June 30, 2014 WONDER Alaska cruise meet

[WRUNDELL]

Me too! Will be here soon! Our 2nd time to Alaska. You will have a blast!

 

[lilmissy7789]

I have created a Facebook group for this cruise. We have done this a bunch of times, and it really is a lot of fun.

Click here to join the Dinsey Wonder 6/30/2014 Cruise to Alaska FB Group!

After you click the link to join, an admin (me or someone else) will accept your request. You will then be able to invite your friends and family who are cruising with you.

See you on FB!

Jerry

Woohoo! Just sent a request to join!! SUPER Excited about this cruise!! My 1st one Ever!!

 

[lilmissy7789]

We just recently booked on board for this cruise. We love sailing Alaska -- it will be our 4th Disney Alaska cruise so don't hesitate to ask us questions. We would love to join the FE group and facebook page also. Our sailing group includes my DH and DD (who will be 12 at sailing time).

I am going on my 1st cruise... Alaska in June... Is there anything SPECIFIC I should know.... anything you've learned that's helpful or a "must know" or "must see"....?

 

[lilmissy7789]

We have signed up for the June 30, 2014 Alaska cruise.

Me: Matthew (42)
DW: Karen (43)
DD: Veronica (14)

We requested the FB page also.

Us too!! So excited! My 1st cruise ever!! May I ask if you are doing any excursions? we are debating which ones... if we do any at all... They are all just so expensive... Whew....

 

[lilmissy7789]

I have created a Facebook group for this cruise. We have done this a bunch of times, and it really is a lot of fun.

Click here to join the Dinsey Wonder 6/30/2014 Cruise to Alaska FB Group!

After you click the link to join, an admin (me or someone else) will accept your request. You will then be able to invite your friends and family who are cruising with you.

See you on FB!

Jerry

YAY!! Cool, thanks for creating the page!! So excited to join!!

 

[lilmissy7789]

Hi and welcome aboard! Very much looking forward to the cruise! We live in Miami, FL and are flying into Seattle a few days early for some time there. We are then taking the train to Vancouver from Seattle. Was much cheaper than flying into Vancouver. I was fortunate enough to be able to use my airline miles to get home from Vancouver so we are only doing the train 1-way. Let me know if you have any travel or Disney Cruise quesetions. This will be our 4th Disney cruise!

May I ask which train you are taking? We are thinking QUICKBUS or something like that.. (I don't remember the name) from Seattle to Vancouver..... It was MUCH cheaper than flying to Van

 

[WRUNDELL]

We are taking Amtrak from Seattle to Vancouver on Sunday. It is the Cascades #510. Departs Seattle at 7:40am. Arrives Vancouver 11:40am. Cost was $200 for the four of us.

 

[WRUNDELL]

On our previous Alaska cruise, we spent a majority of our time just sitting on deck and watching the scenery. It is truly amazing and you can sit for hours and soak it in! Grab a blanket and a hot drink and enjoy!

As far as excursions go, yes they are pretty expensive, but if you shop around a bit they can be a bit more reasonable if you book on your own. In most cases, the company you book with will have cruise passengers on the same tour with you.

In Skagway we are doing the Sled dog and mushers camp tour with Alaska Excursions (alaskaexcursions.com). They come highly rated. Go to TripAdvisor and check out the ratings and reports from other travelers. That site has led me to some great tours, restaurants, etc!

In Ketchikan we are doing the Ketchikan Taxi Cab tours. It is run by a husband and wife team and they take you to a number of different places there. Also highly recommended by many on TripAdvisor.

In Juneau we are considering the Taku Lodge and Glacier flight. Cost has me hedging on this one, but I have heard amazing things about it and I may bite the bullet for the once in a lifetime experience!

Let me know if you have any other questions! It will be here before we know it!

 

[lilmissy7789]

We are taking Amtrak from Seattle to Vancouver on Sunday. It is the Cascades #510. Departs Seattle at 7:40am. Arrives Vancouver 11:40am. Cost was $200 for the four of us.

Ok! Thanks!

 

[GrtWtNorth]

There is a very detailed Vancouver FAQ thread, which includes a lot of discussion on transportation options. The train from Seattle to Vancouver is discussed in detail and the general consensus is that it is very pleasant when the train runs on time. However, if it is delayed for any reason, it's likely to be a 3-6 hour delay. If you're travelling the day of the cruise, this could cause you to miss the cruise. Please plan accordingly.

FYI, past delays have been caused by problems with the Amtrak train, problems with any of the numerous freight trains sharing the same track, land slides, border issues, intoxicated beach bums passing out on the tracks in White Rock...

 

[She Taz]

Welcome to the the Fish Extender Exchange Group for the June 30, 2014 Disney Wonder Alaska Cruise!

Hi

My name is Darla and I am organizing the fish extender group for our cruise. If you have posted in the previous spreadsheet please forward your information to this group as the other spreadsheet is not being updated. We have been posting a lot of information on our Facebook page.

If you'd like to join, please post the following information and be sure to subscribe to this thread to receive updates:

-- DISboard username
-- Cabin # (if you know it already)
-- Family Last Name (helps with personalizing family gifts)
-- First names of those participating, ages of kids in cabin and whether boys (B) or girls (G)
-- Favorite Disney character for each of the people in your cabin, if any (this helps if people make gifts specific to the people in the room)
-- Any special cruise celebrations
-- Any food allergies, etc

As families join, I'll post a master list of our group. That way, you can go back to that entry at anytime to see who all is in our group. The week after our cut-off has passed, I will make a spreadsheet of all the info., organized by deck for convenience, and either post it to Google Docs or you can PM with your e-mail so I can send it to you.

For those who are new to this fun cruise experience, the Fish Extender itself is a pocket panel you hang from the fish shaped hook outside your stateroom. These can be homemade or you can purchase them on sites like Etsy, you can also find some pictures on Google or DIS forums. Families that join the FE group hang the Fish Extender outside their cabin and then exchange little gifts with others participating in the group by putting little gifts in each others extenders.

It's a ton of fun, not just for kids, and you can either give one gift to each cabin, or a gift to each person in the cabin. You can give gifts a few times throughout the cruise or just once. No real set rules, just exchange and have fun! Gifts can be homemade or store bought. That's part of the fun . . . the variety of gifts that everyone brings!

All gifts should be delivered between the cruise leaving port on Monday June 30th and early evening on Sunday, July 6th. That will give people time to still be able to pack their bags on Sunday (they usually have to be outside cabin doors by 10:30 that evening) before we leave the ship on Monday morning.

Our group will close Wednesday, April 30th (2 months prior to sail date). This allows people plenty of time to order, make, assemble, personalize, etc their gifts. Thank you!!

If we see an outstanding response from willing participants we may divide the total list into smaller groups of 15 - 20 cabins per group. By doing this it is less running around from stateroom to stateroom so you may enjoy your vacation and not spend the entire time running around like crazy looking for different rooms. Plus it is less gifts to make or buy and less that you have to worry about packing and traveling with.

Darla

Don't forget to sign up for the Fish Extender group. It's not too late to get in on the fun. Cut off is Apr 30.

 

[lilmissy7789]

We are so excited!!! This is my 1st cruise & just can't wait!!! I'm trying to learn all I can ahead of time!! I'm already thinking of what to pack! Haha

 

[WRUNDELL]

I am game for Fishextender...never done it, but willing to try it....



-- DISboard username Wrundell
-- Cabin # (if you know it already) 7502
-- Family Last Name (helps with personalizing family gifts) Rundell
-- First names of those participating, ages of kids in cabin and whether boys (B) or girls (G) Bradley (10), Tyler (3)
-- Favorite Disney character for each of the people in your cabin, if any (this helps if people make gifts specific to the people in the room) 10 year old not any favorite....3 year old Mickey and anything Cars
-- Any special cruise celebrations none
-- Any food allergies, etc 3 year old peanut allergy

 

[Kaffers]

I was wondering if only families with young children are allowed to join the fish extender list. We are a family of 5 (in two staterooms) but my boys are older. I myself would be interested in putting goodies in other peoples fish extenders. Is that possible?

 

[lilmissy7789]

I just booked and went to look up the cruise meet and didn't find one so i am starting this. Who are all coming with us on this? We are a party of 4 , me, DH, DD(10) and DD(10).
So excited, but also realized from now until departure will be such a long and agonizing wait, so other people who are doing this jump in and we can give each other company during the excruciating wait

Less than 100 days now!! WooHoo!!! So excited!!!!!

 

[HappyMama3]

Hi! Glad to see there's a thread for this cruise! This will be our second cruise on Disney and first to Alaska. We are frequent WDW visitors.

We are starting to get excited with deadlines to sign up for excursions figured I better get started on the planning! Always behind....Any good recommendations for a day in Vancouver or excursions in other stops for ages 8-75?

We did the fish extender thing last cruise and it was tons of fun but my husband would kill me if I tried to pack anything else for our flight! 7 family members' luggage is enough!

 

[GrtWtNorth]

Any good recommendations for a day in Vancouver or excursions in other stops for ages 8-75?

Without knowing much about your family's specific interests, my advice will be overly generic. The Vancouver FAQ thread has a lot of information. The first page is quite generic, and most of the more recent posts are about hotels and transportation, with a bit of commentary on local attractions.

Option 1: Best of the free stuff -- visit Stanley Park. It takes about 30 minutes to walk along the waterfront from the cruise ship terminal to the edge of the park. In the park are a variety of free activities ranging from beaches and swimming (second or third beach on the west side), totem poles (in the middle), hiking trails, and giant trees (throughout). If you're willing to spend a bit of money, there are trolley tours, horse-drawn carriage rides, the Vancouver Aquarium, a swimming pool (for people who don't want to swim in the adjacent ocean). While every family is different, mine could spend the better part of a day here.

Stanley Park also offers a unique opportunity to watch cruise ships coming under the Lions Gate Bridge, usually around 6-7 am and 4-5 pm.
Holland America Statendam and Celebrity Century will be sailing out the day before our cruise departs.

Option 2: Grouse Mountain. Once you pay the Grouse Mountain admission, there are a lot of activities at no additional cost. The cable car ride is an attraction in and of itself. At the top of the mountain, you have an incredible view of the city and harbour. Grouse Mountain hosts one of the most realistic grizzly bear (same species as Alaska brown bear) exhibits. The two orphans raised here are relatively active and don't shy away from visitors. Also at the top of the mountain is a lumberjack show, a wildlife movie, and a handful of hiking trails. For a bit of extra $, family members could enjoy zip lines or the observation deck inside their wind turbine. I nearly forgot that they have a wolf enclosure at the base of the mountain. The wolf kept here was trained for the movie and is now a retired actor.

Option 3: Capilano Suspension Bridge. It's less active than Grouse Mountain, but very peaceful if you and your family can cross the chasm on the slightly swaying bridge. There are elevated platforms and walkways (like an Ewok village), but they don't go so far -- people who don't want to climb the stairs can easily keep up on the forest floor below. The view of the gorge is unique, but you will not be able to see other sights like you can on Grouse Mountain.

Option 4: Shopping. Metro Vancouver has a population of 2.5 million, so there's very little you can't find here. Tourist shops surround the port and the historic bits of Gastown (just east of the port). Historic Chinatown is adjacent to Gastown, but it is a bit inner-city-rough-around-the-edges. Pacific Place downtown has chic fashion. Granville Island is a glorified farmers market and artist district. Oakridge and Metrotown are the most comprehensive malls in the area. Vancouver is Canada's gateway to Asia, and the city contains a very high density of modern and clean shopping opportunities for all Asian cultures. The Aberdeen Mall, just south of the airport, is an excellent location to find Chinese and Japanese stores. There are also neighbourhoods full of Korean, Indian, and Vietnamese, just to name a few.

Option 5: Museums and Galleries. All cities have museums, but Vancouver has a couple that make it truly unique. The UBC Museum of Anthropology focuses on west coast native cultures, not just their art and totem poles. If you want to learn about the culture of the people that would think nothing of paddling a canoe full of oranges from California to Alaska, this is the place to go. The Vancouver Art Gallery is in the heart of downtown Vancouver. In addition to traditional art, it usually contains some new unique exhibitions. (On my last visit, I saw an exhibition of video game artwork.) If you have a vehicle and a desire to see some history, there are a couple other museums I consider unique. Steveston is about 30 minutes south of the port, at the mouth of the Fraser River. It is a historic fishing village with a cannery museum surrounded by restaurants and shopping as well as miles of river-front / seaside boardwalk. About 45 minutes east of the port is Fort Langley, a fur trading fort on the Fraser River. Fort Langley is also a good place to watch trains carrying every kind of good to and from the port of Vancouver. I've also heard good things about the mining museum in Squamish (45 minutes north of the port), but I've never visited it myself.

 

[Cali Tracy]

Hey experienced cruisers! Does anyone here have the scoop on DINING ROTATION for this trip? Sure would be helpful for planning purposes! (tonight - says the silver) On our previous cruise some genius was able to predict our rotation so we could schedule Palo without missing Animator's Palate first time.

 

[GrtWtNorth]

Hey experienced cruisers! Does anyone here have the scoop on DINING ROTATION for this trip? Sure would be helpful for planning purposes! (tonight - says the silver) On our previous cruise some genius was able to predict our rotation so we could schedule Palo without missing Animator's Palate first time.

I'm not smart enough to figure that out. I just booked mine for the last night of the cruise, when we are repeating restaurants anyway.

 

[GrtWtNorth]

Did anyone else book brunch for day 2 (first at-sea day)?