Alaska Questions

[ladyofthetramp]

Did Alaska on the wonder this past August and you’ve gotten a lot of good advice so far but if I could go back in time and change one thing about my trip it would be to pack rain PANTS!

yes, yes, yes. If you don't need them, great. But if you do... Well, you know!

 

[Chemist]

what about the non helicopter ones?

In Skagway we rented a car with green jeep tours and drove up to the Yukon. We stopped at https://tagishlakekennel.com/tutshi-sled-dog-summer-tours/ and had a nice time. We got a talk about how sledding works, a ride in a cart behind the dogs* and as much time visiting the dogs as we wanted.

(We also did all the other sightseeing.)

**the cart rides are motorized as they are training runs for the dogs who can't really pull much weight yet. They are at a set speed which is what they want the dogs to learn to run/pull at.

 

[bakofarmgirl]

@Chemist thank you!

 

[MICKEEP]

We did Alaska in 2023 are looking forward to going again in 2026.

I agree with those who said don't do a whale watch cruise. We did one and saw practically nothing. Saw more from our Veranda. Don't forget to bring bonoculars.

We regret not doing the tour boat excursion, that takes you close to the glacier. Will definetly be doing that on our next cruise

 

[KatieKepic]

For the lumberjack show, we visited Grouse Mountain in Vancouver the day before embarkation, and they have a free lumberjack show there. It was a great show, and it allowed us to free up some space on our Ketchikan itenerary. If you're staying in Vancouver at all before embarkation, this may be a possibility.

As for bears, as others have mentioned, Ketchikan in late July or early August is your best bet. We went on the Alaskan Sanctuary Tour offered through Disney (KE12) and we saw probably close to a dozen black bears feeding on the spawning salmon in a creek next to a fish hatchery. As has already been mentioned, the black bears are more active when the salmon are making their run, and this is the best time of year to see them in Ketchikan.

Perfect, Grouse Mountain is on our list!

I'll go look at the Alaskan Sanctuary, thank you!

 

[KatieKepic]

I'm pretty sure they have converted one of their actual boats for the tour, so it's REAL If they like the show even a little I bet they will love it (because I have heard that so many people who don't even watch the show enjoyed it before haha)

My son watched the videos on their stie and he's sold on this one now so thank you

 

[YenSidTravel]

We're planning on booking an Alaskan cruise when the next release comes out for summer 2027. It will be our family of 4 (teens wil be 17 & 19) and my sister and her family of 4 (kids will be 10 & 7).

We are trying to decide on the best time to go. We are stuck with school/college calendars so we're looking at mid-June through early August. We're mostly hoping for wildlife viewings (particularly whales & bears). From what I read, it looks like July might be our best bet?

For dining, is early or late better for Alaska? Looking at the port times for the 2026 sailings, I'm thinking late to maximize our time in the ports?

Also, room location. How hard are the aft verandahs to get, especially if we're needing 2? Edit: I just realized all the aft/corner verandahs on the Wonder are ADA rooms. We did a regular one on the Dream but it looks like the Wonder doesn't have any. Any recommendations on verandah locations? I'm thinking starboard side?

And I know we have ample time to look at excursions but figure I'll ask now to start looking. Any excursions that you loved? Any you'd avoid or wouldn't do again? We prefer to book private and not PAs through DCL. The expception would be the Glacier Explorer. If you've done that one (DG01), what did you think? Worth it?

And anything you wish you knew before you did went? I'll take any advice

I have an overview of my Disney Cruise in Alaska here - http://yenSid.Travel/DCLAlaska - if you have questions, let me know.
You will LOVE it!
THANKS
cjv

 

[RysMomma]

You're going to get a million opinions but we did ours the middle of August and it was incredible. We did all of our excursions through Disney and I don't regret it. Our favorite one was in Icy Strait Point and we saw whales, orcas, eagles, and otters. When they spotted the orcas, one of the whales went and protected the sea otters. It was incredible and even the staff of the tour was filming it all with us as they had never seen it all up close! After that, we did some gondolas and some of my party did a kayaking adventure which they loved!

In Juneau we did one of the mush dog summer camps which was great! We got to pet the dogs, go on a short "sled" ride, and then even got to hold on to some puppies!

Ketchikan we did a duck tour and then the lumber jack show. We had the best vacation!

Vancouver was also amazing and while I wouldn't suggest this at all-our flight home was canceled due to Air Canada's strike-We got some extra time in Vancouver. We went back to Granville Island and enjoyed our time!

We were in a verandah on the starboard side and had no problem with early dining! Sometimes I wished there was a little something more offered at night foodwise, but we ordered room service occasionally and that did the trick. Anyway, the whole thing was INCREDIBLE! My kids (15 and 17) are already asking when are we doing that again!