Bon Voyage to Alaska on the Wonder – May 29 - DCL First-timers – Corks are meant to fly! COMPLETED

Laura1123

Mouseketeer
Joined
Mar 29, 2016
We just returned from our visit to Vancouver and our week long cruise to Alaska aboard the Disney Wonder and I wanted to share my experience with others, since reading trip reports during my planning process was very helpful. Traveling together was myself, DH, DS9, DS6 and my parents. DS9 has autism and sensory processing disorder, so I will comment occasionally on accommodations we made for him. Please feel free to ask any questions along the way. I can be wordy at times as well, so you have been forewarned!

Here is a link to my pre-trip report:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/bon-voyage-to-alaska-pre-trip-report.3600842/
so you can read what we had planned for the trip. We pretty much did as planned. I will make note where changes were as the days occur.

Friday, May 26, 2017

Our trip started with a few days in Vancouver prior to the ship setting sail. Even though we live in Oklahoma, we decided to book a straight flight out of Dallas (DFW) to Vancouver via Air Canada. DFW is a 3 hour drive from home, but DH and I would much rather deal with a car ride than a connecting flight with the kids. Choosing this option also seemed to help lower our total travel time compared to leaving out of OKC and connecting through various airports.

Early on in our travel planning we did ponder whether to go in and/or out of Seattle and spend time there. In the end, we made the right choice by flying straight to Vancouver and touring for a few days prior to sailing and coming home right after. Adding the Seattle leg might have saved a bit on airfare, but adding in additional travel time and headache would not have been worth it. Also, we barely scratched the surface of what Vancouver had to offer with our few days there. That just means we will have to go back someday.

This was the first time we flew Air Canada, and while both flights were on time, neither my DH nor I were impressed and will probably not fly them again. We were in a small express jet for both flights (roughly 4.5 hours). Both flights had issues with the bathrooms/running water and the cabin staff was not friendly. We paid plenty for these flights 6 months in advance and I did watch the fares and they continued to rise. Surprisingly, booking each leg as a one-way was cheaper than buying them as round-trip tickets.

Our flight from DFW left at 7:30am. We drove down the night prior and stayed in a Country Inn and Suites that offered a stay/park/fly deal. We stayed the night prior then took their airport shuttle at 5am, and left our car parked at the hotel.

No issues at DFW and our flight left just a few minutes late. About an hour and a half before we landed I opening the airplane window shade to see this.


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Beautiful!

Soon we were on the ground and began the long walk through E concourse towards customs (FYI – we did not see bathrooms after we got off the plane until we got to customs, approx. 10 min walk. Those traveling with children understand this dilemma).

Customs took about 30 minutes to get through due to crowds. We took this time to turn our phones back on and connect into Verizon’s TravelPass progam which allowed us each access to our phones/data plan for 24 hours at a time for $5 each. We also connected to the free wifi at the airport. After we cleared customs, we headed to get our three suitcases that were still on the baggage carousel. We grabbed them and headed toward the exit.

My parents had flown in the night before and were nice enough to email the exact directions from baggage claim to the SkyTrain as we planned to take this to our condo rental. This made it easy to navigate our way out of baggage, pass the bus companies and out the exit door to cross the street to the escalator to the SkyTrain. We should have found the elevator, as DS9 accidentally tipped one of the suitcases onto its side about half-way up the escalator and when I yelled “let it go” (in my head meaning to let it stay down till we get to the top), he literally let it go and it came sliding down the escalator into DS6 and I. Thankfully it hit me first and I was able to stop it. Needless to say, DS9 was not in charge of holding things on escalators the rest of the trip.

We bought our four 2-zone vouchers at the top of the escalator and figured how to swipe the cards to get access to the platform. **FYI – Keep those tickets handy, as you will need them when exiting your station at your destination.** A train came within a few minutes and we grabbed a front row seat. My kids loved the ride in and it was clean, and very easy to understand where we were going. The first half of the ride is above ground so were able to enjoy the view for a few minutes before we plunged underground.

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We rode the SkyTrain for 10 stops and got off at City Center. Our walk to the condo was about 7 blocks. Not far, but wheeling are our baggage made it feel far. From the time we landed at YVR to the time we made it to the condo, it was just about 2 hours.

My parents had stayed in the condo the night before and were back from their morning walk by the time we arrived (about 11:30am). We became briefly acquainted with the condo and then dropped our bags and headed to the Red Robin on Robson Street for burgers for lunch.

We rented the condo through Vacation Rental By Owner, property ID#3619590. This was a 2 BR, 2 BA condo with a pull-out sofa in the living room. I booked the property late June 2016. Vancouver lodging is expensive and most of the hotels have 2 double beds instead of 2 queen beds for a family of 4. Even if my parents wouldn’t have gone along on the trip, I would have rented a condo of some sort to have access to a kitchen and a separate space for the kids. John, the condo owner, was a wonderful host to us as well, making sure we had everything we needed daily.

The condo we rented was wonderful. It had been renovated just the year prior, so everything was new. Each couple had a bedroom. We had a 4 person dining table for eating and card playing in the afternoons, plus there were 3 bar stools at the kitchen counter. The best part was a washer and dryer so we could do laundry each day. It was very nice to board the Wonder 4 days into our trip with a suitcase full of clean clothes.

The location of the condo was great as well (Coal Harbor). We were a block off Robson Street, 10-15 min to the waterfront, and 15-20 min to Gastown. We walked everywhere and the weather was lovely! A bit warm in the afternoons, but we would get out early for outings, have a nice lunch out and then return for some relaxation/down time in the condo before going out a bit in the evening.

After our lunch at Red Robin, we walked to a park a few blocks away for the kids to be able to run around a bit.

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We then hit the grocery store (Urban Fare) on the way back to the condo to stock up on supplies for breakfast the next morning and some other snacks.

We played a few games while the boys had some downtime and DH snoozed for a bit and then headed out for a walk down by the waterfront.

We walked along the seawall, looking at all the fabulous boats/yachts, people watching, seeing seaplanes take off and land and even seeing a cruise ship leave the port. Since the weather was so lovely, lots of people were out and about walking and riding bikes.

After reaching the edge of Stanley Park and finding this cool tree the boys could climb in, we headed back to towards the condo for happy hour.

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A bit later we headed out to Robson Street to pick up some food for a light supper. We hit the hay early as we had a big day planned for Saturday.

More to come...
 
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Saturday, May 27, 2017


Saturday we were up very early as we were all still adjusting to the time change from eastern or central time zone. We had a nice hot breakfast in the condo and headed out to the Blue Horizon Hotel about a block and a half away to catch the free shuttle to Capilano Suspension Bridge Park.

The bus pulled up right on time in front of the hotel (8:40am). The bus was already pretty full, so the driver had us load by party to assure whole parties could be accommodated. The driver filled all but one seat, so we set out for the next stop and then continued to the park.

The drive to the park took 20-30 min and included a nice section through Stanley Park. The driver filled us in on some Vancouver history during the trip as well. The bus stopped right across the street from park entrance and we were soon off and ready to begin our adventure for the day.

We had purchased the tickets online that morning, so we proceeded past the lines and right to the entrance and showed our phone so the employee could scan the ticket barcodes for entrance. **A Blue Horizon hotel employee had approached folks waiting for the bus offering $4 off coupons. Might be something some of you want to wait for, but after seeing the line to get tickets, I was happy we already had them.**

I knew from reading about Capilano that it was recommended to get to the park very early, or come for twilight hours, to avoid the crowds. After making a pit stop upon entering, we made a beeline for the bridge, passing groups that were on a guided tour of the park, which was probably very interesting, but unfortunately not something my kids would tolerate well.

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The bridge was not too crowded yet and we had to cross it to get to the Tree Tops Adventure on the other side.

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Now my husband and I were concerned that the boys might be scared of the bridge but they both were just fine. The bridge DOES sway though, and DH wasn’t the happiest about that.

We all made it over safely and proceeded to the Tree Top Adventure.

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Upon starting the adventure, we encountered an employee handing out a scavenger the kids could do in this portion of the park to earn a “special prize.” My kids jumped all over that and we began climbing between the trees. The scavenger hunt included things like noting the weather for the day, counting the squirrels we saw on the trees, identifying a few of the different types of trees, etc. The path they needed to take to find the answers was well marked on their map and the kids had fun completing it together.

While working on the scavenger hunt we ran across the start of the bird show.

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This was a nice break from the walking and climbing and we enjoyed hearing about a few birds (falcon, owl, etc).

After the bird show, the boys completed the scavenger hunt and each were able to pick out an explorers pin.

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We headed back across the suspension bridge and by now it was much more crowded, and we were glad that we had arrived early. DH thought the bridge did not sway as much going back since there were more people. It felt the same to me though.

Once we were on the other side, we headed towards the Cliffwalk. This ended up being my favorite of the three adventures. It was not very crowded yet. Immediately upon starting we saw a bald eagle come soaring through the trees towards the bridge.

You walk single file through most of this, but there are larger areas along the way to stop and take pictures too.

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By the time we had completed the Cliffwalk, a line had formed and the crowds were in the park! We dropped by the gift shop quickly and then looked around at a few of the totem poles on hand.

Back to the free shuttle to take us downtown. This time we went all the way to Canada Place and walked toward Gastown to eat at Steamworks Brewing Company.

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The food and service were very good here. They do not have a kids menu though, although there are chicken tenders and fries on the menu. We also got one of the appetizer Bavarian pretzels and that was delicious as well (and huge).

Fully stuffed, we walked a few more blocks down to watch the steam clock.

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It was a bit underwhelming, but we checked it off the list and began the walk back to the condo for some afternoon relaxation and card playing. **We are a big gaming family if you couldn’t tell.**

After a few hours, we headed back out for another walk. We searched for another park for the boys, which ended up not being much of a park at all. So we headed back down towards the waterfront and ended up finding Coal Harbour Park down by the Seawall. The boys got to play and we got to enjoy some more views.

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Dinner was back at the condo and was a combination of groceries, street food and leftovers from lunch. Some more card playing and decision making about what we were going to do Sunday and then it was time to get some shut-eye.

Sunday is next...
 
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Sunday, May 28, 2017

Sunday morning started out with donuts and breakfast sandwiches from the Tim Hortons just down the street. We brought them back to eat in the condo, but I thought the breakfast sandwiches were a good value and the kids loved their donuts.

We were now ready for our adventure for the day and headed out with a plan to get down to the Aquabus-Hornby Terminal (stop 1) to take their 25 minute “mini cruise” tour of False Creek area before exploring Granville Island. It was a little over a mile from the condo, but not too many hills, so we enjoyed the walk through some neighborhoods we hadn’t seen yet.

You buy the tickets onboard and they only can do Canadian currency on the boat. If you must, when you get to Granville Island, they have a credit card machine there. Thankfully my dad had a small amount of Canadian currency to pay for us all.

The mini cruise actually starts and stops at Granville Island (stop 2), so the driver was nice enough to take us across the water and informed us when the next aquabus would arrive to take us around. We had to wait a few minutes, but it was a beautiful day outside and the adults did not mind, the kids were not as thrilled but lived through the wait and the tour.

The mini cruise first takes you by some houseboats docked right at Granville Island then around parts of False Creek. The driver was not forthcoming with information at first, but once we engaged him, he was happy to share information about that part of town, how/why it was developed, etc. He was a young college kid on summer break, but was very pleasant and it was interesting to hear his perspective.

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After our tour, we got off back at Granville Island and headed into explore the Granville Island Food Market. This was my favorite part of the day.

It was fun to peruse the various booths and watch where the locals were buying from, as this would come in handy later.

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We promised the boys they could each try something and DS9 decided he wanted to try a strawberry crepe. He had never had one, but I think he was mesmerized with the pile of whipped cream as we watched other crepes being made.

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These ladies were amazing to watch. Some crepes were savory (i.e. ham and cheese) and others sweet (Nutella and banana). We got a crepe and all 6 of us shared it as it was huge.

More on next post...
 

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Sunday continued...

We toured through some of the island’s shops and park areas. There is a lovely water splash area for kids, but I assumed that would all still be shut-off until June or so. I was wrong and wish I would have brought the boys in their swimsuits so they could have splashed around a bit. Instead we found Sutcliffe Park and spent some time there climbing to the flagpole (beautiful views) and the boys rolled down some of the hills.

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Close to noon we headed back to Granville Island Brewing Company to try their beers. We had to wait a few minutes to be sat as there aren’t a lot of tables in there, but it was worth the wait as both the beer and food were outstanding.

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**Side note** - While we were waiting to be sat, the hostess asked us if we had just returned from a trip to Disneyland? The boys both had Mickey shirts on and DH and I both had Mickey/Minnie hats on. I chuckled and said no and explained why we were in town. All I could think in my head is that she does not know our people and how proud we are to wear our Disney gear- especially when on a Disney vacation. One of my favorite parts of the cruise was people watching the other passengers and all their Disney wear. Hats, shirts, sweatshirts, etc. from the cruise line, World and Land, passengers Disneybounding, some wearing Disney pajamas. Lots of fun to be among lots of Disney loving folks.

Back to the report… We finished at the Granville Brewing Company and headed back to the GI Food Market to get some treats to take back to the condo. The boys wanted homemade lollipops, I got some pastries from Stuart’s that were heavenly! Sorry, forgot to take pics before we devoured them later that day and the following morning. My mom got some asiago cheese bread and my DH and dad got some gelato to enjoy.

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We took the aquabus back over to the Hornby Terminal station to begin our walk back to the condo for another afternoon of rest and gaming. The driver that sold us our mini-cruise tickets in the morning had given us free vouchers to come back from the island later that afternoon after we toured the island. Not sure if this is always done, but it was nice to not have to buy tickets for the quick ride back over.

We had walked many miles during the day, so we sent DH and my dad out for dinner supplies and our beer run to bring bottles onboard. Mom and I stayed behind to finish laundry, organize the suitcases and get the kids fed. More gaming after dinner and then it was off to bed. Tomorrow was finally the day our Disney cruise would start!!!!

Monday is next!!!
 


Monday, May 29, 2017

Cruise day!! Yay!!

I was up by 5:15am or so as I was still adjusting to the new time zone. My mother and I had talked the night before that if we were up early we might try to walk down to the seawall to see the Wonder pull into port. Mom woke up a few minutes after me, just as I started to read my book. I was tired, but knew this opportunity may never come again, so we dressed quickly and headed out, hoping we had not missed her arrival yet.

We walked quickly as there were very few people out and about yet. As we approached Canada Place we could see the Wonder had not yet arrived yet. We waited patiently and at about 6:10am we saw her come under the Lions Gate Bridge (we went under the bridge at approximately the same time on our way back into port the following Monday as well).

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It was a very exciting thing to see the ship arrive, as I knew we would board a few short hours later. Mom and I watched as the captain turned and backed the ship into port and then watched as the dock workers and the crew on ship readied for disembarkation.

It was getting late and we had promised to bring donuts back for the boys for breakfast, so we headed back towards the condo, stopping at the Digital Orca and the Olympic Flame that were just around the corner.

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After arriving back at the condo, breakfast was served, the last load of laundry started and final packing completed. We were ready by 9:30am or so, but there was no need to rush out as our boarding time started at noon. The owner of the condo had offered the previous day to come get us at 11am and drive us down to the port. It was so generous of him and saved us the aggravation of rolling the suitcases 15 minutes on the busy city streets. We passed the time by playing a few games.

Right at 11am, Mom, DS9 and I went with the luggage on the first trip to the port. Arrival was simple as there were lots of workers directing us exactly where to go. Our host dropped us off and a porter whisked away our bags. Our host went back to get DH, DS6 and Dad and brought them back to the Pan Pacific entrance, where we went to meet them.

We looked around the port for a few minutes at the ship and then decided it was close enough to 12pm to get started with the check-in process.

I had read so many trip reports that I knew what to expect, but it was still a new process for us. Thankfully there were lots of cruise CMs in port to help point the way whenever we had a question.

The line for finalizing the kid’s club registration was pretty short as well, so we took care of that too.

My only disappointment was that we missed the cutoff to take pictures with Mickey prior to boarding. Apparently he had to get back to the ship to get ready to depart. Luckily we got a picture with him later in the week.

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Once onboard we knew we wanted to get lunch. It was around 12:45pm or so by this time. We tried to go to Triton’s but they were full, so we headed up to Cabanas. It was a little hectic up there, but we did get a window table for all 6 of us, and everyone had a nice lunch while we watched the seaplanes land and take-off.

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By the time we were done with lunch, it was 1:30pm and we could head to the rooms. My immediate family was in 5514 in a 9A Ocean View (1 large porthole) and my parents were across the hall in 5509 in an 11B.

No room pictures to share as you can see them elsewhere online, but both rooms were as described with everything in working order. The couches were not very comfy, but I assume they are the same throughout the ships. We used ours a few hours during the week for happy hour in the room while enjoying the view. Definitely not a deal breaker for me. DS6 loved sleeping in the top bunk too!

Here is what we did for our door decorations. I have to admit, I agonized over these a bit. It was something I could start planning right away after we booked the cruise and I would change my mind from time to time as the months went on. I am happy with the way they turned out. We were on a short hallway since level 5 doesn’t have a lot of rooms, so I am not sure they were seen by many, but they certainly helped us identify our room each day and they will be great souvenirs for us to hang on our refrigerator as a reminder of the trip.

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The boys saw the slide and pools as we left Cabanas after lunch and were itching to go. We had a bit of time before the lifeboat drill, so we dropped our carry-ons in the room and took the boys up to deck 9 to ride the slide and swim.

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The boys rode the slide twice I think and decided to go float in the pool and watch Princess and the Frog which was on funnel vision. The rest of just chilled at a table nearby enjoying the sunshine.

Once they closed the pools in preparation for the lifeboat drill, we took the kids back down to 5 to change back into their clothes. Two of our suitcases were outside our door, with the hope that the third would arrive soon.

At some point during the late afternoon, our stateroom host- Jervie- introduced himself to us and asked if we needed anything. We told him about our missing suitcase and he recommended we alert guest services. We wouldn’t see Jervie again for days, but he took very good care of us and always had our room serviced quickly after we left for breakfast and turned down for dinner.

It was lifeboat drill time and this is one of the things I was worried about for DS9. I had called Disney’s Cruise Line Special Services number prior to sailing to ask a few questions as DS9 does not like loud noises. I had read they could make special accommodations during the life boat drill, but decided after talking to the person on the line, that DS9 would be just fine as long as we brought his noise cancelling headphones. I was also told that if he had issues during the drill to just let the CM in charge know and he/she would allow one of the adults to accompany him away from the drill. We warned DS9 what was going to happen in advance. He kept his headphones on the whole time and thankfully there was no issue.

After the lifeboat drill we headed up to 10 to get a spot for the sail away party. I was excited for this after seeing pictures of it in others’ trip reports, but I was disappointed that it was more about watching the entertainment staff dance and not more about the characters. I stayed a few songs and then the ship began to move, so we started roaming to take pictures. The crowds up front as we approached the Lions Gate Bridge were insane. I recommend waking up early on the day you pull back into Vancouver (be up there around 5:45am) to take all the pictures you want going under the bridge with no one in your way.

We had time for a quick happy hour down in the room before heading off to our first dinner in Animator’s Palate. Thankfully our last suitcase showed up right before dinner as well.

Next is dinner....
 

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Monday continued...

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After reading trip reports for a year, I felt prepared for dinner service, knowing that our servers would rotate with us as we went to the different restaurants, the choices of entrees, etc. This night overall felt very hectic, but I think it partly had to do with so much going on for the afternoon in general and once we were through night 1, things became so much easier.

My DS6 is an extremely picky eater. We had been talking about eating on the cruise for months with him so he would know a bit what to expect, but I was still concerned going into it how the week would pan out for him for eating. Not surprisingly, the boy did not starve and had some nights where he ate great and other nights when he did not. But our service team was helpful in having a bowl of fruit for the kids each night when we arrived to give them something to start with in addition to the multiple rolls, and accommodating in anyway possible to make sure both kids were fed and happy.

Before I go further I have to give kudos to our server team. Head server was Geffrey, Server was Freizer and Asst. Server was James. I tried to minimize my expectations after reading other trip reports that raved about their servers while others weren’t happy with the servers or didn’t bond with them the way others had. Within a couple days we were following our servers to where they were for breakfast or lunch and looked forward to seeing them at dinner each night. Not only did they learn all our likes and dislikes, but Freizer did magic for the kids each night, we talked about our lives, their lives, what we did in port each day, how they spent their time off, etc. It felt like going home for dinner each night and I really enjoyed that.

Also, I knew there was a show with our drawn characters one night in AP, but it clearly didn’t happen on night one and I didn’t know what else to expect. When the lights dimmed and the animation show started, there was Disney magic in that room. As Mickey made his way through the crowd and everyone clapped, there was pixie dust in my eyes solidifying this is why we came and what I had hoped for. It was just the beginning of the Disney magic for the week and there was much more to come. FYI- more pixie dust in my eyes as I type this.

Dinner entrees below. Other reviews of the Black Truffle Pasta Purseittes (below) were right - these are good! I could make a whole meal out of them.

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upload_2017-6-8_19-41-3.png Sliced Serrano Ham

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More to come...
 
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There was a slight hiccup at the end of dinner service as DH found a few small pieces of broken plate in his dessert. Thankfully he found them prior to putting them in his mouth. He let our server know, who was very concerned and wanted to 1. Make sure DH was ok and 2. Get something else for DH for dessert. DH was full enough and didn’t want anything else, but just wanted to let someone know so no one else would get hurt.

After dinner we let the kids try out the kids club. DH and I popped into the DVC reception and did not win the $200 gift card. Afterward mom, dad and I went to the Be Our Guest show in the WD Theater. The show was good and it made me quite excited for the Broadway productions to come later in the week.

DH was off wandering the ship and went back to the room at one point to grab something. While there he got a call from one of the medical staff on board to make sure he was ok. He assured them he was. A bit later we received these and an apology note as well. Not necessary, but it was nice to see Disney’s customer service in action and the strawberries were very good and did not go to waste.

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We gathered the kids from the club after the show and headed back for showers and bed. Long day for everyone, but we were excited for our first day at sea tomorrow!

Next up...Tuesday at sea!
 


Great report! Can't wait for more. We were on the San Diego to Vancouver cruise and had the same serving team and stateroom host as you. With the exception that we had Mehmet instead of Geffrey. But we love them both!
 
Great report, we are on the Wonder in August. Just curious, any Navigators to share? Thanks again and looking forward to the rest!
 
you mentioned a free shuttle from Stanley park? can you please tell me more about that?
 
Following along! Isn't Vancouver just beautiful? sailing away is just so breath taking. Can't wait to read more

Vancouver was beautiful and so much to do!! I love being in places where you can walk everywhere. It is so different for how we live our daily lives here in OK that i just savor my time when in a city.

Great report, we are on the Wonder in August. Just curious, any Navigators to share? Thanks again and looking forward to the rest!

Yes, I have all the navigators scanned and will post them sometime this weekend.

you mentioned a free shuttle from Stanley park? can you please tell me more about that?

The free shuttle was for the Capilano Suspension Bridge, not Stanley Park (although it did run through Stanley Park, but did not stop there). If you check out Capilano's website you will see the information for the free shuttle.

Wonderful report! Am off to read your pre-trip report...we are booked on the May 22, 2018 Alaska cruise and cannot wait!

Great report! We are sailing in August!! Can't wait!

You will not be disappointed with your trip choice!

Thanks for reading along all!!!
 
Tuesday, May 30, 2017

We started the morning at Cabanas. Overall we found the food to be very good up there.

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This was my standard for breakfast. I fell in love with the hash brown patties and pork sausage links especially!

Our first activity of the day was Disney Trivia. Based on other trip reports I thought we would get blown out of the water at these trivia sessions, but we actually held our own and really enjoyed them. We were not the winners this round, but did not give-up. Would we win a life-changing Disney plastic trivia medallion by week’s end? You will have to wait to find out.

The kids went off to the club/lab for a bit while DH and I walked by the DVC desk and were given our hats for the cruise. Then it was off to Animation class to draw Mickey and Goofy. I miss doing this at Hollywood Studios!

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We got the kids and worked on Anna’s Chocolate Chase scavenger hunt. On other cruises, I believe this was separated into a 3-day challenge. Now it is all completed in one day, which makes it easier in my opinion. The kids had a ball with the hunt and eagerly anticipated their prize the next day.

Time to eat again and this time we tried Triton’s for lunch. It was nice to be served lunch, but the kids were not as happy, so this is the only day we did this.

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upload_2017-6-10_8-47-51.png Fried Calamari

upload_2017-6-10_8-48-38.png Burger & Fries

upload_2017-6-10_8-49-53.png I ate my fair share of these during the week.

upload_2017-6-10_8-50-51.png Pecan Pie that DH had

After lunch DS6 went back to the clubs and DS9, DH and I played shuffleboard, enjoyed the scenery and ended up at another Disney Trivia while enjoying beverages. They were nice enough to make DS9 a vanilla milkshake and I enjoyed my first Alaskan Brewing Company Icy Bay IPA. For all you IPA lovers, this was delicious and only $6 a bottle I believe.

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More on next post...
 
Tuesday continued...

After trivia my mom and I enjoyed a showing of the new Beauty and the Beast movie in the movie theater. She had not seen it yet and I knew she would love it. This was the first showing of the week and the theater filled to capacity. Mom liked it so much she went back the next night and watched it in 3D.

Dinner was in Tiana’s tonight. I had heard that this restaurant is loud and had asked that we be sat near the back when I called Disney’s Special Services Line. We were near the back, but it was still loud as they have speakers throughout the restaurant. DS9 wore his noise cancelling headphones (DS6 wore the spare pair) and all was well.

What a fun restaurant this is and the staff seems to have so much fun in here as well. Aren’t the dishes cute?

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Our dinner started with a complimentary bottle of Prosecco due to the dessert incident the night before. They offered sparkling cider for the kids, but we told them not to waste it, as the kids would not enjoy it. The Prosecco was not necessary, but we did enjoy the bottle throughout the meal.

Here is the bowl of fruit and white milks already set-out for the kids (and every night after). Just realized that this almost looks like a hidden Mickey.

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I forgot to take pictures of the menu, but here is what we ordered.

upload_2017-6-10_8-56-4.png Warm Cheddar Cheese and Applewood Smoked Bacon Tartlet- This was good, like a small quiche.

upload_2017-6-10_8-58-27.png Louisiana Hot Crab Dip

upload_2017-6-10_8-59-28.png Cream of Spinach Soup. I did not care for this as it was too spinach-y and not enough cream. Freizer asked if he could get me something else, but I declined and just waited for the next course.

upload_2017-6-10_9-1-21.png West Coast Lobster Salad

upload_2017-6-10_9-2-13.png Seared Pork Medallions

upload_2017-6-10_9-3-33.png Lime Marinated Jumbo Shrimp

Dessert is next...
 
Tuesday Conclusion...

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upload_2017-6-10_9-5-56.png Maldonia Berry Financier

upload_2017-6-10_9-7-0.png Prince Navine's Flourless Chocolate Cake

The jazz band played throughout most of the meal and Tiana and Louis were on hand.

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After dinner we perused the shops a bit and walked on deck 4, waiting to go see the Golden Mickey’s. DH went to see Guardians of the Galaxy II tonight. The boys were not excited to go to the Golden Mickey’s, but ended up liking the show. This was my second favorite show of the week and I do believe I had a little pixie dust in my eyes near the end.

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Showers and bed and of course, a towel animal. We would turn our clocks back an hour tonight to get to Alaska time, and we needed our rest for another busy day tomorrow.

Tomorrow is Tracy Arm Day!!!
 

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