4 Vancouverites take on Alaska! Aug 28-Sept 4 2017 *COMPLETED*

[bcwife76]

It was time for the Til We Meet again party....again, I'm sure this took place later in the day and I've got the navigators buried on my desk somewhere......



I'm not sure I mentioned this but Jo was our club host and she was FANTASTIC!!! Normally I don't pay attention to the CD or the club host (I'm bad like that lol) because....well, it doesn't make or break my cruise. But I have to say Jo was so friggin' upbeat and hilarious. We found ourselves going to trivia and such in the pubs (things we might not normally attend) just because she was hosting.

I have also been wildly remiss in not mentioning our serving team much and they truly were fabulous. DD9 formed a wonderful bond in particular with our Asst Server, Julie.....oh my goodness, they were BFF's by the time we got off and DD couldn't stop talking about her. Julie's contract was going to be ending a few weeks after our cruise and she had decided (at that point anyway) not to renew it. DD(now10!) keeps asking me if we'll see her on future cruises. I doubt it, Julie was quite homesick but you never know.....

Alright one last entry to wrap it all up!

 

[bcwife76]

So also on our last day we had back to back (sort of) beverage tastings. We had signed up for Martini tasting which was held at 1pm on the last day. Well of course we had also signed up for our cruise group mixology and since you don't find out the day/time for that until just a few weeks before you sail.....it ended up being at 4pm on the last day! Hey that's two whole hours in between.....

Now there is some photographic evidence of the martini tasting, none of the mixology I'm afraid but there is evidence AFTER mixology took place ;-) Let's just say it's a good thing the clubs are so fantastic on Disney because mom and dad were several sheets to the wind, not very responsible of us

So first up was martini tasting in the Cadilac lounge.


Definitely our favourite bar on the Wonder, love the theming so much!!!

We sat across from a lovely lady from the US who had come to the tasting alone as her husband didn't drink (or didn't drink martini's....something like that!)

Here we are starting our drinks


Here is the table full of our drinks



And here's how I was feeling by the end of Martini tasting



Starting to lose focus a bit!!

After that we decided to try and soak up some of the booze with some Shawarma. Another aside: this has been such a fantastic addition to the Wonder, I swear we ate one each almost every single day and when we were on the Wonder this past May we ate one every day, too! So yummy!!!

On the way up to deck 9 we caught this guy coming off an elevator


Once we had some shawarma in our bellies, we got some more fresh air and I think went to begin the awful task of packing (who knew how drunk we'd be after Mixology ) Think we stopped in the clubs to see if the girls were hungry but they were happy to stay in (I think they both ate lunch in the clubs). Soon it was time for our cruise group mixology.

Now again, no photographic evidence but we did have a fabulous time. We sat with another couple who were from Vancouver Island and had a fantastic time with them. So much so that at the end the husband declared "I wish we had met you guys at the beginning of the cruise, it would have been so fun to hang out with you!" awww.

Now just as mixology ended the Friendship Rocks show was about to begin. Both of our girls had told us (when we went to check on them earlier) that they had no intention of participating. Ok. Are you sure I asked them both, twice....they both said yep, not gonna do it. Fine. Ok then. So husband and I did not stumble into the show and instead stumbled back up to deck 9 for some last ice cream (oh and back to our cabin again for something that I can't remember). Being silly on the verandah



Next up: ice cream when less than sober and some last thoughts....

 

[bcwife76]

So like I said, we stumbled up to deck 9 and had some ice cream. Less than sober.


DH wanted to know if he could have a lick



Who can refuse those puppy dog eyes?




Guess he didn't mind after all.

We're so mature.

So having wiped the ice cream off our faces (think we got a coffee as well) we went to the clubs to collect the girls and guess what....they were both wearing the Friendship rocks tshirts. Because they had BOTH decided to participate!

For the love of all that is holy........

Seriously?

Missed it.

Oy.

Our last dinner that night was in Animators (I think???) haha

Oh and no more photos, sorry folks. Guess we gave up from that point onward as we were sad the cruise was over.

To be honest I don't remember a lot of that last night - no, NOT because I was still drunk but because my memory sucks haha

We docked on Monday morning, Labour Day. Sigh. Time to get off. We enjoyed a last breakfast, said our goodbyes to our wonderful serving team (many, many hugs for Julie from eldest DD). I ran to Shutters to pick up a few photos we had ordered (since it was just outside of Animators I probably didn't run )

By the time we were done breakfast our luggage tags had been called (your luggage tags are called when departing in Vancouver and San Diego). Time to step of the beautiful ship that had been our home for the last week.....

I knew we'd be back on in less than 9 months but it's still a gut punch!

Since we'd packed too much we opted for a taxi back to the airport (where we had parked our car) instead of public transit on the Canada Line. Didn't take long to get a cab and we were picking our car up by 10:30 or so I believe. Picked the dog up at the kennel on our way home and we were walking in our house well before noon.......

It's funny, even now, one year and one week after our cruise ended I can still feel the sinking feeling of getting off and coming home. I hate that feeling
This has been a long journey (not the cruise but this trip report!) So much has happened in the past year....my mom passing away.....having to put our dog down three months after that......joining DVC at Aulani.....returning to the Wonder in May and sailing from San Diego to Vancouver......

Ebbs and flows....ups and downs.......

Now here we are, less than 7 weeks til our next cruise.....if you're lucky maybe I'll write a HOTHS trip report...and if you're REALLY lucky, I might get it finished in under a year

For all of your kind notes, encouragement, sympathy and love.

Til we meet and sail again.....

 

[bcwife76]

PS. We're doing this cruise again during the same week in August 2019!!! To celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary We will be hitting all the same ports, as well as Icy Strait Point (so our day in Juneau will be shorter and then we'll head to Tracy Arm that afternoon). Looking forward to trying some different excursions

 

[ukintheus]

Give that woman another drink!!! What a fun afternoon with a couple of benerage sessions thrown in. I can’t believe your girls did th
E show and you missed it! They really threw you under the bus on that one. Ha! At least you can stick a fork (or a drink stirrer maybe ) in this trip report. It was so fun to read it.

 

[TestingH2O]

We've been talking about doing Alaska again recently. Jealous!

 

[minniebeth]

I loved your trip report! I'm sure we had the same Julie for our assistant server last summer on our Alaskan cruise too! She definitely is so very sweet and forms a great bond with her tables! My kids are a little older and she entertained them just as well as they do with the younger kids. She loved teaching them Thai words (they had a word of the day) and they had to come to dinner each night saying all the words from the previous days. Apparantly, the tone and inflection of how you say the word changes the meaning and connotation and they just laughed and laughed pronouncing them correctly (and incorrectly) lol. She loves to do calligraphy and made special cards for us for our celebrations. She brought her calligraphy pen and paper to dinner one night for my younger daughter to try to learn too after she expressed interest in learning. She told us sweet stories of her family back home. I'm not surprised to hear that she went home after her contract was up. She and Sharang (our main server) were the best serving team we've ever had. They made our trip truly special!

 

[AussieDisneyfans]

Congrats on wrapping up this trip report, even if it is one year and one week after!!! Really enjoyed it. Do you think you will do a trip report on the Cali Coast cruise? It was a great cruise - pity I didn't bump into you to say hi. Have a great time in AKL and the cruise. The Alaska cruise is on our bucket list. I see that you are now proud owners of DVC with Aulani your home. My daughter and I are going to Aulani in Dec next year - really looking forward to it.

 

[bcwife76]

I loved your trip report! I'm sure we had the same Julie for our assistant server last summer on our Alaskan cruise too! She definitely is so very sweet and forms a great bond with her tables! My kids are a little older and she entertained them just as well as they do with the younger kids. She loved teaching them Thai words (they had a word of the day) and they had to come to dinner each night saying all the words from the previous days. Apparantly, the tone and inflection of how you say the word changes the meaning and connotation and they just laughed and laughed pronouncing them correctly (and incorrectly) lol. She loves to do calligraphy and made special cards for us for our celebrations. She brought her calligraphy pen and paper to dinner one night for my younger daughter to try to learn too after she expressed interest in learning. She told us sweet stories of her family back home. I'm not surprised to hear that she went home after her contract was up. She and Sharang (our main server) were the best serving team we've ever had. They made our trip truly special!

Yes that was Julie!!! Oh she was so lovely. She made us all signs in caligraphy with our names on it too, so amazing!!! I often think of her and hope she's doing well and is happy.

 

[bcwife76]

Congrats on wrapping up this trip report, even if it is one year and one week after!!! Really enjoyed it. Do you think you will do a trip report on the Cali Coast cruise? It was a great cruise - pity I didn't bump into you to say hi. Have a great time in AKL and the cruise. The Alaska cruise is on our bucket list. I see that you are now proud owners of DVC with Aulani your home. My daughter and I are going to Aulani in Dec next year - really looking forward to it.

Haha unfortunately I'll probably pass on doing a TR for the May SD-Van cruise That was a great cruise, though!! So fun!

Aulani is gorgeous, you will have a fantastic time I'm sure! We have 3(!!! oops!!!) cruises booked for 2019 so we'll be returning to Aulani in 2020, most likely around Spring Break.We're using our points for the first time next month when we stay at AKL for two nights prior to our Fantasy cruise, then we're using points for 2 nights at the Grand Californian after our Wonder Spring break cruise. And we're doing one of the DVC member cruises Oct 2019. So finally we can use our points for our home resort in 2020

 

[Timon]

Okay, I am a million years late but I made it finally!

I'm so glad you came back and finished it despite of everything!

So yeah, adjusting to the new normal I guess.

Yup, that is EXACTLY what it's like to lose a parent, you get used to it because you have to. There's no getting over it or getting easier, it's just...life.

Yes we are now DVC owners with Aulani being our home resort!!!

Holy toledo! Wooop wooop!! How awesome is that!!!

that afternoon we made the heartbreaking decision to put her down.

Oh nooooo! Jesus H Roosevelt Christ!

Like you didn't have enough to deal with??

Our head server was ever so lovely on this cruise, he would make the kids a bed each night if they couldn't get through dinner:

That is AWESOME!!

Ohhh I like this one! It looks like miniatures!!!

They HATED the experience. I can't even begin to tell you the fuss they both put up. DD6 hated the hair, it was too tight, too much.....bun??? I don't know. But she was not a happy camper. And DD9 was itchy. The dresssssss is sooooooo itchy!!!! she cried.

Oh my god.

HAHAHAHA! Oh no!!!

My Kira was kind of the same although she waited until we were in private before she blew a gasket on us. She saves it all for us thankfully??!!!

They do pull that hair back tight! I wish they did something else because it's tough on those little scalps

I did laugh though, but only because they're not MY kids

I think the kids were feeling a bit better, don't you?

Ahhhh, yes, comfy clothes and ice cream! That's also my jam

Alaska again at the end of August 2019 for our 15th wedding anniversary

Do you have a date picked? We might also be doing Alaska in August next year. We will be leaving Miss Crabby Pants at home though as we've decided we desperately need a no-kid vacation just the two of us

There's a photo of me by the jeep, too, but I think I look fat so you're not going to see it

BAHAHAHA! Sounds like a familiar thought

I'm not sure I mentioned this but Jo was our club host and she was FANTASTIC!!!

I love Jo! She is awesome with endless energy!!





Thanks for sharing your adventures with us, I'm glad we got to read the end of it.

I will have to scour the boards now to see if you wrote trippies for those other vacations.

And a special hug for you, just because.

 

[bcwife76]

Okay, I am a million years late but I made it finally!

I'm so glad you came back and finished it despite of everything!




Yup, that is EXACTLY what it's like to lose a parent, you get used to it because you have to. There's no getting over it or getting easier, it's just...life.



Holy toledo! Wooop wooop!! How awesome is that!!!



Oh nooooo! Jesus H Roosevelt Christ!

Like you didn't have enough to deal with??



That is AWESOME!!




Ohhh I like this one! It looks like miniatures!!!







HAHAHAHA! Oh no!!!

My Kira was kind of the same although she waited until we were in private before she blew a gasket on us. She saves it all for us thankfully??!!!

They do pull that hair back tight! I wish they did something else because it's tough on those little scalps

I did laugh though, but only because they're not MY kids



Ahhhh, yes, comfy clothes and ice cream! That's also my jam



Do you have a date picked? We might also be doing Alaska in August next year. We will be leaving Miss Crabby Pants at home though as we've decided we desperately need a no-kid vacation just the two of us



BAHAHAHA! Sounds like a familiar thought



I love Jo! She is awesome with endless energy!!





Thanks for sharing your adventures with us, I'm glad we got to read the end of it.

I will have to scour the boards now to see if you wrote trippies for those other vacations.

And a special hug for you, just because.

awww, thank you so much for coming back and finding my trippie! As you can see it took me a WHILE to finish it so you are not really late to the party lol

We are on the 7 night August 26th sailing to Alaska (stops in Icy Strait Point). It was *supposed* to be kid free for our anniversary, but our childcare options are rather limited so having to piece together a week away between friends etc was getting to be a bit much. So the rag a muffins are coming However DD1 will have just turned 11 and DD2 will be nearly 9 so we've already told them WE are picking the excursions WE want and if you don't like them, y'll are staying on the ship Mean mommy for the win

Since this cruise, we have taken two more but I didn't write about them lol Our next cruise is this coming March (to celebrate the 20th anniversary of our first date!) so I might do a TR on that one because it's our first gold cruise and first time (probably only!) sailing concierge So I'm going to need to preserve that for my memory

 

[TestingH2O]

first gold cruise and first time (probably only!) sailing concierge

Ooooh fancy! What's the itenerary?

 

[DnA2010]

awww, thank you so much for coming back and finding my trippie! As you can see it took me a WHILE to finish it so you are not really late to the party lol

We are on the 7 night August 26th sailing to Alaska (stops in Icy Strait Point). It was *supposed* to be kid free for our anniversary, but our childcare options are rather limited so having to piece together a week away between friends etc was getting to be a bit much. So the rag a muffins are coming However DD1 will have just turned 11 and DD2 will be nearly 9 so we've already told them WE are picking the excursions WE want and if you don't like them, y'll are staying on the ship Mean mommy for the win

Since this cruise, we have taken two more but I didn't write about them lol Our next cruise is this coming March (to celebrate the 20th anniversary of our first date!) so I might do a TR on that one because it's our first gold cruise and first time (probably only!) sailing concierge So I'm going to need to preserve that for my memory

Just caught the last post - yay for being tipsy on a Disney cruise (she says from experience)
I’m sorry to read about your pup, they certainly are a huge part of families xx

Holy crap for concierge, you really are living the dream take me with you! Hope you write it up!

 

[bcwife76]

Ooooh fancy! What's the itenerary?

It's a 5 night Baja on the Wonder in Spring break (we'll finish with two nights using our DVC at the Grand Californian). It's probably the only time we can afford to do concierge as it's 'reasonable' for this cruise My husband asked what it's currently priced at for our Alaskan cruise (we have that cruise booked with a placeholder, we do not have this one booked with one) and I told him about 2.5 times as much as what we are paying! So yeah he said "nope, just once then"

 

[bcwife76]

Just caught the last post - yay for being tipsy on a Disney cruise (she says from experience)
I’m sorry to read about your pup, they certainly are a huge part of families xx

Holy crap for concierge, you really are living the dream take me with you! Hope you write it up!

We've got space for you!!! It will definitely be the only time for concierge, unless my numbers finally come up for Lotto Max It's a 'reasonable' price for this particular cruise

 

[DnA2010]

We've got space for you!!! It will definitely be the only time for concierge, unless my numbers finally come up for Lotto Max It's a 'reasonable' price for this particular cruise

I don't take up that much space really!

No idea what our next Disney will be yet...hard not knowing some sort of Disney is on the horizon

 

[Claireywalsh]

PS. We're doing this cruise again during the same week in August 2019!!! To celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary We will be hitting all the same ports, as well as Icy Strait Point (so our day in Juneau will be shorter and then we'll head to Tracy Arm that afternoon). Looking forward to trying some different excursions

Just reading your trip report as I’m getting too excited for our cruise then got to this point and had to say heeelllllooooo fellow cruiser!! See you onboard

 

[bcwife76]

Just reading your trip report as I’m getting too excited for our cruise then got to this point and had to say heeelllllooooo fellow cruiser!! See you onboard

Thanks for reading! You'll be on the August 26th cruise, too? Awesome!! Cannot WAIT!!

 

[Claireywalsh]

Thanks for reading! You'll be on the August 26th cruise, too? Awesome!! Cannot WAIT!!

Yep we’ll be on board - really looking forward to it now it’s getting closer!!