Planes, Trains & Antitussives, Alaksan Wonder Cruise - All done! Complete 11/21

[rndmr2]

Nice update! Your Spa Treatment sounded really relaxing.

The mixology classes sound fun

Dinner looks good, glad they were able to straighten out the wine thing. That souffle looked great!

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

I am so pleased to say I got to enjoy the photos on this update! I have a new iPhone SE 64gb so I tried viewing on this rather than my iPad mini abs sure enough there you guys are! Mixology sounds interesting!

I like reading about the drinks even though I don't drink.

I am so pleased Fran is feeling better and she is shinning up like a new penny! Lovely photos I like the back drop with the moon you look great.

The meal looks fabulous soufflé yum that looks divine!

Jo would enjoy those spa treatments I must check those out what they offer next time.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Here is crazy town if I teether to my iphone using 4G instead of the broadband at home I see the photos on my ipad. So maybe a bandwidth issue. We get fibre in a week with 'super fast broadband....' See how that shows your cheery faces.

Btw loved the bears in the ocean in SoCal lol....we saw it on the news.

 

[franandaj]

Oh that spa treatment sounds heavenly! What a nice way to end the afternoon!

I love that treatment! Next week I'm going to the spa, but it won't be nearly as spectacular as this one!

Our mixology class on the Wonder last September was a hoot - you'd think we were a bunch of rowdy drunk teenagers! *hiccup*

That's how both our classes were in October on our B2B.

So glad Fran was feeling better and able to join in on formal night and dinner. Oh the souffle.....so worth it, isn't it? Oh my goodness!

I love that soufflé, but there is a surprise coming up!

Nice update! Your Spa Treatment sounded really relaxing.

It totally was!

The mixology classes sound fun

It was, but it's even more fun when people get a little more into it.

Dinner looks good, glad they were able to straighten out the wine thing. That souffle looked great!

That souffle is among the top 5 things on a Disney cruise!

 

[dolphingirl47]

I woke up on the first morning of the cruise at 4AM, I was coughing up a storm.

Oh no!

I tried to sleep, but with the sun already up, I just gave up.

I have to say I was very glad that we had an inside cabin in Alaska for just that reason. The sun was still up when we went to bed and was already up however early we got up.

I thought about going to the Cove Café for a cup of coffee, but instead laid back down and went back to sleep for about an hour plus.

I am glad that you managed to get some more sleep.

I went to hear him talk and it was slightly amusing, but I wasn't sad to be leaving. It was mostly stories about his buddies and family that related to hunting and fishing experiences.

That would not have been to my liking at all.

When I got back to the room Fran informed me that she was going to stay in bed and skip Palo and Mixology.

What a shame that she missed out.

They had added mushroom risotto Arancini to the breads and cheeses table.

I like the look of that. I love Arancini.

These hard Italian aged cheeses were new to the menu as well.

That is music to my ear's too.

About 3 weeks ago, I hit the double digits countdown for my October Food & Wine trip to WDW.

I am sure time will fly.

This was the most subdued mixology class that I've ever been to. He practically had to pry people out of their seats to make the larger versions of the drink.

How strange. I never had a mixology session like this.

I see you had Jesus. He would not have liked that people were so subdued at all.

The first drink was a Cucumber Martini with Gin

Oh, I would have loved this.

The next drink was a Ginger Martini

That on the other hand I am not sure about. I like Ginger, but the combination sounds strange.

The last was a shot, a B52, it had Kahlua, Bailey's, and Grand Mariner.

One of my favourites.

I gathered my evening clothes and started off to the spa, but halfway down the hallway I ran into the guy delivering the pressed laundry. Since we had the Do Not Disturb sign out I took the laundry back to the room, otherwise he would not have been able to enter the room and would have had to take it back to the laundry place.

That was a stroke of luck.

This was by far my best view during an Alone Time treatment.

I can well imagine it. What a treat!

I love the backdrop.

For some reason the quote did not carry over, but I am glad that the wine situation was resolved.

Corinna

 

[franandaj]

Mini update. In the last update I forgot to include this photo that one of the photographers took at dinner, plus I didn’t include the next day’s Navigators.

 

[Steppesister]

Spa treatments are just lovely, but yours sounded exceptionally so with the view.

Dinner looked very nice! What a fancy place and fancy menu. Now I'm dying for escargot...

Some of those drinks sound pretty powerful (and look rather large). No wonder you had hit your limit!

 

[franandaj]

I am so pleased to say I got to enjoy the photos on this update! I have a new iPhone SE 64gb so I tried viewing on this rather than my iPad mini abs sure enough there you guys are! Mixology sounds interesting!

I hope that your new internet allows you to see all the pictures, I have some really photo heavy updates coming along in the works.

I like reading about the drinks even though I don't drink.

I like hearing about the various things that happen in Mixology classes, each "instructor" has cool and different things that they bring to the class.

I am so pleased Fran is feeling better and she is shinning up like a new penny! Lovely photos I like the back drop with the moon you look great.

Well, not so fast, she made it out for dinner, but we're not in happy land just yet.

The meal looks fabulous soufflé yum that looks divine!

I love that souffle! I'm so happy that I've found a place locally where I can get one. The bad news is that the rest of the meal there doesn't come cheap.

Jo would enjoy those spa treatments I must check those out what they offer next time.

They only have Alone Time on the Magic and Wonder. On the Dream and Fantasy they have something called "Couples Choice". I couldn't get Fran to agree to do it with me.

Here is crazy town if I teether to my iphone using 4G instead of the broadband at home I see the photos on my ipad. So maybe a bandwidth issue. We get fibre in a week with 'super fast broadband....' See how that shows your cheery faces.

I hope this works out for you. We've had Fios since we lived in the other place.

Btw loved the bears in the ocean in SoCal lol....we saw it on the news.

I didn't even see that! Usually we see them in Pools and Jacuzzis, or rooting through trash cans.

I have to say I was very glad that we had an inside cabin in Alaska for just that reason. The sun was still up when we went to bed and was already up however early we got up.

The block out curtains worked pretty well, but it was more just me knowing that it was already up than the light affecting me.

I am glad that you managed to get some more sleep.

Usually I can, unless there is something exciting keeping me awake.

That would not have been to my liking at all.

Yeah, I was hoping more for something like the Riverlorian on our trip down the Mississippi.

What a shame that she missed out.

I felt bad for her, but she really wasn't feeling good.

I like the look of that. I love Arancini.

I love Arancini, perhaps I need to look up some recipes and make some.

That is music to my ear's too.

I really enjoyed these cheeses with the Honeycomb.

I am sure time will fly.

FP+ day is in 11 days!

How strange. I never had a mixology session like this.

This was a first for me too.

I see you had Jesus. He would not have liked that people were so subdued at all.

He hid his frustration and kept it together pretty well.

Oh, I would have loved this.

It was pretty good. When we get our house all fixed up, and can have parties, I might make a vodka version of this as a cocktail for a party.

That on the other hand I am not sure about. I like Ginger, but the combination sounds strange.

It was pretty good, I liked it.

One of my favourites.

I can see why!

That was a stroke of luck.

Yeah, I would not have been happy if Fran didn't have anything nice to wear that night. It would have given her a reason to not leave the room.

I can well imagine it. What a treat!

Yeah, the other two times I did it on sail away so I saw the Port of Miami and the Port of San Diego.

I love the backdrop.

For some reason the quote did not carry over, but I am glad that the wine situation was resolved.

Thanks, I think you were quoting comments from both my TRs at the same time. The comment above about the time flying by was in response to my October Trip plans which was posted on the WDW TR.

Spa treatments are just lovely, but yours sounded exceptionally so with the view.

It really was, such beautiful wilderness.

Dinner looked very nice! What a fancy place and fancy menu. Now I'm dying for escargot...

Triton's is my favorite, especially their rotational menu. I was sad that I wasn't feeling well that night, but at least I enjoyed my soup and the souffle.

Some of those drinks sound pretty powerful (and look rather large). No wonder you had hit your limit!

The only one that was large was the one that I got to make. All the other ones were little, but yes they were definitely potent. That's what Mixology is all about. Even the "Instructors" know everyone is there to get drunk or at least buzzed!

 

[franandaj]

Day 6

Both Fran and I were wide awake around 4AM.
Not sure why, but we were.

This is why I like to control the TV.

I put on innocuous things that we have seen before and we can easily drowse to them.
Fran, she picked out a Marvel, Iron Man Movie. Later I found out it was the 3rd Iron Man movie.

Now granted we are trying to get ourselves into the Marvel Universe. We've seen:
Captain America
all of the Agent Carter Episodes
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Episodes
the first Iron Man

She has probably watched some of the other movies when I'm not around, but that's where I'm at or was at, since this trip we have also watched Guardians of the Galaxy and Iron Man 2. But back to that morning, so when she puts on this movie that I've never seen, I'm not as inclined to dose off to sleep as I would be with any Toy Story, the Disney hits of the 90's, and many other Pixar faves. Not that they aren't good movies, but I've seen most of them enough times that I know how they end.

So it was 5:30AM before I started to drowse back to sleep. As I came back to consciousness it was close to 7AM.

We had talked with my parents about going to hear the Naturalist talk again at 9:30. We got up and dressed by 8:30 and went to BBB. Triton's wasn't open because there was a character breakfast in AP. There are only three sets of waitstaff. One group of staff works BBB, another group works Parrot Cay, and the last group covers either Triton’s or the Character Breakfast. I was kind of bummed about this because our only option for breakfast now was a buffet. Fran got a variety of stuff. I asked if the donut was good because it looked good, but she said that it looked better than it tasted.



I got my eggs over easy, they wouldn’t make me just one, it had to be two, so Fran got the second one. It’s OK that the bacon and sausage are touching because that’s how I eat eggs over easy, on a little toast with a piece of bacon or sausage. You’ll see coffee in the picture there, it was FOUL! Awful I tell you! I couldn’t drink it.



Fran wanted to go up on deck to watch the scenery and we stopped to get some blankets and beverages at the beverage station. We were missing something so I went to the room and found a note that our credit card on file had been declined, more fallout from the hacked credit card on our WDW trip! So we went down to Guest Services and gave them a bunch of gift cards and then up to Cove Café for some real coffee. It was there that Fran realized she needed some more nap time, so we went back to the room and she was pretty much down for the count from there.

I was in and out on the verandah looking at the scenery. It didn’t seem very interesting and then After the nature talk my parents came over. My Dad told me that a whale had been next to the boat and pretty much breached right in front of our stateroom. Here it is swimming away, you can kind of see it.



I stayed out on the verandah after that and some dolphins went by, but that’s all I saw of wildlife this day.



My first iceberg!



They were making the food for the Barbeque (which is really just grilling for all you Texans and Midwesterners reading along) and I could smell it since it was only two decks up.







As it got close to noon, the boat for the excursion came up to the ship for the first group to board.





Eventually we went to Triton's for lunch. Fran was not hungry so just me and my parents went. We decided that we would rather have a table given to us and not go up to the Barbeque and have to hunt around for a table. So many people were just sitting up top for the view and not to eat. Mom got the strawberry soup as an appetizer.



She and I got the pasta but as soon as they put it in front of me, I wasn't hungry anymore. I ate a few bites, my mom ate half of hers, we should have split an order.



Dad got a burger and ate the whole thing.



[Continued in Next Post]

 

[franandaj]

[Continued from Previous Post]

We went back to the room and looked out the balcony for a bit, and then my parents went where they could see better. We started to see more and more icebergs as we got closer to the glacier.



We entered a heavy mist, it was almost rain, but not quite.









There were so many waterfalls, however, later that day I learned that most of them are cascades. That means they are not running all year long, only part of the year when the glaciers are melting. I hope you like seeing pictures of these, because I took A LOT.











The small boat would be behind us and then speed up and pass us throughout the whole trip.













The small boat was not very crowded. I’m not sure if the tour was sold out or not.



Glacier up in the mountaintops.



Another cascade. The small boat gives you an idea of just how massive these mountains are.



I thought this iceberg was really cool!



Another look at the same cascade.



And looking back at our wake.



Here was my first glimpse of the Glacier.



At least the rain had let up.



There were little icebergs everywhere in the water.













By this time it became clear that Fran had decided not to go on the excursion. She was hungry though, so that was a good sign. I ran up to Pluto’s and got her a burger.



I’m going to leave it right here for now. Next update will have a ton of pictures!

 

[DnA2010]

I am so far behind! Will catch up reading later and reply in am

 

[bcwife76]

Stunning scenery....I could look at it all day long! Love how the tiny icebergs just seem to do along the water.

 

[franandaj]

I am so far behind! Will catch up reading later and reply in am

No problem, at least I'm not doing a contest or anything! You can keep up at your leisure!

Stunning scenery....I could look at it all day long! Love how the tiny icebergs just seem to do along the water.

I'm glad you're enjoying the scenery, because the next update has a TON of pictures. I couldn't resist with the Glacier and all!

 

[Steppesister]

The scenery is just so, so pretty! I love how the waterfalls (cascades) are very shallow and come right down to the water. Lovely!

We enjoy the Marvel movies too. But for me, a Pixar or Classic Disney trumps those every single time.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

After being early wakers it is nice to have those movies on demand. I am a big fan of Marvel movies also. My wheelchair has Captain America wheels!

I think the dining/breakfast options need a serious revamp on DCL. Basically as you point out they don't have enough staff. That is why Jo says there is no buffet option in Cabanas in the evening like other cruise lines. The servers are doing the MDRs. Well RC and NCL some ships have 7 or more restaurants fully staffed. I love the rotary dining but some nights we just want a buffet option.

The coffee is beyond terrible! I could not tell the difference between tea and coffee. I opted for soda in the end. Or bringing my own tea bag.

I am sorry to hear about your credit card. What a pain!

I was blown away by the lovely photos! A whale wow. Plus you saw dolphins.

Yeah icebergs look at that blue hue. Beautiful. When my parents did an Alaska cruise they said it was boring. See one iceberg you see them all. Jo and I were speechless.

Interesting about the waterfall and cascade distinction thank you for that.

I love the photo you added in the mini update. Your necklace sure is pretty and I just adore that white jacket on Fran.,

 

[rndmr2]

Nice update!

Don't worry about too many pics, I will look at as many as you want to pose, I Love all the pictures of the scenery, I have heard lots of great things about Tracy Arm and seen lot of pictures. So much that when I do finally get to book and go on an Alaska cruise, I am going to make sure it goes there. Love all the little icebergs.

Looking forward to the Glacier!!

 

[dolphingirl47]

I love Arancini, perhaps I need to look up some recipes and make some.

I hear they are a real pain to make. Otherwise I would have had a go by now.

Thanks, I think you were quoting comments from both my TRs at the same time. The comment above about the time flying by was in response to my October Trip plans which was posted on the WDW TR.

That would explain it. I had a serious catch up session over the weekend.

Triton's wasn't open because there was a character breakfast in AP.

That is new. Whenever I have done the character breakfast, it was at Parrot Cay. I think this was a lot less disruptive as you still had the option of a buffet.

You’ll see coffee in the picture there, it was FOUL! Awful I tell you! I couldn’t drink it.

Unless the coffee has gone down a lot since 2014, compared with what they call Royal Caribbean Blend, this is gourmet stuff. Royal Caribbean has hands down the worst coffee I have ever tasted.

We were missing something so I went to the room and found a note that our credit card on file had been declined, more fallout from the hacked credit card on our WDW trip!

What a pain.

My Dad told me that a whale had been next to the boat and pretty much breached right in front of our stateroom. Here it is swimming away, you can kind of see it.

That is really noon.

As it got close to noon, the boat for the excursion came up to the ship for the first group to board.

That is something else new. I knew that other cruise lines offer excursions on the glacier viewing day, but I did not know that DCL does as well now. What a great idea. That was not something that was offered in 2013 or else I would have jumped on it.

We entered a heavy mist, it was almost rain, but not quite.

What a shame.

There were so many waterfalls, however, later that day I learned that most of them are cascades. That means they are not running all year long, only part of the year when the glaciers are melting.

It is good to see that they were still around in early July. When we did this cruise in late May, we were told that they dry up pretty swiftly.

I saw in the Navigator that you were sailing at Tracy Arm. Is this correct? I had read some discussions not long before your cruise suggesting that due to the conditions there this year, it was unlikely that DCL would make it to Tracy Arm.

Corinna

 

[dgbg100106]

After brunch I started a load of laundry and then delivered the last of my FEs to Deck 2. I also took some shots of the inside passage from the verandah.

Before mixology I changed the load over to the dryer, but I wasn't going to have time to take it out. This was the most subdued mixology class that I've ever been to. He practically had to pry people out of their seats to make the larger versions of the drink.

The next drink was a Ginger Martini, same concept as before except that they muddled the Ginger before adding the vodka, triple sec and sweet and sour.

The inside passage shots look so serene and lovely, I could have just sat out and watched it all day.
Hard to believe that people were acting shy in the mixology class. Of course we are the loud ones anywhere we go. I guess that is why we are "Ugly Americans".

So glad you caught the guy with the pressed laundry and that they did not get sent back.

Then I got started on my spa time. If you have been following along for a while, you’ll know that I love to do the “Alone Time” treatment on the Wonder. First was a soak in the jacuzzi tub. This was by far my best view during an Alone Time treatment. We sailed past rich forests and snow capped mountain peaks. Then it was time to dry off and settle in on the massage table for a full body Swedish massage.

The alone time and the massage sounds lovely. I am pretty sure I could enjoy that alot, just watching the world float by.

Fran was feeling better enough to go for dinner and pictures, so we got her showered and dressed and we all headed down for pictures.

oh! That is great news, so glad she was feeling better, and hungry, always a good sign.

Beautiful pictures of the family all together. My Dad grumbles also if I want to do more than one, he says they are all the same, so why stand there.

We were in Triton's tonight with their rotational menu. For the most part it was the same as usual, also I wasn't feeling all that great so I didn't take a picture. I think it was a combination of eating a lot at Palo Brunch, drinking a bunch of different liquors at Mixology and then having a massage to release all those toxins into my body. Fran on the other hand was starving. She hadn't eaten anything all day, except for the fruit and croissant I picked up at breakfast. She had me order the cucumber and dill salad for her.

All the food looks really good. And dessert, yummy.
Glad you were feeling better by the end, and hope you Dad was not coming down with something.

We went back to the room, and found our towel animal.

Fran had me set up her computer which she didn't use. And we went to bed. We set our clocks back an hour so we got extra sleep that night.

Extra sleep always a plus, but at some point they take it away from you

Day 6

We had talked with my parents about going to hear the Naturalist talk again at 9:30. We got up and dressed by 8:30 and went to BBB. Triton's wasn't open because there was a character breakfast in AP. There are only three sets of waitstaff. One group of staff works BBB, another group works Parrot Cay, and the last group covers either Triton’s or the Character Breakfast. I was kind of bummed about this because our only option for breakfast now was a buffet. Fran got a variety of stuff. I asked if the donut was good because it looked good, but she said that it looked better than it tasted.

I got my eggs over easy, they wouldn’t make me just one, it had to be two, so Fran got the second one. It’s OK that the bacon and sausage are touching because that’s how I eat eggs over easy, on a little toast with a piece of bacon or sausage. You’ll see coffee in the picture there, it was FOUL! Awful I tell you! I couldn’t drink it.

I have never liked cruise ship coffee, no matter which line we take, I have found that in the speciality restaurants it is better, but I just stick with tea while on the ship.

Fran wanted to go up on deck to watch the scenery and we stopped to get some blankets and beverages at the beverage station. We were missing something so I went to the room and found a note that our credit card on file had been declined, more fallout from the hacked credit card on our WDW trip! So we went down to Guest Services and gave them a bunch of gift cards and then up to Cove Café for some real coffee. It was there that Fran realized she needed some more nap time, so we went back to the room and she was pretty much down for the count from there.

Hackers, they ruin everything... Glad you are getting it worked out.

My first iceberg!

Whoop!!!!!

Eventually we went to Triton's for lunch. Fran was not hungry so just me and my parents went. We decided that we would rather have a table given to us and not go up to the Barbeque and have to hunt around for a table. So many people were just sitting up top for the view and not to eat. Mom got the strawberry soup as an appetizer.

I so agree with this, I would much rather eat in the restaurant then hunt for a table, it always seems like there are a ton of people sleeping in them, playing games, or just watching stuff, then eating and leaving. Makes it so difficult to do anything.

[Continued from Previous Post]

We went back to the room and looked out the balcony for a bit, and then my parents went where they could see better. We started to see more and more icebergs as we got closer to the glacier.

Glacier up in the mountaintops.
Here was my first glimpse of the Glacier.

Double WHoop!!! for the Glacier, I have never seen one of these in person.

 

[Pinkocto]

Look at all that yummy delocious food!!!!! I was three pages behind and just finished Palo brunch. Will be back later to completely catch up.

So sad Fran was feeling that bad she missed brunch

Goofy was too cute in that outfit!

Weird about the wine not allowed on the table.

I will be doing a TR for the PC cruise, 17 days to go

 

[Pinkocto]

Great rest of the day

Glad Fran was feeling better to get pictures and have dinner.

Your spa time sounds blissful!

I can't tell if you enjoyed the mixology or not?