August 9, 2011 (8/9/2011) Taking the Wonder to see the AMERICAN CHILD

[Bookworm Belle]

It was a great trip for me, at least! We had an enjoyable stay at the Sutton Place for a few days before and now we are at the Fairmont Airport. The Fairmont Airport is very nice! The cruise was great. Weather was good for Southeast Alaska. We had drizzle/light rain in Tracy Arm, but got really close in to the glacier. We had light drizzle for part of the day in Skagway but still had fun despite the rain. Early morning fog and then bright beautiful sunshine in Juneau and sun and clouds in Ketchikan. This was our first cruise...but definitely not our last!

 

[Bookworm Belle]

Also, merchandise was very spotty. No port of call pins. Hat/tee combos only in medium sizes. No Alaska DCL ornaments. Lots of stuff sold out.

 

[Caropooh]

Got home about an hour ago. Had a wonderful time! Alaska is an amazing place, the scenery is beautiful! Even though we live in the Pacific Northwest, I was amazed by how much unspoiled wilderness there is! We had excellent weather, even with some drizzle in Skagway and overcast and foggy quite a bit through Tracy Arm.

 

[Caropooh]

FYI for those that rebooked onboard! Double check to make sure that the onboard DCL agent listed the agency you requested the reservation to go to. We booked a dummy cruise late last night and saw the agent write our agents name down. He told us he would email us our confirmation today. When I received the email, our agent wasn't listed. I forwarded the email on to her. She sent us a Booking Transfer Authorization Form to fill out and send back to her. That will allow her to transfer the reservation to her, but we still get the incentives for rebooking onboard.

 

[KathyM2]

Wow, what a great cruise! It was so nice meeting some of you IRL and all the great FE gifts really made my kids day every time they came back to our room and found more treats! Definitely want to do that again one day...I can totally see why there are so many repeat cruisers! Hope someone will do a TR....maybe me...but I won't be home for another few days!

 

[cyclenut]

We're back!

The whole family had a great time, but I wish I could say that it was the best cruise experience ever. There were some glitches, for us at least, that left us reconsidering our next DCL cruise. We discussed our issues with Guest Services and ultimately spoke with Lon who thanked us for our constructive feedback and promised to have someone give us a call shoreside.

Alaska is just amazing country. We were so happy to have had a verandah for Tracey Arm. Excellent views and we stayed out of the rain. Loved the shore excursions.

Thanks to all of you who have posted here and elsewhere on DIS. Your comments and tips helped a GREAT deal.

 

[poohj80]

Alaska is just amazing country. We were so happy to have had a verandah for Tracey Arm. Excellent views and we stayed out of the rain. Loved the shore excursions.

Thanks to all of you who have posted here and elsewhere on DIS. Your comments and tips helped a GREAT deal.

Thanks for the report. We sail in less than 2 weeks and also have a verandah. Were the Tracy Arm views better from one side of the ship vs. another?

 

[cyclenut]

Thanks for the report. We sail in less than 2 weeks and also have a verandah. Were the Tracy Arm views better from one side of the ship vs. another?

For Tracey Arm they sail in then turn around and sail out. If you stay on one side of the ship the entire time, you'll see the whole thing. The one exception is Sawyer Island. That passes on the Port side both directions because they essentially go around the island. Our stateroom was on the Starboard side so we missed the close up view of Sawyer Island. We did go out on Deck 10 for a little while just to see how different the view was and it is pretty spectacular to see the entire Fjord in a panoramic view, but we were quite happy with the view from our stateroom verandah, Deck 6, Aft.

 

[cyclenut]

Also, merchandise was very spotty. No port of call pins. Hat/tee combos only in medium sizes. No Alaska DCL ornaments. Lots of stuff sold out.

I really expected more merchandise. We checked several times and did find some cool stuff, but I was surprised there wasn't more to choose from. I did purchase one of the ship replicas and we did see two different types of ornaments. We also purchased t-shirts in L and XL sizes so we didn't have the problem you did. But again, we visited several times throughout the cruise.

 

[rsjj]

hi all!! it was great meeting some of you!! my apology in not bringing my little treats to the dis meet that first day. i packed it in my luggage (silly me!!), and of course, we didn't get our luggage till later! and it would've driven me crazy trying to find you all. anyways...our family had a fabulous time!! thank you to all of you who've answered the questions here & elsewhere, and have just provided so much info to making our trip memorable!!

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

Hello Everyone!! I had an amazing time on the cruise!! It was nice meeting all of you.

 

[JoeSchmieg]

Andrea and I got home tonight, stayed at the Fairmont Airport last night and went whale watching yesterday in Vancouver. Had a great time on the cruise to Alaska, spent all day on deck 10 front of ship in Tracey Arm. Captain Gus did a great job as getting us so close. The Helicopter trip to two glaciers is something I will never forget, drank the water! The pilot also had us all be quiet and still while on the glacier for a few minutes.... Now I know what quiet really is!!!

Thanks for all the FE gifts, and the timing of delivery (the scarf on Tracey Arm day ) I was awesome meeting everyone and seeing everyone in ports and on the ships.

 

[BraveCruiser]

We had a great time on the cruise! It was great to meet all of you in person! I'm changing over to a new Disboard name since I was so lame to pick my own name as a login originally. lori_vinciguerra is now BraveCruiser. Thanks to teriyaki for the suggestion.

 

[JoeSchmieg]

We had a great time on the cruise! It was great to meet all of you in person! I'm changing over to a new Disboard name since I was so lame to pick my own name as a login originally. lori_vinciguerra is now BraveCruiser. Thanks to teriyaki for the suggestion.

I gotta pick a new name too... Mine is very boring!

 

[cyclenut]

I've posted my complete trip report (faulty memories and all) on the DIS. For those of you interested, it is here.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2782042

Feel free to share you experiences there too. I know I didn't get a chance to sit down and meet each of you at the original meet up location but I did see some of you throughout the cruise. Some of you I may have met without even knowing you were DISers.

I know my kids probably met some of your kids, especially if they hung out at college club activities. It was a great time and some great memories. Your tips here helped make it so!

 

[cyclenut]

I've posted my complete trip report (faulty memories and all) on the DIS. For those of you interested, it is here.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2782042

Feel free to share you experiences there too. I know I didn't get a chance to sit down and meet each of you at the original meet up location but I did see some of you throughout the cruise. Some of you I may have met without even knowing you were DISers.

I know my kids probably met some of your kids, especially if they hung out at college club activities. It was a great time and some great memories. Your tips here helped make it so!

 

[poohj80]

Can anyone tell me which Princesses were on-board? We are leaving in a week for the Last Alaskan cruise and DD can't decide which dresses to pack.

Thanks!

 

[Bookworm Belle]

I saw (and met) Cinderella and Belle, and I think Snow White was onboard as well.

 

[kandt]

I saw (and met) Cinderella and Belle, and I think Snow White was onboard as well.

Tiana, Snow White and Ariel were also on board. Have a great trip!

 

[poohj80]

Thanks so much! She would like to bring her Ariel dress but wasn't sure if she would be available or not. Of course, she'd love to take ALL her dresses, but we're limiting to 2.