Back From Alaska On Radiance, Any Questions

[sfjldj]

just got home from June 26th to July 3rd sailing on Radiance of the Seas. We were a group of 12 ranging in age from 8 to 72 and would be happy to answer any questions as we managed to cover a lot of ground and certainly every bit of the ship with so many people in our group.

 

Here are the excursions our group covered:

 

Juneau:

 

whale watching, glacier helicopter ride with dog sledding, mendenhall glacier and salmon fishery

 

Skagway:

 

Van ride out to Emerald Lake, horseback riding at emerald lake and white pass train from Fraser back to Skagway

 

Ketchikan:

 

combination bus/boat tour

misty fiords flightseeing by sea plane with lake landing

lumberjack show

 

Fire away with any questions, we had a great time and so will you!

 

steve

[dustyroad]

im so glad you had a wonderful time. isnt alaska wonderful? did you have good weather? it sounds like it is cooperating for the cruises this season. i cant wait to go back next may. i dont think it will ever get here.

[Orion1325]

Hey Steve, thanks for posting and offering to answer questions...

 

We'll be on the July 10th cruise with a group of 12 ranging in age from 5 to 71. How was your weather? I've seen postings from the groups that had the 90+ degree heat, but not much since then. I'm particularly interested in what your weather and experiences were like in Juneau and Skagway, as we're taking some of the same excursions as you. We're doing the helicopter/dog sled tour in Juneau, and the train/bus in Skagway.

 

Did you have rain in either of these ports? And if so, how did affect your excursions? Does rain tend to cancel the helicopter/dog sled, or just fog?

 

Also, any comments on the kids' program? We'll have a 5, 10, and 11 year old participating. The 5 and 10 year olds have been on cruises before, and enjoyed the kids' club. I'm imagining that the Radiance's Adventure Ocean program won't let them down...

 

One last question (for now :))...

Where did you view the Hubbard Glaciar from? And was there commentary that you could listen to either on deck or in the public viewing areas? (We have an inside cabin, so no balcony for us :()

 

Thanks for posting!

[sfjldj]

The weather was really great last week, and we heard a lot about the record heat the week before. The temperature was mid 60's to mid 70's in each port and we only had a little drizzle in ketchikan and no rain at all in juneau and skagway. the weather on the glacier for the dog sled was about 45-50 and you do want to have gloves and a hat and a few layers. I had t shirt and long sleeve shirt and a fleece sweatshirt and was fine. nothing was cancelled for weather when we were there.

 

skagway was also warm and you can be inside or out on the train so no weather issues there.

 

we got very close to hubbard glacier, 0.60 miles and captain said it was the closest he had ever gotten and you cant go closer than 0.50 miles. a very good place to watch from is the 12th floor in the front of the ship just outside the fitness center as you can just walk side to side as the ship does repeated 360 turns. it was a little chilly but i was fine with just a thick long sleeve shirt and no hat or gloves. you could hear the narration. a little special tip would be to walk up from that spot to 13 and view from there and there are even exhaust fans blowing warm air on either side of the viewing deck on 13 in case it is colder.

 

my 8 year old daughter did kids club and loved it as she has in the past and as it sounds like your kids have and will. my 12 year old did not participate and neither did the 14 and 16 year olds in our group.

 

 

let me know if you have any other questions.

 

 

Hey Steve, thanks for posting and offering to answer questions...

 

We'll be on the July 10th cruise with a group of 12 ranging in age from 5 to 71. How was your weather? I've seen postings from the groups that had the 90+ degree heat, but not much since then. I'm particularly interested in what your weather and experiences were like in Juneau and Skagway, as we're taking some of the same excursions as you. We're doing the helicopter/dog sled tour in Juneau, and the train/bus in Skagway.

 

Did you have rain in either of these ports? And if so, how did affect your excursions? Does rain tend to cancel the helicopter/dog sled, or just fog?

 

Also, any comments on the kids' program? We'll have a 5, 10, and 11 year old participating. The 5 and 10 year olds have been on cruises before, and enjoyed the kids' club. I'm imagining that the Radiance's Adventure Ocean program won't let them down...

 

One last question (for now :))...

Where did you view the Hubbard Glaciar from? And was there commentary that you could listen to either on deck or in the public viewing areas? (We have an inside cabin, so no balcony for us :()

 

Thanks for posting!

[Orion1325]

Hey Steve,

What time was your helicopter/dog sled tour? The 9 of us that are going had to be split into two groups -- 4:15pm and 5:15pm. Did you book your tour independently or through the ship? We did ours independent. How long was the flight to the dog sled camp, and how long were you actually on the sleds?

Thanks again for your answers!

[sfjldj]

We did tour at 5 pm through the ship and they used ERA aviation which was very good. we had 6 in each of two helicopters and we were back at the ship around 830 and did 9 pm reservation at chops as we were otherwise in the 6 pm seating for dinner.

 

i looked into booking independently but could not get the time i wanted even calling ERA directly as they book and hold spots for the ship before people sign up. we could have gone earlier but it did not work with the whale watch that we also did. the flight was about 30 minutes and magnificent, it seemed to be the highlight of the tirp for most in our group as you fly right over ancient glaciers which look very cool, more so than where you actually mush because they can only do that where there is enough snow covering the glacier. we all did the same time and that enhanced the experience as we were able to get pictures of all 12 of us etc. the dog sled portion was a little under 30 minutes i think and then petting the dogs for 15 minutes or so waiting for the swarm of incoming copters to pick every one up.you will have a blast.

 

Hey Steve,

What time was your helicopter/dog sled tour? The 9 of us that are going had to be split into two groups -- 4:15pm and 5:15pm. Did you book your tour independently or through the ship? We did ours independent. How long was the flight to the dog sled camp, and how long were you actually on the sleds?

Thanks again for your answers!

[wifeofbedo]

We will be on the Radiance in just 2 1/2 weeks!!

 

Anyway, my questions are as follows:

 

1. What time was the muster drill?

 

2. What nights were the formal nights?

 

3. How were the seas, any choppy days?

 

4. Did you see any shows and if so, can you comment

on what you found interesting, Vegas style, boring, etc...

 

We are escorting my in-laws on their first cruise,

and want to have them prepared as much as possible as

my FIL has alzheimers, so we are attempting to make

him aware of the schedule as much as possible.

Thanks!! :)

[sfjldj]

The muster drill was the first day at about 5 pm and lasted about 20 minutes.

 

formal nights were sunday and wednesday. we dressed nice but no suits or tuxedos but there were those who did. on wednesday we ate at one of the specialty restaurants.

 

in general the seas were very calm as you sail in the inside passage much of the time and it is protected on both sides by land. it never got "choppy" but when sailing toward hubbard and then the last night back to vancouver you could feel a little movement.

 

i did not go to the shows but others in our group went every night and said they were an enjoyable mix of broadway and vegas style with some comedy mixed in. there were different "shows" and forms of entertainment in the various lounges and bars and certainly something for everyone. we were playing poker, playing pool and in the casino much of the time that others were at the shows.

 

it is very hard not to have a great time on the ship as it has a bit of everything.

 

 

hope this helps.

 

We will be on the Radiance in just 2 1/2 weeks!!

 

Anyway, my questions are as follows:

 

1. What time was the muster drill?

 

2. What nights were the formal nights?

 

3. How were the seas, any choppy days?

 

4. Did you see any shows and if so, can you comment

on what you found interesting, Vegas style, boring, etc...

 

We are escorting my in-laws on their first cruise,

and want to have them prepared as much as possible as

my FIL has alzheimers, so we are attempting to make

him aware of the schedule as much as possible.

Thanks!! :)

[4fotomom]

What movies were playing in the movie theater? We sail on the 17th. How was Chops. We have similar heli/dog sled reservations as you and early dining. Was it worth going to Chops or is there an alternative. We have 8 (2kids) and that would be a pretty expensive dinner.

[sfjldj]

I did not see any of the movies but i recall freaky friday was one and another was something like alaska mystery. we ate dinner at chops which was pretty good but portofino was in our group's (12 of us) some in our party did not really like the main dinning room (they ate chops twice and portofino twice) and the specialty restaurants are noticeably better but the dinning room was fine. they love bringing extra dishes so you can have multiple selections. the speciialty places were never very crowded and no real reason to vary from the program unless meals are really important to you.

 

view much better.

What movies were playing in the movie theater? We sail on the 17th. How was Chops. We have similar heli/dog sled reservations as you and early dining. Was it worth going to Chops or is there an alternative. We have 8 (2kids) and that would be a pretty expensive dinner.

[CRUSINJYL]

Thank you SO MUCH for your posts!! I'm curious about the dining areas - taking my parents for an anniversary cruise and mom just had total knee replacement surgery. Are there stairs to navigate? Also, since you spent time in the casino, what did you think? Similar to Vegas odds? What was Blackjack minimum and do they have quarter video poker? Do you happen to know what the policy is for taking liqour on board with you? Getting to Vancouver at 10:30am for 5 pm departure. What time do you think we'll get to Ballentine port (taxi) or is there a better way? What was embarkation like...long lines? Places to sit for my mom or should we ask for special accommodations ahead of time...(she also has degenerative disk disease and is bone on bone in her spine..<yikes!> ) Should we bring her handicap placard so she can get accommodations if needed? (She is very proud and would only ask for accommodations, such as to sit down, if she just couldn't stand the pain anymore). While I realize none of your party is probably affected by such a malady, did you see any similar situations or do you have any advice?

Thanks so much for remembering all of us that are "yet to cruise"...(ours is 09/04 on the ROS).

[sfjldj]

There were no stairs to enter the main dinning room cascades on the 5th floor and the entire ship looks accommodating in that regard. we saw several people in wheel chairs but saw no problems. the casino was a lot of fun because it was very small so we got to know everyone working there and all were very friendly. the minimum bet was always $5 so that was nice. odds are same as vegas on the standard games and they had a couple other card games we had not played before so cannot compare. did not do slots but assume they have video poker. dont know policy on taking liqour on board but it is plentiful on the ship and if in your suitcase they would never know. we got into vancouver at 1045 and all went smoothly so got to ship around 1215 and lines were not long at that time and we were in suite so separate line. once in the pier terminal the line was longer for immigration but plenty of places to sit to wait. we took a taxi from the airport and that was easy. i see no downside to bringing a handicap placard.

[DerekDun8]

You are speaking of the "record heat" the week before. My girlfriend and I were on the June 19-26 cruise on the Raiance and we got the record heat. NO rain at all and in Juneau it was 88 degrees. People were running in the stores at port looking all over for shorts. It was funny, but i couldn't blame them. I was fortunate enough to pack two pairs. Even though it was record highs in Alaska the week before you (in which i was there) I cannot complain because we did not see one drop of rain, only set back was some fog on the last two days. We got about .6 miles away from the glacier too. Glad you had fun.

[nekolover]

Was the van trip and back by train offered by the ship or a private company? How long was it and how much did it cost? Thanks. We are on Radiance on Aug. 28. How was the food in the main dining room? Deirdre