June 14, 2011 - Father's Day on the Wonder in ALASKA!

[lsutigger2]

Whoo Hoo

I made our flight reservations tonight. We are using frequent flyer miles - that is the best part {That is one of the best perks of DH working overseas }

We will arrive in Vancouver on June 11 and return when we disembark the ship.

Now, need to find a place to stay. Anyone have any suggestions??
I may go to the Vancouver thread and see what's happening. Might find some good info.

It's getting closer

 

[nzdisneymom]

Hi all - Happy New Year - and happy Alaska Cruise year! We've been MIA from the boards for a while but hope to be back on more regularly now that it's getting closer to cruise time - five months from tomorrow, we start making our way!

We want to be included in the fish extender group. Sending a PM.

Gotta go back and catch up on what's happening!

Oh, we are flying out to Vancouver on June 11th and coming home the day we disembark. We are staying at the Pacific Rim something something hotel - it's through DCL. We're doing all our air and transfers through them as well.

 

[Smileneyes]

Hi all - Happy New Year - and happy Alaska Cruise year! We've been MIA from the boards for a while but hope to be back on more regularly now that it's getting closer to cruise time - five months from tomorrow, we start making our way!

We want to be included in the fish extender group. Sending a PM.

Gotta go back and catch up on what's happening!

Oh, we are flying out to Vancouver on June 11th and coming home the day we disembark. We are staying at the Pacific Rim something something hotel - it's through DCL. We're doing all our air and transfers through them as well.

Hi, Cindy...received your PM, and I've added you to the FE list (and initial thread post).

We are flying on the 13th, with a layover at SeaTac. We're staying overnight at the Vancouver Fairmont Waterfront. DCL is providing transfers from airport to hotel the day prior to sailing, and the hotel is at Canada Place (so within walking distance of the cruise port).

Dunno if anyone caught it, but the Wonder is now on her Panama Canal reposition cruise. That puts us closer to sailing!

 

[lsutigger2]

So, i thought Cindy had a good idea about booking hotel etc thru DCL, so I call.....

Well DCL did not have three nights at the Pacific Rim, only two. We could stay at the Fairmont Airport. Not interested in that. But the lady at DCL was very nice And she put me on a waitlist for the three nights. So,...

i get online tonight to book the first night (as an individual, not part of DCL) thinking I could then get the two nights she does have and not have to sleep on the street.

Well, the Pacific Rim website won't let me make the reservation because my credit card has an invalid expiration date. I checked it twice. Could it be because it expires before we check in?? I know I'll get a new one before then (April), but don't want to wait that long to get a room and we don't have any other cards that we use.

What's a girl to do??? Anyone have any suggestions??

BTW: hope everyone is doing well. It is really cold here for south Louisiana, but I'm sure it will warm up before too much longer. No precipation of any form, so that is a good thing.

Thanks for listening to my 'whining' -

 

[Mineu]

I hear ya on the cold-wish we had a little snow to go with it! Try calling the hotel directly to book-they should be able to work around the expiration date!

 

[ward3]

We are working on booking flights and hotels this week. Looking at flying in on the 12th. Any must see places in Vancouver before sailing.

 

[kde175]

Is it too late to join the party???

We'll be on the June 14th sailing. "We" is me (Tina, 37), my DH (DJ, 40), our DD (Emma, 4), my Mom (Linda, 60s), my Dad (Gordon, 60s) and my youngest brother (JC, 24). We have two category 7 cabins (7622 and 7124) and one category 11B (6635). DH, DD and I are going out on the 12th and staying at the Pacific Rim.

I can't wait for the cruise and would love to meet up with some of you!!

 

[kde175]

Okay, everyone...now that we're down to less than six months to go, I guess it's time to put together a FE list. I'll be happy to organize it.

If you wish to participate, please send me a PM with the following information:

Names of everyone in your party with ages (you can just put an "A" for adult if you so desire).
Please include gender of the children. It's hard to tell anymore if "Taylor" is a boy or a girl...hehe.
Hometown
Stateroom number (note: this will NOT be posted for public viewing)
E-mail address. When we get closer, I will e-mail a spreadsheet to everyone with the stateroom numbers included therein.

Example:
Drew (A) and Matthew (Male, 18)
Cincinnati, Ohio
Stateroom XXXX
e-mail address

I will post periodic updates to the first post of the thread, so it will be easy for all to find (and verify that I've received your info). Tentative deadline will be 4/15/11 (in order for people to coordinate their gifts).

We're looking forward to having some fun!!!

--Drew

P.S. A reminder: in order to send a PM, you need to have a minimum of ten (10) posts on DisBoards. So, for those of you who haven't met the threshhold yet, time to get busy!!!

I can't seem to PM you...can you try to PM me? We'd love to participate in the FE exchange.

Thanks!!

 

[Smileneyes]

I can't seem to PM you...can you try to PM me? We'd love to participate in the FE exchange.

Thanks!!

Hi, Tina...received your PM, and have you on the list. Sent you a response as well.

Glad that you're part of the gang!

--Drew

 

[disneyochem]

We are booked on the June 14th cruise! There are five of us: me, DH, DD (14), DD (12) and DMIL. This is the first time we have been on a cruise so we are very excited. We have two rooms: a veranda and an inside stateroom for Grandma.

Flying into Seattle on Friday, June 10, spending the weekend in Victoria, and then staying at the Sheraton Wall Centre on Monday.

We reviewed all of the excursions--do you think that we need to book with outside vendors or will they be slots available for us? We do not have any priority--not silver, probably copper!

I'm also interested in doing FE but will need to be coached through the process!

Yippee Skippee!

 

[Smileneyes]

We are booked on the June 14th cruise! There are five of us: me, DH, DD (14), DD (12) and DMIL. This is the first time we have been on a cruise so we are very excited. We have two rooms: a veranda and an inside stateroom for Grandma.

Flying into Seattle on Friday, June 10, spending the weekend in Victoria, and then staying at the Sheraton Wall Centre on Monday.

We reviewed all of the excursions--do you think that we need to book with outside vendors or will they be slots available for us? We do not have any priority--not silver, probably copper!

I'm also interested in doing FE but will need to be coached through the process!

Yippee Skippee!

Glad to have you aboard!

The extent of participation is entirely at your discretion. Some families choose to have one gift for the entire stateroom, while some will have a smaller gift for each person in that family. Likewise, some will participate one day, while others leave a little something every day. We have participated in a few FE's, and have been pleased with practically everything we've received. In our eyes, there is no wrong answer.

There are a number of threads on the DisBoards site as to the actual fish extender. There is a lady who makes them and sells them at a reasonable price on eBay. Everyone I have met who has worked with her has been satisfied with the results. We (a couple of bachelors) decided to do a "Home Economics" project and make our own. It certainly looks like two guys made it...but we love it!

When you are ready to confirm your participation, please send me a PM indicating names and ages ("A" for adults is fine)...along with your stateroom number, hometown and e-mail address. I will be sending an e-mail to all participants with an Excel spreadsheet of the staterooms taking part...this will be sent around mid-April.

Again, glad you're part of the gang!

--Drew

 

[mmmears]

Well, I booked my first excursion today! (Obviously not through DCL, but it's making the cruise start to feel "real"). Juneau is done... now we just have to figure out what we want to do in Ketchikan and Scagway. When DCL released them we all sat down to try to decide... but there was too much to choose from and we just got confused with all the options out there. FYI the person I booked with said that the day that DCL is in port there's only one other ship there, so Juneau should be nice and uncrowded (and prob. much easier to book your excursions, too, whether thru DCL or not).


Hotels -- if you can't book the Fairmont, consider the Pan Pacific Vancouver. I think we'll end up staying there. It's right on the water (on top of the cruise ship dock, actually). So very conveniently located, and also gets good reviews on TA.



Smileneyes -- can you tell me when we need to decide about the FEs? I'm on the fence, although reading that we don't need to bring something for each day is making me think that we may be able to participate (on our last cruise, some of us did one gift per cabin -- that made packing a bit more manageable )

 

[Smileneyes]

Well, I booked my first excursion today! (Obviously not through DCL, but it's making the cruise start to feel "real"). Juneau is done... now we just have to figure out what we want to do in Ketchikan and Scagway. When DCL released them we all sat down to try to decide... but there was too much to choose from and we just got confused with all the options out there. FYI the person I booked with said that the day that DCL is in port there's only one other ship there, so Juneau should be nice and uncrowded (and prob. much easier to book your excursions, too, whether thru DCL or not).

That's good news...I didn't even think about what other ships might be in port on any of our days. Thanks for the info on that!

Smileneyes -- can you tell me when we need to decide about the FEs? I'm on the fence, although reading that we don't need to bring something for each day is making me think that we may be able to participate (on our last cruise, some of us did one gift per cabin -- that made packing a bit more manageable )

I set a "flexible" target date of April 15th for participating...the goal here was to allow those who're taking part adequate time to plan their gifts accordingly.

By all means, the ultimate goal is for all who take part to have fun...both in giving and receiving. After all, this is vacation, right? Particularly when you combine packing more clothes (layers) for a cooler climate with trying to avoid "extra bag fees", the less inconvenient the better.

--Drew

 

[mmmears]

That's good news...I didn't even think about what other ships might be in port on any of our days. Thanks for the info on that!



I set a "flexible" target date of April 15th for participating...the goal here was to allow those who're taking part adequate time to plan their gifts accordingly.

By all means, the ultimate goal is for all who take part to have fun...both in giving and receiving. After all, this is vacation, right? Particularly when you combine packing more clothes (layers) for a cooler climate with trying to avoid "extra bag fees", the less inconvenient the better.

--Drew

I never thought about the other ships, either. The person I spoke with had all the ship info for next summer already and told me. I did suspect that, since we're leaving in the middle of the week rather than the weekend, we might be a few days "off" from the other large cruise lines. I hope this will hold true for the other 2 ports as well, since we don't have much priority with DCL when it comes to booking excursions. Hopefully we will pick the ones that aren't the most popular so there will still be some availability for us.

Thanks for the info on the F/E. I'll get back to you before that date then (or sooner if possible).

I'm a bit worried with the luggage situation. Last cruise we had just one carry-on each (and that was for the cruise plus 8 days in WDW). But it was all warm weather clothes. This time I shudder to think how bulky everything will be. I guess I just need to remember that we can do laundry on the ship... I just wish we had a sea day in between all of our "outdoors" days.

 

[Smileneyes]

I never thought about the other ships, either. The person I spoke with had all the ship info for next summer already and told me. I did suspect that, since we're leaving in the middle of the week rather than the weekend, we might be a few days "off" from the other large cruise lines. I hope this will hold true for the other 2 ports as well, since we don't have much priority with DCL when it comes to booking excursions. Hopefully we will pick the ones that aren't the most popular so there will still be some availability for us.

Thanks for the info on the F/E. I'll get back to you before that date then (or sooner if possible).

I'm a bit worried with the luggage situation. Last cruise we had just one carry-on each (and that was for the cruise plus 8 days in WDW). But it was all warm weather clothes. This time I shudder to think how bulky everything will be. I guess I just need to remember that we can do laundry on the ship... I just wish we had a sea day in between all of our "outdoors" days.

I scoured the web, and came up with the following information (which may be of benefit to everyone who is thinking of planning excursions). For our ports of call, here are the lists of scheduled cruise ships which appear to be docking on the same day:

Skagway (6/17): Carnival Spirit

Juneau (6/18): Carnival Spirit, National Geographic/Lindblad Expeditions Sea Lion, Princess' Island Princess, Seven Seas Navigator

Ketchikan (6/19): Carnival Spirit, Celebrity Infinity, Celebrity Millenium, Oceania Regatta

Hope this helps! --Drew

 

[mmmears]

I scoured the web, and came up with the following information (which may be of benefit to everyone who is thinking of planning excursions). For our ports of call, here are the lists of scheduled cruise ships which appear to be docking on the same day:

Skagway (6/17): Carnival Spirit

Juneau (6/18): Carnival Spirit, National Geographic/Lindblad Expeditions Sea Lion, Princess' Island Princess, Seven Seas Navigator

Ketchikan (6/19): Carnival Spirit, Celebrity Infinity, Celebrity Millenium, Oceania Regatta

Hope this helps! --Drew

Wow! That's more than I had heard. Thanks for the research. The ones in Juneau (I think) are all small ships, but it looks like the day in Ketchikan will be more crowded. (I know that Regetta is very small, but I think Milennium is a big one). It'll be fun to see those ships -- I've heard about them.

I spent a few more hours last night trying to build a good touring itinerary... but I'm still struggling to choose from all the excursions. I guess it's a good thing that I can't book anything yet.

 

[ward3]

Just booked flight out of Nashville on the 13th. Staying night before at Pacific Rim Fairmont.

We are at home for the 10th snow day. My daughter was glad to see another 12 year old girl onboard since she is an only child.

Want to do FE but don't have ten posts to do a pm. Made our own extender from a hanging organizer at the teacher store. Very easy, just cut it down to a pocket for each of us and decorated the strap with ribbon and characters from my cricut machine. No sewing involved if that helps anyone. I think I have Ten dollars invested

 

[disneyochem]

Just booked flight out of Nashville on the 13th. Staying night before at Pacific Rim Fairmont.

We are at home for the 10th snow day. My daughter was glad to see another 12 year old girl onboard since she is an only child.

Great! My 12 year old daughter will be thrilled! She was afraid that there wasn't going to be girls her age on the cruise. Her older sister, the 14 year old, is thrilled to see that there will be lots of boys!

 

[lsutigger2]

Gosh, a girl goes away for a few days and things get busy -

So glad to see a bit more chatter on the boards. For other cruises, my DH and I have enjoyed "knowing" folks before we board the ship. Lots of fun.

I bit the bullet tonight and paid the balance on the cruise. Sure didn't want to forget So I think we are all set with the basics: flights ; precruise hotel ; paid for cruise ; signed up for FE's .

now just need to plan port adventures. I'll wait until Dh gets home. We have time before we can book them.

hope everyone has a great weekend.

 

[Smileneyes]

Just booked flight out of Nashville on the 13th. Staying night before at Pacific Rim Fairmont.

We are at home for the 10th snow day. My daughter was glad to see another 12 year old girl onboard since she is an only child.

Want to do FE but don't have ten posts to do a pm. Made our own extender from a hanging organizer at the teacher store. Very easy, just cut it down to a pocket for each of us and decorated the strap with ribbon and characters from my cricut machine. No sewing involved if that helps anyone. I think I have Ten dollars invested

Glad that you're going to participate in the FE! Don't worry too much...just say "hi" to us every day for a week, and you'll have your ten posts!

If you want to post the names and ages of people in the stateroom, I can put you on the first thread and spreadsheet...I can always get your PM with the stateroom and e-mail address later on...after you're able to send the PM.

--Drew