Questions for early Alaskan cruisers!

[mmmears]

For some of us 50s and 60s are still cold temps! Actually I posted that it's nice to see kids in the pools since we were repeatedly told NOT to book with DCL since they can't cover the pools like HAL does and that no-one would ever be able to use the pools on the Wonder.

We encountered some rolling seas in the open water between Vancouver Island and the Queen Charlotte Islands. Vomiting did occur with one of our children, and I myself felt a bit "off".

Thanks so much for the info. Not really what I wanted to hear but I would much rather be prepared for it than be surprised. Sorry you and your kids felt the motion (most of my family doesn't do well with rocking either).

 

[nordkin]

I was wondering if anyone has taken the Exclusive Whale Watch and Mendenhall Glacier excursion in Juneau and what your impressions were of it. I have it booked for 7 of the 8 people in our group and am having trouble getting the last person on the excursion. I have seen whales many times and will opt to pass if I can't get the last person on as they have never seen any whales.

 

[ilovemk76]

On day we have a tour that starts at 7:30 am. What are our options for breakfast before leaving the ship?

Also how early does one line up to leave the ship?

 

[sabrecmc]

I was wondering if anyone has taken the Exclusive Whale Watch and Mendenhall Glacier excursion in Juneau and what your impressions were of it. I have it booked for 7 of the 8 people in our group and am having trouble getting the last person on the excursion. I have seen whales many times and will opt to pass if I can't get the last person on as they have never seen any whales.

We did this and enjoyed it quite a bit. We did see 3 whales (or possibly 2 whales, one of which was really mobile, lol!). The boat was nice: enclosed with seating and large windows that you could open, as well as decks on the back and front to go out on once we spotted whales. There was a naturalist onboard with lots of great info. They provided binoculars if you wanted to use them. They had beverages and snacks and a toilet onboard. We also saw sea lions, porpoises and bald eagles. We did the early morning tour. The later tour did not see whales and got a refund. This was on the first Alaskan.
The glacier was lovely. We had an hour there to explore, which was enough time for some good pictures and to visit the visitor's center there.

I'm not sure if I would do it again just because we had just seen Tracy Arm, which was gorgeous, and we saw so many whales from our verandah....nothing wrong with the tour itself, which was great, it just didn't have the dramatic impact after seeing whales from the ship and being at Tracy Arm.

 

[Caropooh]

I think people need to remove the "Alaska is freezing cold" impression from their thoughts because actually the "interior" part (what its known as) of Alaska, such as Fairbanks, is indeed the area thats known for the subarctic temperatures. But the likes of Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan can get into as high as 65 degrees during May, June, July, and August. That's why the cruise line season in Alaska is May-September, because temperatures there are 50s to mid 60s. So just to let you know, I would still actually pack some short sleeve t-shirts and shorts (and swimsuits )

This is SO true! We live in Seattle and my sister lives in Sitka. There are many times throughout the year (not just summer) that she has better weather than we do!

 

[Mrs. Gumdrop]

On day we have a tour that starts at 7:30 am. What are our options for breakfast before leaving the ship?

Also how early does one line up to leave the ship?

You will leave the ship for your excursions as a group. When you enter your stateroom for the first time, there will be tickets on the desk telling you where and when to meet up (example: 7:30 am, Studio Sea). So don't worry!

Take a look at some of the posted Navigators for meal times.

Also, you can also pre-order room service the night before using the provided hanger seen below.

 

[Cerberus9]

On day we have a tour that starts at 7:30 am. What are our options for breakfast before leaving the ship?

Also how early does one line up to leave the ship?

We had an excursion that started at 7:20. Many others had excursions that started at the same time. On that day, they opened the Beach Blanket Buffet at 6:30 AM so everyone could eat before leaving the ship. We met in Wavebands at the appointed time, then waited around for them to check everyone's passports, etc.

 

[Cerberus9]

There have been some questions about the Tracy Arm BBQ. On our cruise (May 10-17), the BBQs were set up on the aft deck by the outside seating areas for Beach Blanket Buffet (the BBQ was essentially part of Beach Blanket Buffet). I also saw what looked like another BBQ station in one of the adult only areas, but didn't go to that one because of our children. The weather at the time of the BBQ was probably the worst of the entire trip. It was cold and rainy; my heart went out to the chef at the BBQ itself--he looked quite miserable. The BBQ lines were slow due to the limited grill area (if I could make a suggestion, it would be that, if possible, only get food for yourself at the BBQ [e.g. everyone that wants to partake should get in line themselves]. I can't count the number of times I saw someone waiting patiently for food, only to have the person in front of them wipe out everything because they were getting food for their extended family).

I waited 20 minutes in line to get a bbq steak. It was actually a miserable experience, not because of the weather, but because of the supposed grown adults constantly grumbling and complaining about "how long" it was taking.

 

[Shanny145]

I hate people that complain all the time.....I'm sorry you had to listen to that. Was your BBQ steak good atleast?

 

[Cerberus9]

It was!

 

[lilpooh108]

There have been some questions about the Tracy Arm BBQ. On our cruise (May 10-17), the BBQs were set up on the aft deck by the outside seating areas for Beach Blanket Buffet (the BBQ was essentially part of Beach Blanket Buffet). I also saw what looked like another BBQ station in one of the adult only areas, but didn't go to that one because of our children. The weather at the time of the BBQ was probably the worst of the entire trip. It was cold and rainy; my heart went out to the chef at the BBQ itself--he looked quite miserable. The BBQ lines were slow due to the limited grill area (if I could make a suggestion, it would be that, if possible, only get food for yourself at the BBQ [e.g. everyone that wants to partake should get in line themselves]. I can't count the number of times I saw someone waiting patiently for food, only to have the person in front of them wipe out everything because they were getting food for their extended family).

I waited 20 minutes in line to get a bbq steak. It was actually a miserable experience, not because of the weather, but because of the supposed grown adults constantly grumbling and complaining about "how long" it was taking.

Where was the BBQ in the adult only area (like by Cove Café, near the pool)?

Did you notice whether the lines were shorter here?

TIA

 

[denise]

There are three different helicopter tours I am looking at. I would like anyone's thoughts on the following:
1.Glacier Adventure by helicopter
2. Mendenhall Glacier by helicopter and guided walk
3.pilot's choice Glacier explorer

can't wait to hear the reviews....

 

[HollyTyler]

Sorry if this is repeat info, if you’ve already received answers, but I’m only on page 9 and don’t have time to read further just now because I’m at work. But I’ll finish later tonight. For now though, here’s what I experienced regarding some of the questions I saw here:

Yes, bring binoculars. There are mountain goats to be seen while going through Tracy Arm, and seals and whales, etc. J

No, I didn’t see any mosquitos, no bugs actually.

Yes, there is a self-serve hot chocolate machine available on deck 9 at the self-serve drink station.

Yes, there is pirate night. It was an outside deck party (too many people to hold it inside), but no fireworks due to environmental regulations, but Mickey still ziplined. The pirate party buffet was inside Beach Blanket Buffet, not on deck, and there were none of the cool pirate themed decorations they used to have at the buffet, other than an ice sculpture at the start of the buffet. And the servers no longer dress as pirates and we were not given the pirate bandanas they used to give out.

I had no cell service the whole Alaska cruise, not even in port. I have Verizon, but I purposely set my phone to NO roaming, so that’s probably why. Most other people did have service.

Yes, the stores onboard sell Alaska themed scrapbook kits. J

Only the way up was the outside passage, we came back down on the inside. Captain Thord said that was for the first voyage only, so it won’t affect anybody else.

The pools were almost 90 degrees and I swam every day, except the first sea day because they were closed due to “inclement weather” (big waves). They felt bathwater warm. Nice!

Yes, we had a character breakfast, but I don’t remember what day.

The “Taste of Alaska” night was nothing more than a different menu. No crab, other than in an appetizer.

No snow on the ground in any ports, it’s too warm for that.

The captain was Captain Thord and cruise director was Christiaan.

Hope this helped. I’ll get to more tonight. J

 

[denise]

oops forgot one

dog sled adventure by helicopter

 

[Carol]

We have booked the Glacier Adventure by Helicopter in Juneau, May 28th. If it's not cancelled, as others have stated their tour was, I will let you know what it was like.

 

[Cerberus9]

Where was the BBQ in the adult only area (like by Cove Café, near the pool)?

Did you notice whether the lines were shorter here?

TIA

Unfortunately, I don't remember exactly *where* it was in the adult area. The lines were definitely shorter, however.

 

[poohj80]

For some of us 50s and 60s are still cold temps! Actually I posted that it's nice to see kids in the pools since we were repeatedly told NOT to book with DCL since they can't cover the pools like HAL does and that no-one would ever be able to use the pools on the Wonder.

This isn't exactly true as DCL can cover the main pool as it does for the sail away and Pirate parties.

 

[Cerberus9]

This isn't exactly true as DCL can cover the main pool as it does for the sail away and Pirate parties.

I think the poster was referring to covering the pools so that they could still be used in inclement weather.

 

[poohj80]

I think the poster was referring to covering the pools so that they could still be used in inclement weather.

My bad...sorry!

 

[eandesmom]

Some other answers (I apologize if these have already been answered as I only briefly skimmed the thread).


4. They had a decent selection of beer from the Alaskan Brewing Company, which is quite decent beer. (We bought our own cases of the Summer Ale while in Skagway and carried it onboard the ship).

Do you know if they had the Alaskan Brewing Company IPA? that would make our day!! I've never seen it bottled.