Let the packing begin! Alaska Wonder 5/31/2011

[dkmjgal]

Can't wait to hear all about it!

 

[PBader]

Looking forward to reading more

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

Ratings-On a scale from 1-10...

Fairmont Rim Hotel 10
This was booked through DCL. All I can say is that this place was A-MAZING! Just wait until I upload the pics! DH called downstairs just to ASK how much the room was per night...and you'll never guess...come on...try!!!

White Pass Railroad Excursion
DH 10...he played shutter bug the entire time!
Me...9...I was on the inside on the way up...on the way down I was on the outside and got to see all the scenery....but the screeching of the brakes as we went down was a bit rough...ok maybe a 9.5...
This also came with a champagne toast (sparkling cider for me!) Milano cookies...and bottled water. We also got a numbered ornament to commemorate our trip.

Gold Panning & Historic Tour (NOT BOOKED THROUGH DISNEY)
A solid 8.75
The guide was funny...but I didn't feel like we had enough time to really pan on our own. Everyone did go away with gold though!

Lumberjack Exclusive Through Disney
9
The place was packed and it was cool to see these lumberjacks really work! We had to do this instead of the Bering Sea Tour b/c their ship was broken DH and I were heart broken! However, DCL did NOT provide transportation and we had to walk from where the ship was docked to the excursion-which was a good distance away...The only good thing about that is that you could go at your leisure.

 

[DizC1288]

Ratings-On a scale from 1-10...

Fairmont Rim Hotel 10
This was booked through DCL. All I can say is that this place was A-MAZING! Just wait until I upload the pics! DH called downstairs just to ASK how much the room was per night...and you'll never guess...come on...try!!!

White Pass Railroad Excursion
DH 10...he played shutter bug the entire time!
Me...9...I was on the inside on the way up...on the way down I was on the outside and got to see all the scenery....but the screeching of the brakes as we went down was a bit rough...ok maybe a 9.5...
This also came with a champagne toast (sparkling cider for me!) Milano cookies...and bottled water. We also got a numbered ornament to commemorate our trip.

Gold Panning & Historic Tour (NOT BOOKED THROUGH DISNEY)
A solid 8.75
The guide was funny...but I didn't feel like we had enough time to really pan on our own. Everyone did go away with gold though!

Lumberjack Exclusive Through Disney
9
The place was packed and it was cool to see these lumberjacks really work! We had to do this instead of the Bering Sea Tour b/c their ship was broken DH and I were heart broken! However, DCL did NOT provide transportation and we had to walk from where the ship was docked to the excursion-which was a good distance away...The only good thing about that is that you could go at your leisure.

Did you do the gold panning at the Klondike mine?
did you book yourself or through Disney?

Train ride....did you do your self or with disney?
Was the train one way and then bus back? Any stops on the bus part?

thanks!

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

Did you do the gold panning at the Klondike mine?
did you book yourself or through Disney?

Train ride....did you do your self or with disney?
Was the train one way and then bus back? Any stops on the bus part?

thanks!

We did gold panning in Juneau. We booked it separately through Alaskan Tours. They were wonderful to deal with. Disney only had one space left and Alaskan Tours actually CALLED DCL and gave them more spaces...which was suppose to show up on DCL's website...never did...So, they lost the business and I booked directly through Alaskan Tours.

Train ride...booked through DCL...it was a train up and back. No bus part-except the short ride to and from the ship. (and do I mean short)

HTHs

 

[nzdisneymom]

Glad to hear the hotel was so great - we are heading that way ourselves. We also booked air and hotel through DCL for the same reasons as you - simplicity! We fly out this weekend.

Quick question -were you able to check in for the cruise right there at the hotel? (Fairmont Pacific Rim) And did they transfer your luggage for you from the hotel to the ship?

 

[Maribell]

We are staying at the Pacific Rim too and can't wait. It looks like a fantastic hotel. Glad you had a relaxing trip....looking forward to hearing more.

 

[PBader]

Pacific Rim booked throught DCL $350?

I did read lots of really nice things about it. Glad you enjoyed

We are at the Pan Pacific in August for 2 nights precruise, got a great deal through Hotwire for $135 a night. I am still trying to figure our where to stay our 1 night postcruise in Seattle.

 

[Dawncala]

Welcome back Petals! Congratulations on the baby and the new house. How exciting.

I hope you had as great a time as we did on the cruise. I'm looking forward to reading your report and seeing your photos.

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

Glad to hear the hotel was so great - we are heading that way ourselves. We also booked air and hotel through DCL for the same reasons as you - simplicity! We fly out this weekend.

Quick question -were you able to check in for the cruise right there at the hotel? (Fairmont Pacific Rim) And did they transfer your luggage for you from the hotel to the ship?

We checked in online before we left home. They did have us fill something out when we got there...but it wasn't like a full check in process. When we got to port we did the final 'check-in' and then we were off!

The hotel DID in fact transfer our luggage.

We are staying at the Pacific Rim too and can't wait. It looks like a fantastic hotel. Glad you had a relaxing trip....looking forward to hearing more.

You'll love it!

Pacific Rim booked throught DCL $350?

I did read lots of really nice things about it. Glad you enjoyed

We are at the Pan Pacific in August for 2 nights precruise, got a great deal through Hotwire for $135 a night. I am still trying to figure our where to stay our 1 night postcruise in Seattle.

Nice price...no they told DH is was $215 (did I typo that? Whoops) Place was wonderful!

Welcome back Petals! Congratulations on the baby and the new house. How exciting.

I hope you had as great a time as we did on the cruise. I'm looking forward to reading your report and seeing your photos.

Thank you...Everything is very exciting...and overwhelming! (but in a good way) We haven't even uploaded photos yet!

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

I'm still getting use to the time change...and had to be up at 5AM today...So, this will be my intro...although it might be short.
We found our we were pregnant 30 days before we were to leave for Vancouver. At first we didn't think our doc was going to let us go. We panicked and looked over our trip insurance...apparently pregnancy at any point was covered. I know that some people skip on the trip insurance. We never have. Our theory is plan for the worst and hope for the best. During our 2009 cruise we actually used it and it made it all worth it. So, we always get it-figuring we spend so much money for the trip...it can only take an instant to ruin it. So, we knew were would be covered if my doc dug his heals in. His reasoning was pretty simple. He didn't want something to happen out in the middle of the ocean. I learned pretty quickly that my doc is a pretty conservative guy....Not only did he need some persuading that we were going on this trip...but when I asked if I could take bonine or if he would write me a prescription for Zofran just in case..He said no. Nothing during the first trimester...NOT EVEN ZOFRAN-which 2 of my other friends have been given during their first trimester...AUGH!

So, all teary I went to my DH...who promptly got me a set of sea bands-these were wonderful. We also packed preggie pop drops-and all natural hard candy to curb nausea, peppermint candies, and black licorice to settle my stomach after large meals.

During my doc visit just before we were suppose to go he gave me his blessing...When I asked if I could eat the seafood he said "absolutely not." Now, I don't eat seafood..I don't even like seafood...but come on...ITS ALASKA! His reasoning was even though he knows that AK fish would be fine, he wasn't convinced that the waters were as pristine as most state. He's convinced someone is dumping something somewhere and didn't want me to risk it. I took this back to DH and he said "You can have a taste. You don't even like it anyway...and you'll probably only get down a taste." Ok fair enough.

Ok so I was most bummed about NOT being able to drink that lemony goodness in Palo that they give you at the end of the meal...Crushed was probably more the word...DH said I could have a taste of that too...Since a couple of sips wasn't going to do any harm. Thank goodness for DH being the voice of reason...

So, to whom ever in our FE that made the cookbooks and put the lemony goodness recipe in there THANK YOU!!!

After all this hub bub we finished packing and we were ready to go!

 

[TinkLoverSam]

Congratulations!!!!!

I can't wait to hear more about your trip but I had to say that first!

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

Congratulations!!!!!

I can't wait to hear more about your trip but I had to say that first!

Thank you!
There is a little lag in this report b/c we started really moving into the house this weekend and my computer was down. Have to wait for the grill to be delivered and the bed tomorrow...I should have enough time to write some more!

 

[lilpooh108]

Wow your doc IS conservative! When I was 3 months pregnant I went on a crazy 14 day three country trip to Europe and my doc told me to eat up and have a good time!

Looking forward to your TR!

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

Wow your doc IS conservative! When I was 3 months pregnant I went on a crazy 14 day three country trip to Europe and my doc told me to eat up and have a good time!

Looking forward to your TR!

Yeah. He is. When I got back he asked if I had any seafood..I said I had a taste, but didn't like it anyway...He just laughed... If it wasn't going to be a problem-they why not tell me just to have a taste...boys!

 

[JoeSchmieg]

Thanks for the report so far. Congrats on the new family member to be...

Question: How rough were the waters? I heard the first night is rough then it calms down, but also read that the stabilizer is not used and the Wonder rocks a lot even in the calmness of the inside passage. Amy thoughts would be helpful. We are on the 8/9 cruise!

 

[KathyM2]

Thanks for the report so far. Congrats on the new family member to be...

Question: How rough were the waters? I heard the first night is rough then it calms down, but also read that the stabilizer is not used and the Wonder rocks a lot even in the calmness of the inside passage. Amy thoughts would be helpful. We are on the 8/9 cruise!

Yes, I'd like to know this too! I hope what Joe heard isn't accurate because I am really worried about seasickness for myself and my son.

 

[Disneygrl36]

Subbing to hear all about your cruise.
We are cruising to Alaska next May (sadly not with DCL with Princess because my Mom needed to use points & can't with DCL) , so I am looking forward to hearing about your trip.

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

Thanks for the report so far. Congrats on the new family member to be...

Question: How rough were the waters? I heard the first night is rough then it calms down, but also read that the stabilizer is not used and the Wonder rocks a lot even in the calmness of the inside passage. Amy thoughts would be helpful. We are on the 8/9 cruise!

Honestly, I didn't feel that the waters were too bad. I wore seabands the entire time and had good luck with them...This pregnant girl only got motion sick ONCE for about an hour while we were in our stateroom packing. And for the record...this is a girl that gets motion sick at the drop of a hat...car/train/plane/rides/you name it...when she isn't pregnant and DH said that the seabands were a ton better and I didn't seem groggy all the time.

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

My poor deserted TR...For the record if I ever move again...I'll cry...Or at least hire someone to move for us or something...but SHEESH! I have a TR to write!

So, from the looks of it we didn't even get to the airport yet...So, lets start there. DH woke up before I did. I'm pretty certain we were too excited to sleep but we did our best to go to bed early-which didn't happen and we were both up before the crack of dawn. This help a ton while dealing with time change but we will get to that.

Now let me preface this first by saying when it comes to travel I'm a wee bit OCD...You have to get to the airport at least an hour and a half BEFORE your flight-especially for the early flights b/c the line at our airport is RIDICULOUS!
and TSA is worse...but boys will be boys and DH had to go through his entire morning rituals...Which did not calm my nerves at all...I felt like everything was moving in slow motion...and since DCL booked our flights and used United...whom I have never used to fly before...I was even more concerned...We are typically a JetBlue family and if we can't book there we book Delta...Never flew on United...had no clue what to expect...I went through all the motions the night before including making sure that our boarding passes were all set blah blah blah...As I waited for DH I double checked that we had everything...hoped that it was all balanced b/c as you all know...I waited until the last minute to pack...another thing that never happens.
After all of this Eeyore mode getting ready thing I was about to take my own car to the airport. DH didn't see what the big deal was. He offered to drop me off at the door (pointless b/c I would have to wait for him to check in anyway) So, I refused that. So, we parked and walked to the entrance...OH..Yeah..There was a line Deep cleansing breath...DH could see I was fuming...but nothing I could do about it now...he had to take for-EVER to get his day started...
We finally got to the ticket counter. The checked our passports and weighed our luggage...we were 8lbs over the 50 lb limit...AND the over charge for this was $100 ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? They weighed the other bag and there was more than enough room. Let me tell you what it is like to have to tear open your stuff in the middle of the airport to flip flop stuff around to get it all where it needed to be. We figured that out and then were given our boarding passes and sent on our way. Finally...
Then, we got in the line for TSA. This took forever and we finally made it through...Luckily neither one of us were stopped. We had a short time to eat...which translated into get bagel slather on cream cheese to see DH look at me and say "They're boarding. We've got to go!" Fabulous...So much for enjoying my airport breakfast and a quick potty break before we leave...but we were off!

*NOTE* Please understand that the typical travel OCD was only enhanced by the pregnancy hormones. So, dear DH...I'm sorry I was in such a rush...but I really wanted to get my bagel and to the bathroom before we left...