Amazing Alaska Adventure: May 28, 2012!!!!!!

[discorsner]

Welcome to the Amazing Alaska Adventure on May 28th, 2012!!!!

Hi all! I thought I would start a thread for the Alaska May 28, 2012 cruise! I didn't see another one started and so hopefully I didn't just miss it!

We are going to Alaska !!!!!!

We haven't ever done a cruise yet where we have chatted with people ahead of time but it seems like fun.

Also, I really thought it would be great to do a fish extender group!

If you are new to disboards and don't know about that then you are not alone. From my reading, my understanding is that we make a holder to hang on the fish outside our rooms (hence fish extender) and then we all put little gifts in it on certain days. Sounds like fun to me. You can search on this board and get examples of people's fish extenders.

If anyone joins this thread that is a veteran at this and can give us guidance that would be awesome!

Starting on post #2 I am going to start a running list of who is going so we can get to know eachother. If you respond to this thread with your names and stateroom # then I will add you to the list on post #2. I have seen on other threads where they have put the kid's ages as well so they can possibly meet kids the same age! Also please introduce yourself! We have over 400 days to discuss this trip!

 

[discorsner]

Amazing Alaska Adventure May 28, 2012 guest list!!!

Name (ages at cruise) Room #

Deb, Bryce, DS (11), DS (8), Room tba

Becky, Wayne, DD (14), DS (13), Room tba

Danielle, Proby, Room 2017

Mallory, Kent, Room 2517

Danelle, Josh, DD (17), DS (13), DS (11), Room 2628

 

[discorsner]

So here is my introduction...

My name is Deb and I live in NY state. We are going on this cruise with our best friends in the whole wide world!!!!

We couldn't be happier to be back on the beautiful Wonder with our buddies who we went on our first Disney Cruise with back in 2008!

On this cruise it will be my husband and I and our 2 boys who will be 11 and 8 at the time of sailing. Hopefully the kids will get to meet other kids to pal around with!

Also going with us is our friends as I said and their two children who will be 13 and 14.

We are so excited to finally be going to Alaska which has been a life long dream!

I am looking forward to getting to know others as we plan this trip. I hope someone comes on here and has some great info about Alaska because so far I don't know too much. We will be reasearching though and goodness knows we have a long enough time ahead to find things out.

Welcome to our Alaska thread everybody!

 

[discorsner]

We are coming to find you Donald!!!!!​

​

Not sure why this pic came so small. Oh well, we will still find you Donald!

 

[discorsner]

Our Cruise Schedule:

5/28: Seattle, Washington — 4:00 p.m.
5/29: At Sea — —
5/30: Tracy Arm, Alaska Cruising
5/31: Skagway, Alaska 7:15 a.m. 7:30 p.m.
6/1: Juneau, Alaska 7:45 a.m. 12:30 p.m.
6/2: Ketchikan, Alaska 7:15 a.m. 12:30 p.m.
6/3: Victoria, Canada 7:30 p.m. 10:30 p.m.
6/4: Seattle, Washington 08:30 a.m. —

 

[discorsner]

I guess I am the only one on here so far...

So I did some searching today on shore excursions even though there are a million of them and a ton of time and we got to see what Disney will even have for next year. (or research outside possibilities)

Some things that sounded interesting to me were:

Seattle:
space needle

Skagway:
White Pass Yukon Railroad- I really want to do this
Gold Panning
Liarsville Disney thing
Dog sledding and glacier flightseeing- expensive
Dog camp

Juneau:
Mendenhall glacier
Whales
Mount Roberts Tramway
Glacier flightseeing- again looks awesome but pricey

Ketchikan:
totem poles
lumber jack show
Misty Fjords floatplane- really want to do this but not sure on $$


Maybe someday when someone joins this thread they could tell me what they think of these.

 

[DanieD0909]

I'm here now too!! Thank you for starting this page!

It will be me and my DH
Danielle & Proby
Room 2017

By the time this cruise comes around, it will be my 3rd cruise. I'm going on the Eastbound Transatlantic in May; then my DH and I along with my mom and her boyfriend, are going on the dream in December of 2012!!

We can't wait and are SO glad that Alaska is part of the 2012 DCL Itineraries!!!

We will do the fish extenders as well! Please sign us up!

Looking forward to meeting you and your family!

 

[DanieD0909]

Deb,
You are my hero!!! I was looking more closely at everything and you are my kindred spirit!!! I grew up in NY ~ in Buffalo ~ where are you from in NY? Also - we are doing our first MNSSHP this year too!!! In October and we are also staying at the Caribbean Beach - I can't wait to hear what you think of both of these places. I'm dying to get my pic taken with the 7 dwarfs!!! Can't wait to talk to you more!
Danielle

 

[DanieD0909]

Me again...here are the excursions we are thinking of:
Seattle:
space needle - DEFINITELY! We are going to fly in either on Friday night or Saturday morning and check out Seattle before the cruise. Definitely doing Pike's Peak market too!

Skagway:
White Pass Yukon Railroad- I really want to do this - ME TOO!!! This is the excursion I'm most looking forward too!

Juneau:
Mendenhall glacier
Mount Roberts Tramway
I'm hoping I can squeeze both of these in....

Ketchikan:
Misty Fjords Wilderness Boat - I hope that they offer this but not sure since the times we are in port are shorter than the 2011 trips....

 

[discorsner]

By the time this cruise comes around, it will be my 3rd cruise. I'm going on the Eastbound Transatlantic in May; then my DH and I along with my mom and her boyfriend, are going on the dream in December of 2012!!

We can't wait and are SO glad that Alaska is part of the 2012 DCL Itineraries!!!

We will do the fish extenders as well! Please sign us up!

Looking forward to meeting you and your family!

Hi Danielle! I am so glad that someone is on here! Yay! Someone to chat with! My best friend Becky is also going so I need to get her on here too. She is awesome you will like her too!

I am excited someone else wants to do fish extenders. Becky and I both are planning on decorating our doors too. There are some great threads here on the disboards that show examples.

That was an amazing price on the Eastbound TA but I just didn't have the time available to do it. That is awesome that you are doing it! You will have to let us know how it goes. Also, you will then have some experience with fish extenders so you can tell us about that too!

 

[discorsner]

Deb,
You are my hero!!! I was looking more closely at everything and you are my kindred spirit!!! I grew up in NY ~ in Buffalo ~ where are you from in NY? Also - we are doing our first MNSSHP this year too!!! In October and we are also staying at the Caribbean Beach - I can't wait to hear what you think of both of these places. I'm dying to get my pic taken with the 7 dwarfs!!! Can't wait to talk to you more!
Danielle

You are making me laugh! I am in Seneca Falls NY in the Finger Lakes. We are about 2 hours from Buffalo.

When in October are you going to MNSSHP? We will be there starting 9/29 and into the first week of October. We are staying at the Port Orleans that time.

This summer we are going to do a split stay at Caribbean Beach and the Beach Club both for a couple days each. We are not going to do any parks on that trip believe it or not. We will save that for October. We are just going for a few days after visiting family that is in Florida. We will stay and explore the resort and swim and do other fun things that we never seem to be able to fit in!

I have never stayed at the Beach Club but I have stayed at the Caribbean Beach Resort. It was so long ago though it was all the way back in 1996. It was the first Disney resort that we ever stayed in. It was just me and my husband and he proposed on that trip! It was a great trip but it was forever ago and I haven't been back to that resort since. My kids have never been there so we thought we would try it for a few days. I will update for sure once we get back!

We have never done MNSSHP but always wanted to. My boys are huge halloween people and so is my husband. It usually does not fit into my teaching schedule to be able to go that time of year. I teach at a community college. However next semester my classes are all on Tuesday and Thursdays only and we have one Tuesday off for a special college activites day. So I could get away with taking one day off! This way we can make it to MNSSHP before my kids don't care anymore. Although I don't think that they will ever not care! They are huge Disney fans like their mom!

I really want that 7 dwarfs pic also! Everybody's that I have seen always look so cute!

 

[discorsner]

Hey I see a thread on the DCL forum page that is talking about how bad our 2012 Alaska itinerary is.

I agree that some of the port times are short but overall it is not a bad itineray to be on and I am happy with it. I replied to that thread with our reasonings for choosing it.

Sometimes I think people just need to find a reason to complain.

Also, as I said on the other post I am glad that people are hating it! More room on the ship for us! Maybe even a later discount that will come out like Kids Sail Free or some other promo they will use to fill up.
Who knows?

I am happy with it even if no other discounts come along.

We are going to Alaska!!!!

 

[DanieD0909]

Happy Wednesday!!!! 411 days to go!!!

I'll definitely let you know how the fish extenders go ~ there are 4 fish extender groups on this cruise!! It is insane!!! They have a google spreadsheet document to track everything ~ secret mickeys, room assignments, special events, who is going on which excursion, candy swap, fish extenders, etc, etc, etc...there are seriously 20 tabs on this thing!! I'll try to make a copy and send it to you so we can start our own here! I work as a contractor for a hotel company so I can take assignments when I want so I was able to go on the trip. I only reserved it about 3 weeks ago! I really wish my DH could go with me but it was just too good of a price to pass off so I'm going solo!!

I've been over towards the Seneca Falls area a few times....but all when I was younger; so I don't remember much. I haven't lived in Buffalo since 2003. Does Becky live in NY too?

When are you going in the summer? We will also be going to a wedding in the summer in Orlando (July 4th weekend) and are staying off property but planning on hitting up a character breakfast at GF and also Downtown Disney.

We are going to MNSHHP October 15-18...that is when we are staying at Caribbean Beach. We usually stay at AKL but thought we would try something different this time. I heard you need to get in line for the 7 dwarfs before 6:30pm!!! AHHH!!! I also can't wait to see the Haunted Mansion...there are special photopass pics that will put the hitching ghosts into your photo!! Love it!!! I can't wait!!!

I don't know why people are complaining...I'm so excited about it!!! I think the schedule is just fine...I think that 5 hours in Juneau and Ketchikan are enough time and then it will also give you the whole afternoon on the ship! It will make me want to explore the ports instead of thinking of skipping a port to stay on the ship! I think the port that takes the longest would be Skagway and they aloted the whole day so we are good to go! Plus, Seattle is definitely more on my "to go" list than Vancouver; not to mention it is cheaper to fly into! I also think that the price is good; I had more money budgeted than what my final price was so I was happy with it!!

I seriously can't wait to meet you and your family! Talk to you soon! Danielle

 

[discorsner]

Happy Wednesday!!!! 411 days to go!!!

I'll definitely let you know how the fish extenders go ~ there are 4 fish extender groups on this cruise!! It is insane!!! They have a google spreadsheet document to track everything ~ secret mickeys, room assignments, special events, who is going on which excursion, candy swap, fish extenders, etc, etc, etc...there are seriously 20 tabs on this thing!! I'll try to make a copy and send it to you so we can start our own here! I work as a contractor for a hotel company so I can take assignments when I want so I was able to go on the trip. I only reserved it about 3 weeks ago! I really wish my DH could go with me but it was just too good of a price to pass off so I'm going solo!!

I've been over towards the Seneca Falls area a few times....but all when I was younger; so I don't remember much. I haven't lived in Buffalo since 2003. Does Becky live in NY too?

When are you going in the summer? We will also be going to a wedding in the summer in Orlando (July 4th weekend) and are staying off property but planning on hitting up a character breakfast at GF and also Downtown Disney.

We are going to MNSHHP October 15-18...that is when we are staying at Caribbean Beach. We usually stay at AKL but thought we would try something different this time. I heard you need to get in line for the 7 dwarfs before 6:30pm!!! AHHH!!! I also can't wait to see the Haunted Mansion...there are special photopass pics that will put the hitching ghosts into your photo!! Love it!!! I can't wait!!!

I don't know why people are complaining...I'm so excited about it!!! I think the schedule is just fine...I think that 5 hours in Juneau and Ketchikan are enough time and then it will also give you the whole afternoon on the ship! It will make me want to explore the ports instead of thinking of skipping a port to stay on the ship! I think the port that takes the longest would be Skagway and they aloted the whole day so we are good to go! Plus, Seattle is definitely more on my "to go" list than Vancouver; not to mention it is cheaper to fly into! I also think that the price is good; I had more money budgeted than what my final price was so I was happy with it!!

I seriously can't wait to meet you and your family! Talk to you soon! Danielle

That is really cool that they are doing all those fish extender groups on the Eastbound TA! I would imagine that quite a few of the people have been planning that for quite a while now and so they have had lots of time to organize!

Of course we have a TON of time as well!

I bet a bunch of people are new to that cruise you are going on because of the great rates on it as well. I am sure you will have an awesome time even going by yourself.

Becky does not live in NY. She use to but sadly they left us and moved back to their home town near Cincinnati, OH. They use to live in Seneca Falls close to us and those were great times! We only get to see each other a couple times a year now but we talk every day. Now as you can guess our main topic is ALASKA!!!! I told her to post on here but she hasn't so far.

****Becky where are you???????????****

We do need to do something to keep everyone organized but with three of us so far it is not proving to be too hard!

Awhile ago we were thinking of going on another cruise that we have since decided against but I was part of that chat group for awhile. Those people were organized. They had a website they were using to track everybody and their rooms. They had sign ups for fish extenders as well as a desginating meet time on the first night so everyone could meet and make friends. They also planned an adults only Palo night I think and a girls only event. They had a lot going on.

As for our cruise, I am open to anything people want to suggest. I just want 400 days to move on a little quicker!

 

[discorsner]

Danielle,
Just noticed in your post that you said you would be there July 4th?

We are actually going to be at CBR June 28- July 1st and then Beach Club July 1st- July 4th. We are flying home on the 4th.

Maybe we will be there at the same time??

 

[fl0under]

I'm Becky and I'm so excited about going to Alaska with my family and friends.

I am also interested in doing the fish extenders. My DD who is 13 (will be 14 by vacation) is so excited about doing them too. She is very outgoing and loves to talk and meet new people.

On the other hand my DS who is 12 (will be 13 by vacation) is kind of shy and doesn't go out of his way to meet ,and mingle with people. Once he starts talking WATCH OUT!

Then my DH is very outgoing and VERY talkative. I don't think he has ever met a stranger. (ha!)

Last but not least.... ME I'm very laid back and just enjoy being around my family and friends!

This is just a little bit of info about us.

Hope to hear from more people who will be sailing with us!

 

[DanieD0909]

Hi Becky!

YAY! So glad you are traveling with us ~ My DH is just like yours - really outgoing...they probably already know each other!!! HA

 

[DanieD0909]

Danielle,
Just noticed in your post that you said you would be there July 4th?

We are actually going to be at CBR June 28- July 1st and then Beach Club July 1st- July 4th. We are flying home on the 4th.

Maybe we will be there at the same time??

Deb - YES!! We will be arriving on July 1st (late) and leaving on July 4th in the early afternoon. We are staying off property at a Holiday Inn. We have a wedding to go to on July 2nd and my DH will kill me if we don't see Transformers on July 2nd in the afternoon so we are going to the AMC at Downtown Disney!!!

What are you doing on the 3rd? The only thing we have planned is dinner at TRex at 5pm but maybe we can meet up for a ice cream or something that day at least to put names to faces?? Let me know!! Talk to you soon!

 

[discorsner]

I'm Becky and I'm so excited about going to Alaska with my family and friends.

I am also interested in doing the fish extenders. My DD who is 13 (will be 14 by vacation) is so excited about doing them too. She is very outgoing and loves to talk and meet new people.

On the other hand my DS who is 12 (will be 13 by vacation) is kind of shy and doesn't go out of his way to meet ,and mingle with people. Once he starts talking WATCH OUT!

Then my DH is very outgoing and VERY talkative. I don't think he has ever met a stranger. (ha!)

Last but not least.... ME I'm very laid back and just enjoy being around my family and friends!

This is just a little bit of info about us.

Hope to hear from more people who will be sailing with us!

HOORAY!!!!! My bud finally made it on here!

Ummmm.... Wayne being outgoing? That is an understatement. That is what makes our cruises so much fun though! Love my bro!

And Becky you forgot to tell everybody how much you like to do laundry.

I just wanted an excuse to use the laundry icon on here. It is cute!

I guess I need to do a better job introducing myself. You did a great job.

 

[discorsner]

Deb - YES!! We will be arriving on July 1st (late) and leaving on July 4th in the early afternoon. We are staying off property at a Holiday Inn. We have a wedding to go to on July 2nd and my DH will kill me if we don't see Transformers on July 2nd in the afternoon so we are going to the AMC at Downtown Disney!!!

What are you doing on the 3rd? The only thing we have planned is dinner at TRex at 5pm but maybe we can meet up for a ice cream or something that day at least to put names to faces?? Let me know!! Talk to you soon!

Hey Danielle! That would be cool. We could meet up. You can decide where and when. The only plans we have on the 3rd is going over to the Polynesian Resort to watch the fireworks from the beach. I hear that they do the 4th of July fireworks (bigger, better I guess) on both the 3rd and the 4th so we thought we would try to get a peak.