2015 DVC Alaska Member Cruise 5/25-5/31/15

[tidefan]

Disneyluvr81 - to our cruise meet! I hope your waitlist comes thru! Feel free to join right in with us. We're glad to have you here. FYI - JQ contacted the DVC to check availability on our cruise and Surprise! A CAT T was available. $15,962.00 for 2. Also open were 1 5A / 1 5B / 1 5C / and several Cat 4's. Would love to upgrade from our 7A secret verandah to a Cat 4 but it's over 10K for 3. so we're happy to be aboard and thankful for what we have! tidefan - welcome back! that post cruise trip to Aulani sounds fantastic! What a great idea to head to Hawaii from the West Coast. You must be dealing with a ton of planning between the 2 trips!

Most of the planning is done. We got a great deal going out of Bellingham (BLI). It is only 50 miles from Vancouver...

 

[LOLA2]

If anyone is interested in doing the following tour with us. We only have 4 people in our family a 19 yo girl and 13 yo boy. Looking for another family 3-5 to split cost and share the tour. This tour company is rated #1 on trip advisor. We also want to do the optional add on listed at bottom. So price will increase depending on how many people.
Toddler and baby free please looking for kids over 10 - Thanks

If interested pm me.



Emerald Lake Tour

Emerald LakeFlat Rate: $760 + 5% sales tax per bus(Avg. $108/hour)
(You have the guide/bus for the day) Approximately 7 hour tour and 150 miles round trip. We go at your pace!

Your Skagway Private Tours will travel the Klondike Highway to the top of the White Pass Summit approximately 3,292 feet in 18 miles then to Fraser. Follow the same trail gold seekers traveled in 1898 en route to Yukon Gold. Continue on the Klondike Highway past the Summit into Canada's Yukon Territory. This is your best chance for wildlife viewing.
Photo stops include:

•View of Denver Glacier Valley
•Pitchfork Falls
•Bridal Veil Falls
•Moore Creek Bridge
•Alaska Sign
•International Falls
•White Pass Summit
•Summit/Fraser Lakes
•Yukon Sign
•Tagish/Tutshi Lakes
•Bove Island
•Historic town of Carcross
•View of Lake Bennett
•Carcross Desert
•Emerald Lake

Options for the Emerald Lake Tour

Michelle Phillip's Iditarod Dog Mush Team•$8 per adult/$6 per child including tax for admission to the sled dog camp and wildlife gallery museum.
Visit with Michelle Phillips, the musher, about her experiences in the Yukon Quest and Iditarod and meet her dogs/puppies. Follow her race at the following website: www.tagishlakekennel.com

•Add a 15 minute sled dog ride experience on a wagon wheeled cart for $32 per person including tax.
•Add on gold panning for $10 per person including tax.
•Ask about various lunch options.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[tidefan]

If anyone is interested in doing the following tour with us. We only have 4 people in our family a 19 yo girl and 13 yo boy. Looking for another family 3-5 to split cost and share the tour. This tour company is rated #1 on trip advisor. We also want to do the optional add on listed at bottom. So price will increase depending on how many people. Toddler and baby free please looking for kids over 10 - Thanks If interested pm me. Emerald Lake Tour Emerald LakeFlat Rate: $760 + 5% sales tax per bus(Avg. $108/hour) (You have the guide/bus for the day) Approximately 7 hour tour and 150 miles round trip. We go at your pace! Your Skagway Private Tours will travel the Klondike Highway to the top of the White Pass Summit approximately 3,292 feet in 18 miles then to Fraser. Follow the same trail gold seekers traveled in 1898 en route to Yukon Gold. Continue on the Klondike Highway past the Summit into Canada's Yukon Territory. This is your best chance for wildlife viewing. Photo stops include: •View of Denver Glacier Valley •Pitchfork Falls •Bridal Veil Falls •Moore Creek Bridge •Alaska Sign •International Falls •White Pass Summit •Summit/Fraser Lakes •Yukon Sign •Tagish/Tutshi Lakes •Bove Island •Historic town of Carcross •View of Lake Bennett •Carcross Desert •Emerald Lake Options for the Emerald Lake Tour Michelle Phillip's Iditarod Dog Mush Team•$8 per adult/$6 per child including tax for admission to the sled dog camp and wildlife gallery museum. Visit with Michelle Phillips, the musher, about her experiences in the Yukon Quest and Iditarod and meet her dogs/puppies. Follow her race at the following website: www.tagishlakekennel.com •Add a 15 minute sled dog ride experience on a wagon wheeled cart for $32 per person including tax. •Add on gold panning for $10 per person including tax. •Ask about various lunch options. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PMed you

 

[xlxo]

Most of the planning is done. We got a great deal going out of Bellingham (BLI). It is only 50 miles from Vancouver...

A little tip... for $29, you can catch a shuttle from Vancouver to Bellingham airport.
http://www.quickcoach.com

 

[nunzia]

Disneyluvr81 - to our cruise meet!

I hope your waitlist comes thru! Feel free to join right in with us. We're glad to have you here.

FYI - JQ contacted the DVC to check availability on our cruise and
Surprise! A CAT T was available. $15,962.00 for 2.

Also open were 1 5A / 1 5B / 1 5C / and several Cat 4's.
Would love to upgrade from our 7A secret verandah to a Cat 4 but it's over 10K for 3.

so we're happy to be aboard and thankful for what we have!

tidefan - welcome back! that post cruise trip to Aulani sounds fantastic! What a great idea to head to Hawaii from the West Coast. You must be dealing with a ton of planning between the 2 trips!

I had booked in a cat 4 since it was all that was available and OUCH. Waitlisted and shortly got a great location 5B..and a nice refund thank goodness

 

[Disneyluvr81]

Hi Poison Ivy -

Thank you for the welcome and the heads up about the categories available. We will definitely participate in an adult FE group once we officially get booked on the ship. I explained the FE to my mom and showed her what we received from our August cruise and she was so excited at the prospect of doing it.

When we called for the waitlist they let us know about 5A, B & C being available. We would have jumped on one of the open rooms and waitlisted for a less expensive category but my dad has to go in on Oct 23rd to have a minor procedure done on his heart. The procedure is to hopefully stop it from continuing to go in to a-fib. He has been almost entirely out of a-fib for over 4 years now but in the last 6 months or so it has started to become more frequent and even with changing to different meds he went from being in a-fib less than 1% over a 3 month period to 16% in the last 3 months. He didn't want to officially make the reservation until we know for sure everything went smoothly and the procedure worked. As long as one of the category 5's is available, we will officially book as soon as he has the a-okay from his doctor after the procedure!

So now more than ever, I can't wait to say we are officially booked because more than anything that means things are better with my dad's heart. It's ironic because our first cruise to Alaska back in 2010 was a celebration of my dad because he had survived sudden cardiac death with very minimal negative effects from everything he went through. Now here we are almost 5 years later in a similar boat (no pun intended). I am glad my dad has something to look forward to through all this, he out of all of us is the most excited about going back to Alaska.

 

[bobbiwoz]

A little tip... for $29, you can catch a shuttle from Vancouver to Bellingham airport.
http://www.quickcoach.com

Thanks for the link. Not on this cruise, but will cruise out of Vancouver in September, and prices are more reasonable flying into Seattle.

 

[tidefan]

A little tip... for $29, you can catch a shuttle from Vancouver to Bellingham airport. http://www.quickcoach.com

Yeah, I had seen that, but I got a rental car for $90 CAD from YVR to BLI, so we'll just probably do that...

 

[xlxo]

Just want to clarify... the link I provide was an easy way to get from Vancouver to Bellingham.

For those going to Seattle and beyond to Seatac... do you want to go the airport directly? Or do you want to spend a few days visiting Seattle downtown? If you are want to spend some time downtown....

• the Amtrak train is very popular. However there are only 2 departures a day and you need a taxi to the train station in both Vancouver and Seattle. The shuttle saves you the taxi.
• Wanna go super cheap to Seattle? Check out the website.... some bus tickets are available for $1! Those $1 rides go quickly when release the tickets 4 to 6 weeks before departure.
  https://www.boltbus.com/
• A scenic option is to go to Victoria by ferry and then catch a second ferry to Seattle.
  http://www.pacificcoach.com/Bus-Coach-Travel/Crosswater/Vancouver-to-Victoria
  http://www.clippervacations.com/seattle-victoria-ferry/
• An ultra scenic option is use the Prince of Whales service departing next to the cruise ship terminal, do a whale watching trip and get dropped off in Victoria to continue your journey to Seattle on another ferry. Alaska has gray whale watching, Vancouver offers Orca watching. You might want to call ahead if they allow for luggage.
  http://www.princeofwhales.com/vancouver/vancouver-departures

For those spending extra time in Seattle.... would you like to visit a volcano?
http://www.toursofseattle.com/private/mt-st-helens-private-tour/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_St._Helens

Or how about going East to Leavenworth to check out the famous German village in the mountains? You can drive or take Amtrak.

 

[poison ivy]

xlxo - to answer all your sightseeing questions:
volcanos? whale watching? scenic ferry routes? "yes please! all of the above!" hahaha

this is shaping up to be one heck of a cruise!

Disneyluvr81 - Wow! What a journey for your dad and your family! I am keeping him in my thoughts and prayers for a safe recovery next week.

Loved your trip report BTW - only read the pre-trip so far which highlights your Disney Full Marathon success story from January 2013! Congratulations! Great story and photos. 26 miles!!
And I noticed you are So. Cal residents married at the DLH! - our girls live in San Diego and we travel there a few times a year. We're about to head to DL for Halloween and spend 2nts at the DLH. You must love visiting that resort.

Bobbiwoz - I posted this many pages back but it's from a fellow Diser who took that bus ride from Seattle to Vancouver.

Here's another trip report I stumbled upon on the DIS. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3297215

chapter2: bus across the border.
They took the Quick Shuttle from Seattle to Vancouver which was one of the options we were exploring way back.
http://www.wanderingmouseketeers.com/2014/07/09/alaska-cruise-trip-report-update-79/

 

[Johnny Quest]

The link to my signature below will take you page one for the FE lists.

 

[LOLA2]

if anyone is interested in doing the following tour with us. We only have 4 people in our family a 19 yo girl and 13 yo boy. Looking for another family 3-5 to split cost and share the tour. This tour company is rated #1 on trip advisor. We also want to do the optional add on listed at bottom. So price will increase depending on how many people.
Toddler and baby free please looking for kids over 10 - thanks

if interested pm me.



Emerald lake tour

emerald lakeflat rate: $760 + 5% sales tax per bus(avg. $108/hour)
(you have the guide/bus for the day) approximately 7 hour tour and 150 miles round trip. We go at your pace!

Your skagway private tours will travel the klondike highway to the top of the white pass summit approximately 3,292 feet in 18 miles then to fraser. Follow the same trail gold seekers traveled in 1898 en route to yukon gold. Continue on the klondike highway past the summit into canada's yukon territory. This is your best chance for wildlife viewing.
Photo stops include:

•view of denver glacier valley
•pitchfork falls
•bridal veil falls
•moore creek bridge
•alaska sign
•international falls
•white pass summit
•summit/fraser lakes
•yukon sign
•tagish/tutshi lakes
•bove island
•historic town of carcross
•view of lake bennett
•carcross desert
•emerald lake

options for the emerald lake tour

michelle phillip's iditarod dog mush team•$8 per adult/$6 per child including tax for admission to the sled dog camp and wildlife gallery museum.
Visit with michelle phillips, the musher, about her experiences in the yukon quest and iditarod and meet her dogs/puppies. Follow her race at the following website: www.tagishlakekennel.com

•add a 15 minute sled dog ride experience on a wagon wheeled cart for $32 per person including tax.
•add on gold panning for $10 per person including tax.
•ask about various lunch options.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

i have 2 confirmed families - if anyone else would like to join we have room for up to 3 more people. Thanks

 

[LOLA2]

We will be in the family fish extender for one room. In the other room 2 adults. How do I list this on spreadsheet?

 

[Johnny Quest]

We will be in the family fish extender for one room. In the other room 2 adults. How do I list this on spreadsheet?

I'm assuming you mean you are hanging the fe on one cabin to include your entire party. If that is what you are doing you can list both cabins on the FE and note which one we need to deliver to.

 

[karaeric96]

Hello all! I'm finally jumping in here to say hello and let you all know we will be on this cruise! DH and I have been cruising for a lot of years with DCL(I think 14 so far), and we've been DVC members for 6 years now. This is our first member cruise and we are SO excited!

We cruised with DCL on the inaugural Alaska cruise, but we are really looking forward to going again so we can make new friends, see new things and experience the DVC fun!

I will be catching up on this thread for a while now, but wanted to jump on to say hello!

Cheers, Kara

 

[MMouse2]

Not sure what I did but I can't undo it so hello everyone!

 

[karaeric96]

Good morning all! I am all caught up and ready to dive in...now where is everyone??

Okay, so the Pan Pacific is showing as SOLD OUT on Travelocity for those of you who may still be pondering places to stay in Vancouver. I'm bummed, it looks like an amazing place. So we booked at Auberge Vancouver Hotel. Breakfast is included in the rate, it's still pretty close to the port, and it looks like a nice place with good reviews. Anyone planning any pre-cruise meets in Vancouver yet? We arrive Friday evening.

FE: We are totally in!! I have one of the "original" FEs...anyone from the inaugural Panama Canal trip in 2005? Lime green Mickey Fishtender baby! Anyway, I will add our cabin in on the FE list. Just me and my husband, so we would like to be in the adult only FE group.

Oh, and we are in Cabin 7026.

Cheers, Kara

 

[Mathmagicland]

Good morning all! I am all caught up and ready to dive in...now where is everyone??

Okay, so the Pan Pacific is showing as SOLD OUT on Travelocity for those of you who may still be pondering places to stay in Vancouver. I'm bummed, it looks like an amazing place. So we booked at Auberge Vancouver Hotel. Breakfast is included in the rate, it's still pretty close to the port, and it looks like a nice place with good reviews.


Cheers, Kara

You might want to check trivago.com - it is another site for finding hotel rooms & does show a couple of sites with rooms at the Pan Pacific for the 1-3 nights prior it the cruise. Good luck!

 

[karaeric96]

You might want to check trivago.com - it is another site for finding hotel rooms & does show a couple of sites with rooms at the Pan Pacific for the 1-3 nights prior it the cruise. Good luck!

Thanks! Interesting that most sites (Trivago included) link back to Amoma. I've never heard of that booking site, so I'm a little apprehensive about booking through them if Travelocity says the same holtel is sold out. Plus they only show twin or double beds available, and for those prices we like a king. It's okay, I'm happy with the Auberge as a back up. But of course I will continue to stalk for Pan Pacific ressies if I can get something closer to the deals folks were getting back in June/July.

Cheers, Kara

 

[poison ivy]

Hi Kara,

to our cruise meet!!
Glad to have you aboard.

It's our first trip to Alaska so having another veteran cruiser like yourself will be a big help!

I don't know where everybody is but hopefully they'll jump on and say hi.

Sorry to hear the Pan is sold out! Did you try them direct?
I don't know how far your hotel is from there, but our group is due to arrive at the Pan Pacific on Sunday. We haven't made any concrete plans for that day yet, but will keep you posted.

One thing we are planning is to catch the Wonder as she sails into Port. There's some pretty good vantage pts from the Pan Pacific. Maybe some others here will join us that morning! should be fun.

Other than that, we're getting ready to decide on airfare and finalize our flight plans. Southwest is due to open up their May/June schedule on Oct. 27th.
If we fly into Seattle, we'll have a few more arrangements to make.

And - JQ did reserve a whale watching charter in Juneau thru weather permitting. (Jay Kat are you listening???) I'll let him fill in the details.

That's it for now! We're off to San Diego tomorrow to visit two of our kids and take our 2 young grandchildren to Disneyland. can't wait!!