May 24, 2014 Alaskan 9 night Wonder

[tink1963]

Oh and the Bear Country excursion says seasonal (July-August) so we won't have any bear encounters? Does anyone know?

Which city are you looking at for the Bear excursion? We did the Bear excursion in Ketchikan when we sailed in Aug 2011. Awesome excursion too.I would be surprised if there are any when we sail. My DH is slightly bummed that he cant do another bear excursion. But having Sitka on the itinerary was what I wanted.

 

[MousseauMob]

Ok sorry, I'm just in a ranting mode right now. It's been a long day.

Rant away, you're among friends.

Oh and the Bear Country excursion says seasonal (July-August) so we won't have any bear encounters? Does anyone know?

I don't know about specific bear excursions, but when we went to Sitka late May we did their Sea Otter and Wildlife Excursion and there was a bear on shore feeding on the grass that we watched for quite some time. The guides said May was kind of early as the bears are just waking and starting to forage. Here's a picture.

 

[chris31997]

I was thinking about this the other day and forgot to ask until now. How do people handle getting cash for going to Alaska? Well ok, not really Alaska but leaving from Vancouver. I was thinking of just dealing with an ATM when we got there (then there are the fees) plus, I don't want nothing but $20 to tip a bellboy/cab driver/whoever so do I get a little at the bank before we leave? We are only spending a day before and a day after there but I know I will need some cash. And I don't want to have a bunch left over after. Sure we are only about 3hr from Montreal but it isn't like we go there hahaha. I have however thought about going there and hitting an ATM and spend some so I have change ahaha. Yeah so not worth the gas prices I think

What did those of you who have been there do? What is everyone else thinking of doing?

Another option would be to ask the front desk for change after you hit an ATM or to change US$$ for CAN$$


Man, you guys have been busy.

Any wildlife would be cool. Might have to real check into a dive excursion for my fish,I mean my DH and DD We would really like to pan for gold, maybe pay for the trip

Sitka info would be real nice. Let's get on the ball DCL. Got things to plan

I do have to say thu, I am really excited to hear about the big Kid stuff. I am looking forward to the Adult stuff on this trip. Even though this is a grad gift for DD, I can't wait to do adult stuff But I am finding it harder and harder to keep my mouth shut. Oh, Christmas get here sooner

 

[pequele]

Which city are you looking at for the Bear excursion? We did the Bear excursion in Ketchikan when we sailed in Aug 2011. Awesome excursion too.I would be surprised if there are any when we sail. My DH is slightly bummed that he cant do another bear excursion. But having Sitka on the itinerary was what I wanted.

I forget what city it is in (not the one with Liarsville because we are going to do that). Ollie will be bummed but after reading something in the Alaska excursion feedback post some one said they were just there and their guide (on a different excursion) said the salmon are spawning later so the bear haven't been around really yet. So I guess it make sense that if it is early for salmon it will be early for bear. Guess that means we have to go to Alaska again some time ahaha.

Rant away, you're among friends.

I don't know about specific bear excursions, but when we went to Sitka late May we did their Sea Otter and Wildlife Excursion and there was a bear on shore feeding on the grass that we watched for quite some time. The guides said May was kind of early as the bears are just waking and starting to forage. Here's a picture.

http://s6.photobucket.com/user/MousseauMob/media/Alaska 2011/DSC02404.jpg.html

Ok THAT sounds awesome! I hope DCL will do that excursion. I bet he would like that. It would be even better if the bear shows up again too but something, anything animal better show up somewhere haha.

Another option would be to ask the front desk for change after you hit an ATM or to change US$$ for CAN$$

Man, you guys have been busy.

Any wildlife would be cool. Might have to real check into a dive excursion for my fish,I mean my DH and DD We would really like to pan for gold, maybe pay for the trip

Sitka info would be real nice. Let's get on the ball DCL. Got things to plan

I do have to say thu, I am really excited to hear about the big Kid stuff. I am looking forward to the Adult stuff on this trip. Even though this is a grad gift for DD, I can't wait to do adult stuff But I am finding it harder and harder to keep my mouth shut. Oh, Christmas get here sooner

Oh good point about the desk after an ATM. only problem may be tipping from the airport to hotel though. I'm sure I will figure it out.

I know. DCL needs to bring up stuff for Sitka just for us. Hopefully after the last cruise they will. I don't want to wait until January!!! I agree about wildlife viewing, any of it will be cool, unfortunately I'm afraid how bummers my 4 yo may be without a bear!! Ahaha.

 

[MousseauMob]

Woo Hoo they finally updated the Juneau Fluke/Whale Catalog and my whale is number 0221 and if you click it I'm listed as the photographer. http://www.juneauflukes.org/juneau-catalog.html I'm such a nerd.

Ok THAT sounds awesome! I hope DCL will do that excursion. I bet he would like that. It would be even better if the bear shows up again too but something, anything animal better show up somewhere haha.

There's a huge colony of Sea Otters so I don't think you can miss wildlife on this excursion. It came highly recommended, including ship crew. I'm sure DCL will offer it.

 

[chris31997]

I forget what city it is in (not the one with Liarsville because we are going to do that). Ollie will be bummed but after reading something in the Alaska excursion feedback post some one said they were just there and their guide (on a different excursion) said the salmon are spawning later so the bear haven't been around really yet. So I guess it make sense that if it is early for salmon it will be early for bear. Guess that means we have to go to Alaska again some time ahaha.




Ok THAT sounds awesome! I hope DCL will do that excursion. I bet he would like that. It would be even better if the bear shows up again too but something, anything animal better show up somewhere haha.



Oh good point about the desk after an ATM. only problem may be tipping from the airport to hotel though. I'm sure I will figure it out.

I know. DCL needs to bring up stuff for Sitka just for us. Hopefully after the last cruise they will. I don't want to wait until January!!! I agree about wildlife viewing, any of it will be cool, unfortunately I'm afraid how bummers my 4 yo may be without a bear!! Ahaha.

We can't disappoint your lil one. He has been thru alot

Just hope he gets thru all these ailens growing out of his neck

Woo Hoo they finally updated the Juneau Fluke/Whale Catalog and my whale is number 0221 and if you click it I'm listed as the photographer. http://www.juneauflukes.org/juneau-catalog.html I'm such a nerd..

That is cool. Embrace your inner-nerdness

 

[pequele]

Woo Hoo they finally updated the Juneau Fluke/Whale Catalog and my whale is number 0221 and if you click it I'm listed as the photographer. http://www.juneauflukes.org/juneau-catalog.html I'm such a nerd.

That's awesome! So does that mean you found a "new" whale tail?

There's a huge colony of Sea Otters so I don't think you can miss wildlife on this excursion. It came highly recommended, including ship crew. I'm sure DCL will offer it.

Oh that is awesome, I told him about the sea otters and I got a blank stare then I mentioned how someone mentioned that they saw a bear on their trip with the sea otters and he was so excited! Needless to say, he is sold on the sea otters now I did warn him there may be no bears, it was just a chance we can see them. Now DCL needs to do it He also said he wants to look at Alaska pictures again tomorrow, "you know before school (which is really camp) and after school and before bed and before Nana comes over"....wow kid, do you want to pack tomorrow, too?

He did let me know he thought we should remember to pack our coats because Alaska might be cold I told him I'd put that on the packing list!

We also talked about some of the other excursions. I told him we will definitely "dig" for gold (Liarsville) and Donald and the chipmunks will be there so he is all over that one. Then I mentioned how we could ride on sleds pulled by dogs...again, blank stare ....um, like Santa in his sleigh but dogs and not reindeer and then we can pet the puppies (didn't get a very good response, I'm shocked!) . Or we can go on a trip where you will be given your own camera and they will teach you how to take good pictures and then take us to see the whales and the pretty ice mountain.... "ooooo yeah, I want a camera, I want to do that one!" Wow, over doggies? Seriously, I'm shocked haha. Then in the other port I told him there was a lumberjack show
wow, tough crowd. Or we can go to a place (Annette Island?) and you can make your own drum. "I want to make my own drum and get a camera!" I guess the 4 yo has spoken! Now I just need to research them a bit more to be sure these will be ok and worth it.

So does anyone know anything about these since I know some of you have been on the trip before:
1. Annette Island Cultural Celebration with Exclusive Family Activity in Ketchikan
2. Liarsville Gold Rush Trail Camp and Salmon Bake Featuring Exclusive Disney Character Experience in Skagway
3. Alaska's Whales & Glaciers Photo Safari in Juneau

Thanks!

 

[pequele]

We can't disappoint your lil one. He has been thru alot

Just hope he gets thru all these ailens growing out of his neck

hahah I know right! We've been posting at the same time. I'm soooo done with doc appointments. Who's kid do you know, when he's headed to one of the doctors' offices, says "am I having surgery today? I LOVE SURGERY!" yeh THIS one! *SMH!*

 

[MousseauMob]

That is cool. Embrace your inner-nerdness

That's awesome! So does that mean you found a "new" whale tail?

Yep! As a matter of fact it was on the Photo Safari, you have listed below. It wasn't DCL but reading the excursion it reads like the exact same thing, my guess is it is the same provider. A friend of mine did it in 2010 and highly recommended it, so when we went back in 2011 we did it. The photographer is the one that encouraged me to submit my whale fluke picture, he helped us look through the catalog to see if it had been identified before and had me take a picture of the detailed map so when I submitted it I could give the exact details of where the boat was at the time.

.... I guess the 4 yo has spoken! Now I just need to research them a bit more to be sure these will be ok and worth it.

Loved this story!

BTW - for anyone interested, just up from the Lumberjack show in Ketchikan is the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center which was fun and economical.

 

[chris31997]

hahah I know right! We've been posting at the same time. I'm soooo done with doc appointments. Who's kid do you know, when he's headed to one of the doctors' offices, says "am I having surgery today? I LOVE SURGERY!" yeh THIS one! *SMH!*

He does have his own mind

Camera and drums

I'm good with wanting a camera. Drum not so much too much noise, and my DS makes enough noise

We are gonna Liarsville also

 

[pequele]

He does have his own mind

Camera and drums

I'm good with wanting a camera. Drum not so much too much noise, and my DS makes enough noise

We are gonna Liarsville also

I'm hoping it is a quiet drum or it may be a lost drum


Have you guys seen this thread http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2991753

I know some have as I've seen you there. I thought I was obsessed with packing! Seriously though I am going to try to follow the tips to pair it down. It's just myself and my son on this trip, at least when Nana goes we are able to have a few more bags and a few more hands. This will be interesting. I do not want to spend time doing laundry on the cruise! Anyone know what the pricing is to have the cabin stewards run some laundry for you? I wouldn't want full loads, but possibly some tshirts and pants perhaps...or will it be cheaper to pay for a whole other suit case on the plane

 

[Jackson's grammie]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------CruznLexi posted this on the disboard

I just got home from Seattle and thought I would give insight on how to get from Seattle to Vancouver. I flew SW from florida and spent the night with some friends in Ballard. I took the light rail to Westlake and it was a cheap $ 2.75 the next am I was dropped at Amtrak at 630 am. It was sort of confusing which line to stand in but found out I needed to drop my bag off first. Make sure you have a ticket and not a receipt. I then got inline for business class. I got a AAA rate of $57 for business class coach class was going for $29 this train did sell out. I asked to sit on the left side which is the water side. You also get a voucher for food of $3 and get off early and have free wifi. You board at 720 am and they stop bags @ 700am. So don't be late! We left exactly at 740am and made several stops on the way there is no time to get off. The line for food was quite longs but took about. 20 min. You can only buy breakfast items no hamburgers or clam chowder. As you get close to the boarder you will be asked to show your passport and are given a customs form. The majority of the trip you will hug the coast line. I was traveling by myself as I was meeting people in Vancouver so I had a single seat. Business class had large bathrooms in each car. Once in Vancouver customs clears each car while all the bags are unloaded next to the fence line and then they will tell you when it is cleared to get off. Customs was at the entrance to the terminal and took less than a minute. Being from North America they will not stamp your passport unless you ask. I was staying at the Pan Pacific so I took a Taxi as I was tired of lugging my duffle and carryon. The cost was $10. If you are going out of Vancouver spend the extra money and stay at the Pan Pacific the cost for 2 nights was $ 566. Pricy I know but most of everything close to the cruise terminal was over $200. The cruise terminal is right at the Pan Pacific! If you have an ocean view room you will see either the Wonder or another cruise ship outside your room on boarding day! The am of the cruise you go to the ground floor and you are there. Bell services will take your bags and deliver them to the ship. On the return I took Quick Shuttle back to Seattle which was the exact cost of the train. The train for the return does not have a am train but one that leaves around 630pm. I made sure I had first tags off which on this cruise was Ariel. I went to guest services early on Sat to make sure. I left the ship at the end of self debarkation which was around. 820 am as soon as I got off I picked up my knife and went to customs and saw my bag and a minute or so later they opened it so I could get my bag as self debarkation was still going on. The bus was to leave at 9am. This was a non issue. I made it on plenty of time. We stopped at customs where you had to take all your carry on's off and go through customs with it. The bags did not. There is a snack and candy machine in there too. We reached downtown before 1pm and were at sea tack by 1pm. If you are flying out of Seattle go early! The line for SW was long as was security.all in all my planes and train experience was great and I can't wait to go back. I would do Alaska again in a second. My Alaska cruise was cheaper than a 7 day Fantasy cruise!
CruznLexi is online now Report Post

 

[cmcgospurs]

I'm starting to do more in-depth research for excursions. In Juneau we (myself & DH) would like to do whale watching and are considering booking with Harv & Marv. If anyone else is interested and has a party of 3 or 4 and would like to book the Marv special #2, which is a private tour for 5-6 people, or any of the private ones, please let me know.

I think we might be interested if you are still looking at this. We are a group of 4 (full disclosure: 3 adults and an almost 5 yr old at time of sailing). The child is well behaved, but I completely understand if you would rather have all adults.

 

[threebritts]

Woo Hoo they finally updated the Juneau Fluke/Whale Catalog and my whale is number 0221 and if you click it I'm listed as the photographer. http://www.juneauflukes.org/juneau-catalog.html I'm such a nerd.

There's a huge colony of Sea Otters so I don't think you can miss wildlife on this excursion. It came highly recommended, including ship crew. I'm sure DCL will offer it.

That is really neat. Tom got a great pic in 2011 too when we were on Harv and Marvs tour. Looking forward to seeing more of them in may and June.

 

[MousseauMob]

Does anyone have experience, recommendations or suggestions about Astoria, OR? DS is a budding filmmaker and is hearing the call of the Goonies! So, we're looking to maybe include a trip down post-cruise. Any details provided is greatly appreciated!

That is really neat. Tom got a great pic in 2011 too when we were on Harv and Marvs tour. Looking forward to seeing more of them in may and June.

I'd love to see the pic! BTW - did you see the recent thread about Harv and Marvs? I think this is the link. http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3131722

 

[Himmin]

Hey all, been a while since I checked in so thought I would say hi!!

Me and my husband were looking through the DCL Excersions and for the three ports you can see atm we saved 44 excersions to the favs!!! Its gona be a hard time choosing what we do!!

 

[MousseauMob]

Hey all, been a while since I checked in so thought I would say hi!!

Me and my husband were looking through the DCL Excersions and for the three ports you can see atm we saved 44 excersions to the favs!!! Its gona be a hard time choosing what we do!!

Choosing is definitely a challenge!

 

[MousseauMob]

We're looking at Takshanuk Mountain Trail 4x4 for Skagway, and maybe Dog Sled Summer Camp for Juneau, giving us lots of additional time to explore on our own.

 

[pequele]

Hey all, been a while since I checked in so thought I would say hi!!

Me and my husband were looking through the DCL Excersions and for the three ports you can see atm we saved 44 excersions to the favs!!! Its gona be a hard time choosing what we do!!

hahaha I know we were up there in numbers, too but I tried to whittle it back some to hopefully make it a little easier. Then I thought I better not cut it back too much, what if they don't offer what we want next year! EEEK!

The last cruise to Alaska this year is Labor Day (Sept 2 for those not in the US!). Wonder how long it will take before they put port activities up for Sitka? Anyone want to take a venture? I hope it is Sept 3

And I just wanted to remind the new people in case they missed it on the 1st page, but we do also have a facebook page for anyone who wants to join us there, too!

 

[threebritts]

Does anyone have experience, recommendations or suggestions about Astoria, OR? DS is a budding filmmaker and is hearing the call of the Goonies! So, we're looking to maybe include a trip down post-cruise. Any details provided is greatly appreciated!

I'd love to see the pic! BTW - did you see the recent thread about Harv and Marvs? I think this is the link. http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3131722

Im glad they got good reviews and they should for as nice as they are and accomadating.Ill try to post some of thw pics when im home.Looking forward to seeing you all again.I think were staying in vancouver 2 days prior.Lots to see and do there.