Pooch Posted November 8, 2018 Report Share Posted November 8, 2018 2 mid-sixties cruisers to Alaska. Which would you prefer and why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted November 8, 2018 Report Share Posted November 8, 2018 They are the same class of ship (Radiance Class) so differences between them are trivial. The real difference is Serenade will do a roundtrip 7-nighters, whereas Radiance will do one-way 7-night sailings. So with Radiance, you either have to fly to/from Alaska or do a 14 night back to back cruise in order to complete a roundtrip. The advantage of Radiance, is you see much more of Alaska via more stops. NeonD7 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KJ1231 Posted November 8, 2018 Report Share Posted November 8, 2018 Based only on itinerary as I've never been on Sereade. Radiance - Icy Strait Pointe and Hubbard were highlights of our Alaska cruise. NeonD7 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeonD7 Posted November 8, 2018 Report Share Posted November 8, 2018 I've been on two Southbound Radiance Alaska cruises out of Seward. Of all our cruises, these two were hands down our favorite. It is a long trip from Florida, but worth it. My wife and I fly into Anchorage a day early, stay at the recommended hotel there, and in the morning they collect your luggage downstairs and truck it down to Seward. Sure beats lugging it around!! The first time (2013) we took the three hour bus ride from Anchorage to Seward, it departs from that same hotel so its very convenient. We thought it was some of the best scenery ever (compared to flat, hot, and boring Florida) and the bus driver did a fantastic narration of all the landmarks. The older couple seated next to us laughed at us as we were wide eyed and taking pictures of the "mountains" we drove by as we exited Anchorage, they said "This must be your first time here, right?" They said don't worry about those mountains, the good ones were coming up later in the trip. Boy were they right!! The second cruise (2016) we dropped off our luggage and then took the shuttle over to the train station located next to the airport. We then had an AWESOME five hour glass domed train ride down to Seward - each car has two attendants serving food and drinks. The train would slow down and the conductor would also point out things of interest along the way (moose, bears, etc). We were seated at a four top table and had a very nice couple we shared the table with. The first hour or so, the train parallels the path the bus took, but after that it veers off into the mountains for HOURS of stunning scenery. What a great way to start your voyage! You step off the train right at the pier and walk a short distance to the Royal Caribbean building where they check your ID and then you board the ship. Regarding the differences in itineraries, if you take the Serenade, you would miss out on Icy Straight and Hubbard Glacier. We really love Icy Straight, there is some nice hiking and scenery, although its becoming very "touristy". Both give you Skagway, which has the White Pass train tour that is a MUST to take. The ships are both the same class of ship (Radiance class) and will give you roughly the same on board experience. I was on the Serenade last month out of Boston for a Fall Foliage cruise. The outside of the ship was looking a little tired, rusty, and in need of painting, but inside, both ships are well maintained with identical layout. So...my vote is the South bound cruise. But either way, you can't lose! Baked Alaska and KJ1231 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KJ1231 Posted November 8, 2018 Report Share Posted November 8, 2018 Forgot to mention the train ride from Anchorage to Seward! so, yes, Radiance and Southbound! (vs. northbound) Baked Alaska 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitsmom Posted November 8, 2018 Report Share Posted November 8, 2018 We did the Northbound this summer and LOVED every second of it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshleyDillo Posted November 8, 2018 Report Share Posted November 8, 2018 I did Radiance southbound and it still remains my favorite cruise to date. We ended up doing a land tour through Royal prior to the cruise so we flew into Fairbanks and the land tour got us up to Anchorage/Seward for the cruise. I would do a land tour/cruise combo again over a b2b cruise if you have the extra time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pooch Posted November 8, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2018 Thank you all, this is just the advise I am looking for! The glass dome train sounds wonderful!! Now we are also looking at doing a cruisetour rather than just the cruise. Is this viable with the Radiance southbound? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pooch Posted November 8, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2018 Oops! you posted as I was! Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshleyDillo Posted November 8, 2018 Report Share Posted November 8, 2018 Just now, Pooch said: Thank you all, this is just the advise I am looking for! The glass dome train sounds wonderful!! Now we are also looking at doing a cruisetour rather than just the cruise. Is this viable with the Radiance southbound? Royal offers several options of varying lengths for their cruisetours. Mine was in 2014, so I'm not sure if their offerings have changed. I found the land tour portion well organized and they took care of all the hotel and transportation arrangements from city to city. You could even send luggage that you didn't need for the land portion to be stowed away until the cruise. At the end, they had bus service from the Anchorage hotel to the port. We decided to dip out on that and took the train (at our own cost) from Anchorage to Seward. Doing that part by train is amazing and I would highly suggest it. Not sure why our particular cruise tour didn't use the train for that segment. It took quite a bit of logistical planning to make it all happen (getting to/from the cruisetour) but the cruisetour made the land part really easy. To get to Alaska we ended up doing a one-way to Fairbanks and after the cruise we took Amtrak from Vancouver to Seattle for a cheaper flight home. I would recommend that you do the landtour part first. I found I was exhausted after the cruise part and definitely wouldn't have enjoyed the land portion as much after the cruise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pooch Posted November 8, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2018 So helpful!! Thank you :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cruise Junkie Posted November 8, 2018 Report Share Posted November 8, 2018 So Is It True That Royal Will Have Three Ships In Alaska Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLMoran Posted November 8, 2018 Report Share Posted November 8, 2018 3 minutes ago, Twangster Fan said: So Is It True That Royal Will Have Three Ships In Alaska Yup. @Matt blogged about in this article posted yesterday. The Cruise Junkie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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