alaskawdw12

Since you like to spend as much time as possible in port, I think you should start out by checking how many ports each cruise visits and how long they spend there.

I personally really love the Royal Caribbean Alaskan cruise! It's the only one I've been on, so I have nothing to compare with, but we loved our cruise on the Radiance and are returning this summer!

The itinerary for the radiance is amazing IMHO. They visit 4 ports and spend A LOT of time in each port (for instance, over 12 hours in Juneau and Skagway) which allows you to really make the most of each port without feeling rushed.

The Radiance itself is stunning, and with glass all over the place I think it's the best ship for Alaska. DH and I are very active, we don't like lounging around, so we participated activities pretty much anytime we were on the ship and not sleeping or eating 😎, but we were always surrounded by the beautiful scenery outside.

As far as activities on board, RCCL really has it down. We were busy all the time. Trivia, video scavenger hunt, name that dance etc... So much fun!!

In terms of amenities and meals, I can't help much since we're pretty easy going. We really like the Windjammer and preferred eating there rather then in the main dining room. We just like the easy going atmosphere and the big selection. We also really liked the Park Cafe.

I hope this helps 😊 have fun planning!

In 2012 we went on the whale watch excursion through the ship (we were on the Radiance of the Seas) and it was amazing 😊 Really well organized, great staff and breathtaking views of the whales. Hearing the whales breath was just magical. I would do it again in a heartbeat. I didn't feel it was short or that we needed more time and the boat wasn't crowded, in my opinion.

Just my two cents...we canceled this excursion two years ago after posting the exact same question here and receiving the same comments. When we were in Ketchikan people we had met on the cruise did the excursion and they loved every second of it. They saw bears and said it was one of the best excursions they'd done. I realize bears are not a sure thing, just wanted to offer a different perspective. Also, the ratings of this excursion on tripadvisor have gone up since we were there , and the comment quoted earlier is old...I remember it from when I was doing research for our trip.

We had a wonderful day, Ketchikan was my favorite port, but if we go back we'll be doing this excursion after seeing what a great time people had on it.

You cannot go wrong with either Adventure or Independence. We cruise on Adventure every year, and the ship is in fine shape with an excellent crew.

Thanks!! I'm happy to hear good things about the Adventure!

Probably not a big deal for most passengers, but I love the flowrider and the Adventure does not have one yet. Easy choice for me...the Independence all the way.

We both don't surf on the flowrider, but we do like watching people surfing (and wiping out ;) )

Thanks so much for the quick responses!! :)

 

When were you thinking of doing the TA?

We're considering joining you :) The ship looks great and the ports are great, I'm just hesitant about so many sea days in a row, whereas on the Adventure TA there broken up between ports.

Hi everybody,

We're considering doing a transatlantic on one if these ships and any advice you could give us would be great!!

Adventure has the best itinerary (IMHO), but it's older and has fewer venues and I've been reading less than stellar reviews about her condition (in terms of both ship itself and staff).

Independence is a bigger and newer ship so probably has more to do on it + from what I've read it seems like it's in better condition. The itinerary is pretty good, but goes to fewer ports than Adventure and has more sea days one after the other.

We've only been on the Radiance and the Allure and loved them both.

Thanks for your input! :)

Ship: Allure

Port: Seward, Alaska

Thanks for writing this report! :)

I found the easiest way to post pics is through photo bucket. You just have to copy the image link from there and paste it in your review. Super easy.

I'm really looking forward to reading everything!

You can also sign up online if you want to before the cruise. That's what we did because we wanted to have all the shows, excursions and extra stuff booked and scheduled before we boarded so we had everything set to go :)

We thought it was really good :) but we're not picky with food...

We liked picking up a slice or 2 when we were participating in activities on the promenade. They also offer gluten free pizza, which my mom loved.

I know you said no boardwalk balcony, but I personally think it's the best room onboard with the best of both worlds - beautiful ocean views + people watching and the feeling that you're part of the fun! I'm extremely sensitive to noise and there was no noise at night after the show in the aqua theater was over. And like another poster wrote, the room is really quiet with the door closed. We watched our favorite parts of the show from our balcony and even got to watch the performers practice. This was our first time without an ocean view balcony and we absolutely loved it! We spent more time on the balcony than ever in the past.

On the 2 cruises I was on (Radiance and Allure) most women were wearing pretty cocktail dresses, but there were also many women wearing dress pants and a fancy shirt.

Have fun! :)

I personally was wearing jeans and a tank top (in the Windjammer) but that's for a whole different thread ;)

When I was planning our Alaskan adventure I basically lived in the Alaska forum on CC :)

You'll find lots of info over there and extremely knowledgeable and helpful CC members over there. just go into Ports of Call to the Alaska board.

I also found that while moaning is plentiful on CC, onboard most people are just there to have a good time. I only encountered one loud moaner on a cruise. We had arrived at the Windjammer before it opened (about ten to six) on the Allure, so naturally a line formed, waiting for opening. This man in front of us was huffing and puffing "I've never in my life stood in so many lines! You have to stand in line for everything here, it's just crazy!!!!". My husband and I said to each other (in our foreign language) if it bothers him so much why doesn't he just come back in ten minutes when the place is open???????? This line is here because we've (we were about 15 people) showed up early, what do you want? He obviously just wanted to be angry and loud about it. We thought it was funny.

My husband and I are HUGE Disney freaks. I'm turning 30 this year and I've been to WDW 27 times, I've visited every Disney park on the planet, 2 Disney cruises, all of our art and pictures at home are Disney and my family's official game is "guess what Disney ride that's from" :). We're seriously hooked and everyone thinks we're crazy...

So naturally for our honeymoon we wanted to combine a Disney cruise with WDW (we went to WDW for 2 weeks after our cruise. The characters' reactions to honeymooners are just amazing!!). My dream destination for the cruise was Alaska and that was our plan, but then we saw that DCL was so much more expensive than the other cruise lines, almost double (just like what you've found) so we hesitantly and reluctantly chose RCCL's Radiance. We absolutely loved it!!!!! The service is on par with Disney, we thought the food was great and there are much more activities for adults than on DCL. I thought the only thing Disney does better are the shows, which just can't be topped by anyone and are amazing.

We loved the cruise so much that the next summer (last year) we went on the Allure with my parents for their 35th anniversary. It's an AMAZING ship!! We had boardwalk balcony rooms and we absolutely loved it. My mom had been on the Disney Dream and she enjoyed the Allure more.

All that being said, if your heart is set on DCL and the prices are better in September and you guys can go in September then why not postpone your honeymoon? We went on ours a year and a half after we got married :)

Whatever you do it will be amazing!! Congratulations!

As others have said, if you want to do a land part as well you'll have to do a northbound or southbound cruise instead of a round trip.

I would also like to add that I planned our land portion (a week long, before the cruise) by myself, with the huge help of the Alaska forum on CC and reading through Lonley Planet, Frommer's and the other big travelers guide I can't remember right now (oops :) ). I personally didn't find the planning difficult and I actually enjoyed planning the trip as much as I enjoyed being on it. We booked everything half a year in advance, including our room onboard which we thought was perfect.

Whatever you choose, whether you end up doing just a cruise or combining it with a cruise tour or with a DIY land tour you'll have an amazing time! Just remember that Alaska is enormous and there's no way to see it all in one visit, so you shouldn't feel pressured. Just enjoy whatever you end up doing :)

For some reason I just noticed this reply now...

Thanks so much!! That's great to know :)

There are also gluten free cookies at the promenade caffe :)

We were on the Radiance in summer 2012 and it was perfection!!

The itinerary is great and the ship itself is amazing! With all the glass all over the place you can partake in all the activities and still have the beautiful scenery right there.

Like you said, there really were barely any children onboard, and this was right smack in the middle of summer vacation. We were pretty much amongst the youngest people on the ship (we're in our late 20s...).

The staff is great and it was so much fun!!

It was just such an amazing vacation!! We still get excited about it and dream of saving up enough money to be able to do it all over again.

If you can, stay in Seward for a couple of days, whichever cruise you end up choosing. It is such a gorgeous place with a special feel to it and lots of fun things to do and see!! One of our favorites on our Alaskan adventure :). And I also recommend taking the train from/to Anchorage to/from Seward. It's breathtaking!!!!

I'm jealous.... :)

I must say I find it ridiculous that people make a connection between dressing casually and being rude or not classy.

Maybe if you guys spent less time worrying about clothing and more time being kind and non-judgemental society would be in better shape than it is.

How someone else dresses should not affect you and definitely has nothing to do with how they raise their kids or how they treat others. If you think making your kid wear a suit makes him a better person good for you. I think it's all so superficial and meaningless.

My mom and I both suffer from vertigo and from really bad motion sickness. We both feel off a couple of minutes after stepping onboard, even on a huge ship like the Allure. My husband joins us in the motion sickness department once the ship starts rolling.

Our weapon of choice are the sea bands. They're amazing and we recommend them to everyone. They really work!!! A real life changer for me, since I love sailing on boats but avoided it because I just felt so lousy. With the sea bands I'm unfazed!! It's really amazing. And since it's not medicine, worst thing that can happen is that it won't help :) but it definitely can't hurt and has no side effects.

As for Bonine, I've gotten flamed for this in the past, but just letting you know that like any medicine it affects people differently and my husband and I both were extremely drowsy and knocked out after taking it even though it's supposed to be non drowsy. That's how we discovered the sea bands, because there was no way we were taking the Bonine again.

Ginger ale helps too :)

My mom had the gluten free pizza at Sorrento's and said it was good. You have to ask for it and they make it upon request. It takes about10 minutes.

We usually don't tip extra. room service isn't extra, since they're not included in the pre paid gratuities, so usually they're the only ones we tip in cash.

However this past summer on the Allure we ate dinner in the Windjammer every night and we had the same waiter every night. He was amazing! It was like MDR service in the laid back atmosphere of the Windjammer. When we walked in he would immediately put silver wear on our favorite table with 2 diet cokes ready for us :). We really got to know him and he told us about his family and life onboard. We told his manager how great he is and on the last night we tipped him since he was so outstanding. I don't remember how much.

We had the same experience with the too-close-2-tops in the MDR on the Radiance. It was so uncomfortable...I was happy we speak a foreign language no one understands (and even that was only to say to husband "this is so uncomfortable!"...lol) otherwise I wouldn't have opened my mouth at all. We couldn't wait for dinner to be over.

As for Celebrity, how does it compare to RCCL in terms of onboard activities? We really like participating in everything onboard and like that royal has a lot going on all the time. How does X compare?