Last Alaskan sailing 2025

[pquattro]

Has anyone done an end of season cruise in Alaska on Radiance?  Pros?  Cons?  

[wolfcathorse]

Depends on what you're looking for. We did Ovation in October. Even though it's round trip out of Seattle, it hits most of the ports Radiance does. We personally loved the colder temps and seeing the snow on the mountain tops contrasted with the fall foliage (which isn't much, no maples just aspen). All the cruise line owned stores and smaller independent shops will have sales cuz they don't want to pack and store the stuff. Whales are gone, but each night you'll have a chance to see the Aurora Borealis.

 

We did do Radiance in 2018 the end of August, once again the whales were gone. The temps weren't as cold as they were in October in Ovation.

[bonsai3s]

@wolfcathorseOh my, you are so right about those incredible sales during last Alaskan cruises.

 

I remember walking in Skagway and everything was on sale for a dollar...hats, beanies, scarves, mittens. I still have a few with tags still attached. 

[OddHack]

We did one some years ago, and one shore vendor had a sign:

I Don't Work In Winter Sale

 

We enjoyed it.  One con is that there will probably be less wildlife; it also can be rainier and cooler (although we saw only a little rain on ours).

[twangster]

Days are shorter (less daylight hours) but every Alaska cruise is an opportunity to see something.  Cheaper fares make it a great time to see Alaska.  

[LeeW]

We last did up and back on Radiance in Aug/Sep 2022.  Didn't see much of Hubbard on first cruise and rainy on second.  We like sailing that time of year due to sales in all the shops and far fewer ships in port.  Saw a superpod of Orca on our Juneau stop (Alaska Shore Tours now books Orca Enterprises boats that we have been using for years).  You won't see many humpbacks at that time of year.  We will be on Radiance again this summer.

 

Radiance has nice heated solarium that is good for viewing.  Smaller ship makes it easy to get on and off, although with Seward boarding logistics can be an issue.  We used the up and back to take a fjord cruise in Seward.

 

Note that Radiance has minimal entertainment.  Lots done by crew members (good singers) in the atrium.  This area can be noisy until around 11 at night, so book a cabin away from the atrium.  Great crew. 

 

It was also fun watching contractors changing windows out in solarium and buffet.  They have to wait a year for replacements for a specific window and can only work when the ship is stopped and low winds.  They winch the glass out through the window opening.