Hello to all, and thank you fellow cruisers for your reviews. This is my 4th RCI cruise--the priors being in the Caribbean: Voyager x 2, then Oasis. Getting on/off the ship, dining, activities, etc. are all identical to the Caribbean trips and are smooth. RCI ships are fairly standard in their offerings in terms of service and pricing. In the dining room, the service is excellent, and for the food, I grade the appetizers an A, main courses B, and deserts a D. Cabins in the Radiance class are similar to Voyager and Oasis class at the same levels. The interiors are excellent with lots of artwork, etc. Night entertainment was similar in quality and scope to Caribbean trips--mixes of singers, comedians, dance, etc. There's no aqua show or full musical like Oasis, but the rest are the same. Featured acts were the Royal Caribbean singers/dancers (4 singers, 8 dancers), the Unexpected Boys, a version of The Drifters, and a comedian. In addition, the opening night was an Argentinian Tango dancer, with added comedy, circus acts, etc. His wife is in the show and they stayed the week--she works the loyalty desk, so they must have some employment with RCI. There are daytime lectures, one featured a Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Cruise direction--Dan Whitney is solid as any. Being our fourth RCI cruise, we are hearing the same jokes and routines, so would be nice of them to write some new material. Also the Captain (Bjorn something)fancies himself to be a part time comedian. There were several events for Crown and Anchor society members.

We took the Northbound Alaskan trip, so you fly to Vancouver the night before, and cab to the port is around $35. Passports are required. Getting off the ship is Seward, and the bus to Anchorage is around $80 (2.5 hours), train at $100 and 4 hours. It is a very scenic ride. Since the ship arrives on Friday morning, we decided to return home Saturday night. This allowed for a day trip in Seward (see below), and a day to explore Anchorage. Read more