Ahoy, Kids! Scrap the Summer Plans...We're Sailing with Mickey to Alaska! (Upd 9/8)

[Nicole786]

Can't wait to see the Tracy Arm photos! This TR makes me want to take a trip to Alaska even more than I did before!

 

[MickeyMomTo2]

Can't wait to see the Tracy Arm photos! This TR makes me want to take a trip to Alaska even more than I did before!

It's been a crazy few days, so I haven't had time. About to load them now!

 

[MickeyMomTo2]

We finished lunch as we were entering the fjord. Because we had a balcony, my DH and I went back to the room for viewing from there. The kids stayed on Deck 9 with their friends and their friends' parents (our former tablemates) for a while.

This cruise would have been amazing no matter what, but I loved having the balcony on Tracy Arm day! We turned on our television to hear the narration and went out to enjoy the stunning views. It turned out to be a beautiful day. It was sunny and in the 50's. We couldn't have asked for better weather. Here are some pictures of the scene as we saw it from stateroom 6608!


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To Be Continued...

 

[MickeyMomTo2]

DH and I enjoyed some peace and quiet for a while, but at some point, our kids and their friends came to our room. They would come outside for about 5 minutes and say, "Cool." Then they would go back in the room to hang out, talk and play games on their devices.


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There were many seals in the waters, especially next to the glacier. This was the first one we spotted!


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This is not a good picture, but if you look closely, you'll see why we wanted a picture. It was our first glimpse of the Sawyer Glacier!


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Check out the boat in this pic. It gives a better perspective of how large the glacier really is...


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The kids came out for occasional peeks...


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We were able to get much closer to the glacier than I expected. At the show that night, the cruise director said we made it farther than any previous cruise that summer. I don't know if that's true, but we were close, and it was amazing!

To be continued...

 

[PrincessJo]

Beautiful!!!

 

[MickeyMomTo2]

When we got close to the glacier, the ship stopped there for a while. They made an announcement that they had pulled some ice from the water, and you could come to see it on Decks 9 and 4. At this time, our insane children decided to see the ice and swim. They were wearing bathing suits while parked next to a glacier. CRAZY!

Even though my kids are excellent swimmers, I don't like them to be in the pool without us nearby, so this also gave DH and I the motivation to go up to decks 9 and 10 for a different view (their friends' parents were poolside as well, so both sets of adults had the opportunity to walk around a bit).


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Seals!


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We stayed up on the top decks until about 4:30 or so. I also walked around deck 4 for a little while by myself. It was truly a beautiful day, and the pictures don't do the scenery justice. I could've stayed out longer, but I knew Mickey and Minnie were going to be in the lobby in their Alaskan outfits before dinner, and DD and I didn't want to miss that.

Overall, Tracy Arm day was one of my two favorite days from the cruise. Truly breathtaking!

Coming Up...An Entertaining Evening

 

[closetdisneynerd]

Hi, Lauren--thanks for your TR. I've really enjoyed reading about your experiences. I have 2 girls that are similar ages to your kiddos, and we've just returned from a Dream cruise, which we loved. We have a dummy date booked for an Eastern cruise, but hubby would really like to do Alaska. I'm concerned about my kids not enjoying the trip OR the ship as much as they did the Dream. Would you mind commenting on that? Will they feel like the Wonder is not as nice? And did your oldest go to the Edge any? Was it like the Dream?

TIA,
Anne, A Southern Sister

 

[tanyabanana]

Thanks for this trip report! Tracey Arm looks beautiful! I am thinking about booking for next year so am eagerly reading and have subscribed

 

[basketrn]

I am glad to see I will have great views from our balcony when we go!! Also glad to know we will be able to hear the narration on the tv.

 

[MickeyMomTo2]

Hi, Lauren--thanks for your TR. I've really enjoyed reading about your experiences. I have 2 girls that are similar ages to your kiddos, and we've just returned from a Dream cruise, which we loved. We have a dummy date booked for an Eastern cruise, but hubby would really like to do Alaska. I'm concerned about my kids not enjoying the trip OR the ship as much as they did the Dream. Would you mind commenting on that? Will they feel like the Wonder is not as nice? And did your oldest go to the Edge any? Was it like the Dream?

TIA,
Anne, A Southern Sister

There were a few things my kids liked about the Dream better, including the Midship Detective Agency and the Aquaduck. However, they had a wonderful time on the Wonder, too! Our next cruise will be on the Wonder (a 5-night Western out of Miami), and neither kid has said, "Oh, no. Not the Wonder!" Of course, the Alaskan itinerary on the Wonder was SO much better than the Bahamas, so that was part of the enjoyment (we didn't get to dock at Castaway Cay because of high winds, so our only port was Nassau). I thought the kids' clubs on the Wonder, including Edge, were just as enjoyable to my kids as on the Dream. They both have very similar programming. The only thing I didn't like was that the Club and Lab weren't connected from the inside, but that was a very minor detail. I haven't done an Eastern, but I can definitely say that I think you would enjoy Alaska. I don't think you should hesitate about the Wonder at all.

Thanks for this trip report! Tracey Arm looks beautiful! I am thinking about booking for next year so am eagerly reading and have subscribed

Thanks for reading! It is a wonderful cruise, and I highly recommend it!

I am glad to see I will have great views from our balcony when we go!! Also glad to know we will be able to hear the narration on the tv.

HA! You don't even need to go. You've already seen your exact view!

 

[closetdisneynerd]

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[ProudMommyof2]

Awesome pictures! Love your updates.

 

[MickeyMomTo2]

Thanks for the feedback!

You're welcome!

Awesome pictures! Love your updates.

Just noticed you're a Red Sox/Patriots fan. Even though we live in TN, my DS loves both those teams! My DH was going to try to take him to Boston for a father/son weekend and see the Red Sox on Sat and the Patriots on Sun. They couldn't work the flights out, so they are doing a different combo. My DS has a huge David Ortiz Fathead on his bedroom wall. I feel like Big Papi is part of the family.

 

[Nicole786]

Love the pics! What are you shooting with??

 

[MickeyMomTo2]

Love the pics! What are you shooting with??

I have a Canon Rebel T3. I use landscape mode a lot in situations like these. I asked a stranger at the Grand Canyon to take a family photo of us last year. He switched the setting before taking the picture, and I loved the result! Landscape mode keeps people in the foreground and the scenery in the background in focus, and for some reason, the colors seem more vivid.

This setting worked really well on my Skagway pictures, too (they are coming soon). The one mistake I made on this trip, as you will see in my Juneau pics, is forgetting to change the setting when we went whale watching. Stay tuned for that photo!

 

[ProudMommyof2]

Just noticed you're a Red Sox/Patriots fan. Even though we live in TN, my DS loves both those teams! My DH was going to try to take him to Boston for a father/son weekend and see the Red Sox on Sat and the Patriots on Sun. They couldn't work the flights out, so they are doing a different combo. My DS has a huge David Ortiz Fathead on his bedroom wall. I feel like Big Papi is part of the family. [/QUOTE]

We live in RI. We just got to see the Sox play at Camden Yards in Baltimore last week and my son took 2 friends to Fenway for his birthday in April. We also go see the Patriots during their training camp each August. It is a great day. Go see the Hall of Fame in am, lunch at Patriot Place then watch training camp in afternoon. Only cost is $5 for Hall of Fame. I also have a boss with season tickets and usually get to see at least 1 game.

 

[MickeyMomTo2]

Just noticed you're a Red Sox/Patriots fan. Even though we live in TN, my DS loves both those teams! My DH was going to try to take him to Boston for a father/son weekend and see the Red Sox on Sat and the Patriots on Sun. They couldn't work the flights out, so they are doing a different combo. My DS has a huge David Ortiz Fathead on his bedroom wall. I feel like Big Papi is part of the family.

We live in RI. We just got to see the Sox play at Camden Yards in Baltimore last week and my son took 2 friends to Fenway for his birthday in April. We also go see the Patriots during their training camp each August. It is a great day. Go see the Hall of Fame in am, lunch at Patriot Place then watch training camp in afternoon. Only cost is $5 for Hall of Fame. I also have a boss with season tickets and usually get to see at least 1 game.[/QUOTE]

All of that sounds very fun!

 

[MickeyMomTo2]

After the amazing scenery in Tracy Arm, my DD and I hurried to get ready for dinner. Mickey was greeting guests in his Alaskan outfit at 5:15, and we wanted to be sure to see him. (I know characters are out and about during Tracy Arm viewing, but I didn't see any. The kids did see Pluto when they were with their friends, and I am hoping their dad will send me the pic. They are in the process of moving back to England at the moment.)

We managed to get to the lobby about 5:10 and got in line. About 5:25, we made it to Mickey. He looks so cute in his fisherman gear!


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Minnie was scheduled to greet at 5:45. We realized we could be second in her line, so we decided to do that, even though it made us a couple minutes late for dinner. We made it to Animator's Palate by 5:50, so that wasn't a problem at all.

I'd love to have a winter outfit like Minnie's!


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Dinner was in Animator's Palate and was the show dinner. Again, I don't remember what DH had, but I ordered an appetizer from the kids' menu (mozzarella sticks, which were a little soggy from sitting in tomato sauce). I didn't want any of the adult choices--I had tried the Shrimp and Onion Cheesecake before but didn't care for it, and none of the other options were appealing to me. If there is ever a time you want something from the kids' menu, don't hesitate to ask. They are happy to oblige. I also had the Baked Potato Soup, which was fine, but I'm not much of a soup fan. The Pannette Pasta was my choice for the main course, and it was my favorite part of the meal. The chocolate cake for dessert was yummy, too!

Once again, the kids left dinner earlier than we did. DS went back to the room for a bit, and DD went to the club. This may have been the night that I took her to the club and changed her to self-check. By this time, she was familiar with the ship, and I felt comfortable with the fact that she could find her way to the room. We had a wave phone, and she was supposed to call us if she left the club (the counselors will allow the kids to us the phone in the lab or club, and there are also public phones in all lobbies). She stayed there until time for the show.

John Charles, the musical comedian who had entertained us briefly during the show on the first night, was the main attraction for the evening. His performance was WONDERFUL! He was so funny that all four of us were laughing the entire time. He interacted with the audience, and I was amazed how he was able to take audience comments and work them into his show in such an amusing way. This was our favorite of all the variety acts by far. As I mentioned in an earlier post, it just made me happy to look over at my family and see all of us laughing together. It was a wonderful evening!

Coming Up...Our Amazing Adventures in Skagway, Part One!

 

[Nora94]

Was there much smoking on board?

Did the kids swim (besides with the ice, lol) in the Alaska part of the cruise?

Are tips at the end of the cruise expected on Disney cruises? I know they are on pretty much every other cruise line.

 

[MickeyMomTo2]

Just checking in to let you know that I haven't forgotten this thread! My kids go back to school tomorrow, so we've been busy with all the end-of-summer/back-to-school details. We are also thinking about building a house, so my brain has been running in a million directions! I plan to update in the next day or so. Can't wait to post our Skagway experiences!

Was there much smoking on board?

Did the kids swim (besides with the ice, lol) in the Alaska part of the cruise?

Are tips at the end of the cruise expected on Disney cruises? I know they are on pretty much every other cruise line.

I can't remember a time that I noticed smoking on board! I'm sure someone was smoking at some time, but I don't remember it, and I am very sensitive to smoke.

My kids didn't swim on the three port days in Alaska, but that was only because we were so busy. They did swim on our embarkation day, Tracy Arm, and our at-sea days. The water is heated, and they also enjoyed the hot tubs. I didn't get in at all. I prefer to swim when it is in the 90s!

I would say that tips are expected by the servers and your stateroom host (they work with the understanding that part of their income comes from tips), but I would also say that the tips are definitely deserved. The servers and stateroom hosts go out of their way to make your vacation magical. Disney will automatically charge the recommended tips to your account, but you can go to Guest Services to raise or lower the tips. We have never lowered ours, but I have added extra by putting cash into the tip envelopes (along with the statement showing the tips charged to my account). Our servers and stateroom host went above and beyond for us. They deserved every penny of the tip money we gave!