Disneypoor's Alaskan Cruise June 7th, 2011

[disneypoor]

Nnn

Congrats on buying in! I'm hoping to do so on our cruise however have no interest in BLT so hopefully they will also be able to offer deals on the ones I've been talking to my poor DVC rep about for over a year now. If not, it can wait till we get home but that OBC would be nice

Now you have me nervous! Is BLT that bad or just a resort you aren't interested in? Do you mind me asking why you wouldn't be interested in that one? Too late for me, but I'd love to know what I got in to. Thanks!
Susan

 

[dkmjgal]

Awesome trip report! We are DVC members also...welcome to the club! We own at Beach Club and Saratoga Springs (no more "addonitis" for us).

Couple of questions...I didn't see you mention formal night. Was it on your Ketchikan night or the last night?

Also..I am seriously considering a Float Plane trip. You mention that you are sensitive to motion so how did you feel on the plane? I'm a little concerned about my DS who gets car sick. He really wants to do the float plane so maybe mind over matter would work. Now I just have to convince my DD who is almost 16. She HATES to fly...not sure I'll be able to convince her to get into a little plane. I just feel like if we are going to Alaska how could we not experience it.

Oh well, I'll keep you posted.

Thanks again for taking the time to do the trip report

 

[ariel39]

We were originally on the July 26th cruise. However, when DCL came out with the "Kids Sail Free" promotion, we were able to upgrade our category and still save $1000, so we switched.

Susan

Too bad for us, but great for you......Well actually great for us too as we got to read your report before we go. I would have love to have done that but we had college graduation and our ACS Relay all around that time. Also, we would have had to take them out of school and I don't like to do that.....

Thanks again for your report and if you can PM me with the Limo info, I would appreciate it.

 

[eandesmom]

Nnn
Now you have me nervous! Is BLT that bad or just a resort you aren't interested in? Do you mind me asking why you wouldn't be interested in that one? Too late for me, but I'd love to know what I got in to. Thanks!
Susan

oh gosh, not at all! It's a great resort. I've just been planning on this for a while and it's really between Beach Club, Boardwalk, Saratoga and Aulani, all of which have different pro's and cons for us and all which have been available when I've talked to my rep, with different incentives at different times.

Beach Club and Boardwalk would be great but they cost more and have higher dues and the shortest contract end date. BUT I love staying at Epcot resorts so they are still on my list.

The thing is, you can stay at any of them so in general, unless you are traveling at peak times, I don't think it's that much of an issue.

I'm not a fan of Saratoga per-se but would like the 11 month booking window on a treehouse, and it's the least expensive option, depending on incentives.

Aulani is an odd choice but we are in Seattle and for President's week or Spring break priority, or even Christmas, it would make sense. Not to mention the fact I have family in Honolulu. I'd been leaning towards Aulani but now we are planning a xmas/new years 2012 trip and I'm thinking the 11 month window at WDW would be a better way to go so will likely go that route for the main contract and then maybe a smaller Aulani one. We will see!

 

[tksbaskets]

I have been enjoying your trip report! I wanted your hubby to know that my DH and I have never had one moment of buyers remorse after purchasing our DVC in 2006. Our only regret was that we didn't buy into it sooner.

LOVED the comment about your DH rumblings about the trip plans were silenced when you told him he could make the vacation plans I can relate!

 

[lah3hh]

Count us in as being one of the cruisers on the 7/12 sailing! Also, congrats on becoming a DVC member and taking the plunge into 'The Club"! As you can tell we have been members since 1998 and have NEVER regretted it for a moment. We have become Platnium DCL cruise level all on points!! The Alaska sailing will be our 13th cruise with DCL since 2000. Not alone so many other trips to WDW, DL, Las Vegas, Mackinaw Island in Michigan, NY and next year Hawaii all on points!!! WOO HOO!!! We are like you and have been vacationing like a Rock Star and DVC has made that all possible for us to do that!!!

Not sure if you said but may I ask, how many points did you decide to purchase? I saw where you bought into BLT but not sure how big your point jump was...I know I am being nosy but us DVC'ers share that with each other quite often!!

I sure hope the weather warms up a bit before out 7/12 sailing...I don't mind wearing jeans and shirts...but jackets, hats and gloves in July....Yuck!!!

This is a cruise my husband has had on his bucket list and since his birthday is while we are on the Wonder this is all about him....and I am just along for a good time!

Great TR and add me to your groupie list!!! Go buy that Coach purse now....

 

[disneypoor]

Too bad for us, but great for you......Well actually great for us too as we got to read your report before we go. I would have love to have done that but we had college graduation and our ACS Relay all around that time. Also, we would have had to take them out of school and I don't like to do that.....

Thanks again for your report and if you can PM me with the Limo info, I would appreciate it.

It's actually too bad for me now that I don't have a trip to look forward to! It was worth it for us to save the money and upgrade our room though. We got out of school super early this year--May 18th, so it worked out just right!

I sent you the info on the limo driver. Let me know if you have any other questions, and thanks for reading!

Susan

 

[disneypoor]

Awesome trip report! We are DVC members also...welcome to the club! We own at Beach Club and Saratoga Springs (no more "addonitis" for us).

Couple of questions...I didn't see you mention formal night. Was it on your Ketchikan night or the last night?

Also..I am seriously considering a Float Plane trip. You mention that you are sensitive to motion so how did you feel on the plane? I'm a little concerned about my DS who gets car sick. He really wants to do the float plane so maybe mind over matter would work. Now I just have to convince my DD who is almost 16. She HATES to fly...not sure I'll be able to convince her to get into a little plane. I just feel like if we are going to Alaska how could we not experience it.

Oh well, I'll keep you posted.

Thanks again for taking the time to do the trip report

Hi! Formal night was on Wednesday for us, and it was a sea day. As for the motion sickness in the float plane, it didn't bother anyone but me of course. It wasn't bad though, and honestly, I think it may have all been in my head. I just felt a little "off", but no sickness or anything. If you do intend to do it, I'd take motion sickness medicine before you go just to help prevent it. Plus, Michelle said that if you are prone to it, you should sit in the back sit and not look out the windows. However, there was no way I was going to do that! What fun is it to pay all of that money for a float plane and then not look out the windows???

Good luck in your decision! Thanks for reading!

Susan

 

[disneypoor]

oh gosh, not at all! It's a great resort. I've just been planning on this for a while and it's really between Beach Club, Boardwalk, Saratoga and Aulani, all of which have different pro's and cons for us and all which have been available when I've talked to my rep, with different incentives at different times.

Beach Club and Boardwalk would be great but they cost more and have higher dues and the shortest contract end date. BUT I love staying at Epcot resorts so they are still on my list.

The thing is, you can stay at any of them so in general, unless you are traveling at peak times, I don't think it's that much of an issue.

I'm not a fan of Saratoga per-se but would like the 11 month booking window on a treehouse, and it's the least expensive option, depending on incentives.

Aulani is an odd choice but we are in Seattle and for President's week or Spring break priority, or even Christmas, it would make sense. Not to mention the fact I have family in Honolulu. I'd been leaning towards Aulani but now we are planning a xmas/new years 2012 trip and I'm thinking the 11 month window at WDW would be a better way to go so will likely go that route for the main contract and then maybe a smaller Aulani one. We will see!

Thank goodness! I was thinking maybe there was something I didn't know about BLT. We've actually always wanted to stay at the Contemporary ever since we did a character breakfast there one time, but it was always so expensive. I keep telling my husband that now, it's free! He doesn't see the humor in that! Glad you have been happy with your DVC. I most definitely want to go to Aulani some day. We had already rented out someone's timeshare in Maui for next spring break, or I would have been trying to figure out Aulani for us. We'll definitely be hoping to get that one eventually!

Susan

 

[disneypoor]

I have been enjoying your trip report! I wanted your hubby to know that my DH and I have never had one moment of buyers remorse after purchasing our DVC in 2006. Our only regret was that we didn't buy into it sooner.

LOVED the comment about your DH rumblings about the trip plans were silenced when you told him he could make the vacation plans I can relate!

Of all of the white hat cruisers I stalked on our cruise, I honestly think every one of them said their only regret was that they didn't buy sooner. So, that makes me feel good about our decision to finally buy, and I'm guessing we're also going to wish that we would have bought 14 years ago when we sat in on a DVC presentation at WDW for free tickets to the parks (it was the only way I could get my DH to go). As for the planning, my family just gets to go along for the ride and enjoy vacation. I always do all of the planning. I act like it's a huge deal just to try to get some sympathy from them, which never works, but part of the fun for me is the planning. Thanks for reading!

Susan

 

[disneypoor]

Count us in as being one of the cruisers on the 7/12 sailing! Also, congrats on becoming a DVC member and taking the plunge into 'The Club"! As you can tell we have been members since 1998 and have NEVER regretted it for a moment. We have become Platnium DCL cruise level all on points!! The Alaska sailing will be our 13th cruise with DCL since 2000. Not alone so many other trips to WDW, DL, Las Vegas, Mackinaw Island in Michigan, NY and next year Hawaii all on points!!! WOO HOO!!! We are like you and have been vacationing like a Rock Star and DVC has made that all possible for us to do that!!!

Not sure if you said but may I ask, how many points did you decide to purchase? I saw where you bought into BLT but not sure how big your point jump was...I know I am being nosy but us DVC'ers share that with each other quite often!!

I sure hope the weather warms up a bit before out 7/12 sailing...I don't mind wearing jeans and shirts...but jackets, hats and gloves in July....Yuck!!!

This is a cruise my husband has had on his bucket list and since his birthday is while we are on the Wonder this is all about him....and I am just along for a good time!

Great TR and add me to your groupie list!!! Go buy that Coach purse now....

Yeah! Another DVC member with NO REGRETS! It sounds like you've also had luck with some exchanges then, huh? That's the only thing that has me concerned since I've got back home. As I've read on the DVC boards, it looks like RCI exchanges can almost be impossible. I'd love to hear if that's what you've done and how it has worked out for you.

I'm surprised you've cruised only on points. They told us not to buy in if it was just to cruise because the cruises take so many points, although I didn't think it looked that bad depending on the cruise. Plus, when I consider that all of our food and entertainment is paid for on the cruise, I really didn't think it was that bad. Doubt we have enough points now to take our family of four on much more than a 3 night though.

We decided not to go with the minimum, but to also make sure we could still eat, so we went with 220 points. Do you mind me asking how many you have? I'm guessing a lot since you've done so many trips. Looks like addonitis is likely in my future. DH is going to just LOVE this!

Thanks so much for sharing your DVC trips with me. It's reassuring to know there are lots of other people out there with the same positive remarks about DVC that I got while on the cruise!

Thanks for taking the time to read. And, I did buy a Coach purse yesterday. I'm using my onboard credit for it!

Susan

 

[lah3hh]

Well you certainly nailed me correct...Addonitis is my middle name by now!

Like you our original contract in 1998 was 220 points and we thought we had MORE than enough points to last us a lifetime....boy was I wrong!!! LOL

We had a change of direction a few years back. Not that we are that close to retirement years but DH and I decided rather than buy a second home where the sun shines most of the year...we would just have enough points with DVC to spend our retirement days anywhere we wanted rather than the same place back and forth. We know this is less expensive than owning a second home, furnishings, taxes, up keep etc.

Since we made that decision to shift our future retirement dreams and goals lets just say we are definitely a member of the 1000+ points group. I don't say it this way to boast but seriously less money than the other option we had planned on doing. This way we can even leave plenty of points to our DD to vacation with her family to be for many years to come as well.

I know what you are saying about folks saying paying for your cruises with points is a bad thing to do...I can, no way to that thought! I did not buy points to rent them out but bought them to enjoy and make wonderful memories with and that is what we do. Don't listen to everyone over on the DVC boards either...do what is best for you and your family!!! We love to cruise so points and cruising go hand in hand for us.

 

[brackjr]

Of all of the white hat cruisers I stalked on our cruise, I honestly think every one of them said their only regret was that they didn't buy sooner. Susan

This is me!

 

[disneypoor]

This is me!

Well, this just excites me! I've never bought anything and had so many people tell me it was the best thing they ever bought and wish they had bought it sooner. I'm pretty darn excited about this DVC stuff. Can't wait to experience it firsthand so I know why so many people love it!

Susan

 

[disneypoor]

Well you certainly nailed me correct...Addonitis is my middle name by now!

Like you our original contract in 1998 was 220 points and we thought we had MORE than enough points to last us a lifetime....boy was I wrong!!! LOL

We had a change of direction a few years back. Not that we are that close to retirement years but DH and I decided rather than buy a second home where the sun shines most of the year...we would just have enough points with DVC to spend our retirement days anywhere we wanted rather than the same place back and forth. We know this is less expensive than owning a second home, furnishings, taxes, up keep etc.

Since we made that decision to shift our future retirement dreams and goals lets just say we are definitely a member of the 1000+ points group. I don't say it this way to boast but seriously less money than the other option we had planned on doing. This way we can even leave plenty of points to our DD to vacation with her family to be for many years to come as well.

I know what you are saying about folks saying paying for your cruises with points is a bad thing to do...I can, no way to that thought! I did not buy points to rent them out but bought them to enjoy and make wonderful memories with and that is what we do. Don't listen to everyone over on the DVC boards either...do what is best for you and your family!!! We love to cruise so points and cruising go hand in hand for us.

I think what you and your husband did makes perfect sense! Plus, it sounds like you've had some wonderful trips and also been able to travel to other places besides just Disney. We also bought with our children in mind, and I imagine if things go the way I suspect they will once we start using our DVC, we will also add on so we have more points for our children to use with their own families as they grow older. Not sure we'll ever be members of the 1000+ club, but I can definitely see us adding on.

The couple that I sat with on the plane ride home bought into DVC just a little over a year ago and started with 320 points. Well, they are also already members of the 1000+ club, so I can see how the addonitis must take effect quickly.

As for using points to cruise, I'm with you on that one! I might look at it differently, but I figure that as long as I'm actually using my points each year then it's worth it. I know some years we'll have more extravagant vacations than others, but I have to have my DCL fix too! I like the way with DVC, if I want to, I can use my points to cruise even if I may only have enough for a 3 or 4 night cruise.

Because I'm OCD (which you already know from reading my report), I've been freaking out and thinking maybe I won't be able to get accomodations at VB next summer for my extended family since there will be around 18 of us. So, I called to see if there was availability for this July for what I wanted, and there was! That gave me hope for next summer! If I was paying cash to stay there in a beach cottage with two ocean view inn rooms, I would be paying just a little under $7000! Since we received a year's worth of points for buying, I'll bank those and use next years' as well and be able to stay there. That made me feel pretty good about our decision to buy in! Made DH shut up about it all too!

Thanks again for sharing your story with me, and let me know how exchanges have worked for you. I read lots of negatives about RCI on the DVC threads, so I'd love to hear something positive from someone since it's likely that some day, we will want to travel somewhere besides to Disney destinations.

Take care!

Susan

 

[Michelle2]

Welcome, Groupie! As far as seeing vendors at the port, the most noticeable place for us was at Ketchikan. We did walk around a bit in Skagway, and there were probably a few vendors there but I can't say for sure what they were offering. For Juneau, we left directly from the ship on our excursion, so I didn't see any vendors there although I'm sure they were somewhere. They were definitely in Ketchikan though because we almost booked something with one of them before our Misty Fjords excursion but were nervous because of the time.

As for Mendenhall Glacier, we didn't run at all. I did hear some huffing and puffing behind me on the way back because I was so nervous we weren't going to make it in time to catch the bus. I walked pretty fast and figured the rest had best keep up or get left at Mendenhall Glacier. It's doable if you get right off of the bus, go straight to Nugget Falls, don't mess around too long, and head straight back. Hopefully, by the time you'd do this, they will figure out that guests need more than 45 minutes! It's neat even if you don't get to walk down to the falls, but we were determined because we love waterfalls!

I normally wear capris a lot, and honestly, I only wore jeans on our cruise. It was nice for the most part, but I'd say it was jeans weather. However, it might be way different when you sail on July 5th. And, I'm kind of wimpy. I don't like to be cold. I've read other posters on my same cruise that said they wore short sleeved shirts, etc., and I secretly thought they must be insane. It wasn't that warm. In fact, our sea days were downright cold with the exception of Tracy Arm day. There were quite a few people in the pools at different times. The pools are heated to between 88-90 degrees, so I'm sure they are fine while you are in them. It would be the getting out part that would not be okay with me.

Good luck and happy sailing! You have to be getting so excited! Your trip is almost here!

Susan

I am getting so excited! Thanks so much for your replies!

 

[disneypoor]

I am getting so excited! Thanks so much for your replies!

You're welcome! Have a WONDERful trip!

Susan

 

[ariel39]

It's actually too bad for me now that I don't have a trip to look forward to! It was worth it for us to save the money and upgrade our room though. We got out of school super early this year--May 18th, so it worked out just right!

I sent you the info on the limo driver. Let me know if you have any other questions, and thanks for reading!

Susan

thank you so much thats great that u were able to save the money thanks again

 

[disneypoor]

thank you so much thats great that u were able to save the money thanks again

I hope all of you on the 26th sailing have a wonderful trip!

Susan

 

[tksbaskets]

Of all of the white hat cruisers I stalked on our cruise, I honestly think every one of them said their only regret was that they didn't buy sooner. So, that makes me feel good about our decision to finally buy, and I'm guessing we're also going to wish that we would have bought 14 years ago when we sat in on a DVC presentation at WDW for free tickets to the parks (it was the only way I could get my DH to go). As for the planning, my family just gets to go along for the ride and enjoy vacation. I always do all of the planning. I act like it's a huge deal just to try to get some sympathy from them, which never works, but part of the fun for me is the planning. Thanks for reading!

Susan

I looked through your signature and didn't see an Adventures by Disney trip there. We took the Wyoming trip two summers ago. LOVED it and I loved that I wasn't personally responsible for all the plans.

Might be something you'd enjoy. I know you can use your points towards an ABD trip as well.

TK