Two Port Questions- Nassau and Alaska

[pangyal]

I figure a twofer thread is easier so I’m not cluttering anything up with multiples!

I am wondering whether anybody who has been to Alaska in May can speak to the insect situation at the ports. I went to camp in Northern Ontario for years and am not a fan of the vast number of bugs that wanted to eat me there... and from what I’m guessing, Alaska should be similar (black flies, deer flies, no-see-ums and so on). However, I’ve not really been able to find concrete experiences, so I’m hoping some Alaskan pros can chime in? We will likely be bringing the deep woods insect repellant, but it might not even be the right one?

My second question is about Atlantis in Nassau. Can anyone who has done the Disney waterparks compare the two? We are not a fan of the vertical-type thrill slides, and their website seems to show mostly those. I’m not sure if that’s accurate in its implication that it’s geared to older kids? Mine is 9 and was “one and done” with both vertical slides at the Disney waterparks.

Thanks in advance !

 

[tanya0369]

Also wondering about Alaska mosquitos in May...

 

[kid-at-heart]

We were in Alaska last May. We spent most of our time when in ports, hiking about the local trails. We did not encounter any biting bugs even while deep on the trails. Weather was great for hiking, in the 60s.

 

[mmmears]

Not May, but early June. We didn't encounter any mosquitoes and I hear the ones in Alaska are huge so we would have noticed. I asked our private tour company about them when I booked the tour - and they said that in town and on the glacier it wouldn't be an issue at that time of year, but going hiking or into the mountains could be a different story.

 

[fredandkell]

Do not recall any insect problems on our late May/early June Alaska cruise.

 

[apathetic]

Mosquitos may not be too bad in May. But they can be if there is above average temps and/or a lot of rain. By July, they are bigger than some birds (slight exaggeration). I would bring bug spray anyway. They are seriously annoying.

 

[mmmears]

Mosquitos may not be too bad in May. But they can be if there is above average temps and/or a lot of rain. By July, they are bigger than some birds (slight exaggeration). I would bring bug spray anyway. They are seriously annoying.

Yep. I brought some just in case. And not the "ordinary" kind. I went to REI and asked them what really works, and when they heard our destination was Alaska they said we needed the better stuff. That made me really worried, but thankfully we didn't need to use it. Still, I'm glad we had it.

 

[DCL Repeaters]

Been to Alaska twice in May and never noticed any bugs.

 

[jdb in AZ]

Mosquitos seem to think I taste good, but I haven't been bit once in six Alaskan cruises ranging from mid-May til early August.

I've heard the mosquito is the state bird of Alaska, but haven't seen any evidence of it.

As for the no-see-um bugs, i got attacked once while camping here in Arizona, and broke out in a major rash from it -- the dr said I was allergic to the bites. Haven't ever had a problem with no-see-um bugs in Alaska.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

I figure a twofer thread is easier so I’m not cluttering anything up with multiples!

I am wondering whether anybody who has been to Alaska in May can speak to the insect situation at the ports. I went to camp in Northern Ontario for years and am not a fan of the vast number of bugs that wanted to eat me there... and from what I’m guessing, Alaska should be similar (black flies, deer flies, no-see-ums and so on). However, I’ve not really been able to find concrete experiences, so I’m hoping some Alaskan pros can chime in? We will likely be bringing the deep woods insect repellant, but it might not even be the right one?

My second question is about Atlantis in Nassau. Can anyone who has done the Disney waterparks compare the two? We are not a fan of the vertical-type thrill slides, and their website seems to show mostly those. I’m not sure if that’s accurate in its implication that it’s geared to older kids? Mine is 9 and was “one and done” with both vertical slides at the Disney waterparks.

Thanks in advance !

I’ll answer the Atlantis question. They have, by far, the best lazy river in the history of lazy river rides. It takes about an hour to do the entire thing and there are actually places that you have to conveyor up in your tube so you can start a gradual descent again. I seriously could have spent all day on the lazy river. From what I remember a lot of the other slides were pretty vertical but there was an area that had slower options. The pools were actually quite nice, both tons of chairs. The food was meh, but wow, that lazy river was top notch.

 

[Agent 86]

We didn't go in May, but in early June 2016 were didn't notice any biting / annoying insects. And we're Aussies so we're very familiar with mosquitoes, flies, ants, daddy long legs and an assortment of other bugs. We did minor hikes / walks in each of the ports.

We visited Atlantis and the WDW water parks in June 2012. From memory, I enjoyed the WDW water parks more because there was more variety in the types of slides. But, we also visited both water parks in one day, so there was obviously more to choose from. I did enjoy the "rapid" river in Atlantis, although that's obviously not a slide. I was pleasantly surprised by how rough it got - I was thrown out of the donut at least a couple of times.

 

[clten]

We've been to Alaska 3 times in May and have not had any problems with insects. The first time we went they were having a much warmer than normal spring so things were well thawed by then. Even then, we only saw one mosquito and that was on the outside window of our train car heading toward Denali (this was our Princess cruise tour, not DCL trips)

 

[GrnMtnMan]

A good summary of Atlantis' slides and the river:

 

[pangyal]

Thanks so much, everyone! I feel a lot better about the insect apocalypse situation for our upcoming cruise .

Thank you also for the notes (and super helpful video!) about Atlantis. My kidlet is about the width of a piece of straw and weighs about as much, so the rough and bumpy rides are pretty hard on him.

 

[brewcrew]

I live in Orlando. There are definitely more bugs (mosquitos) here than Alaska in June. Been bit a couple times tonight but was never bit in Alaska.

 

[kickash]

Was wondering about the bug situation in Alaska, too!

We love the water parks at WDW but weren’t that thrilled with Atlantis. First, it’s huge, like, so huge I wasn’t sure if I could find our chairs/location once we left to go ride. Adventure river/lazy river was awesome as previous posters have stated. Lines for slides were ridiculously long the day we were there so we did the river and pools. Food was blah, found the workers to be rude, but grounds were very pretty. I wanted to see it/experience it and get pictures of my kids with those pink towers in the background. Glad we went once but not sure I’d pay that amount to go back.

 

[TikiThunderPirates]

We didn't experience any Mosquitoes in May during our Alaskan cruise EXCEPT at Take Glacier Lodge. That is one of the Port Adventures offered out of Juneau Alaska. You take a float plane out to a remote lodge by a glacier for a fresh salmon lunch and exploring. While the Port Adventure was AWESOME the mosquitoes were HUGE! When they greet you as you get to the lodge with repellent and tell you to apply.... it should have been a sign..... These suckers were so big that you could feel them if you swatted at them in the air. That being said we wore long sleeve jackets with hoods up, and jeans and applied the repellent all over. It wasn't that cold but to keep the bugs at bay we stayed covered. We didn't get bit at all, but the constant swarming of bugs was annoying. By the end of our time at the lodge we gave up and went inside for a break from the bugs! We would still do this Port Adventure again. Even with the bugs it was amazing, but at least at Taku Glacier Lodge there were bugs in May!

We even went hiking on our own into the rainforest in Ketchikan, not a single bug.