While Disney is moving its Wonder from Vancouver to Seattle for the 2012 Alaska season, Royal Caribbean is staying put with one ship in Vancouver.
Radiance of the Seas will be undergoing a major re-fit in the next few weeks in Victoria before it starts this year’s Alaska season.
Then, in 2012, Radiance will start a series of one-way northbound and one-way southbound sailings between Vancouver and Seward. These cruises mean you’re flying either to Anchorage or to Vancouver before or after your cruise.
Rhapsody of the Seas will continue with 7-day Seattle-to-Alaska round-trip cruises.
There’s no change in the deployment of ships, but there is plenty of change in Royal Caribbean’s cruisetours, most of which are attached to the Radiance itineraries.
If you love the majesty of the Rocky Mountains combined with the ruggedness of Alaska, there’s more to offer on Radiance’s Alaska and Rocky Mountain cruisetours next year. The new tours will range from 3-to-6 days at the Seward and Vancouver end of the cruises.
Designed for families, the six-night program features a Resurrection Bay and Wildlife cruise, on which participants can take in the region’s dramatic cliffs, alpine glaciers, marine life and seabirds, with a trip to Fox Island – a nature lover’s delight. There are excursions to the Anchorage Museum and Imaginarium, where families learn and explore art, history and science through play. The cruisetour also includes a trip to Denali National Park, which I was fortunate enough to visit last year.
Also on the menu is a Canadian Rockies cruisetour that lasts six nights and takes you to Calgary, Banff, Jasper, Vancouver and Victoria. You will travel through the Rockies on VIA Rail and stay at Fairmont hotels.
If you combine both, you have 11 days worth of cruisetours before or after a 7-day cruise — an 18-day package.
Who knows? Maybe you’ll pan for some gold. At $1,400-plus an ounce, what an opportunity!
All for now.
For a different look at cruising, see cruisingdoneright.com, another daily blog by the Ports and Bows team
