Just got back from AK... Any questions?

[Nike4000]

@Nike4000
1. Bugs ... I don't ever remember bugs being an issue.
2. Skagway - Klondike Gold Fields ... Cheesy but the kids enjoyed it. You pan for gold (every pan is seeded with gold so everyone is a winner), learn about sled dogs (we had someone that ran the Iditirod talk us thru the race), lunch, learn about pop/beer, go inside a -40 room and smores. One note is that you can do same thing as a walk up. Its the "Big Nugget" Tour and the bus ride is $2 from the dock.
Juneau - Split day.
Ziplining - Great day. Trip out to Mendenhall (sp) and then ziplining (5 lines). You finish with ax throwing and smores
Deluxe Tour - Wife and younger kids liked it. 90 min at Mendenhall. Rain forest tour. Salmon hatchery.
Ketchikan - Saxman village & lumberjack show. RIP OFF!!!!! Lumberjack show is well worth the money. Kids loved it. Saxman Village we didn't like. While some of the info was interesting, none of the adults thought there was any value. Lots of little things.
3. We over packed if anything. Expected to layer everyday and didn't need to.

Many thanks! This is extremely helpful information. We debated pre-booking the Saxman Villiage and Lumberjack Show, but opted not to. Sounds like we made a good decision. If we're feeling saucy, we may head over and just go to the lumberjack show, since we've heard from multiple people that it's lots of fun. Again, thanks for the info!

Nike4000- we are on the July 11 sailing. 19 days to go! I am loving all this information that our fellow disboarder's are sharing!!

I'm sure you're feeling the same way we are, that our cruise can't get here fast enough!

 

[xavier2001]

This is of critical importance to our trip:

Was Princess Tiana on board for met and greets?

She was a part of the ticketed Princess gathering so YES! She also has a great scene in the Golden Mickeys.

 

[Raya]

She was a part of the ticketed Princess gathering so YES! She also has a great scene in the Golden Mickeys.

Thanks for letting me know! We were going to skip the Golden Mickey's, so that's super helpful!

 

[xavier2001]

Thanks for letting me know! We were going to skip the Golden Mickey's, so that's super helpful!

Don't skip it, it was the BEST show of the week and I'd venture to say the BEST show I've seen on any Disney ship. They just revamped it and its awesome!

 

[franandaj]

Hello! I saw that you posted you are Gold CC member so can you advise when the Platinum/Gold CC reception was? I was going to post a separate thread for it but thought I'd ask you first

Thanks,
Heather

Yes, this would be helpful! This is only our third cruise as Gold, we went to our first one, but never heard anything about the reception when we were on the Dream. I haven't even figured that into our schedule!

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

Yes, this would be helpful! This is only our third cruise as Gold, we went to our first one, but never heard anything about the reception when we were on the Dream. I haven't even figured that into our schedule!

I posted a separate thread and so far no responses so hopefully someone can chime in before cruise

Heather

 

[tankin]

@Tikitoi We did Capilano in Vancouver and most of us enjoyed it (my eldest is scared to death of heights and a group of HS students started shaking it as we walked across). Our zipline tour also had a bridge (eldest did fine with that one since we were roped in).

 

[Travelbug22]

Hat time did you go to Capilano bridge ? I heard it could get crowded and advice to go early. How's your experience here ? Thanks .

 

[ajo]

Hat time did you go to Capilano bridge ? I heard it could get crowded and advice to go early. How's your experience here ? Thanks .

We got there late morning (maybe 11:00-11:30) on a Sunday and the wait to cross the bridge was about 15-20 minutes. The bridge was crowded, although the rest of the areas didn't feel as crowded. I would go earlier to miss the crowds.

 

[sharksfinatic17]

Hat time did you go to Capilano bridge ? I heard it could get crowded and advice to go early. How's your experience here ? Thanks .

We went last year. We took the free shuttle to Grouse Mountain. Spent the morning there (lots and lots to do), and then took the free shuttle to Capilano (just ask the driver to stop). We took the city bus and a ferry back to Vancouver (super easy and cheap) and then went to a great dinner at the Flying Pig. It was a great day!! Oh, to answer your question - We did the above on a Sunday. We got to Capilano around 2:45 and left at 5:30. It wasn't very crowded at all.

 

[tnshsms]

Wondering about footwear for kids age 7 and 9. Will they be ok with sneakers and a back up pair, or do I need rain boots? Nothing worse than kids with cold wet feet.

For all our shoes (7yo included) I bought a waterproofing spray to put on my tennis shoes so we didn't need to buy new shoes for everyone. We only had 1 day of rain but it worked great. It was like $7 from Academy Sports and I would do it again!

 

[tankin]

@Travelbug22 We did Capilano on Sunday morning early (9ish?) had no wait to cross but there was a wait before we left. We did it as part of a tour that included it and Grouse Mountain (sorry no details my wife set it up through Expedia).