May 21, 2012 - Mickey's Mooseketeers Take Alaska 2012!

[MSTXMOM]

we are the last window... opens after DH's birthday... that's okay, am hoping we'll still be able to choose what we want... and if not, well, we have second (and third) choices! I couldn't figure out the quote thing so I just changed the font.

You can also try once on board. On our last cruise we were not able to get into Palo's at all on line. As soon as we boarded the ship a castmember asked if we needed anything so we told her we wanted to try and book Palo's. She walked us over to a room where we were able to book not only brunch but also dinner. Maybe Disney holds some reservations back?

Looking forward to meeting all the mother-daughter cruisers. Aren't we lucky to have grown children that not only love us but enjoy being with us enough to spend a whole week in a small cabin with us? We must have done something right!

 

[LeslieG]

Where is everyone staying pre-cruise in Vancouver? The prices are so high! Is there any decent hotel that's not ultra expensive?

 

[ljhayes]

Where is everyone staying pre-cruise in Vancouver? The prices are so high! Is there any decent hotel that's not ultra expensive?

We're staying at the St. Regis. I think it was $210 and change Canadian dollars plus tax (breakfast included) with the AAA discount. Not sure if that counts as expensive

 

[big jack 2002]

We are staying at a hotel called Blue Horizon. And, you are right. They are expensive!!
We are taking the train from Seattle to Vancouver on Saturday morning so we are just staying two nights in Vancouver. We are hoping to take the hop on-hop off trolley and see a few things Saturday afternoon and Sunday.
Barbara

 

[Tiresius]

Where is everyone staying pre-cruise in Vancouver? The prices are so high! Is there any decent hotel that's not ultra expensive?

We picked Blue Horizon. It seemed reasonable, both in terms of price and location. We aren't all that picky though, so weren't looking for something super nice.

 

[tlynk]

Some of the people traveling with us are staying at the Moda in Vancouver and we are staying at the Sheridan Wall Centre. We both bought our rooms on Hotwire.

 

[LeslieG]

I was looking at the Blue Horizon also. We are flying into Seattle on Sat. night, and I was originally planning to sightsee Seattle on Sunday and take the train up Monday morning. But the more I think about it, I think I'd like to spend some time in Vancouver, so I'm thinking of taking the train Sunday morning instead.

Our flight leaves out of Seattle going home at 3:00, so we'd actually have time to do a little sightseeing in Seattle on disembarkation morning. Possibly even will take one of Disney's post-cruise Seattle excursions so I don't have to worry about what to do with luggage.

What rates did you get at Blue Horizon?

 

[mkladypink]

we are staying at the Holiday Inn Express for around $100 with my SILs corp. discount

 

[A Litle Pixie Dust]

Where is everyone staying pre-cruise in Vancouver? The prices are so high! Is there any decent hotel that's not ultra expensive?

We are staying on the ship We are on the cruise before this one but when we were researching last year - it was expensive!

We are staying a couple of days in Seattle instead after the cruise.

 

[Tiresius]

I was looking at the Blue Horizon also. We are flying into Seattle on Sat. night, and I was originally planning to sightsee Seattle on Sunday and take the train up Monday morning. But the more I think about it, I think I'd like to spend some time in Vancouver, so I'm thinking of taking the train Sunday morning instead.

Our flight leaves out of Seattle going home at 3:00, so we'd actually have time to do a little sightseeing in Seattle on disembarkation morning. Possibly even will take one of Disney's post-cruise Seattle excursions so I don't have to worry about what to do with luggage.

What rates did you get at Blue Horizon?

I don't know exactly what we ended up with as a rate for Blue Horizon, somewhere in the $150 range. But, like you are contemplating, we decided that we wanted to take the train up on Sunday after flying in Saturday, so we compensated for the pricier Vancouver hotel with a cheaper Seattle Hotel. We are staying both that Sat. night and then the Monday after the cruise (couldn't find a flight until Tuesday) at the Moore in Seattle, for under $100 a night.

 

[big jack 2002]

How are you planning on getting to the port from the hotel? My DH says we can take a cab but I have no idea how much that will cost. I think I am going to call the hotel and see what they can tell me about our options.
Barbara

 

[C&Apriputin]

can't figure out the quote part...

anyway, we're actually going to fly into Victoria, spend the weekend there at a B&B and then ferry over to Vancouver on Monday morning... still need to make the after cruise reservation as we don't fly out of Seattle until Tuesday morning...

going to be fun to try and meet everyone!!

 

[stitch_mama]

We chanced it with Travelocity's top secret hotels and ended up at the Hotel Le Soleil, an all suites boutique hotel located a couple of blocks from the pier, for $140 per night. We're flying into Vancouver on Saturday (thought we should try to get the kids adjusted to the 3 hour time difference before getting on the ship). Oddly enough, we live in Canada (near the U.S. border), but flights into Vancouver from our hometown (and even Toronto) were super expensive, so we're flying into Vancouver from Detroit! Bizarre...

 

[macman752]

Greetings Alaska adventurers! I've been lurking this thread long enough and as it's almost time to book our shore excursions, I thought it time to jump in:

Dis name: macman752
Names of traveling: Dave (macman752) and DW Sally
Cabin Number: 6628
Early/Late dining: Late
FE? (Yes/No) No
Secret Mickey Interest? (Yes/No) No
Celebrating: Life!

We fly in to Seattle on the 19th and will be taking the train to Vancouver on the morning of the 20th. Looks like we are not the only ones who have booked the Blue Horizon in Vancouver.

 

[LeslieG]

What is everyone planning to do Sunday afternoon after checking into the Blue Horizon? We're thinking of renting bikes at Stanley Park and maybe going to the aquarium. Any other ideas for the afternoon?

 

[Disneyana'sAunt]

Hi everyone! We've had this cruise booked for awhile but was not sure if we were going to keep it or move it. But it's now a keeper! We also booked the cruise before this one today! We're super excited about both! It will be my sister, my niece(12 years old) and me. We would like to participate in the FE if it's still open. Thanks!

Janice

 

[Chilly]

We are at the Blue Horizen as well! We're there for 4 nights though.

Maybe as there are so many of us staying there we could share some sort of minibus to the cruise ship?

 

[Tiresius]

How are you planning on getting to the port from the hotel? My DH says we can take a cab but I have no idea how much that will cost. I think I am going to call the hotel and see what they can tell me about our options.
Barbara

Honestly, I think we were planning on walking. Looking at directions, its less than a mile from the hotel to the port, which is a fairly reasonable walking distance. Yes, we will have luggage, but it has wheels for the most part, and a 20 min walk isn't too bad. But our plan was to scope it out on Sunday and decide if we needed a taxi instead.

What is everyone planning to do Sunday afternoon after checking into the Blue Horizon? We're thinking of renting bikes at Stanley Park and maybe going to the aquarium. Any other ideas for the afternoon?

Aquarium and Stanley Park are currently on our agenda, although mom thinks that a Sunday afternoon on Victoria Day weekend sounds like about the most crowded possible time and it might not be any fun at all. So we are possibly rethinking that plan.

We are thinking about doing a flightseeing plane though on Monday morning. There are flights from the port/dock/pier in the morning, take you up into/over the mountains, will hold luggage for you, and will add a bit of flair to the day for about half the cost of any of the flightseeing trips in Alaska itself. So that's an idea for anyone looking for a pre-cruise/pre-boarding morning activity in the same area.

We are at the Blue Horizen as well! We're there for 4 nights though.

Maybe as there are so many of us staying there we could share some sort of minibus to the cruise ship?

This could work too. Although if we all end up with different timelines, its a bit stickier.

 

[Tiresius]

We are at the Blue Horizen as well! We're there for 4 nights though.

Maybe as there are so many of us staying there we could share some sort of minibus to the cruise ship?

Alternatively, how many of us are taking the train up from Seattle on Sunday morning and then checking into the Blue Horizon from there? That could be an even better leg of the trip to share transportation, as the train station to hotel looks to require 2 public buses or a longer taxi ride. If there are several other families who need to get from the train station on Sunday to the Blue Horizon (or other similar area hotels), maybe we can figure something shared out.

 

[Chilly]

Honestly, I think we were planning on walking. Looking at directions, its less than a mile from the hotel to the port, which is a fairly reasonable walking distance. Yes, we will have luggage, but it has wheels for the most part, and a 20 min walk isn't too bad. But our plan was to scope it out on Sunday and decide if we needed a taxi instead.



Aquarium and Stanley Park are currently on our agenda, although mom thinks that a Sunday afternoon on Victoria Day weekend sounds like about the most crowded possible time and it might not be any fun at all. So we are possibly rethinking that plan.

We are thinking about doing a flightseeing plane though on Monday morning. There are flights from the port/dock/pier in the morning, take you up into/over the mountains, will hold luggage for you, and will add a bit of flair to the day for about half the cost of any of the flightseeing trips in Alaska itself. So that's an idea for anyone looking for a pre-cruise/pre-boarding morning activity in the same area.



This could work too. Although if we all end up with different timelines, its a bit stickier.

Alternatively, how many of us are taking the train up from Seattle on Sunday morning and then checking into the Blue Horizon from there? That could be an even better leg of the trip to share transportation, as the train station to hotel looks to require 2 public buses or a longer taxi ride. If there are several other families who need to get from the train station on Sunday to the Blue Horizon (or other similar area hotels), maybe we can figure something shared out.

We're flying in from the UK so no train for us. Sounds like we could have multiple pre-meets!

If its just a mile we'll probably walk then as we got new 4 wheel light weight luggage for Christmas so hopefully it'll be no problem and we'll be doing a mile between our house and the train station when we're in the UK anyway.