Alaska 06/11/12 Anyone Sailing ?

[rbtcornett1]

My family is going on this cruise...there will be some 13 of us...ranging in a age from 5 to 86...5, 16,16,19,19, 24, 26, 29 and the rest assorted adults...some first time cruisers and some on their 6th...

we will be flying from Cincinnati to Seattle on the 10th...

The excursions seem to be expensive even by Disney standards....has anyone experienced any of the before?...

And has anyone looked into booking non-Disney excursions?

We cruised the Med last summer and booked both Disney and non Disney excursions...we were very pleased with all of them, though the non-Disney excursions were considerably cheaper

 

[midwestpat]

Welcome rbtcornett1! Such a large group - wow!
I'm glad to see more people joining this conversation.

Several posts now have talked about the price of excursions. We have cruised before, but not with Disney, and so far all I've found is a restriction that we aren't allowed to even see what excursions are offered - let alone the prices. Disney won't let me book excursions until March. Where are you all seeing it? Or maybe you have enough reputation with Disney that you're entitled to this privilege? (I will say, I think they ought to let us see our options now - even if we aren't allowed to book them until March).

 

[Grumpymom73]

midwestpat you can check out the excursions by going to the DCL website.....put your cursor over "Cruises and Destinations"......click on "Port Adventures".....then you can narrow your search by port. I'm not completly sure that these won't change before our booking dates open but it should give you some ideas. Hope this helps.

rbtcornett1 Welcome!!

 

[midwestpat]

you can check out the excursions by going to the DCL website.....put your cursor over "Cruises and Destinations"......click on "Port Adventures".....then you can narrow your search by port. I'm not completly sure that these won't change before our booking dates open but it should give you some ideas.

Alrighty! I am able to see those, and the pricing. Great to know - thanks so much!! Seems to me the prices may be a little higher than excursions on other cruises we've taken, but I'd guess the increased price is maybe on the same scale as the price of this cruise itself - compared with other cruise lines. I'm sure we'll find something among the choices.

Now I have something fun to do for the rest of Christmas break..... dig through the excursions for our cruise next summer Thanks Grumpymom!

 

[pixie08]

Yes from my research it just seems Alaska excursions tend to be alot more then other locations.

We also went on the Med cruise and did some DCL excurcursions and some on our own, but with the very, very tight port time we are thinking of just booking the three potrs through Dcl.

On the brighter side we just got a good deal from Jfk to seattle on June 8th so we booked our flights! Hotel is next. I may try priceline or hotwire.

 

[Grumpymom73]

Now that the holidays are over.....can't we fast forward to March?
I'm ready to get this show started.

We booked the Residence Inn Lake Union for our 2 days in Seattle post cruise. Still need to get a room for the one night pre cruise. We will most likely just get something near the airport.

Need to get our passports....
Need to get clothes.....
Need to save money for excursions and other stuff......

 

[pixie08]

Congrats on the hotel GrumpyMom!

I know we need some clothes too. DH found a rain jacket on Lands End at a price he couldn't pass up (it was 70%) off but we still need trail shoes for the both of us, some new fleeces and a rain coat for me!

Now here's hoping I can pack this all into my suitcaseThere goes my usual 2 pairs of nice shoes. I am going to have to think differently about this cruise.

 

[Grumpymom73]

I know what you mean pixie08! I'm seriously stressing over packing for this trip.

We got some really good deals on rain coats from Lands End too but my DH and DS12 didn't fit so they went back. I think we will probably hit some of the outlets(Columbia, etc.) after the holidays. I just can't decide what we really need and what we don't. I've been known to overpack in the past and since this time it involves paying airline baggage fees I'm trying to not over do it.
Is everyone planning on bringing hiking shoes/boots? I was thinking of skipping those since we would have to go out and buy them and just packing 2 sets of sneakers for everyone. This way if one pair gets wet we have another ready. What do you all think?

 

[pixie08]

We are going to hit the outlets too. I think we will wait until spring and try to get some fleece and thermals on clearance.

In terms of shoes, we are going to bring a pair of trail shoes/sneakers (with a little more grip and stability then regular sneakers plus waterproofing..like Keens) and a pair of sneakers.

 

[midwestpat]

We have a room at the HI-Express on Aurora Ave booked pre-cruise, and we have plans to visit Mt. Rainier post-cruise. I've heard that this HI-Express is often booked solid, so I'm really glad we booked it well in advance.

DD and I each got new fleece jackets this past fall, and I got a new raincoat from Coldwater Creek for Christmas. DH seems to think he'll get by with just the one lined jacket he already owns. We'll see.......

As for shoes/boots, I keep pondering that too. One thing we've considered is boxing the heavier outerwear and boots and shipping them to our hotel, and shipping them back home after the cruise. I am a bit apprehensive about the box not making it to Seattle before the cruise leaves - but I tend to worry about stuff that way. Like you, I'm trying to not overpack; very costly mistake anymore!

I don't see anything on Disney's site that indicates which pier they use. Does anyone already know the answer to this? We're trying to figure our best option for getting to the pier - and to determine what time we should leave the hotel or stop sightseeing and head that way.

 

[Grumpymom73]

According to what I have read on these boards we are sailing from Pier 91.

Note: I just checked the Port of Seattle website and it does list the Disney Wonder at Smith Cove at Pier 91.

 

[midwestpat]

According to what I have read on these boards we are sailing from Pier 91.

Note: I just checked the Port of Seattle website and it does list the Disney Wonder at Smith Cove at Pier 91.

Hey thanks Grumpymom! You are so very helpful!

 

[pixie08]

According to what I have read on these boards we are sailing from Pier 91.

Note: I just checked the Port of Seattle website and it does list the Disney Wonder at Smith Cove at Pier 91.

I am going to try and cram a ton of stuff into my carry on, this worked well when we did our med cruise and few days before in Paris (it was freezing and raining in Paris in Aug!). I will wear my rain jacket on to the plane if I have to and tuck it into my purse. I will use a backpack type bag for a "personal item purse" to hold my iPad/ camera/ fleece and rain jacket. I'll wear my sneakers.

In my carry on I'll pack my trail shoes and bunch of clothes for seattle. Hopefully the rest will go in my suit case. I am not going to worry too much about dressing up for dinner, like on past cruises. When reading trip reports on this board and others it seems the Alaska cruises have been the most informal of all cruises. With all of the packing restrictions, and cold weather people were just going to dinner in their day clothes.

I'll bring one simple black wrap dress I can wear to Palo/formal night and a nicer dinner in Seattle (here's hoping I can get palo as a silver cc member) with a few accessories to change it up. Laundry will be a must!

Now I have to get on a hotel for three nights in Seattle....

 

[alaska8]

Hello
I live in Anchorage and wanted to say hello. The advice about layers is absolutely correct.....one day it can be hot (well hot for Alaska!) and the next day it can be cold and wet. Seek comfort in the fact that the blue of the glaciers is best seen on day where the sun isnt shining brightly!
Not sure of the itinery but anywhere in southeast Alaska is experienced in dealing with cruise ships...Ive stayed in Juneau looked out of my hotel window and seen at least 3 ships docked. So it should be fairly "safe" to book a non disney excursion
Try The AlaskaApp on itunes (believe its free) for lots of good info

 

[Grumpymom73]

Hello
I live in Anchorage and wanted to say hello. The advice about layers is absolutely correct.....one day it can be hot (well hot for Alaska!) and the next day it can be cold and wet. Seek comfort in the fact that the blue of the glaciers is best seen on day where the sun isnt shining brightly!
Not sure of the itinery but anywhere in southeast Alaska is experienced in dealing with cruise ships...Ive stayed in Juneau looked out of my hotel window and seen at least 3 ships docked. So it should be fairly "safe" to book a non disney excursion
Try The AlaskaApp on itunes (believe its free) for lots of good info

Thanks!!!
I just downloaded the app

 

[pixie08]

Hello
I live in Anchorage and wanted to say hello. The advice about layers is absolutely correct.....one day it can be hot (well hot for Alaska!) and the next day it can be cold and wet. Seek comfort in the fact that the blue of the glaciers is best seen on day where the sun isnt shining brightly!
Not sure of the itinery but anywhere in southeast Alaska is experienced in dealing with cruise ships...Ive stayed in Juneau looked out of my hotel window and seen at least 3 ships docked. So it should be fairly "safe" to book a non disney excursion
Try The AlaskaApp on itunes (believe its free) for lots of good info

Cool thanks!

 

[betsy918]

Hi Everyone: I just got off the phone with the cruise line, and we changed our June 25 reservation to this date as it was cheaper for our room category. Our Alaska cruise was booked only 10 days ago during our first ever Disney cruise on the Wonder to Mexico (the Christmas cruise.) It was such an amazing experience that I had no problem deciding to book a future cruise while on the Wonder to take advantage of the booking incentives. In fact, as soon as we returned last Monday I found a great deal for the Wonder's President's Week to Mexico, so my daughter and I are taking our second cruise in only 7 weeks! I can't believe we're going from non cruisers to 3 cruises in 6 months, but these west coast cruises are do-able for us. It looks like the Wonder will be pulling out of California soon, so I want to take all I can while they're here.

Anyway, hope to get to know you all. Right now my DD(8) and I are cruising for sure, and my husband will decide before we make the final payment. He enjoyed our Christmas cruise, but isn't sold on the idea of a cold weather cruise to Alaska. He might want to save his vacation for a warmer climate.

Let me know if anyone has questions about the Wonder. I should be an expert by the time we set sail for Alaska!

 

[betsy918]

Hi..I'm considering changing cabins. Given our itinerary, does anyone know whether port or starboard would offer the better view? I thought starboard would as we are traveling north, but I see that we go to tracy arm first, then head south for the rest of the cruise which makes me thing port would be better. I think I read somewhere that the captain will turn the ship around while we're in Tracy Arm so all can see, and I'll probably go on deck for that anyway, so do you think port would give the best views from the cabin for the rest of the cruise? Thanks!

 

[Grumpymom73]

betsy918 Welcome!!!!
So glad you will be joining us to Alaska!! I totally understand the DCL addiction. My family is still looking for the 12 step program. I honestly don't think they are looking that hard because they love to cruise too. They just don't feel the need to talk about it all day...every day. I don't know what's wrong with them!

Anyway from what I understand you should be good with either side as the ship comes back the same way. What you miss going you should get coming back. Again, I'm not an expert so you might want to ask on the main board.

Just about 5 months to go

 

[pixie08]

Welcome betsy918,

I agree with grumpymom73 i think both sides work because you get the view one way and then turn