June 14, 2011 - Father's Day on the Wonder in ALASKA!

[lsutigger2]

Okie dokie folks - tomorrow makes 7 weeks til we set sail - I think that calls for some serious dancing:



One night last week i had a real nightmare - I had not done the online check in and they wouldn't let us on the ship

so, guess what I just finished doing: online check in
(I can take a hint!!)

I was wondering how DCL would know which airline we are on and when to pick us up at the airport, and there it was on the check in information

Now, I just need to work on my fe prizes!!

Take care all -

 

[DVC Mary]

Disney visa is doing triple points until July 15th on gas and food. You must call and register to be eligible. You have to spend over 700 to qualify.

Thanks! I'll call right away. Spending $700 on gas & food is not a problem w/ gas prices hovering around $4.25 a gallon near our house. I fill up near work where it's .10 - .25 cents cheaper. UGH!

 

[DVC Mary]

Can you give me info on the extenders? We have seen them but have no idea where to get them or how to make them?

We bought ours online from the lady who will custom make it: number of pockets, what you want it to say, mickey head themes, etc. Send me a PM w/ you email & I'll send you the link.

My new one just came the other day & it's very sturdy. Liam has Mickey w/ a lumberjack hat, Patrick has a camo hat, Scott has sorcerer Mickey b/c that's always been a favorite, & I picked pink pirate hat w/ a crown. I figure I have the right to crown myself for living w/ 3 guys & planning all our trips.

 

[SteffyLou]

We've got ROOMS!!! AND we both got pixie dusted!!!

I'm going to send the PM now so the updated information can be sent out.

SOOOO excited!

 

[Weedy]

I did a little research today. Here are some places for free wifi while in the ports. I called the Vistor's Bureau in each port, their phone numbers are listed also.

Visitor’s Bureau
Skagway – 907-983-2854
Juneau – 888-581-2201
Ketchikan -800-770- 3300

Wifi Spots - Free

Ketchikan
Good Coffee Company401 Mission Street
With purchase will give you wifi address
Ketchikan, AK 99901
(907) 225-5250

First City Saloon
830 Water St
Ketchikan, AK 99901
(907) 225-1494


juneau

Juneau Public Library
Opens 11 am
292 Marine Way
Juneau, AK 99801
907-586-5249

Heritage Coffee Co
625 West 7th Street
Juneau, AK 99801-1803
(907) 586-1088

Copy Express
230 Seward Street
Juneau, AK 99801-1236
(907) 586-2174


Skagway
Port of Call (small charge)
There is a place in the dock area- you will see the crew members there.

 

[Weedy]

Here is a good link for Skagway. It list the temperature, it's 40 degrees today!! Burrr that's cold for a Florida girl.

http://skagway.com/

 

[mmmears]

Just got home from a long trip (one month) and now I can start to really plan for our Alaska cruise! Even though our trip was a non-Disney one, we found we couldn't wait for the cruise and slipped in some Disney touches (spent an afternoon at DL Paris and saw the Lion King show in London). I found myself wondering about packing for the cruise the whole time we were traveling.

Have seen these, but no idea how to get them. Can someone tell me?

The ones people buy are really nice. For our first cruise, I just bought a canvas tote bag, got some nice cruise graphics here on the DIS, printed it out on iron-on fabric, and ironed it onto the tote bag. Really simple, easy, and cost-effective. I'll either find a new graphic and put it on the reverse side for this cruise, or you'll all be seeing our "Bahamas-centric" graphic when you visit our cabin.

Seriously!? We have the only 2 rooms unassigned?! That is beyond annoying. It is still saying out cruise is sold out btw. It has said that for about 3 days now.

Wow -- the cruise is really sold out! Last time I checked there was still plenty of room.

Anyone starting to worry about packing? I am so confused on pants/shorts/capris/dressed. I need to fit everything into 1 suitcase because there is no way I'm spending $120 on bags roundtrip. I honestly would have thought flying into Canada would give us 1 free bag, since it is "international."

I'm thinking about this ALL THE TIME! We usually just take one carry-on each, so this one will be a challenge.

I sailed with my mother on the same itinerary in August, 2006 on Holland America. I can't remember which city had which temperature range...but one (I think it was Skagway) had a high in the 50's with lows in the lower 40's. The southernmost (Ketchikan) had high's almost hit 70, with lows in the lower 50's.

They say the Pacific Ocean jet stream hits the continent, and then curls both north and south...which means that temps in Ketchikan often mirror those in San Francisco.

Dunno how much that helps...but we've been told to "dress in layers"...which is what I'm going to do. A jacket, a fleece pullover, and a shirt for those colder stops...and I can adjust as needed.

Finally, I'm with you. I have no qualms about spending $10 and a couple of hours in the Wonder's laundry room, if it means saving another $60 on bags.

--Drew

Drew -- we'll be meeting up with you in the laundry room.

Layers are really important. My DM has done similar itineraries on Princess in early to mid-June. On one trip she says it was hot in port, the other one we can see people are layered. At least if you have a rain shell separate from your warm layers you can mix and match depending on what the weather is like. Temps can change really quickly, so I don't know how much help the earlier cruisers will be for us. I just hate how much room all those layers take up in my suitcase, though. And it's the shoes (hiking ones) that are really worrying me...

 

[SouthernBabies]

Hey all. Can not wait until June to arrive. We are vising our family in Washington state and Disney cruise to Alaska. I have heard about the fish extenders but am not sure exactly what they are or for. But I hear it is something we want to do. So tell me what I need to do for this.

This is our girls only trip it will be myself, mother in law and my 2 girls. We are so looking forward to this trip and counting down the days.

See yall in June.
Jennifer (from Mobile, AL)

 

[SouthernBabies]

Hi. This is our first cruise ever and we have heard about the fish extenders but not sure what they are for or what to do with them. but we have one , ha ha. so i guess we just hang this on the fish outside of our state room? we are on the 8th deck. family state room. i can look up the details my MIL emailed me.

I am travelling with my MIL (Nancy) and my 2 girls (ages 6 and 7) so there are 4 of us.
We can not wait to board the ship. It's gonna be the best vacation ever.
JEnnifer

 

[SouthernBabies]

Hey ya'll !! from Sunny and Hot Mobile, AL.

This is our first cruise ever. We are so totally excited and can not wait to set sail upon the Disney Wonder. I am travelling with my Mother in law and my 2 girls (ages 6 and 7).

Looking for Fish Extender info, what to pack, what to do, and all that jazz.

Look forward to seeing ya all on board.
Jenn

 

[nzdisneymom]

Hi everyone - sure wish I could get here more often, especially as the trip is coming up quick.

We got our flights - leave ATL at 6:35 am and arrive in Vancouver at 11:20 a.m. so we'll have half a day Saturday to explore if we're not wiped out! Coming home, we leave at 12:15 the day we get off the ship and get back to ATL at midnight. We usually stay with my brother when we fly in and out of ATL but with these brutally early and late times, we're getting a room at a nearby hotel to the airport.

We also found out that our "ground transportation" didn't include getting our bags from the hotel we booked through DCL to the port because we're at the hotel that's right there - DCL told our TA that it would be $8 per person if we wanted our bags transferred. She was on the phone with them for quite a while because when you book air and hotel with them, that typically includes ground transportation (complimentary). And since ours did include ground transportation, she was able to get them to go ahead and include it without the extra charge. That would've been a bit more of a surprise for me to deal with than I would've wanted to in Vancouver. I figure we're already paying more for the convenience of doing everything through DCL that at least they can take care of everything!!

Anyway, it's all good and we have it scheduled so hopefully no surprises when we arrive.

As for packing, we always pack with an eye toward doing laundry at least twice. In fact, we take two pop-up hampers - one for light colors and one for dark colors - and when a hamper is full, someone takes it to the laundry room. It's nice now they have the swipe your KTTW card instead of needing change. And we use the Purex 3-in-1 sheets so that's easier, too. We are packing mostly jeans, t-shirts / pull-over collared shirts, and light jackets. A nice pair of pants or two for evening wear. We don't "do" formal night and plan to dine at the (oh, it's called Topsiders on the Magic - same place on the Wonder) for "formal night". Like others, we have over-packed too many times on previous cruises so we're getting it figured out. I will pack swimwear for the boys but not for me or DH as we don't even bother with the hot tub.

Six weeks!!!!

 

[SteffyLou]

We got our cruise documents yesterday! That means its coming up REAL soon!!!

Also went to Kohls yesterday. Was able to find DH water resistance shoes and a water repellent jacket on clearance for under $50 total. I thought this was a pretty great deal. Now I just need to find me the same!

 

[mmmears]

We got our cruise documents yesterday! That means its coming up REAL soon!!!

Wonderful! Now I'll have to wait for mine to arrive... On our last cruise people on the meet thread were getting their docs waaaay before I got mine, so mine will probably come in a few weeks...

 

[Weedy]

I found this on the Cruise Critic site:

To get an idea of the temperatures you'll encounter in various ports, go to the Trip Planner section of Weather Underground.

(http://www.wunderground.com/tripplanner/index.asp)

For each port, search on the name and a small range of days around the actual day you'll be in the port. I usually search two days before and two days after the actual date. You'll get a screen showing historical averages as well as detailed meteorological data for those dates for the last 15 years. Obviously, what happened in the past is no guarantee of weather conditions this year but it should give you a pretty good idea of what you might encounter weather wise. Hope this helps.

 

[nzdisneymom]

We are document-dancing here, too - they arrived by USPS today! That just seems earlier to me than previous cruises, but hey, I'm glad to have them! We also got an info thing from Vancouver tourism so now we can go through that and figure out what we want to do in Vancouver. Gotta read the Vancouver thread, too. And finish up Fish Extender items. And read the temperature guide for Alaska. And figure out if everyone has enough of the right weight clothes that still fit!

 

[go time hawaii]

oh my heavens, i'm starting to stress out.. it's coming up waaaayyyyy too fast! end of the year school stuff going on with the kids... finals, parties, planning..may day.. awards day.... breath... dance... freak again thanks for all the info and tips! makes a HUGE difference! can't wait to meet everyone.. in the laundry room

 

[lsutiggeratwk]

We got our documents yesterday also - guess this is really going to happen

i've already read the book twice! I'm really glad I had my nightmare a couple of weeks ago and was motivated to do the online check-in stuff I think it is really cool to have all the info in one place.

Yesterday, our weather in good ol' Louisiana was what I suspect it will be in Alaska - overcast and about 50-55 degrees - we haven't had weather like this in several months. But it did give me an idea of what to bring.

Anyone else reading the blog about the first cruise to Alaska? makes me all the more excited. and i have much to do before we leave

 

[Weedy]

We got our cruise docs today!!

 

[mmmears]

After reading some things on another Alaska thread, I went to REI yesterday to look at binoculars. People are recommending having them for viewing the wildlife while on (and off) the ship.

While there I spoke to 2 men about mosquito repellant -- apparently the mosquitoes in Alaska are big and scary! I guess I'll need to use something for them (usually I hate to use chemicals on my skin). Anyone else read or hear about this and have any advice?

Anyone else reading the blog about the first cruise to Alaska? makes me all the more excited. and i have much to do before we leave

I'm avidly reading both of the blogs (Eric & Jason's and the Allears one) that were posted about on the Alaska thread -- can't wait to hear all about the cruise. Is there another one out there???

We got our cruise docs today!!

Yay!!! I hear ours are in the mail. Guess I have to wait a day or two more, but I'm happy just knowing that they went out.

 

[wendy151950]

While there I spoke to 2 men about mosquito repellant -- apparently the mosquitoes in Alaska are big and scary! I guess I'll need to use something for them (usually I hate to use chemicals on my skin). Anyone else read or hear about this and have any advice?

I'm avidly reading both of the blogs (Eric & Jason's and the Allears one) that were posted about on the Alaska thread -- can't wait to hear all about the cruise. Is there another one out there???

We are definitely bringing bug spray - have heard the same thing about mosquitoes and it is mid-June so I'm sure they'll be out. Will it be like Minnesota where they call them the state bird?

If someone has the address for Eric and Jason's blog, would like to have it. I have looked at Allears too and see the first one from today. This is exciting!