Back from Alaska Aug.19 Cruise - Any Questions?

[Aby]

My hubby and I just returned from our second cruise to Alaska with Disney yesterday. We had second seating, did Palo brunch & dinner, and did 2 shore excursions - Alaska Whales & Glaciers Photo Safari and Neets Bay Bear Watch by Floatplane.

I would be happy to answer anyones questions about the port/check in, the cruise, the excursions or anything else I can help with - I do still have my navigators and some of the other documents provided if anyone wants to know the schedules for beverage tastings, family/adult events, movies, etc.

Ask away!

Aby

 

[jetskigrl]

My hubby and I just returned from our second cruise to Alaska with Disney yesterday. We had second seating, did Palo brunch & dinner, and did 2 shore excursions - Alaska Whales & Glaciers Photo Safari and Neets Bay Bear Watch by Floatplane.

I would be happy to answer anyones questions about the port/check in, the cruise, the excursions or anything else I can help with - I do still have my navigators and some of the other documents provided if anyone wants to know the schedules for beverage tastings, family/adult events, movies, etc.

Ask away!

Aby

Welcome home!!

I would love to hear how the weather was. Also, what special Alaska merchandise was available. One thing in particular is hats. My kids both love hats and I would like to avoid bringing hats if they will end up buying new ones anyway. My DD is really hoping that we get cold enough weather on our cruise to need to bundle up

Thanks so much!

 

[Stinkerbe11]

How was second seating? We will have this for the first time on our next Alaska cruise and I'm a little concerned We are taking the in-laws and they are early diners...but I always felt rushed having 1st seating and look forward to relaxing this time around.

 

[Aby]

Welcome home!!

I would love to hear how the weather was. Also, what special Alaska merchandise was available. One thing in particular is hats. My kids both love hats and I would like to avoid bringing hats if they will end up buying new ones anyway. My DD is really hoping that we get cold enough weather on our cruise to need to bundle up

Thanks so much!

I thought the weather on our cruise was very good. Our embarkation day in Vancouver was overcast with a bit of sun, high temp around 68F/20C. Day 2 at sea was a little cooler with mostly clouds and more windy, with a high temp of about 61F/20C, and the seas were a bit rough. Day 3 in Tracy Arm was definitely much chillier than when I was there in 2011, overcast, high was only about 54F/12C, a windy on deck. But, it cleared up right when we were at the glacier - the winds died down and the sun came out some, so it was nicer sailing out than in. On the last sea day, it was cloudy and very windy up on deck, high temp 63F/17C. We did not have any rain on any of our sea days.

As for in port, the weather was very good. Cloudy/partly cloudy all 3 days, but temp got up to about 61F/16C every day. We also saw very little rain. I don't remember any rain in Skagway or in Juneau. In Ketchikan, for the 1st half of the morning it was clear skies, then a small weather front came in for about 1-2 hours with light to medium rain & lots of fog (we actually got stuck at our bear watching excursion as they planes couldn't land back at the hatchery to pick us up right away), but then it cleared up and no more rain for the rest of the day.

I was disappointed with this years offering of Alaska specific merchandise. They only had a small corner of it left in both shops and they were trying to sell it off at 40% off. They had scrapbooks & supplies, disney totem poles, Alaska Disney nesting dolls, fleece blankets, zip up sweaters, t-shirts, magnets, a few Mickey dolls, a 2013 Stitch Alaska pin, and an orca vinylmation. They did not have Alaska plushie Pluto that I was looking for, and I just didn't care much for the rest of the merchandise. I did buy the Stitch pin and the orca vinylmation though. Unfortunately I don't remember if I saw any Alaska specific hats - I did see a couple of baseball caps, and some head/ear warmers, gloves & scarves with the DCL logo on them.

I hope this helps! You'll love the cruise - and I'm sure your DD will be able to bundle up at least a few times!

Aby

 

[Aby]

How was second seating? We will have this for the first time on our next Alaska cruise and I'm a little concerned We are taking the in-laws and they are early diners...but I always felt rushed having 1st seating and look forward to relaxing this time around.

We LOVE second seating. It is a bit late for dinner, but I much prefer that to having to rush back from the ports for early dinner in the MDR. The earliest all aboard time was 4:30, but in the other two ports it was 7:30 so coming back for dinner early would have taken away a significant part of time in port. It was just the two of us, so we were out of the MDR each night within 1-1.5 hours, but you don't have to rush it at all - some of the families were there much longer than we were. Honestly, I don't think we could have eaten earlier anyway - after a full breakfast every morning, and a full lunch, I was never hungry at the traditional dinner time. And if your in-laws are hungry earlier, there is always somewhere to get a snack during the day to tide you over. I also found that second seating was not full even though it was a full sailing - I think there are generally less people at second so it's a little bit more relaxing in that way as well.

Hope this helps!

Aby

 

[Nikkim]

Aby, was the sea rough for a lot of the time or just the one day, I get a little seasick is the waters are rough.

Thanks so much
Nikki

 

[Aby]

Aby, was the sea rough for a lot of the time or just the one day, I get a little seasick is the waters are rough.

Thanks so much
Nikki

The sea was rough overnight on day 1 and into day 2, but had calmed down by that evening. Upon our departure from Ketchikan on day 6, the captain warned us that we would have rough seas overnight, but honestly I didn't even notice. The next morning it was rough and windy, but that only lasted into late morning as the captain decided it was just too rough and turned back in towards the inside passage and it was much better. Those were the only 2 days we had issues, but honestly it wasn't too bad - only noticed a bit of swaying while walking around the ship - on our first cruise in 2011 it was pretty bad one night and a lot of people in the dining room looked pretty green, but nothing like that this time.

Aby

 

[Nikkim]

Thanks so much Aby

 

[ggfred32]

What about cell service in the ports? Is there any?

And luggage at the terminal. We are self parking. Can we drop our luggage off and then drive around to park, or will we have to schlep our stuff all the way?

 

[Aby]

What about cell service in the ports? Is there any?

And luggage at the terminal. We are self parking. Can we drop our luggage off and then drive around to park, or will we have to schlep our stuff all the way?

Sorry, I haven't entered the cell phone age yet (gasp!) so I can't answer about the service in ports.

We were able to drop our luggage off at about 9:50am and get in line at security. I have heard that the porters sometimes start accepting luggage as early as 9:30am, but can't confirm. The porters are wearing navy overalls with fluorescent stripes. I just went up to one and asked him if I could drop my luggage off yet and he was happy to help. If you did not want to board until later, if the porters are accepting luggage you could drop it off with them, hit the town, and then come back later to board. I'm not sure about driving it down before parking since we stayed at the hotel across the street and just walked, sorry.

Aby

 

[ggfred32]

No cell phone? The HORROR!!!!!

Thanks for the luggage info though.

 

[mamahemingway]

Thank you for posting! We leave on Monday and I have been reading and reading!
I too am Obsessive and Compulsive with planning and reading and reading. Several questions.. when did you do Palo Bruch? Is there any menu that you would suggest skipping for Palo dinner? We were thinking first night and toy story hopping to the rotation that starts at Parrots Cay. Did you spend any time in Vancouver before? Trying to decide on just doing Grouse Mt or stopping at either Lynn Canyon or Capistrano bridge first. Any other must pack items we must not forget. I seem to have everything fro rain gear to swimsuites. Thank you!!

 

[Control4Hermosa]

What about cell service in the ports? Is there any?

And luggage at the terminal. We are self parking. Can we drop our luggage off and then drive around to park, or will we have to schlep our stuff all the way?

I don't know about other carriers but if you are on VZ, you could be in for trouble. Internet, onboard, is a mess as well.

 

[Aby]

Thank you for posting! We leave on Monday and I have been reading and reading!
I too am Obsessive and Compulsive with planning and reading and reading. Several questions.. when did you do Palo Bruch? Is there any menu that you would suggest skipping for Palo dinner? We were thinking first night and toy story hopping to the rotation that starts at Parrots Cay. Did you spend any time in Vancouver before? Trying to decide on just doing Grouse Mt or stopping at either Lynn Canyon or Capistrano bridge first. Any other must pack items we must not forget. I seem to have everything fro rain gear to swimsuites. Thank you!!

We did Palo brunch on Tracy Arm day, at 12pm. We were just getting into the scenic part of the fjord, and we had great views. We were done lunch in plenty of time before the ship reached the glacier. For dinner, we chose to do night 5, the Toy Story menu night, as I had read that it wasn't the best menu. That way, we did not miss any of the rotational menus since we did not know our rotation ahead of schedule. We also did not want to miss the Golden Mickeys menu or the Taste of Alaska menu. We were very happy with our choice.

We did the Capilano Suspension bridge in Vancouver and we really enjoyed it - took us about 2 hours to see it all once we arrived via the free shuttle from Canada Place. We also did the Fly Over Canada attraction which is a must do if you are a fan of the Soarin' rides in the Disney parks.

As for packing, I found that I brought way too much with me again. The weather was pretty nice, and I didn't need a lot of my heavy clothes. Most days on deck just walking around my regular pants, a t-shirt and a fleece sweater was plenty, and in port, a long sleeve tee or a tee and a light sweater along with my windbreaker was fine. I did use my hat and mitts/gloves a few times in port. I did not wear any special shoes, just my sneakers and my dress sandals for dinner.

Hope this helps! I'm sure you will have a great time!

Aby

 

[ggfred32]

I don't know about other carriers but if you are on VZ, you could be in for trouble. Internet, onboard, is a mess as well.

That is what I have heard too. We are VZ, though I am not too worried about being out of touch. It IS a vacation and I don't need to read my email anyhow!

 

[jetskigrl]

I thought the weather on our cruise was very good. Our embarkation day in Vancouver was overcast with a bit of sun, high temp around 68F/20C. Day 2 at sea was a little cooler with mostly clouds and more windy, with a high temp of about 61F/20C, and the seas were a bit rough. Day 3 in Tracy Arm was definitely much chillier than when I was there in 2011, overcast, high was only about 54F/12C, a windy on deck. But, it cleared up right when we were at the glacier - the winds died down and the sun came out some, so it was nicer sailing out than in. On the last sea day, it was cloudy and very windy up on deck, high temp 63F/17C. We did not have any rain on any of our sea days.

As for in port, the weather was very good. Cloudy/partly cloudy all 3 days, but temp got up to about 61F/16C every day. We also saw very little rain. I don't remember any rain in Skagway or in Juneau. In Ketchikan, for the 1st half of the morning it was clear skies, then a small weather front came in for about 1-2 hours with light to medium rain & lots of fog (we actually got stuck at our bear watching excursion as they planes couldn't land back at the hatchery to pick us up right away), but then it cleared up and no more rain for the rest of the day.

I was disappointed with this years offering of Alaska specific merchandise. They only had a small corner of it left in both shops and they were trying to sell it off at 40% off. They had scrapbooks & supplies, disney totem poles, Alaska Disney nesting dolls, fleece blankets, zip up sweaters, t-shirts, magnets, a few Mickey dolls, a 2013 Stitch Alaska pin, and an orca vinylmation. They did not have Alaska plushie Pluto that I was looking for, and I just didn't care much for the rest of the merchandise. I did buy the Stitch pin and the orca vinylmation though. Unfortunately I don't remember if I saw any Alaska specific hats - I did see a couple of baseball caps, and some head/ear warmers, gloves & scarves with the DCL logo on them.

I hope this helps! You'll love the cruise - and I'm sure your DD will be able to bundle up at least a few times!

Aby

Thanks so much!!!! DD will be happy to be able to wear a scarf and hat at least on Tracy Arm day. Being from Southern California, we don't get many cold enough days unless we head to the mountains

Thanks for the merchandise info. As much as I would like 40% off, I'm hoping they still have a decent selection when we go (August 11th cruise next year). We collect pins and vinylmations so those would be great. And I know my DD would really love the gloves and scarves with the DCL logo.

 

[pwtwa]

We had Verizon cell and found good signal at all three ports. Once in Alaskian waters there well be spotty service along the trip, but ports will be good. Two years ago our daughter had good service from AT&T while in port. You will also have VZW Cruise Service through out the trip, however that may be costly as that is a roaming system.

 

[travisx4]

We were on this same cruise. As far as the weather we came prepared for everything. We did not use the shorts and short sleeve shirts as much but neither did we use the heavy stuff except for the Tracey Arm day spent on deck 10. For merchandise the upscale store on the left seemed to have more merchandise. We bought some t shirts and a nice jacket with Alaska logos all at 40% off. We do have Verizon for service and had no issues in port. I have not received the bill though as the phone listed roaming at each port. I would prepare for chilly weather especially if you do not have a balcony as you will want to spend as much time as possible on deck to take in the sights.

 

[pjhorton21]

We had Verizon cell and found good signal at all three ports. Once in Alaskian waters there well be spotty service along the trip, but ports will be good. Two years ago our daughter had good service from AT&T while in port. You will also have VZW Cruise Service through out the trip, however that may be costly as that is a roaming system.

We had the same experience with VZW in early August - good signal in all three ports.

 

[twentytoez]

Should we book port or starboard balcony room?