A first-timer’s bucket list adventure in Alaska! June 12-19 2023 Sailing [COMPLETE]
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sadiecatie
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Skagway
We woke up excited for our first port of call in Alaska: Skagway! This was an early morning, as all-ashore time was 7:15am and we needed to be some of the first off the ship for our excursion. We did another early Cabanas breakfast, then headed down to get off the ship right away and head to our excursion. Cabanas was busy earlier this morning, as everyone who needed/wanted to get off the ship early seemed to have the same plan, but not too bad (still easy enough to find a table and fill our plates). I will always remember the family at the table next to us with the teenage daughter who was positive she would die on her family’s float plane excursion because planes are not meant to land on water - as a mom with a sometimes anxious kid, pro tip, get your kid’s buy in on your expensive excursion ahead of time
We chose a long third-party excursion for the day, and we were very happy with our choice! We did the Yukon Bus and Rail Expedition booked with Chilkoot Charters. I don’t know if we lucked out or if this is normal for this booking, but we ended up in very small groups, which was one of the things that made this excursion so enjoyable (no feeling like you’re just being herded in a large tourist group!). The first portion of the journey was the train ride on the White Pass and Yukon Railroad - we got the last car of the train and had only about 10 people in our car. This meant that we had amazing viewing opportunities (we got the platform on the back of the car with expansive views, as well as the smaller platform at the front of the car), and we didn’t have to share with too many people - everyone could sit on their own/next to a window and change sides of the train as they pleased. The car in front of us looked to be completely full with a cruise-line tour (possibly from the Princess ship that was also in port that day), with I would guess ~40 passengers, many sitting two to a seat.
The train ride was beautiful and the narration interesting, covering a lot of the history of the Yukon gold rush - but I would definitely go for the train + bus combo if you’re considering this excursion. I felt the round-trip train ride would have been a bit much (I was ready to get off the train once we reached the end of the line in Frazier, B.C.), and the bus portion added a lot to our experience.
Once we got off the train, our tour guide, Ethan, who we had met back in Skagway, met us with his mini-bus to take us on the rest of our journey. We went further up into Canada, into the Yukon Territory, with stops at a few beautiful lakes and viewing points (including Lake Tutshi and Emerald Lake, as well as the ”Welcome to…” signs on both sides of the border).
We stopped at Caribou Crossing outside of Carcross for lunch - this was a decent stop, but I don’t feel like this would be worth the trip on its own (I know sometimes people rent cars and make their own itinerary - if I were doing this, I think I’d skip this stop). The lunch was fine. Nothing special, but filled our bellies - BBQ chicken leg, baked potato, coleslaw, bread, and fresh donuts. Christian and I enjoyed it, but unfortunately nothing for a picky child, which was a bit of an issue for us, but we made it work and found Audrey some snacks throughout the day. (If you have an 8-year-old who eats random foods wherever you are, I need your secrets - that is not my life). The puppies were cute, but otherwise it felt fairly tourist-trappy. Carcross, however, was a cute stop, with decent coffee and some nice little shops (plus a cool playground where Audrey could burn off some energy before getting back on the bus). (Photos here from Carcross)
We really lucked out with weather during most of our day - it was beautiful and sunny for our whole train ride and most of our bus tour. As we returned to Alaska and headed back into Skagway, the clouds descended, but the rain still held out until we got back. We stopped at the Skagway Brewing Co for a bit to try their spruce tip beer, as well as a few of their other beers, and then looked around the main street as we made our way back to the ship. By this point it was getting windy and starting to spit rain, so we were happy to get back to the ship and have a little down time before dinner (I think we did trivia while Audrey went to the kids club, as well as hanging out in Cove Cafe for a bit).
This night’s dinner was our first in Tritons, and as usual we had a very enjoyable meal! I was terrible at making any notes about what we ordered or taking any food pictures, but nobody went to bed hungry
Overall, we really enjoyed this day off the ship! Looking back, it’s hard for me to pick a favorite day on this cruise - there were things we really enjoyed about each day - but if I had to pick I think my favorite days were Skagway and Glacier Day. There was no evening show this night, and we didn’t check out the other evening entertainment (magician, singing group), but we just enjoyed the ship and were looking forward to our plans for Juneau the next day.
We woke up excited for our first port of call in Alaska: Skagway! This was an early morning, as all-ashore time was 7:15am and we needed to be some of the first off the ship for our excursion. We did another early Cabanas breakfast, then headed down to get off the ship right away and head to our excursion. Cabanas was busy earlier this morning, as everyone who needed/wanted to get off the ship early seemed to have the same plan, but not too bad (still easy enough to find a table and fill our plates). I will always remember the family at the table next to us with the teenage daughter who was positive she would die on her family’s float plane excursion because planes are not meant to land on water - as a mom with a sometimes anxious kid, pro tip, get your kid’s buy in on your expensive excursion ahead of time
We chose a long third-party excursion for the day, and we were very happy with our choice! We did the Yukon Bus and Rail Expedition booked with Chilkoot Charters. I don’t know if we lucked out or if this is normal for this booking, but we ended up in very small groups, which was one of the things that made this excursion so enjoyable (no feeling like you’re just being herded in a large tourist group!). The first portion of the journey was the train ride on the White Pass and Yukon Railroad - we got the last car of the train and had only about 10 people in our car. This meant that we had amazing viewing opportunities (we got the platform on the back of the car with expansive views, as well as the smaller platform at the front of the car), and we didn’t have to share with too many people - everyone could sit on their own/next to a window and change sides of the train as they pleased. The car in front of us looked to be completely full with a cruise-line tour (possibly from the Princess ship that was also in port that day), with I would guess ~40 passengers, many sitting two to a seat.
The train ride was beautiful and the narration interesting, covering a lot of the history of the Yukon gold rush - but I would definitely go for the train + bus combo if you’re considering this excursion. I felt the round-trip train ride would have been a bit much (I was ready to get off the train once we reached the end of the line in Frazier, B.C.), and the bus portion added a lot to our experience.
Once we got off the train, our tour guide, Ethan, who we had met back in Skagway, met us with his mini-bus to take us on the rest of our journey. We went further up into Canada, into the Yukon Territory, with stops at a few beautiful lakes and viewing points (including Lake Tutshi and Emerald Lake, as well as the ”Welcome to…” signs on both sides of the border).
We stopped at Caribou Crossing outside of Carcross for lunch - this was a decent stop, but I don’t feel like this would be worth the trip on its own (I know sometimes people rent cars and make their own itinerary - if I were doing this, I think I’d skip this stop). The lunch was fine. Nothing special, but filled our bellies - BBQ chicken leg, baked potato, coleslaw, bread, and fresh donuts. Christian and I enjoyed it, but unfortunately nothing for a picky child, which was a bit of an issue for us, but we made it work and found Audrey some snacks throughout the day. (If you have an 8-year-old who eats random foods wherever you are, I need your secrets - that is not my life). The puppies were cute, but otherwise it felt fairly tourist-trappy. Carcross, however, was a cute stop, with decent coffee and some nice little shops (plus a cool playground where Audrey could burn off some energy before getting back on the bus). (Photos here from Carcross)
We really lucked out with weather during most of our day - it was beautiful and sunny for our whole train ride and most of our bus tour. As we returned to Alaska and headed back into Skagway, the clouds descended, but the rain still held out until we got back. We stopped at the Skagway Brewing Co for a bit to try their spruce tip beer, as well as a few of their other beers, and then looked around the main street as we made our way back to the ship. By this point it was getting windy and starting to spit rain, so we were happy to get back to the ship and have a little down time before dinner (I think we did trivia while Audrey went to the kids club, as well as hanging out in Cove Cafe for a bit).
This night’s dinner was our first in Tritons, and as usual we had a very enjoyable meal! I was terrible at making any notes about what we ordered or taking any food pictures, but nobody went to bed hungry
Overall, we really enjoyed this day off the ship! Looking back, it’s hard for me to pick a favorite day on this cruise - there were things we really enjoyed about each day - but if I had to pick I think my favorite days were Skagway and Glacier Day. There was no evening show this night, and we didn’t check out the other evening entertainment (magician, singing group), but we just enjoyed the ship and were looking forward to our plans for Juneau the next day.
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sadiecatie
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Juneau
Juneau turned out to be our one cold and rainy Alaskan day - with the kind of weather we got the rest of the trip, we really couldn’t complain! We woke up early again today, as we had another early excursion and wanted to get a good breakfast before we got off the ship. We hit up Cabanas and watched the gray, wet shore go by as we sailed into port.
Today, we chose to do another third-party excursion to experience whale watching and check out Mendenhall Glacier. I had looked at the DCL excursions doing this, but they all had very short times at Mendenhall. It wouldn’t end up mattering in the end (more on that later!), but we wanted the flexibility to spend a bit more time at Mendenhall and didn’t want to feel rushed to get in and get out.
Once we got off the ship, we took the shuttle from the Wonder over to the main port area where all the tour operators meet. We went with Juneau Whale Watch for our tour, which was overall a good experience. The start to our experience was a bit off-putting, though, especially after our small group the day before in Skagway - they had a fully loaded bus and in fact had apparently over-booked the bus by two seats, so they asked to have “small kids” (including our 8 year old) sit on their parents’ laps for the ride out to Auke Bay. This wasn’t that big a deal, but we didn’t love just being expected to share two seats when we had paid for three.
Despite the less-than-stellar start, we really enjoyed the whale watching trip. It would have been nice to be on a tour on a smaller boat/with a smaller group, but we had plenty of opportunity to get a decent view on the viewing decks, and the tour guide/naturalist on board (Lucas) was both knowledgeable and entertaining. We were on a double-decker boat with a nice big inside seating area with viewing windows all around, plus access to the top deck and the front of the bottom deck for outside viewing.
We got to see some great activity - we spent a good deal of time watching a mother and calf, and the calf was doing half breeches and peduncle throws and the mother was doing big tail slaps. Lucas told us that this behavior from a mother and calf are playful, with the mother encouraging her calf to basically play to exercise and strengthen its muscles. We got a lot of chances to see and photograph these behaviors. Besides this, the views out in the bay were gorgeous.
After the boat ride, we boarded a shuttle bus out to Mendenhall Glacier. After a couple hours out on the water (most of that time spent dealing with rain/sleet and cold wind to get good views of the whales), we were unfortunately kind of over being out in the elements and ended up doing a fairly short visit. We were all cold and soaked through. I had wanted to hike out to Nugget Falls, but I knew that forcing it would lead to a super cranky kid and none of us would enjoy it. Realizing this, we went ahead and did the much shorter walk out to the photo point (1/3 mile) and spent a little time taking in the view and taking pictures, then we decided we’d head back to the ship for lunch and relaxation.
With more time, I’m sure there are other interesting things to explore, but overall we were a little unimpressed with Juneau and in general the ports themselves. To be fair, I’m sure the weather in Juneau didn’t help our impressions, but our driver on the way back to port echoed that it’s kind of a miserable place to live lol the Juneau tourism board would not be happy with this guy (he was getting ready to relocate to Orlando and was not shy about discussing how happy he was to leave). Alaska is stunning, but the towns where you stop seem to be all the same touristy shops clustered around the port, plus opportunities for more interesting excursions where you venture away from the port. We found something worthwhile in each place, but didn’t feel the need to maximize our port time and stay off the ship as long as possible. I guess my point here is that I would make plans for what to do, and if you plan to just wander a port, either know options for what to do or have realistic expectations of what you’re going to find there.
After boarding the ship, we had our first lunch in Cabanas, which was overall enjoyable, if a bit busy. Afterward, we enjoyed some trivia and kids club before dinner (Animator’s Palette) and the first evening show we all made it to (Frozen). Frozen was wonderful! The talent of the performers on the ship is impressive, and Audrey was enthralled (this was her first musical
). We decided to take advantage of having a chance to relax a bit the next morning with a late arrival time in Ketchikan, so we stayed up late for more kids club and adult lounge time before heading to bed.
Juneau turned out to be our one cold and rainy Alaskan day - with the kind of weather we got the rest of the trip, we really couldn’t complain! We woke up early again today, as we had another early excursion and wanted to get a good breakfast before we got off the ship. We hit up Cabanas and watched the gray, wet shore go by as we sailed into port.
Today, we chose to do another third-party excursion to experience whale watching and check out Mendenhall Glacier. I had looked at the DCL excursions doing this, but they all had very short times at Mendenhall. It wouldn’t end up mattering in the end (more on that later!), but we wanted the flexibility to spend a bit more time at Mendenhall and didn’t want to feel rushed to get in and get out.
Once we got off the ship, we took the shuttle from the Wonder over to the main port area where all the tour operators meet. We went with Juneau Whale Watch for our tour, which was overall a good experience. The start to our experience was a bit off-putting, though, especially after our small group the day before in Skagway - they had a fully loaded bus and in fact had apparently over-booked the bus by two seats, so they asked to have “small kids” (including our 8 year old) sit on their parents’ laps for the ride out to Auke Bay. This wasn’t that big a deal, but we didn’t love just being expected to share two seats when we had paid for three.
Despite the less-than-stellar start, we really enjoyed the whale watching trip. It would have been nice to be on a tour on a smaller boat/with a smaller group, but we had plenty of opportunity to get a decent view on the viewing decks, and the tour guide/naturalist on board (Lucas) was both knowledgeable and entertaining. We were on a double-decker boat with a nice big inside seating area with viewing windows all around, plus access to the top deck and the front of the bottom deck for outside viewing.
We got to see some great activity - we spent a good deal of time watching a mother and calf, and the calf was doing half breeches and peduncle throws and the mother was doing big tail slaps. Lucas told us that this behavior from a mother and calf are playful, with the mother encouraging her calf to basically play to exercise and strengthen its muscles. We got a lot of chances to see and photograph these behaviors. Besides this, the views out in the bay were gorgeous.
After the boat ride, we boarded a shuttle bus out to Mendenhall Glacier. After a couple hours out on the water (most of that time spent dealing with rain/sleet and cold wind to get good views of the whales), we were unfortunately kind of over being out in the elements and ended up doing a fairly short visit. We were all cold and soaked through. I had wanted to hike out to Nugget Falls, but I knew that forcing it would lead to a super cranky kid and none of us would enjoy it. Realizing this, we went ahead and did the much shorter walk out to the photo point (1/3 mile) and spent a little time taking in the view and taking pictures, then we decided we’d head back to the ship for lunch and relaxation.
With more time, I’m sure there are other interesting things to explore, but overall we were a little unimpressed with Juneau and in general the ports themselves. To be fair, I’m sure the weather in Juneau didn’t help our impressions, but our driver on the way back to port echoed that it’s kind of a miserable place to live
lol the Juneau tourism board would not be happy with this guy (he was getting ready to relocate to Orlando and was not shy about discussing how happy he was to leave). Alaska is stunning, but the towns where you stop seem to be all the same touristy shops clustered around the port, plus opportunities for more interesting excursions where you venture away from the port. We found something worthwhile in each place, but didn’t feel the need to maximize our port time and stay off the ship as long as possible. I guess my point here is that I would make plans for what to do, and if you plan to just wander a port, either know options for what to do or have realistic expectations of what you’re going to find there.After boarding the ship, we had our first lunch in Cabanas, which was overall enjoyable, if a bit busy. Afterward, we enjoyed some trivia and kids club before dinner (Animator’s Palette) and the first evening show we all made it to (Frozen). Frozen was wonderful! The talent of the performers on the ship is impressive, and Audrey was enthralled (this was her first musical
). We decided to take advantage of having a chance to relax a bit the next morning with a late arrival time in Ketchikan, so we stayed up late for more kids club and adult lounge time before heading to bed.
shosh1530
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I agree, about not being super impressed with any of the ports/towns themselves - especially Juneau. The cold and wet that day didn't help for sure and my didn't really spend much their either. I'm sure I missed some of the less touristy parts by not exploring more.With more time, I’m sure there are other interesting things to explore, but overall we were a little unimpressed with Juneau and in general the ports themselves. To be fair, I’m sure the weather in Juneau didn’t help our impressions, but our driver on the way back to port echoed that it’s kind of a miserable place to live
It sounds like you still had a nice day with whale watching and then on the ship! I was also so impressed with the talent at the shows. Glad to hear your daughter was enthralled.
sadiecatie
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We had such a great time! I am planning to come back and finish
life gets busy, whoops. But I’d recommend it to anyone, we loved our time in Alaska and on the Wonder!
sadiecatie
DIS Veteran
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I’m going to finish this trip report, if only for those looking for information in upcoming years
Ketchikan:
We actually got to sleep in a bit this morning! Since we wouldn’t be arriving in Ketchikan until 11:15am and we’d had very early starts the last few days, we didn’t push for an early start. We ended up waking up around 8:30 (lol this is sleeping in with our daughter), and were deciding between MDR breakfast and Cabanas - after my husband went to scope out Cabanas and saw they had churro Mickey waffles, that decided it!
We had a chill morning (we hung in one of the lounges while Audrey went to the kids club, I think we did a trivia game, but some of those details are getting fuzzy), then headed into town once we were docked. We did go up on the top deck to see the views, it Ketchikan was lovely in the sun this morning!
We didn’t have any excursions planned for Ketchikan, and it was nice to just kind of play things by ear. We decided to go out to the Saxman Village Totem Park - we waited for the city bus to get out there for a while, and got impatient and ordered an Uber after the bus was about 20 minutes late. Of course as soon as our Uber arrived, we saw the bus go past
We had walked out toward Creek Street and then found a bus stop - just be aware, the buses don’t necessarily run on schedule if you’re depending on them. We chatted with our driver during the short drive, who said he was one of 3 Uber drivers in Ketchikan - so not a ton of options, but it was easy and fairly fast to get a ride!
Once we got out there, we bought tickets for $5/adult, which got us a booklet with a map and information on each of the totems to do a self-guided tour. This was interesting and we enjoyed it - although it would have been nice to be on an official tour that was able to go into the tribal house (they had music and dance demonstrations going on inside) and have someone give more background/information, I know those tours were a lot more than the ~$20 we spent on tickets and transportation for the three of us. When we were done, we did take the city bus back into town, which was inexpensive ($5 total) and easy.
We also spent some time walking around Creek Street and exploring some of the shops, picking up a couple souvenirs to bring home. The weather was lovely this day, so we enjoyed just walking around and checking out the town.
Once back on the ship later in the afternoon, we fell into what became our pattern for afternoon ship time (trivia in the lounges plus kids club time).
Dinner this night was Mardi Gras night in Tiana’s Place. We had a super fun time joining in with the Mardi Grad parade around the dining room after dinner, we enjoyed meeting some characters and then Audrey went to the kids club while Christian and I did a whiskey tasting. This was very enjoyable! Craig from Jamaica was our beverage team CM leading this tasting, and he was very informative and personable. This was a great closing to a relatively chill day!
Ketchikan:
We actually got to sleep in a bit this morning! Since we wouldn’t be arriving in Ketchikan until 11:15am and we’d had very early starts the last few days, we didn’t push for an early start. We ended up waking up around 8:30 (lol this is sleeping in with our daughter), and were deciding between MDR breakfast and Cabanas - after my husband went to scope out Cabanas and saw they had churro Mickey waffles, that decided it!
We had a chill morning (we hung in one of the lounges while Audrey went to the kids club, I think we did a trivia game, but some of those details are getting fuzzy), then headed into town once we were docked. We did go up on the top deck to see the views, it Ketchikan was lovely in the sun this morning!
We didn’t have any excursions planned for Ketchikan, and it was nice to just kind of play things by ear. We decided to go out to the Saxman Village Totem Park - we waited for the city bus to get out there for a while, and got impatient and ordered an Uber after the bus was about 20 minutes late. Of course as soon as our Uber arrived, we saw the bus go past
We had walked out toward Creek Street and then found a bus stop - just be aware, the buses don’t necessarily run on schedule if you’re depending on them. We chatted with our driver during the short drive, who said he was one of 3 Uber drivers in Ketchikan - so not a ton of options, but it was easy and fairly fast to get a ride!Once we got out there, we bought tickets for $5/adult, which got us a booklet with a map and information on each of the totems to do a self-guided tour. This was interesting and we enjoyed it - although it would have been nice to be on an official tour that was able to go into the tribal house (they had music and dance demonstrations going on inside) and have someone give more background/information, I know those tours were a lot more than the ~$20 we spent on tickets and transportation for the three of us. When we were done, we did take the city bus back into town, which was inexpensive ($5 total) and easy.
We also spent some time walking around Creek Street and exploring some of the shops, picking up a couple souvenirs to bring home. The weather was lovely this day, so we enjoyed just walking around and checking out the town.
Once back on the ship later in the afternoon, we fell into what became our pattern for afternoon ship time (trivia in the lounges plus kids club time).
Dinner this night was Mardi Gras night in Tiana’s Place. We had a super fun time joining in with the Mardi Grad parade around the dining room
after dinner, we enjoyed meeting some characters and then Audrey went to the kids club while Christian and I did a whiskey tasting. This was very enjoyable! Craig from Jamaica was our beverage team CM leading this tasting, and he was very informative and personable. This was a great closing to a relatively chill day!Attachments
sadiecatie
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Day at Sea
We decided to try breakfast at Triton’s this morning, because we hadn’t done that yet. While my breakfast was great (the French toast was delicious), I had kind of a rushed meal because Audrey was super grumpy. She was basically trying to go back to sleep in her chair at the table, and when I asked her how she was feeling she said she had a headache, so I decided I’d try to have her rest a little more back in the stateroom. The fact that she fell back asleep as soon as we got back to the room and slept for almost two hours confirmed my suspicions that something was up (she never naps), but luckily she felt much better once she woke up and didn’t seem to have any further symptoms of illness, so we got out of the room and joined up with Christian, who had been out hanging out and doing bingo. As a note, this was our one time on the entire cruise when I kind of wished we had a veranda - we had an inside stateroom, and it was great for the entire trip with the exception of this nap time. I think on future cruises when the cost difference between categories isn’t so big, we’ll book a veranda (like our upcoming cruise from San Juan this next spring!). But for the literally thousands of dollars difference on an Alaskan sailing, I’m OK with having two hours where I sat on the bed messing around on my iPad
We played Bingo twice today - we found that we really enjoy Bingo on the cruise! It’s a real party atmosphere, and of course it’s fun to have a chance to win! I will note, it’s SUPER loud! If you’re noise sensitive, bring earplugs or noice canceling earbuds. That’s what we did, and it made the whole situation much more enjoyable for us. We didn’t win, (womp womp), but we had a ball! After this, Audrey had more kids club time (got to make space goo with Stitch!), and Christian and I just enjoyed the ship and lounges and walked a bit up on the top deck.
Our final dinner was in Tritons, which was enjoyable but not memorable enough for me to have written more than that. We enjoyed the final show and final farewell - we didn’t really know what to expect, so Audrey got a little overwhelmed, but she got to see Stitch one more time and give Daisy a hug.
We also just spent a little time out on deck 4 getting some final views of the beautiful scenery before getting some sleep on our last night on the Wonder.
We decided to try breakfast at Triton’s this morning, because we hadn’t done that yet. While my breakfast was great (the French toast was delicious), I had kind of a rushed meal because Audrey was super grumpy. She was basically trying to go back to sleep in her chair at the table, and when I asked her how she was feeling she said she had a headache, so I decided I’d try to have her rest a little more back in the stateroom. The fact that she fell back asleep as soon as we got back to the room and slept for almost two hours confirmed my suspicions that something was up (she never naps), but luckily she felt much better once she woke up and didn’t seem to have any further symptoms of illness, so we got out of the room and joined up with Christian, who had been out hanging out and doing bingo. As a note, this was our one time on the entire cruise when I kind of wished we had a veranda - we had an inside stateroom, and it was great for the entire trip with the exception of this nap time. I think on future cruises when the cost difference between categories isn’t so big, we’ll book a veranda (like our upcoming cruise from San Juan this next spring!). But for the literally thousands of dollars difference on an Alaskan sailing, I’m OK with having two hours where I sat on the bed messing around on my iPad
We played Bingo twice today - we found that we really enjoy Bingo on the cruise! It’s a real party atmosphere, and of course it’s fun to have a chance to win! I will note, it’s SUPER loud! If you’re noise sensitive, bring earplugs or noice canceling earbuds. That’s what we did, and it made the whole situation much more enjoyable for us. We didn’t win, (womp womp), but we had a ball! After this, Audrey had more kids club time (got to make space goo with Stitch!), and Christian and I just enjoyed the ship and lounges and walked a bit up on the top deck.
Our final dinner was in Tritons, which was enjoyable but not memorable enough for me to have written more than that
. We enjoyed the final show and final farewell - we didn’t really know what to expect, so Audrey got a little overwhelmed, but she got to see Stitch one more time and give Daisy a hug.We also just spent a little time out on deck 4 getting some final views of the beautiful scenery before getting some sleep on our last night on the Wonder.
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sadiecatie
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Debarkation Day, Vancouver Part II, and General Takeaways
On our final morning, we had breakfast in Tritons. Since we had first seating at dinner, we had early breakfast (I think at about 7am or so?), which was not an issue for us as we’re early risers, but if you aren’t, please note that Cabanas is also open for breakfast. It’s not publicized, and I don’t think it’s open very late (reports I’ve seen say it’s closed by around 8 or 8:30), but it’s an option!
After breakfast, we hung out up on deck 5 while we waited for our luggage tags to be called - out of the way and away from the fray (things were kind of nuts down in the atrium!). This is when we saw a couple people bringing plates from Cabanas - we had forgotten that this is an option, but it was nice to see our serving team one last time before leaving (we really felt attached to them by the end - they were awesome!)
We got off and said goodbye to the Wonder (or “See ya real soon!”) in the rainy Vancouver weather - it was bittersweet for sure!
Once we got off, we took the skytrain out to the airport - we were not flying out until the next morning, but decided to drop our stuff at the hotel before heading back out to do stuff for the day. We had wanted to go to out to Capilano Suspension Park, but it turned out to be a cold and wet day, and we didn’t fancy hiking around on slippery suspension bridges we went to the Vancouver Science Center instead, which was great! We have some great kids’ and natural history museums where we live, but we very much enjoyed the live demostrations and exhibits here.
After our afternoon at the Science Center, we headed back to the hotel, got some fast food for dinner (lol this was very much NOT a fancy vacation experience - we were staying at the airport Fairmont Hotel, and we just went to Wendy’s in the airport), and called it an early night. The next day was our travel day and it thankfully went smoothly and doesn’t warrant its own post 
On our final morning, we had breakfast in Tritons. Since we had first seating at dinner, we had early breakfast (I think at about 7am or so?), which was not an issue for us as we’re early risers, but if you aren’t, please note that Cabanas is also open for breakfast. It’s not publicized, and I don’t think it’s open very late (reports I’ve seen say it’s closed by around 8 or 8:30), but it’s an option!
After breakfast, we hung out up on deck 5 while we waited for our luggage tags to be called - out of the way and away from the fray (things were kind of nuts down in the atrium!). This is when we saw a couple people bringing plates from Cabanas - we had forgotten that this is an option, but it was nice to see our serving team one last time before leaving (we really felt attached to them by the end - they were awesome!)
We got off and said goodbye to the Wonder (or “See ya real soon!”) in the rainy Vancouver weather - it was bittersweet for sure!
Once we got off, we took the skytrain out to the airport - we were not flying out until the next morning, but decided to drop our stuff at the hotel before heading back out to do stuff for the day. We had wanted to go to out to Capilano Suspension Park, but it turned out to be a cold and wet day, and we didn’t fancy hiking around on slippery suspension bridges
we went to the Vancouver Science Center instead, which was great! We have some great kids’ and natural history museums where we live, but we very much enjoyed the live demostrations and exhibits here.After our afternoon at the Science Center, we headed back to the hotel, got some fast food for dinner (lol this was very much NOT a fancy vacation experience - we were staying at the airport Fairmont Hotel, and we just went to Wendy’s in the airport
), and called it an early night. The next day was our travel day and it thankfully went smoothly and doesn’t warrant its own post
sadiecatie
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 28, 2022
- Messages
- 659
General Takeaways:
We were first-time cruisers, so I’m going to focus on things that may be helpful for anyone else in our position.
Seasickness: we had two experiences. I have long had mild motion-sickness, and I decided to start taking Bonine the night before boarding and every night thereafter. I don’t know if that was enough or if I just got lucky, but I was largely unaffected by seasickness. My husband and daughter, however, were in rough shape on our first sea day. We’ve since decided that my husband needs to get a prescription for a Scopolamine patch before any future cruise. I don’t know what is the best course of action for Audrey, but I’ll probably insist that she wear her SeaBands from the start of the cruise.
Activities on the ship: I can see where some people wouldn’t love the offerings on a Disney cruise - it’s very tame and somewhat repetitive (trivia, bingo, eat/drink, repeat). Luckily, that’s right up my alley If you want active night-life, this is not the cruise for you. We had an 8-year-old who was used to going to bed at 8pm and was on a 3-hour time delay, so we were not staying up late, and we still didn’t feel like we were missing out.
Alaska-specific: Spend as much time as possible outside! Even if it’s just popping out on deck 4 for a 10 minute walk, the natural beauty of Alaska should not be ignored! Like I mentioned in a previous post, we had an inside stateroom and didn’t feel like we missed out. There was plenty of opportunity to go out (on deck 4, or up on the top deck) to enjoy the natural beauty all around us. Maybe if you are going to go the inside stateroom route, try to go on a deck that will make it easy to get outside (we were on deck 5 forward - just had to go one deck down and straight out the doors to see what was happening outside).
If you’re thinking about going on an Alaska sailing, I would 100% recommend it. I viewed this as a one-time, bucket-list experience, and now I’m pretty certain that this was just our first trip to Alaska. It is the most naturally beautiful place I have ever been. Go! You won’t regret it.
If you’ve actually read through all my posts, thanks! And I hope there’s been something helpful here for you. Please let me know if you have any questions!
We were first-time cruisers, so I’m going to focus on things that may be helpful for anyone else in our position.
Seasickness: we had two experiences. I have long had mild motion-sickness, and I decided to start taking Bonine the night before boarding and every night thereafter. I don’t know if that was enough or if I just got lucky, but I was largely unaffected by seasickness. My husband and daughter, however, were in rough shape on our first sea day. We’ve since decided that my husband needs to get a prescription for a Scopolamine patch before any future cruise. I don’t know what is the best course of action for Audrey, but I’ll probably insist that she wear her SeaBands from the start of the cruise.
Activities on the ship: I can see where some people wouldn’t love the offerings on a Disney cruise - it’s very tame and somewhat repetitive (trivia, bingo, eat/drink, repeat). Luckily, that’s right up my alley
If you want active night-life, this is not the cruise for you. We had an 8-year-old who was used to going to bed at 8pm and was on a 3-hour time delay, so we were not staying up late, and we still didn’t feel like we were missing out.Alaska-specific: Spend as much time as possible outside! Even if it’s just popping out on deck 4 for a 10 minute walk, the natural beauty of Alaska should not be ignored! Like I mentioned in a previous post, we had an inside stateroom and didn’t feel like we missed out. There was plenty of opportunity to go out (on deck 4, or up on the top deck) to enjoy the natural beauty all around us. Maybe if you are going to go the inside stateroom route, try to go on a deck that will make it easy to get outside (we were on deck 5 forward - just had to go one deck down and straight out the doors to see what was happening outside).
If you’re thinking about going on an Alaska sailing, I would 100% recommend it. I viewed this as a one-time, bucket-list experience, and now I’m pretty certain that this was just our first trip to Alaska. It is the most naturally beautiful place I have ever been. Go! You won’t regret it.
If you’ve actually read through all my posts, thanks! And I hope there’s been something helpful here for you. Please let me know if you have any questions!
shosh1530
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2020
- Messages
- 897
I enjoyed reading the rest of your trip report! What a great cruise. The totem park looks interesting. I might have to check that out if we ever make it back to Ketchikan.
Hope you enjoy your next sailing! We are still debating what to book with our placeholder.
Thanks for sharing your trip report.
Hope you enjoy your next sailing! We are still debating what to book with our placeholder.
Thanks for sharing your trip report.
ukintheus
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2009
- Messages
- 2,320
Congrats on getting your report finished - that's an accomplishment in itself. 
I enjoyed following along on your adventures and it's always good to see what others are doing in port as there really are lots of options. Glad you enjoyed your first cruise and hope your next experience is just as good.
I enjoyed following along on your adventures and it's always good to see what others are doing in port as there really are lots of options. Glad you enjoyed your first cruise and hope your next experience is just as good.
Disneymadhouse
Always planning a Disney holiday!
- Joined
- Jan 11, 2011
- Messages
- 1,410
Have really enjoyed reading your report, thankyou.
Can I ask, what type of whales did you see on your trip in Juneau? My DD is desperate to see Orca's, and if we do a cruise next summer I don't know whether to book whale watching in Vancouver or "risk" booking for Juneau!
Can I ask, what type of whales did you see on your trip in Juneau? My DD is desperate to see Orca's, and if we do a cruise next summer I don't know whether to book whale watching in Vancouver or "risk" booking for Juneau!
AgentMama
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 5, 2016
- Messages
- 1,500
We saw a ton of orcas in Icy Staight point, from the ship and on the whale watching excursion.
Disneymadhouse
Always planning a Disney holiday!
- Joined
- Jan 11, 2011
- Messages
- 1,410
Thankyou, will keep that in mind. Eagerly awaiting the itineraries for next August!
sadiecatie
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 28, 2022
- Messages
- 659
I think what is much more common in Alaska at that time of year is humpbacks, which is what we saw. Now, there were reports of people seeing a pod of orca in/around Ketchikan on our port day there, but we didn’t see them - both during our whale watching tour and just random sighting off the ship, we only saw humpbacks.
sadiecatie
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 28, 2022
- Messages
- 659
Glad to help! We really have no regrets about booking the inside room - if you do go the inside route, I definitely recommend one of the sideways facing inside rooms! (We were in 5513). It felt surprisingly spacious (which is why I booked that one - I’d heard reviews to that effect comparing the standard vs sideways oriented rooms).
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