Back from our cruise! And questions about Alaska

[CisforCookie991]

We're back from our first Disney cruise on the Dream and it was... fantastic. I'm so thankful for all the great advice I got from this board. As soon as we got on, it was clear that this was going to be a very different experience than our previous (pre-kid) cruises. During dinner, we started talking about whether we should start planning for the next one. So many things went differently from how I originally planned, because I'm a planner.

- We wanted to do a nice late PAT. Well I happened to be up late finishing a book the night check-in happened and got 11:15 BG 4. I figured it would be easier to change it to later so I kept it. Turned out perfectly. The kids were up early the morning of embarkation and they were bouncing off the walls excited, so sitting around in the hotel an extra couple of hours would've been a nightmare. We had breakfast, got in an Uber, and went to the port. It was super easy. We ate in a near-empty Cabanas, then the kids got right on line for the Aquaduck. They rode it a couple of times and that was good enough for them, which is fantastic because they never got to ride it again. Lines were insane the rest of the cruise.

- With our late PAT arrival, we were also going to just carry all our bags on. We were packing up the last of the bags at the hotel and decided it was way too much stuff and we were going to check everything but what we needed. We ended up checking 4 bags. Rooms opened up at 1:30 and we went down a few minutes later. We could already see 3 of our bags at the end of the hall. They were delivered to our room a few minutes later. The CM asked if we had gotten all our bags and I described the 4th bag to her. She delivered it about 10-15 minutes later.

- We were a little concerned that the 11 year old would be too old for Oceaneers. Nope. He loved it. At the end of the first day, both kids said they wanted to do another Disney cruise before he was too old for Oceaneers. They later met another 11 year old who told them that Edge is boring and sucks. My 11 year old likes a lot of activities, and sounds like this kid did too.

- We booked the placeholders, and as soon as we got to our rental car, started looking for cruises for next year. The kids wanted to do a different ship, so we looked at Wonder, Magic, and Wish. Then we did yet another thing we said we wouldn't - sail Disney to Alaska. So now we're booked for summer 2024. With the placeholder, it was comparable to our Dream cruise.

- Captain Marvin's really does live up to the hype.

- The coffee really is... not good. The first day it seemed fine, but then it got progressively worse throughout the trip. On day 4, I finally went to Cove Cafe. Met a woman who thinks they intentionally make the coffee worse as the cruise goes on. I can believe that. Cove Cafe was great. I'm ready for my punch card the next time.

- We were really looking forward to Vanellope's and the race car sundae. CM told me they hadn't had those in about 5 cruises. We had regular ice cream instead. Portion size was great for the price, but quality was meh.

- I read a thread on here about whether or not the drinking water is safe on board and someone said their daughter was told it's not. One night we were in the WD Theater and my husband went somewhere and came back with two cups of water. The next night, he went back to the same place and a different bartender told him the water isn't safe for drinking. I'm fairly certain he won't remember where it was, but there's definitely someone telling people that.

- I was a little concerned about my options for connecting while in port, but it was shockingly easy to stay disconnected. On the port days, I had no motivation to even try. When we docked back in Miami, I finally opened my work email and found over 300. Decided, nope, still on vacation. Scanned through them for anything urgent, then turned off notifications. I'll deal with them on Monday.

Moving on to my Alaska questions (and there will be many more over the next year):
1. Can anyone recommend a provider for dog sledding in Ketchikan? Didn't look like DCL has one. We decided the 5 day is the best option for us so no other ports.
2. We like Hyatts and the Regency is less than a 10 minute walk to the port. Are you allowed to just walk in?
3. Any recommendations for lightweight waterproof jackets? The smaller they can squish, the better.

Thanks again for all the help!

 

[Calantha]

2. We like Hyatts and the Regency is less than a 10 minute walk to the port. Are you allowed to just walk in?

Yes, we stayed at the Pacific Rim and just walked over to port in the AM to drop our stuff off, (do covid testing over at the Fairmont Waterfront), then board. Obviously step 2 isn't relevant any more.

 

[auntlynne]

I think you will need to look at Juneau and Skagway port excursions for dog sledding. Which means not on the 5-night cruise.

What you see offered by Disney for excursions covers the broad categories offered by independent companies, too. Do an Internet search for shore excursions in Ketchikan to see your options. Viator and TripAdvisor will show you most activities.

An AK cruise can be expensive when you factor in flights and lodging + cruise fare, but I would consider finding one that included more than one port stop - especially if your excursion interest isn’t offered there. I would give up a verandah to an interior or Oceanview to get the extra ports (and days).

 

[holula]

An AK cruise can be expensive when you factor in flights and lodging + cruise fare, but I would consider finding one that included more than one port stop - especially if your excursion interest isn’t offered there. I would give up a verandah to an interior or Oceanview to get the extra ports (and days).

I agree with this. Why go all that way and only go to arguably the least interesting Alaska port?

I would definitely do the 7 night even if you have to push your cruise out a year more. Otherwise if you’re doing it for your kid… just do a Caribbean cruise and do a 7 night Alaska in the future.

 

[ScooterScott44]

I think you will need to look at Juneau and Skagway port excursions for dog sledding. Which means not on the 5-night cruise.

An AK cruise... ...t I would consider finding one that included more than one port stop - especially if your excursion interest isn’t offered there. I would give up a verandah to an interior or Oceanview to get the extra ports (and days).

I agree with this. Why go all that way and only go to arguably the least interesting Alaska port?

I would definitely do the 7 night even if you have to push your cruise out a year more. Otherwise if you’re doing it for your kid… just do a Caribbean cruise and do a 7 night Alaska in the future.

Agree with both of these posts, you may not find the best options for cruising Alaska with DCL. You should evaluate if you need the "Disney" or if you could do one of the other cruise lines. There are a number of threads on here that discuss possibly using another line for an Alaskan itinerary. (All the Glacier Bay post, starting 3... ,2... 1.)

The major lines are not all that different, yes some things are better or worse when comparing, but really things are pretty similar. If you decide that the destination is the focus, then you might find some better options that include more stop, excursions or cheaper than limiting to DCL.

I have been there a number of trips for work and one 12 night cruise (non-DCL), so happy to answer any other specifics.

- 1) - see above
- 2) - Yes, walking up is easy in Vancouver, lots of great downtown area hotels to choose from, we liked being a little west of the port and an easy walk to Stanley Park.
- 3) Any packable jacket is similar, I like my hooded Eddie Bauer (not all have the attached hood, which can be very helpful in Alaska).

Happy planning!

 

[ScooterScott44]

Here are just a couple of recent threads-

https://www.disboards.com/posts/64663999/

https://www.disboards.com/posts/64651088/

 

[CisforCookie991]

Thank you... for bringing me back to reality. I will fully admit to still being in the Disney fog when we made the decision (literally, in the rental car leaving Miami, on the phone, giving the CM my credit card number as we were pulling up to our hotel), but a couple of weeks ago, my rational brain said that Norwegian seemed like the line we would most enjoy for Alaska. I even priced it out at one point! I think I'll go back to the drawing board...

 

[Geomom]

We did DCL for Alaska in 2016, our first ever cruise. We did an Oceanview on deck 2 (category 9c) near the aft elevators, and saved thousands of $ over a verandah. We loved the location and only had to go up 2 floors to be outside on the promenade. We loved our cruise. Skagway and Juneau are the ports with dog sled camps. Ketchikan has totem poles/native village areas, lumberjack show, and some temperate rainforest areas.

Plenty of people also do inside rooms, but my oldest and I are a bit claustrophobic and just having a window to the outside world helps.

Do a search for packable raincoats (or rain shells) on Amazon and you should come up with some nice lightweight options that can be a good outer layer over a sweater/sweatshirt.

 

[CisforCookie991]

Skagway and Juneau are the ports with dog sled camps.

Thanks for this - dog sledding is something the kids really wanted to do.

 

[Dug720]

Why go all that way and only go to arguably the least interesting Alaska port?

I actually loved Ketchikan.

Least interesting is Icy Strait Point by a mile IMHO.

 

[cruisenews411]

Thanks for this - dog sledding is something the kids really wanted to do.

If they really want to do dog sledding-look into doing it during the winter in Colorado-on snow packed trails. Many of the dog sled adventures offered during Alaska summers are just demonstrations on roads-no guarantee of snow during the whole season

 

[auntlynne]

And happy to hear you enjoyed your first cruise with kids.

 

[Geomom]

Thanks for this - dog sledding is something the kids really wanted to do.

We did the dog cart ride on a dirt path in the Yukon at Caribou Crossing Trading post during an excursion with Chilkoot Charters from Skagway. The only way to do actual sledding in the summer is on a glacier which involves a helicopter ride from Skagway or Juneau--these also have a possibility of being cancelled due to fog. There are multiple summer dog camps with cart rides on dirt paths in the Skagway and Juneau areas though. Usually lots of puppies to cuddle too!

 

[Kwami]

Thank you... for bringing me back to reality. I will fully admit to still being in the Disney fog when we made the decision (literally, in the rental car leaving Miami, on the phone, giving the CM my credit card number as we were pulling up to our hotel), but a couple of weeks ago, my rational brain said that Norwegian seemed like the line we would most enjoy for Alaska. I even priced it out at one point! I think I'll go back to the drawing board...

If you've already made your deposit and used your onboard booking discount, then you probably don't want to cancel because you'd lose some money and you'd lose your onboard booking benefits.

Also, if your kids really enjoyed the kids clubs on DCL, well, NCL's kids clubs really aren't on the same level. They might have some other stuff, though. The NCL ship that I'm going to sail on has a ropes course, for example. The ships sailing to Alaska might have different extras.

 

[CisforCookie991]

If you've already made your deposit and used your onboard booking discount, then you probably don't want to cancel because you'd lose some money and you'd lose your onboard booking benefits.

Also, if your kids really enjoyed the kids clubs on DCL, well, NCL's kids clubs really aren't on the same level. They might have some other stuff, though. The NCL ship that I'm going to sail on has a ropes course, for example. The ships sailing to Alaska might have different extras.

Yup CM definitely told me that if we wanted to cancel this one, we should just bump it to avoid losing the discount. Deposit is still refundable for a while.

For kids club, any thoughts on which ones are comparable? The most helpful article I've found is from The Points Guy and lists Discovery Princess specifically as having a great kids club, including bringing sled dogs on board? A combination of good (but not great) kids club combined with cool stuff like go-karts and laser tag would also work.

 

[Mango7100]

If you've already made your deposit and used your onboard booking discount, then you probably don't want to cancel because you'd lose some money and you'd lose your onboard booking benefits.

Also, if your kids really enjoyed the kids clubs on DCL, well, NCL's kids clubs really aren't on the same level. They might have some other stuff, though. The NCL ship that I'm going to sail on has a ropes course, for example. The ships sailing to Alaska might have different extras.

I will second the kids club aspect. We did a NCL cruise in July and my 9 year old hated the kids club on NCL (she loves DCL club). They were only open 3 hours in the evening (on sea days there was an additional 3 hour day slot) and only 50 kids were allowed due to staffing shortages so you had a join a virtual queue. She went one time and said she didn’t want to go back. She was put in a group with mainly 6 year olds and they didn’t follow the published schedule for the day (she wanted to do a craft and scavenger hunt that was listed for her 3 hour slot but instead they gave them board games and hula hoops for free play). She did love the rest of the cruise however. The ropes courses are fun, but they do close pretty frequently if it’s windy (for safety which I totally understand but don’t count on them being open). same with the go karts.

 

[CisforCookie991]

I will second the kids club aspect. We did a NCL cruise in July and my 9 year old hated the kids club on NCL (she loves DCL club). They were only open 3 hours in the evening (on sea days there was an additional 3 hour day slot) and only 50 kids were allowed due to staffing shortages so you had a join a virtual queue. She went one time and said she didn’t want to go back. She was put in a group with mainly 6 year olds and they didn’t follow the published schedule for the day (she wanted to do a craft and scavenger hunt that was listed for her 3 hour slot but instead they gave them board games and hula hoops for free play). She did love the rest of the cruise however. The ropes courses are fun, but they do close pretty frequently if it’s windy (for safety which I totally understand but don’t count on them being open). same with the go karts.

Thanks! The go karts were a big selling point for NCL, so sounds like we'll be bumping it down the list...

 

[holula]

I actually loved Ketchikan.

Least interesting is Icy Strait Point by a mile IMHO.

I’ve not been to ISP, just the three main ones.

Also Ketchikan was still beautiful, but for me it has the least interesting excursions unless you’re willing to shell out for floatplanes etc. This year I’m just planning to walk around the town.

Thanks! The go karts were a big selling point for NCL, so sounds like we'll be bumping it down the list...

I looked at NCL and found their port times were incredibly short, at least for their big ships. That put me off doing NCL for Alaska.

I think Royal sails one of the Quantum class ships in AK, they have bumper cars.

 

[Mango7100]

Thanks! The go karts were a big selling point for NCL, so sounds like we'll be bumping it down the list...

They are also 15 per ride so that adds up quick

 

[CisforCookie991]

We did DCL for Alaska in 2016, our first ever cruise. We did an Oceanview on deck 2 (category 9c) near the aft elevators, and saved thousands of $ over a verandah. We loved the location and only had to go up 2 floors to be outside on the promenade. We loved our cruise. Skagway and Juneau are the ports with dog sled camps. Ketchikan has totem poles/native village areas, lumberjack show, and some temperate rainforest areas.

Plenty of people also do inside rooms, but my oldest and I are a bit claustrophobic and just having a window to the outside world helps.

Do a search for packable raincoats (or rain shells) on Amazon and you should come up with some nice lightweight options that can be a good outer layer over a sweater/sweatshirt.

Did you find deck 2 to be rocky? We have some motion sickness issues. We were looking at oceanview on a higher deck, but deck 2 is almost $1500 less.