Disney Wonder May 29 trip report in Alaska!

Wow! Just finished reading your TR! What an amazing job you did.
We booked the May 17 2021 Disney cruise to Alaska. Cannot wait!
We got one of the secret verandah rooms as well. I can already taste the mulled wine:drinking1
Can I ask you if any movies are played on funnel vision during an Alaskan cruise?

I’m so glad you booked it! This was really a trip of a life time and we want to go again! You HAVE to get close to a glacier (either by foot or boat)

They did have movies but we spent most of the downtime on our balcony. When we did watch a movie we were snuggled in our beds haha!

Its a fun but exhausting trip, I like how there are basically 3 sea days (because of the glacier day)
 
I’m so glad you booked it! This was really a trip of a life time and we want to go again! You HAVE to get close to a glacier (either by foot or boat)

They did have movies but we spent most of the downtime on our balcony. When we did watch a movie we were snuggled in our beds haha!

Its a fun but exhausting trip, I like how there are basically 3 sea days (because of the glacier day)
Thanks! We just changed to the Aug 23 Alaska sailing, but nevertheless so excited. Even though it’s the furthest out we have ever booked! We do plan to book the glacier excursion, we are Gold so hopefully we will have a chance to do it. I have to re-read your TR and make some noted :)
 
Nothing wrong withAugust! I was a newbie and I got to go on the glacier trip, but I did have to book the tickets individually (I stalked excursions and Paso 3 times a day!)

Did you get a balcony?
Yes! we got one of the “secret“ verandah’s as well, except ours is on deck 6, starboard side. Saved like $2000 from cat 5c!
 


Yes! we got one of the “secret“ verandah’s as well, except ours is on deck 6, starboard side. Saved like $2000 from cat 5c!
Oh yes!!! You said that in your last post! Haha

you will enjoy it! If you like wine don’t forget to bring your max about of wine on board! The sun stays out so late that you will want to sip it on the balcony even though you should be going to bed!
 
Such an awesome and detailed trip report. This is definitely useful for planning my upcoming May 2021 Alaskan Cruise. Thank you for sharing!
 


Such an awesome and detailed trip report. This is definitely useful for planning my upcoming May 2021 Alaskan Cruise. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much! Were you able to Cruise in 2021 or was it moved? I really want to go back!
 
So excited for everyone who gets to Cruise right now! I'm can't wait to return to Alaska for another (hopefully Disney) Cruise!
 
I am hoping we take another cruise to Alaska in 2023 or 2024 - that is what I am saving for. Anyone Cruising to Alaska this summer?
 
You can read and comment on the message board or head on over to my blog (https://plaidshirtyogapants.com/disney-alaskan-cruise-embarkation/) to see all the photos and formatting!


Welcome to my first post for my detailed Trip Report Cruising to Alaska on the Disney Wonder.


Embarkation day beings with us packing everything up from our three-day trip in Vancouver, and walking over to Canada Place. When packing, we made sure that our carry-ons had all of the essentials including but not limited to: passports, medications, 24 bottles of water, 2 bottles of wine per person (6 for our family), cameras and lenses, and binoculars.


In hindsight, our family had over packed, so we took a taxi from Delta Vancouver Hotels and Suites to Canada Place. We told our taxi that we were going on a Cruise, but there was some confusion on where we needed to be dropped off. Finally, with some clarification, we were able to get our taxi to drop us off in the Passenger drop-off zone, which is down a ramp off the foot of Howe Street. There is a Sign that says “Cruise Ship Terminal Ramp Access” – this is where you want the taxi to turn.


Disney - Have A Magical Cruise


Once the taxi dropped us, and all the bags off, the Disney cast and crew started taking over and the magic began. Our luggage already had our Disney stateroom identification on it, so the attendant was able to take the luggage (we would later see it around 5 pm). Once the luggage was collected went on our merry way to continue with the check-in process.


Canada Place was very well organized when it comes to finding your way around to get on the proper cruise ship. Luckily, the port was not too busy because only the Disney Wonder and Norwegian Sun and everyone had signs directing you to which holding area one needed to go to.


We were supposed to board between 12-12:30pm, but my sister had a snafu with her luggage so we didn’t board until closer to 2:30-3:00pm. The only good thing about boarding so late is that there was barely anyone in line! We then took an elevator up so we could continue on with the check in process.



Guest Check-in

Since this was our first cruise, we of course didn’t really know what we were expecting to do. We had read online that the process could take between 1-2 hours so we were nervous about waiting in long lines, since we came so late. We entered the Disney check in area and went straight to booth 12. There weren’t any lines, but Disney was prepared with long queues and chairs for those waiting to sit. During check-in, our cast member had us smoosh our faces together to take one big selfie. Now I thought this was strange (why wouldn't we take individual photos?). But I guess if something happened to someone in our party they would be able to easily identify us as a group.


We were given a card with our booking number 23, room number 7120, and a note saying that our room would be ready at 1:30 pm. We were also given our Keys to the World and the Welcome Aboard Navigator.



Welcome Aboard! Boarding number 23 and room number 7120!

The only area that had a line was the Youth Activities. We didn’t need to sign anyone up for these activities (I’m the youngest of our crew at 30). If you are traveling with children, you should sign them up for their activities before boarding the ship because there are even longer lines to combat with once onboard.





Security


After the check-in process, we were ushered to go through customs and security. Mom was given a little green rectangle since she was in the transport chair and we didn’t have to wait in all of the lines, until it was time to actually. Since they prefer for people of the same party to stay together while going through customs, we were not able go through the fast lane, but the wait wasn’t extremely long.


Our last stop before we could board the boat, was hoisting up our luggage to show a cast member the six bottles of wine we were bringing on board. He just needed to inspect the wine label and that each bottle was sealed.



But first, let me take a selfie

After about an hour or so of checking in, customs, and security we were ready to board the ship! There were multiple areas where we could have had our photos taken by cast members but we quickly declined. We are more of a lets take photos of our trips instead of having photos taken of us type of family. All three of us took our Key to the World and buzzed into the ship. We walked down a long gangway where we then boarded on fourth deck where a cast member asked me what our last name was.



Ladies and gentlemen!


Stepping onto the ship, a cast member said into a microphone “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the Lindsly family!” as we walked into the atrium. It felt like we were movie stars!


Since we boarded behind schedule, Mom and Ally’s job was to go straight to the room and hang the door hanger while mine was to go to guest services to figure out a couple of things.

Guest Services
How do I get the free 50 MB or Internet?

a. The Back of the Navigator actually tells you! You log onto the DCL-Guest WiFi network, go to www.dclguest.com and create an account, and get your free 50 MB package per person in your stateroom! Each person must sign up for his or her own accounts.

2. What Beverage Seminars can I sign up for?

a. By the time we signed up, a bunch were already taken so we signed up for a Mojito tasting, a whiskey tasting, and a cognac tasting. We ended up canceling the cognac tasting later in the week.

A couple of other things that I could have taken care of but they were all taken care of before I even got on ship. But here are some things you may need to do when boarding the ship:

  1. Changing a dining assignment.
  2. Getting Palo Reservations
  3. Signing up children for Youth Activities.
  4. Getting Meet & Greet Tickets for character greetings.
  5. Reserving Excursions.
  6. Booking Spa & Salon services.
Lunch and Safety Drill
After running up to our room to lighten up my purse, my family headed to Cabanas for a buffet style lunch before we had to do the Mandatory Guest Assembly Drill. We were very overwhelmed with the amount of food choices that we all opted to grab some fried chicken, put it on a salad, and grabbed some random odds and ends – French fries, ice cream, egg rolls, etc. Our plans were to go to Triton’s but it was only open from 11:45-1:30 pm. If you dined at Triton’s you would have more of a sit down dinner, instead of a buffet style lunch.

From 3:45-4:15 pm all ship activities and services were suspended and we reported to Animator’s Palace as our designated disaster drill. Luckily we were inside because some people were outside for the drill! During this time we shared a table with another family and they told us all of their past stories on other Disney Cruises, we actually ran into them a couple of times on the ship later in the week. Once the drill started, the cast members instructed us what we needed to do in case of an emergency and then we were allowed to leave to enjoy the rest of the evening!


Sail Away Deck Party
Mom and Ally went to the Deck 9 Stage Party to get a good seat, while I ran down to Port Excursions. The Port Excursions deck sent me a note asking about the accessibility issues of our cabin since I had pre-registered mom’s transport chair and cane. This was to make sure that mom was able to board the Tracy Arm Excursion.

After meeting the family on Deck 9, my mom and sister greeted me with a Sail away Cocktail! This was a strawberry daiquiri and pina colada blend that tasted like it had very little alcohol. Once the show started, the ship took off from Canada Place and all cast members and characters started dancing and joining in on the fun. This is an excellent show to watch, and if you can, grab a spot on Deck 10 to get an overlook of the entire party. During the show the ship sailed under the Lions Gate Bridge.

After the Sail Away Party, we went to our room to open our first two bottles of wine – See Ya Later Sparkling Brut with See Ya Later Vidal Ice Wine – so we could make a Canadian Mimosa. We sat on the balcony to enjoy the scenery and plan out the rest of our evening and the week by looking at the digital navigator.

Evening Activities
We were supposed to go to Animator’s Palace the first night for dinner, but decided that we were full from lunch and just wanted to relax. This obviously made our host Winston very nervous because when he entered our room he asked us “Why didn’t you go to dinner!” we assured him that we were fine (we ordered a cheese plate and some salads from room service) and that we would be promptly out of our room for the 8:30 pm showing of Be Our Guest.

We ended our first day by watching the Broadway style show – Be Our Guest! On the way into the theater, one can buy drinks, candy, or popcorn – but honestly with all the free food on the boat, I don't see why one would need to buy additional snacks.

Be Our Guest was the Welcome Aboard show, which showcased a little snippet of every each show for the rest of the cruise. We saw snippets of Peter Pan, Frozen, Magic of Kalin & Jinger, Music & Comedy of John Charles. The funny thing about this late show, is that all the children show up in their pajamas and one by one their parents had to take them out of the theater and back to their the stateroom. I did notice that most of the kids either paid super attention to the show, or were wiggling around in their seats. One fun fact – if you wanted to skip the show you can always catch the show 4 different times on your stateroom’s television screen.

After the show, my family did some exploring while walking back to our stateroom. Since we were forward and close to the gym, my sister and I ran up to see if we could join the spin-class for the next morning. We were actually numbers 9 and 10 on the waiting list of only 10 bikes, so we didn’t even attempt to go to spin class for that second day. Once we entered back into our room we received our first towel animal - a swan!

The next day - May 30 - was our first full day at Sea. We spent most of the evening sitting on the balcony and comparing the digital navigator to the paper navigator trying to figure out everything we wanted to do on our first full sea day.
The show is on the stateroom tv? Wow I never knew that! That’s a great tip.
 

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