Just off the Wonder (Alaska) -- Any Questions?

[BruinEd03]

This board was extremely helpful to me when planning our Alaskan adventure, so I want to make sure I can give back if possible! We just got off the Wonder yesterday morning from our 7-night Alaskan cruise. If anyone has any questions, I can try to answer them!

As a quick background, we were two adults, no children. Stayed at the Four Seasons Vancouver through Hotwire prior to the cruise. We had a Navigator Verandah and late dining. We did two excursion in each port (with one booked privately in Juneau and one private booking in Ketchikan) and the Vancouver excursion on debarkation day. We had both dinner and brunch in Palo, participated in a champagne tasting, and had a spa treatment. Also did some laundry if there are any questions about that!

They rolled out free iMessage on the Wonder, and from what Guest Services said, it was the first week on that ship.

So if you have questions, let me know!

How was the wildlife? Did you see any bears? Were the Salmon running? We've been on the last one and the first one of the season, will probably do one in the middle next time.

 

[mrsxsparrow]

How was the wildlife? Did you see any bears? Were the Salmon running? We've been on the last one and the first one of the season, will probably do one in the middle next time.

We thought the wildlife was pretty good. We saw a ton of bald eagles. We saw whales three different times from the ship, and a good amount of whales on our whale watching trip in Juneau (including a mom and baby!). We were a little early in the season for salmon and bears. We didn’t see any salmon, but we did see a small bear from the train in Skagway, and a mother and her two cubs at the rainforest sanctuary in Ketchikan. We also saw dolphins as we headed back towards Vancouver on our last sea day!

 

[allashore]

This board was extremely helpful to me when planning our Alaskan adventure, so I want to make sure I can give back if possible! We just got off the Wonder yesterday morning from our 7-night Alaskan cruise. If anyone has any questions, I can try to answer them!

As a quick background, we were two adults, no children. Stayed at the Four Seasons Vancouver through Hotwire prior to the cruise. We had a Navigator Verandah and late dining. We did two excursion in each port (with one booked privately in Juneau and one private booking in Ketchikan) and the Vancouver excursion on debarkation day. We had both dinner and brunch in Palo, participated in a champagne tasting, and had a spa treatment. Also did some laundry if there are any questions about that!

They rolled out free iMessage on the Wonder, and from what Guest Services said, it was the first week on that ship.

So if you have questions, let me know!

How did you like the Vancouver excursion on debarkation? In your opinion was it an excursion you would recommend for a big age range 15yr-81yr olds? Did everyone get dropped at airport at the end ? or could you go back to the pier if staying longer in Vancouver?

 

[Claireywalsh]

What time were you off the ship on debarkation? We have second dining aswell and I’m looking at the times for the sky train to get us to the airport - we have a 1.30pm flight so debating if the direct times will work or if we should just grab a cab

 

[mrsxsparrow]

How did you like the Vancouver excursion on debarkation? In your opinion was it an excursion you would recommend for a big age range 15yr-81yr olds? Did everyone get dropped at airport at the end ? or could you go back to the pier if staying longer in Vancouver?

We really enjoyed the Vancouver excursion. We had done an evening tour of the city the night before we got on the ship, but this one took us different places. It concentrated mostly on Chinatown and Gastown. In the city, we stopped at the totem poles in Stanley Park for around 15 minutes but the rest was just driving. We then made our way up to the Capilano Suspension Bridge for a little over an hour, and then were taken right to the airport.

Everyone was dropped off at the airport, and the driver gave directions for how to catch the Skytrain back to the city. Honestly, I wouldn't recommend the tour for anyone staying longer in Vancouver -- seems like a hassle and waste of time to get all the way out to the airport just to turn around and have to take the Skytrain back into the city with all the luggage. There's a free bus that will take you to the bridge and plenty of other companies that will give you a tour of Vancouver if that's what you're looking for. We did the evening tour with Gray Line/Westcoast Sightseeing and thought it was excellent and a great value.

 

[mrsxsparrow]

What time were you off the ship on debarkation? We have second dining aswell and I’m looking at the times for the sky train to get us to the airport - we have a 1.30pm flight so debating if the direct times will work or if we should just grab a cab

We were a little different because we did the Vancouver excursion the day of debarkation. We were walked off the ship as a group a little after 8:15, so we skipped our sit down breakfast and got Cabanas instead. (Side note -- our servers had warned us the night before that Cabanas would be a continental breakfast that morning. That was not the case! Eggs, mickey waffles, potatoes, hash browns, and pancakes were plentiful.) Express walk-off began around 7:30, and breakfast in the MDRs for second seating was scheduled for 8:15am. Hope that info helps!

 

[tvguy]

We've done Alaska twice (on HAL not Disney) and I have NEVER seen so many eagles in my life.

 

[xlxo]

Tell us about Embarkation and Debarkation experience...

What time did you get to the cruise terminal for embarkation? What time did you get on the ship?

What was your assigned debarkation time? What time did you exit the cruise terminal? Ooops.... I see you went on a debarkation tour.

 

[pixiedustedme]

How did you like the Vancouver excursion on debarkation? In your opinion was it an excursion you would recommend for a big age range 15yr-81yr olds? Did everyone get dropped at airport at the end ? or could you go back to the pier if staying longer in Vancouver?

We did that excursion last year & really enjoyed it. What a nice way to end the cruise. It's good for all ages. We got dropped off at the airport. I don't know if there was a go back to the port option. As we were spending that night at the airport hotel, an airport drop-off worked perfectly for us.

 

[bfaber]

Does anyone use the pools on an Alaskan cruise? The pool deck is our favorite hang out so wondering if we will miss the hot weather??

 

[anjuan]

I know that someone asked about wildlife- our our May 27 cruise in Skagway we saw multiple black bears, a grizzly bear and two moose alongside the road. It was pretty cool.

In Ketchican we did the bearing sea crab fisherman's tour and they through out fish over the water and a swarm of about 30 bald eagles appeared. It's a really good tour.

I didn't use the pools on the cruise, but I know my teenage daughter did.

 

[pixiedustedme]

Does anyone use the pools on an Alaskan cruise? The pool deck is our favorite hang out so wondering if we will miss the hot weather??

We went down the waterslide once but it was cold. This was in early June. We also used the hot tub once, but it was cold to get in and out, so we didn't bother with a repeat. We love the pool deck but not when it's cold.

 

[cruisehopeful]

Does anyone use the pools on an Alaskan cruise? The pool deck is our favorite hang out so wondering if we will miss the hot weather??

I think you will miss the hot weather. I cruised Alaska twice and both times there were people who cruise DCL frequently who were unhappy with the Alaska cruise because they couldn't do the things that they love to do on a cruise due to it being cold. They said they couldn't enjoy reading on the balcony or sitting by the pool.

I saw young people in the hot tubs. I don't think I ever saw anyone in the pool. I tend to stay in the adult only area, so maybe kids were using the family pools a little bit.

 

[disneylove69]

I'd be interested to just know your thoughts in general on the Alaskan Cruise? Did you get to see enough of Alaska, any favorite ports/excursions?

There's a very good deal with a VGC in Sept this year, and having never cruised before and already looking to go to Canada I might see if DH and I can do that trip, just because we are already there.

Been to Alaska on other cruiselines and it's a must do. Ports are small so you can easily walk them. Lots to do for everyone. Keep in mind many excursions are a pretty penny.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

Went May 21. It was definitely cold for the pools, except on Ketchikan day, when most people went to town/excursions. I went to the pool once with the kids on the last sea day, but after a few rounds on the Twist n Spout and some time in the hot tub, we were ready to head inside. The pools are heated to a comfortable temp but then you get out, you're wet, and the air is still 50 degrees - wind chill. But that might increase a bit for the July-August cruises, don't know.

 

[mrsxsparrow]

Tell us about Embarkation and Debarkation experience...

What time did you get to the cruise terminal for embarkation? What time did you get on the ship?

What was your assigned debarkation time? What time did you exit the cruise terminal? Ooops.... I see you went on a debarkation tour.

We walked with our luggage from the Four Seasons in Vancouver just after 10:00am. We had an 11:00am PAT and ended up getting to the port around 10:20am or so. I will say the port was a little confusing. We had to walk down into the garage, and there was only a narrow sidewalk but people were walking both ways (disembarking and embarking) with luggage -- plus we weren't the only ship. There are clear signs on the walls, but they weren't necessarily correct. We found someone to follow who had to make multiple trips for luggage and eventually found our way. Once we got to the room which housed the check in counters it was much smoother. No line to check in, though there was a bit of a wait to talk to someone about the possibility of an upgrade.

We were through luggage drop off, check in, asked about an upgrade, and got our picture with Captain Mickey by 11:17am. We were in boarding group 5, and though I don't know the exact time, I'm 99% positive we were on the ship around noon.

 

[mrsxsparrow]

Does anyone use the pools on an Alaskan cruise? The pool deck is our favorite hang out so wondering if we will miss the hot weather??

We saw a few kids in the pools and on the water slide, but we also lucked out and had beautiful weather. A few adults in hot tubs as well. With the colder temps, they had blankets out and about so you could bundle up on a lounge chair. One of my favorite moments was just some quiet time on one of the padded seats in front of the Cove Cafe covered in a blanket watching Alaska go by before me.

One thing to note -- there are not many movies played on Funnel Vision once you make it to Alaska in order to "preserve the peaceful wilderness" or something to that effect. The one time I walked by and looked, it seemed that they were playing a documentary about sharks with captions and no sound.

 

[DisneYE]

One thing to note -- there are not many movies played on Funnel Vision once you make it to Alaska in order to "preserve the peaceful wilderness" or something to that effect. The one time I walked by and looked, it seemed that they were playing a documentary about sharks with captions and no sound.

That's interesting.
Who was head of adult entertainment?
Is Jo from the UK still there? I read on here that her contract in the Wonder ended in May & I'm curious if she decided to come back or switch ships.

 

[mrsxsparrow]

That's interesting.
Who was head of adult entertainment?
Is Jo from the UK still there? I read on here that her contract in the Wonder ended in May & I'm curious if she decided to come back or switch ships.

Dean(o) was the club host. There was also DJ Alex, Caitlyn did Bingo, and Derrell did most of the family trivia. Those are the only ones I remember, we didn't participate in many activities.

 

[EmilyS92003]

Does anyone use the pools on an Alaskan cruise? The pool deck is our favorite hang out so wondering if we will miss the hot weather??

Just gonna throw this out here that I just disembarked today and there were tons of people in the pool every day.
We had super warm weather however... it was 85 degrees in Juneau....