review Radisson SS Mariner 8/31 - 9/7

[MrsMoose2001]

Hi, Here is a brief review of my trip

Rt Vancouver, stops in Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway (side trip for us to Haines) and Sitka.

 

Weather wasn't to bad, cloudy, and a bit of rain in the am in Ketchiakan and rain off an on in Sitka, very windy in Skgagway, but by Alaska standards I considered it very good and we were very lucky. Tracy Arm we had sun.

 

Seas were quite rough on a few nights and I heard many people were ill. Even the captain was surprised that I was not sick on the second to last night when we had drinks with him in his quarters as it was that rough. But hey it's a ship, it's gonna rock and roll was my reply.

 

Alaska is amazing and I was blown away by it's beauty. I loved Alaska. I don't know what else to say. I cried when I arrived and put my two feet on Alaskan soil, that I surived cancer to have my dream trip of my life, to be in Alaska.

 

Shopping is better in Ketchikan and Skagway. Juneau, Galliskins is a nice store and Sitka is very small and not a lot of stores for those who are interested in shopping. I won't elaborate and if anyone has any "shopping questions" please just ask.

 

We ate at the Burger Queen (lunch) in Ketchikan and it was fantastic, loved it.

 

Haines (we took the fast ferry for the morning) is nice, went to the eagle preserve but it's not touristy and very local and small, we did have a wonderful lunch at a very local place called the Bamboo Room.

 

In Ketchikan we had a private hummer tour and saw all the sights, loved Dolly's house and the totem park. In the afternoon we did the Misty Fijords floatplane and it was breathtakeing to say the least.

 

In Juneau, we had a private tour of the whole place, Mendenhal and everywhere there was to see on land and then we went to a gold panning/salmon bake dinner and that was very nice. Red Dog Saloon is a must see !!

The ship cancelled the Tracy Arm with a small boat tour that we were supposed to take, so we did Tracy Arm with the ship and it was still amazing and they said they went further than at any time this season, almost to the end (only missed about the last 2 miles).

 

In Skagway we took the fast ferry to Haines in the am (8am) and had a private tour take us around Haines and to the eagle preserve. Then we went back to Skagway (only had about 2 hours left) and just walked around shopping and did the Red Onion tour which I loved, and hubby was pleasantly surprised.

 

In Sitka, hubby took the sea otter and wildlife quest (we only had 4 hours in port) and I opted to stay on land and walk around town and make more phone calls to my mom leisurely and buy some souveniers. Hubby said it was a good tour and when he got off the boat we hired a taxi to drive us around for about 1/2 (all the time we had left basically) so that hubby and I could "see Sitka".

 

For my phones, I used ship to shore 6 times and while I would have liked a better connection, it served my needs and was happy to have had it. I had budgedted for a much higher cost and had a very pleasant surprise.

 

My cell phones worked everywhere except Skagway and Haines, where I used the pay phone. I could not dial direct with my calling card but was able to use the calling card by dialing 0 and giving the # to the operator so that worked out well. I was surprised that I never had to once line up for a phone, and basically in all ports except Skagway, my cell phone worked well and my mom said it was as good a connection as when I'm here in the same town.

The pay phone in Haines that I used really was a bad connection.

They even worked on the ship when in port again except for Skagway.

 

As for the food on the ship, I was not impressed. Dinners took way to long for our tastes. The service was above and beyond excellent. Laundry service was wonderful. Don't get me wrong, the food was ok, but french style gourmet meals don't do it for me on a regular basis. I hate buffets, and the few lunches we had were buffets and I really just hate them and avoid them like the plague. Breakfast was always room service and that was perfect.

 

It's a nice ship, with a max of 700 people. The spa was fine, although overpriced, except for the hairdresser she was lousey and a bit whiney and was disappointed with her. We only went to one show, Krew Kapers, but on by some of the crew and the captain at the last sea day and that was great. Aside from that we didn't really take part in any shipboard activities so can't comment.

 

We had open seating and could eat whenever we wanted at a table for 2 which was fine. Room service was 24/7 and that was fine as I often ordered a pot of tea around 10 or 11pm.

 

I probably was the only one who walked off the ship with clothes looser than when they boarded and hubby did not gain an ounce.

 

I encounted a lot of rude and nasty people, but hey I was in Alaska and didn't care about them, my husband and I were shocked and surprised at the rudeness and nastiness but we basically tuned it out and kept to ourselves as best we could.

 

If anyone has any questions about anything please feel free to ask.

[gopackgo]

Glad to read your review! We did the same cruise last year and loved it also. Sorry to hear you ran into so many rude people!! That is strange. We have been on 3 Radisson cruises and have not had that kind of experience to speak of. In fact, it seemed like most of the people we ran into or chatted with were very friendly. But I suppose there are always a couple of bad apples in any large group.

 

Ginny

[bobby'sgirl]

Glad to hear you were able to use the phones. I had surgury last week and it was important for my mom is hear from me especially when my day surgery ended in a 3 day stay. She is recently widowed and depends on me for daily contact. I am recovering at home and glad to friends at CC to visit with during the day. Alaska was wonderful....will you return.

[MrsMoose2001]

Hi Bobby's Girl, I hope you are ok, and that it was nothing serious. I hope you are feeling better and wish you a very speedy and full recovery, please let me know how you are doing, and if you want to chat, please feel free.

 

Yes, I would go back to Alaska in a heartbeat, I loved Alaska, thought it was the most beautiful amazing place.

 

I fully understand about your mom, I hope she was not to worried about you and glad that you could stay in touch. I am the only living relative for my mom (there really is no one else) so she was very happy to hear from me and know that I'm doing ok too.

I hope your mom is ok and doing ok, and my sincere condolances on the passing of your dad.

 

To Packandgo, I think it happens, Out of 700, I say maybe 20 - 30 were rude, but of course those are the ones that stand out. We did chat with some lovely people also.