Just like this, the first half of our back-to-back cruise was over. We had set our alarm for 06:30. We got up and ready. Then we headed down to guest services to check in for the second cruise. Officially we were able to check in as of 07:00, but we got there a little earlier. They let us check in then and handed us our new Sea Pass cards. I had expected it to be really busy at guest services, but there were only a couple of people in front of us. About 5 minutes after we got there, we were all done and free to leave.
We had a tour booked to the Kenai Fjords National Park that Royal Caribbean was offering for back-to-back cruisers and for people with late evening flights. Once we had completed the check in process, we headed up to the theatre, which was the meeting point for the excursion. We checked in with a member of the shore excursion team outside the theatre. She checked our tickets and then we were sent inside. There, one of her colleagues gave us our stickers and sent us to a section of the balcony. We were among the first people there, but the area soon filled up. It seemed that a lot of people had not read the back-to-back letter and had not checked in for the second cruise. Soon there were announcements asking people to check in for the second cruise if they had not done so already. I was kind of surprised by this because when we spoke to the person outside the theatre, she had asked up if we had been to guest services to check in.
When we switched from Disney Cruise Line to Royal Caribbean, one thing that really struck us was the difference in how shore excursions were handled. On Disney Cruise Line, the process was often a shambles whereas the shore excursion department on Royal Caribbean was a well-oiled machine. Well, somebody on Radiance had not got the memo. I am not sure if this was Royal Caribbean’s fault or the local tour operator’s fault, but it was not pretty. We were still in the theatre quite a while after the intended departure time. At some point, they made an announcement advising that they were waiting for our buses to arrive. A short while later, there was an announcement that the buses were now ready for us. We were asked to assemble at the back of the theatre and then were escorted downstairs. We were met outside the ship by representatives of the tour company. I could understand why they wanted to avoid us to hang around the terminal as essentially it is just a small warehouse. Apparently Royal Caribbean is heavily investing in the port facilities being expanded currently. Anyway, the idea to keep us on the ship until they were ready for us was a good one, but not one that worked. We were walked over to the terminal and lined up pretty much to in the centre. Representatives from the tour company came by and collected their half of the ticket. They also tagged larger pieces of hand luggage as those would be stored at their office. Then we just stood and waited for the best part of an hour. Eventually the buses really did arrive, and we were directed to our bus. Ironically even without the waiting time, it would have probably been quicker to walk as the marina where were leaving from was pretty much opposite the port and there was a footpath. The road however took a long way round. When we arrived at the other end, we waited some more before we were able to board the boat. If I had booked the tour with the drop off at Anchorage airport, I would have been seriously worried. I knew having booked the tour through Royal Caribbean, worst case scenario, they would have to wait for us.
The experience changed once we were on the catamaran. The crew was introduced, and the captain explained how things work and where everything is. Royal Caribbean had hired out the bottom seating area and this was open seating. The second level of inside seating was reserved seating for people who booked direct. I was actually pretty grateful that we had open seating. The space at the tables was pretty tight and the knee problem that would put me on medical house arrest for most of the summer was already in its early stages then although at that point, it did not stop me from doing anything. In the end, we found some seats on the bow that had no tables, and we had all the space in the world.
Hot drinks and water were included. As soon as we were underway, I got some coffee for both of us. The coffee was quite nice, and they had vanilla creamer. I was happy.
It was not long after we left the dock in Seward that we had our first whale sighting. There was a small group of humpback whales. We stayed with them for a while and then we moved on. At some stage, Graham had headed to one of the outside decks and after a while, I joined him . It was pretty chilly out there and after a while, I headed back inside.
To get to the Kenai Fjords National Park, we had to cross a stretch of open water. We were warned that this would be bumpy as a storm was approaching. They were selling all kinds of seasickness remedies. I did not think I needed any as I normally do not get seasick. Well, this catamaran did something that I did not even think was possible. There was not just up and down movement, but also sideways movement. It was almost like the catamaran was corkscrewing through the waves. This completely confused my inner ears. They did end up giving out a lot of sick bags. Fortunately, by the time I reached the point that I felt I could not take anymore and may just be sick, we were back in sheltered waters. Within a couple of minutes, I felt completely back to normal.
We decided to head back to one of the outside decks. We saw some more humpback whales and I got my first sea otter sighting. Shortly afterwards, they started to serve lunch. They advised to look out for your table number. We of course did not have a table number. Graham went down at some stage to check what the number of the table closest to where we sitting was. I kept an eye on the screens and once the number of the table near us was listed, we headed downstairs. A deli sandwich, crisps and a soft drink were included in the cost of the tour. There was a choice of turkey, roast beef or vegetarian for the sandwich. Graham had the beef and a bottle of water, and I had the turkey and some ginger ale. Lunch was very tasty. Graham was finished ahead of me. He headed straight back upstairs. I joined him once I was done with my lunch.
We reached the first glacier shortly after I got back upstairs. It was pretty overcast in that area and in the photos, it looks like the glacier is disappearing in fog, but to the naked eye, it was a clear view. Some of the crew went “fishing” for glacier ice. They got one large lump for show and tell. Graham was allowed to hold this for a while before it was taken inside. The other lumps they collected was turned into ice cubes for glacier ice margaritas, which they were selling at the bar.
The second glacier was not far away, and, on the way, I saw a sea otter reasonably close by. The second glacier was the prettiest glacier I saw on this trip. I got incredibly lucky. The crew had advised us to not rely on our ears, but to keep a close look on the face of the glacier. I was looking at the right place at the right time and saw the glacier calving. Even though we were relatively close to the glacier, the sound took about 90 seconds to reach us. By then, there was nothing more to see apart from some new ice in the water.
It was raining pretty heavily at this stage and once we had turned away from the glacier, I headed back inside. I decided to try one of the glacier ice margaritas. It was not the best margarita I ever had, but it was still tasty. I also bought a couple of ginger lemon chews. Although I do not normally get seasick, I have suffered from motion sickness on car journeys all my life. I have found that ginger helps and sucking or chewing something also helps to settle the stomach.
Soon, we were heading for open water again. They were expecting even rougher conditions and asked us to remain seated if we could for the duration of the crossing. Water was hammering against the window behind us and even came through the closed door to the little outside deck on the bow. I am sure the ginger chews helped a little, but I was again not feeling too bright. I was very relieved when about three quarters of the way the captain announced that we would make a little detour to a sheltered lagoon so that people could have a bit of a respite from the rough seas. This turned out to be a blessing in more than one way. Not only did this give my inner ears a welcome opportunity to reset themselves, but pretty much as soon as we entered the lagoon, we had company. There were two male orcas that came quite close to our boat and at one stage even dived underneath it. In Seward, they have a resident orca population and also a transient orca population. Their behaviours are so different that they may as well be different species. The resident orca population lives in large pods and their diet consists of fish and seafood. The transient orca population either lives in small groups or even solo and their diet consists of marine mammals. I have to say, it would have been something to see a large pod of orcas, but it was still an absolute privilege to see two very playful orcas.
Once the orcas got bored with us, we moved on. We still had a stretch of rough water ahead of us, but before my inner ears had time to get confused again, we were back in the sheltered bay. We were treated to one more wildlife sighting. This time it was a small group of humpback whales, and I had my first experience of a whale breaching. This was quite a sight to behold. We watched them for a little while longer and then we headed back to port. We saw some more sea otters and a lot of sea birds on the way. Even with the rough seas, this was an amazing trip.
Once we were back on dry land, we were directed to different buses depending on if we were going back to the ship or to the airport. I somehow managed to lose a few people on the 50 yards between the dock and the bus. I hope they did not end up on the bus to the airport. We waited for a bit and the driver entertained us will all kind of anecdotes. Eventually they sent us back to the port. I took a few quick photos. They had a separate lane for back-to-back cruisers. Unfortunately, there were no photographers about. Once we were back on the ship, we quickly checked in at our muster station and then we headed up to deck 12.
One of the perks that we get as part of our status is that we get buy one get one free at most speciality restaurants on the first two nights of the cruise. I really wanted to try Samba Grill, which is a Brazilian steakhouse concept that can only be found on Radiance of the Seas and Allure of the Seas. I decided to go and see if they had room for us. We got seated straightaway. Dinner and the service was amazing. They had a small buffet area set up with starters. Graham had a prawn cocktail and some kind of salad. I had melon with prosciutto and a vegetable skewer and some goat’s cheese. We were also given some cheese rolls with a hot cheese dip. I ordered a caipirinha, which was very nice and that was followed by a couple more. Graham had some Sauvignon Blanc. Our gaucho was from the Philippines. He brought us some dips and side dishes. I stuck to the polenta and Graham had the sautéed potatoes. Then the skewers started coming. The first round was bacon wrapped chicken breast. Next up was Brazilian pork sausage followed by garlic marinated strip loin. After this came my second most favourite dish, Parmesan crusted pork loin. After the top sirloin, I had a short reprieve while Graham and herb-marinated lamb chop. The last meat course was filet mignon and then it was time for my absolute favourite, roasted cinnamon pineapple. We both passed on dessert as we were ready to burst.
About halfway through our dinner, a multigenerational family from Singapore were seated at the table next to ours. We were chatting to them in between courses. They were very nice. Unfortunately, we never bumped into each other again during the cruise.
It was still quite early, and we decided to get a nightcap in the Champagne Bar. Graham had another glass of wine, and I had a chocolate martini. There was a game show going on in the Centrum called Rock the Room. We were not entirely sure what this was all about, but it was quite entertaining. When the game show had finished and we had finished our drinks, we headed back to our cabin and got ready for bed.
Dolphingirl’s Travels 
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