Almost "Live from" Disney Wonder to Alaska! My Second Disney Experience

[lovely_serenity]

Hi Sarah,

 

thanks for putting so much effort into your reviews. I was going to PM you this, but I guess I'm not allowed to do so as I'm new.

We're looking to do an Alaskan cruise at the end of summer (I was told today) and it may not be enough time to plan for.

I tried reading but there's a LOT of information available here and it's a little overwhelming.

Any recommendations as to which of the three were your favorite?

thanks.

Ed

ejm91206

 

at that really big search engine's inbox.

 

Hi! :) Thank you very much for reading!

I (personally) think this is plenty of time to plan!

 

So typically, if you are going for the 7 days round trip, the available cruise ports are: Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan and possibly the tiny Icy Strait Point.

If you are going for the 7 days up to Anchorage (which I haven't done), you might hit Whittier and the College Fjord.

 

Each of the cruises will hit generally one (two if you're really lucky or you're doing the one way up to Anchorage) glacier: Tracy Arm Fjord, Hubbard glacier, and Glacier Bay National Park. Here are my personally preference rankings for them: #1) Glacier Bay, #2) Hubbard glacier, #3) Tracy Arm. Here's why. Both Hubbard glacier and Tracy Arm are the type where you drive into this narrow area, and stop kind far from it and look at it from afar. Glacier Bay is like a whole area of glacier/cold things that's a lot more interesting. Its like you actually go into this large area and cruise along and look at a few other glacier things before you arrive at the "main" glacier (which you're actually quite close to).

Hubbard glacier > Tracy arm (for me) because on a good weather day, Hubbard glacier looks larger and more impressive than Tracy arm.

 

Also note, your glacier experience is extremely affected by your weather (so a lot of luck) - and even though my weather experience was better at Hubbard glacier and tracy arm, i STILL found glacier bay much better.

 

I would say if the cruise line you choose doesn't really matter (because let's be real, they're going to be generally similar in most aspects when they head up to Alaska - it's not like the Caribbean where some have parties and whatnot), I would say pick your cruise based on which glacier you want to see. (I enjoyed all 3, as all cruise lines must cater to this particularly cold and scenery-based cruise, there aren't too many things that set them apart in terms of "how well they do Alaska").

 

In terms of excursions, I'd say unless you're going to do something extreme or possibly dangerous (ex. helicopter ride, riding sleds with dogs, zipline, things you're afraid could go wrong and want the ship to wait for you), I wouldn't book those overpriced excursions with the cruise line. Get off the ship and find the booth area where lots of people are trying to sell excursions to you. It's way cheaper there. Whale watching, city tours, glacier tours are things you'd be better off doing with the independent tour people at port.

 

Who are you going with? :)

[WickerTuna]

Thanks for the thoughtful reply. I'm going with my fiance and this will be our honeymoon trip. Were there any aspects or or excursions you found particularly interesting to your relatives? My fiance is of Chinese nationality also.

[BrotherCraig]

I really enjoyed your great review. Looking at a Alaska cruise now on Disney for sure. Thank you for sharing with us.

[RiotAct]

Hi Sarah,

 

thanks for putting so much effort into your reviews. I was going to PM you this, but I guess I'm not allowed to do so as I'm new.

We're looking to do an Alaskan cruise at the end of summer (I was told today) and it may not be enough time to plan for.

I tried reading but there's a LOT of information available here and it's a little overwhelming.

Any recommendations as to which of the three were your favorite?

thanks.

 

It's not just you with regards to the PM thing; they're disabled for everyone on CC. (Besides maybe the moderators?)

[WickerTuna]

Thanks RiotAct. Maybe they wanna reserve server space for emoticons. :)

[lovely_serenity]

Thanks for the thoughtful reply. I'm going with my fiance and this will be our honeymoon trip. Were there any aspects or or excursions you found particularly interesting to your relatives? My fiance is of Chinese nationality also.

 

It's my pleasure, I hope it helped :) I think it really depends on what kind of things your fiance is interested in. If she's outdoorsy and adventurous, I'd say go whale watching or do the helicopter ride. Generally, I'd say (Juneau) do the tour to Mendenhall Glacier (a smaller one farther into the city), (Skagway) the White Pass scenic train ride (a bit pricy, like 100 bucks a person I heard), (Ketchikan) Mount Roberts tramway. These are the popular attractions that most do. If she's extremely non-adventurous and laid back, just walking around the towns and exploring/shopping is plenty fine.

[lovely_serenity]

I really enjoyed your great review. Looking at a Alaska cruise now on Disney for sure. Thank you for sharing with us.

 

Thanks for reading! :) I agree, it's definitely an option worth considering.

[lovely_serenity]

We headed into the theatre to get ready for tonight's show. It was supposed to be a musical act. Supposedly two guys with buckets LOL.

 

 

 

First our cruise director came out for a few words

 

 

And you know what, the two guys were actually pretty entertaining. I didn't really know what to expect, but it was definitely a good show!

 

 

They were very funny too! ^^

 

 

After the show, we saw Woody holding a photo session outside

 

Edited April 7, 2016 by lovely_serenity

[lovely_serenity]

 

We briefly stopped by the shops

 

 

 

In the atrium, Mr. Incredible and Flick were having photo sessions too!

 

 

 

We then headed back to our room to have a little room service party with everyone! Saw the daily navigator ready on the bed and a note reminding us to move our clocks an hour forward

 

[lovely_serenity]

plus a dinosaur (:

 

 

I also took a quick snap of my outfit before changing hehe

 

 

Yay! Room service is here!

 

 

 

Chicken and Guacamole Fajita:

 

 

Buffalo Chicken Wings without sauce:

 

[lovely_serenity]

Crispy Chicken Tenders:

 

 

Fresh Fruit Bowl:

 

 

Potato Chips:

 

 

Chicken Noodle Soup:

 

 

 

Caesar Salad:

 

[lovely_serenity]

Big Island Extra-large Chocolate Chip Cookie:

 

 

We ended the day with our tummies full and smiles on our faces :)

 

 

End of Day 6

[lovely_serenity]

Day 7: At Sea

 

Sunday, August 24, 2014 : Cruise Casual

 

I woke up at around 10am, as I had plans to meet with my aunties for the Disney's Art of Entertainment: Dazzling Dessert cooking demonstration in Studio Sea (honestly I woke up a bit late again LOL). Here was today's final navigator:

 

 

 

 

 

 

On my way over to Studio Sea, I saw Daisy having an early morning meeting sesions!

 

[lovely_serenity]

 

I quietly found my relatives and took a seat with them

 

 

Today, the chef was making Apple Strudel with Vanilla Sauce!

 

 

 

 

My auntie asked afterwards what the name of the wine was because they enjoyed it very much. The chef said it was a nice pairing with the dessert because they shared fruity qualities. It was called (at least this is what was written down): Moscato sweet white wine Castello del Poggio (Italy).

 

[lovely_serenity]

It was around this time, that I started hearing a lot of noise in the atrium. My parents came in and mentioned to me that something was happening outside. Apparently a guy dressed like one of those men who open Cinderella's carriage came out of no-where and read out a scroll like it was a declaration to the kingdom. Following his announcement, apparently many princesses came out. It's time for the princess gathering! I hurried outside and my aunties assured me that they would save a piece of apple strudel for me ^^.

 

 

Since the first time around, my pictures hadn't been that great – I was ready with my zoom lens this time LOL

 

Ariel:

 

 

 

Rapunzel:

 

 

 

[lovely_serenity]

 

 

 

Tiana:

 

 

 

[lovely_serenity]

 

 

Cinderella:

 

 

 

 

Belle:

 

[lovely_serenity]

 

 

 

 

 

[lovely_serenity]

After I was satisfied with my two million photos (I sifted through so very many before settling on these ones LOL), I went back to eat my apple strudel

 

 

It was very tasty :)

 

 

After the cooking show, we headed out. We ran into Peter Pan at the gallery area! He took a selca with me ^^

 

 

After that, he ran off and went to surprise other passengers

 

 

 

[lovely_serenity]

 

Princess Sophia was also having some photo sessions too!

 

 

 

 

We then headed over to Shutters to check out the pictures we had taken all trip.

 

 

[lovely_serenity]

 

While we were here, Princess Sophia suddenly appeared

 

 

Here are Shutters' rates:

 

 

 

 

The princess gathering was still happening when we passed by

 

[lovely_serenity]

 

We then went and worked out at the gym for a while. After that, we headed back to our room to shower. While waiting for my sister to finish up, I watched Monsters Inc.!

 

 

After we were all clean, we headed to Triton's for lunch with the fam

 

 

Here was today's menu:

 

 

Okay so this is kind of exciting, our lunch server was our server during our last Disney cruise!!! He actually recognized us, it goes without say, it was pretty awesome.

 

 

So here's what we ate.

 

Bresoala:

 

 

(6.8/10 Just cured meat plus melon slices)

Edited April 7, 2016 by lovely_serenity

[lovely_serenity]

Marinated Smoked Salmon Tartare:

 

 

(7.4/10 a bit squishy, but good.)

 

Tandoori Chicken Wrap:

 

 

(8.0/10 pretty good, the dip compliments it nicely)

 

Caesar Salad:

 

 

(7.9/10 wonderfully doused with parmesan)

 

Sweet Onion Soup

 

 

(7.9/10 surprisingly cream-based!)

 

Chilled Leek and Potato Soup:

 

 

(7.6/10 Creamy, savoury soups should stay warm...)

 

Tempura Shrimp:

 

 

(8.2/10 Definitely not done the Japanese way, but still good)

[lovely_serenity]

Pan-seared Striped Bass:

 

 

(8.2/10 not dry at all!)

 

Orecchiette Pasta:

 

 

(8.0/10 good, al dente, but lacking a little something – probably non-pasta toppings like more vegetables or meat mixed in)

 

Parmesan-Crusted Veal Scallopini:

 

 

(8.1/10 nice touch of pasta on the side. Well-flavoured but a little tough)

 

Dessert time!

 

Crispy Beignets:

 

 

(8.3/10 ice cream = nice touch)

 

Banana Panna Cotta:

 

 

 

(7.9/10 kind of sour but okay)

[lovely_serenity]

Passion Fruit Cake:

 

 

(8.1/10 Surprisingly unfancy LOL)

 

So actually, partway through lunch (before dessert), basically everyone left and went to Parrot Cay's for their seafood buffet that was going on at the same time as lunch in Triton's. Both dining rooms were only open for a certain number of hours, so if you had a whole meal in one, you could not go to the other in time (ie. If they stayed for dessert in Triton's the seafood buffet was not happening). I opted to stay until every food arrived, took the pictures of dessert and then quickly went to the seafood buffet for photos.