Dinner meltdowns in style...Wonder Alaska 2016-Day 4 Skagway

[franandaj]

Looks like a very busy morning and very kid centric! I thought the formal picture of you three came out good!

I also liked the one of you and Minnie! I didn't get the characters on Formal night, we were too busy trying to convince my parents to take formal shots. Those were really the only pictures they took. There was no way we were going to convince them to get in line for character shots.

 

[Malia78]

I thought the formal picture of you three came out good!

You're right--it's not like they were bad but we couldn't quite sync the smiling and her taking the photo. Plus I can't stand when the photogs insist on the "hand on hip" pose because my arms are too long and I just end up with chicken wings....yes, I know-very small annoyances in the greater scheme of things.

There was no way we were going to convince them to get in line for character shots.

Yeah, I don't even try anymore.

 

[Malia78]

Wednesday May 25—Tracy Arm ---Scratch that..It's Endicott Arm Day

As the post header indicates, plans for glacier viewing shifted. The ice was too thick along Tracy Arm for the ship to navigate so today we would sail through Endicott Arm for a different view of Sawyer Glacier. However before we bundled up to camp outside on the upper decks, it was Palo brunch time!

I made a brief detour to see Tinkerbell on the way. In order to be on time for Palo, I staked the first spot in line a good 30 minutes beforehand.

By the time the meet started, there was a long line of little girls stretching out behind me. I told Tink that I felt a little out of place seeing as I was the biggest fairy in the group. She told me not to worry, fairies come in all shapes and sizes—I also learned that since I was wearing purple, I must be a very fast fairy.

Onto to Palo....The dining party consisted of my mom, my sister and I.

Here are some food pics—apparently I slacked off a little bit as I’m missing shots of my strawberry soup and the grape gorgonzola pizza we shared.

Look at that cheese…Mickey would be proud

Alison--you might appreciate the very clear separation of food on my plate here. I'm very much like you in that regard.

We all enjoyed our food—I like to hit Palo early on in the cruise because as the days go on, my appetite tends to slooooooow down. Able to relax and enjoy the view too—couple pics through the windows from where we were sitting.

Now the scenic extravaganza begins…nature’s beauty speaks for itself so it’s a lot pics. Note though my one successful sighting of the local wildlife. I had to majorly zoom in on my camera so I’m not sure a lot of other folks saw them as we passed.

Started off a little foggy on the port side.

This is not the wildlife I was referencing….that’s still to come

To be continued next post...

 

[Malia78]

Endicott Arm...

Love ice....

FINALLY!

I outlasted the rest of our group and managed to stay outside until 4pm.

Dinner that night was in Parrot Cay—on the way in, caught up with Minnie in her glamourous Eskimo outfit.

This is the only meal where I made a mistake in ordering. For appetizers, nothing sounded great by the descriptions but I thought I could pick the avocado off the salmon tartare plate. Yeah…not so much a tartare fan. In hindsight I should have ordered the chicken app my sister got—she was kind enough to share. On the flip side, this was the best entrée I ate—our server told us this was the debut of the new Parrot Cay rotational menu. The sea bass was divine—I could have eaten it for dinner the rest of the week.

My dad’s sundae…just because it was so cute

The very last pic of the night I have to squeeze into its own post--photo limits...

 

[Malia78]

One last pic with Fisherman Mickey.

Some of us did attend Kyle Knight and Misti’s show before calling it a night. I always enjoy their shows--the speed of some of their tricks is amazing.

Next update we will finally be in port...

 

[anricat]

"for a different view of Sawyer Glacier"

Actually, it's the Dawes Glacier that you see in Endicott.

 

[Malia78]

it's the Dawes Glacier that you see in Endicott.

Hmmmm....CAPT Guss misinformed us.

 

[franandaj]

You got great PP shots! I was going to mention about the Arancini on your plate until you pointed out your plate. Even the first plate had pretty good space between the entrees!

You were on the first cruise right? I wonder how many of the icebergs you saw were still there on my cruise?

I'm not sure how I felt about the new Parrot Cay menu. I suppose after dry dock it will be gone anyways since Parrot Cay will be gone.

Sounds like you had a good day, free of meltdowns. Either that or you've just omitted it.

 

[MNtwinsplus1mom]

Thank you for writing this report! I'm really enjoying it as a future first-time cruiser planning on the first-of-the-year Alaska cruise in 2019 (I know - planning crazy far ahead, but it is fun to look forward to!). I've been interested in how the weather is that early and it looks okay so far. Yay! I love your fun photo pass pics & seeing the nice borders on them also. My twins are huge Chip 'n' Dale fans and their Alaska clothes (and everyone else's) look so fun. Beautiful photos of Alaska so far also.

Looking forward to reading more...

 

[dolphingirl47]

This looks like another very full, but enjoyable day. Palo brunch looked great. I was surprised to see a souffle as part of the brunch offerings. Endicott Arms looks nice, but what a shame that you had some fog. The seals were a great catch. You had a great character day that day.

Corinna

 

[Malia78]

You were on the first cruise right? I wonder how many of the icebergs you saw were still there on my cruise?

Yep first cruise...I did think there were less icebergs than 3 years ago but then this was also a new Arm so maybe this is representative of Endicott.

I suppose after dry dock it will be gone anyways since Parrot Cay will be gone.

Very true....I do hope the sea bass lives on somewhere though

good day, free of meltdowns

All I'll say is that the only people who actually lasted to eat dessert in the restaurant were my, my dad and BIL

first-of-the-year Alaska cruise in 2019

Never too early to dream...I think you'll like the time of year.

souffle as part of the brunch offerings

It was hidden at the edge of the to-order plates---very tasty.

seals were a great catch

I was so thrilled--they were like my secret wildlife photo op

 

[anricat]

Hmmmm....CAPT Guss misinformed us.

Maybe just a slip of the tongue. He was on autopilot.

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

Love the updates! Minnie and Mickey are so darn cute in their costumes!

 

[Malia78]

Thursday May 26—Skagway

After a low key breakfast at Parrot Cay, we got ready for our day's adventures in Skagway. Here are some pics right by the gangway. Looks a bit gray but the temps were comfortable and it never rained.

An interesting side note on the tide levels at Skagway—our guide told us the water levels shifts to a max of about 26 feet. They have to keep adjusting the gangways to accommodate the changing tides. We debarked on deck 4 and embarked on deck 3.

We did not book any Disney excursions on our port days—the only day we did a guided excursion was today in Skagway and the other days we just toured on our own. Today’s excursion was special because it was mom and I taking the girls out to a dog-sledding camp for some good ol’ golf cart style mushing. This was a really great day—we had such a good time with the girls. It’s amazing how angelic and cooperative they are when the parents are nowhere to be seen

I must give kudos to the tour company as well— Alaska Excursions and Kevin our guide. This was a different camp than the one Disney contracted with that I visited in 2012. I liked it a whole lot better—the location, the sled ride, the camp. The scenery driving to the location was stunning too—this is where the guide spotted the eagle on the side of the road and stopped for us to gawk through the windows. Overall, excellent time had by all.

On the shuttle…ready to go. One thing I learned about children is that they are always hungry. We’d been sitting on the van a whole 3 minutes before the first “Grandma, I’m hungry.” This pattern would continue throughout the day.

And we’re off…first through Skagway proper and then a lovely 45 minute scenic drive.

Original track

Heading into base camp to ride our vehicles up to the where the dogs were waiting...

We meet our musher, Brian, and the team, co-led by the striking white Cyborg, the only female member of the team. And then we are off on a wild ride...

 

[Malia78]

Taking a little mid-run breather and photo op...

Ending the run with a few pics taking by the Tour Co. photographers

Chance to mingle with our dog team before heading back down to base camp.

You can see the kennels through the trees here…

On our way back to camp, our guide stopped at an overlook for some scenic views.

Pilings from original pier…

Hi tour guide Kevin, courtesy of K

Back at camp there was a presentation on the Iditarod and then the moment everyone waits for…puppy holding time.

 

[Malia78]

These guys were just a few days old—momma made sure we did not get too close to the pen.

After released from us tourists, the puppies are back in their pen.

Now it’s time for us to get back to our ship…just one final stop on the way back for a little photo op. A was such a good little tourist—she insisted on getting off the bus for this stop.

Afternoon back on the ship—dad and I made our first trivia attempt. I appealed to his competitive spirit—who doesn't want a Mickey Winner medal? Well, we didn't take home the prize...this time.

Meanwhile, the girls were enjoying pool time. We all ended up watching the Mayfair Pole activity from different spots around the atrium. Much more comfortable to watch inside the atrium than the previews we saw on last year's WBPC cruise where this happened on the pool deck—conditions were appropriately freezing.

Since it was Frozen Night, I wanted to give a shout-out to one of the undervalued characters and donned my best Sven apparel. Hence Minnie and I giving our best reindeer pose.

Also saw Goofy...

Dinner was back in Triton's—I will tell you now that the children were in very particular high spirits this evening and again, only half of the original party managed dessert in the restaurant. However, before meltdown central, the roaming dining room photographer did take some photos.

Except for the funky piece of meat on the left side of the plate, I enjoyed my meal. I was able to pawn off the funky meat that shall not be eaten to my BIL.

Next up will be Juneau...will be melting like Olaf in summer for the next week as I brave WDW in July. Next update will likely be the next weekend.

 

[franandaj]

It looks like you were in the same berth that we were in on our cruise. Yeah, they had to change the entrance due to the tides, they rose quite a bit from when we got there. The tide was really low, but by the time we left it was pretty high.

Interesting about the dogsled adventure. Fran didn't want to sign up for anything where the dogs had to pull her, but I don't think it would have been a problem had we gone with a dog sled adventure. The vehicles seemed to move pretty easily, but as cat people, we wouldn't have been as lovey dovey with the dogs.

We went to Palo on Frozen night. Looks like we made a good choice, your meal looked interesting, and I'm not sure I would have "loved" the mystery meat.

 

[dolphingirl47]

What a shame that it was such a grey and gloomy day.

We debarked on deck 4 and embarked on deck 3.

We had it a bit more extreme on our cruise. We got off on deck 1 and came back on board on deck 4. When we got off, the gangway was at the steepest incline I have ever seen. I suppose the water level was really too high for deck 1, but not high enough to safely get off on deck 3.

Today’s excursion was special because it was mom and I taking the girls out to a dog-sledding camp for some good ol’ golf cart style mushing.

That sounds like an amazing excursion.

I must give kudos to the tour company as well— Alaska Excursions and Kevin our guide.

I have made a note of this information for future reference.

this is where the guide spotted the eagle on the side of the road and stopped for us to gawk through the windows.

That was an amazing bit of luck.

The dogs are beautiful.

Except for the funky piece of meat on the left side of the plate, I enjoyed my meal. I was able to pawn off the funky meat that shall not be eaten to my BIL.

You did well to pass the mystery meat off to your brother in law. I am very familiar with this from growing up in Germany and I have no wish to ever eat this again.

Corinna

 

[franandaj]

I'm glad you two pointed out about the tide and the different decks. This will allow me to better explain things when I get there in my TR.

 

[Malia78]

but as cat people, we wouldn't have been as lovey dovey with the dogs

I am a cat person through and through but in this case, after hauling us around, I don't mind offering a little scratch behind the ear and when it comes to puppies, baby animals are just cute and this little guy was so well behaved, he just dozed in my lap.

I am very familiar with this from growing up in Germany and I have no wish to ever eat this again.

This is good to know--I feel confident in my decision.