Radiance review 7/13/12 sailing--sorry it's so long

[Quithan]

This review comes from a family who has loved and cruised NCL for years so I will be comparing the lines a lot. We did a 6 day land tour prior to our cruise. (tour #13) This was one of the primary reasons we booked with RCI this time. The land tour took a lot off my mind and I think it is a good choice for a first time visitor to AK. We enjoyed our tour and our guide immensely. The train was a wonderful way to get from city to city. I was disappointed they took Alyeska away from our tour but when it came down to it, I was glad to stay put in one place for more than one night.

 

Ok--Flew into Fairbanks and got in very late the first night but our transfer to Pikes lodge was smooth. The lodge itself is old but the rooms were dark and we were tired. This is by far the most outdated of the accommodations but we just needed to sleep so it was fine. There are 5 in our family and we had booked the 2 BDRM family suite onboard so we got 2 hotel rooms with our land tour every night. 8 am train to Denali came very quickly. Had breakfast on the train. Sunny skies all the way to the park. Beautiful morning!!! My youngest son and I decided to upgrade to the long tour (TWT) and it was a very good decision. We saw 14 grizzly, tons of caribou, watched a fox for about 20 minutes until it caught a mouse and ate it, moose, golden eagle and ptarmigan (state bird), and dall sheep. My husband and 2 older teens did the short tour and saw a moose and that was about it. We relaxed the next morning and took some pics around the hotel. Accommodations were nice and very comfortable--especially for a national park.

 

We woke up to sunny skies again the next morning and had them all the way to Talkeetna. Beautiful day!!! On the way, found out the salmon did not run to Talkeetna this year so they put a stop to fishing about 5 weeks before we arrived. I called our tour for the next morning (salmon fishing) and they confirmed they were only doing catch and release so we cancelled. I was hoping to fill my freezer not catch and release. They were apologetic that they had not contacted us and very nice about canceling a day b4 our tour. While on the phone with them, McKinley came out and we called K2 right away and they had openings so they came and picked us up and we had an incredible flight up around the summit!!!! We did the glacier landing, had a snowball fight, made snow angels, took 100s of pics and were thrilled with the experience!!!!! Ate at the West Rib pub and grill--had excellent fish and made the mistake to walk back to the lodge. We were so tired we were laughing but I wish we had cabbed it. The weather was still 60 or so but it was NOT a good decision. We fell into bed. Accommodations were very comfortable and we had that incredible view of the mountains. Next morning we did breakfast at the Talkeetna Roadhouse and the 5 of us split a large breakfast (my boys are 19, 17 and 12) We added a side of biscuits and gravy and we were stuffed. We did the jet boat tour with Mahays. It was overcast but not rainy. Tour was interesting but I would not say it was a "must do". More like something to fill the morning. We shopped the stores and bought a really nice picture of Denali at a gallery.

 

We took the afternoon train to Anchorage. The food on the train is very good. But dinner was very pricey. All of the food in Alaska is very expensive. VERY!!! We were excited to be staying 2 nights and not have to have our bags out the next morning. Woke up, looked out the window, and there was Denali--again!!! We were so excited to get to see it twice when most people never get to see it once!!!! We did the group tour at the Alaska Heritage Center which was very interesting. Enough to keep the boys interested and while we were walking around outside, my youngest's contact gave him trouble. We tried and tried but somewhere along the way, after having it irritate his eye terribly for 45 minutes, it fell out. And, after being told to pack extras, we found out he did not. So, here we are, 4000 miles from home with no contacts. So, I pulled up my iPhone map, searched for an optometrist and one came up a block away. In the meantime, my husband called our optometrist and got his prescription. When I called the one in Anchorage, they had his prescription in stock and gave us a trial lens!!! Too cool--very very nice people to help out a bunch of dumb midwesterners who didn't double check their 12 year old's ability to pack!!! We were VERY grateful!!!! We shopped a little after that, and then rented bikes from Pablo's and rode 14 miles on the Tony Knowles Coastal trail It was overcast again but not raining. The bike ride was lots of fun and got us a little exercise to boot. We returned the bikes, and walked to Phyllis's for dinner. I had subscribed to Anchorage's groupon emails and that one came up so I was happy to save a little money on 1 dinner at least. The food was good, not great but they did have the best french fries I think I've ever had!!! Walked back to our hotel and settled in to play some cards b4 bed. Bus to Seward the next morning.

 

It rained off and on all the way down to Seward and then rained steady for most of the day. They dropped us off at the small boat harbor where we had about 2 hours before our Kenai Fjords tour. Really wish we'd had the umbrella out of our bags--just not good planning. We ran between stores and shopped, got a smoothie for lunch, and sat on a bench under an overhang until it was time for our tour. We saw whale and bald eagle, sea lions, puffin, sea otter and tons of birds. The weather was a little rough as we got closer to the open ocean and I was hoping we didn't have long. Several people didn't feel well so we watched 1 last whale and headed back to the marina. All in all it was a very good experience and the ship crew did a really good job of spotting wildlife. Time to head for the hotel and settle in. Unfortunately, it was laundry time so the boys relaxed while my husband and I gathered the dirty clothes and took the shuttle into town to do laundry. Last loads need to be in the washers by 7:30 and we got 2 washers just in time. They sell detergent and quarters there at the laundromat. It was a pretty painless process other than the fact that we were tired--again--and it was raining--again. The shuttle came and picked us up and we were back at the hotel in no time. Next day--cruise!!!!

 

Now, all in all, the land tour is a great experience and I know there are bigger problems in the world, but I was happy to be boarding the ship, UNPACKING for good and relaxing!!!! Living out of a suitcase and being in a new room every night was getting old. That's one of the many reasons we love to cruise!!!

 

Aboard the Radiance--the ship and staff were very accommodating. Our room was ready by promised 2:00 time and we headed there as soon and we could. This cabin is almost identical to our family villa we usually book on Norwegian. The differences were both pluses for Norwegian--they have an espresso maker in your room which makes very good coffee (something we couldn't find anywhere on the Radiance) and one of the perks also includes breakfast and lunch in a private suite dining room. The latter didn't matter to me near as much as the coffee did--haha!!! The coffee was so strong that we just couldn't get used to it. There is an espresso maker in the concierge lounge but it was also very strong. Now, I admit, I am a coffee snob but my husband couldn't tolerate it really either. We made do. The other difference that goes as a plus to RCI is that alcohol is free in the concierge lounge every night from like 5-8. But we don't drink so that didn't really matter to us. But I would imagine that lots of people find that to be a very good perk. Our stateroom attendant was very nice, and went out of her way to serve us. We had dinner that first night in Chops and it was our least favorite dinner on the ship. I had read in other reviews that the steaks are overcooked and we found that to be the case. The kids didn't want to send theirs back but my husband did and the 2nd one came out the same way. Just not impressed for a steakhouse. I had the barramundi which I enjoyed very much. It wasn't a terrible meal--just not the best one we had. Our dinners in the main dining room were excellent. Our waiter, Pely, was so fun and engaged our kids so much every night that we waited for his tables to be available on some nights.

 

Day 1--sea day to Hubbard. The captain got pretty darn close to the glacier and we watched it calve for about an hour and a half. After about an hour, the captain turned the ship all the way around so both side of the ship could see it from their balconies. Our cabin was aft so we watched it from our balcony as he pulled away. It was a beautiful sunny day and the noise was so cool!!! Went from shot gun-like to thunder and back again!!!

 

Port 1--Juneau. We had booked the heli/dog sled with Coastal Helicopters and prayed and prayed we would be able to go. We had the best weather Juneau had seen all year!!! Yay!!!! It was incredible. They picked us up at the pier, drove us to the airport and after a brief instruction, we were off. What a wonderful experience this was!!!! Everyone was so kind and generous. Even the dogs. We spent about an hour on the glacier with the team and they have room for 4 on each team's sled but no one else had booked it so they split us up so my husband and I went with 1 team and the kids went with another. We were right behind each other the whole time but it gave us opportunity to sit, or stand and be the break person as much as we wanted. Can't say enough about the time we had. They even drove us to Mendenhall instead of back to the port. At the glacier, we hiked to Nugget falls--a very easy 20 min walk and back and then cabbed it back to the port. For 5 of us, it was cheaper and more convenient than the bus. Back at the pier, we had crab bisque and crab legs to share at Tracy's crab shack. By that time, we were down to short sleeves it was a beautiful day!!!! We were pretty tired so we all got back on the boat and crashed.

 

Port 2--Skagway. We decided to rent a car and drive to Emerald lake ourselves. We were train-ed out!!! It was a good decision for my family but I heard the train was awesome from several who went and from the reviews. But we enjoyed stopping along the way for family pics and there was this little quirky area to stop and build an "inukshuk" or statue out of little rocks. We thought it was so funny!!! Made for good laughs and pictures. These statues go on for as far as you can see. 1000s of them. It was an overcast day and in fact, rained just before we reached carcross so we drove through but did not get out. Emerald lake was beautiful!!!! The most incredible color I've ever seen in water!!! After taking pictures, we turned around and drove back to Skagway. We shopped around a little but it's almost all jewelry stores there and my boys were interested in souvenirs. Back onboard, the 2 younger boys competed in a soccer tournament and came in 2nd. It was very exciting. And they loved it!!!

 

Port 3--Icy Strait--we booked a private whale watch and saw a large humpback in the bay right there near the marina bubble netting. It was spectacular!!!!! Then he drove us out to ???? point (can't remember the name) and we saw more that 30 blow holes, got close to maybe 10 of them. Saw tail slapping and a momma and baby sleeping and then they both waved--ha ha--it was really neat. Lots of really great photos. Plus we had the boat to ourselves. We booked with Glacier Winds and they were just really nice to work with. Plus his boat is really nice and smooth!!! All in all--it was another really great day!!! Again, it was one of the best weather days they'd had all year.

 

Port 4--Ketchikan. We got off the ship and went to Creek St and got the last of our souvenirs taken care of and then took a flight to the Misty Fjords National monument in a float plane. This was the only tour I was jittery about. The whole water take off and landing thing just really made me uneasy but it was very smooth. It was a nice day in Ketchikan--partly sunny. But the Fjords are almost ALWAYS overcast and that's what we found. It was about a 25 minute flight into the Fjords and our pilot was very informative. The only thing I can say about that was that I wish we could have talked to one another like on our other flights we took. We could hear him and he was very informative but our headsets didn't have miscs. We booked with Southeast Aviation. My oldest son is a pilot so I think the flights we took were especially cool for him. I think he wishes he could have flown us!!!!

 

Our last day was a sea day and again--beautiful blue skies. This day they had an adult soccer tournament and my oldest and middle (he got to do both) came in 2nd in that league--they had a blast!!! And it was fun to watch. Kudos to RCI for including soccer on the sports deck!!!

 

We did the prepaid gratuities on the ship and then gave our waiter and room steward a little extra. The crew was very accommodating and gracious. We had an absolutely wonderful experience with RCI and would def. consider sailing with them again. I did even find out that some of the bigger RCI ships do have private breakfast and lunch dining for suite guests so maybe we can just work on that coffee thing and we'd be sold!!!!!! I can't even begin to tell you haw many times we heard--"this is the best weather we've had all year" we started to think it was a joke. But we knew better. We were so blessed to see so much wildlife and have such wonderful weather!!! We made so many wonderful family memories on this trip!!!!

[music]

Thanks for the review, we leave soon and I love reading the reviews. Was there much motion on the water during the whale watch?

[Italy52]

Thanks for the review -- glad to hear that you had a nice time on your cruise. The Radiance is a nice ship for cruising Alaska.

 

Shawn and Theresa of Glacier Wind in Icy Strait are wonderful people --- we always enjoy touring with them and with F.I.S.H.E.S.

[cathykb]

Great review! And thanks for including the land tour portion - we don't see many review of the RCI land tours.

 

Cathy

[AngieGal3]

I can't even begin to tell you haw many times we heard--"this is the best weather we've had all year" we started to think it was a joke. But we knew better.

 

So, so true. I was so happy with our weather. Thanks for the trip report, you did a great job!

[volunteer cruiser]

Thank you for taking the time to post your review. I have a few questions I hope you can answer. My family is booked for land and cruise tour #13 starting June 29 , 2013. They will be in 2 bedroom suite 7672. 2 bedroom suites are on deck 7,8, and 9 so I know the views will be about the same. Did you enjoy the view and did you have enough room for all 5 to be on the deck at one time? My mother and I really want to go to Alyeska and experience the resort and view. Did RCI tell you why they took this stop off the itinerary? One more question. My niece and nephew will be 11. Your youngest is 12. Did he get bored on the train and bus rides or was the scenery enough to keep him occupied? I am glad you had wonderful weather.

[Quithan]

Thank you for taking the time to post your review. I have a few questions I hope you can answer. My family is booked for land and cruise tour #13 starting June 29 , 2013. They will be in 2 bedroom suite 7672. 2 bedroom suites are on deck 7,8, and 9 so I know the views will be about the same. Did you enjoy the view and did you have enough room for all 5 to be on the deck at one time? My mother and I really want to go to Alyeska and experience the resort and view. Did RCI tell you why they took this stop off the itinerary? One more question. My niece and nephew will be 11. Your youngest is 12. Did he get bored on the train and bus rides or was the scenery enough to keep him occupied? I am glad you had wonderful weather.

 

Yes we enjoyed our view very much. We have never sailed in an aft cabin b4 but enjoyed being able to be out on the deck when it was warm enough while we were sailing--especially as we left Hubbard Glacier. 7672 was our exact cabin. There were 4 chairs and a table on the balcony. Plenty of room for all 5 of us. The thing I missed was being able to watch us come into port and be able to see where we were headed. Obviously it was a trade off. Plus I will mention to you, since you have the same cabin--we had calm seas for pretty much our whole cruise but the engine noise or something was really loud the first night. Didn't happen again the whole cruise. Alyeska, we were told, was booked for some big convention or something like that. Then I heard from another cruiser (through their TA) that they couldn't accommodate tour groups because of renovations. So--not sure. As far as my youngest, we played some games on the train, or he played on his iPod or I gave him the camera to take pictures. We've traveled a LOT as a family though so he is used to that. Each day is not longer than 4 hours on the train/bus and it really was interesting for the most part so there were only short periods he sought other ways to occupy himself. Hope this helps--I'd be happy to answer any other questions!!

[critterchick]

Thanks for your review, and I'm glad you had such a great time! Just a note on the coffee - some RCI ships finally have stocked the single-cup servings, but it sounds like you got the full pot ones, so that could be why your coffee in the cabin was so strong. We've given up on it, and just bring single serve packets of instant & use the hot water kettle instead.:)

 

Was there any special breakfast area for the suites, then? On Jewel they open Chops for breakfast, cooked to order. It's wonderful.

[Quithan]

Thanks for your review, and I'm glad you had such a great time! Just a note on the coffee - some RCI ships finally have stocked the single-cup servings, but it sounds like you got the full pot ones, so that could be why your coffee in the cabin was so strong. We've given up on it, and just bring single serve packets of instant & use the hot water kettle instead.:)

 

Was there any special breakfast area for the suites, then? On Jewel they open Chops for breakfast, cooked to order. It's wonderful.

 

No special breakfast or lunch area for suites on the Radiance. There was a continental in the concierge lounge tho. I did read that Chops is the place on some of their bigger ships--Oasis, etc.

[volunteer cruiser]

Thanks for reply. I feel more confident that my mom and brothers family will have a great cabin and time