2015 DVC Alaska Member Cruise 5/25-5/31/15

[Johnny Quest]

Autumnl78,

Are you planning to start a roll call on the front page? If not I could get one going.

 

[poison ivy]

My big question: I want to get insurance (paid all cash, so Disney insurance not an option) but I don't want to pay for it until we get past the no-penalty cancellation period. But then I'm afraid it won't cover pre-existing conditions. I'll do some research and report back, but if anybody has some helpful hints on that, they'd be gratefully accepted.

We've purchased Travelex. I believe it was the TraveLite policy. (there are several options to choose from)
This was for a Caribbean cruise. So you have to check whether they cover cruises to Alaska.
They offer a preexisting waiver but only if you buy the ins. within 21 days of your initial cruise deposit.

 

[poison ivy]

I was thinking of late dining, in case we have a long day of excursions. But when I asked for that, he said we'd then be in the early show seating, and I definitely don't want to miss the shows! So now I'm not sure.

We had late dining last time, and that worked for us.

We currently have early dining because I was concerned with the time difference for the first few days being from the East Coast.
8:15 pm West Coast is really 11:15 pm East Coast for us.

I know there are several time zones we go thru but I haven't researched whether they turn back an hour or add one.

Early dining has its' disadvantages:

Rushed to return from the ports
Rushed to get to dinner as we sail out of the harbor
Missed sunsets
Too full to eat that early after enjoying some local meals while visiting the ports.

and its' advantages:

More relaxed at night.
late show times.
More time to enjoy some evening entertainment.
Dining times correlate better with an East Coast internal clock.

So I'm on fence with switching.
Have to take a closer look at the times the ship is in port.

Hoping to view some navigators from the recent 9 nt sail to answer my questions about sunsets and various port arrival/departure times.

I might have a connection for a Fairmont deal, our Disney Son used to work for them at the Plaza. I will check if he has any Vancouver connections left, I see there are two of them, but not thrilled with some online reviews of value for the price....will investigate.

Hoping to use airline points, so that will probably influence who we fly. And I guess we need to decide how many days ahead we will get there. Vancouver appears to have lots to do.

Looking forward to all of this!

Great! Keep us posted. I will let you know what I learn from the Pan Pacific.

 

[poison ivy]

ok looks like I answered one of my questions.

Sunsets are late!! Not early.

So early diners will get the benefit of enjoying them. Who knew??

check out this link from the Wonder June 2, 2014 - 7 nt cruise.

http://disneycruiselineblog.com/201...night-alaskan-cruise-itinerary-june-2-8-2014/

Based on this, I'm keeping the early dining.

 

[Daffydee]

Count us in for Alaska . It will be my husband and myself. So excited!! It has been a few years since we cruised with Disney so at the risk of sounding stupid, I'm not sure what the FE extender is. Could someone explain. Thanks.

Dee

 

[scruffiee24]

Welcome! For us in Alabama, we get out of school May 22, so it works for us. We always go back early August, so the late August Bahamas cruises have always conflicted with school.

For us, neither of them work

 

[tidefan]

Count us in for Alaska . It will be my husband and myself. So excited!! It has been a few years since we cruised with Disney so at the risk of sounding stupid, I'm not sure what the FE extender is. Could someone explain. Thanks. Dee

Fish Extender. Here is ours:

Basically, it's a gift exchange, but people get very creative with it...

 

[autumnl78]

Autumnl78,

Are you planning to start a roll call on the front page? If not I could get one going.

Yes. when I have more than 2 pms

 

[Jay Kat]

Being new, I don't have enough posts to PM, but want to be in the FE group.

 

[nrexxma44]

Just secured a 1 bedroom Cat T
This is our second Disney cruise, and 1st Member cruise.
So looking forward to this cruise!!! Alaska is on my bucket list.
I would like to do FE, especially if it was an Adult one.
I am looking forward to planning with all of you....
Would love to hear from those who have done Member only before to tell me what it is like...
Is it May yet??

Nancy

 

[nrexxma44]

Just secured a 1 bedroom Cat T
This is our second Disney cruise, and 1st Member cruise.
So looking forward to this cruise!!! Alaska is on my bucket list.
I would like to do FE, especially if it was an Adult one.
I am looking forward to planning with all of you....
Would love to hear from those who have done Member only before to tell me what it is like...
Is it May yet??

Nancy

 

[poison ivy]

Just secured a 1 bedroom Cat T
This is our second Disney cruise, and 1st Member cruise.
So looking forward to this cruise!!! Alaska is on my bucket list.
I would like to do FE, especially if it was an Adult one.
I am looking forward to planning with all of you....
Would love to hear from those who have done Member only before to tell me what it is like...
Is it May yet??

Nancy

Super Jealous you scored a CAT T!!! We had one for the dream members cruise in Sept 2013 and were so spoiled we really hated to have to pass on it this time.

We've only done the 1 Member's cruise last year, but we loved it. It was less crowded with more adults. We received in room gifts every night. There were special guests who hosted various events throughout the ship, and some sneak previews introduced by live guest panels held in the Buena vista Theatre.

There was an exclusive night on Broadway show performed by a host of Disney Broadway stars in the Walt Disney theatre.

I'll post the navigators, and gift photos from that cruise so everyone can take a look.

The difference here is we have the first 7nt. sail for a members cruise. I can't wait to see what's in store. JQ thinks the entertainment could be an even bigger draw from the West Coast.

Being new, I don't have enough posts to PM, but want to be in the FE group.

Jay Kat, you only need 10 posts to send a Private Message. You have 3. Just post 7 more times here and you're good to go.

Count us in for Alaska . It will be my husband and myself. So excited!! It has been a few years since we cruised with Disney so at the risk of sounding stupid, I'm not sure what the FE extender is. Could someone explain. Thanks.

Dee

We're from S. Jersey so hopefully we can all brainstorm on the best options travelling in and out of Phila.

Re the FE: here's my previous link to the FE info I posted for our Sept members cruise. Hope it helps as well.
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.ph...&postcount=872

 

[poison ivy]

This will be our first Members Cruise (our 12th Disney Cruise) and we are looking forward to meeting as many of you as possible. We will be following the Board's looking for more experienced cruisers advice and sharing our own experiences. We are crusing the Panama Canal in September and hope to meet some of you then.

Jimmy and Judith

Look forward to meeting everyone too!

Cruising the PC is on our bucket list. would love to hear all about it. You guys must be heavy in the planning for that trip. And now this one too. What a great lineup of cruises to be on.

DH and I are going back to Alaska too. We were there at the end of the season in 2012 with family but this time its just the 2 of us. Can't wait to compare it to the beginning of the season.

This will be our second member cruise but the last one was a 4 day in 2008. It'll be interesting to do a 7 day member cruise.

Looking forward to planning.

to our cruise meet. So glad to have a veteran Alaska cruiser here to share your experience. What excursions did you book in 2012?

 

[tidefan]

Anyone know how close to being sold out this is?

 

[LOLA2]

Hello all - just thought I would give a heads up on Pan Pacific if anyone is interested. I thought I better book it today because I am sure a lot of people will be calling now since most people have this cruise booked.

I first checked out prices on line and it offered me 2 doubles city view for $220 USD. I decided to call though to see if price was any different. The operator started off by saying she could offer me a deluxe package for $270.00 per night for some Alaskan cruise package with a harbor view room and breakfast. Since I really can not afford that considering I need two rooms at 3 nights I asked about the cost I saw online for AAA members. She got me a price at $218 per night and said breakfast for 2 included in the price. That is in USD. I also made sure to request 2 beds.

She asked if I was a loyalty member and I said no and she signed me up in 5 seconds. This includes you getting free internet and bottled waters in room.

They do not take cash or travelers checks!! She said credit card or Canadian cash. I guaranteed room with credit card so nothing actually charged today.

There will be a slight change when I get to hotel and they charge my CC converting USD to Canadian but not much - just dollars.

Hope this helps anyone who interested. Being able to wake up and be at the port is so exciting - and not having to deal with the luggage that morning and waking up early to see the wonder pull in. All this sounds so amazing..

 

[Johnny Quest]

Just booked 2 rooms at the Pan Pacific Hotel for our pre-cruise night. Got basically the same rate.

AAA B&B Pkg. rate of $219+tax for 2 adult, deluxe dbl and $244+tax for 3 adult deluxe dbl. (USD) Both rooms include breakfast. They did not charge my credit card and I can already view my reservation online.

Thank you LOLA2 for the heads up on this. Cross another one off the list!

 

[tidefan]

We have our pre-cruise night as well, but since I have some Hilton points we booked the Hampton Inn Vancouver right across from BC Place. Nice thing is that they have a free shuttle to the port...

 

[Johnny Quest]

Yes. when I have more than 2 pms

Autumnl78,

I should have explained what I meant by roll call.

On the front page I posted a list (disboard names only)of every member who joined the meet thread, like a passenger list for easy reference to avoid scrolling through pages to find someone.

 

[Jay Kat]

The Pan Pacific is sounding better and better. I do like the idea of watching the ships come in and being more relaxed on cruise day. Last year for the members cruise, like so many others, we drove from WDE to Port Canaveral. I really like this idea better.
Someone had asked if it is sold out yet...anyone know? Has anyone booked after Sunday when it opened?

 

[autumnl78]

Being new, I don't have enough posts to PM, but want to be in the FE group.

PMing you