Firszt time cruising and going to Alaska

[perfectprecious]

We are planning to go on a CruiseTour on Radiance of the Sea this summer. We have a choice early July southbound or Labor Day weekend northbound, and have several questions. Our 10 year old daughter will be with us.

1) Will the weather be cold in September

2) Will the weather in Spetember prevent us from taking shore excursions

3) Does RCCL still run a full and complete kids program in September

4) Will there be less children on the cruise in September for our daughter to inter-act with

5) Denali portion of the tour - northbound program has Discover Denali Program - anyone know what that consists of and how it compares to the Tundra Wilderness Tour

6) Our choices are Deck 8 or Deck 10 balcony staterooms - will we be able to see the glaciers from the balcony on Deck 8

 

Sorry for the long list but we have never cruised before Thanx

[elleluv]

I would probably choose the July southbound over the Labor Day northbound.

 

The weather in Alaska is very unpredictable, so neither time has a guarantee as far as weather is concerned, but we do usually have our 2 weeks of fall sometime during the month of September.

 

If you are planning on doing one of the helicopter/glacier/dogsled tours, I understand they are often cancelled that late in the season. I'm not aware of any other excursions that may be impacted.

 

I would expect less kids in September than in July, since school will be back in session for a large part of the country. I'm not sure what RCL does when there aren't very many kids to participate in the AO program... someone with kids can probably better address that....

 

You will definitely be able to see the glaciers from any of the decks of the ship. They are huge!! I really don't think there is any better deck to view than another.

 

If you haven't been over to the Alaska Ports of Call forum, you definitely should head over there! There is a wealth of knowledge over there!

 

Have a great time! :D

[perfectprecious]

Thanks for your input