July 26, 2011 – 7 Night Alaska ~ Bears, Whales, Eagles and Ducks. Oh My!

[kwm]

I have tried to reach Shellie to get the details for her family, including the cabin number. She hasn't been on this board for a while, so I'm wondering if they are still coming with us. Other than that, this is updated with everything that's been posted:

ScreenName.........................Names.......... ...Cabin #...Adults...child......Ages...Girls/Boys........... Names............Restrictions
3PrincessMommy/BigAWL...Joann & Aaron.....6024/6026......2..........3......9, 7, & 4....3g.....Caitlin/Alexandra/Grace.....none
Brack...............................Brack & Annette.....2515..........2
" .....................................Brack & Jennifer.......6323........2
Kate2961...........................Kate & Randall ......7552..........2..........1... .....10.........1b...................Aidan...................none
Memowse9.......................Lori & Dennis..........7130..........2
Mikash.................................Shellie.... ................................
MrsMork........................Dennis & Angie..........6319..........2......... .1 ........11.........1b...................Aaron….... ...........none
Plutojudy...........................Fred &Judy............5122..........2
Kwm...................................Cindi & Dan.........7564...........2....... ..2.......7 & 9......1g/1b..............Kaili/William.......no princesses/loves Pooh & Cars
"....................................Grdma/Grdpa/Myk....7560...........3..........1. .......11.........1g.................Mikela. ...............no princesses/loves Stitch
Ariel 39...........................Teri & Jennifer.........5142...........2..........1...... ....9..........1g
"...................................Danny & Kathie.........5144...........2
"...................................Nishelle & Breanna....5146...........1......... .1.........15.........1g
"..................................Ron & Kristina............5148...........2

Sorry! Forgot to tell who was staying in each of the cabins. Kaili is in Cabin 7560 and Mikela is in 7564.

 

[3princessMommy]

This is REALLY good stuff!

Thanks! I hope it's helpful!

 

[kate2961]

They are not.[\QUOTE]

I was just wondering because I have extra FE gifts and I thought they may enjoy them. I don't expect or want anything in return. Could I just give you extra for them?

 

[lbgraves]

http://www.disboards.com/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=41734081

No life vests for the drill?

I know, Brack!!! How are we going to get those really cool photos with the life vests and Mickey hands? And what if I can't figure out where mine is or how to put it on if a real emergency happens!!!!

LOL! They did this on our 1/8/11 cruise and William heard the video on the TV say this. He got so upset that it was wrong info. He went out in the hall and told the room host that they were telling people not to wear them to the drill. LOL! They were better than the really stiff once DCL had in 2003 when we started cruising.

Angie, you can still take the pictures in the stateroom.

 

[kate2961]

Just sent you a PM.

Don't forget about the 3pm kids' DisMeet on Embarkation Day at the Mickey Pool!!!!!

Thank you for the reminder (and the update to the FE list).

Can't wait to meet everyone. And thanks to all for the great information about Hotwire, etc. It really made planning our trip so much easier.

Kate

 

[Jhalkias]

Thank you so much for posting this - great ideas. We are also on the late train to Seattle!

Our family is taking the Amtrak train from Vancouver to Seattle on the evening of August 2. We've been wondering what we could do during that day - given that we have 3 kids and 5 suitcases. I thought others might be in a similar situation, so figured I'd post what I've found here:

There is luggage storage at Canada Place:
http://www.prioritybaggage.ca/services-cruiseterminalbaggagestorageservice

It costs $6 per bag per day for your average suitcase size.

From Canada Place http://www.canadaplace.ca/ you have several options if you don’t want to do the “guided tour” thing:
- You can walk about 2 miles along the sea wall and visit Stanley Park http://vancouver.ca/parks/parks/stanley/ and the Vancouver Aquarium http://www.vanaqua.org/.
- If you are going to walk to Stanley Park, you can also visit the Klahowya Village http://www.aboriginalbc.com/klahowya-village for a visit into Aboriginal life, legends, and artistry. You can also take the #19 bus to get here or the aquarium.
- You can take the shuttle to the Capilano Suspension Bridge http://www.capbridge.com/index.php. The shuttles are free and start at 9am. They start returning at 10:45am.
- You can take a free shuttle to Grouse Mountain http://www.grousemountain.com/. You must purchase a general admission ticket ($39.95/adult) to ride the shuttle.

There are also several tour companies that operate out of Canada Place:
West Coast Sightseeing (aka GreyLine) offers a 4-hour Highlights of Vancouver Tour especially for Post (and Pre) Cruise travelers.
http://www.vancouversightseeing.com/vancouver-city-highlights-tour/
They will take you and your luggage and drop you at the Train Station following the tour.
The website says they also offer other tours, but I haven’t heard back from them to see if any would work Post-Cruise. For example the site suggests adding on the Aquarium Post-cruise, but not sure about the logistics on this one yet.

Landsea Tours & Adventures http://www.vancouvertours.com/tours also offers various city tours. They will pick-up at the Pan Pacific, which is across the street from Canada Place, and drop you at the Train Station. They tour they recommended for this was their 2-hour Vancouver Snap Shots tour, which departs the Pan Pacific at 11am. I have asked them if there are any other options, but haven’t heard back yet.

If you want to do your own private tour, you can book a private car through http://www.ridebooker.com/. They will pick you and your luggage up at the terminal and take you anywhere you want to go for $90/hour. You can choose from stretch limos to 10 pax vans to luxury sedans on this site.

I hope this is helpful to everyone!

 

[MrsMork]

They are not.[\QUOTE]

I was just wondering because I have extra FE gifts and I thought they may enjoy them. I don't expect or want anything in return. Could I just give you extra for them?

That would be so sweet!

LOL! They did this on our 1/8/11 cruise and William heard the video on the TV say this. He got so upset that it was wrong info. He went out in the hall and told the room host that they were telling people not to wear them to the drill. LOL! They were better than the really stiff once DCL had in 2003 when we started cruising.

Angie, you can still take the pictures in the stateroom.

Funny, Lisa. We are not THAT desperate to wear them.

 

[brackjr]

I never enjoy wearing the life vests...but...not sure it is a good idea not to be prepared "where and how" in case of emergency. Not everyone is an experienced cruiser.

While wearing the life jackets was cumbersome it was fun to take the photos! I will miss it.

One of my favorite DISGeek memories took place during the drill with the life jackets on.

 

[brackjr]

Funny, Lisa. We are not THAT desperate to wear them.

 

[bbaltes]

Hey you guys -

So, is there a formal night on the cruise? Or only semi-formal? The other DCL cruises I've been on have had a particular FORMAL night.. but not this one?

Ben

 

[3princessMommy]

There is a formal night - I believe it's the second sea day. Aaron has rented his tux so there will be at least one guy dressed up.

 

[bbaltes]

I didn't see it on the Navigators that were posted here, but it works out great if it's Wednesday night because we have Palo reservations that night.

Another question. I noticed on the Navigators that on Friday (Skagway), there is no live show - only a "special" showing of Pirates of the Caribbean. Do you think this will be true for our cruise? Or was this a special showing for the world wide premiere of the movie? If it is a one-time thing, will they show Twice Charmed or some other live show?

I just don't think "Pirates" (PG-13) would be a good idea for our 8 year old.

Thoughts?

Ben

 

[3princessMommy]

On the inaugural sailing in May, Friday was a special showing of Disney's "African Cats" movie in the Theater. So it doesn't look like that's going to be a live show. They've got: "The Golden Mickeys", "Toy Story the Musical", and "Disney Dreams" already. I don't think they'd do another live show on a 7-day sailing. But you never know...

We've also got our Palo reservations that night, but have decided that we don't want to miss the show, and we want to have formal night in Triton's. If we get that seating rotation, we'll probably switch our Palo reservation to another night when we board.

 

[bbaltes]

We have the late seating, but our Palo reservations are at 6:30. Our thought is that we go to Palo, then the show, then just head to Triton's for dessert with the family. We've done that before with success.

i also saw where there is only one show on the night we're in Ketchikan - I think it's 7:15. I think that's because of the late port departure?

Only 16 days, guys!

We're getting packed up! Our "cruise room" - otherwise known as the guest room - is starting to get packed up.

After further thoughts and discussions, I think we're going to splurge and get the $299 photo CD package. If that includes ALL the photos - the formal ones, princess, tables, Tracy Arm, etc., that could be quite the bonus. Plus, we get to make all the copies and edits that we want to. Anyone have any reason why we shouldn't? (Besides that $299 smackers is a lot of moo-lah.)

Ben

We've also got our Palo reservations that night, but have decided that we don't want to miss the show, and we want to have formal night in Triton's. If we get that seating rotation, we'll probably switch our Palo reservation to another night when we board.

 

[Jhalkias]

We may start doing some organizing this weekend. I think I am more excited to see some of our old friends again - especially the ones we have not seen for awhile. Alaska is just the icing on the cake.

 

[bbaltes]

Does anyone know if the $299 photo cd includes getting any prints they have at Shutterrs? Or are those still separate? Or do they not even put any up at Shutters for you to get if you have the $299 deal?

Ben

 

[3princessMommy]

Ben,

I've never gotten the CD. But what I've read on other boards is that the CD includes only the photos of those people in your cabin. So, for example:

You have two people in your cabin, but you're traveling with friends or family in another cabin (like us with five people split between two cabins). Every photo that DCL takes that includes at least on of the two people in your cabin will be on your CD even if they include other people. But they would not include photos that are taken of the rest of your party that are in the second cabin.

I'm not sure if the generic photos of characters at the various ports or scenery shots that DCL has for sale at Shutters are also included in the photo CD.

I think Brack or MrsMork has gotten this before though, so maybe they can help more....

 

[3princessMommy]

Oh, and I think you get a discount on the prints at Shutters if you want them, but you don't actually get the prints just because you bought the CD.

Is that right guys?

 

[bbaltes]

That was actually my question. I didn't state it that clearly. I wonder if they actually do ANY prints because you're buying the CD. I doubt that our family will buy any prints because we're buying the package.

For those of you that have purchased before, did you find yourself being more assertive than usual about commandeering the photographers to get photos? I can see ourselves taking a long time at the formal family portrait time because we will want pics with Lily alone, just us as a couple, Gramma and Lily alone, etc. Was this your experience?

Ben

Oh, and I think you get a discount on the prints at Shutters if you want them, but you don't actually get the prints just because you bought the CD.

Is that right guys?

 

[lbgraves]

Hey you guys -

So, is there a formal night on the cruise? Or only semi-formal? The other DCL cruises I've been on have had a particular FORMAL night.. but not this one?

Ben

Formal night is day 2, our first at sea day. Semi Formal is Ketchikan day, at least the majority of the time. A couple of cruises reported it being moved to the last night.

We may start doing some organizing this weekend. I think I am more excited to see some of our old friends again - especially the ones we have not seen for awhile. Alaska is just the icing on the cake.

That's how we are feeling too! We don't even have much of what we are going to do in the ports decided on. The reunion is all DD is talking about too.

Does anyone know if the $299 photo cd includes getting any prints they have at Shutterrs? Or are those still separate? Or do they not even put any up at Shutters for you to get if you have the $299 deal?

Ben

We have gotten the CD twice, last year at the old price of $399. You don't get any of the generic character photos on your CD and there are no borders. The pictures are not cropped so you could see the edges of the backdrops, but that is easy enough to fix. You do get 50% off whatever photo package you want to purchase, or individual shots.

For those of you that have purchased before, did you find yourself being more assertive than usual about commandeering the photographers to get photos? I can see ourselves taking a long time at the formal family portrait time because we will want pics with Lily alone, just us as a couple, Gramma and Lily alone, etc. Was this your experience?

Ben

It sure makes it easy to get a family photo when you are already dressed up for dinner. You can't really take a "long time" at the photos because there is a line. It wasn't as crowded in the atrium for the lifetouch pictures after the late showlate dinner, so if you want a lot of groupings, that might be the time to go, as there is only 45-60 minutes scheduled before each dinner seating and there will be a long line...especially on semiformal night. We did get a lot of the backgrounds done last time because we were getting the CD. We got into a routine so it went pretty quickly. The four of us, DH & me, the kids together, the kids seperately. On semiformal night we got the shots of the kids after late dinning because DS had been confined to the room for pink eye early that morning. I mentiond to the photographer that we would have DS take his pictures the next night and she said they don't have the backdrops set up the last night, then told her what had happened. She said to bring him down there for the last session. There was no one else around. The photographer was great and had him angle his head so that you can't tell.