Bon Voyage to Alaska on the Wonder – May 29 - DCL First-timers – Corks are meant to fly! COMPLETED

[Laura1123]

Saturday, June 3, 2017

Today we were going to Ketchikan, but we weren’t supposed to be in port till 11am or so, so we had time to sleep in and then head up to Cabanas for breakfast. It was cloudy, rainy and cold so far, but we hoped it would clear once we got to port.



DS6 went off to the club for a bit this morning and DH, DS9 and myself played a bit more shuffleboard. It was cold and windy, so that didn’t last long.



We went inside and walked by the DVC desk and they gave us these light-up bracelets that flashed. I am going to save them for a night at the parks.



We watched a bit of softball down in the Crown and Fin and waited for The Feud gameshow to start. Again, fun for all ages and DS9 even participated as a team leader at one point.



Afterward, we pulled into port. Not the sunshine and rainbows we hoped for. We played some Phase 10 on deck 9 finalizing our plans for the day prior to lunch.



We decided to go see the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show at 1:45pm. We were off the boat a little after 1pm and walked the few block to buy tickets. We had a bit of time to kill prior to the show starting so we explored some shops nearby and dodged the rain and hail. Yes, hail, but it was small and dissolved quickly.

The show started on time and there were heaters in the stands to keep everyone warm, which was nice. The show runs 60 mins and is a combination of lumberjack demonstrations and humor/skit. The kids loved it and we were on the side cheering for the American team. It was just nice to do something out of the rain.







After the show we walked through some of the Creek street stores. Nothing to buy except a husky stuffed animal as DS9’s souvenir.



We headed back to the ship to escape the rain with a few minutes to spare until the next Disney Trivia started. The boys headed to the clubs and the adults heaved down to the Promenade Lounge on deck 3 for trivia.



We won!!!! Super excited!!! Life changing plastic medallions that will be displayed in my office with pride. Those are the cookies they were handing out on deck 3 along with coffee and hot chocolate after coming back on-board.

Continued in next post...

 

[Laura1123]

Saturday continued...

Time for dinner in Triton’s. This was one of my favorite meals of the trip. I forgot to take menu pictures but I know what we all ate.

Roasted Red Pepper Dip to go with the Sourdough rolls- SO GOOD!!

Alaskan King Crab Legs. I got an order for DH because there wasn't another appetizer that appealed to me. I went back to eating the bread and roasted red pepper dip.

Marinated Tiger Shrimp

Braised Oxtail Soup

White Onion Soup w/ Caraway and Smoked Alaskan Salmon

Beefsteak Tomato and Vidalia Onion Salad- This had a Cabernet Wine Vinaigrette dressing and was a delicious salad!

Oven-Baked Lobster Tail- So good, DH had to have a second after Freizer insisted.

Fettuccine with Parmesan Crusted Chicken- Yummy!!!!

The Fettuccine with Parmesan Crusted Chicken was so good!!!! I even added what was left of our roasted red pepper dip into the pasta and it made it even better. Can’t wait to have this again.

Desserts are next...

 

[Laura1123]

Saturday continued...



Apricot Trio

Raspberry Vanilla Creme Brulee

Chocolate Lava Cake- Another winner!!!

Another magic trick for the boys and dinner was complete.



DH, Dad and I went to see the Comedian/Ventriloquist tonight while the boys ran off to the clubs, but not before seeing Chip & Dale first.



Right before the show DH, Mom and I peeked into the end of the Wonder Quest game. I had read good things about in other trip reports. This is definitely something we will do with the kids on the next cruise, as they would love it. Guessing they have an adult version of this earlier in the week too that we missed, but I didn’t go back and look. Can anyone advise??



We passed a Coast Guard station after we left Ketchikan.



After the show it was time for bed as tomorrow would be our last day at sea and last day before arriving back in Vancouver (so sad).

 

[Laura1123]

Sunday, June 4, 2017



We felt a lot of movement during the night and we were still rocking pretty well in the morning too. We hit up Cabanas for our last breakfast of the cruise and then I went to the Vacation Planning Desk to put our placeholder in for another cruise (how could I resist?). I was there about 10 minutes early and was second in line when the CM arrived.

That only took a few minutes and then we went to ask the boys in the club if they wanted to go to our Frozen meet and greet at 9:45am. They both declined, so DH and I went while my parents went to Doug Jones’ last talk on bears (which they enjoyed very much).



We met up after and played Quixx down in the Crown and Fin awaiting Movie Tunes Trivia. This was a very popular trivia and we tied for first place, earning more wonderful plastic Mickey medallions that will be displayed with pride! Anthony was the host of this and he was a lot of fun.

During this time we noticed that the captain was moving the boat as fast as he could to get to the inside passage way to avoid the waves. Before long, things were smooth again and the sky had cleared up.



We enjoyed a quick, last lunch in Cabanas prior to heading back down to the Crown and Fin for TV Tunes Trivia. Anthony arrived in the pub a few minutes after we were to start and announced we were no longer doing TV Tunes trivia. Not sure what happened there, but he ran some other sort of trivia session instead.

We enjoyed walking around deck a bit trying to absorb as much of the beautiful scenery as possible before it would be all gone tomorrow.







We enjoyed happy hour down in the Promenade Lounge while competing in our final Disney trivia, Disney Tunes Trivia. This one was fun as one of the piano player CM came and played the music live. We did well, but the winner got a perfect score.

Back down to the Crown and Fin for our last trivia of the cruise. This one was so packed that we had to divide ourselves into 2 tables.



Before long it was time for our last dinner in Animators Palate. We got to draw our characters and then dinner began.







Food is next...

 

[Laura1123]

Sunday continued...



Appetizer Sampler Platter- Everyone has the same tonight. I only ate the duck, but it was good. Gave DH the seafood.

Tomato, Spaghetti and Meatball Soup- Everyone got the same as well. This was a bit odd, really just warmed up, thinned spaghetti sauce with a few small meatballs and 2 pieces of spaghetti. I would probably skip it next time.

Chicken Schnitzel- This was good!

Roasted Filet of Beef Wellington


It was great to watch the different animation sequences on the screens during the various courses.

The show with our characters was so neat!!! Pixie dust in my eyes during this one too! Can’t wait to try it again next time.
Chocolate Decadence

Celebration Cake

One more chance to see Mickey and the kids indulged me with taking a pic. I was bummed I had missed out on the Alaskan outfit, but happy to at least have this.



The kids ran off to the clubs again while Mom and I went to see the Disney Dreams show in the WD Theater. The show was good, but seemed like it might need a tech upgrade compared to the other shows. Still had pixie dust in my eyes at the end though.

I left the show and headed to get the boys from the clubs. Upon arriving the CM scanned my band and it came up that I was not authorized to pick up my children. He asked if I had picked them up during the week- and of course I had. It took a minute or so for the CM to realize the boys had already been picked up by DH, but it freaked me out for a sec. As I walked out of the club DH’s text came through letting me know they were upstairs.

More to come...

 

[Laura1123]

Sunday continued...

Some beautiful scenery from before the show.





I met DH and the boys on deck 9 where they were enjoying ice cream cones and watching the end of Inside Out on funnel vision. I grabbed an ice cream too and we all bundled under blankets and watched the sky get a bit darker while we enjoyed the end of the movie. It was sad all of this was coming to an end.





We headed to bed, but first, our last towel animal…



Jervie blew us away with this, incorporating both DS’s souvenirs too. Can I say again how sad I was the cruise was coming to an end?

Tomorrow was disembarkation day.

 

[Laura1123]

Monday, June 5, 2017

I set my alarm for 5:30am and got up to go take a few pictures as we came into Vancouver. It was beautiful out and I think I only saw 4 other passengers as well as several CMs getting the ship ready for the next group of passengers.









Once we went under the Lions Gate Bridge (sorry, those pics are on my camera and I haven’t downloaded them yet), I hustled downstairs as I had to get everyone else up and ready for our 7:15am breakfast in AP.

We were ready with a few minutes to spare so started walking a bit early and were there when they opened the doors.



Cheese Omelette with Sausage Link and Hashbrown Patty

Fried eggs over Corned Beef Hash with Bacon and Sausage- DH was happy

I was surprised how empty the dining room felt though as there were lots of empty tables, which was fine with me as it gave more time for us to say our goodbyes to Freizer and James.



We said our goodbyes (and surprisingly I held back the tears) and we left AP. We said goodbye to my parents as they were carrying off their own bags (express walk-off) and staying in Vancouver for the day.

I then went to Guest Services as we had accidentally been charged for 2 bands for DS6. They fixed it quickly and then we went to the Azure Lounge to patiently wait for Gray Daisy.

Once we were called it didn’t take long to find our two other suitcases and get through customs.

We followed the signs for Public Transit as we planned to take the SkyTrain back to the airport.



We entered here. Right outside the Pan Pacific. DON'T DO THIS ENTRANCE!!



We had to haul the bags up and down a few levels without an elevator, so there must be a better place to enter that has the elevators. Not quite sure where as I didn’t go back to look at the map, but you could research in advance or ask someone at the Pan Pacific.

For some reason the tickets were much cheaper going back to the airport than coming in. Not sure why as I think we were in the same fare rate time as the trip coming in, but we didn’t complain. It took less than an hour to get off the ship and to get out to the airport on the train.

More in next post...

 

[Laura1123]

Monday continued...



**Note to parents- have everyone go to the bathroom before you get in line to check-in as you don’t have a bathroom opportunity again for awhile. Thankfully the kids could hold it.

No problems with checking in, getting our luggage handled, going through security or through customs, although it did take a full hour before we got to our gate and it was not that crowded. I heard other airport employees talking to themselves anticipating the arrival of all the cruise passengers for the day, so guessing it gets much busier.


One more bear friend.

We chilled for a bit connecting to the free WiFi and eventually had an early lunch before going to our gate to await our flight out at 1:10pm. I already explained my disappointment with the airline, but we did arrive back at DFW safely and on time.

Back to the Country Inn and Suites to pick-up our van and then we were off to Norman, stopping for dinner along way. We were tired but DH and I were entertained with the OU/UF softball game taking place that night.

We were greeting the cats around 12:30am and all showered and in bed by 1am. Vacation was over and now just the laundry to do, trip report to write and WONDERful memories to look back on!

Odds and ends will be next…

 

[bcwife76]

Have really enjoyed your trip report, you really cranked it out quickly!!

We live in Vancouver (just outside) and are sailing to Alaska on the second to last sailing this year so I've gleaned some great info from your report!! Oh btw, the reason your skytrain fare was cheaper returning to the airport is that when you came into downtown from the airport, you all paid an extra $5 fee from the airport but that same extra $5 is not charged on the return route

 

[Laura1123]

Odds and ends

Maps Me- Offline maps app- I have to give credit to my dad for learning about this from a traveler on one of their previous trips. The free app allows you to pick and choose which maps you may need and you can access them offline. All the adults downloaded the Vancouver map prior to departure and we used it several times while there since we only had our phones active for one of three days of the Vancouver portion of the trip. Even offline it knew where we were in town and could give us walking, car, or public transit directions of where we needed to go.

Cups- There is big debate on the boards of whether or not you need to bring your own cups since the paper cups at the drink station on deck 9 are small. We each had a water bottle that we filled for port days, but other than that we really didn’t see the need to bring our own cups along wherever we went on ship. I tried to carry as little as possible and used the paper cups a few times only. If I was on a cruise with severe heat and sweating I would bring one though, just to have enough water to stay hydrated.

Insurance- We bought trip insurance online through Allianz Global Assistance (per recommendation from my parents) a few days after we booked the cruise. Thankfully we didn’t have to use it, but I thought the rate was good and the kids were included for free.

Excursions- I didn’t hesitate to book our excursions on our own away from Disney. We are all savvy travelers and after reading all the reviews and guarantees, etc. we felt comfortable. We saved money and got to do things on our schedule and not someone elses.

SkyTrain- This was very easy to use and I would recommend it to anyone that doesn’t have mobility issues. We did encounter a few areas that had elevators that were out of order, but other than that the trains were clean and there were employees around to ask any questions when needed.

Weather- We got very lucky with weather. Our days in Vancouver were sunny and warm (shorts and t-shirts). Skagway and Juneau were both pleasant (jeans and t-shirt with a light jacket if necessary). The temps on the Navigators are wrong as it was much warmer. Ketchikan we had rain and were prepared with our rain jackets. The sea was smooth except for the choppy waters the last day at sea in the morning. The kids were able to swim 2 days and could have done it a bit more if we would have had time.

Packing- Layers is definitely the answer. We each had a fleece and a rain jacket to put on top, if necessary, and that covered the coldest day. We wore way more short sleeve shirts than long sleeve shirts too (I found it warm on the inside of the ship). We did not dress-up for any dinners, wearing the clothes we wore during the day to save on having to pack more clothing. For my family we each had a pair of sneakers and a pair of waterproof low hiking boots. For us that ended up working well too. We wore our hats and gloves only on Endicott Arm day, but were happy to have them.

Room selection- Yes a verandah would have been nice, but we enjoyed ourselves without it too. We liked being on Deck 5 as it was very convenient to the kids clubs and just a floor or two away from most activities. Since our hall was pretty short, it was very quiet too. If I had a child that was still napping, I think a verandah would be very nice to have so you could enjoy the scenery without feeling like you were trapped in the room. Our room was directly above the WD Theatre and the only time I heard anything was when they showed the new Pirates movie a couple times. It was almost like a small buzzing noise- guessing it was a loud part of the movie. It was very easy to ignore and I would not hesitate to stay in this location again.

Early Dining- For us, this was the best choice (especially with the time change from central time). I can’t even imagine eating as big of a dinner so late in the evening and going straight to bed. Maybe if DH and I ever get a cruise without the kids we would probably do the late seating though.

Cell service- All of us adults have Verizon and did not have any trouble using our phones in the Alaskan ports. We also had no trouble in Canada when we opted into the travel program for the day ($5 per phone per 24 hour period). Even when we weren’t using cell service in Canada, we had no trouble using the Wi-Fi for texting, email, surfing, etc.

Disney Cruise App- Boy this was great!!! It was nice we could text each other who was doing what and where. Group texts, conversations with just one person, etc. and all for FREE. We used this as our navigator as well and just used the paper copy as a souvenir.

National Park Stuff for Kids- Per another trip report I downloaded kids packets for the Skagway parks visitor center and the Mendenhall Glacier that the kids could fill out to become junior rangers for the day. My boys worked on both sets of sheets, but really had no interest in completing them so I didn’t push it. If your child would be interested in this, definitely check the websites and print them out and bring them from home. Both are free.

Hand Washing & Wipes- I liked that you stopped to wash hands at the sink before going into Cabanas and used the wipes going into the dining rooms. Made me feel a bit safer, especially with Cabanas. If I would have known in advance, I would have just had a discussion with the kids so they knew what to expect.

Luggage- We were able to squeeze clothes for 4 into 3 large suitcases. We still had to do laundry once on the ship (we knew we would be able to do laundry in the condo). Laundry cost $6 on ship, which saved me $50 in baggage fees of taking an extra suitcase. I don’t know if there would have been much more room under the bed for more suitcases as we had to store 2 of them unzipped and lying flat to fit.

Lanyards- Since this was our first cruise we were not given lanyards at check-in, but instead went to the DVC desk on day 1 to get one for each of us. They turned out to be very handy and we wore them all week. I had purchased a Disney Vera Bradley one to take with me, but found it to be a little heavy on my neck once I started wearing it, so I switched back to the DVC lanyard for the week.

Food- Overall, the food exceeded my expectations compared to the other cruises I have been on. I enjoyed the variety of options and never left a meal hungry. I will miss the hash brown patties and sausage links at breakfast and all the wonderful breads I had during the week!!

Fire- One night there was an announcement at 3:30am. We assumed it was a medical emergency, but found out later that there was a fire in a stateroom on deck 6. We heard it was because someone plugged something into the hair dryer in the bathroom and it caught fire. From what we heard, no one was hurt (thankfully).

Sea Sickness- My dad and I were the only ones that used anything. I used Sea Bands and took Bonine at night. I have never used either, but I seemed better compared to my other cruises. My dad tried Dramamine- Non-Drowsy version, but he still was very drowsy at times. He is going to try Bonine on his next cruise in the fall.

Characters- For some reason I thought it would be easier to see the characters without waiting and lining up for them from reading other trip reports. By mid-cruise- I was much more aware of when and where characters would be in order to see them.

CMs- I did not encounter one negative CM! Everyone was so pleasant and it was nice chatting with CMs when possible. Loved all the “good mornings” and “good evenings”. I also loved talking to them and asking about their days when possible.

DS9- Overall DS9 did well on the cruise. The only thing we didn’t anticipate is the downtime he would need, even though he gets this at home. On the ship we were always on the go, so sometimes we just had to slow down and give DS9 some quiet time in the room to watch a movie for an hour. I was proud of him though. We did lots of new things and he adjusted well.

Cruise vs. Parks- I love the parks, but I did love cruising way more than I thought I would. Not only did I get my Disney fix, but I didn’t have to fight my way through as many crowds or book dining reservations 6 months in advance like the parks. I also thought the other guests were more pleasant than when navigating the parks. We booked a placeholder and are thinking early summer 2019 in Europe, but I don’t know if I can wait that long.

Things we did not get a chance to do- Bingo, room service, Palo- Guess we must go back for another cruise!

Navigators- I’ll post those next.

 

[Laura1123]

Have really enjoyed your trip report, you really cranked it out quickly!!

We live in Vancouver (just outside) and are sailing to Alaska on the second to last sailing this year so I've gleaned some great info from your report!! Oh btw, the reason your skytrain fare was cheaper returning to the airport is that when you came into downtown from the airport, you all paid an extra $5 fee from the airport but that same extra $5 is not charged on the return route

Good to know about the tickets. Thanks bcwife76! Enjoy your cruise to Alaska!

 

[Laura1123]

Navigators

Week At a Glance









Monday

 

[Laura1123]

Navigators Continued...

Tuesday





Wednesday





Thursday





More on next post...

 

[jhoannam]

Thanks for the details has made me really excited, in 2 years.

 

[Laura1123]

Navigators continued...

Friday





Saturday





Sunday

 

[TestingH2O]

Wow, you finished quickly! I'm still working on my March report.

I enjoyed my first Alaskan Brewing Company Icy Bay IPA

Not being an IPA girl, did you happen to notice other Alaska beers on board? Also, which bars had the best selection?

Many of us tried the Shawarma and liked it.

I've read lots about the schwarma, so I want to try it. Where on the pool deck did you find it?

 

[eskskick]

Loved your report! Thanks for writing it!

 

[Laura1123]

Not being an IPA girl, did you happen to notice other Alaska beers on board? Also, which bars had the best selection?

I've read lots about the schwarma, so I want to try it. Where on the pool deck did you find it?

TestingH2O- They had 4 Alaskan Brewing Company beers in bottles onboard and only the one was an IPA. Unfortunately I don't remember the others' names though. We drank each time in the Promenade Lounge, but I would guess the Crown and Fin might even have more options.

The schwarma was on deck 9, right next to the hotdogs/chicken tenders/French fry counters.

 

[TestingH2O]

They had 4 Alaskan Brewing Company beers in bottles onboard and only the one was an IPA.

That's great news! I love trying new beers when I travel.

Thanks again!

 

[Kontos]

Thanks for this! I'm looking forward to all these Alaska reports this season