Cruise Newbs take on ALASKA! May 22-29, 2017

Yey! I can see the photos now. Hoping to book Alaska Summer 2019 - some other lines have better pricing and itineraries (new Bliss looks awesome) but I really want to sail from Vancouver and not Seattle... Looks amazing.

I'm so glad you can see them now!! Being as this is my first trip report, I didn't want to screw up the picture uploading ha! I'd love to revisit Alaska, even on a different cruise line, but DCL is pretty awesome.

Joining in. Planning a 2019 Alaska cruise :)

:welcome:Alaska is amazing!! Thanks for joining in :)

Joining in on your reports. Great coverage of Vancouver. We also like Stanley Park and the totem poles on our early summer cruise in 2011. Getting ready for our next Alaskan cruise on the Disney Wonder in September 2018.

:welcome:Thank you! Vancouver was an amazing city to visit. I'd love to go back and see some more sights of the city. I heard the Once Upon a Time set wasn't too far from where we were, but just didn't make it in our trip this time. Are you on the last cruise of the season?

Looking forward to more! Thanks for sharing.

:welcome: You're welcome!! After reading so many wonderful trip reports on the DIS, I wanted to pay it forward :)

Yay! The photos are working out! I'm looking in the background, because I think we were out on bikes at close to the same time. :)

:worship: Thank you for the tutorial earlier!!! I'll have to look closely to see if we are in the same pics. We went on Saturday before the cruise. Same with you?

Thanks for sharing. We are going on an Alaska Disney Cruise in August as well so I’ll be looking forward to your pictures and thoughts!

:welcome: You will LOVE your visit to Alaska, I'm sure of it. And, I think in August you might see bears!
 
{Day 1 Continued...}
(Stanley Park, Bike Ride and Vancouver Aquarium)

Well I guess I made a double post of my replies, so that means I'll use this opportunity to post more to the trip report!

Nearby where we were seated, this piece of art was installed, and below the description of the art piece was a mosaic Orca whale. If we hadn't looked down, we wouldn't have seen it!

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After lunch at the Totem Poles, we decided to visit the little shop near by and see if there were any souvenirs that interested us. We picked up a few items and hopped back on our bikes to continue our way around the seawall.

We found our way to the Girl in Wetsuit statue...

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... and this Replica of Figurehead of the S.S. Empress of Japan, "which plied these waters thirty one years 1891-1922, carrying Vancouver's Commerce to the Orient. The original carving was restored by the Vancouver Province, 1928. This replica was cast from the restored carving, 1960." (Stated on the Plaque under the replica)
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I really enjoyed the various opportunities to stop, sit and just relax along the bike ride. Seeing the various pieces of artwork and history along the way was wonderful as well!

{to be continued...}
 
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{Day 1 Continued}
(Stanley Park, Bike Rides and Vancouver Aquarium)

Somewhere along the way we saw this beautiful hill full of these little white daisies. It called to us and we laid down and tried to get selfies with them lying down. It's HARD to do with the sun in your face! :flower1:


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A bit further down the sea wall path, we ran into this little light house. We waited while a newly married couple and their wedding party got pictures in front of the light house and then we took a little look around. Love light houses. :love:
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And we took a selfie with a barge in the background. Because why not? This barge was HUGE too. The picture doesn't do it justice. Each of those little boxes are what goes on the back of a tractor-trailer hauling throughout the country. At least, we think that's what they were. They look like little match boxes on that barge from this view.
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Our first (good) glimpse of the Lions Gate Bridge!
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Lions gate bridge again, but with a pile of driftwood in the foreground. There were people going down to the water below the drift wood, dipping their toes into the water.
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The sea wall path getting underneath the Lions Gate Bridge was pretty narrow, but we made it! The cliffs behind us were dripping water too. It was quite a sight to see.

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Selfies with the Lions Gate Bridge. Kinda hard to pull off in the shade, but this was the best of the bunch I guess.
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Going around the sea wall we passed these logs with rock formations people stacked on them. So of course we stopped and rested and took a few pics. They were really unexpected and pretty!
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We also passed a couple beaches, some pools and finally wound up back at the Vancouver Aquarium. Not knowing how long this sea wall bike ride was going to be was a mistake - but luckily we DID get bikes (otherwise we really wouldn't have made it around...). There was also an option at the information booth to get a horse drawn carriage tour of Stanley Park, mostly of the interior I believe, but for a very short ride the price was VERY high.

Next up, a slew of Vancouver Aquarium Pics!

{To be Continued..}
 
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{Day 1 Continued}
(Stanley Park, Bike ride, and Vancouver Aquarium)

Here are some select pics from the Aquarium!

I don't remember the names of all the animals we saw. Some were hard to see in the exhibits, and others were very easy to see. Some of the areas were HOT and HUMID!! But, they were probably the tropical animals, so it made sense. There was an Aviary that you could go into, penguins to observe, sea otters, dolphins, plenty of fish, reptiles, amphibians, sea lions and a whale as well.



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^These little guys were HARD to see. You'd look at the exhibit and wonder where in the world the animals were --- and then BOOM, you actually noticed them!

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^Watch out for the jellies!

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^My mom's fav. :love::cloud9: I have some video of these guys swimming around, and I do intend on making a youtube video of our adventures as well!!

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(To be continued..)
 
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{Day 1 Continued}
(Stanley Park, bike ride and Vancouver Aquarium)

The aquarium visit was very nice, but we were also very tired. By the time we were set to leave, we had walked quite a bit, rented bikes, rode a few miles, and been in the sun for a lot of that. We were ready to head back to our hotel and relax for a bit.


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^This is something the USA needs to convert to. Our hotel was also very encouraging to guests to participate in the recycling of guest's waste/recycling. Several bins were provided. We sat near-ish the penguins and studied this for a little bit, and loved that they gave examples as to what goes into each bin.


After having our fill of visiting the aquarium, we stopped by the gift shop and perused around for a bit. These were some interesting selections available!


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^Flavored crickets. Hmmmm protein?

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^Oh look, an anatomy lesson as to what your snack is made of. :crazy2:

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^Ant Lollipop. I've never had one. (still haven't) but I've heard ants are spicy!

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^Our bikes had their own names!!!


After leaving Stanley park, we returned our bikes, walked to the nearest cab location (which was at a hotel down the road) and headed back "home". We were beat!

After resting for a little bit, we walked to the grocery store and snagged a few things to make dinner at the hotel (remember that awesome kitchen included with our hotel room?), snacks, drinks and sweet treats to bring back home.


We passed a few of these crosswalks. :cutie:


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Having gone shopping and back at the hotel for the evening, we made dinner, showered (the shower is amaaaazing - great water pressure and HOT water) and looked at what we purchased during our outing. This was what I snagged while out and about.

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^ Yes, that is a bottle of ibuprofen. :upsidedow

I believe that wraps up day 1. If you've made it this far, good job!

Day 2 my mom surprised me on an outing!!

(To be continued...)
 
Great photos! (even if I'm not in any of them). We saw a newly married couple, too, but they were more by the 'end' of the bike loop, closer to Spokes. Was it a lovely lady in a big princess-y wedding gown?
We didn't get to the aquarium or anywhere much in the interior of the park as we had to get finished and go meet friends for dinner that night. It was a LONG day after traveling.
Looking forward to more!
 


We booked opening day last year for Alaska this year. My husband and I have done the Dream before, but it will be a first cruise for our kids and my parents. Great TR so far!
 
A quick life update:

In May, we had our 5th babe and moved!

I will update more soon. We just found my external hard drive that has all my pictures on it!

Pic of our crew :)
 

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