The 11 Most Popular Cruise Ships in Alaska: A Comparison
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This was incredible and well-worth the money, but it’s impossible for me to say it was better than other Mendenhall Glacier experiences. My recommendation for Juneau is to do a Port Adventure that features Mendenhall Glacier in some way; whatever way that might be, you’re likely bound for a great experience. Some of those questions I planned on answering in future posts and some I answered in the comments there (but subsequent readers have asked again since this blog’s comment display sucks). With that said, I’m going to save myself some work and jump ahead and preemptively answer some questions and provide additional tips now.
Disney Alaska Cruise Reviews
Book this popular onboard activity right at 30 days for the best chance of reservations. Castaway Club status determines when online check-in is available for guests. Online check-in is an important step for anyone sailing on Disney Cruise Line since this is when guests choose a port arrival time. Want a dog sled experience without the risk of cancellation or the high price tag?
Why Choose an Alaska Disney Cruise?
Throughout the day there are a variety of food options constantly available. The Cabanas restaurant is open with a buffet for breakfast and lunch. For a sit down breakfast or lunch, the central sit down restaurant, Triton's, is also available. I had very similar omelette orders at both locations and the Triton's omelette was far superior. There is an upscale adults only restaurant onboard called Palo that is an additional charge.
What are Disney Cruise Excursions?
Payment terms are typically much more flexible for Disney excursions, whereas privately-booked excursions may require payment in full up-front and might be nonrefundable. First — and most importantly — Disney will wait, if necessary, to allow official excursions to return to the ship should they run late (or pay for you to catch up to the ship at the next port-of-call). This courtesy is not extended to unofficial tours, which risks leaving you stranded! Your Disney excursions will also be automatically adjusted if the ship’s port schedule changes.
Tiana’s Place atmosphere is super fun with live music during dinner, but conversation is difficult on these nights. Active outdoor excursions, formal nights, daytime clothes, and an unbelievably wide range of weather means you really need to pack for every option. Reservations for Royal Gathering open 30 days before the sail date for all guests, regardless of Castaway Club status.
Full List of 2023 Disney Wonder Alaska Cruise Merchandise With Prices Available Onboard - WDW News Today
Full List of 2023 Disney Wonder Alaska Cruise Merchandise With Prices Available Onboard.
Posted: Sun, 06 Aug 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
The Aleutian Island city of Unalaska is also on some boutique cruise line itineraries, so check carefully that the region that sparks your interest. All staterooms on Orion include premium touches like spacious bathrooms with heated floors and automatic lights in closets and near the bathroom door. For the best Alaska views, try for the pair of aft-facing Deluxe Verandah rooms on decks three-five. For easy access to the included thermal suite, aim for a forward stateroom. Sleeping on Seven Seas Explorer means choosing a suite is simple because all rooms are suites.
What to Pack for an Alaska Disney Cruise - WDW Magazine
What to Pack for an Alaska Disney Cruise.
Posted: Wed, 16 Aug 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
The exact prices are not available yet as booking details are not yet open. There is plenty to do throughout the ship and plenty of spaces for lounging outside of your room but the Verandah was truly a highlight for our days at sea. Even for the days when we were coming into port, it was delightful to watch our approach from the comfort of our own balcony. The Alaska Disney Cruise is a once in a lifetime experience. The below cruise review and tips are based on our recent seven day Disney Cruise Line Alaska itinerary that sails from Vancouver to Alaska.
Take Tiana’s Place, based on The Princess and the Frog, a movie in which the title character dreams of opening a restaurant in New Orleans. Next up was Juneau for some satisfying whale watching and browsing the shopping strip. There’s also the Mount Roberts Tramway, an aerial gondola that transports visitors to the top of the 3,800-foot peak for a wide-spanning, eagle-studded view over Gastineau Channel. Everyone kept saying how lucky we were to be here during such gorgeous weather. Zoe was certainly never bored—the pool, the activities, and the kids clubs were more than enough for a week.
Instead, it’s a chance for you to all get acquainted with the clubs. If you don’t have kids, you’re also welcome in the kids clubs during Open House. As mentioned above, I’d heard a lot that a verandah is a “must have” for the Alaska cruise, and I just didn’t feel that way.
You’ll find complete listings of all the days’ activities as soon as you’re onboard, along with hours for all the stores / theaters / restaurants, and so on. There’s also a messaging service available within the app while you’re onboard. As for picking your itinerary…I don’t want to get too into the weeds here because things like your personal schedule and pricing are going to be bigger factors than the specific itinerary. Basically, you want a balance of days at sea, ports that you’ll enjoy just walking around in, if you choose, and ports that offer excursions you want to do. If you have to see the Mendenhall Glacier, probably don’t pick an itinerary that skips Juneau, for example.
Silver Nova operates seven-night one-way routes with homeports in Seward and Vancouver. Ports it visits include Juneau, Ketchikan, Skagway, Sitka, Icy Strait Point, Hubbard Glacier and the Inside Passage. Look for longer routes on Silver Moon and Silver Muse, visiting Haines, Valdez and Wrangell. Princess offers upfront inclusive pricing plans that let you decide how much to include in your cruise fare -- or how much to leave off.
You sort of have to look at the trip as a whole and the costs as a whole. I’m sure it’s something a travel advisor could help with, but honestly I think the variety is great enough that you should at least dedicate an evening to browsing everything to see what’s available. I recommend you start by filtering by “Ports of Call.” Make a list of ones you’re interested in each day and then start honing it into a schedule. Spa treatments, adult dining (Palo on the Disney Wonder), and nursery services are also things you’ll be planning to book at this time. You’ll also want to pay attention the the cancellation deadlines for any activities you were hoping for but didn’t get. You might see cancellations at any time, but particularly as that deadline nears, you’re more likely to see people change plans.
A short walk across a bridge from the ship took us to one of the two hubs of the port. There was a big building with a cafe and some excursion meeting points. Since we’d booked an excursion, we were able to get our “all access” wristbands here, too. These ostensibly included a few things, but the only value we got from them was access to the paid “Skyglider” gondola. For lunch, I cobbled together options from some of the smaller quick service restaurants onboard. Besides Cabanas, there are three smaller quick service options, all on Deck 9.
Zoe absolutely adores dogs and, spending a lot of time walking around the city, has a basic understanding of how to properly meet new dogs. The first part of the excursion involved the dogs pulling us around in this cart, along with the opportunity to meet some of the individual dogs. Some weren’t comfortable meeting strangers, so we were told not to engage with them. The highlight of Juneau for many people will be the Mendenhall Glacier. If you’re taking an Alaska Cruise that stops in Juneau, you’re going to want to consider the options for visiting Mendenhall Glacier. Instead, we went on the Sled Dog Discovery and Musher’s Camp.
We saw a few roaming characters during our time on the ship. Usually they were heading somewhere (like to their scheduled greeting, or to visit the kids’ clubs), but if they had a moment they’d stop and chat and take pictures. Personally, I don’t think any of the three of us is too excited to see glaciers, but it’s also just sort of an “Alaska Cruise Must Do” item. Specifically, many of the Alaska itineraries (including ours) have a day dedicated specifically to glacier viewing. On this day, the cruise ship gets moderately close to a glacier, while there is a paid “Port” Adventure option to get on smaller boats and get closer. With the cruise booked, the next step is booking your onboard activities and excursions.
In hindsight, I wish we would’ve bought the Large Alaskan King Crab Bucket. Not because we needed that much food, but because I’m a total sucker for gimmicky experiences that involve overeating. That's exactly what we did, so at the end of seven magical days, it wasn't "goodbye" — it was "see ya real soon."
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