Wonder-filled first-time cruise to Alaska! (2023 6/12-19; Completed 9/26)

[FamilyHolidayPlanner]

Great TR so far. I’m following along in preparation for our trip next year. Interesting to hear about your excursion in Skagway. Like most, I’ve been leaning toward the train, but now think I’ll look around some other options before deciding.

 

[shosh1530]

Great TR so far. I’m following along in preparation for our trip next year. Interesting to hear about your excursion in Skagway. Like most, I’ve been leaning toward the train, but now think I’ll look around some other options before deciding.

There are so many options in Skagway! And it is a long port day so possible to do more than one thing. There are some tours that combine White Pass (via shuttle van) with the float tour and I'm sure one could even do the train and then another tour in the afternoon or morning (especially if they had late dinner seating or willing to miss dinner).

I just knew that DS wouldn't not do well with anything more than 4 hours and he never seemed interested in the train. I will say that I kept hearing amazing things about the train from other cruise passengers (some saw a mama bear and cub!).

One other factor is I kind of wish we booked our glacier helicopter dog sled out of Skagway. We had it the next day in Juneau and as you are about to find out the weather did not cooperate with us.

 

[shosh1530]

Day 7 - Shifting plans in Juneau

After another good night of sleep, I woke up shortly before 6 as the Wonder was pulling into Juneau. DH was already getting dressed to head up on deck and I checked the porthole to see what they day might hold for us.

We had scheduled a helicopter flight / glacier dog sledding excursion for Juneau and I knew there was a good chance that it could be cancelled due to weather. It was the one thing DS really, really wanted to do in Alaska, but I was also pretty terrified of flying in helicopter as I don't like flying in general and the father of one of my son's friends was killed in a helicopter accident last year.



So I had mixture of disappointment and relief when I saw that the forecast for rain and clouds had held true (and then some guilt about the relief).

DH's weather report when he came back wasn't any better and doubted anything would be flying that morning. We had booked our excursion through a third party not Disney and wondered how and when we could know for sure it was cancelled as neither of our phone's cell service was working in Alaska (I guess that is what you get for using cheaper carriers).

I decided to buy the ship's Wi-fi (which I had already done once before to reschedule our Skagway excursion earlier) and went for a bigger package since we had run through it so quickly before.

The excursion was supposed to meet by 8:30 so we hustled DS out of bed just in case and headed to grab breakfast at Cabanas. While we ate I tried to message both the tour company and the helicopter company without success.

When we got back to our room the weather was looking no better and we were 99% sure it must be cancelled. But both DH and I had this nagging fear that if we didn't show up we could lose our money ($620 per person). I tried to Facetime the company and also make calls via Wi-fi but nothing was working. We even tried to make a ship to shore call from our room just for the peace of mind, but no luck. (Note to myself: buy a sim card next time!).

DH finally decided to just get off the ship and find someone's phone to borrow so we could know for sure. I watched from our porthole as he found a nice bus driver who helped him out. And of course, yes, it was cancelled.

The next big question was "Now what?" DS was immediately majorly bummed (i.e. heading toward a meltdown) and I was stressed about a possibly very difficult day. I quickly scanned the excursions in the navigator app through DCL as that seemed the easiest at the last minute and was relieved to find some opening on two different summer dog camp excursions. DS thought this to be an acceptable alternative (phew!) and I booked one for 11:15.

With that all settled, DH went to do a workout while DS and I headed to the French Quarter Lounge for some "Heroes Trivia." We had been wanting to get some beignets (our favorite Disneyland treat) and also try trivia. Turns out we are really, really bad at trivia (this was classic animation not Marvel like we thought), but the beignets and chocolate sauce were great.



After our treats, DS took me on a tour all around the ship of different spots he had been to during his scavenger hunts from the Edge. We took the stairs and hit every deck, so it was like my own mini-workout. We stopped at looked at lots of decorated doors and had fun walking by the big fancy suites on the concierge deck and getting a quick peek as we passed one getting cleaned.

We eventually met DH back on deck 9 for some quick food from Pete's Boiler Bites while DS, of course, got pizza. So we were all fueled up for our excursion, now we just need all the layers we owned to manage the cool temps and rain.

We met up our excursion group in Azure and then it was a very quick trip off the ship and on to the tour bus. We only saw a small amount of Juneau before crossing a bridge and heading up the slightly mountainy road to the camp. I was totally confused because I could have swore that the description had said the camp was on an island and that we would be going by boat, but it must have just been me rushing and all the stress that led me astray.



We got to the camp and they split us into groups of 6 and had us quickly get on the "sleds." DS and I took the front while DS grabbed a spot in the back. The dogs were barking up a storm and the staff explained that they get very excited to run.

And we were off! The team of dogs pulled us around about a mile of tree-lined track with the musher in the very back calling out commands.



They took a break about halfway through to let the dogs rest, get water, and take a potty break.



This was a good opportunity for some photos before we hopped back on and finished the track.



After the sledding, we got to meet the dog team and learn more from our musher, Jesse, about them. These particular dogs weren't her team, but she knew them all well and pointed out which ones were more timid and the more sociable ones. Some of the dogs are retired from the Iditarod, but still need to run, while others were young ones training.



Jesse is also hoping to race in the Iditarod and has done several long distance races. It was clear that she loved the dogs a lot.



Once the mushing was over, they had our group go across a short suspension bridge that went over the creek. We had a few minutes for photos and then we headed over to hear a brief talk about the Iditarod.



I know almost nothing about dog sledding so I appreciated learning a bit. Our guide showed us some of the different equipment they use and told stories about some different people affiliated with the camp who have done the race. She had only been there for 5 week and was new to Alaska, but she still had lots to share.



Next it was puppy time! I'm not really a dog person, but who can resist puppies? They had a litter of 5 pups who were just a few weeks old. Each family got a turn holding them and were instructed to cuddle them in our jackets to keep them warm.

Our last station on the excursion was hand washing and getting some hot chocolate. Except there wasn't time to drink the hot chocolate as they immediately asked us to get on the bus.

Overall the excursion felt very touristy compared to our day in Skagway and a little rushed, but I will DS absolutely loved it and said it was favorite thing about Alaska so I'm glad we did it.

Our bus driver on the way back was also new to Alaska so he didn't really have any stories to tell us. They kindly dropped off folks in Juneau who wanted to explore the port before going back to the ship. We decided to just go back as DS was anxious to get to the kid's club.

To be continued...

 

[shosh1530]

Day 7 - Shifting plans in Juneau (part 2)

We made it back to the ship from our excursion around 2 pm and DS decided he would go for a swim before hitting the kid's club. He really wanted me to try out the water slide and I agreed on the condition that I could go directly to the spa afterwards.

So we all got our swim suits on and headed to deck 9. We did the slide first and oh how I wish I had brought my phone camera up with me as it was quite a view of Juneau and the surrounding landscape on the way down. But I was too cold to do it again!

The boys had promised me that the pool water would feel warm, so I quickly made my way there. Maybe I'm just a cold wimp, but it did not feel warm to me. I was shivering so much I started hyperventilating and had to just go over to the hot tub immediately. No polar bear club for me.

After I warmed up for a few minutes, I left the boys at the pool and headed for the Rainforest Room. I had bought the package of scrubs on the first day and had kept forgetting to do them but had brought along the chocolate peppermint scrub this time and was excited to try it out (even though I felt kind of silly for getting talked into buying them).

The Rainforest Room was completely empty so I headed into the mild steam room where they have the shower jets for washing off the scrubs. I will say the scrub smelled so delicious and made my skin very soft! I should have brought the whole package with me as I later realized you are supposed to do the masque part of it after the scrub. Oops.

I hung out on the heated loungers for a bit and then saw a message from DH that he was heading to bingo once I got back to the locker room. DH is not really a bingo or gambling person and neither am I, but they sure make it fun on DCL. I showered quickly and headed over to meet in him in Azure.



DH had already purchased one of the tablets this time and I will so it makes things so much easier. DS had gone off the Edge, so he didn't get to play. It was the $2500 mega jackpot, so there was a lot of excitement in the room. Twice I got to be one number away right when someone shouted Bingo. No one the mega jackpot round, which means the pot would grow the next day.

Dinner this evening was back at Animator's Palate and DS was already seated an waiting for us by the time DH and I made it over. There were large pieces of paper on the table to each of us to draw our own characters and our server explained that we should do that before the food service would start.



We had pre-ordered our main dishes the night before, but DS ordered another specialty shake this evening and it came with an adorable Remy straw.



I don't remember what we got for appetizers this night (soup?), but we had ordered a wedge salad off the regular menu for DS but they brought the kid's menu salad instead. Oh well.

For our main entrees, DS and I both got the sesame-crusted sweet and sour tofu, while DH got wild mushroom and sweet onion strudel. Both dishes were really tasty (and possibly vegan as is on the menu) and it was nice to have two above-average dinners in a row!



After we finished our entrees, the "animation magic" portion of the evening started where they bring to life the drawings each table did. This was super fun and I was so happy that dinners were going smoothly and that DS didn't miss out on it!



The only disappointment of the evening was dessert. DS happily got a mickey bar and we had been told the night before that the adults could a non-dairy chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. Unfortunately we got the blandest vanilla coconut ice cream instead.



As we were exiting dinner the Silver Anniversary at Sea Soiree was starting in the atrium to we stopped by to watch. The characters came out in their special costumes and after the intros and a little dancing they pose for pictures with the guests.



Many officers from the crew are also there so we stopped to chat with them rather than do character photos. DS had a long conversation with Martin from the UK, who heads up hospitality part of the ship. We then chatted with Captain Thord. Both gentlemen were very kind to DS and encouraged him to work hard in his studies if he wanted to work on a cruise ship and travel the world some day.



We headed back to the room, which Twinkle had already turned down for the evening. It was almost 8 pm, so we pretty much just grabbed our popcorn bucket and headed over to the Walt Disney Theater to find some seats for the Frozen show.



The show did not disappoint! I was impressed that they could have such elaborate sets for three different shows on one cruise and the cast was fantastic.



We decided to browse the gift shop again after the show as we still had not bought any souvenirs yet. DS picked out an Disney Alaska jacket and a Stitch T-shirt which maxed out his gift card (with a tiny bit of help from me). I decided the Alaska blanket (which you could only buy with a $60 purchase) and bought a lovely Christmas ornament of the Wonder. DH decided to get an Alaska T-shirt featuring Mickey.

DS somehow managed to rip the zipper of the jacket the second he put it on, but they kindly exchanged it on the spot. This happened the next day too, and he went and exchanged it on his own. I'm not sure if it was poor craftsmanship issue, or DS being to rough problem. Probably both! The third jacket seemed to work out fine.

I'm pretty sure DS popped over to the kid's club for like 20 minutes before bed and then, of course, tried to steal my new Alaska blanket when he got back to the room. But I won out, ending up another lovely night of sleep due to the waves and extra cozy with the added blanket.

 

[cinnamoroll]

How’s the blanket? Is it super duper soft

 

[shosh1530]

How’s the blanket? Is it super duper soft

It is wonderful! The backing is a faux sheepskin and very soft. I curl up with every evening here at home (under the cold A/C). My only regret is not buying it on day 1 of the cruise so I could have had more time with it on board.

 

[shosh1530]

Day 8 - Kayaking in Ketchikan

I've been a little lapsed in keeping up with my trip report, which is a shame as Ketchikan was one of my very favorite days of the cruise...

We slept in a tiny bit later on this day as we weren't going to be disembarking until after 11 am. I actually got to take a turn heading up on deck around 7 am while DH stayed in the room with DS who was still snoozing.

It was very empty and peaceful up on deck 10. I only saw a few passengers out and about taking photos, the rest of the people were cast members hard at work getting ready for the day. It was also lightly raining but thankfully not too cold.



We decided to do a sit-down breakfast on this day since we didn't need to rush off to an excursion. As soon as we were seated at Triton's I was questioning why we hadn't done this sooner! It was such a nice change from the chaos of Cabanas.

DH ordered the Buckwheat Crêpe with scrambled eggs and tofu with a side of hash browns. DS got some scrambled eggs and hash browns too, plus a small fruit plate that we all shared. I did the plant-based power breakfast that had some Just Egg substitute, a small pancake, a roasted tomato, and a veggie sausage.



Both the boys liked their food again. Mine was just so, so. Just Egg is just not good enough to eat on its own.



But aside from the blah plant-based option, I still enjoyed the more tranquil vibe and beautiful surroundings at Triton's. DS was excited to see our serving staff but a bit bummed that we didn't get seated in their section.



After breakfast, the three of us spent sometime watching our slow approach into Ketchikan. The town is very spread out, seeming to stretch for miles along the coast.



The dock is very close to town and we had nice views as the Wonder pulled into Berth 1.



We also stopped to take some photos they had set up on Deck 9. The chunk of ice they brought on board during Glacier Day was almost melted.



On our way back to our room, DS found another hidden duckie - this time a fairy duck! He was excited to add to his collection so thank to all the people who hide these little surprises.



Our plan was to order some pizza to eat an early lunch before heading to our excursion at noon. Our vegan pizza this day wasn't quite as good as our first pizza since they didn't have any veggies to add, but it was still yummy.



It was full on raining by the time we got off the ship but thankfully we had our rain gear on. We had a short walk over to Berth 3 and had a few minutes of confusion of where we needed to be.



Thankfully the confusion didn't last long and we eventually found some folks holding an "Orca Cove" sign for our kayaking adventure.

To be continued in next post due to picture limit...

 

[shosh1530]

Day 8 - Kayaking in Ketchikan (part 2)

I was super excited for our kayaking excursion as this is what I was most looking forward to in Alaska. I have never sea kayaked before (other than the failed attempt on our honeymoon) and the opportunities in Arizona for this are pretty much nonexistent. I had even been doing arm workouts for like 6 weeks to try and get ready.

We only had to wait a few minutes for the other family coming on our tour. Then we were all escorted to a small boat docked at Berth 3 that would take us to Orca Cove.

Our captain was actually the owner of the company filling in for someone that day. On the ride over he mentioned to the kayak guides that the local pod of orcas had been spotted in a certain area and there was a chance we would see some. Apparently they had been lucky seeing them on many outings that week (although I don't think this is typical every season.



The ride over to Orca Cove takes about 20 minutes. And they call the boat a "fast boat" for good reason! It was very fast and bumpy.

Orca Cove is beyond the last part of Ketchikan and very isolated. By the time we got out there the rain had stopped and the sun was starting to peek out of the clouds.



They brought us to a boat that stays anchored at the cove as our launch point. This bigger point had all the gear we would need and we all got ready in waterproof bibs and life jackets. They had the option of warm paddle jackets as well, but it seemed to be warming up so we skipped those.

Our guide, Katie, gave us some quick instructions about how we would get in and out of the kayaks and how to paddle.



Getting in and out of the kayak was the part I was most nervous about and I was nervous when Katie announced that I would go first! They use tandem kayaks, so I would be going with her, while DS and DH would share a kayak.

They had a rubber dinghy tied up that I got on first and then I scooted across to the kayak, got my hips in place and swung my legs over. Thankfully they were keeping things stabilized and I didn't go overboard!



DS was next and really wanted to be the one to steer the kayak. I tried to talk him out of it as I was worried he would get frustrated, but the guide was keen to let him try. He got in pretty easily and seemed excited about the experience.



And we were off! It me a bit to get the rhythm of paddling, especially to not drip water all over myself. The tandem kayaks are very stable and the water was super smooth.



Overall, I did pretty well with the paddling and I'm glad I had been doing those arm workouts. It was high tide, so we were able to get close in on some areas of the coves that exposed at low tide. I was a bit disappointed that we couldn't see any of the sea stars and other intertidal life that you can view at low tide. But it was just so peaceful and beautiful everywhere I turned that I loved every second of it.



The family we were on the tour with had kayaked before and were quite skilled. DH and DS fell quite a bit behind the group and I guessed that they were struggling. I think DS lost his excitement after the first few strokes and, as I had predicted, he got frustrated trying to steer (especially as gets right and left directions confused).

Eventually they caught up to us and DH asked if they could switch places. Our guide explained that would be very difficult, but did put the rudder up so that DH could just paddle to steer and not rely on the foot pedals.

In retrospect, I probably should have had DS go with the guide as I think he would have had a better time of it and would have enjoyed hearing about the area from the guide and asking questions.



We didn't really see much in the way of wildlife. I saw one fish jump out of the water, which the guide said might have been a salmon. And the guide spotted one deer through the trees. I kind of caught a glimpse of its back, but didn't see it clearly.



Our tour mates were kind enough to share a few photos they took of our kayaks. They were also from the Disney Wonder and a fun group. Their son kept finding seaweed floating in the water and offering them as edible samples. I declined trying them but he said they were good!



Our total kayaking time was just over an hour and a half. I honestly did not want it to end – although I don't think DS and DH would agree! The photos don't really do it justice.

Getting out of the kayak wasn't as hard as I feared (but I'm glad no one took pictures of that). We took off all our gear and went inside the launch boat for some snacks. They had smoked salmon, which DS actually tried but didn't like, along with hummus and crackers. DH grabbed an Alaskan beer and I made some hot chocolate for DS.

Our snack time was cut short though with the captain coming back with the next tour group. He very excitedly announced that they had just seen a pod of orcas on the way over and asked if we would like to leave early to try and catch them. We, of course, all agreed and rushed into the fast boat.

To be continued...

 

[ukintheus]

Trip reports are hard work to keep up with at the time but they are fun to look back on. Looks like you've had some fun days in port and got lucky with the weather!

 

[shosh1530]

Day 8 - Kayaking in Ketchikan (part 3)

With the potential promise of seeing orcas, we all raced into the fast boat and were on our way. DS kept his life jacket on, so all of us could sit in the open part of the boat.



After about five minutes the boat came to a sudden spot and we all stood up to see a fin that had popped up in the water. Unfortunately the water was pretty rock and I lost my balance hitting my knee and scraping my hand on the side of the boat. My hand was bleeding, but I didn't care as we saw three more fins pop up and they were getting closer!



The pod of four orcas appeared to be swimming on path right toward the boat, which I think made DS a little nervous. It probably didn't help that some of the other adults had been talking about orcas ramming boats in recent months at the start of the excursion.

We could hear their breath each time they surfaced and they ended up swimming along side the boat maybe 20-30 feet out. I've seen gray whales before in Mexico, but never orcas and this was an amazing encounter.



As we watched them swim into the distance one of the whales breached, which is something I've never seen before. What a treat!



The entire encounter lasted just over three minutes. When we could no longer see them, the captain started up the engines again and we headed back to the Ketchikan port. The captain was running behind schedule after stopping with multiple groups to see the orcas, so he took us right to the dock near the Wonder rather than back to berth 3.

We headed back to our cabin to change out of our rain gear. DS wanted to go to the Edge, so DH and I decided to stroll around Ketchikan on our own for a bit.



We wanted to see the Creek Street area, which is only about a 5 minute walk from the ship. We saw a few totem poles along the way.



We popped in and out of a few shops along Creek Street. We spent the most time in Fish Creek Company, a larger store that had some cool Stars Wars inspired art mixed with indigenous themes (by K’ómoks First Nations artist Andy Everson).



I picked out a wooden orca ornament to commemorate our earlier encounter. Like many of the items in this shop, it was marked as being locally made.

I also picked out a postcard to send to a friend and they were nice enough to also sell the postage and mail it for me (she got it about a week later).



We are not huge shoppers on vacation, so we didn't go into any other stores along Creek Street. But the area is quite picturesque and it was fun to just walk around.



It is easy to stop by a few totem poles as you walk around. This one, "Raven Stealing the Sun Totem Pole," had signage explaining the story behind the carvings and the Tongass Tlingit people it honors.



We didn't want to stay away too long with DS being back on the ship, so we headed back after about 45 minutes. We did stop in one other touristy type that had a lot big rocks, gems, and other items. It reminded me a lot of the things we see at our local gem show in Tucson (one of the biggest in the country) and speculated that many of the items were probably imported from there or similar shows.

We could hear the Lumberjack Show in action as we walked back on to the Wonder. There was a line to get back on the ship but it only took about 10 minutes.

To be continued...

 

[sadiecatie]

Day 8 - Kayaking in Ketchikan (part 3)

With the potential promise of seeing orcas, we all raced into the fast boat and were on our way. DS kept his life jacket on, so all of us could sit in the open part of the boat.

View attachment 784897

After about five minutes the boat came to a sudden spot and we all stood up to see a fin that had popped up in the water. Unfortunately the water was pretty rock and I lost my balance hitting my knee and scraping my hand on the side of the boat. My hand was bleeding, but I didn't care as we saw three more fins pop up and they were getting closer!

View attachment 784899

The pod of four orcas appeared to be swimming on path right toward the boat, which I think made DS a little nervous. It probably didn't help that some of the other adults had been talking about orcas ramming boats in recent months at the start of the excursion.

We could hear their breath each time they surfaced and they ended up swimming along side the boat maybe 20-30 feet out. I've seen gray whales before in Mexico, but never orcas and this was an amazing encounter.

View attachment 784901

As we watched them swim into the distance one of the whales breached, which is something I've never seen before. What a treat!

View attachment 784902

The entire encounter lasted just over three minutes. When we could no longer see them, the captain started up the engines again and we headed back to the Ketchikan port. The captain was running behind schedule after stopping with multiple groups to see the orcas, so he took us right to the dock near the Wonder rather than back to berth 3.

We headed back to our cabin to change out of our rain gear. DS wanted to go to the Edge, so DH and I decided to stroll around Ketchikan on our own for a bit.

View attachment 784906

We wanted to see the Creek Street area, which is only about a 5 minute walk from the ship. We saw a few totem poles along the way.

View attachment 784907

We popped in and out of a few shops along Creek Street. We spent the most time in Fish Creek Company, a larger store that had some cool Stars Wars inspired art mixed with indigenous themes.

View attachment 784908

I picked out a wooden orca ornament to commemorate our earlier encounter. Like many of the items in this shop, it was marked as being locally made.

I also picked out a postcard to send to a friend and they were nice enough to also sell the postage and mail it for me (she got it about a week later).

View attachment 784910

We are not huge shoppers on vacation, so we didn't go into any other stores along Creek Street. But the area is quite picturesque and it was fun to just walk around.

View attachment 784911

It is easy to stop by a few totem poles as you walk around. This one, "Raven Stealing the Sun Totem Pole," had signage explaining the story behind the carvings and the Tongass Tlingit people it honors.

View attachment 784912

We didn't want to stay away too long with DS being back on the ship, so we headed back after about 45 minutes. We did stop in one other touristy type that had a lot big rocks, gems, and other items. It reminded me a lot of the things we see at our local gem show in Tucson (one of the biggest in the country) and speculated that many of the items were probably imported from there or similar shows.

We could hear the Lumberjack Show in action as we walked back on to the Wonder. There was a line to get back on the ship but it only took about 10 minutes.

To be continued...

What a cool experience! We heard from our servers later that evening that a pod of orcas has been spotted right next to the Wonder - our assistant server was very excited to see orcas for the first time (and we were jealous!). I would imagine it was the same pod.

 

[shosh1530]

Day 8 - Kayaking in Ketchikan (part 4)

Wrapping up our Ketchikan day...

DS was already in the cabin when we got back from walking around Creek Street. He excitedly told us that he had just seen Stitch in the Atrium. So we all headed up to get a family photo with Stitch.



DS headed back to the Edge, so DH and I did a quick trip to the Rainforest Room before heading to dinner.

We were back at Tiana's for Mardi Gras night. DS was already seated at the table by the time we got there and was playing with all of the Mardi Gras beads.



For entrees this night DH and I got the tomato soup and DS had the iceberg wedge salad (no bacon). The soup was really good!



For entrees we had pre-ordered the roasted butternut squash. I didn't take a photo and don't remember it too well. DS got the ravioli but was apparently full from his non-stop pizza and ice cream on deck 9. Our assistant waiter Simone delightfully tried to feed him, which he found hysterical.



Simone also kindly gave him this colorful beaded bracelet during dinner. She said some of the beads were from her home country of Brazil.



The music and atmosphere of Mardi Gras was fun. We all joined in the conga line/limbo dance before dessert. DS and I both had beignets and DH got some raspberry sorbet with chocolate sauce.




Our room was all made up by the time we got back from dinner. The entertainment for this evening was a magic show. DS wasn't interested so we skipped. I later learned that the son of our kayaking excursion-mates earlier in the day got called up on stage to help out. So I wish that we had seen that.

We hung out in the room a bit watching the Wonder pull away from Ketchikan. DS went to the Edge and the adults went around to various spots on the ship to watch the scenery.

We actually saw what we assume was the same pod of whales as we got closer to the spot where we had been kayaking. They seem to be quite the stars of Ketchikan, as we heard people all over the ship talking about seeing them from different vantage points.



We watched the scenery go by until sunset, which was almost 10 pm.
After that we scored a few character photos. We all got one with Chip and Dale at some point. DH and I got to meet Daisy in her Alaska outfit when DS popped back to the Edge





We had such a great day in Ketchikan, but I was starting to feel super sad about our Alaska time coming to an end. Only one more full day on the ship!

 

[shosh1530]

What a cool experience! We heard from our servers later that evening that a pod of orcas has been spotted right next to the Wonder - our assistant server was very excited to see orcas for the first time (and we were jealous!). I would imagine it was the same pod.

We definitely lucked out seeing the pod, especially since we did not book a whale watching tour on this trip.

I think our assistant server also saw the whales this day! Did you have Simone? Or maybe a group of CMs all saw them together. Simone was super excited.

 

[shosh1530]

Day 9 - A lazy, last day at sea

I'm fairly certain we slept in for this our last full day on the ship. Or at least we did according to the clocks that had changed overnight.

We didn't grab breakfast until after 9. We decided to go to Cabanas since we would be at Tritons on disembarkation day. DS got a very healthy breakfast of doughnuts, rolls, whipped cream and fruit. I'm sure I must have had my usual oatmeal and DH had eggs.




On our way back from breakfast we saw our favorite photographer out on deck 9 taking pics. So we stopped and got a bunch of magic shots together.



DS then departed for the Edge. I later learned after he let me download photos from his phone that he went around the ship and took some character photos. He got selfies with Moana and Rapunzel. And later got some Disney photographer pictures with his buddies from the Edge and Moana.




It really warmed my heart to see those moments of fun when he was away from us. He isn't good at remembering name when he first meets people, so we only know his ship buddies as "Plaid-shirt guy" and "Platinum kid" (based on his Castaway Club status). But I'm glad he met some fun kids.



DH and I spent much of our day along the railings of deck 10 watching the scenery go by with binoculars in hand. The weather was much warmer than our first sea day and it was nice to soak it all in.

We took a few breaks to put laundry in and out of the machines, but otherwise it was just not stop scenery.




Eventually we moved to deck 4 so we can sit on the loungers. But every time I got comfortable lounging I would spot something in the water and have to pop up to look (such a terrible problem to have). We saw 3 different groups of humpbacks in the distance over the course of the day, including a few tail flips.



We headed back up to deck 10 for awhile before lunch. From here we saw a large shipping barge go by. I was amazed to see not it loaded with huge shipping containers, but it also had big pick up trucks and boats on top! I guess this is how things get to you when you live in Southeast Alaska.



We also had a "kids in the wild" spotting of DS and friends playing in the splash area.



We watched more scenery from the aft of the boat before heading over to Cabanas to scope out the buffet selections.



It was well past 1 pm and Cabanas was less crowded today. I was able to notice some of the art at the entryway for the first time. Unfortunately, most of the lunch selections were various forms of BBQ with no veggie options that we could see.

I tracked DS down to see if he wanted to get some BBQ ribs, but he decided to stick with his favorite cheese pizza. DH and I got vegan hot dogs from Pete's Boiler Bites. They were the special of the day, but unfortunately didn't seem to come with the advertised toppings.



DS had been wanting to try some of the smoothies all week, so we got two for our final day. One was tropical and the other was a green smoothie with kale and very healthy things. I probably wouldn't get either of them again as they weren't tasty enough to warrant the extra cost.

After our lunch, DS went back to the Edge and the adults headed to the spa for our final Rainforest Room visit. I brought the whole scrub package that I bought on day 1 with me and realized that I somehow had ended up with a second container of the scrub (a seaweed scrub in addition to the chocolate peppermint I had ordered).

So I convinced DH to do the body scrub with me in the warm steam room. The spa was less crowded than I expected for a sea day and we had the steam part to ourselves. After rinsing off, I did the body masque and hung out on the heated recliners while DH headed back to the room.

I got a text from him right as I was finally showering off that he was heading to bingo. I hurried up to go meet him since it was the final $10,000 mega jackpot. He was in line when I arrived and they had already sold out of the tablets. We got some paper cards instead and managed to find two chairs that we could move together despite the place being packed.

We unfortunately did not win the mega jackpot, but one gentleman walked away with several thousand dollars (but not $10K). Oh well!

We rushed to change after bingo for our final dinner on the ship...

To be continued

 

[teach22180]

Thank you so much for your report. I'm going in September and appreciate it all so much. I'm bringing some ducks. Can you tell me where your son found them? I need ideas of where to hide them. Thanks!!

 

[shosh1530]

Day 9 - A lazy, last day at sea (part 2)

It was our last night, so right before dinner we rushed to not only get ready but also to figure out how we wanted to handle the tip envelopes that had been left in the room earlier. We wanted to give them to our servers at dinner because we had read that the final breakfast can feel pretty rushed. We ended up putting in the slips they gave us showing we had pre-paid the gratuities and then also divvied up most of the remaining cash we brought with us.

Our last dinner was at Tritons and DS was waiting at the table when we arrived. In addition to being our last night on the ship, it was also Father's Day and just a few days before DH's birthday, so we were feeling extra celebratory.



DH ordered his first alcohol for the trip and got a special, huge bottle of beer. It was about the size of a wine bottle. They even brought out an ice bucket on a stand to keep it cold. I don't think DH realized it would be so huge and I felt that most of it didn't get finished (I don't like beer). We were hoping it would make its way over to the staff area, but most likely went to waste.



All three of us ordered the Thai pumpkin curry and had salads for starters. The curry was a little bland.



Dessert was the main event this night. I had noted our reservation that we were celebrating DH's birthday on this trip, but we ended up celebrating for DS too. They brought him a sundae with a special "Happy Birthday" chocolate on it. I found it funny that they sang happy birthday to DS rather than the guy with the actual birthday, but DS loved it.



DS wasn't totally left out. We got to share some vegan cake with chocolate sauce, plus raspberry sorbet with more yummy sauce.

We were able to get a few photos with all of our serving team to remember them by. I didn't really get when I saw in other trip reports how attached folks get to the cast members, but now I do!



We stopped in the atrium for a few more family photos after dinner. I will have so many to choose from when it comes to holiday cards this year.



Our room was all made up by the time we got back and our room attendant reminded us that we needed to get our luggage out by 10 pm. So I made a mad rush to start the packing before it was time for our final show.



I managed to get one photo of all the ducks DS found before packing them away. My goal was to get everything we wanted to not have with us the next day into the suitcases while the boys went and got seats for the show. Thankfully they got good seats and I joined them right when things were getting started.

We got to see Trent on the stage one last time and he regaled us with what an amazing time we had all had the past week (and it was true, we had!). The final show was "Dreams." I enjoyed it a lot and it was my second favorite after Frozen.

After the show, DS ran to the kid's club, DH went over to the gift shop and I went back to the cabin to do the very last of the packing. DH showed up shortly after with two more items to add. He had gone to get the Alaska drink tumbler, but someone in the gift shop hooked him up with a 25th anniversary one that was just coming out on the next cruise. I really like the design so I'm glad he was able to snag one.



We got our suitcases into the hallway just after 10 pm and headed to the atrium for the final good bye. We missed the start of it, but got to take a few more photos with Minnie and Goofy.



Some of the cast from the show also came out to mingle and take photos. We enjoyed chatting with some barbarians.



DS was back in the room when we got back and we all got ready for bed. We were sad to see our trip come to an end, but what an amazing journey it had been!

 

[shosh1530]

Thank you so much for your report. I'm going in September and appreciate it all so much. I'm bringing some ducks. Can you tell me where your son found them? I need ideas of where to hide them. Thanks!!

Sorry I missed your post earlier. We went on a trip to WDW in late August and so I haven't had a chance to catch up with my trip report.

You may have already been on your cruise... but he found them often in corners near doors and on window sills. A couple of them he got without us so i have no idea. He was so good at spotting them! I'll have to try hiding some on my next cruise.

Hope your voyage was/is spectacular!

 

[Laura1123]

What a wonderful trip report! So enjoyed reading your adventures.

Alaska was our first Disney cruise in 2017 and we have wanted to return ever since. Decided today that we will be heading back in July 2024.

Especially loved the hiking you did in Skagway. Think I will add that to the list for us.

Thanks again for sharing your trip!

 

[shosh1530]

What a wonderful trip report! So enjoyed reading your adventures.

Alaska was our first Disney cruise in 2017 and we have wanted to return ever since. Decided today that we will be heading back in July 2024.

Especially loved the hiking you did in Skagway. Think I will add that to the list for us.

Thanks again for sharing your trip!

Glad you enjoyed the trip report. And this a great reminder to me that I still want to recap our departure day and trip home. I had two trips in September (one WDW, one for work) so time has gotten away from me.

Excited to hear that you will get to do another Alaska cruise. Skagway was a really special place. Enjoy your time there!

 

[shosh1530]

Day 10 - Back to Vancouver

Alright finally going to wrap up my trip report...

We were all a bit sad waking up on our disembarkation day. We had early breakfast so we had to get DS up and going much faster than he would have liked. If I was doing it over again, I'd plan to do walk off and hit Cabanas for breakfast (which I hear is secretly open even though the app doesn't list it).



Instead we quickly packed our day bags, took one last photo from our cabin, and went over to Triton's assigned breakfast slot.



It was nice to see our serving staff one last time, but the food options were understandably limited as they need to get everyone off the ship.

After breakfast we waited in the D Lounge for more than an hour. DS and DH both took a little snooze. Around 9:15 am they finally called our group and it was pretty easy to exit and get through customs.



We got one last photo with the Wonder and then headed off on foot for our hotel. We originally wanted to fly home on this day but Air Canada cancelled the afternoon flight. So instead we had one last night at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver.



There are multiple Fairmont properties in Vancouver (3 downtown, 1 at the airport). We booked ours knowing that it was older and farther from the port, but much cheaper (about half the cost of those on the waterfront). It took about 10 minutes to walk there.

We were very grateful to learn that our room was already ready and that we could check in early. I didn't get any room photos, but it was well appointed. We all lounged a bit and tried to figure out our plan for the day. We had been wanting to do Grouse Mountain, but it was very rainy and didn't seem worth it with the cloud cover obscuring views.

In the end we settled on going to the aquarium, but ventured out for nearby lunch first. There was a fast casual place called Basil Box just up the street from the Fairmont. It was quick and affordable with really tasty food! You can customize your own Asian-style bowls with noodles, rice, veggies, etc.

We called a Lyft ride from the restaurant. It took a few minutes and we had some confusion with finding the driver, who ended up being way up the street.



But soon enough we were heading back through Stanley Park to the Vancouver Aquarium. I think everyone had the same rainy day plan unfortunately and the place was packed!




We enjoyed the inside exhibits for a bit, but I got a little overwhelmed with all the noise and people (probably from just being exhausted overall).


DS got some ice cream and we enjoyed watching the seals and sea lions for a good while. My favorite part was the sea otters and I had been hoping to see one on the cruise or an excursion.



We cut our visit a little short since we were all so tired and called another Lyft to head back to our hotel. Our driver took a bit of a scenic route on the way out so we saw a little more of Stanley Park, which seems to be where we spent almost all of our Vancouver time.

One thing DS found fascinating about the Fairmont Hotel is that they have all these fancy shops (Dior, Louis Vuitton, Gucci) on the lobby-level. So he and I explored them a little bit. I was afraid to touch anything though after I learned a simple pair of shoes can cost $1200.



We decided to go back to the Cactus Club Cafe for dinner. There are multiple locations and one was close by. Unfortunately, the menu options were a bit more limited and we weren't able to get the same vegan sushi we had at the English Bay local earlier in the trip. Still the food was quite good.



We had a nice stroll back to the hotel (and snapped a photo of a cool mural) and decided to stay in the rest of the night. We did check out the hotel pool but opted to not even get wet as it was noisy and not very appealing. I was really hoping for a hot tub, but no luck. I think the hotel had a spa, but we didn't try to do that.

I was kind of relieved when it was bed time as I really just wanted to get home. We didn't really ever unpack, so it was just a matter making sure we had what we needed on the plane and for the morning. We all went to bed pretty early.