August 16, 2011 – 7 Night Alaska Sailing

[Inkmahm]

11!

I agree! Disney did a great job with this cruise. It was different than the cruises I have done to Alaska with Princess, but was done very well. I would do Alaske with Disney again. I just wish they started in Whittier and did a one way cruise to Vancouver so that there could be land time in Alaska before the cruise.

 

[Juldara]

Hi All,

Mellers, Mellers Kidlet and DH (the origami guy) are all back at home, and we hope you all had a wonderful cruise.

We really appreciate all the people who participated in the FE, and we loved all of our wonderful FE gifts. Thank you so much! You are all so sweet! It was a wonderful first cruise, but it won't be our last--we signed up for another day.

A big thank you for organizing the FE lists. It was so great to come home to all the surprises and even more fun delivering them and hoping not to get caught! We loved participating.

 

[Juldara]

Pops711 - I was on the Kayak/train with you and you mentioned that you wanted photos of the waterfalls that I took on the train. If you send me your email, I'm happy to send you some. Let me know.

 

[siburdue]

In case anyone has any interest, here is a link to a subset of the photos I took (both cameras combined I took over 1700 photos! )

most are pretty specific to my family, but there are a few more general ones as well. I have lots more of the shows, but haven't been able to get them off my camera yet...

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjvN97ZX

and now I really have to try to get some sleep--have to be at work in less than 8 hours!! Re-entry is such a pain

WOW - your pictures are awesome I can't wait to see the rest of them. I had heard good things about the Rebel before, but had never seen it in action.

My husband had given me a hard time for taking 700 photos, but you have me beat

 

[siburdue]

We had so much fun partifipating in the Mickey FE group! Thanks Mellers for putting it all together, and thank you to everyone that participated. It really added a fun element to the cruise.

I hope that everyone enjoyed the disney luggage handle covers that I made for you all. The shuttle driver told me that the padding in them did actually make the bags easier to lift So at least he thought it was a great idea

We loved all of the little goodies we got, including the little scrapbook, pirate stuff, candy (some types we hadn't eaten in years), CDs, necklace, cinderella goodies, bottle clips, soft lanyard, Boca clips, magnets, postcards and items from your local areas, picture frame, etc etc - it was all very appreciated and was or will be enjoyed.

 

[G'sMaman]

We had so much fun partifipating in the Mickey FE group! Thanks Mellers for putting it all together, and thank you to everyone that participated. It really added a fun element to the cruise.

I hope that everyone enjoyed the disney luggage handle covers that I made for you all. The shuttle driver told me that the padding in them did actually make the bags easier to lift So at least he thought it was a great idea

We loved all of the little goodies we got, including the little scrapbook, pirate stuff, candy (some types we hadn't eaten in years), CDs, necklace, cinderella goodies, bottle clips, soft lanyard, Boca clips, magnets, postcards and items from your local areas, picture frame, etc etc - it was all very appreciated and was or will be enjoyed.

Loved the Disney luggage handles! In fact, it made picking out our luggage from the sea of other black suitcases much easier when we disembarked. Thanks again for the terrific and creative gift!

Not sure who made the cross-stitched Mickey ornament (my dd already had everything out of the packaging in one giant heap when I got back to the room), but it was very much appreciated! Someone broke into our storage locker recently and stole everything - including all the Christmas ornaments I had been collecting since I was teenager from my various travels around the world. Anyway, it brought a big smile to me and my dh to have something so nice to kick off our new collection from our travels together!

I would rate this cruise a 10 out of 10! Would love to do another Alaskan cruise someday.

 

[godalejunior]

I would rate our cruise at an 8.5...because of the food quality and the service issues. I would really like my drink before my meal is finished.

 

[Mrs. Gumdrop]

Loved the Disney luggage handles! In fact, it made picking out our luggage from the sea of other black suitcases much easier when we disembarked. Thanks again for the terrific and creative gift!

Not sure who made the cross-stitched Mickey ornament (my dd already had everything out of the packaging in one giant heap when I got back to the room), but it was very much appreciated! Someone broke into our storage locker recently and stole everything - including all the Christmas ornaments I had been collecting since I was teenager from my various travels around the world. Anyway, it brought a big smile to me and my dh to have something so nice to kick off our new collection from our travels together!

I wanted to second this. I was very impressed by the creativity and generosity of the givers in our group. I also did a bad job of keeping my gift labels organized. I also realized I didn't put my name on the gifts we gave. I made the marble magnets.

 

[Mrs. Gumdrop]

I would like to take a poll:

on a scale of 1 to 10 rate your cruise.

I would give it a 8. This might seem like a low rating, but I really did love the trip. We received excellent service all around. But because of the time change for us I felt like I missed out on a lot onboard because we didn't have the energy. That's just because of circumstances, not Disney's fault. I just wish we had been up for more evening activities and around for Pirate night.

Also, this was our third cruise with DCL and this is the first time I felt like kids were running the ship. I love children. I really do. But WOW! Did anyone else experience this? My take away was "don't sail during school breaks".

BUT I loved experiencing Alaska aboard the Disney Wonder.

 

[lmben]

I agree with everyone that the FE gifts were great! Even the "big" kids enjoyed participating. Thanks to everyone!

Being from the east, we missed the earthquake. I didn't feel Thursday morning's aftershock that I know of, but I did awaken, so maybe I did feel it. It was awful to come back, go straight to work and then have to prepare for a hurricane. I am just getting to download my pics, and I am slowly unpacking & washing as I go.

I would rate the cruise about an 8 also. I LOVED the cruise portion, although, we also had slight drink issues. I was also on east coast time, so I was pretty much awake at 3am and dog tired by 10:30pm. I did stay up for a few of the late evening events, though. I think the Alaska portion was the most disappointing. Again, not Disney's fault, and not Alaska's fault either, but Mother Nature's. Those 2 days of rain killed it for me. It was so dreary, all I wanted to do was sleep. We barely did anything in Juneau or Ketchikan. We did, however, enjoy re-watching older Disney movies that we don't watch at home because they are on the dreaded VHS.

Anyway, this was our 6th DCL cruise. I had fun, but missed a lot of what I wanted to do in 2/3 of the ports. Tracy Arm was wonderful, though!

I enjoyed meeting everyone that I did. Sorry, MercoBear, Dancing Mickeys & NickCapp, I had an old list with me and couldn't find out your cabin numbers until we got to Vancouver. Hope you received the items from my parents & kids that were left at your door very early Tuesday.

Lisa

 

[mmouse37]

In case anyone has any interest, here is a link to a subset of the photos I took (both cameras combined I took over 1700 photos! )

most are pretty specific to my family, but there are a few more general ones as well. I have lots more of the shows, but haven't been able to get them off my camera yet...

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjvN97ZX

and now I really have to try to get some sleep--have to be at work in less than 8 hours!! Re-entry is such a pain

Your pics are great!!! So funny...it seems we have similiar tastes in our picture taking......I have some of the same shots!!

Here are mine....I took about 800 and whittled it down for posting.

http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/580776197RzhqFc

http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/580776996EUaYTJ

I would rate the cruise an 11. We had great servers....Jose as Server and Nyoman as Assistant Server. They were so friendly and gracious. Always had a smile on their faces and their service was good.

MJ

 

[mellers]

On the subject of the hurricane--East Coasters, be sure to post to us if you are okay. If you need help, remember that I am on the West Coast, and will help if I can.

 

[AppleGuy]

I would also rate the cruise an 11--we loved everything about it. Food and servers were good--we had Ralph from Jamaica and Jack from Thailand, good servers and a lot of fun. Tracy Arm was a great day, did the White Pass train in Skagway and Liarsville--could have skipped Liarsville, probably the only negative of the trip. Whale watching and Mendenhall Glacier were great in Juneau. I know the weather could have been better for us but we were prepared with rain coats and umbrellas. Thanks to all for the FE gifts, we were in the Pluto group. We can't wait until our next Disney cruise
:

 

[Inkmahm]

...

Also, this was our third cruise with DCL and this is the first time I felt like kids were running the ship. I love children. I really do. But WOW! Did anyone else experience this? My take away was "don't sail during school breaks".

Yes, I agree. The restaurants were LOUD compared to our 5 previous DCL cruises. I didn't connect the noise to extra kids until you just pointed out that we were sailing during the summer school break. All of our previous cruises were when school was in session.

 

[disneymath]

We're home safe and sound.

I missed the meets as well, but did meet Mellers and family waiting to check in (it was great talking with you), kgsmith and family through the ABD (what a great experience) and MonicaW at the airport on the way home (so glad we all got on that flight).

Having never cruised before, I would give our cruise experience a 10! We loved the ship and had great service (thanks Dee and Mike). We've booked a dummy date and plan to take my sister's family with us next time!

I would rate our ABD as 10 as well (this is using EF Tours when I was in high school as baseline). I don't think we could have had half the experiences in the ports of call had we opted to book DCL excursions or go on our own. Our guides Landon and Korey were fantastic ... they took care of everything and made it seem effortless even when we knew they were scrambling to reorganize plans due to the weather in Juneau.
I would sign up for another ABD in a heartbeat!

That said, until I become a more seasoned cruiser, I don't think I would be so quick to sign up for a combined cruise and ABD again. There was just so much to do onboard and trying to work things around the ABD stuff left very little downtime. It was a fantastic experience, but not necessarily a relaxing one!

Unfortunately, my "Disney bubble" was abruptly popped when I turned my cell phone on during breakfast on disembarkation day. While we were cruising Alaska my hotmail email account was hacked and a scam email was sent to all of my contacts. I have spent the past two days trying to update websites with a new email address, changing passwords, etc. It's been frustrating to say the least.

 

[siburdue]

Loved the Disney luggage handles! In fact, it made picking out our luggage from the sea of other black suitcases much easier when we disembarked. Thanks again for the terrific and creative gift!

Not sure who made the cross-stitched Mickey ornament (my dd already had everything out of the packaging in one giant heap when I got back to the room), but it was very much appreciated! Someone broke into our storage locker recently and stole everything - including all the Christmas ornaments I had been collecting since I was teenager from my various travels around the world. Anyway, it brought a big smile to me and my dh to have something so nice to kick off our new collection from our travels together!

I would rate this cruise a 10 out of 10! Would love to do another Alaskan cruise someday.

I'm glad you enjoyed the luggage handle cover! They definitely do make it easier to spot the luggage, except when you are traveling with others in the FE group and think you have spotted your luggage, but it isn't!

I too loved the cross-stitched mickey ornament - we also collect ornaments from all of our trips and this was a really nice addition to our collection Plus I know it was alot of work to make and wanted to let the person who created it know how much it is appreciated

I would rate the cruise a 9 out of 10, as I was really disppointed that we couldn't walk on the glacier. I know it is not Disney's fault, but since it is all considered a part of the trip and I did miss out this excursion , I just couldn't rate it a 10.

We did have a couple of funny incidents with our servers, as there was a language barrier. One time he asked how my meal was, and I told him it was really dry (chicken) and his response was "very good" and on he went to the next person - we laughed so hard we were practically crying For the most part the service was grand. My DH misses our assistant server and a full glass of iced tea - we are definitely having withdrawals here

 

[siburdue]

I wanted to second this. I was very impressed by the creativity and generosity of the givers in our group. I also did a bad job of keeping my gift labels organized. I also realized I didn't put my name on the gifts we gave. I made the marble magnets.

Oohh, those magnets are so cute! I love them, thank you

 

[Mrs. Gumdrop]

I am sorry it took so long for me to get these posted. I am still having computer issues and it is seriously slowing down my ability to manage photos. But without further ado...

 

[Mrs. Gumdrop]

Oohh, those magnets are so cute! I love them, thank you

It was my pleasure! They were a lot of fun to make.

 

[mmouse37]

On the subject of the hurricane--East Coasters, be sure to post to us if you are okay. If you need help, remember that I am on the West Coast, and will help if I can.

We are due to receive Irene starting around 7:00 pm or so tonight with the worst winds/rain being overnight. Tornadic activity is predicted for our area of the state so that is a new worry. We do have plenty of water, batteries, flashlights, lanterns, food, etc. Removed all the patio furniture and made sure nothing in the yard can turn into a missile. Last hurricane we rode out was at the Poly when we were diverted to WDW from the cruise since Hurricane Jeanne keep the Magic out at sea extra days. Raining pretty hard right now.

News coverage of the storm is 24/7.

MJ