7 days DIY on land then Radiance southbound. 6/2/17 - 6/17/17

Day 13 – Ketchikan: Well… this port sure was a surprise for me. The only picture I had ever seen of Ketchikan was one similar to this.

Because the town was so small, I had done very little research on things to do in Ketchikan. I had planned to use this as a relaxation day. I hadprinted a map that I had found on line that showed a route to take a self-guidedwalking tour of Ketchikan. The map encompassed 4 or 5 blocks in each direction.In my mind, I pictured Ketchikan to be similar to Skagway. I expected it to bea small town with about 50 buildings and a population of maybe 500 – 1,000.WRONG!! Ketchikan covers 6 square miles. It is the fifth most populous city inAlaska. Ketchikan and the surrounding area have a population of almost 15,000residents. This was not at all what I expected. As we were pulling into port Iactually had to check our itinerary and I googled my location to make sure Iwas where I thought I was supposed to be.

While it turned out to be not at allwhat I expected, Ketchikan was a very nice port. Captain Trym told us thatKetchikan was the rainiest city in the state. We had experienced overcast skiesmixed with some rain the past few days so I was expecting more of the same inKetchikan. As we were pulling into port however, the sun was shining and itlooked like it was going to be a gorgeous day. The sunshine was short-livedhowever. By the time we finished eating breakfast and were ready to get off theship, it had started to rain. It rained most of the day although never very hard.We walked into town so DW could do some shopping. Since I had missed out on theDungeness crab in Juneau, I was on a mission to find some in Ketchikan. I justhad to try it to see how it compared to King crab. After a couple hours ofshopping we met up with a few of our friends and found our way to the Alaska Fish House for lunch wheretheir menu had Dungeness crab listed on it. When my food arrived at the table,I was excited to be finally trying some Dungeness crab. I live in the northeastwhere lobsters are plentiful and on the menu in several restaurants where Ilive. In my opinion, the Dungeness crab tasted more like lobster than it didKing crab. In fact, it was more flavorful than the lobster I had had on theship the previous night.

My apologies for the post about Ketchikan. I have been working on this review since before we left home. I have it all written in Microsoft Word and then I copy and paste it on Cruise Critic. Apparently Cruise Critic uses a different font and spacing than what I use so it bunches some of the words together. As I'm creating the post, I have to edit to make sure the proper spacing is there. I got distracted during the Ketchikan post and by the time I got to it, it was too late, I couldn't edit it so some of the words run together. Sorry.:( I hope it didn't make reading it too hard.

A bit delayed but... How long is the drive / trip to Emerald Lake? I understand there will be stops but I am considering doing the same. We will also be sailing Radiance again in the future. Last time we did round trip from Vancouver and Skagway was not a stop.

A bit delayed but... How long is the drive / trip to Emerald Lake? I understand there will be stops but I am considering doing the same. We will also be sailing Radiance again in the future. Last time we did round trip from Vancouver and Skagway was not a stop.

If you drove straight through I'd guess you could make it in 2 hours. We were gone a total of 6 hours. We stopped multiple times in both directions and took time to eat in Carcross.

Day 14 – InsidePassage: We set our clocks ahead one hour before going to bed last night because we were going through a time change overnight. We woke to very overcast skies and they never went away until late in the afternoon. There were 35 – 40 mph head winds most of the day. Because of the high winds, the doors to all of the outer decks were locked with the exception of the pool deck which of course had windows protecting it from the wind. Things began to clear and calm down in the late afternoon and by dinner time the sun had started to peak through the clouds and we were able to see land on both sides of the ship. Several bald eagles graced us with their presence while we were eating dinner. I apologize for not having any pictures from this day.

Day 15 – Vancouver: I made sure I was awake early enough to be up on deck as we were pulling in to Vancouver. I wanted to see the Lions Gate Bridge. I was also able to see some terrific views of the Vancouver skyline.

We chose a late departure from the ship. We didn’t have anything specific planned for Vancouver and we couldn’t check into our hotel until 2:00 so there was no need to rush off the ship. The only downside to this was that by the time we got off the ship, they had run out of queued taxis so we had to wait in the terminal for quite a while for more to arrive. Our hotel for one night in Vancouver was the Barclay Hotel. We chose the Barclay because it was located within walking distance of many shops and restaurants. The rooms were $145 CAD/night. We arrived at the hotel at about 11:00. Two of the rooms were ready so we put all of our luggage in those two rooms and headed out for some lunch and to see the city a little.

We had heard that Stanley Park was a nice place to visit so we walked the 8 or 10 blocks to check it out. Our first goal inside the park was to find some lunch. We found Stanley’s Bar and Grill and decided to eat there. The selection of food was limited but we all found something to eat. After lunch we found that they offered a horse-drawn wagon ride through the park and 4 of us decided to do that. The ride was pleasant and the guide gave us lots of information on the history of the park. There is an area in the park with lots of totem poles. We stopped there for a few minutes to get some pictures and to read the story behind the totems.

This is only four of them. There were several more.

A view of the marina next to the park.

Another one of the couples decided to visit the Aquarium within the park. They told us later that it was the best Aquarium they had ever visited. We all eventually made our way back to the hotel to find the other two rooms ready for us. We checked into those two and moved the luggage to the appropriate rooms. The Barclay Hotel is a decent place to stay for one evening. The rooms are small but clean and comfortable. The big downside to this hotel is that they have no elevator and with the hotel having four floors, carrying luggage up four flights could be a pain. Fortunately, two of our rooms were on the first floor and the other two were on the second so it wasn’t too bad for us.

There are lots of restaurants on Robson Street but most of the ones between the Barclay and Stanley Park were Asian and none of us were in the mood for Asian food. After getting checked in, two of us decided to head out in search of American cuisine. As it turns out most of the restaurants in the other direction on Robson served American cuisine. We didn’t have to walk too far before we came across many to choose from. Our group decide on Milestones. Milestones had a large menu with many choices and we all had a great meal. After dinner we headed back to the hotel to call it a night. Check out time was 11:00 the next morning so we asked the person at the desk to order us a couple of cabs to take us to the airport the next day. We all awoke at different times and ate breakfast at the restaurant next door, Cora. Cora featured a variety of breakfast options, most of which included fruit. The portions were very large and I assume everyone enjoyed their meal because no one complained about what they had.

Day 16 – Vancouver to Rochester: Our taxis arrived and took us to the airport which was about 25 minutes away. We checked in for our flights and started through the security process. We had expected to go through U.S. Customs after our arrival in Chicago but we ended up doing it at the Vancouver airport. Our flight from Vancouver left on time. We must have had a decent tail wind because we arrived in Chicago about 25 minutes early. The only bad thing about that was, there were no gates available so we sat on a taxiway for a half hour. Our flight from Chicago to Rochester was almost delayed due to a bad storm coming in from the west. Because we were headed east and didn’t have to fly into the storm, we departed on time. We bypassed several planes waiting on the taxiways that I assume were headed west and unable to leave because of the storm. Our DD was waiting for us at the airport when we arrived. When we got to baggage claim we found out that one of our suitcases had liked Chicago very much and had decided to spend another night there. We filled out the necessary paperwork and were on our way home after 15 days away. United delivered the suitcase to our house the next day. We’re happy to be home but unhappy to have to be back to work. We’re anxiously awaiting our trip to the ABC islands next March on the Adventure of the Seas.

My thoughts on the Radiance of the Seas: Overall the Radiance is in very good shape. We noticed some torn carpet in a few areas and there was some rust visible from our balcony. I always expect to find minor signs of wear and tear on a ship but I don’t go looking for it and I never let it bother me. RCI does a fantastic job of maintaining their ships but they can’t keep up with every little imperfection.

As a group, I think the crew of the Radiance is the best we’ve ever had. The entertainment staff was very interactive with the guests and seemed to really enjoy their jobs, more so than any other group we have cruised with. CaptainTrym had the most social personality of any of our previous captains. We attended the upper tier Crown & Anchor event and his talk was very entertaining. It seems most of the captains in the past have attended these events out of obligation. Captain Trym seemed to really enjoy being there and he even added a little humor when he was talking.

We stayed in cabin 8134 which is a balcony cabin on the port side about half way between the Centrum and the stern of the ship. The cabin was in very good shape. Our room Steward, Grace, took very good care of the cabin during our stay.

The 8 of us chose the early seating for traditional dining. We had a table for 8 next to a window. Overall our wait staff did a fantastic job. We did not see our assistant waitress as much as we normally do but our waitress was always there to accommodate our needs. Our waitress, Jana, was the friendliest and most sociable waitress we have ever had. Early in the week she was having a problem with a tooth and she was experiencing some pain because of it. She ended up getting the tooth pulled while we were in Ketchikan. Through all of this, she never let the issue affect he way she treated us. She was a pleasure to deal with every night. The food, in our opinion, was very good in both the Windjammer and the main dining room.The selections were plentiful in both venues. I was surprised to see lobster back on the menu as a standalone entree in the dining room. For the last several years, the lobster tail has been smaller and was part of a seafood platter. On this trip the lobster was a separate entrée and served without the other seafood.

I debated on whether or not I would buy the alcohol package while on the cruise. In the months before our departure, the package was available for $55/day. At that price, I wasn’t sure I would drink enough to make it worthwhile. A couple weeks before departure they offered a discounted package with Voom internet and the alcohol package for $54/day. I decided this package was worth the expense. I cannot leave work totally behind when I go away so I needed internet access to stay in touch with work from time to time while on the ship. I was going to buy the Voom package anyway but when they bundled it with the alcohol package, it made my decision easy. I got the internet access I needed and I was able to drink enough to feel I got my money’s worth. J

The Voom internet package was a major disappointment. For the most part it was no better than RCI’s previous version of internet service. The only advantage I found was that you could connect from anywhere on the ship. The speed was slow and the connection was dropped multiple times. My understanding is that this poor service is due to the geographical location of Alaska. The satellites that provide the service are not positioned to reach that area very well. Whatever the cause, my experience with internet access on this cruise was very disappointing.

In closing, this started out to be a once-in-a-lifetime trip. Now that we have completed it, we have realized that it was only our first trip to Alaska. There is so much more to see and do. We wished we had one more night in every location we visited. I don’t know when, but we will return.

Thank you for all the information.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Thank you for a wonderful review. We have sailed on the Radiance previously but June 2018 will be our first Alaska trip. We are taking a Southbound with a cruise tour since it is just the 2 of us. Your review was helpful and I jotted down quite a bit! Happy cruising!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Lots of reviews mention Tracy's Crab Shack but yours is the first I've seen that describes the process of eating there, which will be helpful when we go next year. We will know to look for the specialty menu! Your whole review was wonderful with just the right balance of info, opinions and photos. Thank you

My thoughts on the Radiance of the Seas: Overall the Radiance is in very good shape. We noticed some torn carpet in a few areas and there was some rust visible from our balcony. I always expect to find minor signs of wear and tear on a ship but I don’t go looking for it and I never let it bother me. RCI does a fantastic job of maintaining their ships but they can’t keep up with every little imperfection.

 

As a group, I think the crew of the Radiance is the best we’ve ever had. The entertainment staff was very interactive with the guests and seemed to really enjoy their jobs, more so than any other group we have cruised with. CaptainTrym had the most social personality of any of our previous captains. We attended the upper tier Crown & Anchor event and his talk was very entertaining. It seems most of the captains in the past have attended these events out of obligation. Captain Trym seemed to really enjoy being there and he even added a little humor when he was talking.

 

We stayed in cabin 8134 which is a balcony cabin on the port side about half way between the Centrum and the stern of the ship. The cabin was in very good shape. Our room Steward, Grace, took very good care of the cabin during our stay.

 

The 8 of us chose the early seating for traditional dining. We had a table for 8 next to a window. Overall our wait staff did a fantastic job. We did not see our assistant waitress as much as we normally do but our waitress was always there to accommodate our needs. Our waitress, Jana, was the friendliest and most sociable waitress we have ever had. Early in the week she was having a problem with a tooth and she was experiencing some pain because of it. She ended up getting the tooth pulled while we were in Ketchikan. Through all of this, she never let the issue affect he way she treated us. She was a pleasure to deal with every night. The food, in our opinion, was very good in both the Windjammer and the main dining room.The selections were plentiful in both venues. I was surprised to see lobster back on the menu as a standalone entree in the dining room. For the last several years, the lobster tail has been smaller and was part of a seafood platter. On this trip the lobster was a separate entrée and served without the other seafood.

 

I debated on whether or not I would buy the alcohol package while on the cruise. In the months before our departure, the package was available for $55/day. At that price, I wasn’t sure I would drink enough to make it worthwhile. A couple weeks before departure they offered a discounted package with Voom internet and the alcohol package for $54/day. I decided this package was worth the expense. I cannot leave work totally behind when I go away so I needed internet access to stay in touch with work from time to time while on the ship. I was going to buy the Voom package anyway but when they bundled it with the alcohol package, it made my decision easy. I got the internet access I needed and I was able to drink enough to feel I got my money’s worth. J

 

The Voom internet package was a major disappointment. For the most part it was no better than RCI’s previous version of internet service. The only advantage I found was that you could connect from anywhere on the ship. The speed was slow and the connection was dropped multiple times. My understanding is that this poor service is due to the geographical location of Alaska. The satellites that provide the service are not positioned to reach that area very well. Whatever the cause, my experience with internet access on this cruise was very disappointing.

 

In closing, this started out to be a once-in-a-lifetime trip. Now that we have completed it, we have realized that it was only our first trip to Alaska. There is so much more to see and do. We wished we had one more night in every location we visited. I don’t know when, but we will return.

Thank you for the great review. We'll be on Radiance in august 2018, in cabin 8132, so right beside where your cabin was. I thoroughly enjoyed your whole review.

Thanks so much for sharing your experiences. Where did you have lunch in Carcross and would you go there again? We are traveling there in early September.

Thanks for taking the time to share a detailed review with all of us!

Thanks so much for sharing your experiences. Where did you have lunch in Carcross and would you go there again? We are traveling there in early September.

I tried to remember the name of the restaurant when I was writing the review and I couldn't. It's easy to find though. There is a little street of shops next to the information center on the left as you come into town. All of the "shops" are on trailers. All the way to the back is the restaurant. The restaurant is a building, not a trailer. The food was very good and yes, I would go back.

I tried to remember the name of the restaurant when I was writing the review and I couldn't. <snip> The restaurant is a building, not a trailer. The food was very good and yes, I would go back.

Thanks for the info - I'm sure that we'll be able to find it!

Truly awesome trip report Ken! Outstanding camera work too. Thanks for posting!

DW and I are currently booked on Radiance Southbound for June 22, 2018 with a 6-day RC pre-tour. We don't travel much so it would be out of my comfort zone to plan a DIY pre-tour like you did. That said, we were just discussing how much it would cost if we did go the DIY route compared to going through RC.

If you don't mind, could you give me a ballpark figure of what you think your land portion would cost if a party of two were to try to recreate it? I understand there are many variables but your best guess would be appreciated. Thanks.

Truly awesome trip report Ken! Outstanding camera work too. Thanks for posting!

 

DW and I are currently booked on Radiance Southbound for June 22, 2018 with a 6-day RC pre-tour. We don't travel much so it would be out of my comfort zone to plan a DIY pre-tour like you did. That said, we were just discussing how much it would cost if we did go the DIY route compared to going through RC.

 

If you don't mind, could you give me a ballpark figure of what you think your land portion would cost if a party of two were to try to recreate it? I understand there are many variables but your best guess would be appreciated. Thanks.

I'm currently out of town and don't have that info with me. Check back in a couple days, I'll have the answer for you.

I'm currently out of town and don't have that info with me. Check back in a couple days, I'll have the answer for you.

That would be great! Looking forward to it. Thanks again!

Truly awesome trip report Ken! Outstanding camera work too. Thanks for posting!

 

DW and I are currently booked on Radiance Southbound for June 22, 2018 with a 6-day RC pre-tour. We don't travel much so it would be out of my comfort zone to plan a DIY pre-tour like you did. That said, we were just discussing how much it would cost if we did go the DIY route compared to going through RC.

 

If you don't mind, could you give me a ballpark figure of what you think your land portion would cost if a party of two were to try to recreate it? I understand there are many variables but your best guess would be appreciated. Thanks.

Mike - I added everything up the best I could and it looks like our 6-1/2 days on land pre-cruise cost DW and I about $3700. That breaks down to about $285/pp/day. The cruise line wanted about $300/pp/day and that included only a few excursions and only 2 meals a day. We felt we could plan our own trip and still beat the $300/day. While we didn't beat the $300/day by much, my figure included all of our meals and one very pricey (plane ride) excursion. Another place that just two people would save some big money would be the car rental. We rented vans because we had a lot of people and luggage to haul around and in the end, I think it was the way to go for our group. Two people should be able to rent a car for about half of what we paid for the van.

Hope this helps.

Mike - I added everything up the best I could and it looks like our 6-1/2 days on land pre-cruise cost DW and I about $3700. That breaks down to about $285/pp/day. The cruise line wanted about $300/pp/day and that included only a few excursions and only 2 meals a day. We felt we could plan our own trip and still beat the $300/day. While we didn't beat the $300/day by much, my figure included all of our meals and one very pricey (plane ride) excursion. Another place that just two people would save some big money would be the car rental. We rented vans because we had a lot of people and luggage to haul around and in the end, I think it was the way to go for our group. Two people should be able to rent a car for about half of what we paid for the van.

 

Hope this helps.

It helps a ton, thanks!

As I mentioned, the DIY sort of thing is out of my comfort zone but my wife has no problem with it (she went to Japan with friends for 2 weeks and found her way around) so I'm trying to be open-minded. How easy was it to drive from one place to the next (both switching cities and just finding a restaurant)? This may be a dumb question with the current state of navigation technology but I've never even rented a car before let alone driven around a state I've never been to.

Hope you don't mind the follow-up questions b/c I'm likely to have more.

It helps a ton, thanks!

 

As I mentioned, the DIY sort of thing is out of my comfort zone but my wife has no problem with it (she went to Japan with friends for 2 weeks and found her way around) so I'm trying to be open-minded. How easy was it to drive from one place to the next (both switching cities and just finding a restaurant)? This may be a dumb question with the current state of navigation technology but I've never even rented a car before let alone driven around a state I've never been to.

 

Hope you don't mind the follow-up questions b/c I'm likely to have more.

Getting around (at least for us) was very easy. We didn't bring a GPS, we used our phones. There's only one road from Fairbanks through Healy and Talkeetna to Anchorage. Kind of hard to get lost there :D. Some of the restaurants we knew ahead of time we wanted to eat at so we just Googled the address and followed the map. If we didn't know where/what we wanted to eat, again, we let Google help us find something. I've never been to Japan but I picture it being A LOT more congested than Alaska. If your wife was able to find her way around Japan, She'll have no problem in Alaska.

Thanks Ken for such a great trip report. We depart for our Alaska land/cruise trip in 2 days!! This information has all been very helpful. I wondered myself is this is a once in a lifetime or a first in a lifetime...guess I'll know in two weeks as we're flying home. BTW I am a native Rochesterian, lived in Penfield for quite a few years and grew up in Brockport - but living in NC these days. Again, enjoyed your TR immensely.

millie

Thank you so much for your review. We are going this trip next year and I really appreciate how early you have to get things booked ( and how flipping expensive it is there!). Thanks for including prices. We are self driving anchorage to Denali and then catching the train to Seward one day early, so will check out that boat trip there. Thanks for the Milepost tip too!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk