rjeffler

Glacier from the Helicopter

Our team

Hubbard Glacier

The crew pulling an iceberg back to the ship to carve

Ice Flow next to the ship

How close we got

Whale at ISP

Look how close he was to the shore and the ship!

Bubblenet Feeding

Moose & Baby

Look really close for the baby!

Moose & Baby

Anchorage to Seward

Reflections in the Lake

Glacier 1

Balcony 8102 on Radiance. It is HUGE!

Exit Glacier

If you have been there in years past, you can see how far it has receeded lately!

Sorry I wasn't able to add photos as I went, but better late than never!!

Running Reindeer Ranch, Fairbanks, AK

Running Reindeer Ranch

When in Alaska, though, there is wifi at all of the US ports. Just remember to put your phone back on airplane mode when you get back on the ship. Had no problem checking emails and making calls from each port.

We were in Seward this past week and got on board around 2:00. There was NO wait time. It was literally 5 minutes from the time we got off the city shuttle until we were walking on board. If you go when any of the trains/busses are coming in, you are going to have a bit of a wait.

Did the train just last week and LOVED it. We also were in Skagway but rented a car there. You have the option to rent a car or train in either location. There are pros and cons with either. Check the prices. It is probably cheaper to rent a car in Skagway since it is roundtrip than it is to rent it from Anchorage to Seward.

Just got back on Friday and ISP was one of our favorite spots. There was a whale bubblenet feeding right off the shore. We did a whale watching tour with FISHES and it was great. Saw whales, dolphins, sea otters, sea lions, eagles and a bear! One of the highlights of our trip.

It is definitely worth getting off the boat and just walking the shoreline!

Just back last Friday. We had the soda package and almost didn't use it enough to justify it. If you are touring, you are definitely off the boat a lot! I would say unless you are drinking like a fish every waking moment, it probably isn't worth it. Just my opinion, though! ;)

Why wouldn't you want to plan ahead and have an idea of what you are doing. I think ALL of my vendors offered refunds if we weren't able to go. I wouldn't want to risk going all of the way to Alaska and having all of the tours I wanted to do be sold out.

Just back last Friday.

In Skagway, our group of 8 rented 2 cars and drove to Emerald Lake. Spent the $5 on Murray's Guide and had a great time. Stopped whenever we wanted and spent as much time as needed. Had lunch in Carcross on the way. Total cost $165 for each car w/gas.

In Juneau, we did a Helicopter Tour to Glacier with Dog Sledding. The original tour was cancelled (10:30) but they ended up getting us in at 2:30. It did rain, but we still were able to make it. Went with ERA.

Ketchikan is fun to just walk around. We walked to Creek Street. Did the Funicular for $4 and ate lunch at the top. Then looked at the totems and walked down Married Man's Trail. Also did the Lumberjack show. Everyone in our group really enjoyed it.

Info on the rest of our cruise is in the link in my signature.

Just got back from Alaska on Sunday. We traveled with friends who used a Canon XS50 and I would HIGHLY recommend this one. It was very easy to use and had a wonderful zoom. We were at Exit Glacier in Seward and could see Dall Sheep at the top of the mountain. We only knew they were sheep as they were white dots that were moving. My friends was able to zoom in enough to see them. It was awesome. We will probably be trading in our Nikon for one of these. It was also very compact.

We had a Go Pro with us as well and the battery always died very quickly.

As for binoculars, we brought 2 pair with us and hardly used them. We also went with FISHES in ISP and used theirs but hardly ever got them out while on the boat.

I wish they would have advertised this a bit better. They seem to give us so much paperwork for the jewelry and on board sales, but I got nothing to explain this! Just got off Radiance last Friday. I would have certainly bid on tours!

Just got off Radiance last Friday. I didn't have a suite, but my friend did. They had breakfast with the Captain and Officers one morning and our last day at sea they got a tour of the bridge. Those seemed to be the biggest perks besides the Concierge Lounge.

The last day at sea we did a lot of Bingo playing, climbed the rock wall and just relaxed. We did take advantage of sit down lunch in the dining room.

We arrived in Vancouver around 6:30 on Friday morning. After breakfast and saying goodbye to the others we headed to the Colony Club to wait to be called to get off the boat. We had too much luggage to carry off ourselves! We were off by 8:30 (group 6). The other couple going with us were holding in the Chops Grill because they were suite guests and they didn't get off until about 45 minutes after us.

Once through customs (very easy), we walked to the front of the Pan Pacific and they checked in their luggage for $5/each. Their hotel was at the airport so not worth wasting time going all of the way there to drop off and then return to sight see. We then walked to our hotel (Marriott Pinnacle). It was about 4 blocks from Canada Place.

We dropped our bags and waited for the Vancouver Trolley out front. We were originally planning on doing the entire loop and then getting off on a 2nd loop, but we started to get tired and decided to get off and walk. Walked all of Granville Island. I wanted to get perogies in the market but was out voted, so we ate at Bridges. The food was good but VERY expensive. Hindsight, we should have eaten in the market. Fresher food for less money.

Once back on the trolley, we hopped off at Gastown and spent some time shopping. Last stop was Canada Place where we dropped our friends so that they could get a cab to their hotel near the airport. They could have taken the train, but decided they weren't up for trying to figure it out. Hindsight, it was quite easy... You could walk straight across the street (between Tim Hortons and McDonalds) and go down the stairs to the train station. Canada Line goes directly to the airport!

We walked back to our hotel to check in. If you read my pre-planning for this trip ( it's in my signature line), you'll know I used points for hotel stays. Our room was fantastic!! On the 27th floor with view of the water. We've been able to watch the ships leave, new ones come in and watch float planes all day!!

Since I got outvoted for lunch, I got to choose our dinner spot. We walked about 3 blocks to Robson St and started looking at menus. I decided on Zefferelli's Spaghetti Joint. I got chicken piccata and my husband got the beef ravioli. If you want to go here, you really have to look for it as it is on the 2nd floor. I think there was a Cactus room below?

This morning woke to rainy weather. We had planned on going to Grouse Mountain. Had breakfast at Tim Hortons just across from Canada Place. It is a cross between Dunkin Donuts, Paneras and McDonalds. We really enjoyed both the bagels and donut holes (timkins). Something worth noting here. There is a small food court and mall between Tim Hortons and McDonalds. There is a nice camera store there in case you forgot anything!

The guides at Canada Place agreed that there was no point in going to Grouse Mountain as the clouds weren't expected to lift anytime soon. So, we hopped on the trolley again. Here it is good to know the difference between the Big Bus and Vancouver Trolley. The bus has taped narration. The trolley is live. So, we had 2 different drivers yesterday and another today and they each told us new things! We got off in Gastown again and settled on Old Spaghetti Factory for lunch. We both enjoyed it.

Rather than getting back on the trolley, we decided to walk back to the hotel. I had noticed that W Hastings was just a block up from Gastown so off we went. Glad we did as we ran into filming along the street. They had even closed one block and had it decorated as if a snow storm had come through. A few blocks later, we ran into a car in a trailer that was fully covered and then a vehicle with a boom camera driving around taking videos. We assume they were shooting a car commercial. I tried to take photos of the vehicle with the boom camera, but was stopped by someone. It was neat to see none the less.

After a bit of resting, we decided to walk some more for dinner. I had seen Robson Market at the end of Robson Street and hoped that it was like Granville Market. It was NOT. It had a couple of shops and maybe 3 eateries. It was very run down and depressing. We walked in and walked out. After walking about 5 miles, we headed back to the hotel and decided to eat in their restaurant. We weren't dissapointed. We shared chips and salsa and a Fish & Chips meal while watching the World Cup.

While enjoying our food, we noticed teens all over. We realized they were having their prom at the hotel. It was quite cute to see and interesting as well. They were each physically searched before they were allowed up the stairs. Not sure if it was the school or the hotel policy, but interesting to know how life is changing!

Our last stop was at the concierge desk to ask for a wake up call and taxi for the morning as our plane took off at 6am. The concierge even suggested the first wake up call at 2:30 and a 2nd at 2:40 to make sure we were up. I'm a bit of a planner, so I also set my cell phone alarm and it is a good thing as our wake up call never came! My husband did have words with the manager and they were very apologetic and comped our meal from the night prior. It was a nice gesture as we could have missed our flight! Thankfully, we did not and they were able to get us a cab very quickly and we were on our way.

For those with early flights, here are some times to know. The luggage drop doesn't open until 4:00 and Customs doesn't open until 4:30. It was even easier this year than it was when we were here 3 years ago. Long day of flying and we finally made it home at 7:30.

I'm now back at work and have my things almost all washed and put away. It was a wonderful 16 days and I'm happy to say nearly everything I planned worked out! It was a lot of work, but worth every minute!

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I will start uploading some photos in the next few days!

I have done the Panama Canal with Princess (I was 29) and 2 different cruises (Carribbean and Alaska) with RCCL. Just got off the Radiance last Friday in Vancouver. We really enjoyed ourselves. There was a show 'The Quest' one night that was a LOT of fun. There were lots of dance parties in the Centrum nightly. The piano bar wasn't as much fun as we've had on a Carnival boat in a piano bar. Not many sing a longs. Never actually made it to the dance club to see how it was. When we did the Princess Cruise, we spent a lot of time in the piano bar and that was about the most entertainment we had.

I would prefer a NB or SB trip as you can then spend time inland before or after the cruise. We really enjoyed our pre-trip. My review is in my signature line.

I agree with the comment about the cycling above. It looked SCARY to me and my family cycles! I guess it depends on the amount of traffic that day, but the roads are narrow!

It really is as big as it seems. What you cannot see in this photo is the other chair on the other side of the table. We had a lounger brought out as well. Not a lot of sunshine as it is covered the entire way, but also no wind! LOVED IT!!

My first shot at adding photos. Just had 8102 last week!! LOVED it!

I just got off the Radiance (I assume similar ships) in cabin 8102. The only night that I heard anything was the night they had the 70's party from 10:30 on. I wasn't in the mood to join in, so I turned on my TV sleep time for 60 minutes and went to bed. Problem solved. Otherwise, we had no problems with this cabin...bear in mind...this was an Alaska cruise, so no major partying going on anyway! :D I was a bit worried before we went but would have no problems booking this room again!

The balcony was HUGE. We had the 8 in our group over for drinks and had room for many more. Our room steward brought up a lounger for us to enjoy as well.

I'm definitely NOT a sun worshiper so it's probably going to be fantastic for me!!

Can you see both the front and ship from the rail of the balcony?

 

 

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You cannot see the front of the ship. It is right behind the hump of the elevators. It was fantastic, though!

I would appreciate some feedback about some of these balcony cabins.

 

8086, 8088, 8102, 8104, 8586, 9642 or 9094.

 

We need to pick several and these look like that they might have larger balconies but can't determine if they are angled right for the best views.

 

Any other recommendations are appreciated.

Just got off Radiance on Friday and were in 8102. Also had friends in 7092. Our balcony was HUGE. You could fit 20 people on it no problems! We had our room steward bring us a lounge chair so we had that along with 2 chairs and a table and LOTS of open space. We were just behind the glass elevators.