Secrets, Tips and Tricks for Alaska Cruises

[seanieboy]

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[Imedley200]

Don't spend your entire trip behind a camera. Definitely put it down and just experience! The Ranger at the Sitka Totem Park had great advice, experience with all senses. Make sure you don't just see it all, take a moment to listen, touch, smell and taste all of Alaska.

 

[Linda67]

Don't spend your entire trip behind a camera. Definitely put it down and just experience! The Ranger at the Sitka Totem Park had great advice, experience with all senses. Make sure you don't just see it all, take a moment to listen, touch, smell and taste all of Alaska.

Wonderful advice!

 

[mjackson]

Few things I wanted to share from our recent trip:

If traveling from the east coast or several time zones it takes a few days to adjust to the time zone difference. My kids woke up very early for several days and were ready for bed early. We flew in the day before the cruise and I wished we would have flown in earlier to explore Vancouver first (we did it after the cruise). For the first several nights of the cruise we did not enjoy some of the evening events.

Look for the free 50mb on the first day only in the Navigator.

Check with your phone company about cell coverage in AK. My entire family had AT&T coverage in all three ports and sometime near shore while on the ship under our plan. Be sure to turn off roaming.

Don't be too scared of how cold it may be. We way overpacked for the cold. If your cold natured then you will be cold. My wife was cold as she is naturally cold natured. I am in the middle and was not near as cold as I thought I would be. Wore my gloves only on the Tracy Arm day. In Vancouver it was 65-70 and we wore short sleeve shirts and jeans or shorts. Got warm. While on the cruise jean with a light shirt and jacket.

It does rain so be prepared. Excursions might not be cancelled due to rain as you are in a rainforest and this is the norm. Disney will provide ponchos if raining however I suggest having using a jacket with a hood. Brought an umbrella and never used it. The weather can change quickly both good an bad.

Stay near Canada place as many of the hotels will deliver your luggage directly to ship. Saves time and makes check-in easier.

We also stayed at the airport Fairmont after the cruise and recommend. We had a 6am flight and the recommendation from the hotel is to check-in 4am or slight earlier. The baggage screening does not open until 4:30. There are about 4 to 6 flights leaving at the same time so if you run later the lines are much longer.

Take a day and recommend two for Vancouver. The Trolley tour is great. Also spend time in Stanley park as it is very beautiful and lots to do with kids. We rented bikes and had a blast. Also go see Capilano Suspension Bridge and Grouse Mountain. Free rides from Canada Place to both. Gastown was fun to walk around to shop and eat.

The Skytrain is easy to use and you can buy all day tickets at the 7-11 in the airport. Funny thing was the day we used the train all the ticket gates were open so everyone was riding for free. We did not know this ahead of time.

Cabs are also not a bad option but are limited to the number of people they can hold.

If you have a second dinner seating you can stay at your table during breakfast on the last day until time to disembark. The lounges, etc we packed with people waiting from the first seating. For us getting off the boat was pretty easy. We grabbed a porter to help with our bags and wheel them to the van we had setup.

Having a verandah made this trip extra special. Unlike Caribbean or Bahamas cruise where all you see is the sea, in Canada an AK there is always scenery. We spent a lot of time using it. The Starboard side was nice especially for Tracy Arm.

Dinner is more casual on the this cruise. We never did it but several people wore jeans and sometime even a t-shirt to dinner. Formal night was better but still some very casual dress attire.

The gym is packed in the mornings so be prepared.

The first time a movie is shown on your cruise (especially on sea days) be prepared for a packed house. We showed up a about 5 minutes before Captain America and had to sit in the front row. Later we saw the 3rd showing of Maleficent, showed up 20 minutes early and the theater was have packed. People tend to see more movies on this cruise than a Caribbean cruise.

Tours we did booked via Disney. Next time I would book myself.
Skagway White Pass train and gold rush: the train ride was great however I was very underwhelmed once we got to the top and the end. The gold panning was fun for the kids but lasted too long.
Juneau: Whale watching and Mendenhall glacier: The whale watching was incredible and very nice triple story boat with both inside and outside. The Glacier was beautiful however we were not there that long. Wished we had more time to explore the trails.
Ketchikan: Bear Creek Ziplining: FUN, FUN, FUN. My wife was very nervous about this and enjoyed it. The kids had a blast. The guides are funny and very good.

We wished we had done a dog mushing tour however I thought it was too expensive. Some people booked it once they got off the boat and I recall it was more economical. They said it was amazing taking you up to the top of the glacier and then working with the dogs.

Hope this helps.

 

[brookmey]

Thanks for all the tips and advice! We're on the August 4th sailing and can't wait.

For those who have cruised this season, what are your thoughts on the evening shows? Any that you recommend to see or avoid?

 

[LisaRN97]

Lots of great advice! Taking notes for our cruise this August!

 

[MrsScooby]

Take a day and recommend two for Vancouver. The Trolley tour is great. Also spend time in Stanley park as it is very beautiful and lots to do with kids. We rented bikes and had a blast. Also go see Capilano Suspension Bridge and Grouse Mountain. Free rides from Canada Place to both. Gastown was fun to walk around to shop and eat.

Interested in the free rides to Capilano Suspension Bridge and Grouse Mountain from Canada Place....where in Canada Place did you get these and what was the name of the transport???

Thanks for all the info

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Interested in the free rides to Capilano Suspension Bridge and Grouse Mountain from Canada Place....where in Canada Place did you get these and what was the name of the transport???

Thanks for all the info

Directly outside the Pan Paficic you can't miss it.

In the pavement / sidewalk between the Pan and the road, there is a type of booth there, it had a sign for fly over Canada there, that's what to aim for.

 

[MrsScooby]

Directly outside the Pan Paficic you can't miss it.

In the pavement / sidewalk between the Pan and the road, there is a type of booth there, it had a sign for fly over Canada there, that's what to aim for.

Thanks

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Thanks

Enjoy it, it's a awesome cruise to Alaska, we did Callipino and Grouse on a tour, both well worth it.

 

[Debbie]

Enjoy it, it's a awesome cruise to Alaska, we did Callipino and Grouse on a tour, both well worth it.

That's what I am debating: Tour or bus it over and wander?

 

[canadiandisneycruise]

Is there a way we could book soarin over canada the morning before we board? And, if we do that, where can we store our luggage? We are staying further away to accommodate our larger family!

 

[disneyfaninaz]

That's what I am debating: Tour or bus it over and wander?

We did both on our own. We bought our tickets outside Canada Place. We took the free Capilano shuttle to the bridge. We then took the city bus to Grouse Mountain from Capilano (bus stops right across the street). We took the free shuttle from Grouse Mountain back to Canada Place. It took 5-6 hours to see both sights.

 

[canadiandisneycruise]

We did both on our own. We bought our tickets outside Canada Place. We took the free Capilano shuttle to the bridge. We then took the city bus to Grouse Mountain from Capilano (bus stops right across the street). We took the free shuttle from Grouse Mountain back to Canada Place. It took 5-6 hours to see both sights.

What did you see and do there?

 

[shanhop]

Cruised 6/9-16/14

OK, how mad am I that I did not see the free 50 MB offer?!?!? I just checked and it was there.

"Secret" Deck 7 was not so secret and had people staked out by 10:30am on Tracy Arm day.

There is no ship board announcement or indication in the Navigator about the bread bowl soup on Deck 10 Forward, or the BBQ in the buffet. You either accidentally find them or go without (we only discovered one of the two).

June was too windy and chilly to spend much time out on deck. We enjoyed Outlook Cafe a lot for our nature watching. We were on Deck 2 with out a veranda, but I couldn't imagine having to bundle up to be out on the verandah.

The Capilano bus picks up at multiple hotels, but the Grouse Mountain bus only picks up at Canada Place. The Grouse Mountain Bus stops at Capilano on the way back down. If I'd had that information I would have gone to Grouse first (rather than what we did).

 

[disneyfaninaz]

What did you see and do there?

I haven't quite gotten to that day in my trip report yet.

The Capilano suspension bridge was in a very pretty area. There were tree top bridges and stands and a nature trail. There was also a cliff walk with walkways literally hanging off the cliffs to view below. There was a restaurant and shop as well.

On Grouse Mountain they have a chair lift you can ride, a giant windmill you can go into, a raptor show, a lumberjack show and grizzly bear habitat. We especially enjoyed watching the bears. They also have restaurants. Basically it is a ski resort in the winter turned tourist area in the summer.

Both were nice to visit. You wouldn't be able to spend an entire day at either place, but both in one day is nice. However, I would recommend doing Grouse Mountain in the afternoon as all of the shows and ranger talks are after 12:00. We did Capilano first and then took the city bus up to Grouse and then took the free Grouse shuttle back to Canada Place.

 

[Debbie]

For the city bus, do you buy tickets somewhere? Cash? Cost?

 

[disneyfaninaz]

For the city bus, do you buy tickets somewhere? Cash? Cost?

We had Canadian money to use up and just used cash. You do need exact change. It was $2.75 CAD for each.

 

[KnightRail]

Excursions I did: not to be missed:
*White Pass & Yukon Rail in Skagway (I'm a railroad nerd so I was thrilled)
*Classic Misty Fjords Flightseeing in Ketchikan (I was hesitant...but OMG! Seeing Orca from the plane was amazing! And it was so smooth! The second I got off I wanted to go back on!)

--excursion that can be missed:
*Glacier Sea Kayaking in Juneau...it was umm ... Interesting...hard as all to get in the stupid thing, it was foggy and rainy the day I did it and they provided rain gear but I still got soaked. Only up-side to that was we had a curious seal who followed our group.

 

[myosotisd]

Which side of the boat has the best view for Tracy Arm looking ?