Alaska - what is the difference?

[MichelleCanada]

We have been on two DCL cruises - 7-day out of Galveston on the Wonder and 7-day Western out of PC on the Fantasy.

We have an Alaskan cruise booked for August 2019 I have heard that they do not have a pirate night on the Alaskan cruises (Frozen night instead). Are there any other programming differences I should expect?

 

[COASTIEandMATE]

We have been on two DCL cruises - 7-day out of Galveston on the Wonder and 7-day Western out of PC on the Fantasy.

We have an Alaskan cruise booked for August 2019 I have heard that they do not have a pirate night on the Alaskan cruises (Frozen night instead). Are there any other programming differences I should expect?

We have cruised Alaska with Disney 4 times and I want to say the majestic beauty of "the Great Land" is unbelievable!! You will probably get close enough to a glacier to feel like you could reach out and touch it! You will see your favorite cast members out on deck taking pictures!! When you go thru Tracy Arm, or Endicot Arm, you will have the voice of the on board naturalist explaining what you are experiencing. You won't miss Pirate night a bit!!

 

[Shanti]

There are also naturalist presentations available during the cruise.

 

[ahain]

We have been on two DCL cruises - 7-day out of Galveston on the Wonder and 7-day Western out of PC on the Fantasy.

We have an Alaskan cruise booked for August 2019 I have heard that they do not have a pirate night on the Alaskan cruises (Frozen night instead). Are there any other programming differences I should expect?

No fireworks on Alaska sailings.

 

[lklgoodman]

Mickey and the gang in special outfits each day and hot chocolate(in stead of flavored water) when you return from excursions They had kid club activities up on the deck on Tracey Arm day when we did it in 2014

 

[MichelleCanada]

We have cruised Alaska with Disney 4 times and I want to say the majestic beauty of "the Great Land" is unbelievable!! You will probably get close enough to a glacier to feel like you could reach out and touch it! You will see your favorite cast members out on deck taking pictures!! When you go thru Tracy Arm, or Endicot Arm, you will have the voice of the on board naturalist explaining what you are experiencing. You won't miss Pirate night a bit!!

Wow!! 4 Alaska cruises!! Any excursions advice? We probably would not do any of the $200+ per person excursions. My son will be 8 on this cruise.

 

[GPaLarry]

Were on the DCL Alaska cruise last year and in Juneau, while waiting to depart, a hummingbird zipped up to our verandah, looked us over and took off...truly magical. The trip was awesome and, after seven other ones, this is one cruise I would do over in a heartbeat. Take your binoculars, camera and jacket.

 

[COASTIEandMATE]

Were on the DCL Alaska cruise last year and in Juneau, while waiting to depart, a hummingbird zipped up to our verandah, looked us over and took off...truly magical. The trip was awesome and, after seven other ones, this is one cruise I would do over in a heartbeat. Take your binoculars, camera and jacket.

Great practical advice GPA Larry

 

[Claireywalsh]

Layers are the way forward - we were pretty toasty under the cover of our verandah but when out in port especially in the breeze it was chilly. Gloves were essential for my daughter then 8. Binoculars are also a great shout. We loved Alaska - it was just so beautiful - we are booked again for next summer and cannot wait

 

[tigerchic89]

On the top decks, the cabinets are not filled with hundreds of white towels, but instead tons of navy fleece blankets

 

[Geomom]

Due to the air temps in Alaska...the pools aren't crowded...and it IS heated when temps are below 75F outside. (Tip--go from the pool to the hot tub...stay until you're super toasty, and then it's not as hard to dry off in the cold air!)

Anna's Chocolate Chase--it's a scavenger hunt on one of the Frozen days (not sure when they do it now...when I cruised we just had the Frozen deck party/and Oaken's Maypole dance...with the scavenger hunt spanning multiple days before it...now they have the Deck party AND the Frozen Musical.)--you get a bunch of clues, write down the picture you see at that location, and you get a chocolate bar the next day.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

Due to the air temps in Alaska...the pools aren't crowded...and it IS heated when temps are below 75F outside. (Tip--go from the pool to the hot tub...stay until you're super toasty, and then it's not as hard to dry off in the cold air!)

Anna's Chocolate Chase--it's a scavenger hunt on one of the Frozen days (not sure when they do it now...when I cruised we just had the Frozen deck party/and Oaken's Maypole dance...with the scavenger hunt spanning multiple days before it...now they have the Deck party AND the Frozen Musical.)--you get a bunch of clues, write down the picture you see at that location, and you get a chocolate bar the next day.

All this has me super excited for ou Alaska cruise next August!
Are the hot tubs crowded?

 

[jrabbit]

Wow!! 4 Alaska cruises!! Any excursions advice? We probably would not do any of the $200+ per person excursions. My son will be 8 on this cruise.

I agree with the $200+ excursions ... but last year (our second Alaska cruise) ... we took a float plane excursion out of Juneau that flew over 5 different glaciers - and landed at the Taku Lodge where we had a great lunch (some the be best salmon ever) and had time to walk around. Saw a family of bears in a tree (was near the lodge and the people from the lodge kept the bears in the tree while we were there).

This was a REALLY Expensive excursion - but also one of the coolest ones we have ever done (20+ cruises in North America (both east and west coasts), Caribbean, Med, Northern Europe and Panama Canal)

 

[jrabbit]

All this has me super excited for ou Alaska cruise next August!
Are the hot tubs crowded?

RE: Hot Tubs - no not really - at least in the adults only area. If the weather is nice in Vancouver - then maybe on embarkation day and the first sea day it could get to be more busy, but NOTHING like on a Caribbean sailing).

RE: Clothing - LAYERS. Sun comes out - off with a layer. Wind stops, off with another layer. My best advice is to expect temps in the mid 60's to low 70's (if you're lucky). Expect RAIN - maybe heavy (probably not), but for sure some days will be misty and/or Heavy Mist / sprinkles. Bring: Long Sleeve Shirt, Sweat Shirt (hoodie) and a light weight rain coat. That will give you options. Glove and stocking caps are good too. If visiting a glacier "up close" then a heavier coat as well if you can fit it into the luggage (we get to drive to Alaska cruise... so luggage isn't a problem for us, but if you are flying in ...)

NOTE: Look for "Golf Balls" in the trees ... those are Bald Eagles!! We have seen a lot of them on our Alaska cruises.

 

[AdamEfimoff]

I am looking at concierge . Will my 70 year old parents benefit from those facilities?

 

[BruinEd03]

RE: Hot Tubs - no not really - at least in the adults only area. If the weather is nice in Vancouver - then maybe on embarkation day and the first sea day it could get to be more busy, but NOTHING like on a Caribbean sailing).

RE: Clothing - LAYERS. Sun comes out - off with a layer. Wind stops, off with another layer. My best advice is to expect temps in the mid 60's to low 70's (if you're lucky). Expect RAIN - maybe heavy (probably not), but for sure some days will be misty and/or Heavy Mist / sprinkles. Bring: Long Sleeve Shirt, Sweat Shirt (hoodie) and a light weight rain coat. That will give you options. Glove and stocking caps are good too. If visiting a glacier "up close" then a heavier coat as well if you can fit it into the luggage (we get to drive to Alaska cruise... so luggage isn't a problem for us, but if you are flying in ...)

NOTE: Look for "Golf Balls" in the trees ... those are Bald Eagles!! We have seen a lot of them on our Alaska cruises.

I wouldn't necessarily say the 60s are guaranteed. Based on the navigators this year, there were a lot of 50s as highs. When we cruised in September last year, it varied a lot on a day to day basis (and sometimes on an hour to hour basis depending on whether it was raining or suddenly sunny).

 

[Shanti]

Wow!! 4 Alaska cruises!! Any excursions advice? We probably would not do any of the $200+ per person excursions. My son will be 8 on this cruise.

No need to spend a fortune on excursions:

Skagway:

• I recommend walking to the Gold Rush Graveyard and then up to Lower Reid Falls (which are right behind the graveyard). Walking the whole way takes about 45 minutes at a leisurely pace each way and is very doable (unless you're disabled, or traveling with elderly or toddlers) and gives you a feel for the real town and the Alaskan scenery. But if that's too much walking for you, just take the cheap town shuttle to a neaby drop-off.

• We booked an excursion directly with Jewell Gardens for glassblowing. It cost about $100 per person, which is about half the cost of what Disney charged for the exact same experience & location, plus lunch. But going independently, you can still arrive early and buy a nice lunch there for yourself. You can take the cheap and easy town shuttle to get to Jewell Gardens, if you don't want to walk. You'll be guided in glassblowing an ornament, which will be mailed to your home at no extra charge. It's cool, and you can also look around at the gardens.

Juneau:

• I recommend taking the free 5-minute shuttle to the base of town, then buying bus tickets to Mendenhall Glacier. There are lots of hawkers right there, so it's easy to get tickets. The bus will drop you off at Mendenhall, and will loop back every 30 minutes or so, so that you can stay as long as you like. Mendenhall Glacier is a must-do imo.

• After Mendenhall, I also recommend taking Mount Roberts Tramway up the mountain, and hiking around up there.
• I recommend having lunch at Tracy's King Crab Shack.

Ketchikan:

• I can't give an inexpensive activity recommendation for Ketchikan, because this is where we did our floatplane tour of Misty Fjords. We used Island Wings, and it cost about $240 per person. The pilot was very experienced and skilled, the views were good, but of course, those floatplanes are loud. (I have extremely sensitive ears, but I did it for my son. They do provide headphones.)

Vancouver:

• While onboard, we signed up for a disembarkation day DCL excursion through Vancouver. It was a brief bus tour of the city, including a stop at Stanley Park, followed by an hour or two to explore the Capilano Suspension Bridge, which was another major highlight of the trip for us. This was the only DCL-sponsored excursion we did, and it was great. It ended at the airport.

 

[ladyofthetramp]

Were on the DCL Alaska cruise last year and in Juneau, while waiting to depart, a hummingbird zipped up to our verandah, looked us over and took off...truly magical. The trip was awesome and, after seven other ones, this is one cruise I would do over in a heartbeat. Take your binoculars, camera and jacket.

^^^ this! I would go again. The scenery alone, minus excursions etc is truly breathtaking!

 

[Cruising Engineer]

We just got off the last Wonder out of Alaska (Sept 3-10, 2018). The weather was absolutely beautiful for 6 days straight and showers in Ketchican. Still a great cruise. We're from New Mexico and clear skies are normal while showers are something to experience.
For excursions we did mainly food: IS-13 Alaska's wildest Kitchen, the ladies are real locals (old time locals) and you experience the life and food of fresh salmon and halibut ($87),
SW-62 Skagway Scenic Summit, BBQ, Gold Panning was a great bus ride in the mountains along the US/Canadian border. Best BBQ I've had in ages (dang I forgot their secret ingredient, weird but it works) $123.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

I recommend booking independent excursions in Alaska. They will save you money. The sooner you can book the better. Start with Trip Advisor and look at the best rated tour companies for excursion ideas. I would also recommend reading DIS trip reports about Alaska cruises to get ideas. There is so much beauty and so many things to see in Alaska.