Room picking for an Alaska cruise

[psimon]

Which is the more scenic side of the ship to pick when selecting a cabin (with verandah) on the Wonder for an Alaska cruise?

Thanks!

---Paul in Southern NJ

 

[Cheburashka]

Which is the more scenic side of the ship to pick when selecting a cabin (with verandah) on the Wonder for an Alaska cruise?

Thanks!

---Paul in Southern NJ

They're equally scenic because the cruise is a round trip. And on glacier day, they sit for a long while with one side of the ship looking at the glacier, then turn the ship 180 degrees so that the other side will have a long while to look at the glacier.

We happened to be starboard & had great views from our verandah. But I'm sure the port side views would have been equally awesome. When we went out on deck at Endicott Arm, we looked from both sides & saw all kinds of sights.

Imo the most important thing about a Wonder verandah, especially in Alaska, in which the boat will be still or going slow during the height of the sightseeing, is to not be close to a smoking area.

 

[tvguy]

Both. I've been on two Alaska cruises on HAL, You will be spending most of your cruising time on the deck watching all the beauty all around, not in your room

 

[Cheburashka]

Both. I've been on two Alaska cruises on HAL, You will be spending most of your cruising time on the deck watching all the beauty all around, not in your room

To each his own. We spent plenty of time relaxing in our stateroom during our Alaska cruise. The top deck was cold & crowded, so while we got some good views there, it wasn't where we wanted to hang out all day. The Disney Wonder doesn't have any non-concierge glassed-in viewing areas, so you're at the mercy of the weather when you're on deck. (Unless you have $30,000 or $40,000 to blow on a concierge cabin, in which case you can use their glassed-in lounge.)

It was great to relax in our room and be able to look through the door and see scenery outside, to step out on our verandah when we wanted a better look, and then to quickly come back inside & relax again once we got too cold. And the early morning views that we saw before breakfast, of the countryside & towns going by as we approached ports, were well-observed from our stateroom, as well.

 

[tvguy]

To each his own. We spent plenty of time relaxing in our stateroom during our Alaska cruise. The top deck was cold & crowded, so while we got some good views there, it wasn't where we wanted to hang out all day. The Disney Wonder doesn't have any non-concierge glassed-in viewing areas, so you're at the mercy of the weather when you're on deck. (Unless you have $30,000 or $40,000 to blow on a concierge cabin, in which case you can use their glassed-in lounge.)

It was great to relax in our room and be able to look through the door and see scenery outside, to step out on our verandah when we wanted a better look, and then to quickly come back inside & relax again once we got too cold. And the early morning views that we saw before waking up, of the countryside & towns going by as we approached ports, were well-observed from our stateroom, as well.

But either side of the ship will work in that case. On HAL they had crew handing out blankets and cups of hot split pea soup on the decks during the most scenic times. One of my top 10 cruise experiences.

 

[anjuan]

I agree that either side is good. We had a navigator's veranda for Alaska and I loved it! It was cheaper than a regular veranda and actually blocked some of the wind.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

We've cruised Alaska twice on the Wonder and had port-side verandahs. We watched the oceanside islands going northbound and the landside mountains/terrain going southbound. Both sides are equally fantastic. Bring your binoculars. They also serve hot chocolate on the upper/open deck and plenty of blankets if needed.

 

[abdgeek]

Which is the more scenic side of the ship to pick when selecting a cabin (with verandah) on the Wonder for an Alaska cruise?

Thanks!

---Paul in Southern NJ

I cruised Alaska on the Wonder years ago and had a ball. I specifically booked a stateroom with a verandah so that I could go out on my balcony and see the sights without having to go up on deck. You will get to see both sides of the shore, one side going up and the other side coming back.

 

[abdgeek]

To each his own. We spent plenty of time relaxing in our stateroom during our Alaska cruise. The top deck was cold & crowded, so while we got some good views there, it wasn't where we wanted to hang out all day. The Disney Wonder doesn't have any non-concierge glassed-in viewing areas, so you're at the mercy of the weather when you're on deck. (Unless you have $30,000 or $40,000 to blow on a concierge cabin, in which case you can use their glassed-in lounge.)

It was great to relax in our room and be able to look through the door and see scenery outside, to step out on our verandah when we wanted a better look, and then to quickly come back inside & relax again once we got too cold. And the early morning views that we saw before breakfast, of the countryside & towns going by as we approached ports, were well-observed from our stateroom, as well.

I’m with you. The whole reason I paid more to book a room with a verandah for my DCL Alaska Cruise was so that I could stay in my room instead of going up on deck to see the sights. It was great to be able to sit on the couch and run quickly onto the balcony to take a picture when I needed to. When we got to Dawes Glacier, I put on my coat and went on my balcony to look at the glacier and take pictures. I couldn’t believe we stayed at the glacier about 2 hours! It was really the highlight of my trip and definitely worth the money I paid for my verandah room!

 

[vegs1]

We had an aft balcony on our Alaska cruise and loved it. We saw whales right behind the ship, had great views on both sides and never missed a thing. We did spend time on deck also but most of our time was on our balcony. Loved Alaska and I’m sure you will, too!

 

[Shellyred8]

On our DCL Alaska cruise on glacier day, they faced once side of the ship towards the glacier and then we turned around and left. The other side didn't get any viewing time of the glacier front. I'm not sure what happened on that trip, but I was really surprised when we left instead of turned for the other side to get a view. On the plus side, our room was on the side that got all of the glacier-front viewing time!

 

[Cheburashka]

On our DCL Alaska cruise on glacier day, they faced once side of the ship towards the glacier and then we turned around and left. The other side didn't get any viewing time of the glacier front. I'm not sure what happened on that trip, but I was really surprised when we left instead of turned for the other side to get a view. On the plus side, our room was on the side that got all of the glacier-front viewing time!

When was that cruise?

 

[Shellyred8]

When was that cruise?

Sept 2017.

 

[Cheburashka]

Sept 2017.

Maybe they took feedback and improved the process since your cruise. I cruised DCL to Alaska in June 2018. I remember prior to my cruise, reading descriptions of how one side of the ship got more glacier viewing than the other side. I was a bit worried because my side of the ship was the other side said not to get as much time (I had booked late so couldn't change my cabin). But when we were onboard, our side had a very long viewing time, and they turned the ship around and the other side also got a very long viewing time.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

We were on the Starboard side, about midship. I loved seeing the scenery on that side on our two sea days going up, because on our sea day going down I was busy with a Palo brunch and packing. The ship turned to port first at the glacier which annoyed me a bit as I was in the room with our little one napping while my husband took the first glacier explorer excursion, then it turned to starboard while I went on the excursion. But to be fair, it did turn to both sides, I just drew the short straw. The view from the concierge area wasn't great in my opinion, it got quite crowded quickly, and because it's set back, you're not as close to the railing where there is really a great view. But we didn't spend much time on deck looking at the glacier. We met with Minnie, had some pea soup, and went back to the room/kids club for my eldest. My kids just didn't care that much about the glacier and we adults had a great chance to see it up close on the excursion. It's worth paying for that excursion, in my opinion. We got much closer to the glacier than the ship did.

 

[mrp4352]

I found it hard to see out of the navigator's veranda unless standing up - and even then, only two of the three in our stateroom could see well out of the porthole. But, I know lots of people love them!

I will say, we split time - I loved going up on deck for the expected pictures with the characters and to see the glacier ice they brought on board. But I also loved retreating from the crowds to my heated stateroom and having a lovely view that I could enjoy through the wall of glass or out on the verandah.

 

[Cheburashka]

We loved our Navigator's Verandah in Alaska. The fact that it was partially enclosed probably made it a bit less windy.

 

[Shellyred8]

Maybe they took feedback and improved the process since your cruise. I cruised DCL to Alaska in June 2018. I remember prior to my cruise, reading descriptions of how one side of the ship got more glacier viewing than the other side. I was a bit worried because my side of the ship was the other side said not to get as much time (I had booked late so couldn't change my cabin). But when we were onboard, our side had a very long viewing time, and they turned the ship around and the other side also got a very long viewing time.

I had read before the cruise that they were doing the both-sides thing, which is why I was so surprised when only one side got to view before they left. Maybe it was because it was the last cruise of the season or because whomever was supposed to be monitoring the time lost track of time or some other reason. Who knows??? It was still an amazing cruise and I'm super glad we splurged for the Veranda on that cruise!

 

[Shellyred8]

I found it hard to see out of the navigator's veranda unless standing up - and even then, only two of the three in our stateroom could see well out of the porthole. But, I know lots of people love them!

I will say, we split time - I loved going up on deck for the expected pictures with the characters and to see the glacier ice they brought on board. But I also loved retreating from the crowds to my heated stateroom and having a lovely view that I could enjoy through the wall of glass or out on the verandah.

We did the split time too. Another thing about being in your own room is that when you went out on your verandah, it was so much quieter. We could hear the ice popping in the water, which we never could've heard up on deck. It was just an amazing experience.

 

[jktmom]

Are all the balconies on the Wonder covered? We are looking at deck 7 balcony for May 2022. Thanks!