I love credit cards so much! v2.0 (see first page for add'l details)

[LuckyMamaInDE]

We went with DCL (yeah it's more expensive). The thing I looked at carefully is the route. The ships that leave Vancouver go between a large island and the mainland and it's really, really pretty. The ones that leave Seattle don't. So, for me, I'd want that part of the Inside Passage included in the cruise. If you look at the maps you can see that some swing right around it and there's nothing to see that day. I can't advise you on other cruise lines since I haven't sailed them. My mom and her sibs took Princess to Alaska a few times and loved it, but they were all retired so I don't know what it's like with kids.

ETA - we went the first year DCL went there, and got a "kids sale free" deal with Disney (do they even do that nowadays?) which was great, but it was still expensive.

I agree with the bolded----we chose to sail out of Vancouver for the true Inside Passage experience. We were also close to land/scenery for a good portion of the following morning. Dh and I got up really early on purpose to spend lots of time on a small forward deck on our ship.

I would also think about what your purpose for the cruise is-----wildlife? scenery? as many glaciers as possible? specific excursions? I really wanted to see lots of glaciers. We chose an itinerary that went into Glacier National Park (only a few lines and a few ships do) and the glaciers of Prince William Sound. We also were able to hike to, on, and under (!!) Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau.

We sailed with Princess, a one-way north so that we could see more of the interior of Alaska.

We didn't travel with any kids that trip, so I can't help with kid stuff.

 

[DisneyMandC]

He could be allergic to fleas. Our neighbors dog was and had skin issues on his back but they were able to eventually get it to go away. I think they rescued him with the issue.

I'm certain that he is. I usually have to put him on prednisone once a year for allergies. He's been on apoquel lately too. It's just been going on for so long at this point that I think he needs to get a steroid shot from the vet.

Typical golden retriever with skin issues I love them to death, but man do they have sensitive skin. I'm hypervigilant about what he eats, but sometimes it's just seasonal too.

 

[miztressuz]

I am not a huge Star Wars fan (more of a casual one?), but I also thought the Millennium Falcon looked cool! I wish I could see the backs of the new cards now, but a quick Google didn't turn anything up. I would be ok with Pluto or an Alien for Toy Story haha

I'd pick the Falcon if one of those TS alien's was piloting it!

The Millennium Falcon completed the Kessel run in record time and made it to my mailbox this afternoon. Unfortunately no alien pilots

The back isn't very exciting. It's just the MF flying over water. The front is flashy. The plastic is very shiny and they did just the MF like an applique on top so it's more matte against the gloss. The blue is pretty so I might try it out for a bit. I tried to take a picture but it doesn't really do it justice. I'll have to try a different light.

The sticker says nothing about activating so I kinda assume both cards will keep working. I'll have to try to remember to do a swipe on each to see what happens. If all goes well I'll order the Castle and then just switch at will

 

[chattadisser]

I'm certain that he is. I usually have to put him on prednisone once a year for allergies. He's been on apoquel lately too. It's just been going on for so long at this point that I think he needs to get a steroid shot from the vet.

Typical golden retriever with skin issues I love them to death, but man do they have sensitive skin. I'm hypervigilant about what he eats, but sometimes it's just seasonal too.

Our oldest dog has been on Apoquel for 3-4 years now. Prior, she would scratch till she had sores, then we'd go to the vet, prednisone shot and we'd be go for about another month. The monthly vet bills got to be too much and I broke down and put her on the Apoquel. I don't love having her on the medication but it has helped tremendously. When she hasn't had her pill in the morning I can tell by the scratching. I feel bad because it just seems miserable.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Our oldest dog has been on Apoquel for 3-4 years now. Prior, she would scratch till she had sores, then we'd go to the vet, prednisone shot and we'd be go for about another month. The monthly vet bills got to be too much and I broke down and put her on the Apoquel. I don't love having her on the medication but it has helped tremendously. When she hasn't had her pill in the morning I can tell by the scratching. I feel bad because it just seems miserable.

Wow, so she's been on it for that long? I really don't know that much about Apoquel since he was just put on it for the first time when he had fleas. I didn't know that they could be on it long term! I've even done a half pill dosage for him recently and he's seemed good with that. I'll have to ask the vet when I go tomorrow.

 

[elgerber]

Our oldest dog has been on Apoquel for 3-4 years now. Prior, she would scratch till she had sores, then we'd go to the vet, prednisone shot and we'd be go for about another month. The monthly vet bills got to be too much and I broke down and put her on the Apoquel. I don't love having her on the medication but it has helped tremendously. When she hasn't had her pill in the morning I can tell by the scratching. I feel bad because it just seems miserable.

Our terrier has been on Apoquel for a few years. We actually took her off from December till end of August this year because she was not itching, for the first time in forever. But now the Apoquel isn’t helping at all. She has no hair on her haunches at all now and she scratches like crazy. The Apoquel was a last resort, nothing else ever helped so now we are stuck with an itchy hairless dog

 

[KPK02090]

Definitely consider @SouthFayetteFan 's suggestion. As for your current plan, don't forget about the support bonus for having DH sign up for CIU from your CIC. (it's confusing but CIC can support CIU. no support for CIC )

Off the top of my head -

Option 1: 2 CIC's
You both sign up for CIC's and get all your GCs at office supply stores. That'd be $650+$650=$1,300. That should be about 21% off.

Option 2: 1 CIC > 1 CIU
You get the CIC, use your support link for DH to get the CIU. Use the CIC to get the 3k at office supply stores. Use the CIU at stores with a discount. Let's use BJ's as an example for now.

CIC would be $650 + $150 (assuming the support tracks) for $800.
CIU would be $545 + $120 (assuming 4% discount from BJ's) for $665. [But you'd need to make up that $120 in other spend to make the 3k threshold, to keep it simple-ish]
That should be 6k of Disney GC's for $4535 OOP, so close to 25% off.

Option 3: 2 CIU's
You sign up for CIU, use your support link for DH to get the CIU. Use the CIU's at stores with a GC at a discount. Assuming the support tracks, I think that'd be $665+665+$150=$1480. I believe that's also close to 25%.

Thank you for this. I hadn’t thought about the referring! I can apply in Nov, so I have a little time to think it over. I appreciate the suggestions!!!

 

[orangecuse]

@elgerber this is our one dog too. I’ve tried apoquel, elimination diets, ect. My sister is a vet and shes even looked him over for a second opinion. Well recently he was diagnosed with GERD. We started the omeprazole and suddenly his itching is wayyyy less. No clue why or how this could be related (haven't had his follow up yet) but I so hope it sticks. Hes still doing high dose fish oil and sensitive skin food too but nothing else.

 

[smmco]

We went with DCL (yeah it's more expensive). The thing I looked at carefully is the route. The ships that leave Vancouver go between a large island and the mainland and it's really, really pretty. The ones that leave Seattle don't. So, for me, I'd want that part of the Inside Passage included in the cruise. If you look at the maps you can see that some swing right around it and there's nothing to see that day. I can't advise you on other cruise lines since I haven't sailed them. My mom and her sibs took Princess to Alaska a few times and loved it, but they were all retired so I don't know what it's like with kids.

ETA - we went the first year DCL went there, and got a "kids sale free" deal with Disney (do they even do that nowadays?) which was great, but it was still expensive.

Kids sail free? Definitely not the last few years, but never say never. On a positive note, they have already started offering discounts on a few Alaska cruises next Summer. There were several years where Disney had no competition in Alaska for the family market. All the ships were old and not appealing to kids.

Now Disney has a lot of competition in Alaska. NCL and RCCl have put their newest ships with all the bells and whistles in Alaska. I think Carnival will be doing the same. Those ships are attractive to kids and families. The Wonder is an older ship that cost double what the newer ships on other cruise lines cost. DCL did have to discount several Alaskan cruises this past Summer.

 

[LB002]

My parents have done 3 Celebrity Alaska cruises and loved it. However, I’d rate Celebrity as best for older kids (12+). I cruised them as a kid and they do have the mini golf, comedy, shows, pools, but none of the super flashy stuff. Its more buttoned up.

RCL is a good price point with ships that may include aqua shows, ice shows, flowrider, mini golf, slides, bumper cars, and more. I’d say again older kids but younger than Celebrity for sure (maybe 4+). Some ships may have toddler splash pads that allow swim diapers. These ships vary WIDELY so just check what ship they have over in Alaska carefully.

Carnival to me has a great relaxed vibe and awesome deck food. Fun comedy shows and some ships with bells and whistles like RCL.

IMO DCL is overpriced for Alaska when you factor in sales like RCL current kids sail free UNLESS you have really young kids who can’t really partake in many of the offerings of other ships. That doesn’t mean its not worth it of course if you are all Disney fanatics or just love DCL (worth is subject after all!), but the higher price point is not due to a better itinerary or anything.

I know some people love Princess for Alaska but I have no personal experience with that line!

You’ll have an awesome time no matter what!

Thanks! We have 5 kids ages 6-10 at the time of travel, so good kids activities are important.

DCL is $9300 vs. $3300 on RCCL, and I simply can't justify that kind of upcharge. Also looking at a Norwegian option that fits our schedule nicely. NCL has 5-person family staterooms vs. booking 2 rooms on RCCL (no connecting rooms available) so that's looking like our best bet if we do this, even though the RCCL boat looks better. We didn't realize 10 months out is "last minute" for AK cruises!

 

[LB002]

I agree with the bolded----we chose to sail out of Vancouver for the true Inside Passage experience. We were also close to land/scenery for a good portion of the following morning. Dh and I got up really early on purpose to spend lots of time on a small forward deck on our ship.

I would also think about what your purpose for the cruise is-----wildlife? scenery? as many glaciers as possible? specific excursions? I really wanted to see lots of glaciers. We chose an itinerary that went into Glacier National Park (only a few lines and a few ships do) and the glaciers of Prince William Sound. We also were able to hike to, on, and under (!!) Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau.

We sailed with Princess, a one-way north so that we could see more of the interior of Alaska.

We didn't travel with any kids that trip, so I can't help with kid stuff.

Thanks for these points! I've been to AK myself, many moons ago, on a hiking and backpacking trip. I would love to spend time in Denali and other inland areas. Not sure of this will be that trip though. Budget, scheduling and kids ages are at play, and we are just excited the kids are old enough to explore beyond Disney and beach house rentals!!!

 

[PolyRob]

Busy day today. Loaded another $600 on my Serve. I earned 27k URs with all the OD/OM and Staples deals last week, and I only did $400 at Staples haha. Love that CIC!

Looks like I will be taking the dog to the vet tomorrow... He's had skin issues ever since he got fleas at the beginning of August. The fleas are definitely gone now, and have been (believe me, ask me how many times a day my paranoid self checks him with a flea comb), but his skin is still messed up. He always has very sensitive skin and allergies anyways. Today I came home and he must have just scratched himself in one spot on his side all day until it bled Guess that can go to one of my MSRs I feel bad for him since he is clearly upset about it. I thought about getting him a cone of shame, but he's definitely been scratching it with one of his back legs, so I don't think that will help.

I'm certain that he is. I usually have to put him on prednisone once a year for allergies. He's been on apoquel lately too. It's just been going on for so long at this point that I think he needs to get a steroid shot from the vet.

Typical golden retriever with skin issues I love them to death, but man do they have sensitive skin. I'm hypervigilant about what he eats, but sometimes it's just seasonal too.

Our oldest dog has been on Apoquel for 3-4 years now. Prior, she would scratch till she had sores, then we'd go to the vet, prednisone shot and we'd be go for about another month. The monthly vet bills got to be too much and I broke down and put her on the Apoquel. I don't love having her on the medication but it has helped tremendously. When she hasn't had her pill in the morning I can tell by the scratching. I feel bad because it just seems miserable.

Wow, so she's been on it for that long? I really don't know that much about Apoquel since he was just put on it for the first time when he had fleas. I didn't know that they could be on it long term! I've even done a half pill dosage for him recently and he's seemed good with that. I'll have to ask the vet when I go tomorrow.

Our terrier has been on Apoquel for a few years. We actually took her off from December till end of August this year because she was not itching, for the first time in forever. But now the Apoquel isn’t helping at all. She has no hair on her haunches at all now and she scratches like crazy. The Apoquel was a last resort, nothing else ever helped so now we are stuck with an itchy hairless dog

@elgerber this is our one dog too. I’ve tried apoquel, elimination diets, ect. My sister is a vet and shes even looked him over for a second opinion. Well recently he was diagnosed with GERD. We started the omeprazole and suddenly his itching is wayyyy less. No clue why or how this could be related (haven't had his follow up yet) but I so hope it sticks. Hes still doing high dose fish oil and sensitive skin food too but nothing else.

My terrier had so many skin issues as well. It started when she was about 5/6 years old. Same thing! She would scratch and bite her poor fur off. It was so sad! Tried Apoquel and it did nothing for her. Tried all these different holistic diets. Nothing. Special shampoos and weekly baths. Still nothing! Finally took her to an allergist after years of trying different things. She wanted to put her out and do all this testing, but I couldn't put her through that (she was getting up there in age!). She gave her an injection of Cytopoint which I believe works similarly to Apoquel. Instant relief! She has to get shots monthly, but it was a huge change for her. Her quality of life is much better. Her silky shiny coat is back to normal and has been for a few years now!

 

[PolyRob]

The Millennium Falcon completed the Kessel run in record time and made it to my mailbox this afternoon. Unfortunately no alien pilots

The back isn't very exciting. It's just the MF flying over water. The front is flashy. The plastic is very shiny and they did just the MF like an applique on top so it's more matte against the gloss. The blue is pretty so I might try it out for a bit. I tried to take a picture but it doesn't really do it justice. I'll have to try a different light.

The sticker says nothing about activating so I kinda assume both cards will keep working. I'll have to try to remember to do a swipe on each to see what happens. If all goes well I'll order the Castle and then just switch at will

My new Disney Visa also came today! I was honestly shocked at how fast is was mailed. Bummer about the design on the back of MF.

Toy Story does have 3 aliens as expected! I will miss Pluto on the back of my old design, but I agree that I still think the old card will work. I did have to go to the website and verify it though. Is that not the same as activating?

ETA: I realized from my old quote that I mentioned Pluto possibly on the back of the TS card. I meant Bullseye. I must have been tired when typing LOL

 

[calypso726]

Drive by post to say Hi! Not only was this ice cream cone “kawaii” it tasted really good too!

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Nice! Did they have the free breakfast and evening reception? How is the drive from Orlando? It looks like it is about 2 hours.

my sister lives in St. Augustine...in May we drove from Orlando to visit her...it took around 2 hrs there...left Disney @around 7:30...going back left at 3 pm and it was a little over 2 hrs ...hit more traffic on 4 with all the construction

 

[disneybirds]

Nice! Did they have the free breakfast and evening reception? How is the drive from Orlando? It looks like it is about 2 hours.

The free breakfast was really good with made to order omelets/hot food/pastries. The free evening reception was just snack mix and drinks. They did have a coke machine at breakfast and were serving cokes from the bar at the evening reception. I don't often see that, but I don't travel as much as my DH. The drive wasn't bad at all once you get through the construction in Orlando. It was about 2 hours.

 

[DrFacilier]

So... bad news: DW gets her arm run over by her car last week before the car drove itself in reverse until it hit a tree (she was backing out of a friends driveway and hit a kid's bike and forgot to put the car in park before getting out). miraculous news: She went to an orthopedic doctor yesterday and is expected to have a full recover within about 6 weeks. silver lining: car needs $6k in auto body repairs that I can pay with cards after the insurance company sends me the check. I posted a couple of days ago that I was stressing about meeting 13k in 5 months and thought I'd end up paying plastiq and venmo fees. The circumstances really stink but the timing of this freak accident couldn't have been better.
A certain Biz card is arriving today and P2 was approved for SW Biz Performance yesterday. Looking forward to another exciting CP season with you folks. @3 DD love princesses looks like we're on the same schedule.

 

[WVMomof3]

So... bad news: DW gets her arm run over by her car last week before the car drove itself in reverse until it hit a tree (she was backing out of a friends driveway and hit a kid's bike and forgot to put the car in park before getting out). miraculous news: She went to an orthopedic doctor yesterday and is expected to have a full recover within about 6 weeks. silver lining: car needs $6k in auto body repairs that I can pay with cards after the insurance company sends me the check. I posted a couple of days ago that I was stressing about meeting 13k in 5 months and thought I'd end up paying plastiq and venmo fees. The circumstances really stink but the timing of this freak accident couldn't have been better.
A certain Biz card is arriving today and P2 was approved for SW Biz Performance yesterday. Looking forward to another exciting CP season with you folks.

Wow! So glad she is OK. That could have been much worse! The last time I took my car to an Autobody shop after an accident they didn't take credit cards at all! Total bummer, especially that they didn't even tell me until I came to pick up car. Ummm, what do you mean you don't take credit cards? Had to go all the way back home to get a check book and then tell them not to cash the check right away. lol I didn't have that kind of money just sitting in my account and it took awhile for insurance to reimburse me.

 

[jhoannam]

DW gets her arm run over by her car last week

I think this is the craziest story I’ve read in a while. Glad she’s okay. And yay for easy MSR.

 

[Judique]

So... bad news: DW gets her arm run over by her car last week before the car drove itself in reverse until it hit a tree (she was backing out of a friends driveway and hit a kid's bike and forgot to put the car in park before getting out). miraculous news: She went to an orthopedic doctor yesterday and is expected to have a full recover within about 6 weeks. silver lining: car needs $6k in auto body repairs that I can pay with cards after the insurance company sends me the check. I posted a couple of days ago that I was stressing about meeting 13k in 5 months and thought I'd end up paying plastiq and venmo fees. The circumstances really stink but the timing of this freak accident couldn't have been better.
A certain Biz card is arriving today and P2 was approved for SW Biz Performance yesterday. Looking forward to another exciting CP season with you folks. @3 DD love princesses looks like we're on the same schedule.

Yikes!! Sorry about your wife.