Dinner meltdowns in style...Wonder Alaska 2016-Day 4 Skagway

[Malia78]

Hello everyone. I debated going ahead with this trip report since it seems so long ago and I don’t take a lot of detailed notes, but I figured I would go ahead and try—as the saying goes, pictures say a thousand words and those I have. We sailed the Disney Wonder for her first Alaska cruise of the 2016 season—sailing out of Vancouver. My parents and I shared one stateroom while my sister’s crew was in the one adjacent to us. My nieces are early birds (like 5:30 am early) so we did lay some ground rules about when it was okay to knock on grandma’s door. My mom and I are early risers too but Grandpa needs his beauty sleep!

This DCL cruise was different for me in that I was traveling with kids, my nieces K (5) and A (3). This was my 6th DCL cruise and the kids added a new element to it—especially at dinner time. Each evening was a new adventure in unpredictability and chaos. Bless Omar and Anom!, our server and assistant server respectively. Another difference I noticed when I started going through pictures, is that I really didn’t take a lot around the ship, especially on sea days. Maybe it was the different family unit energy or maybe because I’ve sailed the Wonder a couple times before-- I just wasn’t whipping out my camera all the time. That said, there are enough photos to fill this TR so let’s get started in the next post.

--Karilynn

 

[Flossbolna]

Hi Karilyinn, I am here and excited to read about your trip! We are thinking about an Alaska cruise some time in the next few years and I am especially interested in how the weather was for the first cruise of the year and if that had any impact on your trip! Looking forward to all the pictures you have1

 

[condorthb]

reading

 

[Malia78]

Sorry for the delay in getting this first post up...technical difficulties

Sunday May 22—travel day

Since we live in Washington State, this was a relatively local port for us. My parents and I live about 45 miles south of Seattle so we drove up the day before to stay the night in Richland—about 30 min away from Canada Place but only a couple minutes from Vancouver International Airport. The hotel offered a shuttle to the airport and a parking spot for our vehicle. We then used Disney airport/port transfers to get to and from the ship. My sister’s family lives closer to the border so they also drove up the day before but then drove to the port directly.

For dinner, we walked next door for some Chinese food. The restaurant looked elegant inside and the tables were set up for family style serving with the rotating dais in the middle. Perhaps as a sign of dinners to come, A spilled her soup all over herself and the upholstered chair and more than once, food went flying mid-serving when K got a little over eager spinning the dais. This along with fatigue meltdowns would be par for the course over the next 7 nights at dinner. Now let me say, I love my nieces and we had a great cruise—but I’m used to slightly more calm dining experiences.

Here’s K and Mom—everything is still clean because the food hasn’t been served yet.

Monday May 23—Vancouver

There is a lesson to be gleaned from our two different approaches to arriving at port. We both had the earliest port arrival time of 11:00. My sister’s family drove and arrived pretty early—around 10:15. The check-in/customs process was a breeze and they were in the waiting area in no time. Even getting on the first Disney shuttle from the airport (which took careful observation of following the right crew members because the line up was not organized), I can only say three words, “Canada Place mayhem”. It was lines and people everywhere—we shuffled along at a snail’s place. I was definitely missing Port Canaveral at this point. We finally caught up with my sister's family in the waiting area. They had a boarding number a couple groups ahead of us—now I was feeling disappointed because I was hoping to board first so I could take pictures of the girls boarding. This was a first cruise for all of them. But as luck would have it (at least from my perspective), we surpassed them by the embarkation photo station because the girls Key card photos had been switched.

Now I still missed them boarding because I waited in another unexpected line for the special character ticketed meets. Unlike past experiences of picking them up at Port Adventures, the distribution was in Wavebands and the line just creeped along for some reason. So glad to try the online booking next cruise—will be better for everyone, cruisers and crew alike. Anyway, did get all four events-checked off the list. Now it was time to eat—I met back with the family in Parrot Cay. Prefer that buffet over the Beach Blanket bustle—Cabana’s is a much better setup and will be a definite improvement during Wonder’s dry dock.

So thus far….

This is on the Disney shuttle to port--that was a score in and of itself but the bonus was we shared it with two of the ship’s entertainment acts. I cropped out the back of her head, but Misti and Kyle Knight were in front of my parents and Michael Harrison was a couple rows behind me.

Hello to my favorite mermaid and overall Disney princess.

Mom was able to capture my sister's family's big entrance.

Before the muster drill, the girls checked out the Oceaneer’s Club (another much needed update during dry dock).

My mom made this—we didn’t participate in an official FE but grandma delivered mail every morning and sometimes randomly. The girls loved it!

K, our budding photographer, contributes to this trip report with her own perspective on things. She even "offered" pose instructions.

Passing the time before sail away, we strolled around the upper decks a bit. Gray sky but still a beautiful northwest day. One vital thing is missing from the photographs—but trust me, there was ice cream and it was eaten.

Little bit about who you see here--my B-in-law grew up in Alaska so this trip was special to him in that he could share his “home” with his girls. He also loves being on the water in his boat—catching whatever is in season. In this, K definitely shares his enthusiasm. On my sister’s shoulders is A, my little pixie niece—she’s feisty and sweet all wrapped up in a very loud package. I am the oldest kid in my family—my sister is 4 hrs younger than me. Adventures Away!

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continued in next post...

 

[Malia78]

One of my favorite things to do is take pictures with the characters so I did stop to see Goofy before dinner.

Our dining rotation was TAP, first seating. Triton’s is my favorite restaurant (might have something to do with the gorgeous Little Mermaid mural—she is my favorite after all). I’m sorry I can’t tell you the name of the food I ate—but my typical pattern was fish for my entrée and always a soup (no salad). The only drawback with eating Triton’s rotational menu first is that the dessert (Grand Marnier Soufflé) set my sister up for disappointment in the rest of the week’s desserts.

A managed to last through the entrée course but it was dessert to go for her—major meltdown avoided and she clearly enjoyed her Mickey bar back in grandma’s stateroom.

My sister and I did attend the Welcome show—everyone else called it a night. I slipped into some more comfortable footwear and squeezed in two more meets with Captain Mickey and Sailor Pluto before retiring.

Back in the room, I had a mini-panic attack when I found my towel friend but NO chocolates…relieved to discover the next morning that mom had tucked them away in a drawer. Whew….

One comment on the room, I love deck 2 aft and have never had issues with noise. However, this first night was pretty noisy with thumps and bumps. I quickly tuned it out the rest of the cruise but it was certainly more noticeable than my previous two Wonder trips.

Next up....first day at sea

 

[Malia78]

Hi Karilyinn, I am here and excited to read about your trip! We are thinking about an Alaska cruise some time in the next few years and I am especially interested in how the weather was for the first cruise of the year and if that had any impact on your trip! Looking forward to all the pictures you have1

Hi Magdalene!
Glad you found me--I was going to send a message but here you are...
Seeing as I live in the Pacific Northwest, I was pretty much in my zone. The coldest weather was on the ship with wind chill, but the port days were very comfortable. The weather was really nice and no rain--even the locals were surprised by the warmer temps and lack of rain.

If there's anything you want me to elaborate on, let me know.

reading

Thanks for reading along.

--Karilynn

 

[saxmangeoff]

Since we live in Washington State, this was a relatively local port for us. My parents and I live about 45 miles south of Seattle so we drove up the day before to stay the night in Richmond—about 30 min away from Canada Place but only a couple minutes from Vancouver International Airport. The hotel offered a shuttle to the airport and a parking spot for our vehicle. We then used Disney airport/port transfers to get to and from the ship. My sister’s family lives closer to the border so they also drove up the day before but then drove to the port directly.

We both had the earliest port arrival time of 11:00. My sister’s family drove and arrived pretty early—around 10:15. The check-in/customs process was a breeze and they were in the waiting area in no time. Even getting on the first Disney shuttle from the airport (which took careful observation of following the right crew members because the line up was not organized), I can only say three words, “Canada Place mayhem”. It was lines and people everywhere—we shuffled along at a snail’s place. I was definitely missing Port Canaveral at this point.

This is great info! I live close enough that I drive to the port (about an 8 hour drive for me), and drive up the day before so there's no stress due to traffic delays, flat tires, or crowded border crossings. Last time, we stayed at a hotel in Richland and then drove to (and parked at) Canada Place. Canada Place parking was pricey, but it was nice to drop everyone else and the luggage off, go park, and head upstairs for checkin. And after the cruise it was really nice to just hop in the car and drive away.

I've wondered about various options for our return trip next year, including airport hotel and SkyTrain to the port, hotel downtown or in North Vancouver where I can leave the car and get a cab or some kind of shuttle (or even SeaBus if close enough to the North Vancouver terminal) to the port. I hadn't considered the Disney transfer idea without a flight, so that was interesting to read about, but I keep returning to the "drive to Canada Place" option.

Your report of the checkin, and the memory of how nice it was after the cruise to just leave with no further travel hassles has me leaning more toward ponying up for the Canada Place parking.

 

[Malia78]

stayed at a hotel in Richland

Thanks for catching this--I was mixing up my Rich--cities. We stayed in Richland too, not Richmond. Side note: sampled the poutine at Costco across the street--hmmm...very interesting. Good concept but soggy presentation.

Your report of the checkin, and the memory of how nice it was after the cruise to just leave with no further travel hassles has me leaning more toward ponying up for the Canada Place parking.

Overall my sister's experience was the smoother of the two in terms of crowds, lines, etc. Our pro was that is was cheaper for us to do the transfers and use the hotel parking--I think if we did it again, we might still take the hotel shuttle to the airport since that was free and then just take a cab or something to arrive earlier at Canada Place. The timing at Canada Place was everything,

 

[franandaj]

Following along! On the plane getting ready to take off for my adventure!

 

[Malia78]

On the plane getting ready to take off for my adventure!

Have a smooth flight!

 

[dolphingirl47]

Checking in.

Perhaps as a sign of dinners to come, A spilled her soup all over herself and the upholstered chair and more than once, food went flying mid-serving when K got a little over eager spinning the dais.

That sounded like an interesting dinner.

Now let me say, I love my nieces and we had a great cruise—but I’m used to slightly more calm dining experiences.

I am with you on that.

It was lines and people everywhere—we shuffled along at a snail’s place.

That was very much our experience, too.

So glad to try the online booking next cruise—will be better for everyone, cruisers and crew alike.

I really like that idea as well. We were able to book most stuff ahead on our recent Royal Caribbean cruise and this made such a difference. I am glad that they have introduced something similar on DCL.

Anyway, did get all four events-checked off the list.

I am glad that you got everything you wanted.

I really like this photo. The backdrop is very pretty.

The only drawback with eating Triton’s rotational menu first is that the dessert (Grand Marnier Soufflé) set my sister up for disappointment in the rest of the week’s desserts.

After this, everything else would be a disappointment.

Corinna

 

[m3owbox]

Following! Awesome trip report so far!

 

[Malia78]

Tuesday May 24—At Sea

Mom, E (brother in law) and I were up extra bright and early due to a hot tip from the Captain. There was a 98% chance that we would see whales out this morning. Well I’m sure that was true for somebody that morning, but unfortunately not us. In fact, my wildlife sightings this cruise were abysmal. My one true wild animal sighting from the ship would happen on Tracy Arm day. I did see several bald eagles in Skagway though, including one perched 15 feet from our tour van. Mom and I didn’t last long outside because it was very cold and windy. Instead we began following the clues for Anna’s Chocolate Chase before collecting the girls for our ticketed character breakfast.

Still waters…

Mail delivery…

Mickey and friends Character Breakfast—napkin hat couture

Goofy pondering his new nose ring accessory…

Donald’s not the only one who can shake his tail feathers…

Minnie all smiles…

And the head mouse himself…

After breakfast, we had some time before our scheduled Princess Gathering. I know the girls took pics with Jake and Sofia while I went off on my own. I always enjoy the Art of Entertaining sessions—in my experience, the pre-prepared food samples have been hit or miss, but in both sessions I went to this cruise, the food was perfect. Today was mushroom risotto—no pic--it came out too blurry so I erased it. I then hopped over to Wavebands for the Castaway Club Reception—stayed long enough to meet Daisy, eat some nibbles and secure my rice krispie treat before racing off to meet the princesses.

Continued next post...

 

[Malia78]

The usual suspects were out: Belle, Cinderella, Tiana and Ariel.
A was ready to go…

The “dads” keeping a safe distance…

Good conversation with all of them—I always find Tiana a hoot and Cinderella was a little more relaxed (sometimes I find she can be a very proper princess to the point of being distant). Ariel was very sweet, though I wasn’t quite sure about the pose she suggested—maybe it was princessy thing that Scuttle told her about….

I don’t have a lot of pictures for the rest of the day--sea day lite. I went the Animation Class and I had pics with Chip/Dale and Donald.
Tried to barter with the chipmunks but fresh out of acorns--Chip's hat and Dale's necklace

Even in Alaska, here is a rare shot of the pool without any bodies. The kids in the pool were probably warmer than the rest of us considering the heated water...

Dinner was formal night and we were in Animator’s Palate.

Could be foreshadowing...You can guess if she made it through dessert…

My meal…

Unusual non-fish entrée for me...tastes like chicken

Roaming Shutters photogs…

Levity before the storm… Our servers were fantastic with the girls--here is a napkin slipper which A insisted on trying on and K is holding Lumiere.

Attempted some formal portraits, but there was one Shutters photographer who over the course of the cruise just couldn’t get us a decent shot. So we all look a little…meh.

We did go to the Dreams show after which I said a final hello and good night to Minnie Mouse.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Well I’m sure that was true for somebody that morning, but unfortunately not us.

What a shame that you did not see any whales and the wildlife sightings on this cruise were a little thin on the ground.

I did see several bald eagles in Skagway though, including one perched 15 feet from our tour van.

That sounds absolutely amazing.

After breakfast, we had some time before our scheduled Princess Gathering. I know the girls took pics with Jake and Sofia while I went off on my own. I always enjoy the Art of Entertaining sessions—in my experience, the pre-prepared food samples have been hit or miss, but in both sessions I went to this cruise, the food was perfect. Today was mushroom risotto—no pic--it came out too blurry so I erased it. I then hopped over to Wavebands for the Castaway Club Reception—stayed long enough to meet Daisy, eat some nibbles and secure my rice krispie treat before racing off to meet the princesses.

Looks like you had a really busy morning.

I love Daisy's Alaskan costume.

Corinna

 

[LocustPoint]

Karilynn You look like you had an amazing time. Love seeing your interaction with the characters. Still have some of the photos we took with Leslie while we were on the Panama cruise! Look forward to reading more about your Alaskan Adventures.

 

[Malia78]

I love Daisy's Alaskan costume.

Me too--cute but casual. I had a great rapport with Daisy this trip-she was fabulous.

Still have some of the photos we took with Leslie while we were on the Panama cruise!

Mary is that you?

Hi!!! (and hi to your mom)

 

[saxmangeoff]

Thanks for catching this--I was mixing up my Rich--cities. We stayed in Richland too, not Richmond. Side note: sampled the poutine at Costco across the street--hmmm...very interesting. Good concept but soggy presentation.

Actually, I just looked it up. You were right, and I was wrong. It's Richmond, BC.

There isn't even a Richland, BC. And if you Google Richland, BC, Google asks if you meant Richmond.

Yes. Yes, I meant Richmond.

Not that I still won't get it wrong the next time I say something about the place.....

 

[Malia78]

There isn't even a Richland, BC. And if you Google Richland, BC, Google asks if you meant Richmond.

Well between the two of us, we'd eventually get to the right place

 

[saxmangeoff]

Well between the two of us, we'd eventually get to the right place