Disney Wonder September 3, 2012. Seattle to Vancouver 7 night Alaska Cruise!

[mellers]

Thanks mellers for all the great advice. We did get a rental car. I was able to get one for $100 with the Boeing rate (I work for Boeing). And we are picking it up at SEATAC and then dropping it at the Downtown Hilton. National says from there they offer a free shuttle to the port. Sounds good to me! It was funny though... when I called, the National person quoted me $320 for the extract same car. I guess Boeing has a pretty great deal with National!

That's a fantastic rate! Make sure you know the cost of parking at your hotel, though--some charge, and some don't.

I'm still holding out for cheaper plane tickets though and it's making me nervous. I want Southwest on the way out and Alaska on the way back. I was hoping getting the Alaska card would help, but the flights available using miles are all horrible - not a single direct flight. Some with 2 connections. There is no reason to have 2 connections from Seattle to Denver! It's a 2.5 hour flight!

I'm so sorry to hear that!

I am so excited to see all the great Alaskan scenery. I can't wait!

You will really love it. I love the Pacific Northwest--we moved here about 6 years ago, and have not been sorry.

 

[belle07]

Who is getting excited besides me?!?!?

Has anyone been able to book excursions / Palo yet?

My date to start is June 5th.

What excursions are people planning to book?

Seems like this board is very quiet... wonder if that means the cruise won't have many people?

I am very excited, it gets more real as the trip gets closer. We booked it in October so we have been waiting forever for it to come lol.

 

[merky]

we are flying in on Sunday and are staying in The Warwick http://www.warwickwa.com/ they have a cruise package with breakfast and transports to the ship , it does look like it has went up a bit in price since I booked for $235.00 for 3 of us it is located close to Pikes Place Market and the space Needle we plan to do some site seeing when we get there .
We are still trying to decide what excurstions to do . AND >>>>>> I am super excited

 

[jenf22]

we are flying in on Sunday and are staying in The Warwick http://www.warwickwa.com/ they have a cruise package with breakfast and transports to the ship , it does look like it has went up a bit in price since I booked for $235.00 for 3 of us it is located close to Pikes Place Market and the space Needle we plan to do some site seeing when we get there .
We are still trying to decide what excurstions to do . AND >>>>>> I am super excited

My husband always stays in the Warwick when he's in town for business. I think it'll be great. Unfortunately, I'm looking to spend a little less than that. I wonder if the prices are higher because it's Labor Day weekend???

 

[DizDays]

My husband always stays in the Warwick when he's in town for business. I think it'll be great. Unfortunately, I'm looking to spend a little less than that. I wonder if the prices are higher because it's Labor Day weekend???

That's what I was thinking. I'm shocked at the rates and lack of discounts out there. I never took the holiday into consideration when we booked the cruise. I can't wait, though.

We are currently holding a reservation at the Pan Pacific in Seattle, but I'm on the lookout for something a little better priced.

 

[Momma2Jax]

we are flying in on Sunday and are staying in The Warwick http://www.warwickwa.com/ they have a cruise package with breakfast and transports to the ship , it does look like it has went up a bit in price since I booked for $235.00 for 3 of us it is located close to Pikes Place Market and the space Needle we plan to do some site seeing when we get there .
We are still trying to decide what excurstions to do . AND >>>>>> I am super excited

Ooh that sounds like a great way to start your vacation!!


I think I agree with you all about checking in. Because, as far as I can tell, I can book Palo and other thing at 12:00am EST, and it's just the check in for a boarding time that I would stay up for...so I will enjoy my sleep that night.... And since DS doesn't appreciate sleep as much as me, I'm sure I won't regret it

Oh gosh..... I am getting so excited! 3 moths from today!!!


Those of you who live locally, what are your plans for getting home lfrom B.C?

 

[jenf22]

Those of you who live locally, what are your plans for getting home lfrom B.C?

I don't live locally, but we rented a car for about $110 US. The Quick Shuttle worked out to $140 for the 3 of us, so renting a car is cheaper and now we can do things on our own time. Unfortunately, we rented from Avis because Alamo/National don't have any one-way cars right now. Avis isn't at the port, I think it's blocks away, so we'll have to wait for a shuttle to pick us up. The woman at Alamo told me to keep checking, so I'm hoping one opens up and I can cancel the Avis reservation.

 

[mellers]

Those of you who live locally, what are your plans for getting home lfrom B.C?

I have some Starwood points, and they had a great point/cash stay deal at the Westin Bayshore. My husband has family in Vancouver (really neat family, too!) so we plan to stay a few days after the cruise. The QuickShuttle picks up at the Westin Bayshore, so we plan to just take the bus from the Bayshore to the Best Western Executive Inn by the Space Needle, and then take a taxi home.

 

[mellers]

Just got an email from Starwood, that the W Seattle is offering rooms to AAA/CAA members from $169/night. I don't know if it will be good that weekend, and there are better locations (although it's not a bad location--it's right next to the Seattle Public Library, so you can check your maps from there), but it is a very, very nice hotel.

They had a shuttle the last time I was there, so you might see if they will take you downtown (I'd ask about getting a ride to the port, but I wouldn't hold my breath on that one.)

They said to get the deal to call 866-716-8125 and use the code AUTODEAL

If you do stay there, have breakfast across the street at the Blue Water Taco Grill. It's very good, and inexpensive.

 

[mellers]

Just got tickets to the lumberjack show--June 5th check-ins can reserve onboard services right now, but can't check in yet.

 

[DizDays]

Just got the Ketchikan Misty Fjords and Wilderness Explorer at 11:15am. Woo-hoo! Can't wait. We are doing our own thing in Skagway - we rented a car. In Juneau, we're whale watching with Harv and Marv's.

90 days and counting!!

 

[Momma2Jax]

Just got tickets to the lumberjack show--June 5th check-ins can reserve onboard services right now, but can't check in yet.

how exciting! I looked into the Lumberjack show, too.....and may still... Haha maybe should make some definitive descions here soon...

As far as getting home from Vancouver for us, I believe we are riding with my in laws. They are full time RVers from NY, and they will be here visiting at that time. I believe they are going to park the RV up as close to the border as possible without having to unload the whole RV to cross the border, then drive their car up, meet us at the port, and we will spend the day exploring.

 

[Chris931]

I stayed up til midnight because I wanted to be sure I got the Palo Brunch. It was no problem at all.. plenty of times available.

Got all the excursions that we wanted.. except that there were supposed to be Adult Only groups but I didn't see it listed. I didn't see them listed on the sold out list either. Not a big deal.

Just did my check in.. plenty of boarding times available too. Seems like it will be a quiet cruise.

 

[jenf22]

My husband did our booking at 10pm here and we got everything we wanted. Even got the Palo dinner and brunch for the exact time we wanted. I did the check-in before I left for work and we got the earliest check in too. Hopefully it will be a quiet cruise. Now I just need plane tickets. Patience is not my thing! We got:

Day 3 - Palo Dinner 6pm
Day 4 - White Pass Railway and Trail Camp 7:25am
Day 5 - Best of Juneau 7:30am
Day 6 - Rainforest Wildlife Sanctuary, Raptor Center, and Totems 11:45am
Day 7 - Palo Brunch 11am

Anyone going to be with us for anything???

 

[jenf22]

Hey Mellers! I posted on the main board, so maybe you'll see my question there - but I'm wanting to book the Liarsville excursion with characters and then do the White Pass Railway on our own. I know you did White Pass on your own last year, so here's my question... If we book Liarsville from 8:45am-11:45am will we be able to make the 12:45 train with no problems? Our 5-year old would be absolutely heartbroken if we missed the train somehow. Would this work or should we not take any chances? Thanks for your help!

 

[Momma2Jax]

Oh I am so glad you all are getting what you wanted! I would really like to do Palo brunch but since we are first timers we don't reserve until June 20. I thought we may miss it! But maybe not! I wonder if we would be able to get brunch and dinner, too!

I am also wondering about how full this cruise will be, since it right as school is starting, and a repo.

 

[jenf22]

Oh I am so glad you all are getting what you wanted! I would really like to do Palo brunch but since we are first timers we don't reserve until June 20. I thought we may miss it! But maybe not! I wonder if we would be able to get brunch and dinner, too!

I am also wondering about how full this cruise will be, since it right as school is starting, and a repo.

We were first timers in May and were able to get both. Again, though, my husband did it right at midnight (10 for us). When I checked around 6am (8am EST), Palos were booked. I really hope this cruise is quiet. That would be so nice!

 

[thndrmatt]

In for Palo here as well. Plenty of availability. We did Brunch on the first At Sea day, and Dinner on the second. Pretty sure Palo fills up fastest on the At Sea days, so that is a good sign for the rest of the days as well. Our theory was we'd have dined at all three restaurants twice, and didn't need one a third time, so we did Palo dinner on the last night.

We ended up doing all three of our excursion bookings separately a few weeks ago at a steep discount. Active duty military helped in two of the three cases (Juneau - Musher for a Day, which is now sold out, and Ketchikan - Glacier Flightseeing + Bear Spotting) but not in the third case (Yukon by Bike) which actually wasn't selectable when we went to book for some reason, but didn't show sold out either, and yet is still listed under Port Adventures in general.

I definitely recommend researching the booking separately option, especially since some excursions might sell out before the next window to book opens... Just make sure you go through the differing cancellation policies and whether taxes are included as well, as decide what's right for you.

Sold out excursions as of 5 Jun/4pm EST:
Skagway: None
Juneau: Alaska Custom Hummer Excursion, Disney Exclusive Glacier Dog Musher for a Day, Private Boat - Salmon Fishing Charter
Ketchikan: None

The transportation from SEA to the pier and from the pier to YVR is looking pretty painless also... Everything is coming together!

 

[jenf22]

I just noticed the title of our meet group says 2011. Is that why there are so few people on here??? Wonder if we can change that?

Where do you go to see the list of sold out excursions? I know I'm being insane by wanting to do Liarsville with the characters, but it just seems like it would be more fun. Plus it includes a salmon bake and roasting marshmallows. But I'd kick myself if we missed the train because of that. So I guess I just have to go with the excursion we've got.

 

[merky]

I booked this AM at 6:00 there was a few that was full already and we had a very hard time deciding what to do we wanted to do it ALL my DH only request was he wanted to pan for gold and DD wanted to dog sled , the Disney Dog sled was full here is what we ended up with !

Day 5 - Fri, Sep 7 Juneau, Alaska


Dog Sled Summer Camp 8:15 AM
(Until 10:15 AM) Me and DD

Historic Gold Mining and Panning Adventure DH is doing this one

Alaska Salmon Bake, Glacier and Hatchery all of us are doing this one

Day 4 - Thu, Sep 6 Skagway, Alaska
7:30 AM
(Until 12:30 PM)

Yukon Suspension Bridge, City and White Pass Railway

Day 6 - Sat, Sep 8 Ketchikan, Alaska

11:15 AM
(Until 3:45 PM)

Back Country Jeep and Canoe Adventure

and we booked brunch
Day 2 - Tue, Sep 4 At Sea

11:30 AM
(Until 1:00 PM)

Palo Brunch

hope everyone gets what they want