't have to dodge crowds for photos.  Again we had incredible weather, a sunny warm day, and the train ride down was breathtaking.  Plus, because it was the end of the season we made out like a bandit on souvenirs.  The town itself has a lot of character with a lot of old buildings preserved for the tourists.

 

In Icy Strait Point, I thought the weather had finally caught up with us because the day started foggy and drizzly, but it all burned off into another beautiful day.  We did one of the ship tours which was informative about the local culture and entertaining.  This was an early departure, especially compared to any other port, but we still had plenty of time to see what we wanted to.  The port was especially nice since they had these little extended golf cart shuttles for those who needed extra help getting into the port proper.

 

Last port was Ketchikan and I have to admit when I saw the rain, I was ready to give it a pass.  We couldn't get a refund on the ship's tour and my stepdad really wanted to see the totem poles so we went.  I'm glad we did.  The Saxman village was interesting and it was great to learn about the totem poles.  A fascinating coincidence occurred here, too.  The artisan who carved the totem pole on the pool deck of the Radiance had his workshop in the village.  So we got to talk to him for a little bit before shopping, which was a great place to get Native souvenirs.

 

Lastly, Vancouver Port was the nicest, most efficient port I've ever arrived in.  Seriously, we were off the ship, turned to our left and there were our bags.  A porter arrived a minute later and the next thing I knew we were loaded onto the bus for the airport!  If only the flights home could have gone as smoothly! (Had to rent a car and drive home from DFW.)

 

All in all everyone had a great time and we'd definitely do it again.  My brother, the skeptic, even admitted he wants to take another cruise.  So maybe I've hooked another one?

[cruisinfromtampa]

Thanks for sharing!!  We're booked on a SB in 2020, and you've given me things to add to my list of options.

[KansCocoa]

We had a blizzard here in KC yesterday, so that got me thinking about Alaska...and lo and behold, I booked a B2B to Alaska on the Radiance in 2020! So, thank you for this review - I’ve never been to Alaska, so lots of research is in store for me!

[kochleffel]

11 minutes ago, KansCocoa said:

We had a blizzard here in KC yesterday, so that got me thinking about Alaska...and lo and behold, I booked a B2B to Alaska on the Radiance in 2020! So, thank you for this review - I’ve never been to Alaska, so lots of research is in store for me!

 

I booked on the Radiance for Alaska in 2020 on Thanksgiving morning! I'll be going just northbound, with some land touring at the end.

[cruisinfromtampa]

5 hours ago, KansCocoa said:

We had a blizzard here in KC yesterday, so that got me thinking about Alaska...and lo and behold, I booked a B2B to Alaska on the Radiance in 2020! So, thank you for this review - I’ve never been to Alaska, so lots of research is in store for me!

 

Woohoo!  Which date?  We're leaving on the 5th.  TONS of research to do!  Both me for the cruise, and my husband for his dissertation!

[KansCocoa]

We leave on the 19th - the day after my birthday - so it’s a birthday celebration!

 

Tell you what - you’re cruising first, so you do all of the research and then just copy me. Bwahahahahahahahaha.

[cruisinfromtampa]

Exciting!

 

Lolol!!!!