Alaska Sailing in September - No Good?

[Lesley Wake]

Dumb question do the characters only come out one day dressed in Alaska gear

The glacier day is the primary day. I know I took a photo with Goofy in his lumberjack outfit on Ketchikan day, because he participates in the lumberjack show. I also caught Daisy in her plaid glacier outfit in the atrium after dinner on Juneau day. So they could be trying to bring them out more? Especially if their outfit works for "indoor" not just outdoor activities (like Mickey's fisherman or Goofy's snowsuit). Sorry, we didn't stop for many character pics, which I regret (mom and dad aren't really into that).

 

[Shellyred8]

We went the first week of Sept in 2017. We were told there were less than 300 kids on board that cruise. So, if you are looking for a cruise with fewer kiddos, Sept is the time to go!
Our weather was pretty decent. We did get a little rained on one day, but we had our rain gear with so we were prepared for it. We did the white pass train ride. It was a little foggy on the way up, so we didn't get to see all of the scenery, but it also made for some kind of earie scenery that you wouldn't normally get to experience. I think the daytime highs were in the high 50's to low 60's while we were there.
We splurged for a veranda room and I'm so glad we did. When we stopped at the glacier, they faced our side of the ship towards the glacier and we got to watch from our veranda. You can also watch from the upper decks, but it's noisier up there. If you are on your own veranda you can hear more of the sounds of nature. We were on deck 6, so we were closer to the water and we could hear all of the popping of the ice in the water. It was really pretty awesome!

 

[CampbellzSoup]

What do you guys recommend for excursions!

 

[Lesley Wake]

What do you guys recommend for excursions!

Skagway - Railroad and then explore town on your own. We did Best of Skagway and didn't have any complaints about it (the Red Onion Saloon tour was really interesting and Liarsville was delicious and the performers really fun), but we regretted missing the town itself.

Juneau - Whale watching and/or helicopter glacier flightseeing. My parents loved whale watching. They also went to the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center but didn't want to make the long walk out to see the glacier a bit closer. My helicopter was truly spectacular. Mount Roberts Tram looked meh, with very long lines to board the gondola and it just goes up and gets a view of the Juneau area, which isn't as scenic as the other ports.

Ketchikan - someone else may have suggestions? A lot of people do lumberjack but that wasn't our thing. My parents did the rainforest and raptor sanctuary and really enjoyed walking around and seeing the birds and the guy carving totem poles. I did the Misty Fjords Wilderness Explorer, which is a high-speed boat that goes out to the Misty Fjords, which was gorgeous. The boat ride was fairly long (about 1-1.5 hrs each way), but it was beautiful scenery all the way along. There are a lot of seaplanes which go out to the Misty Fjords too. The town itself looks very cute, and again, I would have liked to see more of it. My parents did walk around a bit and liked it.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Skagway - Railroad and then explore town on your own. We did Best of Skagway and didn't have any complaints about it (the Red Onion Saloon tour was really interesting and Liarsville was delicious and the performers really fun), but we regretted missing the town itself.

Juneau - Whale watching and/or helicopter glacier flightseeing. My parents loved whale watching. They also went to the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center but didn't want to make the long walk out to see the glacier a bit closer. My helicopter was truly spectacular. Mount Roberts Tram looked meh, with very long lines to board the gondola and it just goes up and gets a view of the Juneau area, which isn't as scenic as the other ports.

Ketchikan - someone else may have suggestions? A lot of people do lumberjack but that wasn't our thing. My parents did the rainforest and raptor sanctuary and really enjoyed walking around and seeing the birds and the guy carving totem poles. I did the Misty Fjords Wilderness Explorer, which is a high-speed boat that goes out to the Misty Fjords, which was gorgeous. The boat ride was fairly long (about 1-1.5 hrs each way), but it was beautiful scenery all the way along. There are a lot of seaplanes which go out to the Misty Fjords too. The town itself looks very cute, and again, I would have liked to see more of it. My parents did walk around a bit and liked it.

You are so thoughtful in your replies thank you so much for this

 

[Chipmunkmaniac]

Is there a difference in what DCL offers and what is offered privately as far as 'season'? I'd love to do the glacier dog sledding as this particular cruise (the 8n next year September) will be my third round Alaska with Disney. Online through private vendors I find mention of it being offered through either the end of august either first week of September. I don't care if Disney port adventure is my only and thus more expensive option but it would be sad if it weren't available at all (and yes I'm aware it is weather permitting so can be cancelled even in July)

 

[Disnut4925]

The characters in their Alaska outfits, which are the cutest ever, only appear outside on glacier day. But other days they appear at indoor locations, still so cute but of course the photos look different with the indoor backdrop. Great pictures either way!

 

[CampbellzSoup]

The characters in their Alaska outfits, which are the cutest ever, only appear outside on glacier day. But other days they appear at indoor locations, still so cute but of course the photos look different with the indoor backdrop. Great pictures either way!

Gotta make sure that’s a 100% priority for me that day any tips on getting them all?

 

[Graymoon]

Gotta make sure that’s a 100% priority for me that day any tips on getting them all?

The app will list the character times on glacier day. Line up early and enjoy the scenery while you wait. We missed Mickey and Minnie on deck because we didn’t get out early enough, and we had the glacier explorer in the afternoon.

To the original question, we loved Alaska in September. The only downside was that a few stores were already closed for the season.

Check out our September Alaska VLOG series!

> Part One
> Part Two
> Part Three

 

[Disnut4925]

The app will list the character times on glacier day. Line up early and enjoy the scenery while you wait. We missed Mickey and Minnie on deck because we didn’t get out early enough, and we had the glacier explorer in the afternoon.

To the original question, we loved Alaska in September. The only downside was that a few stores were already closed for the season.

Check out our September Alaska VLOG series!

> Part One
> Part Two
> Part Three

On our sailing there were 2 morning availabilities for Mickey and Minnie - one around 9am and the other around 11am. The earlier one I believe was less crowded - we were at that one and it wasn’t bad (didn’t go to the 11am but cm’s said it would be very crowded).

 

[CampbellzSoup]

I couldn't get the vacation days because everyone else picked around labor day...so the other REASONABLE price was in May.

Are we thinking May is good?

 

[ironz]

I couldn't get the vacation days because everyone else picked around labor day...so the other REASONABLE price was in May.

Are we thinking May is good?

We've done 2 of the May Alaska cruises on the Wonder and they were both great! I've written trip reports that are here on the DIS for both of them (May 2017, and May 2022--combo with Hawaii cruise).

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Is there a difference in what DCL offers and what is offered privately as far as 'season'? I'd love to do the glacier dog sledding as this particular cruise (the 8n next year September) will be my third round Alaska with Disney. Online through private vendors I find mention of it being offered through either the end of august either first week of September. I don't care if Disney port adventure is my only and thus more expensive option but it would be sad if it weren't available at all (and yes I'm aware it is weather permitting so can be cancelled even in July)

Even through private vendors, most dog sled is canceled in August and September due to conditions. The dogs tend to be moved off by around August 1 most years. If dog sledding is a priority, I would sail May-June.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

We've done 2 of the May Alaska cruises on the Wonder and they were both great! I've written trip reports that are here on the DIS for both of them (May 2017, and May 2022--combo with Hawaii cruise).

Can you link them here…???

I wanna do this Disney focused stuff like this:

- Get photos with ALL the characters on the deck day.

- Do the excursions with the characters I think they do the gold mining and the Alaskan show?

Are the lines for the characters super duper long?

 

[auntlynne]

 

[KGmomoftwins]

Can you link them here…???

I wanna do this Disney focused stuff like this:

- Get photos with ALL the characters on the deck day.

- Do the excursions with the characters I think they do the gold mining and the Alaskan show?

Are the lines for the characters super duper long?

Here is a link to my TR https://www.disboards.com/threads/the-wonder-in-alaska-the-last-frontier-completed-10-09-22.3894990/
We never waited long for characters because we always showed up 15 minutes before of the scheduled time. They wear the outfits outside only on glacier day they did 3 different times a 9 in the morning, 11:30, and then in the afternoon. On Juneau and Ketchikan day a couple others are out in the atrium in their Alaskan wear. Fun fact goofy has 2 different Alaskan outfits a lumberjack and a mountain climber. We only saw him in the mountain climber on glacier day inside. Pluto also has a cute Alaskan collar. This is seriously a great cruise and totally worth it just remember depending on staff in the ship when you sail characters may change.

 

[Intr3pid]

Generally speaking, the later in the season you go, the more pronounced the rain - with temperatures dipping and days getting shorter. Some operators will shutter things for the season, and the vendors will be clearing inventory. Those are the main negatives to expect - and prepare for.

But, with that preparation and dressing - make no mistake - you will have a ton of positives too.

As you know, prices will be noticeably lower and excursions cheaper. Summer crowds will have left, and you will have shorter queues, less marine and land traffic, and more wild life to yourself.

The weather in the Pacific northwest stays milder for longer after the summer. We last cruised Alaska in late August/early September, and it was warm enough. The low lying clouds gave the Inside Passage a surreal feeling. You could see the mountains shrouded in mist and feel that wonderful calm in the water. Check out this snap from Day 2.

 

[ArtemisPhoenix]

In September the Helicopter/Dogsledding will probably not be running anymore. I just got off the Wonder a week ago. I had booked that excursion with another operator and a week before cruising they sent me an email that the conditions at the dog sled camp (Herbert Glacier) were too poor so they were closing up shop early (they still offered a helicopter tour). I ended up finding another operator that was still running and thankfully we had amazing weather and got to go. But the musher said they were planning on packing up the next week; I followed her on instagram and indeed, they just left Norris Glacier a couple days ago. I'm not sure about the one Disney contracts with and if they are still on the glacier, but it is something to be aware of.

At nearly every stop I heard operators talking about closing up and heading home within the next week or so (our Naturalist on the Misty Fjords boat was heading back to college and someone with the Skagway tour company came along to see Liarsville since she also was heading out).

But we adored the cruise. And the towns are very cute, which we didn't have much time to explore. I would be happy to go again and do it without excursions at all lol!

Do you mind saying what your cruise dates were in September? We were looking at going right at the beginning of September, but if the dogsledding places are closed, we might have to rethink that.

 

[Kwami]

Do you mind saying what your cruise dates were in September? We were looking at going right at the beginning of September, but if the dogsledding places are closed, we might have to rethink that.

I can tell you that for the 8/28-9/04 cruise this year, there were a bunch of dog sled options to choose from when I was booking excursions.

 

[ArtemisPhoenix]

I can tell you that for the 8/28-9/04 cruise this year, there were a bunch of dog sled options to choose from when I was booking excursions.

That’s what I was seeing and so I was thinking it would still be a good time. But some of the PP on this thread seem to be saying that even though they look like they are open on the website, they close down and leave early, which would be heartbreaking. I mean, I know it’s not a guarantee anyway, since the helicopter ones especially can be canceled at any point due to weather. But I’d be so sad to get there and find out that a day with perfect weather still wouldn’t have the dogsledding available because they decided to go home early.