°o° °o° °o° 9/11/09 DCL Announcement Discussion Thread °o° °o° °o°

[pillow]

We took a float plane to a remote island from Ketchikan and watched the bear feeding in the salmon stream.

Which island? Was it Brooks Lodge?

Jodie

 

[dato63]

Actually, my TA said that they can and will be booking those of us with gold and platinum on the 21st. However, from the email I just received a little while ago, it looks like we will not know the pricing until the 21st. The request forms they sent me to fill out are to get us in line for them to book us when the reservations open on the 21st (at 8 a.m. BTW).

It makes sense the TA would get the information on the 21st, if they are to book clients. I'll have to find out if the TA I'm working with is booking anyone on the 21st I guess. Like most of you, I want to see what the different categories are going for. I'd also like to know (since we have a WDW vacation in 2 months) if the 50% deposit offer will be valid for the 2011 bookings.

 

[shoes99]

this was the highlight of our Alaska Inside Passage Cruise:
Visit by helicopter to the dogsled camp.

 

[kaseyC]

this was the highlight of our Alaska Inside Passage Cruise:
Visit by helicopter to the dogsled camp.

DH and I did that exact Flightseeing/dogsledding excursion in 2004 on our Alaska cruise. Our picture is also very similar. That excursion was the highlight of our trip as well. I'm looking forward to doing something similar with my girls in 2011.

 

[gydell]

this was the highlight of our Alaska Inside Passage Cruise:
Visit by helicopter to the dogsled camp.

Which ship were you on?

 

[Inkmahm]

Which island? Was it Brooks Lodge?

Jodie

No lodge there. NOTHING there at all other than a cabin for the rangers who protect you from the bears and a bear viewing stand. We took a private tour on a float plane to get to Traiter's Cove.

 

[Inkmahm]

That is how it was on 1/31/07 for the 2008 PC repo and MR cruises and last October for the Med, Baltic & TA cruises. They will have the prices on the 21st but they won't be posted on their website until at or just before 8 am ET on 9/28.

There will be a thread on the board for people to post what they were able to book and at what price on the 21st. We have done this the past few opening booking days. Hopefully the prices won't go up as quickly as they did on the PC repos on 1/31/07.

But those were individual cruises. This time it will be 18 different cruises that they want to book at once! And normally for Alaska cruises, the early cruises in May and late cruises at the end of August/early Sept are cheaper than high season cruises in June and July. I'd be surprised if there weren't different prices for each of the cruises from DCL, too.

That's a lot of info to post at the moment people are able to book.

 

[Inkmahm]

Which ship were you on?

Pretty much all of the cruise lines offer the helicopter/dog sled excursion. Most are out of Juneau, some out of Skagway. The problem in Juneau is that this is the single most canceled excursion due to weather. We were to do it in 2008 and our excursion was canceled due to low visibility for the helicopters.

I think what many people may not realize about Alaska is the weather in summer is NOT your normal summer at home. It can be very very cold or very very hot (rare). When we were bear watching at the end of August, I had on a Tshirt, sweatshirt. fleece jacket and a rain proof jacket on top of that. I live in WI and I'm used to winter weather, but I was just barely warm enough in all those layers.

My jeans were all waterproofed before we left home because there can be heavy rain in Alaska, especially in the ports. Excursions go on, rain or shine. Packing for a trip to Alaska takes LOTS of suitcase space as you need to take so many clothes with you for warmth. Viewing glaciers is a COLD activity. You need to be bundled up and all those clothes take up space. Of all our trips, packing for Alaska is always my least favorite because it is so difficult to cover all the bases. I've even taken shorts with me but I've never needed them yet.

 

[shoes99]

Which ship were you on?

We were on the Diamond Princess. The weather could be a big factor in getting off the ground. We booked the 2:30PM flight, and all the AM flights were cancelled due to fog. We were the only group that got to go up in the helicopter. We sailed in May.
We had 90 degree temps in Skagway and Ketchikan...,but it was freezing up at the dogsled camp.

 

[Inkmahm]

We were on the Diamond Princess. The weather could be a big factor in getting off the ground. We booked the 2:30PM flight, and all the AM flights were cancelled due to fog. We were the only group that got to go up in the helicopter. We sailed in May.
We had 90 degree temps in Skagway and Ketchikan...,but it was freezing up at the dogsled camp.

We were on the Diamond Princess last year, too! Beautiful ship. We were able to do the whale watching in the morning and were supposed to do the dog sledding at 1:30, I think. They were all canceled for the entire day in August on our trip.

 

[kaseyC]

We were on the Diamond Princess last year, too! Beautiful ship. We were able to do the whale watching in the morning and were supposed to do the dog sledding at 1:30, I think. They were all canceled for the entire day in August on our trip.

We were on the Diamond Princess too in 2004. What a beautiful ship. We did the Whale watching in Juneau in the morning and our dog sledding flight was canceled for the afternoon. We then rescheduled it with Temsco for our Skagway day through the cruiseline.

 

[shoes99]

this was the highlight of our Alaska Inside Passage Cruise:
Visit by helicopter to the dogsled camp.

I think this was Skagway also, its the port with the railroad station...

 

[Caitsmama]

Man.. seeing all that snow and seeing you all bundled up, makes me sure that i don't want any part of that!! LOL I am sure if you are a snow person, it's ok.. but give me a palm tree anyday... LOL

 

[gydell]

Thanks! I'll have to look at the Princess line if DCL doesn't work out.

 

[gometros]

Okay maybe I'm having a serious brain fart, but we are talking the unveiling of the Dream on 10/29/2010, correct? They seriously can't unveil it in 6 weeks.

It's been a long week.

The unveiling of Disney Dream,
October 29, 2009.

This was from the castaway newsletter. It is 2009 NOT 2010! i believe it said it would be a video we can all watch.

It obviously can't be the ship that soon, so it must be a promo for the ship with perhaps architectural drawings and photos/updates from the shipyards. Maybe the announcement will be made on GMA? For that, I'll have to get into the city early that day and try to get into the GMA studios before work

Am I missing something or does someone know what the Wonder is doing from September 6th, 2011, when it finishes the last Alaska Cruise
and September 20th, 2011, when it leaves Vancouver for a 5-night cruise to LA.

There is a 2-week gap. Will it just stay parked in Vancouver?

I asked this earlier and haven't seen a response, so I assume nobody knows for sure, but I wouldn't mind if anyone hazarded a guess.

 

[jilljill]

It obviously can't be the ship that soon, so it must be a promo for the ship with perhaps architectural drawings and photos/updates from the shipyards. Maybe the announcement will be made on GMA? For that, I'll have to get into the city early that day and try to get into the GMA studios before work



I asked this earlier and haven't seen a response, so I assume nobody knows for sure, but I wouldn't mind if anyone hazarded a guess.

The announcement will be made at 4:15pm so it won't be on GMA that morning.


The idea is being kicked around that the Wonder will be in drydock those 2 weeks before returning to CA. Makes sense since it goes into drydock this year.

 

[gometros]

The announcement will be made at 4:15pm so it won't be on GMA that morning.

Must learn to read. I did see that. So, maybe they'll do it during Oprah

The idea is being kicked around that the Wonder will be in drydock those 2 weeks before returning to CA. Makes sense since it goes into drydock this year.

I just saw this press release about the Wonder dry dock. It may have already been posted, I haven't yet read through all the pages:

To prepare for the Alaska sailings, a brand-new venue called Outlook Café will be added to the Disney Wonder during dry dock in October. Located high atop Deck 10, the 2,500-square-foot Outlook Café is a stylish retreat for guests to relax and enjoy a beverage or cocktail as they peer out through floor-to-ceiling, curved glass windows at breathtaking vistas. The design of Outlook Café is sophisticated with contemporary, Art Deco inspiration. An elegant spiral staircase connects Outlook Café with the existing Cove Café one deck below. The 65-seat lounge has a granite-topped cocktail bar with comfortable seating throughout the space, all providing picture-perfect views of the surrounding landscapes.

 

[kaseyC]

I think this was Skagway also, its the port with the railroad station...

Yes, that's right. We did the White Pass railway in the morning and the dogsledding/flightseeing in the afternoon. .

 

[Bob Price]

Must learn to read. I did see that. So, maybe they'll do it during Oprah :

And watch more TV. Oprah is also on in the morning and she is in Chicago. 2 more strikes. You’re outta here.

 

[disneydreamerbelle]

Oprah is syndicated and is on at various times. She is on at 4:00 where I live.