Alaskan Cruisetour - Question for those who've gone in the last few years

[Vagabond Knight]

Looking to book a 13-day Alaskan cruisetour (6 days on land, then 7 day cruise) for sometime in June, July or August 2024.  Trying to decide between Celebrity and Royal Caribbean (we normally cruise Celebrity, but have been wanting to try Royal). I know most of the kids will be off from school, but don't know whether or not that itinerary would attract a lot of families with kids.  Has anyone taken a 10-13 day summer cruisetour on Royal in the past few years and if so, was it more of an older crowd or was it full of kids?  I know Royal has a lot of stuff for the kids to do during Caribbean tours with all the rock climbing, water slides, etc., but think the activities to keep the kids busy may be a bit more limited with the cooler weather of Alaska.

[wreckem2013]

It’s been 5 years since I’ve been to Alaska but I wouldn’t say there are a lot of kids at least not anywhere near what you would see on a summer Caribbean cruise. It didn’t seem like there were that many 5 years ago on Radiance or the year before. And those were around Fourth or July. Is going to have more than Celebrity? Yes. But I wouldn’t assume it’s going to be overrun with kids.
 

Alaska is expensive. Cruise tours and excursions especially so. Add on expensive airfare with two one way legs and the inability to drive to a port. Plus Radiance is also an older and smaller ship. I would bet the Seattle round trip cruises on quantum class are likely to have more families than Radiance one way itineraries.

Edited March 22, 2023 by wreckem2013

[time4u2go]

I know you didn't mention Princess but you really should consider them. They are the experts when it comes to Alaska. Among other things, they go to Glacier Bay National park, which Royal Caribbean does not.

 

Edited March 22, 2023 by time4u2go

[Vagabond Knight]

52 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

I know you didn't mention Princess but you really should consider them. They are the experts when it comes to Alaska. Among other things, they go to Glacier Bay National park, which Royal Caribbean does not.

Yup, but Celebrity and Royal visit Hubbard, which is cool with us.  The big draw for us with the 13-day Royal family cruisetours is the three legs on the Alaskan Railroad.  Trains are a big deal for us and the views from the Alaskan Railroad some cars look to be amazing!

[time4u2go]

10 minutes ago, Vagabond Knight said:

Yup, but Celebrity and Royal visit Hubbard, which is cool with us.  The big draw for us with the 13-day Royal family cruisetours is the three legs on the Alaskan Railroad.  Trains are a big deal for us and the views from the Alaskan Railroad some cars look to be amazing!

Agreed about the railroad. We rode it from the Princess lodges to the beginning of the cruise. It was truly amazing, as were the lodges themselves. 

[Vagabond Knight]

That was supposed to be "dome cars," not "some cars."  😁

[ILCTCRUISER]

An Alaska cruise is more about experiencing Alaska than it is about onboard amenities.  It tends to be port-intensive, which is as it should be.  Kids will enjoy Alaska as long as the emphasis is on “Let’s get out there and explore!”

 

There will be kids on an Alaska cruise but, as already noted, not as many as on a Caribbean cruise.

 

Princess does have some pluses.  As mentioned, it has access to Glacier Bay.  Glacier Bay has a slew of glaciers but only 8 are tidewater and those 8 are split between 2 arms of the bay.   Hubbard is one of the largest glaciers.  I think face wall is about 13 miles long. Of course you can’t see it all,  but it is special.  Princess will do things like bring sled dog puppies onboard.  They also have guest speakers.  

 

Norwegian, I believe, also has some limited access to Glacier Bay.

 

All lines will stop at the usual ports:  Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, Sitka, Icy Strait Point are the ports most often visited.

 

We’re Elite on Princess and D+ on RCL.   If it’s just about the cruise, I think I’d go with Royal or Celebrity.

 

Cruisetour?   Princess.   Lodges are much better.

 

 

 

 

[cruiselvr04]

We are doing the 13 night cruise tour with Royal this summer with the 3 train rides. It’s ending up being more expensive then a Viking river cruise in Europe for 2 weeks.  Airfare was crazy high.  Add insurance, excursions, extra excursions and food on the land portion. I doubt many families will be along just due to expense.  I also hear some mornings are pretty early.  We’ve met kids on longer trips who seem to have a great time even with the older crowd especially if they love travel and are more mature.  
 

I’m not trying to discourage you, just making you aware before you book.  It’s going to be a wonderful trip and we can’t wait!  

[shof515]

what is the cruise tour called with the 3 train rides?

[Vagabond Knight]

3 hours ago, shof515 said:

what is the cruise tour called with the 3 train rides?

It is the 13-Day Alaska Wilderness Spectacular Cruisetour 8B or 8A.  8A does the 7-day cruise first, from Vancouver to Seward, then 6 days of land tour that goes north and ends in Fairbanks.  8B does the 6-day tour first, starting in Fairbanks and going south to Seward, and then you board the ship for the 7-day cruise that ends in Vancouver.  Celebrity and Royal Caribbean do the same itinerary.

Edited March 22, 2023 by Vagabond Knight

[Kathscof]

The one ways seem to attract less kids because of the smaller ships attract less children than the big ones with the bells and whistles.  Our Radiance sailing last year had definitely less than 100 kids (from observation, though we were sailing at about 60-70% capacity) and they were barely noticeable except for during the scavenger hunt, though there was one group of about 4-5 that weren't particularly misbehaved, but they were LOUD.  My friend and I were like "the KIDS are in there, lets go somewhere else" and we knew which ones we were talking about 🙂 

[time4u2go]

19 hours ago, ILCTCRUISER said:

Cruisetour?   Princess.   Lodges are much better.

I agree. The lodges were almost as amazing as Glacier Bay. 

[nimbex1970]

There will be fewer kids, especially on the Radiance of the seas, as she is smaller with less offerings.  This is a different type of cruise where you are out all day exploring, tired from the physical activities that, well aren't in OUR normal cruising.  So the ship tends to be like a river cruise, where there is less to do at night, or the folks tend to hit the bed earlier than caribbean cruises. Just be aware that the excursions are very expensive, well worth it.. but expensive.  It's a fabulous cruise no matter what ship, as Alaska is the true destination, not the ship.  Doing the land/sea is a must if you are flying to get your money's worth. The train is amazing.

[simon.hed]

Excellent thread, all. 

[jean87510]

Agreed.  We are doing the 7B tour in September 2024 for my 60th.  Already have GS 1600 booked.  Lot's of good info on here.  I do have a question.  At one point is there any info that will be sent pre cruise about activities or excursions?  We don't use TAs.  Its my 1st cruisetour and 2nd time doing AK.

[Vagabond Knight]

Well, we made our decision. Though we usually sail Celebrity, we decided to give Royal a try this time. We and our friends booked the 8B southbound cruisetour starting June 29, 2024 in aft staterooms.  We're very excited about the cruise and at least equally so about the train travel!

[cruiselvr04]

2 hours ago, Vagabond Knight said:

Well, we made our decision. Though we usually sail Celebrity, we decided to give Royal a try this time. We and our friends booked the 8B southbound cruisetour starting June 29, 2024 in aft staterooms.  We're very excited about the cruise and at least equally so about the train travel!

I will come back and give a mini review after we do our 8B this summer.   We have air, hotels on each end, bus, ferry to Victoria booked afterword and will rent a car for 24 hours to do Chena hot springs the day before we start in Fairbanks.  We are really looking forward to it. 

[ILCTCRUISER]

2 hours ago, jean87510 said:

Agreed.  We are doing the 7B tour in September 2024 for my 60th.  Already have GS 1600 booked.  Lot's of good info on here.  I do have a question.  At one point is there any info that will be sent pre cruise about activities or excursions?  We don't use TAs.  Its my 1st cruisetour and 2nd time doing AK.

For the cruise portion, you will be able to book RCL excursions in advance of the sailing as you would for other cruises.  Alternately, excursions are available through other vendors.

 

Landtour.   Typically landtour packages include the Natural History Tour in Denali.  There is an upgrade to the Tundra Wilderness Tour which we’d recommend even though the Tundra Wilderness Tour has been amended the last few years.  I think it may even have been cancelled one year recently.  There’s a rock glacier at one point and the NPS finally decided that it needed to build a bridge to go around that area (for many years it dealt with the damage with road maintenance but the increased frequency of the damage led the NPS to shut down the road at that point and go for a permanent solution.  Here’s information:  https://www.nps.gov/dena/learn/nature/pretty-rocks.htm

[jean87510]

22 minutes ago, ILCTCRUISER said:

For the cruise portion, you will be able to book RCL excursions in advance of the sailing as you would for other cruises.  Alternately, excursions are available through other vendors.

 

Landtour.   Typically landtour packages include the Natural History Tour in Denali.  There is an upgrade to the Tundra Wilderness Tour which we’d recommend even though the Tundra Wilderness Tour has been amended the last few years.  I think it may even have been cancelled one year recently.  There’s a rock glacier at one point and the NPS finally decided that it needed to build a bridge to go around that area (for many years it dealt with the damage with road maintenance but the increased frequency of the damage led the NPS to shut down the road at that point and go for a permanent solution.  Here’s information:  https://www.nps.gov/dena/learn/nature/pretty-rocks.htm

I know about ship excursions and other tours.  I should have been more specific in inquiring about only the cruise tour portion schedule and activities.  When do you get that information?

[ILCTCRUISER]

1 hour ago, jean87510 said:

I know about ship excursions and other tours.  I should have been more specific in inquiring about only the cruise tour portion schedule and activities.  When do you get that information?

There really isn’t a set date when RCL releases such information for any cruise.  Some suggest that one should start looking about 6 mos before the sail date.  Alternately, you could check out roll calls for this season.  Often times people post photos of cruise planners etc.  Will they be the same for 9/24?  Not sure but it will give you an idea about what to expect.`

[jean87510]

54 minutes ago, ILCTCRUISER said:

There really isn’t a set date when RCL releases such information for any cruise.  Some suggest that one should start looking about 6 mos before the sail date.  Alternately, you could check out roll calls for this season.  Often times people post photos of cruise planners etc.  Will they be the same for 9/24?  Not sure but it will give you an idea about what to expect.`

Is any information for the land portion sent pre cruise via email?  I can see excursions for the cruise portion now.  Is the land portion available in the cruise planner?  I just want to know the normal process.  

[cpa09]

39 minutes ago, jean87510 said:

Is any information for the land portion sent pre cruise via email?  I can see excursions for the cruise portion now.  Is the land portion available in the cruise planner?  I just want to know the normal process.  

I am interested in knowing the answer to this.  Also how to upgrade the Denali Natural History Tour to the Tundra Wilderness Tour.

[moposh]

On 3/21/2023 at 9:40 PM, Vagabond Knight said:

Yup, but Celebrity and Royal visit Hubbard, which is cool with us.  The big draw for us with the 13-day Royal family cruisetours is the three legs on the Alaskan Railroad.  Trains are a big deal for us and the views from the Alaskan Railroad some cars look to be amazing!

The Alaskan railroad was a big dud IMO.  We did it on the land tour.  Scenery was not awesome.  Hope your trip is better.

[cruiselvr04]

The optional land tours are posted on Royals site.  Very hidden.  Search cruise tours and you should find it.  I’ve read on CC we can’t book the extra excursions on the land portion until we get there and meet with the tour guide the first evening.  It may help to see them prior to know what you want when you meet up.  It will also give you an idea as to the extra cost.  I have no idea as to the number of people on these so hoping sign up isn’t a zoo.  

I’ve asked on the Alaska board and was advised that a couple spent an additional $600 on food cost on the land tour since it’s not included.  I’m sure it will vary but it’s a guess. We ride the dome trains but I don’t think meals are included on those but I know they have food to purchase.

I’ve received nothing in communication from Royal but assume I’ll hear more after final payment including about luggage. I’m not sure if there are restrictions on that or not. I doubt we’ll know times of anything until we get there.  

If others have done it, please enlighten us. 

[ILCTCRUISER]

52 minutes ago, jean87510 said:

Is any information for the land portion sent pre cruise via email?  I can see excursions for the cruise portion now.  Is the land portion available in the cruise planner?  I just want to know the normal process.  

I did a quick search but couldn’t find an answer for you.  I also quickly checked 2023 assuming that possibly offerings for 9/24 haven’t been finalized.  Nothing.

 

I’m even having a hard time trying to remember exactly what we did during those times noted as “your free time.”   Any add’l excursions you’d like to add would be those offered during any of those times.  For example, during your stay in Denali, there may be a whitewater raft trip on the Nenana River or ATV trips.  The Lodge that RCL uses outside Denali will have an evening dinner/theater show.  Talkeetna?  Tour of a sled dog kennel.  I recall there’s a zip line there as well.  You can even book fixed wing plane and helicopter trips.

 

You’re right, though.  I can’t find anything at the RCL website or app.  I should also say we tend to NOT book the cruise line excursions.  If you’d like to get an idea about the types of excursions offered, you could check out Viator or Shore Excursions Group (which is not affiliated with RCL).  For Shore Excursions Group you can plug in your ship, sail date etc and you will be shown excursions for the cruise ports.  To find excursions for Talkeetna, however, click on DESTINATIONS on the top bar.  Then click on ALASKA EXCURSIONS.  Then scroll down until you see a click-on for INLAND AND CITY TOURS.  Click on ALASKA INTERIOR. Or do a search to find contact information for the individual vendors.  Very often the vendors you can book, say, through Viator are the same vendors that RCL contracts.  

 

Upgrade from Natural History Tour to Tundra Wilderness Tour.  Yes, you can book in advance through RCL (call in).  When we did it, we did it on the motor coach after it left Seward.