Love the trip report so far! I think I'm going to request the same dining rotation you had--being in Animators for the formal nights sounds terrific. And, I'm glad to hear that you can get a plain salad because I don't like the fancy stuff...I like my salads even plainer than yours...no dressing!
Sailing without Flip Flops!! Our Alaska Cruise - May 28th, 2012 UPDATED 7/5
- Thread starter scrapbookingpro
- Start date
mikamomof3
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Dec 28, 2006
We just got back from our first Disney (Fantasy) Cruise yesterday...yes, already planning. REALLY want to do Alaska, but worried as my kids LOVED swimming and we are a warm weather type of family. My 8 yr old hardly left the Oceaneer Lab and didn't interact with others much - just played on those computers which was fine for us as he was so happy!!! However, my 7 and 11 yr olds made friends and swam all day and night - almost. Were there many kids aboard? I know May could have had fewer.....I am looking August 12, 2013.
Also, were there plenty of activities inside during the day in case of bad weather? Does the overall ship and schedule of activities compare to a craibbean one just with different stops? I know with a lot of port stops it won't be as important since we will be off the ship a lot. They loved watching the movies outside at night too.....I am enjoying reading your experience as I will have my parents as well as my sister's family with us too. We are debating right now between Alaska, Fantasy again or Europe (kids might not appreciate it yet and the airfare is outrageous)!
Thanks for the info!
Also, were there plenty of activities inside during the day in case of bad weather? Does the overall ship and schedule of activities compare to a craibbean one just with different stops? I know with a lot of port stops it won't be as important since we will be off the ship a lot. They loved watching the movies outside at night too.....I am enjoying reading your experience as I will have my parents as well as my sister's family with us too. We are debating right now between Alaska, Fantasy again or Europe (kids might not appreciate it yet and the airfare is outrageous)!
Thanks for the info!
Loved your trip report. We were on the same cruise. Our first Alaska cruise too. I told my hubby I wouldn't mind doing that cruise again. It was chilly for us, but we stayed warm with the coffee and hot chocolate on board. I hate to admit it but I had to break down and buy gloves and a hat in Skagway since I forgot to pack any. Fortunately, we didn't break the bank on those purchases. I loved the "critter hats" that were for sale everywhere. Thanks again for sharing your pictures and thoughts.
Kaye
Kaye
alliebelle3
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2009
I am so happy to have found your TR! We are doing the Alaskan cruise next May on the Wonder, so this is very helpful. I was very excited about your note about trivia -- my fiance (he'll be my husband by then!) are trivia fanatics!
Looking forward to more
Looking forward to more
scrapbookingpro
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 10, 2006
HI!
Well, first of all, I'm so glad to hear you had a great time on the Fantasy!
I have to say that Alaska was a most amazing experience for us, and I would absolutely recommend it to everyone. But, to address your concerns, yes it was cold, although it won't necessarily be so cold in August. Many of the locals in Skagway and Juneau told us it can get pretty warm there in the summer months. Also, the pools on the ship were heated- very heated. One day we swam in the Goofy Pool and it was actually warmer than the hot tubs.
I also want to point out that since you just had your first ever cruise aboard the Fantasy, you may miss a few of those "new special touches" if you sail on the Wonder. Just be aware and adjust your expectations so you don't feel let down. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the Wonder. But I think people tend to prefer the ship they experience first, so you may miss things like that "brand new" feeling, the mini-golf, the movies-on-demand, Aqua Duck, etc.
Of course the experience you have in Alaska may be well worth the trade off!
As for kids on board, it's true that there were less than usual. Actually, we were sailing at about 700 under capacity, from what I was told. There were still plenty of kids around of course, but not as many as we have seen on Caribbean cruises. That, as you mentioned, could be due to the fact that many schools were not out yet. I imagine there will be more kids sailing in August.
About the movies outside, there you will be slightly disappointed. First of all, they can't play them all the time in Alaska because of the states strict noise laws. There were long periods of time when nothing would play on Funnel Vision at all. Also, the evenings were much too chilly for most people to hang out on deck. The few times I walked by the pools at night, they were completely deserted.
The ship's on board activities are very similar to Caribbean cruises. They have all of the same basic activities, events, games, shows, etc. But I did notice that on port days there were very few events scheduled. I'm sure that pretty much everyone leaves the ship. They still had some activities scheduled, just not very many. You probably will be off the ship anyway, so no need to worry. But on sea days and Tracy Arm day there were just as many activities as any other cruise.
I hope that helps a little. I secretly hope you will try Alaska
Whatever you choose I hope you have an amazing time
scrapbookingpro
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 10, 2006
I am so happy to have found your TR! We are doing the Alaskan cruise next May on the Wonder, so this is very helpful. I was very excited about your note about trivia -- my fiance (he'll be my husband by then!) are trivia fanatics!
Looking forward to more
YAY Trivia!! LOL, we loved it too. They had disney, cruise ship, pirate, general knowledge, tv tunes, tv catch phrases, movie quotes, 70s music, 90s music, so much more. So fun!!!!
scrapbookingpro
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 10, 2006
Those were so cute!!
scrapbookingpro
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 10, 2006
I was SO excited fro Tracy Arm day. I really wanted to see some of this amazing fjord I had heard so much about.
DS had crawled in bed with me at 2am and DH was so tired he just left him there and went to sleep in my son's bed.
I guess it's fine as long as everyone gets some sleep! DH got up early again to go to the gym (he is a group fitness instructor at home so if he doesn't go he is in trouble) and DS woke up again at 6AM. Yuck. I am not good at mornings.
BUT, 6AM on the cruise ship is much better than 6AM at home, so up I get.
Good morning:
When DH came back we took DS up to the buffet for breakfast. It was already feeling preeeeeety cold outside. DH and I didn't eat much because we had a PALO reservation at 10:30- so excited for that! DS ate his usual, 2 bites of bacon and a bagel. Half way through breakfast my mom found us.
She and I decided to go for a walk around deck 4 (if you don't know, there is a walking area that goes all the way around deck 4) and DH would take DS to his favorite activity: riding elevators. He loves the glass elevators.
Mom and I had a nice walk around deck 4. It was cold out but we were walking at a decent pace so it didn't feel so bad. I was trying to keep an eye out for whales, but wasn't having any luck spotting them.
Soon I had to leave to get ready for Palo. I was pretty hungry.
DH and I were eating with my brother and RJ while my mom stayed with DS.
We arrived at Palo right at 10:30, which is also when they open.
We had a lovely table:
Cheers!
Our server was Alex from Russia. He was really nice and told us we had been seated in "the Russian section". He had lots of amusing stories. He also talked us into having the famous grape pizza.
Of course this did not do well with my picky eater syndrome. But it was well liked by my table mates. We also asked for a spicy sausage pizza which was really yummy.
After a tour of the buffet, we all loaded up our plates and sat down to enjoy the view. Now, the dish that I drool over and return to Palo brunch every trip for is the wonderful and delicious.....drum roll.......
Chicken parm with risotto!!!!
I also had the pancakes:
And dessert.....
We enjoyed this view:
More buffet photos:
For the record, I think that Tracy Arm day was a GREAT time to schedule Palo brunch, however we did miss out on the BBQ that day (too full!!!) so if the BBQ is important to you, you should schedule your brunch another day
*The BBQ was outside of BBB, even though it was raining, and they had chicken, fish and other things grilling on the grill that smelled amazing.
We were ready to leave Palo at around 12:15. I think Alex was having a bit of an "off" day though. He was great, but towards the end seemed very distracted and he kept coming back to refill our coffee even though we kept saying we were ready to go. We started joking about being held captive by Russia.
Finally we left Palo and went down to put warm clothes on for Tracy Arm. We wanted to watch from outside until it got too cold, then we planned to move down to our veranda and continue watching from there.
the navigator says that the Tracy Arm View and Narration would begin at 1:45PM. We were up on deck by 1:15. There was not a huge crowd up there, probably because it was raining, and pretty cold.
Here we are, binoculars ready:
My mom and I- she did not like the cold:
You can start to see icebergs in the water now:
Up on deck 10:
Basically during this time, we were just hanging out on deck 10. The ship moves very slowly through the water, being careful to avoid the icebergs and the seals. A lot of kids were enjoying the basketball court and fooseball tables while their parents watched the scenery. It stopped raining for awhile, and even more kids appeared on the courts.
There was also plenty of hot chocolate and chocolate chip cookies for everyone. We really enjoyed standing up there sipping our hot chocolates, watching the icebergs get bigger and bigger.
Tracy's arm in Tracy Arm, haha
Pluto came by!
DS had crawled in bed with me at 2am and DH was so tired he just left him there and went to sleep in my son's bed.
I guess it's fine as long as everyone gets some sleep! DH got up early again to go to the gym (he is a group fitness instructor at home so if he doesn't go he is in trouble) and DS woke up again at 6AM. Yuck. I am not good at mornings.BUT, 6AM on the cruise ship is much better than 6AM at home, so up I get.
Good morning:
When DH came back we took DS up to the buffet for breakfast. It was already feeling preeeeeety cold outside. DH and I didn't eat much because we had a PALO reservation at 10:30- so excited for that! DS ate his usual, 2 bites of bacon and a bagel. Half way through breakfast my mom found us.
She and I decided to go for a walk around deck 4 (if you don't know, there is a walking area that goes all the way around deck 4) and DH would take DS to his favorite activity: riding elevators. He loves the glass elevators.
Mom and I had a nice walk around deck 4. It was cold out but we were walking at a decent pace so it didn't feel so bad. I was trying to keep an eye out for whales, but wasn't having any luck spotting them.
Soon I had to leave to get ready for Palo. I was pretty hungry.
DH and I were eating with my brother and RJ while my mom stayed with DS.
We arrived at Palo right at 10:30, which is also when they open.
We had a lovely table:
Cheers!
Our server was Alex from Russia. He was really nice and told us we had been seated in "the Russian section". He had lots of amusing stories. He also talked us into having the famous grape pizza.
Of course this did not do well with my picky eater syndrome. But it was well liked by my table mates. We also asked for a spicy sausage pizza which was really yummy.
After a tour of the buffet, we all loaded up our plates and sat down to enjoy the view. Now, the dish that I drool over and return to Palo brunch every trip for is the wonderful and delicious.....drum roll.......
Chicken parm with risotto!!!!
I also had the pancakes:
And dessert.....
We enjoyed this view:
More buffet photos:
For the record, I think that Tracy Arm day was a GREAT time to schedule Palo brunch, however we did miss out on the BBQ that day (too full!!!) so if the BBQ is important to you, you should schedule your brunch another day
*The BBQ was outside of BBB, even though it was raining, and they had chicken, fish and other things grilling on the grill that smelled amazing.
We were ready to leave Palo at around 12:15. I think Alex was having a bit of an "off" day though. He was great, but towards the end seemed very distracted and he kept coming back to refill our coffee even though we kept saying we were ready to go. We started joking about being held captive by Russia.
Finally we left Palo and went down to put warm clothes on for Tracy Arm. We wanted to watch from outside until it got too cold, then we planned to move down to our veranda and continue watching from there.
the navigator says that the Tracy Arm View and Narration would begin at 1:45PM. We were up on deck by 1:15. There was not a huge crowd up there, probably because it was raining, and pretty cold.
Here we are, binoculars ready:
My mom and I- she did not like the cold:
You can start to see icebergs in the water now:
Up on deck 10:
Basically during this time, we were just hanging out on deck 10. The ship moves very slowly through the water, being careful to avoid the icebergs and the seals. A lot of kids were enjoying the basketball court and fooseball tables while their parents watched the scenery. It stopped raining for awhile, and even more kids appeared on the courts.
There was also plenty of hot chocolate and chocolate chip cookies for everyone. We really enjoyed standing up there sipping our hot chocolates, watching the icebergs get bigger and bigger.
Tracy's arm in Tracy Arm, haha
Pluto came by!
scrapbookingpro
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 10, 2006
This is how DS felt about Tracy Arm:
DH took him inside soon after. My mom also got too cold and went to her veranda. I stayed out with my brother and RJ. I was cold, but loved the views and the atmosphere up on deck. People were calling out to each other when they would see things, and talking and laughing a lot. I liked the "friendly gathering" feeling.
Hello Seal!
There was some narration going on at this time but it was difficult to hear. They can't turn it up very loud due to the strict noise laws in the area. I caught a few things now and then. There was also a naturalist up on deck answering people's questions. She said the captain would try to get as close to the glacier and he possibly could, but he had to be aware of the seal population.
The temps were in the 30s now, rain drizzling on and off
You can see an eagle in the tree:
The blue color in the ice was beautiful:
The deck started to really empty as we got closer. People were too cold.
At around 4:30 we finally decided to run for our verandas:
I thought the veranda view was just as good, until we actually got right up to the glacier. Then I couldn't see it from our room and had to run back upstairs for photos.
We were told that the cruise before us was not able to make it in this far due to weather. It was exciting to get up so close!
It was close to our dinner time when the ship finally started to turn around.
For those who are curious, Disney did not have very many activities scheduled during the actual Tracy Arm narration time, which was 1:45-5:00PM. There were movies playing, and kids activities in the clubs but that was about it. Before and after the narration time there were lots of activities though, including Bingo, Trivia, Animation, Mickey 200 race, the BBQ, and several games.
DH took him inside soon after. My mom also got too cold and went to her veranda. I stayed out with my brother and RJ. I was cold, but loved the views and the atmosphere up on deck. People were calling out to each other when they would see things, and talking and laughing a lot. I liked the "friendly gathering" feeling.
Hello Seal!
There was some narration going on at this time but it was difficult to hear. They can't turn it up very loud due to the strict noise laws in the area. I caught a few things now and then. There was also a naturalist up on deck answering people's questions. She said the captain would try to get as close to the glacier and he possibly could, but he had to be aware of the seal population.
The temps were in the 30s now, rain drizzling on and off
You can see an eagle in the tree:
The blue color in the ice was beautiful:
The deck started to really empty as we got closer. People were too cold.
At around 4:30 we finally decided to run for our verandas:
I thought the veranda view was just as good, until we actually got right up to the glacier. Then I couldn't see it from our room and had to run back upstairs for photos.
We were told that the cruise before us was not able to make it in this far due to weather. It was exciting to get up so close!
It was close to our dinner time when the ship finally started to turn around.
For those who are curious, Disney did not have very many activities scheduled during the actual Tracy Arm narration time, which was 1:45-5:00PM. There were movies playing, and kids activities in the clubs but that was about it. Before and after the narration time there were lots of activities though, including Bingo, Trivia, Animation, Mickey 200 race, the BBQ, and several games.
MichelleVW
<font color=green>I call them "the people that liv
- Joined
- Dec 13, 2005
Loving this trip report!! DH has asked about an Alaskan cruise so I think this is the next one I'm going to book!! 
scrapbookingpro
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 10, 2006
Time for us to change for dinner. We went to the lobby at 5:30 to grab a couple of character pictures.
Kenai and Koda were out:
Also, this was the day to catch the characters in their "Alaska" outfits. We missed Mickey which i am really sad about
But here is Minnie:
And Donald:
Chip and Dale don't have Alaska wear.
The ship is sailing away from the glacier now:
Dinner at Animator's Palate tonight, show dinner.
My DH had this. I think it was the Veal Chop:
Apple Crumble, so yummy:
After dinner we walked through the gift shop. they have several things specific to Alaska, but I wish they had a lot more. I really wanted a shirt that said Alaska Cruise or something on it. They had a couple but they were all too "boyish" for me.
The show tonight was the specialty act Wayne Hoffman. We were not that interested, but my DS was thrilled about going, so we went.
He did some CRAZY mind tripping stuff. One thing was he opened a can of coke and drank it all and crushed the can, then he made it fix itself, refill with coke and reseal itself. It was very strange to watch. He did some audience mind reading stuff too, that was also really weird.
After the show we had to once again be boring, and go straight to bed. We were just so exhausted every night!
Here is the night's towel friend:
Tomorrow: Skagway
Also, because not all of you go to bed at 10, here were some activities for you:
Who Wants to be a Mouseketeer?, Movies, Alex on Piano, Variety act- Sideshow Bert, Rock "N" Country at Wavebands, and Speakerbox LIVE
Oh, and side note: There were ZERO movies on the Funnel Vision today. Probably a noise issue for the Tracy Arm area.
Kenai and Koda were out:
Also, this was the day to catch the characters in their "Alaska" outfits. We missed Mickey which i am really sad about
But here is Minnie:
And Donald:
Chip and Dale don't have Alaska wear.
The ship is sailing away from the glacier now:
Dinner at Animator's Palate tonight, show dinner.
My DH had this. I think it was the Veal Chop:
Apple Crumble, so yummy:
After dinner we walked through the gift shop. they have several things specific to Alaska, but I wish they had a lot more. I really wanted a shirt that said Alaska Cruise or something on it. They had a couple but they were all too "boyish" for me.
The show tonight was the specialty act Wayne Hoffman. We were not that interested, but my DS was thrilled about going, so we went.
He did some CRAZY mind tripping stuff. One thing was he opened a can of coke and drank it all and crushed the can, then he made it fix itself, refill with coke and reseal itself. It was very strange to watch. He did some audience mind reading stuff too, that was also really weird.
After the show we had to once again be boring, and go straight to bed. We were just so exhausted every night!
Here is the night's towel friend:
Tomorrow: Skagway
Also, because not all of you go to bed at 10, here were some activities for you:
Who Wants to be a Mouseketeer?, Movies, Alex on Piano, Variety act- Sideshow Bert, Rock "N" Country at Wavebands, and Speakerbox LIVE
Oh, and side note: There were ZERO movies on the Funnel Vision today. Probably a noise issue for the Tracy Arm area.
tinkerbellerina
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 4, 2012
We have been debating on what we should do for our 20th anniversary. Your pictures have convinced me that we need to go to Alaska on a Disney Cruise. Thanks so much for posting! I look forward to seeing and reading about the rest of your trip.
I look forward to seeing and reading about the rest of your trip.girlpenguin
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2008
Thank you SO much for this trip report! I am hanging on every word. We leave on the July 9 cruise, and I've been anxiously awaiting TRs from the Seattle-Seattle folks. Plus, you have a child who is about my daughter's age, so that's very helpful from that perspective. It's really great that you have pictures, too!
I would love to know what was on the Taste of Alaska menu! You mentioned that your son didn't make it through dinner several times. Does that mean that one of you took him back to your room during dinner? How did the time change affect him? We're coming from the central time zone, so we won't be quite as bad as you, but I am very concerned about it. In addition to my 6-year-old, we also have an 18-month old. So it will be interesting
I would love to know what was on the Taste of Alaska menu! You mentioned that your son didn't make it through dinner several times. Does that mean that one of you took him back to your room during dinner? How did the time change affect him? We're coming from the central time zone, so we won't be quite as bad as you, but I am very concerned about it. In addition to my 6-year-old, we also have an 18-month old. So it will be interesting
scrapbookingpro
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 10, 2006
Thanks! I can't take any credit, my DH is the one who knows all that stuff.
We have been debating on what we should do for our 20th anniversary. Your pictures have convinced me that we need to go to Alaska on a Disney Cruise. Thanks so much for posting!
Yes, DO IT, you will love it
I would love to know what was on the Taste of Alaska menu! You mentioned that your son didn't make it through dinner several times. Does that mean that one of you took him back to your room during dinner? How did the time change affect him? We're coming from the central time zone, so we won't be quite as bad as you, but I am very concerned about it. In addition to my 6-year-old, we also have an 18-month old. So it will be interesting
This is last year's menu, but pretty sure it is the same. The crab legs were a big hit.
http://allears.net/cruise/men_tak.htm
We never took our son back to the room. Dinners mostly looked like this:
We tried to take him to bed after dinner but he would always wake up and get upset about missing the show. He wanted to see EVERY show.
The time change was a bit rough, and there is an EXTRA time change on the ship! I think it was the 2nd day, we set our ship clocks back 1 hour. We were in Seattle for a few days before the cruise so he was kind of adjusting to the change (kept waking up really early though) but then that extra change on the ship threw him off again- and us too! Basically the result was that he would wake up really early, then fall asleep around dinner time, then wake up around 7, then go back to sleep at 9:30 or 10.
He was all messed up after we got home too, and there were 2 or 3 nights in a row that he slept for 13 hours straight, lol. Poor kid. Hopefully you won't have as much trouble coming from central time, but watch out for that extra hour on the ship
pixarmom
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2009
Too funny! Your son looks a lot like our 5-year-old at WDW during dinners. (Not only because ours falls asleep during 75% of dinners on vacations of any kind, but because they actually look a lot alike, too!) Looking forward to more updates!
Momma2Jax
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2012
love it. Thanks for your update!
I love all the detail you're giving--this is so helpful and interesting! We're booked for Palo brunch at the same time on Tracy Arm day. Fingers crossed we get a window table too!
Where did you get the cute Mickey poncho your son has on? Was that from a previous Disney vacation or did you buy it on board?
Where did you get the cute Mickey poncho your son has on? Was that from a previous Disney vacation or did you buy it on board?
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