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Back from Radiance July 31st cruisetour #2

oceanbabe

By oceanbabe,
in Alaska

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captjaneway

captjaneway

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Just returned today from our Radiance cruisetour from Vancouver, July 31st. Will answer questions and give u our itinerary tomorrow when get some sleep. Exhausting but great trip, Elaine:)

Elaine, I leave for this cruise tour in less than two weeks. Can't wait to hear your experiences. Especially as to the co-ordination, and timing, freetime, on the tour portion. Glad you had a great trip!

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oceanbabe

oceanbabe

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Here are the highlights/info from our CruiseTour #2 on Radiance/Royal Caribbean: We arrived into Vancouver from New Jersey on JULY 30th day before cruise. Stayed at Hyatt Regency which was very nice hotel. Did Stanley Park that night. Walked to Park then Took the shuttle and did entire shuttle ride then got off at specific areas. Be sure to stop at the Rose Garden. The next day did the Vancouver City Tour/Capillano Bridge tour with West Coast Sightseeing for $89pp. Was great tour, worth money, beautiful scenery and the driver also took us into Grouse Mountain for short time. This tour will then drop you off at the pier for your cruise. They take all your luggage when pick u up so dont have to worry about it. Ride from Airport to hotel was $36. We boarded the Radiance of the Seas about 3pm on JULY 31st. Easy to get onto ship. We were in a forward cabin 9508. The only problem was that area had toilet problems 3x while on cruise. Were fixed within hour. Loved our "towel animals" every night. Just to let u know, they no longer provide any extra lotions, etc. Had wonderful room stewards. We always do later traditional dining. Waitress was absolutely wonderful, had center main dining area, first floor of restaurant. This ship even provided midnight pastry/chocolate buffet which had beautiful sculptures made from ice. Be sure to take camera with plenty of batteries, film for trip. Most dressed up for the 2 formal nights, but some wore jeans to casual nights. We had unusually hot/dry weather. We live in NJ and had taken our winter jackets, but didnt need till got to Denali and for the Hubbard Glacier. On AUG 2 we were in Ketchikan. Took the Misty Fjords Floatplane with Southeast Aviation for 1 1/2 hours, $199 pp. The ride made me somewhat nauseous, but was able to see beautiful sights and even landed in middle of a lake and was able to get out on runners of plane! Also did tour on own afterwards to Creek Street and saw the salmon running. On AUG 3rd went to Juneau and did the Mendenhall Glacier on our own. Shared a taxi with another couple, but took shuttle bus back for $7pp. Unbelievable views of glacier and waterfalls. Did not get to see any bears. Ate at Tracy's Crab Shack, which had delicious chowder. On AUG 4th went to Skagway. My husband and I each took separate glacier helicopter trips with Temsco Helicopters. I did the Glacier Discovery $260 which was flight then walk for about 40 min on the glacier. Saw beautiful dark blue areas of ice. As was warm, ice had areas of running water. Was given special "walking" boots to wear. Also saw amazing cliffs/rocks around the area. Was able to find pure white quartz stone. My husband took Tour 2 Dog Mushing/helicopter. He had recent rotator cuff surgery, but was still able to drive the sled. There are actually 2 sleds held together. He totally loved his experience which included time with the dogs at the mushing camp. Not able to bring any bags, only camera. His tour was $431! Both expensive but well worth it especially if may be only time in Alaska. Lots of shops but able to find nesting dolls of eskimos which really wanted. On AUG 5th did Icy Strait Point. Went with G-Wind(Glacier Wind) with Shawn on whale watch. $165pp. Saw lots of whales which were bubble feeding. Difficult to get good camera shots. Will hope when download them will be able to see better. Did get several shots of tails. Used the Coolpix 90 camera by Nikon which is a P & S with 24zoom. Also took pics with my 10zoom panasonic. Shawn was very friendly, informative person who i recommend. Took $5 shuttle into the small town. There isnt much there, a few interesting native symbols on homes. Also, did see Alaskan cemetery in this area. They no longer give the "free" silver dollar for visitors. Didnt have time to do walk along water, but looked nice. On AUG 6th saw Hubbard Glacier. Was very foggy when awoke at 5am. Was afraid we wouldnt see anything, but about 7:30am able to see more. Was truly amazing. Also, our Capt. got us to 190 yards from the glacier. Was very cold and drizzly. Wore heavy jackets out on balcony. Dont let anyone talk u out of balcony. Was able to see so many sights and great views up close of the glacier. On AUG 7th went to Seward. This was when exited ship to start our land portion of cruisetour#2. The ship was well organized with different areas on the ship to wait for your specific tour. Met tourdirector, Tobias, and driver, Jeremy. Both stayed with us from start to finish of tour. They were both friendly, pleasant, and shared their individual stories with us about their time in Alaska. Tobias is native Alaskan who really made our trip interesting and played games, etc with us. After leaving ship, went to Sealife Center where we saw puffins, exhibits, sealions. As hadnt seen an eagle entire trip, spoke to store owners who told us of a little park nearby. Sure enough, finally got to see our first eagle there. After this went to Resurrection Bay to cruise. This was a really great tour as saw so much more than imagined would! Saw eagles, sealions, humpback whales, and mirs and plenty of puffins! Beautiful views. Not enough time to see anything else in Seward. Overnight at the Hotel Alyeska which is a ski resort and 5*. Beautiful room and grounds. Took tram up next am, but too foggy to really see much. This was the best hotel of the tour. We then took motorcoach from here to Anchorage and then Talkeetna. Had short stop in Anchorage about 2 hours. Will find best prices here on souvenirs. Also bought nesting dolls here and pretty sterling pendant of entwined whale tails. The prices at the street market were higher than at the stores. No time to do other sightseeing on own. Stayed overnight at Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge which was ok. On AUG 9th went to Denali. Took the Discovery Program which was included thru tour. It was interesting as got to see skins, bones of animals then took 2 mile hike which was very nice. The next day, AUG 10th had booked the Tundra Wilderness Tour on our own. This was really the best! Our tour left 6:15am from our hotel. Our tour actually got to see 16 bears! 8 carribou, dall sheep, birds of Alaska, etc. but no moose. We found out later that our tour with the 16 bears was the most seen in years. The boxlunch they provide wasnt so good, so take a box lunch from your hotel, order night before and will be ready in the am before leave. Sit on the left side of bus as saw most animals. There were no mosquitos the entire trip!. On AUG 11th went to Fairbanks and did the included ElDorado Gold Mine. Was interesting and fun. Panned for gold and found 10 grams which i had put into small necklace. The overnight at Pikes Lodge wasnt that nice. Our room was outside entrance for staff to kitchen and opposite restaurant. No luck trying to change room. The food in the dining room was also poor. The waitress told us was instant potatoes, precooked food, spicey. No other restaurant nearby. On AUG 12th, Did the Riverboat Discovery Cruise on own, $54pp. This was relaxing very nice tour. Sit on left side. Can sit out or inside. Went to Eskimo Village with time there and saw Susan Bucharts dogs. She had won Iditerod several times. Store at Discovery area has alot of shirts, etc on sale as closing soon. The tour goes out at 8:45am or 2pm. The hotel had free shuttle back and forth. When got back to hotel, found out the Princess had hotel walking distance, ate better dinner there, short walk back. The hotel had let us store our luggage there while on Riverboat. Our cruisetour then at 7:15pm took us to airport, very small. We had flown on NWA, usually fly Continental which has wider seats and gives u extras at no charge. They did not even show a movie. We agreed this tour was more than we expected. Would highly recommend it! Feel free to ask any questions. Were exhausted and slept for hours last night due to time difference. A+ ship and tour. Have fun to all that will be going soon, Elaine

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captjaneway

captjaneway

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Wow, Thanks for such an awesome and complete review. I am so excited that they had a midnight chocolate buffet I will be sure not to miss it. :)

What time did you exit the ship in Seward? Did you have to meet on board in prep for the tour or just gather at your leisue as everyone disembarked?

Also glad to hear that you enjoyed the Resurection Bay cruise and the included Denali tour. So many people are so negative about these shorter versions. We are doing the shuttle to Eilson on our own for our free day in Denali.

Thanks for the shopping tips too.

Sorry that Pikes Lodge did not measure up. Do you think it was just your room location or the hotel itself. Also you said there were no other restaurants nearby but I thought there was supposed to be a really nice one right next door. Is this the one you went to?

I am sorry to say that we will not be able to take the Riverboat cruise as NWA changed my flight a few days ago from 10 PM to 7:45 AM so I lost my free day in Fairbanks but as you pointed out, I will likely be exhausted by then.

Thank you again for your wonderful review. I can not wait to experiance it for myself.

Jane

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oceanbabe

oceanbabe

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CaptJane: Even though Radiance arrives about 3am in Seward, dont really get off ship till later. Dont get to meet others on your tour till off the ship. Our time off the ship was 9:30am. At Pikes Lodge, our room location was bad. The 2 restaurants they own, both in the Lodge and other across the way, both not so good. The Train ride also was very nice. Forgot to mention besides the whale watch with GWind, we also did whale watch with Orca in Juneau. Didnt want to chance not seeing whales so did both and both we just great! Hope u have as great a time as we did, elaine

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lou2021

lou2021

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from nj also, we are doing the northbound also. we want to go to chops and porofinos, what nights do you think are best to miss in mdr. is there a night that has lobster in the mdr? how is the bus transportation in juneau, we want to see mendehall glacier, salmon hatchery and glacier gardens. any other sugestions, thanks

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oceanbabe

oceanbabe

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Dear Lou: Where in NJ? I believe it was the 2nd night and 6th night that were formal nights. The last formal night was lobster. We took the bus back but took taxi to the Mendenhall Glacier. Also, saw the salmon at Creek Street and at Mendenhall. Have a terrific time on your cruise, elaine

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oceanbabe

oceanbabe

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Dear Wrestlermom: No proof of immunizations are required. Just need to fill in a short form saying you are not exposed to swine flu. Lobster night is the 2nd formal night. If you love whales, do both Orca and Glacier Wind. We saw so many whale pods was great. Save your shopping for Anchorage. Have a wonderful time, elaine

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oceanbabe

oceanbabe

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Dear Nick: We were on same cruise?? Did u go to the Meet & Mingle? When my waiter said desserts, lol, i knew had to go. I am chocoholic. Hope u had great cruise. We went on the 5 night land tour after the cruise. Everything was great. We saw 16 bears in Denali! Take care, elaine

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ammaoftheseas

ammaoftheseas

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Elaine,

 

Thank you for the information. I will be leaving September 4, on Radiance. I have a couple of questions for you, first did you have to provide immunization records and second what nights were the formal nights?

Hi Elaine we will be on the Radiance Sept 4 also Hope to see you.

DH and I are on tour 15. :D

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ammaoftheseas

ammaoftheseas

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Elaine,

 

Thank you for the information. I will be leaving September 4, on Radiance. I have a couple of questions for you, first did you have to provide immunization records and second what nights were the formal nights?

Forgot to tell you friends of ours were on the same cruise in June and they brought us a copy of the cruise compass and the 2nd & 5th day are formal nights.:)

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ammaoftheseas

ammaoftheseas

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Here are the highlights/info from our CruiseTour #2 on Radiance/Royal Caribbean: We arrived into Vancouver from New Jersey on JULY 30th day before cruise. Stayed at Hyatt Regency which was very nice hotel. Did Stanley Park that night. Walked to Park then Took the shuttle and did entire shuttle ride then got off at specific areas. Be sure to stop at the Rose Garden. The next day did the Vancouver City Tour/Capillano Bridge tour with West Coast Sightseeing for $89pp. Was great tour, worth money, beautiful scenery and the driver also took us into Grouse Mountain for short time. This tour will then drop you off at the pier for your cruise. They take all your luggage when pick u up so dont have to worry about it. Ride from Airport to hotel was $36. We boarded the Radiance of the Seas about 3pm on JULY 31st. Easy to get onto ship. We were in a forward cabin 9508. The only problem was that area had toilet problems 3x while on cruise. Were fixed within hour. Loved our "towel animals" every night. Just to let u know, they no longer provide any extra lotions, etc. Had wonderful room stewards. We always do later traditional dining. Waitress was absolutely wonderful, had center main dining area, first floor of restaurant. This ship even provided midnight pastry/chocolate buffet which had beautiful sculptures made from ice. Be sure to take camera with plenty of batteries, film for trip. Most dressed up for the 2 formal nights, but some wore jeans to casual nights. We had unusually hot/dry weather. We live in NJ and had taken our winter jackets, but didnt need till got to Denali and for the Hubbard Glacier. On AUG 2 we were in Ketchikan. Took the Misty Fjords Floatplane with Southeast Aviation for 1 1/2 hours, $199 pp. The ride made me somewhat nauseous, but was able to see beautiful sights and even landed in middle of a lake and was able to get out on runners of plane! Also did tour on own afterwards to Creek Street and saw the salmon running. On AUG 3rd went to Juneau and did the Mendenhall Glacier on our own. Shared a taxi with another couple, but took shuttle bus back for $7pp. Unbelievable views of glacier and waterfalls. Did not get to see any bears. Ate at Tracy's Crab Shack, which had delicious chowder. On AUG 4th went to Skagway. My husband and I each took separate glacier helicopter trips with Temsco Helicopters. I did the Glacier Discovery $260 which was flight then walk for about 40 min on the glacier. Saw beautiful dark blue areas of ice. As was warm, ice had areas of running water. Was given special "walking" boots to wear. Also saw amazing cliffs/rocks around the area. Was able to find pure white quartz stone. My husband took Tour 2 Dog Mushing/helicopter. He had recent rotator cuff surgery, but was still able to drive the sled. There are actually 2 sleds held together. He totally loved his experience which included time with the dogs at the mushing camp. Not able to bring any bags, only camera. His tour was $431! Both expensive but well worth it especially if may be only time in Alaska. Lots of shops but able to find nesting dolls of eskimos which really wanted. On AUG 5th did Icy Strait Point. Went with G-Wind(Glacier Wind) with Shawn on whale watch. $165pp. Saw lots of whales which were bubble feeding. Difficult to get good camera shots. Will hope when download them will be able to see better. Did get several shots of tails. Used the Coolpix 90 camera by Nikon which is a P & S with 24zoom. Also took pics with my 10zoom panasonic. Shawn was very friendly, informative person who i recommend. Took $5 shuttle into the small town. There isnt much there, a few interesting native symbols on homes. Also, did see Alaskan cemetery in this area. They no longer give the "free" silver dollar for visitors. Didnt have time to do walk along water, but looked nice. On AUG 6th saw Hubbard Glacier. Was very foggy when awoke at 5am. Was afraid we wouldnt see anything, but about 7:30am able to see more. Was truly amazing. Also, our Capt. got us to 190 yards from the glacier. Was very cold and drizzly. Wore heavy jackets out on balcony. Dont let anyone talk u out of balcony. Was able to see so many sights and great views up close of the glacier. On AUG 7th went to Seward. This was when exited ship to start our land portion of cruisetour#2. The ship was well organized with different areas on the ship to wait for your specific tour. Met tourdirector, Tobias, and driver, Jeremy. Both stayed with us from start to finish of tour. They were both friendly, pleasant, and shared their individual stories with us about their time in Alaska. Tobias is native Alaskan who really made our trip interesting and played games, etc with us. After leaving ship, went to Sealife Center where we saw puffins, exhibits, sealions. As hadnt seen an eagle entire trip, spoke to store owners who told us of a little park nearby. Sure enough, finally got to see our first eagle there. After this went to Resurrection Bay to cruise. This was a really great tour as saw so much more than imagined would! Saw eagles, sealions, humpback whales, and mirs and plenty of puffins! Beautiful views. Not enough time to see anything else in Seward. Overnight at the Hotel Alyeska which is a ski resort and 5*. Beautiful room and grounds. Took tram up next am, but too foggy to really see much. This was the best hotel of the tour. We then took motorcoach from here to Anchorage and then Talkeetna. Had short stop in Anchorage about 2 hours. Will find best prices here on souvenirs. Also bought nesting dolls here and pretty sterling pendant of entwined whale tails. The prices at the street market were higher than at the stores. No time to do other sightseeing on own. Stayed overnight at Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge which was ok. On AUG 9th went to Denali. Took the Discovery Program which was included thru tour. It was interesting as got to see skins, bones of animals then took 2 mile hike which was very nice. The next day, AUG 10th had booked the Tundra Wilderness Tour on our own. This was really the best! Our tour left 6:15am from our hotel. Our tour actually got to see 16 bears! 8 carribou, dall sheep, birds of Alaska, etc. but no moose. We found out later that our tour with the 16 bears was the most seen in years. The boxlunch they provide wasnt so good, so take a box lunch from your hotel, order night before and will be ready in the am before leave. Sit on the left side of bus as saw most animals. There were no mosquitos the entire trip!. On AUG 11th went to Fairbanks and did the included ElDorado Gold Mine. Was interesting and fun. Panned for gold and found 10 grams which i had put into small necklace. The overnight at Pikes Lodge wasnt that nice. Our room was outside entrance for staff to kitchen and opposite restaurant. No luck trying to change room. The food in the dining room was also poor. The waitress told us was instant potatoes, precooked food, spicey. No other restaurant nearby. On AUG 12th, Did the Riverboat Discovery Cruise on own, $54pp. This was relaxing very nice tour. Sit on left side. Can sit out or inside. Went to Eskimo Village with time there and saw Susan Bucharts dogs. She had won Iditerod several times. Store at Discovery area has alot of shirts, etc on sale as closing soon. The tour goes out at 8:45am or 2pm. The hotel had free shuttle back and forth. When got back to hotel, found out the Princess had hotel walking distance, ate better dinner there, short walk back. The hotel had let us store our luggage there while on Riverboat. Our cruisetour then at 7:15pm took us to airport, very small. We had flown on NWA, usually fly Continental which has wider seats and gives u extras at no charge. They did not even show a movie. We agreed this tour was more than we expected. Would highly recommend it! Feel free to ask any questions. Were exhausted and slept for hours last night due to time difference. A+ ship and tour. Have fun to all that will be going soon, Elaine

Thanks Elaine we will be on Radiance headed South Sept 4 BUT the info you provided will be helpful.

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grey_eyes

grey_eyes

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I was also on the July 31 cruise, and Elaine's account of it is very accurate. Hubbard Glacier was amazing...on top of being within such a close range, we also saw 2 big pieces calving, and one other huge piece, that I am sure was bigger than a house.

 

I also had some problems with my bathroom in my stateroom, but this was the only (minor) problem the entire time.

 

I had heard that the food and entertainment were inferior on Alaska cruises, but was happy to find that this was not true. I did not see the shows every night, but I enjoyed those I did see. And the food was great!

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ChefPeg

ChefPeg

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Here are the highlights/info from our CruiseTour #2 on Radiance/Royal Caribbean:

 

The boxlunch they provide wasnt so good, so take a box lunch from your hotel, order night before and will be ready in the am before leave. Elaine

 

Hi!

 

We are booked on the Radiance with CT#14, similar to yours, I was wondering what was in the boxed lunch. You suggested we order a lunch from the hotel so it made me wonder.

 

I appreciate the tip....especially since I am a little picky.

 

Edit....I just noticed the date of this thread is 2009.....sorry.

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