OK, so I know I'm getting ahead of myself as I haven't even taken my first cruise yet, but I've become 'hooked' and know I'm going to want to go again.

In 2006 I want to see Alaska and was wondering who'd recommend what. I want to do the Inside Passage and see Glacier Bay but from things I've read on this site, it seems Radisson doesn't go in there. What other line would you recommend that does? Is there a cruise/tour combination? I can get brochures from here, but would love first hand information. There is no way I could get my husband into anything more formal than a jacket and tie (promise to make him wear trousers too). He is not keen on coach tours but would do a short one, perhaps in combination with a train. We've been to Vancouver and the Rockies and just loved it but want to do the 'Gold Leaf' train trip and the rest by car. Heaven help the Canadians with us on the wrong side of the road!

Any suggestions would be very much appreciated. Take your time, I've got plenty of it!

We were on the very first cruise the Mariner did in Alaska in 2001. It was very beautiful. We sailed from Vancouver to Seward and it was 9 or 10 days. RSSC is country club casual which means he could go to dinner in a nice sweater and no jacket most nights. A sport coat would be recommended but no formal nights at all. The ship and every port was lovely. We took a float plane and a helicopter ride to the glaciers and we did do Glacier Bay, The College Fjords. The float plane ride was almost an hour each way and was one of the most scenic things we did. We took a zodiac to a rainforest and hiked with a naturalist. Some of the ports we walked around in. We took the Yukon and White Pass Railroad excursion. We wore Levi's all day and did get dressed for dinner since you cannot wear that kind of attire in the evening. We have it on our agendas to revisit Alaska again at some point. We did not do any post cruise tours.

Lee, Alaska is on our radar also for a future cruise. I am such a big Radisson fan that the Mariner will be the first ship considered. All the good reports on the Mariner experience make it tempting. That said, I love to research travel destinations so I probably will end up doing a lot of research on ports, etc. to determine what size ship will be best for us and what type of overall experience we want. FYI, we have friends who recently had a wonderful Alaska experience on a Cruise West ship, and I want to look into that line also. You can check it out at www.cruisewest.com. The ship Cruise West uses for Alaska is small, about 80 passengers, I think, so it would be a very different experience from the Mariner. As someone said on a different thread, "horses for courses."

Thanks to you both for your advice. I'll get the 2006 brochure when available. Hopefully, they might have the 2 for 1 offer which would help tremendously (maybe they're too popular for that offer).

A couple of other questions I'd like to ask.

We're in 'E' category for our first cruise. What would correspond with that on Mariner?

How big was that float plane? Sounds awfully small to me - don't know if I'd be able to open my eyes while in the air! I don't know if I could get on anything that didn't have four engines! The zodiac sounds like fun though.

The small ships are wonderful for getting up close but I think the cost is prohibitive. From memory when I last looked into it, they cost more than double the larger ships. I just think I would prefer the size of the Mariner.

If I've already cruised on RSSC by then, does that mean both my other half would be entitled to a discount on the second cruise, even though it's my son coming with me this time?

Kathy, I just noticed amongst your 'credentials' that you've done the NYC to Montreal cruise which is what my son and I will be doing next year. Any hints on port excursions? I've been to Boston and travelled by car through New England up to Mount Washington and loved it. My son works in New York and I know he's been to Montreal. He will no doubt do some research but I was wondering what the RSSC excursions are like or is it just as easy for us to 'do our own thing'?

Which ship are you in the E catagory - Mariner? The rooms are almost all the same on that ship unless you get a Mariner Suite or Aft Suite, I beleve. It's all location. Any of the rooms on Mariner are terrific.


On our Montreal/NYC cruise, we did a lot of the longer excursions. There is a long review by Masaki of this trip that is excellent. We did many of the excursions he did.

Hi Lee,

Our first cruise was on the Navigator to Alaska. It was a magnificent cruise from Vancouver to Seward.

I will have to "dig up" some of my posts to forward to you. I arranged most of our touring through my own research and some terrific recommendations.

Our itinerary included Ketchikan and we took a float plane through Misty Fjords. A must do and see! We used Island Wings and Michelle, the owner and pilot, was outstanding. There were 4 of us on the plane and that included Michelle.

We also took a helicopter flight in Juno. We landed and walked upon on a glacier. We did this through Coastal (I believe. I will have to check my notes). We then took a whale watching excursion, through Captain Larry, who owns Orca, after the helicopter excursion.

So many great experiences in Alaska. It is an incredible part of our country and you will be thrilled at all that you can see and do.

The Navigator was a great ship to sail on, as it was small enough to allow us to get very up close and personal with Hubbert Glacier.

Again, I will sift through my notes and get the information to you as soon as possible. So please be patient with me.

You will love Alaska! And, Vancouver is a lovely city to begin your trip. We stayed at the Pan Pacific, which is a great property and is located right next to where you would embark.

Denise - I think you did all the same excursions that we took (booked)! :) We got rained out in Ketchikan so unfortunately Island Wings cancelled our flight but we really liked them from all the interactions that we had had. And I totally agree about the Pan Pacific. How easy is it for boarding when you can walk downstairs? Did RSSC embark from Canada Place or was it the other pier that they embarked from?

Masaki

Hi Masaki,

As I recall, you did book the same excursions. Really unfortunate that you missed out on a flight with Island Wings. It was such a highlight. You need to go back and give it another try.

RSSC did embark from Canada Place, which made our stay at Pan Pacific a breeze. I actually booked Pan Pacific on my own. On the day of embarkation, I noticed on the Pan's reader board of daily events that RSSC had a Hospitality Suite. We wandered in there and they took fine care of us. I don't know if we were entitled to use the Hospitality Suite, as we were not a part of RSSC's pre-cruise group. It was our first cruise experience and we had no idea.

As for our luggage, prior to check-out, we had a bellman arrange to have our luggage brought onto the ship. The whole process was effortless.

My first cruise was also on the Mariner in Alaska. It really was the best way to see Alaska. When we cruised by the Hubbard Glacier and Tracy Arm, the Captain had the ship sail in a circular pattern very slowly for about an hour so everyone had a chance to see the glaciers calving from the comfort of their own balconies.

The other noteworthy part of that cruise was the food. Because we were in Alaska, the seafood was especially incredible. I remember line caught wild Alaskan king salmon and Alaskan halibut being available almost every night. There was also Dungenness (spelling) crab and Alaskan king crab available every day at lunch. I'm going to have to go back in the near future!

We took Island Wings to a place called the Taku Glacier Lodge where we had a Salmon Dinner. The flight was spectacular - it was 45 minutes from the ship each way and the scenery was breathtaking. We took off in the water and landed in the water as well. The plane sat 6 or 8 plus the pilot. We walked to the plane from the ship - it was out of Juneau. We took this excursion via RSSC but you could reserve it on your own. The plane has a little shack right off the dock.

I have to agree, Lawrence, about the food. The fish was outstanding! Worth another trip back for the food, alone. However, the Alaskan landscape is a sight to behold!

My cruise to Alaska was on Celebrity, so unfortunately we couldn't get close enough to the Hubbard Glaciar to see any calving. But our whole Alaska experience was so wonderful! We too did the Misty Fjords floatplane and the helicoptor out to Mendenhall Glaciar, where we took an extended glaciar hike. Both of these tours were booked privately, which was a significant cost-savings over the Celebrity tours, and were (we were told) much better experiences, lacking the cattle-calls and crowds of the ship's tours. I can't recall the tour operators' names, I'd have to go back and look them up, but they were really fabulous.

The floatplane did not feel too small -- we were in there with another couple, and it was just marvelous. I don't recall feeling any fear at all. Our pilot was a charming young guy who kept us entertained with local stories. The scenery was so breathtaking! We landed in a lake and stepped out on the pontoons, and we spotted two bears on the shore not more than 50 feet away from us! That was very cool.

The best part of the entire cruise for me was the helicopter/glacier trek. The helicopter ride was an E-ticket -- he flew us in very close to a few glaciars, and right up next to several stunning waterfalls, then landed on Mendenhall (is that the right name?) glacier, where they outfitted us with full hiking gear, including spiked boots and walking poles. It was surreal, and I wouldn't have missed it for the world! It definitely rates way up there amidst the most amazing experiences of my life. :)

The helicopter ride and glacier trek that I arranged, independently, were incredible. We were not on Mendenhall. I think we were on Herbert Glacier. I am unsure of the name. There were 7 of us, total - that included the pilot - on the glacier. You felt as if you were walking on the moon. No crowds. Truly an awesome experience!

Hi All

I'm a bit slow, aren't I? When asking you to compare cabins, I forgot the minor detail of telling you that the ship we are sailing on for our first ever cruise, is the Navigator from New York to Montreal and we have an 'E' category cabin (sorry - I know Radisson don't call them cabins but their title has slipped my little mind for the moment!).

The time I spend on this site is usually done at work (when there isn't any) but I am at home at present and our printer isn't working and this computer works at such a slow pace, I will wait until I get back to work to print all your information out and then I'll have a lovely time reading it properly.

Only one thing terrifies me more than a single engine plane and that is a helicopter! I must remember to take a good supply of Bacardi and Valium!!

Kathy, it's probably staring me in the face, but where will I read Masaki's report?

For those of you who've read that I met Ngaire all those years ago in New Zealand, I think will know that on several occasions (if I told her) I went on a Cessna and landed on a glacier near Mount Cook, which was fantastic, but that was when I was young, ten foot tall (for 'tall' now read 'wide') and 'bulletproof'. I really don't think I could do it now. I have enough trouble with 747's. I simply hate heights and can't even get near the edge of a balcony which isn't on the ground floor.

My son arrives home from New York tonight for nearly two weeks - how terrific is that?

I won't be back at work until after Christmas, so I hope all of you who read this site have a wonderful Christmas and a fabulous 2005. For most of you, the weather will be the complete opposite to ours, so for those who want snow, I hope you get it.

Best wishes

Lee

Welcome and a very Merry Christmas to you Lee!

Enjoy your son's visit as I know you will!

Lee, There Cruise Review section has the posts by Masaki for the NYC/Montreal Cruise. I am not sure which Itinerary he did. We did a 9 day. Please feel free to ask all the questions you like.

Lee - link to the review is here: http://www.luxurycruisetalk.com/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=4&t=000048

We did the 7 day itinerary from NYC to Montreal. The 7 day itinerary is the same as the 9 day minus some stops (like PEI!). Good to hear that your son's back in town!

Denise, Lawrence - we've done Alaska now twice - once with Princess and once with Celebrity. I'd love to do it again on RSSC (especially the Mariner!) at some point.

Masaki