July 15, 2013- WONDER if a Mickey Bar will melt in Alaska?

[AZMermaid]

Thanks for that!

 

[ssnyder]

I like the idea of a more informal meet and greet place......not get locked into a particular room, etc.

I still like the idea of meeting by the Mickey pool first day before life boat drill. On other cruises we either met there or Promenade lounge, but for the size of our group, I think the pool location works well. That way the kids can swim and we are close to the buffet for those that haven't had lunch yet.

 

[juniedog]

Hi all,
Just joining your group. We have 18 in our group for the Alaska trip. We come from mostly Gilbert, AZ and Tucson , AZ but one part of our family is from CA. My immediate family is 5 (DH, myself, dd 12, dd 10 and ds 6). While we have cruised DCL before, this is our first Alaskan trip.

Details of interest: We are flying in to Bellingham. I booked the Hyatt Regency on hotwire for 142. We have a pretty large gamut of excursions for our group, from dog sledding and whale watching to bear watching and tiny, scary airplanes.

I have loved lurking on your group for a while. Thanks for all the great info!

Beth

 

[AZMermaid]

Welcome to another Arizona family! I thought it said "beer watching" not bear watching. I was thinking... what's that?!

I am up for whatever sort of meet. We are going to try to get the baby down for a nap as soon as the room opens, so that may hinder me a bit, but I am not sure what will happen with that nap!

 

[juniedog]

Welcome to another Arizona family! I thought it said "beer watching" not bear watching. I was thinking... what's that?!

I am up for whatever sort of meet. We are going to try to get the baby down for a nap as soon as the room opens, so that may hinder me a bit, but I am not sure what will happen with that nap!

ha ha. I am pretty sure there are people in my family that would prefer a beer watching!

 

[ducksquack]

Hi Junie d

Read ur post and realized you are the second person today that mentioned Bellingham WA. Told the first we were flying into Seattle and then driving to Vancouver for an overnight. They said Bellingham is a better choice. I'm wondering where's Bellingham. Now I know! I see that Bellingham is much closer and here you are doing just that. OK can u tell me what airlines fly into Bellingham. If it's southwest maybe we can change our Baltimore to Seattle res. No matter wecome to the meet and greet (where ever that turns out to be) bunch.
Everyone take care and stay well
cheers,
ducksquack

 

[time for travel]

Hi Everyone,
I love hearing all your ideas.....I still haven't booked our flights or anything....so, I'm checking out Bellingham! (Personally, I love it when we can drive to the port and hop on!!)....we're coming from San Diego or possibly LAX and the train .....once an option, or so I thought is not direct enough!! Our relatives say....."If you don't book something soon, you'll be driving!!" ~Carol

 

[AZMermaid]

We are flying US Airways direct into Vancouver- boring, I know!

 

[dryheatgasmd]

We are flying Alaska Air TUS-LAX-YVR several days ahead of the cruise. Booked a condo in Yaletown via VRBO to experience Vancouver city life. I've heard the food and coffee are phenomenal. Any suggestions from our veteran travelers would be greatly appreciated! THank you!

 

[dryheatgasmd]

Hello all, I've heard that we should get some good binoculars for this trip. I don't have any personal experience in this field (no pun intended), and I was wondering if there were any pair that people liked more than others. From what little I've read, 8X magnification seems to work best from the ship and having as large an objective lens as possible works best. I am leaning towards 8X42 in the Vortex Diamondback or Nikon Monarch 3 series because of some reviews on Amazon but have nothing more on which to base this preference. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[ducksquack]

Hi all
first happy mother's day to all the moms in our m and g group!

dryheat thanks for bringing up the point on binoculars. been thinking about just that but have'nt done much research. do know you can go from not too much to break the bank. also for the picture takers u may want to consider a multi purpose wide angle to zoom lens so u dont have to take a bunch and keep swaping lenses. got dd a sigma for christmas and it seems to work pretty good. again they come in all price ranges.

re our meet and greet get together. called my personal dcl trip planner (i'm up to 11 by now) was told by this one that the pools on the ship do not open until after the lifeboat drill. not sure if there are lifeguards on duty when the pools are open. If i were a parent with younger kids i'd want to keep an eye on them when they are in the water. just something to think about..

Everyone take care and stay well
cheers,
ducksquack

 

[dryheatgasmd]

Hello all, I've heard that we should get some good binoculars for this trip. I don't have any personal experience in this field (no pun intended), and I was wondering if there were any pair that people liked more than others. From what little I've read, 8X magnification seems to work best from the ship and having as large an objective lens as possible works best. I am leaning towards 8X42 in the Vortex Diamondback or Nikon Monarch 3 series because of some reviews on Amazon but have nothing more on which to base this preference. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Just ordered the Vortex 8X42 from Sportsman's Warehouse.com. Stopped by their brick and mortar store today and tested out this and the Nikon. Both were very good and reasonably light. They are having an online warehouse clearance sale through tomorrow. I was able to get it for about $20 cheaper than Amazon including taxes, shipped to store for free. Without the discount code (located on the home page), this place seems to be comparable to Amazon pricing. Hope that helps!

 

[TiffanyL]

sorry I replied to the wrong post

 

[ducksquack]

hi tiffany
Looks like this is your first post to the group. If so welcome. sure you will get into the fish extender one way or another. who will be joining u on the boat ride? What part of the world are u coming from.Guess we will get to know u a little better as time goes on.
Take care and u and yours stay well
cheers
from
ducksquack

 

[AZMermaid]

Hi Tiffany- are you on our cruise? Did you want to sign up for the FE?

I am going nutso about binoculars. My husband says he has some old ones that he has used like once and thinks they are good but are buried with the camping stuff. Argh! That is not an answer for me!

Just 6 more school days and no more kindergarten for me- back up to 1st grade! Then I can also focus on my obsessive packing lists!

 

[dryheatgasmd]

Hi Tiffany- are you on our cruise? Did you want to sign up for the FE?

I am going nutso about binoculars. My husband says he has some old ones that he has used like once and thinks they are good but are buried with the camping stuff. Argh! That is not an answer for me!

Just 6 more school days and no more kindergarten for me- back up to 1st grade! Then I can also focus on my obsessive packing lists!

REI is having their huge anniversary sale starting today. REI brand binoculars are 25% off. I am sure there is a store up in Scottsdale. I know fore sure there is one near AZ Mills.

 

[AZMermaid]

ooooh yes there is one at PV Mall- thanks for the heads up!

 

[ssnyder]

Hi all
re our meet and greet get together. called my personal dcl trip planner (i'm up to 11 by now) was told by this one that the pools on the ship do not open until after the lifeboat drill. not sure if there are lifeguards on duty when the pools are open. If i were a parent with younger kids i'd want to keep an eye on them when they are in the water. just something to think about..

Everyone take care and stay well
cheers,
ducksquack

If that´s the case we can still meet in that location. Might be even better if the pool is closed, because there won't be so many people around. I still think it's a good location to meet, but I'm certainly opened to other ideas.

 

[ducksquack]

Hi all,
Have started the great binocular hunt. Taking advice from what the good meet and greet gang is posting but there are too many to make a decision. did see some good ones on the net but dw sez she wants to try before buy. The Arizona gang has their outdoor camping stores. On the east coast we have bass pro shops. will go there when we get back from our n.c. visit.
granddaughters are having their end of year dance recital this week end.
every one take care and stay healthy
cheers,
ducks quack

 

[Khorne]

If the pools are closed, why then do other threads say to pack swim suits in carry on luggage so people can change before rooms are available? Maybe only closed on Alaska cruises?