DCL newbie - Wonder Alaska cruise, multi-generational family trip

[NashvilleMama]

Hi everyone! We're booking a 2019 Alaska cruise with my sister's family and my parents as well, so 6 adults and 5 young-ish kids.

I'm using an agent but she needs guidance on our stateroom categories and I'm completely overwhelmed - and normally researching is my specialty but this one is paralyzing me so hoping you all can help guide me to what categories/decks/ship location we should consider for these 4 staterooms?

• one stateroom with verandah - true balcony, not the white wall or obstructed view
• two connected staterooms for 2 parents with 3 kids - outside view, no verandah
• one stateroom with outside view, possibly verandah (price will be a factor here for my parents)

And ALL of those right nearby each other....is that possible? Thoughts? Are we going to have to split up on different decks?

A few people get seasick so sounds like lower decks are best.

Thanks so much!!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Hi everyone! We're booking a 2019 Alaska cruise with my sister's family and my parents as well, so 6 adults and 5 young-ish kids.

I'm using an agent but she needs guidance on our stateroom categories and I'm completely overwhelmed - and normally researching is my specialty but this one is paralyzing me so hoping you all can help guide me to what categories/decks/ship location we should consider for these 4 staterooms?

• one stateroom with verandah - true balcony, not the white wall or obstructed view
• two connected staterooms for 2 parents with 3 kids - outside view, no verandah
• one stateroom with outside view, possibly verandah (price will be a factor here for my parents)

And ALL of those right nearby each other....is that possible? Thoughts? Are we going to have to split up on different decks?

A few people get seasick so sounds like lower decks are best.

Thanks so much!!

Well, you won't find verandahs on the lowest decks. While most of the oceanview rooms are on decks 1 & 2, there are few on deck 6 (forward) and deck 6 has verandahs, also.

You can look at the deck plan for the Wonder here: http://disneycruiselineblog.com/wp-...05/DCL-Deck-Plans-Magic-Wonder-March-2017.jpg

It may help you to figure out what you want. Connecting rooms (rooms with an interior connecting door) are indicated by the little arrowheads that point toward each other.

 

[Geomom]

Yes, you will likely have to be on different decks, especially if some people want lower decks. As far as connecting, I'd look at some deck maps of the ship--if there is a hatch line in between the cabins, that means they connect.

Verandahs are decks 5-8 (Category 7A are the enclosed/obstructed verandahs--so that is what you'll want to avoid) Category 5 and 6 are the regular verandahs.

Oceanview--category 9A (forward decks 5, 6, 7) 9B (deck 2 midship--lots of connecting cabins), 9C (deck 2 forward and aft), 9D (deck 1 forward and mid-ship with 2 small portholes.) All but deck 1 have the 1 very large porthole.

We did DCL Alaska in 8/2016 in a category 9C, aft--right at the aft elevators on deck 2 and loved it. Too far aft and you can feel engine vibrations--we could feel them slightly where we were.

Price--for our family of 4 the price difference between our deck 2 oceanview and a verandah was $3,000, which is a big price difference. The deck 2 oceanviews are also cheaper than the category 9A ones.

Seasickness--this was our first cruise and everyone had said that the water is like glass...well, while actually in the inside passage, yes it is--but you're not in the inside passage the whole cruise and you could really feel the movement when the ship is going full speed. I felt queasy night 1, but dinner helped me, and I was fine after that. DD16 felt seasick anytime the ship was really moving (basically the days at sea). There are free samples of Meclizine (generic Bonine) outside of Health Services on deck 1--those greatly helped her--but I wouldn't try to use it on kids younger than 12. I think they were selling kids Dramamine in the shops if kids needed anything. I'd check with the pediatrician before you go to see what they'd recommend for the kids. We did buy 'sea bands' before the cruise--accupressure bracelets, but it didn't seem to help DD16 on the cruise. (For my kids, they seem to work better for car/bus trips...no idea why.)

 

[tigerchic89]

we are taking a multi gen Alaska trip this summer. 7 adults, 6 kids. For us, having connecting/adjoining rooms was most important. The veranda rooms are understandably more expensive in Alaska, so we opted for 2 adjoining inside and 2 adjoining OV rooms right across the hall from each other. we will use the money saved for excursions

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

So as you can see from the above posts, you might have some luck all being on decks 5, 6 or 7. You can see some availability on the website, but it doesn't show you all the open rooms, only some of them. Your TA might be able to see them all, or of course can talk to a DCL person who can.

One other thing to consider if you really want to be close to each other is consider two verandas and two inside rooms. These might even be able to be across from each other, depending on availability. You'd have to decide which you want more, to be close together or to be in ocean view. Inside rooms aren't so bad, especially if part of your party has veranda rooms nearby.

By the way, big multi-family trips like this are Awesome. You can easily switch of into different sub-groups and do what everyone wants, separately and together.

 

[NashvilleMama]

thanks so much, everyone! This is hugely, hugely helpful. Lots of things to think about and I love all the options I hadn't even considered. Keep them coming if you have any!

 

[lklgoodman]

We did a multi-family trip to Alaska several years ago. Several of us had deck 2 mid-ship ocean view cabins. Others had mid-ship verandas on either deck 5 or 6, I don't remember exactly. None of us spent a lot of time in the cabins, really just to sleep and get ready in, so it didn't matter much that we weren't all close together. You can use the cabin phones and wave phones to keep in touch with one another.

 

[mmmears]

Alaska is wonderful for a multi-gen cruise. One of our best vacations ever! We had a room on deck 7 midship and even thought I am very prone to motion sickness I was ok there. For me, it was the worst farther forward and down (the theater, for example).

 

[BruinEd03]

Hi everyone! We're booking a 2019 Alaska cruise with my sister's family and my parents as well, so 6 adults and 5 young-ish kids.

I'm using an agent but she needs guidance on our stateroom categories and I'm completely overwhelmed - and normally researching is my specialty but this one is paralyzing me so hoping you all can help guide me to what categories/decks/ship location we should consider for these 4 staterooms?

• one stateroom with verandah - true balcony, not the white wall or obstructed view
• two connected staterooms for 2 parents with 3 kids - outside view, no verandah
• one stateroom with outside view, possibly verandah (price will be a factor here for my parents)

And ALL of those right nearby each other....is that possible? Thoughts? Are we going to have to split up on different decks?

A few people get seasick so sounds like lower decks are best.

Thanks so much!!

Is there any reason you don’t want the navigator’s verrandah? They can provide some cover against the elements.

 

[GPaLarry]

We did the Alaska cruise last June with three generations (11 in all) in tow. We were adjoining with daughter's tribe, in 8004 and 8006. IF SMOKING IS A CONCERN TO YOU, do not get these rooms, or 8008 (neighbors complained, too). Smoking is allowed next deck up and slightly forward. Worst of this was when we had our glacier day with light rain and dead calm viewing the glacier. Smokers lined the railing above and the smoke and ashes came down on us all. We complained and the railing was roped off, but there are tables, chairs and ashtrays nearby, so the smoke continued. The starboard side is the place to be if you want a verandah up and forward. You will love this cruise with the right staterooms.

 

[cmph]

We had rooms next door to my parents on the Wonder earlier this year, and they loved the location so much that they asked to book the same area for Alaska next year, when we'll also have my sister and her family along. So we have 3 OV rooms (not connecting) in a row. Having done that, if I had to book again, I might not book all of them right next to each other... the same family group stayed in a hotel for a wedding this fall, and it was a Hilton property, so we could choose our rooms online in advance. My parents chose the room as far away from the rest of us as possible, LOL. I'm not joking! Now, I don't think it was a "we don't want to be near you" thing. They just wanted to be at that end of the building, and their own location took priority over nearness to the rest of us. So (long story short) - you might want to think beyond the whole proximity to each other thing. Some members of your party might be totally fine being separated, as long as they get the room type they want. The kids all HAVE to be near their cousins, so if I had known then what I know now - I would have booked connecting rooms for us wherever they were available in our category and put my parents in their preferred section.

 

[SlickWilly]

We did a multi generation cruise on the Wonder this summer with 6 of us. DW, DS 8&11, and I had outside view room on deck six forward and grandparents had inside stateroom just down the hall amidships. That worked great as kids could go visit without going up/down stairs, and grandparents got the cheaper (and slightly smaller) room they wanted.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

We are sailing with my in laws Alaska 2019 too. I think we will do 2 connecting ov as we have 4 kiddos, and they will prob spring for a verandah. I can imagine what 2 connecting verandahs to Alaska would cost me, and I doubt I’d be willing to pay it. Ha!
I wonder if one verandah with an interior across the hall would be a reasonable alternative. Our oldest is 18, will be 20 at sailing, so that could work too.

 

[ickeymouseDisney 5]

My parents did concierge one bedroom and we connected to them
Huge balcony a must in Alaska!

 

[dmetcalfrn]

We are planning to booking in 2019 as well. Is one side of the ship preferred?

 

[ilovebassets]

We did an extended alaska family trip this summer with two verandah state rooms (non obstructed and non white wall and non connecting) and one inside stateroom. We all stayed deck 6 mid-forward area and loved it. Very quiet, no movement. We did the verandah staterooms on opposite sides of the ship so we always had a view from both sides. We felt the walks were relatively short to any part of the ship (especially after three previous Fantasy cruises).

 

[TikiThunderPirates]

Wondering if you have considered any inside staterooms? We had an inside stateroom in Alaska and loved it. It was quiet, dark and in a great location. We were never in our room long enough for it to matter to much and there was plenty of deck spaces to enjoy the views. With all the money we saved we used that to book the Tracy Arm Boat Port Adventure and we didn't have to fight with crowds on Tracy Arm day to see the glaciers. We just sailed right up to it in a tiny boat! With inside staterooms you can get them right across the hall from many Verandah or Oceanview rooms on most decks.