Thinking of booking Alaska last min...

[DnA2010]

Hey there,

We are thinking of booking the Wonder Alaska last minute (well Sept) - we are myself and DH, DD6 who will turn 7 during the cruise if we were to go.
We wouldn't be worrying too much about excursions, and our daughter is super social so we are expecting her to enjoy the kids club- we took our older daughter who is now 19 on the Fantasy years ago, and there were lots of fun activities- do they do lots of interesting/interactive things, or is it a lot of screens?
Do kids tend to swim still if the weather is ok?

I haven't researched the Wonder/Alaska at all- curious what sort of special activities would be on this cruise? Is the princess tea on there? I'm guessing we would be on late dining, do you think there is any chance of getting early if we waitlist?

We have been to Alaska twice as it's an easy port for us (we live in BC) but were on HAL when DD6 was a baby, and then RCL last year but just DH and I, and the weather was terrible both times turns out.

Thank you in advance!

 

[sadiecatie]

Just going from our experience last week - I believe the princess tea was available (we didn’t do it). We did the Royal Gathering and there were lots of character meeting opportunities. I think screens were available in the kids clubs, but lots of other stuff as well (my daughter mostly did crafts, some games/dance parties, and found other kids to play with). They will also do a Frozen deck party on glacier day (and a cute atrium gathering, Oaken’s Maypole Swirl).

When the weather was nice (ie not raining) there were lots of kids in the pools. My daughter swam on embarkation day, glacier day, and our last sea day.

We were assigned late dining but decided last minute to request early and got it with no problem - very glad we switched, I don’t think we’re late dining people! (We eat around 6pm every night at home). We were also able to get Palo brunch with no problems once on board. (Couldn’t book it ahead of time).

We had a great time, I’d definitely recommend going!

 

[sponica]

I thought kids swam in pools no matter the weather....or is that just mine?

 

[cinnamoroll]

I booked a last min Alaska sailing (67 days out) and waitlisted for early dining. I checked the app multiple times everyday and eventually saw an opening at 54 days out. I don't know if I would've gotten moved if I hadn't checked the app! You can also ask the dining team when you board. We never got moved off the waitlist when we sailed on the Wonder last Dec, but they moved us on embarkation day after speaking with the dining team.

There's a Frozen deck party on glacier day but from what I've read (reviews from recent cruisers) it's super short and underwhelming, and there's no meet n greet with Elsa and Anna. My 4yo will still be stoked to see them on stage so it's all good!

Princess Tea was sold out by the time I booked but we still have a shot at grabbing tix for Royal Gathering at 30 days out. Fingers crossed!

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

There was a Princess Tea on our Alaska cruise in 2019 but we didn't book it. We did do the Royal Gathering, the character breakfast with Goofy and Mickey and the Anna and Elsa ticked M&G which was supposed to include Olaf but he didn't show for some reason. He was in the kids club another time so the kids were able to do a greet with him there. Anna and Elsa also did an activity in the club, making paper crowns and learning how to be a proper prince/ss. There were a lot of activities in the club with the characters back then, but this was pre-pandemic so not sure how much that's changed. Cinderella did story hour, I think Spiderman also came to teach them how to be an Avenger. My eldest preferred the kids club on the Wonder to the Dream. My eldest was 7 and my youngest just shy of 3 so we did a lot of character meets on that first cruise, including as many characters as we could in their Alaskan outfits on glacier day. Both kids absolutely loved the live music and food in Tiana's Place. They swam in the pool and did the Twist n Spout slide on the last sea day. We skipped the Frozen deck party because we adults chose dinner at Palo that night, but we saw the stage show and it was quite good. Even with 3 sea days, we felt like there was always something to do. It was a great first cruise.

 

[FinnFogg]

We are also in BC and booked the late July/early Aug sailing this time last year (actually a week later than now). Our kids (13, 11 and 9) had a blast. They made me rebook for this summer.

 

[DCLMP]

Hey there,

We are thinking of booking the Wonder Alaska last minute (well Sept) - we are myself and DH, DD6 who will turn 7 during the cruise if we were to go.
We wouldn't be worrying too much about excursions, and our daughter is super social so we are expecting her to enjoy the kids club- we took our older daughter who is now 19 on the Fantasy years ago, and there were lots of fun activities- do they do lots of interesting/interactive things, or is it a lot of screens?
Do kids tend to swim still if the weather is ok?

I haven't researched the Wonder/Alaska at all- curious what sort of special activities would be on this cruise? Is the princess tea on there? I'm guessing we would be on late dining, do you think there is any chance of getting early if we waitlist?

We have been to Alaska twice as it's an easy port for us (we live in BC) but were on HAL when DD6 was a baby, and then RCL last year but just DH and I, and the weather was terrible both times turns out.

Thank you in advance!

Booking on a whim is the best. Nothing is guaranteed with the weather. Your daughter will have a blast, and yes they offer a lot of activities other than screens. You might have a chance at early dining if you book now.

I don't know about princess tea, but Frozen is the best show in my opinion your daughter should enjoy that. The Wonder is my favorite of the Disney ships so I may be a little biased.

 

[auntlynne]

There may be fewer kids in September.

Weather is variable, no matter the month, week, day.

We swam in late May on the way north. Pools are heated.

My thought: it’s a Disney cruise, no matter the destination. Mickey and Minnie will have cute outfits. Throw in a couple of themed activities. If she’s never been, hopefully it will all be great for her.

And since you’ve been to AK, you know the beautiful setting - looking for wildlife and enjoying the fresh air and beautiful setting may be what she loves.

I’d highly recommend it.