Live from the Radiance of the Seas Last NB cruise

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Around 11:30 am Becky and I met our DHs at the Denali train station to travel back to Anchorage.

 

 

 

The train is owned by the Alaska Railroad and runs all year long.

 

 

 

From may to September the various cruise ship companies add their cruise/tour rail cars to the end of the train (2-level silver cars at the back of the train).

 

 

They were VERY confortable and had a glass dome. They even had a sun screen across the top. There was a bar in the from and a dining car below. The food was very good.

 

 

 

This is what we did most of the time--took pictures and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. The train traveled at about 45 mph, so the trip took about 8 hours. I felt it went by very quickly. The train is my favorite way to travel!

 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

As we left Denali we saw the yellows of the cottonwood trees and the termination snow on the mountains through the clouds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But as we travel a little south the sky began to clear. Yeah!

 

 

By the time we got to this beaver lodge it was clear.

 

 

This view from Hurricane Gulch looking west was stunning.

 

 

 

 

The best is yet to come.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

We had a woman in our tour group who did some free-lance photography. She had a photo published in Southern Living. She took over 1,000 pictures before we boarded the train. DH and I frequently heard her talk about the "money shots." The pictures we took on the train were money shots.

 

We had read that only 30 percent of visitors get to see Mt McKinley (Denali) while they are in Alaska. But, once we got here most of the guides say 20 percent. But, we hit the lottery. The sky cleared and we had some of the best viewing of the whole summer.

 

As we rounded the corner the Alaska range came into view. Denali is at the far right hand side.

 

 

Here it is centered in the frame. Notice the snow blowing off the top of the south peak.

 

 

. . . and more. (Think about how clear it has to be to see the snow blowing!

 

 

 

Then I took a close up. This makes it look like we are right there. We were about 50 miles away.

 

As you can see the south pesak is the taller of the two.

 

 

Notice this view looks a little different . We were in Talkeetna by this time. (about 4 hours south by train) You can only see the south peak.

 

Edited September 11, 2012 by DragonOfTheSeas

[DELTABLUE]

How very wonderful that you had the good fortune to pick just that cruise and be just where you were at just the right moment to see such beautiful and amazing sights! Thanx for sharing them with us.;)

[minniemom2009]

Wonderful trip report!! Cannot wait to read more :)

[Stella777]

Absolutely beautiful and breathtaking at the same time. thanks for sharing these awesome photos. If I never get to Alaska, at least I have your trip to be thankful for just like I was actually there.

[OTownNick]

I enjoyed all the wonderful pictures. I'm sorry I wasn't able to do the land tour but next time I will have to!

 

It was nice meeting you. Hope we see you on another cruise :)

[sail2sea]

Those are the MILLION DOLLAR money shots all right! :D

 

Dragon, my GF and I were also on this cruise. And we seem to have followed the same schedule as you and your husband. I literally just arrived home this morning. Still in after glow. :D Trying to catch up on emails. The ship and the lodge had good internet but we were too busy to use it.

 

We did Salmon fishing in Ketchikan. Went sea kayaking in Icy Straight Point In Juneau, we had a flightseeing tour. And GF insisted on seeing Sarah Palin's governor house. :D We also took the train to Anchorage right after getting off the ship on the 7th. Rented a car and drove up to Denali the same day. On the 8th we went into the Denali national park. Saw tons animals but didn't see the peaks. On the 9th we did a water rafting tour. Drove back to Anchorage yesterday and also saw the PEAKs but not as good as your pictures. We were a few hours earlier and the weather wasn't cleared yet.

 

For those of you hoping to visit Alaska, DO IT! :D Loved Alaska this time of year. Salmon and bears were all out and about. Loved Radiance. The ship is beautiful and perfect for Alaska. Lots of windows give lots of viewing.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

We had 2 nights in Anchorage before we headed home.

 

This is a view of Anchorage from Earthquake Park.

 

 

There is not really much to see at the park today. But, this sign shows what happened. On Good Friday 1964, a chunk of the Turnagain Arm sank into the Cook inlet. 128 people died. many of them that were standing on the shoreline.

 

 

The Visitor's Center is downtown on 4th Ave. They were very helpful.

 

 

The Tony Knowles Trail follows the water and goes all the way from the airport to downtown. Many people ride bikes.

 

This shows it going under the AK railroad.

 

 

Another shot of the trail.

 

[tim5055]

We did Salmon fishing in Ketchikan.

I've got a group going next year. Was the fishing an RCCL tour or outside? I have a few people interested in this.

 

Thanks

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Anchorage has a brief history by lower 48 standards. This house belonged to Oscar Anderson for 60 years. He built it in 1915. His account says that he was the 18th person to set foot at this location. (It has a prime view on the point at Cook Inlet.

 

 

The flower gardens we very nice.

 

 

 

It was a beautiful day so we drove down the Turnagain Arm. We had taken the bus through here on the way to Denali. Now we could stop at the scenic overlooks--to take pictures. :)

 

 

 

Another Arm pic:

 

 

We visited Girdwood. (not much) Girdwood moved the town after the earthquake of 1964 to its current location. Then we visited the resort at Alyeska. (fabulous--read on)

[BecciBoo]

Thanks so much. It was wonderful. We're on Radiance next September and can hardly wait the long year to be on her.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

The Alyeska resort is about 45 minutes south of Anchorage. Last winter they got more than 900 inches of snow. (that is not a typo)

 

 

We took the tram to the top of the mountain to have lunch. It is a cafeteria style cafe. They have a very nice restaurant that is open for dinner. ($$$)

 

 

These are views of the Turnagain Arm.

 

 

 

. . . and 3 of the 7 glaciers

 

Do you see these zig-zag paths? People walk/bike up and down the path.

 

 

one more. . . these ponds are created in the mountains by the melting snow.

 

[DELTABLUE]

Dragon... The pictures take my breath away. Can't thank you enough for sharing them with us armchair travelers.;):D

[Coolcruise02]

Great review and pictures! :)

[Stella777]

Dragon... The pictures take my breath away. Can't thank you enough for sharing them with us armchair travelers.;):D

 

I agree 100%:D

[DragonOfTheSeas]

I am glad you are enjoying following our trip.

 

This is our final day in Alaska. Our plane takes off at 11:59pm. (UGH!) We had a slightly earlier flight--but, United changed us to the really red-eye flight.

 

We thought we might head south and visit the Portage Glacier today. But, we felt like a more laid-back day. We took the Glen Highway from Anchorage to the Matanuska Glacier on Milepost 102. (about a 2 hour drive east each way.)

 

 

It is listed as one of the most scenic byways in the US.

 

We stopped at a small Native Alaskan center in Eklunta. ( 25 min from Anchorage) It had a strong Russian Influence. Notice the church.

 

 

This cemetary has Native Alaskan "Spirit Houses" on the graves.

 

 

 

 

We were intrigued by these.

 

 

Once we got past Palmer there were scenic overlooks to view the Matanuska River valley. While flash flooding can fill the basin, most of the time it is full of glacial silt.

 

 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

The matanuska Glacier is one of the few that you can drive right up to. There is a state park and campground; roadhouse; and a private company that does walking treks on the glacier.

 

The view from the window was amazing.

 

 

The inside of the roadhouse had stuffed animals on most of the walls.

 

 

 

 

 

On the way back we stopped at the alpine Historical Village. It recalled Alaska's early industry.

 

The buildings were collected under FDR's administration from all over the area and moved to Sutton. (don't blink) They mined coal. However, the Army decided it was not good enough quality. so, they stopped production. It was a small--but, interesting stop.

This was the post office.

 

These tent frames were what most miners lived in.

 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

This drive is not your typical tourist excursion, but, we had a very good time. We felt we saw a bit of REAL Alaska.

 

OK--then we headed back to town to go to the airport. We were too early for our flight. However, we decided we would eat dinner before the flight at the airport.

 

Little did we know that the United counter closes at 5pm and does not open unitl 9:30pm. :confused:

 

Make sure you arrive within that window.

 

That is the story of our trip. I hope you can use some of the details to plan your own trip. We had a wonderful time. We hope you do, too.

 

If you have questions I will try to answer them.

[DELTABLUE]

...on a job very well done! What a trip. Hope you have a smooth flight home and an easy return to the real world.;)

 

Puzzles. I keep seeing beautiful puzzles!:D:rolleyes:

[tim5055]

Dragon,

 

Absolutely wonderful, both in description and the photos! This makes me sure we picked the correct trip for next July. We were jsut able to score an aft balcony - really looking forward to this trip!

 

Do you happen to have the list of shore excursions for the cruise portion? What I find on RCCLs website is a bit lacking.

[DELTABLUE]

tim555...seems to me that if you just scored an AFT balcony you'll be looking backwards on this trip! ;):p:rolleyes::D

[DragonOfTheSeas]

tim555...seems to me that if you just scored an AFT balcony you'll be looking backwards on this trip! ;):p:rolleyes::D

 

 

Delta--Ha Ha! He will be looking backwards--but, what a beautiful view.

 

tim555--We did not have a balcony, but those that did said they used them lots--even with the rain and cold temps. You can tell from my comments that when we were in port we were off the ship seeing the sites.

 

There is a wall of windows in the Colony Club at the rear of the ship on floor 6. We went there almost every evening for an adult beverage. I called it my aft balcony.

 

Have fun.

[Cruznation]

Really great review too, Agnes!

Thanks for posting!

[2crusin]

Thank you for sharing your trip with us, loved the pictures !

felt as if we were there with you..

such an amazing, beautiful place :)