MUSH! Going to Alaska - August 19, 2013 7 Night from Vancouver

[IrishCowboy]

I have added your thread to the cruise meet list

Have a great cruise!

 

[ThePhantomsGirl]

Is anyone considering adding the Adventures by Disney (ABD) option when they release the bookings?

My head is spinning from all the possible options. I went ahead and booked the cruise after this one as a possible B2B. I was able to snag a "secret veranda" cabin on that week. Along with the OBB, 10% discount, and the deposit I'd already paid on the dummy booking, it ended up being very attractive.

BUT, there are so many other options and decisions... Good thing we have almost a year and a half (16 months actually I think) until the cruise.

It wasn't until researching more the other day that I even found out about ABD. Sounds very interesting, but of course very expensive!

Aby - did you do any excursions?

 

[Aby]

I thought about doing the ABD add-on last year, but I decided it just wasn't for me. While it was cool that you got to do all the best excursions and have a personal guide, I thought it would just be too busy squeezing everything in like that. I'm pretty laid back, and I wanted to have more time to myself than I thought the ABD would allow based on all it looked like they were going to do.

My hubby and I booked an excursion in every port, all booked with Disney. In Skagway, we did the White Pass Railroad Steam Train excursion which was amazing, but I think once is enough so we won't do that again. In Juneau, sadly, the weather did not co-operate and most excursions were cancelled (we had a whale watching one booked on a small boat). Some of the larger whale watching boats still went, but they didn't see more than a couple small whale tails and the people said it was kind of miserable. In Ketchikan we did the Mountain Point Snorkeling adventure which was really cool! The sea life was pretty amazing, and the guide said they even see whales regularly (we did not).

Next year, we will likely only book our whale watching trip that we didn't get to go on. Not because we didn't have fun but because I didn't feel like we had enough time left over in the ports to really get to see the towns and shop as much as I would have liked. We might do some short excursions, but not any of the long ones for sure.

Aby

 

[tink1963]

Good Morning All,

I thought I would share our excursions we did last year. In Skagway we did the best of Skagway. It was good, but I think next time we will just do the WPRR. I loved the train ride. Liarsvill was cool too, but not sure about doing it again.

Juneau we did whale watching. I did like this other then the family that brought the infant and stroller on a boat that did not really have room for a stroller kinda stunk. Might do whale watching again. We did see a lot of whales. After the whale watching, which was in the morning, we had some lunch, Tracy's Crab shack for me, (really good) we took the blue bus to Mendenhall Glacier. This was fun, cause we could catch the bus back anytime we wanted since we weren't with an organized group. We spent most of our time there in the creek area, where we were lucky to see a bear up close as she/he was fishing for salmon. The bear did get a fish and proceed to eat lunch right under us. This is where it was nice not to have a scheduled bus to catch. So many people around us had to leave. We were able to stay and watch the bear as long as we wanted.

Ketchikan- We did the Seasonal Bear excursion. This was by far the highlight of our trip. We were a small group (8 including the guide), where he takes you into the rainforest. The bear watching was amazing. It was made up of paths throught the forest and suspension bridges and platforms to view the bears. I lost count as to how many bears were there. Lots of mothers with cubs. We for sure are doing this excursion again.

 

[socababy]

I was reading the Alaska excursion thread this weekend and my head is spinning as well! There are a lot of neat looking things to do but I have to take into consideration that I will have a 10, 8 and 5 year old with me. I don't know if I want to be on a 7 hr excursion with them on the off chances they get bored. I can only hear "when is it going to be over" so many times before I lose my sanity! LOL

When Dh and I did our Alaskan cruise on HA, we did the small float planes that flew over the Misty Fjords in Ketchikan. That was a lot of fun. We did a couple other excursions but can't remember what port they were in. I'll have to look that up tonight.

The Seasonal Bear excursion sounds cool! I've added it to my list but my list for Ketchikan is growing. Hopefully I can fir more than one thing in. I am sure my kids would love the lumberjack show. I love the show Deadliest Catch so I am interested in going on a Bering Sea Crab boat. Decisions, decisions!

 

[ThePhantomsGirl]

I think my head is spinning so much from the options and decisions, I think I might resemble the girl from the Exorcist.

It does help to hear what other people have done, and their thoughts on things. No two people are the same as far as likes and dislikes, but it does give some good food for thought.

The ABD add on sounds so tempting, but I also have the same concern you had Aby - that it might be too on-the-go type of thing. But then it has some really good stuff. (insert me right here "X" with head spinning) I'll probably drive myself nuts before the final decision. I'll try not to drive the rest of you nuts...

I know I want to do the White Pass Railroad. That is for sure. I'd love to fly over a Glacier and land on it. Dog sledding sounds fun, but I could skip it.

Tink, on the Blue Bus to Mendenhall Glacier, was that viewing it from a distance?

-Holly

 

[Aby]

Holly,

I think we may be alike! I am a horrible decision maker and I agonize over all decisions...sometimes even silly ones! It drives my husband mad! So don't worry, you're in good company, LOL!

Thanks for everyone sharing their excursions here. Tink, for the bear one in Ketchikan, do you remember how long it was? Did you still have enough time to enjoy the ports? I really want to spend more time shopping but our 3-4 hour snorkeling trip in Ketchikan didn't seem to leave me with enough time so I wasn't planning on an excursion except in Juneau where I missed whale watching. But watching lots of bears sure is tempting!

Aby

 

[tink1963]

I think my head is spinning so much from the options and decisions, I think I might resemble the girl from the Exorcist.

It does help to hear what other people have done, and their thoughts on things. No two people are the same as far as likes and dislikes, but it does give some good food for thought.

The ABD add on sounds so tempting, but I also have the same concern you had Aby - that it might be too on-the-go type of thing. But then it has some really good stuff. (insert me right here "X" with head spinning) I'll probably drive myself nuts before the final decision. I'll try not to drive the rest of you nuts...

I know I want to do the White Pass Railroad. That is for sure. I'd love to fly over a Glacier and land on it. Dog sledding sounds fun, but I could skip it.

Tink, on the Blue Bus to Mendenhall Glacier, was that viewing it from a distance?

-Holly

Holly, no it was not from a large distance. In fact the bear we saw at the glacier was really close. He/she went right under the elevated walk way we were on. I'd say it was about 5-6 feet off the ground. I'm uploading some photos that I will post soon. We also saw a porcipine there too. He was small so I think he may have been young.

Holly,

I think we may be alike! I am a horrible decision maker and I agonize over all decisions...sometimes even silly ones! It drives my husband mad! So don't worry, you're in good company, LOL!

Thanks for everyone sharing their excursions here. Tink, for the bear one in Ketchikan, do you remember how long it was? Did you still have enough time to enjoy the ports? I really want to spend more time shopping but our 3-4 hour snorkeling trip in Ketchikan didn't seem to leave me with enough time so I wasn't planning on an excursion except in Juneau where I missed whale watching. But watching lots of bears sure is tempting!

Aby

The bear excursion was a few of hours long. We did the lastest one on that day. If I recall our excursion did not leave the ship until about 3:30. I think we were one if not the last group back to the ship. We book with DCL for the security of the ship waiting if we were late, but this is the place we went. It may help some
http://www.alaskarainforest.com/Tours/Wildlife-Expedition.html

We could have spent some time in the town of Ketchikan, but it was drizzly and we didn't realize how short of a walk it was from the ship.

 

[tink1963]

this is a video from Mendenhall Glacier. Just click on the pic and it will take you to the video



These are pictures

 

[tink1963]

These are from Ketchikan

 

[ThePhantomsGirl]

Wow, great video and photos! Thank you for posting those!

Gosh, I can't wait....

 

[Aby]

Thanks Tink...

If that excursion leaves that late in the day, I would probably still have time to explore the shops in the town in the morning as, if I recall, we got into ketchikan very early in the morning. Food for thought....

Great photos! Would love to get some of my own! I love wildlife!

Aby

 

[Aby]

Well, just looked up our itinerary and I realized I was wrong about our time into Ketchikan - it's early afternoon, not early morning, so I don't think I will be able to do the bear excursion. Ketchikan just was full of so many shops that I don't want to be rushed through again. Oh well, I think I'll stick to my original plan of doing an excursion only in Juneau...at least I'll save some money!

Aby

 

[ThePhantomsGirl]

Yes, it's a fairly short port time in Ketchikan, and doesn't have us getting there until after noon time.

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Hi everyone!
We will be joining you on this cruise! We just booked on Thursday!

It will be me, DH and my DDs who will be 10 and 12 at the time. We have been on 3 short Bahamian Disney cruises on the Wonder 2x and the Dream last year. This will be our first 7 day DCL. Did a 7 day western on Carnival. Good thing that was first, DCL wins, Hands Down!!!

I've enjoyed reading about your past trips - now I have to go read about the excursion options so my head will be spinning too!!
I think those bears look so cool! And I know my older daughter will want to do whale watching.

Nice to "meet" you!! I have to add a ticker! It's nice to see just how many days there are to go. We just got back from Disneyland Paris and London, so I just took that ticker off.

 

[ThePhantomsGirl]

Hi Sheree and family!

More people - hooray!

I'll add you to the roll call. Now you can join in on the head spinning.

Holly

 

[ThePhantomsGirl]

PS:

If anyone wants their actual names on the roll call - or do not want them on the roll call (either is just fine!) just let me know.

Holly

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Thank you! My DH and I have been just poring over these threads tonight!

You can use my real name and/or DISname.

 

[ThePhantomsGirl]

Happy Easter everyone!

I added the threads about binoculars and cameras to the information post back in the beginning (think it was post #2)

Too soon to do airfare info, but if I get a chance in the next little bit, I'll add some information about hotels in Vancouver. There is quite a bit of info in the Vancouver FAQ thread about various hotels.

 

[tink1963]

Hello fellow alaksa mushers.

Just bumping us from page 4 (I think). I know we are 485 days away from our trip and planning is hard to do, but just wanted to say

hoping you all have a great week.