The 2011 Alaskan Thread--Cruise Tips and Planning

[nzdisneymom]

Cindy, do you have children? What excursions did you do? I have an 8 year old daughter and am wonder which ones would be best.

I do have children - teenage boys - I went to the Alice tea by myself (Ariel and Tiana were in attendance). I don't remember if the tea was on another day or not.

In Skagway, we did White Pass Railway and Trail Camp through DCL. A beautiful scenic train ride up and a bus ride back - stopped at the Welcome to Alaska sign which became our Christmas Card phot, and a stop at Liarsville which was cheesy but fun. We got to pan for gold. Then in the afternoon we just walked around Skagway while the boys were back on the ship doing their youth activity stuff.

In Juneau, we did Glacier Adventure by Helicopter which took us on a helicopter ride to the top of Mendenhall Glacier. What a rush. And FREEZING! Definitely remember that while a light jacket is fine on the ground, at 30,000+ feet up, it's a lot colder. We saw a mountain goat, too. In the afternoon, we did Whale Watching with Harv and Marv which we booked on our own. Actually, we found a lady and her daughter on our Meet thread who were also doing it, so we made arrangements to be together - so it was six passengers, the captain, and the first mate on the boat. Much better than the bigger whale watching boats. Well worth the experience!

In Ketchikan, we left the boys on the ship and went out shopping for the afternoon.


I can't remember, either, which nights were special nights. I do know that Ketchikan night was not a "themed" night as in the three restaurants do their own thing because we ate in the buffet. I don't even remember which night was pirates night because they didn't do fireworks.

 

[queenbee99]

THANKS!! Have you ever done Hoop Dee Doo at WDW? I wonder if Liarsville is like that? My dd LOVES HDDR!! I really thought my dh was set on the glacier but he wants to do the salmon fishing. These excursions can get so expensive. I am thinking I might tell him just to do both.

I do have children - teenage boys - I went to the Alice tea by myself (Ariel and Tiana were in attendance). I don't remember if the tea was on another day or not.

In Skagway, we did White Pass Railway and Trail Camp through DCL. A beautiful scenic train ride up and a bus ride back - stopped at the Welcome to Alaska sign which became our Christmas Card phot, and a stop at Liarsville which was cheesy but fun. We got to pan for gold. Then in the afternoon we just walked around Skagway while the boys were back on the ship doing their youth activity stuff.

In Juneau, we did Glacier Adventure by Helicopter which took us on a helicopter ride to the top of Mendenhall Glacier. What a rush. And FREEZING! Definitely remember that while a light jacket is fine on the ground, at 30,000+ feet up, it's a lot colder. We saw a mountain goat, too. In the afternoon, we did Whale Watching with Harv and Marv which we booked on our own. Actually, we found a lady and her daughter on our Meet thread who were also doing it, so we made arrangements to be together - so it was six passengers, the captain, and the first mate on the boat. Much better than the bigger whale watching boats. Well worth the experience!

In Ketchikan, we left the boys on the ship and went out shopping for the afternoon.


I can't remember, either, which nights were special nights. I do know that Ketchikan night was not a "themed" night as in the three restaurants do their own thing because we ate in the buffet. I don't even remember which night was pirates night because they didn't do fireworks.

 

[poohj80]

do you have children? What excursions did you do? I have an 8 year old daughter and am wonder which ones would be best.

Our 5yr DD went with us on teh cruise. We did the White Pass Railway with Suspension Bridges in Skagway (she loved the bridges more than the train). DH and I did the glacier discovery by helicopter without DD in the afternoon. In Juneau we booked a private whale watching tour with Rum Runner Charters (check them out on Trip Advisor) and highly recommend Capt Chris for a more personal experience! In Ketchikan we did the rafting and hiking in the forest with hot chocolate and roasting marshmallows at the end. DD LOVED this excursion as well.

 

[queenbee99]

Thank you so much! I am not sure about the suspension bridges for me and dd. I am not big on heights. I really thought dh would def want to do the glacier by helicopter. Did you book that thru Disney? I am going to check out the other ones you suggested! Thanks so much!

Our 5yr DD went with us on teh cruise. We did the White Pass Railway with Suspension Bridges in Skagway (she loved the bridges more than the train). DH and I did the glacier discovery by helicopter without DD in the afternoon. In Juneau we booked a private whale watching tour with Rum Runner Charters (check them out on Trip Advisor) and highly recommend Capt Chris for a more personal experience! In Ketchikan we did the rafting and hiking in the forest with hot chocolate and roasting marshmallows at the end. DD LOVED this excursion as well.

 

[poohj80]

Thank you so much! I am not sure about the suspension bridges for me and dd. I am not big on heights. I really thought dh would def want to do the glacier by helicopter. Did you book that thru Disney? I am going to check out the other ones you suggested! Thanks so much!

We booked all through DCL expect Whale Watching. That was what everyone wanted to do most and being on a smaller, private boat was so nice as we didn't have to fight for rail space and it was easy to pop inside when the weather wasn't the best. We could also get closer to the whales than the bigger boats.

 

[staxia]

We booked all through DCL expect Whale Watching. That was what everyone wanted to do most and being on a smaller, private boat was so nice as we didn't have to fight for rail space and it was easy to pop inside when the weather wasn't the best. We could also get closer to the whales than the bigger boats.

If you don't mind me asking... who did you use, and how did the cost compare to if you had booked through DCL?

can I ask some more questions?

What did you see, in comparison with others on the ship who took a whale watching excursion? Did you get to compare notes with anyone else?

Did you also get to visit Mendenhall at all? (this is included with the DCL excursion, and we can't decide if we feel the NEED to go or not!)

There's 4 adults going, none of whom have a strong feeling either way! HELP! lol

 

[lilbug13]

If you don't mind me asking... who did you use, and how did the cost compare to if you had booked through DCL?

can I ask some more questions?

What did you see, in comparison with others on the ship who took a whale watching excursion? Did you get to compare notes with anyone else?

Did you also get to visit Mendenhall at all? (this is included with the DCL excursion, and we can't decide if we feel the NEED to go or not!)

There's 4 adults going, none of whom have a strong feeling either way! HELP! lol

I'd like to know all this too! THANKS!

 

[jilljill]

If you don't mind me asking... who did you use, and how did the cost compare to if you had booked through DCL?

can I ask some more questions?

What did you see, in comparison with others on the ship who took a whale watching excursion? Did you get to compare notes with anyone else?

Did you also get to visit Mendenhall at all? (this is included with the DCL excursion, and we can't decide if we feel the NEED to go or not!)

There's 4 adults going, none of whom have a strong feeling either way! HELP! lol

I'd like to know all this too! THANKS!

If you haven't read this thread http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2723087 it's definately worth the time to read over it. Lots of info on excursions from last year's cruisers.

 

[poohj80]

If you don't mind me asking... who did you use, and how did the cost compare to if you had booked through DCL?

can I ask some more questions?

What did you see, in comparison with others on the ship who took a whale watching excursion? Did you get to compare notes with anyone else?

Did you also get to visit Mendenhall at all? (this is included with the DCL excursion, and we can't decide if we feel the NEED to go or not!)

There's 4 adults going, none of whom have a strong feeling either way! HELP! lol

We used Rum Runner Charters (check them on http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti...ching_and_Fishing_Charters-Juneau_Alaska.html or http://www.rumrunnercharters.net/). Others from DCL saw orcas as well, but didn't get as close as we did. Not sure if they also saw humpbacks. You can see some of my pix here:

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42573466&postcount=1494

We could have gone to Mendenhall if we wanted to as we only booked the 2.5 hour tour, but after having been to Sawyer Glacier and Tracy Arm the previous day, my family decided to sleep in and take it easy instead of rushing around to get it all done. There are blue buses at the dock that will take you to Mendenhall and Captain Chris will pick you up there and take you whale watching or drop you there after whale watching depending on what time of day you go. I would actually recommend booking the longer excursion with him as we didn't want ours to end.

You can see prices on their web site. It was comparable to DCL for 5, but you pay based on number of people so may be better for 4. I do feel we got a much better experience for our money.

 

[squirk]

I apologize if this has been asked and answered, but I couldn't seem to craft a thread search that gave me the results I wanted:

In terms of the unique aspects of this cruise (whales, glaciers, northern lights, etc.), is there a particularly good or bad time of the year to cruise? I want to be as economical as possible, but I also don't want to cruise when all of the "good stuff" is at an ebb.

My best guess is, the closer to the winter months, the better?

Thanks!

 

[poohj80]

I apologize if this has been asked and answered, but I couldn't seem to craft a thread search that gave me the results I wanted:

In terms of the unique aspects of this cruise (whales, glaciers, northern lights, etc.), is there a particularly good or bad time of the year to cruise? I want to be as economical as possible, but I also don't want to cruise when all of the "good stuff" is at an ebb.

My best guess is, the closer to the winter months, the better?

Thanks!

Some of the excursions are considered seasonal and are not offered on all cruise (bears, for example). Also, several of the excursions which included special arrangements for kids with the counselors weren't offered when kids were most likely in school (we wanted to do train in Skagway where kids would get to ride down with activities). If I remember correctly, the very first and a few of the last cruises did not offer all excursions (we were on last AK cruise last year). My suggestion is to decide what you'd like to do then call DCL and ask if that excursion would be offered when you are thinking of going.

 

[MarkRG]

That's kind of the rub - the most economical are typically the ones with the lowest possibility for good opportunities. And especially for whales from what we were told on our excursion, later in the season is when chances to see typically go downhill quickly as they migrate to the south pacific for the winter. Also keep in mind what they have for summer up there is a very narrow window, the further you go early or late in the season, your chances for good weather will decline.

 

[Skylarr29]

If you don't mind me asking... who did you use, and how did the cost compare to if you had booked through DCL?

can I ask some more questions?

What did you see, in comparison with others on the ship who took a whale watching excursion? Did you get to compare notes with anyone else?

Did you also get to visit Mendenhall at all? (this is included with the DCL excursion, and we can't decide if we feel the NEED to go or not!)

There's 4 adults going, none of whom have a strong feeling either way! HELP! lol

We're using Harv and Marvs and they have a stop on the way back at Mendenhall. It's 15 minutes but they have told us that we can stay and take the city bus or a cab if we decide when we are there that we want to stay longer.

 

[poohj80]

That's kind of the rub - the most economical are typically the ones with the lowest possibility for good opportunities. And especially for whales from what we were told on our excursion, later in the season is when chances to see typically go downhill quickly as they migrate to the south pacific for the winter. Also keep in mind what they have for summer up there is a very narrow window, the further you go early or late in the season, your chances for good weather will decline.

We were on the last Alaskan cruise last year and went whale watching in Juneau. We saw a pod of orcas including two babies who were so new their bellies were still pinkish. We also saw 4 humpbacks so we had pretty good luck late in the season.

 

[MASrules]

Is there a character breakfast on the Alaskan cruises?

Do normal US cellphone plans work in Alaska?

 

[2PrincesseInTow]

Do normal US cellphone plans work in Alaska?

Yes, you're just traveling to another state. But don't expect your phone to always work on the ship unless you're close to shore and a cell site.

 

[DisneyBasket]

Is there a character breakfast on the Alaskan cruises?

Do normal US cellphone plans work in Alaska?

They may work, but you may be surprised by a big bill!! Check with your provider, as it will depend on your phone, what service you have purchased, and what service your provider offers there. When we called Verizon last year before our Alaskan cruise (we called several times) we got a different story each time we called, but all stories added up to extra charges if we used the phones there. We turned them to airplane mode and left them that way. Verizon told us they only offer service in one Alaskan city, and it wasn't any of the ones we were visiting! Not sure how true that is, but the bottom line is, check with your cell phone service provider to make sure you don't have any unpleasant surprises when you get home.

 

[NWmom]

They may work, but you may be surprised by a big bill!! Check with your provider, as it will depend on your phone, what service you have purchased, and what service your provider offers there. When we called Verizon last year before our Alaskan cruise (we called several times) we got a different story each time we called, but all stories added up to extra charges if we used the phones there. We turned them to airplane mode and left them that way. Verizon told us they only offer service in one Alaskan city, and it wasn't any of the ones we were visiting! Not sure how true that is, but the bottom line is, check with your cell phone service provider to make sure you don't have any unpleasant surprises when you get home.

I used my Verizon phone in Skagway to get very important brand new baby news- no extra charges. Other providers seemed not to have service.

I did not try my phone in any other cities.

 

[mellers]

Is there a character breakfast on the Alaskan cruises?

Do normal US cellphone plans work in Alaska?

Yes to the character breakfast as well.

 

[Caropooh]

Is there a character breakfast on the Alaskan cruises?

Do normal US cellphone plans work in Alaska?

We have Sprint and had very spotty coverage last year. Here's a link to a map that shows coverage. As you can see, it's roaming.
http://coverage.sprint.com/IMPACT.jsp?INTNAV=ATG:FT:Cov