When I told the kids were we going on a cruise to Alaska this summer that looked at me like I was from another planet and asked “Why Alaska?” I told them that Alaska was a huge state and had a lot of things to do and see. Plus, I really wanted to see the glaciers before they were all gone from global warming. When searching 7 night cruise sailing itineraries on Royal Caribbean, I found a few choices. We could leave out of Vancouver, Seattle or Seward. Since we had never been to Vancouver, we decided to go on the “Radiance of the Seas” leaving from Vancouver. They offered what I considered to be a great itinerary with stops along the inside passage.
We arrived at the Vancouver cruise terminal in the early afternoon and were processed rapidly through check-in. In just a few minutes, we had our pictures taken, were given our sea pass cards, and we were onto the ship.
The entrance onto the Radiance of the Seas is into a main lobby on Deck 4 called “The Centrum”, which is open all the way up to Deck12. The Centrum has several seating areas, the Lobby Bar, the Guest Relations and Explorations desk, and a small stage for musical acts. The open area in the middle of the Centrum provides a space to dance and for game shows. Located far above Deck 4 and spanning all decks is a wonderful sculpture, elegant and flowing. A unique feature about this sculpture is that at night, the lights located on the sides of the centrum play across the sculpture, changing in color, shape, and pattern.
ACCOMMODATIONS
I had reserved two “Deluxe Ocean View Balcony” staterooms next to each other. The Deluxe Balcony staterooms have floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors that lead to private verandas; two twin beds that convert to a queen-sized bed; considerable closet space; a private bathroom with shower; and a living area with desk, drawer space, vanity, and sofa. Each stateroom also has its own flat-screen television, thermostat controlled air-conditioning, internet access, direct-dial telephone, radio, mini bar, individual safe, and 24 hour room service. Our stateroom had a queen size bed, and the kids next door had two twin beds with a dropdown bed over the sofa. It was perfect because it allowed the kids to utilize their sofa to watch TV.
ACTIVITIES ON BOARD
The ship offers plenty of activities on board: Mini Golf Course, Basketball Court, Rock-Climbing Wall, Jogging Track, and a Fitness Center, with classes including Yoga and Tai Chi. There’s also the Casino Royale. Most of the table games have a $5 minimum and $200 maximum.
RELAXATION
The Radiance of the Seas has three pools including the Solarium, an adults-only retreat, and three whirlpools. Another way to relax is in it’s VitalitySM Spa with an extensive treatment menu including massages and acupuncture.
DINING OPTIONS
Deck 4 contains the lower level of the bi-level main dining restaurant called Cascades, which offers complimentary, multi-course dining for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Cascades is a wonderful place to enjoy dinner after a long day in port. We opted for the my-time dining option, which allowed us to select the time each day we wanted to have dinner. You also have a choice of sharing a table with others in different groups or requesting your own private table for your group. We requested our own table, since we were a group of five. Windjammer Cafe is also open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Some of the other specialty dining restaurants on board charge a cover charge (example $25 per person) and you can order anything you’d like off the menu, or sample from a la carte menus at select venues. My favorite restaurants were: Chops Grille steakhouse (the steak was delicious), Izumi Japanese Cruise (loved the sushi and california rolls), and Giovanni’s Italian Restaurant (great pasta dishes).
- Chops Grille signature steakhouse
- Izumi Japanese cuisine, featuring a la carte sushi selections.
- Giovanni’s Table Italian restaurant
- Samba Grill Brazilian Steakhouse
- Rita’s Cantina for Mexican-fare favorites
- Chef’s Table intimate dining experience
EXCURSIONS
We took our cruise in August and the weather was very predictable (wet and cold). Some of these towns along the way are only accessible either by boat or my plane. Some of the excursions are depended on the weather. We were scheduled to go on a helicopter ride to the top of a glacier dog sledding. The fog was so bad that her excursion was cancelled because no helicopters or planes could fly that day. Just be prepared with a plan “B” in case…
Alaska is breathtakingly beautiful. We disembarked at 7 a.m. and walked right off the ship with no line to meet our 8 a.m. bus to the Anchorage airport. Have you been to Alaska?
Vicky Alonso [MissArretrancos]
September 27, 2014 at 8:02 pmOMG! The ship looks like a city! 😀 I have never been on a cruise.
http://www.missarretrancos.blogspot.com
Carmen
September 27, 2014 at 8:56 pmHi Vicky, It’s about a mid size ship compared to some of the others on Royal Caribbean. After being on the Oasis of the Seas all ships look small to me. 🙂
Adelina // Pack Me To
September 30, 2014 at 10:27 pmI went on a similar cruise up the inner passage. We went to the same places as you with the exception of Seward. It’s so beautiful up there! This ship looks pretty comfortable too.
Carmen
October 1, 2014 at 4:18 pmHi Adelina, Alaska is such a beautiful place. We didn’t really spend any time in Seward. Once our ship docked we got on a bus to take us to the Anchorage airport.
Tim
October 4, 2014 at 6:50 pmThe only cruise ship I have been on is the Queen Mary and that never left dock. This is quite a change and looks amazing.
Carmen
October 28, 2014 at 3:59 pmHi Tim, It’s a totally different experience when you’re out at sea verses being docked.
Stephanie
January 23, 2015 at 12:53 amHi Carmen
I love your site! We are taking the exact cruise this July with our 2 teenage sons
Any tips or advise you can give? This is our first cruise ever & my husband & I said we would never take a cruise! We have no idea what to expect
We booked many excursions and are hopefully well prepared
Thanks for any help you can give
Carmen
January 23, 2015 at 11:06 pmHi Stephanie,
Glad you like my site. We spent five days in Vancouver with the kids before our cruise. They loved Vancouver! The weather in Alaska is hit or miss. Make sure you take a rain jacket with you and warm clothes. When we went the weather was terrible, mostly raining and very cold. One of the excursions that the kids really wanted to do was dog sledding on a glacier. We were suppose to travel in a helicopter to the top of a glacier and go sledding. The fog was so think that day that they cancelled all the flights. I would highly recommend the Glassblowing in Skagway too. If you click on the tabs under the excursions above. You can read about our excursions.
Stephanie
January 25, 2015 at 12:20 pmHi Carmen
Thanks so much for the tips
We are looking forward to it!
Wendy
June 7, 2018 at 2:45 pmHello! So glad I came upon your post! We are going on the same cruise this upcoming August, but the ports are in reverse order (we are leaving out of Seward and ending up in Vancouver (Radiance of the Seas as well). We have never done an cruise to Alaska, but have been on several Caribbean or Bahama trips with various ships. I have a few questions for you…….First, I’m curious on what to pack. You said “wet and cold”. How cold? Jackets or sweatshirts? Will we be wearing shorts at all or only longer pants/jeans?
We also did “My Time” dining. In the past we have never done this, and always had a scheduled time for dinner. We really like how you get the same wait staff and they personalize your experience. With “My Time” dining, how is the dinner experience?
Do we need to reserve any seats for evening shows? How is the entertainment on the ship? Besides the evening shows, do they offer much in entertainment during the day as the ports as so long?
Thank you so much for sharing! We are getting excited to go!
Carmen Edelson
June 9, 2018 at 6:03 pmHi Wendy, I hope you have an amazing time!
We went in July and it was very wet. Rain jackets are a must, we hardly wore any shorts because it was cold most of the time. You should bring a warm sweatshirt because it does get cold.
They have some good shows on the ship. I don’t believe you need to make reservations for the shows. Dinner we always did “My Time” dining. I like having our own private table, and having the same waiters all the time because they know what you like. It doesn’t require you to make reservations in advance on what times you can to go dine. But you need to figure out the show times, and what shows you want to see and then allow time for dinner.
Our favorite shore excursion was in Skagway, where we learned how to blow glass, and afterwards we had lunch there. I wrote about it here: https://carmensluxurytravel.com/glassblowing-skagway/ 🙂
Dorothy Still
October 12, 2018 at 9:52 amHi Carmen, we did the Radiance of the Seas this Aug/Sept and had good weather most of the time. We did a land tour first- Denali, Talkeetna, Alyeska getting on the ship in Seward. We flew into Anchorage a day early and then the next day the tour started with a train ride to Denali. RCL has their own cars. The weather was cold but if you layered it was fine. The only rainy day we had was in Ketchikan and that was only in the morning. In Skagway I would recommend the White Pass & Yukon Route. It was a fantastic train ride with a lot of history of the gold rush.
Carmen Edelson
October 13, 2018 at 9:49 pmWow, how lucky you only had one rainy day! Thank you so much for sharing, Dorothy 🙂
Michele Wilson
December 2, 2018 at 11:36 amDoing this same cruise in May! How far is the cruise port from the airport in Vancouver? Wondering about flight times. Only done Liberty and Oasis out of Ft. Lauderdale so 10-15 minutes. Don’t want to cut it too close.
Karen Freeman
March 30, 2019 at 8:10 pmThanks for your post!! We are doing this cruise in June. I have a couple questions. Are the pools heated? And were you pleased with the ship? I’ve seen negative reviews about it being too aged.
Rajat Jain
October 14, 2019 at 9:22 amRadiance of the seas is very massive. I am in love with this ship.
Carmen Edelson
November 21, 2019 at 3:14 pmYes, it’s such a nice ship!
Carla Hill
September 18, 2021 at 10:49 pmThanks doe all of this info. We are going with another couple in August 2022. We signed up for the complementary dinner. Can you order off of a menu or is it totally buffet?
Carmen Edelson
September 23, 2021 at 5:25 pmHi Carla, this was several years ago but I don’t believe it was a buffet. Enjoy!
Debbie reid
November 26, 2023 at 7:40 pmNext year we are taking this cruise in september. Very informative ! Thanks
Carmen Edelson
November 29, 2023 at 1:52 pmYou’ll have a fabulous time! Enjoy 🙂