Great family cruise

Radiance of the Seas Cruise Review

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 9
Helpful Votes: 171

Overall rating:

4.3 out of 5
Radiance of the Seas

7 Night Southbound Alaska & Hubbard Glacier (Seward To Vancouver)

Sail date: September 16, 2022

Ship: Radiance of the Seas

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 8560

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

We were cruising as a party of 6 to celebrate a birthday. Everyone said to pack for rain but we had the best weather with no rain until the day we disembarked. It was a fantastic cruise overall.

Embarkation

5 out of 5
We booked with Alaska Railroad to transfer down from Anchorage to Seward, and it was a very nice trip. Incredibly scenic and convenient, since we were able to check our bags all the way through to the ship. At the port, we were able to basically walk right on the ship. No line at all.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5
Food was generally very good, as we have come to expect from Royal Caribbean.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5
Singers and dancers were good, but music in the theater is amplified to the point where you can't understand the lyrics over the volume of the band. It doesn't have to be that loud. Some of the lounge singers were good, but there was one who we couldn't get away from fast enough.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Oliver and Raffi in the dining room were exceptional, and perhaps the best waiters we have ever had. We changed tables after our first night as we were not thrilled with our original table or wait staff, and I'm so glad we did. Service on the whole from all the crew was excellent.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
This was our first time on a Radiance class ship. It's a great smaller ship design, and we loved the views outside from the glass elevators.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Ports of call

Cruise Inside Passage, Alaska

4 out of 5
It was a nice sea day, but just as the scenery was getting interesting, the sun went down. We did see a few whales and lots of dolphins and sea lions.

Icy Strait Point (Hoonah), Alaska

4 out of 5
This port feels much more "wildernessy", which was nice. There isn't as much to do here unless you're paying for an excursion. We did enjoy the tribal dance show and cannery museum. Don't bother taking the shuttle into Hoonah. There's nothing there to see or do.

Juneau, Alaska

5 out of 5
We thoroughly enjoyed this port. We were able to book a city tour and trip to the Mendenhall glacier right off the ship, which I'm sure was cheaper than if we had booked via the ship. It left us plenty of time to enjoy the Mt. Roberts tramway in the afternoon, which we also booked independently.

Haines, Alaska

3 out of 5
We only called there from about 7pm till 11pm. There isn't much of a town to speak of, though it looks very charming from the ship during sunset.

Ketchikan, Alaska

5 out of 5
The Creek Street district was very cute and we saw more salmon than we could count and seals gorging themselves! The totem museum was very cool.

Cruise Hubbard Glacier

5 out of 5
Exceptional experience! We were very happy with how close the ship got to the glacier, and lucky to be able to see the glacier calve during our visit. It really is breathtaking.

Skagway, Alaska

5 out of 5
We thoroughly enjoyed the White Pass railway excursion! Very enjoyable and scenic trip.

Seward (Anchorage), Alaska

4 out of 5
The town has a free shuttle to get around, which is very nice. We visited the Alaska Sealife Center, which was fun. Again we really enjoyed the train ride down from Anchorage, and would highly recommend that when transferring to/from. We were able to check our luggage all the way through, which was awesome.

Vancouver (Canada Place), British Columbia

5 out of 5
Great city and port. We stayed an extra day to see it.

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
The port in Vancouver was very easy to navigate and getting off the ship was a fast process.
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