Questions for early Alaskan cruisers!

[neoavatara]

I got off the Wonder this week as well. Reposted elsewhere. Couple things:

1. Boarding was a disaster last Tues...but I think they were having computer problems. I don't know the person that came at 1:30...but I came at that time and they basically didn't know what we were supposed to do . The week before was smooth, according to staff. I think they will have it in order by this week. Immigration and Customs wasn't terrible. But FYI...boarding was so bad that they gave everyone a free glass of wine for dinner. So clearly, it was an issue.

2. We were in 7038, midship port side. Verandah...which I HIGHLY recommend if possible. You could see almost everything from the verandah. On our Tracy Arm route, it rained most of the way...and my family just stayed in our room, repeatedly ordered room service, and went out on deck only when we came to the glacier. It was fantastic.

3. Returning late for dinner simply wasn't a problem. Just ask for a late dinner, or grab stuff from other places, including room service.

4. The BBQ during Tracy Arm was kind of a mess because it was raining. The food was good, but miserable to sit outside for too long.

5. No bugs yet. Not one. Even in Ketchikan, which was like 65 degrees or higher, it was perfect.

6. Spent a day in Vancouver. It was fun. The Canucks won their series that night, so lot of partying. Spent the day mostly in Stanley Park and the Aquarium. Stayed at the Wall Centre Sheraton.

7. You have a scheduled time for the character breakfast...just show up. Ask your dinner servers...they will be more than happy to help.

8. People did swim, all the way through. We didn't, because we didn't really want to swim that badly. The water was hot, and the day in Ketchikan probably was quite pleasant to swim in.

 

[nordkin]

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.

Thank you. This was exactly what I was looking for. We have verandah rooms so I am hoping we see whales along the way. I am really looking forward to Mendenhall Glacier as I am really in to photography and am more interested in taking pictures.

 

[rsjj]

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 )

as high as 65...that's quite cold, for me!! i wouldn't be wearing shorts in that kinda weather back home. i think that's what i'm dreading, having to pack wintery clothes! but it's exciting...to be on the cruise & all!! so no complaints from me!

 

[buddywesley]

I got off the Wonder this week as well. Reposted elsewhere. Couple things:


6. Spent a day in Vancouver. It was fun. The Canucks won their series that night, so lot of partying. Spent the day mostly in Stanley Park and the Aquarium. Stayed at the Wall Centre Sheraton.

We are staying at club Intrawest in the Wall Centre. Did you like it? Could you walk to places from there? Also did you take a cab to/from the port? Wondering how easy it is to get a cab post cruise.

Did anyone book any of the excursions offered thru DCL in Vancouver?

 

[neoavatara]

Wall Centre was pretty convenient. Walking to the cruise site would be a stretch, but you can easily catch a bus or taxi from there. With the family, I chose a taxi.

I wouldn't book excursions in Vancouver from Disney...it is really easy to do everything yourself, and probably cheaper.

A cab would be very easy to get from the port. I actually booked the disney transfer, but wouldn't next time. The only exception is if you have a really, really early flight: let disney get you there on time. Otherwise, choose the cab.

 

[lilpooh108]

Wall Centre was pretty convenient. Walking to the cruise site would be a stretch, but you can easily catch a bus or taxi from there. With the family, I chose a taxi.

I wouldn't book excursions in Vancouver from Disney...it is really easy to do everything yourself, and probably cheaper.

A cab would be very easy to get from the port. I actually booked the disney transfer, but wouldn't next time. The only exception is if you have a really, really early flight: let disney get you there on time. Otherwise, choose the cab.

Is the Sheraton Wall Centre here as well? Is there just a center called Wall Centre where these hotels are?

 

[Shanny145]

It's the Sheraton Wall Center they are talking about

 

[buddywesley]

Wall Centre was pretty convenient. Walking to the cruise site would be a stretch, but you can easily catch a bus or taxi from there. With the family, I chose a taxi.

I wouldn't book excursions in Vancouver from Disney...it is really easy to do everything yourself, and probably cheaper.

A cab would be very easy to get from the port. I actually booked the disney transfer, but wouldn't next time. The only exception is if you have a really, really early flight: let disney get you there on time. Otherwise, choose the cab.

Thanks for the info!!! I'm sure it would be cheaper to book tours on our own. I noticed DCL has one on Debarkation Day to the Northwest Exploration & Capilano Suspension Bridge. I thought that might be a good option since it's right off the boat I'm assuming. Wondered if anyone had done it?

 

[rsjj]

Thanks for the info!!! I'm sure it would be cheaper to book tours on our own. I noticed DCL has one on Debarkation Day to the Northwest Exploration & Capilano Suspension Bridge. I thought that might be a good option since it's right off the boat I'm assuming. Wondered if anyone had done it?

not sure what the dcl excursion of the northwest exploration part is, but if you just want to do the suspension bridge, there is a free shuttle that do pick ups at various hotel locations, and canada place is one of them. my brother & family did this just recently. and i'm planning on taking the free shuttle prior to our cruise. not on the day of! we are staying couple days before to explore vancouver.

 

[neoavatara]

As long as you have time, much easier just to do it yourself. Just ask your hotel when you are there, there are numerous tour guides available.

 

[buddywesley]

thanks everyone. I'll just wait and ask the hotel. I did a brief google search and found a few tour companies that were cheaper than DCL for the same thing and they pick up from your hotel.

 

[WiscBill]

Is the Sheraton Wall Centre here as well? Is there just a center called Wall Centre where these hotels are?

There are two towers at the Wall Centre. The Sheraton has rooms in both towers, with the majority in the South tower (which is also check-in). The Club Intrawest occupies 3(?) floors in the North tower. You check in for both at the Sheraton desk.

 

[Cerberus9]

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

I don't recall seeing the IPA on board, but you can pick it up in the liquor store in Skagway (if you can wait that long!)

 

[PPFQP]

not sure what the dcl excursion of the northwest exploration part is, but if you just want to do the suspension bridge, there is a free shuttle that do pick ups at various hotel locations, and canada place is one of them. my brother & family did this just recently. and i'm planning on taking the free shuttle prior to our cruise. not on the day of! we are staying couple days before to explore vancouver.

Anyone have any more specific information about this?

 

[gonemousin']

We had the late seating on the May 10-17 cruise. I didn't notice anyone wearing jeans for any of the dinners (with the exception of Pirate night). Most people showed some class and followed the dress code. Those that didn't stuck out like sore thumbs.

And we had the first seating on the 5/10-17 where I'd estimate 65% of the dining room was in jeans on casual nights. Even on semi formal night, my husband and I were by FAR the most dressed up and I felt out of place. To the point where I thought we screwed up and got the schedule wrong - that's how overdressed we were. I wore a short cocktail dress and DH had a shirt/tie on. Formal night was equally hit or miss.

It was the most casual cruise I'd ever been on and frankly, it was quite enjoyable. I didn't mind seeing all the jeans.

 

[poohj80]

6. Spent a day in Vancouver. It was fun. The Canucks won their series that night, so lot of partying.

We were at the game in Nashville where they won, but we weren't partying. Was hoping to wear my Preds stuff to Vancouver in August if they pulled the upset.

 

[gonemousin']

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".

No seasickness in our family, thankfully, but there were a lot of moments were the ship would feel like it was rolling from side to side when we were steering through the narrow channels of the inside passage. We'd feel the boat list from left to right, look out and see calm waters and then realize we were making a hard turn.

Other than that, we only had one day of moderate swells (4-12ft, so definitely nothing big) on our first morning at sea (Wednesday). It was short and not too bad.

 

[gonemousin']

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 excursion and it was wonderful! I loved being on a smaller jetboat. We did the 10AM tour (on the boat around 10:30AM) and saw a pod of 12 killer whales/orcas, including a baby orca swimming with its mom. We also saw 4 humpback whales, stellar sea lions and lots of bald eagles. It was a great experience. We had a warm sunny day, but it was cold on the water - definitely dress in layers. When we got to the Mendenhall Glacier, we went to the restroom and peeled off some layers. We really enjoyed the Mendenhall Glacier. It was a very beautiful park and has a waterfall you can hike to if you're in the mood.

We had a verandah stateroom that we scored a fabulous/cheap upgrade on when we checked in at the port and we spent an enormous amount of time on it watching whales and the Sawyer Glacier, but we still thought the Whale/Glacier excursion was well worth the experience for our family.

 

[poohj80]

We had a verandah stateroom that we scored a fabulous/cheap upgrade on when we checked in at the port and we spent an enormous amount of time on it watching whales and the Sawyer Glacier, but we still thought the Whale/Glacier excursion was well worth the experience for our family.

May I ask the details of your upgrade? Did you just ask when you checked in?

 

[ilovemk76]

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.

Thanks. Since room service starts too late we needed another option.