Our first cruise ever, to Alaska (May 2019) - updated through Day 6

[Happy99]

Thank you for another great installment. As for the menus if you can make them a bit bigger it would help but, I for one, can see the last one you posted.

 

[daveyc150]

I'm so glad! You mentioned excursions. May I ask what you've booked? There were lots of good options.

So I am in the fortunate position of being a solo traveller and so only having to pay for one person for excursions...

1st day at sea I have the character breakfast, a mixology class and then Palo dinner.

Icy Straight Point I have the Frozen Gathering, the Princess Gathering and then I’m doing the Whale, Wildlife and Bear Search

Skagway I have Dog Sledding and Glacier Flightseeing in the morning and then Glassblowing in the afternoon.

Juneau I have Whale Watching and Wildlife Quest

Ketchikan I’m doing the lumberjack show and black bear wildlife exploration

Last day at sea I have a massage

I’m still torn in Juneau and may switch to something else and I’ve heard the helicopter trip and dog sledding in Skagway often gets cancelled so maybe need to consider a back up.

 

[Kanga&TwoRoos]

The menus are clear enough for me. Thanks for posting!

 

[SyracuseWolvrine]

I was also on this cruise, and ended up with a killer cold when I got home. I'll blame your son Sam, even though I'm pretty sure I never ran into you guys

 

[lilsonicfan]

Even though we had a Frozen day on our cruise, we didn't get the Frozen menu! The baked scallops dish looks yummy!

 

[MNtwinsplus1mom]

Thank you for another great installment. As for the menus if you can make them a bit bigger it would help but, I for one, can see the last one you posted.

I feel bad that the menus and Navigators aren't as readable as I'd hoped. I hope you are seeing them at the full size and not as thumbnails somehow? I expect you must be logged in when you are reading because you are commenting, but I did notice for my son that when he was trying to take a look at the report on his laptop he only saw tiny photos because he doesn't have a DIS account so was not logged in. Apparently this can happen when a person is not logged in on the DIS Boards. When I am viewing this report on my laptop, the menu photos I see are about 4x6". I hope they are around that size for you. I think I may ask on the Technical Forum if there's any way to get the Navigators and menus sharper, perhaps by resizing them before pulling them into the report. I used to use Photobucket to resize photos for trip reports, but apparently that does not work anymore on this website. I appreciate that now I can just pull them into the report directly, because it saves a lot of time, but it sometimes results in less clear images apparently.

Thanks for hanging in there despite some difficulty reading parts of the report!

The menus are clear enough for me. Thanks for posting!

Whew! I'm glad you can see them. I'll continue to post them then. I know the photos are not perfect, because often were taken with just a cell phone in less than perfect lighting.

Can you read the Navigators? I had concluded they weren't worth including because not sharp enough. So, I stopped.

 

[MNtwinsplus1mom]

BRIEF LIFE UPDATE

I'm running behind on the next installment, because my youngest son has pneumonia. He's finally on the mend, but it's been a tough time. On his third antibiotic and has lost 7 pounds and now the poor guy has spots (a rash) from the antibiotic. So sad, but I am also so thankful he's getting better.

I hope to have the next day posted by tomorrow.

 

[MNtwinsplus1mom]

So I am in the fortunate position of being a solo traveller and so only having to pay for one person for excursions...

1st day at sea I have the character breakfast, a mixology class and then Palo dinner.

Icy Straight Point I have the Frozen Gathering, the Princess Gathering and then I’m doing the Whale, Wildlife and Bear Search

Skagway I have Dog Sledding and Glacier Flightseeing in the morning and then Glassblowing in the afternoon.

Juneau I have Whale Watching and Wildlife Quest

Ketchikan I’m doing the lumberjack show and black bear wildlife exploration

Last day at sea I have a massage

I’m still torn in Juneau and may switch to something else and I’ve heard the helicopter trip and dog sledding in Skagway often gets cancelled so maybe need to consider a back up.

Yay about your Palo dinner! Nice start to the cruise, I'm sure.

So cool about Icy Strait Point. Are you on a 9-night cruise then? Sounds like you picked a great excursion there.

Wow about the dog sledding and flightseeing! I bet that will be just amazing. I've heard nice things about the glassblowing also.

You really look like you should be guaranteed to really see wildlife on this trip. I expect you plan to take lots of photos!

I am not a massage person, but I will say that yours looks well-timed, because you have an exciting and action-packed cruise.

For our Juneau day, we really loved just renting a car and driving to Mendenhall Glacier and going on a couple short, easy hikes to the falls and the glacier there and then seeing the Visitor Center where we saw a video and heard a ranger talk. (It was also easy to grab a Starbucks Alaska mug at that port, with the vehicle. I don't need them, but can't resist.)

 

[daveyc150]

For our Juneau day, we really loved just renting a car and driving to Mendenhall Glacier and going on a couple short, easy hikes to the falls and the glacier there and then seeing the Visitor Center where we saw a video and heard a ranger talk. (It was also easy to grab a Starbucks Alaska mug at that port, with the vehicle. I don't need them, but can't resist.)

I changed my excursion in Juneau to add the Mendenhall Glacier to the boat trip and decided that if the dog sledding is cancelled then I’ll take the train with the cycling if it’s still available. I’m just on the 7 night cruise.
I also collect the Starbucks mugs, my goal is to get one from every state. It’s a shame I didn’t start collecting until late as I’ve been to a lot of states but just don’t have the mugs. I think Alaska is going to be a good one to get. Was Juneau the only port with a Starbucks?

 

[Kanga&TwoRoos]

BRIEF LIFE UPDATE

I'm running behind on the next installment, because my youngest son has pneumonia. He's finally on the mend, but it's been a tough time. On his third antibiotic and has lost 7 pounds and now the poor guy has spots (a rash) from the antibiotic. So sad, but I am also so thankful he's getting better.

I hope to have the next day posted by tomorrow.

Oh no! I hope he feels better soon!

 

[daveyc150]

Oh no! I hope he feels better soon!

Me too, sorry to hear that!

 

[MNtwinsplus1mom]

I was also on this cruise, and ended up with a killer cold when I got home. I'll blame your son Sam, even though I'm pretty sure I never ran into you guys

Oh, I’d feel just awful spreading anything on a cruise! I promise we were very careful. His fever was brief. He wasn’t sneezy or coughy. I think he only took the medicine the one day. I also was using Clorox wipes on all our door knobs, sink handles, etc. to avoid any one of us getting it if it was catchy.

I think you were joking, but I really would just hate to spread something... I know there are some things that mean definitely don’t leave the room (like stomach flu type issues). Yikes!

 

[Lesley Wake]

A bit late, but following along! My family is on the same cruise next year so this is pretty helpful!

 

[MNtwinsplus1mom]

I’m just on the 7 night cruise.

I also collect the Starbucks mugs, my goal is to get one from every state. It’s a shame I didn’t start collecting until late as I’ve been to a lot of states but just don’t have the mugs. I think Alaska is going to be a good one to get. Was Juneau the only port with a Starbucks?

Oh! Interesting. I didn’t realize there was a 7 night with Icy Strait Point.

We went to two Starbucks in Juneau. (Bc the first one was out of mugs.) They were both in grocery stores: a Fred Meyer and a Safeway.

It says online that there are also Starbucks in Skagway and Ketchikan, but I did not look there personally.

Hope you get to one of them!

 

[MNtwinsplus1mom]

Oh no! I hope he feels better soon!

Me too, sorry to hear that!

Thanks so much! He’s continuing to slowly get better! I’m so glad.

A bit late, but following along! My family is on the same cruise next year so this is pretty helpful!

Thanks for joining in! Please let me know if you have any questions. I learned a lot from other trip reports here before our cruise, so I want to do the same if possible for other lucky ones taking the cruise later. It must be so fun to be looking forward to it, I know!

 

[daveyc150]

We went to two Starbucks in Juneau. (Bc the first one was out of mugs.) They were both in grocery stores: a Fred Meyer and a Safeway.

It says online that there are also Starbucks in Skagway and Ketchikan, but I did not look there personally.

Hope you get to one of them!

With my excursion I’m not sure I’ll have time in Juneau so may have to keep my fingers crossed in Ketchikan. I’ll let you know

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

Hi, I was on your cruise! Same dining rotation too we just had early seating because my two boys are 3 and 7. Enjoying following along with your TR, it makes me want to take this cruise again when mine are teenagers, assuming the glaciers are still around.

 

[Kricketnp]

Thanks so much for posting this! Doing this cruise in September and have been trying to get up to speed with everything!

 

[MNtwinsplus1mom]

Day 4 (May 23, 2019) - Skagway

I skipped the gym Thursday because All Ashore for Skagway, our first port, was 7:15am, and we wanted to get an early start on our day. We watched “Good Morning Disney Wonder” in the room while getting ready, which had become a routine. Today our cruise director, Ashley, pointed out that Alaska is “the last frontier,” not to be confused with “the final frontier,” which is Star Trek (“and we don’t own that” she added).

We ate breakfast in Cabanas, but this time inside. In a fun nod to yesterday’s morning entertainment at Cabanas, the song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” was playing while we were eating. It was the Hawaiian version, which is one of my favorite songs.




I learned that it’s wise to avoid leaving the ship during a massive excursion group! There had been no line at first, but then I went to the room to grab something and when I came back the line (which began in the atrium) was backed up all the way to the After Hours section. The line moved pretty quickly, though, and we were off the ship by about 8:40am.


We walked to DIY Jeep Tours where we had a Jeep reserved for the day, so we could explore on our own. When it was time to pick out our Jeep, we selected a red one, basically because I knew it would photograph well. We had been concerned when planning the trip about whether the boys would have enough room in the back seat of the Jeep. Another option would have been renting a minivan, but we thought the Jeep would be fun and liked that it would include a binder and audio to guide us as we toured. It ended up working out very well! The boys were comfortable, and it was a fantastic day.



We followed a route that was recommended in the binder DIY Jeep Tours provided, largely following along the South Klondike Highway. We crossed over into Canada early in the drive, and then from British Columbia into the Yukon Territory.

The sights were amazing all along the drive. Our first lengthy stop was Tutshi Sled Dog Summer Tours, located at km 78.5 of South Klondike Highway. There’s a sign on the right indicating where to turn off the main road. Michelle Philips, Iditarod and Yukon Quest veteran, warmly greeted us when we arrived. We paid for everyone in the family to do the Summer Cart Tour. It was $45 each and included an exciting 1.3 mile ride in a 4-wheeled UTV along a trail pulled by a team of her dogs, a musher’s talk and gear demonstration (by Michelle), and an opportunity to see the camp and the puppies. No reservation was needed in advance. While we waited for our ride, we explored the camp and got to visit with the adorable puppies.




During our ride, Jeff and I sat in the back, the boys all stood behind us, and in the front of the UTV was Michelle and one of her dogs. He kept picking up a big rock and dropping it back by our feet, and then eagerly waiting for us to return it to him, and the cycle would repeat. It was an unusual game, but a sweet one. It really was a fun time, with amazing glacier-capped mountains in our sights most of the zippy ride.


At one point when the dogs stopped for a water break, Michelle offered to take a photo of us with them.


We enjoyed our time at Tutshi Sled Dog Summer Tours. We learned a lot about what it is like for participants in these big sled dog races. Michelle described in detail how she cares for her dogs and showed us various supplies and equipment from past races as she went through her talk.


I was impressed with procedures that are in place to ensure that the dogs are well cared for along these lengthy races. It was easy to see how much she cared about the dogs, and similarly how much they enjoyed running. The barking of the dog teams as we were waiting for the team that would pull us to be hitched up was SO loud and eager, as if they were all begging, “Pick me!!”

 

[nancipants]

Haha, that first pictures with the dogs is so funny - I didn't realize there were two until I saw the little legs sticking out of the bigger dog.