August 26, 2013 - Mickey Mouse, Midnight Sun & Whales!

[lsutigger2]

hi there, everyone!! Good to see some activity on the boards.

My DH and I like main dining. Late dining is too late for us. Sometimes we go to the shows after dinner, sometimes not.

We are really interested in whale watching this cruise. Last time, we didn't and my DH was really interested in that but failed to tell me in a timely manner

We did the train ride to White Pass last trip in Skagway. and did the Mendenhall Glacier and Rainforest Gardens (really interesting!!!) trip in Juneau. We do Disney Excursions - i'm too worried something will go wrong and the ship will leave us!

I have been looking at FE gifts.

DH and I really need to look at airfare/flights soon. We have frequent flyer miles to use. those seats sometimes go fast.

Hope everyone is snug and warm. It has been sunny in Louisiana after a couple of weeks of rain. Temps are in the 60's.

later-----

 

[son3disfan]

hi there, everyone!! Good to see some activity on the boards.

My DH and I like main dining. Late dining is too late for us. Sometimes we go to the shows after dinner, sometimes not.

We are really interested in whale watching this cruise. Last time, we didn't and my DH was really interested in that but failed to tell me in a timely manner

We did the train ride to White Pass last trip in Skagway. and did the Mendenhall Glacier and Rainforest Gardens (really interesting!!!) trip in Juneau. We do Disney Excursions - i'm too worried something will go wrong and the ship will leave us!

I have been looking at FE gifts.

DH and I really need to look at airfare/flights soon. We have frequent flyer miles to use. those seats sometimes go fast.

Hope everyone is snug and warm. It has been sunny in Louisiana after a couple of weeks of rain. Temps are in the 60's.

later-----

Your screen name looks familiar.....
Any chance you were on a Disney Mexican Riviera cruise back in March 2010?

Anyway, DO NOT worry about missing the ship! With a family of five we save soooo much by booking privately. I guess if it's just you and your DH it's not too bad. In all 6 cruises we have booked privately and never missed the boat. Most companies deal with cruise passengers on a regular basis, and getting you back in time can make or break their business!
In Cabo, on our MR cruise, I made the mistake of booking an ATV EXCURSION that involved a 20 min bus ride to the location and back. I didn't take into consideration the change in time from Cabo to Puerto Vallarta, as the cruise ship was a different time then port time. Very confusing...they didn't do the " move the clock ahead and move the clock back" . They just left it on US time.
Long story short, we arrived at the ATV location only to find out the bus back would make us 1 hr late for the cruise ship departure.
Totally my mistake.
They gave us our own private tour ( cut short from 3 hrs to 2) and sent a van to pick us up. We made it in time. Close call, but we made it. Now I make sure to book according to the ship time, not port time! I should add, that we only had a 4 hr stop in Cabo too....I usually book an early excursion so we have lots of time to return ( traffic etc.)

 

[lsutigger2]

Son3disfan: We were not on the Mexican cruise, but we were on the first visit to Tortola in April 2009. guess we will be sailing together again!!

thanks for the encouraging words about the excursions. I'll give it some thought.

We may not do anything in Skagway. I do want to see more totem poles and Ketchikan seems the best place to do that.

My countdown counter on my iPad says it is 216 days!! woot woot!!

 

[son3disfan]

Son3disfan: We were not on the Mexican cruise, but we were on the first visit to Tortola in April 2009. guess we will be sailing together again!!

thanks for the encouraging words about the excursions. I'll give it some thought.

We may not do anything in Skagway. I do want to see more totem poles and Ketchikan seems the best place to do that.

My countdown counter on my iPad says it is 216 days!! woot woot!!

Wow! I thought so! That Tortola cruise was our first cruise " meet". Great bunch!
FYI....You can rent a car in Skagway. Avis is right at the port. Travel up the highway on your own.

216 days! Well, I am in Canada and it is freezing here today....wishing we had booked our regular Spring Break getaway to somewhere warm....

 

[lsutigger2]

Hi friends!

Have a had a little time on my hands and started looking at excursions for our cruise.

In Skagway I think we are going to do the Grizzly Falls Zipline. We did a zipline once before in Florida and it was so much fun. This one looks like it would be great fun also. The online cost and Disney Port Adventure cost are the same so i will probably book thru Disney. The scenery looks really fabulous!.

We will be whale watching in Juneau. There is a tour that also goes to Orca Point Lodge for a lunch. Looks good and again really nice scenery. has anyone done this post adventure or something similar?

I think we are going to go to Totem Bight State Park in Ketchikan to see the totem poles. You can take the bus out there for $2 each way - can't beat that - and we can stay as long as we wish. I think the park is free or not very expensive. And will give us another chance to see some scenery also.

I am really excited to be doing this cruise again. have our door magnets. Will use the one's we used on our September cruise to Mexico from Galveston. They are a little different and I still like them
I have our FE from all our other cruises. Still in good shape and I think I know what we will do for FE gifts. All i need to do is pay for the cruise and pack
Oh, and make arrangements for getting to Vancouver!!

hope everyone is doing well and you are snug and warm if it is cold outside.

 

[son3disfan]

Hi friends!

Have a had a little time on my hands and started looking at excursions for our cruise.

In Skagway I think we are going to do the Grizzly Falls Zipline. We did a zipline once before in Florida and it was so much fun. This one looks like it would be great fun also. The online cost and Disney Port Adventure cost are the same so i will probably book thru Disney. The scenery looks really fabulous!.

We will be whale watching in Juneau. There is a tour that also goes to Orca Point Lodge for a lunch. Looks good and again really nice scenery. has anyone done this post adventure or something similar?

I think we are going to go to Totem Bight State Park in Ketchikan to see the totem poles. You can take the bus out there for $2 each way - can't beat that - and we can stay as long as we wish. I think the park is free or not very expensive. And will give us another chance to see some scenery also.

I am really excited to be doing this cruise again. have our door magnets. Will use the one's we used on our September cruise to Mexico from Galveston. They are a little different and I still like them
I have our FE from all our other cruises. Still in good shape and I think I know what we will do for FE gifts. All i need to do is pay for the cruise and pack
Oh, and make arrangements for getting to Vancouver!!

hope everyone is doing well and you are snug and warm if it is cold outside.

Your excursions sound exciting! We zip lined in Puerto Vallarta .....so much fun.
We are hoping to have enough time to see the Totem poles too, after our floatplane excursion. I have read that the floatplane excursions do get cancelled quite a bit, due to fog.....so totem poles are our backup!!!
We do not have flights yet either. It's so expensive to fly to Vancouver! Waiting to see if we see a sale we can live with!

 

[JacksGirlz]

Just added my name and the names of my party to the google doc. We are a party of 6, traveling in 3 room. Myself and DD(15), My parents and my DSis and her hubby. At this point I want to do the FE and my sister and her hubby to. Not sure about my parents yet. My DD and I are going on the Fantasy Eastern Caribbean for spring break, so I'm concentrating on my planning for that trip but also wanted to check in here again. I asked to join the facebook group tonight too. Thanks.

 

[son3disfan]

Just added my name and the names of my party to the google doc. We are a party of 6, traveling in 3 room. Myself and DD(15), My parents and my DSis and her hubby. At this point I want to do the FE and my sister and her hubby to. Not sure about my parents yet. My DD and I are going on the Fantasy Eastern Caribbean for spring break, so I'm concentrating on my planning for that trip but also wanted to check in here again. I asked to join the facebook group tonight too. Thanks.

Welcome!

How lucky! Two cruises in one year!
And the Fantasy!!!!! Enjoy!

 

[JacksGirlz]

While browsing DCL's website I noted that one of the "secret verandah" stateroooms had opened up so I moved my parents 7a cabin to that one. They had one of these 7a "secret verandah" rooms on their first cruise so I'm so happy one opened up. My TA was so quick. I emailed her and within 15 minutes she emailed back to say she got the cabins switched. Woohoo!

 

[son3disfan]

While browsing DCL's website I noted that one of the "secret verandah" stateroooms had opened up so I moved my parents 7a cabin to that one. They had one of these 7a "secret verandah" rooms on their first cruise so I'm so happy one opened up. My TA was so quick. I emailed her and within 15 minutes she emailed back to say she got the cabins switched. Woohoo!

We've had our eye on that too.....but for $1850.00 MORE then what we have booked right now, we passed.....

Enjoy! I am hoping to upgrade at the port. We will see.

We usually book 2 inside rooms and have been pixie dusted 3 times to an oceanveiw. 4th upgrade was to the first floor....didn't really like that. But it was an upgrade so we were still thankful.
Last cruise was no upgrades available.so inside it was. We were never in our cabin ....just to sleep and change. It wasn't that bad.

Balconies on the Alaska cruises are over DOUBLE what they charge in the Caribbean or MR cruises. They are in high demand in Alaska.

 

[Keurigirl]

Take some time to explore in Skagway! It's adorable and the surroundings are spectacular. You can walk the town (something like 6 blocks by 18 blocks, small) in an hour or so. There are tons of little tour shops in town too, so if you don't book anything you can walk by those and there will be lots of options. We took a little short bus tour of Klondike Highway and weren't planning to, but I'm so glad we did!

This time we're renting green jeeps (http://www.alaskagreenjeeptours.com/) recommended here! I can't wait! You can stop at a mushing camp there for sled dogs and ride a sled, so that will be super fun to do. And WAY cheaper than doing it via the cruise ship.

 

[Donna3271]

Hi friends!

Have a had a little time on my hands and started looking at excursions for our cruise.

In Skagway I think we are going to do the Grizzly Falls Zipline. We did a zipline once before in Florida and it was so much fun. This one looks like it would be great fun also. The online cost and Disney Port Adventure cost are the same so i will probably book thru Disney. The scenery looks really fabulous!.

We will be whale watching in Juneau. There is a tour that also goes to Orca Point Lodge for a lunch. Looks good and again really nice scenery. has anyone done this post adventure or something similar?

I think we are going to go to Totem Bight State Park in Ketchikan to see the totem poles. You can take the bus out there for $2 each way - can't beat that - and we can stay as long as we wish. I think the park is free or not very expensive. And will give us another chance to see some scenery also.

I am really excited to be doing this cruise again. have our door magnets. Will use the one's we used on our September cruise to Mexico from Galveston. They are a little different and I still like them
I have our FE from all our other cruises. Still in good shape and I think I know what we will do for FE gifts. All i need to do is pay for the cruise and pack
Oh, and make arrangements for getting to Vancouver!!

hope everyone is doing well and you are snug and warm if it is cold outside.

Hi, the zip lines look fun! My son will be 11, but my girls will just be turning 8. I think they may be too young! Can you provide more info the the Totem park? You are not doing this through Disney?

Regards,
Donna

 

[JacksGirlz]

We've had our eye on that too.....but for $1850.00 MORE then what we have booked right now, we passed.....

Enjoy! I am hoping to upgrade at the port. We will see.

We usually book 2 inside rooms and have been pixie dusted 3 times to an oceanveiw. 4th upgrade was to the first floor....didn't really like that. But it was an upgrade so we were still thankful.
Last cruise was no upgrades available.so inside it was. We were never in our cabin ....just to sleep and change. It wasn't that bad.

Balconies on the Alaska cruises are over DOUBLE what they charge in the Caribbean or MR cruises. They are in high demand in Alaska.

Well, thank you for not snatching it up. All my DCL cruises have been inside staterooms because of that exact reason - you are not in the room very often. My parents disagree and were willing to pay the additional $$$ so more power to them. My sister and BIL sided with me and the cheaper price and will be just 5 inside staterooms from me.

 

[Trifecta]

I received our confirmation! We are all set to go on the cruise!

This will be our first Disney Cruise, my third, husband's second and DD's first.

DD will be 6 by sail date.

I am just starting to read around on these forums and am hoping to learn all sorts of great ideas to make this an incredible trip for my daughter.

 

[son3disfan]

I received our confirmation! We are all set to go on the cruise!

This will be our first Disney Cruise, my third, husband's second and DD's first.

DD will be 6 by sail date.

I am just starting to read around on these forums and am hoping to learn all sorts of great ideas to make this an incredible trip for my daughter.

Welcome to the cruise meet!
You will find so much useful information on these boards!

 

[son3disfan]

Well, thank you for not snatching it up. All my DCL cruises have been inside staterooms because of that exact reason - you are not in the room very often. My parents disagree and were willing to pay the additional $$$ so more power to them. My sister and BIL sided with me and the cheaper price and will be just 5 inside staterooms from me.

Haha! Your welcome!
I have read alot of good things about inside rooms on Alaska cruises....
Not just more economical, but with the really bright nights....long long days...
the dark room can be a nice place to sleep.
Also I have read on cruise critic , a lot of posts of people who prefered the view from the open top deck, as it is a 360 degree view, as opposed to just directly in front of you on a verandah.
But....there is somethng pretty special to waking up in your jammies, and enjoying a coffee on your private verandah!
A bonus for us is with 2 rooms is that DH and I can have our own room, and we stick the boys in the n room next door ( or adjoining) .......makes for some peace and quiet! A real vacation!

 

[Donna3271]

Hi Everyone,

I am capitulating on what to do in Ketchikan. My son wants to do the Bering Fisherman's tour... It seems kind of expensive to me. I looked at booking direct, and it is $159 per adult (Disney is offering it at $185). The child ticket is $99 (Disney - $104). But Disney is offering the child price up until 9 years old. The tour's website is stating child is 5 - 12. My son is 11, so this is a big savings to book direct.

OR, I was thinking the Totem Bight park, and lumberjack show. I did not pay in full yet, so I can't see the times of the excursions to see if we can do both.

My twins (girls) will be 8 when we go, and my son 11. Any advice?

 

[Con5421]

We have booked yesterday this cruise, so we can get starting planning our flight, hotels and things to see.

 

[son3disfan]

Hi Everyone,

I am capitulating on what to do in Ketchikan. My son wants to do the Bering Fisherman's tour... It seems kind of expensive to me. I looked at booking direct, and it is $159 per adult (Disney is offering it at $185). The child ticket is $99 (Disney - $104). But Disney is offering the child price up until 9 years old. The tour's website is stating child is 5 - 12. My son is 11, so this is a big savings to book direct.

OR, I was thinking the Totem Bight park, and lumberjack show. I did not pay in full yet, so I can't see the times of the excursions to see if we can do both.

My twins (girls) will be 8 when we go, and my son 11. Any advice?

Any time there is an oppurtunity to save money.....I'm in. I would say go with the independent tour.
Also for the lumberjack show you can buy tickets there...as long as it is not sold out. So you can wait to see if you have enough time for both.
Also...we are paying that much for whale watching....
I think all excursions in Alaska are pricey!!!!

 

[son3disfan]

Oohhhh!
I just noticed we are now in the 100s!!!! ( as to when we sail)