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

[mmmears]

A very nice poster who is on a May Alaska cruise has listed all the excursions on that cruise and their booking times.

Here's the link: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2666085

I know it may be different for our cruise, but I figure it will give those of us who can't look it up yet an idea of what they might look like.

 

[DVC Mary]

Good luck Drew & any one else who can book this week.


Which ones are you going for???


Thanks mmears for finding the post w/ excursion times.



Does anyone know which dog sledding excursions are best?

We want to go on snow not the summer camp one. The other post suggested that Skagway won't have dog sledding at a certain point in the summer. It's open for May cruisers to book.

 

[DVC Mary]

From my lurkings on other Alaska meet threads I found that someone had called DCL to ask about themed nights & was told:

Day 2 - formal night (sea day)

Day 5 - pirate night (Juneau)

Day 6 - semi formal (Ketchikan on board 7:30pm)

Has anyone else heard about this? Is it just be or does Pirate night in Alaska seems weird? I don't know what I'd replace it w/, but it's just seems strange.

 

[Smileneyes]

From my lurkings on other Alaska meet threads I found that someone had called DCL to ask about themed nights & was told:

Day 2 - formal night (sea day)

Day 5 - pirate night (Juneau)

Day 6 - semi formal (Ketchikan on board 7:30pm)

Has anyone else heard about this? Is it just be or does Pirate night in Alaska seems weird? I don't know what I'd replace it w/, but it's just seems strange.

Hi, Mary. You're right, this doesn't quite match up with everything else I've seen.

The rotations are supposedly confirmed as follows:

TAPTAPT
APTAPTA
PTAPTAp

Now, let's take one as an example (PTAPTAP). Three are "rotational" meals. If formal night (which is usually the "Golden Mickeys" dinner) is night 2, night 6 is "Captain's Gala", and night 7 is "Til We Meet Again", that would leave nights 1, 3, 4 and 5. The only way that I can see for us to have a regular rotational menu would be for pirate night to be on night 1 or night 4. Since we know it doesn't kick off the cruise, it'd then have to be the fourth night.

So, the rotation would look something like this:

P: rotational
T: formal - Golden Mickeys (?)
A: rotational
P: Pirate's Night
T: rotational
A: Captain's Gala
P: Til We Meet Again

Of course, the possibility exists that they would be using a rotational menu for the Pirate Night (instead of the special "pirate menu" that we have seen in the past), and have another themed night for the fourth evening.



I guess we'll hear more as things develop.

--Drew

 

[Weedy]

I just called and they said that Pirate Night would be night 5 (Saturday - Juneau) but there would be no fireworks. I have called a few times and have been told there would be a Pirate and another time there would not be a Pirate Night. The guy I spoke with today said there definitely would be. I guess we will have to wait and see.

 

[amyhuffman]

I too got confirmation from DCL today that formal night is night 2, pirate night is night 5 and that semi-formal night is night 6. They said that Golden Mickeys would be either night 2 or 6 and that the other one would be the Toy Story show.

 

[lsutigger2]

I'm with some others: Pirates in Alaska seems a little "off" = you know what I mean

We have main dining and if anyone wants to be our table mates, let me know. We enjoyed having other "dis'ers" last cruise as our mates. It was great fun to share what we had done during the day, etc etc. I think we linked our reservations and they put us together for dining. I guess they still do that.

Not much else new.

Drew: the LSU Tigers Baseball team is 7-0 to start the season. Hope that I didn't just jinx them So far the visiting teams haven't been top quality. They are mostly teams from the frozen North that need to get some "live" games.Many more games to play

 

[Smileneyes]

Okay, got in right at midnight. Was able to book all of the excursions we wanted (see previous post).

The only ones "not available" at this time were the "4-Hour Alaska Custom Hummer Excursion" in Juneau and the "Exclusive Private Air Tour" in Ketchikan.

Also was able to book Palo (our first time there, since DS turned 18 last week). Booked lunch for day 2 and dinner for day 3. At this point, it appears that all seatings are available for dinner on all evenings...as for brunch, it is only available on sea days (which they consider day 2, day 3 in Tracy Arm, and day 7)...and all times appear to be available.

For those of you who will be booking your excursions soon, we're keeping our fingers crossed that pixie dust is headed your way!

Now...off to bed. LOL

--Drew

 

[Mineu]

Congrats! I was able to get all of ours as well! Although, I could not work up the courage to book the zip line excursion for the kids-too scary for me... I tried to add the lumber jack show-but it said it conflicted with our other excursion even though the first one ends at 3:15 and the show starts at 4:30-it would not let me book. Anyway, glad that's done-good luck everyone!

 

[Weedy]

Logged in at Midnight and we were able to get Palo brunch and Dinner, as well as the excursions we wanted. Good luck everyone.

 

[amyhuffman]

I too was able to book Palo Brunch and dinner and got almost all of our excursions. I also had the same problem with trying to book two excursions in Ketchikan where there appeared to be no conflict, but the computer made me choose between the two. When I call DCL today, they said that you MUST have a minimum of 2 hours between excursions to book both. We will just have to book our other excursion on our own.

Anyway, if anyone needs specific times or wants me to check availability, let me know.

Good Luck to everyone on your bookings!
Amy

 

[DVC Mary]

Mineu, Weedy, Amy, & Drew,

Can you please share what you did book & what times you got?


Congrats on getting what you want!

Liam just turned 14 & is a total foodie. He's dying to go to Palo. He'll be so jealous of Matthew.



Can we please start signing 1st names to our posts, so we can learn each other's real names better? Unless your name is in your screen name. Amy is your name really Amy. Yes, my name really is Mary.

 

[DVC Mary]

Amy,

If these aren't too many could you please check times/availability for:

Skagway: Takshanuk Mt Trail 4x4, Glacier Discovery by Heli,

Juneau: Mendenhall Glacier & Whale Quest, Exclusive Glacier Dog Musher, Exclusive Whale Encounter and Mendenhall Glacier, Mendenhall Glacial Float Trip, Fins & Grins

Ketchikan: Bering Sea Crab Fishermen's Tour, Wilderness Exlporation Crab Feast, Alaska Coastal Expedition


Can you tell my family is all over the place w/ what they want to do--especially in Juneau? I also want to have 2nd & 3rd choices in case something is full.

There is NO RUSH, in fact, it would be even better if you did this closer to next week when we can book. I need to double check again when we can. I think it said March 16th.

 

[Smileneyes]

Mineu, Weedy, Amy, & Drew,

Can you please share what you did book & what times you got?


Congrats on getting what you want!

Liam just turned 14 & is a total foodie. He's dying to go to Palo. He'll be so jealous of Matthew.



Can we please start signing 1st names to our posts, so we can learn each other's real names better? Unless your name is in your screen name. Amy is your name really Amy. Yes, my name really is Mary.

Hi, Mary!

Here is everything that I booked for us:

Day 2 (At Sea) - 6/15 - Palo Brunch 11:30 AM
Day 3 (Tracy Arm) - 6/16 - Palo Dinner 8:00 PM
Day 4 (Skagway) - 6/17 - Klondike Gold Dredge and White Pass Railway 7:15AM-12:15PM
Day 5 (Juneau) - 6/18 - Disney Exclusive Glacier Dog Musher for a Day 11:15AM-3:45PM
Day 6 (Ketchikan) - 6/19 - Adventure Kart Expedition 12:45PM-4:15PM

There were morning and afternoon options for the Skagway excursion, and a second (later) time for the Ketchikan excursion...but only one choice for the dog mush in Juneau.

As for Liam, I totally understand...Matthew is the same way (albeit a little picky at times). Because he has been too young, we've had the "Palo Chocolate Souffle'" delivered to the regular dining room for two Fathers' Days dinners now. I think he is relishing (pun intended) the opportunity to eat at Palo this year!

--Drew

 

[DVC Mary]

Drew,

What are your thoughts on the other dog sled excursions? I don't know if the one in Juneau will be filled by the time we can book. Are you platinum ? We're only silver. Alaska will be our 4th. We can't book until March 16th. Ugh!

Did you notice if the Skagway one is offered on our cruise? Someone posted that Skagway would not be an option on some summer cruises--hopefully later than ours in case Juneau is booked solid. I also read that dog sledding is the #1 canceled excursion due to weather. If that happens, we'll be scrambling off the boat to find a private excursion somewhere.

Where are people staying the night before the cruise? I'm looking at the Pan Pacific for the night before & Whistler for the 2 nights before that. I'm finally getting in planning mode.

 

[Smileneyes]

Drew,

What are your thoughts on the other dog sled excursions? I don't know if the one in Juneau will be filled by the time we can book. Are you platinum ? We're only silver. Alaska will be our 4th. We can't book until March 16th. Ugh!

Did you notice if the Skagway one is offered on our cruise? Someone posted that Skagway would not be an option on some summer cruises--hopefully later than ours in case Juneau is booked solid. I also read that dog sledding is the #1 canceled excursion due to weather. If that happens, we'll be scrambling off the boat to find a private excursion somewhere.

Where are people staying the night before the cruise? I'm looking at the Pan Pacific for the night before & Whistler for the 2 nights before that. I'm finally getting in planning mode.

Hi, Mary...

First, we are gold (will be platinum after our B2B in September). So you are only 15 days behind us.

Next...the "Dog Sledding and Glacier Flightseeing" expedition for Skagway is still available, and can be reserved on this sailing. There are 4 time slots available (7:30, 9:30, 12:30, and 2:30).

In the end, we went with the "Disney Exclusive Glacier Dog Musher for a Day" for the following reasons:

1) The Skagway sled excursion was eliminated because of Matthew's love of history, so we wanted to do the White Pass Rail trip.
2) We then eliminated the ones on grass. This was my choice, as I wanted an "authentic" experience (as "authentic" as we can get, anyway).
3) "Dog Sledding on the Mendenhall Glacier by Helicopter" and "Dog Sled Adventure by Helicopter" are only around $130pp less, but only 2.50 to 3.00 hours...whereas the one we chose was 4.00 to 4.50 hours. Seemed reasonable to me to pay that much more for 50% more excursion time.


As for our hotel, we're staying at the Fairmont Waterfront the night before. DCL is providing transfers from airport to hotel, and the hotel is on the pier...so we're walking the short distance to the cruise terminal.

Keep your fingers crossed, if you want the "Disney Exclusive Glacier Dog Musher for a Day" excursion. I thought we might not make it on the list; however, the fact that it can still be booked as of this moment gives me hope that it won't be sold out by the time you're ready to log on at 12:01 AM on the 16th.

Hope all is well in Chitown!

--Drew

 

[disneymagic316]

Hi! My DH, mom, sister, BIL and 15 year old nephew will be on this cruise. We're all very excited!

 

[mmmears]

Congrats to all you Gold Cruisers for getting what you wanted! I sure hope we lowly silvers will get some of what we want when we get the chance to book.

Drew,
Where are people staying the night before the cruise? I'm looking at the Pan Pacific for the night before & Whistler for the 2 nights before that. I'm finally getting in planning mode.

We're planning on staying at the Pan Pacific -- I figure that I can't find a more convenient place than right above the cruise terminal.

 

[Smileneyes]

Hi! My DH, mom, sister, BIL and 15 year old nephew will be on this cruise. We're all very excited!

Wendy, welcome to the gang! Feel free to join in on the festivities. As you can probably tell by the posts, we're all getting excited, now that we're close to the 100 day mark!!!

--Drew

P.S. Good to see another Tortola cruiser...when did you sail? We have a couple of us on here from the mid-June cruise...myself and DVCMary.

 

[Weedy]

I'm Louise, Weedy is a childhood nickname. We got
Palo Wednesday 11 am
Skagway - Mammoth Waterfalls and Ultra Zipline Adventure - 11:45-3:45
Juneau - Mandenhall Glacier Float Trip - 11:45-3:45
Ketchikan - Lumber Jack Show - 4:30-6:30
Palo - Monday Day 7 8pm

We can't wait for the trip