ELEVATE! Is that a whale out there? A three-generation cruise to Alaska!UPDATE 8/29

[amandaw]

Hmm, yes, I need to discuss our room location for our next cruise. I want one of your giant verandahs. Not really sure why since there is more than enough room for just the two of us on a normal one.

Oh but the aft ones are so nice & big. And you get the panoramic views! It is a little more rumbly in the back when docking and when leaving ports. But, the only night we truly had a problem was on our 1st night. I got a little queasy but Bonine quickly took care of that for me.

Let me know if you'd like to see some pictures of the aft balcony. I don't mind posting them for you.

 

[RGirl]

Oh but the aft ones are so nice & big. And you get the panoramic views! It is a little more rumbly in the back when docking and when leaving ports. But, the only night we truly had a problem was on our 1st night. I got a little queasy but Bonine quickly took care of that for me.

Let me know if you'd like to see some pictures of the aft balcony. I don't mind posting them for you.

I would love to see pics!!!!!

We were aft, but obviously, not aft enough. We sleep with white noise, so I don't think any ship noises would really bother us.

 

[amandaw]

I would love to see pics!!!!!

We were aft, but obviously, not aft enough. We sleep with white noise, so I don't think any ship noises would really bother us.

Ask and you shall receive:









Ignore Ed & Reid in the cabin in the last photo. They don't come with the room. Unless you really want us.




And you can get beautiful panoramic views especially with the sunrises & sunsets. And the beautiful blue water being churned up by the boat!

Oh - and when the boats dock, they dock aft first. So, you can get great shots of the ports right from your verandah!



That's Castaway Cay!

Like I said, the only negative is that when you're docking or leaving a dock, you can really feel the ship rumbling. But, if you think y'all would be ok with that, I would at least consider the location. It's so quiet at the very back of the ship because you only have the foot traffic of the people actually staying back there.

 

[RGirl]

Ask and you shall receive:









Ignore Ed & Reid in the cabin in the last photo. They don't come with the room. Unless you really want us.




And you can get beautiful panoramic views especially with the sunrises & sunsets. And the beautiful blue water being churned up by the boat!

Oh - and when the boats dock, they dock aft first. So, you can get great shots of the ports right from your verandah!



That's Castaway Cay!

Like I said, the only negative is that when you're docking or leaving a dock, you can really feel the ship rumbling. But, if you think y'all would be ok with that, I would at least consider the location. It's so quiet at the very back of the ship because you only have the foot traffic of the people actually staying back there.

I love this!!! Thank you so much!

I will definitely be sending an email once everything is squared away.

(BTW, we could see this type of verandah from the "secret" deck - I was pretty sure that I had read something about them before, but I wasn't sure. Thank you again!)

 

[amandaw]

I love this!!! Thank you so much!

I will definitely be sending an email once everything is squared away.

(BTW, we could see this type of verandah from the "secret" deck - I was pretty sure that I had read something about them before, but I wasn't sure. Thank you again!)

You are very welcome!

We'll be waiting hear once things are all squared away!

 

[RGirl]

You are very welcome!

We'll be waiting hear once things are all squared away!

 

[shan23877]

Well, it's decided. When/if we cruise DCL we MUST have a posh verandah. It sounds heavenly! Love that you and Judy 2 were just hanging out glacier watching. I'm sure that in the long run, you enjoyed it much more since Miss Willow could be enjoying Disney movies.

I'm very bothered that they didn't know how to make you an Irish Coffee. It's whiskey and coffee. Not too difficult.

I may have mentioned this before, but I'm not a real outdoorsy type. However, the pictures are amazing! In addition to not being outdoorsy, I'm also pretty terrible at geography and such (which makes DH bat-poop crazy . English, grammar, and math were more my thing). So, I've never really thought about the fact that you'd be able to see real glaciers and mountains! So pretty!

 

[RGirl]

Well, it's decided. When/if we cruise DCL we MUST have a posh verandah. It sounds heavenly! Love that you and Judy 2 were just hanging out glacier watching. I'm sure that in the long run, you enjoyed it much more since Miss Willow could be enjoying Disney movies.

I'm very bothered that they didn't know how to make you an Irish Coffee. It's whiskey and coffee. Not too difficult.

I may have mentioned this before, but I'm not a real outdoorsy type. However, the pictures are amazing! In addition to not being outdoorsy, I'm also pretty terrible at geography and such (which makes DH bat-poop crazy . English, grammar, and math were more my thing). So, I've never really thought about the fact that you'd be able to see real glaciers and mountains! So pretty!

Oh, you cannot cruise without a posh verandah!!!!!! Judy 2 and I really did spend the ENTIRE day out there. Neither one of us could tear our eyes away - it was so beautiful. Judy 2 has been to Alaska to fish numerous times (she is a big fly-fisher), but I have never been, and I don't think either one of us had ever seen sights like this before. It is breath-taking - I wanted to do the cruise because seeing a glacier and icebergs was up there with my family's trip to Kenya for me - once in a lifetime. Just amazing!

The Irish coffee thing was bizarre. Judy 2 said that the woman who was obviously in charge told this guy (who was obviously not in charge) that he could handle this one. He apparently knew that it involved some kind of coffee and whiskey, but his ratio was insane. Seriously, it was a big cup of whiskey with a shot of espresso!

Geography is not my strong suit either. But I live in Washington State, so I have heard about Alaska cruises enough to know. There is no reason that you would have. Mountains, however - just come to the Pacific Northwest. You can see REAL mountains all over here.

 

[karajeboo]

Just caught up but let me say, I would SOOOO be freaking out about icebergs, too! I'm guessing that they have some super secret technology that Kate and Leo didn't have on the Titanic, that allows them to know EXACTLY where the bergs are and how deep, etc...... At least that's what I tell myself when thinking I'd like to do an Alaskan cruise someday.....

 

[cheryllarsen]

Reading this again.... so excited for our Alaskan cruise!

 

[RGirl]

Just caught up but let me say, I would SOOOO be freaking out about icebergs, too! I'm guessing that they have some super secret technology that Kate and Leo didn't have on the Titanic, that allows them to know EXACTLY where the bergs are and how deep, etc...... At least that's what I tell myself when thinking I'd like to do an Alaskan cruise someday.....

You're back! How was the trip???? Hmm, maybe I should check YOUR TR! :roll eyes:

I kept remarking about the super-technology that they must have now, but Judy 2 wasn't buying it. I did see the ship start churning the water to make that one really close berg move out of the way, so obviously, they were doing something.

Reading this again.... so excited for our Alaskan cruise!

Glad you're still reading along! You are going to love your cruise!

 

[RGirl]

20. We MUST Eat - It’s Been HOURS! (Day 3)

When I last left off, Judy 2 and I were still enjoying the view, although the ship had turned all the way around and was soon beginning the journey out of Tracy Arm. At this point, DD was starting to get pretty bored. I was proud of her though - instead of acting up, she realized that she could just say, “I want to go to the kids club,” and off she could go. At this time, the Club was on open house, but the Lab was available, and they were just about to start Ratatouille Cooking School in a few minutes (3:30), so DD jumped at the chance to do that.

DD’s input: “I liked it a lot. We made cookies. And we ate them!”

After dropping DD off, I came back to the stateroom to enjoy the view a bit more. The Judies were napping, and I eventually decided to lie down with my book for a bit. This was the view from my bed!

At about 4:30, I got up and showered and got ready for dinner. Caught this beautiful picture on the way out of Tracy Arm.

Soon, I went to pick up DD and take her back to the stateroom to get dressed for dinner. We enjoyed seeing Deadliest Catch Mickey and Chip and Dale in the atrium from above - sad though that we didn’t have time to go down and meet them.

Tonight we had dinner at Triton’s. The menu was the French Dinner. Triton’s is beautiful!

We were happy to see Juni and Doulson again. DD was happy to see some bread.

And then it was time to eat! DD ordered the watermelon cocktail from the kids’ menu. This was an obvious choice because DD loves watermelon. Don’t know if she ate any of it given the amount of fries earlier and the bread and chocolate milk she snarfed down while waiting for dinner. She did, however, choose to try some olive tapenade on a bite of that bread. She didn’t like it, but I was really impressed that she decided to try it - and with no one suggesting that she do so.

I had Gaston’s Escargots Gratinés - herb-marinated snails with finely chopped mushrooms, topped with garlic butter. I don’t order escargots often, but it’s okay once in a while. There was nothing else that really struck my fancy for appetizers tonight. These were pretty good - I ate a few. And I enjoyed some gluten-free bread with these - without asking for it!

Judy 1 had the Chilled Jumbo Shrimp - white and green asparagus, micro greens and lemon-dill dressing with horseradish cream. I think Judy 2 may have had this too. It looks like I didn’t do a great job getting pictures of The Judies’ food tonight.

For her main course, DD ordered from the adult menu - Aged Angus Grilled Beef Tenderloin - on olive-oil smashed potatoes, bacon-wrapped green beans, and mustard madeira sauce. She had it without the sauce, and subbed french fries for mashed potatoes.

Doulson, of course, cut up her steak for her.

And then goofed around with her for a bit.

He also made her a ketchup Dumbo!

DD loves steak, but she just really wasn’t hungry. She ate a few bites when Doulson fed her but that was about it.

DD’s input: “I liked the steak. I liked the ketchup Dumbo. I always got french fries there!”

For my main course, I had Seared Sea Bass - with a mushroom herb risotto, sweet onion marmalade, and garnished with a potato crisp. It was tasty.

I somehow didn’t get pictures of The Judies’ entrees, but Judy 1 had the Slowly Braised Lamb Shank with a creamy polenta and portobello mushroom in a red wine sauce. She loves lamb, so she was quite happy with this. Actually, I don’t usually like lamb that much, but I tried a bite of this and wished I had ordered it! Judy 2 had the same as DD but without the substitutions.

DD had a Mickey bar for dessert!

DD’s input: “Good!! I liked it a lot!”

I had the Crème Brûlée - with seasonal berries. It was yummy!

The Judies both got the Sweet Temptations - a trio of crème brûlée, chocolate mousse and praline petite choux. And I actually got a picture! They both enjoyed it.

Oh, and don’t worry, there was wine too. Oh, and I’m pretty sure that The Judies had martinis and that I had The Royal - sparkling wine, créme de cassis and peach schnapps.

At some point, Doulson came by and amazed DD with some magic tricks featuring crayons. She was loving him even more! Juni also did a magic trick for us. Eventually, we had to leave them, however, to get ready to do it all again at 8:30!

DD’s input: When I asked her whether she remembered the magic tricks with the crayons, she said, “Yeah! Where did it go?? I should ask Doulson.”

Oh, before I go, I do want to mention something because I am afraid that I will forget. In addition to the serving teams, there is also a head server. This is one of the “tipped” positions in that your bill at the end will include a certain amount of money per day for this individual (you can always change it, etc.). I had read a few reports on here about people never even seeing their head server until the last night and such. So I want to make sure to sing Josep’s praises. We met him on the very first night, and he came to our table every night thereafter, sometimes more than once to check on us. We also saw him other places - like Beach Blanket Buffet - where he helped us find a table one time and always watched out for us. Josep worked VERY hard as head server, and we really appreciated his efforts.

Up next: 21. Stars and Stripes on the Wonder​

 

[amandaw]

Man, those views really are breath taking!

Did it take you long to be able to adjust to having quiet time to yourself? I bet you almost didn't know what to do with yourself when Willow would go to the clubs.

That dinner sounds delicious! And looks it, too!

I love Sea Bass - it's one of my all-time favorite things. YUM!

Oh - and I literally at "Deadliest Catch Mickey". I'm loving some of the outfits the characters have on the Alaskan cruise!

Can't wait to hear what y'all did that night.

 

[RGirl]

Man, those views really are breath taking!

Did it take you long to be able to adjust to having quiet time to yourself? I bet you almost didn't know what to do with yourself when Willow would go to the clubs.

You know, it was REALLY weird. I think that, next time, I will be expecting it and make much better use of that alone time. I will definitely spend less time back at the stateroom. Part of it was that I didn't want The Judies to feel like I was abandoning them. And they probably wouldn't have - I should have grabbed my Kindle and found a great place to read, but I was pretty bad about it. When the two of us cruise together, if DD still wants to head to the club like she did on this trip, I will make much better use of that time.

That dinner sounds delicious! And looks it, too!

I love Sea Bass - it's one of my all-time favorite things. YUM!

It was definitely a very good meal. And the setting was lovely.

Oh - and I literally at "Deadliest Catch Mickey". I'm loving some of the outfits the characters have on the Alaskan cruise!

Can't wait to hear what y'all did that night.

I can't take credit for that one - I have heard Alaska Mickey referred to that way by others - and it was VERY fitting. I should have snapped a quick pic from above, but I didn't think to.

I may try to get another update done tonight since I will not be able to update again until Wednesday or Thursday.

 

[RGirl]

21. Stars and Stripes on the Wonder (Day 3)

When I last left off, we had said good-bye to our wonderful serving team at Triton’s. We had somewhere to be - actually right outside Triton’s in the atrium. We were going to celebrate the Fourth of July with Mickey!

As probably all of you know, Disney cannot do the whole fireworks thing in Alaska - not exactly good for the wildlife and such up there. So this would be kind of a tame Fourth, but I think they did a nice job nonetheless and really made a point of celebrating what Independence Day is about.

We were right on time. The celebration was held in the atrium, and it started with some of the young performance CMs assembling on the stairs. They took turns singing some really nice traditional patriotic songs. Most of us were singing along with a lot of them.

DD was enjoying it.

There were also recorded songs, a tribute to those among the crowd who had served/were serving in the military, and, of course, some characters.

There was a LOT of confetti!

I didn’t get any really great pics - especially of the characters - mostly because a woman pushed past us to join her tween boys and stood right in front of Willow. So I ended up putting Willow on my shoulders - had I not, she wouldn’t have even known the characters were there. Phew - it is really unpleasant for me to put Willow on my shoulders; I have degenerative joint disease, and, well, hoisting a 5 year old onto my shoulders isn’t the best for it! But it was worth it.

I think DD had a lot of fun - she really enjoyed the confetti after the party had ended. As, it seemed, did every young child in attendance.

DD’s input: “I remember that. I loved it. I really liked the confetti.”

At that point, we all decided to go back to the staterooms. First we had to find Judy 2 though! She couldn’t stand in that crowd for all that time, and when we had left her, she was sitting in one of the portholes. She wasn’t there when the celebration ended though, so we thought we would head toward the aft elevators - maybe she had gone back to the stateroom. But we found her on our way through the Promenade Lounge - she was watching all the little kids dancing in there. Apparently, some kid had essentially ousted her from the porthole. She seemed to be enjoying the Lounge though, so that was good. Back to our staterooms we went - DD was pretty tired.

When we got back to our staterooms, we discovered a dinosaur…

… and a lobster!

DD got ready for bed, and we found Lilo and Stitch on the movie channel. She watched about half of it in bed while the grown-ups sat on the verandah and enjoyed the scenery. DD was asleep at about 9:30 - I guess the late nights had finally caught up with her!

I was pretty tired too. You do a lot of stair-climbing and deck walking what with all those trips to the kids club and such!

Next up: 22. Braving the Mickey Waters in Alaska (Day 4)​

 

[shan23877]

Dinner looked amazing!!! I'm so hungry right now, and the almonds that I'm eating (I'm out of doughnuts ) just don't look as good as your seabass!

I'm loving your server. He seems so great, and obviously meant to work with kids in some capacity. I'm so glad that Willow loved him so much.

Yay for a July 4th celebration! Those patriotic costumes on the characters are great! (I think I still like Golden Girl Minnie better though). I hate when adults shove in front of little kids! So rude.

Sounds like another fantastic day on the DCL, no wonder you may or may not have booked another cruise!

Can't wait to hear about Alaska!

****

I totally understand what you mean about Alaska and Kenya being a once in a lifetime opportunity. I'd probably do them once too.

I swear I'm going to make it to the Northwest one of these days to see those mountains! We promised my girlfriend in Portland that we'd get out there sooner rather than later. I've seen plenty of mountains because we used to drive south every year when I was a kid, but all I see on a daily basis are flat land and the occasion corn field. Of course if you drive in the other direction all you see is really tall buildings and Lake Michigan.

 

[amandaw]

What a fun night! Seems like a really nice 4th of July celebration! And I am seriously falling in love with the character outfits on this cruise. They have to be some of the best I've ever seen & heard of!

Boo! to the woman standing right in front of Willow! I'm sure Willow appreciated you putting her on her shoulders to see all the characters.

Wasn't it lovely to just be able to put on a Disney movie in your room whenever you wanted/needed? I really loved that! I think I've already said that....but I'm saying it again because I really love that!

 

[RGirl]

Dinner looked amazing!!! I'm so hungry right now, and the almonds that I'm eating (I'm out of doughnuts ) just don't look as good as your seabass!

I'm loving your server. He seems so great, and obviously meant to work with kids in some capacity. I'm so glad that Willow loved him so much.

Doulson was just amazing. Honestly, I hope we get to sail the Wonder again in large part because we could request to have him as part of our serving team. He was the sweetest young man, and he really made the whole cruise memorable for DD.

Yay for a July 4th celebration! Those patriotic costumes on the characters are great! (I think I still like Golden Girl Minnie better though). I hate when adults shove in front of little kids! So rude.

Sounds like another fantastic day on the DCL, no wonder you may or may not have booked another cruise!

Can't wait to hear about Alaska!

OMG - Golden Girl Minnie!! That is still killing me!!!!!!

****

I totally understand what you mean about Alaska and Kenya being a once in a lifetime opportunity. I'd probably do them once too.

It's true - Alaska is just amazing, and everyone should see it once if possible. Honestly, though, if we stay in the Pacific Northwest, I could totally see doing this cruise again. It was so great!

I swear I'm going to make it to the Northwest one of these days to see those mountains! We promised my girlfriend in Portland that we'd get out there sooner rather than later. I've seen plenty of mountains because we used to drive south every year when I was a kid, but all I see on a daily basis are flat land and the occasion corn field. Of course if you drive in the other direction all you see is really tall buildings and Lake Michigan.

I hate to say it, but there are no mountains east of the Mississippi that are "real mountains" to anyone who grew up out here. If you want to really know mountains, you have to visit. And, if you do, you have to let me know - because DD and I will come to Portland to meet up with you! We LOVE Portland!

 

[RGirl]

What a fun night! Seems like a really nice 4th of July celebration! And I am seriously falling in love with the character outfits on this cruise. They have to be some of the best I've ever seen & heard of!

I couldn't agree more - the Alaska attire was adorable! I wish I had gotten more pics of it.

Boo! to the woman standing right in front of Willow! I'm sure Willow appreciated you putting her on her shoulders to see all the characters.

It was unfortunate. I'm sure the woman didn't realize, and she was well within her rights to join her own tweens, but it was frustrating. Probably would have been less frustrating had it not been so painful to put DD on my shoulders. I hate that I'm so old!

Wasn't it lovely to just be able to put on a Disney movie in your room whenever you wanted/needed? I really loved that! I think I've already said that....but I'm saying it again because I really love that!

YES! We really used that movie option more than I ever imagined. Honestly, I loved the movies too. There were movies playing that are "in the vault," so I'm pretty sure that DD got to see some things that she hasn't been able to see because of that STUPID VAULT!

 

[shan23877]

On the subject of the "vault"-- when we were at the Disney Store last week (I couldn't resist the ballerina princess hoodie and pants and we got the princess backpack) the CM working there was trying to get me to pre-order Cinderella on Blu-ray. (Which I bought on Ebay 2 Christmases ago ) Apparently, the Tangled Ever After short is going to be on it. I guess we'll have another copy of Cinderella.

We are lucky enough to have almost all of the movies now. DH managed a Blockbuster in college, and one of them went out of business. We bought all of their Disney movies. We didn't even have Maddie yet. We were planning ahead! I swear!

I will definitely let you know when we plan our trip to the Northwest! DH's company has a client in Washington, so we're thinking that we'll head out there for a 'business trip' and drive to Portland to visit Anykka. I hope that we get it done in the next year or so. Apparently I've got to see real mountains!