August 11, 2014 - Alaskan cruise on the Wonder

[CastlesandDreams]

Hi,

Just booked. It is me (46), my mom (73), DS16, DS13 and DD12. We are in 2103 and 2105. I live in Charlotte, NC.

 

[jetskigrl]

Hi,

Just booked. It is me (46), my mom (73), DS16, DS13 and DD12. We are in 2103 and 2105. I live in Charlotte, NC.

Welcome to the group!!! I am traveling with my Mom and my kids also. Oh, our ages are really close, LOL. me (47), my mom (74), DD16 and DS11.

There is a link to our facebook group up higher in the thread. We have been much more active on facebook if you would like to join us there also

 

[doublescoop]

Hi everyone! My family and I (DD (15), DD (6), DH) will be cruising August 11 on the Wonder and since this is our first cruise ever we are tremendously excited. My DD (15) is more than a bit nervous about Vibe though. She would love to meet a friend (or two!) beforehand so that she doesn't feel uncomfortable when she goes. Anyone else out there around here age and planning to attend Vibe?!

 

[dclwonderprincess]

We have a fairly active Facebook group that you should join. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1414129788822507/

 

[doublescoop]

Thanks!

 

[podsnel]

Hi everyone! My family and I (DD (15), DD (6), DH) will be cruising August 11 on the Wonder and since this is our first cruise ever we are tremendously excited. My DD (15) is more than a bit nervous about Vibe though. She would love to meet a friend (or two!) beforehand so that she doesn't feel uncomfortable when she goes. Anyone else out there around here age and planning to attend Vibe?!

Hi! We have 2 teenage sons- they have nothing but good things to say about Vibe on the Fantasy and Dream- and that is really attributable to the awesome staff- my DS16 who is actually very quiet, says the CMs are just the best- he thinks they make a huge effort to get to know each and every kid- and it really helps someone like him, who can be shy in new situations like that. Make sure your daughter goes to Vibe on the first night- they have a lot of ice breakers that first night, and that's when the friendships really seem to start.

 

[Mickdeb]

Hi everyone! My family and I (DD (15), DD (6), DH) will be cruising August 11 on the Wonder and since this is our first cruise ever we are tremendously excited. My DD (15) is more than a bit nervous about Vibe though. She would love to meet a friend (or two!) beforehand so that she doesn't feel uncomfortable when she goes. Anyone else out there around here age and planning to attend Vibe?!

We will be sailing to Alaska on this cruise. Our DD is 15 and she loved Vibe, on our first cruise on the Fantasy last April. She still keeps in touch with many of the kids from the cruise through a FB group. She had a great time, that was one of the reasons we chose to sail DCL again. I know she will be spending a lot of time in Vibe.

 

[DindelsPA]

Ahoy! My family will be joining this cruise as well. It is me Karen, DH Ed, DD Patricia (15) and DN Rachel (16).

We had the pleasure of spending 14 nights on the Wonder in 2012 sailing through the Panama Canal. The crew was incredible and could not say enough about the Alaska sailings (their personal favorite hands down), so we moved this up on our list of To-Sails.

I look forward to sharing travel plans and ideas, FEs and connecting our teens.

PS: Asked to join the FB group.

 

[dclwonderprincess]

I started a FE spreadsheet, you can pm your info on here or on the Facebook page. Info needed is: stateroom #, first names, ages & gender of children, favorite characters, email, special notes (celebrations, allergies, etc...) and castaway club level.

 

[dclwonderprincess]

We have basically 4 months until we cruise!!! I'm hoping that after the pif date our group starts to grow. Is anyone else anxiously awaiting the early Alaska cruiser's trip reports?

 

[podsnel]

We have basically 4 months until we cruise!!! I'm hoping that after the pif date our group starts to grow. Is anyone else anxiously awaiting the early Alaska cruiser's trip reports?

Good point! I am so used to looking for OLD TRs, seeing something NEW had not even crossed my mind!

I am going to book our dogsledding helicopter ride in Skagway this weekend- just want to be SURE that my kids are DEFINITELY into it before I commit $2K to it- planning to book through an outside agency, alaskatours.com. They have an A+ rating with the BBB, so I feel secure- it is a lot of dinero to lay out for the most cancelled excursion in ALaska- if we get cancelled, I want to make sure I get our $$$$ back! And we will save $320 booking through them.

We also booked Rum Runners in Juneau for a whale cruise- I am really excited about that one, too!

I am tempted to book snorkeling in Ketchikan, but DH is having a heart attack over the helicopter ride (justifiably!) so we probably will skip it, although it looks like a GREAT and AMAZING experience.

What is everyone else planning?

 

[dclwonderprincess]

Good point! I am so used to looking for OLD TRs, seeing something NEW had not even crossed my mind! I am going to book our dogsledding helicopter ride in Skagway this weekend- just want to be SURE that my kids are DEFINITELY into it before I commit $2K to it- planning to book through an outside agency, alaskatours.com. They have an A+ rating with the BBB, so I feel secure- it is a lot of dinero to lay out for the most cancelled excursion in ALaska- if we get cancelled, I want to make sure I get our $$$$ back! And we will save $320 booking through them. We also booked Rum Runners in Juneau for a whale cruise- I am really excited about that one, too! I am tempted to book snorkeling in Ketchikan, but DH is having a heart attack over the helicopter ride (justifiably!) so we probably will skip it, although it looks like a GREAT and AMAZING experience. What is everyone else planning?

We booked Harv & Marv's for whale watching in Juneau, the Yukon rail & bus through Chilkoot Charters for Skagway and Ketchikan taxi cab tours. Now we're just waiting to book Palo but since we're only Silver we have to wait until May 13th. It was definitely cheaper to book excursions independently.

 

[bethstoughton]

We will be joining this cruise with my husband, our 6 year old twins and 2.5 year old. My mother in law; Brother in law and his wife and 2 children (12 and 14).

we are from Seattle (Boy do i wish they still left from here) and my MIL is from Iowa, BIL/SIL and family DC. Looking forward to a fabulous time,

trying to figure out what to pack, bring on board for kiddos, finalize excursions -- book a hotel room for the night before....

Looking forward to the adventure!

Beth

 

[dclwonderprincess]

Welcome! Several of us booked the Pan Pacific for the night before using Hotwire. I'm having the same concerns about packing. I think it's going to be difficult to have just the right mix of clothes.

 

[jburge12000]

Our family will be joining the cruise as well. This will be our 4th DC but our first on the Wonder or not to the Caribbean. Our son (11) and daughter (8) are getting very excited. Booked our excursions last week and they are all ready to go. We have never done the FE but would like to get involved this trip. My wife sent a request to join the Facebook group, but any directions on who to contact about joining the FE group would be appreciated.

Also, any suggestions on getting back to Seattle the day the cruise returns would be great. We are taking the train from Seattle to Vancouver before the cruise, but it leaves Vancouver later in the evening when we get back then we would like. We were hoping to spend the afternoon/evening in Seattle on Aug 18. Looked at the Bolt Bus but you cannot make reservations this early and the rental cars one way were not available when I checked last time.

 

[dclwonderprincess]

We have never done the FE but would like to get involved this trip. My wife sent a request to join the Facebook group, but any directions on who to contact about joining the FE group would be appreciated.

I'll take your FE info. If you would like to join I'll need your stateroom #, first names, ages & gender of children, favorite characters, any special instructions including celebrations and allergies & a email address. It might be best to PM the info.

 

[jetskigrl]

Our family will be joining the cruise as well. This will be our 4th DC but our first on the Wonder or not to the Caribbean. Our son (11) and daughter (8) are getting very excited. Booked our excursions last week and they are all ready to go. We have never done the FE but would like to get involved this trip. My wife sent a request to join the Facebook group, but any directions on who to contact about joining the FE group would be appreciated.

Also, any suggestions on getting back to Seattle the day the cruise returns would be great. We are taking the train from Seattle to Vancouver before the cruise, but it leaves Vancouver later in the evening when we get back then we would like. We were hoping to spend the afternoon/evening in Seattle on Aug 18. Looked at the Bolt Bus but you cannot make reservations this early and the rental cars one way were not available when I checked last time.

We booked the quick shuttle bus www.quickcoach.com.
It picks up right at the port and drops off either in downtown Seattle (we are staying there for two night post cruise to check out Seattle) or at the airport. There are three pickup times to choose from.

 

[albumlady]

Can't believe it took me this long to figure out this thread was here! Getting soooo excited for this cruise!

It is the first time that our family has been on a cruise and first time with DCL. DH and I did a cruise many moons ago before the kids but I barely remember it! Wonder why.... lol!

Our traveling party is Me (39), DH (40), and our three daughters (12, 11 and 8). The 12 yr. old will be 13 the week after we get back.

We originally had the date 2 weeks later so that the trip would be right after her birthday but then it conflicted with her sisters dance schedule (story of her life) so we had to move it up two weeks to this sailing.

The kids are really looking forward to the kids clubs and it looks like they will have lots of kids their age to meet up with And I am just reading up/learning about FE and very excited to participate. The kids and I iwll have a blast with it!

We live in Seattle and will be driving up and spending the weekend in Vancouver before the cruise but I still haven't looked at hotel/where to leave the car yet. On the top of my to-do list!

I also sent a request in to the Facebook group. A little late to the party but I bring cocktails and am ready to jump in now! Looking forward to meeting everyone!

 

[dclwonderprincess]

There are several of us staying at the Pan Pacific the night before. I think most of us used Hotwire to book the cheapest rate.

 

[skylaisla]

So excited for this - First time cruiser, leaving on my first anniversary, for my first big extended-family vacation! I'm joining the facebook page now to learn more.

Can't wait! I may start counting down the hours left at work...