Alaska advise?

[MichelleCanada]

We have done two DCL Caribbean cruises and now have booked an Alaskan cruise for 2019. I have some questions that I hope someone can help with:

1. I see that there are no fireworks on the Alaskan cruises - is there still a pirate night?

2. It appears as those you do not get off the ship at Tracey Arm. Does that mean Palo will be available on this day?

3. What excursions do you recommend? We have a son that will be 8.

Thank you!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We have done two DCL Caribbean cruises and now have booked an Alaskan cruise for 2019. I have some questions that I hope someone can help with:

1. I see that there are no fireworks on the Alaskan cruises - is there still a pirate night?

2. It appears as those you do not get off the ship at Tracey Arm. Does that mean Palo will be available on this day?

3. What excursions do you recommend? We have a son that will be 8.

Thank you!

1. I believe, in the past, they've done a Pixar Night instead. It may be Frozen night now.

2. Yes, Palo brunch is usually also available on Tracy Arm day.

 

[MichelleCanada]

1. I believe, in the past, they've done a Pixar Night instead. It may be Frozen night now.

2. Yes, Palo brunch is usually also available on Tracy Arm day.

That’s helpful - thank you!

 

[jdb in AZ]

There's so many excursions to choose from. It all depends on how active you want to be. Or not. You can also book excursions when you get to each port, and save $$$. Our favorite excursions have been the White Pass Summit train in Skagway, and flight seeing over Misty Fjords out of Ketchikan. If you want to go to the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, you can take a city bus and come and go as you please.

 

[Shanti]

1. I see that there are no fireworks on the Alaskan cruises - is there still a pirate night?

2. It appears as those you do not get off the ship at Tracey Arm. Does that mean Palo will be available on this day?

3. What excursions do you recommend? We have a son that will be 8.

We sailed DCL to Alaska this June.

1. No, there is Frozen Night instead.

2. Yes, it is.

3. I recommend booking port of call excursions independently of DCL, as they're just as reliable, yet cheaper & with fewer other guests.

Skagway: We independently booked a glassblowing & garden tour excursion via Jewell Gardens in Skagway that cost 1/2 to book independently than it did via DCL. We decided to walk back to the ship afterwards (but no need, as there is a cheap public shuttle bus that stops there), and stopped at the gold miners' graveyard and Reid waterfall.

Juneau: We booked nothing in advance, just took the free 3-minute shuttle bus into Juneau, and there purchased round trip bus transfers to and from Mendenhall Glacier, which was awesome. So glad I did it this way so that we could see the glacier at our own pace, & not be limited by a tour group.

Ketchikan: We independently booked a Misty Fjords flightseeing tour via Island Wings. Veteran pilot & all passengers guaranteed a window seat. The vintage prop plane is loud, but all prop planes are loud, I suppose. They provide good quality headphones.

The one DCL excursion we did was a disembarkation day bus tour of Vancouver, Stanley Park & trip to explore Capilano Suspension Bridge. You could only book this excursion onboard and which it was a wonderful way to end the cruise. It ended by dropping us off at the airport.

 

[dcassetta]

We have done two DCL Caribbean cruises and now have booked an Alaskan cruise for 2019. I have some questions that I hope someone can help with:

1. I see that there are no fireworks on the Alaskan cruises - is there still a pirate night?

2. It appears as those you do not get off the ship at Tracey Arm. Does that mean Palo will be available on this day?

3. What excursions do you recommend? We have a son that will be 8.

Thank you!

I might suggest looking at the Bering Sea Crab Fishing tour in Ketchikan. It takes place on one of the boats that was on the show Deadliest Catch, and the crew is very interactive and charismatic. The kids in my family, and for that matter all the kids on the tour, had a great time. They show you how they catch crabs and other different types of sea animals, and there's even a stop where you get to see a lot of Eagles. Just a really great experience.

Mendenhall or whale watching in Juneau.

We also enjoyed the train in Skagway.

 

[cmph]

We went in June, as well. Fireworks would be an issue for a variety of reasons, one of which is how late it gets dark. I have a 9yo son, and honestly - Frozen night was pretty lame for him compared to pirate night, for both thematic reasons and b/c of the actual party differences. There is a Pixar character party during the day time on a different day, too.

We were with extended family, and everyone thought our private whale watching excursion in Juneau was the best one we did. I don't think it would have been the same if we'd been on a larger boat. But the kids (6, 8, 9, and 13) all thought it was amazing and asked if we could do that again. DH and I took the 3 oldest ziplining in Skagway. I booked that independently, and if I recall correctly - one of the reasons was that it was not bookable for an 8yo via DCL. It was smarter to book independently anyway, as we had our own personal group for the 5 of us. We got to re-run a whole section b/c the larger cruiseline-booked groups ahead of us took so much longer to get through the course. Of all of us, I think DS9 enjoyed ziplining the most. The guides said they love it when the Disney ships are in town b/c the kids are much more fun.

I had toyed around with other ideas for the ports that would involve more car/bus time, and I'm glad I didn't go that route. Kids that age want to move and do things, and don't really need nap time in cars. We could move around the whale watching boat inside, and to the two outside areas, and obviously ziplining was active.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

The one DCL excursion we did was a disembarkation day bus tour of Vancouver, Stanley Park & trip to explore Capilano Suspension Bridge. You could only book this excursion onboard and which it was a wonderful way to end the cruise. It ended by dropping us off at the airport.

This sounds interesting. Can you share details? How much $ per person? Any idea if they can drop you off anywhere else besides airport ? (I booked Marriott at the airport for that night)

 

[RAD]

BTW there is an excursion on Tracey Arm day, it’s a smaller boat that takes you on a tour of some of the places where the Wonder can’t fit into and then up close to the glacier.

 

[MichelleCanada]

BTW there is an excursion on Tracey Arm day, it’s a smaller boat that takes you on a tour of some of the places where the Wonder can’t fit into and then up close to the glacier.

Good to know. Have you done this excursion?

 

[MissDaisyofTexas]

We booked this dog musher's camp excursion in Skagway. My whole family loved it! It was cheaper to book independently vs. the camp that DCL has on its website. https://www.alaskaexcursions.com/admin/site/excursion/sleddog_sk

 

[Shanti]

This sounds interesting. Can you share details? How much $ per person? Any idea if they can drop you off anywhere else besides airport ? (I booked Marriott at the airport for that night)

I signed up at Port Adventures onboard, and they let me not be charged for my bus transfer to the airport, since we would do this instead. We met on disembarkation morning in D Lounge & went through customs & off the ship as a group. Then we & our luggage were escorted onto a nice, comfy motorcoach.

We were driven around the city for a short while, then to Stanley park, where we got off the bus and spent about 15 minutes or so free to take pics of the park or harbor, or shop at the gift shop.

Then we went to Capilano Suspension Bridge, where we were taken through the entry as a group, then set free to explore & meet back at the bus at a designated time. I don't remember exactly how much time we had, but it was plenty of time for us to cross the bridge and explore the far side of the park. My son and I even grabbed a quick lunch there before heading back to the bus.

Then they drove us to the airport at about 1pm, where everyone got off. No, there was no option to be dropped elsewhere. You could easily get a taxi to your hotel, though.

I don't remember the price, but it was reasonable for DCL, and it included the entrance fee to Capilano. It was a great way to end the cruise.

 

[lilsonicfan]

This sounds interesting. Can you share details? How much $ per person? Any idea if they can drop you off anywhere else besides airport ? (I booked Marriott at the airport for that night)

Check if perhaps the Marriott has an airport shuttle, because many of the Richmond hotels do, and that could mean you could be dropped off at the airport and then picked up by the hotel shuttle?

 

[RAD]

Good to know. Have you done this excursion?

Yes we did last year. They take the boat fairly close to the glacier. A side treat is looking back at the Wonder as she’s viewing.

 

[LeiaOfAlderaan]

We booked this dog musher's camp excursion in Skagway. My whole family loved it! It was cheaper to book independently vs. the camp that DCL has on its website. https://www.alaskaexcursions.com/admin/site/excursion/sleddog_sk

We did this excursion in 2017 and it was one of the highlights of our whole trip! Tour guide was a hoot, riding the dog sleds was really fun, and we all loved holding the puppies.

 

[southerngirl528]

I might suggest looking at the Bering Sea Crab Fishing tour in Ketchikan. It takes place on one of the boats that was on the show Deadliest Catch, and the crew is very interactive and charismatic. The kids in my family, and for that matter all the kids on the tour, had a great time. They show you how they catch crabs and other different types of sea animals, and there's even a stop where you get to see a lot of Eagles. Just a really great experience.

I second this! We did it 4 years ago on the Wonder and did the DCL option of a crab dinner with the Deadliest Catch team after the excursion. The crab dinner was not remotely fancy, they set up wood TV tray type table for each of us (it was only a few of us that had opted for the dinner) and the crab was DIVINE. I mean, unbelievably fresh and delicious! Even without butter and lemon it was succulent! And the team were available for us to ask all sorts of impromptu questions and gave us a lot of details about the boats and the show. I would definitely do it again, though it was not a cheap excursion.

 

[MichelleCanada]

My only question now - is how do I save this thread? We are not going until next August and there are so many great ideas here!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

My only question now - is how do I save this thread? We are not going until next August and there are so many great ideas here!

At the top of this page, right hand side is a link "Watch thread". Click that. When you want to return to this thread, also at the top of the page, in the light blue bar, sort of middle/right side is "Watched Threads", just click on that.

 

[MichelleCanada]

At the top of this page, right hand side is a link "Watch thread". Click that. When you want to return to this thread, also at the top of the page, in the light blue bar, sort of middle/right side is "Watched Threads", just click on that.

Thank you!! Disboards has helped us with many things on our last cruise and I’m sure will help with our next as well!

 

[CyndiLouWho]

At the top of this page, right hand side is a link "Watch thread". Click that. When you want to return to this thread, also at the top of the page, in the light blue bar, sort of middle/right side is "Watched Threads", just click on that.

On my screen, clicking on watched threads only gives me unread watched threads. So old threads not being updated don’t show. Is there a way to see all the threads I’ve “watched” even after I read them?