Live From Radiance

[Eriksgarden]

Wow, where to begin?  We left Thursday from Fort Lauderdale to Vancouver and had a few stops along the way.  When we saw Mount Rainier from the plane window coming into Seattle, that's when I knew something really special was happening...

[breezy_carol]

Looking forward to hearing all the good things about your trip.  We get on Friday in Seward.

[Eriksgarden]

Thursday was a long travel day, so we did not venture far from the hotel.  We stayed at the Century Plaza.  It was adequate, but if one is staying more than one night, I recommend staying at the Sheraton.  The restaurant in our hotel gave us a substantial discount, because we were staying there, however.  Friday morning, we ate breakfast at Joe's Grill.  It was small, super busy, and the service was excellent.  I waited tables in college...The guy working there was phenomenal handling a crowd!

[Eriksgarden]

Embarkation was simple.  The terminal in Vancouver is very pretty, but they do make you go up to go down to go round.  That was slightly annoying, but we immediately saw seals from the ship.  Drama over!  LOL

 And the skyline leaving is pretty and we passed under a bridge.

 

 

[Eriksgarden]

Trying to catch up to "Live", so forgive the brief descriptions.  Radiance is an older ship and isn't as sparkly as she may have been.  That said, Alaska is the real destination; not the ship.  And Radiance is still very beautiful.  If we spend our time looking for rust, then we'll miss the phenomenal scenery we are blessed to witness.  And Friday started off with a bang in the Inside Passage!  WOW!

 

 

 

[Eriksgarden]

Saturday was spent in the Inside Passage headed North.  Having a Sea Day allowed us to explore the ship more.  The Kummelwick from Park Cafe was disappointing.  I've had several each day and the meat has been fatty and tough.  Sad, because I enjoyed these on other ships very much.  The Boardwalk Dog House has been good.  And we have been enjoying breakfast and dinner in the Main Dining Room.  Gluten-free pizza is available to order in the Windjammer.  My husband has food allergies, so the buffet is pretty much out of the question.  The Dining Room, however, is excellent taking care of him.  

[Eriksgarden]

 

 

Edited July 29, 2019 by Eriksgarden

[perfect match]

Thanks, Eriksgarden! I’m enjoying the journey! 😀

 

Can’t wait until I can plan our own Alaska adventure!

[Bee Guy]

Interested in info on the Radiance.   In 6 weeks we will be in Vancouver to board her and head for Hawaii.  This will be our first time on the Radiance.

[Hogbay]

We will be in Hawaii to bring her home so she defrost  ☺😊😄

[Jimbo]

Did you notice if Salmon were running in the stream by Creek street?

[robandana]

Great pics, we will also be boarding in Vancouver on our way to Hawaii. Love the Radiance!

[Eriksgarden]

14 hours ago, Jimbo said:

Did you notice if Salmon were running in the stream by Creek street?

There were some.  We saw them by the Salmon Ladder, too.

[Eriksgarden]

15 hours ago, Bee Guy said:

Interested in info on the Radiance.   In 6 weeks we will be in Vancouver to board her and head for Hawaii.  This will be our first time on the Radiance.

The ship is beautiful.  It is showing its age and we see they have rolls of new carpet ready to go.  The WiFi is terribly slow.  The crew have been excellent and very attentive.  Can smell septic issues here and there.  We are not doing specialty dining this time out, except for Giovanni's our last night.  So far, I would say the food has been OK to Good.  Entertainment has been OK.  We have been spoiled with bigger ships, but so far we are enjoying Radiance.  Again, the itinerary was the destination for us; not the ship.

[Eriksgarden]

Today we are in Icy Strait.  The day started with seeing whales literally next to the ship.  We watched them and seals from our balcony.

[Eriksgarden]

In Icy Strait, we did the Spasski River Wildlife Quest looking for bears.  We did not see any.  Saw lots of Eagles and pretty scenery.  

 

 

[Eriksgarden]

More from Icy Strait...

 

 

 

 

 

[Eriksgarden]

Juneau is all about the Mendenhall Glacier and Humpback Whales.  It delivered!

 

 

 

Edited July 31, 2019 by Eriksgarden

[LPTCruiser]

On 7/29/2019 at 5:53 PM, Eriksgarden said:

Can smell septic issues here and there.

We noticed this a lot on the Radiance in June, on nearly every deck around the central elevators, all day long, every day.

[Eriksgarden]

Everyone should come and experience Alaska.  We live by the Caribbean and take for granted how beautiful it is.  But Alaska defies description.  And as busy as these ports are with ships (Ketchikan had 5 and I counted 7 here in Juneau), Radiance has held the premier berth in each port.  We have found the locals to be very warm and genuine.  And fellow cruisers have been very laidback as well.

 

[JamesEM]

Following along, enjoying the great photos.

[Eriksgarden]

Today we are in Skagway.  Started with a walk into town.  Many do the White Pass Railroad here, but we did a helicopter tour.  We landed on Meade Glacier.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bellamariya]

Loved our Alaskan B2B on Radiance and have just booked her for a South Pacific Christmas cruise next year.  Happy to see the Dog House is still there, didn't appear on the website as a food option so thought they'd removed it. 

 

Your pics are gorgeous! 

[crusinot]

Following.  We are looking forward to our August 2020 Alaska cruise on Radiance.  Wonderful review so far

[Eriksgarden]

The WiFi on the ship was so frustrating that I decided to stop adding here until the cruise and land tour after were over.  Sadly, we are now home, but I wanted to continue for those interested in Radiance and Alaska.  This was perhaps the best vacation I ever had.  I cannot recommend Alaska enough.  It defies description.

 

Landing on a glacier by helicopter was a cruise highlight, but Skagway offers other things to do that I want to mention.  Most take the White Pass Railroad through the wilderness.  Everyone we spoke to about only had the best things to say.  Skagway itself is an adorable and walkable town.