Alaska 2020 help!

[flashy09]

I put a placeholder down on my last cruise and as a silver castaway member I can book tomorrow.

With kids that will be 6 and 8, is there any reason to choose the itinerary that has Skagway vs Icy Strait? If not, is one port much more scenic than the other?


Thank you!

 

[JTlikestheDuck]

Skagway and take the White Pass train ride. There is not much to do in Icy Strait with a 6 & 8 yr old. A couple of recent threads discussed the difference between the two ports in detail with pros/cons for each.

 

[flashy09]

Will the Disney cruise website show me the prices tomorrow if I am signed in? I put a placeholder down using Small World Vacations. Not quite sure how I book now!

 

[dcassetta]

Will the Disney cruise website show me the prices tomorrow if I am signed in? I put a placeholder down using Small World Vacations. Not quite sure how I book now!

You can view prices, but in order to book using the placeholder you will need to go through your travel agent. Hopefully, they have already been in touch with you about the summer dates. if not, reach out to them today.

 

[princessmommyx3]

Skagway and rent a Jeep from DIY Jeep tours. Get there right at 8:00 AM when they open (you can walk to the office from the ship, about 2 blocks). Follow the map provided in the Jeep and drive all the way to Emerald Lake. Bring your passports because you enter Canada and have to stop at a customs office. There's only one road that takes you straight there so it's very easy. The scenery is breathtaking. Don't make any stops on the way up, drive straight to the Iditarod Musher Camp and hold the puppies before the tour buses arrive. Then continue to Emerald Lake, and eat lunch in nearby Carcross at The Bistro and check out the town. Then, drive back to Skagway, making lots of stops for scenery and pictures. Watch for wildlife along the road, we saw a bear, beaver, and mountain goats. This is much cheaper than the train ride and better for kids in my opinion. I have read lots of reports of kids getting bored and falling asleep on the train.

 

[plutolovr]

Will the Disney cruise website show me the prices tomorrow if I am signed in? I put a placeholder down using Small World Vacations. Not quite sure how I book now!

Be careful with this. If you sign in with your CC number at the same time your TA is trying to change your placeholder, he/she may have an issue since DCL only allows 1 booking per CC number on early release days.

 

[pixiedustedme]

I put a placeholder down on my last cruise and as a silver castaway member I can book tomorrow.

With kids that will be 6 and 8, is there any reason to choose the itinerary that has Skagway vs Icy Strait? If not, is one port much more scenic than the other?


Thank you!

Skagway was our favorite port, so I would go with that. It was the only one with a genuine small town feel, and we enjoyed walking through the town (not down main street), on the way back from Lower Reid Falls.

 

[connellr]

Skagway and rent a Jeep from DIY Jeep tours. Get there right at 8:00 AM when they open (you can walk to the office from the ship, about 2 blocks). Follow the map provided in the Jeep and drive all the way to Emerald Lake. Bring your passports because you enter Canada and have to stop at a customs office. There's only one road that takes you straight there so it's very easy. The scenery is breathtaking. Don't make any stops on the way up, drive straight to the Iditarod Musher Camp and hold the puppies before the tour buses arrive. Then continue to Emerald Lake, and eat lunch in nearby Carcross at The Bistro and check out the town. Then, drive back to Skagway, making lots of stops for scenery and pictures. Watch for wildlife along the road, we saw a bear, beaver, and mountain goats. This is much cheaper than the train ride and better for kids in my opinion. I have read lots of reports of kids getting bored and falling asleep on the train.

This sounds perfect! Can you tell me if you had to set up time to "hold the puppies"? How did you set that part up? Love this whole set up. Thanks for sharing!

 

[princessmommyx3]

You do not need an appointment. You will just pay the general admission fee which if I remember correctly was $5 per person. You can use USD even though you have already crossed over into Canada. This is the sled dog place mentioned in the binder that comes with the Jeep, so just look in there for help in finding it. It is on the main road. You can reserve a cart ride online if you want but we didn't do that part. The important thing is to pick the Jeep up right at 8:00 and drive straight there without stopping. It will be tempting to stop for scenery, but you can do all that on the drive back down. You really need to get there as early as possible if you want quality time with the puppies because as soon as the tour buses descend, it will be very difficult and delay you in getting on with your day. I'll put the link below. Do check the website for hours, as they open later on weekends (if you'll be there on a weekend, just plan to be there when they open) and are closes some weekends in May and September. I guess you should probably check beforehand and make sure they have puppies too! We didn't check ahead but they had 4 puppies when we were there.

http://www.tagishlakekennel.com/tutshi-sled-dog-summer-tours/

 

[EllieBride]

You do not need an appointment. You will just pay the general admission fee which if I remember correctly was $5 per person. You can use USD even though you have already crossed over into Canada. This is the sled dog place mentioned in the binder that comes with the Jeep, so just look in there for help in finding it. It is on the main road. You can reserve a cart ride online if you want but we didn't do that part. The important thing is to pick the Jeep up right at 8:00 and drive straight there without stopping. It will be tempting to stop for scenery, but you can do all that on the drive back down. You really need to get there as early as possible if you want quality time with the puppies because as soon as the tour buses descend, it will be very difficult and delay you in getting on with your day. I'll put the link below. Do check the website for hours, as they open later on weekends (if you'll be there on a weekend, just plan to be there when they open) and are closes some weekends in May and September. I guess you should probably check beforehand and make sure they have puppies too! We didn't check ahead but they had 4 puppies when we were there.

http://www.tagishlakekennel.com/tutshi-sled-dog-summer-tours/

View attachment 387054

Hi Cruise Mom!

So this was interesting... after I emailed you this past Christmas asking for tips about Skagway, I sent an email to Michelle P. to ask about the cart tours, and she wouldn't make an advance reservation. She just said that if they were busy with a bus tour, then we could come back later. So we are definitely going to try to get there early, as you suggested.

-Michelle F

 

[princessmommyx3]

Hi Cruise Mom!

So this was interesting... after I emailed you this past Christmas asking for tips about Skagway, I sent an email to Michelle P. to ask about the cart tours, and she wouldn't make an advance reservation. She just said that if they were busy with a bus tour, then we could come back later. So we are definitely going to try to get there early, as you suggested.

-Michelle F

Ok, so I now realize I was wrong about being able to reserve the cart ride online. When I was on their website yesterday, I noticed that there was a shopping cart icon at the top corner of the page so that made me think you could reserve online. But, with further inspection I realize that you cannot and the shopping cart must just be for donations. Sorry about that! But, when we were there, a cart tour was getting ready to leave so it seems like they start them pretty early. I would just aim to be on the first one of the day. But, if that doesn't work out, it would be an option to try again a few hours later on your drive back down.

 

[EllieBride]

Ok, so I now realize I was wrong about being able to reserve the cart ride online. When I was on their website yesterday, I noticed that there was a shopping cart icon at the top corner of the page so that made me think you could reserve online. But, with further inspection I realize that you cannot and the shopping cart must just be for donations. Sorry about that! But, when we were there, a cart tour was getting ready to leave so it seems like they start them pretty early. I would just aim to be on the first one of the day. But, if that doesn't work out, it would be an option to try again a few hours later on your drive back down.

LOL! Well, that explains it

I'm not too worried about it. Like I said, we're hoping to get an early start that morning.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

You do not need an appointment. You will just pay the general admission fee which if I remember correctly was $5 per person. You can use USD even though you have already crossed over into Canada. This is the sled dog place mentioned in the binder that comes with the Jeep, so just look in there for help in finding it. It is on the main road. You can reserve a cart ride online if you want but we didn't do that part. The important thing is to pick the Jeep up right at 8:00 and drive straight there without stopping. It will be tempting to stop for scenery, but you can do all that on the drive back down. You really need to get there as early as possible if you want quality time with the puppies because as soon as the tour buses descend, it will be very difficult and delay you in getting on with your day. I'll put the link below. Do check the website for hours, as they open later on weekends (if you'll be there on a weekend, just plan to be there when they open) and are closes some weekends in May and September. I guess you should probably check beforehand and make sure they have puppies too! We didn't check ahead but they had 4 puppies when we were there.

http://www.tagishlakekennel.com/tutshi-sled-dog-summer-tours/

View attachment 387054

Thanks so much for this! I have been trying to figure out where we could go just to play with the puppies. The other places I found would not let you make a reservation through their website if you were coming off a cruise ship. We have a glacier dogsled ride booked for the afternoon but in case it was cancelled I was hoping to have a backup to get some quality puppy time in

 

[princessmommyx3]

Thanks so much for this! I have been trying to figure out where we could go just to play with the puppies. The other places I found would not let you make a reservation through their website if you were coming off a cruise ship. We have a glacier dogsled ride booked for the afternoon but in case it was cancelled I was hoping to have a backup to get some quality puppy time in

They did not care if we were on a cruise ship or not. But, this place is about 1-1.5 hours away from Skagway so keep in mind that you would have to rent a car.