Alaska on July 19th, 2011 "Where a good tan is hard to find"

["Got Disney"]

I agree calling is what one will have to do because sometimes they wont take you if you come in on a ship also.

as for the Sea Bering crab excursion.....we r not having the one with the dinner ..that is our cruise. They do it every other week and it so happens not to fall on our week.

also I called them up and the owner said that they hold back at least 30 seats for others to book and yes they will take us from the DCL at the same time DCL goes. It is the only one that is left anyway in the day.

She said that everyone from DCL walks to and from the ship to the ship..they are a ships length away from where we dock. It is also cheaper than DCL....adults are $159 and kids are $99...kids ages are up to 12 years old.

You can cancel up to 7 days and only loose $25 per booking...not per person per booking. This is what we are going to do.

By the way we dock at Ketchikan at 1:40 and leave at 7:30...the Sea Bering cruise is from 4-7:30.......DCL shows 3:45-7:45 due to the walk...so the ship will be leaving a bit later since this excursion leaves a little bit later.

Looked at like 100 reviews on this...no kidding and it got a way . And they dont go out into choppy water...they stay in very calm water. We will see Orcas, and lots of other wild life and they throw chum in the water so the Eagles will dive in for it...she said the Eagles just love the fishing boats.

So that is a little of what I found out for those that may be interested if when you go and book it is sold out through DCL.

 

[Schachteles]

Tom, glad that you guys got your passports taken care of, the check for Jon's was cashed on Monday, but when I check the status online it still shows nothing. So I guess we will see. We have time. I'd like to think that if they cashed the check, everything was together and we should have it soon.

I am starting to get nervous about the excursions, we really only have one thing picked out for each port and if we can't do them, I am not sure what we will do. It is tough, because the port times are so weird timing wise, I personally am kinda worried about booking things on my own.

 

["Got Disney"]

That's a good idea! Those of us on Facebook could even use that as a way to share pictures.

Tom has already set up a FB page for the cruise incase you missed that....look on page 1 first post on this thread and you will find the link there

Tom, glad that you guys got your passports taken care of, the check for Jon's was cashed on Monday, but when I check the status online it still shows nothing. So I guess we will see. We have time. I'd like to think that if they cashed the check, everything was together and we should have it soon.

I am starting to get nervous about the excursions, we really only have one thing picked out for each port and if we can't do them, I am not sure what we will do. It is tough, because the port times are so weird timing wise, I personally am kinda worried about booking things on my own.

Agreed....that is why I am only at this point booking the Sea crab fisherman's excursion on my own. Will be cheaper and on same boat as Disney and is only a cruise ship length away. And can cancel up to 7 days prior the excursion for only $25. No need to worry about transportation to and from the ship since we are only at port such a short time and excursion is next to the ship.

Certain things I would do on my own that Disney has in the other ports....but with such things as the train and trail camp together I prefer to book with DCL .....same as the Helicopter stuff.

2012 times at port are even worse. Glad I am doing this years because otherwise wouild not had the chance to see Vancouver or Whistler.

 

[Schachteles]

[QUOTE="Got Disney";40717094]
Agreed....that is why I am only at this point booking the Sea crab fisherman's excursion on my own. Will be cheaper and on same boat as Disney and is only a cruise ship length away. And can cancel up to 7 days prior the excursion for only $25. No need to worry about transportation to and from the ship since we are only at port such a short time and excursion is next to the ship.

Certain things I would do on my own that Disney has in the other ports....but with such things as the train and trail camp together I prefer to book with DCL .....same as the Helicopter stuff.

2012 times at port are even worse. Glad I am doing this years because otherwise wouild not had the chance to see Vancouver or Whistler.[/QUOTE]

Is it $25 per person or per party? If it is $25 for my family of 4, I will book that on my own. What time are we at port that day?

 

["Got Disney"]

Is it $25 per person or per party? If it is $25 for my family of 4, I will book that on my own. What time are we at port that day?

per party....we are at port that day at 1:40....to 7:30...the excursion is from 3:45-7:45 through DCL due to walking time to ahd from the ship.

The boat leaves for the excursion from 4-7:30.....there is only one boat so we will all be on the same boat. Also booking on your own gives you time to get to the boat first....before DCL crowd comes over. can just walk back with them.

I am booking it today. Seems to be the logical thing to do. This is a very popular excursion. They still have openings at this time but who knows come April 19th and 20th. There are around 90 seats that they use for DCL and 30 for themselves. Yesterday they said they have 22 left out of there 30. They have a toll free number. also if they dont answer they are great at getting right back to you to chat. They are very very nice.

here is the link
http://56degreesnorth.com/

 

[Schachteles]

[QUOTE="Got Disney";40717528]per party....we are at port that day at 1:40....to 7:30...the excursion is from 3:45-7:45 through DCL due to walking time to ahd from the ship.

The boat leaves for the excursion from 4-7:30.....there is only one boat so we will all be on the same boat. Also booking on your own gives you time to get to the boat first....before DCL crowd comes over. can just walk back with them.

I am booking it today. Seems to be the logical thing to do. This is a very popular excursion. They still have openings at this time but who knows come April 19th and 20th. There are around 90 seats that they use for DCL and 30 for themselves. Yesterday they said they have 22 left out of there 30. They have a toll free number. also if they dont answer they are great at getting right back to you to chat. They are very very nice.

here is the link
http://56degreesnorth.com/[/QUOTE]


I called and talked to a gal just now, she was SO nice. We are definitely going to book straight thru them. It is a 4pm tour leaving time and that is the one that Disney is putting people on. Sounds like it is a quick walk, as they are at spot 3 and the Wonder will be at either dock 1 or 4. I am going to book it through them on probably Monday. It saves us $40 from booking it through Disney. At least then I will only have to worry about the Musher for a Day then and the panning for gold.

 

["Got Disney"]

I called and talked to a gal just now, she was SO nice. We are definitely going to book straight thru them. It is a 4pm tour leaving time and that is the one that Disney is putting people on. Sounds like it is a quick walk, as they are at spot 3 and the Wonder will be at either dock 1 or 4. I am going to book it through them on probably Monday. It saves us $40 from booking it through Disney. At least then I will only have to worry about the Musher for a Day then and the panning for gold.

I agree and your also guaranteed a spot. I have a call out to her waiting for her to call me back to book. We will save $80 for the 4 of us...we are all adults....well 2 adults and a 14 and 17 y.o It is $179 with DCL and $159 through them.

also agree lets us concentrate on the other stuff we want....including Palos and spa....although wont be doing a spa this time.

I am getting soooooo excited....cant believe it is almost here. We go this Sat for the boys Passports and ours on the 22nd. Unless I can get a sooner one for Monday...but here they are all booked up till end of May...no kidding.

I still need to change a few things on our FE....not much and easy to do. Need to make some more magnits that fit this cruise and get a mug at least with our logo on it...I do this for every cruise.

Just went over our budget on how much for everything down to the penny for a week in Canada(Whistler and Vancouver) and the excursions and such and than the excursions and such for Alaska.........we always save for the cruises....never have to borrow or steal....if the money is not there at the time than we dont go. We have a seperate savings account at a seperate bank just for our vacation cash.

We have saved more than what we need since we put one cabin using points....that saved us $5300 bucks.And we will be all filled back up with points again come Dec.

Is anyone also going up in a helocopter? we have never been on one....little nervous but excited.

 

[Schachteles]

[QUOTE="Got Disney";40720025]I agree and your also guaranteed a spot. I have a call out to her waiting for her to call me back to book. We will save $80 for the 4 of us...we are all adults....well 2 adults and a 14 and 17 y.o It is $179 with DCL and $159 through them.

also agree lets us concentrate on the other stuff we want....including Palos and spa....although wont be doing a spa this time.

I am getting soooooo excited....cant believe it is almost here. We go this Sat for the boys Passports and ours on the 22nd. Unless I can get a sooner one for Monday...but here they are all booked up till end of May...no kidding.

I still need to change a few things on our FE....not much and easy to do. Need to make some more magnits that fit this cruise and get a mug at least with our logo on it...I do this for every cruise.

Just went over our budget on how much for everything down to the penny for a week in Canada(Whistler and Vancouver) and the excursions and such and than the excursions and such for Alaska.........we always save for the cruises....never have to borrow or steal....if the money is not there at the time than we dont go. We have a seperate savings account at a seperate bank just for our vacation cash.

We have saved more than what we need since we put one cabin using points....that saved us $5300 bucks.And we will be all filled back up with points again come Dec.

Is anyone also going up in a helocopter? we have never been on one....little nervous but excited.[/QUOTE]

I am glad I called, just need to wait to get paid so I can book it. Of course if I planned a little better I could swing it, but we have my DDs birthday party this weekend, taxes coming out on Monday and dance competitions in full swing. Hope that I don't have a problem booking Monday directly with them.

Now my DH and I are talking about changing from early dining to late. As much as I want early, I think those times are going to be tough and if we got like a 5:30 sitting, that would be 3:30 central time, so it would be like a late lunch, so I am thinking with the crazy port times, we are going to change. Does anyone know our port times at Skagaway and Juneau??

We are HOPING to book the musher excursion with the helicopter ride, I hope it is cool, I too am nervous about flying in one!

 

[Schachteles]

OK, I didn't realize there is a 3 hour time difference from Minnesota to Alaska, definitely need to change to the later dining time.

 

["Got Disney"]

so I found some info that may be helpful to anyone wanting to get up to the suspension bridge and Grouse Mountain. It is about a 10 minute drive to the bridge. You can take a taxi or catch a free shuttle that meets in certain places(see link)....to get to Grouse Mountain there is a bus across the street from the bridge entrance that will take you down the street to the skyride that will take you right up to the mountain. Very easy. You pay one price for all the activites up the mountain...including the Lumber Jack show.

they say to plan at least 1.5 hrs for bridge and at least 4 hrs for the mountain...lots of shows and such of there.

They also have totum polls.

The schedule on the link shows times for the winter for the free shuttle but says will have extended hrs added come April 15th.

they also have links to tour companies on their site if you still want to go that way. DCL also offeres a tour but it is really expensive

We will take the free shuttle up than catch the bus up to Grouse Mountain.

when you go to the link click on "Explore" on top.....

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...mMz6DA&usg=AFQjCNE-hN92Fj9v9lJ7YZfcZl88IGfNBA

Here is Grouse Mountain link....

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...hbn6DA&usg=AFQjCNGVjiuiwtsHwCYHU75Zsi6_W1r-EQ

 

[wdhinn89]

Thanks for the info


How come your post show 119 day until our cruise?

 

[Schachteles]

Thanks for the info


How come your post show 119 day until our cruise?

Funny that you mention that, because last night my 5 year old was looking over my shoulder and saw that and said "you told it is 96 days and and we are in double digits"...I just laughed and let her know their ticker was wrong and she was right sassy girl!

 

["Got Disney"]

Thanks for the info


How come your post show 119 day until our cruise?

because I'm to lazy to change it and I wanted to confuse Schachteles 5 year old

Just stay tuned when it gets a little lower I will change it and all of a sudden it will seem like you blinked and the days were gone.....

Reminds me when I turned 50 .....I insisted it was my 50th Birthday and my 85 year old roommate insisted I was 49...i told him he was just old and didnt know how to count........he counted down the years and he was right....I turned 49...not 50....not only had i gone the whole year thinking I was heading to 50....but instead I had the best Bday present ever....another year before I was to turn 50 I was a whole year younger than I thought....gee what a bozo

 

[Schachteles]

[QUOTE="Got Disney";40732261]because I'm to lazy to change it and I wanted to confuse Schachteles 5 year old

Just stay tuned when it gets a little lower I will change it and all of a sudden it will seem like you blinked and the days were gone.....

Reminds me when I turned 50 .....I insisted it was my 50th Birthday and my 85 year old roommate insisted I was 49...i told him he was just old and didnt know how to count........he counted down the years and he was right....I turned 49...not 50....not only had i gone the whole year thinking I was heading to 50....but instead I had the best Bday present ever....another year before I was to turn 50 I was a whole year younger than I thought....gee what a bozo [/QUOTE]

LMAO, she is easy to confuse!

I am the SAME way about keeping up with how old I am, I think my brain went to mush on that after having kids.

 

[wdhinn89]

[QUOTE="Got Disney";40732261]because I'm to lazy to change it and I wanted to confuse Schachteles 5 year old

Just stay tuned when it gets a little lower I will change it and all of a sudden it will seem like you blinked and the days were gone.....

Reminds me when I turned 50 .....I insisted it was my 50th Birthday and my 85 year old roommate insisted I was 49...i told him he was just old and didnt know how to count........he counted down the years and he was right....I turned 49...not 50....not only had i gone the whole year thinking I was heading to 50....but instead I had the best Bday present ever....another year before I was to turn 50 I was a whole year younger than I thought....gee what a bozo [/QUOTE]

OMG!!! You are too funny!!!

 

[Schachteles]

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!!

I just went on and booked the Bering Sea Fisherman's Tour in Ketchikan

Can't wait for Tuesday...hope we get the other things we want

 

[twinmom108]

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!!

I just went on and booked the Bering Sea Fisherman's Tour in Ketchikan

Can't wait for Tuesday...hope we get the other things we want

I heard that's a very good tour. We're planning on doing the Misty Fjords Boat & Floatplane in Ketchikan. I'm really excited & July can't come fast enough for me!

Although I should'nt be wishing these few months away because one of our twins is leaving for Marines Basic Training at the end of June & he will be gone. WAAAAAAAA!

 

[Schachteles]

I heard that's a very good tour. We're planning on doing the Misty Fjords Boat & Floatplane in Ketchikan. I'm really excited & July can't come fast enough for me!

I have heard really good things about it, I wasn't going to book anything on this trip on my own, but I have heard that this has sold out on like all the other sailings, so I wanted to make sure we got on. Then I can log in on Tuesday night at 11pm CST and focus on getting the Dog Sledding one, if we don't get that one, my DDs will be heartbroken

 

[twinmom108]

What's everyone doing in Skagway? We're doing the Yukon Suspension Bridge & Railway then after that we're doing one of the Zip line tours. Now I'm really afraid of heights , but this is something I really want to try once in my life & it seems like such a beautiful place to do it.

 

[twinmom108]

I have heard really good things about it, I wasn't going to book anything on this trip on my own, but I have heard that this has sold out on like all the other sailings, so I wanted to make sure we got on. Then I can log in on Tuesday night at 11pm CST and focus on getting the Dog Sledding one, if we don't get that one, my DDs will be heartbroken

I'm glad it's going to work for you. With our short times is port especially Ketchikan, I was afraid to book on our own so I'm glad we were able to get what we wanted. I think this trip is going to be one of the most amazing trips we've ever been on! Hopefully memorable too, (positively of course) since it's our 20th Wedding Anniversary.

OK back to reality. Gotta go do my errands.