Questions for early Alaskan cruisers!

[EdTreo]

Only for Platinum and Centurion Cardholders

http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/foreign-exchange-fees-going-up-1267.php#foreignfeecharts

I called my CC and they said no international fee. This is FIA AMEX from Fidelity.

 

[Doingitagain]

I have been reading reports, and I haven't seen any one mention the Outlook bar, the new one on the Wonder with the glass walls? Would that be a good place for adults on Tracy Arm day?

How about the fitness center? Did anyone view Tracy Arm while working out?

 

[Shanonn]

I have been reading reports, and I haven't seen any one mention the Outlook bar, the new one on the Wonder with the glass walls? Would that be a good place for adults on Tracy Arm day?

How about the fitness center? Did anyone view Tracy Arm while working out?

My husband & I spent a few hours in the Outlook Bar on Tracy Arm day. But as we got closer in to the glacier, we went out on Deck 10 for awhile & then to our verandah. The Outlook Bar was crowded that day so get there early.

 

[NWmom]

We spent the whole day outside on Tracy Arm day. It was beautiful!

Deck 10 starboard side on the way in will also allow you to see on the way out what you did not see on the way in.

Magnificent is a better word for the views.

 

[Doingitagain]

What time did you start seeing the magnificent views of Tracy Arm? We have scheduled brunch at Palo that day, and I wasn't sure if that was a good thing to see the views of Tracy Arm, or if we would want to be out on deck.

 

[DisneyBasket]

What time did you start seeing the magnificent views of Tracy Arm? We have scheduled brunch at Palo that day, and I wasn't sure if that was a good thing to see the views of Tracy Arm, or if we would want to be out on deck.

We had 10:30 a.m. brunch in Palo on Tracy Arm day on the May 17 sailing, and had plenty of time to change and get up on deck afterwards. We did not arrive in Tracy Arm until about 12:30-1:00 p.m. Your Navigator will show what times you can expect to be there, and the Captain makes announcements about the course the ship will follow and approximate arrival times.

We had gorgeous views from Palo during brunch. You will love it!

 

[DCL Repeaters]

Dumb question but are there porters to help once you collect your luggage, right?

What's better than a porter are the FREE luggage carts available in the cruise terminal and in Vancouver's airport. I do believe I saw a few porters around.

 

[ibouncetoo]

.
Like DisneyBasket we had Palo brunch that day on the 1st cruise and had a fabulous view during the meal. You'll be done with brunch by the time you want to be outside for the glacier.

I was in Outlook Bar that afternoon. Folks kept coming in and out (those with thin blood were coming in to warm up). While you are sitting in there you can't see the water (because of people standing at the rails) but you can see those beautiful mountains. Here's a shot from inside without people standing at the rail.

Think we were on our way back from the glacier at this point.


I didn't notice any porters, but that's because we each grabbed a luggage cart and just wheeled ourselves to the entrance of the Pan Pacific.

 

[LAWalz23]

What's better than a porter are the FREE luggage carts available in the cruise terminal and in Vancouver's airport. I do believe I saw a few porters around.

Thanks for the info! Free luggage carts will do just fine!

 

[bigAWL]

Were they playing the Tracy Arm naration over one of the television channels so you could here it from your stateroom?

 

[DisneyBasket]

Were they playing the Tracy Arm naration over one of the television channels so you could here it from your stateroom?

Yes, shipwide announcements can be heard from your TV on the first channel. We left it switched to that channel when we were in the room, or changed to it if we were watching something else, when the chimes would play indicating a shipwide announcement. Nothing played in your stateroom unless you were deliberate about setting it to that channel.

We also enjoyed checking out the "Report from the Bridge" telling about our position with respect to course, next destination, arrival time, air and pool temperatures, etc. The next channel had a map showing where we had been, where our course lay, and where we were with resepct to it. In addition, the lectures by the naturalist/park ranger were replayed repeatedly on one of the upper channels, (past the movies, I think), which we enjoyed very much. We were not able to go to hardly any of them live, so being able to hear/watch them in our stateroom was great! We were not such fans of the movies on the TV, so we were pleasantly surprised by this.

 

[HiMagicFan]

Thanks for the info! Free luggage carts will do just fine!

I totally agree! Thank you. Saves me $5 for souvenir shopping!

 

[EdTreo]

Yes, shipwide announcements can be heard from your TV on the first channel. We left it switched to that channel when we were in the room, or changed to it if we were watching something else, when the chimes would play indicating a shipwide announcement. Nothing played in your stateroom unless you were deliberate about setting it to that channel.

We also enjoyed checking out the "Report from the Bridge" telling about our position with respect to course, next destination, arrival time, air and pool temperatures, etc. The next channel had a map showing where we had been, where our course lay, and where we were with resepct to it. In addition, the lectures by the naturalist/park ranger were replayed repeatedly on one of the upper channels, (past the movies, I think), which we enjoyed very much. We were not able to go to hardly any of them live, so being able to hear/watch them in our stateroom was great! We were not such fans of the movies on the TV, so we were pleasantly surprised by this.

It's too bad that it's not available in all areas in deck 10.

 

[Disney Dreams]

It's too bad that it's not available in all areas in deck 10.

Just a general FYI, this is not because of DCL not wanting to do so. As they explained onboard, it was due to regulations that are in place in Alaska that must be followed by cruise ships.

- Dreams

 

[EdTreo]

Just a general FYI, this is not because of DCL not wanting to do so. As they explained onboard, it was due to regulations that are in place in Alaska that must be followed by cruise ships.

- Dreams

I know but still quite unfortunate that everyone has to crowed out the midship just to listen to the narration.

The view is just fantastic!

 

[EdTreo]

Dumb question but are there porters to help once you collect your luggage, right?

There are but then it is close to the exit and in my case a few steps to my ride.

 

[NWmom]

What time did you start seeing the magnificent views of Tracy Arm? We have scheduled brunch at Palo that day, and I wasn't sure if that was a good thing to see the views of Tracy Arm, or if we would want to be out on deck.

We had a 10:30 brunch that was leisurely. I have food allergies so had to wait to learn what I could not safely eat. The head chef Stefen (sp?) came out and gave me an item by item description from his chef's heart (with history of the dish with passion that reminded me of Remy fron Ratatouille) plus whether it contained my allergens or was prepared in proximity and might have cross contamination. Disney takes food allergies very seriously! We finished the same time as some with 11:00 ressies. ( We miss Alex too)

So we finished up about noon, then changed and picked up dd9 from the Lab, made her eat something in BBB and headed on deck about 1. We stayed on deck (forward, but not on the rails). I had a great spot to take photos of groups with their own cameras and did that for about 30 minutes when they announced we would not go in farther.

We stayed out until about 5 pm when we went to change for the show and realized while we had fed the kids we all were hungry so ordered the cheese plate from room service I had heard about here. Later I realized I had a bit of sunburn.

Any idea where I can send photos for CM's? We hung out with the DVC crew and got some great candids of them on deck. (We also saw them at lunch too- they do eat, lol) For the record, they changed clothes several times that day as we kept running into them. My ds took a shine to James as he had on his hat and James gave out pins when you had on your DVC hat!

NW

 

[denise]

I've been reading this thread since it started and have not seen anything on the helicopter excursion to Mendenhall Glacier. Any reviews out there?

 

[neoavatara]

Regarding the helicopter glacier trip in Juneau...I think I had a post on it earlier.

It was absolutely fantastic. My DW and 5 y.o. DS went with me. A van took us to the helipad, approx 10 min away. They got us boots and life preservers, and we were on our way.

You fly over Juneau, and then head over to the glaciers. The views are breathtaking.

Spent about 20 minutes on the glacier to wander around a little bit, take pictures, etc.

Overall, I considered it the highlight of my trip. Definitely a must do if you can afford it.

 

[plutojudy]

Regarding the helicopter glacier trip in Juneau...I think I had a post on it earlier.

It was absolutely fantastic. My DW and 5 y.o. DS went with me. A van took us to the helipad, approx 10 min away. They got us boots and life preservers, and we were on our way.

You fly over Juneau, and then head over to the glaciers. The views are breathtaking.

Spent about 20 minutes on the glacier to wander around a little bit, take pictures, etc.

Overall, I considered it the highlight of my trip. Definitely a must do if you can afford it.

How exciting. We are doing this.