olya1972

Does that mean that we don’t get actual tickets at the time of reservation, but only after final payment date? ( which means that seats are also assigned only at that time?)

I am looking into booking NYC to Anchorage tickets for an Alaska Southbound cruise via Ait2Sea RCI program. There is some, but not significant, difference in price given the cost of the tickets versus booking through any other site.( RCI is currently running a promo of $200 off per person for Economy class Alaska tickets, but from the prices I see on Air2Sea, there is a total difference of $200 for two tickets making the cheapest option $1,250 vs 1,450. ) It is not clear to me if we can chose our seats as we would do have we booked tickets elsewhere. Can someone who used the service please share your experiences? What are the advantages of booking Air2Sea ( other then possibly cheaper price)? Thank you.

Someone responded on Alaska board that there were couple of lectures on Radiance. That will have to do. And as Welshrich mentioned above, it's a busy itinerary with a lot of port time. Thank You for your reply.

Sounds wonderful. Thank You.

Thank you for great reply and your suggestions. We did Major Marine Fjords cruise last May also, and stayed in their hotel Harbor 360 from which the fjord's boats depart. We just did land last May as DIY type of tour. This year we are sailing with our friends and it will be their firs visit to Alaska. We already booked the Alaskan Railroad from Anchorage on that morning, the 26th, the day of the cruise, so will just explore Seward itself without outside trips. I wanted to see Sea life Center last time, but it didn't work pot. So maybe this trip.

This is perfect, exactly the information I was looking for. Thank You.

What about the ship itself? Last few sailings prior to Covid we did on new ships. They are all beautiful, though we don’t use “ bells and whistles”, but decor itself, cabins furnishings, restaurants - all were wonderful. That said, we did sail on their oldest ship, Grandure, in 2015 and I loved it, found it to be more “marine time “ type of experience then on newer ships, that are resort-like. How is Radiance?

These are good news. I am reluctant to book RCI in Alaska, but needing particular days and it’s sailing from Sewards kind of tips the scale. There is a lot of port time on this itinerary. So even if they only have couple of lectures, that will be good enough. I was worried that there will be nothing at all as I picked up from some comments here and there on CC. Thank You all for responding.

Thank You.

We are booking Radiance of the Seas Southbound Alaska cruise ( Seward to Vancouver). Are there naturalists or any Alaska-related programs onboard? Our previous AK cruises were on Princes and HAL and both lines had a lot of AK-oriented staff onboard. Also, we are booking GTY Balcony. Any information on degrees of obstruction is appreciated. Thank You.

No, I’ll do that. Thank You for reply.

Thank You, diesel 1973.

Hello. I am looking for ideas on how to structure one full day exploring city of Anchorage without leaving on a day/half day trips (we have done that previously). We will most likely have two nights with one day in between in Anchorage prior to leaving on 6:45 am train to Seward to board Southbound ship. We will have no car. Hotel is not booked yet, but will reserve something Downtown. Any suggestions are welcome. Thank You.

Hello. We are looking to book Radiance of the Seas from Seward to Vancouver late this May. I am wondering if there is a naturalist on board? Are there any Alaska related enrichment programs like that on HAL or Princess (the two lines we sailed to Alaska in previously)? Thank You.

Four days before sailing ( Rotterdam, 10 days) I called HAL and was offered $1,198 per person to upgrade from VA Veranda to SA, Neptune Suit. The next day I called back- $599 per person ( now, it was three days before the cruise). At that same time they also were offering upgrade to Vista Suit for $199/ person.

Thank You. I will try to book couple of daily passes when we first board.

Thank you both for the explanation. I understand it now.

How does one use the gift card for onboard expenses? We are sailing next week and I would like to purchase a digital version to use on that sailing, but I am not clear on how would I use it onboard( and I read their terms and conditions section). For example, I am buying a drink at the bar and I would like to charge it agains that ( digital) gift card and not on my onboard account. How do I do that?

I am also interested in one day pass only , however there is only a weekly pass available for purchase through HAL site or Navigator app ( Rotterdam cruise coming up this December). How do you pre-book/ purchase a daily pass?

Thank you very much for that detailed response. It's very informative.

Thank you.

Can you please explain what does it mean "inset of the cabins so you don't get a full view down the ship from the balcony"? (we just received a gty assignment into VA Deck 8 Rotterdam). Thank You.

Thank you, Hank.

Thank You, Mary. I have another question. When going through a fake booking process on HAL website I see two options. One is they will assign a cabin and second option is to chose your own cabin. Does their assigned cabin mean the same as GTY cabin on other cruise lines? I don't see any GTY options on this sailing (Rotterdam out of Fort Lauderdale, December 11, 2022?). I am thinking to book the cheapest balcony GTY and see if they will assign to higher category room. (Does HAL do that or they always assign within the category booked?)

Is ship's beverage package accepted on HMC?